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Volume 32, No. 1

EDITORIAL

Dear Readers,

This issue marks the end of an era. Your editorhas enjoyed ten years of processing a wide variety of writings on many aspects of local andprovincial history. I have met, or become ‘penpals” with citizens living in places like Fort Nelson, Atlin, Hosmer, Telkwa, Tofino, as well asestablished historians in major centres, plus staffand students at universities and colleges. Wehave benefitted tremendously with an influx ofstudent essays thanks to Anne Yandle who upgraded the requirements for applications for our$500 scholarship by asking for an essay or termpaper. The judges promise that the winner’sessay will be published; they also forward several more entries to the editor.

Your editor and her husband have carried theresponsibility of mailing this magazine - feelingsomewhat pressured by the frequently changing guidelines. Canada Post announced earlyin 1998 that, in their opinion, we did not exist.Our permit of twenty years standing, #4447, wasnot on a computer in Vancouver or Ottawa....because Cranbrook Post Office (a ForwardingCentre for the whole East Kootenay) was “toosmall” to be on computer. Having said that, noone sent our re-registration forms until we contacted them a second and then a third time.Those frustrations plus other factors promptedus to seek a replacement editor.

Commencing in January 1999 Fred Braches ofWhonnock becomes Editor. We welcome him tothe roster of volunteers working to preserve history & heritage. See News & Notes for an introduction of this enthusiastic gentleman.

I will be contributing in a small way with News &Notes plus B.C. Historical Federation reports or

notices.

Naomi Miller

COVER CREDITWriting lessons were a regular part of schooling when we were children. In British ColumbiaMacLean method was taught, ShirleyCuthbertson tells us, from 1921 to 1996. Theillustrations from several of the work books appear on the cover. The General Movement Exercise is from Compendium No.4 for Grades IV& V, 1921. The Position of Arms and Paper isfrom the MacLean Method Teacher’s Manual,1921. (Left handers were acknowledged later.)

Winter 1998 -99

CONTENTS

FEATURES

LoweryPO’d 2

by Ron W4’lwood

H.B. MacLean’s Method ofWriting 6by Shirley Cuthbertson

Walter Moberly: A Forgotten Pathfinder 11by Barry Cotton

The Retribution of D.G.E Macdonald C.E 14by Barry Cotton

Lytton Alfalfa 17by VC Brink

Unapologetically Jewish: Unapologetically Canadian 18by Carrie Schlappner

Capilano Love Story 24by Patricia Koretchuk

My Dearest Harriet from Robert Burnaby 29

Fort Victoria and H.B. Co. Doctors 30

by D Joyce Clearihue

NEWS and NOTES 35

BOOKSHELFPeetz A Reel for All Time 28

Review by Kelsey McLeodSternwheelers and Steam Tugs 36

Review by Kenneth MackenzieFrom Summit to Sea 36

Review by Robert ThrnerBeloved Dissident Eve Smith 37

Review by Linda HaleHope and Forty Acres 37The Forgotten Side of the Border 38

Reviews by E.L. AffleckThe First Nations of British Columbia 38

Review byjos DyckPioneer Legacy: Chronicles of the Lower Skeena 39Mighty River: A Portrait of the Fraser 39

Reviews by George NewellNo Better Land: Diaries of Bishop Hills 40

Review by Phyllis Reeve

Manuscripts and correspondence to the editor are to be sent to Fred Braches, P0. Box 130, Whonnock, BC. V2W1V9 or Email: braches@netcom.ca.Correspondence regarding subscriptions is to be directed to the Subscription Secretary (see inside back cover).

Printed irCanada by Kootenay Kwik Print Ltd.

Lowery PO’d’by Ron Wèlwood

During Canada’s formative years postalservice was provided through decentralized cooperative arrangements. This service was later formalized with the creationof the post office department, one of thefirst departments formed by the federalgovernment after Confederation (the government took over postal service on 1April 1868 — a rather interesting day selection).

The mail service grew along with thedevelopment of the railways and by 1857there were specially equipped cars calledrailway post offices. By 1863 the trial period for these travelling post offices wasover and an order-in-council establishedstandards for their use. Thus as theCanadian Pacific Railway stretched acrossCanada in the 1 880s, national mail serviceeventually became more reliable as well asmore readily available from sea to sea.

Railway post offices made it possible tocarry mail quickly over long distances and,at the same time, to be sorted en route. InBritish Columbia the mountainous terraininhibited a vast network of interconnecting rail lines, so lake steamers oftenprovided the best and most economicallinks. In some instances, they were theonly links between communities. RPOs inthe southeastern section of the provincewere located on the southern route of theCPR through Crowsnest Pass and theKootenays to the Okanagan as well as onthe short rail runs and the connectingsteamers of the Kootenay, Arrow andOkanagan Lakes.2 Thus R.T Lowery, whohad sporadic altercations with both theCanadian Pacific Railway arid the PostOffice Department, jeopardized the distribution of his newspapers when he criticized these two very large corporations.

Robert Thornton Lowery (12 April1859 - 20 May 1921), frequently referredto as “Colonel” Bob3, was an eccentricKootenay newspaper editor, publisher andfinancier whose acid pen frequently gothim into trouble. His penchant to attack

the establishment became legendary andin Lowery’s Claim4 his biting sarcasm,particularly against politicians and organized religion, eventually lead to a series ofconflicts with the postal authorities.

Although he had a Christian upbringing, Colonel Bob was not a churchgoer. However, he did have a humanisticconcept of religion which was graphicallydescribed in The Ledge (New Denver):

‘7 have my own ideac in regard to religion,but I ask no one to accept them. I believethat every mind should be free to act according to the light within or without. Ihavelocated a short trail over the divide to the,great beyond but unlike creed trails, heavenis along mine at every step, and it is not necessary to die in order to get some ofii Othertrails, said to lead where Peter takes thetickets, have all kinds oftolls and restrictions.Inflict some of them keep a man partiallybroke all the while.

‘Alldrummersfrr creed routes will tellyouthat every one is born loaded to the eyes withsin, and bound to be damned f it is noteradicated with creed sarsaparilla. . . Thetravellers along my trail each carry a passthat entitles them to allprivileges at the endofthejourney None ofthem believe that theCreator is afool or a demon. . .My trail hasplenty of the sunshine oflove, mercy gentleness, kindness and other rays of light thatbless and sweeten those who travel ii Noneofthe pilgrims believe that God runsfrr theelect an eternal picnic of song, honey andharps on a golden floor up-stairs, while inthe basement a heaveni’y Cape Nome is inoperation, where the ice never clinks in theglass, and everybody has teeth, while the sulphur smokes eternal They could not believethat God represented as being all-powerfidwould be so wicked as to keep untold millions in torment when a wave ofhis handwould close up hellforever Onty man, pooweak, coward unregenerate man couldever have created such a place. Poor man!what a sucker he is sometimes.

‘A1ong my trail there are no costly churches

built by people who live in poverty andwhose children often suffrforfiod let aloneeducation, while bishops and lesser clericallights live on the tenderloin steaks the ofland None of my pilgrims wear their pantaloons out at the knees prayingfor God tochange his program to suit their ideas or do-sires It is a pleasant road that I havebuil4 with others, to thatgreat territoryfromwhence no prospector has ever returned..(9August 1900)

This creed was rephrased and publishedin The Ledge three years later:

“Our Creed In order to sati.,i5i those whoare anxious to know our creed we give itherewith: Fear and superstition is not religion. Belief without proof is not religion.Faith withoutfact is not religion. What is religion? Th lovejustice, to longfor the rigit, tolove mercy to pity the suffering, to assist theweak, to forget wrongs and remember benefits — to love the truth, to be sincere, to utterhonest words, to love liberty andjight slaveryofevery kind; to make a happy home, to lovethe beauty ofart and nature, to cultivate themind to be familiar with the mihtythoughts expressed by genius, the noble deedsof all the world; to cultivate courage andcheerfidness and make others happy to filllf’ with the splendor ofgenerous acts, thewarmth ofloving words; to discard env dostroy prejudice, to cultivate hope, to do thebest that can be done, and then to be resigned — This is the religion of reason, thecreed ofscience, and satiifies the heart andbrain. W believe in this creed even foccasthnally our fret stray from the trail andstrike the rocks out in the brush. “(27 August1903)

In June 1901, Lowery launched hismonthly publication, Lowery’s Claim, inNew Denver. Although Number One isno longer available for perusal, the nextissue Uu1’y) stated ‘WWERYS CLAIM mylatestjournalistic baby met with a warm reception. . . has caused all kinds ofremarks.

.A few have been cruel enough to say thatit is not legitimate, while. . . its coming

2 B.C. EHSTORICAL NEWS - Winter 1998 -99

means the destruction ofmuch that is evil instate, church and society It is growingrapidly and never criesfire governmentpap.

.It has a cast-iron constitution, and expectsas it comes down the pike of age to fightmany a battle with the fles of truth. if itshouldfall and be buried beneath the heatysod ofpublic opinion its papa will not weepbut keep a-going,;”

Evidently Lower)’ filly expected criticism and opposition. This journal was devoted to Truth and Humor5 and ‘Manytenderfiet, both east and west, have beenshocked by reading the first issue of thisjournal Ifthey will take the treatment regularly their minds will soon befreedfrom thecobwebs of frar and the pollywobbles ofslavish customs”. Almost every page of thisissue contained what some might haveconsidered offensive articles as the following sample of bylines indicates: “ToKill a Woman’s Love” (a cynical view ofmarriage), “Creed Slaves”, “SexualStarvation” (remember this is the era ofVictorian civility), “Protection fromPriests” and “Grandma Warns Us” (a satirefrom “Grandma Gumption” warning that‘People are bound to read the CIAJMThornton. The very ones who make thebzgestfliss, about its vulgarity will read itfirst to gratifr their purient curiosity aboutthe things they think are shameflhl. . . but Iwarn you Thornton, you can publish apaper like that an’ not git yoursef’ talkedabout’,’.)

Each issue continued to mock “creedpromoters”, “gospel mills” and the “amencorner” (“When a man prays he gently insinuates that God does not know his own

business, or else has a short memory “March1902). It appeared that L.owery was deliberately asking for trouble by this constantgoading’; and a piqued Bella Chadwickwrote to the editor of the Nelson DailyMiner “.[t is a pity there are not enough n’spectable women to get togethei andgive theeditor of that low, paltry filthy monthi5ipaper published latei,y a sound whipping inpublic fire his insults. (I might suggest theywear gloves during the process). . . the thingthat edits it... having such a mean, beastiaipuny little mind “(4 August 1901)

Around December 1901 the CanadianPacific Railway began its boycott ofLowery’s Claim by not allowing thejournal to be sold on its trains.7 One yearlater the Post Office Department’s attention “. . . was called to the contents of thispublication by e4ffrent people in BritishColumbia, and that an examination ofthepaper made at that time showed it to containariwles offending against decency and goodmorals, in consequence ofwhich it was, on13 January 1903, prohibited from transmission by post; ‘

Since Lowery was also publishing hisweekly newspaper, The Ledge (NewDenver), it was easy to use this alternativevehicle to thwart the Post OfficeDepartment and vent his anger: “Themailed hand has struck a blow at freedomandpushed Lowcrfs’ Claim sub rosa. . . Themission ofLoweyc Claim is targ4y with aview to showing up the false system underwhich we live. .. .For being this kind ofapaper the mailed hand has struck it a blowlike a cold blastfrom Russia. . . It is the mostt’ruthfiul journal in Gmat/a, and has been

endorsed by thousands ofpeople, some ofwhom are Ministers. It has been condemnedby thousands who are too bigoted to appreciate it, too zgnorant to understand it, or toocrooked to read it without tremblin& Thwrong thinking people its every issue hasbeen like senna with wormwood as achaser” (29 January 1903) Lowery alsopublicly scorned the Post-Master General,Sir William Mulock9, even while appealing the department’s decision. Hisguments and promise to be of no furthertrouble were successful and Lowery’sClaim was reinstated with mailing privileges within a matter of weeks)°

During these trying times Lowery received regional as well as internationalsupport; and, although victorious, onlyfour more issues of Lowery’.s Claim werepublished (March - June 1 903 12) It thenwas voluntarily suspended for a little overtwo years. Perhaps Colonel Bob needed arest from the turmoil. He made a trip tothe “cent belt” (Ontario) to visit hismother and old acquaintances and, also,Lowery’s other ventures required his attention — between 1903 and 1905, he startedpublications in Nelson, Poplar, andFernie.

“.Lowery’ Claim has risen from the deathandfir the second time spreads its wings overthe earth. Refreshed after a sleep of 23months. . . . it willproceed to toast the evilsof church, state and society in the flames ofsatire, sarcasm and ridicule. . . It tips its hatto no man merely because he wears a whitecravat, hammers apupit with rhythmicprecision and bellows to Jesus like a Missouriancalling the hired hep to supper It respects all

“ OLUME X. NicI1FR ;5 X!O DINVER, B 0. jUNI 4, 1505. PIIWE ‘2.0fl YEAR,- --

---.--.-----.

—-----

3 B.C. IUSTORICAL NEWS - Winter 1998-99

thoroughi’y honest parsons, even though theybe insane, but has nothing but green paintfor those s4fimportant heaven brokers whoare in the business frr the long green andchicken pie, and who exist upon the frarsand superstitions of the human fami instead ofmuckingfrr their ham and eggs. Itis a saft bet that such theological parasiteshave no use for this journal and their hammers will soon be pounding from ocean toocean. “(October 1905)

Colonel Bob Lowery was back and hiscynical writing seemed to he bolder thanever. Each number of Lowery’s Claimcovered a variety of topics, but his obsessive, vitriolic articles against organized religion were beginning to become tiresomeand far too spiteful. The religious factionbecame impatient with his frequent pillorying and an outraged clergy petitioned

Ottawa. Once again the Post OfficeDepartment evaluated this journal and declared that “Loweryc Claim, No. 35, datedJu 19O6 has been frund to befitted witharticles ofa low orde most ofthem being indecent and obscene, and therçlore it has beendebarred the privileges of the mails.” Thistime Lowery’s appeals to the Post OfficeDepartment’s bureaucrats, including thePostmaster General of Canada, Hon.Rodoiphe Lemieux, fell on deaf ears.

Ironically, Lowery had written an explosive editorial against the P0 prior to thislatest mail boycott. An American socialistpaper, Appeal to Reason14, had beenbanned from the use of Canada’s mail service and this provided the opportunity forColonel Bob to vent his anger against

‘A Postal Evil”“The officials behind the stamps at

Ottawa are carried away with the mad desire to make thepost officepay dividendsjustas though it was a grocery store or a pawnbroker’s skinnery In order to do this theypaymiserable wages to many of the employees;sell stamps printed on inferior and almostrottenpaper; restrict the spread ofintelligenceby a high postal rate upon literature; and inmany other ways cripple an institution thatshould be operated solely in the interest ofthepeople, and notJbr the making ofrecords byafrw graspingpoliticians.

4s an instance ofthe tortose [sic] movement of the red-tapea money-in-stampspostaladministration look at the mail servicebetween Phoenix and Greenwood As a slowthing it has the millenium [sic] backed clearover the dump. The distance between thetowns is scarcelyfive miles (8 km) yet it takesletters so long to pass between these coppercities that the stamps are mildewed by thetime a letter reaches its destination unless apreservative spit is used in their attachment.Such a snail-like method ofhandling mail.

could be remedied in a day fthe properkind ofgray matter rested within the upperstope of those who think they know how tooperate a post office department.

‘. . the ordinary government officials..are so dense, dull-witteth incompetent anddisobliging as a rule that nothing but continental prodding will wake them up to asense ofduty andjustice. Fallen into a rut ofroutine, flanked on one side by red tape andupon the other by politics the public canroast in brimstone until they are readypeople in the vicinity will kick often enoughthe mail service. . . will eventually be remedied . . Everything comes to those who rustlewhile they wait” (Greenwood Ledge, 17May 1906)

Although this editorial was written priorto his monthly journal being banned frompostal service, a defiant Colonel Bob wasnot silenced even after the post office shutout his publication. The very next issue ofLowery’s Claim boldly declared that “Thepost office department ofCanada has grownafraid of Lowery’s Claim and strikes it ablow much the same as a sandbagger hitsyouwith a leadpipe when you are not lookingThe department notified us last week thatourjournal would not bepermitted to circulate through the mails, owing to the objectionable character of the reading contained

II Cu\I.rl

.‘.‘.‘‘

,‘a tlrlyjoroal tiat yoo o itot

_________

meet every nay. Tit home ic to thec We,t, tar from the mkef e,owdtnTierii citie, n,l I.lte hum of grisding corn

muree. nigh op in, tine rnou,,taiot, mr.ruurnied i.,y soc,mrv that woold iirtçe tome

.J artist,, mad will, joy, it cditor ants oboe tonot]ihig ((5’ htv,m and drawn iun’plrattoo from the

cv 0*0CC *1J8t IJi 0 Towmrs’, Ct.ait’ Ic prineipolly d0t’ e

tn, Troth aunt ltemn.- It hoe tool,, ci

) IJ}c.e 0 Triemiu mo n ito II, I, Is lent ntsi lo,,’d

Plhd : dfeats inotlong, not eveo tine shortit. It an

tiF1 ci,,,,, or,o’bor. nnenl ai,,nrs to ti-ar the moot

. Intro coors Lining linac is evil. Ti jo thetinT o,oci joder,t1Cot .mrguntmre io the soorlil

• .‘ZtJ tent p.. rnlrn. ‘to — , p. ty. - .1, c.-etd,ea 1 ‘Itt color, Ilogor fat anlvrrt.roo. it Imo pay

tnt-c ate-nays in, ,rtgl.t. arni evrn-y olnift shows 0that it is illCreocLnbg it has touched a

-

C.etcI,onl iu tin,, inimur, l,a.t that vibrate_v

fr at, with it, mosic o-hnrrever tie E.ngtirin bog—

-..ro,a sage bresku tireOtom, ,

If mont wairt to got it, lit,,, will. it, get it.•00. early as II,, n,ien,l,atit,.’ is limitat tnt u toil

lion. No oo.nnple eOpioe are Scot to anytnec, - --

but it to fncnihed fr,, to all people .,inn

1. sIred vets,, old I’ r’3r,r fret

to soy 1,0.4 of tide wiettod nonrtln + : , --

, .,.,......, /.-._.o.o.,._..• 1

- *0000_SO ALL LCTTCRS -

R. T. LOWERY [esoooo.e.j

4 B.C. HISTORICAL NEWS - Winter 1998-99

therein. Oh deail... why has the Lauriergovernment undertaken to cause its editorjlnancial loss by denying him the privilegethat any little French rag has in Qiebec.Because we are British, live in the west anddare to speak the truth must we be houndedby s/swish minions ofpope andparson whochance to have a say in thepost office? Is thereno freedom ofspeech or thought in Canada?

The withdrawal ofthe mailingprivilegeswill not cause the Claim to suspendpublication. “(August 1906)15

Tough talk is cheap. Publishing can become onerous particularly when subscrip—tion sales and advertising decrease andbills cannot be paid’6 so cessation of thispublication was inevitable. The lastnumber of Lowery’s Claim, issued inSeptember 1906, was delivered 2lmongthe Angels.. . fir the second time depositedin the tomb from which it may never arise.

Thisjournal has lived too soon to be generally populrn fir the class of work it contained does not appeal to those sunk in thestagnant pond ofcreed custom, superstitionand mental ossfication. . . Like some parsons who say that they have a call to preachthe gospel I also thought I had a call when Iturned my Claim loose to reform the world

Theparsons say that I will be damned fI keep on; the post office has switched meonto a sidetrack, and the physicians say thatI have a flat wheel’concea/.ed within my internal anatomy. . . With these few remarksthe shroud is folded over a journal thatperhaps has been too intensely human. . . Au-men!

Although Lowery’s Claim was noLonger published, Bob never stoppedtrying to distribute his own gospelthrough the sale of back issues. An advertisement in his Similkameen Star(Princeton) declared: “During the 37months that Lowey’ Claim was on earth it

did business all over the world: It was themost unique, independent and ,,learlessjournal ever produced in Canada. Politicaland theological enemies pursued it with thevenom ofa rattlesnake until the governmentshut it out ofthe mails, and its editor ceasedto publish itpartly on account ofa lazy liverandpart.{y because it takes apile ofmoney torun apaper that is outlawed There are still20 dzffi’rent editions of this condemnedjournal in print. Send 10 cents and get one

or $2 and get the bunch. R. T LowerjGreenwood B.C “(21 July 1914)

During the life of his monthly journal,R.T. Lowery, Editor and Financier, proclaimed that ‘. . a method willyet be discovered that will smelt all evil out of theworld and leave nothing but gold in theheart of man. . . so that we can keep thepress running until a process is discoveredthat will jar all misery from this universeand annex it to the flower gardens in theNew Jerusalem”

It seems Colonel Bob was convincedthat it was his public duty (destiny?) to deflounce the duplicity ofcommercial, political or religious bureaucrats and their organizations. This conviction and his creedof being “devoted to Truth, Humor andJustice” was printed in each issue ofLowery’s Claim. Unfortunately bravadoand his almost paranoiac pillorying ofChristian traditions became too much forthe influential bureaucrats, particularly inthe Post Office.

After the collapse of Lowery’s Claim,the once feisty newspaperman’s passionand involvement with a variety of publishing endeavours diminished. Followingits demise he only published and editedone newspaper, The Ledge, inGreenwood; and Colonel Bob remaineda resident of that community almost tothe end of his days. However, his legacy ofdescriptive prose lives on in the microfilmed copies of his various publications.

FOOTNOTES

1. Pun intended. Lower?s two dashes with the Canadian Post OfficeDepartment definitely hod bins pod (‘t World \Var II armed forcesslang term for being angry, profoundly annoyed, indignant or “pissedoff”)The British Colnmbia Historical News has been regssrered for bulkmailing with Canada Post liar otter twenty years. Howeser, in early1998 the editor was informed that ‘Permit Number 4447 did normist”; and according tn the regaiarions she Newn moot be registeredwith the Canadian Heritage Department in order to be elrgibk forsubsidized postal service, Ironically, the regsssratinn papers weremailed. but received son late so there has been a buoy of both oraland written communications with the post office bureaucracy to resolve this dilemma, Was the editor also pod? It seems that alrssosrevery Canadian has a post nOire horror story; and this article revealsthe ‘postal evil” as viewed by RT Lowery

2. B. Thuslow Fraser, ‘Railway Post Offices’ in George H. Melvin,The Post Offices of British CnItmabia 1858-1970. Vernnrs, B.C.:Wayside Press, 1972. 181-185.

3. For biographical infonnasion Rain Welwood, “The Wit andWmlom of ‘Colonel’ Bob Loony” to be published in [BoundaryHistory: Report of the Boundary Historical Sociesyl (No. 14. 1999?)anther Bronson A Little, ‘Robert T I.owrrr Editor, Publisher &Printer” British Cnhsmbia Historiral News 31.2 (Spring 1998): 18-23.

4. Lanwety’s Claim. MonthlyNew Denver. ol,June 1901 - #23, April 1903Vancouver. #24, May 1903 - #25, June 1903 (suspended July1903-Sept. 1905)Nelson. #26, Oct. 1905 - #37, Sept. 1906

Fats bibliograplsic listing nf Lsswery5 publications, 1879 - 1920, seeRon Welwnad’s ‘The Wit and Vssdom of ‘Colonel’ Bob Lowery”.

5. The edimrial masthead proudly proclaimed that “LOWERYSCL4IM. . . is desvted to Truth and Hnnsor it. .. is sentfree stallpervom array 100 yea,v ofagc it is a Sham Crashes, and stillfight allfisarsds ma red finale. Ic costs $1 ayear in any part ofthe nodzt bsstlack ofnsailfecilisiespresentr it bring wailed ot Mary Wader and other’o,sr-ofthe-scay placer... ifyrsri desire this jotsrnal do nor depend sspanyour ,reighbor, br,r send in your rtk,ire or’g,ren dollar befisre the r?nvsghrgrnsostsrhtl’(Jaly 1901)

6. George T Muir’s Smnens ansi Saints (Victoria. BC: 1947?) refers soLowery as hrsmosm,s rtnires, brat with a srmstp nple. He hadgood 1st-mary talons and msghr hare gee somewhere erceprfrr his deep bitingsaasrasm against allpreachers and rebyion in general Muir felt that oneparticular issue denouncing the Baptisrs was zlldegrndtngandsssssrstc . . iroenr ares, bsrsgho the whole ediassn and burned ir in theante. (l09)Perhaps the unmicrofilmed copies of Lawe.y’s Claim (017, Osx.1902 - #23, April 1903) contained some of Bob Lowery’s hotterropics sod were destmyed in a similar manner

7. Thisjoss,,ral is the mast smrbfis/ in Canada and hasm apparenepsyffor occasionally The CEll has bsryooteed it. and will nor allow theneon agenrr to sell iron the mains.” (July 1902), “Eighrern months agothe CEll struck against ir being sold on the trains, and this strike is stillon ‘(May 1903)

8. losnrr from A.B. Agleswartls. Ottawa. to ItT Lowery, Nelson, 12November 1906, R.T Lowety fsmds. BC Archives and RecordsService (BCARS) Record No. S/F/L95,

It seenss that Psglesworth (status unknown) was assigned to write aletter so Lowesp althougls it appears he was not affiliated with shePost Office Department (‘I made application to the Pots officeDepartment tsr ascertain the fracas ofeh. case.

Boycorred by the C.RR. and ‘Denied the ,nail Lowe,7s like TEaton sO’ Co., uses the ex,ss,oss companies so diss,rbnee his small packagesofmerchandise” (Nelson Trib.me. 4 April 1903)

9. ‘Mvlsss’k should ionic a radar ofinso’rtcsians so edisorw innocent pssilishervare liable to be reined at any time by nor boosting the Issue anr presscensor has fist pmdec” “Lorteryl Claim is not dead ssmp(y becauseCsanadasi past ojfke officials in Ottawa are tainted with prejtsdiae andbsgassy The poorfellarro cannar help it and are to be pitied” (Ledge, 5February 1903)

10. Telegram sent to the New Denver posrmassec ‘Ottawa, Oat Feb.IZ 1903. Lors#ry? Claim rs’nraredfrom list ofpmhibioedpssblicasiam.infrrrn pub/saber A.W Thrsro,ru Acting Sec,rrary (Ledge, 19 Feisrssary1903)

II. TheApril 1903 edition ofLowety’s Claim printed a selection slier-tern received rhrough the snail (the style of writing appears to be sortpiciosssly fasssilar): “Manchester, England-. . . it appears sIre brightest.smarreso and orson interesting reading ihatre come ac,oss sometime... ‘ “Dassvort l3skon.- For the time jets teem to hone rr’tird in

f1srsor ofshe ortotrssl jrodgingfinsm the tmskle jest hare had with MsslockHosasesres, lam ravish yost andssill berthatthe busrherrasill kill abeskiT “Philade(ohiss, Pot- Infirnal asstrags’prsr being boycotted andbadgered this sags andyors have my aysngsathjs lace nothsng abjection.able in jesse CWMflos the reserve.” ‘Boston, Maw- lam pleased soknow that just hare ss,n,n anew the CLAIM Kiep ,rht on selling themid,. Kssoreaay Lake Historical Sndety Archives

IL B. MacLeanc Method of Writingby Shirley Cuthbertson

If you attended elementary school inBritish Columbia between 1921 and1965, your handwriting was influenced, ifnot permanently formed, by Mr. H.B.MacLean. His student compendiums andteacher’s manual were on the authorizedlists all that time - the longest-serving textbooks in the province’s education system.Did you iearn to make ovals, loops andlines on a slant, and to be careful to holdyour arm and hand so that your fingerscould glide on the paper?

