Fonds 002 Beth Sheehan fonds

2171 photographs

651 slides

67 negatives

11 postcards

12 maps

12 sound recordings

Date: [ca. 1879-2003] (date of creation)

Scope and content:

The series consists of Beth’s personal diaries with supplemental information; bound volumes of literature from the Burnsites; family photographs from the Flints, the Sheehans, and Beth & Everett Sheehan; printed material from Beth’s education at Alberta College; and some paper artefacts, family memorabilia.

Physical description: 2.95 m of textual records

193 photographs

67 negatives

Access points:

•      Textual record (documentary form)

•      Graphic material – photograph (documentary form)

Date: 1939-2003 (date of creation)

Scope and content:

The sub-series consists of various types of diaries and notebooks starting in 1939. There is restricted access to personal diaries for all researchers except direct descendants until 2018.

Physical description: 2.72 m of textual records

Access points:

•      Textual record (documentary form)

Image shows two Papago Indigenous women standing near Mr. George, a member of the Sheehan’s travelling party, outside of their home which was 9 miles past Wall’s Well. This photograph was taken during the Sheehan’s trip to Organ Pipe Cactus Monument in Arizona and is located inside Beth’s journal from that trip.

Image shows three Papago Indigenous women and a small child standing near Mr. George, a member of the Sheehan’s travelling party, outside of their home which was 9 miles past Wall’s Well. This photograph was taken during the Sheehan’s trip to Organ Pipe Cactus Monument in Arizona and is located inside Beth’s journal from that trip.

Image shows three Indigenous boys standing outside of their school, which was located somewhere near Wall’s Well. This photograph was taken during the Sheehan’s trip to Organ Pipe Cactus Monument in Arizona and is located inside Beth’s journal from that trip.

Image shows Everett Sheehan crouching with his hand inside a depression in a rock. The caption beneath this photograph says “Indian Grinding Bowl at Alamo Well” This photograph was taken during the Sheehan’s trip to Organ Pipe Cactus Monument in Arizona and is located inside Beth’s journal from that trip.

This is an address delivered by J.E. Brownlee, K.C., LL.D., Vice-President of the United Grain Growers Ltd. to the Convention of the United Farm Women of Alberta on Friday, January 11, 1946.

Master Farm Family Award Record Book – a copy of the record book an applicant would have filled out in order to qualify for the award. Beth was one of the judges during 1950.

The prize list booklet for the sixth annual Grande Prairie County Agricultural Fair, 1956.

Grande Prairie County Ag Society poster for the 9th Annual County Fair in 1959. Size is 12” x 18”.

Program for the Grande Prairie and District Music Festival held on March 19-22, 1969.

Rules and descriptions of classes of entry for the 20th Annual Agricultural Fair, held on August 10-12, 1970 by the Grande Prairie County Ag Society.

Program for the Grande Prairie and District Music Festival held in 1970.

Notes for a public speaking course that Beth Sheehan took. The topic of the speech was personal hobbies. She spoke about different types of hobbies she had like textile painting, metal tooling, and cork work. She also spoke about different things she liked to collect including: sand, wood, seed pods, rocks, and arrow tips.

Item is an unused paper face mask with writing on it. It says “I had to wear a mask + gown to enter an isolation ward to get the vote of an Indian TB patient.”

This letter is written by Beth and Everett Sheehan to their son Kells about what they had been doing in Arizona including attending a rodeo and having dinner with their neighbors. Their neighbors had lived on a reservation in Sells, Arizona (Tohono O’odham Nation) and told the Sheehans about Indigenous death rituals.

A Grande Prairie Little Theatre program from the production of “All My Sons”, a play written by Arthur Miller. This production was directed by Sukumar Nayar.

A program of a two day festival, February 15-16, 1974, of seven plays produced by The Grande Prairie Little Theatre, and The Peace Players.

Program and menu from the Peace River Lamb Smorgasbord held January 26, 1974. The lamb was prepared by the Lamb Producer’s Wives.

Handbook for the 1975 Canada Winter Games bid for by Grande Prairie, Alberta.

Handbook for the Fall Agricultural Fair held in LaGlace on November 1, 1975.

Programme for a display of paintings by Euphemia McNaught at the Prairie Art Gallery on August 24, 1982 includes a list of paintings on display and a lure card for the book, “Euphemia McNaught Pioneer Artist of the Peace.”

Programme for an exhibition of works by Robert Guest at the Prairie Art Gallery from September 24 to October 16, 1983 includes a biography of artist Robert Guest and a list of the paintings on display.

12 x 18 poster for a College Players Production of Ruth Perry’s musical version of “The Hobbit”, written by J.R.R. Tolkien.

Programme and invitation for the Official Opening of Wild Rose Manor on May 3, 1985. Wild Rose Manor is a senior’s residence operated by the Grande Spirit Foundation in Grande Prairie, Alberta.

Invitation to the Opening of the Beaverlodge Campsite and dedication of the Lower Beaver Lodge School which had been moved to the site and restored for use as the information centre. A list of students from the Lower Beaver Lodge School is included.

Image shows the Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump near Fort Macleod. The description on the back of the postcard reads “Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump Site 20 Km West of Fort Macleod, Alberta Canada is the best surviving example of the past way of life of Southern Alberta’s Native People. It was designated a world heritage site by UNESCO in 1981. Painting by Dora Story.”

Image shows tipis in a camp below Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump. The description on the back of the postcard reads “View in the fall of the year, of a recreated, typical village camp scene, in the campsite below the buffalo jump. The buffalo jump lies west of and above camp. Donna Coulter Photographer. September 1986.”

A program from the official opening of the Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump Interpretive Centre. Program includes a description of what the interpretive centre is and the Blackfoot story of how Head-Smashed-In (Estipah-Sikikini-kots) got its name.

Inside the back cover of one of Beth Sheehan’s 1994 dairies is this recipe for bannock.

Date: 1885-1968 (date of creation)

Scope and content:

The sub-series consists of a group photograph of the members of the Christian Association while they were still in Ontario, and their publications titled “The Expositor of the Christ-Life” which were given to Beth by Paul Flint and Elizabeth McNaught. There are seven bound volumes and eight booklets of newsletters. They originated with Rev. Nelson Burns in 1879, and contain the teachings of the Christian Association, and articles and obituaries of members, including those in the south Peace. There is also a Centennial Edition of the Expositor printed in 1967 which gives the history of the organization, with a copy of “The Progress of Man: the Spirit of Man Versus the Machine” written by C.H. Partridge in 1943. Mrs. McNaught’s copies contain hand-written notes by her.

Physical description: 16 cm of textual records

1 photograph

Access points:

•      Textual record (documentary form)

•      Graphic material – photograph (documentary form)

The Christian Association gathered at Park Hall, Niagara Falls, ca. 1908. The photograph includes the following people who all came to Beaverlodge Alberta to live, except those listed in brackets. Back row: Mrs. I.E. Gaudin, 2nd person; Mrs. Mac Miller, 6th; Mr. R. Lossing, end. 2nd row: Rev. Albert Truax, 2nd; Mrs. Albright Senior, 4th; (Miss Forrester, 8th; Mr. Tucker, 9th; Mr. Pratt, 10th). 3rd row: Mrs. Wilkie, 2nd; Mr. Wilkie, 3rd; (Guineviere Partridge, 5th); Mrs. Cranston. 4th row: Mr. Crabbe, 1st; Mrs. Elias Smith, 3rd; (Miss Hill, 4th; Mr. Fink, 9th); Mr. I.E. Gaudin, 10th. Front row: Darcy Gaudin, 3rd.

Date: 1908-2001 (date of creation)

Scope and content:

The sub-series consists of negatives from the Flint and Sheehan families: Mr. & Mrs. Victor Flint, their home and their children at Lower Beaverlodge; Beth’s life in Toronto, where she worked as a secretary for 4 years; Beth & Everett Sheehan’s wedding and subsequent life on Ox Shoe Farm south of Clairmont; activities she was involved in such as CGIT camp at Saskatoon Lake, the Smoky River Bridge Opening, and some travel photos; and a few photographs of the Tom Sheehan family and activities on their farm near Clairmont, including five photos of the Metis Camp and wives and children of the workers who would come each year to help with the harvest on the Sheehan farm. There are also 14 photographs of friends (Walter & Elva Schmidt and family, Rev. Bev Johnston, Denice Cook Kent, Vince & Anne Racicot family, Art & Agnes Lawlor Sovereign, and Clarice Paul) and 19 photographs, some of which were developed from the above negatives, and some of the Sills family siblings as they grew older.

Physical description: 192 photographs

Access points:

•      Graphic material – photograph (documentary form)

Victor Flint, with his brother George, came to the Peace Country in 1909 with a group of people from Ontario, some of whom belonged to the Christian Association (not as missionaries) when he was 19 years old. In 1915 he married Frances Sills who had come west with Mabel (her sister) and Hugh Allen. They homesteaded south and west of Beaverlodge, but in the 1950s began to spend winters in Pasadena, California. In 1967 they moved to Pioneer Lodge in Grande Prairie. Frances passed away in 1968 and Victor in 1969, both at the age of 80.

George Flint came to the Peace Country in 1909 with his brother Victor and a group of people from Ontario when he was 21 years old. In 1910 their parents, Mr. & Mrs. Paul Flint, joined them at Beaverlodge.

Victor and Frances Flint, shown here with their two eldest daughters Madelon and Pauline, homesteaded southeast of Beaverlodge.

Bird’s eye view of Crescent Grove Farm at Lower Beaverlodge, where Victor and Frances Flint homesteaded and farmed.

Victor Flint came to the Peace Country in 1909 with a group from Ontario when he was 19 years old. Frances Sills arrived in Beaverlodge with her sister Mabel and her husband Hugh Allen in 1911, but returned to Ontario in 1913. They were married in Ontario in February 1915.

Homesteaders heading for the Peace Country outside of “The Boston”, one of the Stopping Places on the Long Trail.

Family portrait of the Flint family, with grandparents Paul and Lizzie Flint seated in armchairs, flanked by Victor, Frances and George Flint and their three daughters Pauline, Madelon, and Beth. Paul Flint was a co-founder of the Christian Association, and came to the south Peace 1910.

35 mm copy of 002.01.03.007 (Family portrait of the Flint family, with grandparents Paul and Lizzie Flint seated in armchairs, flanked by Victor, Frances and George Flint and their three daughters Pauline, Madelon, and Beth. Paul Flint was a co-founder of the Christian Association, and came to the south Peace 1910.)

Image shows Pauline and Madelon Flint sitting outside of a log cabin. There is a cat in front of them. Victor and Frances Flint had three daughters: Laura Pauline, Madelon, and Frances Elizabeth. Pauline passed away in 1935 while a student at Olds Agricultural College at the age of 20.

Image shows three children sitting inside. There are two dolls in the foreground.

Image shows three children sitting beside many dolls.

Image shows three children standing outside of an animal enclosure which contains two sheep.

Image shows the Flint children sitting in a horse-drawn carriage. Victor and Frances Flint had three daughters: Laura Pauline, Madelon, and Frances Elizabeth.

The Flint daughters traveled to Lower Beaverlodge school with pony and cart in the summer, and horse and cutter in the winter. In this image, neighbour Helen Stegmeir is in the cutter.

Image shows the Flint family home in the lower Beaverlodge district. The Flints farmed there, calling it Crescent Grove Farm. Their first home was Victor’s homestead “shack”, made of logs with a sod roof. About 1917 they built a larger log home in a different location. The Beaverlodge Cemetery is on part of Victor’s homestead, for which he donated the land.

Image shows the Flint family home in the lower Beaverlodge district. The Flints farmed there, calling it Crescent Grove Farm. Their first home was Victor’s homestead “shack”, made of logs with a sod roof. About 1917 they built a larger log home in a different location. The Beaverlodge Cemetery is on part of Victor’s homestead, for which he donated the land.

Image shows the Flint family home in the lower Beaverlodge district. The Flints farmed there, calling it Crescent Grove Farm. Their first home was Victor’s homestead “shack”, made of logs with a sod roof. About 1917 they built a larger log home in a different location. The Beaverlodge Cemetery is on part of Victor’s homestead, for which he donated the land.

Beth Flint attended school at Lower Beaverlodge, completing high school in Beaverlodge. She is seen here with Crescent Grove Farm in the background.

Beth Flint in the garden at Crescent Grove Farm.

After completing college, Beth Flint worked as records keeper for the Grande Prairie Cooperative Livestock Marketing Association in Sexsmith.

While Beth worked at the Marketing Association in Sexsmith, she lived with Sadie Kirkham in a small home behind the Sexsmith Hotel.

In 1935, there were floods all over the Peace Country, including the Beaverlodge River in between the town of Beaverlodge and Crescent Grove Farm.

Grande Prairie Co-operative Livestock Marketing Association holding pens at Sexsmith for pigs going to market by rail.

After working in Toronto for several years, Beth returned home. This photograph shows Beth inside the farmhouse at Christmas 1942.

After working in Toronto for several years, Beth returned home. This photograph shows a winter scene of Beth in the garden at Crescent Grove in 1943.

After graduating from Alberta College in Edmonton, Beth worked in Toronto at Dearborn Chemical Co. Ltd., Goodwin Harris Co. Ltd., and the Royal Muskoka Hotel near Rosseau, Ontario.

After graduating from Alberta College in Edmonton, Beth worked in Toronto at Dearborn Chemical Co. Ltd., Goodwin Harris Co. Ltd., and the Royal Muskoka Hotel near Rosseau, Ontario.

After graduating from Alberta College in Edmonton, Beth worked in Toronto at Dearborn Chemical Co. Ltd., Goodwin Harris Co. Ltd., and the Royal Muskoka Hotel near Rosseau, Ontario.

On October 20, 1943, Beth married Everett Sheehan at St. Paul’s United Church in Grande Prairie. Maid of Honour and Best Man were Sadie Kirkham and Jim Cochrane.

Beth and Everett Sheehan on their honeymoon in Banff and Calgary in 1943.

Beth and Everett with their first car (a Coupe) in the yard of their first farm home southeast of Clairmont.

Beth and Everett with the extended Sheehan family posing outside in the snow.

Remodeled farm home of Everett and Beth Sheehan southeast of Clairmont. Note the ice house in the yard.

Johnny Christian at work on the new garage at Beth and Everett’s farm.

Farm buildings on the Sheehan farm from 1944 to the mid 50s. Photographs include an early snowstorm in August.

Image shows several Indigenous people and dogs standing outside of a tent. The caption on the back of the photograph says “Indian threshing crew camp 1933”

Image shows five Indigenous women and several children standing together. The caption on the back of the photograph says “ Wives + families of Indian threshing crew.”

