Author

Brian Wilson - page 4

Brian Wilson has 49 articles published.

THEATER BY STARLIGHT ON SKAHA BEACH -1953 TO 1960

in Penticton/The Arts by

In the midst of a typical steamy summer in Penticton, the Parks Board leased a section of Skaha Beach Park to a professional theatre group from Vancouver. The Lancaster Troup that had been involved with Theatre Under the Stars brought their talents to the citizens of Penticton. Local supporters and potential thespians assisted the troupe with the construction of the stage on the sand. They opened July 24th with “Lover’s Leap”.
But it was not without controversy:
Penticton Herald June 24, 1953:
Opposition to location of the Lancaster Company’s Theatre Under the Stars at Skaha Lake was voiced by Mrs. R. B. White who appeared before City Council Monday.
Mrs. White explained that she had nothing against the theatre, or the company, but she did think it was the wrong location.
“I think residents of the area should have been consulted,” Mrs. White told council, “but already there is a big hole in the sand and scaffolding erected.”
The parking problem was Mrs. White’s main concern. She told council very definitely that she would not stand for conditions such as existed for two years running when a carnival was held in that location.
Assured by Acting Mayor Haddleton that council had only approved the theatre in principle so that residents would have opportunity to voice their objections and had referred the matter to the town planning commission. Mrs. White wondered if council had a policy in respect to the park in which the theatre is to be located.
“I think that park is one of our best tourist attractions if left in its natural slate,” she said.
Acting Mayor Haddleton assured Mrs. White that every effort would be made to have orderly parking and Mrs. White appeared resigned if not fully satisfied. Later the proposed issue was presented to council and then referred back to the parks board. At a meeting held Tuesday between the parks board and company officials, the matter was finalized and the Lancaster Company is now in business in Penticton.
Mrs. White was also concerned over litter being scattered at the beach and she suggested that receptacles should be installed at the various drive-ins and concessions.
She spoke regretfully of council’s decision to retire senior employees. “I know most of them and they are fine men and workers,” she said. “I’d like to compliment them.”
Mrs. White concluded her remarks by quietly passing along a box of cigarettes to the city clerk, a gesture of good will which was appreciated during the four hour sitting by the aldermen, civic officials, and the press and radio.
Acting Mayor Haddleton promised that Mrs. White’s suggestions would be carefully considered and that council would certainly pay tribute to its senior employees.
In regard to parking, Alderman F.C. Christian did not see any serious difficulties arising, citing the rowing regatta last year which attracted large numbers as an example.
Penticton Herald July 8, 1953:
Proposed leasing of park land at Skaha Lake to the Lancaster Theatre Company, not yet formalized, prompted close scrutiny of the Municipal Act and both council and parks board learned that under the Act, the parks board has no authority to lease park property.
Opinion of the city solicitor is that the Act is far from clear in its definition of authority, but that apparently authority rests with the City Council, although council must have the approval of the parks board.
Both groups are anxious to have this situation remedied. The parks board and council believe that an elected parks board should have the power to enter into short-term leases which has been the practice up to now.
Council now proposed to submit a resolution at the forthcoming UBCM convention seeking amendment to the Municipal Act to provide the parks board with the authority to enter into short-term leases. In the meantime to comply with the Act, a by-law is being prepared which will set up a council committee, along with three bona fide property owners who could enter into leases for park property.


Regarding the Lancaster Theatre Company lease, a public hearing will be held in the council chambers next Monday at 7pm. A letter from Mrs. White, published in the letter column of this paper of which a copy was sent to Council, will be considered at this hearing.
The hearing is necessitated because of the proposed five-year tenure of the parks property to be leased to the company, although council is not obligated to act on the opinions expressed at the hearing.
THE LETTER –
The Editor,
As longtime residents of Penticton, and as taxpayers for the past 17 years, we would like to bring to the attention of your readers an item in the “legal” column of your paper regarding leasing of park property. The following questions might be worth consideration: From personal experience we know that it is very difficult for local service clubs and organi-zations to obtain use of parks for activities, yet a commercial organization can obtain a lease for a large section at a nominal rental.
We understood that a removable building was to be erected and what appeared to be the stages from Queen’s Park were brought out to Skaha Lake park. Since then a very permanent building has been built round them. Who owns this building, and who is paying for this construction?
If the building remains on the park for the entire year, is the city to receive rent for twelve months, or only for summer months?
Will the upkeep of the building be a matter for the parks board or the leasee? Who is to be the judge of the amount of painting and repairs necessary each year?
Plus has any consideration been given to the fire hazard represented by an empty frame building standing in a grove of large trees in a very windy section of the city miles from the fire hall and fire hydrants? Can large sections of our city parks be leased just as easily? For the information of the citizens of Penticton we feel these questions should be answered.
Mr and Mrs. V. “Jack “ White
Penticton Herald July 15, 1953:
Opposition of some residents at Skaha Lake to renting park land to the Lancaster Theatre Company for Penticton’s Theatre Under the Stars failed to influence City Council on Monday and, with full approval of the parks board, three of whom were present, the lease renting the 7,200 square feet of land, adjacent to the Skaha Lake tennis courts, was given final reading.
The lease gives the Lancaster Company possession of the theatre site until September 3 this year with option of renewal to and including 1958, from June 23 to September 3 each year.
OBJECTIONS AIRED
The company will pay $35 a week rental this year, with the parks board taking an extra bite if the lease is renewed, provision is being made for payment to the board of three-and-a-half percent of theatre revenues over and above $1,000 in future seasons.
The leasees are obliged to keep the area clean, not to extend performances beyond midnight and, if so requested by the parks board, to remove all buildings and fences and level off the site at the end of each season.
Objection to granting of the lease was voiced by Mrs. R. B. White and J.V. White, with Dr. D. C. Boyd and C. L. Sharp supporting Miss Monica Dudley of the Lancaster Theatre Company in advocating the granting of the lease.
Mr. White, as did Mrs. White, emphasized that he was not objecting to the theatre but to its location. He questioned how far leasing of public parks was going to go.
CATTLE CORRAL
Mr. White also wanted to know if the buildings, being public buildings, should be fireproofed and he asked if they were going to be taken down each fall – “They look permanent to me,” he said.
Mrs. Dudley asked Mr. White what objections he had to the buildings remaining on the site and received the answer from Mr. White. “They are not very nice buildings.
Mrs. R. B. White then stood up to say, “It is nothing but a cattle corral. If the buildings stay there through the winter they’ll be playgrounds for children. It is the only piece of land in the town that can be made a decent park,” she declared.
The bark fence was termed an “eyesore” by Mrs. White, and, she asserted, “Everybody is laughing at it.”
Mrs. Dudley said the company was prepared to take the fence down at the end of the season, but Mrs. White remained firm in her opinion. “It is a park,” she said, “and should not be rented to anyone.”
Dr. Boyd drew attention to the service clubs in the city which had got behind the company and whose members had volunteered their labor to building of the theatre. “The theatre is a tremendous tourist attraction,” Dr. Boyd declared.
To Mr. White’s statement in the letter published in last week’s Herald, that the rent was only nominal, Dr. Boyd declared it far from a nominal sum and beyond that, he said, the company paid $120 for a trade license.
Mr. White wanted to know why the bandshell at Gyro Park wasn’t rented to the company. “Why lease a natural park?” he asked.
Dr. Boyd then disclosed that efforts had been made to secure the Gyro Park bandshell, “Which would have made things easier,” but the parks board would not agree to use of the bandshell.
Alex McNicoll, speaking for the parks board, stated that, “The board was trying to act in the best interest of all the citizens of Penticton and not of any selected area.”
CITY’S TRAGEDY
Alderman F. C. Christian came out flatfooted for the theatre. “The tragedy in Penticton is that private houses have been allowed to be established on our shorelines,” he said.
“Public use should be ahead of private use. Groups have been discouraged in the past and Penticton has lost by it. I can’t see anything wrong with this theatre which is providing excellent entertainment. I can’t see any validity to these objections.”
Mrs. White conceded that there seemed to be no parking problem, such as she had feared.
Alderman Wilson Hunt joined the discussion to suggest that the buildings should be made presentable and some landscaping done. “A raw building in the middle of the lot is not my idea of beauty,” Alderman Hunt said.
Assurance was given that steps would be taken along the lines suggested by Alderman Hunt and the hearing was closed.
Later, with the bylaw up for final reading, Alderman J. G. Harris expressed some concern over the apparent change from the original intent of temporary structures. He questioned who would be responsible for cleaning up if the buildings were left standing and if the company did not take up the option in January.
General opinion, however, was that the lease gave adequate powers to the parks board.
In regard to parking the city engineer was instructed to keep an eye on the situation and was instructed, if necessary, to provide for parking on only one side of the street in the theatre area.
Penticton Herald July 15, 1953:
An audience of over 50 people braved the rain Monday evening to see the Company’s presentation of “Hay Fever” in the Theatre by Starlight at Skaha Lake.
Starting tomorrow the company presents “George and Margaret,” the cast which will include Sheila Reed, of the Penticton Players’ Club.


