Showing 357 results

Authority record
John Hart Highway
2005.3 · Instelling · 1945 -

This 405 km long stretch of Highway 97, named for former British Columbia Premier John Hart, begins at Prince George, traveling for 152 km north through the small hamlet of Summit Lake, which is situated at the Continental Divide, as well as, through Crooked River Provincial Park, Bear Lake and McLeod Lake, to its intersection with Highway 39. It then journeys northeast another 150 km through the Continental Divide at which point the time zone changes from Pacific Time to Mountain Time. After emerging from the Pine Pass, the highway intersects with Highway 29 at the town of Chetwynd. After a trek of another 97 km east, the Hart Highway terminates at Dawson Creek, BC.

Royal Canadian Air Force
2006.29.12 · Instelling · 1 April 1924 - 1 February 1968

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.

Jeffery, Fred
2009.10 · Persoon · 1870 - 1952

Fred Jeffery was born in Bruce Mines, in the Algoma District of Ontario in 1870 to Richard and Mary Ann Jeffery. When he finished school he worked as a stationary engineer mining for hard-rock copper for the Bruce Mines until 1891, when he moved out West to British Columbia. After his migration, Mr. Jeffery worked as a steam engineer during the winters at both the original Hotel Vancouver and occasionally at the Rogers building; while each summer he traveled north to the Nass Valley where he worked as a steam engineer at a Prince Rupert salmon cannery. Upon his retirement he built a boat named the Algoma, and sailed around the Gulf Islands looking for the perfect spot to build a home – a spot he eventually found in Maple Bay (Duncan). Mr. Jeffery died in Maple Bay, B.C on 19 April 1952.

Glassey, Sarah
2009.5.2 · Persoon · 13 Nov 1881- 20 October 1962

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.

Glassey, H.F.
2009.5.2 · Persoon · 15 August 1882 - 17 October 1962

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.

Baxter, Bob
2009.5.4 · Persoon · 7 May 1905 - 3 June 1955

Born in Gapview, Saskatchewan to Robert & Harriet Baxter, Bob Baxter came to the Prince George district in 1922 and launched on the varied assortment of careers that made his name known throughout the Central Interior.

Travelling first by wagon over the old Blackwater Road to Punchaw Lake, he trapped in the area for seven years. Following stints as brush cutter for Bellos Ranch and graderman for the Public Works Department, he later operated a garage and service station in partnership with Andy Whitehead. When fire destroyed the building in 1932, he took over the mail route between Prince George and Quesnel, making the return trip once a week. When roads improved, a tri-weekly service was initiated.
During World War II he built up a fleet of seven trucks which traveled south regularly with a varied assortment of freight. He later sold this transport business to Wade Transfer of Quesnel and took over partnership operation of the Sportsman’s Shop on George Street. After selling out there he purchased a share in the Culcultz Lake Resort.

Mr. Baxter was an enthusiastic sportsman during his residence in the B.C. Interior, as well as an active member of the Rod and Gun Club and the Trucker’s Association.

Married to Violet Bourchier Taylor in 1933, together they had four children: Allan, Fred, Dixson and Edna. Mr. Baxter passed away in his home in 1955.

Baxter, Violet
2009.5.4 · Persoon · 1906 - 20 January 1985

Violet Bourchier Taylor was born in 1906 in Kispiox, BC to Hugh and Hermina Taylor. Hugh Taylor was one of the original telegraph operators of the “Trans Siberian Line”. Violet completed her primary education in Kispiox, and then moved to Prince Rupert where she lived with her relatives Sarah and Herbert Glassey while she completed high school. After finishing her schooling, she worked in Prince Rupert as a private secretary for the head master of the CNR and was subsequently transferred to Prince George in the early 1920s. A few years later she worked for the City Public Works Department.

In 1933 Violet married trucking firm owner Bob Baxter, who held the hauling contract to carry the mail and perishables between Quesnel and Prince George from 1932 to 1948. On numerous occasions during the 1940s when her husband was unable to hire drivers, Violet Baxter worked for him as a driver. Bob Baxter predeceased his wife in 1955.

Violet Baxter also worked for the Provincial Forest Service for 15 years, retiring in 1970. She had a love of the outdoors and a keen interest in the history of Prince George. Violet Baxter passed away in the Prince George Regional Hospital on January 20, 1985 at the age of 79.

Taylor, Hermina
2009.5.1 · Persoon · 20 June 1878 – 3 February 1972

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).

Taylor, Hugh
2009.5.1 · Persoon · 1874-1921

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.