Henry Bovyer MacLean was born inMount Herbert, Prince Edward Island, in1884. He attended Prince of WalesCollege in Charlottetown and beganteaching at the age of 17 in a one-roomrural school. After further study at theMacDonald Institute of Ontario, he returned to PE.I. to teach manual training,nature studies, home gardening andFrench at MacDonald ConsolidatedSchool, where he was vice-principal andlater principal, from 1905 to 1909.

“Wages and opportunities for advancement were greater in British Co1umbi’,he recollects, “and many people from themaritime provinces left the east coast to

find new homes in the western province.”In 1908/9, he came to British Columbia,taught at South Park elementary inVictoria and in 1910 was the firstPrincipal of George Jay, which became famous for its school gardens. In 1915 hejoined the staff of the Normal School inVictoria

In 1916 Mr. MacLean joined the staffof the Vancouver Normal School. Hetaught grammar, school law, and penman

ship. MacL.ean’s father bad “always emphasized good writing” 2, and his son tookan even greater interest. Over the next fewyears, teachers marking high school entrance examinations were among otherswho complained about the standard ofwriting among B.C. schoolchildren. In1919 H.B. MacLean was asked to bechairman of the committee appointed bythe Superintendent of Education, Dr. S.J.Willis, to survey textbooks and recommend a good writing manual for pupils inthe elementary grades. According to hisdaughter Jean, the committee gatheredbooks from most English-speaking countries. The committee was willing to recommend an outstanding American

system, but they wanted a fewchanges made. When the authordid not want to make thechanges, MacLean offered (in1921) to write not only ateacher’s manual, but the compendium for each of the grades.The superintendent gave his approval - if he could do the textsby September, 1921. MacLeanasked his brother-in-law RowanMackenzie to assist him, and thetwo spent the summer at thedouble-pedestal desk MacLeanhad made for the job. Jean remembers vividly that “every flatsurface in the house was coveredwith sheets of paper - the twomen did all the exercises forevery booklet - each one had tobe done perfectly”. May, Henry’swife did all the typing from

hand written notes by H.B., (she did nothave any training), and helped with proofreading. Fortunately for the success of theendeavour, they found the publisher,Clarke & Stuart, very cooperative.

British Columbia authorized Gage’sCopy Books from 1884-1901; Gage’sCopy Books “Natural Slant” from 1906-1912. The set of manuals authorized bythe Department prior to the MacLeanMethod was New Method Writing(1912-1920). These were copy-books inthe traditional style: a line ofwriting at thetop was copied a number of times downthe page, then the pupil went on to thenext page. The training method was repetition, based on the assumption that finemuscle control would develop with practice of letters and sentences.

“Muscular movement writing” waspopular from the turn of the century, butwhere some authors recommended usingonly the muscles of the forearm, othersrecommended using the muscles of theupper arm and swinging the hand whilekeeping the fingers still. MacLean combined the two for the early years,and laid

GeorgeJay SchooL Springp1antin individualplotA Victoria, B.C c. 1914.. PrincupaJILB. MacLean.Photo courtesy of MacLean Family Archives.

6 B.C. HISTORICAL NEWS - Winter 1998-99

the foundation for later forearm method“without forcing both pupils and teachersthrough a wearisome, tedious, difficult attempt to have the child develop the pen—manship methods of the adult.”3 “The so-called muscular motion method of handwriting has been in use in many schoolsfor a number of years, . . .but was foundwanting in many ways. There was a certain stiffness and inefficiency about it, andit remained for a teacher in the NormalSchool ofVictoria to take to pieces the accepted method and reconstruct it on morefluent lines.”4

The Mclean Method of MuscularMovement Writing drew on contemporary ideas expressed in the texts surveyedby the committee, but the original title ofthe manual as well as the content soonbegan to be revised. The first edition is extremely detailed and includes pages 17 to112 of the Senior Manual. This detailwould be somewhat redundant to theteachers MacLean taught at NormalSchool, but would be valuable to teachersdoing the correspondence course.

The teacher’s manual sets out the principles of “The MacLean Method Course”:“...correct posture, penholding and paperplacing, and the use of a free, rhythmic,gliding movement at a reasonable rate ofspeed. The fingers will assist in the detailof letter formation, but the hand shouldglide on the fingernails, while progressingacross the page. Although this is not an exclusive arm movement, yet cramped fingermovement should be avoided. This typeofwriting might well be called “combinedmovement,” a fission of arm movementand relaxed finger movement.”

The name “MacLean Method” was suggested by Superintendent S.J. Willis, because MacLean was well known in BritishColumbia. The most commonly usedhandwriting texts at the time usually badthe author?s name - the Palmer method,the Zaner method, etc. These were published in the United States, and used extensively in Canada - Palmer’s BusinessWriting, the revised Canadian edition,was copyrighted in Canada in 1908.Ontario authorized the use of the teachers’manual developed by J.J. Bailey; but manyOntario teachers used MacLean’s. Dr.Willis’ approval was expressed in a letter:

“The whole system is oneof which you have everyreason to be proud..(It) is being received byteachers with much enthusiasm and it has already demonstrated inmany schools that excellent work can beachieved by following theinstructions given in yourbooks. “6

The first MacLeanTeachers’ CompleteManual was copyrightedin 1921 by Clarke &Stuart in Vancouver, andthe last in 1966, (lastprinting 199l by WJ.Gage Limited, Toronto.In a paper prepared inthe early 60’s, MacLeanstates that the cost for individual compendiumsfor each pupil during thefirst six grades is less thantwenty cents per year.From the MacLeanhome, diagnostic and remedial reports were given

free ofcharge. .. .the onlywriting system that provided this service. TheCorrespondence Course was available toteachers free of charge, and a graded seriesof lessons was submitted by teachers andreturned with helpful comments and suggestions - free. Certificates were issued at anominal charge - 75 for the teacher’s certificate in 1921. Correspondence indicatesthat Langford Elementary school spent$20.50 to cover the cost of writing certificates and postage in 1978. 1997 was thefirst year that no teachers sent in for certificates for pupils - some older teacherscontinued teaching the MacLean Methoduntil 1996. After he retired from theNormal School, he “advertised” servicesrelated to The MacLean Method - he gavepresentations at teachers’ conferences,went to schools on invitation. . . letters ofthanks indicate that services were givenfree.

Comparing the first and later teacher’smanuals, MacLean’s wording and tech-

niques developed to fit in with contemporary methods; in fact, he revised andedited his manual even after 1966. This, asis the case with many school textbooks,can be disconcerting, as revisions are notnoted on the title page, and although theeditions are numbered, the copyright dateis “1921”, until 1966. Flis expressionsmay have been refined and updated, butthe principles remained consistent.Revisions probably came from MacLean’steaching experience, but he also tookSprott’s Business Writing at NormalSchool in 1920, correspondence coursesfrom the American Penman, Zaner’s andPalmer’s “Muscular Movement” method(his certificate reads “for SuperiorAbility”,) and went to a summer institutein New York to get his teacher’s certificatein Palmer’s method in 1923. Ball pointpens were introduced in 1961. MacLeansuggested using a desk-top style because“it has a large base and is well-balanced”.

B.C. IUSTORICAL NEWS - Winter 1998-99

FLB. MacLean, Ca. 1921, showing the conectpositionftrgood writing.Photo courtesy of MacLean Famihj Aroflives

7

The smaller ones are hard for youngerpupils to hold properly because “they havea small, slippery base”. They skip oversoiled spots (oils from hands). He stipulates a “. . . free-flowing, non-smudgingink” to allow for “a light touch andfreedom of movement”.7

MacLean was sensitive to students’ liiture need to have a good handwriting forsuccess in business. J.H. Beatty, Presidentof the Sprott-Shaw School of Commerce,wrote to MacLean in 1963 that “Yourletter and figure forms, as shown inMacLean Method Writing Books are simplified and modernized Spencerian. Theseforms are most suitable for business purposes.” In the 60’s MacLean described therevival in British schools of the Italicscript, and rejected its adoption. He concluded that the requirement for steel penswith a square edge may be satis&ctoly forartists but is not practical for school andbusiness writing. The script would causethe loss of the “fluent, easy and effectivemovement” of the cursive writing stylewhich had been developed in NorthAmerica.8

The MacLean’s style of writing is basedon the three s’s of writing: slant, spacingand size. Legibility required attention toalignment as well as the formation of letters. At the same time, he repeats in almostevery edition: “The pupil’s enjoyment ofhis writing should not be hampered byundue emphasis upon the mechanics.”The exercises in the compendiums are designed to reinforce rhythm. Teachers wereencouraged to use rhythm to help chil

dren to write fluently - songs, verses, evena metronome could be used to demonstrate. He recommended that childrenstart by writing on the blackboard, andthat the teachers make a game of it or usetheir imagination to make it interesting.“The teacher should want to teachwriting. Enthusiasm begets enthusiasm.”Although MacLean’s manual and compendiums deal with the practicalities ofwriting, they contain a great many suggestions that are simply good principles forteaching: #63 from ‘A Hundred HelpfulHints” (35th ed.) “Writing “lines” shouldnever be given as a punishment. The association of ideas discourages interest inhandwriting.” #47 “Do not talk too muchin the Writing lesson. . . .Pupils learn towrite by writing, rather than by listeningto the teacher telling them how to write.”#67 “The honest attempt of pupils, nomatter how crude, should never beridiculed.” #74 “Instructions should bepositive, not negative: “Write careflilly”not “Don’t scribble.”

MacLean’s objective was legible, rapid,fluent writing, with reasonable uniformity“Printing” is called “manuscript” in thefirst edition, and the first compendium issimply a printed alphabet and a fewsimple words and sentences. In year 2,MacLean gives clear instructions on whenand how to make the transition to cursivewriting. Although the primary grades emphasize learning the “correct” formation ofletters, the senior and advanced levels offeralternative forms and the teacher’s manualexpressly allows for individual styles.

Students in senior grades are to strive for“Legibility, simplicity and beauty in standard and optional letter forms”. Teachersshould stress “The courtesy, social andeconomic value of good handwriting.”“Seniors in grade five especially may beencouraged to develop an attractive signature - legible and artistic.” (35th ed.) perhaps this is why so many old textbookshave their owner’s name in many places!

(Teacher’s Manual, 35th ed.) and(Teacher’s Manual, 1966) “Left-handedness” is dealt with in the chapter on“Special Problems in the Teaching ofWriting”. “The problems to be consideredare: (1) Is left-handedness a disadvantagesocially or economically? (2) If so, can thehandedness of a child be changed withoutcausing stammering or other disorders? (3)What are the best techniques to use inmaking the change? (4) If a child is dominantly left-handed, should he be forced touse the right hand in writing or in othermanual activities? (5) What are the besttechniques to use in teaching left-handedpupils to write with the left hand?”MacLean’s suggestions are “By means oftests. . . .try to discover the native handedness of any pupil who seems to prefer touse his left hand. . . .“ (He refers teachersto pages 418 to 420 of the Thirty-FourthYearbook of the Society for the Study ofEducation, 1935 for copies of such tests.)“If the child has developed the habit.but is not dominantly left-handed, explain to him and to his parents the possible disadvantages . . . Try to enlist theirco-operation. . . . Be patient and sympathetic. Decrease the amount of writtenwok to be done. . . . If however, the childor the parent insists upon a continuance oflefhandedness, do not compel the changebut give the child the utmost assistance indeveloping the greatest possible efficiencyin the use of the left hand.” (35th ed.) Herepeats this general principle and offerssuggestions for the position of the feet,arms and hand and for placing the paper,at each compendium level.

During the 33 years that MacLeantaught at Vancouver Normal School, hecarried a full teaching load, organized andled many of the “extracurricular activities”,travelled and gave lectures and presentations from coast to coast, and organized

THE MacLEAN METHOD ALPHABETS AND FIGURES.

J

7P72 7O

8 B.C. HISTORICAL NEWS - Winter 1998.99

and maintained a family business. (Hisdaughter Jean says “he could get by on fivehours sleep a night.”) As well as teachingBritish Columbia teachers, he had startedin the 30s to send out a correspondencecourse (free) to teachers in other provinceswho used the MacLean textbooks.Teachers sent pupils’ handwriting pieces tohim each year for grading, and he (andlater Jean as well), worked on the papers,wrote letters and coded the batches, whilehis wife May filled and packed each batch,sent bills (including postage) and kept therecords. “The Postal Service was wonderful - they brought the big parcels early”(Jean) This letter from Comox AirportRural School District is typical of many inthe family archives: “I feel your personalcomments on their writing are of greatvalue and it seems that after each evaluation in the past 3 years I have noted a risein the quality of writing. Not only are thecomments helpful, but coming from theauthor of the course, they speak withmuch greater authority than any comment I can make.” Another teacher mentions “kindly criticisms” which “inspiredone to fresh effort”.

When the marking load became tooheavy teachers used the compendiumstandards to judge the lower levels, and ifthey thought the pupils had madeprogress, sent in for certificates. They continued to send some work to him for personal diagnosis and comments. Mr.MacLean judged the “senior” and “advanced” students’ progress (“improvement” and “proficiency” appear on thecertificates sent out.) Elementary pupilsand teachers alike placed great value onthese certificates - framed copies and setsof teachers’ certificates are prominentamong papers saved in family collections,and donated to archives and museums.The busiest time of year in the MacLeanhousehold was “certificate time”: April,May and June, but through the year remedial work was prepared for some children and ordering and payment correspondence came and went.

MacLean’s publisher, Clarke & Stuart,had straight pens made to a design whichmade the finger grip easier, “MacLean’s”pen nibs, and also had “MacLean’s BestEver” pencils that were bigger and softer

so they were easier for small children -

“this helps prevent gripping”. Before thecompendiums were available to all, thecompany also carried lined scribblers forpractice. These were purchased by schoolsor by Parent Teacher Associations.

MacLean’s daughter Jean married, andwhile she and her husband lived inHalifax, Jean took over the Maritimes section, sending out teacher correspondencecourse materials to Normal schools in thefour Maritime provinces, as well as student materials. She sent senior and advanced student papers to MacLean forgrading. Later, on her return to Vancouverin 1957, she worked in his home officeevery day, taking over the record-keepingfrom her mother in 1960. The office furnishings, materials and files which wereher father’s were set up in her basementwhen he moved.

Between 1921 and 1964, the MacLeanMethod of Writing was officially adoptedby education departments inNewfoundland, Nova Scotia, NewBrunswick, Prince Edward Island,English-speaking Catholic schools inQuebec, Manitoba (not universal), as wellas British Columbia. Many years after heretired he still held the copyright on themethod, and kept revising or supervisingany changes that were introduced. WhenMacLean retired from the Normal Schoolin 1949, a letter from Dr. Harold L.Campbell (retired Deputy Minister andSuperintendent of Education for BritishColumbia) stated: “You have done a won-

derful job in evolving, developing, maintaining, servicing and promoting TheMacLean System and I suppose it doesnot have an equal in any part of the‘World.”°

A reporter writes quoting MacLean: “a.fringe benefit (of legible writing) . . . it’s

difficult to forge a really good penman.”MacLean had worked with the police,banks, lawyers and all levels of government on “questioned documents” formany years, and after retirement, he madeit his other business, with a business cardand a sheet listing his credentials. He mentions teaching at all levels, grading thousands of student and teacher writing sam-pies annually, as well as lecturing at thetraining school for the British ColumbiaProvincial Police. He was involved with anumber of court cases involving wills,anonymous letters, forgery and forensicevidence.

Mr. MacLean travelled back east annually to give lectures in the teachers collegesin Truro, Memorial, Fredericton andCharlottetown. He also lectured inAlberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario andQuebec. He combined instruction withpromotion in a presentation that wonmany young teachers - and when he gavepresentations to clubs or to public audiences, won critical praise from tough journalists. He was one of those teachers whowas loved by his students, both elementaryand college-age. As a teacher, he also had asecret weapon - he was an accomplishedmagician. He “. . . .frequendy entertains

9 B.C. HISTORICAL NEWS - Winter 1998.99

the crippled children and also gives a showfor the inmates of British Columbiaprisons.”12 A 1955 advertisement includesold time fiddling, step dancing and theIsland potato exhibition and championships, at the Prince of Wales College,PE.I. MacLean is on the bill as “Henry B.MacLean, Magician - A short demonstration of Blackboard Writing and OneFlour of Comedy Magic”.’3Whether thetalk was on penmanship with a littlemagic, or a magic presentation with a biton penmanship, people were happily entertained and instructed. He was a lifemember of the Vancouver Magic Circle,and a member of the InternationalBrotherhood of Magicians. After his retirement, he gave presentations in schools,seniors homes, as well as to service clubs(he was president ofVancouver Kiwanis in1930). Jean says “he was out a lot in theevenings”.

Not everyone appreciated MacLean’smethod of handwriting: Mamie Maloneycolumnist for The Vancouver Sun Nov.30, 1944, described “The method: devised by an obviously Gestapo-mindedcreature called MacLean as “. - .

regimented, clear hand with no more individual characteristics than a fly spot.” Inanother column, she said that the method

• was supposed to guarantee good penmanship in the schools of my day, but,like most educational tools, was bound toproduce some conspicuous &iiures.” To

which MacLean replied (privately): “Don’tyou think it was perhaps a little unkind foryou to blame your poor handwriting onthe MacLean Method?.” Quoting fromthe Teacher’s Manual (p. 49 in the 35thedition): “Legibility is the most importantcharacteristic of handwriting.Individuality which interferes with legibility is undesirable.” Our advice is toteach simple forms in the lower grades -

forms that are easy to read and easy towrite. Since our pupils and teachers movefrom one school to another, we think thatone form should be taught at first so thatpupils do not have to learn different formsas they. . .move. “Optional forms may bepresented to advanced classes where individuality consistent with legibility will bedeveloped.”

In MacLeans’ own words, from theTeacher’s Manual: “There is a certainamount of uniformity in all good writing,just as there is in good spelling, languageand arithmetic. But no two persons writealike any more than they walk or talkalike.” (35th ed.) In British Columbia, theRoyal Commission headed by Dr. Chantreceived criticisms of the “regimentation”of handwriting teaching. This was onlyone of the areas to undergo profoundchanges in the 1960’s because of theChant Report.’4

Years later, when MacLean died, TheVancouver Sun editorial page carried ahandwritten tribute written by the mem

bers of the editorial staWwhich ended: “Here was aman who when he died thisweek in Vancouver at 91had truly left his mark - iii

the handwriting of millionsof Canadians who for morethan half a century inCanadian schools learnedpenmanship the MacLean’sway. Toward the end of hislife the Method fell intosome disuse, criticized forbeing too regimented, tooopposed to individualism.Perhaps. But it was the workof a man who wanted us tocommunicate better witheach other. No small ideal.”5

The author was a schoolteacher who becamea historian on staffat the Royal B.C. Museum.Shirley is a dedicated volunteer with the B.C.Historical Federation

1. (Colonist Ang. 5, 1962 Originumr of Handwritrng TraimngMakes his Home Here on Saanids Penrnsula in R,n,remenr)

2. Jean Dodsworrb (H.B. MacLean\ daughter), personal

3. Maclean. H.B. The MucLoao Method of Mrascs.LseMosemeast Weithtg, Teodsers’ complete MaurmiThe Clarke & Smart Co. Ltd., Vancouver 1921, p. 13.

4. (Sysrem of Writiog Orig,nates in City” ...__Jnly 21. 1926,Scrapbook, MacLean Family archives)

5. MacLeads Method of’Ql4itmg Teaches’s Maorral 35th ed.Clarke & Stuart Co. Ltd., Vanconver c. 1921 (ca.l956)(light green cover).

6. Correspondences Willis to Maclean. (Family Archives)

7. Personal correspondence, J.H. Bratty to H.B.MacLeao ca. 1944.

8. MacLean, H.B. uspublislsed paper to. 1964, MacLeanFanaily Archives.

9. The MacLeast Method ofWritmg, Teadrens’ CompleteMam.al, 35th ed (HelpIlal Hiots #78)

10. Dc Harold L Campbell, correspondence to HO. MacLean(Family Archives)

II, Peovrnce. Feiday. November 7 1969.12. nd. Halifax paper.13. Grmnlimr, Chasiorretosvss, PEI October 31, 1955.14. Chant, S.N.E; Liersch, J.E.; Walvod, R.P; Report of tIre

Royal Commission on Education, Province vi BritishCvlunsbru, 1960.

IS. The Vancs,rrvm Son, editorial Jaly 1976. qootvd in rhv issuededicated to Henry Boxyer MacLean of The Penmen9 Nest,Letter, International Association of Master Penmen, July 1976.

OTHER SOURCES:

Writing manuals and tesbooks: Historical Collecoions, Royal B.C.Museum.

B.C. Archives & Records Services Clippiogs, documents and m,ntuvcripts. MacLean Faosily Archives (scrapbook and documents)

This picture ofa display in the Royal B.C Museum shows a stuslentc workbook, MacLean pen with replaceable nib, an ink bottle,box ofnibs, rule,i scribbler and blotters.

Pholo coartesy of S. Cuthberlson.

10 B.C. HISTORICAL NEWS - Winter 1998-99

Walter Moberly:A Forgotten Pathfinder

by IL Bariy Cotton

‘Moberiy was a born explorei it was inhis blood’: So said contemporary Henry J.Cambie, aptly describing the driving forcebehind the man’s turbulent life. Manyyears later, Pierre Berton was to describehim as ‘z better surveyor than a businessman”. Both remarks are valid, as will beseen.

Moberly, however, never did set out tobe a business man. He was one ofthe greatbuilders, a blazer of the trails that evolvedinto the Province’s present road and railnetwork; in fact, many of his explorationswere undertaken at his own expense, andhe died comparatively poor, rememberedonly by the school in Vancouver namedafter him, and a whistle-stop on theC.PRly., near the approach to the HowsePass, which he was convinced was theproper route for the transcontinentalrailway.

Early YearsWalter Moberly was born in Steeple

Ashton, Oxfordshire, England in 1832.His father was a captain in the RoyalNavy; who had fought in the Napoleonicwars; his mother a lady of Polish descent.He had three brothers, one of whom(Harry) became a Hudson’s Bay Co.trader. In 1834 the family emigrated tothe Province of Quebec, and later toBarrie, Ont., where Walter went to schooland spent much of his youth. In Barrie hewent to school with a girl called SusanAgnes Bernard, who later became the wifeof John A. Macdonald, a friendship thatwould be significant to Walter in lateryears. After leaving Barrie GrammarSchool, he went to Toronto where hestudied engineering with the firm ofCumberland and Storm, and worked onthe Northern Railway as the former’s assistant. Later he worked on the Ontario,Simcoe and Union Railroad, where he became an associate of Sandford Fleming,another connection that would be usefulto him in later life. During this time

Walter MoberlyPhoto courtesy of B.C. Centennial 71 collection.

Walter engaged in some early exploringwest of Lake Simcoe, and acquired some1500 sq. miles of timber limits. Howeveunews from the west in 1857-8, particularlyof Capt. Palliser’s ventures in the approaches to the Rockies, persuaded himthat his future lay in the still unknowncountry that was British Columbia. Hesold his timber limits, travelled to NewYork, then around the Horn to SanFrancisco, and thence to Victoria,Vancouver Island.

At age 26, Walter Moberly was a man ofgreat physical power and stamina.Resourceful and tireless in the bush, hewas a superb axeman - even at 70 years ofage. He is said to have killed bears with apistol, and many were the stories told ofhis prowess in the wilderness. In January1872, after falling through the ice onShuswap Lake, he was able to climb outby using snowshoes on his hands as supports. He knew how to relax when in civilized society too, could dance the nightaway, and drink whisky with the bestwhen the occasion warranted. He was alsoegotistical and opinionated, and as will be

seen, found it difficult to get along withanyone with whom he disagreed. But tothe project in hand he was always loyal,and as an employer was particularly considerate of those who depended on him.

British ColumbiaThis was the man who, armed with a

letter of introduction from Sir GeorgeSimpson, presented himself to GovernorDouglas late in the fall of 1858; he declined an offer of employment by theColonial Government, but agreed to report on the feasibility of the HarrisonLake/Lillooet route to the golcffields. Hedid this early in 1859, after travelling theroute as far as Pavilion, and noting improvements to be made. He also made aside trip to Pitt Lake. Later at his expense,he made another expedition to examinethe Fraser Canyon between Yale andLytton.

April 1859 had brought the main bodyof the Royal Engineers to B.C., and onMoberly’s return to the lower mainland hewas employed by Col. RC. Moody on theplanning and layout of the new capitalcity; Queensborough, which was in theprocess of being carved out of the denseforest. It would soon be renamed NewWestminster by Queen Victoria (hencethe “Royal City”). Whilst in NewWestminster he had a look at BurrardInlet, and with Robert Burnaby (theGovernor’s secretary) examined the reported outcroppings in Coal Harbour.

At the end of 1859, Moberly returnedto Victoria, where he met Capt. JohnPalliser and Dr. James Hector, who had reported unfavorably on the possibility of alink between the Fraser and ColumbiaRiver systems. Moberly, whose compellingmotivation since leaving the east had beento find a transcontinental road/rail route,was not in the least convinced. In fact hewould spend much effort (and much ofhis own money) over the next fw years inproving them wrong.

11 B.C. HISTORICAL NEWS - Winter 1998-99

He was “sworn-in” as a land surveyor forB.C. in 1861, his surety being EdgarDewdney another engineer from easternCanada. He carried out several local surveys in 1860, around English Bay andBurrard Inlet for Col. Moody’s Lands &Works Dept. In July of that year he bid ona pack-trail connecting Hope andPrinceton, earlier explored by Lt. Palmer,but he was edged out by Edgar Dewdrieywho got the contract, but took Moberlyon as a working partner. This was the firstpart of the Dewdney Trail, and workingon it earned Moberly money; but theyears 1862/3 were going to prove especially expensive for him.

