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.
Photograph of the Albatross Avenue bunkhouse and in the background the burgeoning Nechako neighbourhood, which at the time of this picture was a hive of busy consturction activity.
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 the Albatross Avenue bunkhouse and in the background the burgeoning Nechako neighbourhood, which at the time of this picture was a hive of busy consturction activity.
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.
Slide showing a men playing a game of baseball at smeltersite. Large crowd of people are watching them. Behind them is a cleared out slope with some buildings. Mountains beyond.
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 a men playing a game of baseball at smeltersite. Large crowd of people are watching them. Behind them is a cleared out slope with some buildings. Mountains beyond.
Slide showing six buses parked and lined up on dirt road. 2 yellow, 4 silver. Dirt hill next to them, and some sort of other structure with barrel shaped parts in front of them. Possibly fuel storage.
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 six buses parked and lined up on dirt road. 2 yellow, 4 silver. Dirt hill next to them, and some sort of other structure with barrel shaped parts in front of them. Possibly fuel storage.
Photographs taken by Glyn Jenkins, who worked for Alcan Aluminum Smelter Ltd. in 1952. He returned to Vancouver to continue his education and continued to work in the Steel Fabrication industry until he retired in 1985. He married Charlene Jenkins. Mr. Jenkins died in 2005.
Custodial History
Charlene Jenkins
Scope and Content
Photographs of construction, scenery, housing, and fishing at the Smeltersite, 1952.
Slide showing three chidlren around a shallow pool of ocean water at smeltersite. One child is in the water, and the other two are standing at the front and back. Behind them is Hospital Beach and the smeltersite hospital. Beyond that are other smeltersite buildings.
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 three chidlren around a shallow pool of ocean water at smeltersite. One child is in the water, and the other two are standing at the front and back. Behind them is Hospital Beach and the smeltersite hospital. Beyond that are other smeltersite buildings.
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 cleared out area at smeltersite. Raised mound towards the middle with vehicle tracks. Douglas Channel visible in distance.
Slide showing cleared area at smeltersite for smelter construction. Equipment and cranes are visible working. In the distance are building structures, and in the foreground are powerlines. On the bottom left a person can be seen walking.
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 cleared area at smeltersite for smelter construction. Equipment and cranes are visible working. In the distance are building structures, and in the foreground are powerlines. On the bottom left a person can be seen walking.
Photo depicts construction of two pan-abode waiting rooms on the beach at Smeltersite for Pacific Western Airlines. A "Mallard" amphibian airplane unloads on the landing ramp in the background.
Photo depicts construction of two pan-abode waiting rooms on the beach at Smeltersite for Pacific Western Airlines. A "Mallard" amphibian airplane unloads on the landing ramp in the background.
Notes
Pan-Abode is interlocking red cedar building materials invented in 1948 in British Columbia. The builders of Kitimat chose innovative materials such as Pan-Abode for the town. Pan-Abode was used in some of the first prototype homes on Kitimat's first streets - Oriole, Pintail, and Partridge. It is also an efficient building material as a structure can be assembled very quickly. Northern Sentinel Press Collection. P00226.jpg
Photograph of the Delta King viewed from the front at smeltersite. On the left further back are bunkhouses. There is a beach in the foreground with people in swimwear. Some people are in the water.
Photograph of the Delta King viewed from the front at smeltersite. On the left further back are bunkhouses. There is a beach in the foreground with people in swimwear. Some people are in the water.
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 Smeltersite edge extending into Douglas Channel. Snow covered mountains in distance.
Slide showing dump truck dumping material on road for road paving at smeltersite area. Men are around it working. White building visible on left, and two other men are sitting on a log in front of a dirt pile.
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 dump truck dumping material on road for road paving at smeltersite area. Men are around it working. White building visible on left, and two other men are sitting on a log in front of a dirt pile.
67 photograph prints : b&w ;
1 photograph print : sepia ; 12.5 x 9
History / Biographical
After coming to Canada as a Polish soldier under British command, Feliks Rewers (who was an avid photographer) was assigned to work at Kitimat in 1950. He worked three years and in his free time took many pictures.
Custodial History
Wanda Rewers
Scope and Content
Collection of 68 photographs taken during the construction of the town of Kitimat, the aluminum smelter, and other areas from 1950-1953.
Notes
Open table tennis championship trophy included in collection. Title based on contents of fonds.
Photo depicts two men kneeling beside the first bags of mail to arrive via Pacific Western Airlines. On the right, Captain T. M. Kellough for PWA delivers the bags to on the left, Kitimat Express driver Lloyd Kaberg, at the wharf, Smeltersite. Northern Sentinel Press Collection
Photo depicts two men kneeling beside the first bags of mail to arrive via Pacific Western Airlines. On the right, Captain T. M. Kellough for PWA delivers the bags to on the left, Kitimat Express driver Lloyd Kaberg, at the wharf, Smeltersite. Northern Sentinel Press Collection
Slide showing flatbed dump trucks outside a building at smeltersite area. Other dump trucks visible behind, and construction materials are piled up on right.
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 flatbed dump trucks outside a building at smeltersite area. Other dump trucks visible behind, and construction materials are piled up on right.
