Slide showing the Bank of Montreal building at smeltersite. Bunkhouse visible behind, and in front is a large, uprooted tree. Powerlines are up the hill behind, and below is the main road.
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 the Bank of Montreal building at smeltersite. Bunkhouse visible behind, and in front is a large, uprooted tree. Powerlines are up the hill behind, and below is the main road.
Photograph of a man seated on concrete pylon at Alcan Wharf. At right and in background are wharf crane and railway tracks. At left is ship 'SUN KAREN' Alumina Boat from Jamaica. On back: Stamp - Hoetzsch, 320 Esplanade, north Vancouver, BC. Written - 'Kitimat'/54 then German language writing.