The Cariboo Road and FurtherHe was, of course, one of the chief pro

ponents of the Cariboo Road, contendingthat it would be essential for the future development of the country. Costs ofbuilding it, however, depended on obtaining a subsidy from the ColonialOffice. Douglas, feeling that such a subsidy would be forthcoming, granted acharter to Moberly, Charles Oppenheimerand TB. Lewis, to build by far the longeststretch of road - from Lytton along theThompson River to Cook’s Ferry (today’sSpence’s Bridge), thence to Cache Creekand northward. Moberly was the engineer-in-charge, Lewis the bookkeeper.Oppenheimer looked after the supplies.They would have the right to collect tollswhen finished.

Political skulduggeiy was, of course,possible even in those pioneer days, andalthough the monumental work of constructing that first road through the lowercanyons of the Fraser and ThompsonRivers was satis&ctorily carried out, whathappened next can only be described as adisaster for Moberly himself One can certainly sympathize with him in the tale ofwoe which follows, as told in his “Historyof the Cariboo Wagon Road.”

Much of Moberly’s manpower wasstranded at Yale, without money, food orclothing. So before starting them to workat Lytton, he had to advance money forwages and subsistence before getting tothe start point. Many of these men wouldlater desert the project when news of goldstrikes filtered through. He establishedcamps at Lytton, Nicomen and Cook’s

Ferry, and when no government certificates were issued, Moberly borrowedmoney for payroll. When Lewis voted tostop the work, Moberly bought out his interests. Eventually, Moberly travelled toNew Westminster, where he found outthat the Imperial Government had refusedthe subsidy, whereupon GovernorDouglas had been forced to borrow$50,000 from the Bank of BritishColumbia. With $6000 in his pocket,Moberly hastened back to Lytton to payhis workers (who had hardly expected himback!), and continue the work. A few dayslater he received a letter, stating that the$44,000 was to be withheld, and - in hiswords:

‘‘As I was the one to whom the largestamount would have to be paid it was decided to sacrifice me and carry the other contractors through... which was a very convenient andprofltable thingfir them, but itwas a disgracefrl and dishonest transactionon theirpart”:

With debts mounting, Oppenheimerleft for the USA, leaving Moberly to fucethe music. In the end, Moberly signedover all his charter rights and supplies toCapt. Grant RE., who had been appointed to “deal” with him; Moberly thenagreed to carry on with the work as an employee of the Government. The wageswere eventually all paid in full but - againin Moberly’s words:

the country hadgained a large andmost expensive portion of the CaribooWagon Road built, which cost them nothin,gbut it left me a ruined man with heazypersonal liabilities, which took all the money Icould make during eiht subsequentyears to

flnali’y pay off”:The year 1864 would bring change.

This was the year Governor Douglas, whohad been governor of both colonies, retired. J.D. Pemberton also retired. Col.R.C. Moody had already departed. Thenew authority was going to be J.W.Trutch, currently Surveyor/General andCommissioner of Lands and Works forthe Mainland Government. WalterMoberly, after having spent 1863 workingon the Cariboo Road as superintendentfor William Hood’s contract aboveSpence’s Bridge, took on the job of engineer under Trutch. He still continued with

construction of the Cariboo Road, fromFort Alexandria to Richfield, and locatedseveral other roads in the vicinity ofQuesnelmouth, Lightning Creek andWilliams Lake.

At the end of the year he resigned hisposition, stood for election, as themember for the Cariboo West Riding,and was elected. He undertook management of the Lands & Works Dept. inTrutch’s absence, but did not stay long inoffice. He resigned his seat at the end ofthe session, and was appointed assistantSurveyor/General in March 1865.Moberly states that as soon as Trutch returned to the colony, he handed over theLands & Works Dept. to him. However,he held on to the job of AssistantSurveyor/General, which gave him hislong-wished opportunity to explore theGold (Monashee), Selkirk and RockyMountains for a line suitable for an overland road/railway link.

The Columbia River ExplorationsWith the new gold strikes at the Big

Bend, and those already existing at WildHorse Creek in the Kootenays, there werea lot of exploratory surveys being undertaken at this time. George Turner’s map ofJan. 5, 1865 shows the new trail fromSeymour Arm of Shuswap Lake to thenew diggings. Also - it is relevant to mention a forgotten explorer of 1864, one J.Jenkins, who surveyed around the BigBend, making precise notes of severalIndian trails across the Selkirks.

In particular, Jenkins’ map shows a trailstarting from the upper Columbia calledGIL-CES-CHE-SIN, and a distance of‘ibout 65 miles across the ,great bend”: Henotes that ‘7proposedto cross the great bendof the Columbia here with 1 Indian, intending that the other shouldgo round withthe canoe, but they objected (as wellthey might!). The start of this trail was, infact, the outflow of the Beaver River, andhad Jenkins done what he intended, hisname would definitely not now be forgotten. Moberly’s plot of the Columbia atthe time shows a latitude of 51 31’ 30” forthis location. The distance of 65 miles isuncannily accurate.

Most of the exploratory surveys in1865-6 were done under Moberly’s direction, with J. Turnbull and Ashdown

12 B.C. ifiSTORICAL NEWS - Winter 1998-99

Green working between Shuswap Lake,Okanagan Lake and the Rockies. OnSept. 10th Moberly reported his discoveryof Eagle Pass, after observing the routetaken by flying eagles in the mountainsfrom Sicamous in the direction of theColumbia Big Eddy; and later that sameyear he received J. Turnbull’s estimate of$10,950 to put through a trail fromSicamous to the Columbia at the BigEddy through Eagle Pass. The Big Eddywas where the City of Revelstoke nowstands, and this line (through the ThreeValley Gap) would prove to be a fatefullink joining the east and west surveys ofthe Canadian Pacific Railway, and wouldeventually carry both railway and TransCanada Highway.

In the official reports of the ColumbiaRiver Exploration, both Moberly andTrutch in their letters mention the necessity of exploring a route through theSelkirks, to shorten the distance aroundthe Big Bend of the Columbia. But it is afact that Moberly’s journal entry for Fri,July 13th, 1865, (an ominous date!) showsone such an investigation made, but notcompleted:

Peny returnedfvm his trz up theEfrrk ofthe Illecillewaet River He did notreach the divide, but reported a low widevalley asfar as he went. His exploration hasnot settled thepoint whether it would bepossible to get through the mountains by thisvalley, but Ifiar not. He ought to have goton the divide, and his failure is a great disappointment to me...

By this journal entry it would seem thatMoberly admitted to not having foundthe pass through the Selkirks that wouldlater be the key link for the transcontinental road and railroad and indeed heseems to have concluded that the BigBend offered the only practicable route.As will be seen later, he did have anotherchance (from the easterly end), but circumstances again conspired against him.It is, of course, unlikely that this passwould remain untrampled by human footfor the next fifteen years, but it wouldawait official recognition by the hard-swearing, tobacco-chewing Rogers, whoduly “discovered” it in 1881.

1867 has been described as a year ofunprecedented depression. It was also the

year in which Moberly had a momentousdisagreement with Governor Seymour. Heleft British Columbia, and went south. Hespent the next four years wandering inUtah, California, Nevada, Idaho, Oregonand Washington. He met Brigham Youngand the Mormons. He wrote a long letterto Trutch in May 1868, giving details ofpossible road or rail routes across BritishColumbia, his preferred one being fromNew Westminster, following the CaribooRoad, then Eagle Pass, the Big Bend,Howse Pass and following the NorthSaskatchewan River and Carlton Trail allthe way to Winnipeg. (This is the sameroute that had been recommended independently by J.W. McKay of the H.B.Co.to the Hon. H.P Crease, Att/Gen. of B.C.in July 1867). Moberly also did somemining in Ophir City near Salt Lake Cityand it was here that he received Trutch’stelegram that caused him to return toCanada.

The Canadian Pacffic SurveyTwo points are relevant when writing of

Moberly’s involvement in the C.PR.Surveys of 1871-3. The first is that thenormal way for travelling across theNorth-West Territories at the time was stillthe time-honored Hudson’s BayCompany route from Winnipeg toEdmonton, and this was the route followed for his proposed transcontinentalrailway by Engineer-in-Chief SandfordFleming. This was a painstaking, deliberate and very experienced engineer, probably the exact opposite of Moberly in temperament. It seems logical that he wouldchoose the lowest pass to enter BritishColumbia - the Yellowhead.

The second concerns Walter Moberlyhimself who knew perhaps too well thearea in which he was to work. One needlook no further than his detailed plot,made probably in 1866, with latitude observations taken every few miles. He wasconvinced that the Howse Pass shouldprevail.

On his return to Canada in 1871,Moberly sought an audience with his oldfriend John A. Macdonald, and as a resultfound himself in charge of the Columbiasurveys in B.C. under Sandford Fleming.Moberly had several parties out - JohnTrutch between Burrard Inlet and

Kamloops, Edward Mohun at Eagle Pass,Roderick McLennan on the NorthThompson, E.C. Gillette and AshdownGreen in the East Kootenays. Moberlyhimself spent most of his time with thelatter party, where he could personally attend to problems in the Rockies andSelkirks.

Moberly started in July 1871, travellingby way of Kamloops in order to get hisvarious parties going, and thence by trailto Wild Horse Creek. Gillette’s party spentthe rest of the year in cutting trail andbringing up supplies from the Columbiasource to the Blaeberry River, where theywent into winter quarters, but not beforeMoberly had made a preliminasy investigation of the Howse Pass. On Dec. 4,Moberly left for Victoria. His dia withits specimens of pressed wildflowers is stillintact in B.C.’s Archives, and there ismuch to be learned from it:

‘Nov. 16- propose to explore the SelkirkRange by a valley I discovered in 1866when exploring fir the Govt. ofB.C. butwhich I never had the opportunity to examine thorough This valley I then namedthe Valley of the Three Pyramids. . .the lotofthe easterl’y side ofthis valley where itjoinsthe Columbia is 51 44 There is also avalley which joins the Columbia River in lot51 31’ 06’ that I discovered at the sametime which mtht be favorablefir a pass’:

Moberly proceeded to Victoria by wayof the pass at 51 44’ - he had a hard timeof it, and wrote that he was convinced thispass never would answer as a line for arailway. As for the valley at 51 31’ 06” -

Jenkins’ trail - it seems that again Moberlyhad missed the future Rogers’ Pass, thistime from the easterly side; and the eventsthat followed put any further probing ofthe Selkirks out of the question.

What happened next to Moberly is sowell described in Pierre Berton’s book, theNational Dream, that I will only setdown an outline. In Victoria, Moberly received authority from the Engineer-in-Chief to run a trail line over the HowsePass, which, in view of his already rigidopinion of its merits, he interpreted assanction for arranging a detailed locationsurvey He made plans for 1872 seasonwith this in mind. In April, on the eve ofhis departure for the field, he received an-

13 B.C. HISTORICAL NEWS - Winter 1998-99

other telegram from Sandford Flemingstating that the Yellowhead Pass had beenchosen as the official route.

In retrospect, there is something downright strange about these events. WhatChief Engineer would wait until April -

after expensive and complicated arrangements would necessarily have been alreadymade for the parties in the field - to inform his deputy of the main objective forthe field season? Obviously the antipathywas already there, and it had led to thelack of communication. Moberly wasforced to make hurried last minute cancellations - which were expensive - and afterabandoning much of his accumulatedstores at the Blaeberry River, startedmoving his men up the Columbia valley;opening up pack-trail all the way to BoatEncampment. By November he hadbrought them through the Athabasca Pass,and made a depot for winter quarters nearthe site of old Henry House.

In September, Moberly met SandfordFleming in the Yellowhead Pass, havingtaken all season to move his men to thenew location. It is not recorded whetherthe meeting was stormy; but it couldhardly have been otherwise. Both men, inlater recollections, blamed each other forthe situation.

When Fleming left to proceed toVictoria, Moberly kept his parties at worktill December, surveying to the FiddleRiver, then went into winter quarters.Shortly afterwards Marcus Smith was ap

pointed to take over from him, and afterdoing some work in the Tete Jaune Cachearea, Moberly travelled south toKamloops, where he handed over toSmith.

He left B.C. shortly after this, spent several months in Ottawa, where he claimedthat Sandford Fleming held up paymentof his accounts, then moved to Winnipeg.Here he contracted and built the City’sfirst sewer system, and for the followingfew years he was involved in the engineering ofvarious Manitoba railroads, andfor a line to Hudson’s Bay.

He was, with some reason, an embittered man, and not one to suffer in silence. His dictated biography is remarkably accurate, considering that he was 82at the time of publication and though hestops short of actually claiming that hediscovered the Rogers Pass, it is obviousthat he felt cheated in this respect. He notonly rails against the treatment he receivedfrom Fleming, but also against the finalconstructed route of the C.PR. throughthe Kicking Horse and Rogers Passes. Inthose early years he had a point. Thegrades down the Big Hill of the KickingHorse were a whopping 4.5% with runaway trains frequent; and in 1910 successive avalanches from both sides of theRogers Pass killed 62 railway workers.These concerns would, of course, be addressed by the engineering masterpiece ofthe Spiral Tunnels, and the ConnaughtTunnel - the latter completed the year

after Moberly died. In fact with the mainline approaching from Calgary; it is hardto see what other routes could be chosen(certainly not the Howse Pass).

He returned to British Columbia in1897. His name is mentioned in prospectsfor two B.C. railroads - the VancouverNorthern & Yukon Rly, and theVancouver and Northern Rly, neither ofwhich materialized, both ending up in theDeflrnct Railways Act of 1926/7.

The old explorer lived his later years inretirement in Vancouver. He was often indemand as an after dinner speaker, andwas an honorary member of theVancouver Canadian Club. His friendswould sometimes visit him at his addresson Hornby Street, and play a few hands ofrummy before he retired to bed with aglass of grog; and - perhaps - he would remark wryly to his cronies how poorly it

compared with the Hudson’s Bay rum ofthe good old days.

He passed away in the VancouverGeneral Hospital on May 12th 1915, thesame year as his nemesis SandfordFleming. Walter Moberly was the authorof “The Rocks and Rivers of BritishColumbia” - London 1885, and severalpublications pertaining to exploration inB.C. He was unmarried.

SOURCESPA. B.C.

Howie & Schokfreld, Vol. III 1914.

Ma. & Meñdiara, Vol. II - Don W Thoossoo, 1967.

B.C. Chron,&s - Ak1gg, Discovery Press 1977.Pio.ree, S..rvryors m the Ftaoer Volley - WN. Draper B.C.LS.RG.E. My to the Notti. - Bruce Ranssay. Mechell Press 1962.

ft Nauonol Dream - Pierre Berton, McLelIan & Stewart 1970.Surveyor-Generals Records, Victoria.

The Retribution ofD. G.E Macdonald C.E.by IL Barry Cotton

Two books about British Columbiawere published in 1862. Macdonald’sBritish Columbia and Vancouver Islandfollowed on the heels of Capt. Mayne’s‘Four years in British Columbia’ Butreading after a time-lapse of 136 years, anyerrors later uncovered being duly discounted, the same is not true ofMacdonald’s book.

This book was plainly written with anulterior motive, rather than simply to in-

form. It is studded with gross errors, andthe author did not hesitate to distort thetruth in his purpose to portray the futureProvince in the worst possible light. Thereader may well wonder why, especiallyconsidering that the author spent a mere12 months in the country

Macdonald has been described as aScortish Engineer. That he was Scottish isundeniable, and as an engineer he was oneof the first to be employed (as a civilian

surveyor) by Col. Moody, in laying outthe city blocks of Queensborough (City ofNew Westminster). He was also a journalist, and had written several books, oneof which - “What thefarmers may do withtheir land” - was advertised in the VictoriaGazette Feb. 26, 1859, soon after his arrival in B.C., and also on July 23, 1859.

On Feb. 28, 1859, Macdonald madetender for surveying under Col. Moody,and on March 20th accepted an engage-

14 B.C. HISTORICAL NEWS - Winter 199K- 99

ment to lay out town lots inQueensborough. He spent from April 2ndtill July 11th on this work. From a studyof Macdonald’s over twenty-five letterswritten during this time, all couched inthe quasi-polite verbiage of officialspondence, it would seem that he was adecidedly “prickly” employee; indeed, hesoon constituted a fairly large thorn in theside of Cot. Moody. His complaints wereat first about small matters - accomrnodanon, tinie-off objections to administrativemethods; also about a lot inQueensborough that he purchased in Juneby auction, and for which he later refusedpayment; but his charges culminated in along letter to Col. Moody dated July 2nd(with copy to Governor Douglas) inwhich Col. Moody was bluntly accused ofincompetence, using “make-shift”methods, and was even further to blamefor having ignored Macdonald’s ownfreely given advice.

Governor Douglas’ order of July 7,1859, requiring that all civilian surveyorsbe discharged, soon put an end toMacdonald’s contract, and he handed in

his stores on July 11th. However, his dispul:ations regarding pay and other financial matters went on for several months.

It is interesting to note that, regardlessof the Governor’s edict, J.W. Trutch whowas also a civilian surveyoi entered into acontract with the Lands & Works Dept.on July 25th. Macdonald, however, wasnot rehired.

In the summer of 1859, it so happenedthat Lt. Richard Roche, a naval officer andmember of the British BoundaryCommission working on the 49th parallel, was recalled to his ship. He had beenengaged in running the section betweenChilliwack Lake and the Skagit River.Macdonald applied for this vacancy andwas given a civilian contract to carry onwith the work.

Several of Macdonald’s letters, writtenfrom the 49th parallel are extant. One,which also appeared as a public notice inthe Colonist Oct. 15, 1859, solicits statements of facts to be used for a report onB.C. and Vancouver Island “for an officialquarter at home”. It is not known whatreplies he got from this obvious incite-

ment to air grievances, but it is logical toassume that the ideas would be used in hisforthcoming book.

He also made a second application toCol. Moody for 1000 acres of land on theFraser Rivet near the Pitt River junction.He was ‘eady on beha’ofone or two ofmyconstituents to purchase the land’: With theapplication was to go an exclusive right offishing. This application was referred byMoody to Governor Douglas, who notedthat Macdonald could either pre-empt orpurchase land, but ‘no exceptional case canbe made in hisfiwour’ and turned thumbsdown on the fishing rights. Col. Moodyforthwith (and correctly) refused the application.

On Nov. 7th, 1859, Macdonald appliedto have his claims heard by a third party;and on Nov. 15th he published his July2nd letter to Col. Moody, word for word,in the New Westminster Times. Thus farhe had done little to recommend himselfto the administration (who were the principal employers of civil engineers), and hiscontribution to the growing colonies hadbeen slight. Strangely enough, Feb. 20th,

. .._.- ... a....—. ar.,., 1t.a__j —‘—

Royal Engineers’ Plan for New Westminster

15 B.C. HISTORICAL NEWS - Winter 1998 -99

1860, saw two letters - to Col. Moody andto Capt. Parsons, requesting a “letter ofrecommendation”. It is not known whether heobtained one; it does seem unlikely But aworse blot was about to descend on hiscopybook.

When Col. Hawkins, the BritishCommissioner, returned from London,England, in March 1860, he was greetedwith the news that the section of the linerecently done by Macdonald was so inaccurate as to be valueless. (It would be redone later by Lt. Samuel Anderson). Bythis time, it is assumed, Macdonald hadleft the country And - if the probableopinion of the administration can only beguessed at - not a moment too soon!

Macdonald’s book (524 pages) was published in London, England in 1862. It wasentitled:

British Columbia andVancouver’s Island

comprisinga description of these dependencies:

their physical character, climate, capabilities, population, trade, natural history geology ethnology gold-fields, and futureprospects,

alsoan account of the manners and customs

of the native Indians.Author Duncan George Forbes

Macdonald C.E., was mentioned as “lateofthe Government survey staffofB. C, andofthe International Boundary Line ofNorthAmerica”, and as author of three previousbooks. A copy ofArrowsmith’s 1862 mapwas included. Shortly afterwards (March27, 1863), Macdonald delivered a lectureat the Royal United Service Institute. Henow sported several more letters after hisname - after C.E. came F.R.G.S.,M.RS.L., and J.P

Here are some examples of Macdonald’scombination of distorted half-truths andvirulent prose, which so raised the hacklesof British Columbians:

in British Columbia, where it

would be vain to attempt to describe thehardships endured by the poo hacladstruggling people. . . poor creatures; evennow the scenes ofmisery which I have witnessed in that dependency rise befi?re me -

men, women and children famishing frr

want ofa crust ofbread. . . where charity hasno existence, and where the most exaggeratedtales ofwretchedness and crime, fallfar shortofwhat the newi5i arrived colonist frets andwitnesses. .

‘Believe me, hopefid immirant, when Iwarn you that fyou castyoursefapennilesswanderer upon the wild territory ofBritishColumbia, even the sky over your head willrack you with bitter winds andpitiless tempest, you will almost cease to be a man andwillfindyourseI’worse offthan the brute..

‘British Columbia is a miserable countryneither adaptedJbr cattle nor suitedfrr cereals . . . The unproductive qualities ofBritish Columbia a,gricultural are entir4ybeyond doubt; and he who goes thither topursue this art will return, jfhe ever shouldreturn, a disappointed and ruined man...

Macdonald’s disdain was not simplyconfined to the land. It extended to nativepeople also, viz:

Murder is no crime amongst theseftrocious beings, who stab, shoot, scatp and eattheir enemies with the voracity oftheir companion wolves. . . . they are revengej tleceil and unrestrained liars; and to crownall, get rid ofthe sick and aged by burningthem alive.

As for outright “boners”, here are two ofthe worst:

“In thatportion (ofB. C) which lies northofthe 49thparalleh there is no harbour withthe exception of Burrard’c Inlet, about 12miles up the coast from the mouth of theFraser’

“Vancouver Island has an area ofabout1670 sq. miles...

All of the above leads me to an unavoidable comment. It is not surprisingthat the distinction of Fellow of the RoyalGeographical Society was held in such lowesteem at the time (as was the case), whena man could get himself elected a Fellowby publishing such inaccurate rubbish.

News of publication of this compendium of misinformation burst uponthe colonies by means of a leading article(it took up nearly all of page 1) in theColonist Nov. 6, 1862, and needless tosay it created considerable furor. The artide ended by saying: “probaby a greater

collection of lies was never put together’Page 3 of the Colonist on Nov. 29, 1862bore the headline ‘Macdonald suffi’ringfrom the horrors’ Letters to the Colonistand to the London Times aboutMacdonald were still being written byoutraged citizens until 1866.

Unfortunately for the two buddingcolonies, Macdonald’s book went intothree editions, and received excellent reviews from leading newspapers and magazines. In Britain, at any rate, he was ratedas an expert on the subject of BritishColumbia. As late as 1878 - now as Dr.D.G.E Macdonald - he was still activelywriting to decry the Province. If this waswar - and it certainly was a war ofwords -

it was plain who was winning.It wasn’t until 1872 that British

Columbia found a champion. GilbertMalcolm Sproat, the first Agent-Generalfor B.C., opened an office in London,England, in August of that year. Less thana month later he ran into Macdonald’sbaleful influence. In his letter of Sept. 3,1872 to the Provincial Secretary Sproatmentions Macdonald thus:

I hope my recollection is not wrong inrecording thatfrr some ungentlemanly conduct he was kicked down the stairs ofa dubor hotel in Victoria, or it was (so) proposed “

If such had been the case, it would undoubtedly have been the highlight inMacdonald’s short, Pacific North-West career!

However, it certainly was time that therecord was set straight, and with the advent of the Agent-General’s office, mensuch as Gilbert M. Sproat were at leastable to counteract the trash that had beenpeddled by Macdonald, and give theProvince the boost which its people deserved.

Retired Land Surveyor Cotton works wit!, ateam which is compiling biographies ofpioneersurveyors in British Columbia. He notes thatthis particular study ofMacdonald is the oniyone which presented evidence ofa totally negative nature.

SOURCES

PA.B.C.

Mpp.og the Frontier. G.F.G. Stanley. Macmillau.Toronro. 1970.

Pioneer Surveys in the Fraser Valley. WN. Draper. B.C. Hist. Q. VoL

V, #3, 1940.

British Colmnbia &Mmeounet’s Inisstd. D.G.E Macdonald. Longman

Green & Co. London 1862.

16 B.C. ifiSTORICAL NEWS - Winter 1998-99

Lytton A(fa(fa

In the 1920’s for a few yearsthe little town of Lytton, B.C.was famous in North Americanagriculture - famous for its alfalfaseed and famous for a controversy the seed engendered.

It may be hard to realize todaybut in the early 1920’s alfalfa wasnot the important crop it is todayover most of our continent andover the world. In much ofCanada today we see it in fields,seeding naturally on roadsidesand natural grasslands.

In the first decade of this century; alfalfa cultivation was almost entirely confined to theSouthwestern States and Mexico.There non winter-hardy narrow-crowned Spanish type alfalfa wasgrown. in a very few places andon very limited acreages inOntario, New York and Virginia somewhat more winter-hardy strains mainly ofGerman origin had been established.Then in the years immediately before andduring the 1914-18 war, the virtues ofGerman type alfal& - its perenniality; itshigh yields and nitrogen - fixing capabilities were recognized and extolled by mensuch as Lyman in Minnesota (sponsoringGrimm type alfalfa) and Zavitz at theOntario Agricultural College in Guelph(sponsoring the Ontario Variegatedstrain). The demand for seed rose rapidly.

The rising demand and high prices foralfalfa seed drew the attention of alfalfagrowers in and around Lytton and in theNicola Valley where Spanish type alfalfashad been grown for most of a century;Men coming from the California goldrush of 1849-1855 to the Cariboo goldrush of 1859-1865 had seeded alfalfa ofCalifornia origin to feed horses, camelsand other domesticated animals on theterraces of the Fraser, Thompson andNicola rivers. Lytton alfalfa seed soldreadily in the middle western states. At the

same time shiploads of dusty; weed anddisease laden plants of alfalfa came to WestCoast ports from Asia. In the last centuryindividual plants would live for decades,some perhaps for 50 years until the introduction in the 1940’s of diseases such asbacterial and verticillium wilt.

Unfortunately, much of the seedported from Lyrton and elsewhere produced plants which were not usually ableto survive the winters of the Central Statesand Ontario. Lytton seed was roundlycondemned by agronomists such as“Alfalfa” Graber of Wisconsin and demand for it dropped.

There was a good result nonetheless.Legislation was passed in Canada and inthe USA to certifi seeds as to country oforigin and breeding programs were startedto develop winter hardy strains. Hardystrains came from areas such as Ladak inthe Himalayas of Northern India andfrom species of al&lfa native to Russia andSiberia. One breeding program initiatedby L.S. Klinck, Dean of Agriculture, andlater President of the youthful University

of B.C. hybridized winter hardy plantsfrom the Don Valley of Russia withOntario Variegated German type plants;winter hardy “Rhizom’ type plants produced by G.G. Moe & others associatedwith this program became widely used byother breeding programs in many parts ofthe world.

New disease-resistant winter-hardy alfalfa varieties steadily replace the old but inthe Dry Interior of B.C. one can still seesome plants in the alfal&s of roadside,grassland and field with characteristics ofform, flower, colour and seed which madethe Spanish type al&lfa of Lytton in the1920’s and 1930’s quite flmous.