Harkins, Bob
2005.19 · Persoon · 25 November 1931 - 28 November 2000

Bob Harkins was born on 25 November 1931 in New Westminster, BC. After he graduated from Victoria High School in 1949, Mr. Harkins apprenticed with his father as a sawfiler for Penny Sawmill, in Penny BC - a small community east of Prince George. He moved to Prince George 18 months later and enrolled in a first year university program at Prince George Senior High School. It was during this time that he first met Barbara McGillivray, whom he married on 18 August 1954. The Harkins were married for 46 years and together they had one son, Michael.

Bob Harkins began his broadcasting career as a Copy Writer at CKPG radio in 1954; three years later at the age of 26, he was appointed General Manager and President of the station. Mr. Harkins was one of the first local personalities, viewers saw when CKPG-TV went on the air in 1962. In 1969, Mr. Harkins transferred to CJCI radio station, where he worked until returning to CKPG in the early 1990s.

In 1986, Mr. Harkins was elected alderman on the council of Mayor John Backhouse. In his capacity of Alderman, Mr. Harkins made a significant contribution to the formation of the city's Special Needs Advisory Committee, in addition to being the Master of Ceremonies at a reception held for Rick Hanson in 1988. In 1990, Bob successfully ran in his second municipal election and served as Alderman until health concerns prompted him to step down from his aldermanic duties in 1993.

A founding member of the Prince George Public Library's Local History Committee, Mr. Harkins also served on the boards of both the Prince George Public Library and the Fraser-Fort George Regional Museum. He was a past President of the Rotary Club, a past member of the Jaycees, and received the Broadcaster of the Year Award from the BC Broadcasting Association. On November 2, 1986, Mr. Harkins was presented with the Jeanne Clarke Memorial Local History Award his exceptional dedication to local history and the community of Prince George and the surrounding region. And in 1997 he was nominated as the Prince George Citizen of the Year.

In addition to writing various newspaper articles, Bob Harkins wrote a book entitled "Prince George's Memorable Mayors" (CNC Press, 2000). He stayed active in broadcasting for over forty years and was seen regularly on PGTV on its community segment: "Community Close-up" and on its news segments "Harkins Comment" and "Harkins History". In 1996 PGTV produced a video featuring the life of Bob Harkins entitled "Portraits: Bob Harkins".

Bob Harkins passed away on 28 November 2000 at the age of 69.

Caux, Jean
2006.20.9.1 · Persoon · 1832 - 1922

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.

2000.1 · Instelling · 3 April 1952 - 15 March 1993

Cassiar Asbestos Corporation Limited (CAC) was established in 1951 by the parent company Conwest Exploration Company Limited. CAC opened an asbestos mine and mill in 1952 in northern BC and constructed a townsite for its workers. Because Cassiar was unincorporated, CAC provided municipal services (sewer, water, electricity, medical, educational, community and retail.) Cassiar town holdings include administrative, housing, school, hospital, and retail store records. For 40 years Cassiar was a thriving one-industry town of 1200+ people. In the late 1950s, CAC began active efforts to find and acquire another asbestos deposit for the company. In 1957 such a deposit was discovered in the Yukon Territory, and acquired by CAC. By 1967 CAC had begun construction of a second mine, plant, and town in what became known as Clinton Creek. For most of its history the Cassiar operation was an open-pit mine, but in 1988 it began construction of an underground mine which became operational in 1990. The unprofitability of this underground operation contributed to the corporation’s bankruptcy in 1992. Most employees were laid off and in September the entire town, mine, and mill infrastructure was auctioned off by Maynard Industries, Vancouver.

Apsey, Mike
Persoon · 1938 -

T.M. (Mike) Apsey graduated from the University of British Columbia in 1961 with a degree in forestry. After holding various positions in the private sector, he became Deputy Minister of Forests for British Columbia in 1978. After six years, he became President and Chief Executive Officer for the Council of Forest Industries, 1984-1998. In 2002, Mike was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada.

2009.21 · Instelling · 1765 -

The United Church was inaugurated on June 10, 1925 in Toronto, Ontario, when the Methodist Church of Canada, the Congregational Union of Canada, and 70 per cent of the Presbyterian Church in Canada entered into an organic union. Joining as well was the small General Council of Union Churches, centred largely in Western Canada. It was the first union of churches in the world to cross historical denominational lines. Each of the uniting churches, however, had a long history in Canada prior to the 1925 union. Methodism in Canada, for example, is traced back to 1765 when Lawrence Coughlan, an Irish Methodist preacher, first came to Newfoundland. In Nova Scotia, beginning in the late 1770s, Methodists began migrating from England, an event which led to a revival of Methodist practice in this small territory. This influx of new religious ideology provided renewed energy to Methodist missionaries in their ministerial endeavours throughout British North America.

