James McNay was born in Ayrshire, Scotland, on January 31, 1907. Between 1951 and 1953, he worked in the payroll department for Alcan. He had to leave his wife Effie and his two young daughters, Margaret and Diane, aged 6 and 5 in 1951, at home in Surrey, B.C., during his 3-4 month stints in Kitimat. To fill some of his free time and show his family where he was and what Kitimat was like, he spent many hours walking in the area with a 35mm Kodak camera. He photographed the scenic beauty of the area and parts of the construction of both the smelters and the town. He died in Surrey on August 7, 1983.
Custodial History
Donated by Margaret McNay. Images were taken by her father and sent to their family in Surrey in the 1950s.
Scope and Content
Slide showing opening to the Kitimat Yacht Club basin. Sailboats and the Alcan dock in the distance.
Photo depicts the welcome sign for Kitimat on the wharf that greeted all workers to the Kitimat Project upon their arrival by boat.
Notes
Title based on content of photograph. -- Hal Whiting was Project Manager, Kitimat Constructors, for smelter and town construction. Hal Whiting Collection 985.65.113
Photo depicts Kitimat Constructors Project Manager Hal Whiting on right, standing beside a unidentified man. Both watch the construction activity occurring down on the tidal flats in front of them, site for the smelter.
Photo depicts Kitimat Constructors Project Manager Hal Whiting on right, standing beside a unidentified man. Both watch the construction activity occurring down on the tidal flats in front of them, site for the smelter.
Notes
Title based on content of photograph. -- Photographed by the International Harvester Company, manufacturers of construction equipment purchased for the Project. Hal Whiting Collection 985.65.99
Photo depicts an aerial view of the smeltersite main camp showing married quarters, sternwheeler Delta King, hydraulic fill in progress, recreation building, hospital, power plant, sawmill and water tank.
Photo depicts an aerial view of the smeltersite main camp showing married quarters, sternwheeler Delta King, hydraulic fill in progress, recreation building, hospital, power plant, sawmill and water tank.
Notes
Title based on content of photograph. -- Alcan ID Numbers BC-2-243 and ACM-24311. Alcan Collection 78.11.32
Photo depicts a barge loaded with muck dredged from the wharf area. The International TD-9 dozer boat on the barge was there to push loads off as the barge was moved along.
Photo depicts a barge loaded with muck dredged from the wharf area. The International TD-9 dozer boat on the barge was there to push loads off as the barge was moved along.
Notes
Title based on content of photograph. -- International Harvester Company ID No. C 6039. International Harvester Company manufacturerd construction equipment purchased for the Project. -- Dredging at the wharf area provided sufficient water space for large ships to dock. Muck was dumped onto these barges by the clamshell bucket and towed out to deep water. Hal Whiting Collection 985.65.123
Photo depicts the newly constructed dock, Terminal Wharf No. 1. View looking south-west from a point on the graving dock. Hydraulic fill dredge pipeline in the foreground running along at water level.
Photo depicts the newly constructed dock, Terminal Wharf No. 1. View looking south-west from a point on the graving dock. Hydraulic fill dredge pipeline in the foreground running along at water level.
Notes
Title based on content of photograph. -- Alcan ID No. BC-2-846. -- Note progress of conveyor gallery steel, kangaroo crane and pneumatic unloading equipment. Alcan Collection 78.11.68
Photograph showing Alcan's Manager of Power Operations, J.T. Madill sending A.W. Whitaker off as he and his wife become the first people to cover the entire Kitimat to Montreal distance by rail.
Photograph showing Alcan's Manager of Power Operations, J.T. Madill sending A.W. Whitaker off as he and his wife become the first people to cover the entire Kitimat to Montreal distance by rail.
