Fonds consists of seven series: I. Personal and professional series, 1937-1993 (diaries, correspondence, filing systems and papers pertaining to awards, memberships, biography and other); II. Business series, 1948-1982 (pertaining to guiding, outfitting, trail riding, ranching, Andy Russell and S…
6 m of textual records and printed material. -- ca.6100 photographs : prints, negatives, transparencies. -- 1 photograph album (49 prints). -- 29 motion pictures. -- 5 sound recordings
History / Biographical
Andy Russell, 1915-2005, was a trapper, guide and outfitter, writer, photographer, cinematographer, lecturer and environmental advocate in the Pincher Creek, Alberta, Canada.
Russell was born in Lethbridge, Alberta and spent his childhood on a ranch in the foothills near Pincher Creek. He became a skilled horseman, hunter, fisherman and trapper, and, in 1936, was employed by Bert Riggall, a pioneer guide and outfitter of wilderness pack trips in the southern Rockies since 1907. He became Riggall's partner in 1939 and took over the business when Riggall retired in 1946. Andy Russell and Kathleen (Kay) Riggall married in 1938 and raised five children at their ranch bordering Waterton Lakes National Park, where family businesses included guiding, saddlehorses and ranching. Children are: Richard "Dick" H. (b.1938); Andrew Charles "Charlie" (b.1941); Harold John "John" (b.1944); Hugh Gordon Riggall "Gordon" (b.1947); Lorenda Anne "Anne" (b.1952).
Russell continued as a renowned guide and outfitter with a wealthy repeat clientele until he was forced out of guiding by 1960 with the advance of the oil industry concerns upon wilderness areas in southern Alberta and British Columbia. Russell began to write nature articles in 1945 and after 1960 concentrated upon writing, photography, film making, lecturing and ranching. He wrote for numerous magazines and newspapers, produced radio broadcasts, and, using colour motion picture photography, developed programs on wildlife and wilderness habitat research for live public performances. Russell's films launched his career as an author of popular wildlife and mountain culture books, which included Grizzly Country. In later years, he was an active writer, consultant and advocate of wilderness and environmental management and received numerous awards and honours, including Member of the Order of Canada.
Scope & Content
Fonds consists of seven series: I. Personal and professional series, 1937-1993 (diaries, correspondence, filing systems and papers pertaining to awards, memberships, biography and other); II. Business series, 1948-1982 (pertaining to guiding, outfitting, trail riding, ranching, Andy Russell and Sons, royalties and lecturing); III. Writing, broadcasting and public appearances series, 1908-1990 (papers and photographs pertaining to writing, book projects, columns, broadcasts, reviews, advertising, promotion and other); IV. Photography and cinematography series, 1909-1990 (details below); V. Wildlife study and conservation activities series, 1945-[198-]; VI. Other activities series, 1931-[199-] (politics, interviews, information files); VII. Russell family series, [1867]-1983.
Photography and cinematography series consists of: Riggall/Russell guiding activity photographs, 1909-1962, ca.280 items; Andy Russell and Sons Production Ltd / Andy Russell professional photographs and films, ca.1940- ca.1990, ca.4200 photographs (mainly transparencies), 28 motion pictures, accompanied by some textual and printed items; personal and family photographs, 1916-1989, ca.1550 items; collected photographs, ca.1940-197-, ca.75 items. Professional photography and cinematography primarily arose from field work by Andy, Dick and Charlie Russell and pertains mainly to flora, fauna and landscape of the Canadian Rockies in continental divide region, British Columbia, Yukon and Alaska.
Motion pictures, ca.1950-1974, include original film "Grizzly Country" by Dick, Charlie and Andy Russell, produced by Evan J. Anton, ca.1969, copy print of same; also unedited wildlife and landscape footage of Waterton area, Yukon and British Columbia.
Sound recordings are interviews with Andy Russell, [ca.1970]-1988.
