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MEMBER SOCIETIES Member Societies and their Secretaries are responsible for seeing that the correct address for their society is up to date. Please send any change to both the Treasurer and the Editor at the addresses inside the back cover. The Annual Return as at October 31 should include telephone numbers for contact. MEMBERS’ DUES for the current year were paid by the following Societies: Alberni District Historical Society Box 284, Port Alberni, B.C. V9Y 7M7 Arrow Lakes Historical Society Box 584, Nakusp, B.C. VOB 1 RO Atlin Historical Society Box 111, Atlin, B.C. VOW 1 AO Boundary Historical Society Box 580, Grand Forks, B.C. VOH 1 HO Burnaby Historical Society 6501 Deer Lake Avenue, Burnaby, B.C. V5G 3T6 Chemainus Valley Historical Society Box 172, Chemainus, B.C. VOR 1KO Cowichan Historical Society P.O. Box 1014, Duncan, B.C. V9L3Y2 District 69 Historical Society Box 1452, Parksville, B.C. V9P 2H4 East Kootenay Historical Association P.O. Box 74, Cranbrook, B.C. V1C 4H6 Gulf Islands Branch, BCHF do F. Dodwell, RR #1 S25—C21, Galiano Island, B.C. VON P0 Koksilah 1 School Historical Society 5203 Trans Canada Highway, Koksilah, B.C. VOR 2C0 Kootenay Lake Historical Society Box 537, Kaslo, B.C. VOG 1 MO Kootenay Museum & Historical Society 402 Anderson Street, Nelson, B.C. Vi L 3Y3 Lantzville Historical Society c/c Box 274, Lantzville, B.C. VOR 2H0 Nanaimo Historical Society P.O. Box 933, Station A, Nanaimo, B.C. V9R 5N2 North Shore Historical Society do 333 Chesterfield Avenue, North Vancouver, B.C. V7M 3G9 North Shuswap Historical Society Box 22, Celista, B.C. VOE 1 LO Princeton & District Museum & Archives Box 687, Princeton, B.C. VOX iWO Qualicum Beach Historical & Museum Society 587 Beach Road, Qualicum Beach, B.C. V9K 1 K7 Salt Spring Island Historical Society Box 1264, Ganges, B.C. VOS lEO Sidney & North Saanich Historical Society RO. Box 2404, Sidney, B.C. V8L 3Y3 Silvery Slocan Historical Society Box 301, New Denver, B.C. VOG iSO Surrey Historical Society 8811 — 152nd Street, Surrey, B.C. V3R 4E5 Trail Historicc Society P.O. Box 405, Trail, B.C. Vi R 4L7 Vancouver Historical Society P.O. Box 3071, Vancouver, B.C. V6B 3X6 Victoria Historical Society RO. Box 43035, Victoria North, Victoria, B.C. V8X 3G2 AFFILIATED GROUPS Fort Steele Hitage Park Fort Steele, B.C. VOB 1 NO Kamloops Museum Association 207 Seymour Street, Kamloops, B.C. V2C 2E7 Gavel Historical Society 4474 Rupert Street, Vancouver, B.C. V5R 2J2 Nanaimo Centennial Museum Society 100 Cameron Road, Nanaimo, B.C. V9R 2X1 Okanagan Historical Society Box 313, Vernon, B.C. V1T 6M3 SUBSCRIPTIONS I BACK ISSUES Published winter, spring, summer and fall by British Columbia Historical Federation P.O. Box 5254, Station B Victoria, B.C. V8R 6N4 A Charitable Society recognized under the Income Tax Act. Institutional subscriptions $16 peryear Individual (non-members) $12 peryear Members of Member Societies $9 per year For addresses outside Canada, add $5 per year Back issues of the British Columbia Historical News are available in microform from Micromedia Limited, 20 Victoria Street, Toronto, Ontario M5C 2N8, phone (416) 362-5211, fax (416) 362-6161, toll free 1 -800-387-2689. This publication is indexed in the Canadian Index published by Micromedia. Indexed in the Canadian Periodical Index. Publications Mail Registration Number 4447. Financially assisted by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs, Recreation and Culture through the British Columbia Heritage Trust Fund and British Columbia Lotteries. Bdtth Combia Flistorical News Journal of the B.C. Historical Federation Volume 28, No. 1 Winter 1994-95 EDITORIAL CONTENTS It is always a pleasure to present our read FEATURES ers with a variety of facts and facets of B.C. Company Towns: Especially Englewood 2 history. it is especially encouraging when we byE.A. Hams include new names among those of regular The “Neweete War” 6 by Lesley Cooper contributors. Ernest Harris writes of The David McLouglilin Story 10 Englewood where he taught when young: that by CaneJones community no longer exists. Tom Parkin ob Road to the Pacific Rim 13 viously enjoys his role as historian/public re by Tom Parkin lations officer for the Department of Highways. Navigation on the Stikine River 15 Sam Holloway writes of and from the Yukon. by Edward L. Affleck Finnish Immigrants and Their Political We peek at the politics of Finnish immigrants Ideology 20 by RickJames in Sointula and elsewhere. For those who The Story of Edna Eldorado 25 enjoy the romance of riverboats, Ted Affleck by Sam Holloway has explained the activities on a northern river. The Plight of Rural Women Teachers in the 192 