Showing 21 results

Archival description
Imbert Orchard fonds Grand Trunk Pacific Railway
Print preview View:

Arthur Fisk interview

RECORDED: [location unknown], [196-] SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Arthur Fisk recalls his arrival in Portage La Prairie from England in 1908; working with the Grand Trunk Pacific Railroad in the kitchens; details on how the railroad was built; a description of laying tracks, and scows. TRACK 2: Mr. Fisk continues discussing scows, mule trains, the Canadian Northern [?] and Grand Trunk Pacific Railways, Fort George in 1914, the connecting of the G;rand Trunk Pacific in 1914 at Fort Fraser, and various characters and anecdotes.

Between ourselves : Kitselas Canyon

SUMMARY: "Between Ourselves" was a weekly series of hour-long radio programs that presented Canada to Canadians. It featured aspects of Canadian life in docudramas, plays, music, and interviews, originating fr;om different regions of Canada. The series ran from 1966 to 1979. This episode, "Kitselas Canyon", is based on a visit to Kitselas Canyon on the Skeena River, and a discussion of its history: the native people and their legends, the arrival of the Europeans, the days of the sternwheelers, and the coming of the railroad. The program is a CBC Vancouver production, compiled, written and produced by Imbert Orchard. The voices heard include Dave Walker, Ben Boulton, Wiggs O'Neill, and John Morrison. The story teller is Michael Irwin.;

Bill and Margaret McKenna interview

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.

David Ross interview

RECORDED: [location unknown], [196-] SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. David Ross discusses the reasons for the building of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railroad, the story of his coming to Canada from Scotland in 1908, and the series of jobs he held beginning i;n Medicine Hat. He describes early Prince Rupert and his work on the Grand Trunk Pacific Railroad, including construction camps, building the rail line, settlements in Terrace, Kitselas and Skeena Crossing, more on railroad work and tunnels at Kitselas. TRACK 2: Mr. Ross discusses the various nationalities of the workers on the railroad, more on railroad work, Cedarvale, including an area description, and characters such as Barney Mulvaney and Wiggs O'Neill.

Fred Aslin interview

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.]

Gay Bayliff interview : [Orchard, 1964]

CALL NUMBER: T0368:0001 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1964-07-27 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Gabriel T.L. Bayliff talks about his father's experiences in the Chilcotin and various aspects of life in the region. The interview begins with a discussion about how Bayliff's father came to BC and his early experiences on ranches in the Nicola Valley. He worked for Bill Roper at Cherry Creek. His father wrote a paper on ranching. Mr. Bayliff describes the people of the Chilcotin. His father teamed up with Norman Lee to start a ranch in 1887. There is talk of the local Indians, Alexis Creek, Ashcroft, his parent's marriage and his mother's reaction to the country, the Hamilton family and young British people in the area.

TRACK 2: Mr. Bayliff discusses play and work, travel and the mail service. He mentions Benny Franklin, a well-known early settler. He goes on to discuss the acquisition of land, Graham and his ranch at Tatla Lake, gold prospecting, stories about Chinese settlers, Becher's stopping house at Riske Creek and his father's experience on a pack train.

CALL NUMBER: T0368:0002 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1964-07-27 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Bayliff comments on Norman Lee's ranch near Redstone. He explains the place names of: Bull Canyon, Chilco and Chezacut. He discusses the Indian battle at Bull Canyon and "Salu's leap". He talks about people killed by Chilcotin Indians, the Hance family, and purchases of local cattle during the building of the Grand Trunk Pacific. [TRACK 2: blank.]

George Monroe interview

CALL NUMBER: T0691:0001 RECORDED: [location unknown], [196-] SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. George C. Monroe discusses his early life; born in Idaho, November 15, 1885. He discusses his father, who was a Methodist preacher who moved all around the western states before coming to Canada; the Methodist church; eventually moving to Alberta where he lived for ten years; moved to BC with his wife and two children; describes why he moved to Alberta to be a rancher with his brother; he was also a school teacher; moved near Coronation, Alberta; moved to BC to be a homesteader. He went to McBride but thought it was miserable; he describes the area in great detail; he describes his process of finding and establishing a homestead; he describes his ranch; he describes his neighbours, and his first few years on the ranch; the problems with local ferries. TRACK 2: Mr. Monroe continues by telling the story of the Farmers Institute, where they elected him to be the leader; there were no farmers in the Institute, only ranchers and lumberjacks; he discusses a few incidents and characters who were related to the Institute; Jack Mints, a locomotive foreman; a baseball game between the farmers and the railroaders; Wally Jack, who was a mill man and lumberjack; McBride. He describes his parents' lives in Edmonton as hotel owners who also ran a soup kitchen; a rough life in Edmonton; hunting for moose; his work ethic; incidents from his early life; his first winter; Christmas dinner; other anecdotes.

