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Alberni District Historical Society - Box 284, Port Alberni, B.C. V9Y 7M7Arrow Lakes Historical Society - Box 584, Nakusp, B.C. VOG 1 ROAtlin Historical Society - Box ill, Atlin, B.C. VOW lAOBurnaby Historical Society - 6501 Deer Lake Avenue, Bumaby, B.C. V5G 3T6Chemainus Valley Historical Society - Box 172, Chemainus, B.C. VOR 1 KOCowichan Historical Society - P.O. Box 1014, Duncan, B.C. V9L 3Y2District 69 Historical Society - 625 Pym Road, Parksville, B.C. V9P 1 B6East Kootenay Historical Association - P.O. Box 74, Cranbrook, B.C. V1C 4H6Golden and District Historical Society - Box 992, Golden, B.C. VOA 1 HOGulf Islands Branch -BCHF - do Wilma J. Cross, RR#1, Pender Island, B.C. VON 2M0Koksilah School Historical Society - 5203 Trans Canada Highway, Koksilah, B.C. VOR 2C0Kootenay Lake Historical Society - Box 537, Kaslo, B.C. VOG 1 MOKootenay Museum & Historical Society - 402 Anderson Street, Nelson, B.C. Vi L 3Y3Lantzville Historical Society - do Box 274, Lantzville, B.C. VOR 2H0Lasqueti Island Historical Society - Lasqueti Island, B.C., VOR 2J0Nanaimo Historical Society - P.O. Box 933, Station A, Nanaimo, B.C. V9R 5N2North Shore Historical Society - 623 East 10th St., North Vancouver, B.C. V7L 2E9North Shuswap Historical Society - Box 22, Celista, B.C. VOE 1 LOPrinceton & District Pioneer Museum & Archives - Box 687, Princeton, B.C. vox iWOQualicum Beach Historical & Museum Society - 444 Qualicum Road, Qualicum Beach, B.C. V9K 1 B2Saltspring Island Historical Society - Box 1264, Ganges, B.C. VOS I EOSidney & North Saanich Historical Society - P.O. Box 2404, Sidney, B.C. V8L 3Y3Silvery Slocan Historical Society - Box 301, New Denver, B.C. VOG 1 SOSurrey Historical Society - 8811-152nd Street, Surrey, B.C. V3R 4E5Trail Historical Society - P.O. Box 405, Trail, B.C. Vi R 4L7Vancouver Historical Society - P.O. Box 3071, Vancouver, B.C. V6B 3X6Victoria Historical Society - Box 5123 Stn. B., Victoria, B.C. V8R 6N4

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Back issues of the British Columbia Historical News are available in microform from Micromedia Limited,20 Victoria St, Toronto, Ont. M5C 2N8 (416) 362-5211 • Fax (416) 362-6161 • Toll Free 1 -800-387-2689- Micromedia also publishes the Canadian Magazine Index and the Canadian Business Index.

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BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORICAL NEWS

Volume 25, No. 2 Journal of the B.C. Historical Federation Spring - 1992

Features PageReaders will be shuffled on these

pages from Rogers Pass to Tahsis, Two Attorney’s General 2Victoria to Nelson, Chemainus to by Bernard WebberKelowna, and up the coast to Franz Biberstein: Painter of the Canadian Rockies 4Loughborough Inlet Summertimecoastal navigators will appreciate the by Peter C Merrill

dilemma described in “Perigean Tides” West Coast Carpenter 8while the ordinary motorist will be by Eleanor Witton Hancockastounded at the 17 hours travel time

The Kootenay District Zinc Rush 12taken in 1917 over a route which todaytakes 55 minutes. Our sincere thanks by EdwardL. Affleckto the contributors of these diverse To Nelson by Car in 1917 15pieces. by Henry Stevenson

The only constant in our lives isChange. Change of address usually The Barn with a Social Life 18means that the subscriber has moved. Gray Creek 19Recently, however, Canada Post has by Bruce Patersonmade numerous adjustments.Parksville and Qualicum residents John Christie Goodfellow’. Historian 22have “graduated” from a downtown by Margaret Stonebcrgpost office box to a street address. Not a SingLe Wheel Can Turn 22And our Honorary President, situated by A. Stephen Brewerin his home for 20 years, was assigneda different Rural Route and Postal Living History at Fort Steele 24Code. by Naomi MillerSO, if you have a change of address be The Lone Scout of Chimu-Nesu 25it self imposed or designated by by Toyo Takataadministration, please notify NancyPeter (address inside back cover). The Perigean Spring Tide in Loughboro Inlet,Post Office still has postcards to July 1792 28simplify this notification. by Nicholas A. Doe

NEWS & NOTES 32Naomi MillerBOOK SHELF 33

The Journal of Duncan McGillivray 33

___________________________________

Review by George Newell

St Anthony’s Catholic Church, FortSteele, was built in 1897 for less than$1000, and is still in use today. Apriest would come from nearby St. Eugene’s Mission to give services. Onenotice read, “Mass at 10 am SHARP.Now that we have Standard Time notardiness will be tolerated.”

photo courtesy ofMartin Ross, Fort Steele

Manuscripts and correspondence for the editor are to be sent to P.O. Box 105, Wasa, B.C. VOB 21(0Correspondence regarding subscriptions are to be directed to the subscription secretary (see inside back cover)

Printed in Canada by Kootenay Kwik PrintCranbrook, B.C.

A Country So Interesting: The Hudson’sBay Co. and Two Centuries of Mapping 33

Review Frances M Woodward

Noticias de nutka: An Account ofNootka Sound in 1792 34

Malaspina & Galiano: Spanish Voyages tothe Northwest Coast 34

Reviews by Barry Gough

This Was Our Valley 35Review by Frank Leonard

1 B.C. Historical News 5piing 92

Two Attorneys — General: A GlimpseBehind the Scenes

by Bernard Webber

IThis tern was written prior to the October 17,1991 election when the provincial Liberals becamethe official opposition party. Since then Cohn Gabelmann, not a lawyer, has been appohnted Attorney-General in the N.D.P. Government.]

A few years ago, in 1988, there wasmuch public discussion about whether anon-lawyer could be Attorney-Generalas though such a circumstance would beestablishing a precedent. Actually, anon-lawyer and a Premier to boot hadbeen Attorney-General of British Columbia in 1941.

The facts were these: A provincial genera! election had been held 21 October,1941. Afterwards, no political party hadan absolute majority of the seats in theLegislative Assembly. The Liberals whohad controlled the previous administration held 21 seats under the leadershipof T. Dufferin Pattullo, the M.L.A. forPrince Rupert and still Premier. TheConservatives held 12 seats with theirleader being R.L. (Pat) Maitland, thefirst M.L.A. for Vancouver — PointGrey. The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, (CCF) held 14 seatsunder Harold Winch, the first memberfor Vancouver East. The Labour member, Tom Uphill of Fernie, completedthe then 48 seat Legislative Assembly.

Between the election and December 4,1941, the Legislature did not sit but aminority cabinet continued under DuffPattullo. One can only speculate aboutwhat went on behind the scenes in themeantime. From the date of the election, there had been talk of a coalitiongovernment, possibly representative ofall three major political parties in theprovince. It was wartime and some believed or at least argued that a government of all the talents was desirable, thebetter to fight the war.

Duff Pattullo thought otherwise. Hewanted to carry on with a minority government. As he was likely the wiliestprovincial politician of his day, he mighthave been canny enough to make it

work. However, more and more Liberal

members of cabinet capability were attracted to the idea of coalition. One byone, Liberal ministers resigned theirportfolios in the cabinet. As they didso, Mr. Pattullo picked up the vacatedportfolios. That is how he became Attorney-Genera!.

The House was eventually called to siton 4 December, 1941. The “Journalsof the Legislative Assembly of the Province of British Columbia” for that day(there being no Hansard then) recordthat five Reports or documents werepresented to the House by “the Hon.Mr. Pattullo (Attorney-General)”; andthe Public Accounts for the precedingfiscal year were presented by “the Hon.Mr. Pattullo, (Minister of Finance); andthe Annual Report of the Departmentof Education was presented by “theHon. Mr. Pattullo, (Minister ofEducation).”

Even the dogged Mr. Pattullo couldnot stem the tides of change. No oneamongst his natural supporters believedhis Cassandra-like warning that eventually coalition would destroy the partiesassociated with it. Ever since, the provincial Liberals and Conservatives havefound nothing but heavy going in British Columbia. . Finally, on that day, (4December, 1941), Duff Pattullo accepted the inevitable and read a statement tothe House in which he, first, recognizedthat a recent Liberal Party convention inthe province had opted for a coalitiongovernment; second, stated that he released his cabinet ministers from anyties of loyalty to himself; and, third; announced that he had asked the Lieutenant-Governor, W.C. Woodward, to callupon Liberal John Hart to form a newadministration. The House was thenadjourned until 8 January, 1942.

‘When the House met again, JohnHart, now premier, announced thenames of the four Liberals and threeConservatives who constituted the cabi

net at the time. In that statement, Mr.Hart said that the CCF (Now the NDP)had been invited to participate in thegovernment but “was not disposed tojoin a government of the kind contemplated... “ Harold Winch for the CCFargued that any government needed analert and well informed opposition tokeep it on its toes. Duff Pattullo, holding to his principles, refused to join thecoalition but continued resolutely to sitin the House as an unreconstructedLiberal.

Those were the days when Members ofthe Legislative Assembly, of whateverstamp, usually respected each other, observed the social courtesies, and, apartfrom politics, were genuinely concernedabout each other’s welfare — which isnot to say that politics did not have itsrough and tumble edge. One poker-playing foursome consisted of Duff Pattullo, Harold Winch, Harry Perry,(Minister of Education), and Sam Guthne, CCF Member for CowichanNewcastle.

Certain things were simply not donein the clubbable atmosphere that prevailed then. One of the Ministers occasionally imbibed not wisely but too welland as a consequence was sometimes absent from the House for days on end.Everyone knew what was happening.No one said a public word about it.Cohn Cameron (CCF, Comox), brilliant, a wit, but a chronic mischief, oncerose in his place to ask in disingenuousvein when the Minister would likely berecovered from his (pause) “indisposition.” John Hart, straight-faced, repliedin like manner that he confidently expected the Minister to resume his seat atthe next sitting of the House on Monday next. Cohn did not have to be toldthe answer. He knew, as we all did, thathis leader Harold Winch was helpingthe Minister regain his equilibrium.

As a novice in the House, I went one

B.C. Historical News Spring 92 2

day to see Pat Maitland, the new Attorney-General, an eminent Conservativelawyer, about constituency business.His was a spacious and elegant office onthe main floor of the L.egislative Buildings, facing front over the lawn to thestatue of Queen Victoria. I was theyoungest member of the House, stillsomewhat in awe of eminences like anAttorney-General. He sensed my nervousness and made things easy for me.After we had finished our business, I waslooking at the framed pictures of all previous Attorneys-General which at thattime ringed the Minister’s office justabove the level of the picture rail. Thelast of these pictures was that of theHon. T. Dufferin Pattullo, K.C., LL. D.

Pat Maitland saw me looking at thepictures. I had heard that he sometimeshad a short fuse, but as he contemplatedthe picture of the recent Premier cumAttorney-General, I thought he wasabout to go off like a firecracker. “Whatdo you think”, he asked “of anyone other than a lawyer being Attorney-General?” At that time, I had notthought about the matter but I gatheredthat in the corpus of Mr. Maitland’s beliefs few things could be more reprehensible. He said that it had always beenassumed that the A-G. would be a lawyer but that requirement had not beenwritten into the Constitution.

“What, moreover, do you think of anon-lawyer being created both a K.C.and an LLD.?” Again, I had no opinion. He said that it was because it wasstated where it counted that any personon being appointed Attorney-General,automatically received a K.C. and anLL.D. This accounted, much to Mr.Maitland’s displeasure, for the incongruity of Mr. Pattullo, certainly not a lawyer, thereafter being permitted to recordthose honorific letters after his name.

There was a coda to my interview withMr. Maitland. Warming to his Liberalattack, he beckoned me over to one ofthe greatest windows of his office overlooking Victoria’s Inner Harbour.“What would you think about the vanity of a man who would etch his nameon a window with the diamond of aring?” he wanted to know. He pointedto the name “J.W. de B. Farris” neatlybut inconspicuously etched on the lowerleft hand side of one of the windows.

Again I had nothing to say. I knew thatMr. Farris had been Attorney-Generalin a previous Liberal administration andwas even then a Senator at Ottawa.What has since puzzled me is how Mr.Maitland found the minuscule etchingin the first place. I wonder if it is stillthere.

Bernard Webbe, a long time resident of Osoyoos, was M.LA. frr the Simifisameen ridingfrom1941 to 1945. He is a past president of theOkanagan Historical Sodety.

A GEMFROM THEARCHIyES

On one ofhis visits to

the ProvincialArchives, BernardWebber examined adevotionalCommonplace Bookwhich had an obscure

‘- _4

..

-

-

2h- 7” ‘.f:Eii

J. -.

pocketput there bySirJames Douglas.The goodgentlemanwas in the habit ofwriting notes tohimse(fwhile inchurch. The papersnotedfavorite hymnsand theologicalstatements as well asexcerptsfrom theworks ofwriters headmired

“The Schemefor livingfor a labouring man “— shown here was one ofthe entries. Also written in SirJames’ spidery handwriting are theproceduresfor making a canoe. Any reader wishing to obtain a copy ofthis ‘Manner ofMaking a Canoe” should send their request to theeditor with a stamped se(faddressed envelope.

3 B.C. Historical News .Spring 92

Franz Biberstein: Painter oftheCanadian Rockies

by Peter C. Merrill

photo courtesy ofMilwaukee County Historical Society.

It was the year 1926. Elmer Krieger, ayoung employee of the Milwaukee public land office, had been invited to thehome of his boss, Charles Bennett.When Krieger walked into the livingroom, his attention was immediately arrested by an immense oil painting, some

four by six feet in size, which hung overthe davenport. It was a Rocky Mountain landscape, a view of the Garden ofthe Gods near Colorado Springs. Theplace was familiar to Krieger, who hadvisited there the previous summer, Theartist, he learned, was an elderly Swissimmigrant named Franz Biberstein.Though he lived in Milwaukee, Biberstein had made several trips to the West,where he had painted many mountainlandscapes, particularly in the CanadianRockies. Later, at the home of anotherMilwaukee colleague, Krieger saw a Biberstein painting which revealed a different side of the artist. It was apainting of Castalia Park, a private parkby the Menominee River in suburbanWauwatosa. This time the painting wassmaller, but still of ample size, 18 by 30inches. Krieger took a liking to the picture and when he learned that a cartographer at the office knew the artistpersonally, he asked whether Bibersteinmight be willing to paint him a copy.The cartographer, Maurice Kranyecz,explained that Biberstein, now 76 yearsold, had little income and would probably be delighted to undertake such acommission.

One day Kranyecz took Krieger to seeBiberstein. They walked along SecondStreet past the Miloki Club to an ancient rooming house near the corner ofWright Street. Biberstein, a neatlydressed, elderly gentleman with a whitebeard, was living in a sparsely furnishedroom. Yes, he still had his originalsketch for the Castalia Park paintingand he would be happy to provide anoil on canvas copy, size 18 by 30 inches,for thirty-five dollars. That would bejust enough to buy the new overcoat heneeded. Krieger had just become engaged and the painting of Castalia Parkwas one of the first things that he andhis bride bought for their home. Castal

ia Park itself, like much of the old Milwaukee that Franz Biberstein knew, isnow gone and fading from memory.

When Biberstein died in 1930 Kranyecz managed the estate sale and Kriegerhad an opportunity to buy a number ofother paintings and sketches by theSwiss artist, including some more Wisconsin landscapes and a painting ofMount Sir Donald in the Selkirk rangeof British Columbia. Today, sixty-fiveyears after his meeting with the artist,Krieger and his wife Laura cherish theircollection of Biberstein paintings, elevenof which are hung on the walls of theirMilwaukee home.

Franz Joseph Biberstein was born February 12, 1850 at St. Nildaus, a villagein Solothurn Canton, Switzerland. Hisfather, Joseph Biberstein, was a skilledmarble craftsman who fashioned cemetery monuments and laid marble floorsfor churches. His mother, Anna Maria(Gubler) Biberstein, was from the nearby village of Lostorf Both parents wereCatholic. The artist’s older brother August became a well-known sculptor andlater took over his father’s marble business. Franz Biberstein also had twosisters. 1

Biberstein received his first training inSolothurn from the Swiss landscapepainter Johann Sütterlin. At the age ofnineteen he set off for Munich, crossingLake Constance to Lindau on the Bavarian side. He was admitted to the RoyalAcademy of Art in 1869 and was placedin the Antikenklasse, where he learnedto sketch in charcoal from plaster castsof classical Greek and Roman sculptures. 2 For two more years he continued to follow the rigorous course oftraining laid down by the academy,sketching portrait heads from live models in the second class and continuing tolife studies of the full figure in the thirdclass.

Franz Biberstein was a neatly dressedgentlemanin his seventies when Elmer Drieger, a young Mitwaukeean, sought out the Swiss born artist in hislodgings.

B.C. Historical News- Spring 92 4

The quality of instruction in Munichwas good and one of Biberstein’s teachers there was Wilhelm von Diez, a leading figure in the school of Munichrealism. But he wanted to do landscapepainting, something which receivedscant attention in the inflexibly classicaltradition of the Munich Academy. Sohe decided not to go on to the fourthclass, but worked instead on the kind ofpainting that interested him. Hesketched mountain scenery in Switzerland during the summers and sometimesvisited Italy during the winter. He wasbeginning to sell his painting and onesummer was able to afford a walkingtrip to Italy, painting in the Dolomitesand visiting Genoa, Pisa, and Florence.

In 1880 an unusual opportunity presented itself. Ludwig Braun, a professorof painting in Munich, was looking forartists to assist him in a major project,an immense panoramic painting whichhad been commissioned by the ownersof a newly constructed exhibition building for panoramas in Frankfurt amMain. Braun was an experienced warartist who had been witness to the Fran-co-Prussian War of 1870-1871. Thepanorama that he had been commissioned to do was The Battle of Sedanon September 1, 1870. The battle hadtaken place just ten years before and thememory of the war was still fresh inboth France and Germany. The idea ofmemorializing notable battles of the warby means of immense panoramic paintings had begun in France. Braun hadbeen to the Paris Exhibition of 1878and had been overawed by The Defenseof Paris, a panorama created by a teamof French artists under the direction ofPaul Dominique Philippoteaux. Braunconsulted with the French panoramistsand quickly learned the techniquesneeded for the production of such paintings. During 1880 and 1881 Bibersteinworked for Braun as one of the team ofartists which created the Sedan panorama in Frankfurt.