Penticton Herald July 29, 1953:
“Young Wives’ Tale” Brings Comedy Back to Local Starlight Theatre Three local actresses will be featured in the Lancaster Theare Company play next week when the Theatre by Starlight group once again turns to comedy for its weekly presentation.
Tonight is the last night for the romantic drama, “The Shining Hour” and tomorrow will see the curtain rise on, “Young Wives’ Tale” by Ronald Jean.
Rosemary Myerhoff, who appeared with the company in “Hay Fever” makes her second appearance, this time as Eve. Joyce Leir will play the part of Nurse Blott and Margaret Dewdney is cast as the unnamed German woman.
Beginning this week, the Lancaster Company is providing transportation to Skaha Lake. Each evening at 8:15 a free taxi service
will leave from the corner of Wade Avenue and Main Street and be in operation to return patrons to the starting point after the show.
Theatre by Starlight continued success on the beach at Skaha Park through 1960.


In 1964, Jim Onley joined with Penticton Summer Theatre and built an outdoor stage in Riverside Park where Loco Landing is today, and continued the venue for several years.

This article shows the continuous questions of the use of Skaha Park by private enterprise. As it was then is still pertinent today.
I want to thank Glenda Emerson for her research with the Herald microfilm files.  Editor

A SPECULATIVE OVERVIEW OF INDIAN RESERVE NO. 2

in Uncategorized by
an essay by Brian Wilson with assistance of David Gregory


I think there is a story to be told of the disappearance of Indian Reserve No. 2. It seems to have been cut back between 1900 and 1906, and is a shadow of it’s previous mass.

MARTIN’S MAP 1897                         GREEN’S MAP 1897

Let’s do a little digging into the past: William G. Cox began his duties to Governor Douglas as magistrate of Rock Creek, and 1861 he had to deal with an uprising of miners and Natives. It seems a miner named Cherbart had been murdered by a young native of the Colville band. Although Cox had no jurisdiction on the U.S. side of the border, the young man was retrieved and subsequently hanged without trial. The Okanagans, led by Chief Silhitza protested the lynching by the American miners and the fact that Cox was powerless to charge the whites with any crime. Silhitza travelled to the Oblate Mission on Mission Creek and had the Priest write a letter to Governor Douglas outlining the out-of-control violence against Natives in the Okanagan. He writes “that is what rouses the anger of all the Okanagan tribe which has already taken up arms. I tried to quiet the insurrection by assuring them that I have recourse to your kindness, persuaded as I am that you will give Mr. Cox instructions on the subject.” When questioned by Douglas, Cox just shrugged it off, reporting that everything was “satisfactory”. The shooting and lynching continued and native life was changed forever.
Cox was not finished with the Okanagans having to report many more violent problems over two years. In every case the final outcome was frontier justice. Cox failed to have any effect on relations with natives and whites. Douglas finally took him away from the magistrate job and made him Assistant Commissioner of Lands and Works, answering to Colonel Moody. Cox then reported to the north of Okanagan Lake to deal with an armed insurrection of natives against miners. Moody charged him with marking out a “reserve” as defined by the Indians themselves. Cox had a lengthy interview with Chief Silhitza which ended in a satisfactory agreement for a reserve encompassing most of the head of the lake from Swan Lake to the Kamloops trail. Cox was sent off to do the same for the other Tribes of the Okanagan Nation.


Silhitza drew up a reserve for himself in N’kwala (Nicola Valley) and moved off hoping all was well. But then disaster struck. The Okanagans were decimated by a small pox outbreak in 1862/63. The many deaths seriously affected the population and their ability to govern themselves and it wasn’t long before white settlers began gnawing away at the reserves.
John Carmichael Haynes replaced W. G. Cox as the Queen’s representative in the Okanagan Valley in 1862. Haynes was appointed to the Legislative Council in 1864 and commissioned as a Justice of the Peace as well as Collector of Customs. From his office in New Westminster he dealt with numerous complaints from good British immigrants. They complained that the Natives of the Okanagan had garnered all the best agricultural land and weren’t using it for anything but grazing. Haynes agreed that the reserves were far too large for the diminished population and he would authorize disposal of lands with compensation. Colonial Secretary Birch stepped into the fray and ordered Haynes to dispossess the Indians without compensation as the reserves were “out of proportion”.
Haynes was given an awesome level of power to deal with all issues of government in the south interior, near lordly, somewhat medieval. Judge Haynes arrived via the newly completed Dewdney Trail in 1865 to meet with surveyor J. Turnbull. They met with Chief Tonasket and travelled to Penticton to see Tom Ellis, local cattle rancher. Turnbull did his best to map out the new boundaries as instructed by Haynes and to the disgust of Chief Tonasket. Tonasket can be credited for the retention of the best bottom lands for the Bands but the reserves on the lake were reduced to a shadow of the former acreage and common grazing lands were removed completely.

 

                                     SPROAT MAP 1877


The Okanagans rose up in discontent until armed rebellion was imminent. Their case impossible to ignore. Haynes’ reserves proved unworkable and were never gazetted.
Gilbert Sproat was named sole commissioner of the Joint Indian Reserve Commission in 1877, and in his short tenure (1880) he layed out the reserves for the Okanagan Tribes, based on the inherent need for grazing, fishing and forestry.
It seems at this point that Penticton Indian Band along with other bands in the valley were satisfied with the results. Penticton claimed five reserves: the west side reserve No. 1, the forest reserve No. 2, the Summerland reserve No. 3, the grazing reserve No. 4 and the Okanagan Falls fishing reserve No. 5.
My research shows that Tom Ellis would not have any of it. Ellis, along with Haynes and his railway syndicate to the south, depended on the grazing of cattle from Okanagan Mountain to the border. Reserve No. 2 lands were claimed by them.
As related in her book, Kathleen Ellis writes that her father proceeded to fence the “east benches”. There would have been only one reason to invest in a fence of this magnitude and that was to diminish the claims of the Penticton Band. Right or wrong he moved to keep them out.
Judge Haynes died in 1888 and Ellis purchased the Haynes estate. It was important to keep it all intact to satisfy the investment syndicate.
Green’s Map of 1906 above shows clearly just how little of Reserve No. 2 remained. Originally Reserve No. 2 comprised 1,427 acres and Ellis took 1,107 of them. This map was produced one year after Ellis sold all his holdings to Okanagan MLA Lytton Shatford and his three brothers.
The Shatfords immediately began selling farming lots and ranches to British immigrants and remittance men at huge profits.
Lytton Shatford’s Southern Okanagan Land Co. lobbied the McKenna-McBride Commission in 1916 to have the remaining 320 acres of Reserve No.2 deleted and reverted to the Crown. There are few records from that era to confirm this research.
In 1982, Penticton Indian Band was compensated $14.2 million for some of the loss.

This article contains research readily available in public archives.

COMMERCIAL BOAT TRAFFIC ON SKAHA LAKE

in Penticton/Uncategorized by

William Jessop Snodgrass was a City Councilor in La Grande, Oregon, in the heart of Union County.

W.J. Snodgrass

He ran a grist-mill, a mercantile, a freighting business, a steamship line, and had warehouses for miles along the Columbia. He had run for State Senator several times as well as being the Republican candidate for State Treasurer. He owned shares in The Columbia River and Blue Mountain Railway Co. which was to be absorbed by James Hill’s Great Northern in 1885. He was a vocal supporter of the Empire Builder, J.J. Hill and sat as a valued member of his railway syndicate.
When he arrived on the south shore of Dog Lake in 1892, his first thought was to build a boat. The only steamer running on Dog Lake at the time was Louis Holman’s little scow “Miramichi”.
Bill Snodgrass instantly entered into a partnership with Mr. Holman and Dr. Robert Mathison, the valley dentist. They became known as the “Dog Town Syndicate” and they set out to place the little engine from the Miramichi into a nicer hull built in Penticton, that they called the “Jessie”. But that wasn’t big enough and in 1893 they enlisted the Fireman from the S.S. Aberdeen, M.E. Cousins to build a sternwheeler at Okanagan Landing with a shallow enough draught to operate in the river oxbows between Penticton and Dog Lake. They named her the “Fairview” for obvious reasons, and she was captained by Louis Holman. At 55 feet long, she had constant problems in the narrow, shallow swamp of the Okanagan River; and when a she collided with a snag that demolished the wheelhouse and cast the captain overboard, it was decided to plead with the Government for help. Bill Snodgrass was given a $1500 Federal contract to remove snags from the Okanagan River in 1893.

 

This could be the Fairview but is unidentified


Snodgrass was doing so well with his steamboats, his general stores and his dray service that he wanted a really nice boat for his real estate investors to enjoy. When the “Fairview” caught fire in 1898, he ordered the “Maude Moore” from Ontario and put the engine from the “Fairview” into her. (Steam engines were very rare and expensive in the interior and Mr. Cousins seemed to be a bit of a genius in getting them to run after all kinds of disasters.) The “Maude Moore” turned out to be a real peach of a boat and the envy of all that sailed on her. When J.M. Robinson sailed on her in 1905, he made Mr. Snodgrass an offer he couldn’t refuse and ownership changed hands. She sailed between Summerland and Naramata for many years.

