Created by Stuart C. Ross, Architect, PO Box 1804, 1896 Third Ave., Prince George, BC

The Royal Bank of Canada (RBC; French: Banque Royale du Canada) is the largest financial institution in Canada, as measured by deposits, revenues, and market capitalization. The bank serves seventeen million clients and has 80,100 employees worldwide. The company corporate headquarters are located in Toronto, Ontario. In Canada, RBC serves approximately ten million clients through its network of 1,209 branches. The bank was founded in 1864 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) was the air force of Canada from 1924 until 1968 when the three branches of the Canadian military were merged into the Canadian Forces. The modern Canadian air force has been known as Canadian Forces Air Command (AIRCOM) since 1975, but still refers to itself as the "Air Force" and maintains many of the traditions of the RCAF.

The Mission of The Royal Canadian Legion is to serve veterans and their dependents, promote Remembrance and act in the service of Canada and its communities. As well, The Royal Canadian Legion has a strong and continued commitment in promoting Canada's contribution to world peace, the protection of Canadian sovereignty and the preservation of national unity.

The Royal Canadian Legion, formed in 1926, is a non-profit, membership supported fraternal organization. It originally served as a place of camaraderie, support and advocacy, assisting returning military personnel to ease the transition from war to civilian life. Since that time the Legion has evolved into a community service organization serving veterans, ex-service personnel and their families, the new military, as well as seniors and youth.

BC/Yukon Command of The Royal Canadian Legion with 153 Branches, over 90 Ladies Auxiliaries and almost 70,000 members, receives no government funding. BC/Yukon Legionnaires and members of the Ladies Auxiliary contribute millions of dollars to communities every year. These funds are raised through membership drives, fundraisers, donations and sporting and social activities held at Legion Branches and in the community.

BC/Yukon Command also works in partnership with a multitude of government and community, health, social and educational agencies in the design and support of unique programs which will improve the quality of life of others, including Canadian Forces Members, Veterans and Seniors, Youth, and Community Citizens. The BC/Yukon Command also established a Legion Foundation which accepts charitable donations and bequests for: geriatric medical research and bursaries; affordable assisted living facilities; youth leadership and development; and a wide range of health and social services in the community.

(Excerpt taken from http://www.bcyuk.legion.ca/home/about-us/about-us )

The Legion is a non-profit, dues-supported, fraternal organization with approximately 1,600 branches in Canada, the United States, Germany and The Netherlands. The Legion receives no financial assistance from any outside agency and membership is open to all Canadian citizens and Commonwealth subjects who subscribe to the purposes and objects of the organization.

From the time of its formation in 1926, the Legion has focussed its efforts on the fight to secure adequate pensions and other well-earned benefits for veterans and their dependants. Acting as an advocacy agency on veterans' behalf, the Legion deals directly with the Federal Government to ensure ex-military personnel and their dependants are treated fairly.

The Royal Canadian Legion has also assumed a major responsibility for perpetuating the tradition of Remembrance in Canada. Each year the Legion organizes and runs the National Poppy and Remembrance Campaign to remind Canadians of the tremendous debt we owe to the 117,000 men and women who have given their lives in the defence of Canada during two world wars, the Korean War and other military missions around the world. Contributions made during the campaign are used to assist needy veterans, ex-service members and their families.

The Legion also supports programs for seniors, particularly through direct community-level activities, the Legion Long term care Surveyor Program and a housing program. The Legion's Youth program provides scholarships and bursaries, sports programs and support to activities such as cadets, scouts and guides.

Rustad Bros. and Co. Ltd. was a large sawmill and planermill that was started operation in 1947. Jim Rustad was the general manager and president of the sawmill. Jim sold the business to Northwood in 1991 (later bought by Canfor) and operated until 2009.

Jim Rustad was the general manager and president of Rustad Bros. and Co. Ltd., a large sawmill and planermill that was started by his father and uncle in 1947. Noreen Rustad is the daughter of Garvin and Bea Dezell. Garvin was a former mayor of Prince George. In 1992, Noreen received the Governor General Award for her community volunteer activities.

Jim Rustad was the general manager and president of Rustad Bros. and Co. Ltd., a large sawmill and planermill that was started by his father and uncle in 1947.

