Slide showing the firehall at smeltersite. Firetruck is visible in the center, and to its left is a target on a tree. To the left is also a building and other equipment. Behind, there are other buildings and powerlines, with the forest even further back.
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 firehall at smeltersite. Firetruck is visible in the center, and to its left is a target on a tree. To the left is also a building and other equipment. Behind, there are other buildings and powerlines, with the forest even further back.
Jamieson came to Kitimat from Vancouver to work on the Alcan project in 1952. With his first pay cheque he bought a small "Pony Kodak" camera at the local store (Hudson Bay?), and started taking coloured slides of the Kitimat from 1952-1953. Left Kitimat at the end of August 1953 to move to Montreal.
Photo showing Helge Ronneseth and Kurt Zeiner from Norway. Alcan employees who first heard of Kitimat from an early copy of the Northern Sentinel; arrived as crew members of S.S. Sun Karen
Photo showing Helge Ronneseth and Kurt Zeiner from Norway. Alcan employees who first heard of Kitimat from an early copy of the Northern Sentinel; arrived as crew members of S.S. Sun Karen
Photograph of Kitimat's New Telephone Exchange building. Some windows in the building are boarded up. Dirt road in foreground, and area in front of building too. Powerlines are running above the building, and some building material is sitting on the right of the building. Behind on the right, are some homes and forest. Partially cloudy day.
From the years 1953-1958, Mike Kinnear took photos during his school years, until graduation, while working for Fred Ryan Ltd. after school and holidays. Photos for him was a hobby, and he took many photos of the smelter and townsite as it grew around him. Mike also took a number of photos for the Kitimat Northern Sentinel, during the Ken Brumley and Pixie Meldrum years as editors. Mike and his family left Kitimat in 1958, but he spent the best part of 40 years in the photographic field, mainly in the retail/wholesale part of the photo industry.
Custodial History
Donated by Margaret and Mike Kinnear.
Scope and Content
Photograph of Kitimat's New Telephone Exchange building. Some windows in the building are boarded up. Dirt road in foreground, and area in front of building too. Powerlines are running above the building, and some building material is sitting on the right of the building. Behind on the right, are some homes and forest. Partially cloudy day.
Photograph of Kitimat first firehall with firetruck. Firetruck is outside garage, and side of building has a tarp on the left. Regular truck and buildings visible behind.
Photograph of Kitimat first firehall with firetruck. Firetruck is outside garage, and side of building has a tarp on the left. Regular truck and buildings visible behind.