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Michael Franklin Harcourt (born January 6, 1943) served as the 30th Premier of the province of British Columbia in Canada from 1991 to 1996, and before that as the 34th mayor of BC's major city, Vancouver from 1980 to 1986.

Harcourt was Student Council president at Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School and studied at the University of British Columbia where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws. Harcourt served as a Vancouver Alderman from 1973 to 1980, and as Mayor of Vancouver from 1980 to 1986. As Mayor, his term in office was dominated by planning for Expo 86, an event that saw many new developments come to the city.

He was first elected to the British Columbia Legislature in the 1986 British Columbia provincial election. He became the leader of the New Democratic Party of British Columbia (NDP) and the Leader of the Official Opposition in the following year.

He was named as a special advisor to Prime Minister Paul Martin on cities on December 12, 2003. In November, 2007, he received an honorary doctoral degree in Law (LL.D) from UBC. In February, 2009 he was appointed Associate Director of the new UBC Continuing Studies Centre for Sustainability.

Prentiss Nathaniel Gray was born 2 July 1884 in Oakland, California. He graduated from the University of California in Berkeley in 1906, distinguishing himself academically, athletically and socially. As captain of the University Militia, he was sent on guard duty to San Francisco following the 1906 earthquake and fire. Unable to campaign because of this, Gray was nevertheless elected President of Associated Students in his senior year. Following graduation, he began working for his father’s shipping business, the California and Oregon Coast Steamship Company. He married Laura Sherman in Washington 27 May 1908. Their eldest child, Barbara was born in Northern California in 1914, and their son, Sherman was born in New York in 1918. In January 1916 he was hired as part of the American relief effort to oversee the food supplies for Antwerp. He remained in Belgium after the American declaration of war to conduct the final inventory and to balance the books, and was decorated with dozens of medals from different countries as a result. In 1920, Gray established P. N. Gray & Co., an export-import grain business. In 1923, Gray, with no banking experience, organised, staffed, and launched the J. Henry Schroder Banking Corporation in New York. During the 1920s, Gray quickly ensured Schroders prominence in the underwriting business. In the 1930s, he successfully shifted the focus of Schroders to financing foreign trade, and by the 1940s, the New York Schroder Bank was twice the size of the original J. Henry Schroder & Co. in London. Gray had an informal agreement with Frank Tiarks, managing partner of Schroders in London, that his vacation time would be unlimited as soon as the New York bank made its first one hundred thousand dollars profit. Gray’s hunting trips became longer and more elaborate as time progressed, culminating in a full year’s safari in Africa. Gray established an official measurement and scoring system for trophy animals, serving as the first editor of the Boone and Crockett Club’s Records of North American Big Game. Gray was fascinated with hunting from an early age, and began recording his trips in detail for his interested sisters during a hunting trip to the Stikine River and Cassiar Mountains in 1904. He continued this tradition throughout his life, documenting his expeditions in writings, illustrations, and photographs. Following his death at age 50 in a boating accident in the Florida Everglades, Gray's hunting and exploration journals and photographs were published by the Boone and Crockett Club in the form of two books, "From the Peace to the Fraser: Newly Discovered North American Hunting and Exploration Journals, 1900 to 1930" and "African Game-Lands: A Graphic Itinerary in Kenya and Along the Livingstone Trail in Tanganyika, Belgian Congo, and Angola, 1929". Gray Pass, a low-altitude pass through the Rockies, was named in his honour following his discovery of it during an expedition through Peace River country.

Sarah Wessel, was born to John Wessel and Agnes Henry (Hamana) in New Westminster on November 13, 1881. Mr. Wessel who hailed from Amsterdam, Holland, came to Canada as a mariner travelling by way of Cape Horn. He married Agnes, daughter of Henry and Catherine Hamana, recent Hawaiian immigrants to Canada, and together they had three children: Hermina, John Jr. and Sarah, of which Sarah was the youngest.

In 1879, the Wessels moved to South Pender Island where her father was installed as a shepherd with James Alexander, brother to Richard Henry Alexander, manager of the Hastings Sawmill in Vancouver. Her mother Agnes left their family after the birth of Sarah in New Westminster. Her father soon thereafter divorced his wife and entered both Hermina and Sarah into St. Anne’s Convent in Victoria, while her brother John Jr. stayed with their father on South Pender Island. John Wessel Jr. died at the age of 10.

In 1906 Sarah made her first visit to her sister Mrs. Hermina Taylor in Hazelton, BC. In 1910, she made a second trip up to the Kispiox Valley and after experiencing the excitement of “progress” in this region brought by the construction of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway, she fell in love with this country and decided to stay. Not wanting to live with her sister and her family, Sarah Wessel decided to act upon a new law (enacted in 1911) which gave women the same right as men to pre-empt land. So in 1911 Sarah Wessel became the first single woman to pre-empt 160 acres of Crown Land in British Columbia in the Kispiox Valley. It took her a year to build her house after which she began to clear another 3 acres of land with the help of a local Gitxsan Elder.

While homesteading, Sarah met and was courted by Herbert “Bert” Glassey. It was Bert Glassey who gave Sarah a .22 rifle and her brother-in-law Hugh Taylor who taught her how to use it. Sarah Wessel became so proficient with this homesteading tool, that she was known throughout the Kispiox Valley for having shot more birds than any man in the area! Sarah Wessel, alone but for her little fox terrier, lived on her land for three years before selling it in 1914 to a local cattle rancher who had also purchased lands adjacent to hers. That same year Sarah Wessel married Bert Glassey in Hazelton and together they moved to Quesnel, BC where Bert took up a position with the Hudson’s Bay Company.