Dr VC. Brink was a profrssor of PlantScience at the University ofBritish Columbia.in his youth he wo,*ed with G.G. Moe and didsome research in the Lytton area with anthropologist Wayne SuttIec

EDITORS NOTh Since reading this articlewe have observed scattered se’fseeded a(f4zwith blooms ofdeep pusple, lightpurpk yellowand white here in the East Kootenay.

by VC. Brink

On Terraces such as this above the Fraser and Thompson rivers near Lytton, B. C, Spanish type 4f4fa were seeded to meetthe needs ofbeasts ofburden during the Cariboo Gold Rush, 1858-1865. Subsequently in the 192O seedfrom these afafassrains was widely used in the Middle Western States and Esstern Canada.

17 B.C. HISTORICAL NEWS - Winter 1998 -99

UnapologeticallyJewish:Unapologetically Canadian

by Carrie Schlappner

Vancouver, British Columbia, is a cityinhabited by a diversity of ethnic groups.Each ethnic group has achieved varyingdegrees of assimilation’ with the “dominant society”2, either by choice or throughpressure from the resident community Itwould seem logical to assume that smallgroups would assimilate more readily andbe less likely to maintain their distinctiveculture in their new surroundings. In thecase ofVancouver one small ethnic group,the Jewish community3,has achieved abalance between blending into the dominant society while at the same time preserving its unique identity as a cohesivegroup. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how Vancouver’s Jewish community has developed and maintained thisbalance. It does so by examining the lifeexperiences of one couple, Minnie and“Pucky” Pelman (both born and raised inVancouver).

History ofVancouver’s JewishCommunity

IMMIGRKI]ONChristine Wisenthal identifies two

major waves of Jewish immigration toBritish Columbia during the late nineteenth and early twentieth-centuries:

Thefirst wave, composed largeiy ofJews ofGerman and W’st European orzin, came toBritish Columbia during the gold-rush perioch 1858-1871. The second wave, composed fir the most part of East EuropeanJews, settled in the province between 1886and J9J44

By 1910, the Jewish population inVancouver rose to two hundred families,which then grew to six hundred familiesby the 1930s5. After the Second WorldWar, Vancouver experienced another significant wave of immigration whenHolocaust survivors from all over Europearrived along with second and third generation Jews from Central Canada and thePrairie provinces.6 Between 1941-1951,

the Jewish population grew from 2,812 to4,029.

The first wave ofJewish immigration toVancouver began with many Jews alreadyliving in Victoria since 1858. Up until thistime most Jewish migrants to BritishColumbia were able to blend into thedominant society with ease. Originatinglargely from the United States and BritishEmpire, these people spoke English andhad already been integrated into the wayof life and relative affluence of Anglo-Saxon society8By the 1 880s, several coinciding events changed the direction anddass of migration to Canada: the Russianpogroms9 forced many Jews to abandontheir homes to escape violent persecution,Canadian immigration actively recruitedEast Europeans,’° the completion of thetranscontinental railway to the PacificCoast contributed to Vancouver’s economic growth, and the Canadian government’s policy to fill up empty lands of theWest,” opened to settlement by the railways, all encouraged migration.’2Havingto overcome language, cultural and economic barriers, East European Jews foundthe adjustment to Vancouver society difficult. Their integration into NorthAmerican life took place through a combination of self-initiative and communitysupport.

Jean Gerber comments that after theSecond World War, the Canadian government showed little understanding of theactual situation of displaced persons (including Holocaust survivors). For example, they rejected the adjustment ofregulations to accommodate large numbers of immigrants)3 “The reluctance ofthe Canadian government to develop acomprehensive immigration and citizenship policy during the critical years 1945-1952 forced Jews to rely on their co-religionists for integration into Canadian society and in so doing further impeded theprocess which it claimed it wanted: quick

assimilation of immigrants to some uniform “Canadian” identity”.’4 Had it notbeen for the persistent efforts ofHolocaustsurvivors (“survivors”) and the CanadianJewish community to rescue the displacedthroughout the post-war period, the significant growth of the Jewish populationin Vancouver as well as the rest of Canadamight not have occurred.GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION OFRESIDENCES AND INSTITUTIONS

In the earI’y decades ofthis century most of1’zncouver Jewish people lived in simpleworking-class houses.. . in the East End oftown, within walking distance oftheir shopson CordDva and Water Streets and of theSynagogue at Fender Street and HeatleyAvenue.’5

From the late nineteenth-century toI 920s, more than half of Vancouver’sJewish community of 250 families lived inthe East End Strathcona district, betweenGore and R2ymur Avenues and betweenCordova and Prior Streets, part of present-day “Chinatown”.’6A synagogue was builtin 1911-1912 by the Orthodox congregation of B’nai Yedudah (Sons of Isreal), onthe corner of Pender Street and HeatleyAvenue, and the Reform congregationheld services in rented premises’7.In 1917the Orthodox congregation and synagogue were renamed Schara Tzedeck(Gates of Righteousness), which was rebuilt in 1921 to accommodate a largercongregation. At this time, the afternoonHebrew school for children (which developed into the Talmud Torah) moved froma house at 514 Heatley Avenue, to a roomin the new Schara Tzedeck.’ Other services in the Strathcona neighbourhoodcatered to the Jewish community including Jewish publications, TalmudTorah Hall, Zionist hail, NeighborhoodHouse, schools, kosher butcher shops,groceries, confectioneries, doctors’ officesand drug stores.’9

By the 1 930s, those Jews beginning to

B.C. HISTORICAL NEWS - Winter 1998 -9918

ascend the economic and social ladderswere establishing residences south of FalseCreek, beginning with roughly thirtyupper middle class families (establishedmerchants and landowners), who lived inthe affluent West End neighbourhoods ofMount Pleasant, Fairview andShaughnessy2°Soon after the residentialcommunity began its trek westward, thefirst Jewish Community Centre was builtat Oak and 11th Streets in the district ofFairview. In the 1940s, Jewish institutionsand services followed the geographicalshift of people into their new neighbour-hoods. A new Orthodox Congregationcalled Beth Hamidrosh B’nai Jacob wasfounded in 1943 at Heather Street and16th Avenue.2’ In 1946, the Louis BrierHome and Extended-Care Hospital forthe aged was established at 41st Avenueand Oak Street.22 1948 saw the opening ofthe Conservative congregation, Beth Israel(House of Israel), at Oak Street and 27thAvenue, the Talmud Torah opened a day-school in a separate building across thestreet, while the Schara Tzedeck relocatedto Fairview at 19th Avenue and OakStreet! The kosher food markets movedinto the area around Broadway and OakStreets.24

By the end of World War Two, theJewish community had completely deserted the East End. Vancouver’s Jewishcommunity established a distinct residential pattern in Fairview, Shaughnessy andMount Pleasant. Rather than recapitulating the residential experience of earlierJewish settlement on the East Side, whererents were cheap and other immigrantpopulations continued to enter, theHolocaust survivors moved quickly intoproximity to the host community25 Thehost community assisted with this trendby providing financial assistance and employment opportunities to the new arrivals. With increasing affluence and theopening of new residential districts in the1960s and 1970s, the population continued its shift southward and westward,into the additional districts of Oakridge,Kerrisdale and South Carnbie. However,the concentration of people and institutions remained at Oak Street between15th and 57th Avenues, making it whatLeonoff calls the “Jewish main street”.26

New services continued to concentrate inthese areas: a revitalized JewishCommunity Centre was built on 41stAvenue and Oak Street in 1962, while theReform Congregation, Temple Shalom,was relocated in the late 1980s to 57thAvenue and Oak Street. Unlike suburbantrends in most North American cities, themajority of the Jewish population ofVancouver sett]ed in the central city ratherthan migrate to the suburbs.“Nevertheless, rapid growth of adjoiningnrnnicipalities has resulted in the establishment of sizable Jewish populations inRichmond-Delta, the North Shore andBurquest, who have organized their ownJewish community life”.27

The 1991 census indicates a concentration ofJewish residences along the “Jewishmain street”, as well as a continuing trendof movement westward. Approximately41% of Jewish population lived betweenMain Street and Granville Street, and45% of the Jewish population lived Westof Granville Street. With the average percentage of the Jewish population to theoverall population of Vancouver being1.45%, Jewish concentrations of 4% ormore in some neighbourhoocls is significant. Concentrations of the Jewish population are still found in the traditionalFairview, Shaughnessy, Kerrisdale,Oakridge, and South Cambie areas, butthere are now high concentrations of theJewish population scattered further West.Thus we can see a trend of movement intoa variety of affluent areas, with only minorrepresentation in the lower-income areasof the East side (7%) of Vancouver.

SHARED CULTURAL VALUES ANDCOMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS

No ethnic group is completely homogeneous. Within the Jewish communitythere are a variety of religious affiliationsincluding orthodox, conservative, reform,and secular. Country oforigin prior to immigration can influence the cultural traitsof individuals, as can economic background, education, and life experiences.However, some cultural traits are held incommon by a preponderant number whoare not linked to religious affiliation alone.In the early twentieth-century, thenumber of East European immigrantsgrew within a short period of time, and by

the end of World War One they had become the predominant influence in theJewish community ofVancouver.28

This group brought with them severalcharacteristics nurtured in the ghettos ofEurope: Orthodox Hebrew relzgion and custoins; Jewish nationalism (as manfest inZionism); a penchantJr democracy; a passion fir education; a clannishness offamilyand community lf’; an aggressiveness ofacumen in trasle conditioned from generations of “hand-to-mouth” living; and theizedaka - the practice ofcharity andjustice.These members ofthe community never re

garded their citizenshz in Canada as antithetical to their Jewish religion, culture orsupport ofJewish nationalism.29

For these East European refugees lifewas hard. Canadian ways were alien tothem, including the English language.Many were destitute, having been forcedto leave everything they owned behind inorder to escape persecution in Europe andRussia. This group became one of theleading forces behind Vancouve?s organized Jewish community forming groupsto assist new immigrants and the existingpopulation (discussed below).

Some authors such as ChristineWisenthal3°and Freda Wa1house emphasize the divisions that existed in the earlytwentieth-century between the German-Jewish merchants, who were largely reform and assimilationist, and the EasternEuropeans who arrived later and werelargely orthodox. Walhouse commentsthat the Jewish community’s influence onVancouver as a whole was diminished “because of a major split dividing the community on religious grounds”.32 However,despite any initial tensions within Jewishsociety, between 1910-1930 the Jewishcommunity was firmly established andhad founded most of the basic organizations that form the core of the communityto this day

Among [the organizations] were: B’naiB’rith (1910), Hebrew Aid andImmigrant Society (1910), Zionist andSocial Society (1913), Hebrew Free LoanAssociation (1915), Hadassah (1920),Council of Jewish Women (1924), JewishCommunity Chest (1924), HebrewAthletic Club (1925), B’nai B’rithWomen (1927), Jewish Administrative

19 B.C. HISTORICAL NEWS - Winter 1998-99

Council (1932), Jewish Congress (1934),Jewish Family Service Agency (1936). In1926 the Council of Jewish Womenopened a Neighbourhood House inStrathcona, wbich was superseded in 1928by a Jewish community Centre inFairview33

Many of these associations were a directreflection of the Jewish culture and its priorities. For instance, the Hebrew Aid andImmigrant Society is a reflection of theprinciple of tzedaka, or “taking care oftheir own”. As Cyril Ieonoff describes.

This society was one ofthe earliest institutions in Vancouve, assisting the needy immzgrants passing through the port or arriving to stay in the community with monejJoa clothes, andshelter It also providedservices to local homes, ol.dfiilks’ homes, hospitalc, ophanages, and to inmates ofasylumsandpenitentiaries. The wef’are work ofthissociety eventua4’y amalgamated with laterorganizations, such as theJewish communityChest and the Jewish Wf’are Bureau.34

The Jewish Community Chest is alsoan example ofhow the Jewish communitycontributed to and influenced the dominant society: as the first central ftindraising body for the Jewish community established in 1924, it became a model forthe city-wide Vancouver CommunityChest when it was established in 1931.The community as a whole knew thatthey could depend on each other for assistance and work opportunities, and theysupported Jewish businesses and storeswith ardor. The Jewish community’s

strong work ethic and determination tosucceed are both legacies of their experiences and have become ingrained in theirculture.

This tradition of “taking care of theirown” continued after the Second WorldWar when community associations wereactive in the rescue and settlement ofHolocaust survivors in Vancouver. Theleadership of these groups mobilized behind the effort to integrate the survivorimmigrants, while the host communityprovided occupational opportunities, special educational programs, residential areasaccessible and desirable to the newcomers, and institutions which accommodated them. By using the existing facilities to integrate into society; by choosingresidential areas where concentrations ofJews already lived, and by entering occupations which placed them on economicparity with the host community the survivors contributed to the maintenance ofahomogeneous group identity inVancouver.x In this way, “conffict betweenthe two groups was minimized andchances for the receiving community tolearn about the unique survivor experiencewas maximized”.37 In fact, the well-performed settlement of the newcomers entered into the mythology of the community,38 and contributed to its cohesive nature. While there had been fttndraising activities in support of Zionism and thepopulation of Palestine since the 1 920s,39some sectors of the Jewish communityhave rallied around organizing support for

the State of Israel since its establishment in1948.° Thus Zionism has been anothersource of collective identity in addition tothe myth of settlement of newcomers.

While there has been an increasingtrend towards the secularization of Jewishlife in the late twentieth-century; and religious motivations are no longer a primefactor in dictating residential preferences,residential concentrations, as mentionedabove, continue to characterize urbanJewish lif and may become the principalbond that holds the community together.41“Residence has continued to havea major impact on other frctors such as social affiliations and information networksof friends, business acquaintances, children and family?’42.

OCCUPATIONSFrom the 1880s on, Jewish immigrants

were mainly poor, working-class or lowermiddle-class from Russia and Poland whostarted out in business with a horse andwagon as junk pedlars. Others becamesecond-hand storekeepers or artisans suchas tailors and shoemakers, located alongthe main business streets of Vancouver’searly days: Water, Cordova, andWestminster (Main) Streets, withinwalking distance of their homes and synagogue.43 Eventually with hard work andthrough mutual assistance, members ofthe Jewish community graduated to betterlivelihoods.44 In the 1920s and 1930s,many became small-store owners, specializing in retail merchandise establishmentsalong Hastings Street, then on GranvilleStreet, which became the primary retailstreets in Vancouver.45 The Jewish community included some prominent businessrnen in the first days of Vancouver,most importantly David Oppenheimerand his &mily of grocery wholesalers.Oppenheimer was the second mayor ofVancouver (1888-91), and during thattime he helped organize some of the city’sinfrastructure, including the water supplyand sidewalks, and was active in the procurement of Stanley Park from the federalgovernment. The tradition of activecommunity involvement continued in thelate twentieth-century; with Dave Barrett,leader of the New Democratic Party; beingthe first Jew to hold the office of Premierin British Columbia from 1972-1975.

Minnie (nee ken) and Solomon (“Pucky’) Pelman - Engagement photo c. 193ZPhoto courtesy of the Pemans.

20 B.C. HISTORICAL NEWS - Winter 1998 -99

Historically, the Jewish community hasbeen concentrated not only in residentialareas, but also in certain sectors of theeconomy. Occupational concentrationshave ranged from the junk pedlars andshopkeepers of the late nineteenth-centuryto the wholesale and retail trades in the1930s (47.2% in 1931). By the time ofthe 1951 census, it was evident that theJewish population was concentrated inwhite collar occupations in BritishColumbia such as the categories of proprietors I managers (40.4%), commercial Isales (14.1%), professionals (12.9%), andclerical jobs (10.8%). Furthermore, thecommunity’s fundraising structure reflected its occupational configuration,with prominent businessmen and professionals dominating the leadership ofmajor Jewish organizations.49This concentration in professional and white collar occupations can be attributed in part to thepriority placed on higher education. AsLeonoff describes,

Regardless of their financial situation.JewishJiimilies retained the characteristic respectfbrfrnnal education. . . The parentsand older children labored to make a goodeducation possible frr the younger children.In typical Jewish fashion, every famit,’ydreamed of having at least one doctor orlauyer5°

By the late 1920s-1930s, Jewish children were enrolling in universities and entering the professions, eventually becoming the new leaders of the Jewishcommunity51 In fact, by the 1970s, “occupations have become more diversified, involving participation in virtually allfields”.52 Holocaust survivors reinforcedthis trend by quickly achieving economicparity with the resident Jewish community through moving from low-skilled jobsinto entrepreneurial or skilled occupationswith assistance from the host communityand their own initiative.

A CASE STUDY - THE PELMANSMinnie Pelman(née Izen) and Solomon

(“Pucky?’) Pelman have been married forover sixty years. Both have lived inVancouver since they were born, in 1916and 1915 respectively. Theirs is a uniquestory of a lifetime commitment to eachother and to the Jewish community inVancouver. Their story also reflects the

many trends that thread through the history ofVancouver’s Jewish community

Both Pucky?s parents, Harry and SarahRose (née Rothstein) Pelman, andMinnie’s parents, William and Mary (néeFisher) Izen, moved to Vancouver insearch of better opportunities. ThePelmans were married in their hometownof Minsk, Russia, and went to New Yorkto escape the pogroms. They proceeded toVancouver in 1911 to join some of Sarah’srelatives, including her brothers. Minnie’sparents came from different parts ofEastern Europe: Mary Fisher immigratedto Vancouver from Lithuania in 1915 tojoin her aunt, while ‘William Izen leftWarsaw, Poland, with his brother andsister, arriving in British Columbia in1911.

In their early years as Vancouver residents, Minnie’s family lived on EastGeorgia Street and Pucky’s family lived onKeefer Street, which were located acrossthe lane from each other in Vancouver’sDowntown East Side, or as Pucky calls it,

“the ghetto”.5 This “ghetto” consisted ofseveral new immigrant groups, whichtended to be segregated along ethnic lines.As Minnie explains,

On Union Street the next block ove, therewere the Italians, [South ofus]. On our side,we had two blocks, Id say of the Jewishpeople. Thwards the False Creek, about threeblocks ove, then the Chinese started andthey went all the way to Carrall Street, andto the Creek)

The Izens and Pelmans were familyfriends, and as children Minnie and Puckyattended the local Orthodox synagogue,Schara Tzedeck, as well as SeymourElementary School and Talmud TorahHebrew school. Being a year younger,Minnie often spent more time withPucky’s brother, Norman. Until she wastwelve, that is. As Minnie recounts,

One do3 I was twelve years oW and hisyounger brother was visiting me, and he[Pucky] comes over and he says to Norman...“You can go home now, Im here’ andthat was it, from the time we were twelve.

And so this was the beginning ofMinnie and Pucky’s life together, attending Templeton Junior High, thenBritannia High School, and spendingtime with friends. While living in the East

End, their network of friends was predominantly Jewish, which expanded to include a variety of ethnic groups once theyreached high school. As adults, they metnon-Jews and maintained close friendships with them for many years. Yet it

seems that their strongest relationshipshave been with people from the Jewishcommunity As Minnie said, “the peoplewe grew up with were our friends forlife”. Pucky continued,

It an amazing thing, actuallj since youmention that. Two other couples grew updown in the East End there, got marriedwithin a yeai the three of us, three couples,we celebrated our anniversariesfrrfi?rtyyearsand thefte still alive, and we fiust] celebrated our sixtieth. .

As teens, Minnie and Pucky participated in youth organizations and spOrtswithin the Jewish community Pucky belonged to the Young Judaeans, YoungMen’s Hebrew Association (YlvlI-Lk), andhe played sports with the Young JudaeaSoftball Team. Minnie was a member ofthe women’s branch of the YoungJudaeans and, as she jokes, ‘we spent thetime watching the boys play baseball thengoing and leaving with dates.”59

In 1933, the Izens and Pelmans movedout of the East end to the new districtsopening in south-west Vancouver. TheIzens settled at 14th Avenue and Oak,while the Pelmans were located at 10thAvenue and Columbia, both areas containing high concentrations of Jews.When asked if a conscious decision was

At their 60th WèddingAnniversai Minnie eSolomon (“Pucky’9 Pelman, 199Z

Photo courtesy of C. Schlappner.

21 B.C. HISTORICAL NEWS - Winter 1998-99

made to live near other Jews, Minnie commented that after moving out of theghetto, “then we [the Jewish community]spread out according to what each personcould afford. [The background of peoplein their new neighbourhood was] allmixed.”6°This remark reflects the strongcorrelation in the Jewish community between occupational concentration, degreeof affluence and residential geographic location (discussed earlier). Similarities ineconomic status reinforced the tendencyof people in the Jewish community to remain geographically concentrated.

Once married in 1937, Minnie andPucky moved several times, yet always remained close to the “Jewish main street”,described above.6 Minnie and Pucky became members of the Beth Israel conservative synagogue on Oak Street at 27thAvenue, attending with their childrenevery Friday night before the family’sSabbath dinner (until the kids reachedtheir teens and became “too busy”62).

Their children, Neil, Barbara, Gayle, andStephen,6 all attended Hebrew school atBeth Israel three times a week. The synagogue has been and remains a central feature in Minnie and Pucky’s lives. In fact,Pucky was a committed member of thechoir and became the conductor in 1973,a position which he held until this year.His sense of obligation was so strong thathe sacrificed attending events in his children’s lives in order to Fulfill his duty to thechoir. Pucky solemnly observed,

Now Istart thinking about the times thatI told the children, when they were havingschool plays or graduations on a Fridaynight, when the choir sang, and I didn’t goto any ofthem, I went to the choir and theydidn say anything... fin sure they wishedthat I was there, but I wzn

The children have all distanced themselves from strong religious affiliation, andboth daughters have married gentiles (onein a second marriage). While religion hasbeen an important touchstone for Minnieand Pucky, they are supportive of theirdaughters’ choice of partners. It is clearthat their children’s happiness is their priority,

The fathers of both Pucky and Minnie,Harry Pelman and William Izen, had initially made their livings in Vancouver as

junk pedlars, riding their horse-drawnwagons around the East End district. Itwas a difficult life at first, but before long,both men graduated into store-front businesses. Minnie remembers,

He started out in a horse and wagon,went around the lanes, you know, calling outfor anyone that had anything to sel youknou rags to sell... when he had enough,he opened a store on Keefer andMain.. . . asecond-hand store. . . and he bought threelittle stores. One was his and the others herented out. He used to rent the corner storeout to the gypsies, whenever thefri come totown!’

Harry Pelman had a more varied workhistory, Pucky recounts,

My Dad also started going out peddlingThen. . . from there he and a friend ofhisopened up a pawn shop, BC collatera4which is still in existence. . . They sold outand my Dad used to make a living anywhich way One ofthe things he did. . . hewas a rum-runner.., my uncle used to pickup liquor here and run it down to LosAngeles in their old Cadillac. . . the hairystories he told us about running awayfromthe police, gosh. . . My mother. . . I wastold she used to sell liquor here during theprohibition. She wouldget a call at eleven o’clock at nrhtfor a bottlefrom one ofher customers, put me in the buggy I was maybetwo years old or so at the time, . . . and goand deliver it. . .just to make a living.65

Pucky started contributing to the familyincome at age twelve, selling bags ofpeanuts at the Ballpark at the Powell StreetGrounds in the early evening. Minnieoften helped him put peanuts in the bagsafter school. Pucky remembers,

W’ had a nice little business going WhatIgotfir doing all ofthat was on Saturday Iwould get fifteen cents to buy. . . a milkshake and a donut. That was my ay”.the rest went to thefamily66

Through his adult life, Pucky workedfor a variety of Jewish-owned businesses,such as Alberta Meats, Silver’s Menswear(which his brother-in-law owned), andMother Hubbard Bakery. In 1942,Minnie and Pucky used the money theywere saving to buy a house to purchaseSam’s Shirt Shop from his cousin, locatedDowntown at 62 1/2 West Hastings Street,kitty-corner from Woodwards. Pucky

used profits from his business to sponsorfive bowling teams (he played on one), allof which had players from outside theJewish Community. Close friendshipswere formed with these gentile teammates and employees, some of whichlasted a lifetime.6In 1972, they sold Sam’sShirt Shop and Pucky went to work forthe Jewish-owned Finn’s Clothing store onWest Broadway near MacDonaldAvenue.68 Pucky is still working hard forthe Finn brothers, with no sign of slowingdown. When asked if he had tried to obtain jobs outside of the Jewish community, Pucky remarked, “I didn’t even try, Iknew these people.”6

Minnie also worked before she andPucky married. Her first job was at aJewish-owned “five and ten cent store”downtown at Davie and Granville, calledBlank’s. After that she went to a businessschool and got a job as a secretary at CityHall. Since it was widely considered unacceptable for married women to workduring the Great Depression, Minnie leftCity Hall in 1937. Once her childrenwere grown, she worked as a volunteer atVancouver General Hospital, CentennialHospital and the Louis Breir Home.When asked if she suffered discriminationin the workplace, Minnie commented.

When I applied at City Hall I was takenon my merits. There was only one otherJewish girl there. But we knew it was hardfor a Jewish person to get in any place else,outside ofaJewishplace.... TheJewish boyscouldnget ajob except somebody they knewthat.. . .already had a business.°

This comment brings up an interestingpoint about Minnie and Pucky’s experiences: they repeatedly assert that they had“no problems” growing up, and while theyacknowledge subtle forms of anti-Semitism like the one mentioned above,they express very little bitterness about it:

they seem to accept, “that’s just the way it

was”. One other story that highlights theinsidious discrimination experienced byJews in Vancouver. It involves theGleneagles Golf and Country Club,7’which Pucky describes this way:

Most ofus used to go’f’at Langara. And it

was like bribery to get a [tee-off’] time. Thisflow [afriend ofPuckyc] who made up thetimes used to slto him [the Langara em-

22 B.C. HiSTORICAL NEWS - Winter 1998-99

FOOTNOTES

I. To assimilate is to absorb into rise cultural tradition of apopulation or group. (Welratet’n 7th New ColLegiateDictiommy, (Springfield: G. & C. Merriam Co., 1976), p. 53).The success achieved by Vancouver’s Jewish Community ineconomic and occnpatiooal mobility and participation inbusiness, political/public life ate considered hete as majorindicators of assimilation.

2. Being a society char teceives a high degree of immigration fromthe test of Canada and the test of the woeld. one could arguethat the definition of Vancouver’s ‘dominant society’ haschanged over rime. lu this paper, the definition of the“doinioant society” refers to the British Europeais cusrouss and

values and English language that have shaped rise laws andgovernment institutions of Vancouver and Canada, andconsequently the society as a whole.

