Slide showing a camp surrounded by trees. There is a bit of a hill in the foreground and someone is standing there. Working in other construction? In the background a cleared out line can be seen (transmission line?)
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 camp surrounded by trees. There is a bit of a hill in the foreground and someone is standing there. Working in other construction? In the background a cleared out line can be seen (transmission line?)
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.