In 1918, the Glassey’s moved from Quesnel to Prince Rupert. In 1934 they again moved from Prince Rupert to Atlin only to return to Prince Rupert eight years later. A pioneering resident of Prince Rupert for 36 years, Mrs. Sarah Glassey was active in the Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire and the Order of the Royal Purple. She was also a member of the Women of the Moose and an honorary member of the Royal Canadian Legion. In April of 1961 Sarah Glassey was presented with a medallion from Vancouver’s 75th Anniversary Committee for having been a resident of Vancouver before the arrival of the first passenger train to Vancouver in May 23, 1887.

Herbert Glassey passed away after a prolonged illness on October 17, 1962. After his funeral on October 20, Mrs. Sarah Glassey came home, lay down and quietly passed away. Sarah and Herbert Glassey had no children.

Herbert Francis (H.F. or “Bert”) Glassey was born in St. Joseph’s Hospital in Victoria, BC on August 15, 1882 – the first child to be born at this “new” facility. He received his school and college education in Victoria and then went to San Diego, California. Upon his return to Canada, he met and married Sarah Wessel in Hazelton in 1914. That same year, the Glasseys moved to Quesnel from Hazelton where Mr. Glassey went to work for the F.G. Dawson, broker for the Hudson’s Bay Company. In 1918 Bert Glassey resigned from this position and he and his wife Sarah moved to Prince Rupert where he went in to the brokerage business for himself. In 1934 Mr. Glassey was appointed Government Agent for Atlin and served there for eight years not only in this capacity, but also as Magistrate, Gold Commissioner and Coroner. Returning to Prince Rupert in 1942, Mr. Glassey worked at the Court House and was in charge of the local office of the Wartime Prices and Trade Board. He entered civic politics in 1950 and served on the City Council for four years. Upon the sudden death of Mayor George Rudderham in 1950, he was appointed to complete the duration of the two year mayoral term until the next election. Mr. Glassey also served as a Census Commissioner for the Dominion Bureau of Statistics in 1951, was a member of the Prince Rupert Liberal Association in 1953 and a member of the Society of Notaries Public in 1956. After being bedridden for four years, Mr. Glassey passed away on October 17, 1962 at the Prince Rupert General Hospital. He was survived by his wife Sarah.

Elsie L. Gerdes was the Manager of the Northern Interior Health Unit in Prince George and a founding member of the Interior University Society (IUS). She became President of the IUS in November 1988 and resigned in May 1989 in order to participate on the Implementation Planning Group for the proposed new northern university established by Stan Hagen, Minister of Advanced Education and Training.

William George was father of Katheleigh George, both of Takla Lake First Nation. He lived in Takla Landing, BC. This material is held by the NBCA under MOU.

In 1931 John D. Galloway wrote “Placer-mining in British Columbia”.

Howard Foot, the youngest of the four sons of Claude Foot, was born in 1939. He was raised and educated in Prince George.

Howard's father Claude arrived in Prince George in 1906. He worked for the Hudson Bay Company and came from Quesnel by a scow that was pulled up river by Indigenous people; the trip took 17 days. Claude Foot later worked for the provincial government for 33 years and married Kate Renwick.

After high school, Howard Foot went into the entertainment promotion business. He started out with the blessing of the Prince George city council with a program called Teen Town. The idea was to involve teenagers in community events. Howard Foot was contacted by a U.S. promoter and promoted entertainment concerts all around B.C. for rock and roll stars like Gene Vincent, Buddy Knox and Eddie Cochran. He also promoted car shows, boxing matches, teen dances and an aquatic show at the old outdoor pool on Watrous Street.

Howard Foot married Trudi Nelson in 1963 and had two children, Reg and Renee. Trudi passed away in 1994.

Howard worked in advertising at CKPG for eight years (one year in radio and seven years in television). He then spent 20 years working for Ron East at radio station CJCI. During that time a workmate introduced him to Jeannette DeWalt; they married in 1996.

Good Morning Prince George was a daily coffee shop newspaper that Howard bought and ran for five years.

Howard started the Nukko Lake Water Ski School in 1979. He is credited with being the first promoter of water skiing in Prince George. After 35 years, Howard left the school to his son Reg and nephew Brian to run. Howard skied competitively and won numerous medals at the Kelowna Regatta, the B.C. Provincials and the B.C. Summer Games. He was one of the first people inducted into the Prince George Sports Hall of Fame, in the sport building classification, for his contribution to the sport of water skiing both provincially and for Prince George.

Howard served on the Forest Expo board for nearly 10 years and served on the Sports Hall of Fame selection committee for many years. He also served on the board of the North Central Seniors Association.

Dr. Fish held a PhD in Sociology and joined the University of Northern British Columbia as a founding Dean in 1992 after 23 years with the Department of Community Health Sciences at the University of Manitoba. While at the University of Manitoba he was involved in the development of the Northern Medical Unit that provided health services to First Nations throughout Northern Manitoba and the Keewatin District of the North West Territories. He maintained his interest in the health of First Nations and in the transfer of health services to the First Nations upon his arrival in British Columbia. Dr. Fish had extensive experience in developing countries where he worked with communities to develop community-based health programs within the context of social and economic development.

William Dow Ferry (1913 - 1996) was the son of Carney Ferry and served as a judge of the County Court of the Cariboo. He was founding President of the Prince George Junior Chamber of Commerce, served on the Hospital Board from 1949 to 1961 and was elected to City Council four times between 1950 and 1955. He practiced law in Prince George from 1949 until 1961, when he was appointed judge requiring his move to Williams Lake.

Dr. John Ferry was born in the County of Durham, England in the mid-1800s. He emigrated to Canada in his twenties and became a Presbyterian minister. He served congregations in Indian Head, Qu'Appelle, Broadview and Kisbey, Saskatchewan. He became the moderator of the synod of Saskatchewan in 1916 and received an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from St. Andrew's College, University of Saskatchewan in 1919.

