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The fonds consists of subject files, letterbooks, diaries, scrapbooks, photographs, maps, an abstract of notes of lectures from a course on forest policy, and administration and miscellaneous notes. The fonds also includes sound recording and transcripts of oral history interviews conducted by Orchard.

The collection consists of oral history interviews on the development of British Columbia's forest industry, covering the period from the late 1880s to the late 1950s through the first-person reminiscences of 44 individuals. The interviewess were lumbermen, loggers, and government officials associated with forestry. The recordings were made between 1955 and 1963 by Dr. C.D. Orchard, who served as British Columbia's Chief Forester from 1941 to 1958.

The original recordings were made on discs on an Edison Voicewriter dictation machine. The Voicewriter discs were copied to audio tape by the BC Archives in the 1970s.

The interviews are preserved in the form of audio tape copies and corresponding transcripts. Tape recordings exist for all of the interviews except the one with Thomas Roeser (T1888). Transcripts are available for all of the interviews except those with Eustace Smith (T1860) and Frank Kappel (T1889).

The collection also includes a 1958 CJVI Radio recording of Dr. Orchard speaking to the Victoria Men's Canadian Club about the British Commonwealth Forestry Conference.

PERIOD COVERED: ;1914;-;1958 RECORDED: Victoria (B.C.), 1958-02-03 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: C.D. Orchard, Chief Forester and Deputy Minister of Forests, speaks to the Victoria Men's Canadian Club about the recent British Commonwealth Forestry Conference and tropical forestry, February 3, 1958.

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Interview with William Byers RECORDED: Victoria (B.C.), 1961-08-11 SUMMARY: In an interview with C.D. Orchard, William Byers discusses his life in the forest industry: his background - Scotland, England, Canada; first job at a logging camp -- time keeper at a camp in northern; Ontario; life at early logging camps -- weather conditions, diet, living conditions; his duties as time keepers; anecdote about ruining his moccasins; events at beginning and end of camp; hauling logs; two spare teams; moving logs across lakes -- 'Alligator' barges. Came out to B.C. in fall of 1905: went to Nelson to pile lumber at a sawmill, but did not last long there. Next he went to town of Phoenix and drove a team for a livery barn. Working in a mine as a mucker. Mining experiences in B.C. and Montana. Mining accident, develops rheumatism. Squamish camp -- bull teams. Became shift boss at Britannia Mine, then foreman, then superintendent. Some prospecting in Barkerville. Stopped working in mines in 1912 after major strike. Joined Rocky Mountain Rangers for WW I. Went to UBC in 1919 for a course in forestry -- became a ranger (in Sechelt, Comox, Port Alice, Victoria). Moved to Vancouver in 1928 as Supervisor of Scaling until he retired in 1947. Describes scalers. Opinion on unions. Anecdotes about his job as Supervisor of Scaling. (End of interview)

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Martin Cain : lumberman and mill owner, Prince George, B.C., 1910-1955 PERIOD COVERED: 1910-1955 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1955 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Cain came to Prince George in 1918 and has been connected with the forest industry ever since. Wages and working conditions ca. 1918. Conditions in the lumber industry in 1910s and 1920s. TRACK 2: Details about mills and loggers in the Prince George area. Economic problems of Interior lumbermen in the 1930s Depression. Early truck logging about 1928. Historic costs of mill construction. Costs of horse logging. (End of interview);

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Don McPhee : Sinclair Spruce Mills PERIOD COVERED: 1922-1945 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1955 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: McPhee to the Prince George area in 1925. History of Sinclair Spruce Mills from 1922. Early logging methods. Wages and working conditions. Economic conditions, 1920s-1940s. Sawmills at Giscome and Willow River. Costs of logging in the 1920s. (End of interview);

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Eric Strimbold : northern Interior forest industry PERIOD COVERED: 1911-1950 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1955 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Strimbold to Prince George in 1911. Mills in Prince George. Family moved to Willow River. TRACK 2: Mills in the region around Prince George before 1920. Tie cutting. Comments on the problems of transporting chips. (End of interview)

CALL NUMBER: T1850:0001 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Lloyd Rodgers : coastal logging, 1910-1942 PERIOD COVERED: 1910-1942 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1956 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Rodgers began in the woods in 1910. Working conditions in logging camps. Attended Frontier College. Experiences in coastal logging camps, 1910-14. TRACK 2: Ground lead logging. Other logging methods. Began work for Capilano Timber Company, 1916. In 14 years, moved from powder man to logging superintendent. Became superintendent in 1920. Cold decking. Steam donkeys and gas donkeys. Camp conditions and labour relations. Camp food. Quit Capilano Timber Company about 1930 or 1931. Wage levels, 1916-30. Production levels. Several jobs as superintendent, 1931-37. Started Spring Creek Consolidated Timber Co., 1937.

