CALL NUMBER: T2195:0001 PERIOD COVERED: 1900-1940 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1976-06-22 SUMMARY: Carl Timms was born in Ontario in 1889. Came to Vancouver as a child. Worked in the CPR office, New Westminster. Joined the "Beaver", a sternwheeler which ran up the Fraser River. Remembers CPR Pier D, Captain J.W. Troup, the north coast before the railway to Prince Rupert, the "Princess Royal", New Westminster Lumber Mills, competition between steamboats on the Fraser River in the early 1900s, the Timms Printing Company which was his uncle's business. Worked on the CPR railcar barge and later became clerk to the Engineering Superintendent. When he was a boy his grandmother would invite apprentices from the sailing ships up to their house for dinner.

CALL NUMBER: T2195:0002 PERIOD COVERED: 1900-1940 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1976-07-08 SUMMARY: Carl Timms was born in Ontario in 1889. He worked as a clerk for the CPR. Remembers construction of Pier A-1, Empress Boats, Chinese immigrants, Capt. J.W. Troup, Canadian Pacific Navigation Company. Worked on "Beaver", a sternwheeler on the Fraser River. Also worked on the "Queen City" up the coast. Talked about Canadian Merchant Service Guild, changes in Vancouver at the time of the First World War, electricity in the first years, Cambie Street circus grounds, towing coal into Vancouver, post-WWI shortage of ships, building of the CPR fleet.

Minute books, cash books and ledgers (8 vols.) of Cascade Transportation Company and Forager Transportation Company respective owners of the steamships Cascade and Forager which were engaged in coastal shipping.

CALL NUMBER: T0386:0001 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Charles Brookman RECORDED: [location unknown], 1965-06-18 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Charles Brookman describes his arrival in Canada in 1903 from Liverpool, and his move to BC in 1907. He recalls what Vancouver was like when he arrived including the Vancouver Opera House, the Empress Hotel in Victoria, stories about movie star Victor McLaglen, his experiences with cargo in Seattle, and the money crisis in America. He continues with a story about rescuing a man who fell overboard, his decision to move to the Yukon and recollections of experiences there including the Old Chief, the poet, Robert Service, and details of various adventurers. TRACK 2: Charles Brookman continues with more on his time in the Yukon, people who sailed ships, navigation, details about boats, stories of Captains of square-riggers and their boats, stories of incidents on his boat including one where a life was lost, a story of prospectors who were unaffected by mosquitoes because they never washed themselves, and a detailed description of the 1907 race riots in Vancouver.

CALL NUMBER: T0386:0002 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Charles Brookman RECORDED: [location unknown], 1965-06-18 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Charles Brookman describes a story of an interaction with a native Fijian when he was in Fiji, more on his experience working for the Guggenheims in the Yukon on hydraulics, more experiences aboard boats at the time of WWI, his experience with Col. John McCrae who wrote 'In Flanders Fields' when he was injured in the war, Captain Cutler who was a sealing skipper, life in Victoria after the war including the saloons, experiences with sharks on sealing boats, hunting techniques at sea. Mr. Brookman sings two sea shanties. [TRACK 2: Blank.]

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Queen Charlotte City and the islands - 1906-1930 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1962-09-08 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Charlie Hartie from Queen Charlotte City talks about coming to the Queen Charlotte Islands and delivering groceries by boat (1911), the land boom, promotion of Queen Charlotte City, failed settlements, the fish and timber industry, Alliford Bay fishing plant, attractions and impressions of the islands, west vs. east coast, weather, Indian villages at Masset and Skidegate (1911), Haida elders, Haida appearance, remnants of the villages, Skidegate Band, Arthur Soloman -- bandmaster, Government Agents -- Sandilands and Barge, Emmanuel Girard -- mill manager, mining, promoters -- McMorris;, logging and the drifter population. TRACK 2: Charlie Hartie recalls a fishing trip made during the hungry 1930's, other incidents in Hecate Strait, the logging industry, Port Clements, Tlell -- "The Dunes Club", boom days, first setters in 1905 and the steamboat service for the islands.

