Fonds 107 Bill Pratt Photograph collection

1925-1930. — 70 photographs.

Agency History

William Crawford (Bill) Pratt came to the Grande Prairie area in 1912, followed by his wife, Florence Patterson Pratt, and son Garnet in 1913. That same year he founded the first newspaper, The Grande Prairie Herald. Mr. Pratt later entered into business as the Imperial Oil Agent, and then as a warehouse distributor. He was active on the Board of Trade and in the community as a town councillor.

In September 1928, during the time Bill Pratt was president of the Grande Prairie Board of Trade, the Board arranged a promotional tour of the Peace Country by E.W. Beatty, president of the Canadian Pacific Railway, and a party of Canadian Pacific directors and prominent business men from the east who were on their annual inspection trip of Canada. The purpose of the tour was to show the potential of the Peace Country and find solutions to the transportation difficulties for Peace River products going to market. Accompanying the C.P.R. group were area politicians, a photographer from McDermid Studio in Edmonton, and members of the local Board of Trade. Some of those identified are MLA Hugh Allen, Deputy Mayor P.J. Tooley, Bill Pratt, Jack Thompson, Jack Kerr, Martin Eagar and George Hart. After the south Peace tour, the CPR party went on to Spirit River, from where a north Peace tour may have been taken, some of the photographs being from Peace River and area.

Mr. and Mrs. Pratt had three children: Garnet, George and Marion. Mr. Pratt passed away in 1943.

Custodial History

The records were preserved by George Pratt, son of William C. Pratt, and donated to Grande Prairie Regional Archives in 2001.

Scope and Content

The fonds consists of 70 photographs taken by McDermid Studio on the Canadian Pacific Railway tour of the Peace Country in 1928. Subjects of the photographs include the Beaverlodge Experimental Station; the Trelle farm at Wembley; the Jack Thompson harvest east of Grande Prairie; the ranching operation of Mr. Early on the banks of the Peace River; roads, towns, and rural scenes en route; roads and buildings in Grande Prairie; and group photographs of the tour members. There is also a photograph of young Marion Pratt pinning a “Just Kids Safety” button on Lord Lovat, who was a member of the CPR delegation.

Peace River, Alberta, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
View of the Peace River and Smoky River junction from the top of Peace River Hill.
Location: 0107.01

Peace River, Alberta, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
View of the Peace River and Peace River town from the top of Peace River hill.
Location: 0107.02

Canadian Pacific Railway Peace Country Tour, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
CPR and Board of Trade tour group on the edge of a river bank. Bill Pratt Sr. is sixth from the left, back row, and Jack Kerr is second from right, first row.
Location: 0107.03

Canadian Pacific Railway Peace Country Tour, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
CPR and Board of Trade tour group on the edge of a river bank. P.J. Tooley, deputy mayor of Grande Prairie, is perched on a pole in the middle of the group.
Location: 0107.04

Home Of Herman Trelle, “Wheat King Of The World” At Wembley, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
Mrs. Trelle senior, Beatrice Trelle and her two children in the flower garden of the Trelle home near Wembley.
Location: 0107.05

Jack Thompson Farm, West Of Grande Prairie, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
Four teams of horses pulling wagons of stooks and grain to the threshing machine.
Location: 0107.06

Dan White’s Cabin Near Grande Prairie, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
Dan White’s sod-roofed log cabin with porch and wood shed attached. Dan White and his dog are in front of the cabin.
Location: 0107.07

Dominion Experimental Farm, Beaverlodge, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
A herd of cattle on the Beaverlodge Experimental Research Station.
Location: 0107.08

Clairmont, Alberta?, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
View from the north of Clairmont’s grain elevators, roads and homes.
Location: 0107.09

Spirit River School, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
Group of thirty-four children and two teachers in front of a large white frame school in the summertime.
Location: 0107.10

Herman Trelle In His Wheat Field, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
Herman Trelle kneeling in a harvested field, holding a bundle of wheat.
Location: 0107.11

Mr. & Mrs. Herman Trelle Farming, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
Mr. & Mrs. Trelle harvesting. Mrs. Trelle drives the tractor while Mr. Trelle operates the binder.
Location: 0107.12

Grande Prairie From The Top Of Montrose School, 1925 c.
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
View of Grande Prairie’s residential and commercial district, with the new Court House being built in the foreground.
Location: 0107.13