3. The ethnic nature of Vancoovet’s Jewish community is bestdescribed in terms of this definition: [an ethnic group isj acollectivity within a sls,ger society having real orprsoarivecommon ancestry memories ofa shared historicalpast andacrslsuralfiscs,s on one or more symbolic etemenst definedas theepitome oftheir peaplehood Evamples ofsuch symbolicelomeno are: kinship pasterns, pisysical cosrsogfsity (as inlocalism or sectionalism), rel(gios,s affiliation, or any combinationof these. A necessary accompaniment is some consciousness ofkindamong members ofthe group. (RA. Schetmethorn, as qooted inJean Gerber, “lmmigtaiion and Integration in Post-WarCanada: A Case Study of Holocauss Survivots in Vaocouvet1947-1 970”, nupssblished MA Thesis, University of BritishColumbia, 1989, p. 5-6.) These strucriisal lisceors also apply:Ethnicity defined in terms offlequentpastmro ofassociasion andidentification icith common orrgino, is crysoallsoed isnder conditionsofresidensialsrabilisy on segregation; common occropationalposition, arid dependence on local inssissstions and sern’icen whichreinforce the maintenance ofkinship andflie,sdihst siec (WilliamYancey, Eugene Erickson, and Richard Jul mi,) as quoted in JeanGetbet, Ibid., P. 8-9.)

4. Christine Boos Wisouthal, ‘Insiders and Outsiders: Two Wavesof Jewish Settlement in British Colombia, 1858-1914”.unpublished MA Thesis, University of British Columbia,Apeil, 1987, p. ii.

5. Cyril Edel Leonoffi Pioneers, Pedlarn and Prayer ShawirThe Jewish Commrmitien us British Colnmbka and theYahoo., (Victoria: Soon His Press, 1978). p. 86.

6. Cytil Edel Leonoffi “Centennial of Vancouver Jewish Life:18861986’, (Vancouvee Jewish Western Brafletiat. August 14,and October 2, 1986), p. 18.

7. FreEs Wolhoose, “The Infloence of Miniotity Ethnic Gtoups onthe Cultural Geography of Vancouser’, unpublished MATlsesis, University of British Columbia, Sepsembet 1961.

8. Ibid., p. 83.9. The Rsassiao government sanctioised the massacre of Jews

datiisg else pogroms (1881-1882). Deborah H. Geriser. OneLand, Two Peopless The Conflict Over Palestine. (Boulder:Westview Pious Inc., 1994), p. 12.Clifford SOlon, Canada’s niiussister of rhe Iiiterioe in Lanriet’sadministration, iissplemented an immigrariois policy whichptoinoted d5t arrival of East Europeans between 1896-1905:58,000 immigrants from Ausrtia-Huogaty, 32,000 fans Rsissiaand 8,000 from Italy Granatstein, J.L eral., Nations CanadaSinco Confederation, Third Edisiou, (Tomnto: McGraw-HillRyersou Ltd., 1990). P. 105, 107.

II. This was also pars of SOlon’s immigration policy. Ibid., 106,12. Leonoff Op Cii., 1978, p. 84.13. Jean Gerber, “Immigration and Integration in Post-War Caisada:

A Case Study of Holocaust Sorvivors in Vancouver 1947-1970”,uopublislsed MA Thesis, University on British Columbia.1989, p. 21.

14. Ibid., p.2I.15. Leoisof5 Op. Cit., 1978, p. 123.16. Ibid.. p. 85.17. Leonolt Op. Cit., 1986, p. 10.18. Leonoff Op. Cit., 1978, p. 150.19. Leonoff Op. Cii., 1986, p. II.20. Ibid., p. 10-Il, 17.21. Leonoft Op. Cii., 1978, p. 142.22. Loonnlt Op. Cii., 1986, p. 13.23. Fteda Walhouse, “The Iuflueisce of Minority Groups on the

Calmeal Geography of Vancouver”, unpublished MA Thetis,University of British Columbia, Septenibet, 1961, p. 160.

24. Gerber, Op Cii., 1989, P.25. “Host community” refers to tise essabhislsed Jewish community

in Vancouver prior to rise survivors’ arrival. Ibid., p. 52.26. Leonoff, Op Cit.. 1978, p. 19.27. Leonoff Op Cit.. 1986, p. 22.28. Ibid., p. 85.29. Ibid.. p. 85.30. Wisenthal. Op Cii.., 1987.31. Walboase, Op Cit., 1961, p. 162.32. Ibid., p. 162.33. Leonoff Op Cii., 1986, p. 12.34. Ibid.. p. 99.35. Gerber, Op Cit., 1989. p. 49.36. Ibid.. p. 52.37. Ibid.. p. 52.38. Ibid., p. 49. Gerber explains that “itt evety subsequent

community accooiur of post-war activities, tesettleioent of ilsesurvivors was cited as being of paransoune imporraisce. both firuse survivors’ well_being aisd as an insdicasiou of the stmisgrhand cohesiveness of Vancouver’s Jewish networks aiudiitstitations”.

39. Walhouse, Op Cit., 1961, p. 161-162. The Hadassals wasuiganized by Jewisls women in Vaucouver in 1920 lout thispurpose

40. Ibid., p. 162.41. Gerber, Op Cit., 1989, p. 54, Source: Calvin Goldscheider and

Alan Zuckeruian, The Traoskrinarion of the Jews, (Cbicago:University of Chicago Press, 1984) pp. 224-227.

42. Ibid., p. 54., Source: Francis Kobtin and Calvin Goldscheidet,Ethnic Factors in Family Stracunste and Mobility(Cambridge, Mast.: Balhinger Press, 1978).

43. Ibid., p. 85.44. Gerber, Op Cit., 1989, p. 85.45. Ibid., P. 85.46. Ibid., p. 85.47. Ibid., p. 44.48. Ibid., p.45. Source: Canada Dominion Bureau of Statistics,

1951 Census, Vol. IV, Labour Force: Occupatiuiss andIndustries.

49. Ibid., p. 45.50. Ibid., p. 85.51. Ibid., p. 85.52. Leonoft Op Cit., 1986, p. 19.53. Pehioan, Minnie and Pocky, Personal Interview.

March 18, 1998.54. Ibid.55. Ibid.56. Ibid.. Pocky Graduated in 1932 and Minisie graduated in 1933.57. Ibid.58.59. Ibid.60. Ibid.61. Ibid. Their first apartment was on 19th Ave. and Oak Sc, and

other houses consisted of 3832 Willow Street at 16th Ave. andthe house which became their family home for 25 years at419 20th Ave. at Yukon Sr. Today they live in Arburas Village.

62. Ibid.63. Ibid. TIse children were bum am follows: Neil - August 13, 1939,

Bsrbara -October 14, 1943, Gayle - Mards 15, 1948. Siephen -

May 5,1951.64. Ibid.65. ibid.66. Ibid.67. Ibid. TIse Pelusans mention that one ensployee in particular,

Guy, was vety close to them. He would caine over en theirhouse for Hanukkah and they would visit him at Cheistuusas.

68. There is another Finn’s store located io Keteisolale.69. Ielman, Personal Inrerview, Op. Cii., 1998.70. Ibid.71. Gleneagles was opened in 1952 ard was sold in July 1958 to

become a muisicipal golf course. Leonoft Op Cit.. 1978,p. 193.

72. “Tlsey” would refer to the committee of Cedaectest who locatedthe property near the osouth of Howe Sound and organizedftuiidraisiog to buy and develop rise hand. Ibid., p. 193.Pelmaus, Persunal Interview, Op Cit., 1998.73.

74.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Edmund, Gordon M.. Political and Legal Aspects of Jewish History inCanada, (Montreal. 1959).

Gerber, Jean,’lmnssigmeion and Integration in Post-War Canada: A CaseStudy of Holocaust Survivors its Vancouver, 1947-1970”, uiupub.lished MATlsesis, University of Britisls Columbia, 1989.

Gemer, Deborah. H., One Land, Two Peoples: The Conflict (SeerP.almtiase, (Boulder: Wesuview Press Inc., 1994).

Grunastemn, J.L et al., Nations Canada Since Confederation, ThirdEdiuioim, (Toronto: McGraw-Hilll Ryerson Ltd., 1990).

Hier, Marlene, F, “Ethnicity and residential location”, anpubhisised MAThesis, UuoversityofBritisls Colunibia, 1973.

Kenr, Rosanne Feldnian, Edocating½ncoruvet’s Jewish Children - TheVancouver ‘Ililmad Torah, 19 13-1959 and Beyood, (Vanconoet:Dacher Printing Ltd., 1995).

Loouoht Cyril Edel, Pioneers, Pedlaon anal Prayer Slsawlss The JewishCommraniutn to British Colombia and the Yrilson, (Victoria:Sumso Nis Press, 1978).

Leonoft Cyril Edel, Centennial ofVaocorrrer Jewish Life 1886-1986,(Vanconvems The Jewish Historical Society of BC and the JewishWestern Bulletin, 1986).

Portet, Riclsatd Philip Robinson, “Vancouver - role of Ethnic OriginsPopulation Distribution’, unpublished MA Thesis. University ofBritish Columbia, 1965.

Rhinewine, Abralsani, Looking Bards A Cents.rys Ott the Ceotennial ofJewish Political Equality in Canada. (Toronto: The Kraft Pioss,1932).

Sack, E.G. (translated by Ralph Novek), History of the Jews in Canada,(Montreal: Harvest House, 1965).

Tulchinsky, Gerald, Taking Roots The Origins of the Canadian JewishCommusity, (Toromuro: Lesrer Publishing, 1992).

Walhouso, Freda, “Influence of Mimnority Ethnic Groups on the CulturalGeography ofVancouver”, unpublished MA Thesis, Uisioetsity ofBririsis Columbia, 1961.

Weinihld, M., W Shaffir, and I. CoIrer, The Canadian Jewish Mosaic,(Toronto: John Wiley & Sons, 1981).

Wusenthal, Chrustome Boar, “Insiders auud Outsiders: Two Waves ofJewislsSettlement in Brhtisls Columbia, 1858-1914)”, unpublished MAThetis. Umsiversity of British Colunubia. 1987.

1991 Census, Ceuisuis Profiles CD-Ro:ms, Statistics Canada, Otrawa.

Ibid.

ployee] a couple ofextra bucks in order to geton the course. And finally it came to thepoint where. . . he was really taking advantage. So thej72 started to look around to get acourse oftheir own. Thatc when they boughtGleneagles. I remember. . . W’ could buy thecourseJbr $65,000. So what we needed wasjust enough people to pledge so all I had toput down was $50, but I had to pledge topay off And it was $500 a person and theygot it and they formed their own GleneaglesGo’f Club. (Minnie interjected, referringto the L.angara Golf Course) - }‘bu knowwhat time? The boys would have to get up atfive in the morning to get there in order toget them on... That was sort ofsubtle anti-Semitism.73CONCLUSION

The life experiences of Minnie andPucky Pelman echo several themes presentin the history of Vancouver’s Jewish cornmunity; Their parents immigrated toVancouver from Russia and EasternEurope at a time when they were underpersecution in their homelands and theywere being welcomed into Canada. ThePelmans have lived in areas where theJewish population is concentrated andhave been active members oforganizations

A Capilano Love Storyby Patricia Koretchuk

For many years, most who knewher didn’t realise her beauty andeasy laughter masked pain and sadness at the core of her being.Margaret Kelly Thompson’s largebrown eyes, wavy auburn hair,slender figure and ready laughterwere noticed first. There was an endearing Irish lilt colouring herspeech. She was young, eighteenwhen she arrived in Vancouver, andvulnerable. She was probably onlynineteen when she moved toCapilano. Even those closest to herwere unaware of the extent and duration of the violence that shapedher life.

As her daughter, I find my memories becoming more meaningfulas my own understanding matures.Fascinating missing details slowlysift from conversations with relatives and old friends.

When Margaret left Belfast, a city as fearfilled in 1920 as it is now, she buriedwithin her the personal scars of her lifethere. Her stories were told as adventures,filled with humour and admiration forothers.

Her father had been a first mate on asailing ship that transported cargo to SanFrancisco. (There was no Panama Canalthen.) Unable to return home until shewas three years old, she said, “He wore agold ear ring in his left eat; which signalledto others he’d sailed around Cape Horn,”the Southern tip of South America. Bornthe middle child of a large family, she believed her birth - October 15th, 1902 -

signalled the end of his sailing career. Herfather wasn’t happy living ashore. She toldof many times watching as he “. . . pacedthe floor, back and forth, back and forth,longing to return to the sea.”

She described her father as a “braveblack Irishman,” with black, curly hairand eyes with almost black irises, possiblya descendant of the shipwrecked sailors ofthe Spanish Armada.’ He became “a

Margaret Kelly Thompson 18 years otd taken bejbre leavingfbr Canada.

foreman in Harland and Wolff Shipyard,”almost certainly one of the people whobuilt the Titanic, the ‘unsinkable’ luxuryliner felled by an iceberg.

Like many members of the OrangeLodge, her father marched in parades celebrating “King Billy’s victory in the Battleof the Boyne” . . . parades where theOrangemen (her father included) wereprepared to use their swords to “runthrough anyone who tried to break theirranks.” She said they could be”.. . mean,and you didn’t dare challenge them.”

Like her father, Margaret could bebrave. She travelled alone to Vancouverbecause, “I always wanted to travel theworld, like him. Wanderlust is in ourblood.”

Of the city of Belflist, she told of beingsmall, walking with a friend, asking a manif it was safe to cross a bridge. The mansaid it was safe, but part way across sheand her friend had to”.. . jump throughthe open archway of a passing streetcar,arid lie on our bellies on the floor, as thebullets whizzed ‘round our heads’.”

She said her family lived in a“mixed neighbourhood,” meaningboth Protestants and Catholicslived there. “Mixed neighbour-hoods were the most dangerous.”

Her brother’s friend, a Catholic,was taken “out of his house to thecorner under a street light, where‘they’ riddled him with bullets,threw a sack over him, then lefthim lying there on the sidewalk ina pool of blood.” Her father’schampion German shepherd waskidnapped, used as bait with thehope of luring her father to hisdeath. Young Margaret was equallyfarful of black robed priests andthe “Black and Tan,3” though theBlack and Tan were enforcers, supposedly sent by the British to protect Protestants and British investments. Civil war was as confusingand violent then as it is today.

Yet, within wars people survive asMargaret did, with work and humour andhope. Religion is also supposed to help,but For Margaret, religion’s comfort neveroccurred. In the Irish Anglican Churchshe was told: “If anyone ever asks, “What’sthe difference between the Anglicanchurch and the Roman Catholic church.

you tell them there’s only a paper division between them, but that paper division is the Bible!” This church taught prejudice rather than love, causing Margaretto seek solace elsewhere.

She wanted to be a nurse, but her fatherdenied that option. He was angry becausehe felt he had wasted money on an oldersister who had quit part way throughnurses training. At fourteen Margaretbegan work in “a linen factory; wherework was hard and conditions dreadful.”She worked hard at home too, polishingthe many brass trims - stair rods holdingcarpet in place, door knobs, fireplace accessories. All the while, she secretly nurtured her dream of “seeing the world” asher father had done.

24 B.C. HISTORICAL NEWS - Winter 1998-99

Of Margaret’s mother - my grandmother - I know only, “She favoured theboys. They never had to do any workaround the house.” She served “Champ’(potatoes mashed with chopped greenonions cooked in the milk used formashing), and scones “with a big pato’butter slathered on.” Other than this,Margaret rarely spoke of her.

It was Margaret’s irascible grandmother,who came alive in the stories. She chasedand beat a teacher with a broom, forcaning Margaret’s brother’s hands becausehe was late for school. She helped asMargaret sewed ballroom gowns secretlyby hand, to escape the ire of her censuringfather. Margaret wore them when sheslipped out at night to formal ballroomdances - “on floors that would spring as wedanced.” wearing white gloves, carrying adainty beaded purse.

She had many beaux, but deeply lovedno one. When her family began pressuring her to accept a proposal of marriage, she bought a ticket for Canada.

In some desperation, her familyarranged for her to stay temporarily withan Uncle who lived in Vancouver. Theymust not have realised he was a lecherousold drunkard who “chased” her aroundthe house when others were out.

She escaped her peril, as many Irish girlsdid in the 1920’s, by hiring into privateservice “. . . with a family that had twovery spoiled children, who wouldn’t evenempty their own pee pots.” Then shenursed a woman who was dying of cancer.

.“ Very hush, hush. Nobody spoke of it.

Nobody even told me what it was. I foundout because of the blood on the pads andthe bandages.” Frightened, she left andfound a job waitressing in Vancouver.

In contrast, she loved the waitressingjob. She was popular because she remembered customer’s names and how theyliked their food prepared. Years later, shewould cut toast, or serve tossed salad andsay, “This is the way we served it when Iwas waitressing.” She was flattered by thetips and sometimes by the gifts (one was apearl necklace) given her by the lonelymen visiting Vancouver from the loggingcamps. She was very proud ofher memoryof orders and her ability to add the bills inher head, a facility with math she later

used to coach her family for school. As awaitress she felt her hard work was appreciated, perhaps for the first time in herlife.

Then, she met . . . him. He was asmooth talking, debonair Scot whoworked in North Vancouver’s BurrardDrydock Shipyard and drove a big, greenWiliys car. He was the man who broughther to Lower Capilano, to a house in abeautiful location that she loved. A shipyard worker... .like her father. . .handsome, with black, curly hair. .. .like her father, also unhappy and meaner than herfather.

Recently, her neighbour from Capilano- Tom Meglaughlin - revealed how muchthis Scot physically abused Margaret. Tomtold of her black eyes and tears beingsoothed many times in his mother’skitchen.

Tom remembers his family’s puzzlement. “They couldn’t understand howthis attractive and nice woman could bewith this thoroughly nasty character.”

When I checked this statement withmy now 93 year old Uncle, Albert Blaney(who also lived near Margaret), his voicehardened as he said, “That Scotchmanwas a mean bugger.”

Margaret lost two babies while livingwith this man. One was the victim of toxemia, aborted at seven months. The otherdied within a few hours of being born,“because of a ‘film’ on the baby’s lungs.”4Margaret was devastated.

Somewhere in this pain filled period,religion again entered her life. She attended a Pentecostal Church for a time,learning about being “possessed of devils”and of “tarrying for tongues.” She learnedto think of herself as a “sinner,” increasingthe weight of guilt carried by her alreadytroubled soul.

For years I assumed her lost babies weremy father’s children. Much later, during asevere illness, she let it slip that theie hadbeen another man. But never once did shetell about the beatings, and neither didmy father.

I’m not certain how Stanley Eric Blaneybecame her protector. He was anEnglishman just 5’8” tall, but tough, wiry,strong from manual labour and fromtraining as an amateur boxer, and from

earlier military training in the 42nd BlackWatch Regiment, in Montreal. Also,Stan’s brother Albert provided back up,living nearby. Stan could be gentle,ative, and he knew how to “hesitate” and“do the dip” when they waltzed. He hadno money, no car, no house, but he wasgood looking, another man with dark,thick wavy hair.

Together, Margaret and Stan hiked,picked blueberries, and laughed withfriends on Grouse Mountain, buildingstrength from the natural environment.Mischievous bears stole their buckets offreshly picked blueberries. Salmon filledthe Capilano river, “so thick you could almost cross the water on their backs.”They ate venison taken from the mountain, along with honey and vegetablesfrom my uncle and aunt’s garden. Bothloved the clean outdoor air, the goldensunsets. Respectful, but unafraid ofcougars or other wild animals, they used“bugs” to light their way after dark. (Abug was a candle in a can.) When theyhiked, Margaret was a prankster.

She once substituted malt vinegar forthe whiskey in the shot glass of a Germanfriend named “Helwick.” He “downed it

in one gulp” - as was his habit - then hegasped, went red in the face and chasedher. Stan, Helwick’s wife and other friends

On the left Stanley Eric Blaney with brother AlbertJanies Blaney, when serving in the 42nd BlackWatch Highianders, in Montreal in the 192O

25 B.C. ifiSTORICAL NEWS - Winter 1998 -99

joined the laughter.The “Great Depression” was in fill

force, so Stan and Margaret’s first homewas a converted chicken coop at the backof Albert’s property on Edgebaston Road.Though they must have wished it otherwise - social censure heaped disgrace onthose who “lived together” - they postponed a marriage ceremony until 1940.During these hard times, many youngcouples could not afford to marry;5 Mymother and father were no exception.

In 1933, in Capilano they had plenty offood, but no way to earn any money andbecome independent. By this time,Margaret was thirty-one years old, Stanwas twenty-nine, so becoming independent was important. They heard Torontohad jobs available, so - though Albert discouraged them - they decided to seekwork there. Their decision was a mistake,but they didn’t know that yet.

Their most challenging question was,“How do we get to Toronto when we haveno money?” The answer required bravery;daring, and a dash of foolhaidiness. Theydecided to “hop the freights” and use“shank’s mare” . . . for 3000 miles acrossthe snowy mountains and arid Prairies ofCanada. It seems impossible today, but it

is common knowledge that many mentravelled this way during the GreatDepression.6However, it was unusual fora woman. . . but then my mother was anunusual woman.

For safety she dressed as a man, but - at5’2” - she probably looked more like aboy. She cut her hair very short, wore avest and long pants, with a woolen jacket.She donned heavy leather work boots andpulled a peaked cap low, over her eyebrows. With some dried food, a blanket, aground sheet, and each other, Margaretand Stan set off

They must have gotten through BC andthe Rockies without incident, at least noneworth mentioning. But then they hit theheat and the hunger of the prairies.Fortunately, there were kindly people whohelped them on their way.

My mother said she would never forgetthe young girl, perhaps only twelve, whoseown mother had died. She had to raise heryounger brothers and sisters basicallyalone, while her father searched for work

and tended their farm. Yet, in spite of herown desperate situation, she invitedMargaret and Stan inside and baked themcornmeal “Johnny cake.”

They slept under the stars or in haybarns on rainy nights, and loved it.. .butthey didn’t love the grasshoppers or thedust.

They told of watching trains slow andstop, wheels spinning uselessly on tracksmade slippery by millions of dead insects.7They spoke of grasshoppers flying sothick the sky was black, devouring anygrowth ofgrass or grain in the fields. Theytold of choking dust storms, relentlesslyfiltering into any shelter they could find.And all the while hunger stalked them,and waited.

Back on a freight train nearing Toronto,word was passed around, “there wastrouble coming up.” The railroad policewere not kind to the unemployed, andmy father heard there were some escapedcriminals on board. He had hidden mymother behind him, in a corner of thebox car for most of this part of the trip.Wisely, as the train slowed, they jumpedand rolled, landing safely at the side of thetracks. Gunshots were heard and theylater discovered many of the people in thebox car had been killed. A lucky escape?.

yes. A good omen for life in Toronto?Not really.

This was 1933, in the depth of theGreat Depression. As it was in Capilano,“hoped for” work was non existent. Butunlike Capilano, in this big city there wasno forest to provide food. To their horrorthey discovered people starving to deathon the streets.

At first Stan’s sister Elizabeth and herhusband Harry Welch took them in...but they were having problems of theirown. They had three small children, Joan,Lewis, and Eileen to feed. Harry had aweak heart. Bess was forced to work,cleaning banks and houses to make endsmeet - that is, when she could find work.

By this time Margaret was pregnant...with me. (Perhaps I was conceived in abox car?) When Aunt Bess discovered thepregnancy and somehow learned Stanand Margaret weren’t married, she threwthem both out on the street.

I don’t judge her to be cruel. Bess was a

soloist, choir participant and staunchmember of the United Church. Shecouldn’t risk the loss of support thatwould follow having her help interpretedby the church as ‘ondoning” Margaretand Stan “living in sin” ... not with herown family barely eking an existence. Bessmellowed and became a loving aunt inlater years, but her actions were harsh inToronto in the 1930’s.

Stan and Margaret survived throughthe kindness of others and because Stanworked at anything available. He told methe Jewish families paid the best for oddjobs.

Eventually, they had to take weWare,commonly called “the pogey;” They hadto work for three days, then they werepaid with a bag of food and vouchers, nomoney; The pogey also paid the firstmonth’s rent, nothing more. This was thereason they acquired a used Englishwicker Pram, as did many others “on relief” They used the pram each month astheir makeshift “moving van,” transporting their meagre belongings from oneaddress to the next, wherever the pogeywould again pay the first month’s rent.

Margaret said, ‘All over Toronto at theend of the month you’d see peoplepushing their prams. They kept nothingmore than could be moved this way.”

Margaret told of giving birth to me “ina pogey hospital,” attended by a doctorshe had never seen, until he was called byher frantic nurse, just before midnight.This same nurse had slapped Margaretwhenever she cried out during her longlabour. Stan wasn’t there to stop her because husbands weren’t allowed.

The doctor was very angry with thenurse for waiting so long to call him. Hesaid, “There’s no way this baby could arrive without help!”

At a few minutes past midnight onApril 23rd, 1934, he used forceps to extract me - a healthy ten pound two ouncebaby girl - from Margaret’s tiny body.Margaret sighed with relief when she sawthe nurse holding me and chanting, ‘AGeorge’s baby, a George’s baby,” because it

was Saint George’s Day. Bess wanted menamed “Georgina”. . .but Margaret setded on “Patricia.”

I have only two brief memories of

26 B.C. HISTORICAL NEWS - Winter 1998-99

places in Toronto where the three of uslived before I was four. In one I see my fther and a friend, carrying a red velvetVictorian sofa up to our apartment, liftingit through a squeaky trap door. I’m delighted when my father says, “squeaky firnfun poy joy java lapoyka,” mocking thesqueaks. He said this whenever anythingsqueaked.

The acquisition of the red sofa musthave been an important event, considering how little furniture we had. Mysecond memory is of a landlady, a Mrs.Brownlee, handing me her walking caneas I stood on her stairs. Then Margaretnudging me into singing a song for her,called “Hand Me Down My WalkingCane.”

Margaret and Stan made Toronto theirhome for eleven years. They progressedfrom unemployment, monthly movingand literal starvation, to having steadyemployment and a relatively comfortablerental home with a vegetable garden andan “outhouse” for a toilet. To help with finances, a boarder was “taken in” for several years.

In the sometimes forty degree belowzero winters, Margaret and Stan often toldfanily and friends of their longing for thebounteous outdoors of Capilano. GrouseMountain’s ruggedness was revealed in

bedtime stories told to myself; my fosterbrother Harold Porter and my fostersister; Jane.

In 1945, at the end of World War II,Margaret and Stan returned to BritishColumbia, reluctantly leaving my twofoster siblings with their parents.

The need for work and the profferedhelp of former Capilano friends Frankand Emily Johnson, took us first toBainbridge, then to Port Alberni for fouryears. A young neighbour from Toronto,Muriel Sheridan, had travelled with usand lived in our first BC rental house onUpper Crescent until she married. Onceagain, with humour and hard work,Margaret and Stan slowly collected a fewmaterial possessions. At Margaret’s insistence, they moved to another house on3rd Avenue, because rent was cheaper.Another boarder was “taken in”, to helpwith finances.

