Roy Jack Quinstrom was born in 1912 in Quesnel, British Columbia. The Quinstrom family had come to Canada from Sweden. People of the Quesnel area could not pronounce the family's Swedish name (unknown) so they took the name Quinstrom. Roy believed they were the only people in the world to have that name. After receiving his education at Trail, British Columbia, Roy went to Moscow, Idaho to study Mining Engineering and Metallurgy. His first job was at Goldfields, Saskatchewan. On his return to Trail he was hired by Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company Ltd. and moved to Yellowknife, living there in 1937 and 1938. Roy helped pour the first gold brick produced in Yellowknife in [1938?]. In 1938, Roy married Lillian Cookson eventually settling again in Kimberley, British Columbia in 1940. In 1944, Roy and Lillian moved to San Luis Potosi, Mexico and started an assay business, eventually retiring in Mexico. Roy Quinstrom died in 1995.
Gordon Beattie Pritchard was born in Galt, Ontario on March 17, 1909. In 1935, he graduated from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Architecture and then served with the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II. He joined the Building Construction Division of the Department of Public Works in Ottawa in 1948. He was appointed the first chief of the federal Northern Construction Division, Department of Public Works, in 1956. In this capacity, he toured widely throughout the north supervising the construction of federal projects. One of his major responsibilities was to oversee the construction of Inuvik, which was completed in 1961. He wrote a number of articles on building projects he had been involved with, particularly those in Inuvik. He died in Ottawa on November 1, 1964.
(Douglas) Bruce Prentice was born January 22, 1924 in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan to parents Robert and Lucille (nee Black) Prentice. During World War II he served in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). After the war he moved to British Columbia and attended the University of British Columbia. He became a teacher, and later a principal in Chilliwack, working at several schools including Yarrow, Bernard, Robertson, Sardis and Greendale Elementary. He also studied part-time at the University of Western Washing to earn a Master's degree.
Bruce's interests included photography, bridge, golf and travel. He volunteered with Air Cadets and was a member of the Legion, Probus, the Masons, Eastern Star, Royal Order of Jesters, and the Shrine Oriental Band.
Bruce was married to Dorothy (predeceased) for more than 60 years and had two children, Diane and Roger. Bruce passed away in Surrey, British Columbia at the age of 95.
Alfred E. Preble was born on August 11, 1880 in Wilmington, Massachusetts. He attended Tufts College in Medford, Mass. from 1900 to 1904, graduating with the degree of Bachelor of Science. While in College, he was an assistant on three surveys organized by the Bureau of Biological Survey of the United States Department of Agriculture, led by his brother, Edward A. Preble. The first survey in 1900 was to Fort Churchill, the second in 1901 to Fort Resolution and the third in 1903, to continue a survey of the Athabasca and Mackenzie river regions to Fort Good Hope. The expedition, consisting of Edward Alexander Preble, Alfred E. Preble and Merrit Carey left Washington in May 1903 and arrived in Athabasca Landing mid May. The party traveled to Fort Resolution and then split with Merrit Carey and Alfred E. Preble traveling to the Mackenzie River and northward towards Fort Wrigley. They reached Fort Wrigley on July 20, 1903 and set out for the return trip on July 22, 1903. During the course of their trip, they made numerous observations on both flora and fauna. Alfred Preble was also a participant in a faunal survey to Fort George, James Bay in 1912. This survey was sponsored by the Carnegie Museum of Pittsburgh and led by W.E. Clyde Todd. He devoted the majority of his life to teaching high school chemistry and physics. He died at Center Ossipee, New Hampshire, July 11, 1950.
Henri Posset was born on May 5, 1925 in Belgium. He entered the Oblates Order of Mary Immaculate on September 8, 1947 and was ordained as a priest on February 19, 1950. In 1950, he moved to Canada and went to Hay River where he spent the following two years learning Slavey. Between 1952 and 1956, he worked as a priest at Fort Providence. From 1956 until 1981 he was based at Fort Simpson, and in 1982 moved to Fort Norman (Tulita) where he ran the Oblate mission until 1993. Henri Posset died on January 3, 1993.
Very little is known of Peter M. Porter, except that he entered the employ Slave Lake Gold Mines Limited on August 7, 1938 in Yellowknife and spent at least the following year on Outpost Island. He also appears to have had business interests in a mill and transport scow. Porter may also have been involved in other mining ventures around Yellowknife, as he shows up as a miner at Chipp Lake in 1942.
