Margaret Fleming and the Alpine Club of Canada: A woman's place in mountain leisure and literature, 1932-1952

Journal of Canadian Studies, Fall 2001 by PearlAnn Reichwein, Karen Fox

By the end of the war, Fleming was aware her position was more than temporary. She was an invisible editor, working always behind the scenes, where she directed and co-ordinated the visible efforts of others and thanked all the people who did the work. In the 1947 issue, for example, Fleming credited EH. Brigden's donation of the colour plates, A.O. Brigden's generous assistance and G. Cairns's map drawings. Her policy of crediting collaborators was characteristic of her editorship. And her approach to the editorial board allowed her to tap members who were active and connected with climbers and ACC sections across Canada and the United States. Fleming included more people in discussions of editorial policy and provided opportunities for new members to contribute.

Fleming integrated her personal life with her formal responsibilities as editor. Her correspondence was peppered with insights about her daily life and responsibilities. In May 1942, she wrote to Major Tweedy about landscaping her home and garden: "I am getting into good condition by hauling rocks, slinging mud, (I mean literally) and felling trees, so that mere mountain climbing should prove an easy pastime by mid July." She reminded him to "save the usual leaky tent for me!"71 She referred to personal obligations, such as superintending a friend's four young children: "They say a change is as good as a rest, if so I'm having a grand rest."72 Her home was the headquarters of the journal and a crossroads for club members travelling through Winnipeg. She liked to catch up with club members, hear interesting stories and cajole people to write for the CAJ. Climbers like Roger Neave, Dorothy Pilley, the Bretts, Lilian Gest and Rex Gibson kept her informed. Fleming's generous hospitality in Winnipeg nurtured and sustained her networks among the elite and interesting club members generally, and women climbers in particular. These friendships continued until Fleming was into her eighties, and her visits to the Canadian Rockies inevitably included visits with ACC friends.

Fleming's Rocky Mountain travels also included visits with prominent club members, and she always remembered to ask them for submissions. In 1945, she and her sister bicycled from Jasper to Banff. They visited the Brigden's lodge, overlooking the Valley of Ten Peaks, where Fleming talked to internationally famous climbers Georgia Engelhard and Eaton Cromwell.73 Though she had only a few minutes to converse with them, she asked them to write about their climb in the Skoki district for the journal. Of course, she was not always rewarded as indicated when British climber and writer Dorothy Pilley Richards chose to submit one of her articles first to a provincial publication and only later to the CAJ.74 In other cases, such as an article entitled "East-West Traverse of the Mitre," Fleming needed to rewrite Eric Brooks's spare notes into a publishable piece.75

As editor, she could indulge in leisure pursuits of her university days: meeting and entertaining interesting people, participating in intellectually stimulating conversations and debates. In many ways, the ACC membership was like a theatre of characters with intriguing slide shows of mountains and foreign travels, curious dramas and international celebrities.