BCH 2007 02 PDF
BCH 2007 02 PDF
BCH 2007 02 PDF
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This Issue: Hotels | Comox | Brass Bands | Home Economics | and more
British Columbia History British Columbia Historical Federation
Journal of the British Columbia Historical A charitable society under the Income Tax Act Organized 31 October 1922
Federation Published four times a year.
ISSN: print 1710-7881 online 1710-792X PO Box 5254, Station B., Victoria BC V8R 6N4
Under the Distinguished Patronage of Her Honour
British Columbia History welcomes stories, studies, The Honourable Iona Campagnolo. PC, CM, OBC
and news items dealing with any aspect of the Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia
history of British Columbia, and British Columbians.
Honourary President
Please submit manuscripts for publication to the Ron Hyde
Editor, British Columbia History,
John Atkin,
921 Princess Avenue, Vancouver BC V6A 3E8
e-mail: johnatkin@shaw.ca
Officers
Book reviews for British Columbia History,
Frances Gundry, Book Review Editor,
President: Patricia Roy
BC Historical News,
602-139 Clarence St., Victoria V8V 2J1
P.O. Box 5254, Station B., Victoria, BC V8R 6N4
presidentbchistory.ca
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Phone 604-582-1548 Phone 250.598.1835 Fax 250.598.5539 | vp1bchistory.ca
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Articles appearing in this journal are abstracted and
indexed in HISTORICAL ABSTRACTS and AMERICA: Past President (ex-officio): Jacqueline Gresko
HISTORY AND LIFE 5931 Sandpiper Court, Richmond V7E 3P8
Phone 604.274.4383 | pastpresbchistory.ca
Production Mail Registration Number 1245716
Publications Mail Registration No. 09835
Member of the British Columbia Association of
Magazine Publishers
To apply for the scholarship all Sounds of Brass Ladner 1889 - 1902
candidates must submit (1) a letter Jim Love and Brant Mitchell ............................................... 8
of application and (2) a letter of
recommendation from the professor
for whom the essay was written.
First and second year course essays
Red Book Revealed
should be1,500-3,000 words; third and Mary Leah de Zwart ........................................................ 11
fourth year,1,500 to 5,000 words. All
essays must be on a topic relating to
the history of British Columbia. By The Leland Hotel, Nakusp
entering the scholarship competition
the student gives the editor of BC Rosemarie Parent............................................................ 14
History the right to edit and publish
the essay if it is deemed appropriate
for the magazine. Kingsmill Bridge in Italy
Applications should be submitted Ken McLeod................................................................... 16
to: Marie Elliott, Chair BC Historical
Federation Scholarship Committee,
PO Box 5254, Station B, Victoria, BC The Royal Navy and the Comox Settlement
V8R 6N4
Allan Pritchard............................................................... 20
BC History Web Site Prize
The British Columbia Historical
Federation and David Mattison The Hotel Phair
are jointly sponsoring a yearly Patrica Rogers ............................................................... 28
cash award of $250 to recognize
Web sites that contribute to the
understanding and appreciation of
British Columbia’s past. The award
Archives and Archivists.................................................... 32
honours individual initiative in writing
and presentation.
Book Reviews................................................................ 35
Nominations for the BC History Web
Site Prize must be made to the British
Columbia Historical Federation, Web Miscellany.................................................................... 40
Site Prize Committee, prior to 31
December 2007. Web site creators
and authors may nominate their own
sites. Prize rules and the on-line
nomination form can be found on The
British Columbia History Web site:
http://www.victoria.tc.ca/resources/
bchistory/announcements.html
F
Janet Mary Nicol is riday, September 13, 1907 A streetcar was stopped at Westminster and
a Vancouver based The corpse of Ng Ah Sim was laid out on a Hastings Streets in front of a two-storey red-brick
writer who wrote A cart and pulled by one of the six men. They passed building with twin turrets and traffic was unable to
Working Man’s Dream through roped barricades patrolled by police and move past the people crowding the road. Drawing
for issue 36.2 of BC Chinatown residents and climbed Cambie Street, scattering nearer, Olaf saw smoke rising from an effigy made of
Historical News tiny pieces of paper along the way. Evil spirits became straw and old clothes. It was in flames and a sign at
trapped in the holes cut into the paper, they believed, its feet read: “Lieutenant Governor Dunsmuir—to be
leaving the dead man’s soul unharmed. Each man wore a burned at City Hall.” A Christian minister standing
skull cap, a long braid falling down his back. The cautious on the building steps shouted “The Asians are taking
among them hid a gun inside the wide sleeve of his dress- the bread from our table! he roared. It’s time to do
length tunic or suspended a knife from a cord tied around something!”
his waist. At 33rd Avenue, the procession turned toward “You bet it is” came a reply from somewhere
the segregated section of Mountainview cemetery. Below in the crowd. People cheered until they were hoarse
and in the distance, low rise buildings of Vancouver fanned as flames rose and fell. Many held a small white
Burrard Inlet. On the opposite shoreline, a great wall of flag with the slogan “A White Canada For Us”. Olaf
mountains appeared dark blue against a pale sky. At the edged closer. A man holding a drum told Olaf about a
burial site, the group banged drums, clapped cymbals and ‘monster parade’ held a few hours earlier. Thousands
set off firecrackers as they placed the corpse in the moist of spectators on Granville and Hastings Street joined
earth and then covered it. Their duty complete, the men the marchers along the route. “Half of Vancouver is
retreated home to the city’s heart. So ended the bad luck here tonight,” he said with pride. Olaf looked out at
journey of Ng Ah Sim. the sea of white faces and thought it could be true.
The late summer sun was nearly gone, casting
Six Days Earlier a veil of darkness. The speaker went back inside
It was an intensely warm Saturday evening the building where more shouting and cheers were
when Olaf Lauritzen arrived in downtown Vancouver heard. Another man in a dark suit holding a panama
after visiting his brother ’s farm in the nearby hat came out and stood before his excited audience.
farming community of Cloverdale. He registered “Drive away the aliens,” he advised. Americans up
at the Glasgow Hotel at 505 Westminster Street and and down the coast have taken matters into their own
planned to have a leisurely beer with a friend when hands, he told them, running foreigners out in places
the commotion down the block caught his eye. like the border town of Bellingham. “There are no
Westminster (Main St.). By now it was completely iron bars, knives and bottles.