When the job had been completed inFrankfurt, Biberstein found his financialsituation much improved and decidedto seek further training. Instead of returning to Munich, however, he soughtout the smaller academy at Karisruhe,capital of the German principality of Ba-den. Records at the Karlsruhe Academy

indicate that he was a student there in1881 and 1882. Even after completinghis studies there he probably remainedin Karlsruhe for the next three years.

One of the artists who had worked onthe Sedan panorama was an Austriannamed August Lohr. Like Biberstein hehad studied in Munich and specializedin painting alpine Landscapes. In 1884Lohr went to New Orleans to supervisethe installation of the panorama at theCotton Exposition and there met William Wehner, a German immigrantbusinessman in Chicago. Wehner hadan idea: why not bring experienced panorama painters to the United Statesfrom Germany and have them paintpanoramic battle scenes of the AmericanCivil War? Lohr thought it was a goodidea and helped Wehner to establish theMilwaukee-based American PanoramaCompany. Lohr now started to recruitEuropean artists to come to Milwaukee.Biberstein was at first hesitant, butwhen Lohr wrote again enclosing thepassage money, Biberstein accepted. Hearrived April 14, 1886.

The American Panorama Companybegan operations in a specially built studio at 628 Wells Street in Milwaukee.The first panorama painted there wasprobably The Storming of MissionaryRidge, which was followed by The Battle of Atlanta. Although Wehner’sAmerican Panorama Company wentout of business in 1887, several successor firms kept the panorama industryalive in Milwaukee for a few more years.Many of the artists returned to Germa

ny or dispersed to other cities in theUnited States, but Biberstein was one ofthose who stayed.

In 1893 Biberstein was one of severalMilwaukee artists to be caught up in thehubbub of the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, for which he contributed a panoramic painting of thefairgrounds. Another former panoramapainter to be involved in the ChicagoWorld’s Fair was George Peter, who hadbeen one of Biberstein’s closest friendsin Karlsruhe and had come to Milwaukee after Biberstein recommended himto Lohr. 6 After the World’s Fair, Peterand Biberstein both found employmentas scenery painters for the German theater in Milwaukee, but a new employment opportunity suddenly offered

itself when William Wehner decided toproduce a panorama of The Battle ofManila Bay, a scene from the recentSpanish-American War. Wehner engaged the services of Biberstein, Peter,and two other veteran panoramists whohad remained in Milwaukee, FriedrichWilhelm Heine and Franz Rohrbeck.The Manila Bay panorama was paintedin San Francisco, but proved to be a financial failure when it was exhibitedthere in 1900. The panorama crazehad, it seems, run its course and couldnot be revived.

By 1900 Biberstein was back in Milwaukee and was one of the local artistswho met at the studio of Louis Mayeron October 23 to organize the Societyof Milwaukee Artists. The society,composed almost entirely of Germanimmigrant artists, became an importantlocal professional association. Althoughit tended to promote the esthetic principles of Munich realism, there was also acertain diversity of approach among itsmembers. Otto Dinger’s paintings, forexample, reflect the graphic clarity ofthe Düsseldorf school, while the influence of American tonalism is apparentin the work of Friedrich W. Heine. Biberstein’s association with the societyprovided not only personal contact withother local artists, but also served as ameans of finding purchasers for hiswork. His landscape canvasses were aregular feature of the society’s shows.

In 1901 Biberstein briefly entered intopartnership with another former panorama painter, Ernst Julius Peege, to formthe Acme Portrait Company, but soonafterwards went back to working independently. Writing in the MilwaukeeSentinel on April 5, 1903, Louis Mayerhad this to report:

Bieberstein [sic], who has a studioabove the Milwaukee National Bank,is a landscape artist of rare ability.He paints scenery from the westerncoast and the Swiss highlands, wherehe was born. He has lately experimented a great deal in photography,and has devised a scheme of reproducing portraits on canvas and painting them with transparent colors.

One of Biberstein’s clients at this timewas the wealthy railroad official ThomasGeorge Shaughnessy (1832-1928). TheMilwaukee-born Shaughnessy had begun his career with the Chicago, Mil

5 B.C. Ilistorical News .Spring 92

waukee, and St. Paul Railroad, but laterbecame president of the Canadian Pacific Railway. In an era when the railroadswere opening up new scenic areas of theWest to the general tourist, the railroadcompanies sometimes offered patronageto landscape artists who could publicizethe scenic beauty of the areas which theyserved. John Fery (1859-1934), an Austrian immigrant artist working in Milwaukee and St. Paul, had a longassociation with the Great NorthernRailway, helping them to publicize thescenic grandeur of Glacier NationalPark. Shaughnessy must have beenaware of this arrangement. At any rate,Biberstein was invited to spend twosummers as Shaughnessy’s guest in theCanadian Rockies, where he painted numerous scenic views, particularly in theSelkirk range of British Columbia. Biberstein’s visits to Canada must havebeen to the area around Revelstoke onthe main line of the Canadian Pacific.Time and again Biberstein painted thearea around Mount Sir Donald, showing the peak and its surroundings in various ways. One of these paintings isdated 1908, which gives an approximateidea of when Biberstein visited the area.Following his usual practice, Bibersteinworked in the field by making oilsketches in color on small compositionboard panels, usually about eight by teninches in size. These were then kept forreference and used as a basis for largerpaintings, which were done on canvas inhis Milwaukee studio. One of theselarger paintings, a view of Mount SirDonald measuring five by seven and ahalf feet, is now in the collection of theMilwaukee Public Library, which received it as a gift from Frederick Layton(1827-19 19), an important local philanthropist and art patron.

Biberstein was not, of course, the onlylandscape painter to discover and recordthe scenic grandeur of the CanadianRockies. Among his contemporarieswere a number of Canadian painterswho received patronage from the Canadian Pacific Railway. To mentiononly a few outstanding flames, the listincludes Lucius Richard O’Brian, Marmaduke Matthews, Thomas MowerMartin, John Arthur Fraser, FrederickMarlett Bell-Smith, John CollinsForbes, and George Home Russell. To

encourage artists to paint in scenic areasserved by the railway, the Canadian Pacific provided passes or reduced-faretickets and sometimes even free hotelaccommodations. In 1886 O’Brian andForbes were guests at the new GlacierHouse Hotel, a chalet-style ledge ownedand operated by the railway. The lodgeprovided access to Glacier NationalPark and had Swiss guides to lead excursions. Biberstein may, in fact, have alsostayed there. To enlist the talents of thefashionable German-American painterAlbert Bierstadt, the Canadian Pacificeven placed a private railway car at hisdisposal. The railway sometimes commissioned paintings and on occasioneven sponsored one-man shows by artists that it favored.

From 1910 to 1920 Biberstein wasone of several local artists who had astudio in the Cawker Building at thenortheast corner of Wells Street andPlankinton Avenue. 10 In 1910 he wascommissioned to paint a mural for theGrays Harbor County Courthouse atMontesano, Washington. The mural,dated 1910, was painted on canvas andinstalled when the courthouse wasopened the following year. The workwas probably painted at Biberstein’sMilwaukee studio. It shows the landingin 1791 of Captain Robert Gray, an early explorer of the Pacific Northwest.The Indians depicted in the mural arenot dressed like those of the area, butwear costumes resembling those of theSeneca Indians of New York state. Onthe opposite wall is a mural by Biberstei&s former colleague, Franz Rohrbeck. The commission to paint the twomurals probably came through Associated Artists, a Milwaukee interior decorating firm which arranged to haveRohrbeck paint murals for the BrownCounty Courthouse in Green Bay,Wisconsin.

During the years he had a studio inthe Cawker Building, Biberstein probably made much of his living from portrait commissions. Few of theseportraits can be presently located,though it can be assumed that manyhave been preserved by the families ofhis Milwaukee clients. The State Historical Society of Wisconsin in Madisonhas a finely preserved portrait of James0. Davidson painted in 1908 when he

was governor ofWisconsin. An updatedportrait of Frank Whitnall is now in thecollection of the Milwaukee CountyHistorical Society. But despite portraitcommissions, Biberstein continued topaint and exhibit his landscapes. In1913 the Society of Milwaukee Artistswas reorganized as the Wisconsin Painters and Sculptors, which held frequentshows at the new Milwaukee Art Institute. These, of course, provided a convenient place for Biberstein to exhibitand sell his work. He also benefitedfrom the facilities provided by the Milwaukee Journal’s Gallery of WisconsinArt, an exhibition room on the secondfloor of the Milwaukee Journal Buildingwhich held quarterly exhibits between1924 and 1931. In reporting on thegallery’s fourth quarterly exhibit, theMilwaukee Journal reproduced Biberstein’s Pastureland in the Dolomites,an impressive canvas showing a pastureand cottage in the foreground with alake and snow-covered mountains in thebackground.

Biberstein’s last years were spent indignified poverty, his modest savingshaving been lost in the collapse of a local trust company. For the last eighteenyears of his life he did occasional workfor Alphonse J. Moroder, in immigrantwoodcarver from the South Tyrol whoengaged Biberstein to paint backgrounds for his religious groups. Biberstein also supplemented his meagerincome by growing ginseng in a vacantlot. Poverty forced him to part withsome of the color field sketches that hekept for reference, though a number ofthese were still in his possession at thetime of his death.

Biberstein had been suffering from achronic heart condition and apparentlydied in his sleep on July 26, 1930. Hewas found by his landlord in the furnished room at 919 Second Street wherehe had lived the last ten years of his life.He had never married and had norelatives in America. Long obituaryarticles appeared the next day in bothEnglish-language Milwaukee Journaland the German-language MilwaukeeHerald. 11 Both newspapers recountedBiberstein’s career as an artist and recalled the era of the panorama paintersin Milwaukee more than forty yearsbefore.

B.C. Historical News• Spring 92 6

Biberstein’s memory lingers in Wisconsin. In 1976 a number of his paintings were exhibited in a show at theCharles Allis Art Museum in Milwaukeeand in 1989 the West Bend Gallery ofFine Arts in West Bend, Wisconsin included three of his paintings in a showentitled “German Academic Painters inWisconsin.” To Elmer Krieger, surrounded by his collection of Bibersteinpaintings, the artist is an ever-presentmemory. Nor has Biberstein been forgotten in his native Switzerland. Twoearly landscapes, both pastoral scenes,are preserved in the art museum at Solothurn. In Canada, however, Biberstein’sname and work appear to have beencompletely forgotten. He was, ofcourse, an outsider, a visitor whosepaintings of the Canadian Rockies werepurchased by customers in the UnitedStates. Nonetheless, his work ought toreceive at least passing notice in any discussion of regional painting in westernCanada during the early years of thepresent century.

Dr. Merrill is a professor at Florida AtlanticUniversity in Boca Raton, Florida. He consultedseveral Canadian museums, including the WhyteMuseum in Banff when preparing this article.

FOOTNOTES

1. For basic biographical information onFranz Biberstein and his brother August,see Ulrich Thieme and Felix Becker,Migemeines Lexikon der bildendenKunstler von der Antike bus zurGegenwart (Leipzig: E.A. Seemann,1970-1971), vol. 3, p. 596 and Karl Brun,Schweizerisches Kunstler-Lexikon(Frauenfeld: Huber, 1905-1917), vol. 1,p. 126. Further informaiton onBiberstein’s fsmily in Switzerland wasobtained from the State Archive ofSolothurn Canton (Staataarchiv desKantons Solothurn).

2. The matriculation records at the MunichAcademy note that Biberstein was acceptedfor study there on April 16, 1869 and thathe was formally matriculated on April 12,1870.

3. For information on the panorama itsGermany and the career of Ludwig Braun,see Stephan Octtermann, Das Panorama:Die Geschichte eines Massenmediums(Frankfurt am Main: Syndikar, 1980).

4. Adolf von Oechelhauser, Geschichte derGrossh. Badischen Akademie derBildenden Künste (Karlsruhe: Druckund Verlag der G. BraunschenHothuchdruckerei, 1904), p. 158.

5. For information on the Milwaukeepanorama industry, see Peter C. Merrill,

“What Happened to the PanoramaPainters?” German Academic Painters inWisconsin (exhibition catalog, WestBend Gallery of Fine Arts, West Bend,Wisconsin, August 1989), pp. 19-44.

6. MilwaukeeJoumal, February 14, 1932.7. Milwaukee Sentinel, October 23, 1900,

p. 3. For a detailed discussion of thisorganization and its members, see Gay A.Donahue, “Society of Milwaukee Artists,1900-1913.” M.A. thesis, University ofWisconsin-Madison, 1981.

8. Louis Mayer, “HaIfa Century of Art andArtists in Milwaukee,” MilwaukeeSentinel April 5, 1903, partS, p. 10

9. The art patronage policies of the CanadianPacifIc Railway and the artists whobenefited from this patronage arediscussed at lengrh in E.J. Hart, TheSelling of Canada: The CPR and theBeginnings of Canadian Tourism(Banif, Canada: Altitude Publishing Ltd.,

photo courtesy ofRobert Brue.

1983) and in Allan Pringle, “WilliamCornelius Van Home: Art Director,Canadian Pacific Railway,” The Journalof Canadian Art History I Annalesd’Histoire de l’Art Canadien, vol. 8, no.1 (1984), pp. 50-77.

10. For a discussion of other artists in theCawker Building, see Peter C. Merrill,“Milwaukee Artists and Their Studios,”Milwaukee History, vol. 12, nos. 3-4(Autumn-Winter 1989), pp. 94-104.

11. Milwaukee Herald, July 27, 1930.Milwaukee Journal, July 27, 1930, CityNews Section, p. 1.

—

Mount Sir Donald in the Selkirks ofBritish Columbia, 1908. 011 on paneL 10x8 in.

7 B.C. Historical News -Spring 92

West Coast Carpenter

by Eleanor Witton Hancock

In the spring of 1937 as NootkaSound hummed with canneries, gyppologging camps and a gold boom atZeballos River, construction of anexport lumber mill began at secludedMcBride Bay on Nootka Island.Nootka Wood Products Ltd. would bethe first export lumber mill north ofPort Alberni on Vancouver Island’s westcoast. It would also be North America’sfirst sawmill producing most of itselectricity through a gasification processbased on the burning of scrap wood.The mill was located 10 miles frompresent-day Tahsis which did not thenexist, its post office designation “PortTahsis”.

Now retired in Richmond, B.C.,carpenter Alder Bloom arrived fromSaskatchewan in August 1937, seeking achange from the Depression-riddenprairies. Alder was 24. Working atMcBride Bay for nine months, he waspresent during the completion of thesawmill and the installation ofultra-modern equipment. He saw thefirst logs arrive in tow from KyuquotSound, Douglas firs resplendent of thevirgin rainforest. He watched the firstdeepsea freighter sail for the UnitedKingdom with the results: 1,500,000board feet of high grade lumber. AlderBloom’s sojourn at Port Tahsis evolvedinto eight years in the area. Hisexperiences provide a valuable view oflife in Nootka Sound during theDepression and Second World War.

Nootka Wood Products Ltd. wasincorporated in British Columbia onFebruary 1, 1937 with an authorizedshare capital of $1,650,000. The parentcompany, British and Allied InvestmentCorporation of London, England, inVancouver was involved in theconstruction of the Marine Building(1929) and the Lions Gate Bridge(1938); the Lions Gate crossing servedas forerunner to the company’simportant suburban land development

in West Vancouver known as theBritish Properties.

The promoter of the Nootka Islandlumber mill was George Whalen ofVancouver and plans originally includeda pulp mill. George Whalen some yearsearlier was prominent in the pulp millindustry of the province, Whalen Pulpand Paper Mills Ltd. consisting of threemills, including the bleached sulphitemill at Port Alice on northernVancouver Island. The firm, however,had gone bankrupt and in 1926 itsassets were purchased by the BritishColumbia Pulp and Paper Co. Ltd.which was formed to acquire the threemills. George Whalen, with seeminglyunlimited British investment monies,was to die before the opening of PortTahsis and a pulp mill was not built.The Port Tahsis operation in adepressed lumber economy, combinedwith an approaching world war, was acatastrophe for the shareholders — aswindle many believed.

When Alder Bloom and a pal arrivedat McBride Bay in the summer of 1937the sharp smell of lumber waseverywhere. A small sawmill wascutting for the large one underconstruction, and most of the wharf wasfinished. Alder had been lucky enoughto keep working during the Depression.Repairing grain elevators he’d workedhis way up to a construction foreman’sjob. He knew how to set up a 20-tonplatform scale, how to install a graincleaner, and he’d raised elevators as welland put in new foundations; he wascomfortable with his expertise when hehired on at Port Tahsis. But when theforeman put him to work shaping skidsfor a bunkhouse he had to confess thathe did not own an adze.

The skids were duly finished, however,then Alder and his partner built the

bunkhouse, an eight-man, one-roombuilding, 16’ x 32’. The Augustweather, recalls Alder, proved a surprise.

“Coming from Saskatchewan”, he saystoday, “if there was a cloud in the skyyou grabbed your tools and ran! Youdidn’t want to get anything wet! Well,the second day on the job there, it waspouring down and here were us, myfriend and I — we didn’t have any rainclothes; we were soaking wet. And everytime you’d hit a nail the water wouldsplash back in your face. I was kind ofwondering whether that was going to bea good place to be or not!”

Despite the discomfort they reducedcosts for the job and were praised bymanagement. This was encouraging inview of the ostracism prevalent; fellowworkers regarded them as “farmers” whowere taking “B.C.” jobs.

Alder’s brother Ed Bloom now arrivedfrom Port Alberni and Alder, Ed andtwo others formed a four-man gang andbuilt a cookhouse, a 26’ x 80’ building.Afterwards they built the cold room andtables and benches for the dining room.The completion of the handsomebuilding called for a party and a dancewas held in the dining room, free drinksprovided. Happily, the handful ofwomen at McBride Bay wassupplemented by cannery girls,including Japanese and native Indiangirls, from Nelson Brothers plant acrossHecate Channel at Ceepeecee. Aldermanaged to enjoy a few dances.

The weather, apparently, was full ofsurprises. One night during a storm,trees began falling from the bluff abovethe bunkhouses. Alder and othersgathered up mattresses and blankets andheaded for the cookhouse. Twobunkhouses were damaged that night.

At 75 cents per hour, carpenters wereearning good wages. Alder beganbanking his pay cheques. There wasn’ta great deal to spend one’s money on inany case, with no stores or recreation

B.C. Historical News-Spring 92 8

facilities. His brother Ed, bycomparison, made friends among themarried people, and while Alder stayedhome at night Ed was part of theoutings to Ceepeecee and Zeballos.Eventually Alder made a trip toCeepeecee:

“One Saturday night I got a ride to thecannery and with some friends started toexplore the place. It was dark, with veryfew street lights and less people. TheJapanese girls stayed close to theirquarters but we could hear a lot of noisecoming from the native village so wewandered over.

