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British Columbia History
Vol. 41 No. 1
48 pages
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fe& HISTORY Journal of the British Columbia Historical Federation | Vol.41 No. 1 | $5.00 tkOt British Columbia History Journal of the British Columbia Historical Federation Published four times a year. ISSN: print 1710-7881 online 1710-792X British Columbia History welcomes stories, studies, and news items dealing with any aspect of the history of British Columbia, and British Columbians. Please submit manuscripts for publication to the Editor, British Columbia History, John Atkin, 921 Princess Avenue, Vancouver BC V6A 3E8 e-mail: bcheditor@bchistory.ca Book reviews for British Columbia History, Frances Gundry, Book Review Editor, BC Historical News, P.O. Box 5254, Station B., Victoria, BC V8R 6N4 e-mail: reviews@bchistory.ca Subscription & subscription information: Alice Marwood 211 - 14981 - 101A Avenue Surrey BCV3R0T1 Phone 604-582-1548 email: subscriptions@bchistory.ca Subscriptions: $18.00 per year For addresses outside Canada add $10.00 Single copies of recent issues are for sale at: - Arrow Lakes Historical Society, Nakusp BC - Book Warehouse, 4th Ave & Broadway, Vancouver - Books and Company, Prince George BC - Gibson Coast Books, Gibsons BC - Galiano Museum - Gray Creek Store, Gray Creek BC - Royal British Columbia Museum Shop, Victoria BC - Otter Books in Nelson - Touchstones Nelson: Museum of Art & History - Caryall Books in Quesnel This publication is indexed in the Canadian Magazine Index, published by Micromedia. ISSN: 1710-7881 Articles appearing in this journal are abstracted and indexed in HISTORICAL ABSTRACTS and AMERICA: HISTORY AND LIFE Production Mail Registration Number 1245716 Publications Mail Registration No. 09835 Member of the British Columbia Association of Magazine Publishers While copyright in the journal as a whole is vested in the British Columbia Historical Federation, copyright in the individual articles belongs to their respective authors, and articles may be reproduced for personal use only. For reproduction for other purposes permission in writing of both author and publisher is required. British Columbia Historical Federation A charitable society under the Income Tax Act Organized 31 October 1922 PO Box 5254, Station B., Victoria BC V8R 6N4 Under the Distinguished Patronage of His Honour The Honourable Steven L. Point, OBC Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia Honorary President Ron Hyde Officers President: Ron Greene PO Box 1351, Victoria V8W 2W7 Phone 250.598.1835 Fax 250.598.5539 president@bchistory.ca First Vice President: Gordon Miller Pilot Bay 1126 Morrell Circle, Nanaimo V9R 6K6 vp1@bchistory.ca Second Vice President: Tom Lymbery 1979 Chainsaw Ave., Gray Creek VOB 1S0 Phone 250.227.9448 Fax 250.227.9449 vp2@bchistory.ca Secretary: Janet M. Nicol 611 - 1035 Pacific Street, Vancouver V6E 4G7 secretary@bchistory.ca Recording Secretary: Jill Rowland % BC Historical Federation, P.O. Box 5254, Station B, Victoria V8R 6N4 recordingsec@bchistory.ca Treasurer: Ken Welwood 1383 Mallard Road, Parksville V9P 2A3 Phone 250.752.1888 treasurer@bchistory.ca Member at Large: Anne Edwards Box 148, MoyieV0B2A0 Phone 250.829.0666 Fax 250.829.0676 memberl @bchistory.ca Member at Large: Lorraine Irving 1131 East 23 Avenue, Vancouver V5V 1Y8 Phone 604.874.8748 member2@bchistory.ca Past President (ex-officio): Patricia Roy 602-139 Clarence St., Victoria V8V 2J1 pastpres@bchistory.ca A complete list of the Federation's membership is available at www.bchistory.ca/membership/present/index.html www.bchistory.ca is the Federation's web site BCHF Prizes | Awards | Scholarships "Any country worthy of a future should be interested in its past" W. Kaye Lamb, 1937 W. KAYE LAMB Essay Scholarships Deadline 15 May 2009 The British Columbia Historical Federation awards two scholarships annually for essays written by students at BC colleges or universities, on a topic relating to British Columbia history. One scholarship ($750) is for an essay written by a student in a first or second year course; the other ($1000) is for an essay written by a student in a third or fourth year course. To apply for the scholarship all candidates must submit (1) a letter of application and (2) a letter of recommendation from the professor for whom the essay was written. First and second year course essays should be 1,500-3,000 words; third and fourth year, 1,500 to 5,000 words. All essays must be on a topic relating to the history of British Columbia. By entering the scholarship competition the student gives the editor of BC History the right to edit and publish the essay if it is deemed appropriate for the magazine. Applications should be submitted to: Marie Elliott, Chair BC Historical Federation Scholarship Committee, PO Box 5254, Station B, Victoria, BC V8R 6N4 BC History Web Site Prize The British Columbia Historical Federation and David Mattison are jointly sponsoring a yearly cash award of $250 to recognize Web sites that contribute to the understanding and appreciation of British Columbia's past. The award honours individual initiative in writing and presentation. Nominations for the BC History Web Site Prize must be made to the British Columbia Historical Federation, Web Site Prize Committee, prior to 31 December 2008. Web site creators and authors may nominate their own sites. Prize rules and the on-line nomination form can be found on The British Columbia History Web site: http: 11 www. victoria, tc. calresources/ bchistory I announcements.html Anne ft Philip Yandle Best Article Award A Certificate of Merit and fifty dollars will be awarded annually to the author of the article, published in BC History, that best enhances knowledge ot British Columbia's history and provides reading enjoyment. Judging will be based on subject development, writing skill, freshness of material, and appeal to a general readership interested in all aspects of BC history. msrottf jHe.J5urrial-Qfcthe,British jCplumbia Historical federation | Volumer41 .dumber 1. -20g8 Windows to Our past New Publication 2 Pitt Lake Gold: Origins of a Legend Fred Braches 3 Alvo von Alvensleben Janet Nicol 7 Telegraph Tyranny R. J. Welwood 12 Mart Kenny: A Western Gentleman R. J. Welwood 19 Brown Jug Saloon of Victoria BC: Token history Ron Greene 24 Archives and Archivists 26 Book Reviews 28 Miscellany 40 If you are reading this in a public library in British Columbia, that is due to the generosity of the Hudson's Bay Company Foundation, which has subsidized your library's subscription as part of its contribution to the commemoration of British Columbia's Sesquicentennial in 2008. We hope you will enjoy reading the magazine. Information about subscriptions may be found on the inside front cover. BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORY • Vol. 41 No. 1 New Publication from the British Columbia Historical Federation Celebrates BCs 150th British Columbia Historical Fed!!**011 . or'dSOth birthday Sp,da.«H«oncelebr*,n,SCsl50 .9692119-1-4 l^#lC+ Windows t«|our past To celebrate British Sjpnbia's 150th birthday, the B Historical Federation^^PW^^f^pMe bookie postcards^a^^f^^froi^o^sxtrtru^P^dow 1 r^mis exciting publfcation has rnarty'hjstQrjc pictujes-from pQvaJgJ1 vjfjostpJeajiedJh&^^^^tty^^^^^Wp^^^P^en the jpctures'andjftfor^ation^eatarecf^^^ Iwl^^v^fBaTH&rbtb^a library, resourc&fe'^^eafl^^^^;--* rff^^ting glimpse of Britis^^^^^a)lorful hist||||i|j Priced at $5.50, which includes maft!g%f any address in Canada ($6.50 ^^^^.and $8.50 to other countriejXyou-ffi^hnike to have a copy for your collection, donate a copy to your local or high school library and your local-sentors' homes would love to reminisce about some of the events featored in this publication. If you wish to include a note to f ihe recipient, include it with your order and we will enclose it with Wrtdows to ow- Past when mailing. Send your oraer and cheque to BC Historical Federation, PO Box &3QQ6, Richmond;-B.C. V7E 6K4. For additional information contact RorfHyde at newsletter@bchistory.ca 2 BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORY - Vol. 41 No. 1 Pitt Lake Gold - Origins of a Legend By Fred Braches Since the late 1850s, the era of the gold rush, the legendary hidden treasures of the mountainous wilderness around Pitt Lake have from time to time caught the public imagination. Once nameless, these mysterious riches have been known as Slumach's Lost Mine, Slumach's Gold, Lost Creek Mine, Lost Mine, or Jackson's Creek. Prospectors have looked for the mine but many never returned. And still, the search goes on. Is there really a rich gold mine in those mountains? There have always been I sceptics. For instance Stanford Corey, an ^^5 experienced prospector who searched for minerals in the area between Pitt Lake and Squamish for many years, told an interviewer in 1926 that he did not believe that a great strike in that region was likely.1 Nor do the geologists. The location of the mythical mine remains elusive. Some believe that the gold is still there; some suggest that tight-lipped discoverers have removed the gold and are enjoying a comfortable life. What are the original sources of the stories about the mysterious bonanza in Pitt Lake country that are still being told and retold by prospectors, treasure hunters, old-timers, and journalists? From early newspaper articles, it is possible to trace the early development of the tales about the mythical mine and its legendary discoverers. The story of Pitt Lake gold begins in 1858, the year of the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush when a number of maps were published in San Francisco to promote the gold fields of British Columbia.2 Two of these maps show the words "gold" and "Indian diggings" in the country above Pitt Lake.3 Another map from that time shows the words "much gold bearing quartz rock" on the north side of Pitt Lake. That is exactly from where in 1869, an Indian brought to New Westminster "a good prospect of gold.. .which he states he found in a little stream on the north side of Pitt Lake." That created "great excitement" in the city and parties set out to find "the diggings."4 A new story appeared in 1905, when the Vancouver Province reported that in 1902 an Indian had exchanged gold dust for $1600 in bills in New Westminster and returned a few months later with $1800 in gold dust. Again he disappeared and returned, now with $1400. He would not say where he got it and attempts to follow him failed. Then the I llustration Clayton Gadsby. Indian took sick probably from exposure to inclement weather in the mountains and a doctor told him he was going to die. The Indian told a relative the secret source of his gold—a rich placer at Pitt Lake—and described its location, giving the landmarks and tracing a crude map of the locality. After he died, his relative, who had no money, sought the assistance of a white man. They were unable to find the place but the secret was out and "there have been expeditions every year in an attempt to locate the mysterious placer."5 In 1906 yet another such expedition failed to find the gold. The participants had information that an old man had found some valuable placer ground in the Pitt Lake country and had hidden a substantial number of gold nuggets under a rock. Before he died, he left directions to the location of the treasure and the placer ground. It was "a rough trip as the weather was rainy, and sleeping out did not remind one of dreams between Dutch feather beds."6 Not until 1925 did stories about the gold of Pitt Lake again appear in the press. A story in the Province combined elements of the 1905 story about the Indian who found gold, became ill, and died and the 1906 story about the old man's placer grounds and the gold nuggets hidden under a rock. This time it was not an Indian but a white man who played the part. The story related that for 24 years dozens of prospectors had been looking in vain for "untold wealth" in placer gold somewhere back of Pitt Lake and a treasure of placer gold washed from the gravel of the "lost Fred Braches is a former editor of BC History and curently keeps busy with Whonnock Notes which can be viewed at http:// www.whonnock.ca/ whonnock/Whonnock- Notes.htm BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORY - Vol. 41 No. 1 3 1 Vancouver Sun, 28 August 1926. See also A.C. (Fred) Rogers, "Stanford Corey, First to Discover Pitt Lake Glacier," BC Historical News, Winter 2003. To read transcriptions of all articles referred to visit <http://www.slumach.ca> 2 See Derek Hayes, Historical Atlas of BC and the Pacific Northwest (Seattle: Sasquatch Books, 1999), 151-154 3 Throughout the word "Indian" is used, because it was the term used at the time of the publication of the original articles. Today the term "First Nations person" is mostly used 4 New Westminster Mainland Guardian,^ November 1869 5 Vancouver Daily Province, 16 December 1905 6 Province, 3 April 1906 7 Province, 9 August 1925 8 Province, 8 August 1926 9 Province, 20 March 1932 10 Five years later, in Italy, Major John Keefer Mahony received the Victoria Cross. Hugh Murray was a son of Lance Corporal John Murray of the Royal Engineers, one of the first settlers at Port Moody 11 Province, 30 June 1939 12 The Shoulder Strap, 6 June 1942 13 Liberty, July 1956 14 In the words of Jackson: "O, how I wish I could go with you to show you this wonderful place for I cannot give you exact directions, and it may take a year or more to find." in N.L. Barlee, Lost Mines and Historic Treasures of British Columbia (Surrey BC: Hancock House Publishers) 1993 15 Sun, 28 August 1926 mine" and buried under a rock by a prospector called Shotwell. Shotwell came out of the Pitt Lake area in the fall of 1901 and went to San Francisco where, according to the records at the United States mint, he deposited more than $8000 in placer gold. But, like the poor Indian in the 1906 story, Shotwell fell ill and his physician told him that he had not long to live. Before he died, the old prospector sent a letter to an unnamed partner from his Alaska days, letting him know that he had found "fabulous rich placer ground in the mountains back of Pitt Lake" and had buried a sack of gold "under a tent-shaped rock, in a valley overlooked by three mountain peaks standing close together." The letter gave directions to the "golden cache" and the grounds that Shotwell had worked.7 About that time Slumach's name was first mentioned in connection with Pitt Lake. Slumach was an old Indian who was executed in 1891 for the murder of a Louie Bee. In 1926, the Vancouver journalist, Victor Harbord Harbord interviewed Jason Allard, who had served as a court interpreter at the time of Slumach's imprisonment in New Westminster. According to Allard, Slumach and his brother were murderous outcasts. Harbord Harbord commented: "Slumach died and with him died the secret of a great gold mine somewhere up in that wild Pitt Lake country. Had Mr. Allard only known that this prisoner knew of its existence, he might have become a very wealthy man, for the murderer... would undoubtedly have told him where it was."8 Obviously it was not Jason Allard, but the interviewer who made the connection between Slumach and the gold. It may have been an idea that was circulating among the "old timers" at that time. With the exception of the story of the search for R.A. "Volcanic" Brown, a colourful prospector who disappeared in the mountains of Pitt Lake in 19319the press was silent about the treasures of Pitt Lake until 1939. In that year, Slumach became part of the Pitt River gold legend in a pivotal article written by Jack Mahony who interviewed pioneer Hugh Murray10 "Slummock" in Murray's story was a middle-aged "half-breed Red River Indian" who was hanged for murdering another half-breed prospector by drowning. Of course the real Slumach had no Red River origins but was of Katzie ancestry, was not a half-breed, did BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORY - Vol. 41 No. 1 not kill Louie Bee by drowning—a gunshot killed Bee— and was not middle-aged but rather an old man when he died at the gallows. Hugh Murray grew up in Port Moody and was in his thirties when Slumach died and he must have known better. This is, to use Mahony's words "romantic, fiction." Both Murray and Mahony must have known that the information was incorrect and this was probably a "readers beware" signal not to take everything in the story as the truth—a signal mostly ignored. Murray's "Slummock" prospected in the Pitt Lake mountains for many years, struck it rich in the late nineties, and frequently came to New Westminster with "a well-filled 'poke' of nuggets," spending his money freely, but keeping its source a secret—just as the Indian who came into New Westminster in 1902 with bags of gold dust. In the days of the real Slumach's imprisonment there were unsubstantiated rumours that in his lifetime he had killed other men. Hugh Murray added a new dimension to this: "it was believed but never proven, that he ['Slummock'] had drowned three of his Indian 'wives' near Siwash Rock at the mouth of Pitt Lake to prevent them from divulging the location [of his gold mine]." n That last theme grew out into gothic tales such as "The Bluebeard of Lost Creek Mine"12 and "The gold mine murders of nine British Columbian women."13 It is unlikely that the elderly Slumach would have painted the town red or even ventured out to New Westminster. That is why Mahony and Murray presented "Slummock" as a middle-aged man, still capable of looking for gold in the mountains and showing up in town from time to time with his treasures. Without the "nuggets," the tale that Slumach knew about a rich mine is clearly inaccurate. Only showing real gold would link him to gold findings. Did Slumach really find the lost mine? Hugh Murray claimed that Dr. Hall, a local physician, visited "Slummock" in his death cell trying to find out, but "Slummock" went to his death "with the burning question of the community unanswered." Was there ever a Slumach bonanza? Hugh Murray also retold the 1925 story of Shotwell, his rich placer gold findings and the cache of gold under a tent-shaped rock. The role of Shotwell was now taken by a John Jackson, a veteran Alaskan prospector, who in 1903, hearing about the Slumach legend (the word used in the article) set out for the Pitt Lake area and returned three months later with a very heavy pack-sack. Jackson deposited $8700 in gold in the Bank of British North America in San Francisco—not the United States mint as Shotwell did. Like the unnamed Indian and Shotwell in the previous stories, Jackson never recovered from the hardships of the search. When Jackson's doctor told him that the end was near, he sent a letter and a map of the location of the treasures to a friend in Seattle. That man was called Shotwell. This Shotwell, being an old man and not able to search for the gold himself, sold a share to a fellow Seattle man who went to the Pitt Lake region looking for Jackson's Creek "but returned without success when the map became partially damaged." Others, including Murray, tried and tried again to find "Jackson's Creek" without success. The damaged map cannot have been of much use and Jackson's letter was not much help either.14 The 1939 article quotes Murray as saying that his belief in the gold was strengthened by unspecified additional evidence and he mentioned meeting "an old Indian woman at the Indian camp at the head of Pitt Lake [who] remembered Jackson staying with them in 1903" with his very heavy pack that he would not let out of sight. Did Hugh Murray need additional Map of the general area where the lost gold mine is said to be located. The map appeared as the centrepiece in the 1972 publication of Slumach's Gold: In Search of a Legend, by Rick Antonson, Mary Trainer, and Brian Antonson, of which Heritage House published a new edition with fresh illustrations, interviews, and commentary in the fall of 2007. (opposite page) Provincial gaol, New Westminster ca, 1885. Slumach surrendered in October 1890 and was hanged in January 1891 (top left) In 1939, Pioneer Hugh Murray (shown here) and Jack (John Keefer) Mahoney lead the way to the legends of Slumach's or "Jackson's" gold, (above) BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORY-Vol. 41 No. 1 The rough mountains of Pitt country. Photo by Ryan Bouchie evidence? Had he ever doubted the existence of Jackson's gold? Were Jackson, and Shotwell before him, perhaps fabrications of imagination? Prospector Stanford Corey said in 1926 that in the thirty years he prospected there he had "not seen the marks of any other person ever having entered the land."15 In summary, Jack Mahony's 1939 article is not more than an assemblage of earlier fables about Pitt Lake gold with some minor changes. Here, for the first time, Slumach is introduced as a component to the legends. However, Mahony added to the reality of an Indian who was hanged for murder such irresistible elements as more murders, hidden gold and maidens. These themes were absorbed and further developed in the imaginative legends that followed in the press over the next 75 years. The legendary Slumach was accused of crimes the real Slumach never committed and of discovering gold he may never have seen. In many ways this Slumach is as much invented as Jackson alias Shotwell. • Slumach, an elderly man who once lived in a Katzie settlement at the south end of Pitt Lake is said to have discovered one of the richest bonanzas in British Columbia history. Slumach entered written history in September 1890, when he killed a "half-breed" known as Louis Bee at the south arm of Alouette River, then called Lillooet Slough. Bee was shot from the shore as he was sitting in a canoe with "Seymour," a fellow fisherman. There were no other witnesses to the murder, and the motive of the murder remains unknown. Slumach eluded capture for several months but, with winter approaching, surrendered to authorities. Efforts to show that Slumach acted in self-defense failed, and so did efforts to postpone the trial until the spring, speculating that the elderly man would die in captivity of natural causes and would be spared capital punishment. Slumach was sentenced to death and he was hanged in January 1891. BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORY - Vol. 41 No. 1 Alvo von Alvensleben: I am not 'an enemy to the people I have lived among7 By Janet Mary Nicol As the first troop train left