(1:51:32) As I say my direct participation in the warden service was somewhat less than a lot of people. But I was sort of in positions related to it in one way or another pretty well throughout my Parks’ career.
(1:52:03) Ernie (Stenton) worked with Splake (a hybrid fish) before I was on the warden service. But I heard lots about it, believe me! Ernie was another character. I used to get in trouble with Ernie sometimes. Ernie was a pretty dedicated warden, but he had his own way of doing things. I can remember him giving me hell. He was off because he had hurt his ankle and I was going to have to work on the phone line between the Lake Minnewanka boat house and the fire looked out on Mount Aylmer. Ernie used to do it from the boat. He had this boat he called the Peachy that was part of the function in that district. He’d go down the lake, anchor the boat, go ashore, and walk some of the phone line. Fix it where it needed to be fixed. Then he’d go back and get the boat. I think he would stay overnight at the cabin, eight miles down the lake. He made quite an issue out of this phone line job. Anyway, all of a sudden I was the senior guy in the district! Ernie was off on sick leave. So I decided I was going to do the job my way. I got a pack horse and a saddle horse and got a bunch of tools and loaded them up on the horses and I rode the phone line. I fixed the thing from the boat house right to the cabin and there was a branch line that went up to the lookout. I went over and fixed that. And I was home before dark. I did it in one day and Ernie gave me hell for that! Ernie said that is a three day job. Three days to do it. I said, “Well I guess I will just have to rest for the other two.” Anyway Ernie was that kind of a warden. He was set in his ways. When you were doing something with him, it had to be done his way.
(Part Two – 0:00:12) Bert Knight was Chief Warden in Waterton before my dad. He later became Superintendent and my dad became Chief Warden. There was a warden MacAllister, another warden was Bert Barns. There was a warden Gladstone, but it wasn’t Leonard. He came later. I can’t remember what his first name was, Jim perhaps. A little bit before my time there was a warden Bower, who died of a heart attack on the job. Actually, I think he died in the winter when he was snowshoeing…Then there was a warden Mark Mellon, who was transferred from Prince Albert to Waterton who also died of a heart attack on the job. And MacAllister died of a heart attack on the job. Oh, and Jack Giddie. Mustn’t forget Jack! Jack Giddie had been a warden in Yoho and had been transferred to Waterton and he worked out the balance of his career in Waterton. He worked for quite a few years. He retired from the warden service and eventually moved to the coast. Then there was a warden, Christiansen, both of whose sons became wardens. His name was Ronald, but all he ever got called was Chris. R.M. Christiansen were his initials, Ronald Morris Christiansen. Ultimately, not at Waterton, but both Jack and Ted Christiansen became wardens. (Ted) was in Banff and also in Kootenay. Then he left the wardens and went to the Fisheries department and was out on the coast here for a number of years. I guess he just transferred his time over. There was a multitude of seasonal wardens, but I won’t go into that. They used to have two or three come on ever summer. But Barns, Giddie, Christiansen, MacAllister they were all career wardens in Waterton National Park. Mellon was too until he died, still quite a young man actually. There were three of them that died of heart attacks, MacAllister, Mellon and Bower all died while still on the job.
(Not recorded) Jack remembered a lot of talk about the warden’s uniforms in Waterton National Park. He spoke of his dad’s original uniform that came with a very heavy buffalo winter coat and matching fur hat. Jack said that when wearing the heavy buffalo coat and hat, you had to approach your saddle horse carefully, so that you were not mistaken for a grizzly! Some horses took exception to the bufflalo coat! There was also a heavy pea jacket, a hip length coat, that Jack inherited from his father, and later passed on to Warden Jim Rimmer. At one time the warden uniform came with coveralls, and slacks, as well as riding breaches. Wardens were also given two pairs of boots; an ankle type boot and a higher lace boot too. Stetson hats and badges were of course included. Jack’s father Bo Holroyd had the lowest number badge, Number Ten. The original badges were not bilingual. During the years 1937/1938, the warden’s uniforms were supplied by Tip Top Tailors.
Jack Holroyd passed away on October 1st, 2017 at the age of 89. His obituary included the following sentence that summed up his life.
“Jack, to the end of his life, had an energetic mind, and a great interest in history and current affairs. He had an abiding love for his country.”