Carney W. Ferry was probably born in Saskatchewan in the late 1800s. He served in the First World War as a Sargent Major. He moved to Prince George in 1919 and became an agent for the Canadian National Railroad. He also served as Vice Chairman of the Canadian Brotherhood of Railroad Employees.

Brian Fawcett was born in Prince George on May 13, 1944. He completed elementary and secondary school in Prince George before leaving at the age of 22 to attend Simon Fraser University. After graduating with a B.A. (Honours) in 1969 from SFU, Fawcett went on to complete coursework for a M.A. in English Literature at SFU in 1972. After graduation, he worked as a Community Organizer and Urban Planner for the Greater Vancouver Regional District until 1988. Mr. Fawcett is a former Editor of "Books in Canada" and a former Columnist for the "Globe Mail" newspaper. He has also written articles and reviews for many of Canada's major magazines. In addition, Fawcett has worked as a teacher of English and Creative Writing in federal maximum security penitentiaries. Brian Fawcett has written more than a dozen books including "Cambodia" (1986), "The Secret Journal of Alexander Mackenzie" (1985), "Capital Tales" (1984), "Gender Wars" (1994), "Disbeliever's Dictionary" (1997), "Virtual Clearcut" (2003), "Local Matters" (2003), "Human Happiness" (2011), and "The Last of the Lumbermen" (2013). He moved to Toronto in 1990, where he continues to live and write.

Mary Millicent Fallis was born in 1912 in the Okanagan region (possibly) of British Columbia to Mable Lavinia (née Hockin) and the Rev. George O. Fallis. Her father was a Methodist minister in Penticton until 1913 when he moved his young family to Kamloops. During the autumn of 1915, the Rev. Fallis C.B.E., B.A., B.D., D.D. left his Kamloops pastorate to go oversees with the Canadian Expeditionary Force as their Chaplain. Her mother took Mary, then three years old, to Grand Pré, Nova Scotia where they stayed with her maternal grandparents the Rev. Arthur and Mrs. Annie Marie Hockin and her aunt Hilda. While the spring of 1916 saw the birth of her brother George, the summer saw the Fallis family move once again after Mary’s grandfather accepted his last Methodist pastorate in the town of Berwick, Nova Scotia just prior to his retirement.

Following his 1920 (?) discharge as Senior Protestant Chaplain from the Chaplaincy Corps, Col. the Rev. George O. Fallis moved his family from the East Coast back West where, in 1923, he became the founder of the Canadian Memorial Chapel. Mary entered Grade 8 in Vancouver, B.C. After highschool she attended the University of British Columbia (UBC) where she majored in English, minored in French and was strongly involved with the Home Economics Club, the Women’s Track Club, and the Letters Club. Upon her graduation from the Faculty of Arts in 1932, Mary Fallis taught English for a number of years. As a UBC alumnus she was also actively involved with the UBC Alumni Association, the University Women’s Club and the UBC Senate.

In 1969, Mary Fallis moved to Prince George to become one of the founding members of the English Department at the College of New Caledonia. Upon her retirement in 1972 she remained in Prince George where she could further her passions for exploring the Canadian wilderness, photography, gardening, and environmental activism. In April 1985 Mary received an Award of Merit in Recreation from the City of Prince George for her tireless campaign efforts towards the preservation of parklands and wilderness areas in the Prince George region (most notably Moore’s Meadow and Cottonwood Island Park). Her hobby of nature photography assisted in these environmental campaigns as she was known to have used her beautiful images as a presentation tool to help convince City Council of the value of parks and nature preserves. Several of Mary's photos have also been used as illustrations in publications such as Wild Trees of BC by Sherman Brough (1998) and Ocean to Alpine edited by Cam and Joy Findlay (1992).

Mary Fallis joined the Vancouver Section of the Alpine Club of Canada (ACC) in 1949 and remained an active member for the next 50 years. In 1999 Mary was made an ACC Life Member. Over the years she took part in14 ACC Camp outings: 13 of which being held in the Rockies, as well as, the 1967 ACC Centennial Camp beside the Steele Glacier in Kluane Park, Yukon. She also involved herself in other ACC–Vancouver Section activities such as maintaining its archives, book restoration and library development. She put in several season’s work as Photographic Chairman of the ACC-Vancouver Section photo competitions in the early 1950s, and for the ACC-National Club black & white and colour competitions, 1954-1958.

As something of a bibliophile, Mary’s extensive library grew to include many works by Canadian, and especially Western Canadian authors. Mary Fallis is perhaps best remembered, however, as a naturalist and gardener; capturing her passion for the flora and landscapes of northern British Columbia through her photographic lens. In 1994 Mary Fallis was made a Friend of the University of British Columbia: she died on 8 September 1999 after suffering heart failure and additional health complications. Following her death, the estate of Mary Fallis donated her extensive library collection to the UNBC Library. The estate also generously transferred a large portion of Mary’s photographic and textual materials to the University. This photographic collection now comprises part of the Mary Fallis fonds.

In tribute to her life, the Friends of Mary Fallis established a memorial scholarship in her name for future English students at the University of Northern British Columbia. Endowment funds for this scholarship resulted from the proceeds of a 9 April 2000 concert at Vanier Hall which saw the performance of Mary’s niece, Canadian operatic singer Mary Lou Fallis

Dr. Bob Ewert was born in Prince George in 1927 and graduated from the Prince George Junior/Senior High School. Following studies at UBC and McGill Universities and surgical training in Detroit, Dr Ewert returned to Prince George in 1961 as the city’s first consultant specialist. Dr. Ewert was a dedicated surgeon with strong ties to the community and a vision for a modern, well-equipped hospital with a full complement of specialists. His roots in the community and commitment to the development of medical services in the North stemmed from his father, Dr. Carl Ewert, who arrived in Prince George on a paddle wheeler in 1913. He came in response to the physician shortage in Prince George and the surrounding area at that time, and practised as a general practitioner in Prince George until his retirement. Bob Ewert remained in Prince George until his death in 2002 at the age of 74. Bob’s family, many of whom are still in the Prince George area, made a generous donation to the University of Northern British Columbia to dedicate and furnish the Bob Ewert lounge, which has become a revered space for students and staff working in the new medical building. The Northern Medical Society created the annual Bob Ewart Memorial Lecture in celebration of the birth of the Northern Medical Program at the University of Northern British Columbia.

