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.
Aerial photo of the Kitimat river estuary showing Kitimat River, Kitimat Harbor, Minette Bay, and the Alcan company smelter site taken from the southwest looking northeast towards the Kitimat City Centre.
Aerial photo of the Kitimat river estuary showing Kitimat River, Kitimat Harbor, Minette Bay, and the Alcan company smelter site taken from the southwest looking northeast towards the Kitimat City Centre.
Negatives showing the Nechako Reservoir, the Kenney Dam, & the Skins Lake Spillway which were built to create hydroelectric power to be used by the Alcan aluminum smelter in Kitimat. Also pictured is Des Lake, Alcan barge Tahtsa II at East Tahtsa, a view of the Entiako River as it enters the Nechako Reservoir, an underwater cutting barge, & Eurocan's logging operation at Andrews Bay on Ootsa Lake.
Negatives showing the Nechako Reservoir, the Kenney Dam, & the Skins Lake Spillway which were built to create hydroelectric power to be used by the Alcan aluminum smelter in Kitimat. Also pictured is Des Lake, Alcan barge Tahtsa II at East Tahtsa, a view of the Entiako River as it enters the Nechako Reservoir, an underwater cutting barge, & Eurocan's logging operation at Andrews Bay on Ootsa Lake.
Map, of the District Municipality of Kitimat, British Columbia, drawn by G.V. Laurenson, May 1955 for Hudson's Bay Company. 1st. Edition.Map includes Neighborhood 'A' or 'Nechako', Kitimat Service Center, Aluminum Company of Canada Ltd.'s B.C. Project, Nechako Center, Kitimat City Center and a Reference section.
Map, of the District Municipality of Kitimat, British Columbia, drawn by G.V. Laurenson, May 1955 for Hudson's Bay Company. 1st. Edition.Map includes Neighborhood 'A' or 'Nechako', Kitimat Service Center, Aluminum Company of Canada Ltd.'s B.C. Project, Nechako Center, Kitimat City Center and a Reference section.