“They were playing one of their nativegambling games where everybody sat onthe floor in a circle, pounding out a setrhythm and singing a loud butmonotonous tune. While the noise wasgoing on, one guy had a piece ofpolished wood about three inches longthat he kept passing from hand to handas rapidly as possible, and at a signal thesinging would stop and a member of theopposite team would indicate what handhe thought the wood was in. If he wasright, he and his team would win thatround and also get the stick. If not, itwould remain as before and the singingwould start all over again. This was agambling game and I heard later thatthey often played for very high stakes.At any rate, I moved to another windowto get a better look and was shocked tosee my brother Ed and his pal sitting inthe circle, making as much noise as therest and having a wonderful time!”

Nootka Wood Products Ltd. beganoperating in October 1937, producingthree million feet of undressed lumbermonthly, 110 men on the payroll. Thesource of the logs was the company’stimber limits, 65 square miles of fir andhemlock in Kyuquot Sound. Fir onlywas used for lumber at McBride Bayand came by water the 35 miles; thehemlock was cut for Port Alice’s pulpmill. Marketed as “Nootka Pine”, thefir produced an excellent grade ofdecking, flooring and floor block stock.Timbers 14” x 14” x 60’ were thespecialty, the main customer the BritishAdmiralty. Although Nootka WoodProducts Ltd. did not wish to sell locally

— local people did not always pay theiraccounts whereas overseas credits wereestablished — until a sawmill was built atZeballos in January 1938, 20,000 feetof lumber was scowed to Zeballosalmost daily for a few months forconstruction of the boom town.

No expense had been spared inbuilding the mill. McBride Bay boastedtwo of the three Swedish gang saws tobe found in British Columbia. But theSwede gangs were to prove inadequatefor the operation. The head sawing rig,instead of a band saw, was a circularhead rig; further along in the mill werefine trimmers but no re-saw.

The mill had one of the province’sfirst motor lumber stackers, a Ross, butthere was no room to store lumber.Steep-sided McBride Bay offered littleland for building on and the wharfcould not be extended because teredosconsumed the untreated hemlock pilesas fast as they were driven. (The teredopopulation had flourished through thedumping of scrap wood and sawdustinto the bay.) With piles 130 feet longat the wharfs front, the price ofcreosoting was considered too high.Scows therefore were used for storinglumber, increasing costs. If a freighterdid not arrive every 10 days, the millwas snowed in.

The power plant, however, wasefficient. A 150 kwh engine andgenerator provided lights, and steam

power operated the log turner, auxiliarydeck equipment and pumps. The mainpower was supplied by burning hogfuel, one ton per hour, to produce a gaswhich operated the eight-cylinder, 1120hp Crossley—Premier engine. Built inNottingham, England theCrossley—Premier was installed by afactory engineer. Crossley-Premierswere not new to North America but thiswas the first time this gasificationprocess was used in a North Americansawmill. The process was estimated torequire 50 percent less fuel than theusual steam boiler method; the burningof bark provided the best results at PortTahsis.

Another North American first for alumber mill was the installation of aradio telephone. Although radiophones were now used in loggingcamps, B.C. having a large number,they had yet to be used in the sawmillindustry. McBride Bay’s unit wasinstalled by Vancouver RadioLaboratories Ltd. and was taller than aman.

Money was also spent to ensure thesafety of employees. Instead ofoperating with only a safety committee,Nootka Wood Products Ltd. hired afull-time safety supervisor, a movelauded by the industry.

Nootka Wood Products Lt€L mill after closure. Gibson tugboat centreforegrouneL

9 B.C. Historical News -Spring 92

Things seemed to be going fine at first.Employees were building cabins andsending for their wives; Alder Bloomwas building houses for senior staff onan island 400 feet offshore. Access tothe island suburb was by rowboat untilit was decided to build a floatingwalkway. Alder and another carpenterwere given the job of constructing thewalkway. Working on rolling logs wassomething new again for Alder Bloom.

“I had bought a pair of caulk bootssuch as loggers wore,” he says, “d Iwas having a fine time on these logs!My partner was grumpy at times and atother times he was singing. For somereason, it bothered him when I movedaround on the logs too fast. He said hedidn’t give a damn if I drowned but hewould hate to see me get wet! One dayhe was in a good mood and singing ahappy song. I was working with myback towards him when the singingstopped for a second and then started upagain. I looked back to see him in thewater up to his armpits, struggling to getback on the logs, but still singing tocover his predicament! I kept onworking and said nothing!”

In spring Alder was laid oW He got ajob building a logging camp atEsperanza, near Ceepeecee. Thesettlement of Esperanza consisted of ahotel with a beer parlour, and a two-bedhospital operated by the Shantymen’sChristian Association. Much of thelumber for the hospital had beendonated by Nootka Wood ProductsLtd.

Alder next went to Gibson Brotherscamp at Sandspit on Tahsis Inlet.Gibsons, legendary for starting in 1945their own export lumber mill — presentday Tahsis — had acquired old ships touse as barges for transporting logs tomarket. Alder was put to work cuttingout the deck and insides of a ship. Thepride of the Gibson fleet was the245-foot five-masted schooner Malahat,a Mother Ship during Prohibition. Theold girl had been stripped for use as abarge but she was self-powered; she stillhad a fireplace in the owner’s stateroom.

Alder’s father now arrived at McBrideBay looking for work. John Bloom, 59,variously a construction carpenter, storeowner, grain buyer and elevator repairman, obtained the promise of a contract

to build living quarters for the sawmill’sIndian employees. While waiting, heundertook private carpentry and built afloathouse for himselE Fle built a skiffas well; on the prairies Mr. Bloomalways owned a boat, whether he livednear water or not.

Before long it was learned that theIndian quarters at McBride Bay wouldnot be built. There were rumors thatthe mill would close. [The sawmillclosed at Christmas, 1938.] Mr. Bloomwas at loose ends. Alder, recognizing anopportunity in commercial fishing,suggested they build a troller and turnhis father into a fisherman.

Nearly two and one-half years weredevoted to the construction of hisfather’s 40’ boat, a good-size one. Alderwould go off to a job for a few months,then return with his earnings to assisthis dad. Although they were joined byhis brother Rollie Bloom from PortAlberni, the project seemed unending.

A cove near Port Tahsis known asGod’s Pocket was selected and a 60’open boatshed and lean-to workshoperected. A handful of firs suitable forlumber grew at God’s Pocket. Despitefeeling guilty about taking timber forpersonal use, John Bloom made a dealwith the Zeballos Lumber Co. to supplyseveral logs in return for some lumber.By himself, he felled the trees with afalling saw (chain saws were not on themarket), bucked them, jacked the logsinto the water and towed them behindhis skiff the nine miles to Zeballos.Afterwards he towed home the lumber,also in the water.

Most of the material had to be orderedfrom “outside” and arrived at Ceepeeceeby steamer, small shipments as theycould afford it, mostly fir, oak for thetroller’s ribs and gumwood for the stemand stern. Generally, Mr. Bloomwaited until Alder returned from a job,then they worked on the boat together;he considered Alder project boss. In themeantime, to earn extra money, he builta simple marine way for local use.

As the troller took shape, their workbecame a topic of interest in the area;large boats were seldom built in NootkaSound, especially under suchconditions.

“The only power machinery that wehad”, says Alder, “was a 10” circle saw

powered by a four horsepower engineout of Dad’s skiff. I did have a smallbandsaw that I traded some work forbut it was very little help on the heavymaterial we were working with. Dadwas the axeman so he cut and shapedthe keel by hand. Then we found thatwe didn’t have a timber big enough forthe keelson so Dad went back into thewoods again and cut down a tree andshaped it with his trusty broad axe andadze.

“It was unfortunate that we didn’tknow more about electricity and pickedup a small generator, because lights andan electric drill would have been agodsend. On the planking I used twohand braces, one with a bit for ahalf-inch wood plug, and one for thethree-inch boat nail. First, I drilled ahole a half-inch deep for the plug, andthen switched braces and drilled for thenail. It wasn’t hard but it took time andwhen you remember there were over5000 nails in the planking alone you canget some concept of the time required.We were on the job as soon as it waslight enough to see and we worked untildark. At noon no-one wanted to quitwork to cook anything so we wouldkeep going until one of us got so hungrythat he would have to give in and do thecooking!”

When the gumwood arrived atCeepeecee, 6” x 12” x 12’, John Bloomprepared to float it home, unaware itwould not float, He wrestled it to theedge of the dock and, ropes around it,pushed it into the water whereupon theropes slipped off and the gumwoodwent to the bottom. The timberrepresented nearly two weeks wages forAlder and he dragged for it with agrappling hook. Unsuccessful, he hadto order a new piece.

In the spring of 1941 Mr. Bloom wasfinishing the cabin. But they stillneeded an engine and gear. Not lookingforward to another year of scrimping,Alder was relieved when Ceepeecee’scannery manager offered to supply theengine if the Blooms would charter theboat to Nelson Brothers for packing dogsalmon in the fall. John Bloom wouldserve as deckhand under an Indianskipper.

Because he had worked at the Nootkacannery Alder was permitted to use the

B.C. Histodcal News-Spring 92 10

cannery’s machine shop to install theengine and steering gear. Afterwards heran the boat triumphantly back to thePocket. They named her the Thyra B,after Alder’s mother who had died whenhe was a boy.

John Bloom became a fisherman andAlder resumed carpentry. The SecondWorld War was affecting the coast now.

Alder worked again for GibsonBrothers, at Tofino where Gibsons wereclearing land for the construction of anairport for coastal defense. Then,returning to Nootka Sound, he got a jobat the Ceepeecee cannery; here he was incharge of construction, buildingmaintenance, boat repairs andpile-driving.

At Ceepeecee, men were leaving tojoin the armed forces. After thebombing of Pearl Harbour in December1941 the Japanese were removed fromthe coast. Bolstering the plant’sworkforce were local women and anumber from the Ashcroft tomatocannery, among them one FlorenceFrench from Vancouver. Alder andFlorence were married on October1942. They were married at theZeballos police station by the town’sB.C. Provincial Police constable. Thegold mines were closing at Zeballos,some permanently, others for theduration of the war, and the constablewas in the midst of dismantling the jail’scells. The marriage business was briskthat day with one couple ahead of Alderand Florence and one behind.

John Bloom had never stayed more

than four years in one place and in 1946he quit fishing, preparing to leave thecoast. For Alder, his wife and small son,the time had come to leave as well. Thefamily, including Rollie Bloom, lefttogether, planning to settle in someinterior location. But canneries andboats were in Alder’s blood now andsoon he was working for NelsonBrothers again, on the Fraser River inRichmond. He remained in thebusiness, first with Nelsons, then B.C.Packers, until his retirement.

Today he reflects on his experienceson the coast during the Depression andthe Second World war; he is satisfiedwith the benefits. Faced with adapting

Alder,Flo and Robert (Bob)Bloom 1945. Taken at C.PC

photo courtesy Alder Bloom

to unfamiliar methods, the initialhostility of co-workers and a harshclimate, he achieved much personal andprofessional, growth.

* * * * * * *.* * *

Eleanor IViiton Hancock b a freelance writernow living in Kamloops. She grew up atZeballoson the west coast ofVancouver Island.

SOURCES

Personal interview and correspondence withAlder Bloom.

Personal interviews with Tom Weilburn,manager of Nootka Wood Products Ltd. in1938.

Daily Colonist: February 2, 1937; October 21,1937.

The Timberman: November 1937.

Anglican Church ArchivesA Research Tools Grant has been awarded by SSHRCC for a projectsponsored jointly by the General Synod Archives, Toronto, and the Ecclesiastical Province of British Columbia and Yukon. Currently underway, the primary goal of the project is to prepare and publish the thirdvolume in the Records of the Anglican Church of Canada series; volumes on the provinces of Ruperts Land (1986) and Ontario (1990) having already been published. The scope of the project includes thearchives of the Ecclesiastical Province and each of the six dioceses —

British Columbia, Caledonia, Cariboo, Kootenay, New Westminster andYukon.The award provides for one year funding, the first part of a two year project that includes funding for the publishing of the fourth and final guidein the series, that of the Ecclesiastical Province of Canada (Quebec andthe Atlantic provinces).The guide will be the basic finding aid to the holdings of the Ecclesiastical Province and will assist various users including historians, churchadministrators, genealogists as well as archivists in identifying and locating materials. The guide is being prepared in database format using

INMAGIC software and Rules for Archival Description (RAD) descriptivestandards.Another goal of the project is to strengthen the Anglican archivalnetwork in British Columbia. The Diocesan Archivists are thesupervising team for the project and will be meeting twice during theyear. Teresa Thompson, General Synod Archivist, is ProjectCo-ordinator while Doreen Stephens, Archivist of the EcclesiasticalProvince, is providing overall supervision. In addition, the project isbenefitting from the earlier work involved in the Ruperts Land andOntario projects. The general office for the project is the Archives of theEcclesiastical Province in Vancouver.Mark Epp has been hired as the Project Archivist to prepare the Guideto the Holdings of the Archives of the Ecclesiastical Province of B.C.and Yukon (Anglican Church of Canada). Mark has completed hiscourse work in the M.A.S. programme at the University of B.C. Duringthe course of the Project he will be working in each of the DiocesanArchives, travelling throughout B.C. and into the Yukon.

11 B.C. Historical News .Spring 9Z

The Kootenay District Zinc Rush

The history of North America is replete with tales of gold rushes, silverbooms, and uranium strikes. Zinc admittedly lacks the glamour of these other metals, so that it is perhaps notsurprising that the “zinc rush” whichbuoyed the hopes of citizens of Frank,Alberta, Nelson, B.C. and various othersettlements in the Kootenay and SlocanLakes areas during the decade leadingup to World War I has failed to capturemuch of a place in the history of Western Canada.

At the turn of this century, zinc wasdecidedly the “ugly sister” in the low-grade silver-lead-zinc lodes aboundingin the Kootenay District of British Columbia. Zinc content indeed often added to the problem of refining the silverand lead content of ores, so that a number of smelters levied a penalty on orewith a high zinc content.

A 1901 slump in the price of silveradded to the hard times faced by miningmen in the Kootenay in the years following the Klondike Gold Rush. In1901 the Guggenheim interests mergedwith the American Smelting & Refining

Co. and thereafter held a virtual monopoly on the refinement of lead inNorth America and maintained a stronglobby to insure that lead in Canada entering the U.S.A. faced a stiff tariff.Since the lead bullion produced annually in the Kootenay exceeded the Canadian demand, mining men continued toeye the alluring market for refined zincwhich existed particularly in Europe. Ifthe refinement of zinc in silver-lead-zinclodes could only be freed from an economic dependence of the refinement oflead, the Kootenay could emerge fromthe shadow cast by the Guggenheim interests and achieve its destiny in the zincmarket.

In 1904 - 1905 increasing demand forzinc brought about a dramatic rise in itsmarket price and revived activity in anumber of the mines in the East andWest Kootenay. For several months theDistrict fed on the rumour that theGuggenheim interests were about toerect a state-of-the-art smelter adjacentto the idle railway terminal of the Kootenay Railway & Navigation Co.(Great Northern Railway) at Kusko

nook on Kootenay Lake. This projectnever materialized, but in the meantimethe Canadian Metal Company Ltd., asyndicate of French capitalists who hadinterests in the Crows Nest coal mines,came upon the scene.

The Canadian Metal Company firstacquired the Bluebell Mine on Kootenay Lake and the smelting works atnearby Pilot Bay, idled since 1896. Several additional zinc properties were purchased in the Slocan area. Thecompany began to work the group,stockpiling the ore until the samplerforming part of the Pilot Bay workscould be reactivated. On the theorythat it was cheaper to haul zinc concentrates to a source of smelting coal than itwas to haul coal to a smelter situated onKootenay Lake (two tons of coal beingrequired to smelt each ton of concentrate), the Canadian Metal Companythen erected a large, well-equipped zincsmelting plant at the Crows Nest coalmining town of Frank, Alberta. Thesmelter was designed for a capacity of 60tons of ore in furnaces to convert zincsulphide to zinc oxide, then introducingcoal dust as a reducing agent for the oxide, distilling the mixture, casting themetallic zinc distillate into plates andsaving the residue to recover the silvercontent.

The Pilot Bay concentrator was notthe only one to be “galvanized” into activity. Smaller mines in the AinsworthSlocan areas started shipping zinc ore tothe Kootenay Ore Company’s small butefficient sampling plant at Kaslo or tothe old concentrator at Rosebery on Sb-can Lake. At these plants minerals suchas iron pyrites, galena and gangue matter were separated to facilitate the eventual smelting of zinc ore.

The Federal Government evinced considerable interest in the prospect of Canada becoming a major zinc producerand commissioned two prominentAmerican metallurgists, W.R Ingallsand Philip Argall, to make a field trip to

by Edward L. Affleck

B.C. Historical News Spring 92 12

British Columbia to investigate the possibilities of zinc ore mining in the Province as well as methods of treating theore.

The 1905 year closed on a high note,with more activity in the base metalmines of the Kootenay than had beenwitnessed for haifa decade. Pending theactivation of the Frank Smelter, zincconcentrate was sacked at the Kaslosampling plant, loaded on the KootenayRailway & Navigation Company’ssternwheelers I(a.slo and Internationaland transferred at Five Mile Point to orecars for a long trip via U.S. railways tothe zinc smelter in Bartlesville, Oklahoma which had access to cheap Kentuckycoal.

1906, however, introduced a few sournotes into the Canadian zinc industry’ssong of rapture. First the U.S. Customsdetermined that the product of a zincconcentrator did not constitute “crudemineral” and promptly slapped a heavyduty on such concentrates entering theU.S. for smelting. This ruling was rescinded the following year, but by thattime the 1907 financial panic was wellunderway and mines which had suspended production in the face of the tariff could not secure refinancing to reopen.

The second sour note was soundedwhen the Canadian Metal Companydiscovered that the low grade of concentrate shipped from Pilot Bay to Frank,combined with the high price of coal($2.00 per ton at the pit head) made thesmelting of zinc at Frank uneconomic.In the face of falling process for silverand lead, the company decided to dismantle the sampler at Pilot Bay and toreassemble the works into a more efficient reduction plant on the Bluebellsite, now renamed “Riondel” in honourof the company’s president, Count Riondel. Under the deft supervision ofSamuel S. Fowler, construction on thisnew plant was begun in March, 1907and was completed in the late spring of1908. The new plant proved to behighly efficient in separating lead concentrate for shipment to the smelter atTrail, B.C., but a decline in the price ofzinc postponed indefinitely any furtheractivity at the Frank zinc smelter.

