Unsorted – Page 17 – RETROactive

Inside the Archives’ vault: the shift to colour

August 7, 2019July 24, 2019Jared

Written by: Michael Gourlie, Government Records Archivist

When researchers first arrive at an archives, they often bring many stereotypes with them. They may assume that the records are all about “early pioneer days,” the photographs are all black and white images of stern Victorian settlers, and the storage vaults look like something out of Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Ahem.

PAA-vault — While they don’t look like something out of an Indiana Jones film, there are certainly many mysteries to uncover in the vaults of the Provincial Archives of Alberta. Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta.

While some elements of these impressions may be true, the Provincial Archives of Alberta (PAA) is anything but your stereotypical archives. Its holdings include records from the 1640s to the 2010s in all media, including paper, photographs, motion picture film, tape recordings, and digital media. Although the records of the Government of Alberta comprise the bulk of its holdings, the PAA has acquired the records of individuals, families, businesses, and community groups that provide evidence of the political, cultural and economic evolution of the province. A variety of researchers use these records, from genealogists to academic historians to even members of the public service seeking to understand past government programs.

One of the records that debunks the staid stereotypes of archives is a film titled “1967 in Selling Colour”. The Swift Canadian Company created the film to kick off a marketing campaign designed to coincide with both the Canadian centennial celebrations and the growing availability of colour television in Canada. Starting in black and white before shifting to glorious colour, the film is most definitely a time capsule of the way Canadian society viewed food, fashion, advertising, and the roles of men and women. The PAA received the film as a donation when Maple Leaf Foods, the successor firm of Swift Canadian, found the records prior to the demolition of its meat packing facilities in Edmonton.

To make these holdings more accessible, the PAA has digitized and placed them on various social media platforms. See for yourself whether or not Swift is the Meat!

Historic Lethbridge Chinatown now Provincial Historic Resource

July 31, 2019August 1, 2019Jared

Two historic buildings, located in one of Alberta’s oldest Chinatown districts, have been added to the list of Provincial Historic Resources. After agreement from the buildings’ owner Albert Leong, the Wing Wah Chong Co. and Bow On Tong Co. buildings in Lethbridge are now provincially-protected historic resources.

Restaurants were among the most common businesses established by Chinese entrepreneurs. The Wing Wah Chong building was, at one point, named New China Chop Suey. The faded Chinese lettering on the pediment is still visible today. Source: Galt Museum and Archives (P19800127000).

Chinese immigrants faced significant obstacles establishing their lives in Canada. The Chinese Head Tax (first passed in 1885 and subsequently raised twice) made it impossible for all but wealthy Chinese merchants to bring their wives over from China. Way Leong, who would go on to purchase both the Wing Wah Chong and Bow On Tong buildings, had the means bring his wife Florence to Canada in 1921, just two years before the Government of Canada effectively banned further Chinese immigration with the passage of the Chinese Immigration Act (often called the Chinese Exclusion Act). When Way and Florence Leong arrived in Alberta in the 1920s, there were very few Chinese merchant families in the province – one report indicates that there may have been as few as 16 married Chinese couples in Alberta in the 1920s.

Built in 1919, the Bow On Tong Co. Building is a reflection of early twentieth-century Chinese settlement and immigration. It’s also known for its longtime association with the Leong family, who purchased the building back in 1926. For the next 90 years, the Leong family operated an apothecary and Chinese goods importer, as well as hosted social and other activities for the small Chinese community in Lethbridge. Space for social activities was essential for Chinese immigrants in Lethbridge, who could not visit home nor bring their families to Canada due to the Chinese Immigration Act.

Euro-Canadian landlords were generally unwilling to rent commercial space to Chinese merchants. Mob violence and discriminatory bylaws confined Chinese-owned businesses to the western edge of Lethbridge,

Built in 1909, the Wing Wah Chong Co. Building was one of the first commercial structures built along Second Avenue South and is highly significant as a rare example of a pre-World War I Chinese-owned commercial building.

The building was used not just as a commercial space, but also as a residence. Merchants were often the first point of contact for newly-arrived Chinese immigrants, so being able to provide a play to stay (no matter how small) for newcomers was an invaluable service.

The combined uses of the Wing Wah Chong Co. Building – restaurant, retail space, living quarters – are why there is such exceptional heritage value associated with it. It’s a reflection of the socio-economic structure of Chinese-Albertan communities.

For Albert Leong, owner of both buildings, having his properties finally designated as provincial historic resources is a big deal. “It means everything to me to have these buildings and my family home restored. These buildings show how people lived, how I lived, and what my community had to do to live. If they are gone, so will many of the stories of Chinese immigrants in Lethbridge.”

