Showing 129 results

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Ada Dawe : Vancouver Harbour PERIOD COVERED: 1900-1930 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1976 SUMMARY: Ada Dawe was born in Vancouver in 1893 and lived at Sechelt until school age. Her father was a captain on the Empress boats. Remembers being aboard the "Empress of India" at the time of the collision of the "Princess Victoria" and the "Chehalis", including first aid and the later search for bodies. Recalls rowing from Sechelt to Vancouver; Chinese crews on Empress boats; early Vancouver waterfront; Cedar Cove; Tommy Roberts of the Grand Hotel; and Union Steamship resorts on the Sechelt Peninsula.

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Archie Greenlaw : Lardeau Valley 1932-1966 PERIOD COVERED: 1932-1966 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1980-02-13 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Archie Greenlaw was Postmaster in Lardeau. Ran Motor Car 600 on CPR track from Lardeau to Gerrard. Describes operation of M600. CPR trains hauled lumber and poles. M600 schedule. Difficulties keeping line open in winter. Forestry and mining people made up the bulk of passengers. Father ran hotel in Lardeau. Bentonite brought in from Wyoming for Duncan Dam. Pole yard in Lardeau. TRACK 2: Snow slides block rail line. English sawmill at Gerrard. Duncan Lake Lumber Company. Local people along rail line. Ted Evans bulb farm. Old sawmill at Lardeau. Crank phone system in valley run by forestry. Description of railway station. Political favours affected highways foremen.

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Shipbuilding in Vancouver, 1920-1950 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1976-08-20 SUMMARY: TRACKS 1 & 2: Archie Menzies was born in New Zealand, trained as an engineer in Britain, and came to Vancouver before the First World War. He worked for the Department of Public Works and later became an engineer at Burrard Dry Dock, working out designs for machinery for many coastal vessels, including the "Princess Louise", "Point Grey", "Point Ellie", "Marvolite", "Chilkoot" and "Phiffer". He was also involved in the repair of deep sea ships.

PERIOD COVERED: ;1946;-;[no date] RECORDED: [location unknown], 1980-07-20 SUMMARY: [No content summary available for this interview.];

PERIOD COVERED: ;1925;-;1940 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1976-03-11 SUMMARY: Art Norman was born in England. Came to Canada as an orphan child. Worked on the CPR steamers "Charmer", "Royal" and "Princess Mary". Served 30 days in Oakalla for inciting to riot during the battle of the Ballantyne Pier, 1935. Worked for Waterhouse Co., drove winches, later became a longshoreman. Describes hiring, Shipping Federation, Depression, soup kitchen for strikers, and containerization at the White Pass and Yukon Railway.

CALL NUMBER: T2101:0001 PERIOD COVERED: 1920-1950 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1976-05-28 SUMMARY: Barney Johnson was born in Vancouver. His father was a well known waterfront figure. Grandfather was manager of the Marble Bay Mine at Van Anda and he remembers Chinese workers there and Union Steamships calling in. Talks about Pacific Salvage Company, towboating, the "Lorne" in a mishap at the Second Narrows, Westward Towing Co., Standard Oil of B.C., Royal Canadian Navy, father's career on the Grand Trunk boats and in the pilotage. At age 14, Barney Johnson was lookout man on the "Prince Rupert". Talks about towing Davis rafts across Hecate Strait, the first log barge, Hecate Strait Towing. CALL NUMBER: T2101:0002 PERIOD COVERED: 1920-1950 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1976-06-22 SUMMARY: Barney Johnson describes early use of barges for logs, the Canadian Merchant Marine on the west coast, "Canadian Farmer" running down to Los Angeles, "Boronite" trip to Hawaii with Christmas trees and grain during the U.S. west coast waterfront strike, Imperial Oil ships such as the "Vancolite", accident at the Second Narrows bridge, Pacific Salvage Company, passenger liners using Vancouver harbour. Father was master of the "Prince Rupert" and headed a rival pilotage service for Vancouver in the early 1920s. CALL NUMBER: T2101:0003 PERIOD COVERED: 1920-1950 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1976-07-08 SUMMARY: Barney Johnson describes methods of selling marine fuel in Coal Harbour, father's career with the Union Steamship Company, the Grand Trunk Pacific, Boscowitz Steamship Company and experiences during World War I. Father established B.D. Johnson-Walton Company which was Lloyds Agent in Vancouver and also shipping agent for several deep sea companies including Standard Oil and East Asiatic. Member Vancouver Chamber of Shipping. Describes "Stephen's Folly", first grain elevator. Vancouver harbour: bulk shipment of pot ash and sulphur. Also talks about Hastings Mill, lumber handling, Griffiths Steamship Company, Pacific Salvage Company, "Anyox", the "Lorne" and use of old sailing ship hulls. CALL NUMBER: T2101:0004 PERIOD COVERED: 1920-1950 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1976-07-08 SUMMARY: Barney Johnson describes use of old Dollar Line hulls for moving logs down the coast, the salvage of the main span of the Second Narrows Bridge by Pacific Salvage. "Salvage King". Describes changes in tug boat technology and design. Conversion of tugs from oil fired steam to diesel, log towing and booms. Conversions of the "G.E. Foster" and "Northshore".