Along the north coastal areas of British Columbia, the Methodist mission found manifestation through several different portals: the provision of pastoral care via boat (such as the Thomas Crosby mission ships), regional medical services, and the provision of community ministry. In Port Simpson (now called Lax Kw’alaams) for example, Methodist medical mission work first began in 1889 under Dr. A.E. Boulton. By 1925 there were three Methodist Hospitals in the territory at Hazelton, Bella Bella and Port Simpson and in 1946 (post union) the United Church of Canada was asked to take over the administration of the Queen Charlotte City hospital.

Mission work throughout the territories was also fuelled, in part, by the existence of Hudson’s Bay Company posts. Not only did the existence of a post often lead to the organic development of an adjacent trading community to which to minister; with the inherent social problems resulting from the presence of, and commerce with, HBC Forts, the Church found opportunities to reach out to the surrounding population in an attempt to alleviate those social ills that resulted from common trading practices and bartered commodities. Fort Simpson was one such post - established as a fur trading post near the mouth of the Nass River in 1831 by the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) as part of its Columbia Department. In 1834 the fort was moved to the Tsimshian Peninsula, about halfway between the Nass and the Skeena rivers; the village that grew around the fort later became known as Port Simpson (now called Lax Kw’alaams). In 1874, at the request of Tsimshian matriarch Elizabeth Diex, and her son Chief Alfred Dudoward and daughter-in-law Kate Dudoward, the Rev. Thomas Crosby was sent to Port Simpson to establish its first Methodist mission. From this home base, Rev. Crosby supervised the establishment of ten missions throughout north coastal British Columbia; while his wife Emma founded the Crosby Girls' Home in Port Simpson in the 1880s. This “Home” became part of B.C.'s residential school system in 1893 and was finally closed in 1948.

Thomas Crosby Mission Ships
2009.21 · Instelling · 1923 - 1991

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.

McCusker, Knox
2008.27 · Persoon · 1890 - 1955

Knox Freeman McCusker ("Mac") the son of Rev. Samuel and Mary McCusker (nee Orr) was born on 6 April 1890, in Hawkesbury, Ontario. He received his education at the Gault Institute in Valleyfield, Quebec and at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario.

In 1909 he joined the staff of the Topographical Surveys Branch in the Federal Department of the Interior; in 1914 he was granted the commission of Dominion Land Surveyor. His work with the Topographical Surveys Branch included initial meridian, baseline and subdivision surveys and exploratory mapping. In 1927, he guided Marland Oil Company officials in prospecting an area to the west and north of Fort St. John and from the information gathered, he drafted the original Hudson Hope eight mile to one inch map sheet. After being laid off in 1930 as a result of the Great Depression, Mac took up guiding in British Columbia’s Peace River region including the Liard and Dease River areas and up into the Yukon. One of his most famous guiding commissions was with the Henry Expeditions.

In 1931, Dr. J. Norman Henry (prominent physician) and Mrs. Mary Gibson Henry (pioneer amateur botanist), a wealthy and adventurous American couple from Philadelphia, commissioned McCusker to guide them and their four children to the elusive "tropical valley" located near the Yukon border – a geographical phenomena they had heard so much about on a previous trip to Jasper, AB. This 79-day expedition lead them to the Toad River Hot Springs, and while the exotic “tropical valley” of their imagination may not have been fully realized, Mrs. Henry did amass an extensive collection of plants en route – a collection which fuelled her passionate interest in botany and spurred her to revisit north eastern BC another three times: in 1932, 1933 and 1935.

On the Henry expeditions whenever the outfit stopped to rest, McCusker and Mary Henry would climb to the top of the nearest mountain. Mac would get his bearings and work on his maps, while Mary Henry would work on her plant collection. The information McCusker acquired on these trips contributed substantially to the geographical knowledge of the area, and his maps formed the basis of many of the subsequent topographical maps of the area. Many of the landmarks in the area were also named as a result of McCusker's efforts, as can be seen in names such as Mt. Mary Henry, Mt. St. Paul and Mt. St. George, Beckman Creek, and Falk Creek - all named after individuals involved in the initial 1931Henry Expedition. As well, the Alaska Highway (construction for which beginning in 1942) followed part of the Henry expedition route.

Due to his specialized topographical knowledge of the area, McCusker was involved with many aspects of the Alaska Highway Construction project: including the coordination of fuel and supply movement into Fort Nelson during the winter of 1941-42; advising on the layout of the highway route; organizing pack outfit support during construction, and supervising the building of construction camps. This knowledge ultimately contributed greatly towards the location and construction of the Northwest Staging air route and the Alaska Highway - both wartime projects of high international priority. In acknowledgement for his wartime efforts, "Mac" received the Certificate of Merit from the United States Public Roads Administration.

In 1944, Knox McCusker married Gwen Elliott in a ceremony in Edmonton and the newlyweds spent their honeymoon conducting a legal survey of the Alaska Highway in the Yukon that summer. From 1950 until his passing in 1955, McCusker was in the employ of the Department of Public Works, Edmonton, making subdivision and other surveys in the Peace River Country. Knox Freeman McCusker passed away in Fort St. John on 27 April 1955 at the age of 65.

