Elizabeth Anderson Varley, author of 'Kitimat My Valley' was born and raised in the Kitimat Valley. The book is a memoire of her life and the life of her family members, during the tenure as missionairies and ranchers in the area.
Custodial History
Obtained directly from Elizabeth Varley
Scope and Content
Textual records consisting of typewritten and handwritten notes pertaining to the creation of the book Kitimat My Valley.
62 photographs of the Anderson family, other early settlers and missionaries, and Haisla people, 1878-1947.
Each has a string holding hook in place. Some sinew used this hook is slightly sprung. The hooks have been rubbed with spruce gum and hemlock boughs to hide scent of humans.
1-Sinew bound, string beneath. Sinew-halibut hook Dimensions: 18cm long at longest point. 6 1/2 cm at widest point Condition: rusted but good condition
2-String holding hook projection in place. Some sinew is used on this hook. Dimensions: 16 cm at longest point, 6 1/2 cm at widest point Condition: hook is slightly sprung, also rusted-string intact, some sinew has fallen off
Each has a string holding hook in place. Some sinew used this hook is slightly sprung. The hooks have been rubbed with spruce gum and hemlock boughs to hide scent of humans.
1-Sinew bound, string beneath. Sinew-halibut hook Dimensions: 18cm long at longest point. 6 1/2 cm at widest point Condition: rusted but good condition
2-String holding hook projection in place. Some sinew is used on this hook. Dimensions: 16 cm at longest point, 6 1/2 cm at widest point Condition: hook is slightly sprung, also rusted-string intact, some sinew has fallen off
The Surf Inlet Gold Mine was located on Princess Royal Island above Surf Inlet. Limited production began in 1902 and then ceased in 1905. The mine reopened production in 1917, after major development occurred. It was then operated by the Tonapah Belmont Development Company of Philadelphia. The mine closed in 1926. Three mines were opened in 1934 by Surf Inlet Consolidated Gold Mines, including the Surf Inlet Mine, the Pugsley Mine and the Belmont Mine. These closed permanently in 1943.
Custodial History
Donated by Bulkley Valley Museum/Dirk Mendel
Scope and Content
Folders containing financial records, correspondence, assey certificates, production statistics, post office documents, payroll records + steam ship manifests. Inclusive dates: 1924-1925, 1938-1943.
Notes
Removed financial records from amongst payroll slips. Removed manifests to Box #3 due to size. Reordered assey certificates by date.
Condition notes: mold
Surf Inlet Envelope #1 - Removed Acc'ts Payable info from payroll summery file (June 30/40 - Jan/40). Removed what looks like a seperate fonds. Surf Post Office. Major mold.
Envelope # 2 - Removed Union Steamship manifest, will have to store elsewhere.
Envelope # 3 - Reordered assey certificates by date (year). Ran July/24-Aug/25, then started June/24-
The Surf Inlet Gold Mine was located on Princess Royal Island above Surf Inlet. Limited production began in 1902 and then ceased in 1905. The mine reopened production in 1917, after major development occurred. It was then operated by the Tonapah Belmont Development Company of Philadelphia. The mine closed in 1926. Three mines were opened in 1934 by Surf Inlet Consolidated Gold Mines, including the Surf Inlet Mine, the Pugsley Mine and the Belmont Mine. These closed permanently in 1943.
Custodial History
Donated by Bulkley Valley Museum/Dirk Mendel
Scope and Content
Folder containing stack of Belmont Surf Inlet Mines, Limited assay certificates from the Surf Inlet Consolodated Gold Mines Ltd from June 1924.
The Surf Inlet Gold Mine was located on Princess Royal Island above Surf Inlet. Limited production began in 1902 and then ceased in 1905. The mine reopened production in 1917, after major development occurred. It was then operated by the Tonapah Belmont Development Company of Philadelphia. The mine closed in 1926. Three mines were opened in 1934 by Surf Inlet Consolidated Gold Mines, including the Surf Inlet Mine, the Pugsley Mine and the Belmont Mine. These closed permanently in 1943.
Custodial History
Donated by Bulkley Valley Museum/Dirk Mendel
Scope and Content
Folder containing stack of Belmont Surf Inlet Mines, Limited assay certificates from the Surf Inlet Consolodated Gold Mines Ltd from July 1924.