RECORDED: [location unknown], 1976-07-30 SUMMARY: TRACKS 1 & 2: Reggie Sparkes was born in Newfoundland in 1902. He came to Vancouver in 1922 and went to work for the CPR's BC Coast Service, then went to the Canadian National ship "Prince Henry". Canadian National failed to establish itself on the Triangle run. Sparkes served on a minesweeper during World War II. He was a member of the Canadian Merchant Service Guild. He later worked for the White Pass and Yukon Route, and was the first master of the "Clifford J. Rogers", the first container ship in the world.

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.

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Cecil Pangburn : Lardeau Valley, 1928-1950 PERIOD COVERED: 1928-1950 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1980 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Cecil Pangburn came from New Brunswick in 1926. Worked in Salmo and Kaslo. Bought 900 acres in Meadow Creek. Describes neighbours. Bought John Deere bulldozer after World War Two. Describes horse logging along the Duncan River. Railroad removed in 1942 and a road was built. Moved to Kaslo and ran a transfer business before returning to Meadow Creek in 1947. Returned to Kaslo in 1951. Owned small inboard powered dory used for hauling freight on lake. Tried cattle ranching, 1947-1951. Worked for highways department in Kaslo during the Depression. In 1932 was sent up with bulldozer to carry supplies to Poplar Creek and Gerrard when heavy snow closed railway for six weeks. TRACK 2: Married in 1928. Describes logging operation. Stake mineral claim on Meadow Mountain. Trappers lived at Howser. Caught live marten to sell in Kaslo.

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Celina Starr RECORDED: [location unknown], 1976-02-26 SUMMARY: Celina Starr discusses travelling to Terrace for a wedding. The burning of Port Essington in about 1960. Describes Port Essington and three canneries. The evacuation of Japanese people during the War. Cans shipped to Port Essington by steamer. Discusses Port Essington and businesses that were there. Names and discusses different people of the community. Describes the process of canning.

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.

RECORDED: Salmo (B.C.), 1980-07-25 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Father (who had exact same name) came into country in 1895 and 1896. Originally from Copenhagen, Denmark. Mined in Greenland and came to the U.S. in 1885-86; Philadelphia, then Minnesota, then mined in Idaho. Came to Lardeau region via Rossland and the Slocan. Mining interest near Argenta. Memories of Poplar Creek, Gerrard, and Lardeau people. Argenta Mine and abandoned equipment there. TRACK 2: Getting to the mine. Clint Creek. Prospector Jean Brochet and his pet martens. At the Argenta Mine, some of the ore was mined and sacked but never shipped. Hansen's experiences prospecting and developing mines. Childhood in Poplar Creek and Argenta. Local railroads. More about the history of the mine.

RECORDED: Cooper Creek (B.C.), 1980-06-10 SUMMARY: [No content summary available for this interview.];

CALL NUMBER: T2198:0001 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Towboating on the B.C. coast PERIOD COVERED: 1895-1930 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1976-07-09 SUMMARY: Born in Ottawa in 1883. Moved as a child to Vancouver. Delivery boy for Clark and Stewart. British Canadian Lumber Company. Searching for a log boom on the Fraser River. Sternwheelers on the Fraser River. S.S. "Beaver". Mail boy for CPR. Playing around the old CPR wharf. Hudson Bay Company warehouse. Takes over B.C. Lumber tug boat fleet. Gets Master's ticket. Hog fuel. Blue Band Navigation. Hayes Manufacturing Company. Pacific Truck and Trailer. Building sailing ship. Davis Rafts, Bert Davis.