The third sour note was sounded bythe Ingalls-Argall Commission, whichmade it fairly obvious that zinc smelting

by the standard roasting method carriedon at Frank could not, having regard tothe quality of zinc concentrates and theprevailing wage, freight and coal rates,be carried on competitively against U.S.and European smelters. The Commission also expressed doubt that sufficientzinc ore could be mined and concentrated in the Ainsworth-Slocan mining divisions to warrant full-scale developmentof a zinc mining industry. It noted thetremendous amount of zinc ore available in the Sullivan Mine at Kimberley,but regretted that the refractory character of this ore was such that zinc extraction by traditional methods was almosthopeless. The Commission then turnedits attention to the prospect of electricsmelting of zinc ores in British Columbia and sounded a very faint note of enthusiasm in making the followingpoints:

1. Electric smelting would never displace coal-fired smelting of zinc wherethe electric power is generated fromcoal.

2. Electric smelting might be, in thefuture, economically conducted at places where very cheap hydro-electric power was available.

3. Aside from the question of powercost, certain peculiar and serious metallurgical difficulties in electric smeltinghad not yet been satisfactorilyovercome.

4. It was unlikely that electric smeltingof zinc ores could ever be profitably carried on in the zinc-producing districts

of East and West Kootenay.The Ingalls-Argall Commission, how

ever, proved to be a discordant voicecrying in the wilderness, as the B.C.Government had now been bitten bythe zinc producing bug. A group ofCoast capitalists who had originally invested in the Kaslo & Slocan Railwayand who had an interest in the KasloKootenay Land Co. as well as in a number of Slocan mines, formed the CanadaZinc Company, lobbied successfully fora $10,000 advance from the ProvincialGovernment and commenced in 1907to build a new zinc smelter at Nelson,B.C. Electric smelting of zinc was tosave the day, and the well constructed,well-equipped smelter of the CanadianMetal Company at Frank would henceforth stand as a monument to all thatwas wrong with traditional zinc smeltingmethods.

To-day the south shore approach tothe Nelson bridge towers over the Lakeside Park parking lot which now occupies the site of the Canada ZincCompany smelting works. In 1908,however, the long narrow building constructed of 2” x 10” planking flanked bya tall thin exhaust stack one hundred tenfeet high assumed a commanding position on the lakeshore at the eastern limits of Bogustown. Enthusiasm waxedlarge throughout the Nelson community, chastened by the recent wind-up ofactivity at the copper-lead smeltingworks of the Hall Mines Smelter nowstanding idle on the bench across Cot-

Canadian Met.al Co.’s Concentrating Planj Blue Bell Mine, Kootenay Lake

13 B.C. Historical News .Spring 92

tonwood creek, and more than one Nelson citizen of modest means subscribedto shares in the Canada Zinc Company.

The Canada Zinc Company’s smelterwas to be an electric smelter utilizing thenew Snyder Electro-Thermic process.The process would require ample electric power, but was not some of the lowest-cost power in British Columbia nowavailable from the nearby BonningtonFalls hydro-electric power plant of theWest Kootenay Power & Light Company? Freight charges would be modest,because concentrate from the Kaslo andRiondel reduction plants could bebarged down Kootenay Lake to the lakeshore smelting site. (The difficulties encountered by the C.P.R during 1899-1900 in working barges through theProcter narrows were conveniently forgotten). Snyder would provide the solution to smelting low-grade concentratesand Nelson would become the zinc captial of the world! Let Trail lead withlead and Grand Forks conquer with copper; Nelson would zoom with zinc!

The Canada Zinc Company plant,built under the supervision of A,C. Ferneau, consisted of a McDougall roastingfurnace, 14 feet in diameter and about25 feet high, having a capacity of about25 tons of ore per day, and an electricfurnace with inside dimensions of 34TT x54” capable of treating about 15 tons ofroasted ore per day. The electric furnacewas equipped with carbon electrodes,the electric arc formed between the electrodes serving to generate the heat required for smelting the roasted ore. Theproducts of the process were: (a) slagand matte, run off through an ironspout (b) lead, collected in the bottomof the furnace and ladled out of a leadwell, and (c) liquid metallic zinc condensed on the cool sides of the furnacejacket and drained out through perforated carbon blocks. Several trial runs weremade in the late fall of 1908, with F.T.Snyder, technical consultant, in attendance. On the basis of these runs, theprocess was pronounced economicallyfeasible but in need of some small adjustments to iron out a number of mechanical and electrical problems whichhad been encountered. The citizens ofNelson confidently awaited the commencement of full-scale production inthe spring of 1909. It was not to be.The doors of the smelter remained shut

and the furnaces cold. The SnyderElectro-Thermic Process apparently hadnot overcome aLl the “metallurgical difficulties” which Ingalls and Argall hadwarned about. Edward Dedolph, a talented assayer at the Kootenay OreCompany’s sampling plant in Kaslo, didsucceed in producing electrolytic zinc inthe plant, but highly explosive zinc fulminate was a by-product. When 1909vanished into history without a sign ofrenewed activity, the Nelson CityCouncil offered to make available, freeof charge, power from the City’s original hydro-electric power plant on Cottonwood Falls, idled since the openingof the City’s new Bonnington Fallsplant in 1907. This offer was not takenup, but the old hydro-electric powerplant was “borrowed” during 1910 byAndrew Gordon French, a prominentmetallurgist. French conducted his firstexperiments on the premises of J.O.Patenaude, Nelson jewelry manufacturer, then moved to the Old CottonwoodCreek hydro-electric plant. He installeda small experimental electric furnace atthe Cottonwood Falls site, and with thehelp of his son, Thomas French, conducted a number of experimental runsthere. When the French processshowed some signs of promise, fatherand son were invited to continue theirwork in the well-equipped research facilities of the Consolidated Mining &Smelting Co. at Trail. Thomas Frenchcarried on there his father’s work, subsidized by a grant from the ProvincialGovernment.

By 1912, the Federal Government, fedup with the shifting U.S. tariff policy onCanada’s zinc ore exports, had also become an active participant in zinc smelting experiments in Nelson. W.R.Ingalls was commissioned to conductexperiments at McGill University inMontreal. After obtaining successful laboratory runs there he came out to Nelson to conduct experiments on a largerscale at the Canada Zinc plant, whichby this time had passed into the handsof the B.C. Government. Results atNelson were sufficiently promising tocause a major U.S. mining and smeltingcompany to seek to acquire the Nelsonplant and continue the experimentationthere, but the B.C. Government balkedat yielding the title to a foreign concern.The U.S. concern withdrew, and the

Federal Government proceeded to install improved equipment in the plant,placing George C. Mackenzie, Chief ofits Metallurgical Division in charge as ofOctober, 1913. Once again the citizensof Nelson looked forward to full-scaleproduction at the plant the followingspring. All work was abruptly terminated, however, early in 1914, when Mr.Mackenzie issued the following report:

experimental work at Nelson hasbeen discontinued, it being regarded asconclusively settled that an electric zincsmelting furnace so small as one ton ofdaily capacity is a commercial impossibility, while the satisfactory development of a larger furnace is regarded astoo doubtful to be undertaken at Nelson

Thus ended Nelson’s hopes of becoming a world centre for the production ofzinc. Twelve months later, an insatiablewar-time demand for zinc resulted inthe addition of an electrolytic zinc refinery to the smelter works at Trail, theelectrolytic process having been evolvedout of the work of the Frenches by ateam of scientists backed by the Consolidated Mining & Smelting Companyand the Anaconda Copper MiningCompany of Great Falls, Montana. Thestory of Cominco’s protracted litigationwith the Patenaude/French interestswhich arose out of the development ofthis process as well as the story of the1910-11 mining rush triggered aroundNelson by A. G. French’s claim to havefound substantial traces of platinum indykes of the Granite-Poorman mine nearBlewitt belong to other chapters of Nelson’s mining and smelting history. Alingering symbol of Nelson’s aspirationsto become a world leader in the zincmarket vanished in January, 1935 whenthe long idle Canada Zinc Smelter wasrazed to make way for a parking lot opposite Nelson’s Lakeside Park.

E.L “Ted” Affleck grew up in Nelson. He became a Chartered Accountan4 working out ofVancouver and has recently retired in that city.He has written several books on Kootenay history.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. British Columbia. Report of the Minister of Mines.1908-1914.

2. Geological Survey of Canada. Annual Report on theMineral Industries of Canada. 1905.

3. Minnesota Historical Society. Corporate files of theKootenay Railway & Navigation Company.

4. Nelson Daily New,.

B.C. Histoilca! News Spring 92 14

To Nelson By Car In 1917

by Henry Stevenson

Hazen Everett Stevenson opened ablacksmithing business in Nelson, B.C.in August 1911 in partnership withHereford Butchart. It was a viable enterprise which provided both partnerswith a reasonable income until 1916when a recession forced them to closethe shop.

Hazen had married Jennie Peterson, aSwedish immigrant girl in March 1914.A year later a daughter, Margaret, wasborn and in April 1916 a son Henry arrived to complete the family. Hazenwas offered a black-smithing job at Granum, Alberta, which he hastened to accept. The Stevenson family moved tothe prairie town where they intended tomake a new home.

During the summer of 1917 Henrywas taken critically ill. Evidently the alkali in the prairie water was burning thelining of his stomach. The only thingthe toddler could digest was beatenwhite of egg mixed with milk. The doctor stated, “It’s back to mountain wateror the graveyard.” Two days later theStevenson family loaded their belongings into Hazen’s 1913 Model T touring car and started on their way back toNelson. Following the only roads thatconnected Granum to Nelson tookthem south to Fort McLeod, then westthrough Crows Nest Pass to Cranbrook.The road surface in Alberta consisted of

black prairie clay turned to gumbo byheavy rains. On the west side of theRockies the road surface changed togravel and was very rocky in spots.Travel was slow and flat tires a problembut they pressed on. Crossing the Canada-United States border at Kingsgatethey drove through Bonners Ferry, Idaho stopping for the night at Rathdrum.The next day (their fourth on the road)they reached Spokane then turned norththrough Deer Park. At Chewelah,Washington, Hazen had to repair thetransmission bands in the car because hewas warned that there were treacherousroads ahead that would require the vehi

cle to be in good condition, especiallythe low gear and brakes. (Transmissions on the Model T Fords were troublesome at the best of times, and thesewere not the “best of times.”)

Next day saw the Stevenson family onthe road again travelling through Colville then over a dreaded section of theroad known as the “Seven Sisters’!, a series of narrow stretches of sandy roadbordering the Columbia River. Fortunately everything went in their favoralong this stretch of roadway. AtNorthport, Washington, they checkedthrough the U.S. Customs and progressed on up to Waneta where theycrossed the United States-Canada border and could proceed to Trail, B.C.Evening was closing in so they stoppedovernight at the Arlington Hotel. InTrail Hazen was offered a job at thesmelter; a job that would pay $4.00 aday. He refused the offer because thedeal stated that this was $2.00 per daycash and $2.00 in Consolidated Mining& Smelting stock. He felt that hewould require more than $2.00 a day tofeed, clothe and house his family. (Inretrospect, the CM&S shares couldhave, in time, become a small fortune.)

The Stevensons were up early nextmorning, leaving Trail on the last lap oftheir journey to Nelson. It was day sixand they were eager to get home. Ha-zen was told that the road to Castlegarwas not open due to a rock bluff pre

venting completion. But there was aroad to the Waterloo ferry about tenmiles upriver. It took less than an hourto reach the ferry where they wouldcross over to the east side of the Columbia River. The Waterloo ferry was asmall raft type of contrivance with anoverhead cable to guide the craft. Thecable was anchored at each shore; tripods held the cable in place. Anothercable device was attached to twinsheaves in tandem running on the overhead cable. Another smaller cable wasattached to the two ends of the vesseland run through the twin sheave unit;by shortening one end through a winchand lengthening the other while adjusting to the pressure on the hull from thecurrent the ‘drift Ferry’ was pushedacross the river.

The travellers were shocked when theylanded at the eastern shore. No one hadtold them that there was no road up theriver bank to the bench at least 40 feetabove the river. Their Model T was thefirst automobile to make the crossing.Prior to that day the only traffic hadbeen pedestrians and the occasionalhorse. The steep bank (sloping at about35 degrees,) was more than the 20horsepower vehicle could navigate. ButHazen’s motto was, “Don’t give up;there’s always a way to beat the impossible.” Hazen climbed to the top of thebank to survey the situation. He founda large pile of fence posts and an audi-

1913 Ford model Ttouring car, same vintage as the car myfrmily made the six day trip from Granum,Alberta to Nelson via Idaho é Wabington (the only avaiiable road between the two two towns in

1917). Price ofFord new was $600.00 it was 5psngi 4 tyL 20 HP.

15 B.C. Ihstoncal News -Spring 92

ence of Doukhobor farmers. Theyprobably expected to see the ferry returnthe car to the west bank. None of theonlookers could speak English, but Ha-zen used sign language to obtain a groupof helpers carrying fence posts down tothe car. A corduroy was created, the carjacked up then the engine revved andmade a run up the hill. When the carstopped Jennie rammed a post betweenthe spokes of the wheel to prevent itrolling back. This process was repeatedseveral times until the car eventuallyreached the top of the bench.

While Hazen and Jennie were busyworking the car up to the crest, a groupof Doukhobor ladies took turns caringfor Margaret and Henry.

Now that they were on the Ootischenia flat, onward travel posed no troubleas farm roads were fairly well maintained. On arrival at the DoukhoborBridge that crosses the Kootenay River,

Peter (the Lordly) Verigin halted them,denying passage over the bridge. Verigin was the first Doukhobor that Hazenencountered who could speak English.He said the car was too heavy for thebridge; no automobile had ever crossedit. Hazen explained to him that the carwas not nearly as heavy as a team ofhorses and a wagon. Verigin was adamant; his mind was made up. Whilethey argued a horse drawn wagon loaded with logs came over the bridge. Ha-zen asked Verigin to instruct the huskydriver to lift one wheel of his wagon.The teamster tried in vain, then Hazenasked him to lift the rear wheel of thecar. That same man lifted the car withlittle effort. Verigin was now convinced, but insisted that the lady mustcarry the children across. When Hazendrove the car over Verigin volunteeredto carry Henry across while Jennie followed with Margaret.

They made it to Brilliant and shortlythereafter encountered another obstacle.There was no road between Brilliant

and South Slocan. The only river crossing seemed to be the railway bridge.Hazen had to get to Castlegar, so he cutthe wire fence, drove through, then repaired the fence, and was driving up tothe tracks when a railway section foreman arrived on the scene. The CPRman was somewhat hostile accusing Ha-zen of trespassing on CPR property. Healso warned that a train was due to passover at any moment. The man quicklyclimbed onto his handcar and headedfor Castlegar.

As soon as the handcar was out ofsight the Stevenson Ford edged onto thebridge. At that moment the train appeared from Brilliant. Hazen hadthought the section man was bluffing,but was able to back out of the way.Once the train had passed the familywas loaded aboard and the car made abumpy crossing of the Columbia Riveron the CPR bridge. When the firstroadway came into view below the railway Hazen drove down the bank, cutthe wire fence, put his car on the road,repaired the fence and drove into Castlegar where the family had lunch and refuelled the vehicle.

Close to Castlegar he drove onto thesmall ferry powered by a one cylinderengine and they were taken over to Rob-son. From here there was a road to Nelson following the original pack trail upPass Creek, down Goose Creek wherethe bridge at Crescent Valley crossed theSlocan River. When they reached Bonnington Falls darkness was overtakingthem, so Hazen fired up the acetyleneheadlights. It was 10 p.m. when theparty reached Taghum. The dreadedTaghum Hill was an obstacle. The roadup the hill was narrow with many curvesincluding a switchback - and their gasoline supply was getting low. Model TFords had a gas tank situated in such aposition that a low gas supply would notflow to the engine while climbing asteep hill. To alleviate the problem thevehicle was turned around and drivenuphill in reverse gear so that fuel couldflow readily to the engine. The difficulty that night was the pitch black darkness when back up lights had yet to beinvented.

Hazen again had to improvise. He re

(.y

,&!1Ab

S

MOP4.

I AA U A.rr -— - — -

LI

Castlegarfrrry on Columbia river - crossing to Robson. This picture taken about 1924

B.C. Historical News - Spring 92 16

moved the kerosene tail lamp from itsbracket, opened its hinged door, lit itwith a match, then handed it to Jennieinstructing her to walk up the hill aheadof the car holding the light behind her.In that manner the car was backed allthe way to the top of the hill. At thecrest of the hill Hazen turned the cararound to make a conventional final lapinto Nelson.

At 11 p.m. the Stevenson family couldsee the beautiful lights of Nelson aftersix days on the road from Granum. Thefinal stretch from Trail had taken 17hours. It had been a very trying trip forJennie with her two wee children (15months and 2 1/2 years old), and for Ha-zen who ‘fought’ the Model T Ford overprairie gumbo, rocks, gravel, mud, sand,railway ties, and one blessed bit of pavement (in Spokane.)

Henry Stevenson grew up in NeIon, ran a machine shop ti’ere and is now retired in that Kootenay centre. He enjoys recording his memoriesfor othei to reacL

Thisfamilyportrait taken in

1917 shows Hazen Stevenson

standing beside Margaret

andJenny Stevenson holding

young Henry on her lap.1.

Lasqueti Island Reviews Its Historyby Elda Copley Mason

The Spaniards left considerable evidence of their explorations in the Strait of Georgia. Place names like “Lasqueti”show the hand of Spanish map makers. Francisco de Elizawas in command of an expedition in 1791 which set outfrom Nootka to continue the exploration of the Fuca Straitand other waterways. (See “Spanish Discovery” by JohnCrosse in Vol. 25, No. 1) Narvaez in the Santa Saturnina explored the Strait of Georgia up to about Cape Lazo (near thepresent site of Comox.) Eliza subsequently made up a chartof the whole area; it shows an outline of Lasqueti and someof the surrounding islets, and the larger island of Texada tothe east.

To commemorate the visit of the Spaniards to these waterstwo hundred years before, members of the Lasqueti IslandHistorical Association gathered with friends at Squitty BayMarine Park on June 15, 1991. There they unveiled theplaque shown here. It is situated atop a small cliff that affords a lovely view of the bay and Sabine Channel with Texada Island in the background.

Later, residents and visitors assembled at the LasquetiCommunity Hall. School children gave a presentation (arranged and written by Patricia Forbes) of the unique historyof the island, commencing with the Spanish period. Manydescendants of original settlers were introduced representing the families of William Jeffreys, William Curran, CharlesDarwin and others. It was a happy celebration allowing residents past and present to review the history of our islandwith a Spanish name.

Susan Page, Duboi,c Laursen, Edgar Darwin, andElda Mason(Copey) unveiled this plaque on beha(fofthe 150 or so people

gathered to participate in the historic event.

17 B.C. Histoiical News .Spring 92

The Barn with a Social Lfe

by Bruce Paterson

Constable’s barn, as illustrated, stillstands at Alice Siding 3 miles north ofCreston. It evokes memories of itsfunctional role on a multi-faceted farmand as the venue for many lively dancesover the years. The barn was built in1912-13 by Reed and Mather, twoEnglish journeymen carpenters. Itfeatured details such as an attractivepigeon cote atop the roof, a cementfloor sloped to carry liquid waste awayfrom the horse & cow stalls, a loftfloored with 1” x 3” tongue and groovefir imported from the coast, and twodriveways at one end. One drivewayhoused platform scales used to weighlivestock, hay or produce for marketing;the other ran under a large trapdoor tothe loft.