dark, with only street lights casting a dim uneven Olaf turned into a lane and watched as a
light. The rioters had grown to more than a thousand Japanese man climbed a stepladder alongside the
people, most of them curious onlookers. A man building. Another man in the swarming mass climbed
shimmied up a pole and cried out, “On to Japtown.” up behind him. The Japanese man pulled out a knife,
All were unified as they cheered their agreement. swooped down and cut him on the arm. The injured
Olaf was part of the mass of marching men
man fell and rolled onto the ground, showing his face
who went swinging around Westminster to Powell
Street. Before them, the rows of wooden tenements in a dim light. He was a fellow Japanese. Before Olaf
and shops were barely visible in the darkness. No could take a swing at him, the attacker scrambled
lights shone on either side of the street. Oblivious to down the ladder and pulled his unintended victim
the ominous appearance of the Japanese quarters, through a side door.
the intruders picked up crushed rocks from the semi- The fighting did not prevent the mob from
paved street. Suddenly, a child’s shrill cry from inside smashing windows of shops and small homes along
a second-storey tenement split the eerie silence. It was both sides of the street. A police sergeant charged the
followed by another and another. A bedlam of wailing crowd with a drawn revolver and people scattered but
broke loose as the rioters began smashing storefront continued to break windows along side streets and to
windows. steal merchandise. Two Japanese men pulled a rioter
The Japanese residents had been alerted to the into a lane and cut his head with a sharp rock while he
rioting and positioned themselves on rooftops, armed fought back with a bottle. The gongs of the ambulance
and ready to fight. Some were veteran soldiers of their wagon rang out. Eventually the rioters wavered, broke
home country’s war against the Russians two years and then retreated, some cut and bleeding.
earlier. As the mob approached, they took aim and Olaf followed the crowd re-gathering on
pelted rocks down onto the unsuspecting mob. Others Westminster Street. Officers had begun cordoning off
came shrieking out of their front door, crying ‘Banzai’ Powell and Dupont, placing barricades of rope from
and tearing into the startled crowd with sticks, clubs, one side of the street to the other. A boy emerged
Afterword
The events of the riot have been recounted
through the eyes of Olaf but based on a composite
of eyewitness accounts. Olaf Lauritzen was one of
only five rioters convicted. He served a three month
sentence and likely left town as his name does not
appear in the city directory of 1907 or thereafter.
The eyewitness account of Lillian Ho Wong
of Shanghai Alley was originally told in Paul Yee’s
Saltwater City. Lillian was among the 150 Chinese
and Japanese children attending Vancouver public
schools.
S
Ron Greene writes ome time ago the following ad in the Nelson Home made Bread, Cakes and Pies for sale. Open
the Token History Miner2 caught my eye: day and night. No Chinese employed. A. Cowey,
column which proprietor.”
appears in BC In the social climate of the day, the following
History and he is story was handled surprisingly sympathetically.
the BC Historical It appears that Lun Foo’s “girl” was brought to
Federation’s 1st vice “To Wah Chung Kuskonook by Wah Chung, the Revelstoke merchant.
president. Revelstoke, B.C. If we believe the Nelson Miner then Wah Chung sold
the girl, named Tai, to Lun Foo for $400. However,
this is just one of the alternative versions of the story
Some one took my girl away, dress in
that are available and lacking any means to determine
English clothes. Looks like a Jap girl. which is accurate and which is journalistic licence or
Has three Chinamen with her. conjecture we will leave it up to the reader to decide.
$200 reward for returning her to The Miner indicated that when Wah Chung brought
Nelson. the girl to Kuskonook he was accompanied by two
other Chinese, young men, one of whom was called
Lun Foo
Loo, a fan-tan player, a professional gambler who
Kuskonook” wandered from camp to camp. Lun Foo established
his girl nearby to his restaurant. Lun Foo was a happy
man. The source is vague on how long Lun Foo was
in such a state, we don’t know whether it was a day,
One of the problems with researching a week, or longer. The Miner claimed, “from inquiries
Chinese items from the late 19th century is that the made in Nelson,...” that Lun Foo’s heart was not the
Chinese were viewed unfavourably by most British first gladdened by the young lady, before going to
Columbians. White workmen viewed the Chinese Revelstoke she had been the object of the affections
as cheap labour who undercut their wages and the of a Nelson resident, Hip Chang. The cause of Lun
lack of communication between the Chinese and the Foo’s advertisement was that two young Chinese
whites led to a lack of understanding and hence a men, Loo and Joe Wing, brought a boy’s suit for Tai
dislike of the Chinese by the whites. The province and the three of them slipped onto a lake steamer
was entering a period of strong anti-Asian feeling. heading across the border to Bonner’s Ferry.
Many restaurants advertised “All white help” and With Tai gone, Lun Foo became unhappy,
some Kootenay communities declared themselves irritable and bedraggled. He was said to have taken
Chinese-free and “encouraged” the Chinese either a potato-masher to someone who had suggested that
not to come, or to leave if they had come. Giving a Tai was “no good.” The question asked was whether
few typical comments, we note The Slocan Drill, of Wah Chung had deliberately taken advantage of Lun
April 14, 1900 had a headline “Asiatics not wanted Foo, intending all along to resell the girl elsewhere.
at Salmo. ...” and on June 8, 1900 said “The Chinese The Anaconda Standard, a Montana
cook imported into the camp last week has been newspaper, reported3 that Koo Wong, the Tai of the
given his walking ticket.” The Moyie Leader in 1900 Nelson Miner, was languishing in the Great Falls city
noted, “Moyie Laundry Opened. Messrs Bremner & jail, with her “lover,” Wong Lee alias Wong Sing, the
Hickey opened their new laundry this week and are “Loo” of the Nelson Miner and a second Chinese male,
now ready for their share of the public patronage. Joe Wing. Wong Lee and his colleague, Joe Wing,
With two white laundries in town there is no further were said to have left San Francisco in the spring
necessity of patronizing the Chinese. Give the white looking for a suitable place to establish a laundry.
men a show to make a living.” Again on Jan 12, 1901 The story describes Koo Wong [Tai] as a dainty maid
the Moyie Leader roared “To fight the Chinese The of 17 years, whom Wong had spied when he came
citizens of Moyie have taken a firm stand to rid the through Revelstoke, which they called Rose Lake.
town of the Chinese population….” The following It was not known whether she was the wife of Wah
advertisement in the Kootenay Mail, July 10, 1900 Chung, his concubine, or a mere chattel, but after she
“Revelstoke Restaurant, First street near Molsons was deposited with Lun Foo she was stolen away by
Bank. Board by the week, $4.50 , meals 25 cents, Wong Lee and Joe Wing, dressed in boy’s clothing.
