53.1 Spring 2020

British Columbia History

Discover British Columbia’s Past!

British Columbia History2 min read
Public History
We are hearing a lot of discussion in the history world about the concept of “public history.” Public history describes the many and diverse ways in which history is put to work in the world — it is history as it applies to current, real-world issues
British Columbia History1 min read
Letters from Readers
Hello Andrea, Happy New Year! You have provided a fascinating story in your editorial in the Winter 2019 edition of British Columbia History. It appears that the story of aliens in the First World War is a real “Who’s-Who” regarding German, Austrian
British Columbia History11 min read
Haiku in Tashme: The legacy of Sukeo “Sam” Sameshima
Jacqueline Pearce of Burnaby, BC is a grant recipient of the 2019 BCHF Centennial Legacy Fund in the amount of $4,300 for her Japanese-Canadian internment camp haiku translation project. The goal of this project is to translate at least 300 of over 6
British Columbia History1 min read
Translating Haiku
While haiku are very short and simple, they can be difficult to translate. The Japanese is often intentionally ambiguous, with no pronouns included and no clear indication of whether a subject or object is singular or plural. Each haiku can be interp
British Columbia History9 min read
MCKENZIE CREEK ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE A Forgotten Settlement in the Seymour Valley
Archaeological research has led to the discovery of a unique Japanese-Canadian (or Nikkei) settlement in the forests of the Seymour Valley in southwest British Columbia. What makes the settlement unique is that after its initial use as a logging camp
British Columbia History5 min read
Cora Brown Subdivision, Sea Island, Richmond
When people ask where I grew up, I say, “Cora Brown Subdivision, on Sea Island.” To which they reply, “Where is Sea Island?” Sea Island is an island at the mouth of the Fraser River, and is now the home of the Vancouver International Airport and McA
British Columbia History7 min read
EYEWITNESSING FORGOTTEN HISTORY Italian Canadian Internment Objects
The Italian Cultural Centre (ICC) gallery in Vancouver possesses a collection of handcrafted wood objects donated by the Ghislieri family that embody the power of craft to speak volumes about important episodes in this community’s cultural and social
British Columbia History2 min read
Lost Children of Residential Schools
The residential school system was created by the Canadian government in the mid-1880s and operated for over 150 years until the last school was shut in 1996. Over 150,000 children attended 139 nationally-funded schools, 18 of which were in British Co
British Columbia History2 min read
Past Forward | Digital Bc History
Past Forward profiles websites, podcasts, and apps that explore British Columbia’s diverse history through stories and experiences. A range of platforms are featured in this issue—a multimedia digital book, documentary, YouTube channel and a collecti
British Columbia History9 min read
Disappearing Company Towns
Company towns are created by business decisions, but communities are formed by people. The northern Vancouver Island communities of Englewood, Beaver Cove, and Kokish were typical of the many resource-based company towns that were scattered throughou
British Columbia History4 min read
Riding The Rails At Cloverdale
Mark Forsythe travels through BC, and back in time, exploring the unique work of British Columbia Historical Federation Members “Ladies and gentlemen, we’re going to start boarding!” We’re chattering in the queue like school kids, clutching tickets t
British Columbia History12 min read
British Columbia Bookshelf
Every time I walk or drive past a heritage building, I can’t help but wonder about its history. Who lived, worked, or played there? Did a famous historic event occur there? Is an intriguing, long forgotten, or suppressed story waiting to be uncovered
British Columbia History1 min read
Recently Released
Around the World in a Dugout Canoe: The Untold Story of Captain John Voss and the Tilikum. By John M. MacFarlane & Lynn J. Salmon (Madeira Park: Harbour Publishing, 2019) $29.95. Asa Johal and Terminal Forest Products: How a Sikh Immigrant Created B
British Columbia History3 min readAutomotive
Westwood Motorsport Park, 1959-1990 Revving Engines and Cheering Fans
It has been thirty years since the final checkered flag was waved at Westwood Motorsport Park on October 8, 1990. For more than three decades prior to that day, the sounds of revving engines and cheering fans could be heard high atop Eagle Mountain i
British Columbia History2 min read
A Memorial To A City And Its Soldiers
One of the few remaining signs of the Boundary ghost town of Phoenix, 11 kilometres east of Greenwood, is its cenotaph, dedicated to fifteen soldiers claimed in the First World War. Many were employed by the Granby Mining Co., which operated the loca
British Columbia History1 min read
Fraser River
A group of us were on a BC Nature “Fraser Canyon Field Camp” hosted by the Hope Mountain Centre with educational leaders Charles Hou and Denis Knopp and Program Director Kelly Pearce in April of 2011. We stayed and ate at Camp Squeah (7 kms south of

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