Image shows four Indigenous children standing together. The caption on the back of the photograph says “Indian Children at Tom Sheehan’s.”

Image shows Mrs. Dave Capot and Mrs. Dan McLean posing with three children. Two of the children are in traditional moss bags.

Photographs taken during the Sheehan’s trip to Arizona.

First Clairmont CGIT (Canadian Girls In Training) Group.

Small group of girls and instructor, possibly a CGIT group.

CGIT Camp at Lake Saskatoon. Image shows a large group of girls posing outside of a building.

CGIT Camp at Lake Saskatoon.

CGIT Camp at Lake Saskatoon. Girls and their leaders are doing early morning exercises.

Doing chores at the CGIT Camp at Lake Saskatoon.

Four images of camping at Sturgeon Lake: Norine and Jean with with the Redwood girls in the lake; float plane on the lake; wiener roast on the lakeshore with Beth, Norine, Joyce Jacques, Everett and Jack Sheehan; and campsite in the open beside the car.

Bird’s eye view of three home-made campers on the shore of Sturgeon Lake. They belong to Tom Sheehan, John Sheehan and Everett Sheehan.

A trip made by Everett and Beth Sheehan with aunt Pauline (Flint) and Sidney Green. Tom Sheehan is also in the photograph.

Three images of family picnics: a large group, sit-down picnic; a small group family wiener roast; and fishing in the river with tree branches for poles.

Beth was very proud of her first garden tractor.

Photographs of Beth’s infant son, Kells, includes one of Beth, Kells and Everett’s uncle, John Sheehan ca. 1955; and one of Beth and Kells with her sister Madelon and children Garnet and Linda.

Kells Sheehan with his mother Beth and his great-uncle Tom Sheehan.

Image shows Kells Sheehan sitting on his mother’s lap while his great-uncle Tom Sheehan is seated beside them and is holding a dog

Kells Sheehan during his grade school days.

Kells and his cub pack at the Lake Saskatoon Camp. His leader is Max Lorenz, and one of his fellow campers is Lorne Radbourne.

Kells and his cub pack at the Lake Saskatoon Camp. His leader is Max Lorenz, and one of his fellow campers is Lorne Radbourne.

Kells and his cub pack at the Lake Saskatoon Camp. His leader is Max Lorenz, and one of his fellow campers is Lorne Radbourne.

Everett Sheehan with boat preparing to go to Highway 34 when it flooded in the spring of 1952. Kells is in the basket on the garden tractor.

Everett and Beth took a trip to North Dakota to visit Jennie Morken Sheehan’s family home, where she lived with the Brekkens who raised her after the death of her mother.

Image shows Kells Sheehan posing with his presents in front of the Christmas tree.

Christmas and New Year celebrations at the home of Beth & Everett Sheehan.

Farm machinery in the field

Image shows Beth posing in her garden.

Beth’s garden included peonies grown by C.M. Clarke from Teepee Creek.

Kells with his prize 4-H calf.

A horse-drawn wagon in front of the house.

Beth and Everett on horseback.

Photographs include Tom Sheehan driving Everett’s horse, and horses and cattle on the farm.

Kleskun Hills was a popular outing during the 50s. Dinosaur bones had been discovered, and one of the hills had been re-named “Dinosaur Hill” by pioneer Bob Cochrane. Image shows 5 people looking away from the camera.

Kleskun Hills was a popular outing during the 50s. Dinosaur bones had been discovered, and one of the hills had been re-named “Dinosaur Hill” by pioneer Bob Cochrane.

Kleskun Hills was a popular outing during the 50s. Dinosaur bones had been discovered, and one of the hills had been re-named “Dinosaur Hill” by pioneer Bob Cochrane.

Image shows Beth knitting inside her and Everett’s first farm home.

Image shows Everett seated and reading the Herald Tribune newspaper.

Images of Beth and Everett inside their first farm house.

Beth’s Cactus Garden inside her farm home.

Photographs taken at the Calgary Stampede.

In 1960, the Dunvegan Bridge was built over the Peace River at Dunvegan.

Photograph of Beth and Everett Sheehan taken by photographer Randy van der Veen on October 8, 1999. Outside portrait on the deck of their farm home with grain fields in the background.

A mounted photograph with onion skin backing depicting Lt. Clarence Flint, KIA, WWI. Clarence Flint was Beth Sheehan’s uncle.

Date: 1879-1964 (date of creation)

Scope and content:

The sub-series consists of photographs retained by Beth Sheehan from the collection of Hugh and Mable Allen. Mable (Sills) Allen was sister to Frances (Sills) Flint, Beth’s mother. She was born in 1879 and became a teacher while still in Belleville, Ontario. She taught until 1911 when she married Hugh Allen, also a teacher. The young couple came west and settled in the Lower Beaverlodge area that same year. In 1926, Hugh was elected to the United Farmers of Alberta Government, then in power in Alberta. In time he became the Minister of Lands & Mines and then the Minister of Municipal Affairs. He also served as president of the Alberta Livestock Commission for many years and was a Director for United Grain Growers. Hugh and Mable were active in the community, especially with the young people, and Hugh was an umpire for many ball games. The photographs in this subseries reflects all of these activities.

Physical description: 2 cm of textual records

51 photographs

Access points:

•      Graphic material – photograph (documentary form)

•      Textual record (documentary form)

Albumen print baby portrait for Mable Sills, born April 1879 to Simeon Wilson Sills and Jane Elizabeth Clarke of Tweed, Ontario.

Albumen print portrait of Mable Sills (standing back) as a young girl. The woman in front of her has an autoharp on her lap. Mable was the daughter of Simeon Wilson Sills and Jane Elizabeth Clarke of Tweed, Ontario.

Albumen print portrait for Mable Sills (standing back), perhaps with her mother or sister Francis, when she was in her teens. Mable was the daughter of Simeon Wilson Sills and Jane Elizabeth Clarke of Tweed, Ontario.

Albumen print portrait for Mable Sills (sitting left) and two other girls taken April 1, 1898, when she was about 19 years old. Mable was the daughter of Simeon Wilson Sills and Jane Elizabeth Clarke of Tweed, Ontario.

Albumen print portrait of Mable Sills (first left in back row) with five other young women in July 1899. Mable was the daughter of Simeon Wilson Sills and Jane Elizabeth Clarke of Tweed, Ontario.

Albumen print of Mable Sills (foreground) with three other young women ca. 1900. Mable was the daughter of Simeon Wilson Sills and Jane Elizabeth Clarke of Tweed, Ontario.

Albumen print of Mable Sills (right) with a friend ca. 1910. They are modeling Edwardian Toque hats fashionable during that time period. Mable was the daughter of Simeon Wilson Sills and Jane Elizabeth Clarke of Tweed, Ontario.

Snapshot of Hugh and Mable Allen in 1939, when Mr. Allen was a MLA for the Grande Prairie area.

Snapshot of Hugh and Mable Allen (identified here as Mamie) with Mable’s sister, Frances Flint, beside the Allen home in Huallen. The hamlet of Huallen in the Lower Beaverlodge district was named after Hugh Allen.

Three snapshots of a group crossing the Peace River on the Dunvegan ferry. One photo shows a wagon and two oxen. These possibly date from 1912, when Hugh and Mable Allen came to the Beaverlodge area with oxen and wagon as a young married couple. They were accompanied by Mr. & Mrs. Rebstock and Frances Sills, Mable’s sister.

Five snapshots of early log cabins in the Beaverlodge area. Beside one log cabin with a sod roof are the “Sons of Rest” identified as Henry McNeil, Jake Glessner, John & Jake Stegmeier. Two other cabins are identified as belonging to Bert Elcombe and Gordon Sherk. A tent is pitched (in winter) beside a log house and might be Amos Sherk’s house as they lived in a tent while the house was being built.

Interior of the Oliver Johnson log cabin at Beaverlodge showing gathering of about 40 people on Christmas Day, 1910. Those present include Lulu Sherk, Vic & Maud Sherk, Anna Johnson, Effie Flint, Mrs. Stone, Mrs. Poole, Mr. & Mrs. Johnson, Mr. Sherk, Percy Stone, Mrs. Arnold Johnson and Rev. Hopkins.

The Rede Stone home near Beaverlodge. Group at the front door includes Rede Stone, Mrs. Stone, Mrs. Mortwedt, Percy Stone, Mr. McBride, and George Stone Jr. on horseback. Home has a newly-laid sod roof.

Early wedding in the south Peace. Participants are tentatively identified as Elizabeth Johnson, bride, Don Cranston, groom and Ruth Johnson (Carrell) bridesmaid.

George Washington Campbell of Arizona homesteaded in the Lower Beaverlodge area in 1910. He was a great trapper and nickname “Automatic” because that was his favourite gun and favourite topic of conversation. The photo shows Mr. Campbell’s winter catch of fur at his cabin south of Huallen.

Panoramic photograph of a baseball game at the sportsground on the shore of Saskatoon Lake.

First flour mill in the Grande Prairie area was brought in by the Bull Outfit and set up east of Beaverlodge on Camp Creek (Macklin Miller’s homestead), with Mac in charge.

Lake Saskatoon Ball Team members are (standing in back) Leonard Eiserman, Charles Richardson, George Stohl (Stoll?) ? Stohl, ? McAusland, Max English; and (seated) Roy Stokes, Dean Hodgins, Percy Perraton, Ula Douglas, Walter Eaton, Herman Reidrick, and Jimmy Loudfoot.

The Deep Creek Ball Team from east of Grande Prairie is identified in 1913 as (standing) Wiley Sawyer, Rupert Carveth, ?, Boody Sprague, Wes Bentley; and (seated) Lyman Johnston, Ray Hegler, Cecil Johnston, Eric Anderson, and Gerald Carveth.

The Beaverlodge Ball Team in 1913 with (front row) Don Cranston, Billy Pierce, Harry Cranston, Marley Sherk, Russ Walker; and (back row) Vic Burt, Herman Redderick, Hugh Allen, Dave McLellan, Ward ?.

The Beaverlodge Ball Team ca. 1914 with Marley Sherk 2nd from the left and Hugh Allen, end right.

Young people from the Beaverlodge and Lower Beaverlodge districts ca. 1915, probably at a picnic. Among them are the Johnsons, Carrells, Pools, Sherks, Flints and others.

W.D. Albright standing on the steps of the Albright home at the Beaverlodge Experimental Station in 1929. He is holding one box each of Osman and Florence crab apples, the first ever produced at Beaverlodge.

Bruce, Gordon and Eileen Albright (children of W.D. Albright) in the garden at the Beaverlodge Experimental Station. The note on the back reads: “For Mrs. Allen with compliments of the family. The flowering plant is the perennial lavatera.”

Unidentified ladies at Mrs. (Amos or Gordon) Sherk’s birthday party in the Beaverlodge area. Charlie Edgerton stands at the ready on the left with a coffee pot, another man on the left with the tea pot.

Bill and Bertha Bernard, from the Lower Beaverlodge district, about 1940. Bill Bernard was the first permanent settler in the Beaverlodge Valley. He arrived from Oregon in the fall of 1907 and put up buildings along the banks of the Beaverlodge river, returning each summer until 1914, when he began to winter over.

The water wheel powering Andrew Lindbloom’s (Lindblum?) sawmill at Red Willow Falls, 1930.

Two photos showing an outdoor crowd on grandstands for a political rally in 1926. Mr. Allen was the president of the local UFA when the UFA government was elected in Alberta in 1921. In 1926 he was elected from the Peace River constituency.

New Hugh Allen home in the Lower Beaverlodge district. It was built in 1957.

United Farmers of Alberta Board of Directors in 1937 with the following members: (sitting) Mrs. M. Banner, Miss E. Birch, R. Gardiner, Mrs. Marie Malloy, N.F. Priestley, Mrs. Winifred Ross, Miss Margaret Archibald; (first row standing) R. Hennig, T. Lovelock, H.E. Spencer, Jas. Bentley; (second row standing) P.S. Beatt, J.E. Brown, M.H. Ward, J.M. Wheatley, R. Pye; (third row standing) A.J. Paul, Geo. E. Church, H.E. Heath, Hugh Allen, J.K. Sutherland and W.W. Scott.

23rd Annual University Week for Farm Young People, June 4-11, 1941. Note on the back says, “Probably many Peace River Country kids here. Albert Hill of Rio Grande, 3rd left 3rd row?”

“Presentation of scroll to Hugh W. Allen, President, Alberta Livestock Co-op Ltd, Edmonton on February 23, 1946. From left to right, Lorne Proudfoot, J.V. O’Neill, J.R. Love, F.J. Fitzpatrick, and Hugh W. Allen.

Hugh Allen receives recognition from a group of his peers in appreciation for the work he had done.

Hugh Allen about to cut the ribbon for the opening of a new grain elevator.

Group of 11 men at the opening of a new United Grain Growers elevator. Mr. Hugh Allen, from the Grande Prairie area, is 5th from the left.

Hugh Allen addressing attendees at the Alberta Livestock Co-operatives Convention on July 6-7, 1950.

E.J. Garland, Canadian Minister to Norway, guest speaker at the CFA Convention in 1951.

Hugh Allen receiving congratulations at the CFA Convention in 1951. From left to right, G.N. McConnell, Manitoba, vice-president of Manitoba Pool Elevators; Ben S. Plumer, Bassano, president of the Alberta Wheat Pool; Hugh Allen, Huallen, Livestock Director of Alberta Federation; and J.C. Broderick, St. Catherines, president of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture.

The Village of Stella, ON, was Hugh Allen’s birthplace. Stella is on Amherst Island, reached by the Amherst Islander from Kingston

Canadian Federation of Agriculture or Alberta Livestock Co-operative Ltd. Board of Directors. Hugh Allen is third from right.

19th Annual Meeting of the Alberta Livestock Co-operative Ltd. in Edmonton, July 16-17, 1959. Hugh Allen is in the second row from front, 3rd on right side; John Johnson, from Beaverlodge, is 1st left on the 6th row; and Louis Hawkes, from Dimsdale, is 5th from the left in the back row.

United Grain Growers Convention at Grande Prairie. In the centre row is Gordon Moon (6th from left), Arnold Christie (8th from left), and Hugh Allen (13th from left).

United Grain Growers Float, possibly in the Calgary Stampede Parade.

Memorial cairn erected on the Federal Agriculture Sub-Station at Beaverlodge, honoring William Donald Albright. Erected by Historic Sites & Monuments Board of Canada. From left, V.C. Flint, Robert Cochrane, Gordon Albright, Wm Grant, Alex Ross, Harry Tuffill, and E.C. Stacy.

Mr. Hugh Allen, taken May 10th, 1964.

