British Columbia History

I remember the afternoon that Rick Hansen rolled through Chilliwack in 1987. I was working at Chuck & Ev’s Hobbies in downtown Chilliwack. Owners Chuck and Ev closed the store and we walked up Mill Street to join the crowds on Wellington Avenue. We c

In the rural backwoods of British Columbia where Rick grew up, a boy’s strength and ability determined his status among his peers. Rick was an athlete, a natural leader, a stalwart adventurer. Even as a toddler he ignored boundaries. His mother was f

Every Canadian school child used to know about Pauline Johnson. My brother, born in 1936, recalled learning “The Song My Paddle Sings” from his grade two reader. My son, born in 1976, never heard of her. People today are more likely to confuse Johnso

August 19, 2017 was the 75 Anniversary of the Dieppe Raid during the Second World War and the scene of one of Canada’s worst military defeats. Lieutenant-Colonel Cec Merritt, the commanding officer of the South Saskatchewan Regiment, was the first Ca

Elsie the Cow, the iconic mascot for the Borden Dairy Company was based on a Jersey heifer named “You’ll Do, Lobelia” from Brookfield, Massachusetts. She was chosen because she symbolized the “perfect dairy product.” The belief that Jersey cattle wer

He was blacklisted by the International Woodworkers of America (IWA) for his role in forming a rival union and for being a Communist. Twice he was refused entry into the United States (once when on a family holiday) because of his Communist membershi

On a June night in 1949, a young nicely-dressed woman stepped off the train at the quiet station in Prince Rupert, British Columbia. She had been travelling from Ottawa for five days—by First Class, courtesy the government of Canada. She had been tol

The Nicola Valley Museum and Archives in Merritt, BC was established in 1976, when a group of people came together with local history as a common interest. This group was known as the Nicola Valley Archives Association. The Museum was initially locat

One of my favourite stories as a child was that of The Goose Girl, by the Brothers Grimm. I could relate to the girl who told her woes to a part of a horse, even though the rest of the horse was missing. At the top of the staircase and around the cor

Arriving in Nakusp around the time of the village’s founding in 1892, Tom Abriel was the unofficial mayor of the town. He built several structures in town, sold insurance and real estate, and laid the first water supply pipes in the village. An agric