SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Cariboo recollections RECORDED: Williams Lake (B.C.), 1974 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: In an interview with Reg Beck, Spencer Hope Patenaude discusses early Williams Lake, Horsefly, 150 Mile, and 153 Mile House. Bullion Mine described. Telegraph lines in the Cariboo. Anecdotes about telegraphy and the life of a telegraph operator. 150 Mile House pioneers. Chinese in 150 Mile House. Ox teams and freighting on the Cariboo Road. Grist mills and grain growing. Sawmilling. TRACK 2: Description of the engines and workings of the Miocene mine. Anecdotes about maintaining the telegraph lines. [End of interview]

Series consists of the Certificate of Incorporation and Articles of Association; minutes; an indenture; correspondence regarding the purchase of the Company in 1894 by Cariboo Hydraulic Mining Company and share transactions reports by J.K. Barker relating to a survey by Polleys and Johnson and the construction of a ditch in 1890; and various financial records.

Also contains a letter to William Stephenson (ex-President) from Tom Barton on 14 April 1912 on the burning of his house. The Certificate of Incorporation of the South Fork Hydraulic and Mining Company (under the Companies Act, 1890) was filed on 23 June. The objects of the company were to pursue hydraulic and other processes of mining, to own and construct ditching flumes or other systems of waterways and to acquire and operate, sell or lease mines, minerals, water and waterways. The capital stock of the company was $150,000 and its principal place of business was Quesnelle Forks. J.K. Barker, William Polleys and John R. Smith were the directors. In 1894 the South Fork Hydraulic and Mining Company was purchased by the Cariboo Hydraulic Mining Company (certificate of Incorporation filed 27 November 1893). In August 1911, both companies were notified by the Companies Office that, because they had failed to file annual reports and other related documentation for two years, they would be dissolved. This dissolution took place on 25 August 1912, although both of them must have ceased operations some time previously.

This series consists of one volume of a Colony of British Columbia Supreme Court of Civil Justice record book of cases heard at Yale, Lytton, Lillooet, Quesnel Forks, Antler Creek, Beaver Lake, Hope, Douglas, and New Westminster, from 1861-1863.

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]

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: 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.;

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.;

SUMMARY: This is presumably another copy or another version of Jurgen Hesse's radio documentary looking at the past and present of three B.C. "ghost towns" -- Bralorne, Quesnel Forks and Sandon.;

CALL NUMBER: T2566:0001 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1972 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: BC Ghost Towns: Ghosts in Sandon BC, various residents of Bralorne talk about the mining town from 1932 to 1971 and 1975; mines, miners, town life and local characters. TRACK 2: New prospects for Bralorne; Bralorne in the boom days, at present and in the future. [edited program] CALL NUMBER: T2566:0002 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1972 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Ghost Towns; various residents comment on the history of Quesnel Forks as a mining community and ghost town; Quesnel Forks in the 1940s, the 1850s, and the 1920s; buildings; anecdote about Chinese residents; good times past and present; story about Cedar Creek and John Likely; mining methods; derivation of name Quesnel Forks; prospects for the restoration of Quesnel Forks; gold panning today. TRACK 2: Story of original staker at Sandon; appearance of Sandon; present residents recall the history of the town; the silver rush of the 1890s; Sandon in the 1920s; dances; booming town; a rare crime; ownership of Sandon today; Sandon museum OFY project; Sandon in the 1920s; Japanese internment camp at Sandon; the 1955 flood; why the town died; prospects for preserving Sandon's old buildings. [edited program] CALL NUMBER: T2566:0003 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1972 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Original interview material for ghost town programs; Bralorne residents talk about the town in the mining era from 1932 to 1971, and in 1972; mines, miners, town life and local characters, boom days and present prospects. TRACK 2: Original interview material for ghost town programs; Quesnel Forks residents recall mining days in the region in the 1850s and 1920s; future prospects for Quesnel Forks; bits of material on Sandon's original settlers and a museum project. CALL NUMBER: T2566:0004 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1972 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Repeat of Bralorne ghost town program; social life; mining and mining conditions; present activities; anecdotes about nicknames and local characters and of Bralorne as a mining town. TRACK; 2: Sandon material; appearance of the town in 1972; origins of Sandon; social life and crime; flood of 1955; preservation of the town; OFY person on museum project; bits of Quesnel Forks Material; more Bralorne material; town activities; the end of the mine; social life; prospects for renovation of the town. CALL NUMBER: T2566:0005 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1972 SUMMARY: Repeats of Sandon material with a few additional stories: the Sandon fire; a Norwegian immigrant; floods; the town and social life at the turn of the century; A.L. Harris talks about his childhood; Gene Petersen talks about the 1920s boom and a murder; Harris describes an early power plant and the local opera house. CALL NUMBER: T2566:0006 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1972 SUMMARY: Repeats of Sandon material, with some new items: Sandon flood of 1955; preserving buildings and dealing with tourists; discovery of silver lead at Sandon; internment of Japanese at Sandon; ghosts in Sandon today.