The Archives General File is an artificial collection of accessions which do not constitute separate fonds or collections or cannot be placed within existing fonds or collections. Included in the collection are textual records of many types, such as manuscripts, reports, letters, diaries, speeches…
57 cm textual records. -- 50 cm of photographs : prints. -- 189 photographs (15 framed prints, 51 transparencies, 79 negatives; 44 copy negatives). -- 3 photograph albums (139 prints). -- 6 motion pictures. -- 9 sound recordings
Scope & Content
The Archives General File is an artificial collection of accessions which do not constitute separate fonds or collections or cannot be placed within existing fonds or collections. Included in the collection are textual records of many types, such as manuscripts, reports, letters, diaries, speeches, poetry, plans and others; photographs in the form of prints, negatives, transparencies, albums, postcards, etc.; sound recorded interviews and programmes; and motion pictures. Material pertains broadly to the Banff area and many other areas within the Archives collecting mandate.
Notable items include: Walter Wilcox letter; George Kinney report; interviews with Bill Round and Edward Feuz; original copy of Treaty Number Seven; Mary Schaffer material, including letters, notes, photograph and report; reports on the Nakimu Caves; film pertaining to Banff Winter Carnival; Georgia Engelhard letters and photos; plans for buildings and structures; George Noble photograph; W. S. Park photograph.
Fonds consists of two series: I. Expeditions and trips series, 1946-1974; II. General files series, 1913-1978. Expeditions and trips series pertains to mountaineering expeditions and trips of Arnold Wexler and companions to western and northern Canada and locations in the United States. Canadian…
Arnold Wexler was responsible for the creation of most material. Fonds also contains material created by A. C. Faberge, Alvin E. Peterson, Donald Hubbard, William L. Putnam, Samuel V. Moore, Mike Banks, and others
Date Range
1913-1978, predominant 1946-1974
Physical Description
ca.4100 photographs (ca.3000 transparencies, ca.700 negatives, ca.400 prints). -- 7 photograph albums (ca.190 prints). -- ca.40 cartographic records. -- 16 cm of textual records. -- 5 cm of print material. -- 5 graphic records
History / Biographical
Arnold Wexler, 1918-1997, was a research engineer and mountaineer in the Washington, DC area of the United States. He was a member of numerous scientific and mountaineering organizations and was actively involved in the testing of mountaineering equipment. Wexler climbed extensively in North America, Europe and South America, and also travelled throughout Asia. He is credited with over 100 ascents, almost half being first ascents.
Wexler was a key organizer and participant of expeditions to western and northern Canada beginning in 1946. Noteworthy ascents of that first expedition, to the northern Selkirks of British Columbia, were the second ascent of Mount Sir Sandford and first ascents of Sentinel Peak, Unicorn and East Blackfriar. Also, near the end of that trip, an accident claimed the life of an expedition member. Wexler and his associates made annual expeditions and trips to Canada from 1946 until 1955, and subsequently in the years 1961, 1962, 1963, and 1970 through 1974
Scope & Content
Fonds consists of two series: I. Expeditions and trips series, 1946-1974; II. General files series, 1913-1978.
Expeditions and trips series pertains to mountaineering expeditions and trips of Arnold Wexler and companions to western and northern Canada and locations in the United States. Canadian expedition destinations included the Selkirk Mountains, Cariboo Mountains, Rocky Mountains, Monashee Mountains, Coast Range, Bugaboo Mountains, Logan Mountains, Battle Range and Adamant Range. Mountaineers involved were Arnold Wexler, Sterling B. Hendricks, Donald Hubbard, Alvin (Pete) E. Peterson, Alex C. Faberge, Chris G. Scoredos, Charles C. Haworth Jr., Samuel V. Moore, Arthur Lembeck, Norman Goldstein, W. L. Putnam, A. J. Kauffman and others. Series includes extensive photographs, trip diaries and maps.
