Tales from Alta Lake – Page 2 – Whistler Museum and Archives Society

Join the ClubJoin the Club

September 23, 2025 Whistler Museum 0 Comments

In May 1976, the Alta Lake Community Club (ALCC) announced its first meeting since March 1972 and began recruiting new members. This was not the first time that the club had experienced a hiatus, only to re-activate.

In 1923, Grace Archibald suggested forming a social club. She, Lizzie Neiland, Flo Williams and a few other Alta Lake residents and regular summer visitors met at Rainbow Lodge to plan a picnic; from the resulting picnic, the ALCC was created. The ALCC started holding meetings in 1926 but it wasn’t long before the club took a break. In 1933, after almost seven years of inactivity, the ALCC started up again in order to raise money for a community hall, which they accomplished through weekly dances. Over the next few decades, the ALCC hosted dances, picnics, meetings, concerts, pot lucks, film nights, children’s parties and more.

Community Club Christmas Carol singers. From left to right: Andrew Roberts, Melanie Busdon, Clare Jennings, Rachel Roberts, Jessica Wilson, Sara Jennings, Roger Systad, Christopher Systad, Bishop children, Duncan Maxwell. Whistler Question Collection

The ALCC became inactive over the summer of 1972 and did not have another meeting until 1976 when a group of Whistler residents decided that, with Myrtle Philip School and its community space scheduled to open soon, it was time to revive the community club. They placed a notice in the recently founded Whistler Question to recruit members stating, “This is not a political or ladies only club. It is for single people and family groups interested in community recreational activities.”

About 35 people attended the ALCC’s first meeting of 1976 at the Mount Whistler Lodge. They elected a new executive and, with Frans Carpay as president, Ruth Howells as vice-president, BJ Godson as secretary, and Pat Beauregard as treasurer, the club was ready to plan new activities and events. Thanks to its previous activity, the ALCC already had $7,700 in the bank (just over $40,000 today when adjusted for inflation) and they decided to start by sending out a questionnaire to find out what kind of things people wanted to see from the club.

Dressed up at the Alta Lake Community Club Roaring Twenties Pot Luck Dinner, left to right: Max Maxwell, Kelly Maxwell, Diane Smith and Ken Domries. Whistler Question Collection

The ALCC hosted a “Soccer Ball” dance fundraiser that August to raise money for soccer balls and uniforms for the Whistler team, followed by an “old fashioned family fun and sports day.” In its first year back, the club hosted Halloween and Christmas parties (including a visit from Santa), supported the local Brownies and Cubs, held an Easter egg hunt, cooked pancakes for Mother’s Day, and even formed a drama club. They had used some of their funds to establish an annual scholarship for a graduating student from the Whistler or Garibaldi area and purchased sound equipment and tables that could be used by other groups. The ALCC had also started sponsoring events such as the annual ski swap and dance workshops because the club had the necessary liability insurance and were trusted renters of the school community space.

Margate Kogler ‘hams it up’ with a submarine sandwich in the kitchen at the Community Club Fall Fair. Whistler Question Collection

According to Ruth Howells, some of the most successful adult events hosted by the club were their suppers. These were so popular that they had to limit them to members and guests only and even then often ended up with a waiting list. Ruth summed up the success by saying, “Good food, good company and good music make for very enjoyable evenings.”

The ALCC continued to bring people together through events and fundraisers such as their annual Fall Fair into the 1980s. In 1981, they began hosting a “Welcome to Whistler” tea and in 1984 donated money to the RMOW for benches along the Valley Trail. As Whistler continued to grow, other clubs formed for different activities and interests and over time the ALCC wound down.

Reporting on RainbowReporting on Rainbow

September 9, 2025 Whistler Museum 0 Comments

Wartime rationing was nearing its end by the summer of 1947, but for Rainbow Lodge, a renowned romantic honeymoon destination, another type of rationing prevailed. Upon returning from her summer vacation, Pat Wallace reported that it was “poor hunting for husbands at summer resorts”, and that “the chances of nabbing a rich romeo or a plain every-day bread-winner for the future [were] very slim.”

The lack of romantic prospects did not seem to deter Pat Prowd and Pat Wallace, both reporters for Vancouver newspapers who often journeyed up to Alta Lake. Pat Prowd was a reporter for the Daily Province and the Vancouver News-Herald from 1939 to 1960, while Pat Wallace began her career at the Vancouver Sun before moving to the Daily Province in 1944 to be Women’s Editor, retiring in 1982. Pat Wallace’s sister, Moira, married Pat Prowd’s distant cousin, James McCarthy, in 1951, connecting the two families. James had proposed at Rainbow Lodge at Christmastime 1950.

