CALL NUMBER: T0675:0001 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1964 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mrs. Angela McDairmid was born in Princeton before it was known as Princeton; she discusses her earliest memories; where the house was; several anecdotes about her mother and her youth; her father; floods; her family history; her father's arrival in Victoria in 1858; the gold rush on the Fraser River; the pack trains; the area around Princeton as she remembers it; more stories. Susan Louise Moir was her mother, and she discusses her life; her parents' early married life; the first settlers in Princeton; gold mining in Granite Creek; John Chance and other prospectors; how Princeton got its name. TRACK 2: Mrs. McDairmid continues by describing the first mines in the area; the Hope Trail; some characters; Chinese workers who worked for her father; stories; some characters whom she remembers.

CALL NUMBER: T0675:0002 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1964 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mrs. McDairmid continues with stories about the land around Princeton, some bodies that were found, building a bridge, a shooting among Indians, the Allison town site, Judge Haynes, Indian boat races at the river, potlatches, a shooting, the killing of a Nicola Indian, Merritt as a coal mining town, Dr. Tuttle's hanging, superstition among the Indians. Finally, she discusses her father giving the copyright to his stories to her sister. [TRACK 2: blank.]

CALL NUMBER: T4132:0001 RECORDED: Nanaimo (B.C.), 1984-03-22 SUMMARY: Childhood at Jingle Pot Mine. Chinese workers. Hostile tongs. Shifts. Mine horses and mules. Good treatment of mine animals. Nanaimo Harbour. Balls and concerts in Nanaimo. Miner's picnics on Newcastle Island. Protection Island -- dances, picnics, Chinese settlement near pithead. Tugboat whistles. CPR boats. Coal fossils. Undersea mine adits. Swamping of Kanaka Bay adit. No. 1 mine. Fossils at Protection island. No. 1 tunnel. Beauty of coal. Spontaneous combustion in coal dust. Use of carbide lamps and candles. Open oil lamps in early mines; later, carbide or battery lamps.

CALL NUMBER: T4132:0002 RECORDED: Nanaimo (B.C.), 1984-03-22 SUMMARY: Various homes after Nanaimo. Estevan; mine strike. Ann Buller's hypnotic effect. Estevan strikers' march and shooting, 1931; RCMP blamed for deaths. Mobs dreadful. Buller and her brother persuasive. Ann Buller's rhetorical technique. People "poor and helpless". Mrs. Stannard always a rebel; unusual parents and childhood. Her mother [musician Elizabeth Inez Martell] still alive and playing piano. Mother's youth. Return to Nanaimo. Father (Harry Freeman) was a civil engineer. Island projects during World War II. Injured in Suquash Mine; led to blindness. Father's father's background. Grandparents reached Nanaimo in 1880s by CPR train and stagecoach. Harry Freeman's education and work as an engineer and manager.

CALL NUMBER: T4132:0003 RECORDED: Nanaimo (B.C.), 1984-03-22 SUMMARY: Suquash coal. Return to Nanaimo. Origin of name "Jingle Pot". Baron Alvo von Alvensleben, owned Vancouver Nanaimo Coal Company, but left mine management to Harry Freeman; disappeared in World War I [sic]. Mrs. Stannard doesn't believe he was a German spy. Harry Freeman mediated during 1912 coal strike -- prevented bloodshed. Frank Farrington and Ginger Goodwin -- two different types of UMWA organizers. Suffering during strike -- Thomas Stockett caught between miners and had courage of convictions. Nanaimo miners slow to strike. Hatred of Chinese from 1880s. Goodwin a nice person, joked, danced well. Her father was upset when Goodwin was shot. Some scabs arrived for job and found they were strikebreakers. Rehired strikers. Jingle Pot miners had good relations with her father. Dangers of mines; too gassy to reopen today. Nanaimo's core population and long memory. Actor Mr. Stevens from Nanaimo. Only one murderer hanged. Fraser Street brothels well organized, useful service, interesting madames.

RECORDED: [location unknown], 1965-08-02 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mrs. Grant, nee Coundley, recalls early family memories of Nanaimo and Cumberland, including the mines and mills. TRACK 2: Charlie Grant recalls early family memories of his father [Robert; Grant, M.P.] and his grandfather in the Nanaimo and Cumberland area. His family ran sawmills and had a business relationship with Robert Dunsmuir, known to them as "Bobby Dunsmuir". He describes th;e early days of Cumberland; the establishment of his father's mill and Dunsmuir's mines; and his recollections of Robert Dunsmuir. He recounts mining incidents including explosions; miners; strikes; strike breakers; racial disturbances; and the lack of police.

