Midway

ABC Wednesday
October 7th, 2015

The letter is M, for Midway

Not the Midway of World War 2 fame, but a semi-desert village nestled into the West Kootenay region of southern British Columbia - a border crossing into Washington State with
a population of between six and seven hundred.

It is also Mile 0 of the Kettle Valley Railway, and when you speak of railways and Midway 

there is bound to be a tale.....

In 1896 Augustus Heinze announced that he was planning to extend his Columbia and Western Railway into the neighbourhood.  There was great talk of mines and smelters in the vicinity and the hope that Midway might become a metropolis of some note.  In 1898 the Canadian Pacific Railway bought the Columbia and Western, extending the railway eastward to Castlegar, - but wait!  In 1905 Jim Hill's Vancouver, Victoria and Eastern steamed up valley and into the settlement and the dye was cast for the Great B.C. Railroad War.  "....but a Canadian war, with the actual battling resembling a hockey  brawl, really..." (D.M. Wilson)  Nevertheless it was earnest and enthusiastic, lasting all of two days with pistols fired (mostly in the air) and the outcome of the dispute  between the CPR and the V.V. & E resulted in the V.V & E. winning the support of the B.C. Supreme Court and being proclaimed victors, commencing regular passenger service into Midway.

That was in the romantic days of train travel.  Now the rail bed of the old Kettle Valley Railroad is a popular wilderness cycling trail stretching as far as Penticton, to the west. 

 At the trail's start the Village of Midway operates the Kettle Valley Museum which highlights the life of early Boundary settlers.

One of these early pioneers was Charles Thomet, who for a number of years  enforced law in the district as a British Columbia Provincial Policeman.   

On his retirement he purchased the grand Midway Hotel, - a safe endeavour, one would think...... 

 Here is his story.....

Midway has settled down to become a quiet and attractive town.  Its greatest

attraction to us, I guess, is that our first born granddaughter and her husband

teach math and calculus in the Secondary School....

...but I have always loved this beautiful Boundary country, just to the east of the Similkameen....

a great place to fish and tube the river

and to hike the many trails, as marked below

a lovely, small, quiet town !!!!!!

One last story......adjacent to the Secondary School is a park in which two trees have grown together when the village was young.

The trees were joined together by Sinixt people as a symbol of the International Boundary Line dividing their people and the Canadian territory.  

A plaque at the site reads:

When the International Boundary Line was being surveyed in 1857-1861 the major portion of the large Indian band then living in this area then moved to the reservation in Colville, Washington.

One of the Indians entwined two saplings, saying

"Though divided we are united still - we are one."

For more interesting Ms make your way to ABC Wednesday

here,  with thanks to Roger and Denise

and their many helpers and admirers.

Putting the garden to bed, with remembrance

A gorgeous fall day.  Blue sky and sunshine entice me into the garden

and there I find the beginnings of somnbulence, -

and a cool, crisp breeze that speaks of autumn;

a definite need to deadhead the yellow daisies

and harvest the herbs and the walnuts which have fallen from the

neighbours big nut trees.

The husks of the walnuts suggest deep rich woolen dye

but those days are beyond me now so I content myself with bringing

in the sage, the oregano, the basil and the rosemary,

stripping the leaves to lie on a cookie sheet and dry.

It is time to repot the geraniums and bring them in to brighten the winter kitchen.

and to dig up the bulbs and cut down the huge dahlia to store

 in their winter bed of peat.

The peonies and the vine that entwines itself around the raspberry bushes

when I am not watching - all have donned their fall colours.

But still there are bright yellow daisies here and there and the asters

glow in the sunlight.

Snaking through the garden bed, the Chinese Railway has sent up

lanterns to light the way, and I will pick the remainder of these

for winter decoration in the church, along with some silver dollars..

As I work in the garden, replenishing the bird feeders

and filling the fountain with fresh water

my mind is with my mother, who left us so long ago

on this date.

I love this picture of her with my father, - when they were young

and gay, and  full of romance and my father was recovered from his wounds and

 home from the Great War.

and this one, - towards the end of her life, with the V.O.N. who were so good to her....

and she was so patient and so loved.....

an inspiration to me all my life....

Rest in peace, my darling....

Lillooet, British Columbia

ABC Wednesday
September 20th, 2015

The letter is L for fascinating Lillooet

It is hard to find a town in British Columbia that is not surrounded by mountains,

and Lillooet is no exception...

It is a fascinating town, because of its history and culture.

Located about 150 miles up the British Columbia Railway Line from Vancouver,

and situated at the confluence of several main streams with the

Fraser River,  it attracted large seasonal and permanent populations

of native people.  First Nations communities

assert the land as traditioal territory since time immemorial, and

it is considered to be one of the oldest continuosly inhabited

locations on the continent; reckoned by archaeologists to have

been inhabited for several thousand years.

