Ella Frye (born 1907) trapped on the North Thompson river for over 50 years. Ella was born at Red Deer, Alberta, while her family was moving west from North Dakota, a trip that took six years. In 1911 her parents Fred and Edith (Bronson) arrived at Tête Jaune Cache, and soon afterwards moved to Albreda. Grandfather Bronson started teaching her trapping when she was six years old. “It got into my blood and I kept at it,” Ella said. She married Tom Smith around 1926. In 1933, she started trapping on the North Thompson.

In 1971, according to a report in the local newspaper, she was “the only woman in the area who is a licensed trapper.” Among her siblings were brothers Mike (“Small Frye”, husband of Sadie Monroe) and Jules (1916–1980), and sister Francis (wife of Louis Knutson).