Vancouver to join British allies on the western front, local businessman Alvo von Alvensleben was negotiating his re-entry to Canada. Alvensleben was mid-way across the Atlantic aboard a steamship when Britain declared war on Germany. He disembarked in New York and traveled to Seattle and contacted BC Premier Richard Mc Bride, requesting a visa to enter Canada. His plea to authorities made the front page of the Vancouver Province 20 August, 1914: My friends know that while I am a good German and that my object in coming back is strictly to attend to my business, I am not coming back as an enemy to the people I have lived among so many years. Prior to the war, as part of a small German enclave in Vancouver, Alvensleben enjoyed the same privileges as those of the predominately British population, even garnering mention in the 1911 edition of Canada's Who's Who. Since emigrating, Alvensleben moved quickly up the social ladder from laborer to millionaire. Ironically, only three months before the war began, BC Magazine ran an article praising Alvensleben's business schemes, under the title, A Canadian who has Brought Canada and Germany into Closer Relations. An unplanned arrival to Canada Gustavo Constantin Alvo von Alvensleben was born the third son of a count in 1879 and raised in an ancestral mansion in Westphalia, Germany. He had three brothers and two sisters. Following his education, Alvensleben spent five years as an officer in the Prussian army, before voluntarily resigning against the wishes of his father. First he ventured to El Salvador, visiting his youngest brother Joachim at his coffee plantation. Then he headed north to the goldfields of Alaska. But like many male adventurers, when the lanky 25 year old arrived in Vancouver in 1904, he decided to stay. An athletic man at 6 foot 2", with a slim build, Alvensleben had a sharp angular face with a full mustache. He gazed at people with 'cool, penetrating eyes' one local writer observed. Alvensleben came to Vancouver with only $4 in his pocket. He recounts these times in a letter to the Province editor in 1939: .../ arrived in June 1904, and within a very few days was pitching hay in Agassiz, and from then on, until 1908 earned my living as a working man including two seasons of fishing for the Brunswick cannery and I can assure the editor, that the handling of a Columbia River gillnet boat and a few hundred fathoms of net is work, and hard work.... Alvensleben also worked as a boat puller and watchman. He shot game and bought his own fishing boat, eventually purchasing a horse and cart to sell produce to restaurants and clubs. One of his stops was the back door kitchen of the elite Vancouver Club. A few years later, staff would see him arrive though the front door-as a club member. By 1907 Alvensleben had enough savings to rent an office downtown. He advertised his various business services in local newspapers, not minding when grammar mistakes appeared in his ads. As a "bungling German immigrant" his staged humility set the right tone for entering business, he would later say. He also held one of the first seats on the Vancouver Stock Exchange, opening in 1907. By 1914, he owned the entire Pacific building on the southeast corner of Hastings and Howe Streets in downtown Vancouver with his own offices on the ground floor. Alvensleben cultivated his blue-blooded contacts in Germany in order to make a real estate and investment fortune. He brought in millions of dollars from Field Marshal von Mackensen, Reich Chancellor von Bethmann-Hollweg, Bertha Krupp, champagne heiress Emma Mumm, and even the Kaiser Wilhelm 11. The rust-red and gold colored Dominion Trust building constructed with Alvensleben's money in 1910, still exists on the corner of Hastings and Cambie Streets, across from Vancouver's heritage Victory Square, and was for a short time, the city's tallest tower. Besides city real estate holdings, Alvensleben owned property in North Vancouver (where he also had an office), Victoria and the northern BC town of Stewart. Alvensleben also had major financial interests in mining, fishing and lumber. While making his millions, Alvensleben charmed local school teacher, Edith Mary Westcott into giving up her classroom in Ladner to marry him. Edith was the daughter of a construction engineer at the Brunswick cannery (where Alvensleben had briefly worked) and a Vancouver pioneer. Edith's sister, 18 years her senior, initially disapproved of the match despite the fact that Edith was a mature woman of 30. The couple brushed aside family protests and eloped in 1908. Over the next five years, they had three children, Margaret, Gero and Alvo. Alvo von Alvensleben, a colorful entrepreneur who contributed to Vancouver's golden years, was declared an enemy of the Dominion at the outbreak of the First World War. At the time he was in the United States and he reluctantly remained there until his death in 1965, aged 86. Vancouverites showed mixed emotions toward this self-made man who married the local school teacher and helped build the young city but whose loyalties to his homeland were unforgivable. Janet Nicol has written about Vancouver's history for both popular and academic publications, including Vancouver's role at Vimy Ridge for the Vancouver Courier (cover story - spring, 2007). BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORY - Vol. 41 No. Meantime, Martin Nordegg, a German businessman based in Ottawa, was asked by some investors "to check up on Alvensleben" and consequently in 1909, he traveled to Vancouver. In Nordegg's memoirs, The Possibilities of Canada are Truly Great, he describes Alvensleben's business methods: .1 BC Archives photo A-01965 Alven[sic] was a promoter in great style. When he visited Berlin, he arranged a great meeting in the ballroom of the best hotel in Berlin, and offered to his guests a sumptuous luncheon with caviar and champagne. He lectured them about Canada and her great chances. Near the door stood his brother with a book in which every guest had to enter his name, and was supposed to add the amount he would subscribe to Alven's[sic] ventures. There had been a start made already by prominent names with large amounts subscribed, and no guest dared to leave without a subscription. Nordegg recalls visiting Alvensleben's home, where "he showed me with great pride the autographed photo of the German Emperor who was the godfather of his oldest child." Nordegg portrayed Alvensleben as charming and cordial-but also evasive about the status of his financial dealings. Nordegg was offended when Alvensleben didn't introduce him to the German consul. Alvensleben's reason—the consul was in the host's employ, not a guest. It seems Alvensleben's old world manners forbade him from introducing 'the help' to guests. Yet Alvensleben could also disregard class distinctions as shown when he ensured that a night shift employee on the Kerrisdale streetcar line received a hot meal every evening. The city was Alvensleben's playground. He gained notoriety as his motor car often sped on unpaved roads at 40 miles per hour, the chauffeur ordered to sit in the back seat. Alvensleben accepted his many speeding tickets with humor. And his 20 acre home in Kerrisdale at 3200 West Forty-first Avenue was the site of numerous social gatherings, chronicled in the newspapers' social columns. Alvensleben also networked with the business and political elite of the day through membership in the Vancouver Club and the Union Club in Victoria. He helped form the "Deutscher Klub" in 1911, a business club for Germans. Few would predict in a few short years the city's German organizations and newspapers would be shut down under authority of the War Measures Act. However before the war's outbreak all things German were celebrated by members of the city's enclave—including the German Kaiser's birthday. 8 BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORY - Vol. 41 No. 1 When the economic depression of 1913 struck Vancouver, Alvensleben scrambled to save his investments. In the same 1939 Province letter mentioned above, Alvensleben rebukes the journalist's facts about his finances during this period: The article closes with the statement that I went bankrupt before the war. It would have been more correct to state that the outbreak of the war broke me and my associates as completely as it broke thousands of others. Incidentally I never went through bankruptcy. Alvensleben also defended his reputation as a high-rolling capitalist: / have gambled a lot in my life—as stated in the article—I have speculated with abandon, more particularly in the old days, but then a "boom" is as catching as the measles, and I have no doubt whatsoever that the old timers in Vancouver will heartily agree with me when I state that I was by no means the only one who caught it. A German Spy? At the outbreak of war, the Canadian government was uncertain how to deal with its internal "enemy" population. According to the 1911 census, out of the then 7 million Canadian residents, 393,320 were of German origin and 129,103 had ties to the Austro- Hungarian Empire. In the first weeks of the war, the government turned a blind eye to nationals of enemy countries as many traveled back to their homeland or re-settled in the still neutral United States. Deferring to Britain for guidance, the Canadian government eventually formulated guidelines for surveillance and internment. Ultimately, a total of 8,579 men were interned in nation-wide prison camps for as long as five years. Alvensleben was not a naturalized Canadian citizen. He could have enlisted in the German military while he was in Europe but he chose not to. His two older brothers, Werner and Bodo, who had also spent some time in British Columbia, left the province to fight for Germany. His brothers' actions only made Alvensleben's loyalties more suspect and authorities were convinced he was re-entering Vancouver from abroad as a German spy. The newspaper headlines condemned him and sensational rumors circulated in Vancouver, suggesting Alvensleben's wealth and influence were being used for the benefit of the enemy. Because Alvensleben was refused entry, he was unable to prevent the collapse of his investments. Any remaining assets he had were confiscated by the Canadian government without time limit under the Custodian of Enemy Property Act. Consequently, his wife and children crossed the Canada-U.S. border to join him in Seattle where Alvensleben resided at liberty. He continued developing a coal mining investment he had begun with German investors' money a year before the war, in Issaquah, Washington. His company supplied valued coal to Germany, a fact the American public was aware of but didn't appear to find disturbing. In fact, Alvensleben's employees considered him a savior and a socialist sympathizer because he encouraged trade unionism and had rescued the company from economic ruin. But when the Americans joined the war against Germany in 1917, public opinion turned. This time, Alvensleben tried unsuccessfully to get an exit visa so his family could return to Germany. He was kept under surveillance by American authorities, arrested August 8,1917 and then sent to an internment camp in Utah. This chapter of Alvensleben's life is sympathetically documented by American academic, Joerg A. Nagler in a case study published in the Utah Historical Quarterly in 1990. Nagler was particularly interested in the civil rights aspects of Alvensleben's case. His research also included examination of many war time documents in Germany. Contrary to government accusations, rumors and newspaper accounts in both Canada and the United States, Nagler was unable to find any evidence of Alvensleben working as a spy for the German government. Alvensleben's arrival at Fort Douglas internment camp in Utah was noted in the Salt Lake Tribune newspaper and included accusations similar to those circulating in Vancouver: Von Alvensleben a typical officer of the Prussian type, highly educated, polished in manner and with the upright carriage that denotes years of service in the army.... Canadian government officials declare they have positive information showing that German machinery was set to work before the war to make von Alvensleben governor of British Columbia. Meantime, Edith raised her children in Seattle with the support of $100 a month from the Swiss Red Cross. She told her husband in a letter (now in government files) "Two fool women ...seem to be making themselves busy during my absence in telling the neighborhood generally that in their opinion I am just as much as spy as you are supposed to be! Isn't it Books Griffiths, Alison and Cruise, David, Fleecing the Lamb: The Inside Story of the Vancouver Stock Exchange. Vancouver: Douglas a Mclntyre, 1987. Kluckner, Michael, Vancouver, The Way it Was. Vancouver: Whitecap Books, 1984. Kluckner, Michael, Vanishing British Columbia. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 2005. Lazarus, Eve, At Home with History. Vancouver: Anvil Press, 2007. Nordegg, Martin, The Possibilities of Canada are Truly Great. Toronto: Macmillan, 1971. Ramsey, Bruce, The History of German Canadians in British Columbia. Winnipeg: National Publications, 1958. Other Publications Nagler, Joerg A., Enemy Aliens and Internment in World War 1: Alvo von Alvensleben in Fort Douglas, Utah, a Case Study. Utah Historical Quarterly, 1990. Reynolds, Tracey, A Case Study in Attitudes towards Enemy Aliens in BC, 1914-1949. University of British Columbia thesis, 1973. British Columbia Magazine, 1911 The Literary Digest, Vancouver, 1917. Victoria Colonist, various years. Vancouver Province, various years. Vancouver Sun, various years. Who's Who, Canada, 1911. BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORY - Vol. 41 No. 1 perfectly disgusting! There is no end to it." Besides 'enemy aliens' such as Alvensleben, the camp population was comprised of military prisoners and political prisoners—including members of an anarchist trade union, the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). Alvensleben was considered one of the major troublemakers and spent various times in solitary confinement. Because German diplomatic services were severed, Alvensleben addressed his many complaints about his treatment in the camp in letters to the Swiss legation. The majority of the internees supported Alvensleben as chair when they established a camp committee as a protective measure in April, 1918. Eric Brandeis, an inmate who opposed Alvensleben's leadership, later wrote of him in the New York Sun newspaper: Although a typical German aristocrat, with all the arrogance, the snobbishness, the conceit of the breed, he allied himself soon after his arrival with the most turbulent element in the camp, the IWW. And, strangely enough, these men, who decry all rights of class and heritage, were glad enough to accept his leadership and under his guidance to be as obstreperous as possible. When war finally ended, Alvensleben and other internees, were still held a further year and a half. In one of many letters Alvensleben wrote to the U.S. Justice Department, he provided thoughtful analysis on the war's aftermath, his own spirit appearing unbroken: The period of general reconstruction is so vital and necessary for the whole world (it) can spare the effort of no man; it demands bigger efforts by the individuals of every nation to co-operate and rebuild, than those which were ever put forward in the past years to dislocate and destroy. When Alvensleben was released in 1920, he was not deported, suggesting there was not evidence to do so. However the Canadian government would not allow him back. Alvensleben decided to stay in the United States, instead of requesting repatriation to another country. After the War Alvensleben re-united with his family in Seattle and went back to practicing real estate and investing. But in the post-war world Alvensleben could never recapture his lost fortune. In 1926 immigration requirements changed BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORY - Vol. 41 No. 1 once again and Alvensleben was able to cross the border, making regular trips to Vancouver. He visited in-laws and conducted business, operating a placer mine at Cedar Creek near the Cariboo region from 1942 to 1951. Alvensleben's home in Kerrisdale had been re-sold to Vancouver Sun newspaper owner Robert Crombie in 1919. When Crombie died in 1942, his widow sold the home to Crofton House, a private school for girls which continues to use the building to this day. On one of his visits during the depression of the 1930s, Alvensleben hired Art George to ferry him to the Wigwam Inn, which still exists along the shores of Indian Arm in North Vancouver. Alvensleben financed the building of the hide-away resort for wealthy tourists in 1910. The four story cedar Inn had a veranda on three sides and peaked gables and originally had a German character, as a "Luftkurot" or fresh air resort. There had been German band music and beer and the Inn attracted wealthy customers such as American millionaires, John D. Rockfeller and John Jacob Astor. As Art George steered his water taxi along the eight mile fjord toward the Inn, Alvensleben turned to him and said, "What was I thinking?" Another world war loomed in 1939. This time Alvensleben took out American citizenship. He opposed the emergence of fascism in Germany and its leader, Adolf Hitler. (His two brothers however, remained in Germany and became part of the Third Reich.) When the Americans entered the war in 1941, his youngest son enlisted with the American military, and was among the allied troops storming the beaches of Normandy on D-Day. He survived the war. To his children's questions in later years regarding his internment, Alvensleben responded: "It was just the hysteria which emerges in every war and under which individuals must suffer." Alvensleben's loyal and beloved wife Edith died in 1965 in Seattle, preceding his own death by a year. Both events were prominently noted in the Vancouver newspapers. The couple's three children, all American citizens, remained in the United States. Alvensleben's eldest daughter Margaret, married the artist W.J.B. Newcombe in 1946. She was a prominent journalist and social activist and died in 2004. His son Gero married in 1937 and had three children. His youngest son, Alvo remained single and died in 1988. Edith's niece continues to live in Vancouver. The divided loyalties of immigrants to Canada have provided them with both cultural comfort and the anguish of rejection. These stories of pride and pain are woven into Canada's multicultural tapestry. Alvensleben ultimately proved to embrace the new world over the old, a choice that took him a life time to affirm. When Alvensleben was invited to speak before the German-Canadian Association in Vancouver in 1961, Elizabeth Mayer wrote about his appearance in Stories about People of German Background in Victoria, BC. He was no longer the lanky young aristocrat who took the city by storm, but a refined American businessman, she observed, tempered by a life time of rewards and struggles. Alvensleben talked enthusiastically about the opportunities Canada continued to provide, Mayer reported. He noted the best thing that ever happened to him was his wife. And he regretted not becoming a Canadian citizen, though Alvensleben tactfully refrained from saying his ill-fated decision caused him to be branded an 'enemy to the people' he had lived among so many years. • The Wigwam Inn on Indian Arm (above) BC Archives photo B-0814 The rust-red and gold colored Dominion Trust building constructed with Alvensleben's money in 1910, still exists on the corner of Hastings and Cabmibe Streets, across from Vancouver's Victory Square. This steel framed structure was for a short time, the tallest building in he British Empire, (opposite page) BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORY • Vol. 41 No. 1 11 TELEGRAPH TYRANNY RJ. Deane vs. Canadian Pacific Telegraph By R.J. (Ron) Welwood RJ. (Ron) Welwood is Past President of BCHF, bchistory website editor and an Honorary Life Member of the Federation Just over a century ago a dispute between Nelson's Daily News and the Canadian Pacific Telegraph Company became the subject of a national controversy. It was a disagreement of biblical proportions —a small town western newspaper publisher, Francis John Deane, refused to be intimidated by Canada's national telegraph company. With assistance from newspaper colleagues, Deane forced the giant corporation to retract its draconian rate increases. Deane was born on 8 August 1868 in Madras, India but was educated both in England and Bruges, Belgium. At nineteen he immigrated to the United States where he ended up working as a farm laborer in Minnesota followed by another two years on the Canadian prairies. By 1889 he grew tired of this lifestyle and "finally trekked to British Columbia, where he engaged for a number of years in vicarious pursuits." Penniless and stranded in Nanaimo he noticed a crude sign in the window of the Free Press and A sudden inspiration came to him. . . . In a few words he recounted his plight, gave the editor to understand that he was capable of writing fair English in a legible hand, and entreated a job. The Free Press proprietor, noting that he was an educated man, agreed to take him on. . . . Thenceforth journalism was to be his life work. (Who's Who) After five years with the Free Press, Deane moved to Victoria to work for the Province where he became known as an astute political correspondent. By 1896, he relocated to Kamloops as editor for the Inland Sentinel and two years later he narrowly won a seat in the provincial parliament as the Liberal candidate for Yale North.1 Although his attempt at reelection was unsuccessful, he continued to be an active Liberal supporter his entire life even though his fondness for politics was a self-confessed curse. Deane remained as the proprietor of the Inland Sentinel until 1904, even though he had purchased the Nelson Daily Miner from the Donald J. Beaton estate in 1902.2 As if he did not have enough to keep him occupied, between 1901-1902 he also served as Secretary to Canada's Royal Commission to Investigate Chinese and Japanese Immigration into British Columbia.3 In the spring of 1901, the Commission had held hearings in Nelson. Also, as a reporter and politician Deane had previously visited the Kootenay region on a number of business trips so his relocation to Nelson in 1904 was not without forethought.4 Renaming his Nelson newspaper, The Daily News, on 22 April 1902 Deane editorialized . . . that the mining industry will in time overshadow all others in the province until Southern Kootenay's centres of population will be even larger than those of the coast. The aim of The Daily News will be to promote this growth as much as it can by encouraging mining and its kindred industries The future of Nelson, as well as of the other communities of Southern British Columbia, depends on the way in which each reaches out and utilizes the natural resources which surround it. This can best be accomplished by unity of purpose and harmony of effort. His goal was to provide subscribers with "as good a paper as the conditions and the field will permit. All the news that is the news will be published." Naturally, an efficient and reliable telecommunication network was required to receive news worth printing. During the formative years of Canadian telegraphic services, two railway companies dominated the wires — Canadian Pacific Telegraph Company and Great North Western Telegraph Company, an affiliate of the Grand Trunk Railway. These railway companies realized they could profitably transmit news even at drastically reduced commercial rates by wiring press reports to newspapers during slack evening hours. Since the papers relied on these telegraphic services for news, both sides profited from this complementary relationship. (Nichols, 11) To avoid individual newspapers literally fighting for news stories, New York newspaper rivals had established a news agency or wire service in the mid-1800s. This cooperative venture, known as the Associated Press or AP, was a pragmatic solution to reduce costs by producing a single telegraphic report all could publish. As the cooperative expanded both U.S. and foreign news stories became more readily available to subscribers. In 1894 the Canadian Pacific greatly fortified its own wire service position by acquiring the Canadian rights to the much-coveted Associated Press reports. "It acquired a national status, not only for its rail lines but for its telegraph system— A further advantage was the bargaining power inherent in a national system of wires to obtain news of the world beyond Canadian boundaries." (Nichols, 12-13) At this time, Winnipeg was not only the capital of Manitoba, but it was also considered to be the political capital of the prairies with three daily newspapers — Manitoba Free Press, Winnipeg Telegram and Winnipeg Tribune. Early in July 1907 the C.P.R. telegraph officials notified its clients that, as of August 1st, news service would be provided using a new format, a new route and a new price. Previously, BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORY - Vol. 41 No. 1 NELSON, B. C„ SUNDAY, OCTOBER 6, 1907 CROWNING ACT OF AUTOCRATIC IMBECILITY*' Vinnipeg Free Press Takes Up the Cudgels for Newspa the Canadian Pacific Telegraph Company for W in Feai T^T#^Ti"»T»Y«—♦»♦ ♦ r» ^ »7 (JAOOED BY C. P. R. Globe Kvery Morning of tt p (Spelcal to The Daily News.) Vancouver, Oct. 3.