The town itself started as one of the main centres of the Fraser Canyon

Gold Rush of 1858-59 and was considered to be the largest town west of Chicago and north of San Francisco at that time.

Lillooeters consider their town to be 'Mile 0" of the original Cariboo Wagon Road.

It is true that the numbered roadhouse names of the Cariboo district are measured from the bend in

the main street in Lillooet, where a cairn was erected to commemorate this fact.

Hundred Mile House - Hundred and Fifty Mile House...

all towns now on that road called at its start 'the Golden Mile'

partly because of all the gold dust said to have been scattered

along it in its heyday, and also because it was the hub of supply for 

the surrounding goldfields.

Gold mining and prospecting continue in the area to this day,and added to it

was the discovery of the world's largest source of the nephrite form of jade.

Mining of the jade was greatly facilitated by the invention of a local farmer (Ron Purvis)

who adapted the skil-saw concept by implementing a diamond rotary blade, making is possible to 

carve jade from the many immense jade boulders which line

the banks and bed of the Fraser and Bridge Rivers.

There were once fields of market gardens in and about Lillooet, but recently

agriculture has turned to the cultivation of grapes

Of course Lillooet has not ignored their marvelous resources that feed the tourist

industry and attract hikers and fishermen,

(sturgeon)

and there are many driving and walking tours in the area.

One takes the visitor on the Kacham Shuttle that winds along the shores of

Seton Lake, passing by sites of historic significance and usually some wildlife.

Others follow the old Cariboo Gold Rush Trail and some lead to great lakes and parks

in the area, so that you travel from desert canyon to coastal rainforest in just a few hours.

Lillooet has a number of Japanese Canadian families today who are descendents

of those who remained in the area after their relocation to Lillooet during World War 11.

Among them are descendents of Dr. Masajiro Miyazaki, an osteopath who was enlisted by local

police during the war to serve as a replacement for the town's deceased coroner.

He became the region's de facto general practitioner and is one of the

town's residents appointed to the Order of Canada.  His house is still open for tours of the doctor's office, which has been preserved as he left it.

The other Lillooet recipient of te Order of Canada was Margaret "Ma" Murray,

a Kansas born farmgirl, born to Irish immigrants, who moved to Vancouver

before World War 1, went to Lillooet with her husband, George,

and there  became known for the once famous Bridge River-Lillooet News.

She wrote with a saucy wit, daring opinions and spicy language, 

and always ended her opinions with the phrase

"and that's for damsure !'

"She was perhaps the source of the town's greatest renown."

A few pictures of the Lillooet area.......

how to get there.....

For more great Ls leap the gorge here and visit ABC Wednesday

with thanks to Denise and Roger and alltheir helpers.

This, that and the other -

Well, first of all - after five wonderful great grandsons, a second precious great granddaughter to grace our family, - what a joyous welcome she received!!!  In her honour the sky is blue, the sun is moderate and kindly warm, the birds sing and the colours of fall are subtle and mellow along the roadsides and through the hills....

Everyone and all things are elated!!

 And she lies in her little crib, rosy lipped and content, and full of promise.

I find as one grows older new lives are ever more precious, dear and enduring.

I have been poking about in the garden this afternoon, cutting back the phlox and

encouraging the chrysanthemums which seem late in blooming this year.

I look with dismay at a number of our trees that are afflicted with aphids 

and the way the syrup drips from the branches and glosses

the leaves of the plants beneath.

Desperate pruning and spraying seem to be the order of the season,

either now, in the fall, or next spring.

And when I have not been in the garden these lovely autumn days

I have been knitting or reading or weaving towels for Christmas.  A pretty lace scarf finished

while I watched and listened to the Berlin Philharmoniker in concert yeseterday morning

with Zubin Mehta

(my favourite conductor) 

Or I have been reading.  After poking into the history of Kingcome Inlet

for an ABC Wednesday blog I went looking for a copy of Margaret Craven's

novel "I Heard the Owl Call my Name" and have enjoyed re-reading it after

many, many years.  Well, I have enjoyed it, but I was also in tears part of the time,

in the very sad parts.  I an thankful now that there is a greater

respect and familiarity between First Nations and the later inhabitants of this land (us).

Although, in the Similkameen, where there has always been a sharing of schooling,

there has been great friendships amongst those First Nations people in the valley who are

the same generation as we were, as our children are, and their children, too!

Then in church this morning, I was mentioning Kingcome Inlet and the book

to our priest, and he told me

that he had been in Seminary at the same time "Mark Brian" * was preparing

for the Anglican priesthood.

*(the name of the protagonist in the book)

And the friend who was sitting beside me when we were having coffee

told me that in the fifties Kingcome Inlet had been on her husband's itinerary, 

and so she was familiar with it, and with the book......

How life all fits together when we are aware......

Tonight I am planning to start another scarf  (Christmas coming....), watch the first episode

of Indian Summers on PBS, and look at the moon do its scheduled

dance with the sun and the earth.  This will be my last chance,

as I don't expect to be here in 2033....