Os 26 And we found a lady in Cranbrook with a neat by Robert Wright story set in the Cariboo. We hope that you The Stagecoach and The Sleigh on the Kootenay Flats 29 by Edward L. Affleck enjoy these and all the others past, present Christmas in Sumas in the 1870s 31 and yet to come. by Shirley Cuthbertson Have you, or someone you know, got a Commander Charles Rufus Robson, RN 32 favorite story of local happenings? if so, why by Paul C. Appleton don’t you share it with readers of this maga The Bridge That Jack Built 34 zine? How about inviting a friend to join your by Alice Bjorn local historical society? British Columbia is NEWS and NOTES 35 relatively young, which makes it easy to en vision the situations we read about BOOKSHELF My own New Year’s resolution is to promote Dictionary of Canadian Biography 36 Review by Me/va Dwyer interest in and enthusiasm for the many heri Cancelled with Pride 36 tage treasures we have in British Columbia. Review by Francis Sleigh Naomi Miller The Legacy and The Challenge: Forest Industry at Cowichan Lake 37 Review by Ken Drushka Whistle Punks and Widow Makers 37 Review byJim Bowman COVER CREDIT Taku: The Heart of North America’s Last Wilderness 38 Review by George Newell These riverboats plied the Stikine River. Left Far Pastures 38 to right: the CPR sternwheelers Hamlin, Review by George Newell Ogilvie, McConnell and Duchesnay lay up at Trail to the Interior 38 Wrangell in August 1898 after a short and Review by George Newell The Skyline unprofitable steamboating season on the Limited: The Kaslo and Siocan Railway 39 Review by Edward I. Affleck Stikine. Seven Knot Summers 40 Photo courtesy of Yukon Archives/University Review by Philip Teece of Washington Collection, Print #1330. Manuscripts and correspondence to the editor are to be sent to P0. Box 105, Wasa, B.C. VOB 2K0. Correspondence regarding subscriptions is to be directed to the Subscription Secretary (see inside back cover). Printed in Canada by Kootenay Kwik Print Ltd. Company Towns, Especially Englewood by E.A. Harris The company town has been a fea prosperity was offset by some damag have grown and prospered while oth ture of British Columbia’s history since ing side effects: sulphur fumes from the ers have maintained at least a nominal the first colonial days. The fur-trading smelter killed the trees in the surround existence under different circumstances. posts established during the first half of ing forest and seepage from the mine Powell River began as a typical pulp and the 19th century were, in effect, embryo polluted local streams. In 1935, due to paper company town and continues in company towns. The cities of Victoria, low copper prices and lower procluc that capacity, but on a much wider mu Nanaimo, Kamloops and Prince George tion, Anyox was closed down and most nicipal base. Ocean Falls, up coast from all originated as Hudson’s Bay Company of the town’s population departed, leav Powell River, was less fortunate. — or North West Company — forts and, ing what had become a kind of waste Founded in 1917, Ocean Falls produced although the fur-trade is now a marginal land. The town’s population dwindled many tons of paper products. This com occupation, present-day towns like Fort and in 1939 the post office was closed. pany town was also famous for its bas Nelson and Fort St. John still retain their In 1942 a forest fire destroyed the dead ketball teams, swimming champions and fur-trade names. trees and Anyox’s abandoned wooden super abundant rainfall. The plant was Most company towns were single in buildings — the once active mining cen closed in 1980 but a handful of perma dustry commu nent residents nities based Ofl keep Ocean such resource Falls from be enterprises as coming a mining, lumber ghost town. ing, pulp and Britannia, a paper-making, former copper and salmon- mining com canning. The pany town on most complete Howe Sound, type of com now survives pany town was as a museum where the com and tourist at pany was the traction. sole proprietor Hedley, — the em once the site ployees occu of a great mine pied rented above the accommodation Similkameen and dealt at the River south Wood & English sawmill at Englewood in 192& Docks to the right and upper townsite to the left. company store. Photo courtesy of the author east of Anyox, at the Princeton, has head of Observatory Inlet, was a town of tre was now a ghost town. But as the become a retirement and residential vil this type. Established by the Granby Com human population vanished, natural lage. Chemainus on Vancouver Island pany in 1912, it depended on a rich cop vegetation began to restore itself. Pete has changed from sawmilling to tour per mine and smelter for its prosperity.