Fonds consists of personal photographs, biographical notes, memoir drafts and other collected materials pertaining to Robert Neville (Bob) Smith. Fonds also includes plans and maps pertaining to the development of land near Lake Minnewanka and the Cascade Power Plant project (1943).
ca.300 photographs : b&w and col. prints ; 12 x 18 cm or smaller -- 7 cm of textual records -- 7 topographical maps/plans -- 8 postcards
History / Biographical
Robert Neville (Bob) Smith (1926-2021) was born in Banff. He was the only child of parents Enoch Smith and Laurene Smith (nee Munson). Bob grew up near Lake Minnewanka until 1941, when a hydro dam was installed resulting in the intentional flooding of the area. The family moved to Banff, where Bob met his future wife, Mary Parkinson. The couple were married in 1953 and moved to Seebe, where they raised two daughters, Marjory and Shirley.
Bob worked for Calgary Power Co. (later renamed TransAlta Utilities) from 1953 until his retirement in 1986. In his spare time, Bob founded the Bow Valley Camera Club and the Bow Valley Naturalists organization. In 1999, Bob was part of a successful project with the Bow Valley Naturalists to designate the Mount Yamnuska area as a Bow Valley Protected Area, following 25 years of lobbying with the Government of Alberta. Bob also formed the Meanderthals seniors hiking club in 1993 and led various local hiking trips in his later years.
Scope & Content
Fonds consists of personal photographs, biographical notes, memoir drafts and other collected materials pertaining to Robert Neville (Bob) Smith. Fonds also includes plans and maps pertaining to the development of land near Lake Minnewanka and the Cascade Power Plant project (1943).
Fonds consists of photographic views of Bankhead Colleries and townsite by W. H. Aldridge. They were originally published in "Canadian Mining Review", ca.1904
Walter Hull Aldridge, b.1867, was a Canadian mining engineer employed by the Canadian Pacific Railway
Scope & Content
Fonds consists of photographic views of Bankhead Colleries and townsite by W. H. Aldridge. They were originally published in "Canadian Mining Review", ca.1904
Fonds consists of Anderson's reminiscence of life and work at Bankhead, 1905-1928, and photographic views of Bankhead by John Craig and Harry Pollard. Reminiscence describes conditions at the coal mine, town amenities and personalities.
1 textual record (2 p.). -- 10 photographs : prints
History / Biographical
James R. Anderson, 1896-1982, was a civil servant at Banff, Alberta, Canada who formerly lived at Bankhead, Alberta.
Scope & Content
Fonds consists of Anderson's reminiscence of life and work at Bankhead, 1905-1928, and photographic views of Bankhead by John Craig and Harry Pollard. Reminiscence describes conditions at the coal mine, town amenities and personalities.
Elliott Chappel Barnes, 1866-1938, was a rancher, outfitter and trail guide and professional photographer at Kootenay Plains, Banff and Jumping Pound, Alberta. Barnes was born in Rochester, New York in 1866. In the early 1890s he travelled throughout the American Rockies supporting himself as an itinerant photographer. In 1905, Barnes and his family immigrated to Canada and homesteaded on the Kootenay Plains. For a short time, Barnes ran a small outfitting operation out of Banff, mostly dealing with the newly-created Alpine Club of Canada and its members. Also, while wintering in Banff during 1907-1908, he worked briefly with Byron Harmon in the photographic business. Following this association, Barnes upgraded from a small "pocket" Kodak camera to a 5x7 Graflex with a stereo adaptor. Utilizing this camera, he published a set of stereo view-cards and custom postcards. In 1908, Barnes moved to a homestead at Little Jumping Pound Creek in the foothills west of Calgary and abandoned photography as a profession. After several farming ventures near Calgary, the family moved into the city, where Elliott Barnes died in 1938.
Scope & Content
Fonds pertains to: Elliott Barnes and Barnes family; pack trips; wildlife; Alaska trip; Eau Claire logging operations in Spray Valley; Jumping Pound homestead, Morley and S-L Ranch; Sawback Lake trip; bear hunting trip; Banff area views; Paradise Valley ACC camp; hockey at Banff; Stoney Indians at Kootenay Plains; Bankhead mine site and operations; winter trip; Mount Rainer, Washington; other (mainly people, places and activities)
Notes
A detailed biography of Elliott Barnes can be found in: "A Delicate Wilderness: The Photography of Elliott Barnes, 1905- 1914" by Edward Cavell (Banff: Altitude Publishing and the Whyte Foundation, 1983).
Fonds consists of: I. Personal papers, 1897-1967, pertaining to family, education, military service, etc. II. Professional and business papers, 1908-1957, re Consolidated Mining and Smelting Co. of Canada, private mining ventures, Brewster and Moore outfitting, Brewster Transfer Co., and Brewster …
ca.50 cm of textual records. -- 113 photographs : prints
History / Biographical
Frederick Archibald Brewster, 1883-1969, was an outfitter and guide at Jasper, Alberta, Canada. Brewster was born in Kildonan, Manitoba and in 1888 moved with his family to Banff, where he received his education. He subsequently attended St. John's College, Winnipeg, Manitoba and Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, obtaining a B.Sc. in Mining Engineering. Brewster worked briefly as a prospector and in 1910 embarked upon a long career as an outfitter and guide, first with Brewster and Moore. He established operations in Jasper in 1912 and was responsible for important parties, including those of Samuel Prescott Fay and the United States Biological Survey. Brewster served with distinction in the First World War and was involved with mountain warfare training of the Lovat Scouts in the Second World War. He supplemented his outfitting business with a series of camps which doubled as ski lodges: Fred Brewster's Rocky Mountain Camps, and boat concessions.