Guy Constable arrived in the CrestonValley in 1904 where his uncle, HubertMayhew, had bought the Kootenaymining property known as Alice Mine.Constable deliberated carefully thendecided to stay and develop the mineand surrounding property . . . ratherthan go to Brazil to oversee other familyinvestments. This was a majorundertaking requiring not only drillingand working the mine, but alsoconstructing an aerial tramway toconvey ore down the mountain, aconcentrator, bunk houses and auxiliarybuildings. It also involved arrangingwith the CPR to build a spur line to theconcentrator on the benchland belowthe mine. This piece of rail line wasgiven the name Alice Siding — hence thename of the community today. Themine ran intermittently until about1920 when the machinery was sold, therails removed, and buildings put toother use.

Constable expanded his farming, usingmaterial from the concentrator to addnew buildings such as three haysheds, a

wash house, pig sties, and machinesheds. There was the family home, ahouse for hired help, a dairy, honeyhouse, ice house, chicken house, rootcellar, smoke house, greenhouse with apotting sheds a blacksmith shop, and aworkshop. Mr. and Mrs. Constableenjoyed entertaining and held privatedances in the barn when it was awaitingthe next crop of hay. Locals lookedforward to attending these parties.Wedding celebrations also happenedthere. When a dance was to be heldhere the piano was moved from thefamily home on the hill, by wagon ingood weather or by sleigh in winter. Itwas histed through the trap door intothe loft, using four blocks and tackle.The floor above the driveway was at ahigher level than the main floor abovethe horse stalls. This gave the orchestraa stage, and visitors a seating area awayfrom the dancers. The horses would beturned out of their stalls and that areasluiced down. Guests walked throughthe horse stall to the stairs up to the loft.Music for dancing was provided byMrs. Constable and other musicians. Inthe 1930s a small orchestra played hereand at Hunt’s Hall in Kitchener, a fewmiles east of Creston. Mrs. Constableplayed piano; Mrs. Lister, violin; GeraldCraigie, drums and sometimes joined bythe Lacey boys and Ronald Stace-Smithon other instruments. During theDepression years the Alice SidingCommunity Club held dances to,hopefully, finance the building of acommunity hall. Admission was 10per person. The youngster collectingthis fee was also to urge guests, “Becareful with your smokes.”Consideration by visitors in an era whenalmost everyone smoked kept the oldbarn safe.

Constables raised a family of four boys

and were active in local organizationssuch as the school board, reclamation,and the fruit growers’ association.They had a big home on the hill abovethe barn; the four-roomed gardener’scottage near the north hayshed beingoccupied by the eldest son and his newwife until just before the war. The farmwas sold in 1944 when all the boys wereaway from home involved in some wayin the war effort. The hired man’shouse was moved elsewhere. The bighouse burned during renovations. Theold barn was left alone with itsmemories.

**********

Bruce Paterson is a biology teacher at PrinceCharks Secondary School in Creston. He hasprepared a series of ‘Kootenay Cameos ‘ carefrldrawings with written histories of old buildings,which appear monthly in the Kootena Reviewand will soon be collected into a book.

CRESTION&DISTRICTIIJIORICALsoawProudly announces that themortgage on their museumhas been paid off.

A burning of this mortgagewas held at their annualmeeting on March 29, 1992

Creston now has anarchivist, Mrs. DollyKaetler, working in thebasement of the Town Hall

B.C. Historical News. Spring 92 18

straint assault, caucus members werecaught off-guard when it was launched.Things got worse, not better.

When rank-and-file members of theCoalition had begun talking about ageneral strike in early July, the NewDemocrats included in their number began to demand a prominent role fortheir party within that organizational effort. Whatever else was going to happen, though, that was not.

It is not clear, and will probably neverbe clear, exactly when the party’s rolewithin the Coalition was first discussedby either’s leaders. The intertwining ofthe B.C. NDP’s leadership with that ofthe B.C. Fed was so complete that it isdoubtful even those involved reallyknow:

The president of the B.C. NDP wasalso an WA local president and a B.C.Fed vice-president; another B.C. Fedvice-president was also vice-president ofthe party; Kube, along with other B.C.Fed officers and functionaries, had runseveral times as an NDP candidate.

These people, and others like them,wore so many hats that it is probablethe first time the question about theNDP’s role in the Coalition was raisedwas as someone looked at himself in themirror while brushing their teeth onemorning in July. When they begantalking to one another, it is doubtfulanyone will ever know.

What can be deduced is that they decided, very early on, that the B.C. NDPwas not going to play a major role in theCoalition. It was into this firm decisionthat the rank-and-file party membersfound themselves running headlong asthe call for a general strike escalated.

NDP leaders were willing to tell theirrank-and-file — and anyone else whowould listen — that the party’s place wasin the Legislature, not in the Coalition.

and not on the streets. But the leaders were less immediately forthcomingabout why, exactly, that was so. Formany members of the party whose firstleader, James S. Woodsworth, had beena leader of the 1919 Winnipeg GeneralStrike, it was beginning to get morethan a little confusing.

By 16 August the cries within theNDP for a role for the party in the Coalition and its plans for a general strikecould no longer be ignored. It was on

that day that the party executive convened an emergency meeting of its provincial council in the basement of the1WA hall on Commercial Drive. Onlyone item of business was on the agenda:Solidarity.

If the party’s rank-and-file had beenunsure about why their leaders weremaintaining such a low profile, it soonbecame painfully apparent to them, asone after another of those leaders stoodto explain the position the NDP founditself in. The council delegates werebluntly told the NDP could not be associated with a call for a general strike forthe very simple reason that generalstrikes were designed for the sole purpose of toppling governments — and theB.C. NDP, in that summer of 1983,could not afford to have Bill Bennett’sgovernment toppled:

* The party, council was reminded,had no leader. Barrett had rejected earlier calls for him to stay onin that capacity, and did so againat the council meeting. He wenton to warn that it would be political suicide for the NDP to go intoan election as crucial as the one ageneral strike might force withouta known, trusted leader.

* Nor could the party afford anelection financially, provincialtreasurer Roger Howard said.The NDP was in debt, to thetune of more than $750,000, forthe campaign it had run in May.There was simply no way the party could raise the money neededto mount another campaign.

No, the last thing the NDP — and,therefore, its Operation Solidarity ally —

could afford to provoke in the late summer of 1983 was another general election. Clearly, this perception was notnew on 16 August: it had informedthese men’s and women’s decisionsfrom the very beginning of the anti-Restraint fight.

The leadership’s strategy — neither endorsing nor repudiating a general strikepublicly, while privately ruling it out altogether — was a careful one, and onethat worked just as they intended it to.For the Coalition, with its members’ increasing calls for just such a strike, itwas a strategy which made a tragic endinevitable.

That end came despite what appearedto be growing public support for boththe Coalition and for its militant’s callsfor a general strike. By fall, when theSocreds met at the Hotel Vancouver fortheir annual party convention, thosemilitants were able to muster more than50,000 people to march past the hotel,Garr says, “shouting and shaking theirfists . . .“ Heady and, for the OperationSolidarity I NDP leadership, frighteningstufE

As if this wasn’t bad enough, Operation Solidarity’s leaders were faced withthe disturbing visibility of posters,which advised the province to “Preparefor the general strike,” in the marchers’ranks. And the marchers’ loudest andmost persistent chant — “Socreds Out!Socreds Out!” — could only reinforce exactly the message the leadership leastwanted to deliver. The situation wasugly. It would get uglier.

At midnight on 31 October, theBCGEU’s 35,000 members struck thestate. The escalating public-sector strikethe Coalition had demanded had begun. On 8 November, jitst more than aweek after the BCGEU had walked out,most of the province’s teachers and educational support staff joined the government workers on the picket lines.Things were clearly getting out of hand.

If that was the perception of the province’s government, media and population at large, it was also the perceptionof many of the leaders of British Columbia’s private-sector trade unions.When the teachers walked, the private-sector union leaders could no longer ignore what was being done, ostensibly intheir name.

“Suddenly,” Munro recounts, “westarted to realize that all of us.. .were introuble . . . The next day, I met withthe TWA negotiating committee and . .1was given my marching orders: . . . ‘Gostop it’.”

“Stopping it” might no longer havebeen possible for Kube, who was still reluctant to abandon his dream of “awide-ranging co-operative movementbetween unions, all unions, and thepoor and dispossessed” of British Columbia. Now he was being told, by themost powerful trade union in the province, to kill what he saw as the fragilenucleus of just such a movement. The

23 B.C. Historical News .Spring 92

question was not only “could he,” but“would he”?

As it turned out, he didn’t have to.The night after the teachers and supportstaff went on strike, Art Kube was removed from the, stage, both figurativelyand literally. At a Solidarity meeting inNew Westminster the evening of 9 November, he broke into tears, suffering acomplete physical and emotional collapse at the podium. Kube, and histroublesome dream, were out of theway.

The stage could now be set for whatthe Operation Solidarity leadershipknew needed doing — the Coalition,with all its embarrassing clamour for ageneral strike, could be shut down. Itdidn’t take long.

As the sun came up on 10 November

1983, workers at the province’s Crowncorporations were joining the BCGEUand education workers on the picketline . . . and the Operation Solidarityexecutive was winding down an all-night meeting, called immediately afterKube’s dramatic collapse in NewWestminster.

“Everyone,” recalls Munro, “was thereWe all felt that we were heading

for insanity and had to get a settlement.So at about four or five in the morningwe agreed on a package (of demands tobe presented to the government).

“Then . . . the question was asked:Who was going to be the spokesmanthat would shut the thing down?. . . Itwas agreed that I was the only guy whocould do that job — ride out the politicalstorm and still survive in my own

union.”It was all over but the shouting.Three days later, Munro was on his

way to Kelowna, where the meetingswith Bennett did not go smoothly. Inthe end, all he could get Bennett toagree to were three of Solidarity’s fivedemands, and those only tenuously.

It wasn’t much. But it was all the1WA leader could get. . . the KelownaAccord was a reality. And the SolidarityCoalition was history.

The author is a graduate student of Canadianhistory at the University of British Columbiawhere be is writing a Master’s thesis on AmericanVietNam War objectors who moved to BritishColumbia between 1965 and 1975. A employeeof the B.C. NDP from 1980 to 1986 he spentthe decade beftre that as a newspaperman in theLower Mainland and on Vancouver IslantL

Living History at Fort Steele

In 1961 traffic passed through PortSteele, down the dusty Main Street past afew neglected old buildings. A handful ofresidents scattered in the remaining houses on the plateau above the Kootenay River defied the definition that theirs was aghost town. The pleas of three local citizens were heeded by the B.C. Government that year and the village wasdesignated as a Historic Site. Slowly vitality was injected into the coLlection ofbuildings and gradually they became acreditable display area with full time staffsome seasonal workers and a corps of volunteers in costume. Major changes werethrust upon the planners and restorers ofFort Steele when the main road was rerouted in 1965. Several buildings had tobe moved from the right of way to vacantlots “downtown.” Gradually buildingswere stabilized, theatre productions offered during the summer (in a tent at firstthen in the Wild Horse Theatre), horsedrawn vehicles graced the streets, Kershaw’s store offered pioneer style goodsfor sale, and tourists were treated to goodies baked in wood-fired stoves by volunteers garbed in dresses reminiscent of the1890s.

Teachers soon realized the potential ofthis Heritage Town for giving students ataste of Hands-on History. Programswere started in 1974. Recent figures showthat 4000 B.C. students come each year,plus 600-700 Calgary 5th graders. Aspart of the education program childrenmay stay overnight in the Mountie bar-

racks, sleeping on straw filled mattresseslaid on cots or bunks framed with peeledpoles. They dine in the Sergeant’s Messand use outdoor toilets (plus modernwashroom facilities.) These youngstersview several aspects of our history. Theypan for gold: recreate Mountie life in1887 including chinking Log walls withmud; do household chores such as churning butter, doing Laundry on a washboard, or watching a cow being milked;they attend class in the old schoolhousewhere arithmetic is done on a slate, andrecess given to carrying wood in for thewoodbox; they may participate in Layingrail track and ride a hand car, or Learnabout the traditional life of Kootenay Indians. Many young have been so enthused by their stay at Fort Steele thatthey inspire their parents to visit duringthe summer holidays.

Visitors during July and August appreciate the ambiance created by costumedstaff and volunteers, horse drawn transportation and street scenes recreating amoment back in the 1890s. Living history street scenes were introduced in 1981,and have developed to become FortSteele’s most popular program. Eachsketch, carefully researched, depicts an episode from Fort Steele’s history, and isportrayed by clever actors and actressesevery 20 minutes between 10 a.m. and 5p.m. (often with a humorous twist.) Holidayers frequently extend their stay to beable to watch the complete series of streetscenes, take a complimentary ride on the

passenger wagon as well as to browsethrough the various buildings. Wonderful smells waft across town from the bakery; the building was a reconstruction andits brick oven (15 feetx 15 feetx 8 feet) iswood fired and capable of producing 250Loaves of bread at a time. Next door theInternational Hotel expects to open itsdining room to the public. The TeaRoom upstairs in the Wasa Hotel willcontinue to serve through the 1992 season and give a great view from balconytables. Backyard gardens are maintainedand some even hold chickens, geese,ducks or piglets which are very appealingto patrons. Some days there will be demonstrations of horse farming, or perhapshose reel races, or ladies riding sidesaddle,or fiddlers playing on the bandstand.History does come alive in Fort Steele!

Extensive archives contain documentation of the gold rush up the Wild Horse,the boom years of ‘The Capital of theKootenays’ (1896-98), microfilmed newspapers from several communities, a largecollection of historic photos, letters, journals, minute books and other materialvaluable for researchers of East Kootenayhistory. The Prospector, publishedweekly from 1895-1905, now may beseen on photocopied pages. The serioushistorian can arrange to access the archives 8 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Monday to Friday year round while the casual visitorcan experience Living History daily during the summer season.

B.C. Historical News- Spring 92 24

The Lone Scout ofChimu—Nesu

It was an unforgettable “homecoming”for the 83-year old Japanese Canadian.On August 10, 1991, he was honouredat the Festival of Murals unveiling ceremony at Chemainus, a town fromwhich he was exiled 50 years ago.

For Shige Yoshida, it was a crowningmoment as he stood proudly before thenew mural appropriately titled “TheLone Scout which portrayed him inuniform as he appeared in the 1930’s.The assembled dignitaries, local andprovincial, as well as representatives ofJapanese Canadian associations, paidtribute to his dedication and achievement. He was inducted as an honorarymember into the regional Baden-PowellGuild, an organization of retirees fromthe Scouting Movement.

Victoria born Shige Edward Yoshidawas six when his family moved toChemainus after a stint in nearby Lady-smith where his father failed his briefbusiness fling as a poolhall proprietor.The Yoshidas were among the earliest

Japanese in the sawmill town attractedby job opportunities at the VictoriaLumber and Manufacturing Company.Old timers who worked at the millmight remember the elder Yoshida as“Henry Ford”, the driver of the ModelT converted to haul trailers loaded withlumber around the yard.

Aside from the business owners andthree or four fishermen all the Issei (firstgeneration Japanese who immigrated toCanada) and Nisei (second generation,Canadian born children of Issei parents)male workers in Chemainus eitherworked directly for or were on contractassignment to Victoria Lumber. TheCompany was more than content withits Japanese Canadian employees whowere industrious, reliable and cooperative. Moreover, the mill benefited bythe policy of paying them the “Orientalscale” whereby they earned 20 percentless hourly than Occidentals performingthe same task, but it should be pointedout that Japanese enterprises such as the

sawmill at Royston and the logging op—erations at Fanny Bay were guilty of exploiting their own people in the samemanner.

During the more than a quarter of acentury that Japanese Canadians represented a sizable chunk of the work force,no labour disruption or strife to speak ofoccurred at Victoria Lumber. Even atthe height of the depression, no one suffered extended layoffs or shutdownswhich were prevalent elsewhere. Whena Nisei lad left school, he was reasonablyassured of a mill job though it was hardly his prime choice. Relations amongworkers, which included Chinese andEast Indians, were, by and large,harmonious.

One problem the Issei could not copewith was Chemainus itself: It was beyond their ability to pronounce it properly. They had no difficulty withDuncan or Nanaimo, but Chemainuswas a tongue-twisting disaster. The solution was to give their own phonetic in-

by Toyo Takata

Above is reproduceda photograph oftheJapanese Boy Scout troup ofChemainus, together with H. L RavenbilL Auistant-Cornmissionerfrr BritishColumbia. Left to rigb4 standing; H T RavenhilL L Sadafusa, M Izumi, L Taniwa, K Izumi, T Kawabara, patrol leader; S. Isoki, patrol leader;

S. Okada £ Izumi, T Okada, T Yoshida, G. Kawabara committee. Sitting, back row: M. Sahata &out T Kawabe, committee;H S. Yosbida, Corn.; S. E. Yosbida, Scout Master; G. Nakashima, treasurer; B. Okada, Corn.; N Yoshida Scout. Sittings

front row: Okinobu, committee; Rev. F. 0. Robatban, president; T Yamasbita, secretaly.

25 B.C. HstoHcaI News -Spring 92

terpretation such as in the case withPoh Tareesu (Port Alice) and Shahtoroo (Seattle), and so Chimu-nesu wasadopted.

Life in Chemainus or Chimu—nesuevolved around its community centre.It was a rough, multi-functional structure that served as a meeting place, achurch, a school, a theatre and as a movie house. Funerals and weddings,along with receptions, were held there.Both Buddhist and Christian serviceswere conducted periodically in thebuilding by visiting Japanese clergy. After regular public school, Nisei childrentook Japanese language lessons in itsclassroom. At least once yearly, thosewith musical and theatrical aspirationswould stage a variety performance forthe community’s entertainment.

One activity that was not allowed atthe community centre was ballroomdancing. By Japanese community standards, Chimu-nesu was considered tobe neatly structured and disciplinedwhere the Issei elders ruled with a firmhand. They ruled that western dancingwas immoral much to the disappointment of the young people. The bolderNisei drove 12 miles down the highwayon a Saturday night to mingle with theirDuncan counterpart where the community held a more tolerant attitude. Inlater years, however, the fathers werepersuaded to yield to the growing restlessness of their young.

For sport and recreation, hunting andfishing were close at hand. Occasionally, the settlement planned a picnic atthe beach or on a nearby island accessible by fishing boat. With skilled instructors and eager athletes, its judosquad was claimed to be the best onVancouver Island. Chimu-nesu’s prideand joy were the Nippons, their entryin the Chemainus Baseball League.Though the Nippons never capturedthe championship, they were competitive and even won over white fans withtheir hustle and fair play. They alsocompeted against other Japanese Canadian community teams such as fromRoyston, Coombs and Hillcrest.