Robert "Bobby" Porritt (1905-1984) was born in Leeds, England. He came to Canada with his family in 1912, and they moved to a homestead farm near Jarvie, Alberta in 1915. He moved to the Northwest Territories circa 1927, spending a couple of years as a carpenter on projects in Fort Smith, Fort Simpson and Fort Resolution. He remained in Fort Resolution working as the first Canadian Airways agent [1927?]. During his years in Fort Resolution, he also worked as postmaster [1930?] and spent seven years in the fur trade with Northern Traders. In 1938, he started the Fort Resolution Lumber Company, which supplied lumber around the lake, particularly for Yellowknife buildings such as the Old Stope Hotel. Porritt spent some time in Yellowknife, coordinating lumber orders, and claims to have built the first Yellowknife school in 1939. The lumber business led to a water freight business, Robert Porritt Transportation, which appears to have been based in Yellowknife [1944-1949?]. In 1949, Porritt moved to Hay River and set up a general store, a fur trading business and an insurance agency. He established the short-lived Great Slave Industries in 1969, planning to build a marina in Hay River, and was involved in the revival of the sawmill in Fort Resolution during the same year. He continued to trade furs until his death.
Active politically for many years, Porritt ran for the Yellowknife Town Council in 1945. He lost his first bid for the Northwest Territories Legislative Council in 1951, but was successful in 1954, 1957 and 1964, spending almost ten years on the NWT Council (1954-1960, 1964-1967). He also lost bids for election to the NWT Council in 1960, 1967 and 1970. As a member of the Council, he was particularly interested in issues such as transportation, Indigenous welfare, health care, fisheries, trapping, education, the postal service, and the Hay River economy. He was also active in local politics and local organizations. He was appointed to the Hay River Board of Trustees in 1950, and spent at least seven years on the Board of Trustees, municipal and town councils for Hay River. He was president of the Hay River Chamber of Commerce, chair of the Lands and Parks Committee, and a member of the local Health Board, the Hospital Committee, the Public Works Committee, and the Kiwanis Club. Bobby Porritt died in 1984.
Robert 'Bob' Sheffield Pilot was born in Nicholson, Ontario on April 13, 1934. Raised in Pembroke, Ontario, he entered training in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in 1952. The following year he was posted to Frobisher Bay, launching a 35 year career of service in the north. As an RCMP Constable, he served in several eastern Arctic communities, including Frobisher Bay (1953-1955), Craig Harbour (1955-1956) and Grise Fiord (1956-1959). In 1959-1960 he was posted to Windsor, Ontario, where he married Lois Alsford (1962). He returned to the north to Pond Inlet as an RCMP Corporal (1961-1964), where he also established a Boy Scouts troop, and became a founding member of the NWT Council of the Boy Scouts of Canada. In Pond Inlet Bob Pilot performed many services as a paramedic: delivering babies, pulling teeth and handling gunshot wounds. In 1964 he was posted to Fort Providence as a Corporal. That year Pilot was also awarded the rank of Serving Brother in the Order of St. John of Jerusalem by Queen Elizabeth for his medical work in the Arctic (he is now a Knight of the Order). He retired from the RCMP and attended Northern University from 1965-66, and then joined the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs in Broughton Island as an Area Administrator from 1966-1968. He was then Area Administrator in Pond Inlet from 1968-1969. He joined the Government of the Northwest Territories in 1969, and was Assistant Regional Director in Fort Smith. From 1971-1975 he was Regional Director in Frobisher Bay. From 1975-1979 he was the Senior Executive Assistant to Commissioner Hodgson in Yellowknife. From 1979-1984 he was appointed to Deputy Commissioner under Commissioner Parker. In 1984-1986 Pilot was appointed as the first Deputy Minister of the Executive Council, and in 1986 he was appointed Deputy Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs in Ottawa. In that same year Pilot was made a Member of the Order of Canada. He retired from the GNWT in 1988. Robert Pilot was mayor of Pembroke, Ontario from 2000-2003 and has continued to be involved in many service organizations including the United Way, the Kiwanis Club, the Pembroke Regional Hospital and the Ottawa Valley Historical Society.
K.W. Phillips was an aircraft maintenance engineer in the RCMP Air Division stationed in Ottawa.
David Pelly was born on June 19, 1948 in Toronto, Ontario. He obtained his BSc in Math and Physics from Royal Military College and a BA in Canadian Studies at the University of Toronto. He came north in 1977 to travel, which led to contact with and an interest in the people, culture and history of the land. He has visited almost every community in Nunavut, however, his research has concentrated on the Keewatin (Kivalliq) and Kitikmeot Regions. David Pelly received funding from Parks Canada to do an oral history project on the Wager Bay region. He interviewed residents of Chesterfield Inlet, Coral Harbour, Rankin Inlet and Repulse Bay. Between 1995-96, he initiated a project to record oral histories with the elders in Cambridge Bay (Mount Pelly Territorial Park Project).