Williston, Ray Gillis
2000.13 · Persoon · 1914-2006

Ray Williston (1914-2006) was principal of the Prince George Junior-Secondary School and a school inspector for the Prince George/Peace River area from 1945 to 1953. In 1953 he was elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly for Prince George and served as Minister of Education from 1954 – 1956 and Minister of Lands and Forests from 1956 – 1972 in the B.C. Social Credit government under Premier W.A.C. Bennett. In the latter role he encouraged the development of a pulp economy from unused forest resources in the interior of B.C. in conjunction with government hydro-electric projects. After leaving government he became Chair and President of the British Columbia Cellulose Company and held a number of directorships in B.C. and New Brunswick. In addition he did consulting for the Canada International Development Agency (CIDA) and the Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Williston Lake in Northern British Columbia is named in his honour.

Antoniw, Vivian
2004.18 · Persoon · 1918-2003

Vivian Antoniw (nee Wright) was born on 24 December 1918 in Virden, Manitoba to John and Edith Wright. In 1964 she received her B.Ed (Secondary) from UBC through a Double Art Major in Drawing and Painting, Design and Ceramics and then went on to pursue her M.Ed (Fine Arts) from the Western Washington State University which she received in 1975. From 1959-1988 she taught various art programs in Kitimat, BC (1959-1980) and Prince George, BC (1984-1988). Throughout the 1980s and 1990s she participated in numerous one person art shows, group exhibits and juried art shows and was a member of the famous Milltown Painters (6) group. Her work has been collected by various private individuals as well as by Canfor Pulp Mill (Prince George), the Prince George Tourist Bureau, Grace Anglican Church (Prince George) and the Ukranian Catholic Church (Prince George) among many others. Vivian Antoniw was primarly a watercolourist who also worked in oils & acrylics. Her themes were inspired by nature and she enjoyed painting the “various moods” as she called them, of Prince George, the Queen Charlotte Islands, Prince Rupert, Smithers, Kitimat, Jasper, Vancouver and Victoria. Environmental issues such as the disappearance of the Monarch Butterfly, diminishing sea life and the loss of habitat were also a personal concern of hers which was often reflected in her art. Vivian Antoniw passed away in Prince George, BC in 2003.

Tsimshian First Nations
2009.7 · Familie

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.

Nisga'a Nation
2009.7 · Familie

The Nisga'a Nation is located primarily in the Nass River valley region of northwestern British Columbia.The Nisga’a people number about 6,000, 2,500 of which live in the Nass Valley (within their 4 villages): Gitlakdamix (New Aiyansh); Gitwinksihlkw (Canyon City); Laxgalts’ap (Greenville) and Gingolx (Kincolith). Another 3,500 Nisga’a live elsewhere in Canada, and around the world.

Nuu-chah-nulth First Nation
2009.7 · Familie

The ha’houlthee (chiefly territories) of the Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations, or tribes, stretches along approx. 300 kilometres of the Pacific Coast of Vancouver Island, from Brooks Peninsula in the north to Point-no-Point in the south, and includes inland regions. Although Nuu-chah-nulth people of the past shared traditions, languages and many aspects of culture, they were divided into chiefly families, local groups and, later, into Nations. Each Nation included several local groups, each centred around a ha’wiih (hereditary chief), and each living from the resources provided within their ha’houlthee.

College of New Caledonia
Instelling · 1969 -

The College of New Caledonia (CNC) is a publicly-funded post-secondary institution. It was established in Prince George, BC in 1969, and has since expanded across central British Columbia, with campuses in Prince George, Quesnel, Mackenzie, Burns Lake, Valemount, Fort St. James, Fraser Lake and Vanderhoof.

CNC enrolls about 5,000 students each year (all campuses) in approximately 90 distinct programs in business and management, community and continuing education, health sciences, adult basic education / upgrading, trades and industry, social services, and technologies. As well, CNC offers university-level classes leading to degrees and professional programs in many subjects.

Bullion Mines
2000.15 · Instelling · 1892 -1942

The Bullion Mines, also known as the Bulllion Pit, was a gold mine in Likely, British Columbia that operated from 1892 to 1942. It was associated with the Consolidated Cariboo Hydraulic Mining Company and the South Fork Hydraulic Mine. The objectives of the company were to pursue hydraulic and other processes of mining, to own and construct ditching flumes or other systems of waterways and to acquire and operate, sell or lease mines, minerals, water and waterways. In 1894 the Cariboo Hydraulic Mining Company bought the South Fork Hydraulic and Mining company. Both were dissolved in 1912.

