Fonds constitutes the principal resource for the study of the history of Canadian mountaineering. It provides a wealth of information on individual alpinists, expeditions, mountains, national parks, conservation, climbing, alpine organizations, publications, guiding, scientific study and the Alpin…
ca.42 m of textual records. -- ca.12,500 photographs: prints, stereographic prints, transparencies, slides, negatives, postcards. -- 85 photograph albums. -- 8 motion pictures: films, video recordings. -- 3 sound recordings
History / Biographical
The Alpine Club of Canada, the national mountaineering club, was co-founded in 1906 by A. O. Wheeler and Elizabeth Parker, and other like-minded climbers. The club espoused scientific study and exploration, cultivation of art, public education, acquisition of climbing skills, and preservation of natural areas within the mountainous regions of Canada. Through a national executive, local sections and volunteer committees, the club provided climbing camps, clubhouse, huts, and publications, including the Canadian Alpine Journal. ACC expeditions and projects resulted in pioneer exploration, first ascents, and included mountain warfare training during the Second World War. In recent years, the club's membership has increased dramatically with the popularity of climbing and its programs have evolved to serve the needs of unguided climbers using sophisticated technical aids.
Scope & Content
Fonds constitutes the principal resource for the study of the history of Canadian mountaineering. It provides a wealth of information on individual alpinists, expeditions, mountains, national parks, conservation, climbing, alpine organizations, publications, guiding, scientific study and the Alpine Club itself.
The fonds consists of four Sous-fonds: I. Alpine Club of Canada records; II. Mount Everest Expedition (1982) records; III. Personal papers and photographs; IV. Other material. Club administration records (series I.A.) pertain to executive positions; head office; finance; camps, climbing and treks; expeditions; huts and properties; clubhouses; library; publications; photography; other committees; other activities; and other. Other club records include section records (series I.B.), hut registers and summit records (series I.C.).
Fonds consists of three series: I. Mountain travel and recreation, western Canada (A. Trips and activities, 1931-1992; B. General, between 1928 and 1960). II. Personal (A. Photography notes, 1938-1996; B. World travel, ca.1930-ca.1950; C. Personal photographs, 1927-ca.1955). III. Other, between ca…
Robin Cyril (Bob) Hind, 1911-2000, was an electrical engineer and mountaineer at Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Hind was born on a farm in northern Alberta was educated at the University of Alberta, Edmonton. He was a Life Member of ACC, joining in 1933, and attended over 30 ACC camps, often with his family. Hind received the Silver Rope Award in 1935, was recipient of Centennial Medal, and served the ACC in offices of President, Vice-President and Chairman of Hut Committee.
In 1948, Bob Hind married Margaret (Peggy) Trotter, a fellow mountaineer and skier. Together they had two children. After Peggy Hind was killed in an avalanche in 1955, Hind married Marjory Bugler, and the couple had three more children. Marjory (Marj) Hind was a homemaker and mountaineer.
During his extensive mountaineering career, Bob Hind climbed most of the significant peaks in Rockies and Selkirks, including some first ascents. He also climbed in Wales and the Alps. Hind was active in the Calgary Tennis Club, the Boy Scout movement and was a member of the American Alpine Club and The Alpine Club, London. Bob Hind worked on electrical projects in Canada and Europe.
Scope & Content
Fonds consists of three series: I. Mountain travel and recreation, western Canada (A. Trips and activities, 1931-1992; B. General, between 1928 and 1960). II. Personal (A. Photography notes, 1938-1996; B. World travel, ca.1930-ca.1950; C. Personal photographs, 1927-ca.1955). III. Other, between ca.1925 and ca.1955.
Series I consists of photographs, motion pictures and textual records pertaining to mountaineering, hiking, travel, Alpine Club of Canada camps and activities in western Canada by Bob Hind, Bob and Marj Hind, and the Hind family.
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 sous-fonds: M521 and V75.
M521 consists of four series, 154 cm, ca.1870-2002. Series I: Dorothy Wardle Personal Papers, 69.5 cm, ca.1870-2002 (includes Dorothy's written work and research and notes related to Banff). Series II: Wardle Family, 32.5 cm, 1872-1998 (including cor…
154 cm of textual records. -- 1304 photographs (1190 prints, 95 negatives, 19 transparencies). -- 6 photograph albums.
History / Biographical
The Wardle family was comprised of husband and wife, James Morey Wardle (June 26,1888 - May 18,1971) and Maud Leette (Roney) Wardle (May 24,1889 - December 1,1969), and their one child, Dorothy Hope Wardle (May 23,1919 - July 20,2003).
