In late 1919 Wardle was appointed to take over supervision of the Banff-Windermere Highway. … While the agreement stipulated that the road be completed in 1924, Wardle himself drove the first automobile over the road in September 1922.
“A brilliant young Canadian named Harry Haffner, who has been responsible for a number of irrigation and power systems, as well as roads in Alberta and BC.”30
Preamble: I’m taking a a break on regular posts from January through March, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t interesting things to read!
In lieu of regular content, I’m highlighting some of my favorite primary source materials from the last three years. Read a little, read a lot, skip through and look at the photos, it’s up to you! These are all online, so you don’t even have to venture outside into the cold.
Regular posts will resume in April.
It’s a short read this week (and lots of photos) in the National Parks promotional pamphlet, The Banff-Windermere Highway.
The Banff-Windermere Highway (Department of the Interior, National Parks Branch) [tourist brochure], https://archive.org/embed/P010898
The years following the Second World War were not so kind to the Memorial Fort. … Maintenance was lacking, and the building was gradually falling into a state of disrepair.
It was a small step to take the idea of commemorating David Thompson and blend it with Invermere’s desire to stand out as a tourist destination.
Nixon was “full of stories, both true and false, as an ideal guide ought to be.29
In The Windermere 