I
Jim Love and Brant n January 2007 we rediscovered a hard-covered with many of the same performers including the
Mitchell are members ledger, “Treasurer’s Book Ladner Cornet Band”2 Minstrel Band that had been such a hit at the January
of the Delta Concert in the Delta Museum and Archives. It shed some concert. 7 Practices continued and contemporary
Band light on Brass Bands in the Delta, particularly at reports suggest rapid progress was being made. By
Ladner’s Landing. After considerable detective work, 1891, the band gave several concerts, including an
They would like to we were able to reconstitute some of the musical open air series, and was able to pay its way.
thank the staff of the history of the area. Although the ledger only covers The band seems to have been most active in the
Delta Museum and 1900-1902, the volume included a brief history of a winter. This may reflect the seasonal occupations of the
Archives for their predecessor, the Delta Brass Band that functioned majority of the players, namely in farming and salmon
help, particularly between December 1889 and November 1891. Indeed, canning. From December 1889 to November 1891,
Kathy Bossort and we deduced that the Brass Band started the book some members left the band and the total Membership
Kate McPherson. that was turned over along with its instruments and Roll reached fifteen. But late in 1891 or early 1892,
We would also treasury when the Ladner Cornet Band was formed the Delta Brass Band was dissolved. The reason is
like to thank Mr. in December 1900. not clear since most of the band members, including
Edgar Dunning, a F.W. Harris, an English-born cannery Bandmaster Harris, still lived in or around Ladner’s
founder and long bookkeeper who arrived at Ladner’s Landing in Landing. There was money in the treasury and the
time supporter of 18883, probably led the formation of Delta’s first brass band had instruments, music and stands. Possibly,
the Delta Concert band at Ladner’s Landing in December 1888. He was as in other small communities, the less skilled players
Band for setting us supported by prominent local residents: a physician may have lost interest and the number of experienced
on our historical from Germany, a lumberman from Sweden, a clerk players may not have sufficed to carry on.8
quest. Our thanks in the general store from Ontario, four cannery men Almost ten years later, in December 1900, Paul
are also due Gwen and three farmers. All eleven band members signed Ladner, a farmer and founder of the Delta Brass Band,
Szychter for her the Constitution and By Laws. Among the interesting John Watson, a cannery man and brother of a Delta
help with newspaper clauses in the Constitution were a capping of the Brass Band founding member, Ed Bown, a saddler
references. membership at eleven, and a somewhat draconian from Nova Scotia and W.H. Smith, a baker from
schedule of fines for missing practices (50 cents) or Ontario, organized the Ladner Cornet Band with an
being late (25 cents). initial complement of sixteen players, including Leslie
The band raised money through public McNeely, a member of the old Brass Band. Of the
subscriptions, membership fees, assessments on initial sixteen players, ten came from Eastern Canada,
members, and concerts. It also received a grant particularly Ontario, where bands were plentiful, even
from Delta municipality. In turn, the band did not in small communities. The players in the new band
own the instruments bought with its general fund; had more varied occupations than those in the Delta
the municipality held them in trust and could give Brass Band and so the seasonal effect on activities
them to the leader of any regularly organized band. was less evident.
With the help of local amateur performers4, the band The Ladner Cornet Band inherited the
held a fund-raising concert in January 1890. Despite instruments – their number and variety unknown
inclement weather, the attendance was large. Later -- of the Delta Brass Band and its treasury. Under the
that month, when the instruments arrived from leadership of Arthur Leslie, a professional musician,
Charles Stark of Toronto, Mr. Harris distributed who traveled from New Westminster, weekly practices
them and arranged the first practice on the following began. Since there is no mention of the purchase of
Wednesday. Some members, in their eagerness, began instruments and there were more bandsmen than in
to blow their instruments right away and sounds the Brass Band some of the new players probably
could be heard over a long distance.5 had their own instruments and were experienced.
The weekly practices soon became twice The account books reveal that between them, the two
weekly as the band members struggled to master bands owned five cornets, two trombones, a baritone
their instruments in time for the Queen’s Birthday horn and a snare drum, a bass drum, and a B flat bass.
celebrations at the end of May. 6 Many members Tom Foster, the butcher and cornet player in the Brass
were quite young. While they may have been able to band bought himself a helicon (a tuba).
read music, almost certainly most had no previous While the first year was primarily devoted to
experience with a brass instrument. Nevertheless, the melding the band, it made a few public appearances,
band had a second fund-raising concert in December including open-air concerts. To raise money for
uniforms, it organized a successful garden party for was almost emptied of people.11 The first boat, the The Ladner Cornet Band
July 24, 1901 with assistance from the Westminster SS Transfer, left Ladner’s Landing at 7:00 a.m.; the c. 19031
Delta Museum and Archives photo
City Band. The Westminster Band chartered the SS excursionists returned on the SS Ramona after the 1991-33-4
Ramona, filled it with people from New Westminster last curtain fell.
for a moonlight cruise to Ladner’s Landing where In addition, the band played at community
they partook of raspberries and cream, cooling events. Some of its eleven public appearances in 1902
drinks and ice cream. Then, by the light of Chinese appear to have been spontaneous. For example, on a
lanterns strung throughout the grounds, the visiting Wednesday evening, the night of its practices, the band
band played for a dance on a specially laid wooden serenaded Mr. and Mrs. Fawcett outside their house
platform. An estimated one thousand people attended and the “boys were royally treated”.12 Mr. Fawcett was
the party.9 retiring and moving to Victoria after selling his drug
By 1902, the band was a force in the community. store to F.J. MacKenzie. His son, Arthur, played in the
On St. Patrick’s Day, it was a major act in a concert in Band. Other outings, not recorded in the ledger, were
which local amateurs presented vocal solos and duets, of a community nature. For example, the band led the
and piano solos. Among the featured performers were children in a parade to the sports ground for the May
Rev. I.W. Williamson, who played a solo on a recently Day celebrations in 1902. It also played at concerts in
arrived silver-plated Besson cornet valued at about aid of churches or benevolent societies with its only
$80, and Arthur Leslie, the first band instructor, who charge being the conductor’s fee.
played a piccolo solo.10 The band also co-operated The Band had fraternal feelings for other
with the Ladner Dramatic Society to present two bandsmen. When the visiting Nanaimo lodge of
plays, “The Rough Diamond” and “Ici on Parle Woodmen of the World unexpectedly brought the
Francais.” For the 24 May celebrations, the Dramatic Ladysmith Band with them,13 the Ladner Band paid
Society and the band crossed the river to Steveston, $3.00 to W.H. Smith, the baker and restaurant owner,
the “Sockeye Town,” to repeat the performance at the to serve lunch to the Ladysmith band.