Bedaux, Charles
2004.1 · Persoon · 1886 - 1944

Born in France in 1886, Charles Bedaux moved to the United States and became a naturalized American citizen. He was a highly successful businessman in the field of management consulting. According to Jim Christy’s 1984 biography, prior to his most famous expedition in 1934 across northeastern British Columbia, he had made hunting and exploratory trips to northwestern BC in 1926 and1929, the central interior in 1931 and to northeastern BC in 1932 and 1933.

Bedaux announced his intention to cross northeastern BC with Citroën half-track trucks on May 25, 1934 in New York City. The Canadian Sub-Arctic Expedition launched from Edmonton, Alberta on July 6, 1934 and contained a formidable array of talent and beauty, including Floyd Crosby, a Hollywood cinematographer, two land surveyors, Frank Swannell and Ernest Lamarque, mining engineer Jack Bocock, a Citroën mechanic, many cowboys, as well as Bedaux’s mistress, his wife and her maid.

Due to a combination of weather, terrain and poor planning, the expedition failed and the Citroën vehicles were abandoned. Although Bedaux returned to northern BC in 1936 with plans to build a road, he did not follow through. In 1937 he hosted the marriage of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor at his French chateau. Collaborationist activities with Nazi-occupied France led to his 1942 arrest in North Africa. Returned to the U.S., he committed suicide in a Florida prison in 1944.

2006.5 · Instelling · 1972-1996

In the fall of 1972, the Prince George Women’s Centre was created, and this began a legacy of women’s centres in Prince George. It began when a group of women, after being involved with the local production of the play “Lysistrata," decided that Prince George needed a women’s centre. Although it was involved in other activities, the main goal of the Prince George Women’s Centre was to develop a transition home for women and their children who needed shelter for whatever reason. This goal was realized in 1974, with the opening of the Phoenix Transition House. However, due to a changing focus and a stronger political and feminist position, the Prince George Women’s Centre faced internal upheaval, which resulted in a name change taking place in September of 1976. The group was now called the Prince George Women’s Collective.

A main focus of The Prince George Women’s Collective was its counseling and referral services. The Prince George Women’s Collective lasted until January of 1978, when controversy regarding the firing of two employees proved to bring about denigration of the group's status, both internally and with the public in general. Thus, the members of the Prince George Women’s Centre voted to dissolve the organization, and replace it with the Prince George Women’s Equal Rights Association (known commonly as WERA) in January of 1978.

While the changeover was taking place, further financial scandal marred the Collective’s name. WERA set out to distance itself from the Collective, and to focus on educating the public on women’s issues. To that end, research and lobbying were a central focus. WERA was notably not a resource centre, but instead its main focus of education led to the production of a newsletter for women of northern British Columbia, by women of northern British Columbia. This they accomplished, and the result was ‘Aspen,' a publication which ran until 1983. WERA shut its doors in June of 1983 due to a combination of financial pressures and volunteer burn-out. Right at the time that WERA was closing down, however, another group was springing up with the intention of filling the need for a resource centre for women in Prince George.

The Prince George Women’s Resource Centre opened their doors officially on September 1, 1983, and served the community for many years. Similar to the Women’s Centre and the Women’s Collective, the Prince George Women’s Resource Centre was very service-oriented, and less politically oriented. The exact reason for the centre's closure is unclear; however, the evidence suggests that it lasted until some time in 1987, when federal money dried up and the centre was no longer able to provide its services to the women in Prince George.

Following the Prince George Women's Resource Centre, another group opened an office on George Street called the Prince George Women's Connection. The only records contained in this collection regarding the Women's Connection are in the form of brochures and advertisements sent to them. Because the collection does not include many of the Women's Connection records, extensive research was not undertaken in regards to their history.

MacMillan Bloedel Ltd.
Instelling · 1908-1999

MacMillan Bloedel Limited was formed through the merger of three smaller forestry companies in 1951 and 1959: the Powell River Company, the Bloedel Stewart Welch Company, and the H.R. MacMillan Company. MacMillan Bloedel Limited was bought by Weyerhaeuser in 1999.

Noranda Inc.
Instelling · 1922-2005

Noranda was incorporated in 1922 as Noranda Mines under the leadership of James Y. Murdoch. Noranda merged with Falconbridge in 2005 and continued under the name Falconbridge Limited, ending the Noranda name.