Shige Yoshida in his youth was not aball player. Nor was he keen aboutjudo. His fascination was with scoutingand he enjoyed listening to his Caucasian friends discuss their meetings and

camping trips. Yoshida applied to jointhe First Chemainus Troop. Acceptance seemed a simple matter but hewas told to wait. Finally, the answercame, “The troop is filled up.”

Yoshida was not deceived by that hollow explanation. He knew why he wasrejected. Nor was he prepared to acceptthe decision without protest. For youngShige had already experienced rank bigotry and he had fought back. Onemorning, when he was attending Chemainus Public School, all students ofAsian background were placed in a single, segregated room. As the eldest ofeight or ten Nisei pupils, Shige felt thatit was his responsibility to take chargeand led the under aged strikers out ofthe classroom. Parents supported hisaction. Negotiations followed with theJapanese consul from Vancouver playing a role. It was resolved by returningthe Chinese and Japanese children totheir proper classes. The issue wasclosed forever.

That happened a few years before theboy scout incident. Yoshida, therefore,while disappointed, remained undaunted. It was a challenge, not a defeat. Buthe wondered about the scouting idealsof equality and good citizenship.

By coincidence, Yoshida was the localdistributor for a long defunct publication, The Chicago Ledger, whose publisher was also the founder of the LoneScouts of America. This movementprovided an opportunity for boys on remote farms and in inaccessible regions

of the United States to share in thescouting experience.

Yoshida promptly applied to become aLone Scout by correspondence. Soonafterwards, he was transferred to the Canadian Branch and for five years he persevered alone, studying, training andtaking tests. Finally, in 1929, heachieved his goal by passing the seventhdegree tests which were the highest attainable. This enabled him to receivethe Warrant of Appointment as Scoutmaster which granted him the right toorganize his own troop.

With the full blessing of the community heads, the new Scoutmaster in1930 launched the Second ChemainusTroop. Although it began with a mereeight boys, the unit had the rare distinction of being composed entirely of boysof Japanese extraction, the only suchoutfit in the British Commonwealth.Lord Baden-Powell, the founder of theBoy Scout movement, aware of thisunique outfit, corresponded with Scoutmaster Yoshida and sent congratulatorymessages on the Troop’s anniversaries.The two met at a Scout Jamboree inVictoria.

The Second Chemainus Troop provedto be extremely active, meeting regularlyto improve their skills, participating andcompeting with other troops, includingthe First Chemainus Troop, in theCowichan perimeter, and attending BoyScout Rallies. They were cited for theirzeal, ability and efficiency. One scout,Bill Isoki, was awarded a medal and

Shige Yosbida returned to Chemainus on August 10,1991 to bepresent at the unveiling ofthe newestmural. photo courtesy ofChemainus Festival ofMurals Society.

B.C. Historical News - Spring 92 26

Certificate of Merit for rescuing a friendfrom drowning. In time, the unit expanded to include Rover Scouts andCubs.

Then the bombs fell on Pearl Harbour. Chimu-nesu, like dozens of similar B.C. communities, was stunned andconfused. Within hours, the Japaneselanguage school was ordered closed,judo was banned and one Issei, a stalwart of the colony, was arrested and interned by the RCMP although he wasnever charged. In a matter of days, Japanese Canadian fishermen such as BillIsoki were instructed to pilot their fishing craft under escort across the Strait ofGeorgia to the Fraser River where theboats were impounded and sold by auction shortly thereafter. The fishermenwere forced to return to Chemainus attheir own expense. Though they triedto carry on behind a mask of business-as-usual facade, activities such as scouting seemed irrelevant amid the chaosand uncertainty.

Officials of the Victoria Lumber metwith the Issei and Nisei representatives,Shige Yoshida among them, to assurethe latter that there would be no dismissals and that the mill would continue tooperate as usual. Though there werelikely some fellow employees who heldmixed or strained feelings towardsthem, no open hostility was expressed ordisplayed.

The settlement was resigned to the inevitability of a forced exit. But when, towhere and under what conditions? Inmid March of 1942, men classified asJapanese nationals or enemy aliens(born in Japan and not possessing Canadian citizenship) were ordered to assemble at the railway station. Affected weresome 30 Issei, including heads of youngfamilies. For the wife of Torizo Yamashita, left with four children, eldest 12,the youngest an infant, it was the mostdespairing moment of her life as shewatched her husband climb aboard thetrain bound for Nanaimo. From there,they were to be ferried to Vancouver enroute to exile to road-building campsnear Jasper, Alberta.

The loss of these men thrust the responsibility of community concernsupon the Nisei to assist families whosefathers had been banished and to boostmorale among the despondent. As aNisei leader, Shige Yoshida acted as liai

son, relaying information and ordersfrom the authorities to his people. Helived away from the camps and while hehad a telephone, camp homes did not.Moreover, since his car had been confiscated, any new information that Yoshida received, he disseminated by ridinghis bicycle from camp to camp, houseto house, during daylight hours becauseof the curfew. And at least on two occasions, orders to prepare for evacuationcame through only to be rescindedwhich meant more pedalling. Addingto his burden was that his wife, Sue, wasexpecting a child at any time. Fortunately, their daughter arrived in goodtime, healthy and without complicatingthe situation.

The worst was yet to come. On theeve of departure, Shige’s brother, TokiYoshida, found a stranger in the frontroom. The latter brazenly admittedwalking in without knocking to seewhat he could take after the occupantsleft. On April 21, 1942, Chimu-nesudied. Its inhabitants, together with other Japanese Canadians from the Cowichan district, from babes-in-arms to theelderly, were corralled on the Chemainus docks to board a steamer, en routeto exile. Shortly thereafter, vandals ravaged the Japanese section of the Chemainus Cemetery, toppling and breakingheadstones and bulldozing the grounds.It remained abandoned and forgottenfor over 40 years.

After a few days’ confinement at Vancouver’s Exhibition Park, most Chemainus bachelors, including former scouts,were packed off to a Northern Ontarioroadcamp in one of the bleakest sectionsof what was to become the TransCanada Highway. Yoshida and his family were sent to Tashme, B.C., a detention centre housing 2,200 exiles 14miles east of Hope. There, Yoshida, asa worthy youth project, proposed theformation of both the Boy Scout andGirl Guide groups. The suggestion washeartily endorsed by both the authorities and the residents. It was so successful that the First Tashme Boy ScoutTroop numbered 200 strong at its peak,the largest troop in the BritishCommonwealth.

The Troop, along with Tashme, wasshort-lived as the detainees moved on,generally eastward across the Rockies,though some chose to be repatriated to

Japan. The Yoshidas joined the trek toSouthern Ontario as did most of theevacuees from Chemainus. They established their new home in Torontowhere they raised three daughters and ason who now lives in Texas. In 1984,Shige and Sue Yoshida celebrated theirGolden Anniversary. They remain veryactive within the seniors group of Toronto’s Japanese Canadian community,the largest such enclave in Canada.

Of the 300 expelled from the Vancouver Island milltown 50 years ago, at leasthalf survive. Though most of the pioneer generation are gone, Torizo Yamashita, 91, living at his birthplace,Wakayama, Japan, is the eldest. Kuniichi, 90, and Yukie Fukumoto, 85, ofToronto who marked their Diamond(60th) Anniversary, are the most seniorex-Chimu-nesu couple.

Though most resettled in Ontario including Toronto, Hamilton and Thunder Bay, they are spread across Canada.Others live in the U.S., including Hawaii, and in Japan. But none has returned to resume his or her life inChemainus.

However, forty came back from acrossCanada and Hawaii to attend the unveiling and to share in the Buddhist-Christian rites dedicating the MemorialMonument erected at the site of theonce-abandoned Japanese cemetery.Most were family members of the 35deceased buried there, 1906-1941.Among them, the Yoshidas’ infant son.

Representing the group, Bill Isoki ofToronto, whose younger brother isamong those interred, said in his address: “We have today witnessed the reconciliation of past mistakes andinjustices with the present need to livein peace and harmony.”

Beyond the mural unveiling and thegravesite dedication, it was truly a “dayof reconciliation” as long-time residentsturned out, some with musty class photos to seek and to renew 50 years of lostfriendship. “The Lone Scout” himselfwas greeted eagerly by those who remembered. It was, indeed, a memorable “homecoming”, as if Chimu-nesuhad been restored, at least in spirit.

Mr. Takata was born in Victoria, evacuated toSandon and Slocan, then moved to Toronto. Hewas editor ofthe English edition ofthe NEW CANADIAN newspaperfbr severalyears. He is pastpresident of tire Japanese Cinadian CulturalCentre and has been active in other communityaffairs in Toronto.

27 B.C. Hlstoiical News .Spiing 92

Perigean Spring Tide

by Nicholas A. Doe

In late June and early July 1792, Captain Vancouver’s ships HMS Discoveryand HMS Chatham were anchored inthe Teakerne Arm near West RedondaIsland in Desolation Sound. From herethe explorers set out in small boats toprobe the maze of narrow channels andinlets that lay between them, the John-stone Strait, and the open Pacific beyond. The last of these expeditions wasled by James Johnstone and SpelmanSwain, who on Tuesday, July 3rd (byCaptain Vancouver’s reckoning), set outin the Chathamc cutter and launch toexplore the mainland coast. They tookwith them enough supplies for a week.

The two boats made their way throughthe Yaculta Rapids and along the Cordero Channel to the entrance of L.oughborough Inlet. They entered the inlet andcamped for the night. We know thatthis must have been on the evening ofJuly 4th as that was the day they passedthe entrance to the Nodales Channel,and they spent the whole of the nextday, the 5th, examining LoughboroughInlet. Vancouver records that thatnight, i.e. the night of the 4th) morningof the 5th, the crew were “incommoded” by the flood tide which they had expected to be low, as the Moon was thenpassing the meridian. Archibald Menzies, the expedition’s naturalist, also recorded the event. In a diary entry forJuly 12th, the day Johnstone and Swainreturned to the ships he writes that:

“in this arm they stopped the second eve—fling and thought themselves secure fromany disturbance by pitching upon a smallisland fir their place of rest; but in themiddle of the night they were hastityrousedfrom their repose by the flowing ofthe Tide, which had risen so much hzherthan they expected rushed (sic) uponthem so suddenly, that every person gotcompletely drenched befire they could remove to hzher ground.”

The tide that so “incommoded” theexplorers was an interesting example of aPerigean Spring Tide. Such tides occurat irregular intervals about two or three

times a year. In recent times, particularly large Perigean Spring Tides have beenaccompanied by dire warnings of impending earthquakes which, some seismologists suggest, may be triggered bytidal forces. Not only were the explorers “caught napping” as it were by theunusual height of the tide, they also hadapparently not noticed that the Yacultaand Dent Rapids are a transition pointbetween the tidal waters of the Strait ofGeorgia to the south, and those of theJohnstone Strait to the north, and thatthere is a marked difference in the timing of the tides on either side of therapids.

Many factors go into determining thelevel of the tide — so many that eachday’s tidal cycle is almost never repeatedin all its detail. My own interest in thetides of July 1792 stems from a kayaking trip I am planning to make someday, which will involve a circumnavigation of Vancouver Island: it would, Ithought, be interesting to try to timemy passage under approximately thesame tidal conditions as pertained 200years ago. I was also puzzled as to whysuch keen observers of the Moon andtides as our 18th century friends shouldhave been so taken by surprise thatnight.

Loughborough Inlet is deep, has steepsides, and almost no islands. There arefew campsites; there is therefore a goodpossibility that Johnstone and Swaincamped near the mouth of Gray Creek(125°32’W, 50°32’N); two small islands there are marked on both Britishand Spanish charts. If they found thissite especially welcoming because ofmats of soft, green sea-grass, the authorcan vouch for the fact that they werenot the last to make such a mistake!

The Moon, as is well known, is themain cause of the tides; but the Sun alsomakes a significant contribution. Theoretically, the solar tide is only 46% thestrength of the lunar tide, but in coastalareas, and in narrow passage ways, thisratio is often enhanced. The Straits ofGeorgia and Juan de Fuca, for example,

because of their length and shape, tendto swap water back and forth, see-sawfashion, in sympathy with the twice daily tides of the open ocean. In someplaces, near the pivot point at the southeastern tip of Vancouver Island, theprincipal tidal component of the Sun(P1:K1) is actually greater than that ofthe Moon (M2); and in my home townof White Rock beachgoers delight in thefact that the tide is always at least partially out at noon in the summer regardless of the Moon’s waxings and wanings.

Spring Tides occur whenever there is afull or new moon. They are larger thanusual because, for a few days, the lunarand solar tides are synchronised. Perigean Spring Tides occur when, simultaneously, the Sun, Moon and Earth arealigned, and the Moon is at its closestpoint to the Earth in its orbit aroundthe Earth. Because the Moon is closer,its contribution to the tide is larger thanusual. There is a similar effect for theSun, but because the Earth’s orbit isvery nearly circular, the effect is lesspronounced.

Perigean Spring Tides are often associated with major flooding, particularlywhen accompanied by strong onshorewinds. The rise of the tide is acceleratedbecause when the Moon is aligned withthe Sun, the Sun’s gravitational field distorts the Moon’s orbit, making it moreelliptical, so that the Moon swings bythe Earth closer than is normal at perigee. As it does so, its orbital velocity increases, and because the Moon’s orbitalrotation is in the same direction as theEarth’s axial rotation, the Moon appearsto “dwell” in the sky and the lunar tidalforces, enhanced by the close passage ofthe Moon, are given extra time to dotheir work.

Whilst Captain Vancouver was surveying the coasts of British Columbia andAlaska in the 1790s, he reckoned histime as being 16 hours ahead of Greenwich, not as we do today eight hours behind. Consequently we can identify thenight of the flood as actually being thenight of the 3rd / morning of the 4th,

B.C. Historical News Spring 92 28

July 1792 (Julian Day 2375759.8).Figures 1,2, and 3 show the astronom

ical conditions for these two days.Figure 1, records the angular distance

between Sun and Moon. An angulardistance of 00 corresponds to an eclipseof the Sun, and an angular distance of180°, to an eclipse of the Moon. TheFigure shows that there was a full moonon the night of the flood, (July 3rd2300 PST), but an eclipse was missed,as it often is, by a few degrees.

Figure 2 plots the distance between theEarth and the Moon. Distance is significant because the closer the Moon is tothe Earth, the stronger is the lunar tidalforce, so much so that each 1% decrease

in distance results in a 3% increase inforce. Most of the variation of distanceis a consequence of the Moon’s approximately elliptical orbit around the Earth,and I say approximately, because thesmooth predictable curve beloved ofmathematicians is constantly perturbedin a very complicated manner by the

Figure 2: Earth-Moon Distance

Sun, by the gravitationalanomalies of the Earth,and by the other planetsof the solar system. Theaverage time betweenclose approaches to theEarth, perigee, is 27.5days in contrast to the29.5 days between newor full moons. Consequently perigee seldomcoincides with a new orfull moon, but as Figure2 shows, on the night ofthe flood it did. In factperigee came just 1 hourbefore full moon, a very

unusuallyincidence.

Figure 3 shows plots ofthe Sun’s and Moon’sdeclinations. The declination of a heavenlybody is one of those intimidating terms that isactually fairly simple. Itis the latitude on the surface of the Earth atwhich the body appearsdirectly overhead. Thus,if the declination of theSun is zero, it appears directly overhead at noonon the Earth’s equator.This is the time of the

equinoxes. In the (northern) springtime, the declination of the Sun slowlyincreases until it reaches a positive maximum on mid-summer’s day. The Sunis then directly overhead at noon on theTropic of Cancer at latitude 23°27’N,

the northern half of theEarth is tilted towards theSun, it gets warmer there.

The Moon goesthrough exactly the samecycle as the Sun, exceptthat it does so once amonth instead of once ayear, and the angles are alittle different and not soconstant. Probably everyone has noticed thatsometimes, particularlyduring the winter, theMoon appears very highin the sky, rising in thenorth-east and setting inthe north-west. This is

Figure 3: Sun & Moon Declinations

co- the time of month when the Moon’sdeclination is at its most northerly (positive) value and it is lunar mid-summer.At other times, the Moon appears verylow on the horizon, even at midnight.This is lunar mid-winter.

Figure 3 shows that at the time of theflood, it was lunar mid-winter. This isno surprise as the path of the Moon isnever more than five degrees from thatof the Sun (the ecliptic) and consequently, the lunar season is always the opposite of that of the Sun at fiji! Moon, andthe same as that of the Sun at newmoon. However, the high positive andnegative declinations of the Sun andMoon had two effects on the tide on thenight of the flood. Firstly, because theline joining the Moon through the centre of the Earth to the Sun, was stronglytilted with respect to the equatorialplane, the levels of the two daily tideswere appreciably different. This mayhave contributed to the element of “surprise”. The other effect was that because at the peaks of the declinations,the rate of change of declination is zero,all of the orbital motion was directed inexactly the same direction as the Earth’saxial rotation, thereby maximizing theeffect of the increased velocity due tothe approach of perigee. The increasedvelocity prolonged the length of the tidal day by 12 minutes at the time of theflood, three minutes of which was, bymy calculations, attributable to the factthat the Moon had reached its mostsoutherly declination. Twelve minutesmay sound insignificant, but when thetide on a gently sloping beach is rising ata rate of several vertical feet per hour towards one’s campsite, it does not seem

Degrees

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Figure 1: Phase of the Moon

611 6/6 6/11

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Month/day 1792 (ET=OO:OO)

180

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Month/day 1792 (ETDO:OO)

29 B.C. Historical News .Sprlng 92

that way at all!Figure 4 shows the tide that resulted

from these particular alignments, andsure enough, shortly after midnight at0054 Local Apparent Time (0121 PST),there was a tide exceeding 15 feet inLoughborough Inlet when the Moonwas 13° past the meridian (i.e. past duesouth). The next morning at eight, thetide sank to the lower low water level forlarge tides.

At Redonda Bay, near where the shipswere anchored, the evening tide on the3rd peaked between six and seveno’clock, which would be a good time tomake camp. Unfortunately, in Loughborough Inlet the tide at this time hadalready been ebbing for several hoursand it began to flood again a little morethan an hour later. The evening ebbmay not have been obvious because theevening low tide in the inlet was muchhigher than the morning low tide. It isalso interesting to observe in Figure 4that, because of differences in topogra

phy, the highest tide ofthe day at Redonda Bayimmediately followed thelowest, whilst at HeydonBay in the inlet, the reverse was true.

For those interested inthe relative contributionsof various components ofthe tide that night, I haveplotted in Figure 5 thesemi-diurnal (i.e. twicedaily) and diurnal (i.e.once daily components)of both the solar and lunar tides. The Moon’sdiurnal and the Sun’sdiurnal and semi-diurnalcomponents contributedequally to the “incommodity”, while theMoon’s semi-diurnalcomponent contributedas much as these threecomponents together.The next morning, allfour components wereclose to their minima,and the tide was withininches of being as low asit ever gets.

