"Just a simple little scene": Life and Nature

While travelling across North America, Arthur was sure to take pictures of the people he met, the hobbies he picked up, and the sights he saw along the way.

"A PAGE OF REFLECTIONS"

Arthur beautifully captured images of his life, outside of the work of mining.

Fishing seemed to be a sport Arthur enjoyed. He made sure to take pictures of some exceptional catches, including a few large muskies, a 75-pound sturgeon, and a beluga whale caught in the icy waters of Hudson's Bay.

Note the first two pages, where Arthur marks fishing trips with Courtney Ryley Cooper and Rex Beach. Courtney Ryley Cooper was a circus performer and author best known for being the first biographer of Annie Oakley.

Rex Beach was also a writer, perhaps best known for his novel "The Spoilers", which was published in 1906. This book (and later film), follows a gold miner in Alaska who is looking to save their mining claim. Beach also acted as a playwright, eventually having his novels and plays adapted into films.

Arthur encountered many different animals along his travels. Here we see people feeding baby bears, a man hugging two newborn fawns, and a few deer on their travels.

Note photo 3 on this page, where Arthur captured a photo of a deer lying in the water, having succumbed to cyanide-poisoned water at Wendigo Mine, Lake of the Woods, Ontario.

Pictures of travels to Hudson's Bay. Lying on the beach, train cars on the new railways, and looking out from the shore into the Bay. Note the fourth photo showing Prince of Wales Fort National Historical Site prior to its reconstruction in the 1930s.

Arthur made sure to show the people he spent his time with over the years as well. Here we can see a few of the mine workers he likely spent a lot of time with and some neighbours from nearby camps.

The featured image from this exhibit comes from Page 30, showing Arthur, a mining engineer, and an accountant, waiting for a plane. Arthur can be seen wearing a white coat and white hat, and is on the left of the trio in photo 1.

This is also the first page we meet Prince, Arthur's German Shepard, who Arthur deems "his faithful companion for several years and thousands of miles of traveling." Prince also appears in photo 6 of this page, adorably wearing two sets of miners' rubber boots.

This page features two images of mine manager and accountant, depicting the before and the aftermath of a party.

This set of photos serves as a nice visualization of how mine settlements grew quickly over the years.

Page 52 shows an interesting paradox: a hotel fire during a snow storm in Larder Lake, Ontario.

Page 48 shows a few shots of people on the lake in Ear Falls, a crowd surrounding a landed plane, and gives prominence to a forest fire in Red Lake, Ontario, which appears to be taken from the lake.

Page 49 shows some of the frozen lakes, streams, and fields Arthur encountered in the winter seasons. The first photo on this page shows the beginning of ice break-up on an unidentified lake in Manitoba.

At some point, Arthur made his way up to the Great Bear Lake, Northwest Territories, and captured a beautiful picture of the midnight sun.

Arthur did not spend all his time up north and was able to take a few photos of the 1920s Toronto skyline.

Here we have some views into Arthur's family and of things he found particularly unique.

Page 58 shows some of the earlier homes of Red Lake, taken in 1927, 1928, and 1929. Photo 4 on this page shows Arthur's family at the front door of their home, where they must have lived during Arthur's time in Northwestern Ontario.

On page 59, Arthur tells a quick story about a make shift ice/water transportation vehicle that the owner used to traverse expanses of water during the ice break-up season.

The final page of this set, Page 60, shows snippets of the marine portage process taking place in Red Lake, Ontario. This page also features a picture of Arthur's sister-in-law and the Archdeacon of York Factory, Richard Faries.

A canoe Arthur built himself in lieu of purchasing one: it seemed to have worked well for him.

A few more figures Arthur made sure to point out: Bob Jowsey and Ed Futterer. Robert Jowsey is Mining Hall of Fame inductee, most known for the successful development of the God's Lake, Manitoba mine. Ed Futterer was a mining engineer and who pushed for mining education programs across Canada, and is the namessake of the Futterer Scholarship for undergraduate mining engineers.

This set of photos also highlights some of the little parts of life in Northwestern Ontario, showing two men digging themselves out of the snow, quiet lakeside cabins, and the common struggle of fighting off mosquitos in the summer months.

Please note that this set of photos and their captions include terminology regarding Indigenous peoples that would not be seen as sensitive or appropriate today.