Modern view courtesy of Fraser Shaw

To see more pictures and information about these two important buildings, visit the following pages on the Alberta Register of Historic Places:

Wing Wah Chong Co. Building

Bow On Tong Co. Building

Knife River Flint quarries and the Alberta connection

July 24, 2019July 24, 2019epmoffat

Written by: Emily Moffat, Regulatory Approvals Coordinator, Archaeological Survey of Alberta

Stone tools were central to life in pre-contact North America and the rocks that they were made of were highly valued. The archaeological record throughout vast regions of North America, including much of Alberta, contains Knife River Flint (KRF), one of the most significant and intriguing tool stones used before the arrival of Europeans. KRF gets its name from the Knife River, a tributary of the Missouri River that flows through the United States Midwest and Southeast Regions.

In an era of limited human mobility compared to modern times, KRF was regularly transported hundreds of kilometres from its source in North Dakota, where it was quarried for thousands of years. A relatively small geographical region contains the majority of quarry pits and this location is the hub of KRF’s widespread distribution.

Map showing the major source area where Knife River Flint was quarried, the area where scattered cobbles were collected, and the overall extent of Knife River Flint artifacts based on published records. White circles show the extent of archaeological sites in Alberta that have produced a Knife River Flint artifact (Source: Todd Kristensen).

Municipal Historic Resource spotlight: Lacombe

July 17, 2019January 27, 2020Jared

Written by: Ron Kelland, MA, MLIS

In June, we featured several buildings that the City of Lethbridge recently designated as Municipal Historic Resources (MHRs). But Lethbridge isn’t the only city that has been actively protecting its heritage resources and listing them on the Alberta Register of Historic Places. Over the past few months, the City of Lacombe has designated five places as MHRs and added them to the Alberta Register of Historic Places.

Lacombe has been one of Alberta’s most active communities in protecting its historic places. As an early community in the former Alberta Main Street Program, Lacombe has restored and maintained one of the largest historic downtown cores in the province. As of June 1, 2019, there are six sites in Lacombe designated as Provincial Historic Resources and seven designated as Municipal Historic Resources.

Flash in the pan: The archaeology of gunflints in Alberta

July 10, 2019July 10, 2019toddkristensen

Written by: Todd Kristensen, Regional Archaeologist, Archaeological Survey of Alberta

Did you know that for over 200 years, guns around the world had a specific part made of stone that archaeologists have found evidence of in Alberta? Gunflints are chunks of rock that generated sparks to ignite gunpowder. Their use in guns first appeared in Europe in the early 1600s. Most of Alberta’s earliest guns were muskets, which began replacing bows and arrows in the province in the late 1700s.

Gunflints reveal lots of information about fur trade life in Alberta and they tell archaeologists important details about when guns first arrived and who first brought them. Patterns of gunflints at archaeological sites can show where gun repairs took place or where the flints were stored. Historic records of the number of traded gunflints can tell us which forts were specializing in certain tasks and how many hunters or trappers they were supplying. In general, gunflints are interesting historic artifacts that are often the only preserved record of a weapon technology, flintlock firearms, that ultimately changed the West.

Muskets had a metal piece called the flash pan that was mounted on the outside of the gun and held a small pile of gunpowder protected from wind and rain by a movable lid (a ‘frizzen’). When the trigger was pulled, the gunflint pushed the frizzen, opened the flash pan, and created a spark. A small explosion of gunpowder on the outside of the gun (the ‘flash in the pan’) was then sent through a hole to a larger load of powder inside the musket barrel. This explosion then launched the musket ball towards future food or enemies.

Diagram of how flintlock guns worked (by Todd Kristensen).

Flintlock guns were used in North America before 1650, and, in parts of the West, gunflints were used well into the late 1800s. While a technology called percussion caps began replacing the flintlock in the mid-1800s in North America, guns were still hard to come by and flintlocks had a certain durability that kept them in use.

Along the Riplinger Trail aka Riplinger Road

July 3, 2019July 2, 2019Jared

Written by: Ken Favrholdt, BA, MA (Geography, UBC)

Much is written about the Whoop-Up Trail, the famous 320 kilometre route from Fort Benton, Montana to Fort Macleod used by whisky traders between 1869 and 1874.

However, there was also another important route used during this period. The Riplinger Trail was an Indigenous trail across traditional Blackfoot territory and home of the Blood tribe. Part of the trail in Montana it is believed, was part of the Old North Trail, the ancient migration route—the so-called ice-free corridor—along the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. The Riplinger Trail was named after John Riplinger of the Northwestern Fur Company who built a post on the Marias River in Montana in 1869-70.

Part of the geological map of the region in the vicinity of the Bow and Belly Rivers, by George Dawson, 1884, showing the Riplinger Trail between Fort Macleod and the 49th parallel. Source: collections.leventhalmap.org.