RECORDED: Lasqueti Island (B.C.), 1975-03-12 SUMMARY: Charles Graham talks of coming to Canada in the early 1900s; up to the Queen Charlotte Islands; Masset in the early 1900s; boats on the coast; logging; logging camp stores [stories?]; life in general; dairy farming, Fraser River; Lasqueti Island in the 1940s; homesteading on Lindbergh Island; boatbuilding.;

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Captain Charles Harris RECORDED: [location unknown], [196-] SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Captain Charles Harris explains how he left Halifax in 1887 to come to Victoria to get involved in the sealing trade, he describes the trip, arriving in Victoria in 1888, going to sea in 1890, becoming mate of the "Mary Taylor" in 1891, his experience in the Bering Sea, details on his career and adventures in the 1890s, a detailed account of the process of going about sealing including anecdotes, when sealing with guns was outlawed in 1911 by virtue of a treaty, more on sealing, differences in hunting techniques between Indians and white people, an anecdote about taking Haida Indians sealing, potential dangers, and anecdotes about boat. TRACK 2: Captain Harris continues by describing his impressions of early Victoria, the liquor traffic in Victoria before and during prohibition, the navy at Victoria prior to WWI, the submarines brought to Victoria in 1915, and more on changes over time in Victoria.

CALL NUMBER: T2102:0001 PERIOD COVERED: 1925-1960 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1976-06-11 SUMMARY: Charles Robson was born in 1901 on Cape Breton Island. Worked on the CPR steamer "Princess Mary". Discusses working conditions, division of coast among steamboat companies, canneries, "Charmer", construction of Pier B-C, Triangle Run, wireless radio, navigation by the whistle, examination of masters and mates, winter tie-up, lighthouses, pilchard fishery.

CALL NUMBER: T2102:0002 PERIOD COVERED: 1920-1960 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1976-06-29 SUMMARY: Bad weather at sea. Lighthouses in the Inside Passage. New CPR ships in the 1920s. Picking a crew. Various runs. Accident: "Princess Louise" and "Princess Marguerite". Triangle run. Special features of boat. Conditions during World War II. Changes in CPR shipping from the 1920s to the 1950s. Accident: "Charmer" and "Princess Royal", 1920. Clo-oose. A birth on ship. Fraser River boats. The Merchant Service Guild. Other sailors from the Maritimes.

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Charles Tapping RECORDED: [location unknown], [196-] SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Charles Tapping discusses the Thermopylae Club in Victoria including how it was founded in 1932 by 40 or 50 sailors, a story about the vessel "Tilikum" (1904) restored by the Thermopylae Club; and brought to Victoria. He continues with more stories about the "Tilikum" and his experiences at sea and the Thermopylae Club, more details on the "Tilikum" and other projects that the Thermopylae Club sponsored around Victoria, and details about his life in Victoria. TRACK 2: Charles Tapping offers more stories about his life in Victoria, including travelling overland on the CPR after he landed from England, why he came to Victoria, the growth and expansion of Victoria, the Thermopylae Club restoring buildins in Victoria, and more anecdotes.

Stock shots. 1. Construction site. 2. Community meeting [?]. 3. More construction -- CBC logo. 4. New CHEK-TV station. 5. Brick laying. 6. Unidentified person [Jack Davis?]. 7. Quadra Steel Company plant. 8. Offshore oil drilling rig. 9. Open pit mining. 10. Ships. 11. Oil rig. 12. Clallam County Courthouse. 13. Fish trawler -- navigating, etc. 14. Maps. 15. Open pit mining. 16. Stills of historic mining, windmills. 17. Modern windmill. 18. Canadian Forces Base -- Toronto. 19. Hydro lines. 20. Tank farm. 21. Freighter. 22. Oil pipeline. 23. Ships at sea.

This series contains the Chief Engineer's log-books for the Canadian government ships Sir James Douglas and Quadra which were employed as light station tenders on the British Columbia coast.

The records contain the following 7 log-books:
Volume 1: Sir James Douglas July 1888 - June 1890 (Gordon F. Grant Chief Engineer).
Volume 2 contains logs for both ships: Sir James Douglas July - November 1891 and Quadra May - June 1895 April l- August 1897.
Volume 3: Quadra August 1893 - April 1894 (engine room crew listed on back fly-leaf of volume).
Volume 4: Quadra March - December 1900.
Volume 5: Quadra November 1901 - August 1902.
Volume 6: Quadra August 1902 - May 1903.
Volume 7: Quadra October 1905 - August 1906

RECORDED: [location unknown], 1980-07-28 SUMMARY: [No content summaries available for these tapes.];

The sub-series consists of oral history interviews about the work, operations and history of coastal boats on the Pacific coast, including fishing, freight, tow and tug boats.

