| HISTORY/BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH: | Margaret Rathgeber was born in Medicine Hat, Alberta Oct. 17, 1913. She was the fifth of twelve children. In 1925, at the age of twelve, her family moved to Wenham Valley, near Winfield, Alberta. In 1929, she left home with two older brothers, John and either Jake or Ralph. Margaret stayed in Cayley, near High River Alberta. From Cayley, Margaret moved frequently around Alberta. On April 17, 1936 Margaret married Delos Linton in Lacombe, Alberta. She had three children: Kenneth James (born March 20, 1937), Elaine Alphine (born July 27, 1940), and Harvey Arthur (born December 18, 1941).
During World War II, Jake Rathgeber served in England, Germany, France and Holland. Jake spoke German and worked reconnaissance missions to infiltrate German command. After the war, Jake worked at the Banff Springs Hotel as a steam engineer until his retirement. Jake Rathgeber was born December 27, 1907 at Grayson Saskatchewan and he died at Canmore, Alberta July 11, 1978.
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| SCOPE AND CONTENT: | The fonds consists of material documenting the life of the Rathgeber family. The fonds includes diaries written by Margaret Rathgeber documenting her experiences at school and as a domestic worker in Alberta between Jan 1, 1931 to June 21, 1938; letters written by Jake Rathgeber to Margaret Rathgeber while he served in World War II, 1944 to 1945; photographs featuring oil wells and the oil industry around Turner Valley, Alberta; biographical and family history information; a book written and published by the donor, Elaine Long, regarding her Uncle Ralph, To Capture A Cowboy: The Story of Ralph Rathgeber; and photographs. The photographs include one photograph of the 1912 dam built by the Calgary Power Company; and one cirkuit print featuring Jake Rathgeber's platoon, "Platoon No. 2 "A" Company G. A(B)TG No. 131 Camrose November 1942" [The "G"s may be "C"s]. The creator/owner of the five small photographs is not identified. |