—-Commenting editorially on ibe attempt of the C. P . R. Telegraph, company to snuff out The I>aily New6 the Vancouver World, under caption "Gagged by the C. P. R-," says: "Because The Dall; Kel-fon had tho tcraerlt 5 Editorial on r«i ' SUBSCRIPTION ^r year, toy ™*\ Subscriptions *•»* _, T"Urr»rv —ti^oo the press service 1 ♦ L^T^mocm.. ^ocnspGL fAClH-jo ^Uso* %***aS5^*«* SfiHvic^ aeeaj .?* ^ess* ?!?*•» "***t New« ro^j^A^;^^ ABUSE OV The C. P« *~ oubled and la some g> THE C. telegraphs cases almost recently ubled ana wm ^_,v ♦ free Press Co^nws Criticism of W* wusifvemfORfRt ♦ of the Associated paper can obtain t cept over its- wire the sav the despatches ^ SP«eraJ2v ^ blood of a papRr ^ *£«? *i«»«~ ^«a of the C. P. R. is sentence of extl' unfortunate pape 8*th«r °n «*e tb( ^esSa H-fti, -trSff U wot,i<| J gtertts sry Morning S ST IIATJBC3 THB BIG STICK been sued to The ~* tcTiC POSITION ATTEMPT TO r The Manitoba Free Prefcs o •wired. The DaUy News at V last week for confirmation that the Canadian Pacific ---»>» had refused to gV An tiltlm; DaUy News. W* must hereafter accept such telegraphic news service as it pleases the C. P. R. telegraph department to unload upon us without comment, or be cut off altogether. We axe informed that only legitimate criticism of the service will be tolerated. It Is alleged that in our criticisms of the miserable news service too frequently supplied by the C. 1*. It. news department we are maliciously attempting to injure the commercial end of that institution and that continuance in such criticism will result in immediate stoppage of such service as we have received and paid for in the past. We are taken severely to task for presuming to criticize the service given ^'<*X4 • y fttetf so*- Pro. ,Jpegj ears Tfr s*tp*» A. FIGHT FOR INDBPBNDENCii ■Whatever may be the eventual e come of The Daily News' battle for dependence with- that great monoix the Canadian Pacific Telegraph ex pany, the palpable injustice- of abri ly shutting off this newspaper from Associated Press despatches, as been done by the company, will g Ions way to bringing the whole quest of -government ownership, or at U government control of aB telograj 'well to the front as a public matter quiring prompt atteution ami in rea lng a solution of the problem far \r. quickly and sa:i-factorily than wc th° Pur^Z. We° BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORY ■ Vol. 41 No. 1 Notes 1 Dean won the election by a mere four votes (427 to 423). According to the agents of incumbent Conservative candidate, G.B. Martin, "Mr. Deane is a compound of Captain Kidd, Nana Sahib, Henry Morgan, Mephistopheles, Robert the Devil, and Theodore Durrant." (Balf, "F.J. Deane"); but on the other hand "It must be admitted that he is a rustler, independent and fearless, three virtues which the present candidate lacks." (The Tribune [Nelson], 11 Dec. 1897). 2 Editor Beaton had died from a head injury received in a streetcar accident. 3 The $50 Head Tax imposed on Chinese immigrants in 1885 was raised to $100 in 1900 and increased, upon the Commission's recommendation, to $500,1903-1923. 4 As the "traveling correspondent and special business agent of The Province of Victoria" he toured the Kootenay for ten days. (The Tribune [Nelson], 2 Nov. 1895); and as "M.P.P. for Kamloops" he visited Nelson (The Tribune, 20 July 1899). 5 The Western Associated Press (W.A.P.) was the forerunner to the Canadian Press (CP) established in 1917 (Nichols, 136). 6 On 13 May 1899, John Houston of The Tribune charged "the Canadian Pacific Telegraph Company with 'holding up' the daily papers in Kootenay and robbing them." R.T. Lowery, editor and publisher of many Kootenay newspapers frequently castigated the C.P.R. until it boycotted one of his papers in 1901 (R. Welwood, "Lowery PO'd," British Columbia Historical News, 32.1 [Winter 1998-99]: 2-5). 7 William D. Haywood, leader of the Western Federation of Miners (W.F.M.) and a founding member of the Industrial Workers of the abbreviated AP reports and a summary of Canadian news were sent from Montreal, but this composite news service was to be abandoned. Under the new plan AP reports would be sent via leased wire from St. Paul, Minnesota, and the newspapers would have to obtain Canadian news on their own initiative. A three to four fold increase in costs was objectionable enough, but the cavalier behavior of the telegraph bureaucrats was even more intolerable. The new CP Telegraph deal was rejected outright and within twenty-four hours the Winnipeg managers/ editors of the three rival newspapers met to discuss strategies to counter this provocation. Within days they had signed a pact indicating that the Canadian Pacific Railway Company had exercised its control of basic news in a manner prejudicial to newspaper responsibilities to the public and that the principle of corporate control of news services was repugnant to the freedom of the press and. . . that the Winnipeg publishers were setting up independent news services unfettered by business and financial influence. (Nichols, 24-25) The rebellion against the Canadian Pacific Telegraph monopoly had begun. In order to fill the void, the publishers immediately negotiated for alternative foreign news sources and special correspondents were assigned to provide Canadian news. Also, they applied to the Manitoba government to charter an independent news agency. Reports received by one newspaper were shared with the others but, unbeknownst to the publishers, telegraph regulations stipulated that press rates applied only to single newspaper dispatches and certainly not to a collective. Even though alternative telegraph services were available to the Winnipeg dailies, the Canadian Pacific Telegraph Company's stranglehold on newspapers further west was deadly. Although the Canadian Pacific Railway Company had been a reliable vendor of news for many years, it could "thank militant, obdurate, tactless officials of its telegraph system" for the creation of the Western Associated Press.5 (Nichols, 14) Armed with its Manitoba charter received on 3 September 1907, the W.A.P. began to collect and distribute news in earnest. But, because of the C.P.R/s telegraph monopoly in the West, the prairie and coastal dailies grudgingly accepted news reports at inflated rates with little public protest — except in Nelson, British Columbia. The feud between Kootenay newspapermen and the C.P.R. had been longstanding, so F.J. Deane's editorials that railed against the corporation were not surprising.6 However, they were timely and reflected the mounting anger with the railway gianf s sporadic telegraph service. April 1907 - Deane's barbs began to gain momentum in the spring when he reported about "Wire Trouble." An Editorial Note reported The wretched, but very expensive, telegraphic service supplied by the C.P.R., make it a very costly business to publish a live daily newspaper in the Kootenays, as this service has to be supplemented by "specials" from all over the country . . . We are stating but the plain fact, when we say that The Daily News expends more money for telegraphic news than any other paper in the province. (21 April) At the end of the month Nelson's News of the Day column reported that the "C.P.R. telegraph wires suffered a severe relapse — there was nothing for several hours." May 1907 - Deane's telegraphic woes continued when he reported "the C.P.R. telegraph wires suffered another severe relapse last night. It is surely about time expert advice was called in." These deplorable conditions continued the next day. Those responsible for the C.P.R. telegraph service do not appear to care whether the lines operate or not and newspaper publishers who pay heavy tolls for news dispatches they are supposed to get, are severely snubbed when they ask the C.P.R. to make good their contracts. (4 May) Although the railway's inspector responded that the recent complaints made by The Daily News about the telegraph service "are for the most part incorrect," Deane countered The real explanation of this situation in our opinion is that, knowing they have a cinch, the officials responsible for the A.P. service make no effort to serve Kootenay papers. . . . Few people realize how absolutely at the mercy of the C.P.R. telegraphs, the Kootenay papers are. . . . We must take what the C.P.R. choose to give us, pay for it promptly and never care to make a complaint. We recognize that there is very little to be gained by kicking, save the off- chance of shaming those responsible into doing something better in the future. (7 May) The following day Deane's editorial indicated that In fighting for a better news service, The Daily News is not only fighting its own battle, but that of every other newspaper in the province, for the coast papers get very little better treatment than is meted out to those published in the Kootenay. The Daily News has consistently waged this battle for years past. . . . Every newspaper in the province that aims to do the fair thing by its readers should unite in an agitation that will stir up the dry bones of the C.P.R. telegraph department. (8 May) BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORY - Vol. 41 No. 1 Meanwhile, for two months the Western telegraphers working for the Canadian Pacific Railway had been negotiating for improved salaries and working conditions, an eight-hour workday and annual paid vacations. Perhaps this unrest was manifest in unsatisfactory wire service. When negotiations were concluded, an agreement only provided salary increases and a one-half hour reduction for the night shift. On 11 May, "The Big Stick" editorial made it clear An ultimatum has been issued to The Daily News. We must hereafter accept such telegraphic news service as it pleases the C.P.R. telegraph department to unload upon us without comment, or be cut off altogether. According to Deane the company alleged that his criticism of its "miserable news service" was "maliciously attempting to injure the commercial end of that institution" and that it was "intimated that we should have given credit rather than blame for the splendid efforts put forth by the C.P.R. telegraph department." He scoffed at the suggestion that his newspaper was "animated by a wicked desire to ruin the C.P.R. commercial telegraph business." and that this assumption was "decidedly ludicrous." All Deane really wanted was "some attention being given to the matter of continuity of reports." He was frustrated that "the press of this province has heretofore quietly acquiesced in the treatment meted out to them" and, as a result, a complaint of any kind was "regarded as altogether indefensible and actuated solely by evil motives." He further indicated that "really live and important news" seemed "to be absolutely beyond the capacity of the C.P.R. telegraph department." June 1907 - In its heyday, the Kootenay region was known for its mineral wealth, miners' labor organizations and, due to geography, a rather strong link to the northwest United States. Consequently, when the trial of prominent labor leader, "Big Bill" Haywood,7 commenced on May 9th in Boise, Idaho, Deane was anxious to have up-to-date reports on the proceedings. Unfortunately, AP coverage was scant, so Deane had to resort to a special correspondent at the trial—"we were promised a good AP service, but we have had too much experience of promises from the management of the C.P.R. telegraph department to place any reliance on them." July 1907 - After receiving an abbreviated telegraph clip concerning a major building catastrophe in London, Ontario, an exasperated Deane wrote that the Canadian AP was "guilty of a wilful [sic] blunder, if not some thing a good deal more serious." What particularly irked Deane was that a full American Associated Press report of the incident was printed in a Spokane, Washington newspaper. Unfortunately, Deane could not foresee his own catastrophe when telegraphic tolls would be elevated in August. The C.P.R. has arbitrarily increased the rate charged British Columbia morning newspapers for the Associated Press service nearly two hundred per cent. . . . We estimate that the telegraph tolls now demanded of us by the C.P.R. will add at least $500 to the monthly cost of producing The Daily News. . . . The C.P.R. controls the Associated Press service for Canada, it can fix any price for it it likes and any paper refusing to pay the price is confronted with ruin. (31 July) Photograph of F. J. Deane from the Cranbrook Herald BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORY - Vol. 41 No. 1 World (I.W.W. orWobblies). - both organizations had links to the Kootenay. ("Bill Haywood," http://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Bill Haywood. 15 Jan. 2008). 8 i.e. "an efficient dissemination of views and thoughts loyal to the dominion and empire" to "promote a fit and proper national spirit." 9 This lengthy editorial was reprinted in The Daily News (6 October) under the banner headline: "Crowning Act of Autocratic Imbecility." 10 As an alternative the W.A.P. would sometimes resort to expensive long distance telephone calls. 11 Many Eastern journals were bewildered at the discrepancy in company rates between the East and West. (Nichols, 40). 12 This would be the first AP report received since abrupt withdrawal on October 1st. 13 In an interview with the Manitoba Free Press the President was quoted as saying: "Yes, the telegraph matter. .. all that I know of it I have learned from the papers. I will go into this matter tomorrow ... and I have no doubt that a settlement can be arrived at which will be satisfactory." (Daily News, 12 Oct.). Perhaps the President's recollection of F.J. Deane's message in early October also prodded him into action. 14 According to Deane's Death Certificate, he suffered from "Manic-Depressive Insanity" for about six weeks and spent seven days in the New Westminster Provincial Asylum where he died of "Exhaustion from Mania" at the age of "44 years 8 months and 6 days." Although this exorbitant price hike spurred the rebellion of Winnipeg newsmen, Deane intended "to fully and fairly test C.P.R. promises" to improve news services. August 1907 - Deane quickly discovered "the fine contempt for customary business arrangements displayed by the C.P.R. telegraphs" when he sought "some guarantee of regular and early delivery" of dispatches and was notified that the C.P.R. could not say what the new service would consist of and that they would not undertake to deliver it any better than heretofore. In effect, we were told that we must pay up and ask no questions. A corporation that can do business on these lines is in a happy position. It can fix any old price it likes upon its wares and decline to guarantee either quantity or quality. (1 Aug.) The company's monopoly angered some journalists enough for them to suggest nationalizing the telegraphs under the Railway Commission; but Deane proposed that the B.C. government press the railway company to "pay its taxes the same as the ordinary farmer, store keeper, mechanic and miner," or forfeit its lands. Knowing his timid colleagues, he sarcastically indicated that he would "look forward to reading some stirring articles in the Vancouver Province and the Victoria Colonist on this subject." The Nelson Board of Trade was also distressed with the telegraphic news service to western Canada and unanimously passed a motion expressing to the Canadian Pacific Telegraphs its dismay at the onerous rates imposed on Kootenay daily newspapers and, furthermore, that their resolution be sent to the Railway Commission. Meanwhile they were busily making preparations to entertain a party of British journalists. Deane was confident that in their trans- Dominion travels the visitors could not help but notice "the wretched news service supplied Canadian papers by existing news agencies and the almost entire absence of intelligent news of the empire." He was distressed with AP wires that contained an abundance of American news including the Americanization of European news. Coincidentally, the gathering momentum of a major Western Union telegraphers strike in the United States and Canada did not help the situation. Deane's editorial, "Abuse of the C.P.R.," decried the company's false promises of a "greatly improved service" because this purported improvement had not changed "in any measure commensurate with the increased costs." While many of his colleagues accepted the rate increases in silence, Deane indicated that there was no sound reason why the C.P.R. should be immune from criticism . . . when it undertakes to supply a news service for Canadian papers and signally fails to fulfill its contract there is not the slightest reason why the sufferers should not endeavor to shame the corporation into doing better. Private remonstrances affect nothing whatever and it is only by interesting the public in the matter that there is any likelihood of redress. (13 Aug.) He was determined that "this paper will keep right on in its offense, until its object is gained or it is forced to suspend publication." September 1907 - At the fourth annual convention of the Alberta and Eastern British Columbia Press Association held in Cranbrook, F.J. Deane gave a short talk on the "Moral Courage of Editors" that, in all likelihood, included examples of his jousting with the corporation. Undoubtedly he would have been encouraged when a resolution was passed that included And be it further resolved, that the C.P.R. a corporation vitally concerned in this development and to a very large extent controlling the news service of the west, should supply at reasonable figures a more adequate and more intelligent service, facilitating the circulation of Canadian and British news in particular, the present service being unanimously considered both prohibitive in price and lacking in the aforesaid essentials. (15 Sept.) October 1907 - Boldly centred on the front page, Deane's subscribers were informed of "A Freeze Out." Some days ago, an abrupt telegram from J. Wilson, superintendent of C.P.R. telegraphs, was received by The Daily News, announcing "that as nothing seems to please you the Associated Press service will be discontinued at the end of the month." (2 Oct.) Deane immediately sent this cryptic message along with a general statement about the appalling Associated Press service "to the highest one in authority, Sir Thomas Shaughnessy, and an explanation was asked." Unbeknownst to the C.P.R. President, the Vancouver superintendent's rationale for initiating the boycott was because Deane "had the audacity to express opinions unpalatable to that corporation" and refused to guarantee the cessation of criticism in the future. On the same day, a Manitoba Free Press editorial, "Caesar Redivivus"9 detailed the revised press rates effective October 1st. It also outlined how Western newspapers had long suffered the peculiarities of the C.P.R. Telegraph Company, "the only licensed BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORY - Vol. 41 No. 1 freebooter left — its covetousness, its zest in petty tyrannies, its picayune meannesses, its hopeless and notorious inefficiency." Deane was not alone. Although the telegraph company fired the first volley, it precipitated a maelstrom of criticism on two issues that became one — widespread opposition to the escalated telegraph rates and a rally to support the beleaguered F.J. Deane. The following day The Daily News publisher indicated he was "Not