Photographs have a wonderful power to uncover long-buried memories. While scanning the Bulkley Valley Museum’s Collections Online portal I stumbled across a photo of the Smithers CNR train station that triggered an instant flashback. It’s where I ste

With only a card table for a desk, a four-drawer wooden filing cabinet, and an interest in preserving the historical records of the region, Gladys Blyth, Phylis Bowman, and Barbara Sheppard established the Prince Rupert City & Regional Archives in Se

Digital media takes many forms. The range of options used to share narratives in British Columbia’s history are as diverse as the stories themselves. This issue of “Past Forward” features interactive websites, a YouTube channel, and a card game that

Books are only one way to learn about the past. I visit heritage sites to feel transported back to a place in time, and I appreciate the flexibility museums have to interpret a multitude of stories. Every year I make dozens of visits to heritage site

Written by family insider Jinder Oujla-Chalmers, this book is both a biography of Asa Singh Johal and his family and an in-de pth look at BC’s lumber industry. Asa Johal was a toddler when he immigrated to Canada with his Sikh family in 1924. Johal g

We were pleased to see the excellent article in the Fall issue of British Columbia History about Chinese laundries in BC. It is worth noting, however, that discriminatory legal measures against the Chinese were not confined to head taxes and labour r

Completed in 1920, the Kinsol Trestle is the largest wooden railway bridge in the Commonwealth, offering a spectacular crossing of the Koksilah River. The trestle is notable for both its size and its unusual seven-degree curve. Also known as the Koks

Fujikazu “Frank” Koyama and his wife Taka lived beside their wharf on Stewart Avenue in Nanaimo and were respected members of the community. During the Second World War, the Koyamas were forcibly removed from the coast along with thousands of other J

If you were in Vancouver’s Chinatown in the early 1970s, standing on the corner of Union Street and Gore Avenue, you could not have missed the Prior Street on-ramp of the new Georgia–Dunsmuir viaduct. As you came off the viaduct, you would see our re

Standard Chinese, also known as Modern Standard Mandarin, uses a simplified character set that came into use in 1949. It is used today in Mainland China and in Singapore. The characters Elwin has used in his article are from the Traditional Chinese

The South Asian Studies Institute is a unique research centre that studies both the South Asia region and the South Asian Canadian diaspora. In 2004 a group of intrepid community leaders met with the University of the Fraser Valley’s senior administr

Originally named Mayo Siding, this mill town just west of Duncan was founded by Mayo Singh in 1917. It flourished for two decades, then struggled after the mill closed in the 1940s. People gather each summer to remember the meaning of this place, and

In September 2016, a sign was unveiled just up the street from my home in Kamloops. It was the kind of familiar sign that dots Canada’s highways, meant for motorists to pull over and read, learn a thing or two about local history, and move on with a

The Arrow Lakes owes a debt of gratitude to the photographic foresight of a former Paldi mill hand. Ichiro Shiino left a legacy in film, chronicling the industrial and social life of Nakusp and its environs over several decades. Born in Cumberland in

Stories and experiences in British Columbia’s diverse history are explored through many types of digital media. This edition of “Past Forward” features two interactive experiences: a quiz about Residential School locations and stories from a historic

As COVID-19 changed the lives of people in our province and around the world, many of us have looked to history to help us understand an unprecedented time. How did Canada and the world respond to the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918-1920? What lessons r

“This book is the product of the Chiefs’ recognition of the need to share our history with our own people and our neighbours before the knowledge becomes lost. Our Old Ones took care of our oral traditions and histories by preserving them even when t

I enjoyed the article about the Black pioneers who settled on Salt Spring Island. As I read it, I recalled a visit to the island some years ago when a friend who was an architect pointed out a house that reflected the style of houses built in parts o

The iron lung was developed to assist the breathing of patients with the severe form of poliomyelitis (polio) a contagious disease that causes flu-like symptoms, but can cause muscle paralysis, difficulty breathing, and sometimes death. According to

Nelson’s first courthouse constructed in 1893 was later considered to be “entirely inadequate to the demands of the legal profession” so it was moved one block to make room for a newer facility. For the vacated site, F.M. Rattenbury designed an impos

Manjit Singh Sandhu, MS352 Clearbrook artist Manjit Singh Sandhu is obsessed with history, especially Fraser Valley history. He has painted over 300 paintings of Abbotsford history alone. His work began in the lead-up to the 100-year celebration of t