Summary information
| Repository: | South Peace Regional Archives |
| Title: | Evelyn McBryan fonds |
| Reference code: | 0595 |
| Date: | 1942-1978 (date of creation) |
| Physical description: | 573 slides
30 photographs 6 cm of textual material |
| Language: | English |
| Dates of creation, revision and deletion: | Exported from AoR and added to new database Dec. 2022 – JL |
Administrative history / Biographical sketch
Evelyn Beatrice Hook was born in Somerset, England on April 25, 1911. She was the second child of Clifford Stanley Hook and Jessica Beatrice Williams. The Hook family emigrated to Canada in 1913. They stayed awhile with Jessica’s brother in Regina before moving to Edmonton, where Clifford, a jeweller and watchmaker, was employed by G. F. Watcher. The Hook family moved to Grande Prairie when Clifford purchased the R. H. Watcher business in March 1918. Except for a brief time in Ontario ca. 1919-1920, when her father attended the College of Optometry, Evy spent the remainder of her life in Grande Prairie. Her oldest sister, Irene, had died as a toddler in England, but three boys were added to the family in Canada: Ted in 1913, Robert in 1918, and Jack in 1926.
In 1934, Jessica moved to Vancouver with the three boys, for medical reasons. By that time, Evelyn was already married to Henry (Harry) Newton and studying art with Euphemia (Betty) McNaught, a well-known Peace Country artist. Evy attended the Vancouver School of Art in 1936, but subsequently took short courses at the University of Alberta, where she was influenced by instructors Doug Barry, H.G. Glyde, and J.B. Taylor.
Evy and Harry had one son, Stanley “Val” Newton, born February 14, 1938. A short time later, World War II was underway, and in 1942, construction of the Alaska Highway began. At that time, McNaught and McBryan were commissioned by Prime Minister Mackenzie King “to document, in paintings, the construction of the Alaska Highway.”
In the latter 1940s, Harry and Evy ran the Alberta 5¢ to $1.00 Store on Richmond Avenue. Harry died on June 22, 1946 following a long illness, but Evy continued to run the store in partnership with her family, who had a series of jewelry and gift shops in Grande Prairie, Dawson Creek, and Ft. St. John. On March 6, 1948, Evelyn married William Clemens McBryan of Clairmont. A few years later, Evy’s son Val died on April 12, 1953 at age 15. Evy and Bill had one daughter, Marilee.
Evelyn McBryan was a tireless worker for Visual Arts in the Peace Country. She organized the Grande Prairie Art Club out of her own home, and became the director of the Arts and and Crafts Guild in 1958. She also served as the Coordinator for Arts and Crafts for the City of Grande Prairie (1964-1974), on the provincial Board of Culture and the Visual Arts Board (ca. 1960), and on the Alberta Arts Foundation Board (ca. 1973), where she established a school exhibition program and organized the Peace Region Arts Council. She also assisted in establishing the Prairie Art Gallery. For all of these efforts, in 1976 she was awarded the Alberta Achievement Award.
After retiring from all the boards and committee work, Evy continued with her own artwork. Her last one-woman show was at the Prairie Art Gallery in October 1982; and her last exhibit was held in Beaverlodge, where she had studied with Euphemia McNaught, in the spring of 1983. Evelyn McBryan died in Grande Prairie at age 74 on October 19, 1985. Her second husband William McBryan died in February 1987 at the age of 68.
Custodial history
Slides were preserved by Evelyn’s daughter Merilee and passed on to Valerie Hook, Evelyn’s niece. They were deposited in the South Peace Regional Archives by Ken Belke, Valerie Hook’s husband, in 2011. Later accessions of records were donated by the Art Gallery of Grande Prairie, who Evelyn worked closely with supporting the arts.
Scope and content
The fonds consists of 182 colour slides from 1957 to 1974, during the time Evelyn was most active with supporting the Arts, and when she lived with her family on a farm just outside Grande Prairie. Some labeled and dated, on the subjects of gardens, people (including Evelyn’s Junior Art Class), scenery, farm, horses, vacations, Jasper, Chinook Ridge, Peace River, Smoky, Pipestone, Stoney Lake, Monkman Pass, Dunvegan, Taylor Flats, Stuart Lake, and Reflection Lake.
