Photograph of US Air Force sent from Prince Rupert to Spider Island to man the fortifications against an expected attack by the Japanese. They travelled on a ship from Prince Rupert, a construction crew and 80 American servicemen. There was a terrible storm and they were all seasick and expected the ship to go down any minute. They wallowed around in the Pacific for 3 days before reaching Spider Island. He was 16 years old at the time.
Photos are copied from a large 8x10 folio that was given to Mr. Stanyer by the company that he was working for in Kitimat in 1956
Custodial History
Photos belonged to Raymond Stanyer and were donated by his wife, Pat Stanyer
Scope and Content
Photograph of US Air Force sent from Prince Rupert to Spider Island to man the fortifications against an expected attack by the Japanese. They travelled on a ship from Prince Rupert, a construction crew and 80 American servicemen. There was a terrible storm and they were all seasick and expected the ship to go down any minute. They wallowed around in the Pacific for 3 days before reaching Spider Island. He was 16 years old at the time.
Slide showing dirt road track leading to old, wooden building. Appears to be from early settlers. Tall, dried up cow parsnip? grows along the sides of the 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 dirt road track leading to old, wooden building. Appears to be from early settlers. Tall, dried up cow parsnip? grows along the sides of the road.
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.