General files series consists of files pertaining to mountaineering, equipment, locations, climbing associates and expeditions. Includes correspondence, checklists, exhibition prints, climbing portraits, and research material in the form of topical files, maps and print material
Fonds includes seven series: I. Personal and professional, 1884-1959; II. Business and financial, ca.1910-1959; III. Professional photography, 1900-1955; IV. Writing, 1906-1957; V. Natural history, 1904-1954; VI. Other interests, 1913-1956; VII. Riggall family, ca.1865-1959. Personal and pro…
ca.13,100 photographs: ca.7080 prints, ca.5310 negatives, ca.700 transparencies. -- 9 photograph albums. -- ca.2 m textual records, print material and graphic records. -- 33 cartographic records
History / Biographical
Frederick Herbert (Bert) Riggall, 1884-1959, was a mountain guide, outfitter, hunter, trapper, rancher, naturalist, photographer, writer and gunsmith/loader in southern Alberta. Born in 1884 at Gayton-le-Wold Grange, Lincolnshire, his family moved to Grimsby where his father was an auctioneer and, in 1905, served as Mayor. In England, Riggall was an athlete, avid sportsman and naturalist. He was exposed to alpine country on school holidays in Switzerland and, determined to visit Canada, left for North America in 1904.
Upon arriving in western Canada, Riggall worked for a year at Craighurst Farm near Calgary. There he met Dorothea (Dora) Williams, 1877-1951, an Irish Quaker ranch cook who had emigrated with her sister Anna in 1902. In 1905, Bert worked on the Correction Land Survey in southwestern Alberta and explored Waterton Lakes. Bert and Dora married in 1906 and until 1946 they homesteaded and ranched adjacent to Waterton Lakes National Park.
Initially, Bert and partner Jack Hazzard built boats and guided fishing parties on Waterton Lakes. In 1909, with partner Cyril Watmough, the Riggalls began guiding and outfitting summer and fall hunting and fishing trips for numerous repeat clients, especially, after 1913, four Minneapolis, Minnesota families: Bovey, Crosby, Bennett and McKnight. Hunts involved Big Horn Sheep, goats, black and grizzly bears. Bert served as chief guide and Dora as camp cook. Prior to 1911, the Riggalls worked at Gloyne's oil camp and Oil City to supplement their income. In 1911, Bert and partner Cyril Watmough made a 1000 mile (1600 km) exploratory trip from Fort Steele, B.C. to the Yellowhead Pass and beyond. Following that trip, Riggall concentrated guiding activities on the continental divide as far north as the Highwood region, but primarily in the upper Oldman River Valley and Gap in the Livingstone Range. Their outfit grew to include numerous saddle and pack horses.
Of five children, only two daughters survived infancy. Kay Riggall (Russell), 1909-1984, and Doris (Babe) Riggall (Burton), 1910-1999, were both able riders, markswomen and packtrain workers. They accompanied their parents on summer back country trips starting in 1918. Bert Riggall was renowned for his knowledge of botany, geology, zoology, wilderness life and lore as well as literature and current affairs. He was especially endeared to his clients for his skill as a raconteur and campfire storyteller. He wrote articles for magazines such as: Arms and the Man, American Rifleman, Field and Stream and the Boone and Crockett Club's book: North American Big Game. Riggall was an accomplished semi-professional photographer who specialized in wildlife studies, panoramic landscapes, Dufaycolor and later Kodachrome transparencies. His photographs appear in Department of Interior Reports and other publications.
Bert's heart problems forced the Riggalls to move to Pincher Creek in 1947. Daughter Kay and son-in-law Andy Russell continued the packtrain and guiding business until 1960. After Dora's death, Bert experienced medical problems and lived with or close to Doris.
Scope & Content
Fonds includes seven series: I. Personal and professional, 1884-1959; II. Business and financial, ca.1910-1959; III. Professional photography, 1900-1955; IV. Writing, 1906-1957; V. Natural history, 1904-1954; VI. Other interests, 1913-1956; VII. Riggall family, ca.1865-1959.
Personal and professional series consists of diaries and notes, correspondence and personal papers.
Business and financial series consists of guiding and ranching records, gunsmithing, shooting and loading records; and legal and financial records.