Dismayed" and that "this paper can not be put out of business." Furthermore, a note "To Our Patrons" explained, "the proprietor feels that the question is one of far reaching importance vitally affecting the independence of the Canadian press." In order to keep the bold captain of The Daily News afloat, sympathetic colleagues offered moral support and the fledgling Western Associated Press spared no expense to forward abbreviated news reports despite commercial rates. However, Wilson's cancellation of AP service provided fodder for editorials both near and far. Mining Review (Slocan), 3 October - "Editor Deane of the Nelson News has registered some wholesome and palpably deserved kicks at the poor telegraphic news service S'death, Gadzooks, Odds bodkins, and all that sort of thing. Have at them, 'Brer Deane; show you're English. The Kootenay looks to you for news." Kootenaian (Kaslo), 3 October - "This is the big corporation, powerful and all as it is, dare not do. To do so would bring down a sweeping condemnation of the entire press throughout the land, and the one thing only that the C.P.R. winces at, is caustic press comment. We think the C.P.R. press dictator will think twice before he carries out his threat. Daily World (Vancouver), 3 October - headline: "Gagged by the C.P.R.", "the action of the C.P.R. is equivalent to a sentence of extinction for the unfortunate sheet unless it kowtows as demanded.. .. to such an example of gross tyranny. Globe (Toronto), 4 October-headline: "Corporate Despotism", "If the company were allowed arbitrarily to grant or to withhold the service which its charter enables it to render, and of which it may have a "On one occasion Deane and a faithful band of supporters were tricked by the Conservatives into missing the train for a meeting in Shuswap, but, nothing daunted, they gained possession of a hand-car and set forth the hard way, to arrive at the meeting on time." (Balf, "F.J. Deane" 4) BC Archives photo BC Archives: B-03880 BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORY - Vol. 41 No. 1 17 References Balf, Mary ."F.J. Deane of the Sentinel," Kamloops Museum & Archives. Typesript, (n.d.) . "Salute to the Sentinel!" Kamloops Museum & Archives. Typescript, (n.d.) Canadian Annual Review, 1907. The Daily News (Nelson). April- October 1907. "The Front Page," Saturday Night, 20.52 (12 Oct. 1907): 1. Gilchrist, John M. "A Newspaper with Tradition." Typescript, Touchstones Nelson, Shawn Lamb Archives, NDN File 4. Edited and published as "Nelson News Voice Held Power to Turn Tide in 1907 Battle," Nelson Daily News, 3 February 1965: 4. MacLochlainn, Alf. "A Small-town Newspaperman's Library, 1914," The Reporter: Newsletter of the BC Library Association, 36.4 (Sept. 1992): 19-23 "News' Founder Fought for Rights: Deane lead way for pioneering in CP." Nelson Daily News, 22 April 1952:12. Nichols, M.E. (CP): The Story of the Canadian Press. Toronto: Ryerson, 1948. "Who's Who in Canadian Weekly Journalism," Printer and Publisher, (August 1912) in Cranbrook Herald, 17 April 1913:1. monopoly, it would be in control of a large portion of the newspapers of the Dominion." Several days later an editorial, "Intolerable Autocrat", also drubbed C.P.R. Telegraphs. For too many years the telegraph corporation collected, distributed and controlled the news — it even had the temerity to censor unflattering press reports about the C.P.R. This all-powerful monopoly arbitrarily increased rates in a clumsy attempt to thwart the efforts of the fledgling Western Associated Press, knowing that the W.A.P. had no other option than to use its wires.10 While the company doubled W.A.P. charges, it continued to carry "their own service over the wires at rates which were the merest fraction of the original press rates."11 {Manitoba Free Press, 2 Oct.) Obviously it was retribution intended to break the competition. No doubt this second increase, effective in black October, would quickly place western newspapers in the red if a solution could not be found quickly. Consequently, newspaper representatives between Winnipeg and the Pacific were hastily summoned to consider strategies to counter the C.P.R. Telegraph's monopolistic grip. Spokesmen from eleven Western daily newspapers met in Regina on October 9th with Deane as the sole representative from British Columbia. Coincidentally, Sir Thomas Shaughnessy happened to be in Regina, but after a brief courtesy call and presentation by a delegation, Sir Thomas showed no interest in the situation and indicated it was just a tempest in a teapot. Consequently, after lengthy discussions, it was concluded that the only possible solution would be political intervention by Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier who was sent the following appeal: We, the undersigned publishers of western dailies of the Provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, call your attention to the fact that the Canadian Pacific Railway Telegraphs have arbitrarily advanced telegraph press rates without notice in some instances over one hundred per cent. That the company, furthermore, is charging discriminatory rates and has imposed on certain newspapers commercial rates on press messages. We would respectfully ask if there is no machinery of government that can deal promptly with these conditions, which constitute a menace to the Freedom of the Press. (Nichols, 44; Daily News, 10 Oct.) Ironically, on the very evening of the Regina meeting, the Nelson Daily News received a dispatch from the Canadian Pacific Telegraph's Vancouver office asking: "Will you accept Associated Press report tonight?" to which the a staffer replied, "Yes, subject to approval of proprietor of The Daily News who is now at Regina."12 {Daily News, 10 Oct.) Could Sir T. Shaughnessy have feigned disinterest but interceded just the same?13 Did Shaughnessy learn that a telegram had been sent to the Prime Minister? For whatever reason, the corporation rolled back its Western Canadian newspaper rates to those of July. However, W.A.P. reports were excluded although it was agreed that a mutually satisfactory arrangement for W.A.P. news service was imminent. Once peace was declared between the newspapers and the telegraph company, Canadian Pacific officials "went out of their way to promote cordial relations" including a schedule of adjusted rates that later included standardized services at a flat rate instead of per word. (Nichols, 46) The Western Associated Press expanded by inviting subscribers to become shareholders and Deane became the British Columbia representative on the new directorate. While the cooperative's list of subscribers expanded, the CPR/s subscription list dwindled. By 1910, the regulating Railway Commission finally declared that there would be no discrimination of telegraph rates to Canadian newspapers. Also, in a landmark decision the Commission declared that telegraph companies were solely responsible for message transmission and could no longer control message content. Handicapped by a lack of capital, undoubtedly exacerbated by major C.P.R. expenditures, F.J. Deane sold The Daily News in May 1908 and became managing editor and proprietor of the weekly Cranbrook Herald. Although the C.P.R. was no longer a major foe, Deane's new adversary was failing health. To convalesce he went to Kamloops and then New Westminster where he succumbed to "heart failure following a severe attack of nervous prostration resulting from overwork" on 10 April 1913.14 In memoriam, a former colleague from The Daily News wrote: Probably no man who has ever occupied an editor's chair in British Columbia, or even in Canada, discharged the duties of that position with a more whole-souled devotion to what he considered his duty, or lived up to the principles in which he believed more conscientiously than did Mr. Deane. He was a man whom neither money nor selfish consideration of any kind could influence. He was honest in thought and action. (12 April 1913) BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORY - Vol. 41 No. 1 Mart Kenney: A Western Gentleman By Ken Macleod Mart Kenney's death at age 95 in Mission, BC on February 8, 2006 signalled the end of an era. He was the last of the well- known band leaders from the big band era to die. More people in Canada danced to the music of Mart Kenney and His Western Gentlemen than any other band. He was the Glenn Miller of Canada. Mart Kenney's accomplishments are legendary and include: the first Canadian band to make a recording (RCA Victor, 1938); 25 years on CBC Radio; 11 years on NBC Radio, and several years on the BBC, including the war years. Mark was a member of the Vancouver Musicians' Association for 77 years and was also a recipient of the Order of Canada, the Order of BC, BC Senior of the Year, and the National Canadian Musicians' Award. Mart also shared programs with such greats as Fats Waller and Duke Ellington. Following his retirement in 1969, Mart Kenney returned to BC where he and his wife and former soloist, Norma Locke, took up residence in Mission. Mart continued to play at concerts and made yearly trips to Toronto to play at the Royal York Hotel every Remembrance Day to 1999. He also was very involved in various community activities, including serving as a Mission City councillor in his eighties. Mart and Norma Kenney spearheaded the movement to develop Heritage Park in Mission, the site of the original St Mary's Mission. Mart also engaged himself in a program to develop vocational training courses in the federal penitentiary system. He also spent several years while a bandleader in Ontario as spokesman for the Easter Seal's Parade of Stars, which was chaired by such notables as Foster Hewitt and Conn Smythe of hockey fame. Mart chaired the Parade of Stars, which featured Bing Crosby, during its final season before it broke up into regional telethons. I first met Mart Kenney in the mid-1990's and interviewed him on video in 1998. I can truly say that Mart, ever the trained showman, was the easiest interview that I've ever done. A trained radioman for several decades, Mart focused right on the camera as if it were a microphone, and I never moved or adjusted the camera until the first break after forty minutes. Despite his successes, Mart's name was noticeable for its absence from The BC Almanac of Greatest British Columbians which was released in the fall of 2005. Mart moved to Vancouver at the age of one. His parents never really lived together, so Mart and his mother ended up living with his grandparents on Cedar Crescent in Shaughnessy Heights in Vancouver. Mart's parents officially divorced in 1922, and his mother remarried and moved in a house on 49th Avenue in Kerrisdale in 1924, the same year that Marf s grandfather, a prominent clothier, went bankrupt. Mart attended Magee High School. Times were financially difficult, and Mart had paper routes with the morning Sun and later the evening Province. Mart's Aunt Sara, who also lived with the grandparents, was a concert pianist and a teacher. After a try at the violin, Mart used some of the money that he earned from his paper route to make a down payment on a used Conn alto saxophone at Roland's Music Store. Mart received some lessons from Charlie Williams, a well-known musician in Vancouver who played lead trumpet for Calvin Winter and the Capitolians at the Capital Theatre and who also conducted the orchestra at the Ryerson United Church where Mart attended. Mart also played in the Magee High School orchestra conducted by a Mr Watts. Ken Macleod is a retired teacher and lives in Courtenay BC. Ken's last article for BC History was Kingsmill Bridge in Italy {BC History 40.2) Mart Kenney and soloist Georgia Dey, 1940 (right) BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORY - Vol. 41 No. Soon Mart, his friend Malcom Pretty on piano, and John Crysdale on drums formed their own band in 1926. There were many bands in Vancouver at the time, indoor and outdoor. One of Mart's favorites was Roland's Band that played in Stanley Park. Mart also revered Len Chamberlain and His Twinkletoes who played at the Prom, a dance hall built on a pier at English Bay. Early in 1927, Mart decided to drop out of school to help support the family and to pursue his music interests which often kept him up late on school nights. Mart and his musical friends were also starting to become established on the Vancouver dance band scene. The young Kenney spent two years as a sideman in various bands, before forming his own band in 1929. Mart was working with the Underwood Typewriter Company when he took a job selling musical instruments and teaching music for the Conn Company in 1929 just before the great stock market crash of that same year which initiated the Great Depression. Mart was stationed in Regina and was scheduled to marry Rosetta (Etty) Smillie on December 2,1929. Etty, a beautiful young lady had captured Marf s eye at a dance in Richmond, BC. In 1931, Mart returned to Vancouver where the band obtained their first permanent engagement at the Alexandria Ball Room three nights a week. The band did not play on Fridays which left the Western Gentleman free to book other dances at the University of British Columbia and other locations. The band, which had started with four members, grew to seven by 1931 and took the name Mart Kenney and His Western Gentlemen. The original seven members were Mart Kenney, Ed Emel, Bert Lister, Glen Griffith, Jack Hemmings, Hec McCallum, and Art Hallman. Several of the band could play more than one instrument which added to its versatility. Radio was in its infancy and George Chandler, a radio pioneer and owner of the Vancouver radio station CJOR, arranged to let Mart and his band broadcast after midnight when there was little or no interference from other broadcasters, so that Dave and Pat McLean, the owners of a "fabulous resort" at Waterton Lakes could audition them while listening by radio. Mart soon received a letter that his band was hired for the Waterton Park Pavillion for the summer season, July 1 to midnight on Labor Day. The band played what were called "jitney dances" where customers would pay 10(t for a request, and Mart and the band would receive 5<t of this. Mart and his mother In the late spring of 1934 while the band was playing in Calgary prior to their Waterton Lake summer engagement, Mart was approached by Horace Stovin of the Canadian Radio Commission (forerunner of the CBC). The audition was favorable, but because of a musicians' union strike, the broadcasts were delayed for two months. By this time the band was at Waterton Lakes. The band was in need of a theme song. Because of their western setting and name, Mart chose the song "The West, the Nest, and You" a favorite song of his mother's, as the band's theme song. Their program would begin with a raucous number "Jungle Fever" with its torn torn sound in the background as the announcer would say, "Rugged rhythm from the Land of Rugged Peaks" as the band then drifted into "The West, the Nest, and You." The band was not only broadcast from Waterton Lakes by the CRC from coast to coast, but also on a weekly basis by NBC Radio in the United States. Following the 1934 summer session at Waterton Lakes, the band was hired by CPR Hotels to play at the Hotel Saskatchewan in Regina for the fall and BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORY - Vol. 41 No. 1 British Columbia Historical Federation Newsletter NO. 22 ISSN print online June 2008 1710-1433 1710-1441 YOU MAY COPY AND CIRCULATE TO YOUR MEMBERS website bchistory.ca From the President's Desk This is my first message since becoming President in May. The New Westminster Conference was an entertaining, educational and enjoyable occasion. We have to thank Conference Chair Jacqueline Gresko and her crew for the hard work that made the Conference a success. I would like to thank Jacqueline Gresko and Webb Cummings who are stepping off Council. We welcome two new Council members, Jill Rowland, Recording Secretary and Anne Edwards, Member-at-large. Jacqueline will serve as Chair of the Publications Committee. We have looked at the distribution of the Newsletter and find that too many members are unaware that it exists as it appears that in many cases, the Newsletter stops at the Secretary's desk. As the Newsletter is the best way to communicate with our many members, we felt we should make it available by email. If you wish to received the Newsletter by email, please send a message to me at president@bchistory.ca and ask to be added to the subscription list. We ask those receiving this edition, to pass the word along to all their members. We will evaluate the situation again next year. Personal subscriptions for the Newsletter by mail are also available at $5.00 per year. I'm already looking forward to next year's Conference, which will be held in Nelson next May. We had a good time in Nelson a dozen years ago and the district has history pouring out of every creek and mountain. We look forward to meeting many of our members at the Nelson Conference. Ron Greene President New Westminster Conference Awards 2007 Writing Competition winners Lieutenant-Governor's Medal for historical writing Judy Thompson - author of Recording Their Story: James Teit and the Tahitan Second Place -Jay Sherwood author of Surveying Central British Columbia: A photojournal of Frank Swannell, 1920-28 Third Place - Donald Ellis editor of Tsimshian Treasurers: The Remarkable Journey of the Dundas Collection Honorable Mention - Robert D. Turner and J.S. David Wilkie authors of Steam Along the Boundary: Canada Pacific, Great Northern and the Great Boundary Copper Boom - Pe99y Schofield editor of The Story of Dunbar: Voices of a Vancouver Neighbourhood - Masako Fukawa editor of Nikkei Fishermen on the BC Coast: Their Biographies and Photographs Anne & Philip Yandle Award for Best Article BC History "The Royal Navy & Comox Settlement" written by Alan Pritchard Website Award presented to the Old Cemeteries Society, Victoria. ^ Certificate of Merit - Steven Hume for his research and writing about early BC history, especially his articles in the Vancouver Sun relating to first nations and to the travels of Simon Fraser Mark Forsythe & Greg Dickson for promoting awareness of British olumbia's history and for encouraging public interest through their books "The BC Almanac Book of British Columbians" and "The Trail of 1858" Tracing British Columbia's gold rush past. Certificate of Appreciation was presented to Jacqueline Gresko for her many years of dedicated service and ongoing interest and support of the Federation. Congratulations to all the recipients. Vancouver Historical Society City Reflections Unveiled The VHS screened their City Reflections -1907 Vancouver 2007 = at the May 22nd AG M to an overflow crowd of over 300. The exciting one hour video shows movie footage dated May 7, 1907 taken by Seatlle filmmaker William Harbeck who mounted a camera on the front of a B.C. Electric Railway street car and traveled through the streets of downtown Vancouver. The VHS worked almost three years on the project of restoring the film then reshooting the exact same footage from the same perspective but 100 years later in 2007. For more information visit: www.cityreflections.ca The Federation's BC 150th birthday project ■ Windows to -arii our past A pictorial history of British Columbia To celebrate British Columbia's 150 birthday, the Federation has published Windows to our Past - A pictorial history of British Columbia. The 24 page booklet includes 117 pictures, postcards and images from private collections, locally produced postcards and museum archives that most readers have not seen before. This limited edition publication is available by mail $5.50 mailed anywhere in Canada $6.50 mailed to U.S.A. $8.50 mailed to any other country Make cheque payable to BC Historical Federation and mail to BC Historical Federation Steveston PO Box 63006 Richmond, B.C. V7E 6K4 In early days entertainment included playing cards. However, when purchasing playing cards there was a tax levied on the Ace of Spades. To avoid paying the tax, people would purchase 51 cards minus the Ace of Spades. Since most games require 52 cards, these people were thought to be stupid or dumb because they weren't "playing with a full deck" Step on board the Nina and relive Christopher Columbus's bold adventure The Nina, a replica 15th century caravel redonda, is considered the most authentic replica ship sailing today. This elegant ship will visit Britannia Shipyard National Historic Site in Steveston and will be available for public tours from June 6-15. This will be an opportunity to relive Columbus' exciting journey of exploration to the New World. Open from 9 am to 6 pm on a drop-in basis with admissions Students $3 - Seniors $4 -Adults $5 on site at 5180 Westwater Drive - phone 604-718-8050 2008 National Historica Fair In July, 165 students were selected from 275,000 students from more than 1,000 communities across Canada will gather in Victoria for a week-long history camp. Visits to regional and cultural sites related to BC150 will culminate with a one-day exhibition Saturday July 12 from 10 am to 4 pm at the Cedar Hill Recreation Centre where these young storytellers from across Canada will share their history projects with the public and each other. Admission is free - information at www.histori.ca/fairs/ The Early years of BCHF Writing Awards as recalled by Naomi Miller - conclusion Mary Rawson was recruited and replaced Rhys as a judge. Mary improved the input of books by contacting various publishing houses. Later Peter was replaced by Daphne Baldwin of Prince George. Helen and Philip Akrigg made a donation to increase the LG/s prize. In 1988 Naomi passed on the Chair of the LG Awards Committee to Pamela Mar who made some changes to the rules and procedures and served as Chair to 1995 when Pixie McGeachie took over. Don Sale continued as a judge until 1987 at age 80. One year when slated for leg surgery, he planned to read during his convalescence. After this episode, he playfully created a new criteria for evaluation (size of book) as "the book was too big to read in bed." The Lieutenant-Governor has presented the Award four times since the start of the competition. David Lam gave us tea at Government House in 1989. The judges wanted to ensure the winner could attend, so two winners were chose, Bridget Moran from Prince George and Peter Waite from Halifax. Both were pleased to attend and be honored. Garde Gardom came to Conference 2001 