The Surf Inlet Gold Mine was located on Princess Royal Island above Surf Inlet. Limited production began in 1902 and then ceased in 1905. The mine reopened production in 1917, after major development occurred. It was then operated by the Tonapah Belmont Development Company of Philadelphia. The mine closed in 1926. Three mines were opened in 1934 by Surf Inlet Consolidated Gold Mines, including the Surf Inlet Mine, the Pugsley Mine and the Belmont Mine. These closed permanently in 1943.
Custodial History
Donated by Bulkley Valley Museum/Dirk Mendel
Scope and Content
Folder containing stack of Belmont Surf Inlet Mines, Limited assay certificates from the Surf Inlet Consolodated Gold Mines Ltd from July 1925.
The Surf Inlet Gold Mine was located on Princess Royal Island above Surf Inlet. Limited production began in 1902 and then ceased in 1905. The mine reopened production in 1917, after major development occurred. It was then operated by the Tonapah Belmont Development Company of Philadelphia. The mine closed in 1926. Three mines were opened in 1934 by Surf Inlet Consolidated Gold Mines, including the Surf Inlet Mine, the Pugsley Mine and the Belmont Mine. These closed permanently in 1943.
Custodial History
Donated by Bulkley Valley Museum/Dirk Mendel
Scope and Content
Folder containing stack of Belmont Surf Inlet Mines, Limited assay certificates from the Surf Inlet Consolodated Gold Mines Ltd from August 1925.
The Surf Inlet Gold Mine was located on Princess Royal Island above Surf Inlet. Limited production began in 1902 and then ceased in 1905. The mine reopened production in 1917, after major development occurred. It was then operated by the Tonapah Belmont Development Company of Philadelphia. The mine closed in 1926. Three mines were opened in 1934 by Surf Inlet Consolidated Gold Mines, including the Surf Inlet Mine, the Pugsley Mine and the Belmont Mine. These closed permanently in 1943.
Custodial History
Donated by Bulkley Valley Museum/Dirk Mendel
Scope and Content
Folder containing stack of Belmont Surf Inlet Mines, Limited assay certificates from the Surf Inlet Consolodated Gold Mines Ltd from August 1925.
The Surf Inlet Gold Mine was located on Princess Royal Island above Surf Inlet. Limited production began in 1902 and then ceased in 1905. The mine reopened production in 1917, after major development occurred. It was then operated by the Tonapah Belmont Development Company of Philadelphia. The mine closed in 1926. Three mines were opened in 1934 by Surf Inlet Consolidated Gold Mines, including the Surf Inlet Mine, the Pugsley Mine and the Belmont Mine. These closed permanently in 1943.
Custodial History
Donated by Bulkley Valley Museum/Dirk Mendel
Scope and Content
Folder containing stack of Belmont Surf Inlet Mines, Limited assay certificates from the Surf Inlet Consolodated Gold Mines Ltd from July 1925.
Fonds contains documents, photographs, photocopies, and maps collected by Arvid Hardin throughout his ten years in Kitimat. Areas of focus include high school life, the Kitimat Army Cadets, and the creation of Hirsch Creek Park, the Kitimat Community Centre, and the Kitimat trail system.
Arvid Hardin (born c. 1941) lived in Kitimat from 1953 to 1963. He graduated from Mount Elizabeth Secondary School in 1959, served as an active member of the Kitimat Army Cadet Corps, and was involved with the creation of Hirsch Creek Provincial Park. Around 2008, he collaborated with E.E. 'Bill' Duyvewaardt and other former Kitimat Cadets to write a 'historical profile' of the Cadets and their activities.
Custodial History
Materials from accession 2009.15 were donated by Arvid Hardin to the Museum on June 10th, 2009.
Materials from accession 2022.18 were donated by Arvid Hardin on May 10th, 2022.
Scope and Content
Fonds contains documents, photographs, photocopies, and maps collected by Arvid Hardin throughout his ten years in Kitimat. Areas of focus include high school life, the Kitimat Army Cadets, and the creation of Hirsch Creek Park, the Kitimat Community Centre, and the Kitimat trail system.
Conservation
Many pages old and yellowing. Staples, paper clips, and other metal fasteners removed from all papers in March & May 2022.
Storage Location
Box 39
Photo storage
Related Material
Artifacts donated by Arvid Hardin include a proclamation (2009.15.6), gazette (2009.15.7), and high school certificate (2009.15.11).