RECORDED: Bralorne (B.C.), 1972
SUMMARY: TRACK 1: EVERETT LAYCOCK, owner of the Mines Hotel in Bralorne, discusses running the hotel; Bralorne's future; nicknames of several characters; reasons for Bralorne's closure in 1971. Then ROB BLACK recalls living in Bralorne during its prime mining years in the 1940s and 1950s; the possible future of Bralorne as a retirement or recreation center; the climate; vandalism; how Rob spends his time. Interviewer JURGEN HESSE recalls the history of Quesnel Forks, including quotes from a plaque and from magazines. TRACK 2: One of the WHITING brothers (Frank, John or Jerry) discusses Bralorne's possible future as a retirement home or recreation ski resort. RON KRELLER recalls living and growing up in Bralorne in the 1960s. EDITH GARRICK recalls her life in Bralorne.

CALL NUMBER: T0305:0001 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1965-03-08 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Ernest "Ernie" Fredrick Lang talks about the Keithley Creek area, and recalls his experiences as a German immigrant before World War I. An unidentified woman speaks for about three minutes. Then, Lang describes how he came to Canada in 1912, homesteaded and worked in mines. He mined in the area until 1940. He tells a story about going down Fraser River on a scow and finding a dead man in the mountains. He describes the countryside of the Quesnel Highlands and talks about Bob Borland, Jim Adams and the Mile Tunnel. Then he discusses Mrs. Lee who grazed sheep in the hills before an unidentified man and woman speak again for about three more minutes.

TRACK 2: Lang discusses his background and experiences in Germany, coming to North America, hard times and experiences in New York, coming to Canada as an immigrant labourer, working on a farm near Brantford, Ontario, and coming to BC to work on the Grand Trunk Pacific Railroad. Then he tells a story of a journey through the woods in winter and an elaboration of the story about traveling the Fraser River on a scow.

CALL NUMBER: T0305:0002 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1965-03-08 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Lang describes working on a farm near 153 Mile House, incidents evolving out of the language barrier, working for Louis Corsina at 153 Mile House, stories about being a German in Canada during World War I, activities in the area of South Fort George circa 1915, mining at 20 Mile House, mining at Keithley Creek, gold in the old river channels and more on mining up to 1925.

TRACK 2: Mr. Lang describes early gold mining in the area between 1860 and 1880, Jim Adams and the Mile Tunnel at Snowshoe Creek, Keithley Creek, staking claims in the snow, the Barkerville Road, the effect WWII had on mining and economics, gold fever, encounters with bears, settlement at Likely and Quesnel Forks, an encounter with a cougar and his wife's death.

CALL NUMBER: T0373:0001 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1964-07-24 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Emil Richard Krebs and his wife Gertrude Krebs recall their experiences in the Cariboo-Chilcotin region. Mr. Krebs discusses his father, Fred Krebs, who settled in Vernon. Mr. Krebs describes Okanagan ranches and Vernon circa 1908. He discloses his first experiences in the Chilcotin in 1928, Chilcotin ranches, several anecdotes, how he took up land at Dog Creek, the settlement of the Dog Creek area, the Chinese population, wild horses, and the trap line at Canim Lake in 1939. TRACK 2: Mr. Krebs offers an anecdote about trappers, pioneers at Canim Lake, the story of Buckskin Joe, the Indian population, the town of Likely, Quesnel Forks, and anecdotes about mining in the Keithley Creek-Likely area.