CALL NUMBER: T0691:0002 RECORDED: [location unknown], [196-] SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Monroe continues with an anecdote about a dog; more about his ranch; a fire in the house; more stories about incidents which happened on the land, including a run-in with a beaver; he also discusses trapping. [TRACK 2: blank.]

Hilda North interview

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Hilda North remembers her father, Peter Herman, and Port Essington before 1907 PERIOD COVERED: 1870-1907 RECORDED: [location unknown], [196-] SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Hilda Theresa North talks about her father, Peter Herman who came from Germany, his adventures, his work in the Chemainus mill and for Robert Cunningham at the sawmill at Port Essington (1885). Her mother and father trapped at Lakelse Lake, then competed with Cunningham for the Indian fur trade. She speaks about her father's business relations with the Cunningham family, a fight between George Cunningham and Peter Herman, his businesses (sawmill, logging and canning) and his cannery operations. Hilda North recalls childhood memories of Port Essington and schooling. She relates more of her father's background, his advice to the G.T.P. officials on the Kaien Island site, his position as a MLA [?], and his involvement in the Gun-an-noot incident. Hilda North recalls more about her early life in Port Essington and her father's death.

Ivor Guest interview

RECORDED: [location unknown], 1964-07-16 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Ivor Guest recalls his history; he was born in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, in 1886. He first came west in 1908 to Edmonton. He eventually came to Vancouver and saw posters of Fort George, and so he decided to go there. His brother came from New York to join him. Their other brother met up with them and in May 1911, they came to Ashcroft and bought a team of horses to make the journey ;to Fort George. He describes what the journey was like, what the road houses were like, the ferry at Quesnel and how he sold a horse and traded another to an Indian for a canoe which broke in two. H;e describes several characters with whom he rode dog teams and canoed; his job as a fire warden at the Crooked River near Fort McLeod in the summers of 1912 and 1913; a description of Fort McLeod and who lived there; the business of fur; the growth of Fort George and his first impressions; the business of saw mills; Summit Lake prospecting; and the Grand Trunk Railroad. TRACK 2: Mr. Guest continues by describing farming in the Fort George area; the old characters; and differences between central and south Fort George.

James Flynn interview

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): James Flynn recounts his life in Northern B.C. from 1910 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: James Flynn talks about his experiences in northern B.C. from 1910. He was born in Newfoundland in 1888. He offers his reasons for leaving Newfoundland in 1903, coming out west in 1907; arri;vied in Prince Rupert in 1910, working for the Grand Trunk Railroad and Prince Rupert Waterworks. He describes Price Rupert as it was in 1910, going to Stewart in 1911, working on the telegraph to the; Nass country in 1910-1911, prospecting, starting a farm on Porcher Island, fishing on the Skeena in 1914, logging near Port Clements on the Queen Charlotte Islands in 1914, working on a pile driver and an accident is described in detail, an incident while working on a logging camp, harvest in Alberta, trapping on Nass River. One incident of burning down a telegraph cabin by accident is recalled. TRACK 2: Flynn continues with the incident: rebuilding the cabin, getting injured on the trap line, farming in the Nass, settlement on Porcher Island, settlers at Alice Arm, Captain John Irving's place there, the "Esperanza", life as a prospector near Alice Arm from the mid 1940s to the date of the interview and miscellaneous rambling comments about Alice Arm.

Living memory : Bulkley Valley

SUMMARY: "In "Bulkley Valley", #17 in the series, Mr. Gerry Gorges talks about real estate speculation in the Bulkley Valley before the coming of the Grand Trunk Pacific, and about the birth of the town of Smithers.

Living memory : Early days in Hazelton, part 2

SUMMARY: "Early Days in Hazelton, part 2", #15 in the series, consists of recollections of the birth and early days of Hazelton. Vicky Simms and Bea Williscroft recall early days in Hazelton and region. Continued from program #14; see T3261:0001 (description AAAB3573).

