Inventory to the GORDON AND LORNA WALMSLEY FONDS held at the Yukon Archives March 1990 Reprinted 2003 Inventory to the GORDON AND LORNA WALMSLEY FONDS Held by the Yukon Archives Yukon Archives March 1990, Reprinted 2003 Cover photograph: Yukon Archives. Gordon and Lorna Walmsley fonds, #12857 “Lorna Walmsley skidooing in the Depmster area near the foot of the summit of the Ogilvie Mountains at the North Fork Pass” TABLE OF CONTENTS FONDS DESCRIPTION ......................................................................................................................................... 3 CAPTION LIST....................................................................................................................................................... 5 DAWSON CITY AND SURROUNDING AREA.......................................................................................................... 5 WILDLIFE (YUKON AND ALASKA) .................................................................................................................... 49 HUNTING TRIPS IN THE YUKON......................................................................................................................... 59 NORTH CANOL ROAD AREA .............................................................................................................................. 83 SOUTH CANOL ROAD AREA .............................................................................................................................. 89 FARO - PELLY RIVER - ROSS RIVER - LITTLE SALMON AREA......................................................................... 95 ALASKA ............................................................................................................................................................ 107 SKIDOO TRIPS (NOT INCLUDING THE TRIP TO N.W.T.)................................................................................... 111 FORT SELKIRK AREA ....................................................................................................................................... 115 CAMPBELL HIGHWAY AREA............................................................................................................................ 119 KUSAWA LAKE AREA ...................................................................................................................................... 121 KLUANE PARK - HAINES HIGHWAY AREA ..................................................................................................... 125 WHITEHORSE AREA ......................................................................................................................................... 127 BENNETT LAKE AREA...................................................................................................................................... 129 WALMSLEYS’ FRIENDS.................................................................................................................................... 131 NORTHWEST TERRITORIES .............................................................................................................................. 133 CARMACKS - FIVE FINGER RAPIDS AREA....................................................................................................... 135 CLINTON CREEK – FORTYMILE AREA............................................................................................................. 137 NORTHWEST BRITISH COLUMBIA AREA......................................................................................................... 139 STEWART RIVER / WHITEHORSE ..................................................................................................................... 141 MACMILLAN RIVER - PELLY CROSSING AREA............................................................................................... 143 CARCROSS AREA.............................................................................................................................................. 145 MISCELLANEOUS.............................................................................................................................................. 147 NORTHWEST TERRITORIES .............................................................................................................................. 151 ROSS RIVER - LIVINGSTONE CREEK ............................................................................................................... 153 LOWER LAKE LABERGE AREA......................................................................................................................... 155 MISCELLANEOUS.............................................................................................................................................. 157 APPENDIX 1: SUBJECTS ................................................................................................................................. 163 FONDS DESCRIPTION GORDON AND LORNA WALMSLEY FONDS. — 1954-1974 Physical Description: 4,002 photographs : col. slides. Biographical Sketch: Gordon Walmsley (born 1 September 1921) came to Dawson City in 1946 and Lorna Coldron (born 25 April 1920) arrived in 1947. Lorna Coldron's father, Percy Coldron, was in the Yukon during the Gold Rush and was a member of the Yukon Order of Pioneers. Gordon and Lorna Walmsley were married in Dawson City in 1950. Gordon Walmsley was employed first as an electrical superintendent for Yukon Consolidated Gold Corporation and later as a power superintendent for the Northern Canada Power Commission. Lorna Walmsley was employed as Secretary of the Yukon Gold Corporation and later by the Dawson City Light and Power Company. The Walmsley's moved to Faro in 1968 where Gordon continued working for the Northern Canada Power Commission as superintendent. In Faro he was responsible for providing power for the construction of the town of Faro and also began Faro's water system. In 1970 Gordon Walmsley was appointed to the Advisory Council for the Village of Faro, to serve until the election of the first Municipal Council for the village. In that election in December 1970 he was voted in as alderman. In addition , he was Faro's first Justice of the Peace and coroner for the Faro -Ross River area. Lorna Walmsley was quite adventuresome and on one occasion she crossed the Arctic Circle in an Arctic Circle Hot Springs Flying Service airplane on 2 August 1949. Lorna Walmsley was an amateur Yukon historian and wrote articles under either her own or her pen name for the Whitehorse Star and The Alaska Magazine. Many of her photographs have also been published. She was also the first white woman to travel from Faro to Norman Wells, N .W. T. by skidoo. On the trip Gordon and Lorna Walmsley, along with six others, including Father Rigaud of Faro and Bob Giesbrecht of Atlin, left Faro on 12 April 1973 and arrived in Norman Wells 13 days later. Lorna Walmsley died in Faro on 27 December 1974. Gordon Walmsley retired July 1975, and after moving to Vancouver, bought a sailboat. He named it "Fireweed II" after Lorna and spent his remaining years sailing the Pacific coast. He died 12 January 1985. Gordon and Lorna Walmsley both had a great love of the wilderness and spent much of their leisure time exploring the Yukon and the neighbouring areas of northern British Columbia, Alaska and the Northwest Territories. They both enjoyed big game hunting and some of Lorna Walmsley's trophies are today displayed at the MacBride Museum in Whitehorse. Throughout their travels, the Walmsleys, and more particularly Lorna, were accompanied by their camera. Scope and Content: The fonds consists of slides taken by Gordon and Lorna Walmsley depicting their travels in the Yukon from 1954 to 1974. Images include wildlife, flora, hunting trips, and news of Yukon communities, people, and events. The areas depicted in the slides include Dawson, Whitehorse, Fort Selkirk, Faro, Alaska, and the areas around Little Salmon, Canol Road, Campbell Highway, Kusawa Lake, and Kluane Park. Source of Supplied Title Note: Title based on creators of fonds. Arrangement: The slides have been maintained in the original subject groupings developed by Gordon and Lorna Walmsley and were numbered in this arrangement by the archivist. 3 Inventory to the Gordon and Lorna Walmsley fonds Restrictions: There are no donor-imposed restrictions on this material. General copyright or institutional or legal restrictions may apply. Finding Aid: Consult “Inventory to the Gordon and Lorna Walmsley fonds held at the Yukon Archives”. General Note: Funding to arrange and describe the Gordon and Lorna Walmsley slides was made possible by financial assistance from the federal government through the National Archives of Canada, the Canadian Council of Archives and the Yukon Archives. Selection Note: Slides in poor physical condition and slides containing images not relating to the Yukon were returned to Bill Walmsley. Accession Number(s): 87/69 LOCATION: 9732-13733 (87/69): Catalogued Photographs 4 CAPTION LIST The following is a slide-by-slide list of Gordon and Lorna Walmsley’s colour slides. If the date of the slide was not known, the commercial processing dates have been used. This is indicated by [ ]. The slides have been maintained in the original subject groupings developed by the Walmsleys. Detailed subject access points are provided in Appendix 1. DAWSON CITY AND SURROUNDING AREA YA# Description Date 9732 Winter view of old sawmill - Dawson City [1960] 9733 View of Walmsley home and front garden in Bear Creek