Date: [1900]-1950 (date of creation)

Scope and content:

The sub-series consists of personal memorabilia as follows: three silk-fringed cards from the early 1900s; two 1930 birthday books belonging to Pauline and Beth Flint; 1930 poem written by Godfrey P. Gower (later Bishop Gower of the Anglican Church) to the three Flint girls; three autograph books dating from 1931-1939; a 1934 Church membership booklet for Beth Flint in the Lower Beaverlodge United Church; three hand-made “Mother & Daughter Banquet” place cards from 1935-1938 among various other cards; her 1939 writings upon leaving home and working in Toronto; her WW II Ration Book from 1943; and plans for her garden on the farm in 1950.

Physical description: 5 cm of textual records

Access points:

•      Textual record (documentary form)

Date: [1930]-1953 (date of creation)

Scope and content:

The sub-series consists of negatives of Pioneer Farm, the home farm of Tom Sheehan; Sheehan family and friends; camping, swimming and fishing; transportation with horses, cars and trucks; travel photographs; and some miscellaneous negatives of hunting, wooden towers (windmill, oil, forestry), Clairmont School, Lavern Sheehan and Jim Morken in war uniform.

Physical description: 49 negatives

Access points:

•      Graphic material – photograph (documentary form)

Tom and Jennie Sheehan arrived in the Grande Prairie area in 1911. They established a farm southeast of Clairmont called Pioneer Farm. Their children were Bernard, Everett, Norine, Jean and Jack.

In 1928, Tom and Jennie Sheehan built a large new home on Pioneer Farm, southeast of Clairmont.

Sixteen horses, harnessed and ready to work, in front of the barn at Pioneer Farm. A large number of horses were needed when all farming was done by horse power.

Shorthorn bull eating from a rack of grain on Pioneer Farm, owned by Tom and Jennie Sheehan.

Breaking land with a steel-wheeled tractor on Pioneer Farm, owned by Tom and Jennie Sheehan.

Steel-wheeled tractor on Pioneer Farm, owned by Tom and Jennie Sheehan.

Tom & Jennie Sheehan and children Norine, Jean and Bernard with the horses on Pioneer Farm.

A wheat crop on Pioneer Farm taller than a man’s waist.

Everett and Bernard Sheehan going to Clairmont Lake School by horse in the summer.

Everett and Bernard Sheehan going to Clairmont Lake School by horse and cutter in the winter.

Two teams of horses and cutters traveling in the winter time.

A common way to transport groups in the winter time was by box sleigh, with everyone standing in the sleigh.

Close-up of the windmill tower on Pioneer Farm.

The windmill tower on the Sheehan farm near Clairmont, before the windmill blades were installed.

When Highway 34 was built ca. 1930, all of the work was done with horses. Here, three teams of horses transport culverts along the road allowance.

Photograph of Norine and Archie Stirling in the living room at Pioneer Farm. Norine was the oldest daughter of Tom and Jennie Sheehan.

Image shows three men standing around a hole in the ground, one with a shovel. One man is crouched closer to the hole. The photograph was titled “Digging for Fox.”

These Sheehan family photographs show hunting and fishing scenes, showing Jack with a large goose, Jack with a bear cub, and Tom Sheehan with fish.

Norine Sheehan driving the new Garden Tractor and giving rides to the kids at Clairmont Sports Day.

Wives and children of the Metis threshing crew at Tom Sheehan’s farm near Clairmont include Louise Webber, Mrs. Dave Capot and Mrs. Dan McLean. The babies are strapped into the traditional moss bags which took the place of diapers.

Metis women, children and tents in the Metis threshing crew camp on Tom Sheehan’s farm in the fall of 1933. Each year this crew would come and help the Sheehan family with the harvest.

Metis women, Mrs. Dave Capot (left) and Mrs. Dan McLean with their children at Tom Sheehan’s farm near Clairmont. The babies are strapped into the traditional moss bags which took the place of diapers.

Children of the Metis threshing crew in their camp on Tom Sheehan’s farm in the fall of 1933. Metis tent, wagon and dogs can be seen in the background.

Wives and families of the Metis threshing crew in their camp on Tom Sheehan’s farm in the fall of 1933. Each year this crew would come and help the Sheehan family with the harvest.

Two views of Pioneer Farm ca. 1930. This was the farm of Tom and Jennie Sheehan, who arrived in the Grande Prairie area in 1911 and established a farm southeast of Clairmont. Their children were Bernard, Everett, Norine, Jean and Jack.

Four photographs showing the Sheehan family with the horses which were still being used for labour and transportation on Pioneer Farm.

Tom Sheehan on his horse at Pioneer Farm, near Clairmont.

Tom Sheehan adding water to the radiator of a tractor at Pioneer Farm, near Clairmont.

Tom and Jennie Sheehan had four children: Bernard, Everett, Norine, Jean and Jack. These images show children in a toy wagon being pulled by Tom Sheehan, on the banks of the lake, and swimming in the lake.

Images of Tom and the children around an early car. In one photograph, a goat is standing on the front fender of the car.

The Sheehan family making ice cream at the side of a farm pick-up truck.

Tom & Jennie Sheehan family and visitors beside a newer model car.

Sheehan family camping and perhaps berry-picking. Their new car is parked nearby.

Sheehan family on dock and in boat named “Sturgeon” on a large lake, presumably Sturgeon Lake.

The Sheehan family beside several prop planes, of the type demonstrated at the County fairs in the 1920s.

Date: 1938-1951 (date of creation)

Scope and content:

The sub-series consists of miscellaneous negatives not included in the original order of the collection. They are in two formats (2 x 3 in. negatives and 35 mm negatives), and include negatives of activities on Crescent Grove Farm and Ox Shoe Farm, the Smoky River Bridge opening, traveling to Taylor Flats over muddy roads in the early 60s, Mr. & Mrs. Victor Flint in their later years, and family tombstones at the Beaverlodge Cemetery.

Physical description: 22 negatives

Access points:

•      Graphic material – photograph (documentary form)

Bunny, Ruth and Beth at Alberta College in Edmonton, where Beth took Secretarial Science.

Sadie, Ray, Everett and Beth in the yard at Crescent Grove farm owned by the Victor Flints at Lower Beaverlodge.

Beth unpacking her trunks in the house at Crescent Grove Farm.

Everett with ducks shot while hunting, outside the Sheehan’s first home on Ox Shoe Farm.

Everett and Beth on horseback at Crescent Grove Farm.

Everett Sheehan with horses and sleigh on Ox Shoe Farm south of Clairmont.

Everett Sheehan beside the tent at Sturgeon Lake in the summer of 1943.

Beth Sheehan, in 1951, pregnant with son Kells.

Beth & Everett Sheehan, at the side of their first home on Ox Shoe Farm southeast of Clairmont.

Beth Sheehan washing clothes on scrub board outside of their first home in the summer of 1944.

Beth, with dog Daisy, on Ox Shoe Farm in the winter of 1944.

Noreen, Joyce, and Jean skating on Sturgeon Lake in the winter of 1944.

Everett and Lavern Sheehan with the new tractor in 1944.

Sheehan party waiting for the Dunvegan ferry on the south side of the Peace River in 1944.

Photographs of the old house, inside and out, taken in 1947 by Dr. McCrum. Includes Beth sitting at her dressing table and one of her on skis at the farm.

Harlie Conrad’s cutter on Main Street in Clairmont around 1947 with Florence Conrad, Beth Sheehan, Anne McDonald, and Elsie Floener.

Date: 1938-1951 (date of creation)

Scope and content:

The sub-series consists of an Alberta College yearbook for 1939-1940, a Shorthand Vocabulary Drill workbook, and a Typewriting Course text for the “Keyboard Mastery of the Vocabulary of Business by the High Frequency Word-Pattern Method.

Physical description: 1 cm of textual records

Access points:

•      Textual record (documentary form)

Date: 1949-1994 (date of creation)

Scope and content:

The series consist of Income Tax Returns from 1949 to 1994 and some farm documents from 1967-1983: 1967 Land Title for the home quarter; 1975 indenture between Everett and Kells Sheehan to create a partnership raising purebred cattle; 1976 Lease Agreement on their farm land; 1980 transfer of land; 1981-1982 Canadian Wheat Board Permit Book; tax bills from 1982; and an Ox Shoe Farm business card. Photographs of the farm are included in the family photographs.

Physical description: 7 cm of textual records

Access points:

•      Textual record (documentary form)

Date: 1947-1997 (date of creation)

Scope and content:

Beth Flint Sheehan has been involved in many different activities and organizations which have had an impact on the Peace Country and the area around Grande Prairie. She is well-known as a Peace Country historian, and is especially knowledgeable about the Clairmont area where she has farmed with her husband, Everett, for the past 60 years. Beth was a founding member of the Grande Prairie Agricultural Society, and interested herself not only in the current operations, but also in the history of its predecessors. Another of Beth’s hobbies is photography, and this is applied to her interest in the arts community of Grande Prairie, as well as her involvement with organizations and her historical research.

This series consists of 6 sub-series detailing Beth’s activities as a member of the Grande Prairie Agricultural Society, as an historian and as a photographer. The collection includes historical information and photographs of the County Fair; lists of historical material available in or donated by Beth to the Provincial Archives and the Glenbow Archives since 1971; a collection of cards listing the residents of the Clairmont area in 1978; and photographs taken by Beth Sheehan because of her interest in the history of people and events in Grande Prairie.

Physical description: 56 cm of textual records

496 photographs

80 slides

Access points:

•      Textual record (documentary form)

•      Graphic material – photograph (documentary form)

Date: 1947-1997 (date of creation)

Scope and content:

In 1900, the Trumpeter Swan was thought to be on the verge of extinction, with only a few known pairs nesting in Yellowstone Park and in north-western Canada. Even though their nesting places and breeding grounds were kept secret and protected by conservationists and enthusiasts, the situation was still serious in the late 1940s when Beth Flint Sheehan became involved in their cause. At that time, a pair was nesting on Clairmont Lake, not far from her farm home. She joined the Trumpeter Swan Society International after they had their first conference in the Grande Prairie area in 1972. She corresponded with them regularly, submitted reports to the society’s newsletters, and became a spokesman for them in the area. She became a director for the Society in the mid-1980s, and another conference was held in Grande Prairie in 1986. Beth compiled scrapbooks on the Trumpeter Swan, detailing its history in the south Peace and wordwide, its use as a symbol of both the City and the County of Grande Prairie. She also collected photographs of swans from early pioneers, and spent time photographing them. In 1985, she was asked by the Chamber of Commerce to create a pamphlet on the local swans, and in 1996 an update for Muskoseepi Park.

This subseries consists of Beth’s photographs, correspondence, research material and scrapbooks on the conservation and importance of the Trumpeter Swan in the south Peace. It also contains material relating to the Trumpeter Swan Society, an International Society based in Minnesota, for which Beth was a director in the mid 1980s. The photographs date from 1912 and include the tame swans raised by the Joe Tomshak family of Clairmont, the use of the swan as a symbol, swans in their natural habitat from the 1970s to the 90s, capturing and banding of swans Alberta Wildlife in 1978 and 1996, and the Swan Festival at Saskatoon Lake in 2000.

Physical description: 49 cm of textual records

139 photographs

Access points:

•      Textual record (documentary form)

•      Graphic material – photograph (documentary form)

Dan Wishart holds a trumpeter swan shot at Kleskun Lake, Alberta, 1912 or 1913 while at the ranch of his brother-in-law, Campbell Benson. There were many swans there then. Later Kleskun Lake was drained and turned into pasture by a consortium of cattlemen. Photo obtained in 1983 from Jessie Wishart Elliott, niece of Dan Wishart and Campbell Benson.

Helen Tomshak feeding the three original cygnets who were brought to the farm by her brothers in 1947. The cygnets were found abandoned by their parents at Ferguson Lake when it dried up and the little ones couldn’t follow to Clairmont Lake. Tomshaks obtained permission from Canadian Wildlife to keep them, providing they were allowed to fly free. The swans didn’t migrate in the fall.

Joe Tomshak with his tame Trumpeter Swans, who were housed with a flock of Plymouth Rock chickens. One of the hens mothered the cygnets when they were tiny.

Kate and Lawrence Sheehan of Carrot River, Saskatchewan, visiting Joe Tomshak’s farm to see and feed the tame swans in the winter of 1947-1948. The swans were housed with a flock of Plymouth Rock chickens. Visitors came to fee the swans and the chickens got the scraps.

Clairmont entry in the Smoky River Bridge Opening celebrations on August 17, 1949, titled “Clairmont Pioneers-Third Generation”. Beth (Flint) Sheehan is driving a garden tractor which pulls three wagons, the first of which holds a stuffed swan. This was Beulah, Tomshak’s tame swan who was killed on the highway. In the wagon with her is Dennis Croken, a Tomshak grandchild. Other wagons hold Tommy Sheehan, Harry Forbes (Cochrane), and Warren Moore (Turner).

One of Joe Tomshak’s tame Trumpeter Swans in Everett & Beth Sheehan’s yard near Clairmont Lake. One photo shows it in the yard beside Everett, the other at the back door, with Beth and Joyce Jaque peeking through the door. It had chased Beth.

Three photographs of a swan mosaic designed by Beth Sheehan for the patio of their first small house on the farm near Clairmont Lake. The photos are accompanied by the original drawing and a teletype version. The note attached says, “This design was copied and sent out on the teletype by the Department of Transport staff at the Grande Prairie Airport, extending Christmas Greetings to the staffs at other airports in 1962.

In 1965 a government tourist trailer was stationed a the north entrance to Grande Prairie. This new Trumpeter Swan statue was located in a bed of flowers nearby.

In 1966 the Grande Prairie Fire Department initiated a Centennial project of placing swans on Bear Creek Reservoir. They obtained two, but one was killed when it flew into the side of a passing truck. The second one was taken to Lyle Marcy’s farm, but it died during the winter. In June, 1968, a pair of hybrid swans (Trumpeter and Whooping cross) were obtained. In the fall they were taken to the farm of Walter Robinson of Clairmont, but one of them also died. Its mate was sent to Camrose to be with others of its kind. Photo shows the swans at Elsie & Walter Robertson’s, with a third wild one that had an injured wing. It was later sent elsewhere.

Trumpeter Swan Statue after it was moved from the Tourist Trailer site to Jubilee Park. Note on the back says, “Lakes within a few minutes drive of Grande Prairie, Alberta provide one of the very few nesting areas in North America for the rare and majestic Trumpeter Swan. The Trumpeter Swan has been adopted as the symbol for Grande Prairie.

Trumpeter Swans on Clairmont Lake. Note on the back of one says, “Enlargement of this picture was used in Grande Prairie’s 1974 brochure in which they bid for the Canada Winter Games. Slide won trophy for best nature slide, Grande Prairie County Fair, 1971.