Living memory : Prince Rupert

SUMMARY: In "Prince Rupert", #5 in the series, pioneer Walter Wicks talks about the coming of the railroad to the Skeena country, and the early days of Prince Rupert.

Loran Kenney interview

SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Loran Kenney recalls his arrival in Prince Rupert from Nova Scotia via Medicine Hat in 1910. Kitselas and Hazelton (circa 1910) are recalled, as are several local pioneers, including Wig;gs O'Neill, Cataline (Jean Caux), and Dave Wiggins. Various jobs on the telegraph and railroad from 1912 to 1959. TRACK 2: Mr. Kenney speaks about his time on the railroad [the Grand Trunk Pacific, later the Canadian National], "riding the engine", and living conditions for the railroad crew. He recalls local incidents and characters from the Kitselas and Hazelton areas, including George Birnes, Barney Mulvaney, and Sperry Cline.

Martin Starret interviews, 1963-1964

CALL NUMBER: T0399:0001
RECORDED: Hope (B.C.), 1963-03-24 & 25
SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Martin Starret, born July 17, 1888, describes his family background, starting with his maternal grandfather, Captain Henry Smith. His grandmother's family name was Stevens. He describes a trip with his uncle, C.V. Smith, to Hazelton in 1909 to learn the fur trade. He discusses a shipment consisting of seventy tons of alcohol for a man called Blackjack MacDonald. He offers a description of Hazelton and his first recollections upon landing there including specific people and events. He discusses his mother and his father, born in 1850 in Brampton Ontario, who was a surveyor. His father also mined gold with a man named Metcalf, and Jack Kerkup who later became the Gold Commissioner at Rossland. His father and a man named Flood, who was from Woodstock Ontario, and a man named Corrigan went from Hope to Skagit in Washington to mine gold. He describes their adventures on the trail to Skagit. TRACK 2: Mr. Starret continues with the story. One of the men began to miss a few things out of his bag such as salt and bacon. The man accused was a Chinese miner and he was required to cut off his hair to be set free. His father returned to Silver Creek, a couple of miles below Hope. Mr. Starret describes Hope, BC, and its residents in the 1890s. Stories of Bill Bristol who had the contract of cutting cords of wood for the steamboat company for a dollar and a quarter per pile. Bristol was born in Syracuse, NY. He worked in the mines in San Francisco in 1849 and came to Hope in 1858. Mr. Starret describes the naming of Catz Landing, Bristol's Landing and a few more places. Bristol used to carry mail from Westminster to Yale in the season when the boats could not run. More stories about Bristol.

CALL NUMBER: T0399:0002
RECORDED: Hope (B.C.), 1963-03-24 & 25
SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Starret describes cattle drives and cattle trains near Hope in the 1890s. He offers anecdotes about William Yates who was a worker for Hudson's Bay Company, the man for which Yates Street in Victoria is named. He describes work at the Whitworth Ranch in the Skagit Valley in 1907, a man named Bob Hume who claimed that he was the first white man born in BC, who also worked there. Hume told Mr. Starret the story of Simon Gun-an-noot, an Indian outlaw who killed two white men in Hazelton, including Alec MacIntosh, in October 1907. Gun-an-noot eventually gave himself up because there were no witnesses. Starret tells stories of the famous packer Cataline, whose real name was Jean Caux, and discusses Cataline's drinking habits. TRACK 2: Mr. Starret tells a story about Cataline taking the horseshoes off a horse who was carrying eggs, so that the horse's feet would get sore and he would walk lightly, so as not to break any eggs. More anecdotes about Cataline. Steve Tingley was an old timer who owned a ranch and his wife was killed on a horse. Stories about other packers and old timers such as Ned Stout, Bob Steveson, and John Allway who died in September 1908. He discusses W.W. Walkem who wrote about the first Fraser River bars, and mentions a man named Pete Toye. Mr. Starret offers anecdotes about his mother's experience as a school teacher, and a hike with his father to Eureka mine near Silver Creek in 1897.