CALL NUMBER: T1850:0002 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Lloyd Rodgers : coastal logging, 1937-1956 PERIOD COVERED: 1937-1957 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1956 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Logging in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Logging methods. Economic conditions. Sold out Spring Creek Consolidated Timber Company in 1942. Went to work for Bob Filberg of the crown company Aero Timber Co., 1942-46. Worked as a timber buyer after the war. Started work for the Powell River Company, 1951. Anecdotes about "Calamity Bell" (George Bell). More on salaries and working conditions. (End of interview)

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Douglas B. Taylor : early life, 1895-1914 PERIOD COVERED: 1895-1914 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1956 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Personal background. Arrived in Vancouver, 1902. Born in Refrew, Ontario, 1895. Family from Scotland. Description of boat trip to Alaska, 1902. Trip from Skagway to Atlin. Taylor became a surveyor. Memories of Victoria from 1904: the causeway, James Bay, Fairfield. Mills in Victoria. Kelowna in 1910. Conditions in survey camps. Working as a surveyor for Green Brothers. Description of trip from Victoria to Hazelton. Town site surveys of South Hazelton, Smithers, Fort George. Comments on the construction of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway. TRACK 2: Surveying and cruising Timber Licenses, 1913-14. Frank Green, A.H. Green and Fred Burden, surveyors. Surveying methods. World War I broke out while Taylor surveying in the Interior. Taylor joined armed forces in fall of 1914. Had been enrolled in forestry at the University of Washington. Taylor's reasons for entering forestry. (End of interview)

CALL NUMBER: T1852:0001 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): John Burke : general manager of the B.C. Loggers Association (part 1) PERIOD COVERED: 1923-1957 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1957 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Burke to Canada in 1923. Worked for Thomsen and Clark. Description of logging railroads. Marketing practices. Working conditions. TRACK 2: Fire protection. Financial dealings of Thomsen and Clark Timber Ltd. Burke became general manager of the B.C. Loggers Association. Labour relations and the formation of Forest Industrial Relations. The work of the B.C. Loggers Association.

CALL NUMBER: T1852:0002 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): John Burke : general manager of the B.C. Loggers Association (part 2) PERIOD COVERED: 1907-1957 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1957 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Brief comments on previous directors of the B.C. Loggers Association. Economic conditions in the logging industry. Early concerns of the B.C. Loggers Association. (End of interview)

CALL NUMBER: T1853:0001 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Dewey Anderson : B.C. coast logger (part 1) PERIOD COVERED: 1895-1939 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1957 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Born, 1895 in Bellingham, Washington. To Yukon in 1898. Father's work. Returned in 1902 or 1903. Father to B.C. in 1908. Dewey began logging in B.C. in 1909. Logging techniques, 1910. Early camps described. Meals. Wages. Costs. Timber logged by the Andersons. Anderson in American Army, 1917-19. TRACK 2: More on Anderson's army experiences. Split with his father in 1921. Grassy Bay Lumber Co. at Loughborough Inlet. Discussion of logging methods especially logging railroads. Dewey and Clay Anderson formed Green Point Logging Co., 1926. More on logging methods. Relocated to Harrison Lake, 1930. Depression conditions while logging at Harrison Lake. Problems selling in the depressed log market of the 1930s. CALL NUMBER: T1853:0002 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Dewey Anderson : B.C. coast logger (part 2) PERIOD COVERED: 1930-1939 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1957 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Selling logs on a depressed market, 1930s. Tensions between loggers and mill operators. Brother Clay started Granite Bay Timber Co. Family financial dealings. Financial strains in the Depression. Fond memories of camp at Harrison Lake. Always supported by his wife. Regrets not buying more timber on Harrison Lake. Finished logging at Harrison Lake, 1936. Anderson decides to move to Salmon River with new partner, Jim Robson. (End of interview)

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Tom Elliott : Interior lumberman, 1904-1957 PERIOD COVERED: 1904-1957 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1957 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Tom Elliott to B.C. in 1904. Sawmills in the Central Interior. Log drives on the Thompson River system. Wages and working conditions. Elliott started his own logging camp in 1914. Moving logs by chutes and flumes. TRACK 2: Elliott's early work history. River and lake paddlewheelers. More on the Interior lumber industry.

CALL NUMBER: T1855:0001 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Aird Flavelle : half a century in the British Columbia forest industry PERIOD COVERED: 1907-1957 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1957 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Aird Flavelle tells the story of how he, Roland Craig and H.R. MacMillan spent the summer of 1907 staking timber licenses on the coast of B.C. for a group of Ontario investors. TRACK 2: Continuation of the story of the summer of 1907. Flavelle comes to B.C. in 1911 and goes into business with R.J. Thurston. Getting into the milling industry in Port Moody. Flavelle stays in the Port Moody mill until 1955. Differences between the type of lumber and siding cut in 1915 and 1955.