Christmas 1950, Alta Lake. (Left to right) Pat Wallace, Myrtle Philip, Pat Prowd, Jim McCarthy, Moira Wallace. Philip Collection.

The two women may have been guests at the resort, but they were not afraid of mixing business with pleasure. Pat Prowd in particular “usually lent a hand to Myrtle in the running of the lodge.” According to Dick Fairhurst, “this meant helping the staff clean the main lodge, cabins, and shower house.” Both journalists documented life at Rainbow Lodge in the 40s and 50s, singing the praises of the lakeside community.

Pat Prowd and Myrtle Philip standing beside tennis courts at Rainbow Lodge, circa 1940s. Philip Collection.

In August 1947, Pat Wallace’s column, “Urban Album” publicized the ‘Doin’s Club,” a “familiar institution” of Rainbow Lodge. The club embraced the task of greeting guests at the station, their motto being: “don’t wait to be introduced, just smile and say hello.” The club derived its name from Billy Standard, a veteran of the First World War who purportedly first visited Rainbow Lodge in the 20s. Billy became notorious for referring to Worcester sauce as the ‘doin’s’, and the term quickly became “the by-word of the camp that season,” lending its name to a social club.

The initiation ritual? Drinking a teaspoon of Worcester sauce. With some 1600 members initiated by the summer of 1947, it is no surprise that supply of the condiment remained scarce at the resort.

Myrtle Philip and Pat Prowd cross country skiing, circa 1940s. Philip Collection.

Winter weather did little to discourage either journalist from making the journey up the railway. In fact, Pat Prowd’s March 1950 visit resulted in a “deep suntan to rival anything she might have picked up in Palm Springs.” Her holiday consisted of wintry picnics at Green Lake, with Myrtle building fires in the snow. Myrtle also adapted her “delicious flaky blueberry pie” recipe for the season, adding fresh snow to the ingredient list. Her guests deemed this variation “pure ambrosia.”

Both reporters spent the holiday season of 1950-1951 at Alta Lake, described as “a winter wonderland of gentle white quiet.” Pat Wallace told the Daily Province’s readers how she was met with “great stars of white” as she disembarked the train at Rainbow Station. The Philips’ house guests danced their way into the new year, dispersing at half past five on January 1st. “High in the mountains,” Pat Wallace wrote, “1951 received a warm hearted welcome bar none.”

Logan Roberts is the Summer Program Coordinator at the Whistler Museum through the Young Canada Works Program.

School Days and BearsSchool Days and Bears

September 2, 2025 Whistler Museum 0 Comments

Whenever the construction of the Whistler Village is talked about, it is invariably mentioned that the Village was built on a dump. This is often followed by stories about the bears seen at the landfill site.

The Alta Lake District Ratepayers Association applied to lease some acres of Crown land at the base of northern Whistler Mountain in the early 1960s in order to create a central dumping location for the residents of Alta Lake. The Valleau Logging Company donated their time and equipment to dig and cover the ditches and different residents helped tidy up the site on a weekly basis. This was not, however, enough to keep the local bear population out of the garbage. While the dump was relocated before the Village construction began, it was still in its original location when the first Myrtle Philip School (MPS) was built in 1976, causing some concerns for parents.

While there are still conflicts, Whistler has come a long way in its bear management and has been a Bear Smart Community since 2011. Petersen Collection

In April 1976, the MPS was nearing completion and was expected to be ready for community use during the summer before classes started in September. That same month, Roger Griffin was appointed as the principal. In May, however, a letter was sent to Whistler’s council from Roberta Carson expressing concern regarding the presence of bears near the school. The council advised that plans were underway to relocate the dump as early as the end of May but that they would monitor the situation and if bears were still frequenting the area by July further action would have to be taken, such as the creation of a fenced in play area for the students.

MPS was not the only building located in the dump area in 1976; the liquor store and municipal offices were also located in portable buildings near the site. Bears were so common in the area that spring hat the deer crossing signs on the highway were reportedly replaced by signs reading “Watch for Bear on Road” (though these signs also reportedly went missing soon after their installation). In early May, the Whistler Question wrote about a bear on the side of the road near the school and reminded people not to stop their cars in order to watch the bear.

