Tag: Myrtle Philip

Reporting on RainbowReporting on Rainbow

September 9, 2025 Whistler MuseumWhistler 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. 

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A Rainbow Lodge WranglerA Rainbow Lodge Wrangler

August 19, 2025 Whistler MuseumWhistler 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.

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Digitizing Alta LakeDigitizing Alta Lake

June 17, 2025 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

Long before the Whistler Museum and Archives Society (WMAS) was officially founded in 1987 – when it was just a few shelves tucked away in the basement of the Whistler Public Library inside Municipal Hall – the idea of preserving the valley’s summer resort history was already taking root. Even then, the vision was clear: to safeguard and share the stories of the people who helped shaped this community, and to make sure they would not be forgotten.

That vision was driven by a promise. Florence Petersen, the founder of WMAS, made a personal commitment to Myrtle Philip who, alongside her husband Alex, opened Rainbow Lodge in 1914 and brought the first wave of tourism to the Alta Lake and later Whistler area. That promise was simple yet profound: to ensure that Whistler’s history and the lives and experiences of its residents would not be forgotten.

One of the many photos in the Philip Collection.

By the late 1970s and early 1980s, efforts to collect oral histories, photographs, and films documenting life in the valley were already underway. The first items added to the museum’s archival collection reflect this early work, including 1,700 images related to Myrtle and Alex Philip and Rainbow Lodge, spanning from 1895 to 1986. These mostly black-and-white photographs, along with various 16mm films, capture a transformative period in the valley’s history, showcasing the growth of the Alta lake community and the broader evolution of Whistler as a tourist destination.

Preserving these materials is a responsibility we take seriously. Following Canadian Conservation Institute (CCI) standards, we handle photographs using cotton gloves and store them in acid-free, archival-safe sleeves. These simple yet essential steps ensure that these fragile items remain in good shape for future generations.

Florence Petersen chats with Myrtle Philip. Philip Collection

Of course, preservation is only part of the job. Sharing Whistler’s history with the public, without risking damage to delicate originals, means creating digital copies of these items. Over the years, we’ve steadily expanded our capacity to digitize our collection. Today, we can convert a wide variety of media, including 16mm and 8mm film reels, colour slides, photographic prints, VHS tapes, Hi8, and DVCam formats.

Digitization is carried out using lossless formats like TIFF (Tag Image File Format), which preserve every pixel of the original image. A single high-resolution TIFF can be as large as 150 MB – about the size of 14 JPEGs on a modern smartphone. Unlike JPEGs, which compress data and average out similar pixels (sometimes causing those “blocky” images you see when streaming video on a slow internet connection), TIFF files retain the full fidelity of the original image.

Once digitized, we render to more manageable JPEG versions for everyday use, including social media, educational materials, and exhibits. These smaller files are easier to handle and help us tell Whistler’s story more widely and effectively.

Acid-free boxes, sleeves and more help keep archival materials safe.

To ensure the safety of our digital archives, we back up all high-resolution files to offsite servers and secure long-term storage systems, including LTO (Linear Tape-Open) tapes, which provide up to 30 years of reliable “cold” storage of these digital items.

WMAS is proud to be able to continue Florence’s promise and Myrtle’s legacy. Every photo we scan, every film we digitize, and every story we preserve is another piece of Whistler’s remarkable history saved – not just for today, but for generations to come.

WMAS will be hosting a film screening tomorrow (Wednesday, June 18) at the Point Artist-Run Centre, featuring archival films shot around the Alta Lake community, including 16mm films from the Philip Collection. This screening will offer a fascinating look at films from the Whistler Museum’s archives, shown right on the shores of Alta Lake. Get your tickets for the event here!

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Worth a Thousand WordsWorth a Thousand Words

November 26, 2024 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

Photography has long served as a powerful tool for documenting and preserving human history. From its invention in the early 19th century, photography revolutionized how people recorded the world, capturing moments in remarkable detail and making them accessible to future generations. The ability to visually document everyday life, historical events, and personal milestones has transformed our understanding of the past.

Some of the earliest photographs of the Whistler area in our collections date back to 1911 when Myrtle and Alex Philip made their three-day journey from Vancouver to Alta Lake via the rugged Pemberton Trail. The Philips played a pivotal role in shaping Whistler’s early tourism through their operation of Rainbow Lodge, the area’s first tourist attraction. The couple’s photographs provide invaluable snapshots of a formative era in Whistler’s history. Their photos helped document milestones such as the arrival of the railway, the first airplane landing on Alta Lake, the start of industries such as logging, and the evolution of community life in the area. These make up some of the Whistler’s most prized images.

Photo contact sheet from the Whistler Question, July 4, 1979. Contact sheets show the images on strips of negatives, which are digitized to archival standards.

With a collection of more than 300,000 physical photographs, the museum’s photographic holdings are its largest and one of its most valuable assets. This collection spans decades, chronicling everything from the first documented mountaineering trip in 1923 (rich with photos of now long-since-receded glaciers) and the development of skiing in 1965, to the design and construction of Whistler Village in 1979-80 and hosting the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Through these photographs, museum staff, visitors, and researchers can explore Whistler’s rich heritage.

Prior to the advent of digital photography (widely adopted during the 2000s), images were captured using a light-sensitive chemical emulsion applied to glass or to a strip of plastic or paper, commonly referred to as film. The process began when light entered the camera (sometimes just a crude wooden box) through a lens and exposed the film, creating a latent or hidden image. This latent image was then revealed during development, where the film was treated with specific chemicals in a darkroom to make the image visible. Once developed, the film could be used to create prints by projecting the image onto photographic paper.

Film types, emulsions, and the chemicals used for developing evolved significantly over the 20th century. One of the most important advancements as the development of safety films, which replaced the highly flammable and unstable nitrate films that were widely used prior to the 1940s. (The dangers of nitrate film and its combustible properties were a major plot point in the 2009 Quentin Tarantino film Inglourious Basterds.)

Thanks to the support of the Whistler Blackcomb Foundation, the Whistler Museum now has two scanners and can scan twice as many images! Our assistant archivist is seen scanning slides from the Insight Photography Collection, a more recent addition to our archival collections.

Tragically, many films from the silent film era of the 1920s were lost forever due to fires caused by nitrate films. One such loss is The Crimson West (1933), Canada’s first talkie film (a film with audio). Based on one of Alex Philip’s novels, it is considered a lost film after the Capitol Theatre in Victoria burned down, destroying the last known copies. Fortunately, aside from a few nitrate film negatives stored safely and securely, most of the museum’s collection consists of prints and safety film.

Our photographic holdings include a variety of formats, ranging from black-and-white images made from 4″x6″ medium-format film to the more common 35mm colour negatives, a popular choice among both amateur and professional photographers. Many of our collections also feature slide film, which were frequently used by businesses and families for presentations or “slide shows.” We ensure the preservation of these photographs by adhering to archival best practices, including careful handling and storage in acid-free archival boxes and stable plastic sleeves.

Photography, as documentation, is a bridge between the past and present. In Whistler, it continues to play an essential role in preserving the stories that define this extraordinary place, and we are glad to share these images with you here and on the museum’s social media channels. If you have photos you’d like to contribute to our collection, we’d love to hear from you – feel free to reach out or visit us at the museum!

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