Mike Evans (PhD McMaster 1996) taught at the University of Northern BC, the University of Alberta, and then joined Okanagan University College, later UBC Okanagan (2005). His primary research relationships are with people in the Métis community in Northern BC, the Métis Nation of BC, the Urban Aboriginal Community of the Okanagan Valley, and the Kingdom of Tonga (in the South Pacific). Dr. Evans has been involved in several community based research initiatives, and in particular has a long-term relationship with the Prince George Métis Elders Society. Together with Elders and community leaders in Prince George he put together a Métis Studies curriculum for UNBC and a number of publications including What it is to be a Métis (Evans et al 1999), A Brief History, of the Short Life, of the Island Cache (Evans et al 2004).

He is currently working with the Elders Society and Stephen Foster and Colleagues from UBC Okanagan, UNBC and the University of Alberta on a participatory video project. As Research Director for the Métis Nation of BC, he serves on the Métis National Council National Research Initiative, helped form the Research agenda for the Métis Nation of BC, and has worked extensively with colleagues at the MNBC on a number of research projects over the last few years. He has supervised graduate students working on urban aboriginal issues and topics related to community based Métis history and geography across Western Canada. He is currently Associate Professor and Head in Community, Culture, and Global Studies at UBC Okanagan.

Dr. Evans completed a BA (1987) in Anthropology at the University of Victoria and an MA (1989) and PhD (1996) in Anthropology from McMaster University. From 1995 to 1998, Evans was an instructor for the Anthrology and First Nations Programs at UNBC. Since then, Dr. Evans has worked at various professorial positions at the University of Alberta and UBC Okanagan. His research interests include rrban Aboriginal issues, Métis history and contemporary issues, and aboriginal communities of Oceania.

Al Elsey arrived in the Bella Coola region in 1951. An avid fisherman and hunter, he was drawn to the excitement of the teaming wildlife, and the fierceness of the steelhead. Elsey was the first guide to fish on and bring clients to the now famous Dean River to fish for steelhead salmon. He acquired a Bolex camera in the early 1960s and began filming around the Bella Coola, Dean River and Chilcotin regions during excursions with his guiding outfit. The result of these recordings are in this collection. Elsey currently resides in the Bella Coola region.

Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; born 21 April 1926) is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms, and head of the 54-member Commonwealth of Nations. In her specific role as the monarch of the United Kingdom, one of her 16 realms, she is also Supreme Governor of the Church of England.

Elizabeth was born in London, and educated privately at home. Her father acceded to the throne as George VI in 1936 on the abdication of his brother Edward VIII. She began to undertake public duties during the Second World War, in which she served in the Auxiliary Territorial Service. On the death of her father in 1952, she became Head of the Commonwealth and queen regnant of seven independent Commonwealth countries: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan, and Ceylon. Her coronation service in 1953 was the first to be televised. Between 1956 and 1992, the number of her realms varied as territories gained independence and some realms became republics. Today, in addition to the first four aforementioned countries, Elizabeth is Queen of Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Kitts and Nevis.

In 1947 she married Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, with whom she has four children: Charles, Anne, Andrew, and Edward.

Her reign of 60 years is the second-longest for a British monarch; only Queen Victoria has reigned longer. Her Silver, Golden, and Diamond Jubilees were celebrated in 1977, 2002, and 2012, respectively.

Billy Edmund was born off-reserve in Bella Coola, British Columbia, 5 December 1960. He is a member of the Carrier Nation; his father is from Ulkatcho near Anahim Lake and his mother is Cheslatta. After losing some fingers in an industrial accident, his artistic training began in 1986 under Master Carver Randy Adams. He completed a carving workshop with Master Carver Ron Sebastian in Prince George, and has studied at Emily Carr College of Art & Design in Vancouver. He completed a large cedar mural depicting the flood of Cheslatta Ancestral Lands by Alcan for a private patron. He has sold other private collections to Victoria, Regina, and Europe. Some of his pieces have been commissioned for presentation to well-known Native leaders, including Elijah Harper of Manitoba, Wendy Grant of Vancouver and Mary John of Stoney Creek. In art classes he teaches in various school districts around the province, he demonstrates his craft and explains his styles and tools. Over the years he has developed his own style of design using only handmade traditional carving tools. Edmund was one of the first artists to donate art to UNBC

In 1930 Norah Banbery left Wolverhampton, England, setting sail from Liverpool to Canada to follow what had become for her a perennial obsession" since childhood - the desire to explore the Canadian West. Lured by the attractive posters from the Canadian Pacific Railway that displayed "long vistas of golden wheat…(and) range lands ... alive with grazing cattle…" Norah, along with hundreds of other Europeans, set sail to find work and a new life in a new land. In the 1930s and 1940s Norah wrote articles about farm life in Canada for the Wolverhampton newspaper, Express and Star, and later began her memoir about life in the Red Rock region. She died at the Jubilee Lodge, a senior's home in Prince George in 1991, at the age of 90 years. Her memoir "A Man's Country" recalls her early years in Meota near North Battleford, Saskatchewan where she met her husband Irwin Doherty [alias Jim Martin in the manuscript], an Irish immigrant farmer. It follows the Doherty's move to British Columbia to homestead on 160 acres of land in Red Rock, south of Prince George along the Fort George Canyon on the Fraser River. Norah's account of life in Red Rock recalls experiences similar to that of other farmwomen in isolated Western Canadian communities in the Depression era. These were often days spent cleaning, cooking, and most significantly rationing, penny-pinching and finding ingenious ways to create a comfortable household in a log cabin. Yet Norah's account also provides a personal view of life as a young woman in a new land. She talks about her longing for female companionship and also her attraction to the land and the people that she met. Her story provides a woman's perspective of "living off the land" in a time when many still considered the area to be, as Norah states, "A Man's Country".