The collection also includes slides of her brother Jack, wife Pearl, and their children Shelley and Ted; slides of their friends Bert & Jean Dalgleish and their farm near Pipestone Creek, Evy’s education notebooks, slides of European landscapes and vacations in the U.S., as well as an issue of the community magazine Kamp Pain.
Notes
Title notes
- Source of title proper: Title of fonds based on contents.
Accruals
No accruals are expected.
Access points
- Graphic material (documentary form)
- Art (subject)
Series descriptions
| Reference code | Title | Dates | Physical description |
| 0595.01.001-002 | Item – Ged and His Jeep | [ca. 1957] | 2 slides; colour; large format |
| Scope and content:
Jeep with a group of five people. |
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| 0595.01.003-013 | Item – Evy McBryan’ Garden | 1957 | 11 slides; colour; 35 mm |
| Scope and content:
Eleven slides of Evy McBryan’s garden at 9804-100th Avenue. |
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| 0595.01.014-016 | Item – Jimmy Bushaw’s Birthday Party | 1957 | 2 slides; colour; 35 mm |
| Scope and content:
Two slides of nine unidentified children at Jimmy Bushaw’s Birthday Party, one including his expectant mother at the side of the photograph. |
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| 0595.01.016-017 | Item – Diane Sykes Christening | 1957 | 2 slides; colour; 35 mm |
| Scope and content:
Two slides of Diane Sykes in her christening robe in September 1957, one including her mother Lee. |
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| 0595.01.018 | Item – Doug Dalgliesh on Accordion | 1957 | 1 slide; colour; 35 mm |
| Scope and content:
Doug Dalgliesh playing his accordion in the summer of 1957. |
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| 0595.01.019-020 | Item – Toddler Paddling in the Mud | 1957 | 2 slides; colour; 35 mm |
| Scope and content:
Toddler identified as “Shelley” paddling in a muddy pond in the Spring of 1957. |
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| 0595.01.021-023 | Item – Record Wheat Crop | 1958 | 4 slides; colour; 35 mm |
| Scope and content:
Four slides of a record wheat crop at Bear Lake on August 1, 1958. Included in the photographs are Jack (21), Shelley, Ted and Pearl (22), and Bill (23). |
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| 0595.01.024-025 | Item – On the Hart Highway | 1958 | 2 slides; colour; 35 mm |
| Scope and content:
Two slides from a trip down the Hart Highway in August 1958, showing Bill and his dog on a rocky outcrop with the mountains in the background. |
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| 0595.01.026-027 | Item – Ged and His Jeep | 1958 | 2 slides; colour; 35 mm |
| Scope and content:
Two slides of “Ged and his Jeep”. There are three other unidentified people in the photograph. |
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| 0595.01.028-030 | Item – Shelley Hook | 1959 | 3 slides; colour; 35 mm |
| Scope and content:
Three slides of Evy and Bill McBryan with Shelley Hook in March of 1959. |
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| 0595.01.031 | Item – Children Playing | 1958 | 1 slide; colour; 35 mm |
| Scope and content:
John and children, Christmas 1958. |
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| 0595.01.032-034 | Item – At the Dalgleish Home | 1959 | 3 slides; colour; 35 mm |
| Scope and content:
Three slides showing activities at the Dalgleish home in 1957: a sing-along with Beulah and the Dalgleish parents; Jean Dalgleish, Mrs. Ledky (Leckie? Jean’s mother) and daughter; and Bert Dagleish. |
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| 0595.01.035 | Item – Bill and Frances | 1957 | 1 slide; colour; 35 mm |
| Scope and content:
Bill McBryan on a horse named Frances in June of 1957. |
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| 0595.01.036-037 | Item – Merilee McBryan | 1965 | 2 slides; colour; 35 mm |
| Scope and content:
Two slides showing Merilee McBryan and Bill and Merilee McBryan on the hills overlooking the Peace River in the Fall of 1965. |
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| 0595.01.038-039 | Item – Nina & Merilee McBryan | 1974 | 2 slides; colour; 35 mm |
| Scope and content:
Two slides showing Nina and Merilee McBryan, one at a picnic in the yard and the other on the banks of the river. |
