RECORDED: [location unknown], 1961-07-07 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mrs. Agnes Neave recalls moving from the Prairies to British Columbia in 1940 after her family became ill with typhoid. She found an advertisement for a small property in Ootsa Lake which ha;d good fishing. She describes her first trip into the area by train and ferry; her first impressions; setting up a three year rental with the option to buy after that; the trek from Burns Lake with h;er whole family and their possessions; establishing themselves at Francois Lake; what life was like there; and the Anglican church at Francois Lake. [TRACK 2: blank.]

RECORDED: [location unknown], [196-] SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Arthur Chadwick discusses his family history in Wisconsin all the way back to the American Civil War. He was born in 1885 and came to Canada by himself in 1907 to Alberta. Not liking Alberta, he worked for the CPR to save money to eventually move to BC in 1910. He discusses work available in Vancouver at that time, and an experience working on a sternwheeler in Hazelton. He describes moving to Babine Portage because of a booming mining community at that time and mentions several characters. He describes his experience as a camp cook in Burns Lake; getting lost out by Babine Portage for twenty-one days with nothing to eat and meeting Indians on Cunningham Lake who eventually took him to their camp and fed him; his friendship with Martin Starret, with whom he shared a property boundary and who ran a store; a description of Martin Starret's life and that of his uncle, who was fur trader C.B. Smith, and his wife and daughter and son; what life was like in Babine Portage; ;life at Babine hatchery and cannery; more on Martin Starret and how Mr. Chadwick began trapping in 1916; and an anecdote about having to register to get grub. TRACK 2: Mr. Chadwick continues with hi;s anecdotes including some places and names, more on trapping at Tatla Lake, raising cattle, and more on Mr. Chadwick's experience as a cook.

RECORDED: [location unknown], 1964-07-18 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. William ("Bill") McKenna discusses how his father, James McKenna, came to the Okanagan and settled in Kelowna in 1889, eventually selling out to irrigation people in 1909. He and family; next took up a homestead between Burns Lake and Dekker Lake. George Wallace and Dick Carrol are mentioned as being in the area when his father arrived along with a government telegraph office and three Indian families. His father built a stopping house for the time when the railroad was being constructed. Bill recalls details of when he arrived at the age of five, including the building of the ;railway with trestles and the first train. In 1914, Barney Mulvaney laid out tents which led to the beginning of Burns Lake. The development of the town, including the first post office, and a description of Barney Mulvaney and other early settlers. Then, Mrs. Margaret McKenna offers the story of when she met Mike Touhy and Barney Mulvaney, including descriptions of both men, and childhood memories of events and people. TRACK 2: Mrs. McKenna continues with more anecdotes about childhood memories and people in the area. Then Bill McKenna offers more descriptions of Barney Mulvaney, Wiggs O'Neill and Harry Morgan, and recalls coaching hockey at Fraser Lake.

RECORDED: [location unknown], 1964-07-18 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Edward Alfred Aslin discusses how he was born in Kansas and moved to an area near Edmonton with his family when he was seven years old in 1894. He describes getting married in 1906 and subsequently coming out west. In 1916 he left the railway to come to Fort Fraser to open a store, so his kids could be stationary and attend school. He acquired too much stock to support his family, t;here so he moved to Burns Lake. He describes Fort Fraser at that time as a declining and quiet place after the railway had completed its work there. He describes the circumstances after he and his wife split up, when he became a placer miner at Manson Creek to conquer the loneliness of missing his children. He describes what Manson Creek was like at that time. He describes fur trading out by B;ear Lake in the Babine country. [TRACK 2: blank.]

RECORDED: [location unknown], 1961-07-07 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Richard Carroll, known as Dick, describes arriving into the [Nechako?] area from Vancouver in 1908 on his way to Alaska; he stopped to work on the Grand Trunk Railway at the head of navigation on the Skeena River. He describes people he met at the time, such as prospector Eli Carpenter, who was on his way to a gold rush; his eventual arrival in Burns Lake via the Telegraph Trail in 1909 on his way to Fort George, which he describes as the most remote part of BC at the time. Mr. Carrol outlines the land he staked; working on the railroad; his work as a mail carrier from Telkwa to Williams Lake, including using pack horses for transportation in summer and sleighs in the winter; prices of various goods in Burns Lake at the time; various farmers and goods they sold in the area; the telegraph office in Burns Lake as means of communicating with the Yukon during the gold rush; Mrs. Bessie Wallace as the first white woman to come to Burns Lake in 1909; produce which came from Ashcroft through Quesnel; more on telegraph posts; a story about Barney Mulvaney's wedding and a description of his character; and a description of an Indian raid at Kispiox. TRACK 2: Mr. Carroll describes an encounter with Chinese people; more on George and Bessie Wallace; ranching; and a trip with an explorer to Fort McLeod.

RECORDED: [location unknown], 1964-07-18 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Richmond, born June 16, 1912, recalls his early years in Vancouver before moving to Hope, where his father had a general store and a pack outfit near Manning Park. They packed mining equipment and prospectors into the Skagit Valley. Mr. Richmond describes the area at that time, the building of the road, Whitworth Ranch, and his first trip there with H.R. MacMillan; various old timers and people in the area; more on Hope; new BC Boys Town; Martin Starret; and a description of his father arriving in Burns Lake in 1947. George Little and the founding of Burns Lake; other characters; Babine Lake; more on Martin Starret; and Barney Mulvaney. TRACK 2: Mr. Richmond continues with more on Barney Mulvaney, George Biernes, the Gun-an-noot murder case, and Wiggs O'Neill. Then, Mrs. Mary Richmond recalls and describes Barney Mulvaney.

RECORDED: [location unknown], 1961-07-08 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. William Bickle describes homesteads near Francois Lake at Grassy Plains in 1906. Mr. Blaney (from Anahim Lake) and other settlers are described as the first settlers at Francois Lake in; 1904. The subsequent development of Burns Lake. He describes Burns Lake settlers, including Mike Touhy, a proficient man on trails; a description of the rum-drinking activities Touhy would indulge in; upon arriving in Hazelton, and a description of the man and his poetry. Cataline (Jean Caux) and a description of his pack trains for the Yukon Telegraph Line; George Biernes; Barney Mulvaney. Charli;e Barret, who was another very important packer for the telegraph line; and who was the first white settler in the Bulkley Valley. The Gun-an-noot story. John Dorsey, another Francois Lake settler. T;RACK 2: Mr. Bickle continues by describing his travels across frozen Francois Lake, and an account of what is involved in staking out a homestead.