The fonds consists of the following series: personal and family papers and photographs including diaries written by Beth over an extensive period beginning in 1939 (with lapses) and into the 2000s; publications from "The Bull Outfit" with which her father came to the Beaverlodge area 1909; organizational files showing Beth's involvement with Trumpeter Swan preservation, the Home and School Association, the Grande Prairie County Agricultural Society, the Grande Prairie Book Club, and the Grande Prairie Hot Air Balloon Events Association; files relating to her work as author and historian of Clairmont and District, the Monkman Pass, Grande Prairie's 25th Anniversary, Pioneers of the Peace, and the Peace River itself, complete with the diary of a trip down that river in 1955, and a reference system of news clippings on the people and events in the Grande Prairie area from [1970-2000]. There is also a large collection of photographs, both historical and documentary, detailing her activities and showing her interests as a photographer.
The series consists of Beth’s personal diaries with supplemental information; bound volumes of literature from the Burnsites; family photographs from the Flints, the Sheehans, and Beth & Everett Sheehan; printed material from Beth's education at Alberta College; and some paper artefacts, family memorabilia.
The sub-series consists of various types of diaries and notebooks starting in 1939. There is restricted access to personal diaries for all researchers except direct descendants until 2018.
This letter is written by Beth and Everett Sheenhan to their son Kells about what they had been doing in Arizona including attending a rodeo and having dinner with their neighbors. Their neighbors had lived on a reservation in Sells, Arizona (Tohono O’odham Nation) and told the Sheehans about Indigenous death rituals.
Image shows three Indigenous boys standing outside of their school, which was located somewhere near Wall’s Well. This photograph was taken during the Sheehan’s trip to Organ Pipe Cactus Monument in Arizona and is located inside Beth’s journal from that trip.
Image shows Everett Sheehan crouching with his hand inside a depression in a rock. The caption beneath this photograph says “Indian Grinding Bowl at Alamo Well” This photograph was taken during the Sheehan’s trip to Organ Pipe Cactus Monument in Arizona and is located inside Beth’s journal from that trip.
Image shows two Papago Indigenous women standing near Mr. George, a member of the Sheehan’s travelling party, outside of their home which was 9 miles past Wall’s Well. This photograph was taken during the Sheehan’s trip to Organ Pipe Cactus Monument in Arizona and is located inside Beth’s journal from that trip.
Item is an unused paper face mask with writing on it. It says “I had to wear a mask + gown to enter an isolation ward to get the vote of an Indian TB patient.”
Image shows three Papago Indigenous women and a small child standing near Mr. George, a member of the Sheehan’s travelling party, outside of their home which was 9 miles past Wall’s Well. This photograph was taken during the Sheehan’s trip to Organ Pipe Cactus Monument in Arizona and is located inside Beth’s journal from that trip.
The sub-series consists of negatives from the Flint and Sheehan families: Mr. & Mrs. Victor Flint, their home and their children at Lower Beaverlodge; Beth’s life in Toronto, where she worked as a secretary for 4 years; Beth & Everett Sheehan’s wedding and subsequent life on Ox Shoe Farm south of Clairmont; activities she was involved in such as CGIT camp at Saskatoon Lake, the Smoky River Bridge Opening, and some travel photos; and a few photographs of the Tom Sheehan family and activities on their farm near Clairmont, including five photos of the Metis Camp and wives and children of the workers who would come each year to help with the harvest on the Sheehan farm. There are also 14 photographs of friends (Walter & Elva Schmidt and family, Rev. Bev Johnston, Denice Cook Kent, Vince & Anne Racicot family, Art & Agnes Lawlor Sovereign, and Clarice Paul) and 19 photographs, some of which were developed from the above negatives, and some of the Sills family siblings as they grew older.