Garbage was also left around the valley outside the designated dump area, leading to additional conflicts between bears and people throughout the valley. George Benjamin Collection

By June, council member John Hetherington reported for the Garbage Committee that a new location off of the Cheakamus Lake road had been approved on a temporary basis and the clean up of the old site had been put out to tender. By July, the dump site near the school was officially closed, though that didn’t stop some people or bears from continuing to use it. That month, a bear was seen “parading” up and down the porch of the liquor store, even pawing at the door in an attempt to get in, and another was said to be “in residence” at the old dump location “being fed by those who insist on placing garbage at this site.”

By the time classes started at MPS on September 7, 1976, bear sighting in the area were less common and the students’ play area was not required to be fenced in. By the fall, however, the school was experiencing problems with a different animal as some people attending adult education classes in the evening were bringing their dogs to class with them. This prompted a public reminder that “no dogs or animals are allowed in the school at any time.”

A Rainbow Lodge WranglerA Rainbow Lodge Wrangler

August 19, 2025 Whistler Museum 2 Comments

Horses were a vital part of life at Alta Lake in the early half of the 20th century, facilitating transportation, construction, agriculture, leisure, and exploration. David Esworthy, who passed away in 2015, was a highly respected figure in the Canadian equestrian scene whose beginnings can be traced back to Rainbow Lodge. He went on to amass an impressive score of accolades, including president of the Canadian Equestrian Federation and Horse Council BC, and member of the BC Sports Hall of Fame.

David as a toddler on horseback, held there by Myrtle. Philip Collection.

David was born on January 29, 1929, in Victoria, B.C. His mother, Margaret Esworthy (née Tapley), had travelled to Alta Lake from Maine to help her sister, Myrtle Philip, set up Rainbow Lodge in 1914. Photographs from the Philip collection reveal that David very quickly became acquainted with the lodge’s horses.

Growing up in the Lower Mainland, David spent summers at Rainbow Lodge. As a teenager, he worked as the lodge’s wrangler. During that era, guests could sign up for early morning trail rides, which meant employees like David rose at 4 o’clock to prepare the horses. Lodge guests could pre-book their breakfast rides to Lost Lake or Green Lake, or opt for midnight trail rides complete with campfires, singing, and toasted marshmallows.

Margaret Tapley Esworthy holding her son David, on a hill overlooking Rainbow Lodge. Philip Collection.

Moira McCarthy, who tended to the horses with David, remembered how Myrtle once caught them jumping the horses over logs, and the pair received a healthy scolding. Still, a 1974 article in The Province announcing a Rainbow Lodge reunion fondly remembered David as “the summer wrangler [who] had all the young things scrambling to ride along with him when he rounded up the horses at 4 a.m.”

David as a baby on horseback with his aunt, Jean Tapley. Philip Collection.

After leaving the lodge, David worked on a ranch in the Interior for two years and studied agriculture at the University of British Columbia. In 1949, he married Patricia Howat, and the couple naturally chose Alta Lake as their honeymoon destination.

Myrtle and David in Vancouver, circa 1940s. Philip Collection.

David, Patricia, their son Philip, and dog Sandy continued to visit Myrtle and would often travel to Alta Lake in the summers. The Alta Lake Echo’s December 18th, 1960 edition described how the Esworthys got stuck on the PGE when a bridge over Cheakamus Canyon caught flame, arriving so late for dinner at the Philips’ that there was no time to help wash dishes before they had to turn around and return home!

Seeking to spend more time with his young family, David joined North Vancouver’s Northridge Riding Club, and soon became its instructor and buyer. For the next fifty years, he dedicated himself to the sport, teaching clinics internationally and serving as judge, a horse show chair and an organizer. He was one of the few Fédération Equestre Internationale stewards to hold tickets in all three disciplines, a director on the Canadian Horse Council, and he assisted in the preparations for the equestrian events in the 1976 and 1984 Olympics in Montreal and Los Angeles. David’s vast resumé of volunteer work was merely in addition to his 40 year career with the Hastings Brass Foundry, the last four serving as president and CEO.

Alex Philip and great nephew Philip Esworthy.

David was undeniably influential in Canada’s equestrian scene, and, if stories of his indomitable aunt are to be believed, he certainly came by his penchant and inclination towards horses honestly!

Logan Roberts is the Summer Program Coordinator at the Whistler Museum through the Young Canada Works Program.

Category: Tales from Alta Lake

Join the ClubJoin the Club

Reporting on RainbowReporting on Rainbow

School Days and BearsSchool Days and Bears

A Rainbow Lodge WranglerA Rainbow Lodge Wrangler