 


Snodgrass needed another freight boat with the burning of the “Fairview” so he sold the “Jessie” and used the money from both boats to build the sternwheeler “Greenwood” on the same design as the “Fairview”. But fire is the great equalizer, and she too burned.
W.J. Snodgrass’s plan for Okanagan Falls is another story, a story that crowns him the “Lord” of Dogtown. Bill left the area heartbroken after the death of his son, John, from a burst appendix. He chose to return to La Grande, Oregon without fulfilling his dreams and he died from a stroke October 14, 1909.

THE CPR STERNWHEELER KALEDEN AND THE MV YORK



The York was originally destined to replace the tug “Victoria” on Trout Lake, north of Kootenay Lake during the Lardeau gold rush of the 1890’s. How she came to run on Dog Lake is quite a story.
Her 88-foot hull was pre-fabricated at Bertram Iron Works in Toronto in 1900, and shipped in pieces by train to Okanagan Landing, west of Vernon. She was re-assembled and launched on January 18, 1902. Here are her statistics: she was 138 tons gross, 88 feet long by 16 feet wide, with a draught of just over 4 ½ feet. She was a twin tunnel screw-drive with a wood burning two-cylinder 12.9 horsepower steam engine.
The York was originally captained by Joe Weeks, but that was short lived when he took over the Aberdeen in 1904, then the Sicamous in 1922 where he remained. Capt. Reid then took the helm of the York.
Originally the sternwheeler S.S. Kaleden (launched on July 3rd, 1910), was to service the route from Kruger’s Landing to Dog Town (Okanagan Falls). She was 94 feet long by 18.4 feet wide with a 4.6 ft draught. Even with her shallow draught, she just couldn’t navigate the oxbows between Okanagan Lake and Dog Lake. The York was called in to assist each and every attempt at navigation with the S.S. Kaleden. It is rumoured that the Kaleden only made one successful trip to the Falls and was never able to repeat it.
So, for the early inhabitants of Kaleden and Okanagan Falls, it was small boats or overland for all their freight. This continued until the Great War ended.
The York could only navigate the river during high water, so during the freshet of 1921, the S.S. York was transferred to Dog Lake to service the fruitland developments springing up around the Lake.
CPR chose to provide railcar barge service to the south rather than complete the rail line around the lake. A rail slip for a small barge was built at Kruger’s landing and another close to the Falls. The York pushed this barge and four railcars to the various landings. The wharf at Kaleden was not railed so fruit and goods were handled by hand carts. The York could push the barge directly onto the shore for deliveries to farms without wharves.

 

MV York on Skaha in winter                                            Kruger’s Landing CPR Wharf 1930


The S.S. York continued to be a welcome sight on Skaha Lake until the KVR was completed around the lake in 1931. She was technically the property of the Kettle Valley Railway, having been sold to the corporation for $20,000 in 1920. She was taken out of service in 1932 and sold. She was dismantled and shipped to Nakusp but never reassembled. An era had ended.


THE SMALL BOATS OF SKAHA LAKE

After the fiery demise of the “FAIRVIEW” and the “GREENWOOD” and the sale of the “MAUDE MOORE”, there was a short gap in providing lake service to Dog Lake communities.
The lower wagon road around the lake was dependant on the weather and continual maintenance. Many trips to the southern mines had to turn off and go the over the sand hill track to Twin Lakes and through Willowbrook to Fairview. This was a day longer with fewer changes of teams along the way.


The Mallard at Okanagan Falls Wharf 1914


In 1909, James Ritchie purchased C.N. Higgins yacht “MALLARD” to haul freight to his new subdivision at Marron Creek that he called “Kaleden”. It was natural for him to change the name to the “KALEDEN”. It was simply good advertising.
By 1911, Kaleden was in financial trouble so Ritchie sold the “KALEDEN” to J. Fraser-Campbell and Seaman Hatfield (Kaleden Postmaster). The little boat was slow and heavy and proved difficult in the oxbows. They soon sold her and purchased a forty-foot gas launch, the “CYGNET”.

 

                             The Cygnet                                                                  The Mallard II


These enterprising partners established the South Okanagan Transportation Company and in 1914 launched “MALLARD II”. This little 32-foot, gas driven tunnel screwdrive yacht was much faster and made several trips a day on the lake. The “MALLARD II” was sold in 1920 to Bassett’s Freight Lines and moved to Osoyoos Lake.

First published spring 2016

in Penticton by

BUSTING THE MYTH OF “SEE YA LATER RANCH”

by Brian Wilson, Archivist/Editor Okanagan Archive Trust Society

The large winery high on the west hill in Okanagan Falls was originally pre-empted by George and Samuel Hawthorne from Ontario. They arrived in 1908 and having never seen the property except on a map, were startled by its inaccessibility. The only way in was from the White Lake track off the Myers Flat Road.

They built a small log home and began farming the 320 acres. They also built the Green Lake Road for easy access to Okanagan Falls.

Major Hugh Fraser, late of the Third Division of the Canadian Corps under Brigadier V. A. Williams; arrived in the Okanagan at the invitation of C. Carroll Aikins of Naramata.

The Major had been captured and spend two years in Hochlinden and Crefeldt prisoner of war camps for commissioned officers. He was part of a negotiated prisoner swap in The Hague when the armistice was signed. He was returned to Canada in 1919.

Aikins introduced the Major to the upper class of Okanagan life and assured him that the comforts of Upper Canada were available in the Okanagan. The Major agreed having been wooed by the vistas and bright skies.

He was able to purchase the Hawthorne Ranch and proceeded to build a stone home as was Aikins in Naramata at the time. The same builder was used, I’m sure.

The Major had been one of his father’s accountants in Montreal prior to the war, having graduated from McGill University.

Hugh Fraser inherited an incredible estate from Ottawa Rideau Club companies and banks. He never had to worry about money.

His friend Eric Sismey said of the ranch, “This could never be a successful commercial venture, but it was a delightful place to call home and raise a few head of cattle.”

The “See Ya Later” myth is rooted in his marriage to debutant, Lillian Williams in 1922. With the insistence of his father, Hugh returned to Ottawa to wed this privileged young woman. It is conceivable that he might have brought her west to introduce her to life in Okanagan Falls. They divorced just 3 months later. (On reading records connected to the family, I doubt if she ever left the east. But I’m sure if she did, she would have never got off the boat. “Not for me. See ya later!”)

Major Fraser was keen to help the community of Okanagan Falls. In 1928, he stepped forward to provide funds for the construction of the community hall. The hall was constructed from salvaged lumber from the abandoned Alexandra Hotel. He dug deep to hand out money to the local Women’s Institute for their hall, to the local Legion Branch, and purchased an organ for the church. He had a stained glass window installed in memory of his sainted mother who formed a branch of the Victorian Order of Nurses in Montreal.

One of his greatest contributions to Okanagan Falls was the donation of property for Christie Memorial Park.

The Major had always involved himself with the National Red Cross and continued to do so in the Okanagan. In the depression years he was their Chairman for 5 years and after the Second World War he was director for 10 years.

Major Fraser surrounded himself with Scottish Collies and working dogs for most of his life at the ranch. His love for these animals ran deep, so deep that he established a private cemetery for his animals. That cemetery is now part of a legacy that he left to the SPCA, having supported the society for over 20 years. It is now open to the public for services and burial of beloved pets.

Major Fraser always had hired hands and housekeepers around the place and one of his favourites was A.K. “Bill” Worth. The Major was aging and was hoping to move to his house on Forestbrook in Penticton, to simplify his senior years. He made Bill an offer to take over the ranch but Bill didn’t have the resources. So the Major legally adopted him. Bill changed his name to “Fraser” and took over the ranch.

The Major, his dogs and his parrot all moved to the home in Penticton, spending part of the year in the cabin on Eastside Road on Skaha Lake. This was 1956.

Bill Fraser cleaned up the 480 acre property and after a few years of pondering cash crops, decided that the future was in grapes. In 1961 he planted the first Foch, Chelois and other hybrids and successfully sold the crop to Andres Wines in Kelowna.

Bill sold the ranch to a European syndicate soon after Major Fraser died in 1971. He had created a true milestone of vineyard culture.

It wasn’t until 1983, that Hawthorne Mountain Ranch became a farm-gate winery. Albert LeComte, a Vancouver businessman purchased the property and turned the old dairy barn into his production arena.

His wines were a terrific success. He expanded the planting, introducing the first of the Gewurztraminer grapes and became an award winner.

The winery came to the attention of wine guru Harry McWatters of Sumac Ridge Winery in Summerland. Harry purchased as much of the Gewurztraminer as could be spared.

The medals just kept coming and McWatters purchased LeComte in 1995, renaming it Hawthorne Mountain Vineyards. Both Sumac Ridge and Hawthorne became part of the Vincor Corporation in 2000.

Vincor executives instructed marketing firms to come up with something that could compete with the kitschy names of surrounding vineyards like “Blasted Church”, “Kraze Legz” and “Laughing Stock”. They dredged up the old joke and “See Ya Later” was born.