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| 0595.01.040-042 | Item – Black Jack | 1959 | 3 slides; colour; 35 mm |
| Scope and content:
Black Jack, one of the McBryan horses, with Shelley (40), the Hargreave children (41), and Ges Hargreave (42) in June of 1959. |
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| 0595.01.043-044 | Item – The Queen’s Visit | 1959 | 2 slides; colour; 35 mm |
| Scope and content:
Two slides from a trip to Edmonton during Queen Elizabeth’s visit on July 6th, 1959. One slide shows Mrs. Field and Mrs. Ellis waiting for the cavalcade, the other shows the Queen’s car. |
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| 0595.01.045-054 | Item – Trip to Jasper | [ca. 1957] | 10 slides; colour; 35 mm |
| Scope and content:
Ten slides showing a trip to Jasper ca. 1957. Scenes include Autumn in Jasper (45), Deer in Jasper (46), Mt. Robson (47), Swift Current River (48), buildings in Jasper (49), totem pole at Jasper (50), Pyramid Lake and Mountain (51), reflections of the mountains in Pyramid Lake (52), the Athabasca Valley (53), and the Jasper-Athabasca Highway (54). |
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| 0595.01.055 | Item – Stony Lake | [ca. 1956] | 1 slide; colour; 35 mm |
| Scope and content:
Looking east, Stony Lake. |
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| 0595.01.056 | Item – Stony Lake | [ca. 1956] | 1 slide; colour; 35 mm |
| Scope and content:
Looking west, Stony Lake, on a bright afternoon. |
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| 0595.01.057 | Item – Grizzly Valley, Monkman Pass | [ca. 1956] | 1 slide; colour; 35 mm |
| Scope and content:
Looking west, Stony Lake, on a bright afternoon. |
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| 0595.01.058 | Item – Rec Palmer No. 3 Rig | [ca. 1956] | 1 slide; colour; 35 mm |
| Scope and content:
Rec Palmer No. 3 oil rig in Grizzly Valley on the Monkman Pass. |
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| 0595.01.059 | Item – Peace River | [ca. 1956] | 1 slide; colour; 35 mm |
| Scope and content:
Town of Peace River and the bridge over the river. |
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| 0595.01.060 | Item – Bill McBryan’s Horses | [ca. 1956] | 1 slide; colour; 35 mm |
| Scope and content:
Bill McBryan’s horses. |
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| 0595.01.061-062 | Item – Fishing the Smoky | [ca. 1956] | 2 slides; colour; 35 mm |
| Scope and content:
Dorothy and Eric on the Smoky River–Eric is fishing. |
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| 0595.01.063 | Item – Bridge Over the Cutbank River | [ca. 1956] | 1 slide; colour; 35 mm |
| Scope and content:
Bridge Over the Cutbank River. |
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| 0595.01.064-065 | Item – Chinook Ridge | [ca. 1956] | 2 slides; colour; 35 mm |
| Scope and content:
Road over Chinook Ridge on the way to the mountains and Two Lakes. |
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| 0595.01.066 | Item – Deer in Jasper Park | [ca. 1956] | 1 slide; colour; 35 mm |
| Scope and content:
Family stops to view a deer close up in Jasper National Park. |
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| 0595.01.067-073 | Item – Bear in Jasper Park | [ca. 1956] | 7 slides; colour; 35 mm |
| Scope and content:
Seven slides of people interacting with a bear on the highway in Jasper National Park. |
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| 0595.01.074 | Item – Columbia Glacier | [ca. 1956] | 1 slide; colour; 35 mm |
| Scope and content:
Columbia Glacier in Jasper National Park. |
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| 0595.01.075-76 | Item – Honeymoon Lake | [ca. 1956] | 2 slides; colour; 35 mm |
| Scope and content:
Two slides of Honeymoon Lake in Jasper National Park, one showing toddler Ted Hook. |
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| 0595.01.077 | Item – Buck Lake | [ca. 1956] | 1 slide; colour; 35 mm |
| Scope and content:
Buck Lake. |
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| 0595.01.078 | Item – Wapiti Across Athabasca | [ca. 1956] | 1 slide; colour; 35 mm |
| Scope and content:
Wapiti Across Athabasca. |