Harvesting On Jack Thompson’s Farm, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
A four horse team pulling a binder, with Bill Pratt and Jack Thompson stooking.
Location: 0107.14

Threshing Grain, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
A tractor-operated threshing machine with horse drawn wagons delivering stooks and grain. An automobile stands to one side.
Location: 0107.15

Threshing Crew With Seven Teams Of Horses, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
Threshing machine working, with six teams pulling wagons of grain bundles and one team pulling a grain cart.
Location: 0107.16

Herman Trelle In His Wheat Field, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
Herman Trelle waist-deep in a wheat field.
Location: 0107.17

Mr. & Mrs. Herman Trelle’s Wheat Crop, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
Mr. & Mrs. Trelle waist-deep in a field of wheat.
Location: 0107.18

Lord Lovett at Sexsmith Railway Station, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
Marion Pratt, daughter of Bill Pratt, pinning a “Just Kids Safety” button on Lord Lovat, a member of the CPR party.
Location: 0107.19

Richmond Avenue, Grande Prairie, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
A view from 100 St. & 100 Ave. intersection in Grande Prairie, with automobiles and horses on the street.
Location: 0107.20

Stooked Wheat Field, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
Stooks of grain cover a harvested field. A farmer examines the grain in the foreground.
Location: 0107.21

Ed Crerar’s Farm, West Of Grande Prairie, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
Ed Crerar’s L shaped log home with the garden and fence in front of it.
Location: 0107.22

102 Street Grande Prairie, From 94 To 95 Ave., 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
Carriage Lane (102 St.) when it was a dirt road, with homes of Jim Evans, Jim Pickerd, Bill Pratt, Clarence Fleming and George Robertson.
Location: 0107.23

George Robertson Home, 102 St. Grande Prairie, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
Mrs. Robertson and daughter Ruth on the front lawn in front of their home on 102 Street.
Location: 0107.24

Berwyn Main Street, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
Business section of Berwyn showing automobiles parked on the dirt road.
Location: 0107.25

Mr. Early’s Farm On The Bank Of West Peace River, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
A herd of Mr. Early’s cattle grazing on the banks of the Peace River.
Location: 0107.26

Playing Horseshoes, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
CPR and Board of Trade tour group playing horseshoes.
Location: 0107.27

Canadian Pacific Railway Peace Country Tour, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
Lou Edwards and a fellow traveler shaving outdoors with their kit bags in front of them.
Location: 0107.28

Mr. Early, Market Gardener At Peace River, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
Mr. Early showing tomatoes in his market garden on the flats of Peace River.
Location: 0107.29

The Tomato Harvest, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
Part of Mr. Early’s harvested tomato crop.
Location: 0107.30

Riverboat D.A. Thomas On The Peace River, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
The D.A. Thomas on the banks of the Peace River, with a tour group of about fifty men on board.
Location: 0107.31

Immigration Hall In Grande Prairie, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
The Immigration Hall in Grande Prairie, a large, seven-windowed white clapboard building built c. 1920.
Location: 0107.32

Woman Stooking In A Wheat Field, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
A woman harvester carrying a bundle of oats in the centre of a field of stooked oats.
Location: 0107.33

Homestead On The Prairies, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
Homestead in the distance surrounded by vast fields of stooked and cultivated land.
Location: 0107.34

At The Experimental Farm, Beaverlodge, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
Three women picking berries from a row of bushes at the Beaverlodge Experimental Farm.
Location: 0107.35

Mr. Albright, Manager, Beaverlodge Experimental Farm, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
Mr. Albright walking down a rural road behind a herd of cows being moved by a man and woman on horseback.
Location: 0107.36

Mr. Albright, Manager, Beaverlodge Experimental Farm, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
Mr. Albright in a field of stooked oats.
Location: 0107.37

Experimental Farm Flower Garden, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
A woman surrounded by hollyhock plants in the Experimental Station flower garden.
Location: 0107.38

Mr. Trelle Examining His Wheat, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
Mr. Trelle examining the heads of wheat at the edge of a wheat field.
Location: 0107.39

Mrs. Trelle And Children In The Garden, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
Mrs. Trelle and two young children picking sweet peas in the garden.
Location: 0107.40

Major Rural Road In Agricultural Area, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
View down a rural road with stooked field and power line alongside.
Location: 0107.41