Industrial film. Transportation of limestone by barge from Blubber Bay, Texada Island, to the Columbia River. This film could be an earlier, unreleased version of OCEAN HIGHWAY.

Correspondence and private business papers of Charles Todd (uncle of Mrs. A.J. Dallain), Indian Agent, Northwest Coast Agency, re property holdings at Kitimat and mining ventures, Skeena district; correspondence and private business papers of Mrs. C. Todd and the Dallain family in Victoria; master's certificate and minute book, Victoria Citizen's Committee on Improvements, Streets and Bridges, 1898, of A.J. Dallain; fragment of C.P.R. last spike. Photographs transferred to Visual Records accession 198106-8.

RECORDED: West Vancouver (B.C.), 1980 SUMMARY: David Rody, who works at the Traffic Management Centre of the Canadian Coast Guard, discusses the activities of his office.;

RECORDED: [location unknown], [1975?] SUMMARY: [No content summary is available for tape T1794:0001.];

RECORDED: Richmond (B.C.), 1975 SUMMARY: [No content summary available for this interview.];

RECORDED: [location unknown], 1980-08-06 SUMMARY: [No content summary available for this tape.];

CALL NUMBER: T0398:0001 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Donald Wesley Peck RECORDED: [location unknown], 1961-04 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Captain Donald Peck discusses changes in Vancouver and its harbour. He begins in 1897 when his family lived at English Bay and his father built a boat for use on the Fraser River during the financial crisis, a description of the over fishing that year, a description of the boat as compared to others at that time, how some streets in Vancouver were made from logging roads, how sawmills helped to develop the demographics of the city, anecdote about a man at the Hastings Mill named Captain Bailey, details on Bailey and his life, a boat called the "Senator", what the harbour was like at that time including various boats and Captains, anecdotes about what life was like in 1897, the filling of False Creek in 1910, the navigational hazard of the Narrows, how his family came to Canada in 1742 to New Brunswick from the USA and how they were ship builders, details on his family lineage including boats they built, details on his father's life and boats he worked on, the first machines which revolutionized the cannery industry were partially developed by his father, how his father sold the first salmon cannery to Japan, internal combustion engines which ended up being a failure, how in 1898 the family moved to Rivers Inlet so his father could help build the machinery at the cannery there, then the family moved back to Vancouver in 1901 so the kids could go to the Mount Pleasant School, more details on his father's work at sawmills, his reminiscences of the Fort Simpson area including the tugboats he used and Captains there, an anecdote about liquor laws involving Indians. and the invention of the Davis raft.

CALL NUMBER: T0398:0002 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Donald Wesley Peck RECORDED: [location unknown], 1961-04 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Captain Peck discusses and describes the chances he took in his youth, Captain Alf Lewis who towed a boat called "The Progressive", his experiences towing in 1918, buying the "Topaz" and moving back to Vancouver when the mill closed, a story about Haida canoes in Port Simpson and Metlakatla, his impressions of and details about the Haida people. TRACK 2: Captain Peck describes the transport of coal from B.C. to California around the turn of the century by the use of tugboats, what it was like at Hastings Harbour at that time, cargo ships that were lost including one in 1906 and a Russian ship called the "Volentia", more on the Narrows, an explosion on a small boat in 1902 at Port Simpson, Father Hogan who was the minister at Port Simpson at that time who gave his skin to those who were burned, a story about a stone mason named Mr. Rudge who dumped a tombstone overboard where a Haida man had drowned, the activity in salmon fishing on the Skeena River in the days before Prince Rupert was established in 1907, including details on the canneries near Port Essington, and the 186 mile journey along the Skeena from Prince Rupert to Hazelton aboard sternwheelers.

CALL NUMBER: T0398:0003 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Donald Wesley Peck RECORDED: [location unknown], 1961-04 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Captain Peck discusses how boys in those days had to be self-dependant and had to learn to hunt and take care of the home, his friend Walter Wick's father who was the first foreigner he met while he lived at Inverness, a description of the Wick boys, he then describes his early memories of life at Metlakatla including details about people there. [Note: there is a splice in the tape so track 2 on this CD is a continuation of T0389:0003.] TRACK 2: Captain Peck offers a description of a woman named Miss West whom he met in 1904 in Georgetown, he discusses the history of Georgetown and the sawmill there including its establishment before Confederation, Mr. Morrow of Metlakatla who was a butcher at Metlakatla and was a former Indian agent, a description of the landscape at Metlakatla, the Rudge family, the origins of Port Essington including the type of place it was and people there. TRACK 3: Captain Peck discusses boats constructed for the Stikine and for the Yukon gold rush, the limitations of sternwheelers, experiences on the Nelson River, the people and geography of the Queen Charlotte Islands, the settlement of Sointula, and the elk on Graham Island, QCI.