 

First published in the Spring of 2016

 

 

in Similkameen by

Now Is the Time to Buy Lots  in Similkameen City,  B.C.

by Lori Weissbach

So starts an ad in the Rossland newspaper, The Evening World of August 28, 1903. It continued as follows:

Camp Hedley is the most talked of camp in the province, and situated in the centre is Similkameen City, surrounded by rich mines which will shortly have large payrolls. Over 200 lots have been sold to business people who realize that Similkameen will become the metropolis of this district. The Nickel Plate mines have expended $300,000 in development and are at present building tramways and a 40-stamp mill. Arrangements are being made for the erection of a large smelter at Similkameen City which will cost about a million dollars. Besides the Nickel Plate group of claims being developed by one of the richest mining companies in North America, there are several other groups and properties which will shortly be developed, among them being the Kingston Mines, Rollo, Wellington, Winnipeg, Red Chief, and Pollock. Situated as it is in the beautiful Similkameen valley, midway between Princeton and Keremeos, and protected from all opposition in the valley by adjoining a large Indian reservation, this townsite will become one of the principal mining camps of the Pacific Northwest. It was only a short time ago that lots in Rossland, Nelson, Greenwood and other mining centres were selling for the same price that they are today being sold for in the Similkameen. Come in before the boom and double your money.

 

SIMILKAMEEN CITY TO HAVE TWO RAILWAYS

The Victoria, Vancouver & Eastern and the Canadian Pacific railways are starting immediate construction for the Similkameen, which will make this town a railroad centre and divisional point, and when these competing lines are completed through to the Pacific coast, they will become the main through lines, being the shortest route from the interior to the coast. A large sawmill is running steadily on the west addition, the only available timber for miles around. The main street is 90 feet wide, being all cleared and ready for building purposes.  All railway, roads, telegraph and telephone lines will have to come through this townsite, which is located in the centre of the whole Similkameen valley and will become the largest distributing point and mining centre in British Columbia.

SIMILKAMEEN CITY LOTS WILL MAKE YOU RICH

A large agricultural area to draw from. Pure water, fine climate, rich mine, big payrolls.

LOTS for Sale $2 to $10 Per Front Foot

Agents in All Towns in B.C.-For further particulars apply to:

FRANK BAILEY & CO.,

Greenwood and Similkameen

J.H. YATES,

Empire State Building, Spokane

JAMES H. FLETCHER,

120 Columbia Ave., ROSSLAND

(Ad from The Evening World Rossland, B.C. August 28 1903 – Courtesy of BC Historical Newspapers)

 

Frank Bailey was born in Mysore, India in 1873.

He became a mining engineer and came into the province of British Columbia in 1896 along with a man by the name of Peter Scott. He visited all the mining camps throughout the Boundary and Similkameen regions.

In August of 1900 he took out a pre-emption on Crown Land bordering the west side of Chuchuwayha Indian Reserve 2A. He obtained Crown Grant 18/110. This became Lot 1968.  It consisted of 252 acres.

As yet there was no townsite at Camp Hedley as all of the land in the area was made up of mining claims. A small area at the mouth of Twenty Mile Creek was being held for future building of a smelter. In fact, there were a couple of smelter sites being considered at that time in the area of Camp Hedley. Frank Bailey decided that Lot 1968 would be an ideal place for a townsite to serve all the mining camps nearby. He wanted to call his town “Similkameen City”.

This report from the Greenwood Weekly Times of January 10 1901:

“In the central Similkameen district are Camp Hedley, Sterling Creek, Pearson’s and Riordan’s camps beside Fifteen and Sixteen Mile Creeks. Similkameen City is the principal supply point for this district, and is situated half way between Keremeos and Princeton, on the main wagon road, traversing the valley of the same name. For many years this townsite was unoccupied, under the belief that it formed a portion of Chuchuwayha Indian Reserve, which lies in the centre of Camp Hedley. This proved on a survey being made by Frank Bailey to be inaccurate and consequently he purchased the land from the government and crown granted it. It is now laid off in lots and blocks on modern principals and the coming summer should attract a considerable population.”

 

Nelson Daily Miner August 4, 1900

Frank Bailey arrived in town last night from the Similkameen. He is interested in the town of Similkameen City, just platted near the mouth of 20-Mile Creek, halfway between Keremeos and Princeton. The famous Nickel Plate group, owned by Marcus Daly, which is now being developed, is on 20 Mile Creek, besides numerous other fine properties. Mr. Bailey thinks the prospect for the future of the Similkameen is decidedly bright.

 

The Phoenix Miner September 15 1900

“Frank Bailey, owner of the townsite of Similkameen City, at 20 Mile Creek, was in town this week, as enthusiastic as ever over the prospects for that camp. Mr. Bailey is just publishing a well gotten up map of part of the Similkameen, showing all mining claims, camps, roads, trails, rivers, creeks, etc. The map is beautifully lithographed and is issued in connection with a pamphlet giving it a great deal of valuable information about the Similkameen. The pamphlet will be out in a few days and will be for sale by all news dealers.

 

Nelson Daily Miner November 9 1900

The announcement made by the Hon. J. A. Turner, Minister of Finance, that the Provincial Government had in view the construction of a line from the boundary District to Penticton at the foot of Okanagan Lake, so as to connect with the Canadian Pacific Railway service on that lake and its branch from the north end of Sicamous, on the mainline, has again directed attention to the possibilities of the mineral resources of that section of the Yale district known as the Similkameen.

One of the most enthusiastic believers in the richness of the many camps of that district is Frank Bailey of Similkameen City. With a view to directing attention to this section, Mr. Bailey has published an accurate map of a part of the Similkameen, embracing a dozen or more of the best-known camps. Speaking of the district he said, “I anticipate much travel next year into the Similkameen. This past season many claims have been partly developed and an effort has been made to attract capital our way.

Already a number of townsites have been placed on the market among them Keremeos, Olalla, Princeton and Similkameen City, and with the opening up of the country they are bound to forge ahead.

One of the best-known camps, situated at the heart of the district is Camp Hedley. The most important property in this camp is the Nickel Plate. Besides the Nickel Plate there are 8 important groups of claims east of 20 Mile Creek. But there are many others that are on the west side of the Indian Reserve and 20 Mile Creek.

This camp is easily reached from Similkameen City, which is situated on the main wagon road 23 miles southeast of Princeton and 22 miles northwest of Keremeos. Its location comprises several large flats, which extend from the base of the mountains in the fan-shaped area on a gentle slope to the Similkameen River. There is also an abundance of pure creek water for domestic purposes. The townsite company is installing a sawmill plant and making extensive preparations to build up the place.

The adjacent mining belt is 80 miles wide, running for over 40 miles in a northwest direction from Copper Mountain to Bullion Mountain. It includes Camp Hedley, Stirling Creek camp, Pearson’s camp and Twenty, Eighteen, Sixteen and Fifteen Mile Creeks. All these have a number of first-class mining properties and a large extent of high- grade ore in sight. The ores of the district are chiefly arsenical iron, which in Camp Hedley runs high in gold and silver, but in the other camps the ores are chiefly chalcopyrite, carrying good gold values.

Sterling Creek, Pearson’s and Stray Horse camps are principally copper camps, whereas Camp Yuniman is nearly all quartz, carrying free gold in paying quantities. The copper ores are usually combined with sufficient lime, silica and iron to make them self-fluxing. There are several good smelter sites in Camp Hedley, and as the mountain sides are steep, being on a 60 per cent slope on Twenty Mile Creek, all the ores will probably eventually be treated in the valley below Similkameen City, which adjoins the Indian Reservation.”

 

PROGRESS AT SIMILKAMEEN CITY

The Greenwood Weekly Miner reported on April 27 1901 that the latest news of the Similkameen came in yesterday by Frank Bailey. “I had a pleasant three weeks trip all through the country. On arriving at Fairview, I found a large number of the old timers had already left for Camp Hedley. There is a good wagon road as far as 16 Mile Creek. Thos. Bradshaw of 15 Mile Creek, is doing a good business taking care of the weary travellers who are coming in from all parts, principally from Spokane, via the Okanagan Valley. Mr. Bunt, of Penticton, has made the final arrangements to run a tri-weekly stage line from Penticton to Princeton, the distance is about 60 miles, and he will change horses at White Lake, Keremeos, Bradshaw’s Hotel, 15 Mile Creek, Similkameen City, Bromley’s and Princeton. The wagon road is expected to be completed in May. There are at present two gangs working towards Similkameen City to connect with the other end of the road at 16 Mile Creek. When this road is completed, it will be one of the longest wagon roads in the province.

The farmers in the Similkameen Valley have finished seeding and the fresh green grass can be seen everywhere; but up in the mountains there is still five feet of snow. The old timers and Indians say it is a very late spring, and that there will be high water in the creeks and rivers about June.

On 20 Mile Creek, D. Hackney has opened up his hotel. There is also a log cabin under construction.

At Similkameen City, J.N. Rear, of Lindsay, Ont., is installing a $5000 sawmill and expects to start to cut lumber by the middle of May. Campbell & Co. have erected a shingle mill and can supply shingles on the townsite for $4 per thousand. Mr. Rear says that with the amount of saw logs around this townsite, he can supply lumber at $15 per thousand. Messrs. Taylor and Kinchler are erecting a log hotel. Messrs. Oliver and Tetherstonhaup are building an assay office and as soon as lumber is available the townsite company will build a block.