Professional photography series consists of standard photographs, panoramas, transparencies and textual records
Writing series contains manuscripts, published magazines, book outlines, newspaper articles and letters to the editor
Natural history series contains bird and plant records, and other natural history papers
Other interests series consist of clippings, annotated books and collected material
Riggall family series contains Bert and Dora Riggall family papers and photographs, Williams family photographs, Frederick W. and Fanny Riggall papers and photographs, and Allan Riggall papers and photographs. Negatives and transparencies pertain to Andy Russell as a young man with Bert Riggall.
Notes
Some transparencies in V110 Dick Russell are marked Andy Russell, some marked 64 dup; V110 - original transparencies have full set of duplicates (2 sets were made, 1 for Dick Russell and the other is part of this accession)
Fonds contains six series: I. Robert G. Brett series, 1873-1926, 36 cm of textual records, consisting of: A. Personal papers, 1873-1926 (1. Correspondence, 2. Financial papers, 3. Other papers); B. Business papers, 1897-1925, (1. Banff businesses, 2. Businesses outside Banff); C. Professional pap…
73 cm of textual records. -- 11 photograph albums (ca.850 prints). -- ca.350 photographs (ca.320 prints, 28 negatives)
History / Biographical
Robert George Brett, 1851-1929, was a prominent physician, hotel-hospital owner, businessman and politician Banff, Alberta from 1883 until 1929. Brett was born in Strathroy, Ontario, son of James Brett and Catherine Mallon. He was educated as a physician at the University of Toronto (M.D., 1874), and practiced medicine at Arkona, Ontario. He moved to Winnipeg in 1880, where he helped found the Manitoba Medical College.
R. G. Brett moved to Banff in 1886, founding the Banff Sanitarium. In 1909 he established the Brett Hospital. Brett also had numerous other businesses and real estate in Banff (including the National Park Drug Store, the Sanitarium Bottling Co., the Bretton Hall Hotel, Lithia Bottling Co.) and elsewhere.
In 1878, Brett married Louise Theodora Hungerford, 1855-1935, of Waterford, Ontario. Of their five children, only two survived infancy, Reginald H. "Harry", 1879-1925, and Robert Earle, 1887-1912. Earle Brett was survived by Maidie (Stacpole) Brett, whom he married in 1910, and by an infant daughter. Dr. Harry Brett was married to Helen Brett, 1877-1964, who outlived the rest of her family by many years. Associated closely with the Brett family was Dr. Brett's nurse, Annie McLauchlin.
From 1881 to 1901, R. G. Brett was Conservative Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for the North-West Territories, and from 1889 to 1891 he was president of the executive council. He was Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta from 1915 to 1925. He died in Calgary.
Scope & Content
Fonds contains six series:
I. Robert G. Brett series, 1873-1926, 36 cm of textual records, consisting of: A. Personal papers, 1873-1926 (1. Correspondence, 2. Financial papers, 3. Other papers); B. Business papers, 1897-1925, (1. Banff businesses, 2. Businesses outside Banff); C. Professional papers, 1889-1925 (1. Political correspondence, 2. Official correspondence, 3. Other material);
II. Louise H. Brett series, [between1855 and 1935], 10 cm of textual records, consisting of: A. Writing, betw.1885 and 1935; B. Scrapbooks, ca.1900, ca.1910; C. Diaries and letters, 1912-1925; D. Other, ca.1870-1924.
III. Reginald H. "Harry" Brett series, ca.1910-1921, 10.5 cm of textual records, print material and photographs. Consists of: A. Personal papers, ca.1910 (1.Scrapbooks, 2. Ephemera); B. Business papers, 1912-1921.
IV. Helen Brett series, 1925-1965, 4.5 cm of textual records, consisting of: A. Correspondence, 1927-1950; B. R. G. Brett estate papers, 1925-1949; C. Financial and business records, 1936-1962; D. Other, 1935-1965.