John Andrew Paterson (Jock) was born in Greenock Scotland in 1886. He was the fourth child and third son of Donald Paterson and Elspeth McKay. John studied to become a Chief Engineer before working with the Northern Trading Company between 1911 and 1914. He joined the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve in October 1914 and did not return to Canada until 1919 where he worked summers on the Mackenzie River and spent winters with his brother Dan at a trading post in Embarrass River, Alberta. He met up with Jack Stark on Great Slave Lake near Snowdrift River where they traded as Stark & Paterson until his return to Scotland in 1928. On returning to Britain, he had a job with Baker Perkins as a servicer engineer and married Mary Rennie in 1929. They had one child, Helen Major (nee Paterson) in 1930. In July 1949, John Paterson died from lung cancer.
Brock Hagen Parsons, nicknamed “Rocky”, was born to Frederick and Mary Parsons in Rainy River, Ontario on October 22, 1926. Frederick was a railroader and the family moved to various small towns in Manitoba and northern Ontario as he was transferred every few years. In 1943, following his graduation from high school, Rocky enlisted in the Canadian army and served in World War II. After the war, he tried various things, including attending the University of Manitoba, mining in Flin Flon, and trapping.
Rocky started training for his private pilot’s licence in August 1949 at the Winnipeg Flying Club and received his licence (P-417) the following month. From 1949-51, he flew for Severn Trading in Ontario. Rocky was also the owner of his own Tiger Moth.
Rocky received his Commercial pilot’s licence (C-5667) in May 1951 and flew for Superior Airways from 1951-52 in the Port Arthur-Fort William (now Thunder Bay) area. In 1952, while in Port Arthur, he met his future wife, Mary. The two were married July 20, 1953 and had three girls, Catherine, Gwendolyn, and Elizabeth.
Hoping for a more stable life, Rocky joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1953 and was stationed at Claresholm, Alberta. It was here that Rocky was trained in navigation, something that became a point of professional pride and personal interest.
Rocky did not stay in the Air Force long, but accepted a job with Associated Airways. He and Mary moved to Yellowknife in the fall of 1953 and were transferred to Hay River a few months later. When their first baby was born and required medical treatment, the Parsons moved back to Ontario.
Later in 1954, Rocky accepted a job with Arctic Wings (Trans Air) and the family moved to Churchill, Manitoba, where they remained until 1964. Rocky achieved his Senior Commercial licence (WGS 635) in October 1960 and ran his own company, Arctic Airways, out of Churchill from 1960-1964. Notable experiences included flying Anglican Bishop of the Arctic Donald Marsh on his 6-week tours of the Keewatin and flying medevacs from various communities to the hospitals in Chesterfield Inlet or Churchill. Parsons is also remembered for making Christmas deliveries, as is told in the story “Baseball Bats for Christmas”, written by Michael Arvaarluk in 1990.
When the Parsons family left Churchill, they moved south to Sioux Lookout for a brief time. Rocky studied for his Airline Transport rating (WGA 869) in Winnipeg, earning it in December of 1964.
During 1965-66, Rocky flew for Nordair Ltd., based out of Montreal’s Dorval Airport and servicing mainly Iqaluit and the DEW Line. The family lived in Lachine, Quebec. In 1967, they returned to Yellowknife, when Rocky began working for Bob Engle and NWT Air. Yellowknife remained Rocky’s home for the rest of his life.
In 1970, Rocky moved over to Wardair, then became Chief Pilot of Northward Airlines from 1973 to 1977, during which time he was responsible for training young pilots. Although still living in Yellowknife, Rocky began doing more flights in the high Arctic, flying for Bradley Air (1977-78) and Kenn Borek Air (1978-83), including several trips to the North Pole. On a notable trip May 15, 1982, the Twin Otter went through the ice and although the aircraft was lost, Rocky was able to evacuate the passengers and crew in time. Rocky was also involved in a project with the Geological Survey of Canada, in which they landed on the ice about every 50 kilometers to take readings, all the way to the North Pole.
As he aged, Rocky reduced his work schedule and took contracts with several companies, including Laronge Airways, Nahanni Air, and North-Wright Airways. Throughout his career, Rocky had a strong work ethic of doing things properly and well. He took his responsibility for himself, his aircraft, and his passengers very seriously. This conscientiousness led to his decision to retire at the age of 65. He did not fly again.
Rocky was best known for his extensive experience with the Twin Otter aircraft, but he also piloted many other types of planes, including the Tiger Moth, Norseman, Bellanca Skyrocket, DC3, DC4, C46, Beechcraft Model 18, Single Otter, Bristol Freighter, Gulfstream 1, and Fokker F27. Rocky travelled to various locations for intensive training courses on many of the aircraft he flew.