Trumpeter and Whistler Swans on Ferguson Lake, April 23, 1973. Clairmont elevators can be seen in the background.

Flocks of migrating swans coming in on a snowy April morning in Sheehan’s flooded fields on the south side of Clairmont Lake. Photos were taken with a 500 mm telephoto lens. Fence along the roadway shows in the foreground of some photos, pasture fence in background, and Clairmont Lake beyond the trees. Photographs were reproduced from slides.

Non-migrant Trumpeter cygnet on frozen Woods Lake in October 1974. It had a tiny pool which it kept open. Wildlife officers rescued it. Photos taken from Dorothy Mansfield’s property.

Sign at the entrance to Lake Saskatoon Provincial Park reads, “Bird Sanctuary, No Hunting. Any persons found molesting birds or their nests or eggs in any way on this bird sanctuary will be prosecuted. Canadian Wildlife Service.”

Three photographs taken by Graeme Connell of the Grande Prairie “Booster” at Little Lake by Saskatoon Island in July 1976. They show an adult gliding, an adult flying, and four cygnets.

Trumpeter Swans and ducks in Sheehan’s field on the north border of Highway 34. Taken April 18, 1977.

Three Trumpeter Swans on Clairmont Lake in the summer of 1978.

Seven Trumpeter Swans in the shallows of Clairmont Lake on the evening of September 1, 1979. Five of them have neck identification collars.

Trumpeters on the south shore of Clairmont Lake with Everett and Kells Sheehan’s cattle in the foreground; and and flying over Sheehan’s farm. Photos were taken in the evening of October 14, 1980.

Swans on Murray Oatway’s field north of Highway and Murray Faul’s field south of Highway, two miles east of the 4-mile corner on Highway 34. Photos were taken from April 17-20, 1981.

Swans in Gananoque, Ontario city park taken October 31, 1981. The swans are not Trumpeters, but show the characteristic bottom-feeding posture.

Swan statue at the north entrance to Grande Prairie (about 100 Street and 115 Avenue). Sign on the base says, “Trumpeter Swan Symbol of the City of Grande Prairie. Erected on the City’s Golden Anniversary, 1914-1964.

Trumpeter Swan statue in Jubilee Park, after it was moved there ca. 1967. Jubilee Park was created to celebrate the City’s 50th Anniversary in 1964.

Postcard of the Trumpeter Swan statue which was the symbol of Grande Prairie created by J.H. Bell, Edmonton in 1971. Note on the back says “Each year a few of these nearly extinct birds nest on small lakes near the city.” (Not an entirely accurate caption)

Bowling trophies feature a bowling pin and a trumpeter swan symbol. They are held by participants in the High School Provincial Bowling Championships held at Grande Prairie from April 12-16, 1971.

Curlers in April 1971 wearing the Grande Prairie Curling Club Crests, which features the Trumpeter Swan.

“The larger-than-life Trumpeter swan model in Grande Prairie’s Bear Creek Reservoir sits at its wintering ground waiting for the water level to rise so that it can be launched.” These photos appeared in the May 3-7, 1971 issues of the Daily Herald Tribune. Stamp on the back says “if reprinted please credit The Daily Herald Tribune photo by Jeff Harris.

This photo, showing a worker cleaning the floating swan on the Bear Creek Reservoir, was taken by a telephoto lens. AGT tower and a grain elevator can be seen in the background.

Photograph from the November 2, 1971 Daily Herald. The caption is “Alvin Banman of the city parks department cleans up the Trumpeter Swan Statue in Jubilee Park after Halloween pranksters sprayed the swan with red enamel. This is the second swan to stand in the park after the first one was stolen two years ago.”

Photograph from the January 31, 1972 issue of the Daily Herald. The caption is “Standing tall and ghostly in early dawn light, this feathered resident of Jubilee Park is quite alone these days….”

Photograph from the April 28, 1972 issue of the Daily Herald. The caption is “The blinding light of a camera flash reveals a familiar sentinel in Jubilee Park. The Trumpeter Swan statue is forever quiet and immobile, but at the moment more than 25 living pairs of this famous bird are arriving in the Grande Prairie area to continue an uphill struggle against extinction.

Photograph from the May 15, 1972 issue of the Daily Herald. The caption is “The Trumpeter Swan Statue in Jubilee Park keeps a watchful eye on city workman Ernie Tysowski as he maneuvers a roto-tiller around the shrubs in the park…”

Daily Herald Tribune photograph from May 1972 of the Trumpeter Swan in Jubilee Park on Clairmont Road between 102 and 104 Avenue. A girl is reading on a bench under the shadow of its wings.

Daily Herald Tribune photograph from September 28, 1972. Caption: “Mayor Elmer Borstad presents a Trumpeter Swan statue to Jim King, out-going president of the International Trumpeter Swan Society. To Mr. King’s left is Ron Mackay, wildlife biologist, Canadian Wildlife Service for western Canada. The Trumpeter Swan Society held its second conference in Grande Prairie September 26-28, 1972.

One adult pair of Trumpeter Swans on Tink’s slough south of Flying Shot Lake, taken August 18, 1982.

Two pairs of non-breeding Trumpeter Swans on Gummer Lake, September 12, 1982. Taken from Harry Student farm.

Trumpeter Swans and cygnets on Intermittent Lake by the Hudz and Vavrek farms.

Trumpeter Swans taking off and landing on Saskatoon Lake on October 23, 1982. Photographs were taken from Francis Ramsden’s farm, and one of the photos shows him spotting the swans with field glasses.

Trumpeter Swans in flight over Clairmont Lake where swans, ducks and Canada geese are gathering for migration. Photos were taken from Sheehan’s farm on October 24, 1982.

Trumpeter Swans in flight over Clairmont Lake where swans, ducks and Canada geese are gathering for migration. Photographs were taken from Sheehan’s farm on October 24, 1982.

Clairmont Lake after freeze-up. Just a small strip of open water, where hundreds of ducks, geese and a few swans congregated November 2, 1982. The swans mostly rested on the ice. Counted 50, scattered over quite a large area.

Approximately 230 swans on Arthur Lippelt’s field by Clairmont Lake on April 17, 1983.

Swan Statue in Jubilee Park, now surrounded by mature trees, hedges and flower beds.

Postcard of Swan Statue in Jubilee Park, created by Frank Wesolowski from Peace River.

Swans on Clairmont Lake, taken October 25, 1987.

Trumpeter Swan pair on Student’s Lake–no young–taken September 26, 1987.

Trumpeter Swan pair with cygnets in the shallows on the north shore of Clairmont Lake. One adult with green collar #10x, put on in Yellowstone Park area last winter before swans were moved to new wintering habitat. Photos were taken October 23, 1992.

Returning Trumpeter and Tundra Swans on Sheehan’s field north of Highway 34. Sheehan’s farm home can be seen in the background.

Swans in flight over Faul’s field, south of Highway 34 on April 19, 1997. Photo taken by Ron Patrick, Grande Prairie.

Trumpeter Swan Festival held at Lake Saskatoon on April 30, 2000. Photos include the over-sized duck from Ducks Unlimited, Beth Sheehan’s display of Trumpeter Swan information, a clown making swan balloon animals, and a table of origami swans.

Swans in flight over Saskatoon Lake, with a red sunset in the background. Photo taken by Jim Lipon.

Pair of Trumpeter Swans on Crystal Lake in 1996. Photo taken by Randy Vanderveen.

Three trumpeter swans in flight. Photograph is not dated, no place notation, photographer unidentified.

Trumpeter Swan postcard by Frank Wesoloski of Peace River.

Canadian Fish & Wildlife personnel banding Trumpeter Swans on September 14, 1978. An airboat was used to chase down the birds when they were in molt and couldn’t fly. They were docile and cygnets showed no fear of people. Birds were banded and measured for statistics. Photos show adult and four cygnets after they were collared–red designates this area.

Canadian Fish & Wildlife personnel banding Trumpeter Swans on September 14, 1978. After banding the four cygnets and one adult, Wildlife personnel examined them for leeches which can get into the swan’s nostrils and sometimes suffocate them. Photo shows removal of leech.

Canadian Fish & Wildlife personnel banding Trumpeter Swans on September 14, 1978. After the birds were banded, measured and examined, they were returned to the wild. Photos show the five personnel, each with an unbound bird under their arm, taking the birds back to the lake. The birds are alert but quiet.

Canadian Fish & Wildlife personnel banding Trumpeter Swans on September 14, 1978. After the birds were banded, measured and examined, they were returned to the wild. Photos show the five personnel, each with an unbound bird under their arm, taking the birds back to the lake. The birds are alert but quiet.

Date: 1958-1965 (date of creation)

Scope and content:

The Home & School Assoc. was formed “to bring together parents, teachers and interested members of the community for the purpose of raising educational standards in the home, school, and community, and of serving the needs of children and youth at various age levels.” Beth Sheehan was a founding member of the Harry Balfour Home and School Assoc. for two years, served as president of the local assoc., then as a regional representative, and finally as the news editor for the provincial newsletter. As regional rep she also planned conferences for the Grande Prairie area.

The sub-series consists of a 1960 handbook for The Canadian Home and School and Parent-Teacher Federation; Beth’s speech script on the benefits of having a Home & School Assoc.; skit scripts used for entertainment at conferences and meetings; annual banquet programs from The Alberta Federation of Home & School Assoc.; correspondence with other reps; and issues of the 1964 and 1965 newsletter, Home and School.

Physical description: 2 cm of textual records

Access points:

•      Textual record (documentary form)

Date: 1954-1994 (date of creation)

Scope and content:

Agricultural fairs in the early part of the 20th century were recognized as a way to promote the potential of the land and to encourage the spirit of the settlers. Thus, they were supported by government grants. The first fair in Grande Prairie was held in 1910, in the vicinity of 101 Street and 101 Avenue. By 1911, they were well established with president, vice-presidents, and secretary-treasurer. From then on, fairs were held annually until 1932 when, during the financial stress of the Depression, government grants stopped. This virtually put a stop to the fairs until 1951, when the Grande Prairie Agricultural Society was formed. At that time fair grounds were located north-east of the City where the city water towers and Crystal Park School now stand. In 1982, the fairgrounds moved to the dunes area south east of the City and was named Evergreen Park.

This subseries consists of historical notes and essays on the fairs in Grande Prairie from 1910 to 1951, photographs of fairs and parades from 1954 on, planning documents, programmes and news clippings from fairs following that time. There is also a document titled “Origin of Farmers’ Market, 1974” which gives the details of how the Grande Prairie Farmers’ Market was established through members of the County of Grande Prairie Agricultural Society.

Physical description: 2 cm of textual records

157 photographs

80 slides

Access points:

•      Textual record (documentary form)

•      Graphic material – photograph (documentary form)

Chuckwagons at the Grande Prairie Agricultural Fair grounds where the Crystal Park School is now situated.

County Fair parade on Richmond Avenue, chuckwagon races and horse races for the 1954 County Fair.

Horses, clowns and Esso float in the 1957 County Fair Parade.

Horse competitions and crowds at the 1960 County Fair.

Kinsmen float, 4-H float, and “Life begins at 80” Oldtimers float, in 1961 County fair parade.

Stagecoach and horses, possibly carrying the mayor, in the 1964 County Fair parade.

Fair queen and floats in the 1965 County Fair Parade

Costumed staff at 1967 County Fair: Lewis Hawkes, Gord Fried, Allan Drysdale, Alf Baum, Ruth Kenefick, Dick Foster. Grande Prairie Co-op and Holroyd Drugs floats in the parade.

Flower and fine arts displays, floats in fair parade (hospital, children on bikes, small tractor), and mud at the 1968 Fair. People identified are Ted & Evelyn Gammon, Russel Burgess, and Nan Stirling.

County Fair parade showing crowds, Mountview Trailer Sales float and Fred Dobbyn on his horse.

Holroyd Drugs float, Miss Canada float and City of Grande Prairie float in the 1971 County Fair Parade.

County Fair parade floats: Frontier Freddy, City of Grande Prairie, Foresters, German-Canadian Club, Alberta Government Telephones, Whitlock horses, Canfor.

Staburr Booth at the 1975 County Fair.

Log chopping at the first Logger’s Competition at the Grande Prairie County Fair in 1975.

Clarice Paul and displays at the 1976 County fair; also horse judging, but not for competition.

Ferris Wheel and judging of Hereford cow & calf classes at the fair.

Events at the Loggers’ Sports at the Grande Prairie County Fair in 1980.

1972 County of Grande Prairie Agricultural Fair Parade on Richmond Avenue.

Events at the 1985 County of Grande Prairie Agricultural Fair included chuckwagon races, chariot races, horse pulls.

Events at the 1985 County of Grande Prairie Agricultural Fair.

Events at the 1987 County of Grande Prairie Agricultural Fair.

Events at the 1992 County of Grande Prairie Agricultural Fair.

Events at the 1994 County of Grande Prairie Agricultural Fair.

Photographs of people and events at Evergreen Park in 1982 include fair official Johnny Stark; Henry Monkman, son of Alex Monkman; Dave Sample with his prize Appaloosa; Kelly Sutherland, World Champion Chuck Wagon driver; Chuckwagon races and horse pulling competitions at the Stompede.

Photographs of people and events at Evergreen Park in 1983 include Ralph Vigen and his horse; Max Sutherland; chuckwagon racing at the fair; County of Grande Prairie float in the parade; and a boy and his goat.

Photographs of commemorative rock and plaque marking the dedication of Evergreen Park. Plaque reads: “Grande Prairie County Agricultural Society. This exhibition complex is dedicated to the many volunteers who, with aid from the County of Grande Prairie and the Province of Alberta staged local fairs and special events from 1910 to 1982. Remembering the past, looking to the future for the the enjoyment of all. Dedicated July 31, 1982.

Lewis Hawkes Livestock Pavilion at the County Fairgrounds in Evergreen Park during the Spring Livestock Show and Sale Days.

Date: 1961-1972 (date of creation)

Scope and content:

This subseries consists of program scripts for Grande Prairie Book Club meetings where Beth was the hostess in charge of the program. There is also some correspondence carried out in preparation for the meetings.

Physical description: 1 cm of textual records

Access points:

•      Textual record (documentary form)

Date: 1984 (date of creation)

Scope and content:

This subseries consists of photographs, letters and folders of information from Foster Parents regarding the children the Sheehan’s supported through the adoption program.

Physical description: 2 cm of textual records

Access points:

•      Textual record (documentary form)

Date: 1984 (date of creation)

Scope and content:

This subseries consists of a proposed calendar of events for the 1984 North American Hot Air Balloon Championships; correspondence, budgets, and minutes of meetings; bios of pilots and information for sponsors.