V. Brett family series, [ca.1860-ca.1935], consisting of : A. Photographs albums, ca.1860-ca.1910; B. Photographs, ca.1875-ca.1935.
VI. Other material series, [before 1928], 2 cm of textual records, consisting of: A. Annie McLauchlin papers, 1914-1928; B. Other, before 1925.
Fonds consists mainly of diary excerpts and transcripts, 1912-1913, 1921-1954; also includes a guest book, 1924-1956, posters, ca.1942, publications relating the story of Belmore Browne Peak, 1992-1993, and photographs, ca.1930, ca.1955, 1991-1992. Diaries are mainly trip diaries pertaining to summ…
24 cm of textual records. -- 108 photographs : prints, copy negatives, transparencies
History / Biographical
Belmore Browne, d.1954, was a well-known artist who lived and worked at Banff and Seebe, Alberta, Canada and in the United States. Browne and Agnes Evelyn Sibley, 1882-1976, were married in 1913. In 1921, they bought property in Banff for a summer home and with their children, George, 1918-1958, and Evelyn, 1915-1994, travelled extensively throughout the 1920s and 1930s in pursuit of subjects for Belmore Browne's paintings. In 1946, the Brownes built a home near Seebe. Agnes Browne was a diarist for the family and much of her extensive writing centres around the career of Belmore Browne. Her daughter Evelyn consolidated the diaries in the 1980s. George Browne was also an artist.
Scope & Content
Fonds consists mainly of diary excerpts and transcripts, 1912-1913, 1921-1954; also includes a guest book, 1924-1956, posters, ca.1942, publications relating the story of Belmore Browne Peak, 1992-1993, and photographs, ca.1930, ca.1955, 1991-1992.
Diaries are mainly trip diaries pertaining to summer travels and family life in the Canadian Rockies, 1921-1933. Included are trips to Red Earth Creek, Skoki, Mystic Lake, Sawback Lake, Red Deer Valley, Hector Lake, Bow Lake, Kananaskis Valley, Cascade and Panther rivers, Elbow Pass, and other locations. Other diaries cover the years 1943 to 1954, years partly spent at Seebe until Belmore Browne's death. Diary copies and typescripts have been annotated by Evelyn Browne.
Posters on alpine and wilderness survival, ca.1942, were done by Belmore Browne for the American military's Arctic Training Program.
Photographs are mainly photographic copies of paintings by Belmore and George Browne produced by Peter A. Juley & Son, Photographers of Fine Arts, New York, ca.1955, 79 items. Other photographs pertain to Belmore Browne and the Browne family, their Banff home and painting activities, ca.1930; the site of Belmore Browne plaque on Browne Peak, rediscovered and photographed by Tony and Gillean Daffern in September 1991, and dedication of the Belmore Browne plaque, 1992.
Official correspondence pertaining to the naming of Belmore Browne Peak, 1989-1993, is available in document file.
Fonds consists of two series : I. Dan McCowan series; II. Mary E.(Fee) McCowan series. I. Dan McCowan series, ca.1905-1967?, ca.30 cm of textual records, ca.3400 photographs, 4 graphic records. Includes five sub-series: A. Correspondence; B. Writing; C. Photography; D. Professional activities; E…
ca.50 cm of textual records. -- ca.3400 photographs (ca.1000 negatives, ca.1540 lantern slides, ca.770 transparencies 35mm, 117 prints). -- 4 graphic records
History / Biographical
Dan McCowan, 1882-1956, was a naturalist, lecturer and writer at Banff, Alberta, Canada. McCowan came to Banff from Scotland in 1907. There he met Mary Ethel Fee, 1888-1973, a teacher, and they married in 1921. Mary McCowan shared an interest in Dan's work, hand-coloured his lantern slides and accompanied him on his tours. Dan McCowan was an active photographer and naturalist and lectured at hospitals during and following the First World War. He was later recommended to Sir Edward Beatty, CPR President and hired by the CPR to promote the scenic beauties and natural history of the mountains, which he did for 26 years. For a period his lantern slide presentations included motion pictures. During the 1940s, he used natural colour Kodachrome slide photography. While in England in 1936, McCowan was made a Fellow of the Royal Zoological Society. From ca.1907 onwards, he wrote for magazines and newspapers. The first of six books was published in 1936; the last in 1955. Beginning ca.1937, McCowan wrote and broadcast radio talks on natural history on CBC. These were heard widely in Canada and the United States. In 1939, McCowan accompanied the King and Queen on a portion of their railway tour through the mountains, providing information on natural history and residents. During the Second World War, he toured extensively on behalf of the YMCA. The McCowans retired to Cloverdale (now Surrey), B.C., ca.1951.