Quite a large number of prospectors and strangers are camped on the townsite, the reason being that several rich, new strikes have lately been made on the mining properties adjoining, and on Sterling Creek on the opposite side of the Similkameen River. The most important groups of properties close to the townsite are the Pollock group of four claims. The Wilson group of five properties is located on the same mountain opposite Similkameen City, but situated higher up the mountain.

Mr. Rear, the sawmill man, has got permission from the government to run a ferry across the Similkameen River and has been supplied with cables, etc. from the government to connect the mines with the townsite, as in high water one has to cross over in a boat.

                           

 

Boundary Creek Times September 2, 1904

In June 1904 there was a government auction of lots for the Hedley townsite. Mr. C.A.R. Lambly was auctioneer and Frank Bailey was clerk. A large number of the lots were sold, most of them averaged $100 each. The sale lasted 2 days, June 27th and 28th and the provincial government realized nearly $12,000. Mr. Bailey managed to snap up a whole block of lots well situated. He comments that “most of the people have great faith in the Similkameen townsite, however it is hard to tell which of the many townsites in the Similkameen will become cities when transportation arrives. Princeton will undoubtedly become the metropolis for the upper Similkameen, while I think Keremeos will become a large distributing point for the lower Similkameen, and we expect Similkameen City will become the mining centre for the middle Similkameen on account of its typographical situation and its close proximity to the rich mines.”

 

The Hedley Gazette’s first issue was on January 19 1905 and it went on to say:

THE NEW TOWN OF HEDLEY

The Youngest and Largest in the Similkameen District

“The last shall be first” is a prophecy that is being fulfilled in Hedley’s case so far as its relative importance with other centres of population in the Similkameen riding is concerned, for it is at once the largest and youngest town in the riding.

It was only in 1900 the discovery was made that the ground at the mouth of Twenty-mile canyon was not part of the Indian reservation, when it was at once staked as two mineral claims—the Kimberley Fraction and the Mafeking. The favourable showings as development at Nickel Plate progressed, pointed unmistakably to the possibility of a town, and these two mineral claims were purchased by a local syndicate, consisting of Messrs. R.H. Parkinson, E. Bullock-Webster, C.E. Oliver and others, who with town siting in view, proceeded at once to obtain a crown grant and surface rights. The ground was surveyed by Mr. Parkinson, platted as a townsite, and placed on the market under the name Hedley, being called after manager Hedley, of the Hall Mines smelter at Nelson, B.C.  A considerable number of lots were disposed of mostly to parties resident in Spokane and Republic.”

 

From then on, we only hear of a couple of ventures happening at Similkameen City.

One was the Hedley Brewery, owned by Diller and Louis Scherbauer.  An ad appeared in the Hedley Gazette with the date of July 18 1910, for a Liquor Licence to be granted to the Hedley Brewery situated near Hedley B.C. The brewery was eventually sold to Princeton Brewing about 1912. A story in the February 22, 1912 Hedley Gazette said: W. Thomas, representing the Princeton brewery was in town last week in the interests of that business which has extensive trade with the Hedley hotels. Louis Scherbauer, formerly of the Hedley Brewery before it was absorbed by the Princeton concern, is now the brewer at Princeton while Mr. Thomas is business manager.

The other venture in Similkameen City was the Park Hotel, owned by John Cosgrove, who previously owned the Valley Hotel at Ymir. In March 1907 Mr. Cosgrove had an ad to sell the hotel, but permission for Liquor Licence Grants concerning the Park Hotel, under owner John Cosgrove, showed up in the paper consistently until January 1912. Then it was reported that John Cosgrove’s Park Hotel did not receive a renewal licence. It is presumed that the reason for cutting off the licence was failure to make the alterations specified by the chief licence inspector on his official visit. According to the Hedley Gazette of July 9 1914:   “Mr. J. Cosgrove has installed a gasoline engine and pump at his place up the river and it is now in first-class working order and is giving the utmost satisfaction. He is able to get as much as six hundred gallons an hour up on the flat at his residence. He has a small garden planted up at his place and next year intends to get more land under cultivation.”

 

A Few Other Snippets:

     Hedley Gazette May 4, 1905

John Cosgrove is to obtain the honour of the first building in Similkameen City. He is putting up a hotel there.

Hedley Gazette October 5, 1905

It is reported that Similkameen City is to have a brewery in the near future.

When this becomes an accomplished fact, the town will enjoy the distinction of being what the Scotchman calls a slockened place in the country, for it will have only two houses, one a hotel and the other a brewery.

Hedley Gazette November 9, 1905

Diller and Scherbauer are getting along with their brewery at Similkameen City, and will be turning out hi-yu schnapps before any others can get started.

Hedley Gazette January 4, 1906

The brewery of Diller and Scherbauer is almost completed.

Phoenix Pioneer September 14, 1907

Where are they now? Frank Bailey, he of Similkameen City fame, who sold lots of lots in his townsite near Hedley, to innocents years ago, is said to be laid up in Hedley or Princeton.

Frank Bailey moved into the Aspen Grove and Merritt area and was living there at the time of his marriage to Hilda Rose Winkworth Scott, who was 10 years younger than him. They were married in Vancouver.

About 1913 he published a wonderful book on our area called “Nicola Similkameen and Tulameen Valleys—The Richest Section of British Columbia”. He died in Deroche B.C. on December 21 1935.

 

John Cosgrove was born in Ontario and he died on February 21 1937 at the age of 78. Mr. John Cosgrove would seem to be the only person who could claim to ever have lived at Similkameen City and run a successful business. He thrived there for many years.

Just as Frank Bailey believed it should be.

 

Lori Weissbach is a researcher and board member of the Princeton Museum and Archives as well as a contributing editor to the Okanagan Archive Trust Society.

in Similkameen by

Princeton’s Industrial Disaster 1910-1914

John George found an outcrop of limestone on the Allison property just three miles east of Princeton. He purchased the property then travelled to Vancouver and met with his Provincial MPP, Lytton Shatford and suggested an opportunity for a cement production plant.

Shatford immediately rallied 13 of his business contacts with the idea. Without seeing the property or doing tests on the minerals present in Princeton, these gentlemen applied for, and received a charter for the Portland Cement Company, September 9, 1910, and began selling shares and bonds at $100 per share.

Mr. George was offered 1,850 shares for his 80-acre parcel, then was told he would receive the manager position when the factory was built. He was handed the responsibility of selling stock locally and with his efforts and the efforts of H.M. Budd, a Toronto stockbroker; they raised over $200,000 in capital.

At this point it became important to test the limestone and shale deposit for quality. Samples were sent to Rocky Mountain Cement Company in Blairmore, Alberta where it was reported that the grey material was satisfactory and the shale was excellent. It was found out later that the Great Northern Railway had secreted samples to a plant in St. Paul for testing as well, as they knew they would be the shippers of choice.

The spin went like this: ”The limestone and shale are of first quality and have been tested out in several laboratories and chemists found them entirely satisfactory for the manufacture of the highest grade of Portland cement. There is sufficient material on the property to keep the works running for hundreds of years with a capacity of 2,000 barrels (90,000 gal) per day.” This report sparked real interest with investors and by the end of 1912, $315,000 had been raised. All this without a single pound of cement produced.

The company was already sounding like a Ponzi scheme: “Bonds have been fully subscribed, which leaves them in the neighbourhood of $20,000 to place in order to supply sufficient funds to completely equip the plant. From the present estimate they have expended to date nearly $270,000 for all purposes, $30,000 of this amount will be returned to them by the adjoining Coal Company, for one-half interest in the railway spur when completed. They do not expect to sell more than $335,000 of the $400,000 worth of bonds which they are permitted to issue according to their bylaws. However, if conditions arise over which they have no control, they might possibly replace $350,000 of the present issue.  With those $335,000 of bonds issued according to the present basis of sale, they would not issue more than 1,700 shares of stock. This number of shares given for the property would make a formal issue of not more than 3,600 shares of the 5,000 shares for which they are capitalized.”

These figures were to call attention to the fact that the profits accruing to the purchasers of the stocks and bonds, would realize handsome dividends. Of course, there were no profits accruing.

Estimates for construction of the plant were estimated at just over $400,000 for buildings and machinery. Before all this could take place, a couple of other items had to be dealt with. First, the Great Northern Railroad had to be convinced to bring a spur across the Similkameen River to the plant. This involved a large bridge, wye and 2 plant spurs. Estimates for bridge construction was between $60,000 and $70,000. The GNR agreed to a deposit of $30,000 with the rail company throwing in $5000 in good faith, the Cement Company had to raise the rest. This is where the second item comes in. There was a coal deposit on the property. Not great coal, but a large deposit. The adjacent property had an operating coal mine under the operational name of the United Empire Coal Company. Cement Company directors convinced them to invest in the rail spur to ship coal with the assurance that their coal would be used to create electricity in the cement factory. They threw $20,000 into the pot. The bridge and spur, along with a two-mile extension to the coal mine, was constructed in 1912.

