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 rocky wall with forest on top, and a dirt road at the bottom. Likely around smeltersite area.
Slide showing front end loader filling a dump truck with soil. There is a hole in front from where it has been digging from. Behind there is construction and material visible.
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 front end loader filling a dump truck with soil. There is a hole in front from where it has been digging from. Behind there is construction and material visible.
Photo depicts an aerial view of a portion of the Nechako neighbourhood showing the Hullah prototype area, Pintail and Partridge streets, in the foreground.
Photo depicts an aerial view of a portion of the Nechako neighbourhood showing the Hullah prototype area, Pintail and Partridge streets, in the foreground.
Notes
Title based on content of photograph. District of Kitimat Collection
Photo depicts the exterior of the newly completed Nechako Centre in Kitimat, Shop Easy at the end of the complex. A bulldozer compacts the gravel - site preparation for the parking lot.
Photo depicts the exterior of the newly completed Nechako Centre in Kitimat, Shop Easy at the end of the complex. A bulldozer compacts the gravel - site preparation for the parking lot.
Notes
Title based on content of photograph. Part of Board of School Trustees Collection 982.91
Malcolm Baxter died in 2020. His father Basil, was very instrumental in the organization of Kitimat in the early years. Basil was married to Cathy Baxter and they had two sons - Malcolm and Michael.
Custodial History
Part of items collected by Malcolm Baxter, former editer of NSP. Brought into the museum by Judith Cullington, Malcolm's sister-in-law.
Scope and Content
Photograph of bare and stripped section of woods in Nechako. Just a few standing tree trunks left. Winter. Homes and mountains visible in background.
Nechako Centre Building in Operation looking east at kitimat townsite. 3 cars and one small truck are parked along the side of the building. Another car can be seen parked at the front of the building with several people walking through the covered area.
Nechako Centre Building in Operation looking east at kitimat townsite. 3 cars and one small truck are parked along the side of the building. Another car can be seen parked at the front of the building with several people walking through the covered area.
Alice Dicker's father, Benard, came to Canada to work in 1955. He was a forman D-shift for Alcan. He married Anna in 1959. Alice and her sister Claudia were born in Kitimat and the family lived here until 1969, at which time they returned to Germany.
Scope and Content
Photograph of Nechako Centre Library building and Mallard Street homes. Sidewalks in foreground.
Alice Dicker's father, Benard, came to Canada to work in 1955. He was a forman D-shift for Alcan. He married Anna in 1959. Alice and her sister Claudia were born in Kitimat and the family lived here until 1969, at which time they returned to Germany.
Scope and Content
Photograph of Nechako Centre. Shop-Easy store sign visible, and there are cars in parking lot. Tennis court is in front.
Photo depicts Nechako Neighbourhood, swath of land cleared for Neighbourhood "D", and Douglas Channel in the background, smelter on the right.
Notes
Famed Canadian documentary photographer Malak Karsh was hired in the 1950s by Alcan to take photographs of Arvida and Kitimat. Many were published in Alcan literature and textbooks on Canada. A colourized version of this photograph appears on the cover of the Canadian Geographical Journal, November 1959, Vol. LIX No.5. Northern Sentinel Press Collection
