Fonds whyte-1046 - Elmer & Grace Charlton fonds

Grace Charlton (née Wheatley) was born 1912 in Bankhead, Alberta to Alice and Frank Wheatley. The family moved to Banff in the early 1920s when the Bankhead mine closed. Following graduation from school in Banff, Grace attended Henderson Business School in Calgary completing secretarial courses. She returned to Banff to work for J.D. Hansen. Elmer Charlton was born in Spokane, Washington, U.S.A. in 1911. Elmer completed his schooling in Calgary when his family moved there from Spokane. Elmer worked for his brother Malcom before moving to Banff in the 1930s to work for his brother in-law George Brewster, who owned Brewster Skyline Tours. Elmer worked for George Brewster driving the daily bus from Banff to Calgary. On his return trips from Calgary, Elmer delivered the Calgary Herald newspaper to homes and businesses along the way. Elmer met Grace while he was working for Brewster and they married in 1935. Grace and Elmer had two children, Ken (b.1939) and Gary (b.1942). Growing up in Banff, Grace was an active skier and she and Elmer became involved with the Ski Runners of the Canadian Rockies and helped build the first lodge and rope tow. Both Grace and Elmer held executive positions with the Ski Runners of the Canadian Rockies and Elmer was a judge at the ski-jump event for the North American Ski championships, 1948-1950. Grace and Elmer were also active golfers. Grace served on the ladies' executive of the Banff Springs Golf Club and won many club tournaments. Elmer was also an active member of the Banff Springs Golf Club, holding executive positions with the men's club at various times. Elmer was a member of the Banff Curling Club and both he and Grace were involved with the Banff Winter Carnival in the early years. Elmer worked on the construction of the Highway between the park gates and Banff and also found work on the sets of a number of movies filmed in Banff. Elmer worked on the soundstages, appeared as an extra and was a driver for the casts of the films "Lassie Come Home", "North West Stampede", "Saskatchewan", and "River of No Return." In 1949 Elmer and Grace built Charlton's Cedar Court, the first year round motel. It opened with four units and expanded to twenty units before their son Gary took over management of the motel in 1969. Grace and Elmer became members of the Banff Chamber of Commerce and Elmer served as president. Elmer was a life member of the Banff Kinsmen Club and Banff Rotary Club. Grace was a life member of the IODE and the Eastern Star Lodge. Grace died in 1998 and Elmer in 2000.