CALL NUMBER: T0399:0003
RECORDED: Hope (B.C.), 1963-03-24 & 25
SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Starret discusses early white settlers in the Babine Lake region. Stories about Walter Williscroft who lived outside Hazelton, and had to turn back along a trail to find his dog. A story about contractor Duncan Ross and his dealings with a Chinese blacksmith. A packing contest which a Mongolian won. A story of the "Bell Mare", an Indian woman who carried a bell and when the bell would ring the horses would think there was another horse up ahead and rush to get there. Mr. Starret offers a detailed description of packing methods. TRACK 2: Mr. Starret discusses early settlers at Hope in 1900: Yates, Alvarez and Wardel. Feed for the horses was the biggest drawback of Hope. The benefits of Hope from a geographical point of view. Hazelton got busy in 1910 because of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway. Men from Ontario seemed to be best adjusted to life out west. More on Hope. A story of Bill Miner, a famous train robber and a Robin Hood type figure, who was also a prospector. After one train robbery, Bill Miner rode a split-hoofed horse from the scene; the police tracked the horse and caught Miner in 1903. More stories about Miner and his generosity. Mines in the area are overviewed. A description of the survey of Allison Pass in 1906.

CALL NUMBER: T0399:0004
RECORDED: Hope (B.C.), 1963-03-24 & 25
SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Starret continues with his story about surveying Allison Pass near Princeton around 1905/1906. He describes the Whitworth Ranch in the Skagit Valley in 1907 at the time of a gold strike. He mentions several prospectors and discusses how Indians burned off the sides of the mountains to create easier passage to Gibson Pass. Whitworth lived in the Skagit Valley from 1903 to 1910. More stories about prospecting for gold around Yale and taking up land and prospecting at Stuart Lake. He describes what kind of man a prospector is: an optimist. The weather around Hope and how it affects the people working. The "Mill Run" around Hope is a ditch which runs at the foot of the mountain for irrigation. TRACK 2: Mr. Starret continues with more on Hope. He describes the school at Hope with stories about families such as the Bears, how the children dressed, and stories about what the day consisted of. Mr. Starret offers other childhood memories such as milking cows, learning to hunt, sapping trees, a particularly harsh winter, and life in the summer as a child.

CALL NUMBER: T0399:0005
RECORDED: Hope (B.C.), 1963-03-24 & 25
SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Starret continues with more stories about growing up in Hope in the 1890s, such as planting potatoes, riding horses, getting water for his mother with his brother Bill, turning hay and swimming. Then he tells a story about going up to the Nicola country to turn hay with his brother when he was twenty-one. He eventually got a job for Harry Gibbs at the Babine Salmon Hatchery in 1911. He tells a story about ordering a pipe to repair a leak and life at the hatchery that summer. Mr. Starret describes how flat boats took supplies all over the province. Mr. Starret tells the Indian (Babine Tribe, Stuart Lake Tribe) story about the legendary figure Astace and the creation of the Skeena River, as it was told to him. TRACK 2: Mr. Starret continues with his narrative about the origin of the Skeena River. Mr. Starret describes the landscape around Hazelton and the Skeena River. He discusses the differences in how white people and Indians treat their animals, such as pack dogs and horses. He talks about native people greeting Father Nicholas Coccola at Babine, and the schools, people and reserves in the area.

CALL NUMBER: T0399:0006 track 1
RECORDED: Hope (B.C.), 1963-03-24 & 25
SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Starret discusses boats: every boy knew how to row; all the fishing boats passing through Hope to get to Westminster; and native people's boats. More on mining in the area and the origins of names of places in the Hope region, with a description of the geography and people. He supposes that Hope was established before Yale and offers an explanation as to why. Soon after Yale became a more significant town. Mr. Starret tells stories of crossing lakes with Indians as guides. [end of 1963 interview]

CALL NUMBER: T0399:0006 track 2
RECORDED: Silver Creek (B.C.), 1964-07-02
SUMMARY: TRACK 2: Mr. Starret tells stories about Bill Bristol, a mail carrier from New Westminster to Yale, who employed an Indian crew to work with him. Mr. Starret describes Bristol's physical appearance and the way he acted. Mr. Starret tells a story Bristol told him about Mr. Starret's father as a young prospector who discovered a lead near Hope. More stories about Bristol.

