Title and statement of responsibility area
Title proper
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- Graphic material
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Title statements of responsibility
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Repository
Reference code
Edition area
Edition statement
Edition statement of responsibility
Class of material specific details area
Statement of scale (cartographic)
Statement of projection (cartographic)
Statement of coordinates (cartographic)
Statement of scale (architectural)
Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)
Dates of creation area
Date(s)
-
1941-1942 (Creation)
- Creator
- Smee, Horace Herbert (Mac)
Physical description area
Physical description
150 photographs : b&w negative
131 photographs : b&w print
Publisher's series area
Title proper of publisher's series
Parallel titles of publisher's series
Other title information of publisher's series
Statement of responsibility relating to publisher's series
Numbering within publisher's series
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Archival description area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Horace Herbert (Mac) Smee was born on April 22, 1922 in Edmonton, Alberta. He married Joan Eilleen Smee (also of Edmonton) in Fairview, Alberta. They had two sons, Barry Smee and Martin Smee.
In 1941, he began working for the Northern Transportation Company as a chief steward and was sent to the Northwest Territories. His first job was to paint the S.S. "Mackenzie River" in Fort Smith, which he then rode up the Mackenzie River as far as the Mackenzie Delta. On his return to Fort Smith, he was transferred to the S.S. "Distributor" and made two trips on this vessel. The first trip he acted as steward to Margaret White. After his service with the Northern Transportation Company, he returned to Edmonton and joined the Air Force, which he left in 1943.
The Smees moved to Prince George, British Columbia, where Mac Smee operated two independent theatres, before moving to Vancouver in 1947. In Vancouver, Smee managed movie theatres including the Strand, Orpheum, Victoria Road Theatre, and the Regent. He served as the Secretary of the Famous Players Theatre Managers Association of BC.
Around 1954, the Smees moved back to Edmonton. Mac Smee joined the Hudson Bay Company, where he worked until retiring in 1982. Beginning in the mid-1980s, Mac, Joan and Martin Smee operated a family business, The Plate Connection, an award-winning collectors’ plate and doll supplier.
Smee died on August 6th, 1995 in Edmonton.
Custodial history
Scope and content
The photographs in this fonds document multiple trips down the Mackenzie River (Dehcho) on both the S.S. Mackenzie River and the S.S. Distributor. The images document the communities visited along the river, and in particular the barge supply route for the Canol Project from Waterways (Alberta) to Norman Wells (NWT) and members of the United States Army 388th Engineer Battalion working on the pipeline project.
Notes area
Physical condition
Arrangement
Some photographs were received as part of a scrapbook, while others arrived loose in envelopes. Items 0001 through 0052 have been kept in the order they arrived in the scrapbook. Archivists have rearranged items 0053 through 0163 to follow Mac Smee’s journeys from Fort Smith to Tuktoyaktuk. These photographs were taken on multiple journeys down the river. They have been consolidated and arranged geographically to represent one journey.
Language of material
- English
Script of material
- Latin
Location of originals
Availability of other formats
Of the 150 negatives and 131 prints, 118 have corresponding negatives or prints within this collection. There are 13 prints with no corresponding negatives, and 32 negatives with no corresponding prints.
Restrictions on access
No access restrictions.
Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication
Finding aids
Associated materials
Accruals
Rights
No copyright restrictions. Photographs are in the public domain.
Alternative identifier(s)
Standard number
Standard number
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Description record identifier
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Rules or conventions
Language of description
- English
Script of description
- Latin