Noreen is the daughter of Garvin and Bea Dezell. Garvin was a former mayor of Prince George. In 1992, Noreen received the Governor General Award for her community volunteer activities.

Mabel (nee Scholander) Rutherford participated in the Red Rock Community History Project in 2001. The Red Rock Community History Project was conducted by a team of UNBC students and coordinated by the Northern BC Archives at the University of Northern British Columbia. In their efforts to preserve a community's "collective memory" twelve oral history interviews were conducted with long-time Red Rock area residents to record their memories of life during the mid 20th century. Along with these interview, over 200 photographic images were also collected from them, many of which are found on the project website: http://nbca.library.unbc.ca/pages/archives/LivingLandscapes/ . Mrs. Rutherford’s mother Stephanie (Marcoll) Scholander is a sister to John Marcoll and Kate (Marcoll) Anderson, two individuals also interviewed as part of the Red Rock Community History Project. Mrs. Rutherford is a well-known artist who now lives in the southern interior of British Columbia. Her interview focuses on memories of plowing for spending money, farm life, World War II and her memories of joining the RCAF in the 1950s.

The Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL) in partnership with institutions and organizations worldwide, offers training for applied linguistic fieldwork. Topics for courses include phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, discourse, cultural anthropology, language learning, linguistic field methods, sociolinguistics, literacy, language program planning, and translation. In programs in partnership with religious institutions, SIL facilitates the application of linguistic studies to the translation of Christian scriptures.

W. Murray Sadler, a founding partner of the Prince George law firm of Heather Sadler Jenkins, was the founding President of the Interior University Society and later became Chairman of the Interim Governing Council of the University of Northern British Columbia.

Bertha Schenk was from Georgetown, Ontario.

Celia Schreiber was an active member of the Mexican community in Prince George.

Ron A. Sebastian is from the Gitxsan and the Wet'suwet'en Nations. His name is Gwin Butsxw from the house of Spookw of the Lax Gibuu Clan (Wolf Clan). In the early 1970s, Sebastian studied carving and design at the Kitanmaax School of Northwest Coast Native Art at ‘Ksan Village, Hazelton, B.C. His work, which includes wood carvings (masks, bowls, bent boxes, rattles, talking sticks, rhythm canes, murals and totem poles of all sizes), graphic art, and gold and silver jewellery, can be found in museums and private collections throughout North America, Europe and Japan. His larger pieces include three murals, carved together with Earl Muldoe, for the main lobby of Les Terrasses de la Chaudiere, new home of the Department of Indian Affairs in Hull, Quebec ; a cedar panel carved together with brother Robert E. Sebastian for a new school in Takla Landing ; a round mural carved for the Smithers Dze_l_K'ant Friendship Center ; and a totem pole carved for the front of the Two Rivers Art Gallery in Prince George. In 1992, Sebastian carved an elaborate pair of Chief's chairs and a talking stick with a base stand for UNBC. These carvings are used on special occasions (such as Convocation) by the President and Chancellor. The mace, ceremonial chairs and the doors to the University Senate were carved by Ron A. Sebastian, and were presented in early 1992, in time for the inaugural Convocation. The mace/talking stick includes thirteen traditional Indian crests, which represent all the tribes/clans of northern British Columbia. They are, from top to bottom: Wolf, Black Bear, Beaver, Wolverine, Caribou, Mountain Goose, Frog, Raven, Thunderbird, Fireweed, Killer Whale, Owl, and Eagle. In the centre is an additional human face representing all peoples. The mace/talking stick rests in a base of red cedar, carved in the form of a salmon, which is meant to indicate all the people in the region. The chairs include, at top and bottom, a human mask and sun, representing mankind but particularly students and counsellors, while the other symbols again represent the various First Nations peoples in the University’s region. The Chancellor’s Chair includes representations of the thunderbird, frog, beaver, grouse, fireweed, owl, eagle, and killer whale, with arm rests carved in the shape of a wolf. The President’s Chair includes representations of the grizzly bear, wolf, caribou, black bear, crow, frog, moose, and mountain goose, with arm rests carved in the shape of a raven.