CALL NUMBER: T0399:0007
RECORDED: Silver Creek (B.C.), 1964-07-02
SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Starret describes Bill Bristol's daughter, Maisie, who was sent to a private boarding school in Hope; she later married an old sailor named Bears and had six or seven children, all boys but one. He discusses Bristol's death in early winter 1909/1910. Mr. Starret offers anecdotal material about residents of Hope in the 1890s, such as Mrs. Flood (a school teacher), and physical features of Hope, such as the characteristics of picket fences. Mr. Starret offers further description of the Babine region while he lived there from October 1909: the Hudson's Bay posts and activities such as fur trading, the gold rush on McConnell Creek in 1908, stories of old timers; stories of getting into the area along the Fraser River and Dewdney Trail; more about the geography around Babine; mail carriers and what was involved in such an enterprise, a story about an old time prospector named Jim May who worked on Tom Creek and more old timers. TRACK 2: Mr. Starret talks about trading posts on the Skeena; the Babine Indians and times they had been attacked, raids, and a story an Indian woman told his mother about catching a wolverine. Mr. Starret tells an involved story of a trip he took one spring near Hazelton to locate a homestead, and experiences with Indians, including detailed geography. Then he tells the story of a journey to Round Lake to look at some land for his uncle which was being sold, including characters he met along the way and some geography.

CALL NUMBER: T0399:0008
RECORDED: Silver Creek (B.C.), 1964-07-02
SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Starret tells a story about 'Blaze' Rogers who blazed all the roads around Hazelton, and trips around the Babine region in all kinds of weather. Stories about life with his uncle, C.V. Smith, in Hazelton in 1909, including stories his uncle had told him about the Indians at Babine. [TRACK 2: blank.]

CALL NUMBER: T0399:0009
RECORDED: [location unknown], 1964-08-13 & 14
SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Starret describes the landscape and roads around Hope in 1900 by comparing it to what it is like in 1964. In his description, he offers several anecdotes including one about a Chinese man who died, Cariboo Joe Tunnel near Chapman, a dig of ninety feet below water to get to bedrock, men, Bill and Joe Lapworth and the Johnson family, who worked on the railway at Hope Station when he was a child in the 1890s, and stories involving the boat that the Johnson family used to get to school. TRACK 2: Mr. Starret continues his stories about the boat in which the family thought one of their uncles had died, but he returned. Mr. Starret describes the first roads built in the 1870s at Hope which went around the lake to Chilliwack, and the first settlements he can remember including Jones Hill, and names of local Indian reserves. Mr. Starret tells the story of how Catz Landing got its name by Captain John Irving and the story of Murderer's Bar in 1858. Stories of old timer Manuel Alvarez, who was from Chile and married an Indian woman, and his eldest son Tom Alvarez, and the first mail carriers in the area. The history of mail carrier Bill Bristol including his real first name, events in his life, land given to him as a wood yard, his route from Westminster to Yale until the railway came in 1885.

CALL NUMBER: T0399:0010
RECORDED: [location unknown], 1964-08-13 & 14
SUMMARY: TRACK 1: More stories about Bill Bristol and how he used to canoe to Yale before the road was built, and how he disliked paddling downstream. As a testament to Bristol's faithfulness as a mail carrier, he was given a watch with an inscription when he retired. Anecdotes about Steve Tingley who worked for the Barnard Express. Mr. Starret tells a story about the log cabin in the Otter Valley where Ed Tingley (Steve's nephew) lived. Mr. Starret learned to dance there in 1905. More on Bill Bristol and his problems taking a canoe upstream. More stories told to Mr. Starret by Bill Bristol, such as a bear shooting a man in a tree in Tete Jeune Cache during the gold rush. He describes the area where he believes Simon Fraser first landed. TRACK 2: Mr. Starret tells the story of a Hudson's Bay company worker named Greenwood, the man whom Greenwood Island is named after, and a story of Mr. Yates who was a clerk in the 1880s. Stories of reactions to the first telephone in the area, followed by a description of Mr. Yates and more stories about him. Mr. Starret describes the development of Hope and the migration route. He discusses cattle drives on the Yale road, and the need to burn timber to create land to feed the cattle in the 1860s.

