Photo Record
Images
Metadata
Catalog Number |
A1987.055.034 |
Object Name |
Negative, Glass Plate |
Tagline |
Black and white glass plate negative of John Dingwall McDonald with his three children posed for a photograph on the walkway steps outside of their house, circa 1916. |
Collection |
MS 36 – McDonald Family Collection |
Description |
Black and white glass plate negative of John Dingwall McDonald with his three children posed for a photograph on the walkway steps outside of their house. John Dingwall is sitting on the left side of the top step and is wearing a mid-toned suit and a dark hat. He is holding John David who is wearing an all-white outfit and hat on his proper right knee. Helen is sitting next to her father, on the right side of the top step. She has short blonde hair and is wearing a dark coat, black shoes and socks, and a mid-toned hat. Pauline is sitting at her father’s feet, on the left side of the bottom step. She has long, dark curly hair and is wearing a dark coat, black shoes and socks, and a mid-toned hat. Both the girls have their hands in their laps. The walkway and staircase are between two houses that are partially visible on the left and right side of the scene. A large barn or shed is in the background next to the house on the left. There are several small piles of snow dotted around the ground. Overall, the scene is blurry and out of focus. |
Date |
1916/ / |
Medium |
Gelatin Dry Plate |
Provenance |
The McDonald family came to Rossland in 1898, when John Dingwall McDonald (born 1874, Woodstock, Ontario) came to Rossland to work for the West Kootenay Power & Light Company. John Dingwall worked as the Superintendent for the company in Rossland. He married Ethel Bell Elder and the young family lived in the WKPL company residence. The couple had three children – Pauline Dingwall (1907), Helen Christian (1909), and John David (1915). John Dingwall worked for the WKPL until he retired in 1942, ultimately passing away two short years later on October 7, 1944. Ethel passed away on May 22, 1948. Pauline married George Wilson in 1938 and passed away in 1956, while Helen passed away in 1929. John David, known as Jack or JD, graduated with an engineering degree from UBC in 1941 and married Donna Berva McLeod on September 7, 1942. After his graduation, he worked for WKPL until he enlisted in the Canadian Navy in December 1942. Jack returned to Rossland in 1945 and worked at Cominco until his retirement in May 1980. Jack was active in the Rossland community, but was especially influential in the development of the Rossland Museum, a Canadian Centennial Project in 1967. He continued to be involved with the Museum, serving as president of the board until his death in 2003. |
People |
McDonald, Pauline Dingwall McDonald, Helen Christian McDonald, John David McDonald, John Dingwall |
Subjects |
Photography Family Portrait Children Siblings Winter Parent |