Fonds consists of materials pertaining to Ben Gadd's personal life and career as an environmental researcher, educator, interpretive guide, publisher, public speaker and author, ca.1956-2018. Fonds includes maps, research materials, publication notes/drafts, correspondence, contracts, photographs, …
ca. 7.9 metres of textual records -- ca. 274 maps -- 29 VHS tapes -- ca.15 discs with digital files -- 21 cassettes -- photographs -- oversized materials -- USB stick with 15 sldeshows
History / Biographical
Ben Gadd (1946-) is a retired naturalist, guide, geologist, instructor, freelance writer and award-winning author based in the Canadian Rockies.
Ben was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado in 1946. He met his wife, Cia (Langdon) Gadd at Colorado College in 1965, and the couple married four weeks later. Ben and Cia had two sons, Will and Toby. Ben and his family relocated to Jasper in the late 1960s. Ben later attended the University of Lethbridge and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Earth Science in 1972.
Between 1976 and 1980, Ben taught classes at Mount Royal College and the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology; he later taught additional classes at Grant MacEwan College and Lakeland College. From 1981, Ben also worked as a seasonal naturalist/guide for Parks Canada. Ben left Parks Canada in 1985 to start an independent naturalist guiding business with Cia based in Jasper and other parts of the Canadian Rockies, which the couple continued to operate for over two decades.
Ben published his best-known work, "Handbook of the Canadian Rockies", through his publishing company Corax Press in 1986. The second edition of "Handbook of the Canadian Rockies" received multiple awards after its release in 1995. Ben's fiction book, "Raven's End" won the title of Best Canadian Rockies Book at the Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival in 2001 and became a Canadian bestseller. Overall, Ben has authored or co-authored 11 books and received nearly one dozen awards for his achievements as a writer, researcher and guide.
Ben continued to lead guided hikes and school programs until his retirement in 2016.
Scope & Content
Fonds consists of materials pertaining to Ben Gadd's personal life and career as an environmental researcher, educator, interpretive guide, publisher, public speaker and author, ca.1956-2018. Fonds includes maps, research materials, publication notes/drafts, correspondence, contracts, photographs, video and sound recordings, and other related material. Materials donated in 2024 include one USB stick containing
Notes
Ben Gadd fonds arrangement:
Series I : Personal records
- Subseries A : Travel guides and maps
- Subseries B : Education and early writings
- Subseries C : Personal interest files
- Subseries D : Other personal and collected
Series II : Research and publication records
- Subseries A : Handbook of the Canadian Rockies
- Subseries B : Other publications
Series III : Professional records
- Subseries A : Parks Canada Records
- Subseries B : Interpretive guiding
- Subseries C : Teaching records
- Subseries D : Other contracts and projects
Series IV : Legal and financial records
- Subseries A : Legal records
- Subseries B : Financial records
File consists of 5 cm of handwritten and typed correspondence, 23 x 34 cm or smaller. File pertains to correspondence between Carl Rungius and the Wardle family, as well as correspondence between Dorothy and Jon Whyte regarding gifting copies to the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies. File docume…
File consists of 5 cm of handwritten and typed correspondence, 23 x 34 cm or smaller. File pertains to correspondence between Carl Rungius and the Wardle family, as well as correspondence between Dorothy and Jon Whyte regarding gifting copies to the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies. File documents, among other things, the death of Louise (Carl's wife) in 1940; exhibiting Carl's work in the National Gallery of Canada, 1942 and 1956; and Carl's visits to the Wardle family home in Ottawa. Records also include a postcard and two Mayfair articles from 1943.
Notes
In 1983, Dorothy gifted photocopies of Carl's correspondence with her family. In 2003, the originals were donated as part of Dorothy's estate. The photocopies (accn. 5296) were discarded.
Carl Rungius was a wildlife and landscape painter who frequented and had a studio in Banff. The Wardle family was good friends with Rungius.
File consists of 6 published pamphlets and booklets, and an undated "Red Cross Banff" paper logo. Content pertains to a Teacher's Association event in Calgary in 1939; the Calgary Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals; a collection of transcribed letters sent to William McMurray of the H…
1.2 cm of textual records (6 volumes ; 17.5 x 21 cm or smaller)
Scope & Content
File consists of 6 published pamphlets and booklets, and an undated "Red Cross Banff" paper logo. Content pertains to a Teacher's Association event in Calgary in 1939; the Calgary Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals; a collection of transcribed letters sent to William McMurray of the Hudson's Bay Company which were read before the Historical and Scientific Society of Manitoba [1950]; a report by the Social Science Research Council of Canada; Alberta Blue Cross membership information; and a copy of "Pioneer Naturalists of the Rocky Mountains and the Selkirks" published for the Calgary Field Naturalists' Society with a note to Eleanor Luxton from author Beryl Hallworth.
Fonds consists of interviews, research notes,manuscripts, printed and digital photographs, and other materials produced and collected by Chic Scott between 1982 and 2021. Content pertains to Chic's various publications and research projects, the Canadian Himalayan Foundation, the Canadian '82 Evere…
Sound recordings: 224 audio tape cassettes, 7 audio tape reels. -- 78 CD-ROM. with digital files -- Moving images: 148 videocassettes: 133 Hi8, 15 VHS. ; 149 DVDs -- 4.2 m textual records
History / Biographical
Charles (Chic) C. Scott, b.1945, is a mountaineer, mountain guide and writer based in Banff, Alberta, Canada. Scott climbed extensively in the western Canada and the Himalayas until the mid-1970s. He guided extensively in the European Alps for five seasons, ca.1970, and worked as a climber for "The Eiger Sanction," a Hollywood movie starring Clint Eastwood. Scott resumed climbing in 1988, after a period working at the University of Calgary. His publications include "Alpinism," editor, "Ski Trails in the Canadian Rockies," "The History of the Calgary Mountain Club", "Summits and Icefields", "Pushing the Limits: the Story of Canadian Mountaineering", "Powder Pioneers : Ski Stories from the Canadian Rockies and Columbia Mountains", and "Deep Powder and Steep Rock : the Life of Mountain Guide Hans Gmoser".