This series consists of press releases, articles, speeches and other public reports created from 1932-1943. The majority of the records were created by the Minister of Mines and Deputy Minister of Mines. The records relate to all aspects of the departments work and mining in BC generally. This includes: statistical reports on provincial mining production outputs, particularly coal; the history of mining in BC; the history of the Dept. of Mines; announcements and comments on the opening or closure of mines; biographical information of department executive; considerations on the future of mining in BC; and the discussion of various issues impacting the mining industry.

CALL NUMBER: T4195:0001 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Life in Sandon, 1917-1920 RECORDED: Victoria (B.C.), 1985-03-09 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Ed Vipond recalls his first impressions of Sandon, B.C. Personal background. Working for CPR in Sandon. Prominent citzens, including Johnny Harris, Clarence Cunningham. Sandon fire of 1900. A;.W. McCune; Mark McCune. TRACK 2: Johnny Harris -- poker game. Social life in Sandon. Bootleggers -- Scotty Donaldson. Madames. The Noble Five and other mines.

CALL NUMBER: T4195:0002 RECORDED: Victoria (B.C.), 1985-03-09 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Fanny Pickett. Booteleggers -- "moonshine" on the train. The red light district. "One Big Union" strike. Working conditions in the mines. Automobiles in Sandon. [TRACK 2: blank.]

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

RECORDED: [location unknown], 1964-07-20 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Alfred "Fred" William Ludditt tells the story of how he came to Barkerville in 1932. He describes the evolution of mining and mining equipment at Barkerville; Bill and John Houser's family; Johnny Butt; Chinese labourers; Andrew Kelly and the Kelly family, and the first Barkerville Museum, circa 1955. TRACK 2: Mr. Ludditt describes the Bowron Lakes Game Reserve, circa 1912 and Herb and Alf Brown. Then he tells anecdotes about Jack Campbell and Bill Livingstone; Seymour Baker; the government reduction works; the use of cyanide in mining; the recovery of magnetite iron, also known as "black sand"; Joe Mason; livestock; cattle and pigs; and the Chinese in the Cariboo.

RECORDED: [location unknown], [195-?] SUMMARY: Mr. Fred J. Tregillus, "the grand old man of Barkerville", recalls some of his early experiences in the Cariboo, 1880 to 1920.

SUMMARY: "Trail of Gold", number 8 in the series, recalls the coming of Simon Fraser and the story of the Cariboo Gold Rush -- but more particularly, the results of the gold rush, such as the Cariboo Road, inns, stagecoaches, freight wagons, pack trains, etc. Techniques of gold mining. The story of Barkerville. Voices heard include: Annie York, Rose Baker, Nellie Baker, R.T. Crosby, Captain Norman Evans-Atkinson, Gus Milliken, A.W. Ludditt, Roddy Moffat, Art Phair, Tom Carolan, Bryson Patenaude, Martin Starret, and Albert Drinkell.

RECORDED: [location unknown], 1964-02-07 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Thomas describes coming to Canada from Gloucester, England, when he was 16, in 1891. He headed for Edmonton, then Spences Bridge when his money ran out, and got a lift to the Nicola in a buggy. He describes the railway trip to Edmonton but was detoured to Nicola Lake. He describes old timers at the Douglas Lake Ranch, a man named Graves, his experiences at Douglas Lake and its life style, and several anecdotes. He describes the town of Nicola Lake and his life there. Next he describes Princeton, prospectors coming from Rossland to the area including Jack Budd, Bill Miner, and a miner at Granite Creek named Robert Stevenson. More on Princeton. [TRACK 2: blank.]

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Jacob Torgerson : retired hard rock miner and Peace River homesteader RECORDED: Burnaby (B.C.), 1972-04-05 SUMMARY: Jacob Torgerson was born in Norway in 1891. Life as a hard rock miner in B.C. at Britannia Beach. Pioneer miner in Northern B.C. and others. Also information about his life in the Peace River country, and about silicosis. How he got silicosis and how the Compensation Board refused to pay him a pension for 17 years.