James Wardle, born in Chiliwack, British Columbia, was a civil engineer and public servant. He was the Superintendent of Banff National Park from 1918-1921, Chief Engineer for Parks Canada from 1921-1935, and Deputy Minister of the Interior from 1935-1936. He is primarily known as a highway design engineer, particularly for building the Banff-Windermere, Banff-Lake Louise, and Banff-Jasper highways. He was a councillor for the Municipality of Rockcliffe Park in Ontario and he was the President of the Trail Riders of the Canadian Rockies in Banff from 1925-1929. Mount Wardle in Vermillion was named after him in 1921. James married Leette on November 4, 1913, with whom he had one child, Dorothy.
Born in Calgary, Alberta, Dorothy (also known as Dot and Dorie) grew up in Banff, Alberta and Ottawa, Ontario, due to her father's position with the federal government. She was educated at the Mountain School in Banff and at the Elmwood School in Ottawa. All three family members were graduates of Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. James graduated in 1912 with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering, Leette graduated with a Bachelor's degree, and in 1942, Dorothy also earned a Bachelor's degree. Dorothy was prominent in student life and active in athletics. In 1941, Dorothy became the first woman elected as President of the Alma Mater Society and during her academic career, Dorothy was a member of the Levana Intercollegiate Debative, University Centenary Committee, and Queen’s War Aid Commission.
Dorothy spent her career as a freelance writer however, upon graduation she served as the first Secretary-In-Charge of Records at Carleton College (now Carleton University) from 1942-1944 in Ottawa and in the mid-1950s worked as a secretary for the Glenbow Foundation in Calgary. Dorothy pursued a lifelong interest in traveling, art, and antiques. Although she was fiercely proud and protective of Banff and the Park, and remained a volunteer and patron of the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies, Dorothy eventually settled in Sidney, British Columbia and shared an apartment with Sheila Iris Ritchie, with whom Dorothy travelled extensively. After her death in 2003, Dorothy, "Dorie," was laid to rest alongside her parents in the Old Banff Cemetery.
Scope & Content
Fonds consists of two sous-fonds: M521 and V75.
M521 consists of four series, 154 cm, ca.1870-2002. Series I: Dorothy Wardle Personal Papers, 69.5 cm, ca.1870-2002 (includes Dorothy's written work and research and notes related to Banff). Series II: Wardle Family, 32.5 cm, 1872-1998 (including correspondence with Carl Rungius and Mrs. Helen Brett, and Christmas and other greeting cards from Peter and Catharine Whyte). Series III: Queen's University, 7.5 cm, 1911-1980 (including graduation certificates for each family member and records pertaining to Dorothy's participation on the Alma Mater Society). Series IV: Travel, 44.5 cm, ca.1950-1988 (includes hand-written notebooks meticulously detailing their travels).
V75 consists of two series, 79.5 cm, ca. 1912-2001. Series I: Wardle Family, ca. 1912-1971, 6 albums, 31 cm of photograph prints and negatives (including family trips, trail rides in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, and family gatherings). Series II: Dorothy Wardle, 1972-2001, 34 cm of photograph prints, negatives, and transparencies (including Dorothy's travels in Alberta and British Columbia, overseas, and various outings with friends).
File consists of three transparency slide photographs sent to Ben Gadd from Dave Thomas. Images pertain to a five-day ecology course near Suplhur Skyline Trail and Geraldine Lakes Trail which Ben led through the Jasper Institute in 1994. Images in file are accompanied by a letter from Dave to Ben, …
3 photographs : col. transparency slides ; 35 mm -- 1 textual record
Scope & Content
File consists of three transparency slide photographs sent to Ben Gadd from Dave Thomas. Images pertain to a five-day ecology course near Suplhur Skyline Trail and Geraldine Lakes Trail which Ben led through the Jasper Institute in 1994. Images in file are accompanied by a letter from Dave to Ben, thanking him for leading the program.
Fonds consists of three sous-fonds: M573 / V797 / S60.
M573 consists of three series, 26 cm of textual records, 1924-2005. Series I: Personal Papers, 19 cm, ca.1930-2005 (including notebooks and drafts of various talks that Jean delivered and records related to her participation in the Trail Rider…
26 cm of textual records.-- 109 photographs (42 prints, 67 lantern slides). -- 2 sound recordings.