Scope & Content
Fonds consists of interviews, research notes,manuscripts, printed and digital photographs, and other materials produced and collected by Chic Scott between 1982 and 2021. Content pertains to Chic's various publications and research projects, the Canadian Himalayan Foundation, the Canadian '82 Everest Expedition, and collected and personal materials. Items in fonds are arranged mostly by individual projects/areas of research.
Notes
Fonds consists of 15 series:
Series I : Pushing the Limits
Series II : Mountain Romantics
Series III : Summits and Icefields
Series IV : Powder Pioneers
Series V : Deep Powder and Steep Rock
Series VI : Ski Trails of the Canadian Rockies
Series VII : Hans Gmoser Film Collection
Series VIII : The Canadian Himalayan Foundation
Series IX : The Book of Mortimer
Series X : Tommy and Lawrence
Series XI : The Yam
Series XII :Calgary Mountain Club
Series XIII : Young at Heart
Series XIV : Chic Scott personal records
Series XV : A LIFE IN THE WILD: The Story of Mountain Explorer John Baldwin
Access to interviews limited to VHS reference compilations.
Series consists of notes, research materials, correspondence, newspaper clippings and other personal records collected by Chic Scott. Content pertains to publication projects, biographies, Chic Scott and Kathy Madill's wedding, and the 1982 Everest Expedition.
Series consists of notes, research materials, correspondence, newspaper clippings and other personal records collected by Chic Scott. Content pertains to publication projects, biographies, Chic Scott and Kathy Madill's wedding, and the 1982 Everest Expedition.
File consists of event invitations, programmes and newsletters sent to Eleanor Luxton by various organizations, clubs and associations between 1974 and 1993. Includes content pertaining to the Canadian Broadcasting League, the University of Alberta President's Club, the Whyte Museum of the Canadian…
File consists of event invitations, programmes and newsletters sent to Eleanor Luxton by various organizations, clubs and associations between 1974 and 1993. Includes content pertaining to the Canadian Broadcasting League, the University of Alberta President's Club, the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies, Concordia University, the Kinette Club of Banff, the Arctic Institute of North America, the Glenbow Museum, the Royal Society of Canada, the Canadian Plains Research Center, and other organizations.
Notes
Some items are annotated
Folder LUX / II / C1 / 34 contains invitations and programmes; LUX / II / C1 / 35 and 36 contain newsletters
File consists of scanned and original copies of newspaper clippings, a full copy of The Edmonton Journal from 1953, correspondence, an event programme, two calendars and a local hockey newsletter/booklet. Contents pertain to news of Jack and Karin MacAulay's professional achievements and a brief we…
Some items published by the Crag and Canyon and the Edmonton Journal
Date Range
1946
1953
[ca. 1960]
1962
1965
1970 - 1971
1979 - 1980
Physical Description
1.5 cm of textual records
Scope & Content
File consists of scanned and original copies of newspaper clippings, a full copy of The Edmonton Journal from 1953, correspondence, an event programme, two calendars and a local hockey newsletter/booklet. Contents pertain to news of Jack and Karin MacAulay's professional achievements and a brief wedding announcement from 1946; a rescue mission in which Jack and Ted MacAulay assisted in rescuing a trapped mountain climber in 1953; a 1962 Community Scholarship Concert event programme; Jack's selection as Sportsman of the Year in Banff in 1965; the opening of the Banff Scout-Guide Hall; Banff Minor Hockey League calendars 1970 - 1971; a thank you letter for Jack MacAulay's assistance, from The Canadian Figure Skating Association; and events/news from the Alberta Amateur Hockey Association 1979 - 1980.
Notes
Dates provided for 4 scanned newspaper articles based on time of publication [originally published 1946]; date(s) of scanned physical copies unknown.
File consists of 8 cm of textual records, 65 x 40 cm or smaller. File pertains to the personal and professional records of the Wardle family, particularly James M. Wardle. Records include: birth certificates for each family member (James Morey Wardle, 1888; Leette (Roney) Wardle, 1889; and Dorothy …
File consists of 8 cm of textual records, 65 x 40 cm or smaller. File pertains to the personal and professional records of the Wardle family, particularly James M. Wardle. Records include: birth certificates for each family member (James Morey Wardle, 1888; Leette (Roney) Wardle, 1889; and Dorothy Hope Wardle, 1919); James and Leette's marriage certificate from 1913; proof of age certificates and various notes on family (Roney) history; records pertaining to the family plot in the Old Banff Cemetery (including a photocopy of a blueprint plan of the cemetery grounds); records pertaining to the estates of James (d. 1971) and Leette (d. 1969); miscellaneous family items (including records about Dorothy's cousin Jack WIlliams who died overseas during World War II); photocopies of records pertaining to appointments and certificates for James (including his appointment to Deputy Minister of the Interior in 1935); and James' shares with the Alaska Yukon Pipeline (1966-1967). Records also include newspaper clippings (Banff Crag and Canyon, Calgary Herald) and various correspondence (related to the material) interspersed throughout.
M521 / II / A / 1 : Includes James Wardle's original birth certificate. In okay condition (some tears), currently in mylar. Consider digitizing.
M521 / II / A / 7 : The original shareholder certificate was ripped and then heavily taped back together. It is currently in mylar but could present issues in the future. Consider digitizing.