J. Kent Sedgwick was a historical geographer active in promoting Prince George history. Sedgwick graduated from the University of Western Ontario and McMaster University. He first came to Prince George in August 1970 to accept the position of geography professor at the College of New Caledonia. He has guest lectured history courses at the University of Northern British Columbia, as well as for meetings held by the Huble Homestead Giscome-Portage Heritage Society. He spent a great deal of time conducting research on the history of Prince George and the Central Interior, and had a large interest in forming the Local History Society. Sedgwick worked on heritage issues as a planner for the City of Prince George. He was awarded the Jeanne Clarke Memorial Local History Award 17 February 1991. He interviewed Warren Meyer, retired Pan American World Airways pilot, for "Pan Am and All That: WWII Aviation in Prince George, British Columbia." He similarly interviewed Trelle A. Morrow, then compiled and edited "Reflections on Architects and Architecture in Prince George, 1950-2000." He edited several works of local history, including a new edition of Reverend Runalls' "A History of Prince George."

Simon Fraser University (commonly referred to as SFU) is a Canadian public research university in British Columbia with its main campus on Burnaby Mountain in Burnaby, and satellite campuses in Vancouver and Surrey. The main campus in Burnaby was established in 1965 and has more than 34,000 students and 950 faculty members.

Marcus Smith was born in Ford, Northumberland UK on 16 July 1815. After a local education, he started work in railway construction in 1844. He worked his way up to become a railway engineer and was responsible for building 230 miles of railway. He also worked on railway construction in France and the United States before coming to Canada in 1850. Between 1850 and 1860 he was employed in survey and construction work on the Great Western Railway, Hamilton and Toronto Railway and the Niagara and Detroit River Railway. He was engaged in railway work in South Africa, 1860-1864. Returning to Canada, he was resident engineer for the Restigouche Division of the Intercolonial Railway from 1868 to 1872 under the Chief Engineer, Sanford Fleming.

When Fleming became Chief Engineer of the Pacific Railway in 1872, Smith was put in charge of route surveys from the Rockies to the Pacific Ocean. Smith was also acting engineer-in-chief between 1876 and 1878 during Fleming's absence. When the Canadian Pacific Railway was formed in 1881, Smith joined the CPR engineering staff, doing location work and inspecting contractors' work. Smith left the CPR in 1886 and became a consulting engineer and inspector for the federal government on projects such as railroads in the Maritimes. He retired from government work in 1893. Marcus Smith then did preliminary estimates for the Montreal, Ottawa and Georgian Bay Canal, Trans-Canada Railway and Hudson's Bay & Pacific Railway up to 1898. He died on 14 August 1904 in Ottawa.

Marcus Smith's most notable project was surveying a western route for the Canadian Pacific Railway in the 1870s. His proposed route went through Prince George to Butte Inlet on the coast. His son Arthur Smith was Deputy Attorney General of BC before heading the Land Registry Office until his retirement in the 1930s. His daughter Anne Clarice worked as a social worker and was Secretary to the Canadian Council on Child and Family Welfare for a time.

Thomas A. (Tom) Steadman, franchise owner of the Canadian Tire store in Prince George, BC, spearheaded the campaign to raise awareness about a University of the North and for the North, speaking at many community gatherings during the early years of concept development for what would become the University of Northern British Columbia. He was one of founding members of the Interior University Society (IUS) and was founder and chairperson of the IUS membership committee. Mr. Steadman was appointed to the Implementation Planning Group in 1989 and later became a member of the Interim Governing Council of the University of Northern British Columbia. More recently, he helped establish the Northern Medical Programs Trust and Chaired the UNBC Foundation.

Susan Stevenson is an independent wildlife biologist and an adjunct faculty member at UNBC. She has been studying the effects of forestry practices on habitat for wildlife for nearly 25 years, mostly in the Interior Wetbelt. She is especially interested in wildlife that depend on habitat attributes found in old forests, and how they can be maintained in managed stands. Her interest in the Mountain Caribou and its habitat has drawn her into studies of the ecology of arboreal lichens. She is also interested in wildlife trees, coarse woody debris, and how they are affected by various harvesting practices. As well as conducting research, Susan is active in teaching and extension. She is a Wildlife/Danger Tree Assessor's Course instructor and a frequent guest lecturer at UNBC and the College of New Caledonia. She has prepared a number of extension notes and other publications for forestry and habitat managers and field staff.