During their passagethrough the rapids, John-stone and Swain had

the waters of the Strait ofGeorgia to those more akin to the opencoast. Theyhad obviouslyobserved thetides of theStrait quiteclosely, for it isa general rulethere thatSpring Tidesare low whenthe Sun orMoon are duesouth. However, on the opencoast it is verydifferent.

The authorfirst becameaware of this after planning avery unsuccessful trip to seethe tidepools

on Botanical Beach near Port Renfrewbased on the timing of the tide at Ambleside Beach in West Vancouver! Itwas a long way to go to see surf sweeping up to the saLaL at the top of thebeach.

Calculating the delay between thetides at different places is not quite asstraightforward as it may seem. Becausethe pattern of the rise and fall variesfrom day to day, and from location tolocation, any comparison based on thetimings of a particular point in the cycle, high high water (HI-lw) for example, is likely to give a different answerfrom a comparison based on the timingsof say low low water (LLw). What weneed is a comparison method that includes all of many cycles, not just oneparticular point.

Engineers have long since had the solution to problems of this sort — whatthey do is to look for the peak in thecross-correlation function of the twopatterns. This sounds terribly technical,but in fact is quite simple. Imagine youhad two rolls of film each of which hadbeen exposed to a light whose intensityvaried with the height of the tide at thetwo separate locations. The clear patches on the films would correspond to lowtide. The pattern of light and darkwould be different on the two films, butto find a best match, you could lay thefilms together, hold them up to thelight, and then slide one strip of film

Figure 4: TidesLoughborough Inlet & Desolation Sound

Feet20

July 3d July 4th 1792

15

10

5

R,dondo Boy THIDe,olobon Sound

FLOOD

0 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 0 3 6 9 12 15 18 21

Pacific Standard Time

Figure 5: Components of the Tide

Feet Heydon Bay - Loughborough Inlet4

THE FLOOD

I

fl12 15 18 21 0 3 6 9

Pacific Standard Time12

moved from

Figure 6: Tidal Stations - Vancouver Island (see Figure 7)

HBYDON BAY /°° British CoImnl,io

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B.C. Histoilcal News Spring 92 30

over the other until the maximumamount of light could be seen throughthe two films. The offset of the twofilms is then a measure of the time delaybetween the two patterns.

Using a computationally equivalenttechnique, I have plotted in Figure 7 therelative time delay between the tides atTofino and the various points aroundVancouver Island shown in Figure 6.The picture that these calculations paintis as follows. Envisage the Strait ofGeorgia as an inland sea whose level rises and falls with little variation in thetiming of the tides around its shores.The rise and fall of this inland sea isclose to being in antiphase with the rise

and fall of the open ocean; when it ishigh tide at Tofino, it is within an hourand a half of being low tide in theStrait.Consequently at either end of the Strait,water pours in and out continuouslythrough the narrow confines of the Gulfand San Juan Islands to the south, andthe Discovery Passage and DesolationSound Islands to the north. The backand forth flow along the Strait of Juande Fuca is fairly evenly distributed, butthrough the narrow channels of thenorth the flow becomes, almost literally,precipitous, with no let up in the powerful and turbulent currents that resultfroth the differing heights of the tide at

the ends of the rapids.As shown in Figure 7, Johnstone andSwain in a short journey, had movedfrom a tidal region where the presenceof the Moon due south, signalled lowtide to one where, the tides being a substantial fraction of a 13 hour semi-diurnal tidal day earlier, it signified almost exactly the opposite.Could the flood have been foreseen?Most certainly yes. The movement ofthe Moon was closely observed by Captain Vancouver, which he used almostexclusively for fixing his longitude. Theunusual alignment of Sun and Moon atperigee was not only tabulated in hisNautical Almanac, but exaggerated, asnoted in Figure 8. The series of tidalrapids obviously marked connectingpoints between substantial bodies of water. Possibly everyone was too busy tonotice: the expedition lacked the presence of a professional astronomer, andas Vancouver remarks in his Journal onhearing the news of the death of the astronomer William Gooch, who was tohave joined the expedition in August1792:“. . . we had little leisure frr making suchmiscellaneous observations as would bevery acceptable to the curious, or tend tothe improvement ofastronomy”

Perhaps we should add “. . . or keep thecrew c bedrolls dry ‘

The author is an engineer living in White Rock.His interests include sea-kayaking, and 18th ceniury navigational techniques.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

y.IJ.

0

‘5

2

345

FIGURE 8: Captain ‘ancouver’s Nautical Almanac shows the Moon’s parallax peaking at 6132’ onthe night of the 3rd July 1792 (Greenwich time). Parallax is a measure of the closeness of the Moon

to the Earth and was an important figure in 18th century navigational calculations. The tabulated

parallax is the maximum value that can ever be achieved, a very rare event. The Moon comes this closeto us only once or twice a century, the last time being in 1912. Howeser, on this particular occasion,the Nautical Almanac is in error: the correct figure was 6126”.

The average value of lutar parallax is 5703”. At the July 1792 perigee the Moon was 8% closer than

average, and the lunar tidal forces 251 stronger than average.Also tabulated in the Almanac is the apparent size (semi-diametre) of the Moon’s disc.

The author gratefully acknowledges the help of Dr.Myles Standish of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena who supplied an accurate Ephemeris for theMoon 1792 (DE-118 + LE-062), and also of MikeForeman and Fred Stephenson at the Institute ofOcean Sciences, Sidney BC who supplied harmonicconstants, sample predictions and ocher useful data forthe tidal calculations.

SELECfED BIBHOGRAPHY

Doodson, A.T. & Warburg, H.D., Admiralty Manualof Tides, HMSO London 1941.Forrester, W.D., Canadian Tidal Manual, Dept. ofFisheries & Oceans, Ottawa 1983.Lamb, W. Kaye Ed., A Voyage of Discovery to theNorth Pacific Ocean 1791 - 1795, George Vancouver,Hakluyt Society, London 1984.Newcombe, C.F. Ed., Menzies’ Journal of Vancouver’sVoyage April to October 1792, Victoria BC 1923.Wood, J.F., The Strategic Role of Perigean SpringTides in Nautical History and North American Coastal Flooding, 1635 - 1976, US Dept. of Commerce,1976.

Figure 7: Tidal Delay - Vancouver Island

Minutes (late on Tot mo) Hours300 Desolation 5iund, EDOIWASAY Comox6’Pt Atkinson

‘Q Whaletown Ba,’270

‘ Tsawwassen :8.Yaculta Rapids’ Campbell Riv r

240 P; Big Bahe Fulford H. 9: 4Seymour

Dent Rapids Narrows210 -

Upper/Lower Rapids180- 3

150 Ioughborougti Inlet won Bay Vicorta0

120 / 2Sooke

90 “11)

0 see Figure 6 (4i .:Port Neville60- - Ii

(3)30 i) , Alert Bay Port Renfrew

Tofino Cape Scott‘12’ Tot Ino

0’ - : b0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

% Distance from Tofino (clockwise)

tto -

C

Is

M.ru.\r.

Tli.

.avip1u. zIIsu. rxor.rar. c-br. rar. Y

D at al: Mid- - . atNots. nighL Noon.

M. S. M. S. M. S. M. 8. :-

16.28 6o.z 6o.4’474’L 471(16.38 16.42 6i.

-6 .967

6. ç i6. 46 - 6i. 28 1. z 6 •6.ti6.46 16.5 I. 2 - 1.27 4q61 6l!6. 42 i6. 38 1. 1-7 , 6i. 79 f69l

31 B.C. Historical News -Spring 92

CENTURY SAM” PASSESSid Williams, one of the Comox Valleys

most beloved citizens, died September 26,1991. He is remembered as a man whospread a little sunshine everywhere hewent. He worked in Barkerville with FranDowie, and toured with the BarkervillePlayers. During 1958 B.C. Centennialcelebration Sid, AKA Century Sam, with hisdonkey Rosie, appeared in parades,publications and souvenirs.

Fredrick Sidney Williams was born inNew Westminster in 1908, and moved tothe Comox Valley with his family in 1921.He leaves his wife Lillian whom he married58 years ago, two children, fivegrandchildren, and two great grandchildren.Sid was a Courtenay alderman from 1942

to 1964, made a Freeman of the City in1968, Citizen of the year in 1976, andreceived the Order of Canada in 1984. Hewas also a school trustee, a foundingmember of the Courtenay Credit Union andCourtenay Recreational Association, plusparticipating in many, many communityevents. He is most fondly remembered forhis role as Santa Claus year after year.

THE HISTORY OF SIDNEY ONVIDEOSidney, B.C. celebrated its centennial in1991. The Sidney and North SaanichHistorical Society produced a two hourdocumentary film, prepared in four 25 yearperiods. The technical work was done byvolunteers from Shaw Cable Ltd. at Channel11 Community Television. It is a compositeof many stories, interviews, anddocumentation. Copies of this video arebeing sold for $24.95.WRITE TO: Sidney & North SaanichHistorical Society Box 2404, Sidney, B.C.V8L 351 or phone (604) 656-5458

WINN WEIR HONOREDWinfred Ariel Weir received the Canada

Volunteer Award Certificate of Merit for outstanding contributions to programs in Invermere and district. The presentation wasmade on November 8, 1991 by KootenayEast M.P. Sid Parker.

Winn was very active in the B.C. Historical Association for many years, and a primemover in the establishment of the Winder-mere District Museum. She was a voluntear with the Canadian Cancer Society for40 years, the B.C. Council for the Family,Provincial Emergency Program, Toastmasters, Girl Guides, Red Cross, Rotary Club,and the annual Christmas pageant. TheB.C. Historical Federation joins in congratulating Mrs. Weir on receipt of this honor.

CANADIAN NAUTICALRESEARCH SOCIETY

The Canadian Nautical Research Societywill hold its 1992 Conference June 25-27 inSt. Johns Newfoundland. For furtherdetails write to:Professor Lewis R. Fischer; SecretaryCNRS, Maritime Studies Research UnitMemorial University of Newfoundland, StJohns NFLD, A1C 5S7

SOCIETY FOR MILITARYHISTORY

1993 Annual Meeting to be held at RoyalMilitary College of Canada, Kingston,Ontario, May 21-24, 1993. Proposals forpapers addressing the theme of ALLIES &ALLIANCES should be sent with anabstract of no more than 200 words to:Dr. WA.B. Douglas, Director of Histo,yNational Defence Headquarters, Ottawa,Canada K1A 0K2. Telephone (613)998-7044 Fax (613) 990-8579DEADLINE FOR BRIEFDECEMBER 15, 1992.

ZUCCA MELONS & OTHERHERITAGE SEEDS

After an exhaustive global search, theGrist Mill at Keremeos has found theevasive “Zucca Melon seed. Zuccas grow60-180 lb. in size, are tasteless, andcolorless. The insides were made intocandied peel for fruit cakes. The zucca wasan important crop in Keremeos, Oliver andOsoyoos areas from 1934-1952.

The zucca grew happily in the HeritageGardens at the Mill in 1991. Hundreds ofpeople came to celebrate the Zucca MelonReunion on August 31, and have theirpicture taken beside this wonderful plant.Zucca would have died completely had Mr.Swenson from Sandwich, Illinois notadopted it and grown it faithfully for 20

years. Every gardener should adopt a heritage plant, and save and share the seed.

Heritage seeds are an important, andmuch neglected aspect of local historypreservation. There is a growing awareness that we MUST start saving the seedsthat are left; the genetic material may oneday provide important characteristics for afood crop in the future, or a medicine for adisease. For more information on zuccas,historic wheats, heritage seeds and historicgardens contact:

Cuyler PageThe Grist Mili RR#1 Keremeos,

B.C., VOX1NO orThe Heritage Seed Program, RR#3

Uxbridge, Ontario, LOG 1KOSubmitted by Sharon Rempel

BRITISH COLUMBIA LOCALHISTORIES: A Bib[iojRApIiy

For the first time a single listing exists ofthe thousand local histories that have beenwritten about British Columbia communities. This work is the result of a joint effortbetween the British Columbia Library Association and British Columbia Heritage Trust.The two authors have extensive expertisewith B.C. topics. Linda Hale has compiledbibliographies on Vancouver history, B.C.women,and Canadian childhood. Jean Bar-mans most recent publication is The WestBeyond the West; A History of BritishColumbia.The bibliography is organized alphabeticallyby principal author. Each citation includesauthor(s), title, subtitle if any, place of publication, date, pagination, and at least onepublic location where the history can beconsulted. The histories are indexed by theparticular community or communities written about and by British Columbia’s ten geographic regions. There are also indexesby author and title.

British Columbia Heritage Twst has distributed the bibliography free of charge toprincipal libraries across B.C. To facilitatepublic access, the 1 96-page bibliographywas published in loose-leaf format in an especially designed grey and red binder.

Historians or others may obtain theircopy of the Bibliography at a cost of $20(including tax.) Mail your request, with acheque to:

B.C. Heritage TrustMinistry of Tourism and Culture

800 Johnson Street Victoria, B.C. V8V 1X4Phone (604) 356-1433

LETTERS TO THE EDITORThe Fall 1992 issue brought back many

happy memories — ‘Manning of ManningPark” reminded me of the hiking we didthere in the company of Chess Lyons andother friends. We knew Helen and PhilipAkrigg when we lived in Vancouver.

My mother often told me what a finefellow Joe Fortes was. He accompanied herin his boat when she swam from EnglishBay to the point where the Museum nowstands.

My son, Gregory Bowes, participated inthe Long Harbour Archaeological Dig.

My husband and I have trailered southfive times and know each place named in“Good Roads Todd.” Our friend, Ted Hart,has a photo to prove his father was issuedcar licence No. 1 in 1903 (compared withNo. 13 for Bert Todd.)

Many ThanksStephanie Manson, Victoria

B.C. Ilistoilcal News - Spring 92 32

The Journal of DuncanMcGillivrayArthur S. Morton. Fairfield,Washington, Ye Galleon Press, 1989,200 p. $19.95 (U.S.$).

This is a facsimile of The Journal ofDuncan McGillivray of the North WestCompany at Fort George o-n theSaskatchewan, 1794-5, which wasoriginally published, with Morton’swritings, in a limited edition in 1929.F.W. Giesecke of Olympia, Wash. hasadded a new introduction to YeGalleon Press’s edition. The result is ahandsome book, well bound andfinished, and the publishers should bethanked for making this workavailable again.

There are two parts to the book - thework of Morton (the preface,introduction and appendix), andMcGillivray’s journal. Gieseckesuggests that Morton’s part “should beregarded as (being) far moreimportant”. This is not an idle claim,for Morton’s introduction is a lengthyand penetrating analysis of thedevelopment of the fur trade into thevalley of the Saskatchewan and of theadvance towards the rich fur-bearinglands of the upper sources of the riverand of the Athabasca country. TheJournal, however, has its merits too.Morton himself writes that it “gives,with a sharpness of outline far beyondthe ordinary, the story of a year of lifeand trade within a typical North WestCompany’s post”.

This particular Fort George, “a groupof rough shanties surrounded by astockade”, was situated on the northbank of the North Saskatchewan a fewmiles upstream from the presentAlberta-Saskatchewan boundary. Ithad a fine view of the river. Across asmall gully was Buckingham House,the Hudson’s Bay Company post, andthe two posts shared a well which hadbeen dug in the gully by Mr. Tomisonof the H.B.C. During the winter ofMcGillivray’s journal, Fort George washome for about eighty men and aboutthe same number of women andchildren. Its situation, on the border ofthe prairies, the home of the great

herds of buffalo, and at the southernedges of the valuable fur-bearing treedareas, made the post essential to thecompany’s prosperity in the region.Obtaining supplies of dried meat fortransport to the posts further northwas an important part ofMcGillivray’s duties.

The main sources for the meat andthe furs were, of course, the nativeIndians, and the journal is devoted inlarge part to the problems of dealingwith them and with extensiveobservations, rich in detail, about theirhabits. The Indians of the forestedregions to the north and west of thepost McGillivray found easy tohandle, as they were organized intosmall and weak groups, while thosefrom the more open lands to the south,the “gens du large’, were “soadvantageously situated that theycould live very happily independentof our assistance”. He observed that“their love of rum is their firstinducement to industry”, and thoughthe Indians of the prairies were oftenat conflict among themselves, “yetthey never fail to unite against acommon enemy”. McGillivray and hiscompanions feared that their post andthat of the H.B.C. might well at anytime be the common enemy, andconflicts of the previous year, whichincluded the sacking by Indians ofnearby trading posts, were fresh in themen’s minds. The result, as Mortonexpresses it, was a “curious mixture oftrust and fear of the Indians”.

A similar ambivalence existed inMcGillivray with respect to the “opposition”, the neighbouring Hudson’sBay post. The two establishments recognized their vulnerability in the faceof vastly superior numbers of nativeswho, at any moment, might decide toattack them. On the other hand, Morton observes, “a rigid watch was keptat each post to see that their own Indians, to whom ‘credit’ had been givenin the form of ammunition or clothing,did not go with the returns of theirhunt to the enemy house”. McGillivray reports with some glee the occasions when he is able to better in tradethe “English”.

For the reader of British Columbiahistory, both Morton’s writings andMcGillivray’s journal are valuable documents. With clarity and in vivid colours they establish some of thebackground for the expeditions intothe regions west of the Rocky Mountains of such as Alexander Mackenzie,Simon Fraser and David Thompson.As introductions to the fur trade andthe initial intrusions of non-nativesinto the upper reaches of the NorthSaskatchewan River they are repletewith the small incidents of day-todaylife which tell so much about the meeting of two cultures.

George NewellGeorge Newell isa member of the

Victoria Historical Society.

A Country So Interesting: TheHudson’s Bay Company and TwoCenturies of Mapping, 1670-1870.Richard I. Ruggles.Montreal & Kingston, McGill-Queen’sUniversity Press, 1991. 300 p.,illustrated. $49.95

“The company that became acountry”; “Canada’s first ‘national’ mapagency.” These are two phrasesRichard Ruggles has used elsewhere todescribe the Hudson’s Bay Companyand its mapping accomplishments,which the Company considered anessential element of its businessoperations. For two centuries thistrading company was employer,landlord, shopkeeper, law and order,and government services for most ofwhat is now Canada.

.what a field to face theimagination, what a number of ideasrushes in at once, all for the means toinvestigate a Country so interesting

Dr. Ruggles has taken his title fromthis quotation from Edward Smith tothe Committee, March 1825. The bookis divided into five parts. Part One hasintroductory chapters on mappingpolicy and records, the explorers andmap makers, field and office methodsand equipment, and companyprocedures in the operation of policy.