in Richmond. Iona Cdmpagnolo presented in Prince George 2003 and in Government House in Victoria 2007. This was written off the top of my head - there were some dates where I only guessed but perhaps the readers will get a chuckle when considering all the names involved in those early years. Naomi Miller Welcome to our new members: British Columbia Heritage Fairs Society - Kamloops New Associate Mem bers - Craig Bowlsby - author of The Knights of Winter (book on hockey) Christine Pilgrim - Hands-on history based theatre, www. christinepilgrim. com BC Historical Federation has 125 members who represent over 11,200 individual members. □ News from the Conference: Membership: The Associate Membership category is open to anyone who wishes to become and individual member with the Federation and is interested in preserving British Columbia's history. Membership dues are $35.00 and includes four issues of BC History magazine and the Newsletter. A Corporate membership category has been added with membership dues of $100 and includes four issues of BC History and the Newsletter and the opportunity to sponsor a BCHF function ie. Special newsletter, conference activity or advertise in the Newsletter. A new Recognitions Committee category has been established - Certificates of Recognition may be given to individual members or groups of members of BCHF Member Societies who have given exceptional service to their organization or community. Awarding of these certificates is at the discretion of the Recognitions Committee. The draftof the Long Range Plan was approved and will be developed by our capable Education Chair Brenda Smith. Conference Workshops - the two workshops Financial Planning and Reporting for Non-Profits and British Columbia's Historic Land Records - the Inside Story had a great lineup of presenters (22 in all). They were well attended and the participants spoke very highly of the materials covered and their presentation. Kudos to the Education Committee who arranged these two excellent workshops. The Book Fair was organized and operated by the B.C. Genealogical Society who did a greatjob of promoting local authors, book signings and group projects. They also helped to man the BCHF table selling BCHistory and our Windows to Our Past. The BCHF Newsletter is published quarterly. Co-Editors Ron Hyde newsletter(®bchistorv. ca Ron Welwood webeditor(p).bchistorv. ca. To get your own copy of the Newsletter mailed to you for 4 issues, send $5 cheque payable to BCHF and mail to: Newsletter c/o Ron Hyde Steveston PO Box 63006 - Richmond, B.C. V7E 6K4 1 .High Tea at St. George's Anglican Church Ft Langley 2. Tour group at Royal Westminster Regiment 3. Tour group outside Galbraith House 8r 1 £^^«raR i'.''v < m| *«r mgsm J ffij&" sbj o i£' ' :f*2& - i \ ^'\ i'w J^^mi MIL R.E. Tim Watkins, Emilie & Wayne Desrochers at the Awards Banquet Serjeant James Syme Lindsay, R.A. (aka Tim Watkins) discussing the Encampment at Irving House 1. Ron Greene, Michael Layland, Garry Mitchell, Russ Fuller at the Opening Reception 2. The Dunbar Group with the Honorable Mention citation presented by Char Barb Hynek 3. Maureen and Ron Hyde with Ron Welwood enjoying the Awards Banquet 4.Members from the United Empire Loyalists Association at their Book Fair table winter session. These were the bleakest years of the Depression. Unemployment, hobo jungles, and men riding freight trains across the country were common. Southern Saskatchewan was hit the worst with dust storms, successive crop failures, grasshopper plagues, and farm foreclosures, which led one female fan to remark to Mart years later, "All we had during the depression in Saskatchewan was mashed potatoes and Mart Kenney." It was during their sojourn in Regina that Mart bought a top-of-the-line French-made alto saxophone and clarinet that would become his mainstays for the next 65 years. The brass section of the band also bought more expensive matching instruments that gave the band an even sweeter tone. In the early 40s when the band was stationed at the Brant Inn in Burlington, Ontario, the sax and clarinet were the only two instruments that survived unscathed and without smoke damage, following a fire at the hotel. During the summer of 1935, the band was scheduled to play at the CPR's Chateau Lake Louise which was followed up by five successive winters at the Spanish Grill at the railway's Hotel Vancouver. By now Mart Kenney and His Western Gentlemen's twice-weekly broadcast, "Sweet and Low," was a Canadian institution. Tragedy struck on February 7,1936 when Marf s beloved wife Etty died of a ruptured appendix in Vancouver. Devestated by the loss and left with two boys, Martin, age four, and Jack, age nine months, Mart turned to his mother and Etty's sister Madge for assistance. Eventually Mart and Madge married in the summer of 1936. The marriage lasted for almost fifteen years, but, according to Mart, the couple never really got along well. It appeared that success had reached a pinnacle for Mart and the band, when in 1937, the band was asked to play the summer season at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto, the largest hotel in the British Empire. By this time there were eleven members in the band including Eleanor Bartelle, the band's first female soloist. The band was being broadcast over the CBC two to three times a week from the Roof Garden of the Royal York Hotel. The Wednesday night program was also carried by the NBC Blue Network in the United States. Every Wednesday, Mart would be bombarded by phone calls from New York by songwriters who wanted to get their material on the NBC Show. In 1938 the band was set to make a record for RCA Victor Records, however, prior to the recording date, Eleanor Bartelle, the band's female soloist announced that she was pregnant and quitting the band. On that very day, Pearl Colicutt from Wetaskwin, Alberta, who had auditioned for Mart a couple of years earlier in Edmonton walked in off Georgia Street in Vancouver and was hired to replace Eleanor Bartelle. Pearl was renamed "Georgia Dey" because she had walked in off Georgia Street on that "day." I own an original copy of that RCA Victor 78 rpm record which Mart Kenney personally signed. "The West, the Nest, and You" is on one side, and "Sometime," which features Georgia Dey, and which was used as a sign off tune to Marf s wartime broadcast at home and in Britain over the BBC, is on the flip side. In Vancouver, the Canadian National Railway (CNR) had begun building a hotel to rival the CPR's old Hotel Vancouver. However, because of the stock market crash in October, 1929, and the subsequent Great Depression, work on the new hotel was eventually halted, leaving a large unfinished shell. By 1938, the CPR and CNR decided to go in together on finishing the new hotel in time for the visit of King BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORY - Vol. 41 No. 1 21 Bobby Gimby George VI and his wife Queen Elizabeth in 1939. As a consequence, the CPR's original Hotel Vancouver would close its doors. There were squabbles between the CNR and the CPR on workers' wages, including whether or not, the hotel would pay travel costs for musicians. During his last winter session at the old hotel (1939-1940), Mart Kenney decided to relocate permanently in the Toronto area, following the band's summer session at the Royal York Hotel in 1940. Dal Richards and his band, who were hired by the new Hotel Vancouver for the 1940 summer season, succeeded Mart Kenney in the new Panorama Ballroom and remained there for the next 25 years. The band's winter base was the Brant Inn in Burlington, but from time to time they made appearances at various armed forces training camps across the country. For this purpose, the CPR had provided a rail car that could be used as a mobile base for the band. Along with this rail car, a very affable Afro-American porter named Jack Wilson became part of Marf s extended family for the next ten years. Judy Richard of Vancouver also became Mart's female soloist for the next few years. About this time Bobby Gimby, a trumpet player from Manitoba via Chilliwack, joined Marf s band. Gimby went on to play for the Happy Gang, and years later to write the "C-A-N-A-D-A Song" the theme song for Expo 67. During these years, Mart Kenney rubbed shoulders and became friends with some of the industry's big names such as Duke Ellington and Fats Waller. Waller was to the piano what Louis Armstrong was to the trumpet. He wrote hundreds of songs, including "Ain't Misbehavin" and "Honeysuckle Rose" and was one of the music world's most popular performers. Unfortunately, Waller died of pneumonia in 1944. Mart Kenney told me some interesting stories about Fats Waller, who Mart referred to by his real name, Thomas. During the early years of the war Mart Kenney and Fats Waller used to share a two week appearance at the the Brant Inn Lake in Burlington. Fats would play the first sixty minutes of the program and Mart, the second sixty minutes and so on. Fats was a very generous and likeable performer who would buy drinks on the house wherever he went. Mrs Waller would have to visit the bartenders and tell them that she was not going to pay the whole bill unless the bartender restricted the number of drinks that her Thomas ordered. Following each nighf s performance, and after having a few drinks with the other musicians, Fats would compose music and play the grand piano in the Lido Deck of the Brant Inn into the wee hours of the morning, sometimes as late as 6 am. He would then grab a few hours sleep, then go for a dip in the cold waters of Lake Ontario, then compose and play music for the next several hours, while sipping wine and gin. Mart's youngest son, Jack, was suffering from severe nosebleeds to the point that the doctor suggested several days of rest and quiet. Madge Kenney asked Mr Waller if he could refrain from playing while the boy was confined to his bed. On the third day about 4 pm Fats decided to check and see how the boy was doing. He tiptoed into Jack's room and said, "Jack is there anything that I can do for you?" The boy responded that he would like Mr Waller to play "Brahm's Lullaby," so for the next few hours, Fats Waller played more than 20 versions of the song (Mart Kenney, Mart Kenney and His Western Gentlemen, p 79). In 1942, the Coca Cola Company initiated a radio program in Canada, similar to one they had 22 BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORY - Vol. 41 No. 1 i i \ / rcaVictor \ 1 "Rse ^P 216593A Wail, A U(&1 AM Ytti &MT 1 i k Ma.'t KfenriAy&M Hk Wcgtofn C&n1Earrftft j 1 1 ^Ss_ ^ tjyif1 rat* *VEr*>* _^ initiated in the United States, called the "Victory Parade Tour." Mart and his band would travel all over the country on a weekly basis, making appearances to Canada's armed forces. The band made 200 of these broadcasts. Another interesting story about Mart during the war years occurred when he received a letter through the Red Cross from Barry Davidson, an Canadian airman and a Prisoner-of-War (POW), requesting some some of the band's records for his POW camp. The band sent records to the POW camp as often as they could. Following the war, Barry stopped in to see Mart and, while having lunch, related that everytime "The West, the Nest, and You" was played over the camp's loudspeaker, all the Canadian prisoners would stop what they were doing and listen to the music and reminisce about the nice times that they had spent listening to this music before the war took them away. In fact, every time there was a disturbance or riot by the Canadian POWs, the guards would play this music to settle the Canadians down. Following the war, Mart and his band continued to play. Tough times had hit the big bands in the United States with the popularity of television. Mart bought a "Ranch" in Woodbridge, Ontario where he held weekly dances. His soloist after the war was Norma Locke, whom Mart married in 1952 after he and Madge separated in 1951. A daughter, Elizabeth "Liza," was born on December 6, 1955. Martin Kenney and His Western Gentlemen continued to perform for several years. "Borden's Canadian Cavalcade" was one of their better- known weekly radio broadcasts. Many band members came and went, including trombone player and soloist, Wally Koster, who went on to host Canada's first televised hit parade show. Comedian Dave Broadfoot got his start by travelling with one of Mart Kenney's vaudeville shows. A few years ago, following a presentation to a group of Rotarians, Mart was asked what his most memorable performance was. "The next one," replied Kenney. Mart remained a fervent Canadian all his life. He wrote the song "We're Proud of Canada" in 1946. "We're proud of Canada; how thankful we should be." I cannot help but feel that we have lost a little bit of Canada with the death of Mart Kenney. • BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORY - Vol. 41 No. 1 The Brown Jug Saloon of Victoria, B.C. Token History By Ronald Greene Ron Greene is currently the president of the BC Historical Federation Is (he Brown Jug had a reputation as Victoria's finest watering hole. Whether the reputation was justified or not is hard to say at this distance in time, but it was located on a very prominent corner, the south east corner of Government and Fort streets. John D. Carroll, who was an American born in Ireland, came to Victoria in the late 1850's. He opened a saloon in January of 1861 which he called the Brown Jug. Carroll was suffering from consumption (tuberculosis) and in 1862 he went to San Francisco to get some relief from his illness, where he died on July 14th.1 The next proprietor of the Brown Jug of whom we know was Thomas Golden who was operating the saloon in 1863. It appears that Golden was regularly in financial trouble and in early 1866 the following advertisement appeared in the Colonist.2 The Brown Jug. The Lease of this well-known establishment, located at the corner of Government and Fort Streets, with the good-will, stock and fixtures is this morning offered for sale for a term of one or five years, the proprietor being compelled to leave for Europe by the first steamer in February. Of all the business sites in the city, the 'Brown Jug' is acknowledged to occupy the most commanding, standing as it does at the corner of the two now principal streets of the city, and this fact alone will ensure to the purchaser one of the safest business investments that could be found in town. It appears that Golden couldn't sell the Brown Jug lease and he was still running the saloon in the 1869 according to the city directory.3 Afterwards, on a ship bound for San Francisco he tried to commit suicide by jumping overboard. He was seen and rescued. The poor fellow ended up in a California asylum.4 By 1871 Augustus C. Couves was running the Brown Jug5 and when he died in July 1887,6 the business passed to his widow, Lucy. She, in turn, sold the saloon to Michael Powers and William Croft. Powers and Croft dissolved their partnership in April 18917 and Powers continued to operate the Brown Jug. Mike Powers was a native of Springfield, Mass. Born about 1859, he first was listed in the B.C. Directory for 1887 when he appeared in partnership with J. Johnson in the Albion Saloon. They transferred the licence for the Albion Saloon to H. Harris during 1889.8 In October 1891 Powers married Matilda Faulconer at the Archbishop's Palace, the Rev. Father Nicolaye presiding.9 By this time he was the sole proprietor of the Brown Jug. Tragedy struck Powers for the first time when his wife died, at just twenty years of age on April 11,1894.10 Mike didn't grieve for long, for he married Nellie Burnell on December 15, 1894, the Rev. Father Nicolaye again presiding.11 In March 1899 Powers sold the Brown Jug to J.B. BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORY - Vol. 41 No. 1 Simpson and in June took over the Garrick's Head Saloon in Bastion Square from R.J. Johnson, his former partner in the Albion. Steve O'Brien, said formerly to have run the Monte Carlo in Dawson City took over the Brown Jug in June 1900. The saloon was again transferred in December 1901, to G.G. Meldram and H.H. Molony. These gentlemen ran the saloon until Meldram's death in 1914. The provincial government enacted legislation that forbid stand-alone saloons and pubs from 1914. Drinking establishments had to be associated with hotels or inns of at least twenty rooms. In response the saloon took over a small adjoining building and converted it to an hotel, becoming the Brown Jug Hotel.12 In August 1914, Robert Noble and A.C. Fraser incorporated the Brown Jug Inn Ltd. to take over the operation. Noble was the majority share-holder with 248 shares, and Fraser, a bank manager, was the second shareholder required to allow the company to be incorporated. He held one share.13 In July 1915 the licence was transferred to Robert Dowswell and he held it until Prohibition came in October 1,1917. There are two different aluminum tokens known for the Brown Jug; a round drink token bearing the name of Mike Powers, and an oval token good for 12% cents. The drink token bearing Mike Power's name would have been issued between 1891 and 1899. The oval token may have been introduced later. In October 1899, shortly after he had taken over the Garrick's Head Saloon, Powers was living on Fort Street, east of Blanshard Street, some four blocks from his saloon. After closing up at three in the morning of October 1st, 1899 he walked home. As he entered his gate he was attacked by two "sandbaggers." The assailants were disturbed by a passing hack driver, John Birnie, and fled. A towel, apparently filled with sand, was found nearby. It appeared to have broken when the blow was struck and this was thought to have saved Powers from any serious injury. The newspapers speculated that the attackers knew Powers usually carried a considerable amount of money in his pockets. About three days after the incident Powers took a sudden turn for the worst and was taken to hospital. There he died on the afternoon of the 5th. A reward of $500 was offered for the arrest of the assailants.14 The coroner's inquest brought out several surprises. The autopsy revealed that Powers died from peritonitis resulting from a ruptured liver. He had been repeatedly kicked in the side by his assailants whom he had described as a man and a woman! There were indications that Powers knew his assailants. He apparently believed that he would recover and would not make a statement to the police. Powers had been separated from his wife, Nellie, for several years. She was living in Vancouver but was visiting Kamloops at the time of the attack. His housekeeper, Edna Rowen, when sworn-in identified herself as, 'Edna Powers. I was the wife of the deceased Michael Powers - his wife.'15 This was a surprise to everyone, but in a later issue of the Colonist she explained that this statement was made thoughtlessly while she was under great mental distress. She had been thought of by Mike Powers and herself as his wife for some time. Only a ' short time before his removal to the hospital Powers had instructed his lawyer to prepare a will, 'giving everything to Edna.'16 The coroner's verdict was that Powers' death was murder at unknown hands. The case was never solved. • 1 James Nesbitt, Colonist, June 5,1949, Magazine Section, p. 10 2 Colonist, January 26,1866 p. 3 3 First Victoria Directory, Third Issue, and British Columbia Guide, 1869, E. Mallandaine, 1869 p. 28 4 Cecil Clark, Colonist, July 6, 1958, Magazine Section, p. 9 5 First Victoria Directory, Fourth Issue, and British Columbia Guide, 1871, E. Mallandaine, 1871, p. 8. Couves was not listed in the Third Issue, 1869 6 British Columbia GR2951, Death Registration 1887-09-005531, microfilm B13077 7 Colonist, April 12,1891, p. 6 8 Ronald Greene, Victoria Drinking Establishments 1889 - 1917,1990. Available at the City of Victoria Archives. The work is a compilation by licensee from the Victoria Retail Liquor License Registers from 1889 until 1917, the year that Prohibition came in. All the license holders names, and transfer dates when given came from the compilation. 9 Colonist, October 25,1891, p. 8 10 British Columbia GR2951, Death Registration 1894-09-008263, microfilm B13078, and Colonist April 12, p. 5 and p. 8 11 British Columbia GR2962, Marriage Registration 1894-09-006444, microfilm B11367, Colonist, Dec. 18,1894, p. 5 which gave the name as Brunell. 