But the cumulative violence of Ireland,

of her first partner, of the loss ofher babies, and the violent stressof years of poverty now took itstoll. Not wanting to burden Stanor her family with her sadness,she kept it to herself; turning it

into self-blame. She thought ofherself as “a sinner” and returnedto the practices of the PentecostalChurch, rolling on the kitchenfloor, asking God to remove the“demons” from her body. ButGod must have been busy elsewhere.

A letter telling Margaret of myIrish grandmother’s death deepened her depression, long beforepsychology knew how to help. Attimes she was paranoid, losingtouch with reality In 1949, indesperation Stan quit his job as a“boom man” in the MacMillanBloedel plywood plant, sold their possessions and returned to North Vancouver,where he knew Margaret wanted to be.He hoped returning would work theneeded miracle, but this was not to be.and they were still moving.

They moved six more times on theNorth Shore, upgrading from stayingwith family, then with friends, to rentinga partitioned room with hot plate, to anattic “flat,” to a rented house - that’s sixtimes not counting the police assistedmove Margaret made to what was thenthe “mental hospital,” Crease Clinic inCoquitlam.9

In response to a complaint filed by ourlandlady (on Church Road), who saidMargaret had “threatened her with aknife,” two huge policemen and Dr.Graham (a well known local doctor whodidn’t know us) suddenly climbedthrough the trap door covering the stairsleading to our attic “flat.” They nodded atme, but told me nothing. I stared dumbfounded at the uniformed backs screeningmy mother and father from me, crowdedunder the sloped ceiling of our tinykitchen.

Voices explained, Stan had the choice ofeither signing the committal papers to thenewly established Crease Clinic, or givingup all rights and having my mother committed by court order, possibly to the

dreaded long term &cility; Essondale.With my mother clearly delusional, and

no way to disprove the landlady’s allegation, Stan signed. Then, for a long timeafter the intruders left. . . he cried. I comforted him, but at fifteen years old, I wasafraid. I had never before seen my fathercry

For the next five months, Stan eitherrode his bicycle or took me with him onthe bus to visit Margaret every weekend.

.all the way from Lynn Valley to CreaseClinic and back - a long trip, before freeways cut time and distance. Margaret’s illness was diagnosed as “depression relatedto menopause” . . . such a trivial and inadequate description of her suffering.

After “thirty electroshock therapy treatments”bo she was released. Stan broughther home to a rental arrangement - twobedrooms with shared bathroom andkitchen - in a house on Dempsey Road inLynn Valley

It was not surprising, her memory hadbeen seriously damaged by the violence ofthe intrusive and extensive “therapy” Shecould no longer remember orders or addbills reliably in the restaurant at LynnValley Centre, where she tried to work.She lost her job, but by now Stan hadsteady work with the City of NorthVancouver. (At his age, he felt lucky andglad to work outdoors.)

1976 Stutn and Margaret in their own backyard at 221 West28th Streei in North Vancouve, From here, tleyfrequently returned to wa& the trails of Gpilano Gsnyon.

Photo courtesy of the author.

27 B.C. HISTORICAL NEWS - Winter 1998.99

Then Stan rented a whole house onUnderwood Road, where Margaret siowiyand determinedly healed herself and tookcare of us. The house was old and hadbeen rented many times, but we cleaned,papered, painted, and created anotherhome for ourselves. My parents repeatedthe phrases that helped us cope: “It isn’tthe house that makes the home, it’s thepeople that live there” and “money doesn’tbuy happiness.”

In 1950, no public health nurse calledto check on Margaret, or offer assistance.Mental health support groups didn’t exist.Margaret and Stan had neither trust normoney for psychiatrists. There was nomedical follow-up at all, in spite of theseverity of her depression. Yet she survived. Eventually, she recovered most ofher memory loss. Except for occasionalbouts of withdrawal and paranoia, for themost part she became a supportive motherand wife, teaching me to “Charleston” inour kitchen, giving me vitamins, encouraging me to graduate from NorthVancouver High School, then enter theMiss North Vancouver contest, giving mea white wedding on June 20, 1953.

In the late 50’s, Stan and Margaret finally purchased their own little home at221 West 28th Avenue, in NorthVancouver. Life became calmer in this

house with its comforting view of GrouseMountain.

Though increasing land values meantthey could no longer afford to live inCapilano, in the 1960’s and early 70’s theyfrequently returned to walk the CapilanoCanyon trails. Eventually they took theirgrandchildren with them as they cared forthem, helping me to become a teacher,after my divorce in 1965. At bedtimes,Margaret and Stan again told their storiesof mischievous bears who stole blueberries, of the cougars, the salmon, and thefriends they shared in Capilano, long agoin the 1920’s and ‘30’s.

Then, on August 5, 1977, after an eightmonth illness, Margaret died of cancer.Ten months later, Stan’s heart suddenlystopped beating. His grandchildren believe his grief broke it.

Today the ashes of these two Capilanolovers lie nestled at the base of a true ontop of Grouse Mountain. Their descendants are reminded of Stan’s gentle teasingand Margaret’s easy laughter wheneverthey ski, climb the “Grouse Grind,” orraise their eyes to this mountain ofstrength.

The author is a recently retired teacher livingin W1’ite Rock.

FOO1NOTE5

Spoasish Aamadas .. 130 ships the Spanish (leer that tried onsuccessfully no irrvade England in 1588. In the English Clsannel,after a series of battles wids Easter, more heavily armed British ships:The crippled Arosada fled to the Nor,h Sea, It thers returned to

Spain by sailing northward around the British Isles. Heavy windswrecked many of Use ships off the coast of Ireland, and only 67reached Spain. Condensed front WnrldbookEocyelnpedia. 1978ed.. Worldbook-Clsildcraft International, Inc., V0l. I A678.

2. The Blank and Tam.. ,a British aasiliary police force of mostlyjobless flvrn,er soldiers. They engaged in fierce reprisals, ndudtng“Bloody Sunday,” afternoon when 12 Dublin football match specrarorn were killed and 60 wounded in resenge for a morning attackby the IRA which killed II British. Condensed from theEnnynlopetlia Bot.ooica, Inc. 15th ed. Helen Hemingway BenronPublisher. Chicago, U.S.A. Vol 2:252 lb.

3. Willys -an American car produced in the 1920’s and 30’s by JohnNorth Wlllys. owner of the WilIys.Ovesland Company Coodenoedfrom World Book Eucyclopnalia. 1978 ed., Vol.22 W265.

4. “film or, the baby’s lnwga”t according to the ‘thisite Rods’s PeaceAnds Hospital osarernisy ward, one of several possible conditiarssincluded in rIse term “respiratory syndrome.”

5. maeriage delay “The national marriage rate decreased annually inthe early years of the Depression - from 77,000 in 1929 to 62,000irr 1932. Marrying was a har,ardoos business k,r those with no Cesosrrccs Berron, Pierre. The Great Depression 1929-1939.Toronto: McClelland & Stewart Inc., 1990. p. 183.

6. hopping the freights in 19305: “Between seventy thousand andone lswsdred thousand men, almost all young and sIngle, weltriding. . , the railway. .. . Alrlsoogh it was technically illegal toride the freights. Use railway conspanies rook a lenient tiew untilrhe summer of 1932... RCMP began to block hareenr workers...

[bid, p. 149.7. Geasshoppeess The grasshoppers hatched sonrenimes in Mayor

early June. In 1933,”.. . they had destroyed all the coarse grain inSaskardsewan. , .csecuring twenty-foot jumps on their springboardlegs... There were a, many grasslsoppecs there was nor roomenough for all of them on the ground at the same time, And theyale r’r!e,’yshing. Tiseir mandibles were strong enoagh to strip nbcbark from trees.” Ibid. p. 245.

8. Squenlay Eon float poy jay juno I poylssss according to nsy 92 yearold Uncle Albert Blanry, my fadser learned this habit at Rock Bay,in the 19205. It was osy dad’s version of a phrase said in jesn byNorwegtao loggers.

9. The Crease Clir Ic’. opened Nov. 16, 1949 to cure people beforethey became chronic and to play a vied role in redocing thensnsbcr of patients in the nsain provincial lsospiral. Essandale.Condensed from norm stored in the Provincial Archives, Victoria.

10. Electroshock Theeapy, a.k.a. elecrroconstslsion ,trarnsenr (orECI) ‘A farm of somatic rreanment ftsr certain psychiarrtc conditions in wisich electrical c,aererrr is applied to the brain through twoelecrrodes placed on the temporal areas of the skull.Complications are rare, the most flequersr one bci,tg butte fracturesdue to muscular contraction. littravesrom ooj.scle selaoaltrs, . . atefrequently used no prevent this complication. Respiratory and cardiovascular complications may occur., The probability of fatal incidents does non evsceed 0.06% of cases. ECI is indicated indepressions. EC’l’ gives an 80 to 100% remission rate. . . in agirated depressions, but it does not waed off episodic recu,nencm.All types of depression react favourably no ECT after some fisur sessions... The paranoid type of involunional psyclsosis usaally revquilts 20 ,msionn. . . .psychotlserapy, in addition ro somaticdserapy, is usually indicated in order to bring more lasting benefit.Summarised from: Campbell, RoberrJ. Psychiamrtc Dictionary.5th ed. Osforsl Unionrsiry Press, New York, Onforsj. 1981, p. 648.

Bookshelf

Peetz; a Reel for All Time. Douglas EW.Pollard. Surrey, Heritage House, 1997. 127 p.’illus., paperback. $11.95

This book is mainly the story of the development of the Peetz fishing reel for sports fishermen, but contains many interesting sidelights.It can be read on several levels: That of a giftedimmigrant’s success story; information on theevolution of West Coast angling gear; a chronicle of same coast’s recreational fishing; anoverall study of same from an international aspect; sadly, an epic that records the gradual depletion of our fish stocks to today’s sorry state.

Born in Russia, Boris Cecil Peetz arrived inVictoria in 1911. A trained silversmith, heturned his craftmanship to jewelery repair, andwithin a Couple of years he had established hisown business in jewelery repair and manufacture,

A friend introduced him to sports fishing inSaanich Inlet, and the idea of the Peetz reel wasborn, the first being made in 1923.

Sports fishing as such began on the West

Coast early in the century, but most of its adherents were visitors, Growing up on the upperSunshine coast I can vouch for this. Even wellinto the 30s we did not sports fish; we fished forfood. Our tackle was not fancy rods and reels —

it was a board wound round with line, and likelythe spoons and sinkers were home-made.

We never played a fish, it struck, we hauledit in hand-over-hand as swiftly as possible, liftedit in an arc to land with a thud on the planks ofthe rowboat, reached for the hefty chunk ofdriftwood chosen for the purpose and ended itsstruggle quickly.

However, the Campbell River Tyee Clubwas founded in 1924, and the Victoria-SaanichInlet Anglers’ Assoc. was established in 1932.The latter issued trophy buttons made by BirksJewelers, and the individual who played todeath the largest fish of the year had a diamondin his button.

While the Peetz reels were widely used inthe Victoria area, they never caught on to agreat extent elsewhere, a fact that makes for curiosity as to the writing of this book.

There is no doubt that Peetz was amazingly

inventive. - For instance, he invented the slidinglead weight which he patented in 1947. -

Twenty-ton deliveries of pig lead from the Trailsmelter were delivered regularly.

The amount of detail in this volume is well-nigh incredible; every aspect of manufacture isgiven exhaustive attention.

Peetz died in 1954, and his business wasfirst taken over by his family, and finally sold in

My Dearest Harriet.. . from RobertFebruary 28, 1860

This is the second of the recently discovered and previously unpublished letters written fromVictoria, B.C. by Robert Burnaby, 1859-61. The first letter was published in the Spring 1998 issue

of the B.C. Historical News. The other two letters will appear in future issues.

My Dearest HarrietI owe you one in answer to your last

long letter and must rub and scrub up allthe odds and ends of news that I canmuster in order to make up a budget fromthis fag end of the Earth.

After the first novelty is over however,we subside into a chronic state of rocks,pine trees and natives, and anything but awooden street with plank sidewalks, andvast seas of mud beyond, a populationwith Yankee cut and Hebrew phiz, andrestless mass of Miners always talking andthinking about diggings and nuggets,rockers and sluices, would now appear tous quite beside the order of things.

We had a small excitement the othernight though; just in the middle of arubber we heard a row amongst theIndians, & on going out found their village (on the other side of the Harbour) inflames. Across the Bridge we went to besure, and you cannot fancy a strangersight: these houses are all cedar wood:thoroughly dry from having constant firesand no chimney; they are mere uprightswith boards against them thus (hereBurnaby penned a small illustration) - andof course once in flames impossible to putout: to see the poor wretches streamingout with their Blankets, pots & pans andother property and crawling about theroof of the next Lodge ready to give thealarm on the least symptom of danger:others pouring pans of water down thesides which were smoking with the heat,talking and chattering to themselves all thewhile: and looking with amazement whenthe Hook and Ladder Company (ofwhich more anon) came up, and cut offthe communication by at once demolishing the next Lodge. The old women,such bags all wrinkles and dirt, stood bywringing their hands and constantly repeating “clar how yer” - “clar how yer”.”

which means “How dyr do” - as a token oftheir gratitude.

The Hook and Ladder Co: is a volunteer Fire Brigade: a custom borrowed fromour neighbours in the States. In SanFrancisco the city was several times utterlyconsumed, and people prosperous beforewere ruined in an hour. So they combined& formed these Fire Companies: Havehandsome houses for their Engines ie,reading rooms and so forth; and everymember is bound to attend, or be fined,whenever the Bell of the Engine housewarns him.

The Hook is for pulling down houses toprevent the Fire from spreading: & theLadder for mounting: the uniform of theCo: Black pants. a leathern belt - red shirt& Blue cap -; along the hook are runningrings for ropes and when the foremanhooks hold of a beam the whole force try& tug at the rope till the piece comesdown and so on to another. We have notan Engine yet: but the Company, as it is,is very useful in a tinder-box like this,where we might all be combusted beforewe could wink twice.

We had a fire in my chimney not longsince and the H&L Co. turned out instyle - but it was soon quenched with adose of cold water down its back.

Capt. Palliser the explorer of the RockyMountains is here and will shortly leavefor home, he is Irish and will be much inDublin. He will call on you: and tell youall about this and more. You will find himone of the kindest hearted eccentric, butmost perfect “ladies’ man” you couldmeet. A good musician & capital storyteller - It is so strange to see him devotedto “the sex” so gallantly, after the roughtime he has had for the last three years.Collingwood (Harriets husband) will likehim very much and will find him a manof great attainments and practical knowl

edge.You will wonder to hear what our

prospects here are and may be. We arejogging on, and always hoping for bettertimes - it is always so in gold country; -

Where, there is more or less of the gambling spirit constantly at work. I am livingas comfortably as man could wish and certainly, so far, not losing money; andhaving a Iir chance in view of making it -

But though plenty of the precious stuff isto be found, & will be taken out of thecountry, things do not progress as theymight. Fancy my paying a boy to comeand clean my boots, make my bed, sweepout the office (occupies him one hourevery morning) at the rate of £50 per ann.and cannot get a clerk for mere officework under about £200 - . We have nocoin here less than 6d and are nor likelytohave yet a while. I am now “doing business”: sit at home & sell Blankets andother matters day after day: It is not sopleasant as roaming about & prospectingthe country, and variety is out of the question. But it promises to pay in the end,and will. I do not at all regret the change,and as to health and so forth never wasbetter: only now and then come longingthoughts of Home and all there which it isimpossible to repress. Our Gov’t is anything but popular. Old Douglas is aselfish, scheming fellow, who has not eventhe polish and external show of a gentleman to hide his true character.Consequently amidst a Yankee population, who have no respect for dignities hisposition carries no weight & he himselfquite the reverse, and so we lose the advantage of a head. - Talking of Yankee respect for dignities did I ever send you thestory of an English Noble in a train in theStates: and a genuine Yankee asking himseveral rude questions - At last “Do youknow fellow that I’m Lord

_____?

“It’s

29 B.C. HISTORICAL NEWS - Winter 1998-99

nothing to me stranger if you’re Lord GD” was the reply. It is impossible to crowdinto a small space dear Harry all I want tosay and tell. You will gather that I am well,and contented, hoping for good times andnot yet down on my luck. You must notonly take your full share of Love but extend it to the whole family and to thegood folks at South’ton, New Forest and“elsewhere”-. When the Mail comes in I

may have time for a line in reply to lettersI hope to get-. Isn’t Aleck growing a bigand fine fellow. Give him my very bestlove - & kiss Godson for me. and Believeme, my ever dear sister.

Your fondly aWn BroR. Burnaby.

Erratum: In Robert Burnaby’s February28, 1859 letter, published in the Spring

1998 issue of the B.C. Historical News,reference was made to “Elwyn” (page 35,second column, second line from thebottom of the page).

That name should be changed to“Hugo”. Robert’s brother, Hugo held acommission in the Royal Navy

Letter transcribed by Meg Kennedy Shawand Pixie McGeacbie

Fort Victoria 6’ ILB. Co. Doctorsby D Joyce Clearibue

I wish to salute the Hudson’s BayCompany who created the city ofVictoriain 1843 and I also salute the Hudson’s BayCompany doctors who played importantroles in planning and witnessing the birthof Fort Victoria, nurtured her growth andhealth and shaped her future. TheHudson’s Bay Fur Trading Company,formed in 1670, held from the BritishCrown, “complete lordship, legislative, judicial and executive power, as well as commercial monopoly over all the countrywhose rivers and tributaries drained intothe Hudson Bay” By 1821 the Hudson’sBay Company had also “absorbed theNorthwest Fur Company based inMontreal.” The HBC Governor GeorgeSimpson sent the Canadian surgeon, Dr.John McLoughlin in 1824 to Astoria onthe Columbia River, to administer asChief Factor for over twenty years, theDistrict of Columbia consisting ofOregon, Washington and BritishColumbia. With his family, trading staffand the new fort physician and surgeon,Dr. Forbes Barclay, he travelled the longfur brigade trail from Lake-of-the-Woodsin Ontario to Astoria. By March 19,1825, Dr. McLoughlin had moved theHudson’s Bay Company headquarters 90miles upriver on the Columbia River toestablish Fort Vancouver. Soon a networkof HBC fur trading posts had been builtfrom California to Alaska including YerbaBuena (San Francisco, 1840), Fort Georgein 1813, at Astoria (Columbia River), Fort

Vancouver (Columbia River, 1825),Nisqually (Puget Sound, 1833), Langley(Fraser River, 1827), Fort Victoria in1843, Fort Hope and Fort Yale, both in1849, Fort Rupert (Vancouver Island,May 11, 1849), Fort McLoughlin (BellaBella, 1833), Fort Simpson (Nass River,1831), Fort Stikine (1839) and Fort Taku(Alaska, 1840). Earlier, interior fur brigadeforts had been established by the“Northwesters” at Fort St. James (1806),Fort George (Prince George, 1807), FortFraser (1806) and Fort Alexandria (1821),as well as other sites.

Dr. John McLoughlin was in commandas a “benign despot”, well regarded as the“Father of Oregon” who administered“sound justice, wise and humane treatment”. The “Great White Eagle” was animposing and big-framed figure of 6’3”with a sudden growth of a white plume ofhair following a near drowning in Canada.He was born on October 22, 1784 ofSottish-Irish immigrant parents at Rivièrede Loup, downstream from Quebec CityHe and his brother, David, both tookmedical studies at Edinburgh with Davidestablishing a practice as a physician inParis and “Dr. John casting his lot with hismaternal uncle, Malcolm Fraser, one ofthe founders of the Northwest Company”Dr. John “rose in charge of all companybusiness in Rupert’s Land with headquarters at Fort William.” Here he married“his second wife, Marguerite WadinMcKay, half blood Chippewan widow of

Northwest Company trader, AlexanderMcKay.” You may remember thatAlexander McKay had been killed byIndians at Nootka eight years previouslyduring the “Tonquin” Massacre. They hadfour children, John Junior, Eliza, Eloise,and David. “Sons David and John weresent to Montreal and later to Paris to jointheir Uncle David.” Son David, an engineer with the British Army Engineers, returned to Columbia at his father’s requestand was “posted to Fort Victoria as an apprentice clerk to learn the fur trade underJames Douglas,” but later established“McLoughlin’s Ferry” on the KootenayFlats. Eliza married a Mr. Rae who in1845 committed suicide at HBC YerbaBuena. To add to the doctor’s sorrow inApril, 1842 his son, John McLoughlin Jr.who was reputed to have qualified as aphysician, was murdered while left incharge of Fort Stikine. “He was a recklessand unreliable young man who had fallenin a drunken fray, by the hand of one ofhis own men”, said Governor Simpsonwho “apprehended the suspected murderer and turned him over to the Russianauthorities” with his verdict of “justifiablehomicide”. “Dr. McLoughlin never forgave Simpson his callousness and reconciliation was impossible.” That same year,1842, was when Governor Simpson ordered Dr. McLoughlin to “take steps” toform and establish an HBC depot at thesouth end ofVancouver Island when it became apparent that there might be a divi

30 B.C. HISTORICAL NEWS - Winter 1998-99

sion between the U.S.A. and Canada atthe 49th parallel (established June 15,1846, but signed into law by the OregonTreaty of 1860).

Already in 1837, Captain WH.McNeill had reported favourably onVictoria’s harbour and Dr. McLoughlin in1839 and Simpson in 1840 briefly inspected the area as well. In the summer of1842, Chief Factor, James Douglas (Dr.McLoughlin’s assistant) landed and chosethe Port ofCamosack for the new post - “aperfect Eden”. Then, on March 1, 1843,James Douglas again left Fort Vancouveron the HBC Beaver, a barque convertedto the first steamship on the coast, and hearrived off Clover Point on March 13,1843 to select the precise site for FortVictoria, first called Fort Camosun. FortVictoria was the official name selected afew weeks later.

Construction of the Fort started immediately under 26 year old RoderickFin layson’s direction. By October 1843,workers had enclosed a quadrangle 300feet long and 330 feet wide to accommodate eight buildings of hewn logs, postsand sills, each sixty feet long. The SongheeIndians were paid with one 2 1/2 pointHBC blanket for every forty cedar picketscut to make an encircling 18 foot highpalisade. The southwest bastion was situated at present day Wharf and BroughtonStreets and perimeters of the Fort

stretched along Wharf Street with a central west gate, up through present BastionSquare to the corner of View andGovernment Streets where the northwestbastion was constructed later (and it wasonce used as a jail). The palisades extendedalong present day Government Street witha back east gate looking up Fort Street,and finally down Broughton Street toWharf and the southwest bastion. Fouryears later, in 1847, the “stockade was extended north by 135 feet, two new storehouses were completed, and a warehouse,a 100 feet long was erected on the stonepiles on the harbour.” By then, outside thestockade, further buildings had graduallybeen built to include the Governor’s(Blanshard’s) official residence, bakery;dairy; further men’s quarters, stables, andworkmen’s house on the cultivated HBCgardens, and one of the free settlers’homes, Captain Cooper’s. The other freesettler, was Captain Grant at that time.“Four deep wells dug at Fort Victoriafailed to provide an adequate supply ofwater and another well had to be dug atsome distance.” The old graveyard wasnear the southwest corner of Douglas andJohnson Streets and was later removed tothe Quadra Street Cemetery in 1859 bythe prison chain gang. Of interest in theFort Victoria letters of 1851, was the report that the Hudson’s Bay Company servants had built a ‘mall hospital building

near the Fort in case ofsickness in emzgrantsper the Tory or any frrther shz JiomEngland”. This was seven years before theill Mr. Braithwaite was left on a mattressinside Reverend Cridge’s parsonage gate,forcing the use (rent free) of the first cottage hospital rented from Mr. Blinkhorn,and this was situated at the corner ofBroad and Yates in 1858.

On the other side of the smelly JamesBay mud flats (now filled in with theEmpress Hotel) and on the site of the present Royal B.C. Museum, Governor andMrs. James Douglas’ home, and son-in-law, Dr. J.S. and Mrs. Cecelia Helmcken’shomes were built beside the House ofAssembly, called the Bird Cages, which wasbuilt in 1859. Members of the House ofAssembly included the Hudson’s BayCompany Doctors Tolmie, Kennedy andHelmcken.

Life inside Fort Victoria is well described in the HBC “Fort Victoria’ lettersand diaries. Looking toward the harbourand facing the central front west gate onFort and Wharf Street from the inside ofthe Fort were clockwise on the right, Mr.Roderick Finlayson’s residence (ChiefTrader, 1850, Chief Factor 1859 andMayor of Victoria, 1878), the generalHBC store with the powder magazine behind it, and two warehouses plus 3 employees’ houses. The Mess Hall includedChiefFactor James Douglas’ residence andquarters for junior clerks, and then theback east gate (on Government Street),and the bachelors’ quarters, which also included the doctor’s combined bedroomand surgery; plus the Reverend and Mrs.Staine’s quarters and their school room, aswell as school dormitories on the secondfloor. Then on the side of the Bachelors’quarters, there was another warehouse, themen’s quarters, the blacksmith’s and on theleft side of the west gate, a small two-roomcottage which was a colonial post officeuntil 1859 and afterwards it was the registrar’s office, (which was often used as acourthouse), and finally it was used as Dr.J.S. Helmcken’s medical office. EightyFort residents included HBC indenturedEnglish officers and their wives, clerks,labourers, French Canadians, Kanakas(Hawaiians) and one or two Iroquois. Lifewas regimented and colourful. With visEar model ofFort Victoria. BCARS HP1129photo.

31 B.C. HISTORICAL NEWS - Winter 1998-99

iting ships there was an exchange of firedrockets and nine pound cannons, andships’ officers would be invited and summoned to wine and dine in the Mess Hall.In the middle of the courtyard, the belfrystood and “its bell tolled for meals, fordeaths, for weddings, for church service,for fires and sometimes for warnings. Atmealtime it was assisted by a chorus ofcurs. These curs assembled under the bellat every meal and looking up at it howled,the howling being taken up by some dogsin the Indian opposite village.” The courtyard was muddy and the sidewalk to thewhitewashed and Spanish-brown paintedstores consisted of two or three slipperypoles. “The Mess Room served every purpose — church services, baptisms, marriages, funerals, councils, dances, theatricaland other amusements.” It “was morethan 30 feet long by 20 feet long with a

large open fireplace at one end.” Furtherfurniture included a “dock on the wall, along table in the middle covered withspotless linen, the knives and forks clean,decanters bright and containing wine andso forth.” More than twenty people couldsit at the wooden Windsor chairs. Thenthe dinner would be served to include:soup, salmon, meats (venison and duck),and then “pies and so forth.” Afterwardsall the men would be entertained in theBachelors’ Hall and sometimes interrupted by the commissioned officers’boarding school children pouring waterdown through the ceiling cracks fromtheir dormitories above. On holidays andSundays, the HBC flag would be hoistedon the 75 foot central flagpole and in theMess Room the young women (withoutmusical accompaniment) would lead thehymns for church services, which were

conducted by the cranky and unpopularReverend Robert John Staines. He married Cecelia Douglas and Dr. J.S.Helmcken in the Fort’s Mess Hall onDecember 27, 1852. Another man of thecloth and teacher, the Oblate priest, Fatherlempfrit, boarded with the HBC and established a priest’s school for the wives andchildren of the Company/s servants, aswell as ministering to the Indians.

