Fonds 378 - Kirk family fonds

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Title proper

Kirk family fonds

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  • Moving images
  • Graphic material
  • Textual record

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Fonds

Repository

Northwest Territories Archives

Reference code

378

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Date(s)

  • 1943-1949 (Creation)
    Creator
    Kirk (family)

Physical description area

Physical description

2.4 cm of textual records : 1 bound volume, 1 folder
2 film reels : 16 mm
317 photographs : b&w prints and negatives, colour print

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Name of creator

Kirk (family)

Biographical history

Cyril Nordheimer Kenny "Nordie" Kirk was born September 16, 1911 in Toronto, Ontario. Having joined the RCMP in 1934, Nordie Kirk was Sub-Inspector (1943) and Inspector (1944) aboard the Hudson Bay Company supply ship the R.M.S. "Nascopie" on its annual resupply trips in the Eastern Arctic. Inspector Kirk's responsibilities included inspecting northern RCMP detachments and their personnel, and acting as Coroner in criminal investigations in the Eastern Arctic. Communities visited during these times included Churchill, Southampton Island, Chesterfield Inlet, Lake Harbour, Pangnirtung, Clyde River, Pond Inlet, Arctic Bay and Fort Ross.

In May 1945 Nordie married Leona Esima Marie Shank-Boileau (b. September 23, 1917, Cache Bay, ON) in Ottawa Ontario. In June 1945 they traveled the Mackenzie river aboard the S.S. Distributor to Aklavik, where Nordie Kirk became the Officer in Charge of the RCMP Sub-Division there from July 1945 to July 1948.

As Officer in Charge, OC Kirk carried out patrols in Aklavik, Arctic Red River (now Tsiigehtchic), Fort McPherson, Tuktoyaktuk, Herchel Island, and Old Crow. Many duties were performed on behalf of other federal government departments such as registrar of vital statistics, mining recorder, customs collector and distribution of government allowances. Besides conducting investigations and reports, detachment duties such as hauling ice for water, splitting wood for stoves, fishing for dog food, painting buildings, and maintaining boats and motors occupied Nordie's time. Leona, as the wife of an RCMP officer, met and entertained a wide variety of people from all walks of life. Visiting the Anglican Mission, Signals Corp. gatherings and parties at Peffer’s Store/Restaurant were social highlights in Aklavik.In July 1946, Leona's sister Cpl. (Canadian Women’s Army Corp.) Yvette Boileau (now Park) visited them for a month. In 1947 Leona was flown to Ottawa via Norman Wells, Edmonton, and Toronto for the birth of their child Brian in Ottawa, ON.

In July 1948 Nordie was posted to the RCMP Sub-Division in Dauphin, MB, and the family moved from Aklavik, ending their time in the North. C.N.K. "Nordie" Kirk continued a successful career in the RCMP, achieving the rank of Assistant Commissioner. He retired from the RCMP in 1969 with 35 years maximum service, and had a second career for ten years in the Federal civil service. He died on May 26, 1981 in Ottawa. Leona Kirk remained active in several service and recreation clubs in the Ottawa region, including the Ottawa Ladies Curling Club, the Eastern Ontario Ladies Curling Association, the RCMP Veterans Association and the Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club until her death in Ottawa on June 29, 2006.

Custodial history

Scope and content

This fonds consists of 2.4 cm of textual records (one bound volume and one folder), two reels of 16 mm movie film (a large reel of 1000 ft and a small reel of 400 ft) and 317 photographs and negatives (198 of the Western Arctic and 119 of the Eastern Arctic). Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Inspector Cyril N.K. “Nordie” Kirk used the bound volume to record events during his time aboard the Hudson Bay Company supply ship the RMS "Nascopie” during its Eastern Arctic tour, summaries of RCMP inspections in New Brunswick, and activities during the holiday season between 1944 and 1945. He wrote and received the correspondence between 1945 and 1946 while living in Aklavik as RCMP Officer in Charge (OC). The letters detail daily life in Aklavik for his southern correspondents. CNK Kirk shot the film between July of 1947 and July of 1948. The large reel contains both black and white and colour footage of Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers, buildings, patrol boats, airplanes and travel by dog team as well as footage of Aklavik, Tuktoyaktuk and Herschel Island. The small reel of film contains all colour footage of RCMP patrols by aircraft to Fort Norman (Tulita), Norman Wells, Camp Canol, as well as shots of Aklavik, including the All Saints Anglican Mission church, hospital and school, Aklavik residents cutting and hauling ice. In addition, there is footage of Leona E. Kirk, wife of Nordie Kirk, Henry Larsen, skipper of the St. Roch, Mike Zubko, Bruno Wiedeman, Charlie Smith, George Roberts, Knut Lang, Dave Sharon Jones, Jim Edwards (Jim Sittichinli), Caroline Moses, Jimmie Jones, Walter Jameson, Phoebe Poole, Louis Cardinal, and several RCMP officers such as Walter Evan Bayne, D.J. (Tiny) Martin, Arthur E. McKinnon, Alfred Kendi, David A. Coleman, Alexander Scotty Stewart. Included in the 317 black and white photographs, which includes 32 negatives, are 198 images depicting life in the Western Arctic from the perspective of RCMP OC Kirk, who was posted to Aklavik from 1945-1948. The images include the communities of Aklavik, Fort Good Hope, Fort Smith, Fort McPherson, Herschel Island, Tuktoyaktuk, Fort Norman (Tulita) and Reindeer Station, as well as aerial views of the Richardson Mountains and images of the Firth River. There are also images of RCMP patrols, the "Distributor", aircraft, RCMP buildings and the Kirk family. The remaining photographs depict Royal Canadian Mounted Police patrols of the Eastern Arctic aboard the RMS "Nascopie" in 1943 and 1944 and include images of Arctic Bay, Cape Smith, Chesterfield Inlet, Fort Ross, Churchill (Manitoba), Lake Harbour (Kimmirut), Pangnirtung, Pond Inlet, Clyde River, Southampton, Wolstenholme and images of the "Nascopie".

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      Copyright transferred to NWT Archives by donor.

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