Photograph shows 5 totem poles some topped with various figures others not. 2 houses stand behind them a short distance with a wide view of the mountains behind them.
1 photograph : b&w ; 25.5 x 20.7 cm
1 negative : b&w ; 12.6 x 10 cm
Scope and Content
Photograph shows 5 totem poles some topped with various figures others not. 2 houses stand behind them a short distance with a wide view of the mountains behind them.
Photo depicts two barges moored in Douglas Channel and loaded with flat-top house sections for construction workers and their families.
Notes
Title based on content of photograph. -- Temporary housing destined for Kitimat was assembled at Vancouver Tug and Barge below the Lion's Gate Bridge in three sections, then barged to Kitimat - 10 houses or 30 sections on each barge. -- Electrician Bill Frahler wired approximately 2,000 houses in Kitimat camps and townsite between 1954 and 1958, working first for Johnson-Crooks then Straits Construction, both U.S. contractors. Pat Jimenez Collection
Slide showing the graving dock where the Alcan wharf caissons were constructed. It is filled with water. Boats and structures are visible on the edge. This area was used for the Kitimat Yacht Club. Behind, the Kitimat River estuary is visible, and beyond that the mountains (Mount Elizabeth obscured by cloud).
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 graving dock where the Alcan wharf caissons were constructed. It is filled with water. Boats and structures are visible on the edge. This area was used for the Kitimat Yacht Club. Behind, the Kitimat River estuary is visible, and beyond that the mountains (Mount Elizabeth obscured by cloud).
Aerial of Kitimat's office building in the downtown area. The Royal Bank of Canada occupied the main floor, and Property and Power Operations for the Aluminum Company of Canada occupied an upper floor. Kildala Neighbourhood is shown in the background.
Aerial of Kitimat's office building in the downtown area. The Royal Bank of Canada occupied the main floor, and Property and Power Operations for the Aluminum Company of Canada occupied an upper floor. Kildala Neighbourhood is shown in the background.
Notes
Title based on content of photograph. Alcan Collection. Negative found in 2014.14 collection.
Edwin Charles Bateman (Ted) was a Commando in WWII, and later enjoyed his hobbies of cycle racing, ballroom dancing, and photography. He lived in Toronto, LA, and finally Vancouver in the early 50s. After arriving in vancouver he was offered a job as an assistant surveyor in Kitimat. He was subsequently offered a job as a lineman with what became BC Tel.
Custodial History
Judith Saunders
Scope and Content
Photograph of cleared space with newly built Kitimat houses.
Photograph of the Delta King on the shore with smoke coming out of its pipe, trees and houses at the background, body of water at foreground. There is writing on the back that reads "The first bunk house at Kitimat Aluminum smelter plant - a converted paddle wheeler."
Given to Barkerville by Dave Johnson of Wells, June 19, 1991.
Custodial History
W.G. Quackenbush, Dave Johnson
Scope and Content
Photograph of the Delta King on the shore with smoke coming out of its pipe, trees and houses at the background, body of water at foreground. There is writing on the back that reads "The first bunk house at Kitimat Aluminum smelter plant - a converted paddle wheeler."