Roy Stewart was President of the Interior University Society at one time. The Interior University Society was incorporated in 1987 after organizational efforts initiated by Tom Steadman, Bryson Stone and Charles McCaffray. The society’s objectives were to promote the establishment of a university in Prince George, B.C., later to be known as the University of Northern British Columbia. The first president of the society was Prince George lawyer W. Murray Sadler. The Society launched a membership campaign in 1987, retained the services of Dr. Urban Dahllof to undertake a feasibility study, and conducted a survey to determine the support level in northern B.C. for a university. In October, 1988, the society’s proposals and studies were presented to the provincial cabinet. In 1989, an Implementation Planning Group was established, chaired by Horst Sander. The planning group completed its study and reported to the government in December of 1989, recommending a full-status university be established in the north.

Bruce Strachan was MLA for Prince George South and Minister of State for the Cariboo Region. He was a member of the Interior University Society and a strong proponent of the creation of a university in the North. In 1989, he became Minister of Advanced Education.

Chander Suri was the Regional District Planner for Fraser Fort George Regional District

The traditional territory of the Takla Lake First Nation is located in North Central British Columbia, and totals approximately 27,250 square kilometres. The territory is a rich environment of lakes, rivers, forests and mountains, bordered on the west by the Skeena Mountains and on the east by the Rocky Mountains. Today, the Takla Lake Nation is an amalgamation of the North Takla Band and the Fort Connelly Band, a union which occurred in 1959. Their traditional lands are the geographic area occupied by their ancestors for community, social, economic and spiritual purposes. Carrier and Sekani place names exist for every physical feature and place that they occupied. Each name reflects the significance of the feature or site and today provides them with historical information to the rich history and extensive knowledge of the land and resources owned by the Takla people. (for more information see http://www.taklafn.ca/nation/31/home )

The main function of the Task Force to Review Northern Post Secondary Education was to listen to the public and educators within the northern regions regarding the regional delivery of UNBC programs. At the time, people from across Northern BC were concerned that UNBC would be limited to Prince George operations, and would not represent or serve other regions of Northern BC. The Task Force met with 350 people through visits to Prince Rupert, Kitimat, Terrace, Hazelton, Smithers, Burns Lake, Vanderhoof, Quesnel, William's Lake and Dawson Creek. Telephone calls and letters resulted in further input. During the formal presentations and general discussion held throughout the four northern college regions (Northwest, College of New Caledonia, Northern Lights, and Cariboo College) the residents expressed tremendous support for UNBC. During each meeting, there was a range of expectations regarding program delivery. There were, however, themes common to all meetings, including : that UNBC plan for regional programs and services at the same time as the Prince George campus ; that there be more regional representatives in the governing council of UNBC ; and that UNBC develop innovative, non-traditional approaches to delivery systems, administrations, and educational partnerships in order to meet the needs of northern communities. The paper was submitted to Ministry of Advanced Education, Training and Technology 31 March 1992. UNBC issued a response 6 April 1992

Hermina Agnes Wessel was born to John Wessel and Agnes Henry (Hamana) in Gastown on June 20, 1878. Mr. Wessel who hailed from Amsterdam, Holland, came to Canada as a mariner travelling by way of Cape Horn. He worked at the Hastings Sawmill in Gastown which was then managed by a man named Richard Henry Alexander. 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 Minnie was the eldest.

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

In 1889 John Wessel moved to Saturna Island to work for Mr. Warburton Pike as manager of the Pike Ranch. Upon graduating from the Convent, Hermina moved back with her father where she lived until her marriage to Hugh Taylor in Victoria on November 20, 1902.

At the time of their marriage Hugh Taylor had a freighting contract to carry supplies for the construction of the Dominion Yukon Telegraph Line. So for their honeymoon, the two rode horseback in the pack train from Ashcroft to Hazelton. Arriving in the late summer, Minnie Taylor remained in Hazelton while her husband went on to Telegraph Creek. The next year they built their log ranch house at Kispiox, Mr. Taylor became the local telegraph operator and together they taught themselves the Morse code. At the birth of their second child, this knowledge of Morse code allowed them to communicate with Dr. Wrinch at the nearest hospital through their local telegraph operator in Hazelton!