Prince George Spruce Kings
Instelling · 1972-

The Prince George Spruce Kings were formed in 1972, the same year the World Hockey Association was launched. For most of its history the club has operated as a nonprofit society with a volunteer board of directors made up of knowledgeable business and hockey people from throughout the community. The original Spruce Kings were formed largely on the effort of Lionel Garand, who was determined to form a Junior team and provide local athletes with a place to play. Together with thirteen investors, Grand relied on gate receipts and advertising revenue to run the Spruce Kings Junior "A" Hockey Club, but when this became too much of a financial challenge the Prince George Minor Hockey Association became involved. “Spruce Kings” was Terry Eastholm’s winning entry in a community contest to determine the team’s name. In their first season, the Spruce Kings played in the Pacific Northwest Hockey League. They won the inaugural league title in 1975-76 when they played Junior ‘B’ in the Peace Cariboo Junior Hockey League. The Spruce Kings switched to Junior ‘A’ before the 1980-81 season, and were initiators in the expansion of the PCJHL to the Rocky Mountain Junior Hockey League in 1991-92.

Lefebvre, Alain
Persoon

J. Alain D. LeFebvre, B.A., C.A., M.B.A. was born and raised in Prince George. He received his university training at Simon Fraser University, graduating in 1979 with a Bachelor of Arts (Commerce Major, Economics Minor). After graduation he returned to Prince George and completed his term of articles with a national firm, attaining membership in the Institute of Chartered Accountants of British Columbia in 1982. In 1991 Lefebvre obtained a Master of Business Administration from City University, and has lectured on accounting for the College of New Caledonia, and on accounting and finance at the Masters level for City University. Al has held positions outside of public practice including Deputy Treasurer for the City of Prince George (7 years) and thereafter the Director of Finance for the University of Northern British Columbia (5 years). He is currently a partner with Chan Foucher LeFebvre LLP in Prince George.

Manson, Alexander
Persoon · 1883-1964

Alexander Manson was the first lawyer to practice law in Prince Rupert, BC.

In 1916, he entered Provincial politics under the Liberal Party banner, and became the M.L.A representing the region in the 1920, 1924, and 1928 elections. He was appointed Speaker of the House (1921), and Attorney General and Minister of Labour (1922-28). Upon his defeat in 1933, Manson returned to Vancouver to practice law, and subsequently was appointed Supreme Court Justice - a position he held until his retirement in 1961.

He married Stella Beckwith on June 29, 1909 in Vancouver, BC. In 1916, he successfully entered the world of Provincial politics and became an M.L.A for the Liberal party, winning 473 (67.16%) of the votes for his riding. He continued to represent the Liberals - and winning- in the 1920, 1924, and 1928 elections.

During this time, he was Speaker of the House (1921) and appointed as both the Attorney General and Minister of Labour (1922-28).
It was also during this time (1925-26) that he was elected and served as the Grand Master of the Grand Masonic Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon.

Upon his defeat in Provincial politics in 1933, Mr Manson returned to Vancouver to practice law and was subsequently appointed Supreme Court Justice. He continued in this position until his retirement in 1961. Born in 1883, Mr. Manson passed away on September 25, 1964.

Rogers, Dan
Persoon

Mayor of Prince George, 2008-2011
Manager of Public Relations for the Prince George Spruce Kings Hockey Club, 1996-1999

Instelling · 1867-1871

The Legislative Council of British Columbia was an advisory body created in 1867 to the Governor of the "new" Colony of British Columbia, which had been created from the merger of the old Colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia. The new colony, like its predecessors, did not have responsible government, and while its debates and resolutions carried considerable weight, executive power remained in the hands of the Governor, who at the time of the Council's founding as Frederick Seymour.

There were three groups of members: five senior officials of the Colony, who also constituted its Executive Council, nine magistrates, and nine elected members. The electoral members represented two seats in Victoria, one in Greater Victoria ("Victoria District"), New Westminster, Columbia River and Kootenay, Nanaimo, Yale and Lytton, Lillooet, and Cariboo.

The council was abolished in 1871 when British Columbia became a province.

B.C. Trappers Association
Instelling · 1945-

The British Columbia Trappers Association (BCTA) was formed in 1945 as an association of registered trappers. It is the oldest trapper’s association in Canada. Its four main objectives include: 1)To promote sound, humane furbearer fur management through research, education and cooperation with other related organizations; 2)To represent trappers at the provincial, national and international levels; 3)To promote the general welfare of the trappers of British Columbia; and 4)To promote communication, information and dialogue among trappers.

Today, the BC Trappers Association works to keep its members well informed. It publishes a quarterly magazine that includes articles on approved humane traps and trap sets. The magazine also includes articles on different species and the best way to maintain a healthy breeding population.