History / Biographical
Jean Alexandra Hembroff was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba on April 5, 1908 to Walter B. Hembroff (d. 1945) and Sarah Jane Hembroff (d.1952). Jean was accepted to the MacPhail School of Music and Dramatic Art at the University of Minnesota, from which she graduated in 1927. She returned to Winnipeg to begin teaching courses in speech arts and drama. To establish herself, she first volunteered as the "story lady" at the Williams Avenue Public Library and quickly became known as an excellent speaker sought by many different organizations. She taught at St. Mary's Academy and the Evening Institute at the University of Manitoba, as well as offered private sessions. Many of her students used the skills they learned from Jean as they entered radio, television, politics, and business. Jean was also very active in organizing and adjucating Speech Arts festivals in Manitoba, often going to inaccessible places to give workshops. Her teaching, broadcasting, adjucating, coaching, and speaking career spanned more than 50 years.
Jean was hired by the Canadian Pacific Railway's promotions manager to give presentations and broadcast interviews across Canada and the United States. In 1937, Jean joined the Trail Riders of the Canadian Rockies and participated in their summer trail ride in the same year. For that year's issue of the Trail Rider's Bulletin Jean wrote an article - and became the first woman to ever do so. In 1938, during her lecture titled "Trail Riding in the Rockies" on January 18, 1938 at the Royal Alexandra Hotel, Jean met John David (Jack) MacDonald. Jack and Jean were married on June 18, 1938, and the couple had one son, Bruce Walter James MacDonald (August 28, 1946-August 25, 2016).
Jean participated in several trail rides with the Trail Riders of the Canadian Rockies and the Sky Line Trail, and produced articles reflecting her experiences. Jean loved to travel and visited places all around Canada and the United States, Borneo, Tangier, Montevideo, Stockholm, New Delhi, and Tonga. At the age of 102, Jean passed away on February 2, 2011 and is buried in Winnipeg.
Scope & Content
Fonds consists of three sous-fonds: M573 / V797 / S60.
M573 consists of three series, 26 cm of textual records, 1924-2005. Series I: Personal Papers, 19 cm, ca.1930-2005 (including notebooks and drafts of various talks that Jean delivered and records related to her participation in the Trail Riders of the Canadian Rockies and the Sky Line Hikers of the Canadian Rockies, particularly 1937-1939). Series II: Correspondence and Newspaper Clippings, 4 cm, 1924-2000 (including correspondence with John Murray Gibbon, former students, and attendees at various talks, as well as newspaper articles that Jean wrote about various subjects and articles of her achievements). Series III: Collected Materials and Ephemera, 3 cm, ca.1930-1950 (including a variety of collected poems and ephemera, as well as a copy of The Beaver Magazine from 1940, for which Jean wrote an article titled "On the Trail of Sir George").
V797 consists of two series, 24.5 cm of visual records, ca.1928-1939. Series I: Photograph Prints, 3 cm, ca.1928-1939 (includes personal photographs of Jean and her family and friends as well as photographs of Jean and Jack's visit to Lake Louise in 1939). Series II: Lantern Slides, 21.5 cm, ca.1937-1939 (Trail Riders of the Canadian Rockies official ride of 1937 to Mt. Assiniboine; Sky Line Hikers of the Canadian Rockies official ride of 1939 to Ptarmigan Valley and Skoki; collection of trail ride songs).
S60 consists of two sound recordings, 1 cm, 2004 and 2007 (Winnipeg at Christmas, narrated by Jean, broadcasted on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation).
Fonds consists of papers, photographs and sound recording produced by and pertaining to Jimmy Simpson and the Simpson family. Material is arranged in seven series. I. Jimmy Simpson Sr. papers and photographs, ca.1901-1972, ca.74 cm of textual records, 23 photograph albums (ca.2875 prints), 425 tra…
2.5 m textual records. -- ca.1605 photographs: ca.755 prints, 410 negatives, ca.430 transparencies. -- 29 photograph albums (ca.3000 prints). -- 1 sound recording: audio disc
History / Biographical
Justin James McCarthy (Jimmy) Simpson, 1877-1972, was a trapper, guide and outfitter and lodge owner at Banff and Bow Lake, Alberta, Canada. Born in Stamford, Lincolnshire, Simpson was sent to Canada by his family in 1896. He worked briefly at Laggan (Lake Louise), Alberta for the Canadian Pacific Railway, travelled extensively and returned to the Rockies to work on the trail and trap. By the early 1900s, he was a successful guide and outfitter with Carl Rungius and the Alpine Club of Canada as clients. Starting in 1920, Simpson began building Num-Ti-Jah Lodge at Bow Lake as a base for hunting and climbing parties. Simpson and Williamina (Billie) Ross Reid, 1891-1968, married in 1916 and had three children. The lodge was run mainly by Billie Simpson and in 1945 the business was turned over to Jimmy Simpson Jr., 1922-2003 . Daughters Margaret Simpson, 1917-1941, and Mary Simpson (Hallock), 1919-2002, were internationally-famous figure skaters.