Physical description: 1 cm of textual records

200 photographs

Access points:

•      Textual record (documentary form)

•      Graphic material – photograph (documentary form)

Date: 1886-2000 (date of creation)

Scope and content:

Because of her activities as an historian, Beth kept a collection of files on people and places she actively researched. This research would take the form of interviews from which she recorded notes or transcripts; photographs taken by Beth during the process of her research; biographies collected from other sources or written by her mother, Frances Flint, or herself; clippings collected from local papers and magazines; and notes taken from historical sources.

This subseries consists of an index of material collected from pioneers in the Peace Country of Alberta by York University; a source list of material compiled in the Provincial Archives of Alberta on the Grande Prairie area before 1982; lists of archival material donated by Beth Sheehan to the Provincial Archives and the Grande Prairie Public Library; and cards with the names of Clairmont residents prepared for the 1978 Census.

Physical description: 150 cm of textual records

259 photographs

12 sound recordings

Access points:

•      Textual record (documentary form)

•      Graphic material – photograph (documentary form)

•      Sound recording (documentary form)

•      Land, settlement and immigration* (subject)

•      Art (subject)

•      Religion (subject)

•      Alberta (place)

Date: 1961-1986 (date of creation)

Scope and content:

For some years, Mrs. Sheehan was the secretary of St. Paul’s United Church, and when they celebrated their 50th Anniversary in 1961, she wrote a history of the church called “And We Come After.” For the 75th Anniversary in 1986, Patricia Schneider wrote an update to cover the years from 1961-1986, while Beth added to the original history.

This subseries consists of a series of St. Paul’s Calls, a newsletter produced by St. Paul’s United Church, from 1958-1961; correspondence written and received by Beth when she wrote the first issue in 1961; the original draft of the 1986 booklet; and bulletins and programmes for the 75th Anniversary.

Physical description: 4 cm of textual records

Access points:

•      Textual record (documentary form)

History of McQueen Presbyterian Church and St. Paul’s United Church, Grande Prairie from 1911 to 1986.

History of McQueen Presbyterian and St. Paul’s United Church in Grande Prairie from 1911 to 1961.

Date: 1988-1992 (date of creation)

Scope and content:

The Monkman Pass Highway was a volunteer project from 1937-1939 to build a highway between Rio Grande, Alberta and Hansard, B.C. on the British Columbia highway system, giving the Peace Country an “outlet to the Coast”. Madelon and Beth Flint were teenagers at the time of this momentous and popular project, and in the late 1980s collaborated to write a book about the people involved in the project. Beth is credited with the organization and editing of the book.

This subseries consists of a corrected copy of People of the Pass, written by Madelon Flint Truax and Beth Flint Sheehan and a letter from the Alberta Historical Society acknowledging receipt of the book.

Physical description: 2 cm of textual records

Access points:

•      Textual record (documentary form)

Date: 1928-1992 (date of creation)

Scope and content:

Turn Back the Pages: Clairmont 1908-1992 is the history of the community of Clairmont (originally called Twin Lakes) written by Beth Sheehan in 1992. The book contains the history of the hamlet/village and its schools, churches, organizations and sports, illustrated by stories of local characters, maps, photographs, art work and clippings from the Clairmont Independent newspaper.

The sub-series consists of the research files (including people, government, businesses, events) used to create the original book, newsclipping files for Clairmont from 2011-1908, the 1992 manuscript of the book “Turn Back the Pages”, and a file for the update of the book, dated 1999-2005. There is also a 20 page document from the Provincial Archives of Alberta detailing all the records with material about Clairmont in their holdings, a hand-out on How to Prepare a Local History by Hugh Dempsey, and a copy of the published book. The photographs in this sub-series are dated from 1915-2004, and record the changes in the hamlet in almost 90 years. They include early hamlet scenes, farm buildings, schools and children, the Krimmer Mennonite congregation and the cemetery; and the buildings, businesses, homes and street scenes in the town and country, and views from outside of Clairmont as the area became more developed.

Physical description: 34 cm of textual records

183 photographs

Note [generalNote]:

One folder (24-31) from this subseries was found with no items. We are not sure where they went. – June 2018 J. Sallis.

Access points:

•      Textual record (documentary form)

•      Graphic material – photograph (documentary form)

I.E. Gaudin’s Departmental Store erected in Clairmont in 1915. A heavy frost came the next year and the store closed its doors, presumably because the farmers had no crop and therefore no cash to purchase goods. There are two copies of the photograph, one from the Sheehan family and one from Glenbow Archives (NB-15-5).

Clairmont, Alberta ca. 1917, when there were only three elevators. From left, buildings are identified as the Community Hall, Cady & Evans Lumber Yard, Evans’ big house with the dormer window, Hardware Store with the big window. The Barn behind was owned by Evans, and the tall house was George White’s. Custodial History: This photograph was given to Beth Sheehan by the Spencer family.

Melvin Spencer farm on the west shore of Twin Lake (later re-named Clairmont Lake) ca. 1917. The second house, on the 1/4 south of Spencer’s, belonged to Ed Anderson and was later bought by the Spencers. The Anderson buildings were vacant for several years in the early 1920s.

Melvin Spencer farm home on the west shore of Twin Lake (later re-named Clairmont Lake) ca. 1917. The Spencers came to the Clairmont District in 1910, from Saskatchewan.

Photograph of the Spencer party coming into the Peace Country in 1910. The buildings in the photograph are believed to be a stopping place on the Long Trail.

Melvin Spencer farm and outbuildings on the west shore of Clairmont Lake ca. 1917. The Spencers came to the Clairmont District in 1910, from Saskatchewan.

Melvin Spencer home and garden on the west shore of Clairmont Lake) ca. 1917. The Spencers came to the Clairmont District in 1910, from Saskatchewan.

Photograph of Lillian Moore, the daughter of Arthur & Golda Patrick, on the bench in front of the A Patrick Store in Clairmont. Note the hitching rail for the horses. This store burned in January 1920.

Krimmer Mennonite congregation on the Peters’ farm in 1918.

Children from the Krimmer Mennonite settlement in front of Currie School ca. 1920.

Krimmer Mennonite congregation at their Clairmont church in 1925. The left entrance was for men, ladies went in the right entrance, and children’s door was in the centre. This was on Mr. Peter’s farm west of Clairmont.

Last team of oxen in the area, harnessed for field work in the early 1920s. They belonged to a bachelor who lived across the road from John Sheehan.

490 Chevrolet, believed to belong to John Sheehan, on Highway No. 2 from Mercer Hill looking south towards Clairmont and Grande Prairie. This photograph was used in the 1983 Grande Prairie book.

Clairmont, Alberta, in the mid 1920s.

Royal Bank, on main street, Clairmont, Alberta, in the mid 1920s. Originally it was the Union Bank.

Clairmont Lake School children at the side of the old building being used for a second classroom in 1928.

Clairmont Lake School children. Clairmont Lake School was built on the south-west corner of the hamlet in 1918, and in 1928 became a two-room school.

Clairmont, Alberta, in the late 1920s, with the Clairmont Lake School centre front.

Clairmont, Alberta, in 1930, taken from the top of Mercer Hill and showing the Tomshak farm on the left side of the photograph.

Clairmont Choir in the Clairmont United Church in 1937. The choir is gathered around an organ, trophy and plaque won in a competition, perhaps the music festival.

Mrs. Melvin (Ella) Spencer on the platform of the NAR Station at Clairmont, Alberta. The railway water tower seen in the background was later moved to Grande Prairie.

Clairmont CGIT girls in 1944 at Beth & Everett Sheehan’s home. Girls are Mae Miles, Marie Hart, Jean Trout, Pat Redwood, Rita Miles, Beth Sheehan, Alice Ayling, and Jean Sheehan.

Elmer Kline arrived in the Peace Country in 1910 and built this home on his homestead south of Clairmont Lake. It was purchased by Everett and Beth Sheehan in 1943, who made additions and renovated. It still stands in 2012.

Conrad’s cutter on Clairmont’s Main Street (102 Avenue) ca. 1945. Harley Conrad is driving and Beth Sheehan is sitting on Mrs. Conrad’s knee. Behind is Anne McDonald, Elsie Floener and Mamie Miles. In the background is Sim’s Auto Service and Feed Barn.

Mr. and Mrs. Fred Saul in the back of a covered wagon pulled by oxen, one of the entries in the parade opening the bridge over the Big Smoky River on August 14, 1949. Mrs. Saul is churning butter.

Beth Sheehan on the new garden tractor pulling three wagons with children for the Smoky River Bridge Opening on August 14, 1949. The sign says “Clairmont Pioneers Third Generation.” Each child is holding a sign with the name of their forefather and the year they came to Clairmont. Children are Dennis Croken (Joe Tomshak 1910), Tommy Sheehan (Tom Sheehan 1910), Henry Forbes (Robert Cochrane 1911), Warren Moore (Frank Turner 1912). Dennis Croken also has a mounted trumpeter swan which was raised by his grand-parents but killed on the road.

Russell Hart’s horses being paraded for weight-guessing contest at the 1951 Clairmont Sports by president of the Clairmont Sports Association Harley Conrad and vice-president Everett Sheehan.

Pulling contest at the sports, possibly at Clairmont Sports. Note the “plus-fours” pants on the 1st man to the right of the horses.

Clairmont from Hart’s Hill south of town in the winter of 1958. There are five elevators at this time, and the school is the large building in front left.

A trumpeter swan in molt and unable to rise up from Clairmont Lake in June 1970.

Clairmont elevators taken from a boat on Clairmont Lake in 1975.

“Four-Mile Corner” north of Grande Prairie, or “Kehr’s Corner”. Merv Kehr’s farm is on the left. Former Harley Mueller’s service station and original house (1950s) on right.

“Four-Mile Corner” north of Grande Prairie, or “Kehr’s Corner”. Merv Kehr’s farm is on the left. Former Harley Mueller’s service station and original house (1950s) on right.

Jessica, Deirdre, and Moira Sheehan skating on Clairmont Lake in November 1977.

A flock of swans on Clairmont Lake on October 14, 1980.

Clairmont elevators taken from a boat on Clairmont Lake on October 20, 1980.

Bottoms up! Trumpeter Swan feeding (possibly on Clairmont Lake) in 1981.

Merv Kehr’s buildings at Four-Mile Corner north of Grande Prairie in December 1982.

Eight photographs of the United Grain Growers and Alberta Wheat Pool elevators burning in Clairmont taken on July 14, 1983. Two days after the fire started, the grain was still burning. One of the photos is taken from Hart’s Hill south of Clairmont and shows the new Clairmont Curling Club under construction in the foreground as well as the Sutherland Inn which had been purchased from former owners by Kelly, Murray and Max Sutherland in 1982.

Eight photographs of the Official Opening of the Clairmont Curling Club on February 19, 1984. Photographs include Dr. Bob Elliott, MLA; County Reeve Bill Housman; County Councillor Albert Tomshak; Curling Club officials Sherman Robideau, Chairman, and Ken Sefton, vice chair; and curlers Jack Dirom, Allan Drysdale, George Sayle, Everett Sheehan, Leslie Miles, Mr. & Mrs. Harry Hodgins, Dorothy Durda, Frank Pisatsky, Andy Feil, Gary Morken and Ken Thomson.

“Spirit of Grande Prairie” hot air balloon floating over the old Tom Sheehan farm (now Roman Bauman’s) towards Clairmont Lake in April 1984.

Clairmont Post Office, operated by postmistress Olga Rotar from 1958-1988, on May 26, 1984. This was the former CFGP Radio Station building in Grande Prairie, moved to Clairmont.

Field directly west of Clairmont, with Mercer Hill in the background. Photo was taken on May 26, 1984.

Shop being moved from the old Mervin Kehr farm at the Four-Mile Corner on June 16, 1984. the house was moved away in 1983.

36 decoys on Clairmont Lake; duck hunters in the reeds. Photograph taken October 9, 1984.

Oatway’s farm buildings in a mirage on May 5, 1990. “Doesn’t show too well, but all buildings are extended almost double-up.”

Encor oil well across from Durda’s buildings north of Clairmont.

Clairmont, taken from Mercer Hill with a telephoto lens on July 15, 1992.

Red Robin Market in Clairmont, built by Don & Sharon Nelson in 1988. The mural on the side, a Royal Mail teamster on the Edson Trail, is an air brush painting by Luther Kozowan. The building also houses the Clairmont Post Office, a hair dresser’s shop, and four Turbo gas pumps.

Clairmont United Church, taken June 22, 1992. This church, built in 1966 on 100th Avenue, was the second United Church built in Clairmont.

Clairmont Curling Rink, taken in June 1992.

Clairmont Seniors Centre, taken June 15, 1992. It is housed within the Clairmont Curling Rink.

Lakeview Mobile Home Village office in Clairmont, taken June 15, 1992.

County of Grande Prairie Hamlet of Clairmont Water Treatment Plant. This facility was enlarged in 1983, and the photograph was taken June 2, 1992.

Former location of Clairmont Post Office on 102 Avenue and 99 Street from about 1958 to 1988 when the postmistress was Olga (Mrs. Dan) Rotar. This photograph was taken June 2, 1992.

The original National Grain Elevator, now owned by Hannas Seeds. The white bins to the right are privately owned by a group of farmers, from which they ship grain directly to market. This photograph was taken June 2, 1992.

Clairmont Seed Processing Ltd., agents for Hannas Seeds Ltd. The agent in June 1992, when this photograph was taken, was Nick Demchuk, and the operator Kevin Hawryluk.

Two photographs of the German-Canadian Society Hall at the end of 99th Street in Clairmont, taken June 2nd and June 22nd, 1992.

Buildings on 102nd Avenue and Clairmont Road, taken on June 2, 1992.

Two photographs of an old house on the corner of 101 Avenue and 99th Street in Clairmont. Pete Bambush, an NAR section man, and his family lived in it at one time.

Two photographs of the original Alberta Pacific Grain agent’s home on 99th Street and 101 Avenue in Clairmont. Built ca. 1918, when this photograph was taken in June 1992, it was one of two oldest buildings in Clairmont, and being restored by Gary Wood.

Location in Clairmont of former Clairmont General Store. Photograph taken in June 1992.

Lakeview Mobile Home Village in Clairmont, taken in June 1992.

Grande Prairie Seniors Baseball Team, in 1999, included some members from Clairmont. The players are back row, left to right: Don Ames, Jack Sutherland, Ray Pollack, Bert Kenny, Eldon Shail, Les Miles, Ray Peterson, Bud Bates. Front row, left to right: Alan Peterson, George Sauder, Herman Haugland, Jake Krause, Tom Toftland, and Don Tunke.