CALL NUMBER: T0158:0001 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): J.C. Getchell : a shingle worker in B.C. - recollections of Vancouver (1904-1930s) PERIOD COVERED: 1904-1930s RECORDED: Vancouver (B.C.), 1973-03-03 SUMMARY: J.C. Getchell was born in 1881 and discusses his memories as a shingle worker and the Great Depression.;

CALL NUMBER: T0158:0002 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): J.C. Getchell : a shingle worker in B.C. - Vancouver and the Depression PERIOD COVERED: 1904-1930s RECORDED: Vancouver (B.C.), 1973-03-03 SUMMARY: J.C. Getchell discusses Vancouver in 1904 through the 1930s, as well as the Great Depression.;

CALL NUMBER: T0158:0003 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): J.C. Getchell : a shingle worker in B.C. - mining in Lynn Valley RECORDED: Vancouver (B.C.), 1973-03-30 SUMMARY: J.C. Getchell discusses the early 1900s in British Columbia and the Prairies; mining in Lynn Valley; False Creek; the Second Narrows Bridge; and Whalley Road (1911).;

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Joe Anderson RECORDED: Sointula (B.C.), 1972-05 SUMMARY: Joe Anderson was born in 1896 in Sweden. Worked as a logger on the B.C. coast and was active in Lumber Worker Industrial Union activities and the strike of 1934. Blacklisted. Went to work at Britannia Beach where he was again active and on strike committees in labour disputes (Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers Union).

CALL NUMBER: T2788:0001 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Recollections of Horsefly, 1905 and 1910 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1977

CALL NUMBER: T2788:0002 - 0003 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1977 SUMMARY: [No content summaries or documentation available for these two tapes.];

CALL NUMBER: T2788:0004 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Mining around Horsefly in the early 20th century RECORDED: [location unknown], 1977

CALL NUMBER: T2788:0005 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Old-timers of Horsefly, B.C. RECORDED: [location unknown], 1978 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Old timers of Horsefly, BC. TRACK 2: Old timers continued; comparison between life today and sixty years ago.;

RECORDED: [location unknown], [1955?] SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Joseph Wendle describes how he came to the Cariboo in 1895; worked for the Cariboo Gold Fields Company and his own claims; hunted a Grizzly bear; a brief discussion of the old timers; the Cariboo Gold Fields Company; hydraulic mining; mechanical elevators; dredging; the yields in Williams Creek, Antler Creek, Grouse Creek, and Lightning Creek. [TRACK 2: blank.]

CALL NUMBER: T0663:0001 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1964-07-01 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mrs. Lily S. Priest describes the first public school in Merritt, which began on 2 April 1908; she discusses her husband and how they first came to Canada from England on their honeymoon; she tells the story of how they wanted to buy land to have a fruit ranch, came to Merritt and liked the people there; she was a school teacher and the community really wanted one at the time. She taught forty children; she tells stories about the children; Edith Paige; Johnny Hoglund, who threatened to shoot her and was expelled; a description of the school and how it was run; anecdotes about characters in the area; an experience drinking bootleg gin. TRACK 2: Mrs. Priest continues with the gin story; Lucky Todd who was a prospector; coal mines at Middlesborough; more about people in the area; miners; Mr. Gerrard who owns the mine now; she describes Merritt as it was when she arrived, and its growth in subsequent years; the CPR; the other railway lines; coal shipping; doctors in the area, a mysterious murder; Lawrence Guichon; ranches in the area; parties and Mr. Clisbie.

CALL NUMBER: T0663:0002 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1964-07-01 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mrs. Priest tells a story about an Indian who passed out on a horse after a two-day July 1 celebration, and how they took a picture of him; Chinese people in the early days. [TRACK 2: blank.]

CALL NUMBER: T1802:0001 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Lindsay Carter : Slocan Valley, 1918-1945 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1976 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Carter discusses his childhood: born in Kimberley, B.C. in 1906; moved to Silverton in 1918 with family; effects of influenza epidemic of 1918 on town of Silverton; father worked in mines; silicosis and other lung problems with mining; Mr. Carter's father affected by silicosis, 1943; poor attitude on the part of companies and Workmen's Compensation Board; anecdote about silicosis; family moved to Summit Lake logging camp, 1920. Details about camp life: housing; school; description of logging operations -- pole cutting, railroad, chutes; description of log chute, logging camp, bunkhouse, cookhouse. Forest fire of July, 1925; reports of major early fire, ca. 1870. Most loggers were Scandinavians. Location of other sawmills in Slocan Valley. TRACK 2: Moved to Sandon, 1922. Train and boat schedules, ca. 1925. Railroad accident near Sandon. CPR operated boats on Slocan Lake. Description of S.S. "Slocan", S.S. "Sandon", S.S. "Roseberry". Transportation into Sandon. Stores in Sandon. Trip down Slocan Lake in winter of 1929. Carter ended formal education after grade 8. Mining and mines near Sandon in 1920s and 1930s. Depression in Sandon: Carter on relief during Depression. Origin of miners: eastern Canada, Norway, Italy, Finland and others. Anti-Orientalism in Sandon. Japanese lived in Sandon during WW II. Bunkhouse conditions and anecdotes; cookhouse work and anecdotes.