Blackfoot Stories: Chief Mountain and First Marriages

June 20, 2019Jared

June is Indigenous Peoples’ Month, a time to honour the heritage and culture of First Peoples in Canada. June 21 also marks the annual National Indigenous Peoples Day. Here in Alberta , there are events happening around the province to celebrate the unique histories, cultures and contributions from First Nations, Métis and Inuit heritages.

Indigenous people have for thousands of years relied on the tradition of oral storytelling to pass down their history to future generations.

A few years ago, the Siksika Consultation Office received an Alberta Historical Resources Foundation grant and produced these two beautifully-shot vignettes featuring two significant stories from Blackfoot culture.

The first tells the story of Crowsnest Mountain and the birth of seasons. The second tells the story of the first marriages, based around Women’s Buffalo Jump south of present-day Cayley, Alberta.

Thanks to the Siksika Consultation Office for letting us share these important stories.

Bread, salt and water: the history of Doukhobors in Alberta (Part 2)

June 12, 2019June 12, 2019Jared

Editor’s note: The following blog post is part two of a two-part series looking at the history and influence of Doukhobors in Alberta. Read part 1 here.

Written by: Matthew Wangler, Historic Resources Management Branch

Following the establishment of the community in British Columbia, Verigin sought to diversify and strengthen the Doukhobor economy by purchasing new land in southern Alberta. It was not the first time that the Doukhobors had considered Alberta as a home for their community. In 1898, members of a Doukhobor delegation had initially explored purchasing land near Beaverhills Lake by Edmonton, but the proposal was scuttled, as local Member of Parliament Frank Oliver was opposed to their presence. While some Saskatchewan Doukhobors were working in Alberta as agricultural labourers and construction workers in 1911 and 1912, the first Doukhobor villages in the province were established in 1915 in the Cowley/Lundbreck area. Additional land was purchased in the following years, and Verigin arranged to rent land in the Vulcan area on a crop-share basis. The Alberta Doukhobors dedicated themselves to growing grain and raising horses and cattle. The settlements were successful, and at their peak, they boasted 300 members in 13 small villages. The communities tended to 300 horses and 400 shorthorn cattle, and produced 100,000 bushels of grain annually; they also constructed two-grain elevators and a flour mill. The Doukhobors seemed well-suited to the physical landscape of southern Alberta, and found that the region was also distinctly accommodating to smaller religious communities. Anabaptist groups like the Mennonites and Hutterites had already established themselves in the area, as had Mormons fleeing persecution in the United States. During their time in Alberta, the Doukhobors also developed positive relations with their Blackfoot neighbours.

Village of Bogatoi Rodnik near Lundreck, Alberta. Taken circa 1920. Source: Royal Alberta Museum.

Municipal Historic Resource spotlight: Lethbridge

June 5, 2019January 27, 2020Jared

Written by: Ron Kelland, MA, MLIS

Over the past few months, some of Alberta’s municipalities have been protecting their built heritage by designating a number of new Municipal Historic Resources (MHRs). These resources are structures and other sites that the municipality has deemed to be of significant heritage value to their community. Like Provincial Historic Resources, municipal designations are listed on the Alberta Register of Historic Places. Municipally designated properties also qualify for conservation grants from the Alberta Historic Resources Foundation.

The City of Lethbridge recently added six new MHRs to the Alberta Register of Historic Places. As of May 31, 2019, the City of Lethbridge has 26 designated MHRs listed.

The most recent listed designations by the City of Lethbridge are:

Watson Residence

Located in the Victoria Park neighbourhood on 14th Street South between 3rd and 4th Avenue, the Watson Residence is an Edwardian Foursquare with classical revival detailing and ornamentation. It was built in 1910/11. It has heritage value as an example of residential construction during Lethbridge’s rapid expansion in the pre-First World War period, and as an excellent example of an urban foursquare home. It was also the residence of Allan James Watson, who was a long-serving superintendent of the Lethbridge School District.

The Archaeological Survey in Numbers – 2018 Update

March 13, 2019August 13, 2020colleenhaukaas

Written By: Colleen Haukaas (Archaeological Survey)

This week’s post is an update on archaeological project and site data for 2018 from the Archaeological Survey. Click the image below the see the full size.

Disclaimer: the archaeological site counts for 2018 are not final. They are constantly being updated as consultants and researchers submit their reports to the Archaeological Survey.

See previous infographics from this series here:

Archaeology and Development: Statistics from the Historic Resources Management Branch

Archaeological Survey in Numbers Part One: Archaeological Permits

Archaeological Survey in Numbers Part Two : Archaeological Permit Holders and Companies

Archaeological Survey in Numbers Part Three : Archaeological Site Investigation

The Archaeological Survey in Numbers – 2017 Update!

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