Five photographs of the Krimmer Mennonite Cemetery west of Clairmont, taken June 22, 1992. The sign put up by the County of Grande Prairie in 1975 says, “Clairmont Mennonite Cemetery. This cemetery originated in 1918 and was in use until 1948. There were about 14 families from the Mennonite Christian Group living in the area at one time. In the corner, immediately north across the road, was the site of their church.”

Three photographs of a tin grave marker for Jacob (died 1931) & Annie Wurtz in the Krimmer Mennonite Cemetery west of Clairmont which was made by Reinhold Eckstein. Photo taken June 22, 1992.

Photograph of an unidentified tin headstone made by Reinhold Eckstein. It is in the Krimmer Mennonite Cemetery west of Clairmont, Alberta. Photo taken June 1992.

Headstone for Katarena Schroeder in the Krimmer Mennonite Cemetery west of Clairmont. She was born May 14, 1838; died Oct 11, 1923. Inscription: “May her soul rest in peace.”

Headstone for Jacob C. Schroeder in the Krimmer Mennonite Cemetery west of Clairmont. He was born Sept 20, 1895; died Dec 24, 1938.

Headstone for Henry Toews in the Krimmer Mennonite Cemetery west of Clairmont. He was born 1897, died (1965?). A note on the back says “Henry Toews, husband of Nettie (Sawatzky) (Toews) Sayle; father of Evelyn Toews Feil (Andy), Vera Toews Sheehan (Lavern), and Vivian Toews Pratt (George).

Headstone for Kathrine Sawatzky (1869-1927) in the Krimmer Mennonite Cemetery west of Clairmont.

Headstone for Tenak Wiebe in the Krimmer Mennonite Cemetery west of Clairmont. He was born Dec 22, 1916 and died April 1, 1919. Inscription: “Asleep in Jesus”.

Headstone for John Waldner in the Krimmer Mennonite Cemetery west of Clairmont. Inscription: “In Loving Memory of John Waldner 1895-1946 Rest in Peace”.

Headstone for Peter Frank Willems (1905-1922) in the Krimmer Mennonite Cemetery west of Clairmont. Inscription: “Rest in Peace”.

Headstone for Michael A. Wurz ((1853-1928) in the Krimmer Mennonite Cemetery west of Clairmont. Story is broken and birth date of July 24, 1853 can be seen, but only 27, 1928 is readable for death date.

Seven photographs documenting the twinning of Highway 43 on land expropriated from the south border of the Sheehan farm, and changing their entrance which was directly onto the highway. The photos were taken on June 8, 2000 when the work was just starting.

Five photographs showing the new twinned Highway 2 curving west of Clairmont. The views were taken from Mercer Hill north of town on September 19, 2001, and some show a good crop of canola in swaths in the foreground.

Four photographs of country scenes around Clairmont in the fall of 2001 show round bales of hay with Clairmont in the background, Pioneer Farm house and barn belonging to Roman Bauman, and an oil pumpjack in a nearby field.

Three photographs of the Frank Durda home and old farm buildings north of Clairmont. Frank was raised in Clairmont but later farmed at Prestville (east of Rycroft) where he raised exotic birds. When he retired to Clairmont, he brought back with him a Prestville road sign which now marks the entrance to his country home.

Five photographs showing surveyors and commercial development south of 100th Street in Clairmont in 2001 on Melvin Spencer’s old homestead, Roman Bauman’s farm, and in Arthur Lippelt’s field. The new businesses shown are Davlin Solid Solutions and the Ramada Inn.

Eight photographs showing the industrial area of Clairmont in 2001. They show the one remaining grain elevator (built by National in 1917), the Clairmont Seed Processing Plant, Hannas Seeds Ltd., Arctic Crane and the Red Robin Store, and Race Trak Gas showing the price of unleaded gas at 73.9 and diesel at 66.9.

Two photographs of Clairmont Inn, originally built by Kelly Sutherland and called Sutherland Inn, but taken over by Olfred Holdings Ltd. in 1978 and re-named. There were 11 rooms for rent, the bar seated 125 patrons, and there was a banquet room, restaurant and beauty salon.

The Video Corral in Clairmont, across the Avenue from the Red Robin Store, was a renovated garage building.

Seven photographs of residential development in Clairmont, which included mobile home sub-divisions such as Lakeview Mobile Home Village, and Countryview Estates. Housing sub-divisions created in the early twenty-first century included Willowdale Properties and Wynngate Estates.

Photographs of Clairmont Community Park, including the RV park and playground, which was developed by the County of Grande Prairie No. 1 on the shore of Clairmont Lake. In 2008 the Clairmont Community School was built on this site.

Former Patrick home from Bear Lake now in Clairmont, owned by Wendt family.

McIlroy home in Clairmont. Note on back says, “Lorna was a great gardener”.

100th Avenue showing the current trend to portable housing. The Inn is on the next avenue north.

Two photographs of the interior of the Clairmont Senior Citizens’ Centre in 2001.

The marker at the entrance to the Tomshak farm says, “Tomshak Homestead Farm, 1911”.

Barn and home which was built by Tom Corlett, probably in the late 1920s. In 2001 the owners were Bob Quinn and Jan McNalley, who built a new house behind the historic one in 1999 and rented the old one to Madelon Watson and Jason McNiven.

Interior views of the old Arthur & Golda Patrick house which was moved from Bear Lake to Clairmont. Views include the bay window in the dining room, the fireplace, and the stained glass door panels. In 2001, the home belonged to Cameron Wendt. A fourth photo shows Cameron Wendt’s pet bison calf.

Three photographs of Clairmont in 2004 from the top of Mercer Hill.

Two views of the old National Grain Elevator built in Clairmont in 1917, and the metal tank that has replaced it. This was the last standing of five grain elevators in Clairmont.

The two churches in Clairmont in 2005 were the Clairmont United (built in 1966) on 100th Avenue, and beside it the new Clairmont Community Church, almost complete.

Exterior and interior views of the Clairmont Inn include a chuckwagon suspended from the ceiling and decorated with the names of chuckwagon champions, murals of rodeo events, and framed historic photographs and newspapers.

New sign for Clairmont Park reads “County No. 1 Grande Prairie Clairmont Park.”

Two views of the Seed Processing Plant in Clairmont in 2004.

Rural mail boxes beside a rural road near Clairmont. The rural mail route, with mail delivered to each farm by Canada Post, replaced the post boxes at the local post office, with each farmer having to drive in to get their mail.

New home for Arnold and Susan Meyers near Clairmont.

Tim Horton’s doughnut box with a photograph of Jean & Doug Thornton from Clairmont on the lid. They are holding a sign which reads “17890 km” and underneath it says, “The scenery kept changing, the coffee stayed the same – always fresh.”

Railway maintenance truck on the track near Clairmont. Note on the back says, “The modern concept of a speeder, used to check and repair railway tracks. The first ones were “open air” and were literally hand-pumped by the operator, a cold and thankless job in the winter.

Date: 1912-1993 (date of creation)

Scope and content:

This subseries consists of five land ownership maps from the County of Grande Prairie from 1972-1993; four road maps of Alberta, Canada and the United States from 1926-1969; and four maps of the Peace River Country and northern Alberta from 1912-1962. There is also a source list of material compiled in the Provincial Archives of Alberta on the Grande Prairie area before 1982; lists of archival material donated by Beth Sheehan to the Provincial Archives and the Grande Prairie Public Library;

Physical description: 3 cm of textual records

13 maps

Access points:

•      Textual record (documentary form)

•      Cartographic material (documentary form)

Bottom half of map showing the Wapiti, Kakwa and Smoky River areas.

Quarter section map showing landowners and school districts in the County.

Quarter section map showing landowners, with lakes hand-labeled in.

Quarter section map with names of landowners.

Quarter section map with names of landowners.

Quarter section map with names of landowners.

This is a sectional map showing main roads between Canada and the United States, the western section.

Map shows disposition of lands: vacant surveyed lands, forest reserves, Dominion parks, Timber berths, Grazing leases, Boundaries of Dominion Lands Agencies, Dominion Land Offices and main roads.

This linen-backed map shows the land surveyed in these three districts. Hon. Hugh Allen is the name attached to the back.

This map shows the main highways in Alberta in 1926, and the nature of the road surfaces. It includes attached folded mileage tables.

This map shows the municipal districts of the province.

8 miles = 1 inch

Scope and content:

A map of the Peace River District showing surveyed townships, rivers, lakes, description of soil and vegetation. Wagon roads, sleigh roads, pack trails, telegraph lines, post offices, telegraph stations, and stopping places are also marked.

Date: 1955-1992 (date of creation)

Scope and content:

In 1955, Beth Flint Sheehan undertook a river boat trip on the Peace, from Dunvegan to Hudson’s Hope and back. Her companions on this trip were Mr. & Mrs. W. P. Loggie and their daughters, Isabel and Margaret, who were collecting material that summer on the pioneers of the south Peace and the importance of the river to the development of the country for the Glenbow Archives. The boat was skippered by Harry Taylor. Beth’s diary about this trip concludes that it was “one of the most wonderful experiences I ever expect to have.” This is evidenced by her continued interest in the Peace River for many years after the trip.

The subseries consists of “‘Firefly’ on the Peace,” the diary written by Beth Sheehan during her river boat excursion in 1955, a scrapbook of news articles kept by Beth from 1956-1979, and some articles on the Peace River written by Margaret Loggie in 1959. There are also files on the history and development of the Peace River with hydro-electric dams such as the Bennett Dam, the boats which plied the Peace and the communities along the Peace River: Hudson’s Hope, Taylor, Fort St. John, Dunvegan, Peace River, Fort Vermilion, and Watino.

Physical description: 5 cm of textual records

180 photographs

Access points:

•      Textual record (documentary form)

•      Graphic material – photograph (documentary form)

Aerial view of the Peace River as it winds its way from the Rocky Mountains, near Taylor Flats.

Centre section of the Taylor Bridge left standing after the collapse, with debris visible in the river.

Suspension bridge crossing the Peace River at Dunvegan.

The river runs through the canyon at Hudson’s Hope. The photograph appears to have been taken from the river’s edge. Chas. Stredulinsky is stamped on the back of the postcard.

Interior view of the sanctuary of the Church Of The Immaculate Conception at Peace River. A decorated altar, paintings and statues are in the sanctuary. The painting in the background is the work of the late pioneer Bishop Grouard, O.M.I. It was created on moose hide with home-made paint taken from the soil.

View of the cairn and surrounding fence as they sit by the highway in Nov. 1979. This cairn on the Shaftsbury Trail along the Peace River commemorates Alexander Mackenzie’s western base in 1792 Fort Fork.

The cairn is made of cemented stone and bears a plaque on the front, Nov. 1979. Part of the fence surrounding it is visible. It commemorates Fort Fork, Alexander Mackenzie’s winter base.

The cairn plaque reads in French and English: “Fort Fork The remains across the river are those of Fort Fork, built by the North West Company in 1792 as a western base for Alexander Mackenzie’s search for a route to the Pacific. The explorer wintered here before setting out in May 1793, on his historic journey to the Pacific. Fort Fork was subsequently abandoned for McLeod’s Fort on the north bank, but was reoccupied about 1800. Until it was replaced by Fort Dunvegan in 1805, this was the North West Company’s uppermost post on the Peace River.” Photograph taken in Nov. 1979.

The confluence of the Peace and Smoky Rivers is seen behind the cairn of Twelve Foot Davis, near the town of Peace River in Nov. 1979.

“In loving remembrance of Caroline, infant daughter of Alfred and Agnes Garrioch, who died April 20, 1888, aged 2 days. Forever with the Lord.”

The “Firefly”, piloted by Harry Taylor, on the Peace River at Old Fort Saint John. This was a historic trip from Dunvegan to Hudson’s Hope taken by the Loggie family from Fairview and Beth Sheehan from Clairmont. On the boat can be seen, from right to left, the forge, the tent, and the privy.

This photograph is titled “All Hands On Deck” and shows, left to right, Mr. Loggie (standing), Margaret Loggie, Beth Sheehan, Mrs. Loggie, and Isabel Loggie. They are on the deck of the “Firefly” on its trip from Dunvegan to Hudson’s Hope.

This photograph is titled “Harry’s Monument” and shows Rowena and Harry Taylor perched on a hoodoo along the Peace River. This was taken on a trip with the “Firefly” on the Peace River from Dunvegan to Hudson’s Hope.

This photograph is titled “K.P. Duty” and shows Margaret Loggie and Beth Sheehan cleaning up in the Firefly’s kitchen. This was taken on a trip with the “Firefly” on the Peace River from Dunvegan to Hudson’s Hope.

This photograph is described as “passing under Peace River Bridge at Taylor Flats, B.C. Note wash on clothes line. Beth and Isabel are sitting on the deck of the “Firefly” while on a trip from Dunvegan to Hudson’s Hope.

This photograph is titled “If that’s supper, we’ve had it”. It shows Isabel and Margaret Loggie, Beth Sheehan, Mrs. Loggie, and Harry Taylor around the table in the “Firefly” kitchen. Mr. Loggie is to the side, peering over his glasses. This was taken on a trip with the “Firefly” on the Peace River from Dunvegan to Hudson’s Hope.

This photograph is titled “Harry (hair combed) Spinning Yarns”. It shows Captain Harry Taylor at the table in the “Firefly” kitchen. This was taken on a trip with the “Firefly” on the Peace River from Dunvegan to Hudson’s Hope.

This photograph is titled “Beth, writing in Black Book”. It shows Beth Sheehan writing in the diary she kept on a trip with the “Firefly” on the Peace River from Dunvegan to Hudson’s Hope.

This photograph is titled “Trapper’s Cabin”. It was explored by the crew of the “Firefly” on a trip on the Peace River from Dunvegan to Hudson’s Hope. A card tacked inside the cabin said the owner was Merle Lunberg.

Black & white photograph showing the abandoned Roman Catholic Mission at old Ft. St. John, and a colour postcard from the same viewpoint showing the Mission after it was restored.

The caption with this photograph reads, “Scared Bear — he climbed this 500′ bank”. The photo was taken on a trip on the Peace River from Dunvegan to Hudson’s Hope with the boat “Firefly” captained by Harry Taylor.

Hills and farm on the bank of the Peace River near Hudson’s Hope. This view was taken from the opposite bank by a crew member of the “Firefly” on a trip from Dunvegan to Hudson’s Hope.

Rocks in the middle of the Peace River near Hudson’s Hope locally known as “the Dells”. The photograph was taken on a trip with the “Firefly” from Dunvegan to Hudson’s Hope.

This document is one part of a series of eight documents that is intended to show the evolution of society on the Grande Prairie. It focuses on the history of Indigenous peoples in the Peace region before Europeans arrived. In includes a story of how the Peace River (Unjigah) was named when peace was made between the Beaver and Cree people.