Dark bluish-gray cloth bag with two straps at the top. Circular logo for Hawkair on the front, featuring the words "I fly with Hawkair" around a picture of a plane.
Dark bluish-gray cloth bag with two straps at the top. Circular logo for Hawkair on the front, featuring the words "I fly with Hawkair" around a picture of a plane.
Fonds consists of two files of materials collected and produced by the Kitimat Valley Naturalists:
F1) Contents of the secretary-treasurer's duotang, 1996-1998. Includes meeting minutes, correspondence, receipts, financial documents, mailing lists, 1997 annual report, photocopied map, events schedule, Federation of BC Naturalists membership info, sign-up sheet for Douglas Channel boat trip, correspondence from Creston Valley Wildlife Area, materials re: Gisela Mendel Native Plant Garden, draft write-up for Iron Oxbow Wildlife Viewing Area along the Kitimat River, and ephemera from the inside front cover of the duotang (receipt from Fed. of BC Naturalists, business cards for Aurora Charters and Reid Crowther Consulting Engineers).
F2) Materials related to Pine Creek Protective Covenant, 2003-2014. This covenant was established by Rio Tinto Alcan, the Haisla Nation, and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, to protect the Pine Creek hiking trail and its watercourse near Minette Bay. Folder includes correspondence, signage text, Land Title Act forms, maps, and a Master Watercourse Crossing List from Coastal GasLink.
The Kitimat Valley Naturalists are a non-profit organization with the goal of learning about and enjoying the natural history of the Kitimat Valley. They were founded in 1996 and are still active as of 2023. Their projects include an annual Christmas bird count, construction of bat condos, monitoring amphibian numbers, and mapping eelgrass beds in the Douglas Channel.
Custodial History
Items were donated by Susan and Walter Thorne, longtime members of the Kitimat Valley Naturalists, on February 16th 2023. The fonds was arranged and described by Museum staff in April 2023.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of two files of materials collected and produced by the Kitimat Valley Naturalists:
F1) Contents of the secretary-treasurer's duotang, 1996-1998. Includes meeting minutes, correspondence, receipts, financial documents, mailing lists, 1997 annual report, photocopied map, events schedule, Federation of BC Naturalists membership info, sign-up sheet for Douglas Channel boat trip, correspondence from Creston Valley Wildlife Area, materials re: Gisela Mendel Native Plant Garden, draft write-up for Iron Oxbow Wildlife Viewing Area along the Kitimat River, and ephemera from the inside front cover of the duotang (receipt from Fed. of BC Naturalists, business cards for Aurora Charters and Reid Crowther Consulting Engineers).
F2) Materials related to Pine Creek Protective Covenant, 2003-2014. This covenant was established by Rio Tinto Alcan, the Haisla Nation, and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, to protect the Pine Creek hiking trail and its watercourse near Minette Bay. Folder includes correspondence, signage text, Land Title Act forms, maps, and a Master Watercourse Crossing List from Coastal GasLink.
Notes
Three reports collected by the KVN - "An Assessment of the Kitimat Iron Oxbow Proposed Wildlife Viewing Area," "Blue Carbon - The Case for the Conservation and Enhancement of Estuarine Processes and Sediments in BC," and "Coastal Wetlands Habitat Assessment and Classification for Northwestern British Columbia" - have been added to the Museum's Reference Library.
Conservation
Removed from original duotang/folders. Staples removed.
Storage Location
Box 29
Arrangement
F1) has been left in original order, apart from ephemera which was removed from the inside cover of the duotang.
F2) has been arranged in roughly chronological order.
Two issues of British Columbia History featurning article "Transportation In Moving Men, Machines, and Materials on the Kitimat Project" by Louise Avery, and one Kitimat Centennial Museum brochure
British Columbia History. Journal of the British Columbia Historical Federation
Spring 2010
Vol. 43 No.1
Summer 2010
Vol. 43 No.2
Kitimat Centennial Museum brochure. At Our community museum you can... (1997)
Two issues of British Columbia History featurning article "Transportation In Moving Men, Machines, and Materials on the Kitimat Project" by Louise Avery, and one Kitimat Centennial Museum brochure
British Columbia History. Journal of the British Columbia Historical Federation
Spring 2010
Vol. 43 No.1
Summer 2010
Vol. 43 No.2
Kitimat Centennial Museum brochure. At Our community museum you can... (1997)