Scope & Content
Fonds consists of papers, photographs and sound recording produced by and pertaining to Jimmy Simpson and the Simpson family. Material is arranged in seven series.
I. Jimmy Simpson Sr. papers and photographs, ca.1901-1972, ca.74 cm of textual records, 23 photograph albums (ca.2875 prints), 425 transparencies. Includes business and personal correspondence, business records and subject files, 1903-1972; literary papers, 1912-1972; and other papers, 1903- 1957. Business records pertain mainly to guiding, outfitting and hunting operations. Correspondents include Carl Rungius, J. Monroe Thorington, L. S. Amery, Louis Agassiz Fuertes, William S. Ladd, C. Hart Merriam, Allan Brooks and others; also federal and provincial government departments, Canadian Pacific Railway, etc., regarding hunting, game regulations, park boundaries, licences, permits, horses, etc. Albums pertain mainly to hunting trips, including those with Carl Rungius, Caroline Hinman and McAleenan family, ca.1901-ca.1920, 23 items. Transparencies pertain to McAleenan family trips.
II. Simpson family papers, photographs and sound recording, ca.1900-1987, ca.1.5 m of textual records, ca.675 photographic prints, 6 photograph albums (ca.460 prints), 410 photographic negatives, 1 sound recording. Textual records include large series of alphabetical files, 1907-1987; correspondence, ca.1910-ca.1985; school records, 1923-1936; Num-Ti-Jah Lodge registers, 1939-1957; other material, 1929-1942. Photographs pertain to Jimmy Simpson and family; friends and guests; lodges and camps, including Num-Ti-Jah Lodge; Banff home and community; pack trips; scenic views; other.
III. Billie Simpson papers, 1913-1968, 6.5 cm of textual records. Includes Billie Simpson correspondence, literary and dramatic papers.
IV. Simpson Sisters professional papers and photographs, 1929-1955, ca.20 cm and 3 v. of textual material, ca.15 cm of print material, 86 photographic prints. Material pertains to the professional skating career of Margaret Simpson and Mary Simpson.
V. Mary Simpson Hallock papers, 1960-1955, 1.5 cm of textual records.
VI. Jimmy Simpson Jr. papers, 1947-1983, 1 cm of textual records.
VII. Other material, before 1970, 1 cm of textual records and art works.
Fonds consists of club records. Textual records include by-laws, 1979; minutes, 1949-1984; presidents' records, 1974-1983; financial records, membership records and dues receipts; newsletters, 1978-1994; clippings and articles, after 1946; Lake O'Hara region south area map elements and published ve…
ca. 34 cm of textual records. -- 630 photographs : transparencies, prints
History / Biographical
The Lake O'Hara Trails Club was established 1948, dissolved in 1962 and reactivated in 1969 to create, improve and maintain a system of trails in the Lake O'Hara region of Yoho National Park, British Columbia. Later work involved providing information on the region to visitors, publishing maps and historical works, and continuing the efforts of founders, George K. K. Link and A. Carson Simpson.
Scope & Content
Fonds consists of club records.
Textual records include by-laws, 1979; minutes, 1949-1984; presidents' records, 1974-1983; financial records, membership records and dues receipts; newsletters, 1978-1994; clippings and articles, after 1946; Lake O'Hara region south area map elements and published versions; and correspondence between Dr. George K. K. Link, members and others, 1960-1978.
Photographs consist mainly of Lake O'Hara Trails Club slide library pertaining to landscape, flora and fauna of the region, also portraits of Dr. Link; ca.1950-1981; 625 items. Photographers / contributors to slide library include Lillian Gest, D. M. Hehir, Frank and Ruth Henderson, Jane Hopkinson, John Hutchinson, Richard Turnbull and others. Prints pertain to ascent of Mount Lefroy, 1925, 5 items.