Instelling · 1871-1950

The British Columbia Provincial Police Force was established in 1871 under its first name, the British Columbia Constabulary. Prior to that, policing in the Colony of British Columbia was the responsibility of the Chief Inspector of Police (1858-1863) or Superintendent of Police (1863-1871) and in the Colony of Vancouver Island by the Commissioner of Police (1858-1866). In 1871, when the Colony of British Columbia joined confederation as a province of the Dominion of Canada, the police came under the authority of the Attorney-General. The reporting structure required the Superintendent of Police to report to the Attorney-General while the constables were under the direction of the government agent of the district who reported to the Superintendent. The mandate of the British Columbia Constabulary was to maintain peace and order and to enforce the laws of the province under the authority of An Act respecting Police Constables (SBC 1880, c. 22, revised SBC 1888, c. 96). In 1895, under the new Provincial Police Act (SBC 1895, c. 45) the name was changed to the British Columbia Provincial Police Force. The duties of the force included patrolling the land, waterways, and coastline, enforcing laws, maintaining peace, policing strikes, controlling smuggling, and generally enforcing provincial statutes. Special constables were also deployed as required. In 1946, the force policed all rural areas and unincorporated settlements as well as forty municipalities throughout the province. The British Columbia Provincial Police Force ceased to exist in 1950, when provincial policing was taken over by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

(See also Langley Centennial Museum and the BC Provincial Police Veterans Association http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/202/300/inditer/2000/10-10/bcpolice/bcp.htm )

Edmund, Billy
Persoon · 1960-

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

Ewert, Bob
Persoon · 1927-2002

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.

Schreiber, Celia
Persoon

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

McGaughey, Charles
Persoon · 1917-1999

Charles E. McGaughey was born in North Bay, Ontario on November 26, 1917. He graduated from Queens University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1938 and a Master of Arts Degree in 1939. During the summer of 1939, he attended the Student International Union Conference in Switzerland. He obtained a diploma in International Relations at the University of Chicago in 1940-41, and worked as a political correspondent with Sudbury Star and North Bay Nugget. In October of 1941 he married Jessie Porter; that same year, he joined the Canadian Armed Forces as a Private. He attended the Canadian Army Japanese Language School in Vancouver, and served during WWII in the United Kingdom and South East Asia, receiving his Discharge as Captain from the Armed Forces in 1947.

His first diplomatic posting was as Vice Consul with the Canadian Department of External Affairs to Chicago 1948-49; he was then posted to Tokyo as Third Secretary at the Canadian Embassy until 1952 when he returned to Ottawa. From 1955-57 he was posted as the First Secretary to the Canadian High Commissioners Office in New Delhi, and was then posted as Acting High Commissioner for Canada to Wellington, New Zealand until 1958. Posted at home in Ottawa until 1962, he was then posted to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia as Canadian High Commissioner, and at the same time, as the Canadian Ambassador to Burma and the first Canadian Ambassador to Thailand.

In 1965 he was appointed High Commissioner to Ghana in Accra; and concurrently as Ambassador to Guinea, Ivory Coast, Togo and Upper Volta.

In 1966, he was posted as Canadian High Commissioner to Pakistan in Aslamabad; and from 1966-68 also received the concurrent posting of first Canadian Ambassador to Afghanistan. A year later he was appointed Canadian Ambassador to Israel, and concurrently as High Commissioner to Cyprus until 1972.

In 1972 he returned to Canada and was appointed Deputy Commandant of the National Defence College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario. He held this position until 1974 when he chose to take early retirement and move to Cloyne, Ontario, a small community located midway between Kingston and Ottawa. He lived in Cloyne until the fall of 1991 when he moved with his wife to Prince George, British Columbia to join his two sons and their families. He died in Prince George on October 28, 1999.

Fish, David G.
Persoon · 1929-2000

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.

Instelling · 1990-

The UNBC story began in January 1987, at a public meeting, held at the College of New Caledonia, on the possibility of extending degree-awarding opportunities in Prince George and on December 1, 1987, the Interior University Society (IUS) was incorporated under the Societies Act.

Important early support for the IUS was obtained from Bruce Strachan, MLA for Prince George South and Minister of State for the Cariboo Region, who saw the regional development potential of a northern university. This led to the commissioning of a study Building a Future of Excellence: a University of Northern BC ("The Dahloff Report"). On October 13, an IUS delegation was able to present the government with:

a petition signed by 16,000 voters who had paid $5 for the privilege;
letters of support from every town, village, city, regional district, hospital board, school board and Chamber of Commerce in northern BC;
an Angus Reid survey which indicated that 94% of northerners were in favour of creating the university;
the Dahloff Report indicating the feasibility, credibility and value of the university.

On November 1, 1989 the Government announced that Bruce Strachan, a clear advocate of the university of the north, had been appointed Minister of Advanced Education. On January 9, Minister Strachan made a formal statement that the government had accepted the IPG recommendations: that a university was to be established in the north with a main campus in Prince George. On June 22, the Provincial Legislature passed Bill 40, The UNBC Act, with all-party support. The Interim Governing Council then met formally for the first time on July 21. It was to act as both Board and Senate until such time as the University had gained the officers, faculty, and students capable of forming a senate.