12 Daily Times, January 17,1914, p. 7 13 GR1526, Registrar of Companies, File #2667 (1910), microfilm B5138 14 Colonist, October 6,1899 p. 5 15 Colonist, October 7,1899 p. 2 16 Colonist, October 8,1899 p. 5 BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORY - Vol. 41 No. 25 Archives and Archivists Submitted by Arilea Sill, Municipal Archivist, City of Burnaby Library and Archives Canada: Accessible in the Lower Mainland Edited by SyMa Stopforth, Librarian and Archivist, Norma Marian Alloway Library, Trinity Western University Library and Archives Canada (LAC) collects and preserves Canada's documentary heritage, and makes it accessible to all Canadians. Local researchers who are interested in viewing the archival holdings of the Government of Canada may be pleasantly surprised to hear that some of those records are right here in British Columbia. LAC operates eight Regional Service Centres across Canada, providing a records storage service to over 200 federal government departments and agencies. Access to these stored records is managed by their creating departments, in accordance with federal Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) legislation. Once records have passed specified retention periods, those documents that chronicle the essential work of the creating department are legally transferred to LAC. With the transfer of ownership, LAC also becomes responsible for access and the application of ATIP. Four of the Regional Service Centres are located in Central Canada, and therefore physically transfer any archival records to Ottawa, where they can be accessed in LAC's public consultation room on Wellington Street. The remaining four Regional Service Centres are less centrally located, and so retain records once they become archival. The Pacific Regional Service Centre (PRSC) in Burnaby is one of these four less central sites, and as a result it facilitates access to archival material in its care. Located in Burnaby - just north of the Production Way Skytrain station - the PRSC holds over six kilometres of archival material. The archival holdings consist entirely of governmertt records, created by federal offices in British Columbia and the Yukon, dating predominantly from 1930 to 1980. Earlier records were transferred to Ottawa and are accessible by request through the main reference service at reference@lac-bac.gc.ca . While the majority of the holdings in Burnaby are textual, two multi-media collections contain photographs that were transferred from the Shaughnessy Veterans Hospital and Royal Roads Military College after their closure. The PRSC holds no private records and does not facilitate any of the library services provided by LAC. Unlike LAC in Ottawa, research visits to the Pacific Regional Service Centre require advanced booking so that employees can ensure that they are able to provide adequate on-site service. Researchers are encouraged to begin their research via the LAC website, www.collectionscanada.gc.ca , but should note that roughly only ten per cent of LAC government holdings are searchable via electronic file lists. Researchers should also be aware that, as is the case with the majority of government records held by LAC, archival material held in Burnaby is subject to ATIP legislation and must be reviewed before it can be accessed. As a result researchers may find that their visit is two-fold: one appointment to identify relevant files in paper finding aids and a second to review files that are accessible in accordance with ATIP. Individuals interested in conducting research at Library and Archives Canada's Pacific Regional Service Centre in Burnaby are welcome to contact the Centre via e-mail at reference.vancouver@lac-bac. gc.ca. 1*1 Library and Archives Bibliotrt#que at Archives Canada Canada 'JU GanadS Library and Archives Canada www.coltecttofiscanada.gc.ca I Contact Us iHelp [sear | Canada.gc.ca- What We Have In Our Collection On Our Website Our Popular Resources What We Ik> For Canada's national collection of books, historical documents, government records, photos, films, maps, music,and more. In Tha Spotlight Reflecting on Anna of I Green Gables June 5, 2008 until March 1, 2009 74th IFLA General Conference and Council 10 - 14 August 2008 [I Go! I Search only: Library Archives ;&rmestocsJ8figbsite- Canadian Genealogy Centre BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORY - Vol. 41 No. 1 City of Vancouver Archives puts McLennan, McFeely & Co. catalogue on web This is a beautifully illustrated, detailed and keyword-searchable catalogue of 1908-1914 goods and arcane information. Digitization was made possible by funding from the B.C History Digitization Program, with generous cooperation from the Burnaby VillageMuseum. The catalogue can be found at: http: / / www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/ctyclerk/ archives / digitized / McMcHTML / index. htm> The catalogue was donated to the Archives by John Mackie, who purchased it privately. Pages which were missing or damaged were borrowed from the Burnaby Village Museum for digitization. The pages were scanned in 24-bit colour and saved as colour-managed TIFF master files of approximately 34 MB in size. The page images are cropped to an area slightly larger than the page in order to show the entire page. The JPEG images presented on the site are much smaller than the master files to make browsing faster, and so that the user won't have to scroll down in order to browse the catalogue. For reasons of access speed, and to make the optical character recognition (OCR) step more accurate, the PDF versions of each page have been presented as greyscale except for those pages where colour is essential. The master TIFF files were converted to greyscale and OCR was applied to the essential words. We did not OCR every price in the price list, or quantities in the catalogue listings, as most of the OCR errors occured in the numbers. Errors in the OCR were corrected manually. Pad locks. §»§« BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORY - Vol. 41 No. 1 27 Book Reviews Columbia Journals, bicentennial edition. David Thompson, edited, with a new edition, by Barbara Belyea. Montreal and Kingston, McGill-Queen's University Press, paperback edition, 2007. 368 p., maps. $29.95 paperback. The Mapmaker's Eye: David Thompson on the Columbia Plateau. Jack Nisbet. Pullman, Washington, Washington State University Press, 2005. 192 p., illus., maps. $36.95 paperback. The David Thompson Bicentennial celebrations (2007-11) are being marked in many ways. Most importantly, a number of books are being prepared, some of which will update Thompson's meticulous and voluminous journals and writings. It has long been realized that the abridged version of David Thompson's Narrative of His Explorations in Western America 1784-1812 edited by J. B. Tyrrell that the Champlain Society published in 1916 was incomplete. The need for a more definitive version has led to an entirely new transcription of all the extant versions of Thompson's narratives by William E. Morrow so both scholars and the general reader will have access to accurate versions. They will be published by the Champlain Society in partnership with McGill-Queens University Press and the University of Washington Press. Volume 1 with the 1850 version of Thomson's travels will appear later this year followed by two further volumes with the 1848 version along with associated texts and selections from Books for review and book reviews should be sent to: Frances Gundry, Book Review Editor, BC Historical News, P.O. Box 5254, Station B., Victoria, BC V8R 6N4 Thompson's other writings. Barbara Belyea has chosen to focus on the years from 1810 to 1812, when Thompson made most of his explorations, by transcribing and editing all the extant versions of his journals to determine the relationship between these versions for this period whereas Nisbet has made use of Morrow's transcriptions in his text. His book was written to be available in conjunction with an exhibition on David Thompson held by the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture in Spokane, WA, U.S.A. We are about to enter a very exciting period of rediscovery of David Thompson and his outstanding contributions to geographic discovery, the survey of western America, his scientific thinking and his insights into Native ways. Tyrell proclaimed Thompson to be one of the greatest land geographers for his exploration and mapping of over 50,000 miles of the Canadian West. The two books under review provide the general reader with a taste of why these statements remain valid today. The Mapmaker's Eye provides the Canadian reader with a somewhat different version of Thompson's work. It contains a great deal of interesting information about contributions that are new and opens the reader's eye to the many other talents of Thompson. His beautiful sketches of the flora and fauna, natives, their villages and their canoes, sleds, etc. as well as the tinted landscape sketches are a wonderful feature because they have rarely been published. The text is generously illustrated with many black and white versions of paintings by Paul Kane and water colours by Lt. H. J. Warre, a British military officer involved in the survey of the area in 1845-46. The book features an excellent selection of maps to augment the text so the reader can always know Thompson's location in his travels. Nisbet's book provides an excellent introduction to the writings of David Thomson for the novice and will encourage the reader to learn more about this marvelous explorer and writer. Belyea's book is a work of scholarship. Her introduction provides the reader with a detailed description of the problems that an editor of Thompson's writings encounters in trying to sort out the various versions in existence. She has also chosen to focus on the travels and explorations of Thompson between 1810 and 1812. Her final chapter on maps and their role in determining the disposition of the Oregon Territory should anger Canadians as it reveals the incompetence of the British negotiators due to their unwillingness to either read or take account of the maps available to them. Sadly, David Thompson's magnificent contributions to the exploration and mapping of western North America were ignored. One is tempted to wonder whether his undying love for his native wife, Charlotte Small, and his children played a role in his work being discounted. Those explorers of British origin who were prepared to learn from the local natives how to survive and take their information about the landscape and territory seriously were dammed and discounted for not assuming that this knowledge was inferior. Readers will derive much enjoyment in reading these two fine contributions about the writings of David Thompson and his impressive scholarship as he was as the British say, a true polymath. Harvey A. Buckmaster has had a lifelong interest in the exploration of western Canada that started when he read Ballantyne's The Dog Crusoe with his mother as a young boy. Deep Roots, Strong Branches: The History of Sun-Rype Products Ltd. Sharron J. Simpson and Ian F. Greenwood. Kelowna, B.C., Manhattan Beach Publishing [2007] 106 p., illus. $19.95 hardcover [available from the B.C. Orchard Industry Museum, 1304 Ellis St., Kelowna]. Ian Greenwood originally envisioned Deep Roots, Strong Branches as a personal memoir for his family. As he began writing about his 30 years of work in the fruit industry, however, he discovered that a great deal of significant historical information about Okanagan fruit processing had never been documented and was in danger of disappearing. Realizing that he was in a position to collect and record these 28 BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORY - Vol. 41 No. 1 memories, Greenwood decided to expand the scope of his own story and recruited the support of Sun-Rype Products Ltd. and help from Okanagan author and history enthusiast Sharron Simpson. This fortunate collaboration resulted in a book that commemorates the 60th anniversary of Sun-Rype Products Ltd. Deep Roots, Strong Branches shows how local ingenuity and good business practice overcame a problem—what to do with the culls produced by the Okanagan's fresh fruit industry. Orchards could ship only the best grade of product to market, and they quickly ran out of space to dispose of the less-than- perfect fruit. Focusing on apples, the book begins with an account of early fruit growing efforts in the area: establishing the orchards, finding markets, and finding ways to get the apples to those markets. By the 1930's, those problems were solved and the industry flourished. Success brought another problem: "what to do with the massive tonnages of unmarketable apples...that packinghouses were paying to have hauled to municipal landfills or simply dumped into the area's ravines and empty lots" (9). The solution was to start making apple byproducts. The production of apple juice, dehydrated apples, and apple vinegar took the industry down a new and profitable path. The rest of the book describes how the industry developed, grew, and diversified its product line into pie fillings, applesauce, other types of fruit juice, apple cider, frozen desserts, apple flakes, fruit leathers, and so on. Technical research, production methods, shipping, marketing, and business organization are all treated with a lively and informative discussion. Near the end of the book, the authors include one of my favorite features of local histories—recollections of industry participants, in their own words. I enjoy discovering what struck these pioneers as being significant, amusing, or something they wished they had done differently. Their recollections of life on the production floor are the heart in this book's body. Having been bitten by the genealogy bug, I also appreciate local histories like this one that are generous with names, photos, and information related to a wide range of participants in an industry. Deep Roots, Strong Branches tells a good story and treats the reader to high production values. It is well-written, well- edited, and well laid out. Graphics showing early products, packing, and advertising campaigns are surprisingly evocative of B.C. life over the last several decades. I was surprised how a photo of Sun-Rype packaging from the 1980's could evoke memories of camping trips or packing school lunches—perhaps a clue that British Columbians were engaged in the 100-mile diet long before it became fashionable. I encourage you to read Deep Roots, Strong Branches. You'll come away with an insight into the effort it took to produce the fruit beverages that grace your breakfast table and the fruit snacks that you tuck into your lunch bag. You will also know a great deal more about a successful B.C. business that has, in Greenwood's words, "met the challenges of a changing industry, adapted to a very different marketplace, and flourished to become a nationwide leader in its field." Susan Stacey, a Richmond writer interested in industry, reviews frequently for this magazine. In Search of Ancient British Columbia Barbara Huck. Winnipeg, Man., Heartland Associates Inc., 2006. 304p., illus. $29.95paperback. Barbara Huck has set a daunting task for herself, identifying the important aspects of geology, paleontology and archaeology in the various regions of southern British Columbia. Just one of these topics could fill several books, and we must accept the fact that this is a selective compilation. The text is clearly written and beautifully illustrated by photographs, maps and art work, most of them in colour. A lengthy introduction provides the recent theories on glaciation, arrival of the first people, paleontology and geology. The latter subject presents the greatest challenge because the province was created from a crazy quilt of terranes added onto the North American craton over a period of 150 million years. Although a large body of knowledge has been acquired in the last thirty years, professional geologists are still hard at work sorting out the many puzzles presented by our abundance of mountains. The author includes the most interesting geological formations and fossils in each regional section and an extensive glossary to explain unfamiliar terminology. But it would have helped to have a definition for Cordillera, a geological time line and a map showing the most important terranes. It is also not clear why a description of the rich abundance of minerals found in Quesnellia, at Gold Bridge, Brittania, Highland Valley, and in the Kootenays was omitted. The geology of the Gulf Islands is BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORY - Vol. 41 No. 1 29 not as complicated as that of the Rocky Mountains but some of the information provided is incorrect. The source of the bedrock on most of the Southern Gulf Islands was not Fraser River sediment but high energy rivers eroding material off Vancouver Island into the Georgia Basin 66-91 million years ago. This material separated into mudstone, sandstone and conglomerate and contains coal beds in the region extending from Nanaimo to Courtenay. The section on paleontology failed to mention that unlike Saskatchewan and Alberta, British Columbia does not have a Fossil Protection Act.. We need as much support as possible to preserve this precious ancient heritage. The Burgess Shale UNESCO site, and the Mount Stephen Trilobite Beds included in the book are protected from the public because they are in a National Park. But until vulnerable sites outside of British Columbia's parks are safeguarded they should not be widely advertised. We hope this fact will be kept in mind if a second volume on northern British Columbia is planned. Marie Elliott, a former editor of this magazine, researches and writes on the Cariboo Chilcotin and the Gulf Islands. Nikkei Fishermen on the BC Coast: their Biographies and Photographs. Masako Fukawa, editor and Project Manager Nikkei Fishermen's Book Committee. Madeira Park. B.C., Harbour Publishing, 2007. 208 p., photos, maps, appendices. $39.95 hardcover. From 1934 to 1942 Kanshiro Koyama's buy-and-sell fish camp and tiny general store balanced on floats by the shore of Silva Bay and provided services to his fellow fishermen as well as the small community near the southeast tip of Gabriola Island. But after Pearl Harbor, Koyama was among the thousands of Japanese Canadians forcibly displaced from the British Columbia Coast. His business passed into the hands of the Page brothers, two young fishermen known to Koyama. After the war, many Japanese fishermen returned to the sea, their boats, and the canneries; and many stopped in at Page's. But as far as I have been able to determine, Koyama never returned to or communicated with his former home, which in 1987 became my home. So when this important book appeared, I looked for information about Koyama's life after 1943. But alas, while Koyama's name does appear in the list of 3680 Nikkei fishermen known to have been displaced, he was not among the 767 who responded to the survey distributed by the Nikkei Fishermen's Reunion Committee. The book is part of a series of commemorative events honouring the contributions, hardships and sacrifices of a generation of fishermen. Fourteen members of the Book Committee have worked in the fishing industry; the fifteenth is a sociologist and certified translator. They gathered and processed the submissions during 60 work sessions, checking every biography, then following up with telephone calls and personal visits. Two thousand photographs were scanned and catalogued. The facts they collected and organized tell nearly 800 stories, for instance, the story of Toshiaki "Jack" Goto (1917-1996), the son, brother, father and uncle of other fishermen. Jack Goto's first job in the fishery was on his father's gillnetter, Before the war he fished in the Fraser River for the Glenrose Cannery, Delta, and lived in the New Westminster area. A favourite recreation was kendo, the traditional martial art of fencing. His first boat was handed over to him by his father. His second, a brand new gillnetter, was the last built by Suzuki Bros. Boat Works on Annacis Island. When he was "relocated" in 1942, he chose to sell the boat, which he had never had a chance to use, to a Finnish neighbour rather than surrender it to the RCMP, just as Koyama chose to sell his business to men he knew Goto spent the war years in Emerson, Manitoba, and returned to the coast in 1970. He married Taiko Numayama and had three children. His postwar vessels were all gillnetters: the June, the Golden Girl, the Richard Allen, and the Teener, which is now owned and operated by his son Edward. He was a member of the United Fishermen and Allied Workers Union. His father was active in the New Westminster Buddhist Temple, his brother in the Surrey United Church, and his son is a member of the Steveston Museum. We have photos of the Golden Girl and the Teener, of his brother Bungoro and cousin Kiyoo, though not of himself. The questionnaire's bare facts speak volumes. Endpaper maps show Key Salmon Areas and Japanese Canadian Fishing Places. Seven appendices document the Reunion Committee's activities and provide helpful information about names, cultural practices, place names, language ("Japanglish") and Gochiso, or culinary delights. I was only slightly surprised by this last section; the Pages have told of Japanese fishermen bringing unexpected gourmet contributions BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORY - Vol. 41 No. 1 to barbecues at the marina. Thanks are due to Harbour Publishing for accepting the role of publisher for this book, and for giving it a handsome presentation, worthy of its historical and commemorative significance, and a format helpful to future researchers. Skim the lists of 3680 names - of those, like Toshiaki Goto, whose stories are told here, and those others, like Kanshiro Koyama, whose fates are unknown. It is a moving and silencing experience, like standing before a cenotaph. Phyllis Reeve writes from Gabriola Island. &2lj| Recording Their Story: James Teit and the Tahltan. Judy Thompson. Vancouver, B.C., Douglas & Mclntyre, 2007. 