The main reason for establishing FortVictoria was, of course, to trade furs usingthe “new fur trade route via the FraserRiver to the New Caledonia country as asubstitute for the Columbia River.”Beaver, marten, land and sea otter all werehung in the storehouses. As the fur tradedeclined, the HBC found markets foragricultural produce, salmon, whaling,timber, spars and shingles, and in 1852,the Queen Charlotte’s gold and

James Douglas’Residence

3 employee houses

ft IBachelors Hall— Doctor’s surgeryRev. Staines quarters & School

GOVERNMENT STREEEast (sate

[2 warehouses for

0 - I Belfryv

Storehouse 1847 i...—

Powder Hagaz,1

r Flagpo

>.

L_iHBC Trading Store — —

[ 1A -•iWestWHARF STREET Gate

cI)

z0

arehouse used as barracks

- for new arriv31s

41BCo Men’s quarters

Nt

—Storehouse (Fish Oil)

Blacksmith Shop

- Southwest BastionI-

Clif Trader- Cottagboloniai Post Office-R. Findlayson Residence Later Dr. Helmcken?s Office

INNER HARBOURMODEL OF FORT VICTORIA

BCARS Photo A—00509

32 B.C. hISTORICAL NEWS - Winter 1998-99

Nanaimo’s coal. Again, the Indians werepaid one 2 1/2 point HBC blanket forevery two tons of coal collected.

Outside the Fort many Indians werecamped and in general were peaceful, except for one occasion when they pepperedthe palisade with musket balls and another, when a fire threatened the Fort. Atthis point they were persuaded to moveacross the harbour to the present Songheessite. These scenes were captured by the visiting artist, Paul Kane in 1847. Two thirdsof the Fort inhabitants fell ill during themeasles epidemic of 1848 and, unfortunately, the epidemic spread north killing250 of the 2,500 Fort Simpson Indiansand others. Equally devastating weresmallpox epidemics which first hit thewest coast in the 1770’s and, over a 100year span, smallpox wiped out about 80%of North America’s indigenous population. The 1862 smallpox epidemic inVictoria reduced the native population inB.C. from 60,000 to 40,000.

Due to emigrant ships being compelledby Act of Parliament to carry surgeons,HBC appointed Alfred Robson Benson,surgeon and clerk, for five years and hewas the fIrst medical officer at FortVictoria in 1849. Graduating at GuysHospital he had also received a completenautical education. A very casual dresser,Dr. Benson was also described as “a greatcharacter, never seen without a pipe in hismouth and his rooms in Bachelors’ Hallcrowded with Indian curiosities, birdskins, geological specimens, books and tobacco in the most inextricable confusion.”In addition to Dr. Benson having to attend to inquests and to coroner’s duties,Dr. Helmcken remembers him reducing atwo year old recurrent dislocation of thehumerus with pulleys, and treating leadpoisoning in a Kanakan who had mistaken a ball of putty for a ball of doughwhich he had eaten. Benson was transferred to Fort Vancouver and then toNanaimo where he later became a collierysurgeon from 1857 to 1861. The doctoroften had to work without pay and in1862 in his filed letter, he declined to actas coroner without remuneration. OnDecember 19, 1860, Dr. Benson marriedMiss Ellen Philips, who was Mrs.Langford’s sister. Before Dr. Benson left

Fort Victoria, his college chum at GuysHospital, Dr. John Sebastian Helmcken,sailed into Victoria first on March 24,1850, and again from Fort Rupert inDecember 1850, to be Fort Victoria’ssecond medical officer and in his ownwords, ‘he leading physician from SanFrancisco to the North Pole, andfrom Asiato the Red River’: The HBC doctor,George Johnston, sailed in the Tory toVictoria in May 1851 to replace Dr.Helmcken at Fort Rupert.

Dr. John Sebastian Helmcken was bornJune 25, 1825 in L.ondon and was apprenticed to Dr. Robert Graves of thyroidfame, where he learned to make up pills,and gained a licence from theApothecaries Society By March, 1848 hehad graduated in medicine from GuysHospital where he also saw ether given forthe first time by Dr. Gull. He had extensive shipboard experience sailing on theHBC ship, Prince Rupert to Hudson Bayand return, when Dr. John Rae of Sir JohnFranldin’s fame, was a passenger. Later hesailed on the Malacca to Bombay, China,Singapore and Ceylon, etc., and then on afive month trip from England to FortVictoria arriving on the HBC ship,Norman Morison on March 24, 1850.Here the ship was quarantined for threeweeks as he had had to treat six cases ofsmallpox at sea. The one unvaccinatedman died at sea. For this hazardous andadventurous life, Dr. John Helmcken hadto sign on with the HBC for five years in1849 as a surgeon and clerk at a salary of£100 sterling per annum. This incudedboard and room, instruments, and a freepassage home. Later James Douglas wasable to give him a further £100 sterlingper annum from the Puget SoundAgricultural Company. The ship’s seamengot only £4 sterling per month. And whata sad little room the doctor was assignedto in Fort Victoria — off the mainBachelors’ Hall — to also serve as hissurgery. “It contained a gun case and a fewshelves with drugs in bottles or in paper inevery direction. The tin lining of atrncking case” served for a counter. Therewas a cot slung to the ceiling” for Dr.Helmcken’s personal use. It was here thatDr. Benson welcomed Dr. Helmcken.Within two months, in May 1850, Dr.

Helmcken had been shipped off on theHBC steamer, Beaver to Fort Rupert onthe northern end of Vancouver Island asthe physician-magistrate. However, hefound the job very distasteful, while tryingto apprehend three seamen who had deserted their ship and later, the Indians,who had murdered the seamen in self-defence. He was glad to be returned, inDecember 1850, to Victoria, in haste, inan Indian canoe to attend to GovernorBlanshard’s painflil ‘ic dououreux’ Laterhe turned the little cottage in the Fort intohis medical offices, and he was allowed tohave a private practice. Not until April 28,1852 did James Douglas open the first session of the Legislative Council in theBachelors’ Hall and the Fort served as thesite of the future government. Thiscouncil was replaced in 1856 by an electedassembly which included Doctors J.S.Helmcken (speaker) and Dr. J.E Kennedyamong its six members, and, by 1859,they had moved to the House ofAssembly, called the ‘Bird Cages’ At thisdate, Dr. James Trimble, a naval surgeonin Victoria, was elected, as well as theHBC Doctor WE Tolmie who waselected to two terms on March 1, 1859.These two other HBC doctors, Dr. WETolmie and Dr. Kennedy played important roles in nurturing the growth, healthand future of early Victoria.

Dr. William Fraser Tolmie, born inInverness, February 3, 1812 and a medicalgraduate of Glasgow University in 1832,arrived at Fort Vancouver in 1833 viaCape Horn and an eight month passage.He served at Fort Nisqually on PugetSound and Fort McLoughlin (now BellaBella in B.C.) and, due to Russian opposition, assisted in moving Fort Simpson onthe Nass River to Port Simpson. He wasalso a botanist, a naturalist, ethnologistand “an authority on Indian affalrs andtheir dialects and languages.” A “trader, anagriculturalist and a legislator”, this dourand deeply religious Scot was “one of thefirst resident doctors to practice in B.C. byreason of his time at Fort McLoughlin”(now Bella Bella). He noted in his diaryafter arriving December 28, 1833, that heprescribed for two children in the FortMcLoughlin and saw “several of the menwho were ill, and ‘dressed the wounded

33 B.C. HISTORICAL NEWS - Winter 1998-99

arms oftwo Indians — the wounds are on thedorsal aspect offttrearms

— are several squareinches in extent, and have been produced bythe bite ofthe chiefto whom the men are attached and who does them thefavour ofremoving a few inches of cutis and cellularsubstance from the arm, when requested”The HBC “medical men attended thehealth of Indian tribesmen with reluctanceor not at all, if there appeared to be dangerthrough retaliation through superstition.”The doctors were instructed to treat HBCservants which included the “Métis,traders, clerks, artisans and their nativeborn womenfolk.” Illness to be treated included “contagious fevers, bones to be set,scurvy; wounds to be dressed, infectionscountered, carbuncles lanced, aching teethto be drawn and men to be bled for a presumed oversupply of blood distressing thevenous system.” By our present medicalstandards the treatments and medicinesavailable in those days were woefully inadequate. However, the diaries of Dr. Tolmieand Dr. Helmcken suggest that they hadhighly qualified medical and pharmaceutical training and undertook detailed patients’ histories and examinations. Afterhis years as ChiefTrader at Fort Nisquallywhere he was a director of the PugetSound Agricultural arm of the HBC, Dr.Tolmie was transferred to Victoria in 1859during the Fraser River Gold Rush andhere he continued as their agent in managing the Fort Victoria HBC farms. At thesame time in Victoria he served as amember of the local legislature for twoterms, member of the board of education,member of the medical profession to a fewformer U.S.A. patients who visitedVictoria, as a stock breeder on his 1,100acre farm called “Cloverdale”, and as thehead of his large family consisting of hiswife Jane Work Tolmie, five daughters andseven sons, one of whom was Dr. SimonFraser Tolmie, a veterinaly surgeon andB.C. premier from 1928 to 1933. In1870, the physician Tolmie, retired to hisfifteen room house of stone and Californiaredwood called “Cloverakie”. He died onDecember 8, 1886 at the age of 74.

Another early B.C. and HBC surgeonwas our own J.E Kennedy first stationedat Fort Simpson on the Nass River in1832. Dr. John Frederick Kennedy, a

Métis, was born in 1805, the eldest son ofChief Factor, Alexander Kennedy.Following his medical degree fromEdinburgh, this “careful and attentive”man was paid only £60 sterling perannum by HBC, to serve as a surgeon,trader, storekeeper and accountant.Appointed Chief Trader in 1847 he wasover twenty years in the HBC also servingat Fort Nisqually, Fort Rupert, and finallyas Nanaimo’s member of the first HouseofAssembly in Victoria along with Dr. J.S.Helmcken. Being a Métis and marrying‘Fanny”, the daughter of a Tsimpseanchief; he “knew the Indian customs andjargons” and had their confidence as an interpreter for making treaties, and whilehunting for the reported gold discovery atMitchell Harbour, Queen CharlotteIslands in 1852. There again in 1853 hewas an Indian advisor on HMS Viragowhose ship surgeon was Dr. HenryTrevan. Retiring in 1856 he was inVictoria and still working while he helpedDr. Helmcken pick gunshot from “a buttocks that looked like a plum pudding”.Like Dr. McLoughlin, Dr. Kennedy alsolost a son-in-law, J.D.B. Ogilvy; who wasmurdered by a prisoner. Dr. Kennedy diedin 1859.

Diaries and informative articles aboutthese HBC doctors, and in particular Dr.Helmcken’s casebooks, make interestingreading in the provincial archives. Dr.Heal-My-Skin, as Dr. Helmcken wasknown as, had to mix and match powders,tinctures, leaves, seeds, plasters, acids, oils,roots, extracts, wines, aloes with myrrh,burgundy pitch, senna, sassafras shavingsand even creosote. These had to be rolledinto pills and offered to the unwary and todistant HBC forts, as Dr. Helmcken “wittedt5i referred to as, ‘co manypurges, so many

dozen pukes and so many dozen ofquinineand caiomeh etc’”

He was indeed, a man of Lord Lister’stime, for Lister had graduated in medicineat the University of London in 1852, onlyfour years after Helmcken graduated. In1865, Lister announced the antiseptictreatment of wounds and Dr. Helmckenalready had access to carbolic acid and creosote. Pasteur had not yet demonstratedthat septic properties depended on thepresence of minute organisms. Much later

(on September 13, 1897) Dr. Helmcken’sson, was to have the honour to escort LordLister when he visited Victoria.

By 1858 the &ce of Victoria, and itsFort were changing forever when over20,000 gold seekers flooded intoVancouver Island on their way to theLower Fraser River gold fields. Miner’sgrey cotton tents surrounded the Fort,four Catholic sisters arrived and the smallcottage hospital at Broad and Yates Streetspreceded the 1859 Royal Hospital on theSonghees. The colony of B.C. was alsoformed in 1858. My grandfather, JosephClearihue, a goidseeker, arrived in Victoriaon the S.S. Forwood on June 18, 1859and he would have seen the old FortVictoria buildings and the Fort’s woodenpalisades before the last picket was torndown in 1861.

By the Union Act of 1866, VancouverIsland was “annexed” to B.C. and by1867, legally all the HBC exclusive privileges on Vancouver Island, first grantedJanuary 13, 1849, had reverted to theCrown. B.C. joined Confederation in1871, and as the last of the old Fort buildings crumbled in the early 1880’s, FortVictoria and the legacy left by theHudson’s Bay Company doctors becamebut a memory;

Dr Joyce Clearihueprepared this asa t4kforthe Victoria Medical Society. She recently retired from practice (dermatology) and has devoted considerable volunteer time to heritagematters and the Royal B.C. Museum.

Note: Recently the perimeters ofFort Victoriawere traced and marked with colored bricks indowntown Victoria.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Akn/gg G.PV & Helen B. Akrigg. “British Colmobia! 1778-1849Chronicle “Adventnres by Sen nnd Land”. Discovery Press 1975.“HMS Viugo m the Pacific 1851-1855 To The Qrreen Chaslottesmd Beyond Sono Nis Pros,, Victoria, 1992.

Bowsfield, H. esi., Fort Victoria Letters 1846-1851 .. With asIntroduction by M. A. Ormsby. Winnipeg, Hudson’s Bay RecordSociety. 1979.

Gregaon, Harry. A History of Victoria 1842-1970. The VictoriaObserver Pnblislsing Co. Ltd. 1970.

Helo,cken, John Sebastian. BCARS add. MSS5O5 Family Papers Vol. 1folder 2 (Benson); folder 17 (Tolnsie). Vol. 2 P27 Vol. 3 Dug andMedical Supplies Accorarsr Books 1857-I 860; Case Book l876—1879 -

Microfilm A810. Volnsse 4-JSH Medical Notebooks. 5ept. 24, 1845.Jones. Carlo. “TIse David McLoogblin Story” B.C. Historical Newa, Vol.

28, No. I, 1994-95.Munro, Dr. A.S. “TIse Medical History Story of B.C. Series Vol. 25,

1931: Vol. 26/1932 CMAJ.Nrsbitt, J.K. “John Frederick Kennedy’ The Daily Colnnist BCARS

Reel 74 Frame 0079.Ornssby. M.A. “British Colombia, o History” The MacMillans in

Canada 1958.Fntlsick, Derek. “Victoeias The Fort” Mitchell Press Ltd., Vancouver

1968Rnggles, Riclsard I. “A Country Sn Interesting. Tise HBC and Two

Centuries of Mapping 1670-1870, Rsaperts’ Land Record SocietySeries” McGill-Qsaerrss U. Press 1991.

Smith, D. Blakey, ed.,”The Reminiscences of Doctor John SebastianHelmcken”. University of B.C. Press 1975.

B.C. HISTORiCAL NEWS . Winter 1998-9934

NEWS & NOTESIntroducing our New EditorFred Braches of Whonnock comes to us wellrecommended. He and his wife Helmi are active members of the Archaeological Society ofBritish Columbia. In 1995 Fred retired from acareer in international shipping which broughthim from Holland to Latin America, the FarEast, and 25 years ago, to British Columbia.Throughout his career he travelled extensively.He is no stranger to publication. Prior to his retirement he published, with Professor RichardShutler of Simon Fraser University a series ofarticles on the Pleistocene fauna of his nativeIndonesia. Fred has become deeply interestedin the past of our province with a special interest in the history of his home community ofWhonnock. Since his retirement he has addedto an assembly of documentation and information under the patronage of the WhonnockCommunity Association. (See BCH NEWS Vol.31 No. 1, “Some Notes on Whonriock” by E.L.Affleck.) His efforts to retrace the past havemade him aware of the value and fragility ofpersonal recollection and records. Fred is producer, editor and publisher of a series of occasional papers, WHONNOCK NOTES,DEALING WITH SELECTED TOPICS OFWhonnock’s past.Fred also produces and distributes TheMIDDEN (of which he is Assistant Editor) thequarterly newsletter of the ArchaeologicalSociety. To contact Fred, see address on the inside back cover.

BCMA 42nd Annual ConferenceOur British Columbia Historical Association /Federation was created in 1922 to preserve,mark, or record anything of value to the heritage of our province. When collections of artifacts were being amassed and displayed incommunities other than Vancouver andVictoria, the Historical Association decided thatgroups sponsoring museums and individual curators would be better served by an organization of their own. The SCHA sponsored the formation of the B.C. Museums Association in1956.In the early years the provincial government offered the services of a Provincial MuseumsAdvisor. The good gentleman in that office distributed information, gave practical advice andgreat dollops of encouragement (but nomoney.)

About 1982 the Museums Association allowedArt Galleries to become members. Cranbrookhosted delegates from the B.C. MuseumsAssociation from October 1st to 4th, 1998. TheCanadian Museum of Rail Travel, Fort SteeleHeritage Town and the St. Eugene Mission &Tribal Centre gave tours described as ‘Workshops on the Mov&’ Guest Speakers dealt withEducational Perceptions, Tourism, PublicSector Services, Internet Marketing, andCommunity Partnerships.

The Can’dian Council for Rail Heritage held itsbusiness meeting concurrently with the AnnualGeneral Meeting of the BCMA. President of theBCMA is Kirsten Clausen of the LangleyCentennial Museum and National ExhibitionCentre.

The Art of Storytelling in ProcterHallProcter sits on the point where the West Arm ofthe Kootenay Lake begins. It had orchards, andwharves for lake steamers very early in the settlement years. When the railway finally wentthrough in the 1930s its importance as atransfer point for freight and passengers vanished. But it had no road access until theHarrop Ferry was put into service.

How does a tiny community save its heritagecommunity hall? Their major fundraiser was aStorytelling Festival held on October 5.History Through Storytelling is a theme whichdelighted the audience and will be tried againnext year on July 3rd & 4th. Anyone wishingfurther details can contact Barry Gray at RR#3S20 C 45, Nelson, B.C. Vi L 5P6 orPhone (250) 229-4671.

LABELS: Expiration DateYour address label should have anumber/number in the upper right corner.Compare this with the notation on the top leftcorner of the front cover. This issue is Vol. 32No. 1. So, if your address label says 32/i thiscould be your last issue UNLESS YOURENEW. If you have been subscribing throughyour local Historical Society, please pay yourrenewal to your Treasurer. Otherwise mail yourrenewal cheque to: The Subscription Secretary,Joel Vinge, RR#2 S13 C60, Cranbrook, B.C.V1C 4H3.Commencing in January 1999 the annual subscription is $12 for everyone. This is to complywith guidelines from Canada Heritage in conjunction with Canada Post.

Titanic’s Final SupperThe Royal Vancouver Yacht Club recreated theseven course dinner, with accompanying wines,of the last dinner on the Titanic. Guests appeared in luxurious period costume, somereplications, but Doris Winterbottom wore anheirloom black lace dress from 1911. JamesDelgado of the Maritime Museum becameCaptain of the ship for the evening. LeonardMcCann was a special guest for the evening,wearing a white tie and tails. Profits from thisgala event on June 29th were donated to theVancouver Maritime Museum.

“Red” McLeod RememberedNorman McLeod was a young, impetuous citizen of Fort Steele in the late 1880’s. Becauseof his flaming red hair he was constantly called“Red a name that he hated. One day, in a bar,he broke a bottle over a tormentor’s head, lefthim lying prostrate, then saddled his horse andheaded out of town. The local policeman wassent after McLeod, who was found cookingsupper beside a creek. McLeod brashly invitedthe constable to join him for a plate of beans.When the pursuer relaxed, McLeod grabbedhis gun, his horse then left waving, “Ta Ta”. TheCreek, and community, thereafter was knownas TaTa Creek.McLeod spent a short time south of the 49th,then settled in Argenta. There he lived a life of

stealing from the rich and aiding the poor. Inhis declining years he sought help to contact(he was illiterate) his sister who lived in Detroit,and paid her fare to travel to Kaslo to visit him.

McLeod died at 82 in the Nelson Hospital andwas buried in Kaslo on August 23, 1948 in anunmarked grave. This summer (1998) DorothySawczuk and two friends raised sufficient fundsto pay for a tombstone. This marker is redsandstone, carved by a current resident of TaTaCreek, and it was set in place fifty years afterhis death.

News SoughtPlease keep sending items of interest, notices,society newsletters and obituaries to NaomiMiller, Box 105, Wasa, B.C. VOB 2K0. Naomiwill be compiling News & Notes and Federationreports to assist the incoming editor.

Merritt Conference 1999

The theme of the BCHF Conference1999 is “Exploring the Nicola Valley” Onthe evening of Thursday, April 29, a wineand cheese social at the Senior CitizensCentre gives delegates the opportunity togreet old friends and meet new ones. TheNicola Valley Museum & Archives sharesthis building at 2202 Jackson Avenue, sovisitors can browse through the displayarea.Friday the Conference moves to theMerrill Convention & Civic Centre. Afterlunch a bus tour will take participants tothe Highland Valley Copper Mine, one ofthe largest open pit mines in NorthAmerica. There will be varied entertainment in the evening.On Saturday another bus tour is plannedto historic Nicola Ranch (located just afew country miles outside of Merrill.) Thebus then continues on to Quilchenawhere there are authentic examples ofwhat ranching and life in the Nicola Valleywas 100 years ago.Special guest, Wendy Wickwire, willspeak on Saturday evening on the Nativehistory of the area. A pancake breakfastSunday morning, May 2, 1999 will closethe Conference.

Winston A. Shilvock1918-1998

This gentleman from Kelowna introducedhimself to novice editor Naomi in 1988,volunteering to advise and assist with theB.C. Historical News. He prepared theSpring 1990 issue (Vol. 23/2) with manystories on the Okanagan. During his career in business he published many articles on economics and salesmanship.Then when he retired he devoted himselfto history, calculating recently that 254 ofhis articles have appeared in print. Hepassed away in September, shortly before his 90th birthday.

35 B.C. HISTORICAL NEWS - Winter 1998-99

Bookshelf

___

Books for review and book reviews should be sent directly to the Book Review Editor:Anny Yandle, 3450 West 20th Avenue, Cancouver, B.C. V6S 1 E4

Robert D. Turner, Sternwheelers andSteam Tugs: An Illustrated History of theCanadian Pacific Railway’s British ColumbiaLake and River Service, Sono Nis Press,1998. Photos, maps, routes, timetables &drawings, 302 p. softcover, $39.95ISBN 1-55039-089-9

My son and his family recently droppedoff at our place en route to their home after avacation in B.C. ‘s interior. When he walked inthe door he spied my review copy of BobTurner’s book Sternwheelers and SteamTugs - and promptly asked to borrow it whenI was finished. He wanted to read it. As this isa person who has so far made it his life’s endeavour to read as few books as possible, Iwas momentarily struck dumb. When I hadrecovered and asked why, I was struck by hisanswer. He and his family had visited the restored Moyie, and they had been enormouslystruck by the vessel on which so many peoplehad spent so many hours to bring back to heroriginal state. To heap further coals on my ignominy he had also brought me some readingmaterial about the ship, for he knew I had notmuch knowledge of this part of Canada’s seafaring heritage. He in turn wanted to readmore.

Well, he could do no better than to readTurner’s book A reprint of the first edition thatappeared in 1984, this soft-covered versionhas the added inducement of a new sectionhigh-lighting the restoration of the Moyie, andanother sternwheeler, S.S. Sicamous.

As the fly-leaf to the book states, thebuilding of these increasingly more marvellous‘inland canoes’ was necessitated by the contorted topography of inland British Columbia.With numerous long and narrow lakes, andmany rivers to conquer, unless one was willingto be diverted periodically north or south toskirt these obstacles, the only solution to thearea’s early settlers was to build shallowdraught, manoeuverable craft to cut off theselarge meanders. Turner details their proceedings, both people and ships, with loving care.

The ships were destined for relatively shortlives - and not just because of the hazards ofnavigation, which they faced with greataplomb. As the numbers of settlers establishedon the land increased, so did the feasibility ofbuilding railways and doing away with the watercraft. In fact, Turner’s subjects had a heydaythat lasted only about forty years, from the1890s until the 1930s, when the fateful handof railway progress rendered them obsolete.

Turner covers this exciting period in B.C. ‘shistory with informative text, maps and highly-evocative photographs. Three hundred andtwenty in all, and all in glorious black andwhite (except for a few colour in the 2nd edi

tion “Addenda”) they depict all aspects of thetrade. The photographs and their accompanying captions alone are worth the cost of thebook When one thinks of Canada’s marineheritage one all too often forgets these short-lived vessels. In doing so one misses a largepart of our national efforts to move passengersand freight over water.

If there was one unexpected aspect to thisfascinating book to myself, steeped in the loreof ocean shipping, it is the apparent ease withwhich shipyards sprang up to build these incredible ships. Nothing in the book is moreevocative of this than the photograph on page168, showing Sicamous just before she waslaunched. There are a couple of houses in thepicture, some people milling about, a railwayspur line to the side of the ship, and a series oftimber skids leading her way to the water. It alllooks so easy, compared to the way oceanships were built! Likewise, Turner’s skill withhis text gives an impression of easiness, an impression not allayed until one realises just howmuch information he imparts with such skill.

It was a Canadian National Railways president who most cogently explained the phrasethe ‘interdependence of wheel and keel’, referring to the way in which the two modesworked together. Traditionally, however, itwas the CPR that put action to words - hencethe main concentration of this book on theCPR’s B.C. Lake and River Service. A fewpages creep in about the CN competition, towards the end of the main period under discussion, but otherwise this is a CPR story frombeginning to end. I cannot wait to hear whatmy son thinks of it, when he has finished sucha readable book.

Kenneth S. MackenzieTransportation Historian, Salt Spring

Island, BC

From Summit to Sea; Illustrated Historyof Railroads in British Columbia andAlberta. George H. Buck Calgary, FifthHouse Ltd., 1997. 202 p. Hard cover.$29.95. Available from Fifth House Ltd., #9 -

6125 11th St S.E., Calgary, AB T2H 2L6From Summit to Sea is a well illustrated

survey of the development of BritishColumbia’s and Alberta’s railway systemsfrom the 1880s to 1939. This covers themajor periods of railway construction andconsolidation in both provinces. By 1939nearly all of the major railways, with the exception of the Pacific Great Eastern (later theBritish Columbia Railway) had been expanded to their maximum extent. After theWar, vast changes were on the horizon in-

cluding increased competition from truckingand airlines, dieselization and the eliminationof most passenger travel by train. The cut offof 1939 also represents about the mid-point ofthe history of railways in British Columbia andAlberta.