Louis Dixon was a Justice of the Peace.

Garvin Dezell moved to Prince George in 1946 with his wife Bea Dezell and their two children. Garvin served as Mayor of Prince George from 1950-1953, and 1960-1969. During this period, the creation of three new pulp mills led the city's population to increase from 4,000 to 30,000 people. He and Bea owned a construction contracting company with Garvin's father James Nelson called J N Dezell & Son. Garvin died in 1972.

Bea was born in North Vancouver in 1908. She married Garvin Dezell and had two children. The family moved to Williams Lake and then settled in Prince George in 1946. The family owned a construction contracting company. She very involved in the family business and in the Prince George community. Bea Dezell died in 2014 at 105.

Herb Daum was the webmaster of the Cassiar Community Website.

Richard Fredrick Corless was born in Halls Gate, Cuerden, Lancashire, England on February 1, 1882 and died 29 Dec 1959 in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He married Mary Ellen Smith on 25 Dec 1905 in Bamber Bridge, Lancashire, England, daughter of Thomas Smith and Hannah Bennison. He moved to Canada in the early 1900s, settling in Prince George, BC in 1915. In 1916, Corless entered into a business partnership with Ed Hall, starting a Ford Model T dealership. Corless made his family home in a lean-to that was connected to an undertaking parlour, which was operated by the Sandifords in Central Fort George. Before 1918, Corless assisted the under-takers for part-time employment. Once the flu pandemic struck the region, the Sandifords left, leaving behind their equipment and the business. Located on the corners of Third and Fourth Avenue, Corless decided to take over the business. For seventeen years, the Corless family operated the undertaking parlour, and in 1936, he sold the business to Harold Assman.

Jack Corless was the son of prominent businessman Richard Corless who owned many businesses in Prince George including an undertaking parlor and a Hudson-Essex Car Dealership. In his youth, Jack was a prominent local athlete whose position on the Prince George Lumberman hockey team was well known by many locals. The Corless family home was located at 1276 4th Avenue in Prince George, and remained so until 1947. Upon his retirement, Jack Corless self published two autobiographical publications entitled “Lucky Jackie: Diapers to Rifles” and “Lucky Jackie: Zombie to Decorated.” The first monograph describes Mr. Corless’s childhood years in Prince George c.1920s-30s while the second describes his years overseas in the Royal Canadian Army during WWII.

William Henry Collison was born on 12 November 1847 in County Armagh (Northern Ireland), to John J. Collison and Mary Emily Maxwell. He was educated at the Church of Ireland Training College in Dublin and began his career as a schoolmaster in charge of an industrial school at Cork. In November 1872 he read of the Church Missionary Society's need for recruits, and determined to apply. The following April he entered the Church Missionary College (CMS) in Islington (London) for a brief period of training. The CMS decided that his qualifications made him a suitable assistant for William Duncan, the lay missionary in charge of the North Pacific mission, centred at Metlakatla, B.C. The CMS, which had difficulty in placing ordained missionaries there, opted to send Collison out as a layman with a view to his later ordination, and gave him permission to marry before leaving. On 19 August 1873 he married Marion M. Goodwin, a woman well prepared for the mission field: she was a deaconess and a trained nurse who had served in the Franco-German War and during a smallpox epidemic in Cork.

The Collisons arrived in Victoria on 25 October 1873 and finally reached their north coast destination a month later. At Metlakatla, his first task was to learn the Tsimshian language. By the following summer he could conduct the greater part of church services without an interpreter. As well as preaching, his duties included visiting and teaching.

He became interested in the Haida peoples when a group from Masset, on Haida Gwaii (the Queen Charlotte Islands) visited Fort Simpson (Lax Kw'alaams) in 1874 and 1875. During these visits he began to evangelize Chief Seegay, whose half-Tsimshian wife acted as translator. In June 1876 Collison was begged to minister to Seegay since he was dying of tuberculosis. Collison made the voyage to Masset, and on his return obtained permission to open a mission there. After the Collisons' move to Masset in November, William expanded his knowledge of Haida, eventually translating portions of the Bible and the Book of Common Prayer and composing hymns in this language.

In November 1877 while the Collisons were on Haida Gwaii, Bishop William Carpenter Bompas of Athabasca arrived at Metlakatla and spent the winter. The following March at Kincolith, a CMS mission among the Nisga'a peoples located at the mouth of the Nass River, Collison was ordained deacon and priest by Bompas, and assigned the "spiritual charge" of Metlakatla, Kincolith, and Haida Gwaii. In 1879 Collison left the Haida mission and returned to Metlakatla, and in May 1884 he and his family again changed missions and moved to Kincolith. There he learned more Nisga’a, and soon translated the services of Morning and Evening prayer. In 1891 Collison was unanimously selected as the new diocese of Caledonia's first archdeacon.

Disaster struck Kincolith in September 1893 when the church and three-quarters of the village were destroyed by fire. Shortly after rebuilding had begun, a fervent spiritual revival threatened to undermine the stability of the community. In response, Collison introduced a native branch of the Church Army, a strongly evangelical Anglican organization that emphasized enthusiastic worship, and promoted native leadership within the church-sponsored society. This Army was also characterized by its brass band which assisted in the very musical, evangelistic mission services.