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| 0595.01.079 | Item – Edna Lake | [ca. 1956] | 1 slide; colour; 35 mm |
| Scope and content:
Edna Lake. |
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| 0595.01.080 | Item – Dunvegan Hill | [ca. 1956] | 1 slide; colour; 35 mm |
| Scope and content:
View of the Peace River from the top of Dunvegan Hill. |
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| 0595.01.081 | Item – Taylor Flats | [ca. 1956] | 1 slide; colour; 35 mm |
| Scope and content:
Taylor Flats, as seen from the highway between Dawson Creek and Ft. St. John, on the BC side of the Peace Country. |
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| 0595.01.082 | Item – Hudic’s Colts | [ca. 1956] | 1 slide; colour; 35 mm |
| Scope and content:
Hudic’s horses and colts in the meadow. |
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| 0595.01.083 | Item – Everett & Chief | [ca. 1956] | 1 slide; colour; 35 mm |
| Scope and content:
Everett and Chief, the horse. |
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| 0595.01.084 | Item – Betty & Chief | [ca. 1956] | 1 slide; colour; 35 mm |
| Scope and content:
Betty and Chief, the horse. |
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| 0595.01.085 | Item – Autumn Foliage | [ca. 1956] | 1 slide; colour; 35 mm |
| Scope and content:
Autumn foliage at the farm. |
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| 0595.01.086 | Item – Dixie and Lady | [ca. 1956] | 1 slide; colour; 35 mm |
| Scope and content:
Dixie and Lady, two of the horses at Bill McBryan’s farm. |
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| 0595.01.087 | Item – Cabana | [ca. 1956] | 1 slide; colour; 35 mm |
| Scope and content:
Cabana, one of the horses at Bill McBryan’s farm. |
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| 0595.01.088 | Item – Bill’s Horses | [ca. 1956] | 1 slide; colour; 35 mm |
| Scope and content:
The horses on Bill McBryan’s farm. |
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| 0595.01.089-090 | Item – Young Artists | [ca. 1956] | 2 slides; colour; 35 mm |
| Scope and content:
Evy McBryan started a class for young artists. Here are a group of them in a meadow, possibly on McBryan’s farm. |
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| 0595.01.091 | Item – On the Way to Two Lakes | [ca. 1956] | 1 slide; colour; 35 mm |
| Scope and content:
Same trip as 595.01.065, the burnt out forests on the way to Two Lakes. |
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| 0595.01.092 | Item – Bill McBryan | 1957 | 1 slide; colour; 35 mm |
| Scope and content:
Photograph of Bill McBryan, taken January 1957 on Kodak ektachrome film with a blue flash. |
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| 0595.01.093 | Item – Bill McBryan | 1957 | 1 slide; colour; 35 mm |
| Scope and content:
Photograph of Bill McBryan, taken in January 1957 on Kodak ektachrome film with available light. |
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| 0595.01.094 | Item – Lady | 1957 | 1 slide; colour; 35 mm |
| Scope and content:
Winter photograph of Bill McBryan’s horse, Lady, taken in January 1957 on Kodak ektachrome film. |
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| 0595.01.095 | Item – The House on 102 Street | [ca. 1957] | 1 slide : colour ; 35 mm |
| Scope and content:
Winter photograph of a row of houses on 102 Street in Grande Prairie. |
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| 0595.01.097-114 | Item – In the Country | [ca. 1957] | 18 slides; colour; 35 mm |
| Scope and content:
Eighteeen slides of a farm in the country and a retreat in the mountains. Farm could possibly be that of Bert & Jean Dalgleish, who were good friends of the McBryans. |
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| 0595.01.115 | Item – Sing-a-long at the Dalgleish Home | [ca. 1957] | 1 slide; colour; 35 mm |
| Scope and content:
Sing-a-long at the Dalgleish Home, with the older Mr. Dalgleish (Alexander?) at the piano. Bert Dalgleish is sitting nearby. |
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| 0595.01.116-126 | Item – Horses | [ca. 1957] | 11 slides; colour; 35 mm |
| Scope and content:
Evy McBryan riding horses, and the horses at Bill McBryan’s farm. |
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| 0595.01.127-128 | Item – George Sayle’s Combine | [ca. 1957] | 2 slides; colour; 35 mm |
