Waterton through Bert Riggall’s eyes

OUTDOORSMAN’S PHOTOS HIGHLIGHT BOOK ABOUT SCENIC AREA

“Bert Riggall’s Greater Waterton,” edited by Beth Towe

Bert Riggall (1884-1959), the legendary outdoorsman and wilderness guide, was familiar to many in Southwestern Alberta. He was as well known in Waterton as his son-in-law Andy Russell.

Perhaps less known is Riggall’s prodigious output of photographs, records, diaries, maps and letters which served to document his lifelong passion for the greater Waterton area. Most of this archival material now resides in museums. This summer, however, a collection of Riggall’s finest photographs was released in the form of a coffee table book curated by Beth Towe.

Towe, like Riggall, is a proponent of conservation via education-based tourism, or what is currently called eco-tourism. Her award-winning initiatives include The Trail of the Great Bear and the Waterton Wildflower Festival. Add to this pedigree Towe’s own roots in the Waterton area, and you have an ideal editor for Bert Riggall’s legacy.

Towe has wisely chosen to make Riggall’s exquisite black-and-white photographs the backbone of the book. Many of them are large-as-life panoramas which were extraordinary for that time period.

All the pictures fairly crackle with adventure. Whether it’s a string of pack ponies traversing a perilous slope or a group of First Nations in full regalia riding through downtown Pincher Creek, each photo teems with crisp detail. The reader is invited to lean in for a close look from one corner to the other. I found it a pleasure simply to flip through the book and admire Bert Riggall’s eye for composition. Every picture is accompanied by notes, some written in Riggall’s neat script directly onto the photograph.

To accompany these treasured images, Towe chose to present Riggall’s wide-ranging interests in a series of essays written by standout conservationists, authors and historians like Harvey Locke, Charlie Russell, Fred Stenson and Chris Morrison, to name only a few. This lends depth and variety to the text. Readers can enjoy commentaries on subjects as diverse as “Bert’s Cameras,” “Horses in the High Country,” “A Grandson’s Perspective” and “The 2017 Kenow Wildfire,” plus a dozen more informative topics. This collection is as multi-faceted and intriguing as Bert Riggall himself.

I suggest readers start with Riggall’s biography — the first essay — to understand how studious and hardworking Bert and his wife Dora were. From there one gains a better appreciation for the complexity of Riggall’s photojournalism.

For those who love the Waterton area or those simply wishing to learn more about it through the eyes of an exceptional pioneer, I wholly recommend “Bert Riggall’s Greater Waterton.” Prepare to be enthralled!

Available from the Galt Museum Gift Store and Chapters Lethbridge.