Construction had already begun using clay and stones from the property now that they could order by rail. The workers had installed a single rotary kiln and produced 250,000 bricks from local clay. The brick was used for boiler and drying settings. They received 5 rail cars of Clayburne kiln blocks. Lime could also be produced, but cement had to be imported. In 1912, they imported a full shipment of cement for $5.50 a barrel.

Workmen began to come in from all over the country to work on the project. The first group spent their time clearing trees and brush from the limestone deposit and removing the clay and shale layer. The deposit was only 500 feet from the plant so a tram conveyor was planned as well.

March 30, 1913:

“The employees of the Cement Works will reside on the new townsite of East Princeton which is only a ten-minute walk. Homes are being provided for them there by the townsite owners and they will be supplied with the conveniences of a modern city.”

Construction of clapboard homes did begin in 1912 with a promise of electricity, telephones and running water. The Methodist Church set out to build a church in the settlement and raised considerable funds. Rev. Osbourne officiated over the flock.

This is when the Budd Brothers came to Princeton. William James Budd, was an industrial builder from Calgary. He had been involved with the Calgary Power company and the Horseshoe Dam project that he failed to complete. His brother H. M. Budd was there to collect on stock subscriptions.

Budd was contracted for $10,000 to lay out the buildings and machinery to efficiently produce between 500 and 700 barrels of cement per day with a budget for 1912 of $200,000. He assured the company that he could build to produce 2,000 barrels day, then immediately left for Eastern Canada to tour Canada Cement Company plants to understand modern designs.

It has been reported in other journals that Budd was deeply involved in the planning of the Rocky Mountain Cement Company works in east Blairmore. Budd was also vice-president of the proposed Keystone Portland Cement Company plant in west Frank, which was never built. Construction of the Blairmore cement plant was delayed and its cement production was curtailed to deliberately depress share prices; the directors then sold the facility to the newly-founded Canada Cement Company at a bargain price and were rewarded with shares in that company. Similar tactics surrounding the consolidation of the cement industry across Canada and the creation of Canada Cement’s near-monopoly caused a national scandal in 1911 which was a factor in major shareholder Maxwell Aitken (later Lord Beaverbrook) leaving Canada for England.

Within just few months the cost of the buildings, crushers, driers, kilns etc., had surpassed $235,000 with equipment arriving at a further cost of $125,000. Plans were in place to produce fine plaster from Gypsum mined at Coalmont (Welldo), all-purpose lime and a cement-based concrete. But still, not a pound is available in 1912.

Budd is given 60 days to start production in June of 1913. He gets an extension to Christmas and does start producing at that time as “Elk Brand” cement. He sells every barrel to Copper Mountain Mine and Allenby at under $2 a barrel. Cost of the factory exceeds $400,000.

                                                                 

The Directors are furious and seek advice on cutting expenses. They approach the Kettle Valley Railway which will skirt the property, for cheaper rates. As a result, Great Northern Railroad calls in their debt of $30,000 which still remains unpaid. They threaten to suspend service.

The United Empire Coal mine is sold to Princeton Coal and Land Company and they want to renegotiate the value of their coal to the plant. They want to drop a shaft to a better-quality lignite and feel that their only customer, Portland Cement, should assist in those costs. A geologist is called in to explore the coal vein on the cement plant property but it is found to be too high in ash to burn of required heat. Princeton Coal and Land start shipping their coal to Vancouver leaving the cement plant to buy the balance needed from other mines.

Then a geologist from the Department of Mines reports that “the limestone deposit at present being utilized, although pure, is not of great extent, and the present system of quarrying is rather expensive, but it is claimed that the company possesses other larger deposits of limestone farther up One Mile Creek.”

The blame shifts in the annual report of 1913 to Mr. Budd and his company. Reading between the lines of President J.A. Harvey’s report, it is clear that Mr. Budd had been a little dishonest with his ability to design and construct the plant to working order. Much of the $125,000 for equipment has gone into Mr. Budd’s company and the machines seemed to be well used and not operational. The foundations under the boilers fell apart and caused the boilers to sink. The kilns and mills are continually under repair through most of 1913.

       

The company called a special meeting in December 1913 to vote for refinancing. They voted unanimously to borrow $150,000 on current assets to restart the plant. There was considerable trepidation amongst the bondholders, as it was mentioned that they had not been able to collect on $45,000 in stock subscriptions locally. They didn’t want to borrow on assets already encumbered but not noted in the annual financial statements. Soon after, Treasurer C.R. Briggs resigned.

By July 8th, 1914, the plant was ready to begin production. The run was short as the machines once again broke down. In addition, the adjacent coal mine closed and the $30,000 note held by Portland Cement for the GNR bridge was reneged. Budd headed for Blairmore and never returned. Manager John George had already cleared out and soon after died in Saskatchewan.

James Budd sent his partner J.A. Osborne from Blairmore to take over as manager of the plant, but it was too little too late. The money ran out and the factory closed. The board tried to spin the closure as temporary and even tried to sell more stock and to collect on notes in the community, but to no avail.

War was declared soon after the closure and the men signed up to go overseas. The equipment was seized and removed, the rest salvaged and stolen. The bridge and spur remained until 1928 when the bridge was dismantled and removed to be reassembled over the Tulameen River at the Pleasant Valley Coal Company mine.

The ruins remain to this day and are part of a resort appropriately named “Princeton Castle” It is a destination for wedding photographers and family reunions.

 

Thank you, Robin Lowe. Princeton Museum

 Ian McKenzie, Blairmore

Princeton researchers    Evelyn McCallum and Lori Weissbach  

BC Historic Newspapers    

How the Circus came to town

in Okanagan/Penticton by

Henry Meyerhoff’s roots were in the German-American state of Wisconsin. His father had settled in the small city of Green Bay and ran a small travelling show he called “Herman Meyerhoff’s Dramatic and Variety Show.” It featured a little of everything from a dog and pony show to comic operas.

Henry was born on the show site in 1884. As with all good immigrant families, the bright lights of the big city called to them. The show finally ended up on Eldridge Street, near the Bowery of New York City. The show garnered acclaim as a centre for “hokum” acts, which are those staring local amateur performers who were paid $2 for a nights work.

Unfortunately, Herman Meyerhoff died suddenly in 1899 leaving the family destitute. The 15 year old Henry was thrown into the position of owner of a broke travelling show. Past performers and current staff came forward to help the family keep what they could of the show together and to train Henry in the operation of the show. By 1904, he was ready to try it on the road.

The show travelled to all the large and mid-size cities on the Eastern seaboard and even to Ottawa. Strangely, this is where Henry first heard of “Penticton”. In 1916, while on Canadian tour, he bought some Penticton District Municipal Bonds. Where they came from was not to enter Henry’s mind until 1933.

They were treated very well in Ottawa and it was here that Henry changed the name of the troupe to “Crescent Shows”, mostly because of debts still owed to American sponsors. Soon after it was decided to remain in Ottawa and make it the headquarters to tour Canadian cities. They stayed in Eastern Canada and toured from Sydney to Winsor for over 20 years. In those years they were a central feature of the Canadian National Exposition in Toronto.

Henry had always had problems at the border with customs duties and permits as he was an American operating in Canada. It was suggested that there was a major savings to this procedure if he were to become a Canadian. In application he had to agree to keep a 75% ratio of Canadian employees and he would say these heavy charges. So in 1932 Henry became a Canadian.

But the 1930’s were cruel to the show and when Henry ended up in Timmins, it was the end. He looked back to the road east, and said to the troupe. “West?” Off to the western provinces they went. With $50 and those Penticton bonds, they arrived in Penticton in September that year. They squatted in a farmer’s field south of town.

     

Henry soon went to city hall to apply for a licence to set up the show on the site and was refused. Many good citizens wanted nothing to do with a travelling gypsy show in their town. With no money to move on, Henry was in a real fix. He went to local businesses to ask for credit and was much surprized that all of them were willing to help him out. He would never forget their generosity. He went back to city hall and held up the Penticton Bonds as his faith in the community. Alderman J.W. Johnson stepped up and spoke on behalf of Meyerhoff and the council agreed to grant a licence.

The struggles of the depression did cause Crescent Shows to go into bankruptcy in 1939, but Henry persevered and paid his debtors with interest. He could never let them down after their kindness.

During these years, and with the assistance of his aged mother, he adopted two sisters from a friend’s family. Rose Marie and Joan grew up in the travelling show until they were old enough to go to Strathcona School for Girls at Shawnigan Lake. Henry had never married as he didn’t think he had time, but after much pressure from the girls, who wanted a mother, he pursued one of the ladies from the Dancing McDonalds troupe, Maud. They were married in 1946.

Success was his in the 1940’s. He chose the right acts, the right animals and the right concessions. He purchased a 10 acre plot of land on the corner of Calgary Avenue and Main Street where he built a home and large barn to house his animals. The Circus portion of his show always had elephants, zebras, camels, lots of horses and the odd big cat. His could now winter in mild quarters and then begin the season with a local event.

 

From 1941 to 1950 he did just that. In April every year he would set up his carnival and circus and play to the locals for 2 or 3 weeks. He then would load the whole thing on railcars and head for Victoria or Edmonton. As the season ended, he would return to Penticton and set the carnival back up for a stint in October before packing it away for the winter. Penticton was one of very few small towns with a Circus twice a year.