Steveston Opera House. The two groups split the box Over the period covered by the Treasurer’s
office receipts that must have been considerable since Book, the Ladner Cornet Band had three instructors.
the Delta News reported that on the occasion Ladner Leslie was probably a military musician and his
Both the Delta Brass Band and the Ladner Cornet “Representing Space as
Band struggled with some of the same problems still Place: Property Dialogues in
encountered by community bands. There was a the McKenna/McBride Royal
constant need for money to pay instructors and buy Commission, 1913-1915”
new music, instruments and uniforms. There was
always a need for more players. The Delta Brass Band by Tessa Stiven, Victoria,
was capped at eleven players. Although a total of
forty-two names appear in the Cornet Band’s roster,
it usually only had about twenty active members and and
a core of about twelve. Many players dropped out
because they left the area. For example, Reverend “Field Correspondence Sheds
Williamson, the Baptist minister and briefly the Light: McIlwraith’s Letters on
band master, left to accept a call to Kamloops early
in 1903.15 Thus, the Cornet Band publicly appealed His Own Monograph”,
for new players. 16
by Susan Ritchie, Campbell River.
The Treasurer’s Book ends with an indication
that the accounts were being transferred to a new
book. We know that the Ladner Cornet Band carried Each student received $500.00.
on for quite a few years and maintained its tradition
of joint ventures with other groups such as a concert Marie Elliott, Chair of W. Kaye
with the Delta Glee Club in 1909.17 Perhaps the later
record will yet turn up. Nevertheless, the Treasurer’s Lamb Scholarship Committee.
Book gives a glimpse at brass bands in Delta between
1889 and 1902 and some insight into the cultural life
of the community. •
O
n bookshelves of used bookstores and of milk bottles – no housekeeping detail is too minor Mary Leah de Zwart
school storage rooms across British to be omitted. Laundering is described as one of has taught Home
Columbia, you will find an unassuming the oldest arts in existence. Speaking from personal Economics, Planning
recipe book that falls open naturally at experience, I would like to say that the stain removal and Career Prep in
food-spattered pages. It’s the reference to which method advocated for rust still works (salt, lemon various locations
great-aunts and grandmothers turn when faced juice and sunlight). With the overwhelming amount around the province
with a household problem. Between the covers of of detail, it appears that nothing was going to be left and is currently at
Food, Nutrition and Home Management Manual, an to chance, home teaching or trial-and-error. Queen Elizabeth
entire world of bygone British-Canadian household “The good housekeeper does her marketing Secondary School in
management is described. The mere mention of this with intelligent care”, declares the manual, and follows Surrey. She is also
school textbook, commonly known as the Red Book, up the claim with sixteen rules for marketing. The a sessional lecturer
is a guaranteed conversation starter questions at the end of the unit at UBC and has a
among women (and a very few include the following question: special interest in
men) who used it in their home “If you were hungry and had educational history
economics classes in B.C. between only 10 cents, would you buy a
1930 and 1975. People comment on loaf of bread or candy? Why?”.
the uniform on page 41; the orange This question is more complex
tea biscuit recipe; the one-egg cake than it appears. Teachers
recipe versus the two-egg recipe.1 were obviously supposed to
What is it about this book that has convince pupils to answer
enabled it to carve its little niche “bread”, as if they were adult
in history? women who were responsible
The Red Book appears to for family welfare, instead of
have been intended to remain being young students. On the
in households long after school other hand, the very asking
days were done. Sturdy and well of the question implies that
bound, it emphasizes recipes for a some adults, those who were
family of six. The original version not intelligent or wise, would
was green, then blue and finally in choose to buy candy instead
1944, the first red cover appeared, of bread. Therefore children
remaining until the book was had to be warned about short-
completely revised in 1975. In the sighted, possibly delinquent
foreword, Jessie McLenaghen, Provincial Director of people who might be their own parents.
Home Economics in B.C. from 1926 to 1946, stated Once the kitchen is clean, the pupils can
her hopes for the book; first that it would eliminate concentrate on twelve rules for healthy, happy B.C.
the necessity of copying notes and recipes, and schoolchildren. Children are admonished to eat
secondly that it would prove that home economics very little candy (only after meals) and to exercise
was not an “unprepared subject” by including two hours each day. Ten hours of sleep each night
questions that could be the basis of homework is recommended for the 14 – 16 year old age group.
assignments. McLenaghen proclaimed her intention The questions at the end of this unit include the
that the manual should be put in the hands of the following: “Explain why a very expensive meal may
student in order to promote home interest. “Power not contain the right food to meet the body needs”
to do”, she wrote, “is gained only by doing”. Even and “If dinner is served in the evening, should it be
after McLenaghen retired, her foreword continued a light or substantial meal? Give reasons for having
unchanged until 1975. dinner at noon.”
The book begins with a plea to spend one’s The section on Meal-planning and Table Service
self, strength, time, and money wisely. Housekeeping is filled with ways to improve living standards. Fifteen
procedures are painstakingly elaborated, from efficient suggestions are given to aid in meal planning. Some
kitchen arrangement to reasons for not slamming the of these recommendations would not be out of place
refrigerator door.2 Care of the garbage can, gas, electric today, such as including some of each food group
and coal stoves, the detection of draughts, and care in each meal and choosing whole grain over refined
T
Rosemarie Parent is a he Leland Hotel was not the first hotel in made up of three separate segments that were
memebr of the Arrow Nakusp but in 2008, it will share with the nevertheless quite attractive. The roofline displayed
Lakes Historical town, a 116th birthday. It is possibly the numerous inverted ‘v’s. Dormers were added to the
Society oldest wooden hotel in the province. By original building while bay windows were built in the
1892, mining and prospecting had been going on two newer sections. A balcony in front of the dormers
the area for several years and the Canadian Pacific allowed customers to view the spectacular scenery
Railway was planning to build a line from Nakusp to and busy harbour.
Three Forks. The Nakusp House (later the Madden Mrs. McDougald had left the hotel by 1907
House and then the Grand Hotel), built in 1892, was and a succession of proprietors took over. Rachel
the first hotel in Nakusp but it burned to the ground McKitrick and William Ogilvie who came about 1907
in 1925. The Leland Hotel, opened later in 1892 as were succeeded by Jimmy Sneddon who had the
the Rathwell house, however, has survived though hotel for two years. In 1912, Henry and Pearl Bohart
many changes of ownership. Mr. Rathwell who built looked after the hotel for the new owner, Henry’s
leased it to Grant Thorburn and Harry Phair, who grandfather, but could not keep up the payments so
changed its name to the Leland Hotel. Rathwell, Jimmy Sneddon took over the building again. He
however, soon sold it for $1,000 to D. Alan and Ellen rented it to George Keys for a few months in 1918 until
McDougald, Californians who had been lured to Keys took over the foreman’s job at the shipyard. Jim
British Columbia by the prospecting opportunities Sneddon moved back with his sister Jennie and her
in the Kootenays. The McDougald’s soon became husband Sam Jackson to help him reopen the hotel.
involved in many of the town’s activities but Alan They remained until 1921 when William (Bill) Pratt
died from tuberculosis in 1895, leaving Ellen with took it over on 1 May 1921. Pratt and his wife Agatha
three children and the need to make a living. She did and their daughter, Edith, had visited Agatha’s father
well. On July 24, 1897, the Sandon Paystreak reported, every year at Demars and settled there in 1918 to get
“The Leland Hotel will have 50 plastered rooms when away from the unbearable summer heat of Detroit
the addition, now under construction, is thrown open. and in an attempt to improve Agatha’s health.