The book covers a wide range of topicsthat are all part of the complex story of railwaydevelopment and expansion in WesternCanada which is the theme of the volume. Asthe author points out very correctly, it waspeople who imagined, built, operated andused the railways, and people feature importantly throughout the book From Summit toSea begins with the construction of theCanadian Pacific Railway in the 1880s, operations and improvements to the railway, thedevelopment of the CPR’s tourism and hotelbusiness, the Grand Trunk Pacific’s expansionacross northern Alberta through theYellowhead Pass to Prince Rupert, theCanadian Northern’s often parallel construction through the Yellowhead and westward tothe Pacific at Port Mann on the Fraser River,improvements to the CPR including major engineering works and expanded hotels and resorts, smaller railways such as the AlbertaCentral, the Alberta & Great Waterways, theEdmonton, Dunvegan and British Columbia,the Pacific Great Eastern, the CanadianPacific’s Kettle Valley and some others. Thefinal major section called “The Battle of theGiants,” which brings the story up to 1939,discusses the railways through Depression andthe competition between the governmentowned Canadian National and the privatelyowned but government subsidized CanadianPacific.

Nearly 150 black and white photos are reproduced in the book along with four mapsshowing the extent of the railway systemduring different periods. The photos are wellchosen, evocative and diverse, showing arange of people, equipment, places, buildings,bridges and trestles and landscapes. Some arefamiliar but most will be new to the majority ofreaders. Reproduction of the photographs isexcellent. The book is nicely printed in goodquality coated book stock and it has a sturdybinding.

The book also includes a lengthy appendix of railway charters which indicateswhether the charters were dominion orprovincial and where the lines were to bebuilt. Most of course, were never built andwere “paper railroads” chartered in speculative efforts to occupy the legal ground in casethere ever was a good reason to build theroutes outlined in the charters. Charters couldbecome valuable assets if major companies

36 B.C. HISTORICAL NEWS . Winter 1998 .99

became interested in the routes.Seven pages of end notes provide cita

tions and further information including manyreferences to trade journals and other early articles and papers. Five pages of bibliographyprovide readers with additional publishedworks that may be helpful for more reading orresearch. The book concludes with a thoroughindex that will make the text and illustrationsreadily accessible.

I was particularly pleased to see that thebook provides a good balance between thestory of the Canadian Pacific, which has dominated the railway network of southern BritishColumbia and Alberta, and the less wellknown story of the Canadian NationalRailways and its predecessors, in particular theCanadian Northern and Grand Trunk Pacificrailways. Canadian National has had a verysignificant impact on both provinces and its interesting and important story is full of dreams,personal and financial difficulties, engineeringsuccesses and the uneasy balance of being agovernment owned enterprise. Its majorroutes, which converge in Yellowhead Passwest of Edmonton, form a giant V shapeacross British Columbia with one leg extending to Prince Rupert and the other toVancouver. In Alberta, the CNR dominatedthe railways of the northern prairies.Edmonton has been to the CNR what Calgaryhas been to the Canadian Pacific.

The book focuses on common carrier passenger and freight railways and does not include logging and mining railways or other industrial operations, the electric street railwaysin the major urban centres or the BritishColumbia Electric’s interurban system. TheBCE’s interurbans, in particular, would havebeen a useful addition because the FraserValley lines operated as a passenger andfreight railway that connected with the steamrailways and was very important to the region.The book includes only passing references tothe extensive coastal steamship services operated by both the Canadian Pacific andCanadian National in conjunction with theirrailways. Similarly, the CPR’s B.C. Lake andRiver Service, which really was an integral partof the railway system in the southern interior,is not included. More information on the GreatNorthern’s important connections out ofVancouver to Seattle also would have beenvaluable because of its importance as an international connection.

This book is well written and has a nontechnical tone that will make it very useful as ageneral reference. This is a broad topic tocover in a fairly small volume and the authorhas done an admirable job of condensing apolitically and technologically complex topicinto a very readable and informative presentation. I hope it will be widely available in schooland regional libraries. This is a good book anda valuable reference on an important part ofour history.

Robert D. Turner

Curator Emeritus,Royal B.C. Museums

Beloved Dissident Eve Smith, 1904-1988.Cathers, Arthur. Blyth, Ont., DrumadravyBooks, 1997. ISBN 0-920390-05-6.Paperback, illus., $22.95. Available fromDrumadravy Books, Blyth, Ont. NOM 1HO

For people familiar with Eve Smith, orsympathetic to any of the numerous causesshe championed in her long life of social activism, this biography will be of interest.Cathers’ style is a very approachable one. Hequickly pulls his reader into the narrative bybuilding effective word pictures of her family’spioneer experiences and Eve’s childhood inthe Gulf Islands. town life in Esquimalt,schooling and adventures with her sisterConstance. Cathers’ tone is always upbeat.Even the honors of tuberculosis and Eve’squarantine at Tranquille for several years inher early adulthood are treated with a lighttouch. Cathers offers a very sympathetic portrait of a high spirited and vivacious womanwho was devoted to the well-being of her birthfamily and ultimately to a much wider community through her involvement in theCooperative Commonwealth Federation andenvironmental groups.

It is in the political chapters of the bookthat Cathers really finds his stride andbroadens his audience to include politicalbuffs. Eve’s life was closely intertwined withthe CCF In fact, at times the biography readslike a Who’s Who of early British Columbiasocial democrats, with the names of prominent participants scattered throughout.Through her activities in the party Eve met herhusband, learned to handle a public platform,and to write on political issues. At the requestof Ernie Winch, Eve wrote political articles,commentaries and book reviews for TheFederationist, the party voice. Cathers handles Eve’s stormy relationship with somemembers of the national CCF hierarchy fromher insider’s view (and his) and reveals thetensions which racked it. Walter Young’s well-known characterization of the CCF as a political organization torn between the movement/ideology faction and the politicalparty/pragmatic faction was well reflected inthe Smith household. Eve belonged to the firstcamp, her husband Don, to the second. Don,1930s political candidate, editor of TheFederationist and sports reporter for theVancouver Sun argued for political expediency as the road to office and change. Eveand brother-in-law John favoured ideologyover electoral success. Eventually Eve alsopreferred John over Don.

For students of British Columbia history,the book inadvertently offers evidence of theinterconnectedness of elements of BritishColumbia society in the opening decades ofthis century. Particularly, the British segmentof British Columbia society centred in the Gulf

Islands and on Vancouver Island. Eve fits thepattern well with aristocratic and prominentpolitical connections through her father, RalphGrey. Ralph’s branch of the family producedthe famous British prime minister whose government introduced the First Reform Bill of1832 (Eve’s great grandfather), a CanadianGovernor-General and the British foreign secretary during World War I. On the distaff side,her aunt was married to Eve’s beloved “UncleMonnie”, Martin Allerdale Grainger, lumberman, author of Woodsmen of the West,and Chief Forester of British Columbia.

This biography is a celebration of the life ofthe author’s friend, political colleague and coworker. Cather’s approach is essentially narrative, a type of gossipy romp rather than scholarly. The choice fits both author and subject.

Linda L. HaleDepartment of Histon), Political Science

and Latin Langara College

Hope and Forty Acres. Kamloops, PlateauPress, 1997. 72 p. illus. paperback. $12.95

The first decade of the 20th century wasthe decade of the orchard development boomaround Kootenay Lake, as settlers were luredin from Britain and Eastern Canada to tamethe wild wooded slopes. Willow Point, the orchard settlement closest to the distributioncentre of Nelson, B.C., harboured a full complement of these plucky and idiosyncratic settlers who participated in a losing battle to wresta good living from growing tree fruits.Prominent among these settlers was theDawson family. Following a 1904 lecture tourin the U.S.A., William James Dawson in midlife gave up his pastorate of a largeCongregational Church in London andmoved his entire family of wife and six children to the U.S.A. where he became pastor ofFirst Presbyterian Church in Newark, N.J.Dawson’s eldest son Coningsby, a writer anditinerant lecturer, embarked in 1906 on a tourof the west Con fell in love with the KootenayDistrict and persuaded his youthful youngerbrother Reginald to abandon his studies at theOntario Agricultural College in Guelph inorder to amass a quick fortune by taking up“orchard development” land on KootenayLake. After Reg had devoted several years tovigorous rustication, William J. Dawson saw fitto build a comfortable house near his son’slakeside property and each summer thereafterescaped with members of his family from theheat and humidity of the Atlantic Seaboard tohis Willow Point retreat.

Members of the Dawson family possessedthe gift of eloquence. WJ. and Con Dawsonwere both prolific writers of fiction and nonfiction. After World War I, WJ. Dawson wrotea novel entitled War Eagle which was a thinlydisguised portrayal of a number of WillowPoint’s idiosyncratic residents. During the depression-ridden days of the 1930s, one well-

37 B.C. HISTORICAL NEWS - Winter 1998-99

thumbed copy of this novel passed up anddown the cash-strapped settlement. In Hopeand Forty Acres, Reginald Dawson displayssimilar writing skill in his engrossing retrospectof his rank greenhorn struggles to tame hisforty Willow Point acres.

Reg. Dawson’s memoirs, written in laterlife and left unpublished for forty years untilbrought to light by the diligent editorial workof Julie Dawson, a relative, unfortunatelymake up a decidedly slim volume. It is to beregretted that Reg did not during his lifetimeencounter a sympathetic editor who mighthave persuaded him to expand his humourous and insightful accounts of his earlierlife. For example, a more detailed sketch of thegentlemanly Willow Point storekeeper andpostmaster Charles W. West, reputed to havebeen driven to insolvency by his wife’spropensity in serving tea and cake to all whocalled in for the mail would have enhancedthe interest. Readers whose forebears participated in the pre-World War I boom in orcharddevelopment will find Hope and Forty Acreshighly engrossing, while the quality of theprose may also engage the attention of themore casual reader.

The lay-out of Hope and Forty Acres isgenerally attractive. However, the c. 1925 picture of the gargantuan C.PR. sternwheelerNasookin calling in at the imposing WillowPoint wharf is eye-filling but misleading. The‘West’s Landing” of Reg. Dawson’s earlierWillow Point days, devoid of vehicles andhighways, did not boast such a FederalGovernment wharf capable of handling vehicular traffic. The modest little shallow-draftsternwheelers of the early days simply nudgeda prow on to a stretch of friendly undevelopedshore in order to make a landing.

Edward L. Affleck.

The Forgotten Side of the Border.Wayne Norton & Naomi Miller, eds.Kamloops, Plateau Press, 1997. 238 p.,map, illus., index, paperback. $19.95Available from Plateau Press, Box 283,Kamloops, B.C. V2C 5K6

The extreme southeast corner ofBritish Columbia, encompassing thesouthwestern slopes of the RockyMountains, is drained by two river systems: (a) the Elk, which rises in the crestof the Rockies and flows south and westto join the man-made Lake Koocanusa,and expansion of the Upper KootenayRiver, southwest of Elko, and (b) thenorth fork of the Flathead River, whichflows east and south to link up inMontana with the south fork and debouch into Montana’s Flathead Lake.Crows Nest Pass, in the upper reaches ofthe Elk River system, provides relatively

low-level access to the Alberta side of theRockies. The country in this southeasternpocket has a rugged beauty, at least inthose spots relatively untouched by thehand of man. In winter, the snowfall isfairly heavy and the days tend to be shortas the sun disappears in midaftemoonover the mountains hemming in thenarrow canyons. In addition to the lure ofthe Wilds, the region to-day attracts skienthusiasts and even golfers.

Coal mining has been the dominantindustry in this area. Few of the companies engaged in the industry served asmodel employers. The economics upsand downs of the mining industry tend tomake for turbulent times in mining settlements under the best of circumstances,and such circumstances seldom obtainedin the Elk Valley settlements. Particularlydistressing were the number ofheartrending mining disasters which occurred.

Twenty-three writers, subscribing tothe view that to date the published historyof this pocket of B.C. remains relativelymeagre, have produced a variety of retrospects on the area. We are greatly indebted to this group and to their editorsfor this compilation. The quality of thewriting is generally good so that thereader can bank on some lively and informative browsing. At least two of the articles are indeed outstanding. One finishes the volume with a respect for theplucky, polyglot settlers who wrestled fora living in the Elk Valley’s coal mining industry earlier in the 20th century. Onefervently seconds the desire of the writersthat the book will heighten the awarenessof the part which the Elk Valley hasplayed in the development of theProvince. Perhaps we shall be fortunateenough to have the editors press on witha second informative volume.

The format of the book is utilitarian, inkeeping with the modest selling price.Given that the volume is in the nature ofan anthology, adhering neither to a timenor geographical sequence, one regretsthe absence of an introductorychronology summarizing the majorevents in the area since the arrival of thewhite man. The one map provided doesnot provide much assistance in “placing”the various mining communities. Twomaps, one illustrating the features of thearea prior to World War I, when the railways provided the dominant links, andthe other illustrating the present-day set

up, would greatly assist the reader, particularly in identifying vanished settlementsin the Elk Valley and that part of theUpper Kootenay Valley now drowned inLake Koocanusa. One final regret involves the absence of an article on thevalley of the North Fork of the FlatheadRiver, surely the true terra incognita ofSouthern British Columbia. I’ll look forsuch an article in a realization of Volume‘p

Edward L. AffleckTed Affieck is the author of

Stemwheelers, Sandbars andSwitchbacks (1973).

The First Nations of BritishColumbia: an Anthropological Survey.Robert J. Muckle. Vancouver, Universityof B.C. Press, 1998. 146 p., illus., map.$19.99

The First Nations of BritishColumbia is a pedagogical presentationof knowledge generated by anthropologists about B.C. native people. Written inlean and accessible language, this bookwas intended by the author to conveygeneral knowledge about the characteristics of native cultures, as well as themanner and milieu in which such knowledge has been collected. Muckle’s narrative is a fairly elementary introduction tothe subject, but those who are well acquainted with native issues may findsome of the appendices, particularly thelists of B.C. First Nations and majorethnic groups, to be handy referencetools. The book is well organized, beginning with a discussion of what constitutesa First Nation, followed by reviews of thetechniques and findings of archaeology(study of prehistoric cultures) andethology (study of native cultures in historic times), including a discussion of cultural change among First Nations sincethe time of initial contact with Europeans.To supplement his explanations, Muckleuses a helpful array of maps and photographs.

Muckle’s discussion of what constitutes a First Nation sheds light on the definition of various terms. As many areaware, the term “Indian” is a misnomerbased on Christopher Columbus’s mistaken initial belief that he had arrived inIndia. Less well known are the meaningsof some other terms. As Muckle reveals,“First Nation” has been used to refer to

38 B.C. IUSTORICAL NEWS - Winter 1998.99

Indian bands, groups of bands, communities or other groupings. His descriptionof “status” Indians as those people listedin a register maintained by the FederalGovernment is accurate, but some discussion of the Indian Act and Natives’past legal status as “wards of the Crown”would have provided a more completecontext for explaining their distinct legaland constitutional status.

The section concerning native prehistory begins with the interesting juxtaposition of native peoples’ creation myths andarchaeological investigation. As Mucklenotes, these myths generally indicate thatnatives have been in their respective territories since “time immemorial” andwere placed there and given relatively immutable values, customs and languagesby a supernatural creator. Archaeologists,on the other hand, believe that the nativepeople of North, South and CentralAmerica are the descendants of ancienthunters who migrated from Asia acrossthe Beringia land bridge some time between 20,000 and 12,000 years ago. Ifound that Muckle’s descriptions of significant sites in B.C. were a helpful and interesting way to demonstrate variety andchange among prehistoric cultures.

In the ethnology section, Muckle reviews the history of ethnology in B.C., indicating how prominent early ethnologistscollected information by examining natives’ oral histories and music, as well asEuropeans’ paintings and photographs.In discussing this work, Muckle pays particular attention to the significant contributions of Franz Boas. Following this is ageneral overview of the ethnological classifications of native cultural groups, andethnological findings regarding linguisticdiversity, seasonal migration and diet,and social organization and cultural practices relating to spirituality, health, art ceremony, trade and warfare.

Muckle uses the term “traditional life-ways” frequently in the ethnology section. I could not find a definition for theterm in the book and was left to assumethat it refers to baseline cultural practicesdeveloped by natives prior to the arrivalof Europeans.

In his final section, Muckle attempts toexamine the impact of European furtraders, gold seekers, religious orders, settlers, and government on native peoples.Much of this section appears to rely upontheories developed by prominent B.C.historians and political scientists. There is

very little discussion of work by ethnologists/anthropologists regarding culturalchange. Although this would have beenthe section to discuss the impacts ofracism and the Indian Act on native cultures, Muckle gives both subjects shortshrift. However, he does provide a solidoverview of the impacts of residentialschools as well as native peoples’ assertion of aboriginal rights over the years.

In conclusion, Muckle’s book provides a fairly engaging review of the history of the practices and findings of archaeology and early ethnology in B.C. inrelation to native peoples. The first sections are stronger than the final sectionwhich attempts to analyse cultural changeamong natives. In it, Muckle leaves theimpression that little work has been doneto study cultural change and native life-ways in recent times, and I suspect thatthis is probably not the case. Overall, thisbook is a handy reference for those interested in general information about thestudy of natives in prehistoric and earlyhistoric times.

Jos Dyck,Treasurer, Vancouver

Historical Society.

Pioneer Legacy: Chronicles of theLower Skeena: Vol. 1; Compiled byNorma V. Bennett. Terrace, B.C., Dr.R.E.M. Lee Hospital Foundation, 1997.240 p., illus. hard cover, $30.00.Available from theDr. R.E.M. Lee Hospital Foundation,4720 Haugland Ave., Terrace,B.C. V8G 2W7

Pioneer Legacy is a compilation of articles and reminiscences, both first-handand secondary, brought together from anextensive collection which Ms. Bennettaccumulated over a long number ofyears. For this book, Bennett notes, “Itried to select what might be of local interest and to arrange it in a somewhatchronological order so that it would notseem so much a disjointed collection as acontinuous record of development.” Noattempt is made, however, to be all-embracing; there are, for example, no articles devoted to the religious settlement atMeanskinisht, and that community ismentioned only in passing. Theitems areof uneven lengths, and while many werewritten by participants in the early non-native exploration and settlement of theriver, some are of recent vintage. The

sources for the material included are listedin an appendix, and this will be of valueto those wishing to pursue any particularsubject.

The book’s contents are arranged intoa number of major divisions. These include one of the “lower” Skeena, thatstretch from Hazelton (the “Forks”),where the Bulkley joins the main river, toits mouth about 180 miles away; severalon the “Transportation” eras, when canoes and sternwheelers provided theprincipal means of travel; and others forthe various settlements which were established during the nineteenth century andcontinued into the twentieth. These wereat Port Simpson, Port Essington, Kitselas,and Hazelton. While some distance fromthe river’s mouth, Port Simpson, as themajor Hudson’s Bay Company’s distribution center on the north Pacific Coast,was for some years the terminal for transportation to and from the Skeena. Fewarticles are devoted to Hazelton because,as Bennett points out, that village hasbeen written up in several other publications. It is one of the positives of this bookthat Port Essington and Kitselas havebeen allotted large sections. These wereimportant communities, and both fadedwhen the completion of the Grand TrunkPacific Railway through the valleychanged the transportation situation.

There is a surprising continuity toPioneer Legacy despite the diversity inform in the writings included. This maybe in part due to the unity provided bythe river itself since the Skeena remainscentral at all times. The index is uncommonly complete and includes not onlyplaces, people, and river boats, but also anumber of subject headings. This addsconsiderably to the usefulness of thebook. There are four maps. Of these themost helpful are the frontispiece - of thearea covered by the book - and oneshowing the locations of the various fishcanneries. The photographs (more than80) give a good sense of the geographyof the river’s lower stretches, and of thesettlements and their residents.

George NewellVictoria

Mighty River: A Portrait of the Fraser.Richard C. Bocking. Vancouver /Toronto, Douglas & McIntyre, 1997.294 p., maps, hard cover. $35.00

Mighty River is an ambitious book.

39 B.C. HISTORICAL NEWS - Winter 1998-99

The subject is grand, and the challengesfor both the author and the publisher corresondingly demanding.

In his “Preface”, the author writes, “Itseemed time for a new book that wouldcelebrate the natural history of the Fraserand portray the extraordinary humandrama along its spectacular journey fromthe Rocky Mountains to the PacificOcean.” Mighty River, he suggests, “is ajourney through centuries as well as kilometers, through astonishing landscapesand a rich tapestry of life. Following theFraser River is also a search for thehuman spirit, because much of the dramathat has characterized British Columbia’sstory has been concentrated on the banksof this river.”

The form taken in this drama hasbeen, and is, in Bocking’s opinion, war.“When Europeans settlement began inthe mid-1800s. . . a war with the riverbegan that has endured for more than acentury.” It is a war brought on because“The Europeans who replaced Nativepeople on the land brought with them theideals of the Industrial Revolution, andthey set about changing the landscape toaccommodate their values. . . Thesystem changed from consumption atlevels well below nature’s productivity toconsumption with no real limits.” Thiswar has continued with the fortunes ofwar: there are defeats and there are victories. The victories tend to be isolated,and are not necessarily permanent. Here,for example, is his view of the situation atTete Jaune Cache: “Fortunately for theflora and fauna of the region, the dreamsof the boomers collapsed soon afterrailway construction moved on. The rich,biological mother lode at Tete JauneCache Islands could not have survivedurban development on any appreciablescale. The townsite of railroad construction days was washed away by FraserRiver floodwaters, and the settlementmoved to higher ground. Today only ageneral store and a few houses survive.But natural life in the delta prospers. Withso many different habitats compressedinto a small space, the level of bio-diversity here is four times greater than that ofsurrounding areas.” Unfortunately thishappy state is not without its drawbacks.“This concentration of wildlife.., is notonly a miracle of nature. It is also a deathtrap for animals with no defence againsttheir greatest predator: a person with agun.”

Despite the defeats, and the impermanence of the victories, Bocking seeshope. The epigraphs for the final twochapters give a good indication of wherehe wants the book to point, and history togo. That for Chapter 11 reads, “By becoming the first urban region in the worldto combine economic vitality with thehighest standards of livability and environmental quality, Greater Vancouvercan represent in history what Athens is todemocracy or Vienna is to music.” And,for Chapter 12, “The ‘realists’ have hadtheir time, and we see the fruits of theirwork. It is time now for visionaries.”

Bocking thanks his editor, NancyPollak, by noting that her “contribution tothe structure as well as the detail of themanuscript was invaluable.” I suspect thisis not overstatement. There are excellentmaps. The listing of sources is divided bychapter and will be of great help toanyone pursuing any particular area of interest. There is a well-compiled index.With good reason the book has receivedseveral prizes, It is capably conceived, thewriting is clear, direct, controlled.Altogether a solid piece of work.

George NewellVictoria

No Better Land; the 1860 Diaries ofthe Anglican Colonial Bishop GeorgeHills, edited by Roberta L. Bagshaw.Victoria: Sono Nis Press, 1996. 307 p.,indexed, bibliography, illus. $21.95

On February 28, 1860, George Hills,first Anglican bishop in British Columbia,came upon two shirt-sleeved men chopping wood. He recorded the incident inhis journal under the title “Limbs of theLaw”: “On approaching I found theywere Chief Justice Begbie and CaptainBrew, Judge of Small Debts Court Theywere procuring firewood for themselves.They live in one room and have no servant. I took the axe from the Chief Justiceand cut a log in two. It was harder workthan I thought”

These diaries, one year from Hills’thirty-three- year private record, aboundwith such incidents, humanizing a manoften perceived as austere, and whojudged his own performance as “sadlycold and unimpressive”. They also go fartowards redressing the neglect and misrepresentation accorded the place ofchurch and clergy in British Columbia history. This “colonial bishop” consulted

frankly with first nations people, conversed easily with people of variouscreeds and cultures, and forbade racialdiscrimination in his churches. On March25 “a respectable coloured person, Mrs.Washington” called on him; and the following day he was visited “by Mr. Gibbsand Mr. Francis, two coloured gentlemen.” On both occasions, he engagedhis guests in earnest analysis of the prejudice they suffered.

Any study of Bishop Hills reminds meof former Anglican archivist Cyril Williamsand his years of perusing and annotatingthe Bishop’s papers. His enthusiasm forhis own subject carried over into enthusiastic assistance for other researchers. Inthe end, his work on Hills gave way before the announcements of more ‘scholarly’ approaches to the topic, and hisname does not appear in Bagshaw’sAcknowledgements or notes.

This book is not yet the scholarly workHills merits, but it is a significant preview.When Bagshaw prepares, as I hope shewill, a more complete edition of the diaries, she should provide detailed mapsto accompant the Bishop’s journeys, andfuller explanatory notes. And she shouldmake the extra scholarly effort to recognize, for example, that the ‘wide awake’on page 184 is most likely a noun, denoting a type of hat, and not an adjective.

But, for the time being, we can gratefully savour such moments as this fromJune 13:

I walked today with Mr. Crickmer insearch of a burial ground. We selected aspot westward near two streams. Ourramble was pleasant amidst beautifulscenery and flowers in wondrous profusion. We gathered strawberries.

Phyllis ReevePhyllis Reeve is an avid reader of

other people’s diaries.

A five year Index of theB.C. Historical News will be

printed in January.Readers wishing to orderthis Index please send acheque for $5.00 to the

B.C. Historical Newsdo Box 130 Whonnock, B.C.

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40 B.C. IUSTORICAL NEWS - Winter 1998 -99

THE BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORICAL FEDERATION - Organized October 31, 1922

Web Address: http://www.selkirk.bc.calbchf/main 1 .htm

HONORARY PATRON

His Honour, the Honorable Garde B. Gardom Q.C.

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BC HISTORICALFEDERATION

WRITING COMPETITION

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

Any book presenting any facet of B.C. history, published in 1999, is eligible. This may be a communityhistory, biography, record of a project or an organization, or personal recollections giving a glimpse of thepast. Names, dates and places, with relevant maps or pictures, turn a story into “history.”

The judges are looking for quality presentations, especially if fresh material is included, with appropriateillustrations, careful proofreading, an adequate index, table of contents and bibliography, from first-time writers as well as established authors.

NOTE: Reprints or revisions of books are not eligible.The Lieutenant Governor’s Medal for Historical Writing will be awarded to an individual writer whose

book contributes significantly to the recorded history of British Columbia. Other awards will be made asrecommended by the judges to valuable books prepared by groups or individuals.

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There is also an award for the Best Article published each year in the B.C. Historical News magazine.This is directed to amateur historians or students. Articles should be no more than 3,500 words, typed doublespaced, accompanied by photographs if available, and substantiated with footnotes where applicable. (Photographs should be accompanied with information re: the source, permission to publish, archival number ifavailable, and a brief caption. Photos will be returned to the writer.)

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