Editor’s note: The banner image above features a travel brochure on ski resorts at Banff and Jasper, courtesy of the Provincial Archives of Alberta.
Written by: Emily Guthrie-Plouffe, Government Records Archivist, Provincial Archives of Alberta
While some Albertans may balk at the lengthy transition from winter to spring, wishing for temperatures to rise and snow to disappear, there are others who gladly embrace the snow for as long as possible, especially from the sunny slopes of the Rocky Mountains.
Travel Brochure on ski resorts at Banff and Jasper, n.d. (Tourism marketing publications records, GR1970.0442/1). Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta.
Editor’s note: Learn more about the history and heritage of Black Albertans from the Royal Alberta Museum.
Written by: Michael Gourlie, Government Records Archivist, Provincial Archives of Alberta
Since the 1960s, the Provincial Archives of Alberta (PAA) has acquired kilometres of records, millions of photographs and thousands of hours of audiovisual recordings about the lives and activities of Albertans. While Alberta’s Black community is underrepresented among these archival holdings, it faces a similar challenge to other groups. For every famous individual whose life is documented in detail in numerous sources, there are dozens of other individuals who remain nameless and forgotten until someone researches their stories.
Among the famous individuals found in the PAA’s holdings is John Dee (Johnny) Bright. Born in Indiana in 1930, he attended Drake University on a track and field scholarship, which led to a remarkable collegiate football career marked by several National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) records as well as a national profile. His senior year in 1951 was also notable when he was the target of a racially motivated assault on the playing field during a game with Oklahoma A&M University (now Oklahoma State University), an incident documented in a Pulitzer Prize winning series of photographs. While some on-field rules changed because of the incident, the opposing team and its university administration denied any wrongdoing for decades and only apologized for the incident in 2005.
File OS.1843: Johnny Bright, 1954. (Frank Oliver Studios fonds, PR1992.0261/1096, OS.1843). Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta.
He graduated from Drake University in 1952 with a Bachelor of Science in Education, specializing in physical education. He was the first pick chosen by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 1952 draft, but fearing his treatment in the National Football League, he chose to emigrate to Canada and play for the Calgary Stampeders. He was traded to Edmonton in 1954, where he primarily played offense. Bright set several Canadian Football League (CFL) records, helped the team win the Grey Cup in 1954, 1955 and 1956, and was named Edmonton Athlete of the Year in 1959.
Editor’s note: The author would like to give special thanks to Quinton Crow Shoe for his contribution to this post. As well, the banner image above features audio reels at the Provincial Archives of Alberta. Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta.
Written by: Mikaela LeBlanc, TRC Archivist Intern
The Provincial Archives of Alberta (PAA) acquires, preserves and makes records available to researchers. These includes government records, which are records created by agencies, boards and commissions as well as departments within the Government of Alberta, and private records, which are records created by individuals, families and organizations. The records come in many formats and can include letters, photographs, drawings, audio recordings, journals, newspapers and maps, among others. Within these records are also a wide variety of materials that were created by and about Indigenous people and communities.
The PAA first released an “Aboriginal Resource Guide” finding aid in 2006, which listed records identified as being about Indigenous communities in Alberta. This guide provided the building blocks for archival research to become more user-friendly when accessing Indigenous related records. The hearings and report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and Calls to Action related to archives and the heritage sector identified ways in which the PAA could make improvements in access to records by Indigenous creators and about Indigenous communities. This coincided with the PAA’s move to a new collections management database webpage Access to Memory (AtoM), and saw the release of the Indigenous Resources Guide (IRG) in April 2023. The guide identifies records that relate to Indigenous people and communities in Alberta that are currently in PAA’s holdings.
Written by: Michael Gourlie, Government Records Archivist, Provincial Archives of Alberta
Township maps are a popular research source at the Provincial Archives of Alberta (PAA). An outcome of the Dominion Lands Surveys beginning in 1881 that captured most of what is now Alberta, the township maps document a grid system using meridians, ranges, townships and sections established by federal surveyors. Known as the Alberta Township System (ATS), this grid forms the basis of legal land descriptions used for Alberta land titles to the present day.
The original township maps were subsequently published in several editions, with the published maps used for a variety of operational purposes. They acted as a template or index for various offices to identify land uses for programs such as grazing leases, timber berths, mineral leases, land grants and homestead applicants. They also provided a standardized perspective to administer and oversee land use.
Editor’s note: All images below courtesy of the Provincial Archives of Alberta.
Written by: Michael Gourlie, Government Records Archivist, Provincial Archives of Alberta
From his start playing hockey on the northside rinks of Edmonton to winning a gold medal the 1980 Winter Olympics, John Utendale had a remarkable career as an athlete and coach, but his achievements during his career as educator were no less distinguished.