Mrs. [Ellen] McDougald, the proprietor of this well Unfortunately, she died in 1920. Bill was about to
known hotel, is to be congratulated for the able and return to Detroit with Edith when he learned that Jim
energetic manner in which she has built up one of Sneddon wanted to sell the Leland.
the largest hotels in all the Kootenays.” The addition Pratt’s first project was to replace the small
was a three-storey structure on the west side of the stoves spread throughout the building. This was
building. The Leland was fortress-like in appearance not a very effective system since many rooms had
O
Ken MacLeod is a n May 12, 2007 on the Gari River near the Sangro River in early December, 1943.
historian and retired town of Sant’Angelo, 5 kilometres southwest By early May, 1944, the Allied forces had been
teacher who now of Cassino, Italy, a commemorative plaque held up by a four month struggle at the Gustav Line
makes his home in was unveiled which officially renamed a that extended from Gaeta on the Tyrrhenian Sea to
Courtenay, BC bridge vital to the breaking of the Gustav Line south the Arieli River on the Adriatic Sea, just north of the
of Rome after Captain (retired) Tony Kingsmill, MC, port of Ortona. Monte Cassino was the anchor of the
of Vancouver. The bridge, codenamed Plymouth Gustav Line in the west. German paratroopers held
Bridge, was officially renamed the Kingsmill Bridge in Monte Cassino which overlooked and guarded the
honor of Kingsmill for his actions during World War approaches to the Liri Valley.
II during the Italian Campaign. Captain Kingsmill, A large Benedictine monastery atop Monte
who was serving with the 61st Light Aid Detachment, Cassino was thought to be used by the Germans. After
Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers the first attempt to take the monastery and the town
(RCME), attached to the 14th Canadian Armoured of Cassino had failed, the Allied command made the
Regiment (Calgary Regiment), 1st Canadian Armoured decision to bomb the monastery in mid-February,
Brigade, British 8th Army. Kingsmill devised a means 1944. Rather than dislodging the enemy from Monte
of transporting an 80 foot Bailey bridge on the top of a Cassino, the bombing turned the ruins of the abbey into
turret-less Sherman tank and then moving the bridge a German fortress, making it more difficult for the the
into position across the Gari River. A second Sherman American, New Zealand, British, and Indian troops to
tank was used as a pusher tank to help support and take Monte Cassino.
steer the bridge into position. The bridge enabled tanks By early May, 1944, General Harold Alexander,
of the Calgary Regiment to make the initial crossing of Commanding Officer of Allied Operations in Italy, and
the Gari River by armoured vehicles in order to support his staff decided that there would have to be an all-out
infantry of the 8th Indian Division whose ranks had attack on the Gustav Line between Monte Cassino and
been badly decimated and were attempting to hold the Gaeta involving both the US 5th Army and the British
important bridgehead. The result was that the success 8th Army, which now included the 2nd Polish Corps
of the operation undertaken by Kingsmill was vital under the command of General Wladyslaw Anders.
to the breaking of the Gustav Line which enabled the American and British forces had also been
Allies to push north through the Liri Valley towards pinned down by the Germans since January 22 at
Rome. the seaside resort town of Anzio, south of Rome but
Tony Kingsmill, age 87, has been a Vancouver north of the Gustav Line, where the Allies had hoped
resident for the past several years. He and his wife to establish a beachhead and outflank the Germans in
Tee attended the ceremony on May 12 that was part order to relieve the pressure on Allied troops trying
of a veterans’ tour by Special Travel International of to take Monte Cassino and break into the Liri Valley.
Vancouver. Although the beachhead was established, delays by the
Kingsmill, whose responsibility was to oversee American commander allowed the Germans to move
a unit of approximately 30 men to repair and maintain in reinforcements and prevent an inland advance by
tanks of the Calgary Regiment of the 1st Canadian the Allied forces at Anzio.
Armoured Brigade, an armoured unit that was The plan called for the Poles to take Monte
regarded by General Sir Oliver Leese, Commanding Cassino, while the British 8th Army attacked the
Officer of the British Eighth Army, as “the finest Allied Gustav Line in the Liri Valley and the American 5th
armoured brigade in Italy.” The 1st Canadian Armoured Army, commanded by General Mark Clark, and which
Brigade had landed in Sicily in July, 1943 and had often included the Free French Expeditionary Force made
supported the 1st Canadian Infantry Division until up of French Moroccan and Algerian colonials, would
following the Battle of Ortona in December, 1943 when attack the Germans in the Arunci Mountains and along
there was a falling out between Major-General Chris the Tyrrhenian Sea. The Allied forces at Anzio would
Vokes, the commanding officer of the 1st Canadian then attempt a breakout.
Division and Brigadier Bob Wyman who commanded On May 11-12, the Poles failed in their first
the 1st Canadian Armoured Brigade. From that point attempt to take the monastery on Monte Cassino, but
on the 1st Armoured Brigade supported mainly British in a fiercely-fought battle with German paratroopers on
and other units in the 8th Army, mostly the 8th Indian May 17 succeeded in taking the ruins of the Benedictine
Division which they had also supported since the abbey and forcing a German withdrawal. The Free
engineers who were to assist him had stopped for tea still resting on the carrier tank and was like a “teeter
and were sitting around a table. Kingsmill kicked over totter.” Six Germans who had been hiding on the south
the table with the tea on it and told the Indian engineers side of the Gari River were the first to scramble across
to get back to work. “It was the only time in my life that the bridge, before the first of the Calgary Tanks, each
I ever got mad,” Kingsmill later admitted. weighing 30 tons, managed the crossing.