In the spring of 1919 Hugh Taylor was appointed to the staff of the Public Works Department of the Provincial Government and so the family moved to South Fort George. Upon their arrival they stayed in the Alexandra Hotel until their household effects arrived by train. In 1921 Mr. Taylor died of pneumonia.

Minnie Taylor and her family lived in Prince George until 1935 when she moved to live with her daughter Lucy and family in Grand Forks. During the war years she lived with her son Dixon and family in Chisolm Mills, afterwhich she returned to the Lower Mainland where she again lived with Lucy and family until her death on February 3, 1972. She was survived by four daughters (Mrs. Ellen Garland, Mrs. Violet Baxter, Mrs. Lucy Burbidge and Mrs. Virginia Woods) and two sons (Arthur and Dr. Hugh Taylor Jr.). She was predeceased by her two sons Dixon (1962) and Thomas (1944).

Hugh Taylor was born in Quebec on 28 November 1874 to Thomas Dixon Taylor and his wife Lucy E. Bourchier. Thomas Taylor, of Ottawa, was a civil engineer, who predeceased his son; Hugh’s brother, Lieutenant Colonel Plunkett (wife Florence) Taylor of Ottawa, was a manager of the Bank of Ottawa. His nephew Edward Plunkett (E.P.) Taylor was a renowned Ottawa businessman, thoroughbred horse breeder and racer. Hugh Taylor received his formal education in Kingston, Ont. In 1896, he moved west to British Columbia first settling in the Kootenay region where he was engaged in the construction of the Crow’s Nest Railway and then later went on to Vancouver. In 1901, Mr. Taylor worked as a packer with a Mr. Singlehurst, who was operating a mining property near Kitselas (a little village used as a port of call for riverboats which used to exist just before the Skeena Canyon). Hugh Taylor had the distinction of loading and safely delivering to the mine, an immense steel drum of great weight – a task which was considered impossible at the time. In 1902, he became Secretary to T.J. Phelan, who was District Superintendent of the Dominion Yukon Telegraph Line which had its headquarters in Ashcroft, BC. The following spring, he married Miss Hermina “Minnie” Wessel of Saturna Island, BC and came north with his bride, taking their honeymoon trip on horseback all the way from Ashcroft to Hazelton in order to continue his work on the Telegraph Line. Together, Hugh and Minnie had eight children: Ellen, Violet, Lucy, Dixon, Arthur, Tom, Virginia and Hugh Jr. After arriving in Hazelton, he became associated with Chas. Barrett & Co. and was in charge of their mule train. In the fall of 1903, he went to First Cabin (at the end of the wagon road) to work as a lineman with the Dominion Yukon Telegraph Line, where he remained for several years. Mr. Taylor also staked one of the first farms in the Kispiox Valley and spent a number of years there with his family. He later became an telegraph operator at Kispiox as well as its postmaster, and owner/operator of a local store and ranch. During the boom days, he ran a stagecoach between Hazelton and the Kispiox Valley and to points north up to First Cabin. In 1914 the Taylors moved to Hazelton, where Hugh Taylor took a deep interest in sports and was known for successfully defending goal for the Hazelton men’s hockey team. Later, the Taylor family moved on to Fort Fraser where Mr. Taylor again worked as a telegraph operator. In 1917, upon his appointment to the position of Assistant District Engineer of the Provincial Public Works Department, the Taylors moved to the department’s headquarters in Prince George. Four years later during the course of his duties on an out of town trip to Vanderhoof Mr. Taylor became ill; he was escorted back to Prince George, where he passed away a few days later on 5 November 1921.

Born in Longmont, Colorado on 10 March 1919, environmentalist and social activist Walter (Walt) Taylor devoted a lifetime in the U.S.A. and Canada to the cultivation of peace with justice. During World War II he served in work camps as a conscientious objector to war, but ultimately went to prison for his stand against conscription. He turned away from graduate study in Physics to take a Master’s degree in Human Development at the University of Chicago.