In his private life, Rocky was a member of the Canadian Legion, Masonic Lodge 162 (Yellowknife), and Holy Trinity Anglican Church (Yellowknife). He enjoyed being outdoors camping, fishing, and canoeing, even toward the end of his life. Rocky was also an avid reader and enjoyed music. He took a keen interest in navigation, even while on the ground, collecting and using bubble sextants. He took great pride in his family and spending time with his grandchildren. Rocky died on July 30, 2019 at the age of 92.
Parks Canada was established in April 1973 when the Conservation Program changed its name to Parks Canada; at the same time, Parks Canada absorbed the National and Historic Parks Branch. Before this, the name Parks Canada was used unofficially to describe the functions of the Conservation Program. In June of 1979, Parks Canada was transferred to Environment Canada. In 1986, the name was changed to Parks and in 1987; it changed again to Canadian Parks Service. In 1993, the name reverted to Parks Canada and its functions became part of the new department, Canadian Heritage. The mandate of Parks Canada is to protect and present nationally significant examples of Canada's natural and cultural heritage and to foster public understanding, appreciation and enjoyment in ways that ensure their ecological and commemorative integrity for present and future generations.
John Havelock Parker was born February 2, 1929 in Didsbury, Alberta. He graduated from the University of Alberta Engineering Geology programme in 1951 and came north in 1954 to work for Norm Byrne in the mining business, eventually becoming manager of the Rayrock Mine. He married Helen Panabaker and the couple had two children, Sharon and Gordon. In 1959 he was elected Councillor, Town of Yellowknife and served for five years before successfully running for Mayor in 1964. During the period as mayor, then a part-time position, Mr. Parker was also employed as the President of Precambrian Mining Services Ltd. In 1967 Mr. Parker became a Member of the Northwest Territories Council and was appointed Deputy Commissioner to Commissioner Stuart M. Hodgson on March 2, 1967. At this time, the Commissioner and the Deputy Commissioner positions held cabinet portfolios like their colleagues on the Executive Council. Beginning in 1975, the Executive Council made changes to allow for the addition of elected members. Up to that time the Executive Council was comprised of appointed members. As then Deputy Commissioner, Mr. Parker stopped sitting with the Executive. By 1979, the majority of Council members were elected. John Parker was appointed Commissioner of the Northwest Territories on April 15, 1979. Now that a fully-elected Executive Council was in power, the Commissioner ceased to sit with the (now) Legislative Assembly during formal sessions. In 1981, the Commissioner ceased to join discussion during the Committee of the Whole. In 1986 the Commissioner’s role had been reduced further. He stopped chairing the Executive Committee meetings and was no longer the head of the Department of Personnel. Newly-named Government Leader Nick Sibbeston then became the Chair of the Executive Committee. Also in 1986, Mr. Parker was made an Officer of the Order of Canada for his “significant contributions to the evolution and development both of the municipal government of Yellowknife and of the territorial government”. Mr. Parker is also a member of the Aboriginal Order of Canada. By 1989, when Mr. Parker stepped down, the Commissioner had a greatly reduced role in the day to day high-level decision making of government. Mr. Parker continued to serve on the boards of several northern corporations and was a member of a number of associations. These include the NWT Power Corporation, Conference Board of Canada, the Canadian Red Cross Society, the Evaz Group, and Aber Diamonds. He was Chairman of the Science Institute of the Northwest Territories, Past President and Patron of the NWT Boy Scout Council, a Director of the Arctic Institute of North America, Chairman of the Northwest Territories Coordinating Committee, and a member of the Council of Trustees, The Institute for Research on Public Policy.
Suzanne Paré (née Benita Girard) was born and raised on the Canadian Prairies. She trained as a Registered Nurse (RN) and largely worked in urban centres for the first 10 years of her career.
From May to September 1985, Paré pursued an opportunity to work on a summer term contract at the cottage hospital (health centre) in Behchoko. This work included medevacs by ambulance and float plane in addition to regular shift work. While in Behchoko, Paré enjoyed many activities both on her own and with community members, including her three-minute jog to work, biking, sailing on Great Slave Lake, barbecues, bingos, and tea dances. Paré developed deep respect for community members and continues to appreciate the shared stories and friendships developed while she lived in Behchoko.
Following her time in Behchoko, Paré lived and worked as an RN in Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, and in various communities in the Yukon. Later in life, she pursued university studies in Economics and was employed by the federal public service. Recently retired, Paré enjoys living closer to nature and developing her creativity through photography and writing.
Suzanne Paré donated her collection of slides to the NWT Archives in 2023.