CALL NUMBER: T1855:0002 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Aird Flavelle : the Port Moody mill and business anecdotes PERIOD COVERED: 1912-1957 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1957 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Details about the operation of Flavelle's Port Moody cedar mill. Mill operating costs. Anecdotes about timber sales. The problems of overseas export of lumber. The success of H.R. MacMillan as an exporter. Anecdotes about J.S. Emerson. Sources of supply for the Port Moody mill. TRACK 2: The demise of the cedar sash and door business. Business cycles affecting the operation of sawmills. Depression conditions in 1913. Story about a Chinese worker hanging himself. More on economic conditions. Price and wage comparisons over the years. (End of interview)

CALL NUMBER: T1856:0001 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): The Gordon Gibson story (part 1) PERIOD COVERED: 1904-1940 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1960 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Gordon Gibson describes his early life as a logger, especially on the West Coast of Vancouver Island. Work for the Munitions Board during the First World War. The Gibson family's involvement in the shingle industry, logging and in the pilchard industry, all on the West Coast. The Gibson's accidental entry into the shipping industry. Anecdotes about the SS "Malahat". TRACK 2: More about the "Malahat", especially on the Queen Charlottes. The Gibsons begin to prosper. More about the "Malahat". CALL NUMBER: T1856:0002 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): The Gordon Gibson story (part 2) PERIOD COVERED: 1916-1957 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1960 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Getting into the forest industry in the 1930s and 1940s. Logging shows on the west coast of Vancouver Island. The Gibson family's business deals. Description of early camp conditions. TRACK 2: The construction of Jeune Landing logging camp. Changes in loggers' lifestyles. CALL NUMBER: T1856:0003 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): The Gordon Gibson story (part 3) PERIOD COVERED: 1948-1960 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1960 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Gibson recalls a 1948 speech by his brother Clarke to the Truck Loggers Association. Discussion of the development of forest policy in B.C. TRACK 2: Continuation of the discussion of forest management policies. Discussion focuses around the situation in Quatsino Sound. CALL NUMBER: T1856:0004 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): The Gordon Gibson story (part 4) PERIOD COVERED: 1948-1960 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1960 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Continuation of the discussion of forest management policies in B.C. Discussion of the 'Sommers Case': how Gibson got into politics; disagreements with the East Asiatic Co.; early discussions with Sommers; money to Coalition for campaigning funds; the Lord Commission; involvement of Gordon Wismer. TRACK 2: The Sommers Case (cont'd): connection between FMLs and Coalition campaign funds; more on the Lord Commission; Gibson's resignation and the Lillooet by-election; the Sturdy-Eversfield connection; Sturdy's presentation of evidence to the Sloan Commission; Eversfield and Sturdy visit Bonner; the RCMP (Butler) Inquiry. CALL NUMBER: T1856:0005 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): The Gordon Gibson story (part 5) PERIOD COVERED: 1948-1960 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1960 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Continuation of a discussion of the Sommers Case: the RCMP (Butler) Inquiry; Johnny Fairburn incident; Britannia Beach story; Liberal Party opposed Gibson; speculation about the amounts involved; philosophical implications. Orchard gives his side of the story. Further discussion of forest management policies. TRACK 2: More on forest management policies and matters of political philosophy. (End of interview)

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Don King : sawmill operator PERIOD COVERED: 1900-1956 RECORDED: [location unknown], [195-] SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Don King's family to the East Kootenays in 1900. Into lumber business in 1901. The King Lumber Company. Moved to coast about 1910. King-Farris Lumber Company. Mill and timber at Great Central Lake. Green Timbers. Business interests of the King family. Depression conditions. Founding M.B. King Lumber Company in 1932. Characters in the lumber business. Don King's early jobs around mills starting in 1916. Description of the Cranbrook mill. The lumber cut at Green Timbers. Labour conditions. TRACK 2: Working conditions. Hours of work. More on the M.B. King Lumber Company in North Vancouver. Sawmill waste. King family sold out to Fullerton Lumber Co., 1950. Don King formed Savona Timber Company. Farms and gardens near Green Timbers mill, Surrey. More on the Green Timbers mill. Stories about attempts to organize unions in 1930s. Management comments on union matters.

CALL NUMBER: T1858:0001 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Allen H. De Wolf : logger and engineer (part 1) PERIOD COVERED: 1887-1935 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1958-01-08 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Born in 1887 in Minnesota. Started timber cruising with his father about 1900. Old cruising methods. Becomes B.C. Land Surveyor in 1913. Worked as logging superintendent near Yahk, 1918-19. Building flumes. Became mill superintendent at Merritt. Building and operating a logging railroad in Nicola area. TRACK 2: More anecdotes about logging railroads. Saw demonstration of early crawler tractors, 1920. Economic conditions in the sawmill business. Business slump of 1920s. Economic problems of the town of Merritt.; CALL NUMBER: T1858:0002 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Allen H. De Wolf : logger and engineer (part 2) PERIOD COVERED: 1900-1958 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1958-01-08 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Financial problems of the forest industry and the town of Merritt, 1930s. Comments on the costs of transporting logs by various methods. De Wolf becomes an engineering contractor. Anecdote about raising money during the Depression. De Wolf's involvement in the eastern forest industry. More on business and finance. Worked for A.S. Nicholson. De Wolf's early experiences in the woods in Minnesota after 1900. Woods working conditions. Logging camp conditions. TRACK 2: Anecdotes about the forest industry in the East Kootenays, ca. 1910. Union activities, especially IWW in the East Kootenays, 1920s. Mills in the East Kootenays, 1910.