Scope & Content
Fonds consists of two series : I. Dan McCowan series; II. Mary E.(Fee) McCowan series.
I. Dan McCowan series, ca.1905-1967?, ca.30 cm of textual records, ca.3400 photographs, 4 graphic records. Includes five sub-series: A. Correspondence; B. Writing; C. Photography; D. Professional activities; E. Ephemera.
Correspondence includes incoming letters re writing, business and broadcasting. Writing is in the form of notes and notebooks, unpublished and published manuscripts, newspaper articles and other materials.
Photography includes negatives, lantern slides, 35mm transparencies and prints. Material pertains to flora, fauna, people, places and scenery, also family, activities and events. Photographs of Banff personalities and visitors are available in negative and lantern slide form, 254 items.
Lantern slides were designed for lectures such as: "On skyline trails in the Canadian Rockies"; "On nature trails at Banff and Lake Louise"; "A naturalist in the Canadian Rockies" (200 slides); "Snow peaks and flower meadows in the Canadian Rockies" (200 slides); "Over the hills and far away: a pictorial review of the Canadian Rockies"; "Victory Day, May 8th 1945, Dan McCowan presents: Bye-gone days in Banff" (exact titles were based on title slides).
II. Mary E. (Fee) McCowan series consists of diaries, 1926-1957, photocopied from 12 volumes (19 cm); and letters from Dan McCowan, 1943. Diaries discuss joint travels, activities, lecture tours for CPR (Canada, U.S., U.K.), Banff, trail rides, skyline hikes, and Royal Visit, 1939
Notes
Both Dan and Mary McCowan have written identifications on the slide mounts
Fonds includes textual records and photographs pertaining to Whymper's Canadian trips, 1900-1909. Excerpts of diaries and "General Notes Upon the Canadian Rocky Mountains," 1900-1909, pertain to trans-Canada trip, 1900; Vermilion Pass, Yoho Valley and Ice River Valley explorations, 1901; observatio…
13 cm of textual records (904 p.). -- 36 photographs : copy negatives
History / Biographical
Edward Whymper, 1840-1911, was a renowned international mountaineer from London, England. On the strength of his reputation as a superior climber during the 1860s and conqueror of the Matterhorn, Whymper was engaged by the Canadian Pacific Railway for several seasons to assess conditions in the Canadian Rockies.
Scope & Content
Fonds includes textual records and photographs pertaining to Whymper's Canadian trips, 1900-1909.
Excerpts of diaries and "General Notes Upon the Canadian Rocky Mountains," 1900-1909, pertain to trans-Canada trip, 1900; Vermilion Pass, Yoho Valley and Ice River Valley explorations, 1901; observations on the CPR line, The Gap to Revelstoke, 1903; Yoho Valley, Crowsnest Pass explorations including Frank Slide, 1904; Field, 1905; Alpine Club of Canada Camp, Lake O'Hara, 1909. Whymper records detailed observations on scenery, CPR hotels and facilities, Swiss Guides, outfitters, etc. and proposes improvements.
Negatives are copies of Edward Whymper's photographs and notes from his trip to the Canadian Rockies, June to August 1901, and pertain mainly to Yoho National Park and the Lake Louise area. Includes sectional panorama views. Photographs were originally part of Whymper's report to the Surveyor-General of Canada.