Muddy Rural Road To Town, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
View down a muddy rural road with a town and five grain elevators in the distance.
Location: 0107.42

Livelton Farmstead on the Shores of Henderson Lake., 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
Newly constructed three storey farm home and large barn, built by the Liveltons c. 1928, picturesquely nestled beside a lake.
Location: 0107.43

Automobile On A Rural Road, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
An automobile parked on the side of a rural road which is little more than a track across the prairie.
Location: 0107.44

A Rural Road in an Agricultural Area, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
A rural road meandering beside a fence line up a hill.
Location: 0107.45

Road Down Mercer Hill To Clairmont, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
View down the four tracked Mercer Hill road to Clairmont with power lines alongside.
Location: 0107.46

Stooked Field Of Oats, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
A stooked field of oats with a farm in the distance.
Location: 0107.47

Farmstead And Garden, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
A white frame house with stone chimney and foundation off-set by garden and out buildings.
Location: 0107.48

Ed Crerar’s Farmstead, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
Ed Crerar’s log home with summer kitchen and herd of Holstein cows in the foreground.
Location: 0107.49

Field Of Stooked Oats, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
A field of stooked oats with line of trees in the background.
Location: 0107.50

View From The Top Of A Hay Stack, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
Bird’s eye view of a garden, fields and the neighbouring farm. Two people are working in the large garden.
Location: 0107.51

The Flower Garden In Summertime, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
Frontal view of poppies, hollyhocks and garden architecture. There is a log cabin in the background. Same garden as 2001.34.51
Location: 0107.52

Field Of Stooked Oats, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
A field of stooked oats with farm buildings visible on either side.
Location: 0107.53

Field Of Stooks Behind A Fence, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
Fenced field of stooked grain with farmsteads visible in the background.
Location: 0107.54

Harvesting With Four Teams Of Horses, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
Farm workers with four teams of four horses each are cutting and binding a field of grain. The binders are Massey-Harris, Frost & Wood and Chalmers.
Location: 0107.55

Harvesting With Four Teams Of Horses, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
Frontal view of farm workers, with four teams of four horses each, cutting and binding a field of grain. Same teams as 2001.34.55.
Location: 0107.56

A View of Clairmont from the South, 1930, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
Town with five grain elevators. Power line and stooked field are in the foreground.
Location: 0107.57

Jack Oatway’s Farm, Northeast Of Grande Prairie, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
Jack Oatway’s farmstead, with two storey white frame house, large red barn, windmill and out buildings. Three children in the yard are looking at the windmill.
Location: 0107.58

Bear Creek In Grande Prairie, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
View down Bear Creek with banks of trees on either side.
Location: 0107.59

Dominion Experimental Station For Grande Prairie At Beaverlodge, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
Farmstead at Beaverlodge Experimental Station showing house, gardens, barn and windmill.
Location: 0107.60

Binding Oats With Two Four Horse Teams, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
Six farm workers with two four horse teams are binding and stooking oats.
Location: 0107.61

Three Hay Stacks, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
Farmer standing in front of three neatly thatched stacks of hay.
Location: 0107.62

View Of Smoky River, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
View of Smoky River from the top of the river bank.
Location: 0107.63

Road Between Peace River And Nampa, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
View down the rural road between Peace River and Nampa with trees on either side.
Location: 0107.64

Mr. Early’s Cattle, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
At Mr. Early’s ranch, a herd of Jersey cattle are in a meadow with the Peace River in the background.
Location: 0107.65

Mr. Early’s Cattle, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
At Mr. Early’s ranch, a herd of Jersey cattle are grazing in a valley amongst trees.
Location: 0107.66

Mr. Early’s Strawberries, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
A field of strawberries at Mr. Early’s market garden, with corrals and fences in the background.
Location: 0107.67

Mr. Early’s Market Garden, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
The tomato crop in Mr. Early’s market garden with the Peace River Hills behind.
Location: 0107.68

Jack Thompson & Bill Pratt In A Field Of Oats, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
Jack Thompson and Bill Pratt standing chest-deep in a field of oats.
Location: 0107.69

Canadian Pacific Railway Peace Country Tour, 1928
1 photograph; b & w; 8 x 10
CPR and Board of Trade tour group seated under an improvised lean-to.
Location: 0107.70

Agency History

Custodial History

Scope and Content

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