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authority records

Woods, Fred

  • Person
  • 1900-[1987]<sup>1</sup>

Mr. Fred Woods, originally from the Isle of Man, met his wife Elizabeth in Saskatchewan while he was working on the railway. When they arrived out west in about 1923, the family slept in Stanley Park. Fred’s daughter, Helen, recalls, “We first lived in Coquitlam where Jack and Pat were born. Dad first worked in the railway yards in Coquitlam.” Later, Mr. Woods felt there wasn’t any sense staying in Vancouver during the depression so he began to slowly work himself ‘up on the track’ and away from the city.

Fred became a foreman on the Pacific Great Eastern Railway, and this gave him his first glimpse of Alta Lake.  He stayed there as a section foreman until he quit and went into a logging camp cooking.  The family first lived near the original school on the southwest side of Alta Lake.  From there they moved north to Mile 39 where they lived for six or seven years on property formerly owned by Jack Findlay.  Like many people during that time, Findlay lost the property because he was unable to pay the taxes.  The Woods’ new home, where Ken was born in 1932, had a barn, a house and acreage.

The Woods family left Alta Lake for good when Mr. Woods joined the army and moved his family to Seymour Heights in North Vancouver, where he and Elizabeth lived for many years.<sup>2</sup>

Racey, Kenneth

  • Person
  • b. 1882

Kenneth Racey was born in Ile d’Orleans, Quebec in 1882, and arrived in B.C. in 1909. He first worked as an accountant at a Port Moody sawmill, and later as a manufacturers’ agent for timber and mining operations in the area that is now known as Sea to Sky country.

In the early 1920s Mr. Racey first rented an old cabin at Mons, later named Alta Lake Station, before he built his own cabin for his family at the south end of Alta Lake. He became an experienced ornithologist (bird expert) and befriended Bill Bailiff, a local trapper and prospector. The wildlife observations and collections of Mr. Racey were the most comprehensive ever made in Whistler. His studies in Whistler spanned over three decades, from 1920 to 1951.

Racey established the presence of 137 bird and 41 mammal species in Whistler, collecting well over 500 specimens. His talent as a preparator is still evident from the superb condition of the specimens he preserved. His private bird and mammal collection formed the basis for the Cowan Vertebrate Museum at the University of B.C., and his specimens now reside in museums across North America. Racey’s achievements seem all the more amazing when one considers that he had no formal training. He was a founding member of the B.C. Ornithologists’ Union and the Burrard Field-Naturalist Club and was a prominent bird collector in the province.

His publications generously credit a host of local contributors: Alex Philip’s find of downy young of the Common Loon on Lost Lake; Osprey observations from Alfred Barnfield; P.D. Lineham’s observations of the Trumpeter Swan; Mrs. Burbridge calling in a Common Loon on Alta Lake; numerous sightings from Billy Bailiff, as well as Fred Woods, Dr.  Naismith, and of course, Mrs. Racey and their children Joyce, Allan, and Stuart.

Tapley, Herman Parker

  • Person
  • 11 Nov. 1879 - 13 Jan. 1966.

The oldest of Myrtle Philip's brothers, born in West Brooksville, Maine, USA. Worked as a finishing carpenter.

Watson, Garry

  • fl. 1975-2011

Member of the first Council of the Resort Municipality of Whistler.

"For forty years, Garry Watson has been an integral part of Whistler's community. He is a man whose efforts have enhanced the experience of Whistler as a place to play, and a place to reside. Considered a founding father of Whistler, Garry Watson served three terms as a councilor, as well as on the Board of the Squamish - Lillooet Regional District, the Whistler Health Care Foundation, the Community Foundation of Whistler, the Board of Variance and the recent School Tax Initiative. Garry has been part of every Whistler Olympic bid committee since 1961. Garry continues to serve with energy and distinction for positive change in the resort community of Whistler."<sup>1</sup>

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