CALL NUMBER: T2198:0002 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Towboating on the B.C. coast PERIOD COVERED: 1895-1930 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1976-07-22 SUMMARY: Claude Thicke describes the building of his tow boat fleet, Blue Band Navigation, talks of buying and troubleshooting tugs no one else wanted. Describes tree nailing. Worked for Hind Bros. -- managers of privately owned tug boats. Steam conversion to diesel. "Commodore", "Lorne", worked at Terra Nova cannery when he was a boy. Tin cans, Chinese workmen, built sailing boat. C. Gardner Johnson.

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.];

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: Ferguson (B.C.), 1980-06-09 SUMMARY: [No content summary available for this interview.];

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Edwin Quirk : Lardeau Valley, 1962-1965 PERIOD COVERED: 1962-1965 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1980 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Edwin Quirk discusses the Columbia River Treaty origins, 1944. Storage sites considered. Function of Duncan Dam. Duncan Dam adds generating capacity on lower Kootenay River. Appointed construction manager for Duncan Dam. Unusual design and construction techniques. Use of bentonite. International interest in dam. Hydro-electric generating capacity may be added later. Reservoir flooded one year ahead of schedule, netting B.C. an additional year's revenue. TRACK 2: Mannix Construction was major contractor. Lardeau Valley Community Hall constructed. Spawning channel built. Met local people. Surface waters of Duncan Lake warmed.

RECORDED: Cooper Creek (B.C.), 1980-06 SUMMARY: [No content summary is available for this interview.];

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Ethel Garrett White : Lardeau Valley, 1902-1930 PERIOD COVERED: 1902-1930 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1980 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Ethel Garrett White's father was involved in mining in Ferguson. Owned the Cromwell Mine. Sold mine at Poplar Creek. Came from Boise, Idaho before 1902. Life in Ferguson. Bachelor miners in Ferguson. Father ran Nettie L. and Silvercup. Andy Daney. Heavy snow in Ferguson. Mrs. Jowett. Henry Gunterman. Encounter with a silvertip bear. TRACK 2: Walking from Beaton to Ferguson townsite. Stories of Ferguson miners. Andy Daney's horses. Tramlines and compressor at Eight Mile. Snowslide Peterson.

CALL NUMBER: T3643:0001 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Ethel Lake RECORDED: Meadow Creek (B.C.), 1978-12 SUMMARY: Ethel Lake was born Ethel Rowe in 1906. She came to Johnsons Landing as a young girl visiting her sister. Describes early Johnsons Landing. Clearing land to plant fruit tress. Her sister's baby was born on the sternwheeler between Johnsons Landing and the hospital in Kaslo. Lists early residents of Johnsons Landing. Describes their homestead. After her sister died she looked after her brother-in-law and niece. Shipped fruit to Nelson. Married and took over Gardiner homestead with her husband. Raised family. Describes personal experiences and community history. Trapping. Indians camping along the lakeshore.; CALL NUMBER: T3643:0002 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Ethel (Rowe) Lake and Gladys (Rowe) Jones : Lardeau Valley 1912-1950 PERIOD COVERED: 1912-1950 RECORDED: Meadow Creek (B.C.), 1978-12 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Ethel Lake and Gladys Jones came to Johnsons Landing from Alberta in 1912. Early inhabitants of Johnsons Landing. Traveling on the "Nasookin" and the "Kuskanook". Trapping up Fry Creek. Orchards developing slowly. School opening in Johnsons Landing. Visiting the wife of station agent in Lardeau by rowboat. Building log cabin. Sent food order to Kaslo and food was shipped by sternwheeler. Algot Johnson. Planting apple trees. Ethel married Stanley Lake in 1925. Description of homestead. TRACK 2: Bill Holmgren injured up Fry Creek. Walter Gardiner treed by a bear. Sawing firewood with a crosscut saw. Played piano and sang hymns on Sunday. Lindsay backs horse and cart off wharf. Shipping apples on the steamboat to Nelson. Varieties of apples. Walter Gardiner. Loading cattle on a barge for sale in Nelson.