Kingsmill walked backward to guide the bridge After about an hour a Calgary tank under the
into position, but soon the fire became too heavy, and he command Corporal Bill Cawthey of C Squadron
climbed into the carrier tank. The pusher tank pushed crossed the bridge, followed by Lt RA Cawsey’s tank.
the bridge forward until it was 20 feet over the opposite Because of the “teeter totter” motion of the bridge,
bank of the river. The carrier tank was again in danger only one tank at a time could cross. Two other Calgary
of becoming bogged down in the mud when Kingsmill tanks managed to cross before the bridge was damaged
told the driver to “step on it.” The tank lunged forward by enemy fire. The arrival of the Calgary tanks saved
into the river, and the bridge dropped into position. the bridgehead established by a company of Indian
Kingsmill and Trooper McLean, the driver, footsoldiers, 3rd Brigade, 8th Indian Division, who had
were just above waist deep in the water, but Trooper crossed during the night in rubber boats, but whose
Ian Seymour, wireless operator, was still submerged. numbers had dwindled to only 10 men. Eventually a
Eventually all three of the crew clambered out of the number of German gun positions and self-propelled
tank and onto the Bailey bridge. Kingsmill and his crew armoured vehicles were knocked out by the first
took refuge from the German mortars and machine- Calgary tanks. The machine guns on the tanks also
guns in the second carrier tank to further direct were utilized to mow down the enemy soldiers.
the operation until Kingsmill received several shell A half hour earlier tanks of the Ontario Regiment
fragments in his back and had to be evacuated by jeep began crossing the Oxford Bridge, but became bogged
ambulance when he was satisfied that the operation down in mud and 17 of these had to be towed out
was a success. The bridge, at the time codenamed by RCEME, the repair unit. Eventually about half
“Plymouth Bridge,” had to be disengaged from the the squadron of Ontario tanks were able to continue
pusher tank. According to Kingsmill, the bridge was the battle. C Squadron of the Calgary Tanks became
T
Allan Pritchard is a he varied, sometimes unexpected and had previously escaped European colonial intrusion.
Victoria-based writer surprising roles the Victorian Royal Navy The scarcity of good agricultural land on Vancouver
who last wrote for played in establishing and fostering Island, especially of land clear of the heavy timber
the magazine in issue European settlement on Vancouver Island that covered most of the coastal area, ensured that
37.4 are revealed nowhere more fully than in the history settlement by Europeans would not be much longer
of Comox. The agricultural settlement at Comox, delayed. Although Mayne learned that the Natives
together with another at Cowichan, was founded valued the land highly at Comox for the abundance
in 1862 by the colonial government of Vancouver of berries as well as game and other resources, in
Island in order to expand European settlement of the eyes of Europeans it was open for settlement
the island, which then extended little beyond the because it was not being cultivated in any way they
Victoria area and the small coal mining village of could recognize. The first prospective settlers, a small
Nanaimo, and to provide livelihood for unemployed group from the Nanaimo coal mines, pre-empted
miners in the aftermath of the Cariboo gold rush. The land at Comox in June 1862, but then withdrew,
extensive naval involvement at Comox arose from with one exception, George Mitchell, because of
the facts that the tiny governmental establishment of lack of access to markets. During this summer the
Vancouver Island, which was still a separate colony colonial government, prompted by Attorney-General
from mainland British Columbia, had few resources G.H. Cary, publicized plans for officially sponsored
of its own to draw upon, and that Comox, even settlements at Comox and Cowichan in newspapers
more than Cowichan, was isolated, nearly 150 miles and meetings in Victoria. A series of new Comox
north of Victoria, separated even from Nanaimo pre-emptions were registered at the beginning of
by seventy-five miles of impenetrable forest. It is September, and at the beginning of the next month
characteristic of the history of this settlement that the the navy transported the first group of permanent
earliest record of its beginning is to be found in the European settlers to Comox.
logbook of a naval ship, and that the first accounts of The direct naval involvement in the Comox
its early development are provided by the letters of settlement began with Governor Douglas’ letter of
a naval officer. July 31 to the navy’s commander-in-chief for the
The navy initially prepared the way for the Pacific Station, Rear-Admiral Sir Thomas Maitland,
Comox settlement by coastal exploration three years requesting that a gunboat might accompany
before its foundation. The first very brief European some settlers “about to form a settlement near the
inspections of the area had been made by J.W. McKay Courtenay River in the Comax Country”. Maitland
of the Hudson’s Bay Company post at Nanaimo in responded favourably, and the gunboat HMS Grappler
October 1852 and James Douglas in August 1853, in under the command of Lieutenant Edmund Hope
order to investigate reports of a deposit of coal. They Verney carried the first group of some thirty-five
noted the agricultural potential of the area but no settlers to Comox on October 1-2. The voyage, which
further exploration was made until the Comox district brought such great and sudden change to the Comox
was included in the navy’s coastal survey conducted district, is recorded in the ship’s logbook preserved
by Captain George Richards in the autumn of 1859 among the Admiralty records in the British National
and the spring of 1860. This not only provided for Archives. According to the log, the Grappler in Victoria
the first time an accurate chart of Comox Bay and harbour received the settlers for Comox with others
the adjacent coastline but resulted in Lieutenant R.C. for Cowichan early in the morning of October 1, and
Mayne’s report of his exploration of the Comox Valley sailed at 9. After discharging settlers at Cowichan at
in April 1860, when he went up the Courtenay River 2:15 in the afternoon, it anchored for the night at 5:50
in a canoe with Natives. In this first at all detailed near Dodds Narrows south of Nanaimo. It sailed at
description of the area, Mayne drew special attention 6 the next morning, passed Nanaimo at 7, and at 3:50:
to the open “prairies” of rich soil, “perfectly clear land “Anchored at Mouth of Courtney [sic] River”, and
ready for the plough”, and concluded that the district then “Disembarked Settlers”. 2
was “a most desirable place for a settlement”. 1 Both the seamen and the commander of the
Mayne reported that the Comox Natives Grappler were well aware that in the foundation of
recognized that white settlers would soon be arriving the Comox settlement they were being called upon
in their area, which because of its remoteness and to undertake tasks outside normal naval duties. The
lack of attraction for fur traders and gold diggers Victoria Colonist reported that the seamen complained
2. Correspondence between
Douglas and Maitland, 31 July-4
Aug., 1862, Maitland’s Pacific
Station Journal, Public Record
Office (hereafter PRO), National
Archives, Kew, England, ADM
50/311. Log of HMS Grappler,
PRO, ADM 53/8158.
3. Complaint of Grappler’s
seamen, Colonist, 25 Oct., 1862.