Marion Collison's role was equally significant. Like other missionary wives, she was responsible for teaching European domestic skills to the native women. As a nurse, she helped avert a smallpox epidemic and Collison regarded her medical contributions as central to his work. Together the Collisons had five sons and three daughters: William Edwin (W.E.), Henry Alexander (H.A.), John, Thomas, Herbert, Arthur, Alice, Elsie and Emily. Marion Collison passed away in Kincolith on 9 January 1919.

W.H. Collison was the longest serving Church Missionary College (CMS) missionary in the North British Columbia Mission and he was the only remaining missionary funded directly by the CMS. His memoirs can be read in his autobiography, “In the Wake of the War Canoe” (1915) through which one can see that his interaction with the First Nations peoples to which he ministered was complex. He respected the converts, became fluent in Tsimshian, Haida, and Nisga'a, and was sensitive to the importance of the clan system. According to his son William Edwin, also an ordained missionary, the elder Collison had actually been adopted into the Eagle clan of the Haida Nation. On the other hand, he fiercely opposed potlatching and traditional native medicine, and encouraged the Nisga'a at Kincolith to accept the Indian Advancement Act of 1884, which replaced traditional hierarchies of power with a system of elected chiefs and band councils supervised by an Indian agent.

W.H. Collison died in Kincolith on 21 January 1922.

Eric Collier was born in England but came to British Columbia at the age of 19. He became a trapper at Meldrum Creek in the Chilcotin. His writing career began in 1924 and he continued to publish articles on the outdoors until his death in 1966. He is best known for his book, Three Against the Wilderness (1959). He died in Williams Lake on March 15, 1966.

James Joseph Claxton was born in Ireland on August 22, 1910 and immigrated to Canada as a teenager. Despite a love for his adopted country, he never forgot his Irish roots. In 1941, he joined the Irish Fusiliers of Canada (Vancouver Regiment) where he was able to serve the British Commonwealth along side his many Irish-Canadian compatriots. The following year, his regiment was deployed for active overseas combat in North Africa, Italy and North Western Europe. At the end of World War II, Claxton returned to British Columbia where he explored this province by settling for a time in Kamloops, Kelowna, Salmon Arm and finally Burnaby. He owned a jewellery store in the New Westminster area for several years in which he showcased his extensive collection of Royal Irish Constabulary badges and ephemera. Claxton was an active leader for the Salmon Arm Boys Scouts of Canada group, and was a member of both the Irish Fusiliers Association and the Toc H (an international charity and membership movement that emerged from a soldiers' club in Belgium during World War I). He also served aboard the M.S. Columbia III (ca. 1960) – one of the last ships then maintained by the Anglican Church’s Columbia Coast Mission. This mission provided religious, medical and social services to remote coastal settlements, logging camps and First Nations communities along the inner coast from 1905 to the late 1960s. James Joseph Claxton passed away at the Royal Columbian Hospital, New Westminster at the age of 86. He was cremated and buried at sea off the northern tip of Vancouver Island at Cape Caution.

Born August 5th 1908 in Vancouver to James Walton and Clara Mary Chapman. The eldest of 5 sons, he was raised in Victoria. He was a teacher and author; he wrote “A montage of chapmannals : over nine decades”, ca. 2000.

John Chapman, a geographer by training with a long academic career, helped convert UNBC from a dream to a well-respected university with the highest academic standards. As Chair of the initial Appointments and Standards Committee, he was central to the organization of the new University while ensuring that the best people were recruited to administrative and teaching posts.

Jean Caux, also known as “Cataline” was one of the most famous mule packers in the Canadian West. It is believed he began packing at the beginning of the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush in 1858 and continued until 1912, a span of 54 years.

Known in Central British Columbia as "Mr. Radio," Jack E. Carbutt made enormous contributions to the broadcasting history of both Prince George and the province of British Columbia.

Born on April 13, 1917 in Vancouver, Jack Carbutt began his career in radio in July 1940 at Vancouver station CKMO as an announcer, operator, singer and organist. Three years later, Jack moved to Kamloops where he worked at CFJC as an announcer, production, program and sales manager. After World War II, Carbutt moved to Prince George where he joined station manager Cecil J. Elphicke and engineer R.J. Tate to establish Prince George’s first radio station, CKPG. This fledgling station began broadcasting from the Ritts-Kiefer Building on George Street on February 8th, 1946. Initially, Carbutt worked as the Sales and Program Manager, but soon became an announcer before moving on to station manager. In 1953 CKPG moved to its present Sixth Avenue location. Carbutt’s unique style and pioneering radio efforts lead him to also be known as the "Voice of the North". Jack Carbutt produced a popular weekly radio program titled "Reveries" during which he read poetry, sang, and interviewed local personalities.

In addition to being a popular radioman, Jack Carbutt was involved in various community projects. He helped to start the Kinsmen Radio Day and El-Ro-Ki. The latter was a fundraiser for the Elk's Lodge, Rotary, and Kinsmen Club which ultimately grew into what is now known as the Rotary Auction, a major charity fundraising event in Prince George. Jack Carbutt passed away on August 20th, 1990, at the age of 73.

Iona Victoria Campagnolo (née Hardy) was born in Vancouver, B.C on October 18, 1932 to Rosamond and Kenneth Hardy. Soon thereafter her family returned to Galiano Island to the family home. In 1940, the Hardy family moved up the coast to the North Pacific Cannery located on the Skeena River near Prince Rupert, where her father worked as Chief of Maintenance. On August 9, 1952 she married (and later divorced) Louis Campagnolo, and together they had two daughters. It was out of a concern for the quality of her daughters’ education that Iona Campagnolo first became involved with municipal politics: first being elected to the Prince Rupert School Board in 1966 where she served for six years as School Trustee, Chairman of the Board, and North Coast Zone Chairman of the Board. Upon completion of her term on the School Board, she ran in the Prince Rupert civic election, won, and served a term as ‘Alderman’ (City Councilor) until 1974. Also during this period (1965-1974) Iona Campagnolo was working for CHTK Radio, Skeena Broadcasters Ltd., as both Advertising Sales Director and Broadcaster: her prowess at the latter position earned her a B.C. Broadcaster of the Year award in 1973.