Date: 1886-1999 (date of creation)

Scope and content:

Because of her activities as an historian, Beth kept a collection of files on people and places she actively researched. Some research took the form of transcripts of interviews; photographs taken by Beth during the process of her research; biographies collected from other sources or written by her mother, Frances Flint, or herself; clippings collected from local papers and magazines; and notes taken from historical sources.

This subseries consists of files on pioneer families, artists and communities in the south Peace: Hugh Allen, the Brainard Stopping Place, Oswald & Thea Brekkin, Maude & Harry Clifford, Betty Coone, P.V Croken, Agnes & Alexander Forbes, Montrose House, Bob Guest, Tim Heimdal, Jessie Holmes, Kleskun Lake, Lake Saskatoon, Johnny Macdonald, Rose Pitts, the R.C.M.P., Bad Heart Straw Church, Carl Tracie, Anson Wagar and Jessie Wishart. There are also three documents with supporting correspondence and notes by Beth: an index of written materials on pioneers in the Peace Country and where they are available, compiled by J.D. Wood of York University from 1967-1969; a source list of documents available at the Provincial Archives of Alberta; and a list of the historical materials donated by Beth to the Provincial Archives and to the Grande Prairie Public Library.

Physical description: 16 cm of textual records

64 photographs

Access points:

•      Textual record (documentary form)

•      Graphic material – photograph (documentary form)

The original marriage license of William Allen and Mary Wright signed March 10, 1886.

This portrait of Hugh Allen was taken for the Legislative Assembly. He was an MLA (Member Of The Legislative Assembly) from 1926-1939, serving as the Minister of Lands, Mines and Natural Resources and the Minister of Municipal Affairs. He arrived in the Peace Country in 1911, a pioneer devoted to promoting and bettering agriculture in the West. He served as president of the Alberta Livestock Commission for many years and was a Director for United Grain Growers

Mary Wright Allen, Hugh’s mother is sitting in a chair inside her home in Stella, Amherst Island, Ontario.

A poster advertising the Stage Door Theatre production of The Balled of Knobby Clarke, April 21, 1976. Artist is Tim Heimdal.

A card inviting the recipient, Mr. Crosbie Mc Naught of Halcourt to a meeting of the Alberta Wheat Pool

A banner is suspended across a John Deere dealership. Farm equipment and an automobile are visible. The banner reads “Vote Hugh Allen 1”.

Front view of the Hugh Allen home, Huallen, taken in the summer.

Side view of the Hugh Allen home, Huallen, taken in the summer.

Front view of the Hugh Allen home, Huallen, taken in the winter.

Hugh Allen as a young man camping in Ontario. He is holding a pot and frying pan, with a white tent in the background.

An elderly Hugh and Lulu Allen are standing by a garden in Flint’s yard. Flint’s house is in the background. They were married in 1957. This was the second marriage. Hugh’s first wife was Mable Sills, who died in 1956. Lulu’s first husband, Charles Edgerton, was killed in a car accident.

Thirteen colour photographs and 2 colour slides of the old Brainard Stopping Place, taken Nov.5, 1974. The buildings on site include the Stopping Place built ca. 1910, a log building known as “Blake’s House”, “Blake’s barn”, a lumber building which was the sub-station for the Indian agent, the old Provincial Police barracks, and the Chicken House. There are also photographs of Inez Brainard Henderson at the 76 year old family stove where her mother, Ma Brainard, cooked thousands of fried chicken meals between 1918 and when she died in 1967. Her guests were sometimes influential people such as the governor-general of Canada.

Ten colour photographs of the meeting between Woking Post Office and Woking, England Post Office on July 3, 1983. The idea was spear-headed by Betty Coone, Woking, Alberta post-mistress and Jane Pearce, editor for the Woking, England newspaper. A community pancake breakfast was held for the English guests so the the whole community could meet them. Photos are of this event as well as the English guests Mr. & Mrs. Butt and Mr. & Mrs. Pearce; Woking, Alberta friends; and Woking landmarks such as the Alberta Wheat Pool Elevator and Woking Greek Orthodox Church. Betty Coone returned the visit a year later.

P. V. Croken is presenting checks to Jack Lyall and Gladys Morrison for the crippled children and to Iris Pollack and Mary Field for retarded children.

P.V. Croken is presenting the PV Croken scholarship to Composite High School student Randy Zutter.

Photographs of Euphemia McNaught paintings.

Lorne & Louise Smith (nee Trelle) outside their home with their three young children: Margaret, Harold and Dorothy.

Outside winter snapshots of Herman Trelle family with three children. Herman Trelle was home on leave from the WW II. He was in the Canadian army for two years then became ill.

“Micrograph of a part kernel of Herman Trelle World Championship Wheat, on which the Lord’s Prayer is written in ink, so small that it may be repeated ten times on the surface of this same kernel. This world record writing was only made possible on a perfectly smooth kernel of Trelle’s wheat.” The kernel has “July 19, 1935 Edmonton Fair” on it.

The sign outside St. Andrew’s Church provides a written history of the cemetery and the community. It reads “Anglican Churchyard Cemetery Lake Saskatoon This cemetery was opened Sept. 19, 1911 when the Lake Saskatoon Municipal Cemetery was established. The last burial was that of early pioneer Mrs. Holmes in May 1971. A memorial stone with the family names inscribed was installed by the community in 1975. Many were the accidents occurring in these trying times, County of Grande Prairie 1977.” Photograph taken Sept. 3, 1982.

Three men, a woman and a child are standing near the Bad Heart Roman Catholic Church in 1954. The church has no door or window. This was before stucco was put over the bales of straw in the walls of the church. Part of an automobile is visible in the right side of the photograph.

Two men are standing near the Bad Heart Roman Catholic Church. The church has no door or window. This was before stucco was put over the bales of straw in the walls of the church. The church’s official re-opening day was August 22, 1992.

The Bad Heart Roman Catholic Church has stain glass windows and a cross on its steeple. The photograph was taken on August 22, 1992, the official re-opening day.

Close up of the Bad Heart Roman Catholic Church with its stain glass windows and a cross on its steeple. The photograph was taken on August 22, 1992, the official re-opening day.

Close up of the Bad Heart Roman Catholic Church with its stain glass windows and a cross on its steeple. The photograph was taken on August 22, 1992, the official re-opening of the restored church.

Photograph of the painting “Winter Camp On Denning Creek” by Bob Guest. Photograph is included in “Trail North-A Journey In Words And Pictures” by Robert Guest p. 118

Photograph of the painting “Moonlit Trail Through The Poplars” by Bob Guest. Quote from “Trail North-A Journey In Words And Pictures” by Robert Guest p. 120: “As the long Trail from the Athabasca Valley reached the Peace country, the forest gradually changed. By the time it had crossed the Wapiti River it was winding its way through endless stands of aspen poplar. During the dark days of winter with cold weather and deep snow, travellers felt isolated and were glad to reach their destinations. Some people wore snowshoes, which were not always practical. The painting was based on a trail located close to my cabin.”

Thick black smoke hangs in the air above Canfor Plywood Division buildings and trucks.

On April 7, 1992, Tim Heimdal completed a mural of multicultural individuals and flags behind Shikaoi park in Stony Plain. It is a tribute to early pioneers and sister city in Japan. The park contains a wooden bridge, large rocks and trails.

In October 1995, Tim Heimdal completed a mural of horses in the clouds and descending to the earth. A bicycle is parked outside the Beer Box. Several “Beer Box Customer Parking” signs are on the bottom part of the mural.

On April 7, 1992, Tim Heimdal completed a mural of early pioneers and flags behind Shikaoi park in Stony Plain. It is a tribute to early immigrants and their sister city in Japan. The park contains benches, a garbage container, a wooden bridge, large rocks, winding paths and a wooden gazebo-like structure.

In 1993 or 1995, Tim Heimdal completed a mural of actual volunteers at work in Hythe. Olive Stickney is identifiable in the lower left corner of the mural.

Two bison are standing in a field at Kleskun Ranch. On the back of the photograph: “Kleskun Ranch Pages 29,30,31 John Clark story (nephew of Knobby) Wagon Trails Grown Over”.

This document describes the Brekken’s trip to Grande Prairie in 1910 through diary entries written by Thea Brekken. It includes a description of an Indigenous funerary tradition that they saw along their travels.

Date: 1967-1991 (date of creation)

Scope and content:

This subseries consists of 9 taped interviews of people with history in the Peace Country: H.W. Allen, P.V. Croken, Inez Brainard Henderson, Mr. & Mrs. George Sayle, Johnny Macdonald, Betty McNaught, Oscar Gudlaugson, and Eleanor Clifford Thorpe. There is also a sound recording of the Bull Sale at the Innisfail Test Centre.

Physical description: 9 sound recordings

Access points:

•      Sound recording (documentary form)

On Track 1, the oral history interview of Hugh Allen, MLA, upon his acceptance to the Alberta Agricultural Hall of Fame in 1967. On track 1, side 2 Kells and Lynn Sheehan, ages 16 and 19 in June 1967. On Track 2, both sides, an interview of P.V. Croken in 1971 when he was 81 years old.

Oral history of Inez Henderson, daughter of Ma Brainard, who had a Stopping Place at Brainard Lake in the 1920s.

Side 1 is the Innisfail Test Centre Bull Sale in 1980, recorded by Beth Sheehan. There is a note that says “side 1 with Capstan.”

Interview of George Sayle in November 1980. The topic is Tom Corlett and Clairmont.

Interview of Mrs. George Sayle on January 20, 1980 regarding oldtimers in the Clairmont area: Tom Corlett, Johnny Christian, Jack Kerr, Lee Alward and Billy Kinvig. This tape also contains Mrs. Sayle’s own story.

Interview of John A. Macdonald in October of 1982.

Interview with artist Euphemia (Betty) McNaught.

Interview with Oscar Gudlaugson on October 27, 1991.

Interview with Eleanor Clifford Thorpe in Yuma, Arizona in 1991. Eleanor was the youngest (second) daughter of Maude Wescott and Harry Clifford, who arrived in the south Peace in 1906 and set up a small store in the Metis settlement of Flying Shot Lake.

Date: 1992 (date of creation)

Date: 1914 – 2001 (publication) (date of creation)

Scope and content:

This subseries consists of 68 volumes of Peace Country history.

Physical description: 77 volumes

Access points:

•      Textual record (documentary form)

A community history of the people, organizations, churches, schools surrounding the Beaverlodge area. This copy is missing pages 417 – 432. Those pages were replaced during printing by pages 97 – 112.

Story of the Beaverlodge Experimental Station.

Letters of Clyde and Myrle Campbell.

The story of Harry Hartley and Mary Ellen (Nell) Black and family and their pioneering experience in the Hythe area. It is also about the people of Hythe and surrounding districts who took part in the pioneering from the turn of the century to the beginning of the Second World War.

WWll as it affected Dawson Creek -Fort St. John area

A compilation of information on natural resources of northern Canada

A story of Thelma Irvine’s memories of the Dawson Creek area of the Peace country as well as historical events from 1793-1978.

Letters written by Dr. Mary Percy Jackson from Northern Alberta 1929-1931.

A memoir of her experience as a Métis woman in Canada, Maria Campbell’s Halfbreed depicts the realities that she endured and, above all, overcame. Maria was born in Northern Saskatchewan, her father the grandson of a Scottish businessman and Métis woman–a niece of Gabriel Dumont whose family fought alongside Riel and Dumont in the 1885 Rebellion; her mother the daughter of a Cree woman and French-American man. This account, explores the poverty, oppression, alcoholism, addiction, and tragedy Maria endured throughout her childhood and into her early adult life, underscored by living in the margins of a country pervaded by hatred, discrimination, and mistrust. This is a memoir of family ties and finding an identity in a heritage that is neither wholly Indigenous or Anglo; of strength and resilience; of indomitable spirit. – Description is taken from Penguin Random House.

Memoirs of Jack Sissons and his career including Justice of the Territorial Court in the Northwest territories from 1955-1965.

A description of the land covering the Peace River country as it would have appeared to Twelve Foot Davis. The gold seekers, the first nations, the early missionaries, the law men and early settlers.

Fort Chipewyan and the fur trade to 1835.

the story of Roy and Margaret Housworth and how they established the Grace Children’s Home near Grande Prairie

The story of Jonas Webber, farmer, Sexsmith Hotel owner, cowboy and more.

A book of poetry written by W.D. Albright, many written in the 1930s and 1940s.

History and description of the early trail from Grouard to Peace River used by first nations and fur traders and then early pioneers, missionaries, law enforcement.

A story of coming to a live on a farm in the Peace country in the Depression years through children’s eyes.

The story of a couple who moved from Manitoba to the Peace country in the 1930s to a homestead in the BC Peace country.

A variety of stories and articles about early Alberta, including the Peace Country.

Stories based on Alberta’s history.

A children’s story set in Muskoseepi Park.

Biographies of Fort St. John pioneers.

An overview of Peace Country history from explorers to settlement.

Description of the land and settlements in the Peace country in the early 1900s to the 1950s.

Hogg family history.

A history of the Saskatchewan River.

The story of Sheridan Lawrence, settler and farmer in the Fort Vermilion area.

A young woman’s story of the Alaska Highway construction days.

The memories of J.G. MacGregor and his family’s pioneering years.

Navigation on the Peace River 1792-1952

The memories of Grace Diesel as homesteader, trapper, big game guide, and mother.

On the North Trail – The Treaty 8 Diary of O.C. Edwards

Memories of the Peter La Forge family, Swan Lake, B.C.

History of the area near Hudson Hope, BC leading to the building of the W.A.C. Bennett Dam.

Sideswipe – a book of poetry written by Arthur Patterson

A collection of poetry written by Wilfred Guest.

A collection of poetry by Wilfred Guest with illustrations by son, Robert Guest.

A history of the Tumbler Ridge area.

A history of the North West Mounted Police and RCMP in Peace River, Alberta.

Traces the history of the Grande Prairie Roman Catholic Separate School System, 1928-1978

The story of health services in the Grande Prairie area from 1906 to 1989, and in particular the Grande Prairie Hospital, through its various buildings and names written to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the hospital.

A collection of cowboy poems by Hazel Bean.

Memoirs of Walter Mueller, Spirit River, as told to Mrs. Gertrude Bryan.

Memoirs of Haan, Kimmerly, Gabler, Penson Pender Smith, Ray Smuland, Grubert, Shand, Comeau families and others, Bridge Creek and Grovedale Schools, community clubs and schools.

Note:

The original is stored in the vault. A copy was made and this copy is in the library.

Facts and figures about Fort St. John B.C.

A narrative history of Fort Dunvegan.

Cookbook with pioneering stories and photographs linked to the recipes.

