Peaks and People

The Banff Paradox:            Everyone's Serene Getaway from Everyone Else Guest Writer Gemma Tarling, Summer Interpreter 2018  A mere 9,658 people call Banff home, yet the popular tourist destination receives millions of visitors every year (Enns 2018). Since 1885, when the Canadian Government established the area as the Hot Springs Reserve, the township has been orchestrated with tourism in mind. Diverse marketing campaigns draw people from all backgrounds to this idyllic destination: for skiing, hiking, pristine views of the Canadian Rockies, or maybe to stay at the monumental Fairmont Banff Springs hotel. From the start, Banff has been sustained by its visitors, but how have modern advancements in technology changed the way that those visitors come to and interact with the parks? Reflecting on my summer here drew to my attention the juxtaposition of the history of Banff I relate on tours and the current state of the town. The...

Mary's Animals A Selection of Fauna from the Canadian Rocky Mountains Part II  Mary Schäffer Warren captured more than just the landscapes and botanical specimens of the Canadian Rockies in her images. She was also able to capture the life that lived and thrived in these mountains. The sheer diversity shown by Mary's photographs and lantern slides illustrates the ecological diversity of the Rocky Mountains.  As previously stated in Part One, Mary's Flowers: A Selection  of Flora from the Canadian Rocky Mountains , her attention to the detail of colour was accomplished through the laborious job of hand-colouring each picture and slide.   We can imagine what it was like to be in her shoes, traversing through the Rocky Mountains and stumbling across a wide range of wildlife. Born and raised as an upper-class woman in Pennsylvania, she had a lot to experience and learn. Want to find out more about Mary Schäffer Warren? You can pick up h...

The Work of Giants Glaciology and Glacial Retreat in the Canadian Rockies Guest Writer Eden Luymes,  Summer Interpreter 2018  The Illecillewaet Glacier in 1898, with the glacier’s extent in 1887 marked on a rock. For centuries, glaciers have been hard at work. Like giant sculptors, ancient glaciers carved out entire valleys and chiseled towering mountains. They continue to supply lakes, rivers, and even distant oceans with water. They are ever changing; always moving and flowing. The only constant for these impressive giants is change. However, that change is becoming increasingly rapid, and increasingly permanent: our glaciers are retreating.  The first people to study glaciers in the Canadian Rockies were the Vaux family. A Quaker family from Philadelphia, they first visited these mountains in the summer of 1887, and would make many return trips to the region. Mary, George, and William Vaux, all siblings, took an interest in these glaciers whe...

Shop Features: Coffee Table Books Our shop features a wide range of coffee table books that are intended to inspire, spark conversations, and illustrate the sheer beauty of the world we live in. Flipping through their pages allows the reader to immerse themselves in both the imagery and the evocative texts.   Below is just a segment of what is available in the shop!  Great Bear Wild: Dispatches from a Northern Rainforest By Ian McAllister, Forward by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. $50 +GST An exceptionally detailed book that illustrates the biodiversity of the Great Bear Rainforest and the current threats to its sustainability.  An excerpt from the front jacket states, "In eloquent, evocative prose, McAllister portrays the rainforest's rhythms. We meet Gitga'at elders from the small community of Hartley Bay, Heiltsuk engaged in the traditional herring roe fishery, and scientists devoted to studying the region's fascinating ret...

Mary's Flowers  A Selection of Flora from the Canadian Rocky Mountains Part I [Jonas Pass?], [ca.1900 - 192-], Mary Schäffer fonds (V527/PS/1/390) Mary Schäffer's fascination with natural history was ingrained in her from a young age, through her Quaker education. Her father was an avid mineralogist and took her on many trips. The stories told by family members of the west, its landscape, and Indigenous Peoples sparked a keen interest in her to see it for herself.  Family trips to California and to Alaska reaffirmed her interest in Indigenous Peoples and their way of life. In 1889, she boarded the Canadian Pacific Railway from Montreal to Vancouver. The stop at Glacier House, in the Selkirk Mountains would forever change her life. Here she was introduced to Dr. Charles  Schäffer , who was extremely interested in the botany of the region. After they had returned  to Philadelphia, Mary would become his bride. 833. The Glacier Hou...

Lakes of the Rocky Mountains As Seen by Catharine and Peter To this day, the lakes of the Canadian Rocky Mountains are admired by people from all over the world. They travel far and wide to have just a glimpse of the kaleidoscope of colours that they provide. Catharine and Peter showed their admiration through their sketches and paintings. A wide variety of their paintings are now on view at the museum in our latest exhibition, Artistry Revealed: Peter Whyte, Catharine Robb Whyte and Their Contemporaries . This show is on until October 21st in our main gallery. Can't make it to the show? You can adventure through the lives of Catharine and Peter with our virtual home tour linked here:  Whyte Home Tour 1) Peter Whyte (1905- 1966, Canadian), Mount Rundle from Vermilion Lakes , n.d., oil on canvas, WyP.01.058 2) Peter Whyte (1905- 1966, Canadian), Lake O'Hara , 1928, oil on canvas, WyP.01.144 3) Catharine Robb Whyte, OC (1906- 1979...

Brett Sanitarium Hotel Mineral Springs, Monkeys, and Medicine Bretton Hall Banff, [b/t 1923 & 1933], George Noble fonds (V469/1835) In 1851, a baby boy was born to James Brett and Catherine Mallon in Strathroy, Upper Canada. This boy would become known as Robert George Brett, or more commonly Dr. Brett. He would graduate from Victoria College Medical School, as a Medical Doctor in 1874.  Dr. R.G. Brett and Nurse McCall, ca. 1912, George Paris fonds (V484/969/NA66/1998) After further education, work, and travel, Dr. Brett joined the Canadian Pacific Railway on its endevour to build the transcontinental railway in 1881. During this time he concocted the vision to open a hotel and sanitarium based on the use of the mineral springs found in Banff.  C.P.R. Engine 73 and train, [1880- 1890], Boorne and May Fonds (V10/1/90/NA66-690) 608. C.P.R. at Banff, [1887 or 1888], Boorne and May fonds (V10/PD/1/009) The site was selected and com...