Two dominant themes of early deliberations were site selection and the Presidential search. The latter began in June, and seven interviews were held in August and September. The outcome was the appointment of Geoffrey Weller, previously Vice-President Academic of Lakehead University. The IGC's site selection committee, meanwhile, had initially considered fifteen sites, but these were reduced to a shortlist of six sites for detailed study, and the Cranbrook Hill site finally carried the day when crown acreage was located with a fine view of the City.

In February 1992, the model of the Prince George campus was first unveiled, and in March, members of Convocation elected the University's first Chancellor, Iona Campognolo. The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between UNBC and Forestry Canada occurred 3 July 1992 at the Coast Inn of the North in Prince George, BC. The MOU resulted in the establishment of UNBC's first research centre. The full opening of the University was delayed from September 1993 to September 1994. April saw the official sod-turning ceremony for the Prince George campus, conducted by BC Premier Mike Harcourt. This was followed in May with the largest and most prestigious event in the University's history to date - the Inaugural Convocation Ceremony, at which the formal Installation of the President and Chancellor took place. August 1992 saw the registration of the University's first students, when 70 students joined the "QuickStart" program. In November, interviews began for the appointment of the first 40 faculty members.

1994 saw the culmination of the years of planning and effort. In May, the first UNBC students graduated: six students from the "Quickstart" program received their degrees from the Governor General. In August, the Prince George campus was ceremonially opened by Her Majesty the Queen, at a nationally televised event which saw some 10,000 people visit the Prince George campus. In September, the University opened fully, with around 1,500 students enrolled. To commemorate the opening, a full-colour coffee-table book, "A University is Born", was published by the UNBC Press.

Collison, W.H. (Archdeacon)
2009.7 · Persoon · 1847 - 1922

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.

Ferry, William Dow
Persoon · 1913-1996

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.

Ferry, Carney W.
Persoon · [189-?]-[19-]

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.

Ferry, John
Persoon · [186-?]-[19-]

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.

Henderson-Roe, C.H.
Persoon · [before 1860]-[after 1915]

C.H Henderson-Roe married Elizabeth Brewster on September 23, 1879. His son was Jack B. Henderson-Roe.

Perry, Harry G.T.
Persoon

H.G.T. (Harry) Henry George Thomas Perry is considered a founding father of Prince George. –Born March 18th, 1889 in Whitwick, Leicestershire, England, he was educated at Coalville Belvoir Road Wesleyan School and at Loughborough Grammar School. Perry was married to the former Florence Annie Smith of Leicestershire, England. They had two sons, Frank (later Judge Perry of Prince George) and Sidney (pharmacist). - H.G.T. Perry came to Canada in 1910 and to Prince George, British Columbia in 1912, on the BX Sternwheeler. He first established Perry's Shoe Store (a menswear establishment) and later established a real estate and insurance business. He founded the local faction of the Liberal Party in Prince George & Peace River area. He was the first President of the Fort George District & PG Local Liberal Associations from 1912 until he retired to Victoria c.1958. He was elected School Trustee in Fort George (P.G.) from 1912-1914. In addition, Perry was a director for the Prince George Theatre Ltd. and Chairman of the Joint Committee for Incorporation of PG. - Perry first served as President of the Board of Trade (1914) before entering civic politics and served as Prince George Mayor (1917-1918; and 1920) before entering provincial politics. He was also the owner and editor of several regional newspapers, including the Fort George Tribune, The Prince George Citizen, The Nechako Chronicle and the Prince Rupert Daily News. Perry went on to provincial politics running for the Liberal Party and was Speaker of the BC Legislature for Fort George from 1920-1928 & 1933-1945. During his political career he served also as Secretary and Chairman of the Municipal and Agricultural Committees of the Legislature and was a Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly from 1924 to 1928. Perry served also as Provincial Minister of Education from 1941-45. Perry also served as President of the BC Branch of the Empire Parliamentary Association in the BC Parliament and attended its overseas conference of delegates in the UK during King George V Silver Jubilee Year in 1935. - HGT Perry is best known as Chairman of the provincial government’s Post-War Rehabilitation Council (1942-45), the first of its kind in Canada. Mr. Perry left provincial politics after an election defeat in 1945. Known as the “golden tongue orator”1 HGT Perry is also remembered for other improvements he oversaw as a provincial minister: improving educational facilities and teachers salaries in rural schools; for establishing Home Economics and Spanish courses at UBC; for instituting the Cameron Commission; for advocating for the rights of the Japanese, and others, during WWII, and is known as “the man who saved and extended the PGE.”2 In addition to these accomplishments, he played an instrumental role for many infrastructure projects: development of a highway south to the Cariboo Region; building of the Peace River Highway; reservation of one million acres of land in Central B.C. for veterans; creation of a Library distribution centre; and the extension of the Pacific Great Eastern Railway. Harry Perry died in Victoria, of a heart attack, in 1959 at the age of 70.