The early seventies were not only a time of political activism for Iona Campagnolo, they were also a time of continued community activism and development of ethnocultural initiatives within the City of Prince Rupert that had originally begun almost twenty years earlier in 1954. In 1971 Iona Campagnolo was appointed the Royal Visit Co-ordinator for the City of Prince Rupert. As producer, director and costume designer for many performances of the North Pacific Players (a Prince Rupert theatre company) Iona Campagnolo was intrinsically involved in several community theatre performances. To acknowledge and honour her 20 years of dynamic volunteerism within her community, she was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 1973 and was promoted to Officer in 2008.

In 1974 Iona Campagnolo turned her attention to federal politics. Running as a Liberal Party candidate for the riding of Skeena, she won this election and ousted long standing Skeena MP Frank Howard. As Member of Parliament for Skeena, Iona Campagnolo first served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (1974-1976). She was then appointed a Cabinet Member in Pierre Trudeau’s government – a position which subsequently granted her the portfolio of Minister of State for Fitness and Amateur Sport (Sept. 14, 1976 – May 22, 1979). Not only did this new appointment grant her the distinction of becoming the very first Minister of Amateur Sport in Canada, she also became the first woman and Northerner to be appointed a federal Minister.

After electoral defeat in the May 1979 federal election, Iona Campagnolo embarked upon several years of active involvement within the public, private and non-profit realms. Ms. Campagnolo served for two years (1979-1981) as host of a prime time feature interview program on the CBC, from Vancouver, titled “One of a Kind”. During the first three months of 1981, Ms. Campagnolo completed an assignment by the Secretary of State for External Affairs, to organize the founding and incorporation of the “Future’s Secretariat,” with the aim of creating a series of community Task Forces and network linkages at the local level, which would raise the consciousness of Canadians to the interdependent nature of the world and Canada’s role and responsibility to it.
Working as a consultant on Public Relations and Fundraising to CUSO-VSO, (then known only as CUSO or the Canadian University Services Overseas Organization) Iona Campagnolo undertook a large number of speaking engagements particularly in support of refugee re-development, with emphasis on Thai-Kampuchean Border refugees. After spearheading the raising of more than half a million dollars in 1980 towards this particular campaign, she continued to work on various other campaigns on behalf of CUSO. Iona Campagnolo was also a Special Projects Consultant to the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).

Iona Campagnolo also devoted much time to feminist initiatives, becoming involved in the Jerusalem Women’s Seminar and Intercultural Dialogue and assisting in the organization and emergence of women’s networks in several Canadian urban centers such as Edmonton and Vancouver.

Also from 1979-1981 Ms. Campagnolo acted as Special Consultant in several different capacities to Simon Fraser University (SFU). In January of 1981, Ms. Campagnolo was guest lecturer to senior-level students in the Sport Administration Degree program at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ont. where she spoke on the involvement of various levels of government in sport development.
During this inter-political period, Ms. Campagnolo was also a consultant to the Calgary Olympic Development Association, assisting them with their bid for the 1988 Winter Olympics, through personal contact with members of the international sport community, including presenting Calgary’s bid to IOC (International Olympic Committee) members in Africa and Europe.

In 1982 Iona Campagnolo once again heard the call from the political realm and stood for election this time for the position of President of the Liberal Party of Canada. She was elected to this position by a Party Convention on November 7, 1982 as the first woman President of the Liberal Party of Canada, after 50 years of male predecessors. In the September 1984 federal election Iona Campagnolo made one last run at federal politics when she ran in the North Vancouver-Burnaby riding. She was, however, defeated in the Mulroney landslide victory that reduced John Turner’s Liberals down to 40 seats. Also in 1984, she served as National Co-Chair of the Liberal Leadership Convention, and was re-elected to the office of President by acclamation at this June 1984 Convention. Ms. Campagnolo served in this capacity until November 27, 1986.

From 1986 - 1996 Iona Campagnolo worked on contract with Contemporary Communications for the National Speakers Bureau. Writing and delivering speeches across the country to a myriad of organizations. From 1987-1990 Iona Campagnolo, as Associate Director, worked towards the establishment and development of the McMaster University Centre for International Health.
In 1992, Iona Campagnolo became actively involved with the establishment and development of a new university in northern British Columbia – the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) in Prince George. On May 23, 1992 she was appointed the founding Chancellor of the University.

In 1995 Iona Campagnolo became a Director (1995-1996) and then Chair (1996-1997) of the Fraser Basin Management Program (FBMP) which worked towards bringing together all four orders of Canadian government (federal, provincial, municipal and First Nations) to address some of the key river management issues identified by Fraser River Action Plan - a part of Canada’s Green Plan.
On September 21, 2001, Iona Campagnolo was appointed by Governor General Adrienne Clarkson in the name of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, on the advice of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, as British Columbia’s first female Lieutenant Governor; a position in which she served until September 30, 2007.

Since 2007, the Honourable Iona Campagnolo has remained actively involved with two key issues: reconciling Aboriginal Rights and Title with Crown Title, and salmon sustainability in collaboration with the faculty of Continuing Studies in Science at Simon Fraser University. She currently makes her home on Vancouver Island.

Emil Bronlund (1896-1988) was born in Norway and obtained a Bachelor of Science in mining and metallurgical engineering from the University of Oslo before immigrating to Canada in 1920. Initially he was an engineer for a coal mine near Hinton, Alberta and at the Ingenika Mine in northern BC. In 1927 Consolidated Mining and Smelting (later Cominco and Teck Resources) hired Bronlund to be in charge of their mining exploration in northern BC, a position he held for almost 25 years. Most of his work was in the Omineca district north of Fort St. James.

