Lethbridge – A 1924 silent film on the 50th anniversary of Fort Macleod, a 1991 report on crop circles, a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the Neil Liske mural “The Old Man’s Legend”, and a selection of Lethbridge promotional videos from 1980 are among 37 archival moving images now available for online viewing through the Galt Archives database.

“In this collection, you will find multiple episodes of popular local TV shows ‘Who is Who in Southern Alberta’ and ‘Following Historic Trails’,” says Galt Archivist Andrew Chernevych. “In these programs host Bruce Haig interviews prominent citizens such as Eva Brewster, William Shackleford, Evan Gushul and Yosh Senda, and discusses local history. Other videos include an Alex Johnston lecture featuring well-known historian Hugh Dempsey, conference presentations — one featuring the late Alex Johnston himself, and promotional films.”

Most of the recordings were produced in the 1980s and early 1990s. The oldest moving image is a 1924 silent film dedicated to the 50th anniversary of Fort Macleod featuring a parade down Main Street, Indian village, rodeo and visit to the site of the original fort.

“The Galt Archives is dedicated to bringing archival records to online users,” adds Chernevych. “Previews of over 70,000 archival photographs are already part of the database. More online videos will be added in the future.”

David Fuller, a volunteer in the Archives who helped upload and describe the videos, says  he was “very enthusiastic when I learned about the project, the idea of having complete video recordings at users’ fingertips, accessible from everywhere, for research or fun. I had never seen the Historic Trails and Who is Who series with Bruce Haig, never knew they existed!”

To find the videos, search “Online Video” in the Galt Archives database at galtmuseum.com/archives, and click “View Details.” They can also be viewed in the “Moving Images in Archives” playlist on the Galt’s Youtube account: youtube.com/siralexgalt.

The Galt Archives can be reached 403.320-7302, or by email archives@galtmuseum.com.