Henry W. Hodysh
However committed the historian may be to the study of issues such as national identity or the constitution, it is often the lives of individuals and their day-to-day activities that are the starting point of research. The explanation of historical events may take the researcher into the side-streams and rivulets of character and circumstance that round out the personalities that inhabit our past. In this context the most insignificant events hold premise of insight into the period in which the people have lived and the journeys they have traveled.
One such document is Karl Clark's typewritten diary of his experiences in the Athabasca tar sands, the "Investigation of Bituminous Sands and Related Waterways and the Athabasca River, K. A. Clark and N. Melnyk" (University of Alberta Archives. Edmonton. Accession No. 75-82-2, Box 1). A study of the diary provides a wealth of information in deciphering the nature of town life in the 1920s as well as insight into the pioneering spirit associated with oil sands exploration.
Clark, who was born in Georgetown, Ontario in 1888, spent much of his time in the investigation of the Athabasca tar sands and their possibility for economic development. He graduated in the study of chemistry and after joining the Geological Survey of Canada moved to the University of Alberta in 1920 to examine the potential of the sands and their value to Alberta and Canada, establishing in the process the foundation for many subsequent discoveries (Thomas 1990). Clark was particularly interested in how the bituminous sands could be mined and the bitumen content separated from the sand with which it was mixed. In addition to his scientific interests, Clark was an expert canoeist very familiar not only with the country but the people around Fort McMurray. His letters, which were collected and edited by his daughter Mary Clark Sheppard, were published by the University of Alberta Press.
Although Clark's outstanding contributions to the study of the tar sands will be the subject of discussion for years to come, there is additional knowledge of community life to be gained by a closer analysis of his day-to-day reminiscences of his frequent field trips. In the following excerpt Clark (Diary of A. K. Clark, September to October 1927) relates his experience in the Card residence in the town of Fort McMurray:
Mr. Card got onto the topic of the railway and had the McMurray viewpoint, although he claimed that it meant little or nothing to him what was done. He was on salary from the Dominion Government as Indian Agent. But he figured that it was inevitable that the railway come to McMurray eventually and could not see the logic of all the side play and expense of trumping up excuses for not coming at once. Also had a visit with old Angus Sutherland in his drug store. He asked about Dr. Allan, Rutherford, etc. Had a chatter about tar sands and what was going on in general. Had supper in town and then headed for Waterways. We bought a candle apiece at Furry's place...We had a fine walk home in the dark, slipping about in the mud in the glimmer of our "bugs". Passed the rest of the evening at the Hudson's Bay bunk house. The radio was working very well.
On first sight the document provides minimal information about the tar sands but significantly more about the 1920s in a then frontier town and the human side of life in the north.
In the first part of the excerpt Clark relates Card's "McMurray viewpoint" regarding regular railway service to the town and in so doing informing us of Card's occupation as a Dominion Government Indian Agent. He then refers to his encounter with Angus Sutherland in his drug store. After supper Clark stops at Parry's place where he buys a candle and in the process of returning to the Hudson's Bay bunk house "slips about in the mud" in the glimmer of the "bugs," presumably the candle. For the rest of the evening the radio becomes a source of information, a time when television and computers had yet to be invented.
However brief, the document tells us about the characters and living conditions in the frontier town. In this context it is useful as a means of opening class discussion on the pioneering nature of tar sands exploration. The discussion then could proceed to the writing of a short story and perhaps a poem about life in the town, with particular attention to a character sketch of the people and their experiences. Such activity employs the archival document as an entryway to activity that extends beyond the accuracy of the report itself, combining if you will fictional and non-fictional experiences, a creative exercise that allows the students to reflect on the idea of historical accuracy in the docudrama.
The document is also helpful for integrating science with social studies. How does the discovery of the tar sands affect the emergence of town life? What effects does it have on ecology? And in what way has scientific knowledge attempted to resolve issues of health and land reclamation arising from tar sands development? These concerns, along with the place of economic growth, become subjects for theoretical examination and a way for introducing guest speakers and field trips to classroom activity. Most interestingly, the document not only provides a description of time and place, but an occasion for examining the connectedness of life, its past, present and future.
Clark, Karl A. 1989. Oil Sands Scientist: The Letters of Karl A. Clark, 1920-1949. Edited by Mary Clark Sheppard. Edmonton: University of Alberta Press, 1989.
Diary of Karl A. Clark, September to October 1927. Investigation of bituminous sands and related waterways and the Athabasca River, K. A. Clark and N. Melnyk. University of Alberta Archives, Edmonton. Accession No. 75-82-2, Box 1, items 1-3.
Thomas, Wynne. 1990. The riddle of the sands. Imperial Oil Review, Spring, 31.