With four children in their family, he and his wife Margaret (Peggy) Taylor (b. Lewiston, Maine, 7 August 1916) worked in a variety of social services, but were always seeking opportunities to encourage a fundamental movement toward peace with justice and sustainable environmental stewardship.

In the 1960s Philadelphia Quakers sent Walt as their response to a request from the Seneca Nation of Native Americans for help in defending the oldest active treaty in American history, the Treaty of Canandaigua which had been firmly negotiated with the Seneca Nation in 1794. In spite of a great nation-wide protest, that treaty was violated by the construction of the controversial Kinzua Dam (1961-1965) on the Allegheny River which flooded 10,000 acres of land and displaced 600 Seneca families out of their traditional territory. After moving to Summerland, British Columbia during the Vietnam War, Walt continued his active interest in the concerns of First Nations peoples and even worked for the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs in the 1970s.

Beginning in 1973 and running for several years thereafter, Walt directed an innovative project called “Imagine Penticton” through which the whole community of Penticton was invited to imagine itself the way it ought to be and to join Walt and his staff in bringing this collective vision to fruition. Taylor was also actively involved with the South Okanagan Civil Liberties Society, the South Okanagan Environmental Coalition and the Southern Interior Ecological Liaison – venues which allowed him to further his passionate advocacy for justice, peace and environmental sustainability.

His time in the Okanagan region of B.C., also provided Walt Taylor with the opportunity to become heavily involved with the British Columbia Man and Resources Programme – a 2 year public participation programme sponsored and organized by the Canadian Council of Resource and Environment Ministers (CCREM). The Man and Resources Programme originated in 1961 when natural resource ministers from across the country met at the “Resources for Tomorrow” Conference to discuss a natural resources policy for Canada. At that time, public interest in resource issues was low, so the main results from that conference were strictly governmental and technical. Man and Resources was concerned with all aspects of the environmental problem – social, economic, ecological – but it also sought to involve all Canadians in its investigation; therefore one of the fundamental goals of this Programme was to enlist citizen participation to discuss the whole question of development and the use of resources and how that should be balanced against protection of the environment. This mandate was to be accomplished through two phases: Phase I was undertaken in 1972 when community representatives from across the province came together locally, then regionally (Delta, B.C., Sept. 23-23, 1972) and finally nationally (Montebello, Q.C., Oct. 29-Nov. 4, 1972) to take on the task of problem identification. In 1973, Phase II was undertaken which required citizen participants to identify solutions and alternatives to the problems identified at the national conference at Montebello in 1972. The provincial conference was held in Naramata, B.C., September 20-23, 1973 while the national conference was held in Toronto, Nov.18-23, 1973.

In 1982 Walt and his family moved north to Smithers, B.C. where he continued to dedicate his life to grass-roots level, political and environmental activism in the Bulkley Valley - Telkwa - Smithers area. For the next eighteen years Walt Taylor, and his wife Peggy, were actively involved with the Northwest Study Conference Society, the Skeena Round Table on Sustainable Development, the Waging Peace Society, Project Ploughshares – Smithers, the Smithers Human Rights Society, the Gitksan-Carrier Tribal Council, the Gitksan-Wet’suwet’en Tribal Council, the Telkwa Educational Action Committee of Householders, the Bulkley Valley Anti-Poverty Group, and the Smithers Social Planning Committee, to name a few, through which they promoted a wide range of social rights causes including global peace, human rights and environmental sustainability to peoples, organizations and communities throughout Northern B.C.

