Slide showing house at presumably smeltersite. House is on slight hill with dirt road leading up. Tree stumps with planters? in front of house. Forest visible directly behind it.
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 house at presumably smeltersite. House is on slight hill with dirt road leading up. Tree stumps with planters? in front of house. Forest visible directly behind it.
Slide showing house at presumably smeltersite. Forest visible directly behind it. House is on slight hill with dirt road leading up from road below. Another house is peaking out on the edge on the 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 house at presumably smeltersite. Forest visible directly behind it. House is on slight hill with dirt road leading up from road below. Another house is peaking out on the edge on the right.
Photograph of the Fred Ryan Ltd. Van. Sign on side of Van reads "Photo Finishing Fred Ryan Ltd. Photography Blue Printing". There is snow on the ground.
1 photograph print : b&w ; 17.7 x 12.8 cm
2 clippings : b&w ; 21.7 x 28 cm
History / Biographical
From the years 1953-1958, Mike Kinnear took photos during his school years, until graduation, while working for Fred Ryan Ltd. after school and holidays. Photos for him was a hobby, and he took many photos of the smelter and townsite as it grew around him. Mike also took a number of photos for the Kitimat Northern Sentinel, during the Ken Brumley and Pixie Meldrum years as editors. Mike and his family left Kitimat in 1958, but he spent the best part of 40 years in the photographic field, mainly in the retail/wholesale part of the photo industry.
Custodial History
Donated by Margaret and Mike Kinnear.
Scope and Content
Photograph of the Fred Ryan Ltd. Van. Sign on side of Van reads "Photo Finishing Fred Ryan Ltd. Photography Blue Printing". There is snow on the ground.
Notes
Two Northern Sentinel articles are included. "Jack-Of-All-Trades, Pioneer Is Master of One", March 19, 1957, and "Pioneer Leaves Town", March 22, 1962.
Photograph of the No.2 house at the Kitimat townsite camp. There is a man standing in the doorway. It was the home of Art and June Coultan. Around the house are pipes and barrels. There is forest behind.
Photograph of the No.2 house at the Kitimat townsite camp. There is a man standing in the doorway. It was the home of Art and June Coultan. Around the house are pipes and barrels. There is forest behind.
Photograph of a painting of the townsite camp as it was in 1952. The painting shows the camp in the distance in winter. There are trees and tree stumps in the foreground. On the right is a cougar.
The painter was Art Appleton, one of the dishwashers at the camp. He was believed to be about 45 years old and a bachelor. He was blind in one eye and painted with his good eye. He later committed suicide.
Scope and Content
Photograph of a painting of the townsite camp as it was in 1952. The painting shows the camp in the distance in winter. There are trees and tree stumps in the foreground. On the right is a cougar.
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 dredge line being assembled between moles, looking east. Note burning along transmission line adjacent to Kitamaat Village.
Photograph of result of first clearing shown in BC-2-142. Note size of trees and condition of logs. Trees are cut/knocked down. Other trees still standing behind.
Bud Powell is a longtime resident of Kitimat and former smeltersite resident. He worked for Alcan.
Custodial History
Donated by Bud Powell.
Scope and Content
Photograph of result of first clearing shown in BC-2-142. Note size of trees and condition of logs. Trees are cut/knocked down. Other trees still standing behind.
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.
Scope and Content
Slide of Wilf Rueger standing beside tree clearing ball at smeltersite.