RECORDED: [location unknown], 1980-07-01 SUMMARY: [No content summaries available for these tapes.];

The item is an audio recording of an interview with Dora Kloss in 1974.
T0539:0001 track 1: Dora Kloss describes Vancouver Island logging camp life and conditions, 1934-1974. She discusses: Nahmint Bay logging camp, ca. 1934; strike at Nahmint Bay, 1934; union activity of loggers, and the company's reaction, 1930s; life in the Salmon River logging camp; unemployed loggers, 1930s; logger transience and its effect on family life; the problem of schooling.
T0539:0001 track 2: Mrs. Kloss discusses B.C. coastal transportation and travel (Union Steamships), 1930s and 1940s; medical problems and illness in isolated logging camps, 1934-1945; loggers' vacations and recreation; moving to Englewood, 1946-1947; housing facilities in Englewood, 1947. Englewood camp life (continued): installation of electrical power, 1948; ordering groceries and mail order shopping, 1940s; steamship arrivals and freight rates; health care in Alert Bay, 1946. Social life for women: the Women's Institute.

T0539:0002 track 1: Mrs. Kloss discusses women's lives in logging camps, 1940s; homemaking and gardening in Sayward and Englewood, 1939-1948; move to Nimpkish, 1957; activities of the Women's Institute at Nimpkish, 1940s. Life in the Englewood area, 1946-1974.

RECORDED: [location unknown], 1980-08-25 SUMMARY: [No content summary available for this tape.];

RECORDED: [location unknown], 1980-09-23 & 25 SUMMARY: [No content summaries available for these tapes.];

RECORDED: [location unknown], [196-] SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Captain Dudley Bartels explains how he uses common sense to stay out of trouble and navigate. He states that he came to B.C. in 1924 because of business with General Electric, then describes how he took to the sea, the hundreds of voyages he has made along the coast, his boat "The Underwing", his first voyage in 1927, how he eventually made it to Skagway in 1938, why the Gulf Islands were more interesting before they became too populated. He tells a story about a bed going overboard, a description of his 16 foot boat, and sailing the upper coast without getting exposed to too much open sea. [TRACK 2: Blank.]

The collection consists of the records gathered by Earl Marsh, who intended to preserve the history of the British Columbia Coast Steamship Service (BCCSS) and the maritime history of British Columbia generally. He primarily collected records from BCCSS employees and their family members, as well as libraries and archives.

The collection also consists of the employment records of Earl Marsh, personal correspondence pertaining to his collecting activities, and records Marsh probably used in his position as accountant for the BCCSS.

Marsh accumulated the bulk of his collection between 1964 and 1973, during the last years in which the BCCSS provided passenger services. The records themselves were created between 1868 and 1999, with the majority created between 1922 and 1975. Records in the collection pertain primarily to the province of British Columbia, Washington State, and the state of Alaska.

The main subject of Earl Marsh’s collection is the BCCSS. Marsh was interested in the practical operations of the organization and its regional context, so his collection includes records about the BCCSS’s privately-owned competitors, other branches of the Canadian Pacific Railway Company engaged in shipping, and the establishment of government ferry services in British Columbia.

Operational records of the BCCSS provide insight into the lives of crew members who worked on ships, the financial state of the company, the design and construction of ships and shipping infrastructure, coastal weather and tide patterns, and significant shipwrecks.

As an employee of the BCCSS, Marsh had a special interest in crew members. The records reveal the job duties, union contracts, and company guidelines that shaped the lives of the workers. In addition, Marsh’s collection contains a small selection of records about the Chinese Canadian crew members of BCCSS ships. Many of these workers were employed at the time of the Chinese Exclusion Act and experienced systematic discrimination by their employer.

Marsh was also particularly fascinated by the passenger services offered by the BCCSS on their line of 32 “Princess” steamships. Prior to the First World War, Princess ships represented the height of elegance and efficiency in coastal transportation. Marsh gathered numerous photographs, menus, deck plans, and newspaper clippings that convey some of the glamour of passenger travel aboard these ships.

