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Swannell, Frank Cyril, 1880 - 1969 Frontier and pioneer life--British Columbia--20th century
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George Vancouver Copley interview : [Reimer, 1975]

CALL NUMBER: T1482:0001 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): George Vancouver Copley : pioneer, surveyor, explorer and civil servant PERIOD COVERED: 1880-1920 RECORDED: Williams Lake (B.C.), 1975-06-17 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: George Copley tells story of his father who emigrated from Germany, and settled at Cobble Hill about 1876. Copley born 1880. Early life in Cobble Hill. Injured in a sawmill in Nanaimo. Lengthy series of operations to save his arm. A variety of jobs in Victoria. Meets Frank Swannell, famous surveyor. TRACK 2: Description of Frank Swannell. Surveying in British Columbia before 1920: Finlay; River, Liard River, Parsnip River, Cariboo, Pemberton Valley. Worked for B.C. Forest Service starting about 1914. Transportation in the central interior: stage coach and steamship. Steamship ride up the Nechako River. Horse and gas stages on the Cariboo Road. Arrival of stage at Soda Creek.

CALL NUMBER: T1482:0002 - 0006 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): George Vancouver Copley : pioneer, surveyor, explorer and civil servant RECORDED: Williams Lake (B.C.), 1975-06 & 07 SUMMARY: [No content documentation is available for these five tapes, which were recorded on June 17, 18 & 20 and July 2, 1975.]

Lawrence Dickinson interview

CALL NUMBER: T1038:0001 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1964-07-17 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Lawrence Dickinson recalls his journey from Wisconsin and arrival at Francois Lake in 1910, when he was about 15 years old. He describes his journey along the Cariboo Road; stopping in Quesnel Forks to help mine for the winter; the route he had to take to Francois Lake; filing preemptions upon arriving in Francois Lake; joining a survey crew for Swannell company; life as a surveyor ;in the Fort Fraser, Prince George and general Upper Nechako area in 1910. He describes Fort St. James and the HBC post located there in the summer of 1911; the old trails in the area, leisure activities at Fort St. James, and how much everyone enjoyed the area; A.G. Hamilton's trading post in Fort St. James; work he did over the next several winters; how the war disrupted life; his father's trading post at Fort Fraser in 1915; how he and his brother bought out the trading post and went into business for themselves; the kind of people in Fort St. James before the war, including railroad construction men and other old timers; Mr. Murray who was a factor for the HBC and other characters; what makes the area so attractive; the difficulty nowadays at making a living as a trapper; shifts in mining techniques, changes in the Necoslie Valley after WWI; and how Fort St. James continues to be a jumping off point for miners and people of various vocations. TRACK 2: Mr. Dickinson continues how t;he HBC got supplies to their forts; how the war affected business in the area and how the mercury mine boosted the economy; how preemptors could not get good land because companies took all the prime ;real estate.;

CALL NUMBER: T1038:0002 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1971 [summer] SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Dickinson comments on the attitudes of people and various characters in Vanderhoof from his past; anecdotes about gold miners and how the landscape has changed; buildings at Fort St. Jam;es that are no longer standing; how the younger generation is not as reliable as the older generations; the fur trade around Fort St. James and how the local buyers had the monopoly; and a few old timers. TRACK 2: Mr. Dickinson describes traffic going through Fort St. James; changes in the area resulting in growing industry and construction; the rivalry among stores between the HBC and Dickinson and others; placer mining areas; freight service into the Nechako Valley by the HBC, Dickenson's surveying career from 1910 to 1913, including descriptions of places he surveyed; and miscellaneous comments about today's pioneers and industries.;

Leonard Butler interview

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Ranching near Tatla Lake since the 1920s RECORDED: [location unknown], 1967 SUMMARY: An oral history interview with Leonard Butler, who migrated from Spokane to Tatla Lake in the 1920s. Surveying with Frank Swannell. Ranching on the Homathko River. Clearing land and trapping.;