Title and statement of responsibility area
Title proper
Grande Prairie Ski Club and Wapiti Ski Lifts Ltd. fonds
General material designation
- Architectural drawing
- Textual record
- Graphic material
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- Source of title proper: Title of fonds based on contents.
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Fonds
Repository
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Edition statement of responsibility
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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)
Physical description area
Physical description
4 cm of textual records
1 photograph
19 blueprints
Publisher's series area
Title proper of publisher's series
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Archival description area
Name of creator
Biographical history
The Grande Prairie Ski Club was incorporated as a society on November 10, 1960. The first ski hill in the Grande Prairie area was near Bezanson in the Smoky River valley. Operations moved to the Wapiti River valley, directly south of the bridge on Highway 40. A 30 x 30 foot chalet was built and a towrope powered by Ford chassis motor erected. In 1971 the chalet was moved to a site 1.5 miles north of the Grovedale general store, becoming Grovedale Baptist Church. Early members included: Ken Hanson, May, McIntosh, Dr. Dobson, R. Wilson, R. Pirker, G. Wilson, Pitt Payne, J. May, G. Simpson, Dave Frevalia, J. Pirker, W. Camenzend, C. Macdonald, Mrs. Brown, R. Voss, Van Gitzel, T. Matheson, John Barilko, the Bormans, and Rick Campbell.
Wapiti Ski Lifts Ltd. was formed in June 1965 as a company to provide a ski lift facility for the Ski Club.To finance the lift, a cost of approximately $40,000, the group obtained a loan from the bank and sold shares and debentures. People involved included: Dr. Dobson (first President), Gerald Card (first Treasurer), Ken Hanson (first Secretary), Mervyn Lewis, Gordon Wilson, J. J. Ouellette, Ernie Harrison, Griff James, G. Simpson, Joe Pirker, W. Borman, R. Norton, Ed Forner, G. Patterson, Dr. Pitt Payne, Ernest Radbourne, Robert Wilson, Wayne Anderson, and J. H. Bennion.
In 1972-73, the ski area was moved to its current location west of O'Brien Provincial Park on Highway 666. A new chalet was built at the base of the hill and a t-bar lift erected. In 1987 the chalet was moved to the top of the hill, new runs created, and a platter lift built. In 1994, the t-bar was replaced with a triple chair lift, instead. Nitehawk also offers ski and snowboard lessons and rentals. In 2004, a new maintenance facility was built. In 2005, the Peace Country Luge Association built a natural luge track at the site. The Swan City Rotary Wilderness RV Park was opened in 2006. In 2007, the Gravity Mountain Bike Park was created. The Grande Prairie Ski Club continues to own and operate the Nitehawk Recreation Area.
Custodial history
Material was preserved by Ken Hanson, an executive member of the Grande Prairie Ski Club, and donated by his son-in-law, Harvey Pearson, to the Archives in October 2010. A couple of sheets appear to have been added by Ken Belke (another club member) in 2010.
Scope and content
The fonds consists of records of the Grande Prairie Ski Club and Wapiti Ski Lifts Ltd. The two organizations are closely linked and some of the records are inseparable. Records include minutes, financial records, correspondence, lists of members and contributors, ski lift plans, a ski school photograph, and Canadian Ski Patrol manual.
The fonds is divided into three series: Grande Prairie Ski Club, Wapiti Ski Lifts Ltd., and Canadian Ski Patrol.
The order of the files was imposed by the Archivist in an attempt to separate the Ski Club records from those of Wapiti Ski Lifts Ltd., as much as possible. The original order within files was maintained in some cases, although loose documents and miscellaneous documents within other files were inserted in the file the suited them best. The correspondence was also compiled into one file and organized in reverse chronological order.
Notes area
Physical condition
Immediate source of acquisition
These records were donated to South Peace Regional Archives by Harvey Pearson, son-in-law of Ken Hanson (an executive member of the ski club), in October 2010.
Arrangement
Language of material
- English
Script of material
Location of originals
Availability of other formats
Restrictions on access
Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication
Finding aids
A finding aid is available at http://southpeacearchives.org/holdings-2/finding-aids/fonds-590-grande-prairie-ski-club/
Associated materials
Accruals
No accruals are expected.
Alpha-numeric designations
Accession number: 2010.57
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Status
Final
Level of detail
Partial
Dates of creation, revision and deletion
Description created by TD on May 13, 2015.
Language of description
- English