Scope & Content
Fonds consists of: I. Personal papers, 1897-1967, pertaining to family, education, military service, etc. II. Professional and business papers, 1908-1957, re Consolidated Mining and Smelting Co. of Canada, private mining ventures, Brewster and Moore outfitting, Brewster Transfer Co., and Brewster Trading Co., Samuel Prescott Fay, Lovat Scouts, Jasper, etc. Includes scrapbook titled "Mt. Sir Alexander," 1912-1967, attributed to Fred Brewster, consisting of clippings, articles and maps re the discovery, naming, ascents, etc. of Mount Sir Alexander, also text of speech delivered by Brewster at the opening of the Banff-Jasper Highway. Also includes Samuel Prescott Fay journal from 1914 hunting trip, photocopy. III. Newsclippings and magazines, 1930-1969. IV. Book, "Lord of the Lakes and Forest" by Augustus Moore. V. Photographs, ca.1887-ca.1967, pertaining to Fred Brewster outfitting operations, associates, clients, camps, lodges and facilities; Brewster family and friends; Fred Brewster college and university associates.
Fonds consists of a portion of an untitled report analysing the Pablo-Allard buffalo roundup, including individuals involved, sale of the herd, and controversy surrounding slaughter of old bulls. Includes a letter, dated Nov. 16, 1911, from Howard Douglas to W. P. Wharton of the American Bison Soc…
Fonds consists of a portion of an untitled report analysing the Pablo-Allard buffalo roundup, including individuals involved, sale of the herd, and controversy surrounding slaughter of old bulls. Includes a letter, dated Nov. 16, 1911, from Howard Douglas to W. P. Wharton of the American Bison Society re the Canadian Government's buffalo at Wainwright, Elk Island and Banff, Alberta.
Fonds consists of notes on Bankhead, Alberta, Canada made in conversation with Bill Craig; notes transcribed by Bill Craig re Banff High School students and teachers, 1913 to 1944; Anne Craig time sheet, 1945; photographic views of the town of Bankhead taken by John Craig; views of Banff and area; …
Bill Craig, 1902-2002, lived at Bankhead and Banff, Alberta, Canada
Scope & Content
Fonds consists of notes on Bankhead, Alberta, Canada made in conversation with Bill Craig; notes transcribed by Bill Craig re Banff High School students and teachers, 1913 to 1944; Anne Craig time sheet, 1945; photographic views of the town of Bankhead taken by John Craig; views of Banff and area; one photograph of Craig with Jim Boyce and W. LaCasse, 1940s?
Fonds pertains to the Big Bend river system, survey camp and boating on Columbia River, British Columbia, 1947, 12 items; also, Canadian Pacific Railway train(s) near the Great Divide, 1946. There is some duplication among material
Rey Marr, b.1916, of Twin Butte, Alberta, Canada, worked for the Dominion Water Power Survey from May to December 1947
Scope & Content
Fonds pertains to the Big Bend river system, survey camp and boating on Columbia River, British Columbia, 1947, 12 items; also, Canadian Pacific Railway train(s) near the Great Divide, 1946. There is some duplication among material
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 consists of research files on Lizzie Rummel (textual) and research interviews by Ruth Oltmann, as part of her research on the Kananaskis Valley; with: Eileen Langille, Chris Bearns, Joanne Goodwin, Gordon and Ida Matthews, Clarence and Jenny Sage, Jack S. Charlesworth, Art Krowchuk, Bruno Eng…
Ruth Oltmann, b.1937, has been a youth hostel operator, lodge and camp cook, tourism industry worker, and writer in the Kananaskis, Canmore and Exshaw, Alberta, Canada areas since 1970. Her writing career began in 1974, when she contributed to a chapter on environmental history as part of "The Mountain Environment and Urban Society, Kananaskis Pilot Study," a project of the University of Calgary's Environmental Sciences Centre at Kananaskis, Alberta. Oltmann continued her research and writing, publishing "The valley of rumours: the Kananaskis" (Seebe, Alberta: Ribbon Creek Publishing, 1979) and "Lizzie Rummel: Baroness of the Canadian Rockies" (Seebe, Alberta: Ribbon Creek Publishing, 1983).
Scope & Content
Fonds consists of research files on Lizzie Rummel (textual) and research interviews by Ruth Oltmann, as part of her research on the Kananaskis Valley; with: Eileen Langille, Chris Bearns, Joanne Goodwin, Gordon and Ida Matthews, Clarence and Jenny Sage, Jack S. Charlesworth, Art Krowchuk, Bruno Engler, Cord Tietzen. Pertain to human history of the Kananaskis Valley, including mining, lumber industry, hunting and guiding, power and road development, recreation, film making, and community life; Ribbon Creek village, personalities, events, buildings, etc.; Kananaskis Ranger Station; Kananaskis prisoner-of-war camp; natural history of the region, including wildlife, forests and fishing resources.
Notes
Transcripts of interviews with Eileen Langille and Joanne Goodwin are included in "The Mountain Environment and Urban Society: Kananaskis Pilot Study" (Calgary: University of Calgary, 1974)