In the next ten chapters we see the

Books for review and book reviews should be sent directly to the book review editor:Anne Yandle, 3450 West 20th Ave., Vancouver B.C. V6S 1 E4

33 B.C. Histoilcat News -SprIng 92

map of Canada gradually filling in asthe various company employeesexplore more of the country, compiletheir maps, and send the maps andreports to the Company’s headquartersin London.

The story begins with the Londonchart makers, 1669 to the late 1720’s,followed by the initiation of companymapping, from the late 1720’s to 1754;mapping rivers and barren groundsinland, 1754-1778; mapping inlandfrom the Bay and over to Athabasca,1778-1794; mapping to the Columbiaand behind the Eastmain, 1795-1821;mapping Rupert’s Land, theMackenzie Basin, and the Arctic shore1821-1849; mapping west of themountains, 1821-1849; Pemberton andthe Colony of Vancouver’s Island,1849-1859; exploration and mapping inthe Northwest and the establishmentof the Company land claims,1849-1859; and mapping Companyland claims and exploring inlandroutes, 1859-1870. Ruggles talks aboutthe various men, such as Hearne,Tumor, Fidler, Thompson, and Rae,and the maps they made, both thesurviving and the lost, and identifiesinformation provided by these menfound on commercial maps,particularly those of the Arrowsmithfirm which became the Company mappublisher.

The story of the exploration andmapping west of the Rockies isparticularly fascinating, as it is theearly “white” history of what is nowBritish Columbia. Ruggles commentsthat there was little cartographicactivity in New Caledonia despite. thefact that the Company men were busyin the area since inheriting it from theNorth West Company in 1821.

Part Three of the book is a selectionof sixty-six maps representing thevarious areas, periods and mapmakers. Part Four is composed ofthree catalogues of maps: those in theHudson’s Bay Company Archives,those in other archives, and thosewhich have not been located. PartFive is composed of ten appendices,glossary, notes, biblography andindex. The appendices include lists ofpeople who prepared maps and charts,and those who prepared sketches or

descriptions for Fidler and Tumor,and a list of native persons whodrafted maps. Dr. Ruggles hasprovided good location maps, andmaps showing the gradual growth ofEuropean knowledge of Canadianterritory, plus a graph of types ofmaps in the Hudson’s Bay CompanyArchives for various periods.

There are a few minor typographicalerrors, but nothing distracting Themajor problem is with the plates.Sixty-six maps which few people haveever seen are reproduced in an“antique” buff tone. There is no list ortable of plates. The only identification,which does not distinguish betweenactual and invented titles, pluscartographer, date and cataloguenumber, appears in the plate section.If the map is large, the identificationnote may be separated from the mapby a page or more. There is noinformation about the size of originalmaps. Some of the maps are veryfaded. Many of the maps arereproduced on less than half a page.The result has been to have mapssquashed against the centre margin,with half a page or more blank exceptfor the page and plate number and thebrief map identification note.

This is not only an interesting book,but I think a very important one,providing the basis for a new look atthe history of British Columbia,Western Canada, and our country as awhole. It should be in every libraryand school, and in the referencecollection of every geographer andhistorian, particularly of westernCanada.

Frances M. Woodward, FRGSFrances Woodward is curator of historical

maps and cartographic archives at U.B.C.sSpecial Collections Division

Noticias de nutka: An Account ofNootka Sound in 1792by José Mariano Moziño. Trans. and

ed. by Iris H. Wilson Engstrand, witha new foreword by Richard Inglis.

Seattle, University of Washington

Press; Vancouver: Douglas &McIntyre, 1991. Liv + 142 pp. $18.95

Malaspina & Galiano: SpanishVoyages to the Northwest CoastDonald C. Cutter. Seattle, Universityof Washington Press, 1991; Vancouver:Douglas & McIntyre, 1991 viii + 160

pp. $34.95

The Spanish years in the history ofBritish Columbia and the Northwestcoast were rich indeed, for they left aliterary and artistic record that is aconsiderable legacy of our past. Notonly do Spanish place names on ourcharts and maps recall to mind themomentous late eighteenth century.Our good bookstalls carry some gemson this score. These two books arenotable works of high quality.Moziño was a Mexican scientist whocame to Nootka with the Bodega yQuadra expedition in 1792, two yearsafter the famous Martinez-Colnettdispute and the Meares-in-Londonaftermath just about plunged Europeinto war for a distant dominion thatparliamentarian and historianEdmund Burke thought reallybelonged to the native inhabitantsanyway. Mozino’s report has beenlauded as one of the most significantethnographies of the Nuu-Chah-nulthin existence. Its author was born in theAmericas, and he has a sympathy forcontinental as opposed to Europeanprecepts. Though his scientific zeal iseverywhere evident in his factum, thisreader was struck upon re-reading thiswork, which first appeared almost inidentical form in 1970, that Moziñohad a keen eye on the secrets ofimperial structure in that age. Henotes in his conclusion that Spainwould be bled dry by defendingremote garrisons such as Nootka, andthat it ought to concentrate ondeveloping an empire in AltaCalifornia. Similarly, he thought thatSpain ought to concentrate oncommercial development in theNorthern Pacific and throughout thatocean world, including Hawaii, andought to emulate Britain in commercial pursuits. He correctly understood,from personal observation, that empireshould best flow from commercial pursuits, and that the flag ought to followtrade, and not the other way around.Most students of Northwest Coast his-

B.C. Historical News- Spring 92 34

tory and anthropology will be attracted to Professor Engstrand’s book forits significant native and cross-culturalcontact. It has an excellent array ofcontemporary illustrations, avocabulary, a catalogue of flora andfauna, and a superb bibliography ofprimary and secondary sourcesapparently not updated in this edition.

Robin Inglis of the Royal BritishColumbia Museum has written adelightful foreword to a book which isa heritage classic happily in this newedition and ought to be, as is itscompanion work reviewed herebelow, in every serious collector’s shelfof Northwest Coast books.

In 1791 two Spanish corvettes, theDescubierta and the Atrevida,commanded by Captains AlejandroMalaspina and José Bustamente deGuerra, as well as two junior officers,Dionisio Alcala Galiano and CayetanoValdes, who were later to return, in1792, on aboard the goletas Sutil andMexicana, visited the Northwest Coaston a voyage that has continued tofascinate the inquiring student ofregional history and the interestedreader of voyage literature. In acollective assault to reveal theremaining secrets of this quarter ofAmerica, the vessels mapped portionsof the coastline, met certain nativepeoples, and laid claim to sovereigntyin the name of King Carlos IV of Spain.

Contrary to the claim that theSpanish heritage of the PacificNorthwest has been overshadowed byEnglish activities, as is claimed on thedust jacket of this book, it is instructiveto point out that the diplomatic aspectsof Spain’s imperial quest were firstpublished under the authorship ofWilliam Ray Manning in 1905, andHenry Raup Wagner made distinguished contributions to the cartographic side of Spanish activities in the1930s. In our own times ProfessorCutter has made several previous contributions, as have Christon Archer,Jack Kendrick, Freeman Tovell andparticularly Warren L. Cook, whosemagisterial Floodtide of Empire:Spain and the Pacific Northwest,1543-1819 (Yale University Press, 1973)is conspicuously absent from thisbook’s bibliography. Several editions

of Malaspinas account have appeared,by Mercedes Palau among others, andcatalogues of the documents of thesame voyage have been published bythe Museo Naval in Madrid. In otherwords, this is hardly a neglected field.That having been said, what we havein this book is the first completeassessment of the records andillustrations of the voyage in so far asthe Northwest Coast is concerned, theother magnificent contributions of theMalaspina voyage to the South Pacificand Australia lying outside of thescope of this work. Professor Cutterprovides an excellent account of lifeon board ship, and he provides anexcellent summary of Spanishimpressions of the Tlingit of PortMulgrave and southeast Alaska andthe Nootka of Vancouver, includingChief Maquinna. His spritelydiscussion of the well-intentionedSpanish intentions to have peacefulrelations, and the disillusionment thatset in in consequence of thecross-cultural violence that ensued iswell worth the attention of anystudent of native affairs. This work isrich in contemporary drawings, mapsand paintings, and contains numerousphotographs of artifacts from museumcollections. This book wascommissioned by the VancouverMaritime Museum to honour thebicentenary of the Malaspinaexpedition.

Barry GoughDr. Barry Gough, a British Columbian, teaches

history at Wilfrid Laurier University,Waterloo, Ont.

This Was Our ValleyEarl K. Pollon andShirlee Smith Matheson.Calgary, Detselig Enterprises, Ltd.,1989. 375 p. $17.95

This title contains two complementary works on the Peace River regioncentered on Hudson’s Hope. In thefirst section, Earl K. Pollon presents aseries of reminiscences concerning hisactivities, mostly upriver, from 1931 tothe mid-1960s. Shirlee Smith Matheson begins the second part with her ar

rival in 1965 in “the Hope” which wasgrappling with the influx of construction workers for the W.A.C. BennettDam. But Matheson then weaves elements of her personal story into amore wide-ranging study of the impact of the dam on the region. Although the authors’ passionate regardfor the Peace as their valley bridges thesecitons, the two works offer differenttypes of pictures. This reviewer, then,will deal briefly with each section inturn.Pollon presents a spare outline of someof his adventures during the 1930s and1940s from trapper to lime burner tosawmill opertor. What makes this account appealing is his evocative rendering of the people he meets. From apromoter touting northeast coal longbefore Tumbler Ridge, to a generalstore owner who refused to accept Pollon’s word that he had fired him theday before, Pollon draws a series ofportraits which comprise the characterof the Peace as much as any geographic feature. A selectign of the author’spoems, apparently from a self-published collection, reiterate his regard for his home. While one mightrespect Pollon’s description of theseepisodes as the “annals of history,”they reflect rather than explain the economic and social evolution of thePeace region before the 1960s. Wemust look to what appears to beMatheson’s general introduction tosketch the early development schemesof the Pacific Great Eastern and the Edmonton, Dunvegan and British Columbia railway companies which plannedto lay steel to the Peace from Vancouver and Edmonton respectively. Onealso wishes for notes to fill out thelives of some of the characters that Pollon describes. For example, Neil Gething, the coal promoter who Pollonsuggests first recognized the hydroelectric potential of the Peace, had another career in Prince George as a realestate broker and municipal politician.His defeat by the Grand Trunk Pacificthere might illuminate his inability tointerest railways in his Peace coal projects in the early part of the century.Pollons concluding stuggle to compelPeace Power contactors to hire localpeople leads easily into Matheson’s

35 B.C. Historical News SprIng 92

more ambitious investigation of theBennett Dam’s impact on the region.She deals thoughtfully with such disparate matters as labour unrest, failedcoal schemes (again), structural problems of the dam itself, flooding, preservation of fossils, pesticides, plans foradditional dams at Site I and Site C,and the traumatic impact of the damon Sekanni Indians. One chapter ranges far afield to consider the dam’s impact on the Peace delta in Alberta. Thetheme that unites these chapters is exploitation of the North’s resources andpeople by outsiders. The author’s cost-benefit estimate is bleak. For an inputof less than one billion dollars, fewjobs, and widespread environmentaldamage, outsiders extracted 40 to 50billion dollars worth of power overtwenty years. What makes the accountmore than a rant is the informed discussion of a series of government documents, many of which Mathesonprobably first read in her work as district office clerk in Hudson’s Hope.She frequently ties impersonal reportage to the real complaints of her neighbours. It is perhaps inevitable that in adiscussion of so many issues, she reliestoo much on a single source. A case inpoint is her account of Axe! WennerGren, perhaps the most visonary developer of the North. Her discussiondepends largely on promoter PercyGray’s correspondence which he circulated to boost his own image. An examination of John Wedley’sdissertation on the provincial government’s role in northern development(1986) might have helped her here andin several other chapters.When a second edition of this workappears, one hopes the publisher willprovide adequate maps. The fuzzy reproduction of an old highway map ofthe Peace country before the dam obscures even the course of the river, letalone many of the sites that Potionmentions in his travels! A second mapshould display the flooding from damconstruction. Readers not familiarwith the region will have a hard timelocating Williston Lake as well as theexact location of the dam itself.

Frank LeonardDoug’as College, New Westminster

Other Books NotedManning Park Memories: Reflectionsof the Past. 52 p., maps, illustrated,Victoria, Ministry of Lands and Parks,(1991) Available free from Ministry.Seven essays, including one by HelenAkrigg on Ernest C. Manning and oneby R.C. Harris on early trails.

Canada: An Outline History, by J. Arthur lower, 343 p., maps. Toronto,McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 1991. 2nd ed.$17.95Back in print again is the standard history by Vancouver member, J. ArthurLower.

British Columbia Local Histories: ABibliography, compiled by Linda L.Hale and Jean Barman. Victoria, B.C.Heritage Trust, 1991. 196 p. $20.

Useful compilation of over a thousandlocal histories, listed by author, withindexes by title and place.

Music Education in Canada; A Historical Account, by 1. Paul Green andNancy F. Vogan. Toronto, Universityof Toronto Press, 1991. 534 p.,illustrated $125.Charts the growth of music educationin its earliest days to Canada’s centennial in 1967. Includes information oncultural life, music in the schools andcommunity, and festivals, in BritishColumbia.

The Chuck David Greater VancouverAppointment Book.Vancouver, New Star Books, 1990.An “any-year” desk calendar, filledwith greater Vancouver trivia, fromAnna Paviova to Thomas Wilby.

International Hotel at Fort Steele, 1898Fort Steele reached the

height of its prosperity in1898, the year this picturewas taken. It had been thesupply centre for the EastKootenay, advertised as“KOOTENAY’S CAPITAL”, and the jumping offbase for establishing thetowns of Wardner, Moyie,and Kimberley. Then therailway bypassed “Steele”in favor of Cranbrook, andits decline began. The International Hotel shown inthis photo was built in 1897,one of nine hotels opemtingat that time. In due courseit was burned down. It hasbeen replicated and will beopen soon as the diningroom in Fort Steele Heritage Town.

International HoteLFort Steele 1898.

courtesy Fort Steele Archives.

I3ritisIi Columbiahistorical Federation Cciilerence

,4tay 1 -

Hosted by Burnaby Historical Society.All history buffs are welcome.

Phone Nancy at (604) 437-al 15 for registration details.Deadline for registration, April 20.

BC. Historical News. Spring 92 36

THE BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORICAL FEDERATION

Honorary Patron: His Honour, the Honourable David C. Lam, CM, LL.D.,Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia

Honorary President: Ken Leeming

OFFICERS:

President: Myrtle Haslam, P.O. Box 10, Cowichan Bay, B.C. VOR 1 NO 748-8397

1St Vice President: Alice Glanville, P.O. Box 746, Grand Forks, B.C. VOH 1 HO 442-3865

2nd Vice President: Ron Welwood, 1806 Ridgewood Road, RR#1, Nelson, B.C. V1L 5P4 825-4743

Secretary: T. Don Sale, 262 Juniper Street, Nanaimo, B.C. V9S 1X4 753-2067

Recording Secretary: Arnold Ranneris, 1898 Quamuchan Street, Victoria, B.C. V8S 2B9 598-3035

Treasurer: Francis Sleigh, Box 29, Deroche, B.C. VOM 1GO 826-0451

Members-at-Large: Mary Rawson, 1406 Woodland Drive, Vancouver, B.C. V5L 3S6 251-2908Daphne Paterson, 2650 Randle Road, Nanaimo, B.C. V9S 3X2 758-5757

Past President: John D. Spittle, 1241 Mount Crown Road, North Vancouver, B.C. V7R 1 R9 988-4565

COMMITTEE OFFICERS:

Archivist Margaret Stoneberg, Box 687, Princeton, B.C. VOX iWO 295-3362

B.C. Historical News Tony Farr, RR#3 Sharp Road Comp. 21, Ganges, B.C. VOS 1 E0 537-5398Publishing Committee

Book Review Editor Anne Yandle, 3450 West 20th Avenue,Vancouver, B.C. V6S 1 E4 733-6484

Editor Naomi Miller, Box 105, Wasa, B.C. VOB 2K0 422-3594

Subscr,otion Secreta,y Nancy Peter, #7-5400 Patterson Ave., Burnaby, B.C. V5H 2M5 437-6115

Historical Trails & Markers John Spittle, 1241 Mount Crown Road, North Vancouver, B.C. V7R 1 R9 988-4565

Publications Assistance Jill Rowland, #5-1 450 Chesterfield Avenue, North Vancouver, B.C. V7M 2N4 984-0602(not involved with Contact Jill for advice and details to apply for a loanB.C. Historical News) toward the cost of publishing.

Scholarship Committee Arthur Wirick, 2301 - 4353 Halifax St., Bumaby, B.C. V5C 5Z4 291-1346

Writing Competition(Lieutenant - Governors Pamela Mar, P.O. Box 933, Nanaimo, B.C. V9R 5N2 758-2828Award)

The British Columbia Historical News Publications MailP. 0. Box 35326, Stn. E Registration No. 4447Vancouver, B.C.V6M 4G5

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ADDRESS LABEL HERE

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British Columbia Historical FederationWRITING COMPETITION 1992

The British Columbia Historical Federation invites submissions of books for the tenthannual Competition for Writers of B.C. History.

Any book presenting any facet of B.C. history, published in 1992, is eligible. This may be acommunity history, biography, record of a project or an organization, or personal recollectionsgiving a glimpse ofthe past. Names, dates, and places with relevant maps or pictures turn a storyinto “history”.

The judges are looking for quality presentations, especially if fresh material is included,with appropriate illustrations, careful proof reading, an adequate index, table of contents andbibliography from first time writers as well as established authors

Note Reprints or revisions of books are not eligibleThe Lieutenant Governor s Medal for Historical Writing will be awarded to an individual

writer whose book contributes sigrnficantly to the recorded history of British Columbia Otherawards will be made as recommended by the judges to valuable books prepared by groups orindividuals

All entries receive considerable publicity. Winners will receive a Certificate of Merit, amonetary award and an invitation to the B.C.H.F. annual conference to be held in Kamloops inMay 1993

Submission Requirements: All books must have been published in 1992, and should besubmitted as soon as possible after publication. Two copies of each book should be submitted.Please state name, address and telephone number of sender, the selling price of all editions ofthebook and the address from which it may be purchased if the reader has to shop by mail.

Send to: B.C. Historical Writing CompetitionP.O. Box 933Nanaimo, B.C. V9R 5N2

Deadline: December 31, 1992. LATE ENTRIES WILL BE ACCEPTED WITH POSTMARK UP TO JANUARY 31,1993, BUT MUST CONTAIN THREE COPIES OF EACH BOOK.

* * * * * * * * * *

There is also an award for the Best Article published each year in the B. C. HistoricalNewsmagazine. This is directed to amateur historians or students. Articles should be no more than2,500 words, typed double spaced, accompanied by photographs if available, and substantiatedwith footnotes where applicable. (Photos will be returned,)

Please send articles directly to:The Editor, B.C. Historical News

P.O. Box 105, Wasa, B.C. VOB 2K0