In 1941, Henry Meyerhoff was a very generous man and he donated $1000 from receipts to the Penticton Red Cross for the troops overseas.

His travelling show originally leased 11 railcars from CPR, including 2 sleeper cars for his family and managers. By 1945, that increased to 20 cars. It was not unusual to transport a show this way but it was unusual to carry as much livestock as his Carnival did.

   

 

The show began with eight rides, Rollo Fun House, 20 concessions and Seller’s Pony ride, hauling 5 kids at a time in a cart. Meyerhoff could add acts to the show depending on the audience size. For example, Vancouver would be a larger show than Nanaimo. A few acts would join him from as far away as Arizona; people like producer John Kazlowski would design that year’s music and indoor shows for Henry, then move on to the next circus. In 1947, Henry added a Rat Show, a Mouse Circus and Monkeyland.

 

In 1948, Henry placed an advertisement in Billboard Magazine which stated:

“Showmen…Circus Operators…Animal Dealers…I am sailing mid-September to India, Tripurastate, Borneo, Agra, Thailand, Pakistan, Malaya, Neighboring Islands and Countries, in search of Strange and Interesting People and Freaks. Elephants full-grown, Baby Tigers, Baboons, Monkeys, large Reptiles. I have definitely secured export permits to export TWO SACRED WHITE ELEPHANTS and other animals to USA, Pacific or East Coast Ports. I will act as purchasing agent for reliable show people at ten per cent commission and unbelievable low prices. Contact me if interested, till September 15th.”

Henry was asked to join a planning committee for the organization of an annual festival for Penticton. The committee wanted to call this festival “Mardi gras” but Meyerhoff stepped up and stated “This is the peach centre of the world. We should call it Peach Festival.”

Mr. Meyerhoff’s generosity seemed to know no bounds. He built a public playground. He provided annual scholarships to Pen High in the value of $250 each, which was a small fortune in the 1940’s. He did this year after year for the school as he did for the Legion, St. John’s Ambulance and many more non-profit organizations. When the 1948 flood damaged the show, he donated $8000 to the B.C. Flood Relief Fund.

He was awarded Penticton’s “Citizen of the Year” recognition award for 1949.

                                                                       

These gifts continued flow for most of his working life. But as his girls got older and graduated, he started thinking of retirement. Rosemarie was working at the Starlight Theatre on Skaha beach for summers and Joan had no interest in the show. So in 1950, he sold the Carnival to friends, Ab Greenway and Tiny Nicholls of Gayland Shows. They sent out the combined carnival as “Garrett Shows.” Henry continued with the show as manager until 1953.

During this time, he put together the “Henry Meyerhoff Scholarship Trust” with $300,000 of capital from the sale of the show and from donations from other show operators. Meyerhoff said, “Besides being a fine thing for the students who win the scholarships, it will create better feelings for show operators and I consider it money well spent.”

Twenty two separate communities in three western provinces had awards each year. But the fund strangely dried up and was discontinued a few years later. It was due to the default of payments of the sale of the show by Greenway and Gayland Shows. Henry took a portion of the show back in 1958. First he tried to sell it with no luck, then went back on the circuit for a couple of years. He was 76 years old.

Mr. Meyerhoff sold his property for the Penticton Plaza shopping centre in 1958 but kept the house lot separate. He lived in the house on the corner of Calgary Avenue until his death in 1962.

Archibald Murchie – Pioneer BC Photographer

in Okanagan/Old Cariboo Trail by

 A Lasting Legacy of Platinum Photographs

Archibald Murchie came from England to the new world with his Brother, Thomas, in the late 1880’s. Thomas Murchie set out to bring the Aristocracy of Victoria, tea. Archie on the other hand, set out to bring the masses God.

By 1895, Archie had a small photography studio in New Westminster where he tried to make ends meet with his craft. He was an expert with platinum printing processes. The process created a image that would not fade and lasts forever.

In the evenings he would attend the Spiritualist Church, a strange outcast of the Church of England. There in the congregation he met Sam Smith, the man who would change his life.

Mr. Smith worked for Waddell and Hendrick, famed North American bridge builders and structural Engineers. As a matter of fact, Sam worked for the most famous of all suspension bridge designers, James A. L. Waddell of Kansas City. Even in modern times Mr. Waddell is thought of as the Father of the Wonders of Engineering.

Sam had just finished the suspension bridge over the Fraser River at Churn Creek and had been called to do a survey for a bridge near Chimney Creek at William’s Lake on the Cariboo Trail. In 1901, Sam asked if Archie would come along and photograph the entire construction from start to finish. Archie agreed as he could document the trip up the Fraser River and bring God to the local population. The pair stayed in the Cariboo while all the studies and surveys were done. Archie set up a studio in Yale as their headquarters but traveled between Yale and Quesnel often, to photograph life on the Gold trails.

   

Construction of the Sheep Creek Bridge to Bella Coola 1904

The bridge was completed in 1904 with a final cost of $65,000, nearly double the original estimate; and Archie photographed it all. His views remain a testament to the wonders of J.A.L. Waddell’s engineering talent and to life in the Chilcotin.

     

The famous Trundle-barrow photo                                        Murchie is second from left in Princeton

Archie loved the area so much that he stayed a few more years in Ashcroft where he operated a studio and preached the Gospel. He was fortunate to take photos of the last camel and even ran into Emily Carr and photographed her.

He stayed until 1907, when he got an offer from Presbyterian Reverend Cameron in Keremeos. They had met a few years back in the Cariboo and both were accomplished photographers. Cameron offered Murchie his own parish. The good Reverend was trying desperately to minister to three areas in the Similkameen Valley. Cameron offered Murchie the Princeton parish. Cameron could then concentrate on his churches in Fairview and Hedley.

   

The SS Okanagan at Westbank wharf 1908                        Hauling to the Cariboo at Clinton 1905

Murchie took his camera and his bible to the goldfields of Tulameen and Granite Creek and produced some of the finest chronicles of mining history that exist today. Many remain as the foundation of Princeton Museum’s mining archive.

   

Granite Creek on the Tulameen River 1908                          The town of Tulmeen

But Princeton was a sanctuary for the worst gathering of brigands and thieves. Bill Miner hid out there after his train robbery. Archie couldn’t get through to many miners and citizens of the area. He was getting old and tired. So he left in 1910 and purchased a small section of property in Glenco, which was to become Glenrosa in West Kelowna. (close to where Gorman’s Mill is today) Just after his 65th birthday, he married a local widow and tinkered with farming and photography. He pass away in 1930 and his wife quickly married again and memory of him and his work faded.

   

Hauling logs through Glenrosa 1910                                    The road through Powers Creek in Glenco

His work was saved in being that his glass plates were discovered by Helen Gorman, a local school teacher from a pioneer family. She saw the value in the images she salvaged. I met her on the urging of Una Hughes who had been a neighbour of Murchie’s as a child. She had several platinum prints of his views. Helen showed me a huge box of glass plates that were salvaged from a leaky chicken house. She had stopped a neighbour from scraping off the emulsions to use the glass in a greenhouse.

This collection is in the care of Okanagan Archive Trust Society today.

MURDER ON THE S.S. OKANAGAN

in Okanagan/Penticton by

CPR 086 copy

The tragic shooting of Constable Geoffrey Aston of the Provincial Police is a strange tale. Constable Aston was well liked in Penticton and beyond, having served in the Yukon and territories while a NWMP officer. He was a bachelor living on Ellis Street in downtown Penticton. He was a staunch Freemason and a member of the Greenwood Lodge.

Young George Aston while in the Yukon 1898
Young Geoffrey Aston while in the                      Yukon 1898

This saga began with the armed robbery of the Okanagan Mission general store.
The characters in this drama are led by a desperado who deserted from the American army, Walter Boyd James. Through his many aliases he liked to emulate his folk hero “Jesse” James; and like Jesse, Walter was never without his guns. He had drifted about the Okanagan, working as a labourer for many of the large land-holders but never for very long. Then on Saturday evening, March 23, 1912; Walter James robbed the Okanagan Mission store at gunpoint. He burst into the store with a large pistol held high and yelled, “Hands up!” The young assistant, Roy Randall, complied quickly but a customer, Mr. Small laughed, thinking it was a prank and had the pistol placed at his temple. Mr. Taylor, the proprietor emerged from the back and was forced to the till but James found it empty. He pushed Taylor to the back and made him open the safe. As the bandit’s attention was at the safe, Randall made a dash out the door. James gave chase firing a round at the fleeing boy, missing him in the darkness. James hurried back to loot the safe and escaped into the night with a small booty.
Randall hurried to the Bellevue Hotel but lost precious time convincing patrons that the robbery was not a joke. Taylor finally reached the telephone to inform the authorities. James was identified even though he was disguised by a white handkerchief and large droopy hat, as he had been loitering about the Hotel most of the day.
Constable Tooth was informed of the robbery and he immediately informed authorities north and south to watch for anyone matching the description. Walter had headed south over the Wild Horse Canyon trail on the east side of Okanagan Lake. On this road he met with a drifter, Frank Wilson who decided to travel south with James. James made no indication that he was on the run from the authorities. Wilson must have been a little suspicious of a man carrying a Winchester repeater and two 44 caliber revolvers in a hip holster. They arrived at the BC Hotel in Penticton the next day but found it fully booked. After trying other hostelries with no luck they returned to the BC Hotel. As they entered the lounge, they found Chief Roche and Constable Aston waiting.