CALL NUMBER: T1802:0002 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Slocan Mines, 1920s and 1930s RECORDED: [location unknown], 1976-01-10 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Carter's work history, 1920s: description of a concentrator and its operation especially the Noble Five concentrator, Cody, B.C; the jobs in a concentrator plant; shifts and hours of work; a major breakdown described, 1930; more on hours of work. TRACK 2: More on Carter's work history: attitudes towards work in a concentrator mill; unpleasant and unhealthy environment in concentrator mill and mines; more on work attitudes; long hours and lack of holidays; social life of miners -- drinking, prostitutes, pool halls, movies, fraternal orders, clubs; Carter a member of Orange Lodge in Sandon; operation of Orange Lodge; role of churches in Sandon; differences between miners and merchants; local government in Sandon; 1929 murder [of miner Sigvald Myklebost] described.

CALL NUMBER: T1802:0003 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): The Great Depression of the 1930s RECORDED: [location unknown], 1976-01-30 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Sandon continues the story about the 1929 [Myklebost] murder. Describes Johnny Harris: businessman, character of Sandon. Anecdotes about Johnny Harris. White family described. Silversmith Mine. Sandon prospectors described. Grub stake arrangements. Prospecting. Permanence of Sandon. TRACK 2: Demise of the Sandon Hospital in the 1930s. Questionable practices of the B.C. Security Commission during WW II. The Depression in Sandon and Carter's experiences on relief. "On the tramp" in southeastern B.C.

CALL NUMBER: T1802:0004 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Mining in the West Kootenays and the Great Depression of the 1930s RECORDED: [location unknown], 1976-02-04 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: The Great Depression of the 1930s and its effect on Sandon, B.C. The sluggish economic recovery of Sandon during and after WW II. Description of poor working conditions underground. Sandon's hotels. Prostitutes in Sandon. Anecdote about "Big Al" Holmquist. Problems with alcohol among miners. Economic problems of living in Sandon. [TRACK 2: blank; end of interview.]

RECORDED: [location unknown], [196-] SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Louis Lobsinger came from Bruce County, Ontario, where his family had two farms. He describes the story of how he came to BC to visit his sister in the Nicola Valley, and was hired as a printer who eventually bought out his boss. The paper was the Nicola Herald, and he changed the name to the Merritt Herald. He describes a coal miners' strike in 1909; Mrs. Priest, who was the first school teacher in 1905; dances; in 1914 railroads changed from coal to oil and there was a depression in Merritt, until the saw mill opened in 1924; then in the 1930s the depression hit; various jobs he held; how he paid off debts; ranchers; the Cootley family; the 1934 stampede; his move to Williams Lake in 1952, and all the changes he saw there; the coal mines at Merritt; the cowboy/miner relationship; people passing through on their way to Fort George in 1909; finally he discusses the end of coal mining in Merritt. [TRACK 2: blank.]

RECORDED: [location unknown], 1965-11-03 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mrs. May A. Fenwick-Wilson came to Canada in 1910 from Devonshire to join her brother in the Kettle Valley. She and her brother made a living by supplying fruit to British settlers. She describes leisure activities including skating, tobogganing and her brother's polo club, which had its own rules. She tells about the war experiences of British men she knew (e.g., Captain Hessinger), most of whom returned to England to fight in World War 1. She tells stories of people who were in the area in the post-war era, including one about a man whose family was murdered by Indians, and details about a man named Strong. She tells many stories about miners, people in Rock Creek, and a family named Lynch, whom Lynch Creek was named after. She discusses her life back in Devonshire and Ireland. She comments on how much she enjoyed the country in Canada and her experiences with cattle and horses.