207p., illus., maps, notes, appendices. $55.00 hardcover. On December 29,1883, James Teit, a young man of 19 years, set out on the long trip from Lerwick, Shetland Islands to join his maternal uncle living in British Columbia and to work in his uncle's general store in Spences Bridge. Although young James had left formal schooling in the Shetland Islands earlier in his teens, he was a bright lad who continued to show great interest in intellectual pursuits afterwards, particularly in his great passion for Shetlandic history and family genealogy. Lerwick was a centre for fishermen and traders from a number of countries, and James had opportunities to hear various languages as he grew up. As well, he was a gregarious and engaging young person. Trie skills and interests that he showed as a member of various social and sporting organizations would prove to be useful in his future, very active, life in British Columbia. James Teit died at 58 years of age in 1922. By that time he had become a hunting guide in the interior and northern parts of B.C.; a speaker of several unrelated Native languages of the province; a largely self-taught ethnographer who collected valuable field data including photographs, sound recordings, and cultural information; an author of learned articles and books on several Native peoples of the interior and northern parts of British Columbia; a collector of Native artifacts for several famous museums in both Canada and the United States; a valued friend of scholars and numerous Native people; and a strong advocate for the improvement of conditions for Aboriginal people. His monumental work on the Tahltan people (an Athabaskan- speaking group in northwestern British Columbia) and their culture remains even today, as the author of this volume writes in her introduction, "the most important extant assemblage of Tahltan heritage materials". In this handsome and most informative coffee-table-size book, Judy Thompson, Curator of Western Subarctic Ethnology at the Canadian Museum of Civilization, presents chronologically the life and work of this extraordinary man, setting them within the context of the development of the then new academic field of anthropology. Although Ms. Thompson concentrates on Teif s later work with the Tahltan, she traces the gradual path that Teit took once he arrived in Spences Bridge, first working for his uncle where he learned to speak Nlaka'pamux (the Thompson language, belonging to the Interior Salish family of languages), and probably Chinook (a trade language), in order to communicate with Native people of the area. After leaving that employment, he started traveling and trading goods, leading to a new career as a guide for hunting parties. At the same time he learned other Interior Salish languages and Carrier, an Athabaskan tongue, and became interested in writing down his observations of different aspects of Aboriginal cultures. His natural affability and ability to establish rapport with people from different cultures won him acceptance in the native communities. His ready adaptability to new situations helped him to find different ways of making a livelihood. This was frequently necessary, especially later in his life when he was carrying out field ethnographic work on contract, work which did not by itself provide a financial living for Teit and his family. In order to record accurately information on the cultures of Aboriginal people, at first Teit sought out people knowledgeable in the cultural traditions of the Native people with whom he came in contact, communicating with missionaries and academic scholars for information on plants and animals. In return, Teit sent information and specimens to the collections of the Department of Agriculture in Ottawa. The turning point in Teit's career as a scholar came when in 1894 Teit met Franz Boas, the eminent American ethnographer, and so impressed him with his knowledge of Native cultures in British Columbia that Boas asked him to collect artifacts for the American Museum of Natural History in New York. This led to two manuscripts by Teit on the Nlaka'pamux and then involvement in a six-year research project. By 1911, Teit's reputation as an authority on Interior Salish cultures was well established, and he was asked by Edward Sapir to join the newly established Anthropology Division of the Geological Survey of Canada, the precursor of today's Canadian Museum of Civilization. He concentrated on recording information on the culture of the Tahltan. In two relatively short field sessions in 1912 and 1915, Teit collected the material which forms the significant Tahltan collection now in the Canadian Museum of Civilization. What helps to make this book far more than just a biography of Teit and a listing of his accomplishments is the abundance of excellent photos of people with whom Teit came in contact, photos of artifacts collected by Teit and now in museum collections, maps, and the flagging of especially relevant BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORY • Vol. 41 No. 1 31 quoted remarks or stories set off in a different type and spacing within a separate area on the page. In the photos, as in Teit's meticulous fieldnotes on the people and the culture, the Aboriginal people and the artifacts are thoroughly described, with, owner's Aboriginal name, language, kinship group, and clan identified, if known. The text of the book is immensely readable by itself and is supported in the back of the book by copious footnotes and appendices, neither of which need to be consulted by the non-academic but which supply relevant and detailed background information about people with whom Teit was in contact as well as those who appear in his photographs, and about the artifacts and recordings of songs which he collected for the Canadian Museum of Civilization. Judy Thompson has produced a finely written and detailed description of James Teit's extraordinary, adventurous, and productive life in spite of hard times and difficult travel and field conditions in the remote parts of British Columbia in which he lived and visited. In addition to that fascinating story, Ms. Thompson has furnished a catalogue of the invaluable ethnographic record that Teit compiled in a time when Native customs were beginning to disappear due to influences outside the culture and when the Native cultural artifacts were being replaced by items from the non-Native surroundings. How fortunate we are that such a talented and dedicated scholar was present to document the old ways! Barbara Efrat is the retired Curator of Linguistics at the Royal British Columbia Museum in Victoria. Surveying Cintrai, British Couumuua Surveying Central British Columbia, a Photojournal of Frank Swannell, 1920-28. Jay Sherwood. Victoria, B.C., Royal B.C. Museum, 2007. 184p., illus., bibliog. $39.95 softcover. Frank Swannell arrived in Victoria from Ontario in 1899, en route to the Klondike goldfields to begin a career as a rruning engineer. But lack of funds curtailed his plans, forcing him to seek work with Gore, Burnet and Co. as a junior surveyor. His change of career was British Columbia's good fortune. Within four years he obtained his Provincial Land Surveyor's Licence (PLS#75) and his Dominion Land Surveyor's Licence, and in 1908, at age 28, he established his own business. The province was actively encouraging the development of its natural resources and needed energetic young surveyors to complete the mapping process. Between 1908 and 1914 Swannell took contracts with the government to survey sections of north central British Columbia. As the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway stretched to tidewater at Prince Rupert, developers and settlers followed in its wake, daiming property along the river valleys. The land boom reached such a pitch that Crown lands adjacent to the Hudson's Bay Company trading posts at Fort Fraser and Fort George were subdivided into city lots. The province wanted these areas tied in to the general mapping, along with First Nations reserves and HBC sites that had been surveyed in the 1890's. With a remarkable sense of history, Swannell used his camera to record everything that happened. His photographic skills were as precise as his field work. Scenes were carefully framed and portraits of First Nations people, settlers and his crew illuminated to best advantage by natural light. The photographs from the first seven years working for the provincial government have been edited by Jay Sherwood and published as Surveying Northern British Columbia. In this second photojournal, Surveying Central British Columbia, Sherwood examines Swannell's career after he returned from World War I. He had seen action with the 16th Battalion of the Canadian Scottish Regiment, fighting in the Battle of Ypres; surveyed trenches with the Royal Engineers, and joined the Allied Expeditionary Force fighting in the Russian Civil War in 1919. He arrived home in spring of 1920 to learn that 24 British Columbia land surveyors, many of them friends, had lost their lives in Europe. Having coped with a reduced labour pool during the War, the provincial government Surveys Department had a backload of work waiting for Swannell. Field season began just a few months after he reached Victoria. Still suffering from a wounded left shoulder and hand, he immediately began preparations for another round of annual field work that would last until 1928. Surveyor-General J.E. Umbach asked him to map the region contiguous to his previous assignments. It extended from Burns Lake and Houston south to Bella Coola and the Chilcotin, and included the eastern side of the Coast Range. Even at that early date possible sources of hydro power were being considered. The headwaters of the Nechako River drained most of the new survey assignment and Swannell lived to see his precise mapping of the interconnected rivers and lakes contribute to the Kemano hydro project in the 1950s. The backed up waters behind the Kenney Dam flooded a large portion of the area he and his crew had labouriously covered by canoe and rafts for seven summers. Jay Sherwood notes that most of the photographs chosen are not as well known as those in the first volume. Nevertheless, his richly detailed narrative and the large 32 BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORY - Vol. 41 No. 1 format of the photographs let us once again experience vicariously the sheer hard work and the rugged adventures that go with surveying: canoeing along lakes and rivers, tracking through canyons, climbing mountains, or sitting out an early snowstorm at a wilderness camp. We learn more about central British Columbia but also about the settlers and surveying crews. Swannell had the knack of choosing reliable men, including local woodsmen who were familiar with the topography. They faithfully signed on to help him year after year. He also patronized local merchants for supplies, and attended church service, even when he was the only member of the congregation. We close the covers of this book wishing we could have met him and his crew out on the trail, perhaps tagging along as they traced a portion of Alexander Mackenzie's route across the Chilcotin. There are hints of a third volume and that will be pleasantly anticipated. Marie Elliott, who has herself traced many historical routes in the Chilcotin, writes from Victoria, B.C. The Ker Family of Victoria, 1958-1976. Pioneer Industrialists in Western Canada. John Adams. Vancouver, B.C., Holte Publishing, 2007. 307p. b&w illus. $19.95 softcover. Fax orders to (250) 384-2833. When Fran Gundry asked me to review this book, I gladly accepted, for my uncle began working for Brackman & Ker (B&K) as a salesman in the mid-1920s and about forty years later, retired as general manager. The Ker family wisely chose John Adams, a fine writer and a careful scholar who knows the importance of context, to write its history. The Kers, who preserved their papers and then gave them to the British Columbia Archives, were also keen genealogists. Adams weaves in their Scottish ancestry that can be traced back to at least the fourteenth century. Adams never ignores other family members and offers many glimpses of the social life of upper class Victoria from the colonial era to the 1970s but he focuses on the patriarchs of three generations of Kers: Robert (1824-1879); David (1862-1923); and Robert Henry Brackman [Robbie] (1895-1976). Robert Ker came to British Columbia and Vancouver Island in 1859 and joined the colonial Treasury Department. Except for a brief sojourn in New Westminster as auditor, he spent most of his working days in Victoria and joined the federal service in 1871. In 1874 he retired on pension to his farm on the Gorge. One snowy evening, he fell and died of exposure on the way home from the Four Mile House. David, the eldest of four sons, was then seventeen. Soon after his father's death he began working for the German- born miller, Henry Brackman. Brackman, an outstanding mentor, encouraged David to spend a year in California studying the business and promised a partnership in what became B&K. As Ker took a larger role in the company, he expanded its operations. By the time Brackman died in 1903, the firm had branches in Vancouver, New Westminster, Nelson, Calgary, and Edmonton and had won a gold medal at the Chicago's World's Fair for its rolled oats. In 1913, however, on what the family later regarded as unsatisfactory terms, the Company merged with Western Canada Flour Mills. David continued to manage the B.C. operations. Despite his "hands-on" approach to the business, David had time for community work with St. John the Divine Anglican Church, the Masonic Order, the Board of Trade, and the Victoria Tourist Association. He promoted improved steamship service to Vancouver and Seattle and better roads. Like many others, he got caught up in the mining boom and lost money. His investment in the Edmonton Brewing and Malting Company, however, eventually paid well. David's "old boys' network" extended from Victoria to England where Max Aitken (Lord Beaverbrook) became a friend. Both David and his son, Robbie, liked to mix with British aristocrats for business and pleasure. Like many of the sons of the Victoria elite in the Edwardian era, Robbie, David's eldest son, was sent to England to complete his education. He was away for five years but family members visited him and his younger brother joined him at the school. When he returned to Victoria in May 1914 his father gave him a job as a junior at B&K. When war began. Robbie enlisted in the Canadian Army but transferred to the Royal Flying Corps. About 1916, David developed a paralytic disease. After the war, Robbie took over his father's business responsibilities but, as Adams notes, whereas David was "a pioneer capitalist," Robbie was a "consolidator of his father's interests and an investor in other companies." (pp. 185-86). He retained his interest in B&K but WCFM closed the Victoria mill in 1928 and moved the head office to the mainland. However, the Edmonton Brewery breweries in Seattle and Olympia after the United States ended Prohibition, the Calgary- based Home Oil, and investments in Neon Products of Canada kept him busy and provided a good income. Like his father, he promoted tourism and better transportation. Meanwhile his younger brother, Russell went into the real estate business and was active in the militia. Some key early employees of B&K and the other enterprises in which the Kers were involved are mentioned; my uncle was not. He would have appreciated a map of the greater Victoria area, but overall, he would have enjoyed reading this well-illustrated book to learn about the land of his Scottish ancestors, the many businesses with which the Kers were associated, and the lives of the rich and famous of Victoria. Patricia E. Roy is Professor Emetlta of History at the University of Victoria and Past President of the British Columbia Historical Federation. BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORY - Vol. 41 No. 1 33 Tsimshian Treasures: The Remarkable Journey of the Dundas Collection. Edited by_Donald Ellis. Dundas, Ontario, Donald Ellis Gallery. Vancouver, Douglas & Mclntyre. Seattle, University of Washington Press. 2007. 144 p., illus. $55.00 hardcover. Douglas Cole's Captured Heritage: The Scramble for Northwest Coast Artifacts caused a stir when Douglas and Mclntyre released it in 1985. Much of the previous research on Aboriginal art /artifact collections in the Pacific Northwest, undertaken by museologists and art historians, was heavily focused on codifying art forms and defining elements of artistic style. Cole, a cultural historian, was more interested in chronicling the stories behind the artifacts, in particular, how these ethnographic objects had made their way from remote Aboriginal villages along the Coast into glass cases in elite urban institutions and households. His research took him to most of the major archives and museums throughout North America and Europe where he unearthed little-known details about the complex deals negotiated by collectors to acquire Aboriginal artifacts. Captured Heritage stimulated a wave of new research on the history of museum building and the politics of collecting in northwestern North America that is ongoing. A new book, Tsimshian Treasures: The Remarkable Journey of the Dundas Collection,. is a good case-in-point. A collection of essays, photographs, illustrations, and notes edited by Donald Ellis, a prominent North American Aboriginal art dealer, the book tells the story of a major collection of Tsimshian ceremonial objects (carved clubs, masks, rattles, and headdresses) that traveled from British Columbia to Britain in 1863 and then from Britain back again to British Columbia in 2006. The story is colourful. At its heart is a young Scottish missionary, the Reverend Robert J. Dundas, who acquired the objects at Old Metlakatla (near Prince Rupert) in 1863 from fellow missionary, William Duncan. It is not certain how much, if anything, Dundas paid for the collection. It is known, however, that he promptly sent it home to England where it lingered in his family's "cabinet of curiosities," along with his 250,000 word diary, for over a century until a London-based great grandson put it up for sale by auction at Southeby's in the fall of 2006. The "Dundas Collection," as it is now called, shocked the art world when newspapers reported its sale for US$7 million, thus setting a record for First Nations art sold at auction. Canadian collectors and institutions paid US$6 million to acquire the major pieces in the collection. Tsimshian Treasures is a beautiful coffee table book that commemorates the return of the Dundas Collection to Prince Rupert, British Columbia, in May 2007. Through poignant photographic images of Tsimshian peoples wandering through the exhibit, the book conveys the deep sense of nostalgia and cultural connection evoked by display of the old artifacts in their home community. Readers of all stripes will appreciate the story of the complex behind-the-scene maneuvers to draw Canadians buyers into the Southeby's bidding war. Sarah Milroy is an ideal choice to tell this part of the story because she is not only a seasoned writer/ journalist; she actually played a critical role in the final leg of the collection's journey. She first filed the Globe and Mail news item that caught the attention of members of the wealthy Ken Thomson family just hours before the auction took place. The Thomsons placed the winning bid on the bulk of the collection. Without Milroy's news story, there may not have been a happy Canadian ending to this tale. Alan Hoover, a leading authority on Northwest Coast art, provides the book's core essay: "The History of the Dundas Collection." It is a biographical sketch of Dundas focusing on how he acquired his collection of "curiosities" at Metlakatla in the 1860s. Hoover argues that Dundas is important because he was the first missionary to acquire a collection of ethnographic artifacts from the Northwest Coast. He suggests that because Dundas assembled this collection prior to the professional collecting craze (1880-1910), his choices reveal much about little-known colonial collecting habits in the mid- nineteenth century. Dundas, he explains, was simply following a tradition of collecting in which artifacts served as "markers of travel to exotic, untamed regions" (p. 64). Such objects were intended to fill his English family's "cabinet of curiosities." The main body of the book features seventy-two dazzling colour plates of each item in the collection. These images are accompanied by detailed explanatory notes compiled by Steven Clay Brown, former curator of Native American art at the Seattle Art Museum. Like Hoover, Brown draws on a wealth of knowledge about Aboriginal art and artifacts. Instead of making firm conclusions, he more often raises provocative questions about the items in the collection. For example, on a Tsimshian hardword "Grease Bowl," he writes: We may never know precisely whose visage has been immortalized in this remarkable and early oil bowl. Was it a trading captain of the 18th century that somehow ingratiated himself to a local clan leader?. ...It surely has the character of a portrait, with facial characteristics and a hair style that could point to a specific Euro-American personage, if we knew who that might be. (p. 94) Renowned art historian and former curator of Seattle's Burke Museum, Bill Holm provides a thoughtful Foreword that opens with a colourful vignette about his meeting in 1979 with Simon Carey, Dundas's great grandson. It is fitting that that noted Tsimshian Chilkat weaver, William White, has the final word in the book. His "Epilogue," entitled, "We Respect Our Treasures," stresses the living, cultural value of this important collection: "While looking at this collection BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORY - Vol. 41 No. 1 of art," he writes, "we are being reminded of who we are and who we will become" (p. 137). And so the Dundas collection continues on its journey. Wendy Wickwire holds a cross appointment in the Department of History and the School of Environmental History at the University of Victoria The LS. Group British Columbia's First Land Surveyors The L.S. Group: British Columbia's First Land Surveyors The Association of British Columbia Land Surveyors, 2007, 386 pp. Illus. $30.00 Paperback. This compilation is a sequel to the smaller book Early Land Surveyors of British Columbia (P.L.S Group), edited by John A. Whittaker and published in 1990 by what was then the Corporation of Land Surveyors of British Columbia on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the passing of the Land Surveyors Act of 1891. This act was the first law setting legal standards for surveyors in the province The 1990 book included biographies of legally qualified Professional Land Surveyors (P.L.S.) practising in British Columbia under the 1891 act. This group of land surveyors operating in the province numbered 86, which, according to Whittaker, was "but the tip of the iceberg," as he estimates the total number of BC land surveyors at about 1,000. The largest part of the total number consists of the 700 to 800 surveyors commissioned after the passing of the British Columbia Land Surveyors Act of 1905, which established the Corporation of Land Surveyors and the designation "British Columbia Land Surveyor" (B.C.L.S.). Before 1891 about 150 land surveyors practised in British Columbia, using the initials "L.S." to denote their official position. The L.S. Group: British Columbia's First Land Surveyors presents us with biographies of 142 of those pioneer surveyors. In his foreword project co-ordinator Robert W. Allen highlights the problems of gathering information about individuals living in the early days of British Columbia. Surveyors such as Trutch, Dewdney, Pemberton, or Moberly found their way into the history books, but there are scores of surveyors about whom little was known before this project started. It speaks for the tenacity of the researchers that out of the 150 land surveyors not more than eight individuals are listed in the book without a biography. To accomplish this, some twenty members of the Association of British Columbia Land Surveyors as well as some non-members, all mentioned by name, contributed to the book. The most prolific contributor by far is Hugh Barrington (Barry) Cotton, to whom the book is dedicated. According to Allen, Cotton was the driving force behind the project, persevering against all odds until its successful completion. Most biographies were written for this book, but several have been reprinted with consent from other, often not easily accessible, sources. The book is richly illustrated with photographs and drawings mainly from the British Columbia Archives, including images of historic survey instruments. The humorous side of surveying speaks from the cartoons of fellow land surveyor Bill Brookes. The result is a treasure trove of information on surveying and surveyors in early British Columbia. These land surveyors lived and worked in the formative years of British Columbia. Some of their work was exploratory, but mostly their assignments were related to the demands of the growing number of settlers, industry, government, and the railroads. It involved surveys and mapping of township grids, townsites, lots, timber limits, roads, telegraph lines, mineral claims, boundaries, and railroads, including the transcontinental railway that united Canada and the CPR railway belt. Their work also included the mapping of the limiting borders of the Reserves where the First Nations would be held in bondage. This rich collection of biographies and minutiae not only makes for an interesting read, it also provides a fascinating glimpse at the formative period of the province of British Columbia and at the lives of individuals caught up in and actively contributing to the making of a new society. The book, put together for the benefit of the members interested in the past and also to assure the preservation of records, was originally meant to be limited in its distribution to members of the Association of British Columbia Land Surveyors, with complimentary copies for libraries. Fortunately a last-minute decision has allowed the sale of a limited number of copies to the public. Given the unique nature of this remarkable compilation and the fine work presented here, it must nevertheless be said that the book could have benefited from more thorough editing. Also, an index consisting of more than just a list of the biographies would have been useful, and the references often only mention an institution as a source. However, these minor deficiencies hardly diminish the overall value of the book. Books at $30.00 plus shipping can be ordered from The Association of British Columbia Land Surveyors, #301-2400 Bevan Avenue, Sidney BC V8L 1W1, by phone 250-655-7222, or by e-mail abcls@telus.net_ Fred Braches, a local historian, lives in Whonnock B.C. BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORY - Vol. 41 No. 1 Books of interest which may be reviewed at a later date. Chewassen, Tsawwassen or ChHtinm: the land facing the sea. Gwen Siychter. Available from 5122 44th Ave., Delta, B.C. V4K1C3. $40.00 (includes postage). Free Spirit: stories of you, me and B.C. Gerald Truscott. Victoria, B.C., Royal British Columbia Museum, 2008. Distributed by U.B.C. Press. 