Photographic prints pertain mainly to national park wardens, including Henry Ness, ca.1930; also, Banff Cafe Hockey Team, including Ness; and portraits of Ness and Lofstrand families, ca.1911. Transparencies are of relocation of the Philip and Pearl Moore house to the grounds of the Whyte Museum, …
ca.30 photographs : prints, transparencies, negatives. -- 1.5 cm of textual records. -- 1 sound recording : audio tape cassette
History / Biographical
Paul Henry Ness, ca.1908-2001, was a long-time resident of Banff, Alberta, Canada. Ness was born at nearby Bankhead, where he lived until age 6. He worked as a national park warden at Banff, ca.1930.
Scope & Content
Photographic prints pertain mainly to national park wardens, including Henry Ness, ca.1930; also, Banff Cafe Hockey Team, including Ness; and portraits of Ness and Lofstrand families, ca.1911. Transparencies are of relocation of the Philip and Pearl Moore house to the grounds of the Whyte Museum, 1971, 7 items: 35mm, colour.
Textual records include: Gems from Morant [correspondence and miscellaneous items from Nick Morant to Henry Ness], 1968-1990, 1 cm ; copies of diary and letter concerning trip by the Bradley, Johnson and Steen families to Clearwater area in 1928 (trip ended with the death of one member); story, "Saga of the Opium Pipe" by Henry Ness, 1998, 3 pages. Also, textual items, photographs and sound recording pertain to Henry Ness meeting with Chow family in Calgary, 1993. Chow Dung Hee, grandfather of the family, had been friends with the Ness family in Bankhead. Includes Chow family genealogy chart; notes by Helene Letnick; photocopies of photographs of the Chow Dung Hee family, 1923-1960s; six colour prints of Henry Ness and Chow Dung Hee's family at Calgary, 1993.
Fonds consists of personal and professional papers of Iva Smith, 1904-1973, and of Len Smith, 1935-1963; personal papers of Zaidee Stewart, 1905-1950; Smith family photographs, ca.1890-ca.1960; also newsclippings, tourist information, other print material. Iva Smith papers include personal correspo…
39 cm of textual records. -- ca.525 photographs : prints, negatives. -- 1 photograph album (ca.75 prints)
History / Biographical
Iva (Stewart) Smith , 1894-1975, and Leonard James Smith, 1890-1969, were business operators at Banff, Alberta, Canada. Iva Stewart and her mother Zaidee Stewart, 1875-1962, came to Banff as visitors in 1913 and decided to stay. Iva operated the Canadian Pacific Railway station news stand from 1914 until ca.1924. She married Len Smith in 1922.
After working at various other CPR facilities, including Lake Louise Chalet in the 1920s and Wapta Bungalow Camp, ca.1931, Iva Smith became manager of Becker's Bungalows on Tunnel Mountain in Banff, ca.1935 Len Smith worked at the Bow River boat house and was Captain of the "Lake Minnewanka" for over thirty years. He was also an ice-maker at Edmonton, Calgary, Lethbridge and Banff, Alberta for forty-five years. Zaidee M. Stewart worked at the boat operation tea house and wrote poetry, publishing "Banff Holiday" in 1950.
Scope & Content
Fonds consists of personal and professional papers of Iva Smith, 1904-1973, and of Len Smith, 1935-1963; personal papers of Zaidee Stewart, 1905-1950; Smith family photographs, ca.1890-ca.1960; also newsclippings, tourist information, other print material.
Iva Smith papers include personal correspondence, 1904-1973, and business papers pertaining to the CPR news stand, 1914-1924. Len Smith professional papers pertain to his work as boat engineer. Zaidee Stewart papers include correspondence, diaries, poetry and papers re the publication "Banff Holiday."
Family photographs pertaining to Iva and Len Smith, family, friends and associates, activities, careers, trips and world travels; Banff people, places and events, especially Banff Winter Carnival and Banff Indian Days; film making, including Pajamas (1926) and Eternal Love (1928); Lake Louise and Lake Minnewanka areas; canoeing; scenic views; and other collected items.