CALL NUMBER: T0373:0002 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1964-07-24 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mrs. Gertrude Krebs, born in McLeod Lake in 1900, recalls Cariboo life. She offers the details of her birth, a brief summary of her life to 1919, a fire in Williams Lake, Williams Lake in the 1920s, and the first Williams Lake Stampedes. [TRACK 2: blank.]

CALL NUMBER: T1147:0001 track 2 [and T2744:0002 track 2]
RECORDED: Likely (B.C.), [1972?]
SUMMARY: TRACK 2: CLIFF LYON of Likely describes what his father did in Quesnel Forks. He discusses things his father told him about Quesnel Forks, including the massive Chinese population that once lived there; specific characters; a woman named Mrs. MacKenzie at a "place of ill repute" in Quesnel Forks; etc. He tells the story of John Likely, a well-known prospector and gold miner (and a friend of Lyon's father), and his gold strike at Cedar Creek in 1920-21. Lyon offers details on his father's life and placer mining. [End of interview]

This series consists of a wide variety of records received or created by government officials in the Cariboo region from 1868 to 1915. Most of the records are addressed to government officials or were created by courts in the following places: Richfield, Barkerville, Quesnelle Forks and other locations in the Cariboo district. Over the years, the government offices responsible for the entire Cariboo district were located in each of these towns. The majority of the records appear to have been received by the Government Office, Richfield.

At this time government offices held a very wide range of responsibilities which could be done by as few as one person. The records relate to several government officials: the Gold Commissioner, Government Agent, Magistrate, County Court judge and Supreme Court judge.

The majority of the records are related to leasing, purchasing or gaining access to water for mining claims. This includes some records from the Gold Commissioner court.

There are also many county court and supreme court records. These records include summons; wills; probate and other estate records; search warrants; assizes; court transcripts; evidence; coroner inquest records; assize court calendars; sheriff records; and notes of the Board of Liquor Licence Commissioners approving renewal of liquor licences.

Other types of records include general correspondence from settlers; census data; voters lists; voter registration forms from Keithley Creek; criminal statistics; Land Ordinances; pre-emption records and other records related to the Land Act; naturalization oaths; indentures; receipts and financial records; maps; petitions for liquor licences; a BC Savings Bank (Cariboo Branch) depositors book; and a register of letters inward and outward for 1910-1915.

The series consists of records created by the Government Agent and the Gold Commissioner of the Cariboo District, between 1860 and 1938. It includes correspondence inward and outward; court, mining, land, financial and administrative records.

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 is a documentary consisting of interviews and sounds about Quesnel Forks, B.C., a farming and mining town in the Cariboo ;which was active in the the 19th century. The town was re-established in the fall of 1959 as a gold mining town, but has since been abandoned.;

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. In this episode, "Ghost Towns", Jurgen Hesse explores three British Columbia ghost towns: Sandon, Quesnel Forks and Bralorne. Recolle;ctions and reminiscences are recounted by former residents of these mining towns.;

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. In this episode, "Ghost Towns", Jurgen Hesse explores three British Columbia ghost towns: Sandon, Quesnel Forks and Bralorne. Recolle;ctions and reminiscences are recounted by former residents of these mining towns.;

RECORDED: [location unknown], 1964-07-25 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Arthur T. Youngern describes how he came to Soda Creek in 1911; he describes Soda Creek, freighting for the government road crews, freighting between Ashcroft and Soda Creek in 1912, prospecting and the discovery of mica beds on Mount Brew; homesteading in Beaver Valley from 1912 to 1918, old timers remembered, John Likely and Frank Kirby, a description of Quesnel Forks and Keithley in 1911. [TRACK 2: blank.]