In an obituary for Bronlund, the Northern Miner, a trade journal, commented that "Bronlund was a member of Cominco's flying corps of prospectors which did much to open up the north in the 1930s." The journal also noted that "several properties in the Omineca district now under development are his original finds." In 1931 Cominco provided Bronlund with an airplane, CF-AAM, for his exploration, along with a mechanic, pilot and a geologist. Cominco bought this plane new in 1929 and had it custom furnished. Bronlund and his crew spent time with surveyor Frank Swannell and his crew at Thutade Lake at the beginning of the 1931 field season, and also at the end of the season.

During World War II, Bronlund was Consolidated’s manager for the Pinchi Lake mercury mine northwest of Fort St. James. It was the largest producer of mercury in the country at that time.

Bronlund Peak and Bronlund Creek in northern BC are named for him. CF-AAM is in the Western Canada Aviation Museum in Winnipeg.

Born in Ontario on April 9, 1875, Alan Kirby “A.K.” Bourchier was Hugh Taylor’s cousin, related through Hugh's mother Lucy (nee Bourchier) Taylor. Mr. Bourchier and his wife Lillian were early pioneers of the Central Interior: moving to Alberta in 1902 and continuing on to South Fort George in 1906. Working for the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway, A.K. Bourchier operated a supply freight transport business via scow and crew on the Fraser River in support of the railway construction camps. From 1911 to 1912, the Bourchiers operated a store at Tete Jaune while it was still a thriving construction camp.

A.K. Bourchier also served as Justice of the Peace for South Fort George. In 1913, Stipendiary Magistrate T. Herne took a six month leave of absence for which he was never officially replaced. Instead Mr. Bourchier, as Justice of the Peace for South Fort George, and Mr. Perkins, Justice of the Peace for Fort George, were expected to absorb Herne’s extensive magisterial responsibilities. Given the massive workload now beholden to both men, and the keen need for law enforcement in the Central Interior, Bourchier resigned from his position as Justice of the Peace in protest of the lack of government support.

At about the same time, the South Fort George townsite was placed on the open market and Mr. Bourchier was commissioned to clear lots during these boom days. Later, with Mrs. Bourchier, he ran the South Fort George post office for a short time and from ca.1915 through to the late 1930s, Mr. Bourchier also operated as a local auctioneer and appraiser. In March 1917, it is also reported that A. K. Bourchier took over the business of the Northern Hotel at South Fort George.

After the death of Deputy Sheriff Andrew Siddal in January 1942, A.K. Bourchier became Acting Deputy Sheriff. He served in this capacity under M.C. Wiggins until the latter retired as county sheriff in August 1943. That same month, Mr. Bourchier was appointed sole Sheriff of the vast area of the Cariboo/Central Interior until the eventual appointment of another sheriff across the Rockies in Dawson Creek.

Alan Kirby Bourchier died of an undisclosed illness at the Prince George Hospital in January 1946 at the age of 71.

Jack Boudreau was born in the small community of Penny in the central region of British Columbia between the McGregor and Upper Fraser Rivers. BC. Jack's parents, Joe and Bessie Boudreau, moved to Penny on May 15, 1923, and had seven children- Jack being the fifth. Jack Boudreau was the postmaster in Penny for several years, and then worked in forestry until his retirement in 1993. He has devoted his professional life to British Columbia's forest industry working as a licensed scaler, industrial first-aid attendant and forest fire fighter mostly with the Ministry of Forests. From early childhood he has been an avid lover of the outdoors. He is a mountain climber, fisher and skier. Boudreau is the author of five bestsellers—"Sternwheelers and Canyon Cats," "Crazy Man's Creek," "Grizzly Bear Mountain," "Wilderness Dreams and Mountains," "Campfires and Memories."

Lois Ruth Boone is a Canadian politician who served as MLA for Prince George North from 1986 to 1991, and Prince George-Mount Robson from 1991 to 2001, in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. She is a member of the British Columbia New Democratic Party.

Born in Vancouver, BC on April 26, 1947, Lois Ruth Boone began her political career as a School Trustee in Prince George in 1981 and later joined the British Columbia New Democratic Party. She served as MLA for Prince George North from 1986 to 1991, and Prince George-Mount Robson from 1991 to 2001, in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. She held a number of political positions in the Executive Council of British Columbia, including Minister of Government Services, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Minister of Transportation and Highways, Minister for Children and Families and Deputy Premier.

After stepping down from provincial politics, Lois was re-elected as a school trustee for School District #57. In October 2010 Lois announced she would seek the NDP nomination in the by-election in the federal riding of Prince George-Peace River. At the November 23rd, 2010 School District #57 public board meeting, she announced she would not be seeking renewal of her position as vice-chair of the board nor would she be seeking re-election as a trustee. Lois Boone lived and worked in Prince George for over 40 years.

Parker Bonney was born in 1889 in New Brunswick. In 1911, he graduated from the University of Washington with a forestry degree. He moved to Canada in 1913 and worked as a student in the Nass region. Parker Bonney worked for the Prince George Forestry Division starting from 1913. He was one of the first people to completely survey the Nass River Watershed and the Headwaters of the Skeena. He became the district forester for Prince Rupert in 1926, residing in Ocean Falls, B.C. until 1945. Later on in his life, Parker Bonney worked as a forestry engineer with Alcan and with Columbia Cellulose. Both Bonney Lake and Bonney Creek are named in his honour due to his contributions to the Northern BC forestry industry. Parker Bonney resided in North Vancouver until 1977 when he passed away.

William Andrew Cecil (W.A.C.) Bennett, PC, OC was the 25th Premier of the Canadian province of British Columbia. With just over 20 years in office, Bennett was and remains the longest-serving premier in British Columbia history.