With the earliest pastoral care provided to north coastal peoples by missionaries travelling by canoe, technological development inevitably allowed for the introduction of the gasoline engine. “Glad Tidings” (built in 1884, sunk in 1903) was the first of these new ships built for the Rev. Thomas Crosby. Upon its demise, the “Udal” was constructed in 1908, only to sink a year later; followed by the launch of the first of the “Thomas Crosby” mission boats in 1912. These particular Methodist mission boats were named after the Rev. Thomas Crosby who had ministered to First Nations peoples throughout the northern coast of B.C. In 1874, at the request of Tsimshian matriarch Elizabeth Diex, and her son Chief Alfred Dudoward and daughter-in-law Kate Dudoward, the Rev. Crosby was sent to Port Simpson to establish its’ first Methodist mission. From this home base, Crosby supervised the establishment of ten missions throughout north coastal British Columbia and ministered to the Tsimshian of Lax Kw’alaams (Port Simpson), the Nisga’a, Haida and Gitksan until 1897. The “Thomas Crosby” I, II, and III served as the Crosby Mission to north coastal communities for the Port Simpson District of the Methodist Church right up to church union in 1925. Under the United Church, the Mission became a pastoral charge, first called the Queen Charlotte (Marine) Pastoral Charge and then renamed Central Mainland Marine Mission in 1929. The “Thomas Crosby” III, built in 1923 was under the pastoral charge of the Rev. Robert Scott. In 1938, this vessel was replaced with the more seaworthy “Thomas Crosby” IV (1938-1967) under the charge of the Rev. Peter Kelly only to be replaced once again by the “Thomas Crosby” V (1967-1991). After the de-commission of the “Thomas Crosby” V, the Central Mainland Marine Mission conducted all pastoral care via air travel.

The Thomas Crosby III and IV (the vessels believed to be featured in this particular photograph collection) operated between Lowe Inlet in the north and Smith Inlet in the south, with headquarters at Ocean Falls. She called at lighthouses, canneries, logging camps and isolated settlements. In addition to serving as a church and mission, she delivered the mail, served as a library and movie theatre, and functioned as a hospital and mortuary. A shovel and mattock were kept in a cupboard ready for any necessary burials. A visit from a Thomas Crosby was considered the highlight of the season for many isolated communities along the north coast.

Tommy Tompkins was a former RCMP officer who was best known for his television and film work on the northern Canadian wilderness. He appeared regularly on CBC Television, including the show "This Land," and had his own CBC television show, "Tommy Tompkin's Wildlife Country" which are available through the Canadian National Film Board.

“Tommy Tompkins’ Wildlife Country,” a short series of 13 half hour programs featured Tommy Tompkins, outdoorsman and environmentalist, aired at various times on the CBC from January to December, 1971 and then repeated from February 1972 to June 1974. “Wildlife Country” chronicled animal life in remote regions of British Columbia and the Yukon; however this program also served to document Tompkins's own methods of survival and travel through the wilderness as he spent the spring and summer in the bush, alone, embarking without a film crew, and often acting as his own wildlife cinematographer for the series. This series was the spinoff of a successful television special called “Tommy Tompkins: Bushman” which aired on the CBC in 1970. The executive producer for Tommy Tompkins' Wildlife Country was Ray Hazzan, and the producer Denis Hargrave.

In later years, Tompkins gave lecture tours for B.C. Hydro, Fletcher Challenge, and Alcan, where he showed his films. He traveled with his pet wolf, Nehani. Through his celebrity Tompkins gained sponsorship from McMillan Bloedel which allowed him to take his films, lectures, and conservation message to school children all over the province of BC. It is estimated that some years he was able to speak to over 100,000 children. In 1974 Tommy Tompkins was named a Member of the Order of Canada for his work in focusing awareness on the natural environment.

Tompkins died in 1988 at the age of 68.

Tshimshian communities are in British Columbia and Alaska, around Terrace and Prince Rupert and the southernmost corner of Alaska on Annette Island. There are approximately 10,000 Tsimshian. Their culture is matrilineal with a societal structure based on a clan system, properly referred to as a moiety.

During a conversation in 1996, Eve Pankovitch and David Kerr, employees at UNBC, expressed to each other their concern regarding the absence of art on campus. A few months later they founded the Arts Council of UNBC and set out to respond to the need for art, including musical, visual, literary, performing and conceptual forms, on campus and to foster a relationship with the arts community in Prince George and the region. Since 1996, the Arts Council has initiated and collaborated on many projects including art exhibitions, talks by art professionals, University art acquisitions, poetry readings and musical performances.

The University of Northern British Columbia's Conference and Event Services provides services such as accommodations, catering, meeting space, audio-visual, and conference management.

The UNBC Convocation Office is responsible for the organization of convocation events.