Letters of Sir Harry Verney to
Edmund, 13 Feb., 1863, and
Edmund to Sir Harry, 22 Sept.,
1862, Vancouver Island Letters of
Edmund Hope Verney, 1862-65,
that they had not been given extra pay for their labour As well as commanding the ship that ed. A. Pritchard (Vancouver:
in transporting and landing the settlers and their brought the settlers, Verney performed the historically UBC Press, 1996) (cited below
possessions. Lieutenant Verney undertook the work valuable service of providing the earliest reports of as Verney, Letters), 31, 91. See
also the Introduction, 42.
of establishing the settlement more enthusiastically, the first days of the Comox settlement, in letters to
but in letters he termed the Vancouver Island colony his father and stepmother in England, Sir Harry 4. Verney, Letters, 93-94,
“a very curious place” and described the peculiar Verney and Parthenope, Lady Verney. On October 99-100.
mixture of responsibilities and tasks he had been 11 he wrote to his stepmother about the voyage that
5. Hills, Diary, 29-30 Oct.,
given there in a way that made his politically brought the settlers, and stated that when he returned 1862, Provincial Synod of the
experienced father, a long-serving British Member of a few days later he found them “in ecstacies with the Anglican Church of Canada, BCA,
Parliament, caution his relatively youthful son about country”. On November 1 he wrote his father a fuller microfilm A796. Hills to Sir Harry
the need for discretion: “because many of your duties report as a result of another trip to Comox on October Verney, 30 Oct., 1862, Claydon
House Trust, Claydon House,
appear to be more connected with the Colony than 28-30. He described canoeing up the river and visiting Buckinghamshire, England.
with the Navy”. On one occasion Lieutenant Verney about twenty settlers busy building their log houses.
appears to have been reproved by a superior officer He predicted a fine future for the settlement, stating
for making an improper naval intervention in colonial that although he had often heard of the fertility of
affairs by criticizing the Vancouver Island government the “Komux country” it exceeded his expectations,
HMS Grappler 1862.
for failing to keep promises to pay Cowichan Natives and writing enthusiastically about the beauty of the Photograph of an
for the land it took from them, but such cautions and scenery, the large stretches of open land, the great otherwise unknown
reprimands did not discourage him from interesting trees of the forest, and the abundance of game.4 painting in one of Lieut.
and involving himself in the Comox settlement.3 On this last visit Verney brought with him E.H. Verney’s albums.
Claydon House Trust.
8. Spencer to Douglas, 13
April, 1863, BCA, Colonial
Correspondence, F1226. Log
of HMS Forward, PRO, ADM
53/8028. Produce at Comox at
such an early date as April 1863
was probably provided by George
Mitchell, the only one of the
prospective settlers of June 1862
to remain at Comox.
special indignation, “He then held open his blanket the order, but Franklyn learned they did not actually
& danced on the beach in a defiant manner”. 15 intend to leave, and that they said they despised the
Upon receiving these depositions from ‘tennas’ (little) gunboat. He reported on November
Franklyn, Governor Kennedy instructed him to 4 that he remained at Comox awaiting the arrival of
proceed to Comox in the Forward and order the a larger force.16
Euclataws to depart. When he arrived atComox in the The navy responded with all available
gunboat on October 31 Franklyn sent Police Sergeant force. The commander-in-chief of the Pacific Station,
Blake up the river to summon the Euclataws down Rear-Admiral Joseph Denman, decided, as he later
to the ship. Claylik and others then came down in stated, that he should visit in person “a place where
a large canoe; Franklyn addressed them through an so many ineffectual remonstrances had been made”.
interpreter, reproving them for repeatedly disobeying He arrived in Comox Bay on November 7 in his
the governor’s instruction, and ordering them away flagship, HMS Sutlej, accompanied by the Clio and
from Comox. They said they had come only to fish for the Sparrowhawk. The Sutlej was a big ship with a
salmon that did not come to their own area so soon, crew of over five hundred and more than thirty heavy
and that they needed more time to dry the fish they guns as well as much other armament, and the Clio
had caught. At first they promised to comply with and the Sparrowhawk were also much larger and more
Pat Rogers’ last The time is September 1928, a meeting of the General! He was on a roll. He created the American
article for BC History Ladies Literary Society, hosted by Mrs. Alexander Legion, a group of soldiers fighting under the King’s
was in issue 39.4. Carrie. The Guest of Honour is Gretchen Hatt Gibson, Colours and appointed Great Grandfather Andrew
This is another the daughter of Edwin Ernest Phair, the Proprietor Phair as the Adjutant. Adjutant is a fancy name for
story written and of the luxurious Hotel Phair. Please welcome Mrs. secretary. Andrew Phair was responsible for all the
presented at the Gibson. General’s paperwork. He was the first to know the
annual story telling “When my Father first set foot in this shantytown General’s thoughts - a position of some confidence.
festival in Proctor, on the side of a mountain lake little did the residents As you will have guessed the family remained
BC on July 7 & 8, know that he brought with him a family ancestry loyal to the Crown and fought with distinction helping
2007 steeped in loyalist pursuits, intrigue and Witchcraft. to secure the North America we know today. A sense
Oh yes, you heard me right. Witchcraft. I see I have of civic responsibility was well ingrained in my family
Susan leFebour was your attention now. and has withstood the test of time.
the storyteller. Let me see a show of hands-how many here Andrew, as a loyal defender, was granted land
have heard of Mary Estey? Rebecca Nurse? Benedict as a United Empire Loyalist in 1793. The designation
In the audience were Arnold? Well, I am glad to see your education has not of United Empire Loyalist brought with it a certain
three generations of been a total romp! cachet that is evident to this day.
the Phair Family. Now, get comfortable, sit back and listen as I Can you imagine the bedtime stories passed
tell you the tale of the luxurious Hotel Phair and the from Father to son to son? The battles, the Indians, the
extraordinary family who created her. victories. Enough to turn sleepy time eyes into saucers
My Father entered the world in 1851 in and eventually lull them into a dreamland filled with
Fredericton, New Brunswick, a child of privilege. His vast battlefields and glorious victories. The stuff little
Father was a prosperous Barrister, his Mother from a boys are made of.
family of means. In 1874 my Father cast his eyes upon the petite
Little Eddie grew up as most boys did with one beauty known as Junietta Estey. Flashing dark eyes
eye on the door and the other on the cookie jar. He and the wit and intelligence to match his own. Oh talk
was just a tad spoiled. When his parents separated about pitching woo, he was smitten. After a whirlwind
briefly Eddie and his Mother moved to the home courtship they were married that fall.
of her parents. Little Eddie was soon packed off to Mother’s family had a bit of a dark past, although
Boarding School. However, after many letters home by no fault of her or her family, as history has shown.
to his Grandfather, he was soon home again. It was at Oh, my, where to begin…
that time that my Father knew he had the gift, the gift Mary Estey was my Great Grandmother and she
of the gab. At 11 years of age he had turned the whole and her sisters, Rebecca Nurse and Sarah Cloyce lived
school upside down in quite short order. He had the in Salem Village, Massachusetts, in 1692. The village
gift and if it worked as well as he thought it could, it name alone is enough to conjure up the ghosts of a time
could be the Midas Touch. gone terribly wrong.