CALL NUMBER: T0399:0011
RECORDED: [location unknown], 1964-08-13 & 14
SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Starret continues with more on cattle drives near Hope in the 1890s including how the cowboys dressed. Mr. Starret discusses the layout of Hope from his earliest memories, his family's ranch outside of Hope, old timers, the mill at Hope, and wagons used at the time. He describes the oldest hard rock mine in BC, which is nine miles outside of Hope, mined in the 1860s and called Silver Creek, and the trails nearby. The twenty-mile belt-line from Silver Creek to the railroad was built in 1906 by a man who died on the Titanic. Mr. Starret describes sporting events in the area, such as the horse races on May 24th. He tells a story of how sixteen-year-old Luke Gibson, of the Chilliwack Gibson family, was racing a horse whose leg broke in the race. More stories about race-day and killing a bear in Hope. TRACK 2: Mr. Starret tells a story about waiting for a steamboat and he mentions several characters in Hope such as Mr. Wardel. More on Murderer's Bar and the river nearby, the Walkum family and their land on Murray Creek; a ditch that collapsed and killed some Indians; Hope Mountain and the surrounding landscape. Mr. Starret offers his first impressions of Silver Creek and stories of how ore was discovered in the 1860s; Hugh Stoker was one of the first investors. A description of the mountains, Silver Peak and Holy Cross, and how they were named. Mr. Starret describes a hike up to the Eureka Mine with his father and his neighbor Fred Bears in August 1897, including details of the supplies they brought with them, plants they encountered such as hemlock bark, the campsite, the trail they traveled, and a stump they encountered which had a mark in it (which was still there when he revisited 50 years later).

CALL NUMBER: T0399:0012
RECORDED: [location unknown], 1964-08-13 & 14
SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Starret continues with his story up to the Eureka Mine with details of the meals they ate, more on the forks and geography of the trail, the cabin at the mine, dynamite and how to light it, spending the night in the cabin, morning at the cabin, the trail to the Victoria mine, Fred slipping on the hard snow, finding crystallized quartz and copper ore, searching out the Eureka tunnel, going home and details about Fred Bears. Mr. Starret discusses other camping trips and other thoughts looking back on the Eureka trip. He discusses how his father spent time looking for an ore vein, and the differences in the smells from a hay field to the timbers of the mountains. Mr. Starret discusses other mountains and roads near the Mr. Starret ranch. TRACK 2: Mr. Starret discusses weather: clouds on the mountains as compared to those in the northern interior, and a story about a dance and a hard snowfall of four feet, eight inches. Mr. Starret tells a story about being afraid of animals at night and details of beds, bedding, night clothes and customs when he was a child. He offers insight into freedoms and restrictions of his life as a child, such as what would be eaten for breakfast and the tap used for water.

CALL NUMBER: T0399:0013
RECORDED: [location unknown], 1964-08-13 & 14
SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Starret continues describing a typical day of what life was like in Hope as a boy in the 1890s: his father would get up and light a fire first thing in the morning and make coffee, shoes they wore as compared to shoes of the 1960s, feeding the chickens and ducks, and breakfast. Mr. Starret digresses and discusses his father's eating customs and his appearance, and Mr. Starret's impressions of his father when he was a child. Mr. Starret then discusses his mother's appearance, and her life as a teacher. Mr. Starret describes what life was like while he lived alone on the ranch with his father while his mother taught in Victoria. TRACK 2: Mr. Starret tells a story about when he and his brother Will were working on a ranch in September 1909 when his mother asked one of the boys to join her in a trip to Hazelton to stay with her brother. Mr. Starret joined his mother and explains details about the trip and what Hazelton was like in 1909, when he was twenty-one, his uncle's home, stories about what his life was like in the area, and traveling in the winter to establish a ranch.

Maxime George interview

CALL NUMBER: T1062:0001 RECORDED: [location unknown], [196-] SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Maxime George, a chief, speaking in the Carrier language, tells stories about the mythological figure Astace and other subjects, as well as singing some songs in his native language. [30 minutes] [TRACK 2: blank.]

CALL NUMBER: T1062:0002 RECORDED: [location unknown], [196-] SUMMARY: TRACK 1 & 2: Mr. Maxime George continues to tell old stories in Carrier, including stories about Astace. In English, he recalls his boyhood; the advent of deer and moose to the region, and their value; as food. He describes the native reaction to the first white men, and how they discerned that "whites" were human. Mr. George attempts to calculate his age; then he describes his employment deliver;ing supplies for survey crews of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway. Then he tells the story of Simon Fraser from the Native perspective. [60 minutes]

CALL NUMBER: T1062:0003 RECORDED: [location unknown], [196-] SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mrs. George speaks in Carrier for about ten minutes, then Maxime George continues, in Carrier, until the end of the tape. [30 minutes] [TRACK 2: blank.]