Needless to say, Wilson was very upset and set upon James for not informing him of the serious charge. Wilson insisted to the constable that he was just a bystander. They were both to be  traston 2ansported to aston 1Kelowna to be charged. Chief Roche thought Aston should wait until morning to embark but Aston insisted on taking the prisoners onto the boat, the S.S. Okanagan, which was set to sail in the morning. Chief Roche again insisted that Aston not take on the task alone and he suggested Mr. Pope, a retired constable, travel along. Constable Aston did try a colleague, Mr. A.E. Paris, but he was engaged. Mr. Pope did return to the S.S. Okanagan at sailing time and looked in on the travelers and found them asleep in their stateroom.

The heinous deed took place while at sail between Penticton and Peachland. It seems from later testimony, that James had hidden a small 22 cal. pistol in bag under his arm. It had not been detected by the police search on his capture. While Aston slept, the small firearm was retrieved. As Aston awoke, James asked him for a glass of water. When offered he drew the pistol and demanded that the officer put his hands up. Aston refused and lept on James in an attempt to disarm him. The gun made a small ‘pop’ and the Constable fell to the floor.

James turned to Wilson, who was in a state of panic, and pushed the pistol in his face growling “If you cry out I will shoot you dead!” James offered to tie up Wilson and leave him with the dying officer, but in his fear, Wilson refused. The two retrieved the keys to the shackles and the weapons carried by the constable, covered him and then left by the deck door. Without raising any suspicion, they left the sternwheeler at Peachland dock.

As the ship left Peachland, the purser Alfred Watson searched his records and discovered that there had been no tickets issued for Peachland and became suspicious of the two men who left the ship. Just moments later a steward raised alarm with the purser as there was no reply at the constable’s stateroom door. They were able to enter from the deck and found Constable Aston still alive yet gravely wounded. Captain Estabrook was informed and the ship made haste to Gellatly Bay where he raised alarm with authorities north and south. The ship made way to Kelowna where the officer was transferred to hospital. Constable Geoffrey Aston was pronounced dead soon after arriving.

Before noon, the valley was alive with the news and the manhunt began. Magistrates made every available man a ‘special constable’ and they were ordered to join a posse in their community. The order went out to ‘shoot on sight’ if any resistance was offered. Well over 200 men set out to find the trail. Many hobos and vagrants were herded to the lakeshore for identification.

Then a break; tracks were discovered at the snow line at the Glen Robinson mine above Peachland, then a report that they had held up a shack in Westbank for food. The search continued through the night and it wasn’t until 4pm the following day that a report of their capture came through.
Special Constables Ramsey and Seely had been searching the waterfront at Wilson’s Landing and had spotted the two men sitting on a log near Ramsey’s ranch. The two officers covered the two with their rifles and, even though James seemed to reach for his weapon, he was disarmed without incident. (At the inquest, James asserted that he had seen the constables and could have easily shot them down.)

The two escapees were taken aboard the S.S. Okanagan and securely tied to theaston 3 mast and transported to Kelowna to await trial. At the inquest, Wilson offered testimony against James and, oddly, James corroborated Wilson’s testimony in every detail. Both were charged with the murder and transported to Kamloops to await trial. For his cooperation, Frank Wilson had all charges dropped and was released sometime later. Walter James was convicted and sent to the gallows September 9th.
James was defiant ‘til the end. On the day of his execution, he made a dash for the open door at mealtime, throwing pepper he had saved, into the face of the deathwatch officer. The officer quickly subdued James with his truncheon, knocking him unconscious. The 24 year old James went to the hangman with a large knot on his head.

Aston was placed in the Fairview Cemetery in Penticton with full Freemason honors. 100 years later, The Greenwood Lodge once again honoured Constable Aston with a remembrance ceremony attended by 75 people. Grand Master Bill Cave eulogized “I think it’s important to remember, not just a fallen brother, but a brother who was in the service of our police force.”
Led by a piper and honour guard of RCMP officers, firefighters, and emergency personnel, the Freemasons paid their formal respects to Geoffrey Aston.

© 2012 by Brian Wilson

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BILL MINER REVISITED 30 YEARS LATER

in Cariboo/Kamloops by

Our fascination for colourful characters in our past is topped by the adventures of Bill Miner; Train Robber and Philanthropist. This text is from the 1937 anthology of the R.C.M.P., “The Scarlet and the Gold.”

miner, bill 2 copy

Had Courtesy For Victims

Thirty years ago, on May 14, 1906, Bill Miner, notorious train robber, was captured in the wilds of the interior of British Columbia, thereby adding to the laurels previously won by the Royal North West Mounted Police. This is the story of the capture of a modern Robin Hood – a man reputed to have
stolen more than $500,000 in his life time and who gave liberally to the poor.

Bill Miner was widely known early in the century, as a daring robber and enjoyed a distinction rivaling that of the legendary Robin Hood. He robbed the rich and gave money to the poor. To the recipient of his gifts, Miner was a kindhearted friend who went away prospecting at certain intervals and came back to spread happiness, leaving the laughter of happy children in his wake.
The late Staff Sergeant J.J. Wilson, of Calgary, led the detachment of seven Mounted Police from Calgary into the wilds, in pursuit of the bandits, headed by Miner, who held up a C.P.R. Train at Ducks (Pritchard), near Kamloops, B.C., on May 8, 1906. Prior to that, Miner was responsible for a holdup at Mission Junction, B.C., on September 2, 1904, and got a haul of $45,000 in bonds.

The neighbourhood had been terrorized.

Robbers bristling with guns; cool and calculating in their operations, had uncoupled the mail car from the rest of the train and left the passengers stalled in their cars on the main line, while the front section was run down the grade a few miles for the purpose of dynamiting the safe. But it was a faulty judgement on Miner’s part. He slipped up on information that the train carried $160,000 destined for the needy residents of San Francisco, following the earthquake. That train had passed a few hours before, and this daring coup turned out a hopeless failure.

A few days after the robbery instructions were received at Calgary R.N.W.M.P. Headquarters to send a detachment to join in the search for Miner and his two companions, Shorty Dunn and Louis Colquhoun. The party left Calgary; headed by Staff Sergeant Wilson, on May 10, 1906. Two days later the police party rode in the direction of Grande Prairie (Westwold); about 100 miles south of Kamloops, where they understood Miner and his men had been seen recently. Miner had worked on a ranch in this district and it was believed he would head for the vicinity after the job at Ducks.

The party was nearing Douglas Lake, about 85 miles south of Kamloops, when Constable Fernie of the B.C. Police was encountered. He said he had seen three men answering the description of the fugitives crossing a road not far down the trail.

The police found the men and surrounded them. Among them was Bill Miner. He was told that he and his men answered the description of the bandits responsible for the train holdup at Ducks. When told that they would be taken in for investigation, Shorty Dunn opened fire on Sergeant Wilson. The bullet just grazed his left side. Then all the policemen pulled their guns. Sergeant Wilson covered Miner, and one of the other policemen covered Colquhoun. Dunn fired again and bolted into the bush. Here he plunged into a ditch and sank waist-deep in the mud. He was stuck and gave up. He had been wounded in the leg.

The Arrest of the Outlaws
The Arrest of the Outlaws

Miner and Colquhoun were bound with rope around their waists and marched away. Dunn was carried. They were convicted and sentenced by Judge Hunter at Kamloops.
A year later, Miner and his companions escaped from New Westminster prison. He went to the United States and pulled another holdup which netted him enough to go on an extended tour of Europe.

Upon his return he engaged in a few more railway robberies in the United States. Then he encountered a widow with a large family. She was penniless and about to lose her home. Bill Miner cleared the mortgage with all the money he had left, telling her a story about having been an old friend of her late husband. Miner, in his earlier days, preyed upon stage coaches conveying gold to Denver, Colorado. He always apologized to the passengers for the inconvenience to which they were put.

One of the mounted squad responsible for the capture of the notorious outlaw was Sergeant P.G. Thomas of the R.N.W.M.P. For many years, Sergeant Thomas, now Magistrate P.G. Thomas; has been acting in a judicial capacity in the town of High River, Alberta. Corporal C.R. Peters, who also aided in the capture, is now an Inspector with the R.C.M.P., stationed at Ottawa.

Three other “Mounties” responsible for bringing Bill Miner to justice, at least temporarily, are now dead. Staff Sergeant J.J. Wilson, of Calgary, was killed in an automobile accident east of High River on March 13, 1933. Superintendent T.M. Shoebotham, a corporal at the time of the capture of Miner, died in Dawson City on January 27, 1927 while still with the force. He was stationed at Calgary and in Regina. Constable S. Steward died many years ago.

“There’s one thing. I never killed a man in my life,” Miner is reported to have said before he died. Shorty Dunn and Louis Colquhoun died many years ago.

© 2012 by Brian Wilson

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