TRACK 2: Mrs. Wilson continues about cattle ranching and compliments the marksmanship of various people. She discusses early settlement and how much harder it was for the women than for the men to settle in a new country. She talks about the appeal of the country to the British people, most of whom were retired Army and Navy officers, and how they adapted to rural life. She mentions the Bill Miner train robbery and log drives up the river. She tells about the tragic romance of a; man named Sidley and his wife, about whom she is writing for the BC Historical Society. Mrs. Wilson talks about several places that served as social halls. She tells a story of a man named Larson who was a bartender.

CALL NUMBER: T0920:0001 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1964-06-02 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mrs. Minnie Caldwell Irvin came to Arrowhead BC from Nova Scotia in 1911. She mentions her father Edward C. Smith. She discusses her marriage to Sam Irvin and her reasons for coming west. She offers her impressions upon arrival in Arrowhead, and some early memories of Arrowhead; boats on the Arrow Lakes; Halcyon Hot Springs; St. Leon; Revelstoke; Arrowhead and Arrowhead Hotels; a lands;lide at Whisky Point; recreation, such as skating. She discusses her husband's background, and then discusses the lumber industry; lake boats and Captain Cambourne; Rossland's red light district; Rossland in 1896; the decline of Arrowhead, and her move to Athalmer in the Columbia Valley in 1912. TRACK 2: Mrs. Irvin describes the Columbia Valley stage: Jim McKay; Sir Randolph Bruce; 'Whistling' Rufe Kempton; Mr. and 'Ma' Henderson. She discusses riverboats; Sir Randolph Bruce and the Columbia Valley orchards land scheme; the Athalmer area economy; railroad construction. She then compares Windermere; Invermere; Athalmer and Wilmer. She discusses Kootenay and Shuswap Indians and comments on Indian-White relations; recreation; more about 'Whistling' Rufe. She describes the Athalmer Hotel in 1912; the coronation of the hotel at Arrowhead; social life and recreation at Athalmer; cock fighting; Fairmont and Radium Hot Springs.

CALL NUMBER: T0920:0002 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1964-06-02 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mrs. Irvin continues with the story of how she came to Rossland from Athalmer in 1915, and stayed until 1958, operating the Irvin Hotel. She describes the red light district of Rossland; the; trip to Rossland in 1915; facilities at the hotel and making lunches for the miners. She describes Rossland in the 1930s and stories about finding and mining minerals. She discusses transportation ;and compares Athalmer to Rossland. She then compares Rossland to other mining towns. TRACK 2: Mrs. Irvin describes the scenery near Rossland; recreation such as horseback riding, a first in the tow;n in the 1920s; Rossland's beginnings; the history of the Irvin Hotel; the explosion of 1905; hotels; and an incident with 'Calgary Red'.; CALL NUMBER: T0920:0003 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1964-06-02 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mrs. Irvin discusses 'Old Lady Jess'; Rossland buildings as they were before the fire in the 1920s. She describes the home of Ross Thompson, who Rossland was named after; Trail; Mary's Flats; at Trail; the Italian population at Trail; Mrs. Essling; an M.P.'s travel to Trail; the Sullivan Mine at Kimberly; and miscellaneous comments about the Rossland area. [TRACK 2: blank.];

RECORDED: [location unknown], 1965-05-18 SUMMARY: Neil Tattrie recalls early years mining in Sandon. He arrived in Sandon from Nova Scotia, via the prairies in 1905. He describes some of the early mining techniques, mines, miners and conditions. He also describes and compares mining techniques in 1905 and 1965. He recalls Sandon, the town, social activities, sports, weather, Johnny Harris, Bob Cunning, Red McLeod and rock drilling contests.