Now, I can see you are wondering how My Great Grandmother was 58 years old and the
Fredericton and Benedict Arnold could ever possibly Mother of 7 when she was accused of being a Witch.
be linked. When we think of Benedict Arnold on this In the winter of 1692 young Betty Parris became ill-she
side of the 49th we think of a Hero. It is the Americans dashed about, dove under furniture, threw fits and
who have forever tarnished his name. contorted in pain. Soon others followed suit; the local
During the time of the American Revolution doctor, one William Griggs, diagnosed Witchcraft and
Benedict Arnold became disenchanted with Congress. outright bedlam ensued. Soon the villagers were seeing
He felt slighted and passed over for promotions. He Witches flying through the winter’s mist off and on
had incurred so many debts that Congress wanted their broomsticks!
to court-martial him. Can you imagine that, Debtors The girls said my Great Grandmother’s spectral
Prison. It seems the high life and a young wife were image was strangling them and causing them all sorts of
his undoing. In 1780 he schemed to hand over the afflictions. As soon as she was shackled the afflictions
Fort at West Point, New York, to the British for 20,000 stopped. Her fate was sealed and on September 22, 1692
pounds. Well, the plan failed dismally so he abruptly my Great Grandmother was hanged.
changed sides, saving his own skin. He collected 6,000 Rebecca suffered the same fate being hanged on
pounds from the British and was promoted to Brigadier July 19, 1692. She was 71 years old and had a reputation
The Simon Fraser letters at SFU Simon Fraser is sometimes referred to having carefully tested the papers and inks,
Archives as the founding father of British Columbia.1 Hill washed the letters – first in pH neutral
Between 1805 and 1807 he established the water, then in alkaline water. She invited
Based on a July 6, 2007, interview first four colonial trading posts west of the archives staff to watch. No one doubted
Rockies. A few years later, in 1808, he set for an instant that Hill knew what she
with Frances Fournier, SFU off to explore the river that would later bear was doing, but there was still a moment of
Archives
I
his name. In spite of his pivotal role in the apprehension as the precious documents
history of our province, original documents slipped beneath the water.
n 1965, when Simon Fraser University pertaining to Fraser are rare. The accompanying images clearly
officially opened at its mountain-top When the Simon Fraser letters – as demonstrate the fruits of Hill’s labour.
campus overlooking the Fraser River, they came to be called – came to light Thanks to the far-sighted efforts of
there was no University Archives. So again at SFU in the late 1980s, they were the SFU Archives, researchers will be able
when Donald Fraser, descendant of famed authenticated, enclosed in acid-free file to access the information contained in these
explorer Simon Fraser, donated a collection folders, and placed in storage, this time unique and significant documents for years
of historic letters and other documents to in the University Archives. But these to come.
the new University, they were locked away documents were not in pristine shape, and For more information, visit the SFU
in a desk for safe-keeping. with the passing of time, their physical Archives online at: http://www.sfu.ca/
When the drawer of the desk was condition continued to deteriorate. archives/
unlocked just over two decades later, it was Enter professional Conservator,
like stumbling upon a lost treasure. Rosaleen Hill.
Experts were consulted, and the Hill conducted a detailed assessment
authenticity of the documents, most dating of these invaluable documents, identified A few of the cleaned letters appear on the
back to 1846, was verified. the work that needed to be done, and following pages
The “find” consisted of twenty-eight – thanks to a generous grant from the
pages of fragile documents. Most were National Archival Development Program
letters written by Fraser to family and (Library and Archives Canada), embarked
friends around 1846, discussing his family’s on a project in January, 2007, to clean and
history. There were also a few pages from repair the papers, ensuring their long-term
the account books of the first Fort Liard on preservation. 1 Barbara Rogers, “Simon Fraser – Explorer.” The Greater
Vancouver Book. Discover Vancouver. <http://www.
the Peace River. These date back to 1803, Looking back on the project a few discovervancouver.com/gvb/simonsfr.asp>
when Fraser was serving as a clerk for the months later, Archivist Frances Fournier Accessed July 10, 2007.
North West Company. says, “we all learned a lot.” At one point,
Anne and Philip Yandle Best Greg’s article received considerable Fishing Industry History Online
Article Award attention from the media with articles in
local newspapers and interest from the The City of Richmond Archives
Each year, the British Columbia Historical CBC • is pleased to announce a new online
Federation offers a certificate and cash resource on its website. < http://www.
prize to the author of an article published in richmond.ca/cityhall/archives/exhibits/
British Columbia History that best enhances Genealogy Guide Available barkerletterbooks.htm >
knowledge of the history of British Columbia The first fifteen years of letters from
and provides enjoyable reading. Judging is We’re pleased to announce the the Barker Letter Books, donated to the
based upon subject development, writing publication of the 15th edition of the City of Richmond Archives by British
skill, freshness of material, and its appeal to Cloverdale Library’s genealogy guide. The Columbia Packers Limited in 2001, have
a general readership interested in all aspects best news is that it will be available free been transcribed and are now available
of the history of the province. on-line at: online. This will be of interest to researchers
In 2007, the Federation renamed http://www.spl.surrey.bc.ca/ of the historical development of the fishing
its Best Article Award in honor of Anne Programs+and+Services/Genealogy/Cana industry in British Columbia.
dian+Genealogical+Resources+Guide.htm The Barker Letter Books were compiled
and Philip Yandle dedicated members
It’s searchable by using Ctrl+F & the between 1905 and 1926. They consist of the
of the Federation and the cofounders of
Table of Contents is also hyper-linked. outgoing correspondence of William Henry
British Columbia Historical News (1968), the
Print copies will be showing up in Barker, an early General Manager of the
predecessor to British Columbia History company. Mr. Barker, born in Manchester,
(2005). During the journal’s first ten years, the collection soon. We will also be making
copies available for sale for the public and England in 1853, joined the British Columbia
the Yandles edited, typed, mimeographed, Packers’ Association in October, 1904 as
collated and mailed the publication. For all the ordering information is available on
our website. General Manager. It was the beginning of a
many years Anne served as the journal’s 22-year career with the company of which
Book Review Editor. Laurie J.Cooke Information Services Librarian Cloverdale he later became President.
The winner for 2006 is Greg Nesteroff Branch, Surrey Public Library The letters chronicle revolutionary
for, “Boris Karloff in British Columbia,” which 604-598-7328 changes in the fishing industry in British
appeared in British Columbia History, 39.1. lcooke@surrey.ca Columbia: machines replaced hand-labour;
new technology in the manufacturing of
cans improved safety and reduced labour
costs; engines replaced oars in fishing
boats; and the regulation of the fishery by
the Canadian government became more
restrictive and comprehensive.
Volunteers have been responsible
for the painstaking transcription and
proofreading process. They continue to
work on Volume 2, 1920 to 1926, which will
be available later in the winter.
Lynne Waller, Archivist, City of Richmond Archives
7700 Minoru Gate,Richmond, BC V6Y 1R9
lwaller@richmond.ca 604-247-8305
www.richmond.ca/archives
We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada, through the Publications Assistance program (PAP), toward our mailing cost