Fonds consist of four separate series: A. I.A. Photography: negatives; B. I.C. Photography: transparencies, 35mm; C. I.D. Photography: prints; D. I.B. Photography: lantern slides. Fonds consists mainly of scenic transparency views arising from Leacock's climbs, hikes, horse and car trips in the Can…
ca.5100 photographs (ca.4450 transparencies, ca.575 negatives, ca.90 prints). -- 17 cm of textual records (including several volumes). -- 4 sound recordings
History / Biographical
Leonard Henry Leacock, 1904-1992, was a musician and educator at Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Leacock was born in England and raised in Banff, Alberta. He was educated in Banff and Boston and through the Royal Conservatory of Music, Toronto, and the Royal School of Music, London, England. Leacock joined the staff of Mount Royal College, Calgary as a piano teacher in 1924 and retired from teaching ca.1989. His music career also included performing, composing and adjudicating. Throughout his life, Leacock was an avid mountaineer and photographer. He took numerous hiking and horse trips in the Banff, Jasper and Yoho areas and sometimes worked in trail camps or as a guide.
Scope & Content
Fonds consist of four separate series: A. I.A. Photography: negatives; B. I.C. Photography: transparencies, 35mm; C. I.D. Photography: prints; D. I.B. Photography: lantern slides.
Fonds consists mainly of scenic transparency views arising from Leacock's climbs, hikes, horse and car trips in the Canadian Rockies and Selkirks from the Crowsnest Pass through Jasper National Park, ca.1939 to 1984. Also included are travels in Yukon, Canada and the United States, including Alaska. Negatives date from 1925 to 1940? and pertain to Assiniboine, Lake Louise, Banff, Banff-Jasper, Columbia Icefield and other mountain areas; also natural history, including wildflowers and wildlife. A small number of negatives are accompanied by prints. Other prints pertain to Leacock, family, events and scenic views.
Textual records include letters, 1926-1986, 1 cm; diaries, 1930-1934, 1943, 2 items; scrapbooks and clippings, 1931-1936, ca.6 cm; manuscript scores of vocal and instrumental music, before 1985, 8 cm; concert programmes for which Leacock wrote the notes, 1962-1969, 37 items; other concert programmes, [ca.1945]-1986, 2 cm; writings, 1924, 1928, n.d., 4 items; other material, 1931-1987, 8 items. Diaries pertain to Leacock's personal life, giving details of musical, writing, artistic and dramatic activities; teaching and tour guiding; hikes and climbs in the Canadian Rockies; and friends, including Herbert Hahn and Stewart Cameron. Some letters are from Earle Birney, 1926-1978.
Sound recordings are interviews with Leacock re his career in music, including performing, composing and teaching; also music played by Leacock. Also includes one cassette recording [ca.1985-1992] of Doug Hawkes interviewing Leacock re: a pack trip he went on around 1931 between Gleichen and Jasper and back; cassette includes a story of a camp trip at Castlegar.
Fonds consists of textual and visual records pertaining to Malcolm Geddes, as well as his immediate family: wife Jennie (Waters) Geddes, and children Alvin and Enid Geddes; and extended family members. Fonds includes records related to Malcolm's work as a poet and author (including original drafts …
Some views are by Malcolm Geddes; many were obtained through other sources
Date Range
[1896-2013]
Physical Description
444 photographs: 385 b&w and col. transparencies, 59 b&w prints -- 1 album (28 b&w prints) -- 11 cm of textual records
History / Biographical
Malcolm Daniel Geddes, 1866-1927, was a journalist, publisher and mountaineer at Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Geddes was one of the founders of the "Farmers and Ranch Review" in 1904, and served as vice-president and editor until his death. He joined the Alpine Club of Canada in 1917, was active in ACC summer camps and served as Honorary Secretary from 1924 to 1926. Geddes was killed in a mountaineering accident on Mount Lefroy in 1927.
Scope & Content
Fonds consists of textual and visual records pertaining to Malcolm Geddes, as well as his immediate family: wife Jennie (Waters) Geddes, and children Alvin and Enid Geddes; and extended family members. Fonds includes records related to Malcolm's work as a poet and author (including original drafts and publications), Malcolm's career in real estate, family letters, financial records, records of mountain ascents and hikes with the Alpine Club of Canada, family trees and genealogical research, and other related materials.
Notes
Fonds consists of three series:
Series I : Professional records
I / A : Published materials
I / B : Manuscripts and notes
I / C : Professional correspondence
Series II : Financial records
Series III : Personal and family records
III / A : Travel and mountain expeditions
III / B : Genealogy and research
III / C : Other personal and family records
Arrangement of fonds was redone by Processing Archivist Kate Skelton between December 2020 and March 2021 to accommodate unprocessed materials from accessions 7846, 2014.8306 and 2015.8558