| Scope and content:
Mel Krebe with George Sayle’s combine. |
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| 0595.01.129 | Item – Pinto Horse | [ca. 1957] | 1 slide; colour; 35 mm |
| Scope and content:
Pinto pony, possibly one of Bert Dalgleish’s ponies. |
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| 0595.01.130 | Item – Colt Training | [ca. 1957] | 1 slide; colour; 35 mm |
| Scope and content:
Working with a young colt in the farm corrals. |
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| 0595.01.131-146 | Item – Merilee and the Game Farm | 1963 | 16 slides; colour; 35 mm |
| Scope and content:
Sixteen slides of the McBryans with their young daughter Merilee, showing various scenes at a playground in winter, a road trip, and a visit to a game farm |
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| 0595.01.147-155 | Item – Arts and Crafts Display | [ca. 1958] | 9 slides; colour; 35 mm |
| Scope and content:
Nine slides showing displays of Arts & Crafts, possibly after Evy became director of the Arts & Craft Guild in 1958. |
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| 0595.01.156-159 | Item – Merilee McBryan | 1960-1961 | 4 slides; colour; 35 mm |
| Scope and content:
Four slides of Merilee McBryan as a toddler. |
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| 0595.01.160-162 | Item – Evy’s Paintings | 1960-1961 | 3 slides; colour; 35 mm |
| Scope and content:
Three slides showing samples of Evy McBryan’s paintings. One of them is identified as “Painting St. Ives”. |
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| 0595.01.163-166 | Item – Merilee McBryan | [1965] | 4 slides; colour; 35 mm |
| Scope and content:
Four slides of Merilee McBryan as a preschooler, at her birthday party and in the winter at her home and possibly the Grande Prairie Ski Hill. |
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| 0595.01.167-182 | Item – Trip to the Northwest Territories | [1965] | 16 slides; colour; 35 mm |
| Scope and content:
Sixteen slides produced after a trip over the Mackenzie Highway around 1965. Scenes include Great Slave Lake (with the Mission in the background), Louise Falls, the Indian Mission at Hay River, the Hay River, Lady Evelyn Falls, Ft. Providence, the Ferry on the McKenzie River, White Hart Lake, the picnic site at Alexandra Falls, and looking towards Yellowknife with the Escarpment in the foreground. There is also a photo of Chief Simba at Kakisa Lake and two of Merilee at Great Slave Lake. |
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| 0595.01.183 | Item – Stuart Lake Landscapes | 1958 | 11 negative slides |
| Scope and content:
Landscape photos taken around Stuart Lake. |
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| 0595.01.184 | Item – European Landscapes | 1976 | 42 negative slides |
| Scope and content:
Landscape photos taken during a trip to Europe; includes photos of France, Spain, and Switzerland among other locations. |
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| 0595.01.185 | Item – Landscapes Slides Collection | 1957-1967 | 198 negative slides |
| Scope and content:
A collection of slides depicting various landscapes in Canada. |
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| 0595.01.186 | Item – Vacation Slides | 1978 | 140 negative slides |
| Scope and content:
Slides of photographs taken of a vacation in the United States, including locations like Las Vegas. |
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| 0595.01.187 | Item – Education Notebooks and Christmas card | n.d. | 5 cm of textual records |
| Scope and content:
Various partially filled books of notes taken during different art classes. |
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| 0595.01.188 | Item – Kamp Pain Community Magazine | 1942 | 0.5 cm of textual records |
| Scope and content:
A community produced magazine from July 1st, 1942; Vol III No 3 – Army Week. |
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| 0595.01.189 | Item – Community and Building Photographs with Notes | 1943 | 30 photographs0.5 cm of textual records |
| Scope and content:
Sheets of paper with photographs of different buildings in South Peace communities, with notes describing each location. |
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