Peaks and People

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...

                                                          Legend of the Silver Ice Axe In the last blog post of Blank Spaces of the Canadian Rockies Part 1 , we recounted the first chapter of the mountaineering history of Mount Alberta. We followed the Japanese team up the mountain and watched as they planted the ice axe in a cairn near the summit. In the aftermath of the first ascent a rumor began to spread throughout the mountaineering community that the ice axe left by the Japanese climbers was made of pure silver and that it had been presented to them by the Emperor of Japan himself. Continue reading to discover what happened next… On the 30 th of July, 1948 (23 years after the first ascent) the second ascent of Mount Alberta was made by Americans Fred Ayres and John Oberlin. During their ascent one of their ice axes had to be us...

                                     Preserving McDougall Family Documents In the spring of 2017, Alberta lost an important historic place when the McDougall Stoney Mission Church in Morley was destroyed by fire. However, as fate would have it, important historical documents from another branch of the McDougall family have been rescued and preserved for future generations. Archival Assistant Sara Min from the University of Manitoba will relate the contents of the recent acquisition by the Whyte Museum Archives, as well as the archival process she undertook to both preserve and make accessible these important documents. On June 19, 2017, Archival Assistants  Nicole Ensing, Brittany Watson, and myself accompanied the Whyte Museum’s Head Archivist, Jennifer Rutkair , to Drumheller, Alberta to appraise archival materials donated by Ed and Faye  Hnetka . Ed told us that he found ...

The First Ascent of Mount Alberta During the Golden Age of mountaineering in the Canadian Rockies it was not uncommon for first ascents to be attained by non-Canadians. In fact, it was more likely that a peak would be climbed by a European or an American than a Canadian. The first ascent of Mount Alberta in Jasper National Park is no different in that regard. However, the legend that followed, and the international relationship that was formed after that first ascent was very different. As told in Robert William Sandford's book Called by This Mountain: The Legend of the Silver Ice Axe and Early Climbing History of Mount Alberta, the story, the people and the objects involved push the physical, mental and international boundaries involved in mountaineering.  "Called by This Mountain" by Robert William Sandford from the ACC Library Collection Mount Alberta is located in Jasper National Park at the northern edge of the Columbia Icefields. It is the 3 rd highes...

The Portraits of Nicholas de Grandmaison Igor and Andrei admiring Nicholas de Grandmaison's painting of his wife Sonia.  Three weeks ago author Igor Krasnov stopped at the Whyte Museum while on vacation to view the artworks of the man he'd been researching and writing about for the last decade: Nicholas de Grandmaison. What began as an interest in learning about his new home in Victoria, B.C. after emmigrating from Russia, evolved into a journey to discover the story of fellow Russian immigrant and renowned artist Nicholas de Grandmaison.  His quest began at his local library where he discovered the famous Canadian painter Emily Carr. Known for her modernist depictions of the Pacific Northwest Coast lifestyle, Carr's lack of Indigenous Peoples portrayed in her paintings surprised Krasnov. Upon further research Krasnov discovered a story in one of her books explaining why she didn't paint portraits of Indigenous Peoples. According to Carr, she once tried...

Many people think that prior to photo-editing software like Photoshop it was impossible to manipulate photos. However, photographers have been experimenting with photo manipulation since the 19th century. An example of this was found in our Archives by staff looking into an inquiry from a researcher. The image is a lantern slide from the Mary Schaffer fonds, and was part of her collection of slides used to lecture on various topics related to the mountains and their history. The image (see below) is that of a man standing in front of a small wooden shack. The image was taken in 1883, and has been identified as William "Billy" McCardell at the Cave and Basin site. McCardell with the first "hotel" at the Cave and Basin, 1883 (V527 / PS 1 - 230) William McCardell was one of the 3 men who are widely considered as the discoverers of the hot springs at the now Cave and Basin site in 1883. Accompanied by fellow CPR workers Franklin McCabe and William's brothe...