But now it is time to go and warm up my supper.........

Kingcome Inlet

ABC Wednesday
September 23rd, 2015

The letter is K for Kingcome Inlet

Whereas there was a great dirth of towns whose names began with the letter J in British Columbia I found when I went looking for K I was quite overwhelmed.  Keremeos, right here at my elbow, - Kamlooops, Kitimat, Kaslo, Kimberley, Kleena Kleene, Kelowna, Kitchener, Kitwanga and Kildonan.

And down on the southern coast of British Columbia there is a small fjord 'set against the backdrop of great towering mountains, carved into the Coast Mountain Range of mainland British Columbia by the glaciers of the last ice age'.  

I repeat these words because everywhere I looked for information I found them written, just as they are written here.

The community of Kingcome Inlet is located at the head of the inlet, and two miles up the Kingcome River is the Tsawataineuk ('tsa-wa-tay-nook') Village of Kingcome. The Tsawataineuk
 belong to the Kwakwaka'waka First Nation and have lived here for thousands of years, with a rich historical culture and heritage.

White settlement began in 1895 when the Halliday brothers, Ernest and William, took up land near the mouth of the river and started B.C.'s most isolated cattle ranch.  The Halliday ranch became a coastal landmark, helped along by the notoriety of William Halliday who became an Indian agent and played a prominent role in government attempts to suppress the potlach. (A gift giving feast practiced by the Indians of the Pacific Northwest, and of great importance to them both economically and traditionally)

Kingcome Inlet was the setting for that beautiful and poignant novel written by Margaret Craven and published in 1967.  It tells the story of a dying Anglican priest, sent by his bishop to work with the Tsawataneuk, believing that he will "learn enough of the meaning of life to be ready to die."  I had read this book many years ago when it was first published, and then again within the last twenty years, but it is no longer on my shelves, and so I was delighted to find a video of the movie that was made from the book on Youtube, and look forward to a hour or two of reminiscing as I watch it.

Missionary activity with the Kwakwaka'waka was initiated by the Church Missionary Society mission station at Alert Bay as early as the 1890s, but by the late 1920s the missionary work at Kingcome had been transferred to the Columbia Coast Mission, and St. George's Church was consecrated in 1938.

As I remember the book the learning process was equally divided between clergy and First Nations.

Economic activities in the Kingcome Inlet area include commercial logging, fishing and silviculture, and at one time in the early 20th century, the Powell River Logging Company set up shop here and took advantage of the wonderful resources available, providing married living quarters for their employees from up coast.

Some twenty years ago (can it really be that long) the people of Kingcome Inlet were flooded out of their homes and their Big House was severely damaged.

to be replaced with this new building.

Although this is a picture of the people waiting on the dock to leave for spring break, one can only imagine their anxiety as they left their homes and were air lifted out of Kingcome to Alert Bay

As in many parts of British Columbia life is a great adventure for tourists, and this magnificent fjord-like inlet hosts several remote fishing lodges set in spectacuar surroundings.  The area teems with wildlife, cascading waterfalls and waterslides, and steep mountain cliffs which rise straight out of the sea.  As Kingcome Inlet is accessible only by private boat, water taxi, or scheduled and charter floatplanes the tourists are not exactly the tenting types....

The region is home to a northern population of resident killer whales (Orcas), and other marine mammals include dolphins, porpoise, resident harbour seals and wintering Stellar sea lions.  Other wildlife in the area include deer, bears, shorebirds, seabirds, loons and bald eagle.

In many First Nation Communities there are ancient pictographs which depict happenings and history of the areas.  Kingcome Inlet is rich in this culture.

This is entitled the Chief's Bath

And this is a sailing ship - perhaps clearer at a different angle.

A more modern pictograph has been painted by

Marianne Nicholson (a native Tsawataineuk) to mark the vitality of this First Nations group.

The image is of a 'copper', a large shield shaped symbol of chiefly power, family prestige and spiritual inheritance, among many meanings.  'Many pictographs on the coast are fading away, rinsed by the sun and rain, and some even vandalized.  This massive pictograph takes a stance for all the past, present and future powers of the Kwakwaka'wakw First Nation'.

A book, "Two Wolves at the Dawn of Time" has been written by Judith Williams,

telling the story of this pictograph, its meaning, and the politics (for want of a better word)

behind its creation.

I have learned a great deal from my research into the culture of the peoples of Kingcome Inlet

and find I am enjoying immensely this opportunity to delve into the towns

and communities and culture of British Columbia.

As an aside, while looking at photos of the region I came across a couple in Kingcome Inlet 

who had bought wood wedding rings, from Touchwood Rings, 

in which company my son is the artist and my daughter-in-law 

is his precious liason with the public.

For many interesting Ks kindly klick here to get to ABC Wednesday

with thanks to Denise, Roger and any kinky helpers they might have.