CALL NUMBER: T1062:0004 RECORDED: [location unknown], [196-] SUMMARY: TRACK 1 & 2: Maxime George and Mrs. George discuss a subject in the Carrier language, and then Maxime George speaks by himself for the remainder of the tape. [60 minutes]

CALL NUMBER: T1062:0005 RECORDED: [location unknown], [196-] SUMMARY: TRACK 1 & 2: This tape begins with a discussion between Imbert Orchard, Mrs. George and Mr. Maxime George about the latest [1960s] style of women's wear and hair. Then Mr. George tells a story in Carrier about Francis [Francois?] Lake, with his wife adding comments. Then, in English, Maxime talks about how his grandchildren do not understand their own language. He repeats the story of his job on a; pack train, supplying the surveyors of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway. He discusses travel by canoe and scow; and his marriages. Orchard and George discuss the packer Cataline (Jean Caux) and the us;e of French by Hudson's Bay Company workers. Mr. George sings several songs in Chinook and explains their meaning. He relates a Carrier legend in English, then another in his native language. His wife; talks about the relationship between listener and story teller. [60 minutes]

People in landscape : The Grand Trunk Pacific

SUMMARY: This episode tells the story of the construction of Canada's second transcontinental railway, through British Columbia's Bulkley and Skeena regions, prior to the First World War. The voice heard are: David Ross, W.J. McKenna, Walter Wicks, Loran Kenney, and Wiggs O'Neill.

Richard Carroll interview

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.

Steven Stephano interview

RECORDED: [location unknown], [196-] SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Steven Stephano describes how he came to Canada from Italy when he was eighteen, including the story of how he obtained a passport, his experiences in Ontario after landing in Hamilton, jobs, and traveling and working in Manitoba and Western Canada. TRACK 2: Mr. Stephano describes working on the railroads in BC for the Grand Trunk Pacific and the CNR, the competition between the two, techniques of building railroad tracks, a boat trip up the Fraser River, and other job experiences.

William Blackman interview

CALL NUMBER: T0692:0001 RECORDED: [location unknown], [196-] SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. William Blackman describes his father, a miner who came from Ohio. William was born in Pennsylvania, and he describes how his father went west to Strathcona, Alberta, as a packer. He describes the family as they traveled across Alberta, including time at the Pocahontas Mine, until settling in Mile 49, which was then the end of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railroad. He describes the area around Cranberry Lake at that time. He describes the family homestead around 1906. He discusses several of the old timers who surveyed the land around that time. Mr. Blackman describes a winter where the temperature got down to 60 degrees below zero in 1915 and 1916. He continues to describes winters and how the weather was tough and working for a lumber company. He describes the now abandoned town of Lucerne; the activities there; the CPR; and the lumber industry. He describes journeys down the Canoe River including the geography. TRACK 2 Mr. Blackman offers anecdotes about the hot springs off the Canoe River and then describes lakes in the area and more on the Canoe River. He describes Swift Creek and the boating activity there. He describes the river from Mile 49 to Golden and how some of it was impassible. He describes several ways to get into the area, mentioning the towns and geography, including trading routes. He describes Athabasca Pass; the CPR; the Yellowhead and general difficulties of passing through the area. He discusses Indian reservations at Tete Jeune. He tells an anecdote of an Indian, Johnny Moullier, who came through the area who walked from Mil;e 49 to Chu Chua in 1916. More anecdotes about people carrying things along the Canoe River in 1908.

CALL NUMBER: T0692:0002 RECORDED: [location unknown], [196-] SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Blackman discusses an expedition up north on a survey party to the Peace River Country in great detail, including anecdotes about the experience, people who worked on the survey and the jobs they did, and the geography in detail. TRACK 2: Mrs. E. Blackman describes how her father, Arthur 'Curly' Cochrane, worked as a cook on the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway in 1911. She was born near Montreal and she describes her family, their farming practices and the family homestead. She describes Tete Jeune as it was when she was a child. She discusses the produce on the farm and nearby; farms. She discusses the area between Dunster and McBride. She discusses the variety of berries in the area, which they would sell to the railroaders. She discusses the post-WWII boom in the area.