Place names and locations of Mountains, Mountain Parks, and Foothills in Alberta, Volume 1

A history of the efforts of a Peace River district group inspired by Alex Monkman’s research of the area, to build a highway through the Monkman Pass of the Rockies in order to link up with Prince George and provide a transportation route for shipping grain to ports on the west coast.

Note:

Another copy of this book in this fonds – item 2003.54.44

A history of the Red Cross and its services to Northwestern Alberta from WW1 on.

History of the Clairmont district from 1908 to 1992, written for the homecoming in 1992. Subjects include the history of the government of the hamlet and village, buildings and businesses within the village, the school, churches. It also includes excerpts from the Clairmont Independent and the Grande Prairie newspapers and stories about some of the characters about town.

A travel guide for northwestern Canada, Yukon and Alaska, following 28 highways, describing places and features along the routes.

Excerpt from “A History of Lesser Slave Lake” relating to Grouard. This document was printed for use by the Archaeological Society’s Grouard Field Trip.

Articles written for specialists in archaeological research covering the prehistory of areas in Alberta. “Alberta Plains Prehistory: A Review” and “ Dog Days in Southern Alberta.”

Archaeological investigations at historic Waterhole in July, 1990 resulted in this paper which includes lists of artefacts found and historical photographs.

The story of Frank Peter Toews and his son Cornelius Frank Toews.

A close look at the anatomy, relationships, growth and variation, behavior, ecology and other biological aspects of this dinosaur species.

A book of poetry published for the Beaverlodge Centennial in 2009 and dedicated to author John Oliver Johnson.

The “Rutabaga Johnson” story as printed in 1993, after the death of John. O. Johnson in 1985. It appears to have been reprinted by Ralph Ben Foster, a great grandchild.

“A pictorial tribute to the men and women pioneers of the Peace Country” contains photos and history of barns in the Peace country.

A work of fiction by Linda Smith, librarian at Grande Prairie Public Library. Description: “A young apprentice wizard finds herself in the middle of an historic war which only she can stop. Focusing on the power of love and friendship, Smith defies the traditional “good versus evil” theme in order to see through the blind acceptance of history. This is an enchanting story which combines adventure with the varied emotions involved in growing up.

The true story of a woman’s fight for survival in the wilderness of northern Alberta and Canada.

The authorized biography of Emile Jungbluth, an Oblate priest from France, who travelled to the Peace Country in 1936 to work in the Northern Missions. He was to remain in the work there for over forty years.

A volume of poetry about nature, life and love.

The autobiography of Al “Boomer” Adair and his life with “Peter, Don and Ralph”, referring to Peter Lougheed, Don Getty, and Ralph Klein. Boomer Adair was the MLA for Peace River from 1971 to the early 1990s.

“Another Day to Remember” is the autobiography of Martha Peters Reid. It covers her early years in Clairmont, the move to Valleyview, her education at Peace River Bible Institute, her marriage to minister Robert Reid and their experience as pastors in Grande Prairie and Saskatchewan, and their final careers after they returned to Grande Prairie.

“God’s Galloping Girl: the Peace River Diaries of Monica Storrs, 1929-1931” is a record of Monica Storrs, English gentlewoman, who came to the British Columbia block of the Peace River district in 1929 to assist the Anglican Church in the work of Sunday School and related activities such as organizing Girl Guides in the new and scattered communities of this area. Most of her work was done by horseback, working with the small one room schools. She remained at the work from 1929-1950, but this book covers her experiences for the first three years.

“In Grandpa’s Shoes” portrays one of the many Reformation Christian families who fled from persecution as they immigrated from Holland to Prussia to Russia and finally to the United States and on to Canada. The grand-fathers in this story are Henry Peters and Peter Schroeder, who were members of the Krimmer Mennonite Brethren Church at Clairmont, then the Baptist Church in Valleyview, and finally the Christian and Missionary Alliance Church in Grande Prairie. The author is Esther Peters, grand-daughter of Peter Schroeder and daughter of Henry Peters and Kathryn Schroeder.

Volume VI of the series Canadian Frontiers of Settlement discusses the stages and patterns of settlement, farm expenditures, and social and economic organization in the Peace country as compared to other regions.

A biography of W.D. Albright who came to Beaverlodge to homestead and eventually to become the director of the Beaverlodge Experimental Farm. He was also an avid photographer and writer.

A history of the efforts of a Peace River district group inspired by Alex Monkman’s research of the area, to build a highway through the Monkman Pass of the Rockies in order to link up with Prince George and provide a transportation route for shipping grain to ports on the west coast.

Note:

2 more copies of this book are in this fonds, and in the library – item 2003.54.61a-b

A pocket guide to Edmonton and the North containing information for the benefit of settlers and tourists seeking pleasure or business. Includes a map produced by the E.D. & B .C Railway with all the stops identified.

A guide to farming covering a broad range of topics from crops, building construction, pest and disease control.

The “Rutabaga Johnson” story as printed in 1980.

“Beaverlodge and District Celebrates Alberta’s Golden Jubilee 1905-1955”. The booklet traces the earl history of Beaverlodge, first called “Redlow”, including list of senior citizens celebrating 50 years in Alberta

“Let the Chaps Fall Where They May” Complete new series following “ What I Saw At The Calgary Stampede” Cartoons depicting events at the Calgary Stampede, 1950.

Date: 1932-2000 (date of creation)

Scope and content:

Mrs. Sheehan’s interest in the accomplishments of people in the Peace Country extended to a thorough reading of the local papers, from where she clipped any articles regarding the development of the south Peace and the accomplishments of its people. This could be in any area—agriculture, business, culture, education, environment, government, history, sports or technology. These articles were clipped, dated and filed. Although the majority of them are from the 1970s to 2000, some date back as far as the 1930s.

The series consists of newspaper and magazine clippings of topics relevant to the development of the Peace Country and the accomplishments of its citizens.

Physical description: 86 cm of textual records

Access points:

•      Textual record (documentary form)

The contents of the files include General Agriculture, the Beaverlodge Research Station, Beekeeping, Buffalo, Canola, County Fairs, the Ethanol Plant, Dawson Creek, Agricultural History in the Peace Country, Saskatoons and the Valleyview Grain Terminal.

This file contains clippings about the Alaska Highway.

“As Others See Us” SR-12** Articles from outside the area, from 1932-1991, showing how the Peace Country appears to outsiders. Includes stories by Rev. T.D. Wood, who was a missionary in the GP area and which appeared in the Glasgow Herald in 1932, (Reprinted in the Tribune, 1932) and articles on Grande Prairie athletes, representatives and events which attracted the attention of the media.

The contents of the files include General Business; Agriculture; Chamber of Commerce; Construction and Real Estate; Environment; Food, Entertainment and Tourism; Forestry; Innovators and Inventors; the Lewis Brothers Winery; the Media; Petroleum Industry; the Proposed Disc Plant; Retail business; and Women in business.

The contents of the files include General Business; Agriculture; Chamber of Commerce; Construction and Real Estate; Environment; Food, Entertainment and Tourism; Forestry; Innovators and Inventors; the Lewis Brothers Winery; the Media; Petroleum Industry; the Proposed Disc Plant; Retail business; and Women in business.

The contents of the files include General Business; Agriculture; Chamber of Commerce; Construction and Real Estate; Environment; Food, Entertainment and Tourism; Forestry; Innovators and Inventors; the Lewis Brothers Winery; the Media; Petroleum Industry; the Proposed Disc Plant; Retail business; and Women in business.

The contents of the files include a general file on culture; visual artists; Beaverlodge artists; and individual artists such as Jim Adrain, Tim Heimdal, Des McCaffrey, Euphemia McNaught, Peter Von Tiesenhausen, and the Prairie Art Gallery; Arts & Crafts in General; Sculpture and Stained Glass; Dance; Drama in General as well as Grande Prairie Little Theatre, and Jim & Glenn Nelson; Entertainment; Fashion; Home Décor, Food and Gardening; Music in General as well as a separate file on Dalen & Stojan; Indigenous culture and local authors and writers.

The contents of the files include Education in General as well as individual files on Crystal Park School, the Grande Prairie Composite High School, Grande Prairie Regional College, and Kateri Mission School.

The contents of the files include Environment in General as well as Parks in the south Peace River Country.

The contents of the files include all levels of government–municipal, provincial and federal–as well as general files on the County of Grande Prairie, the City of Grande Prairie and the 1983 Homecoming; construction in the City; City Council; the 1975 Alberta Winter Games, 1980 Alberta Winter Games, and 1995 Canada Winter Games; and City parks.

This file contains clippings about health care in the Peace region.

The contents of the files include general history of the area as well as individual files on the Grande Prairie Museum, the Sexsmith Blacksmith Shop Museum, and a file of clippings from “This Was Yesterday”, a column in the Herald-Tribune written by Isabel Campbell.

The contents of the file include events involving Hot Air Balloons.

This file contains clippings about law enforcement.

The contents of the file include file on the accomplishments of individuals in the south Peace, general files about people in the Peace, and individual files on Franklin Thomas (Borealis), Dr. Mary Percy Jackson, Trenton Perrot, and Olive Stickney.

This file contains clippings about libraries.

The contents of the files include Bezanson, Clairmont, Grimshaw, Saskatoon Mountain and Wanham.

This file contains clippings about social services in the Peace region.

The contents of the files include sports in general as well as individual files on Basketball, Volleyball and Badminton; Body sports such as wrestling and boxing; curling; football and baseball; golf; hobbies; hockey; polo; provincial & national games; racing; rodeos; Kelly Sutherland; track & field; water sports, weapon sports, white water river races; and winter sports.

This file contains clippings about technology.

Date: 1974-1976 (date of creation)

Scope and content:

Subseries contains a spiral bound book of newspaper clippings compiled by Beth Sheehan. The subject matter is “The adventures of Gordon Roberts & John Houghton with 40 people in 12 wagons travelling from Ontario 2,994 miles to Peace River, Alberta”

Physical description: 0.5 cm textual records

Access points:

•      Textual record (documentary form)

Date: [ca. 1910]-2002 (date of creation)

Scope and content:

As an historian and a photographer, Beth Sheehan collected and took photographs spanning a long period of time and a great variety of interests. As a meticulous researcher, she added notes and observations on the back of each photograph, recording the date, the event and the people in the photograph.

The series consists of various sub-series: historical photographs from the Peace Country dating from 1915 to 1948; her own photographs of scenes and events in the Peace Country from 1948 onwards; and her own photographs of events in the City of Grande Prairie from the same time period. Because of Beth’s skill as an artist, many of the photographs are of superior quality, with hand-written notes on the backs of many, giving details. Negatives of these photographs are also available.

Physical description: 1223 photographs

571 slides

Access points:

•      Graphic material – photograph (documentary form)

Date: 1915-1948 (date of creation)

Scope and content:

This subseries consists mainly of original photographs collected by Beth Sheehan to record the history of the Grande Prairie area: children swimming and water-sliding at Benson’s Point, early planes, vehicles and homes, Patterson’s barn fire, the interior of the Donald Hotel. There are also 3 photographs of the Leduc Oil Well which blew on February 22, 1948.

Physical description: 67 photographs

Access points:

•      Textual record (documentary form)

Children ranged at the top of the long metal slide at Benson’s Point on the north side of Bear Lake. Benson’s point was a popular group and family picnic area from the early 1920s to the late 1960s.

A large group of people in swimsuits are playing in the water and on a dock at Benson’s Point, Bear Lake. Herman Trelle and his son Kay are in the centre of the photograph.

People are playing in the water at Benson’s Point, Bear Lake. In the background a person is climbing up a large metal water slide. A duplicate copy of this image appears in a Herman Trelle family photograph album. Herman and Kay Trelle appear to be visible in the water on the middle right side of the photograph.

Paul Flint and George Anderson (first two men from left) with the stationary threshing machine at the Beaverlodge Experimental Farm. Note that the thresher is protected inside a building, with the pulley run through a hole in the wall.

A crowd is standing in a field watching an airplane flying.

Three people are talking to the pilot in the cockpit of an airplane.

Six Chevy automobiles parked in front of a building with a false front on the main street of Grande Prairie.

A typical settler’s cabin of log construction and sod roof. Note the wooden rocking chair sitting outside one of the doors.

Flames and smoke cover the Patterson’s barn as it burns.

Flames and smoke cover the Patterson’s barn as it burns.

Bird’s Eye View of Salmond’s Hotel, the confectionery and other businesses on Richmond Avenue.

Charlie Stredulinsky

Scope and content:

The Imperial Bank of Canada on the north-west corner of Richmond Avenue was later occupied by Central Jewellers on the ground floor and Cal’s Barber Shop.

Frank Donald in his automobile with driving goggles, he is surrounded by people. Mr. Donald was notorious for “racing” his automobile from Grande Prairie to other communities in the south Peace.

A dog team is crossing the main street of Grande Prairie. A group of people are watching.

Settlers with teams of horses are pulling sleighs full of supplies.

Bird’s eye view of two automobiles and a group of people beside a corral-like structure.

Interior view of the Donald Hotel, Grande Prairie. Leather chairs, exotic plants are lining the front entrance of the hotel. Electric lights hang from the ceiling.

Passengers Jack Alloway, Sue McQuat and Mr. & Mrs. George McQuat (left to right) are standing in the snow beside a snow taxi snowmobile. Mr. & Mrs. McQuat appear to be wearing skis and are holding ski poles.

A new oil well is blowing at Leduc on Feb. 22, 1948, as people stand on a snowy road watching.

Automobiles are parked on a snowy road beside an oilfield station. In the background a new oil well is blowing.

A new oil well is blowing at Leduc on Feb. 22, 1948, as people stand on a snowy road watching.

View east down Clairmont Main Street with George Evans’ Hardware, Joe Roth’s Poolroom, Lee Curtis’ Store and Kirkham General Store on the left and Hotel and Sims Livery Barn on the right.

Bear Creek in flood in the spring of 1920. Photograph is taken from the creek bank south-west of the Richmond Avenue bridge, with Cook’s Lumber Mill in the foreground.

The Royal Bank in Grande Prairie was constructed as the Merchant Bank of Canada and later re-named the Royal.

Rear view of the Wembley Train Station about the time passenger train service was discontinued.

N.A.R. Station in Clairmont, boarded and ready to move west of Grande Prairie where it was renovated for a home. In 1972 passenger service was discontinued in the south Peace River Country, and many train stations started second lives as homes, commercial establishments or farm buildings.

Reuben Morris, Dr. Dick McCrum, Tom Sheehan, Russel Hart and Everett Sheehan fishing at Big Mountain Creek in the late 1940s.

Ross’s Crossing on the Wapiti River where Big Mountain Creek joins the Wapiti.

Digging out fossils in Cadotte River in July 1954.

Road construction rebuilding the Dunvegan Hill road, with traffic attempting to get through the mud.