Image: A film still depicting the Dunvegan Bridge (SPRA 1985.3.82F, Fonds 039: Bert & Miriam Tieman fonds)
Movie Monday highlights videos from the Archives’ film collection. Every week, an archival film will be featured on our YouTube channel and here on our blog. The Movie Monday project is made possible with the generous funding support of Swan City Rotary Club of Grande Prairie.
It’s Movie Monday again! Today we are featuring one of two films from the Bert & Miriam Tieman fonds that will be part of our multimedia project.
Bert Tieman was born in Delft, Holland in 1898 and immigrated to Canada in 1920. During the transatlantic journey, he met Miriam Hutchinson, an Englishwoman who was also making the move to Canada. They married in Calgary in 1926. The couple arrived in the Peace Country in 1927 and filed on NE 31-74-7, where they farmed until 1946, at which point they moved to Grande Prairie. The Tiemans were very active in their community – they volunteered at their church, at schools, at the Drama Festival, and were involved with a number of other organizations as well. Their only child died as an infant, but they opened their home to two handicapped boys for a number of years.
This particular film (ca. 1969) shows events that were obviously of significance to Bert and Miriam, including Marilyn Turner’s wedding, the Alberta Resources Railway Parade, and Christmas celebrations. The film also chronicles their trip(s) to Athabasca, Fort McMurray, Jasper, Hudson’s Hope, Dawson Creek, Montreal, and Edmonton.
Everyday activities such as picnics and outings to the river also appear in the film, indicating that the many of the pastimes we are fond of today were equally enjoyed in the 1960’s.
Content note: This film contains parade floats and/or costumes depicting Indigenous people. For more information, see here.