CALL NUMBER: T2103:0001 PERIOD COVERED: 1915-1960 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1976-05-26 SUMMARY: Fred Smith was born in England in 1888 and moved to Vancouver after training as an engineer. Started working on towboats in 1911, took one trip on the Dollar Line, did road work on Kingsway in Burnaby, worked for Cates Towing. Describes Dollar Line, Union Steamship Company, waterfront in Vancouver, and Tommy Roberts, proprietor of the Grand Hotel in Vancouver. CALL NUMBER: T2103:0002 PERIOD COVERED: 1910-1956 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1976-06-29 SUMMARY: Fred Smith was an engineer with the Union Steamship Company from 1913-1959. Describes homesteading on Calvert Island, at Kitimaat, and the Queen Charlottes, a visit with Chief Harry Edenshaw, mines at Anyox, Surf Inlet. Remembers mates stealing boom chains, pursers stealing food and selling meal tickets twice. Was aboard "Coquitlam I" when it burst a plate in Drumlummon Inlet. Describes changes in the company after World War II. CALL NUMBER: T2103:0003 PERIOD COVERED: 1910-1956 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1976-07-14 SUMMARY: Fred Smith joined the Union Steamship Company in 1913. He worked on the "Venture" and the "Coquitlam". Describes Chinese men making cans in the spring at salmon canneries, Chinese workers, Grand Trunk Railway into Prince Rupert, Japanese firemen in the engine room, navigation by the whistle, southern runs of the Union Steamship Company, grounding of the "Coquitlam II" and time the "Coquitlam I" burst a plate in Drumlummon Inlet. Also Tommy Roberts and the Grand Hotel and rum-running.

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): George and Mary Pollard RECORDED: Argenta (B.C.), 1979-01-24 SUMMARY: George and Mary Pollard were members of a group of Quakers who moved to the West Kootenay settlement of Argenta from California in about 1952. They describe their experiences relocating, their reasons for moving, and their new life in Argenta. Homesteading. Delta Farmers Co-operative. Sternwheelers. Local economy.

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): George Hanna : Lardeau Valley, 1898-1930 PERIOD COVERED: 1898-1930 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1980 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: George Hanna discusses the gold rush to Poplar Creek in 1903. Worked on Great Northern Railway. Father sold property in Argenta to Henry Denoreaz. Louise Denoreaz returned to homestead regularly after father's death. Denoreaz and Beguin families came to Canada together from Switzerland. Description of Argenta in about the time of World War One. Father, Leander Hanna, ran logging camp at Argenta. Rivalry between Hanna and Abey families in Kaslo. As a child spent summers in Argenta. Describes ranch on Argenta flats. Excursion on the "Moyie". Farm on the flats. Father employed Chinese cooks in logging camp. Shooting of Henry Denoreaz. Logging. Poplar Creek gold rush. Grandparents came from Ireland. Worked for Hollinger mines.

RECORDED: [location unknown], 1976-02-25 SUMMARY: [No content summary available for this interview.];

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): George Palethorpe RECORDED: Nelson (B.C.), 1979-01 SUMMARY: George Palethorpe describes his experiences working with the well known Ferguson packer, Andy Daney. He talks about the people in the Lardeau Valley as well as the work of packing ore and supplies in and out of the mines. Describes Red McLeod, Andy Daney, and Elizabeth Jowett. Describes techniques of packing and the general atmosphere in the Lardeau Valley. [Note: The subject is completely deaf. The gaps in the tape are the result of the time it took to write out questions.]

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Helen and John Stevenson : Lardeau Valley, 1952-1964 PERIOD COVERED: 1952-1964 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1979 SUMMARY: Helen and John Stevenson discuss moving to Argenta from California in 1952. Reasons why they moved. Helen was a teacher and they set up the school at Argenta. Discusses others that moved to the area at the same time. Community members. The Delta Farmers Co-op. Living in California. Number of families grew in the mid-1950s. Organization of Delta Co-op. Contracted to build rural centre. Planned to centre settlement on the flats. Bridge built across the Duncan River at Cooper Creek. Before bridge was built, people would signal for a ride from Lardeau using headlights or a fire. Boarding school develops out of visiting young people.

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): John Stevenson : Lardeau Valley, 1952-1960 PERIOD COVERED: 1952-1960 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1979 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: John Stevenson gives reasons for leaving the United States. Pollards join friends from Tracey. Once decision made to leave, search for a place to settle narrows to the Kootenays. Other co-operative groups in California also looking toward Canada. Stayed temporarily at Walker's Landing on Kootenay Lake and located property at Argenta after examining a number of possibilities. Rented Shutty property and the hotel. 1952 is spent getting established. Describes Argenta as they found it. Remains of early Argenta. TRACK 2: Delta Co-op formed to pool resources and to aid in getting employment. Pollards tried raising chickens. First major project was construction of Argenta Elementary School. Income pooling. Logged on flats for "hardwood" poles. More people move to Argenta. Building of Duncan Dam has little effect on Argenta. Original families fail to locate together on flats property, and families begin to go their own way economically. Incidents while travelling between Tracey and Walker's Landing.