CALL NUMBER: T0164:0001 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Placer Mining and miners of the Cariboo, 1858 - 1920. RECORDED: [location unknown], 1964-04-17 SUMMARY: Captain Norman "Cap" Evans-Atkinson talks about placer mining and miners in the Likely area of the Cariboo, 1858 to 1920. TRACK 1: The miners coming to the Cariboo, circa 1858; sailors who became miners; types of gold; detailed discussion of placer mining along creeks, techniques, equipment, terminology; mining settlements; hard rock mining. TRACK 2: Story of John Likely, J.B. Hobson, and the Bullion Mine; Likely and his books; Cedar Creek; phases of mining; claim jumpers; Cedar City; details of the Cariboo fire of 1869; the Quesnel Lake dam.; CALL NUMBER: T0164:0002 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1964-04-17; 1964-05-05 SUMMARY: Captain Norman "Cap" Evans-Atkinson talks about Cariboo gold and gold miners, 1858 to 1930. TRACK 1: Miners in the backwoods; enmity between two miners; draft evaders; old-timers; Captain Mitchell's trail to the Barkerville gold fields; people at "Snarlburg" (French Snowshoe Creek); Murderer's Gulch; more on Captain Mitchell's trail; Angus McLean, who lived along the Quesnel River. TRACK 2: Story of how miners were guided by Indians, by the name of Tomah and Long Baptiste, to gold on the Horsefly River, beginning the Cariboo gold rush; potatoes brought in by Russian fur traders; hostility of Indians toward miners; massacre averted by Chief William; Indians co-operated with other prospecting parties; Long Baptiste guide/bodyguard for Judge Begbie; Long Baptiste probably had the earliest Cariboo gold. CALL NUMBER: T0164:0003 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1964-05-05 SUMMARY: Captain Norman "Cap" Evans-Atkinson talks about miners and other people of the Cariboo, 1860 to 1930. TRACK 1: Different types of gold found in the Cariboo; the Indians and the animals they hunted; caribou in the Cariboo; stories about a trapper named Franz who lived alone in the woods; Long Baptiste and Judge Begbie; more on Franz the trapper; eating porcupines; other stories about men living alone in the woods. TRACK 2: Captain Evans-Atkinson's background; came to the Cariboo circa 1912; Cariboo people; World War I service; impressed by Canadians; return to Cariboo; mining experiences; John Likely; gold strike above Quesnel Forks in 1921; staying at miners' cabins; the naming of Likely, more on John Likely, story of Bob Winkler, an old trapper; pokes, money belts; gold caches. CALL NUMBER: T0164:0004 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1964-05-05 SUMMARY: TRACK 1; Captain Norman "Cap" Evans-Atkinson discusses some aspects of the trapper's life in the Cariboo, 1912 to 1930. Finding gold caches; stories about old-time trappers living alone in the woods; their habits; coping with flies, mosquitoes, ticks; stories about Jack Glass, another old-timer; encounters with bears. [TRACK 2: blank.]

CALL NUMBER: T1148:0001 [and T2747:0001]
RECORDED: [location unknown], 1972
SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mrs. Pearl DeBolt (formerly Pearl Whitmer) discusses how she came to the Quesnel Forks area in 1947, and the people in the area then (most of whom were miners). She describes the history of Quesnel Forks, which had a population of 8,000 in 1922, when the Cedar Creek boom hit; hunting; ranching; the gold commissioner, Mr. [William] Stephenson; how many white people moved to Barkerville and Chinese miners moved into Quesnel. Martin George discusses his life as a miner in Quesnel Forks after arriving in 1943. Both then discuss what they liked about living in Quesnel Forks, including the weather, geography, and hopes of finding gold. Mr. George describes the process of mining for gold and the value of gold back then (thirty dollars an ounce). Mr. George only made enough to survive; he never was able to accumulate wealth as a gold miner. Mrs. DeBolt discusses more about the geography and history of Quesnel Forks, including some people whose name became place names thanks to Simon Fraser. She recalls moving away from Quesnel Forks in 1965; she claims she was the last person to leave. She describes why the government would not save Quesnel Forks; she says it had to do with hydro power. She describes the roads in and around Quesnel Forks. All the Chinese miners moved north when Quesnel Forks closed down in the 1920s. It became a true ghost town in the mid-1960s. She offers details about the Chinese people in the area, including a ritual where, seven years after a Chinese person died, their bones were exhumed, cleaned and sent back to China. The remains of just three Chinese are left in the cemetery. A grave outside of the cemetery gate may be Mr. Stephenson's, but it may also belong to Mr. Winkley, for whom Winkley Creek is named.
TRACK 2: Mr. Dennis McConnel is interviewed on site in the abandoned Cariboo town of Quesnel Forks. He discusses the buildings in the area; the meeting of the two rivers; the buildings on the banks of the river, which are likely to collapse; tourists digging for relics, such as brass tokens and whisky bottles from the gambling hall; the erosion of the town. A story about moving Mrs. DeBolt's grand piano. Inside an abandoned house, Mr. McConnel and Jurgen Hesse discuss the condition of the house, vandalism, and the Chinese writing on the walls. McConnel discusses mining on the banks of the river; gold panning; artifacts he has found; and the old General Store at Quesnel Forks. [End of interviews]