192 p., photographs. Includes 100 minute DVD. $39.95 paperback. The Man who saved Vancouver: Major James Skitt Matthews. Daphne Sleigh. Surrey, B.C., Heritage House, 2008. 240 p., illus. $19.95 softcover. River of Gold: the Fraser and Cariboo gold rushes. George Fetherling. Surrey, B.C., Heritage House, 2008. 176p., photographs, maps. $19.95 softcover. Slumach's Gold: in search of a legend. Ride Antonson, Mary Trainer and Brian Antonson. Surrey, B.C., Heritage House, 1908. 160 p., illus. $19.95 paperback. Tsilhqot'in Nation v. British Columbia: reasons for judgment. British Columbia Supreme Court. Victoria Supreme Court of British Columbia, 2007. Two houses half buried in sand: oral traditions of the Hurq'umi'num' Coast Salish of Kuyper Island and Vancouver Island. Beryl Mildred Cryer, edited by Chris Arnett. Vancouver, B.C., Talonbooks, 2008. 352 p. $24.95. Voices raised in protest: defending North American citizens of Japanese Ancestry, 1942-1949. Stephanie Bangarth. Vancouver, B.C., U.B.C. Press, 2008. 296 p., illus., bibliog., index. $85.00 hardcover. Yi Fao: speaking through memory. A history of New Westminster's Chinese community 1858-1980. Jim Wolf and Patricia Owen. Vancouver, B.C., U.B.C. Press, 2008. 144p., illus. $19.95 softcover. What's on this Summer for the 150th What Were Their Dreams? Albemi Valley, until September 28 The Alberni Valley Museum's new exhibit "What Were Their Dreams: Port Alberni 1858 - 2008 celebrates 150 years of local history. The exhibit draws on the museum's extensive photograph collection, local lore and original poetry to tell the story of the people and events that shaped the development of the Albernis. For more information call Jean Mcintosh at 250-720-2501 or jean_mcintosh@ portalberni.ca Gold Rush 150 Paddlewheel Adventure Time & Place: August 5-8, Harrison Hot Springs Come join us on this exciting reenactment of the original BC Gold Rush as we make our way up the mighty Fraser and Harrison Rivers on board the MV Native. This trip will retrace the historic route taken from New Westmnister to Port Douglas via Harrison Lake. Departing from New Westminster Quay on Tuesday August 5th this 4 day trip will include 4 segments with overnight stops in Mission and Harrison Hot Springs before returning to New Westminster on August 8th. The cost is $95 - $135 depending on cruise segment. Call 1-877-825-1302, visit the website or email info® vancouverpaddlewheeler.com for more information. Fort Langley Brigade Days Fort Langley, August 2-4 Typically the biggest weekend of the year, this year will be even bigger! Re- enactments, "blast from the past" musket demonstrations, music, a traditional canoe brigade arrival, a Special Reception for the descendants of the forf s historic Hudson's Bay Company employees, readings from speeches given in 1858, plus so very much more. Please see the website for details or contact lisa@fortlangleyca Admission: Family :$19.60, Adult:$7.80, Senior (65+):$6.55 Children of Fort Langley Sesquicentennial Reunion Fort Langley, August 3,2008 Between 1827 and 1895, approximately 108 men worked at Fort Langley, many of whom had descendants that stayed in the area. During Brigade Days over the long August weekend this year, at 3:30 p.m. Sunday Aug 3, there will be a Special Reception for the descendants of as many of those 108 men as we can find. Are you a child of Fort Langley? Please see the Children of Fort Langley website for more details. You can also contact Lisa Peppan at lisa@fortlangley. ca Admission prices are family:$19.60, adult:$7.80, senior (65+):$6.55 BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORY - Vol. 41 No. 1 Gold Rush Four Day Outing August 14, Quesnel Forks, Likely, B.C. Cariboo Gold Miners Association and Likely and District Chamber of Commerce welcomes everyone to our four day outing at the Ghost Town of Quesnel Forks. There willbelocalmusic, entertainment and story telling of 150 years of Gold Rush History. This is an informal event, the camping is free, so get there early for a good spot. Updates at www.likely-bc.ca. All proceeds to Likely's Mining Museum and Fire Hall. Contact Jim Gibson at 205 790 2127 or littlelakehouse@yahoo.com Dressing up the Langley Centennial Museum Langley, until mid- August The Langley Centennial Museum is searching for items connected to the celebration in 1958 of the centennial of the establishment of the Crown Colony of British Columbia, proclaimed in Fort Langley in 1858. They are looking for one of the most characteristic elements of events held in 1958: examples of the 1858 period costumes participants wore at many of the centennial events. The museum is planning an exhibition running mid-May through mid-August this year that will examine how the centennial of this historic event was celebrated. Anyone who possesses any such costumes and who may be willing to help mount the upcoming exhibition is encouraged to contact Paul Thistle at the Langley Centennial Museum, 604-888-3922 or pthistle@tol.bc.ca 5th Annual Arts Wells Festival August 1-4, Wells and BarkerviUe Come celebrate British Columbia's Sesquicentennial through a unique combination of music, art and history in the communities of Wells and Barkerville. Known for their rich history tied to the Gold Rush these two communities are also renowned for their vibrant history of arts and culture. This is a 4 day outdoor & indoor event designed with community and family in mind.Performances feature over 100 of the best musicians, and artists from British Columbia and across the country. For more info check the web site here or call 1-800-442-2787 or email media® imarts.com Chase celebrates its Centennial August 1 to August 9, Chase, B.C. Celebrating 100 fantastic years in the Village of Chase on the banks of the Little Shuswap Lake. 8 days of Fun in the Sun: parade, children's entertainers, jam sessions, concerts (Todd Butler, Cruzeros, Euphorics, D Rangers, Salmon Armenians, Uninvited Guests, Barney Bentall, Major Conrad Flapps, Tiller's Folly) plus local entertainers: Art Walk; Celebrity Golf Tournament, Fishing Derby, Gold panning, great food, beer garden, historic tours, museum tours, guided hikes, heritage games, fireworks, quilt show, dancing, golfing, farmers' market, period costumes, boating, water sports, horse-drawn wagon rides and much much more! Come join the party! If you once lived in Chase, come back and meet old friends and see the changes. If you have passed by and never stopped in our lovely village make us your destination and help us Celebrate. Learn why Chase is a Shuswap Experience. For more information check out chasecentennial.com, or call Susan Park at the Chase Centennial Committee at 250 679 8526. Fleetwood Community Association 85th Anniversary September 6, Surrey The Heetwood Community Association was established in 1923. It is one of a handful of grassroots community organizations in Surrey that started in the early part of last century and still exists today. To celebrate the 85th Anniversary, they have commissioned a life size sculpture of Lance Corporal Arthur Thomas Fleetwood for whom Fleetwood is named. The sculpture will not only tell a story about where our community name came from but also acknowledge a man who laid his life in harm's way in WW1 and died of his wounds so that we would have a free democratic country. We will be unveiling the sculpture at our 10th Annual Fleetwood Festival. We hope this will inspire others to protect the history of BC and be involved in community development. For more information contact Rick Hart at 604 835 6590 or rick.hart@innotech- windows.com. Royal BC Museum March 13 - January 11,2009 The exhibition, Free Spirit: Stories of You, Me and B.C., features hundreds of rarely seen artifacts, specimens and documents from the RBCM collections. For more information visit Free Spirit B.C. or, for info, on the Royal BC Museum's latest activities, visit the Royal B.C. Museum or call 1-888-447-7977. BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORY - Vol. 41 No. 1 6 H B.C. Historical Federation Nelson Conference, May 7-10, 2O09 jfe§-' THEME: History in your Neighbourhood p^* PLANNED FEATURES: dp Full-day arde tour: SS Moyie, Sandanr Nikkei Interment Centre, scenic dnwE_ 4 Tour of Touchstones Nelson 4 Celebrate the (Rattenbury) Courthouse centennial 4 Enjoy a historical play or Kootenay storytelli ng 4 Heritage tours of Nelson 4 Stay at the 111-year-old Hume Hotel Ikgf WEBSITES historical organizations: 4 bchistory.ca (BCHF} 4 touchstonesnelson.ca (Touchstones Nelson) 4 klhs.bc.ca (Moyie) 4 slocanlake-conT/sandon (Sandon) 4 newdenver.ca/nikkei (Nikkei) ||«gf WEBSITES promotional sites: 4 nelson.ca [City of Nelson) 4 discovemelson.com [Nelson C.C.] 4 ilovendson.coin (commercial} *_*_^_ * . ^__ ^^^ I _»_ _* IE m L..._uO.«t«i . su..m_u«t«n Pafcrtjng: Robert ^pq^cwrtesyH^tegeSocfelyQf a: 4 humehotel.CDni (Hume Hotel} fWw»t>*¥<lPP>i«»rtw¥^*«*ftwir r+etean v» 1910 03^9fw]b *mm$pf Stan ^mmMbott HHf WEBSITES neighbourhood delights: 4 kootenay-take.ca (Kootenay Lake} 4 kootenay-lake.ca/lakeside/Ndsan/heritage (Nelson's heritage buildings) 0f CONTACT: 4 Ron or Frances Welwood 250.825.4743 or webeditor* bchistory.ca 4 Touchstones Nelson Z50.352.9S13 U^* SPONSOR: Touchstones Nelson: Museum of Art & History BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORY - Vol. 41 No. 1 The People's History Project Royal BC Museum wants your story This year, you can become part of BC history. The Royal BC Museum wants your story - and your help in spreading the word about The People's History Project, a website where people from across the province can share memories and stories of British Columbia from a personal point of view. , Filled with photographs, text, audio and video submissions, The People's History Project is accepting story submissions until Jan. 11, 2009. Then it will live on in the BC Archives as an electronic time capsule of BC history as seen through the eyes of British Columbians in 2008 - the province's 150th anniversary year. You can make a big difference to this project. Here's how: Pass the word If you manage a membership list or other email group, please pass this email on to your lists. Send it on to your family, friends or professional networks. You can help us reach out across BC to find stories waiting to be told. Print our poster and share our ad A printable poster and a newsletter ad are available on the website. Hang the poster on your notice board or post it at your local coffee shop. If you have a print or electronic newsletter, just drop in our ad for The People's History Project to help us spread the word. Share your stories and photos Share your own story about arriving, growing up, working or living in BC. Visit the website at www.freespiritbc.ca/peopleshistory, or call 250-381-4305 to record your story in your own voice. Your submission can be as simple as a family photograph. Thank you for helping the Royal BC Museum record The People's History for all British Columbians to share. To learn more about the project, visit the website, or call or email us: The People's History Project On the web: www.freespiritbc.ca/peopleshistory Email: peopleshistory@royalbcmuseum.bc.ca Phone: 250 381-4305 Here are some of the stories we've already received: Close Encounters of a Hairy Kind It had started snowing again, and after I had I trekked along uphill for a ways, I noticed another set of tracks had joined the trail. Who on earth, I wondered, would be dumb enough to be out here in this wilderness in this weather (besides me, that is). Must be a bear, I thought, however, on closer inspection, I saw that the prints, deeply impressed into the new snowfall, seem to be made by a two- legged critter. . . A Christmas Gift Frantically the cook bundled herself and her baby in warm clothes, and, with remarkable intuition, grabbed a bag of flour from the counter where she had been making donuts. Off they hurried to the site of the disaster. Remarkably this courageous woman was able to work her way down to her injured husband. There she applied flour to his massive, hemorrhaging head wounds. This simple act helped the clotting process. Doctors would later say her first aid actions may well have saved his life . . . The Best of Intentions She struggled making her way along the road pulling the sleigh but still no sign of George, no beams of light from the car bouncing off the winter black trees. She paused tucking the blanket carefully around Arline again. She had to keep going but by now the cold was seeping deep into her bones and slowing down her progress . . . To read the full stories and more visit www.freespiritbc.ca/peoplehistory BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORY - Vol. 41 No. 1 Miscellany Heritage Tour On-line With over 350 designated heritage buildings and a population of under ten thousand, a walk through Nelson opens a window on an earlier time. Many of those buildings are residential, but the town also boasts good early commercial and institutional structures. Check out http: / /kootenay-lake.ca/ lakeside / Nelson/heritage / for the online tour and a printable version for your next visit to Nelson. A Few More Events August 15-17, 2008 Celebrations at the Richmond Maritime Festival at the Britannia Heritage Shipyard National Historic Site include maritime displays, boat restoration, maritime demonstrations, ships, food, free kids' activities, live entertainment, and maritime music. August 15-24, 2008 In May 1958 a small group of adventurous antique car buffs set out on a landmark trip across southern British Columbia to celebrate the province's centenary. Members of the Vintage Car Club of Canada will be re-creating that Fernie to Victoria trip in August. 40 BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORY - Vol. 41 No. 1 The Anne and Philip Yandle Best Article Award Each year, the British Columbia Historical Federation offers a certificate and cash prize to the author of an article published in British Columbia History that best enhances knowledge of the history of British Columbia and provides enjoyable reading. This year the award was given to Allan Pritchard for his article "The Royal Navy and the Comox Settlement," published in BC History, 40.2. Congatulations Allan! Each year, the British Columbia Historical Federation offers the Lieutenant-Governor's Medal for Historical Writing to the previous year's best book about BC history The 2007 winner is: Judy Thompson, Recording Their Story: James Tiet and the Tahltan Second Prize: Jay Sherwood, Surveying Central British Columbia: A Photojournal of Frank Swannell, 1920-28 Third Prize: Donald Ellis, Tsimshian Treasures: The Remarkable Journey of the Dundas Collection Honourable Mentions: Robert D. Turner and J.S. David Wilkie, Steam Along the Boundary: Canadian Pacific, Great Northern and the Great Boundary Copper Boom; Peggy Schofield, The Story of Dunbar: Voices of a Vancouver Neighbourhood; Masako Fukawa, Nikkei Fishermen on the BC Coast: Their Biographies and Photographs ISso* The British Columbia Historical Federation is celebrating 150 years of BCs history SAVE $3.00 for 1 year subscription to British Columbia History I want to be part of the BC 150 celebration Here is my $15.00 for a 1 year subscription u&mB* ADD§4£35,,.,.. EMAIL ..... PHONE .,... SotmtfUame DI igref: flwf personal infonMLtlcn IneiuoW dn fhis form an fee ustd ftp the e*eius&e y$e by ffce WHa fidwibja Hftvrieaa fg^erof Ion for its megorfns subscription flies wA for andfag Mo«witlon ctout 6£Hf events, It Is not slwed wiffi • tWNI potty. The British Columbia Historical Federation working since 1922 with historical sites, societies, groups, museums, archives, etc. throughout British Columbia preserving and promoting British Columbia's history. The British Columbia Historical Federation is an umbrella organization embracing a variety of membership classes. • Member Societies: Local and regional historical societies with objectives consistent with those of the Federation. All dues paying members of the local or regional society shall be ipso facto members of the Federation. • Affiliated Members: Groups, organizations and institutions without dues paying members with specialized interests or objectives of a historical nature. • Associate Members: Individuals may become members of the Federation. • Corporate Members: Companies are entitled to become members of the Federation. Annual Membership Dues • Member Societies: one dollar per member with a minimum membership fee of $25 and a maximum of $75, including a subscription to the Federation's journal and newsletter; • Affiliated Members: $35, receives the Federation's journal and newsletter • Associate Members: $35, receives the Federation's journal and newsletter • Corporate Members: $100, receives the Federation's journal and newsletter For further information about memberships, contact Ron Hyde - Membership Chair BC Historical Federation, PO Box 63006, Richmond, B.C. V7E 6K4. Phone 604-277-2627 email membership@bchistorv.ca Return Undeliverable Canadian Addresses to Circulation Department. British Columbia Historical News Alice Marwood, 211 -14981 - 101A Avenue Surrey, B C V3R 0T1 Canadian Publications Mail Product Sales Agreement No. 40025793 Publications Mail registration No. 09835 615 6/3xxP1(R) UBC LIBRARY, CENTRAL SERIALS PO BOX 2119 STN TERMINAL VANCOUVER BC V6B 3T5 v>£Un3Q3. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada, through the Publications Assistance program (PAP), toward our mailing cost Contact Us: British Columbia History welcomes stories, studies, and news items dealing with any aspect of the history of British Columbia, and British Columbians. Please submit manuscripts for publication to the Editor, British Columbia History, John Atkin, 921 Princess Avenue, Vancouver BC V6A 3E8 e-mail: bcheditor@bchistorv.ca Book reviews for British Columbia History, Frances Gundry, Book Review Editor, BC Historical News, P.O. Box 5254, Station B., Victoria, BC V8R 6N4 e-mail: reviews@bchistorv.ca Subscription & subscription information: Alice Marwood 211 -14981 -101A Avenue Surrey, B C V3R 0T1 Phone 604-582-1548 email subscriptions@bchistorv.ca Subscriptions: $18.00 per year For addresses outside Canada add $10.00 The Annual Competition for Writers of BC History Lieutenant-Governor's Medal for Historical Writing Deadline: 31 December 2008 The British Columbia Historical Federation invites book submissions for their annual Competition for Writers of BC History. Books representing any facet of BC history, published in 2008 will be considered by the judges who are looking for quality presentations and fresh material. Community histories, biographies, records of a project or organization as well as personal reflections, etc. are eligible for consideration. Reprints or revisions of books are not eligible. , Lieutenant-Governor's Medal The Lieutenant-Governor's Medal for Historical Writing will be awarded to an individual writer whose book contributes significantly to the history of British Columbia. Additional prizes may be awarded to other books at the discretion of the judges. Publicity All entries receive considerable publicity. Winners will receive a Certificate of Merit, a monetary award and an invitation to the Awards Banquet of the Federation's annual conference. Submissions For mailing instructions please contact: Barb Hynek, Chair/Judge of the BCHF Book Competition 2477 140th Street, Surrey, B.C. V4P 2C5 Email: bhynek@telus.net Phone:604.535.9090 Books entered become property of the BC Historical Federation. By submitting books for this competition, authors agree that the British Columbia Historical Federation may use their names in press releases and Federation publications regarding the book competition.
Titled "British Columbia Historical Association Report and Proceedings" from 1923-1929; "British Columbia Historical Quarterly" from 1937-1957; "BC Historical News" from 1968-2004; and "British Columbia History" from 2005 onward.
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