Born in Edmonton in 1937, Utendale played rugby, baseball and hockey while attending Victoria Composite High School. He continued to play softball at the provincial level while also playing hockey for the Edmonton Oil Kings. It was his skill as a hockey player that landed him a contract in 1957 with the Detroit Red Wings organization as a member of the Edmonton Flyers of the Western Hockey League. Utendale would become the first Black hockey player to sign a contract with an NHL team.
Utendale with the Edmonton Oil Kings, Oct. 26, 1954.
He later played for the Quebec Aces, joining Willie O’Ree, who broke the National Hockey League’s colour barrier, and Stan Maxwell for an all-Black line. He also played for the Windsor Bulldogs and for teams in Sudbury and Windsor.
Wishing everyone a safe and enjoyable holiday season! The images below, courtesy of the Provincial Archives of Alberta, were taken from the John Glascow Family Christmas, Edmonton, 1963.
Written by: Sara King, Government Records Archivist, Provincial Archives of Alberta
With Halloween once again upon us it’s time for some spooky fun from the Provincial Archives of Alberta. Nicholas Gavinchuk operated a photography studio in Smoky Lake from the early 1920s into the 1960s documenting all manner of aspects of community life there, including Halloween. One of the more interesting aspects of doing archival research is seeing a brief description of a file or photograph and finding out it’s not quite what you expected. This is often the case in archives as archivists try and use the titles given to photographs and files by the creator of the records as opposed to assigning their own.
For example, the image below was labelled as “Halloween Hags”. But as you can see, they’re clearly Halloween hogs! In the Archives’ defense, an “a” and an “o” are awfully similar in cursive.
Editor’s note: The banner image above is from the wedding of Sandy and Diane Weir, November 1974. Photo courtesy of the Provincial Archives of Alberta.
Written by: Heather Northcott, Government Records Archivist, Provincial Archives of Alberta
Showcasing a variety of archival records and images, the Provincial Archives of Alberta (PAA) is pleased to present its latest exhibit “Love and Marriage.”
The exhibit was inspired by the often joyful and sometimes sad stories that fill the archival vaults waiting for discovery. Visitors to the exhibit will first encounter images and letters about love blossoming before exploring narratives of engagement and marriage. The arc of romance and marriage leads naturally to anniversaries, divorce and death. The exhibit would not be complete without addressing who is missing – the groups or communities not well represented by the archival documents – and putting a call out for records donations.
On behalf of everyone at RETROactive, have a safe, fun and spooky Halloween! Take a look below at how Albertans celebrated the occasion decades ago. All images courtesy of the Provincial Archives of Alberta.
Traveling Circus Comes to Smoky Lake c. 1927.
Theatre College Saint-Jean, Edmonton, [c. 194?].
Halloween Party, Wainwright [c. 192?].
Braemar Badminton Club Opening Tea, Edmonton, Nov. 8, 1953.
Editor’s note: The banner image above shows legendary experimental musician Bruce Haack (right) with long-time collaborator and friend Ted Pandel (left) , circa 1985. Image courtesy of the Provincial Archives of Alberta.
The Provincial Archives of Alberta also invites you to an evening devoted to electronic music pioneer Bruce Haack at the TELUS World of Science – Edmonton, Zeidler Dome for a screening of the 2004 documentary Haack: The King of Techno followed by a lightshow performance set to Haack’s landmark album The Electric Lucifer.The event takes place on Friday, September 29. Doors at 6:30 p.m., show at 7 p.m. The event is free, seating is first come, first served.
Written by: Jared Majeski (Editor, RETROactive) and Braden Cannon (Private Records Archivist, Provincial Archives of Alberta [PAA])
After creating some of the most spaced-out, light years-ahead-of-its-time experimental electronic music, the renaissance of Albertan Bruce Haack continues apace. His music has been reissued by record labels around the world (including Toronto’s own Telephone Explosion Records), he was the subject of the 2004 documentary Haack: The King of Techno and now, some of his most treasured possessions have been made available at the Provincial Archives of Alberta.
Tape reel from Haack’s recording for Def Jam Records’ Russell Simmons. Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta.
Bruce Haack, from the Rocky Mountain House area, was born in 1931 and displayed music talent from an early age. He attended the University of Alberta before being accepted into the Julliard School in New York City to study music. After a year, he dropped out to explore his own, unique ideas in music. He had an early interest in electronic music and began to design and build his own electronic instruments and voice modulators. Together with Ted Pandel, a pianist whom he met at Julliard, Haack supported himself with songwriting gigs for record labels and advertising firms. He eventually met Esther Nelson, a children’s dance instructor, and collaborated with her on a series of children’s records using Haack’s electronic instruments and his increasingly experimental arrangements. Haack gained further attention through appearances on “The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson” and “Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood” where he would demonstrate his inventions such as a synthesizer that would emit sound through touch.
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