The records originated with different creators. The majority of the records were created by the Canadian Pacific Navigation Company, which was eventually taken over by the BCCSS, the BCCSS, and the Canadian Pacific Railway Company. Some records were created by other branches of the Canadian Pacific Railway Company, such as the British Columbia Lake and River Service.

Documentary forms include scrapbooks about the BCCSS, subject files, scrapbooks about other shipping companies, original BCCSS volumes such as log and time books, ephemera and photographic negatives, files of personal records, and rolls of technical drawings. Records were originally arranged in groupings according to their subject (often indicated in a folder title) and documentary form. Within some subject groupings, Marsh arranged files alphabetically.

The subjects of BCCSS-related scrapbooks include the numerous ships in the Princess line, staff members, and other aspects of the organization's history. Among many other material types, the scrapbooks contain news clippings, original company correspondence and financial records, photographs, and technical drawings. Marsh arranged these scrapbooks in rough alphabetical order.

Marsh maintained subject files on numerous ships in the Princess line, BCCSS staff members and history, and the history of other shipping companies, including the Puget Sound Navigation Company and Black Ball Ferries Limited. He kept his files on BCCSS ships in rough alphabetical order.

Marsh’s scrapbooks about non-BCCSS companies cover other branches of the Canadian Pacific Railway Company and organizations based in Washington State and the state of Alaska. These scrapbooks were not maintained in any discernible order.

Marsh maintained log books and time books from the Canadian Pacific Navigation Company and BCCSS; however, few complete sets of log books and time books exist for various ships. He also collected road maps and ephemera such as post cards, along with photographs, negatives, and slides, in random order in shoeboxes.

Marsh included his own personal correspondence and employment records in the collection. These materials were originally received in labelled files.

Marsh kept technical drawings in large rolls. Often, a roll featured upwards of 20 drawings of a single ship.

The archivist arranged the collection in six series that reflect Marsh’s original order:

MS-3254 - Scrapbooks, Canadian Pacific Railway Company records, and subject files
MS-3255 - Ship log books
MS-3256 - Time books
MS-3257 - Personal correspondence, employment records, and journal
MS-3258 - Photographs, road maps, and ephemera
MS-3259 - Technical drawings, map, and construction specifications for BCCSS ship Princess Louise II

The item is an audio recording produced for the Provincial Archives' Sound Heritage Series under contract. This hour-long sound program recalls the heyday of steamship travel on the B.C. coast, when the Union Steamship Company served hand-loggers, fishermen, miners, and First Nations communities as a vital link to the major centres. The recollections are provided by steamboat men whose sailing days reach back to before the First World War.

CALL NUMBER: T2342:0001 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1976-07-28 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Captain Ed Johnson recalls his father and uncle, who came to Vancouver in 1895 and worked in the towboating industry on the B.C. coast and the Fraser River. Captain Johnson's first waterfront job was a mess boy on the "Venture"; he joined her in 1923, a few months before his 15th birthday. Then he moved to the "Camosun". He returned to school, then joined the Navy League. He worked on the Empress boats for two years, then switched to tugboats, serving on the "Sea Lion", the "St. Clair", and the "DBM". He worked for various companies, including Pacific Coyle Navigation, Champion and White, Cliff Tugboat Company, Vancouver Tug, and Kingcome Navigation. His experiences on the "Empress of Australia"; the working conditions of the Chinese crew members, and the impact of their strike. Experiences working on the "Venture". TRACK 2: The "Venture", continued. Towboating work. The Vancouver waterfront and False Creek. The Great Northern and CN Railway stations. Towing coal scows from Vancouver Island to False Creek. His progress on the tugboats and first job as skipper. CALL NUMBER: T2342:0002 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1976-07-28 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Story of how Johnson threw a pie in an officer's face aboard the "Venture". Towboating on the B.C. coast; the lumber camps and the characters. Towing the floating lumber camps. Navigation on the coast, include the difficulty of navigating without lights or radio during World War II. A bad towboating trip on the tug "Northshore". The fate of independent towboat men on the coast. TRACK 2: Seamen's unions and union organizers.

RECORDED: [location unknown], 1980-06-23 SUMMARY: [No content summary available for this tape.];

RECORDED: [location unknown], 1980-09-05 SUMMARY: [No content summaries available for these tapes.];