125 YEARS AGO: JULY 30, 1898
Suspect Released: The Chinaman arrested at Savonas on suspicion of being the assailant of the old man Gotan was after a lengthy examination released, no proof connecting him with the crime being brought forth.
A Brave Woman: The wife of section foreman Barrows, of Wigwam [on Arrow Lake south of Revelstoke], prevented what might have been a serious wreck for a Canadian Pacific Railway freight train on Wednesday morning last. Mrs. Barrows happened to be looking out of her window at 4 o’clock in the morning, and noticed a huge tree lying across the railroad track. Just as she opened the front door, she heard a train approaching, and without even stopping to put on her boots she ran a distance of nearly a quarter of a mile bare footed and flagged the train. As this spot is just at the end of a sharp curve and a long bridge, nothing but Mrs. Barrows’ great presence of mind could have prevented a very serious accident and perhaps loss of life.
Local And District News: Stuart Henderson took a trip over to the Hat Creek coal mine this week. It is a property, Mr. Henderson thinks, that might be made extremely valuable … A new sidewalk reaching from the meat market down in front of the Welcome restaurant is a decided improvement to Railway avenue … Now is a good time to buy Ashcroft real estate. With the bright outlook for this town it should be a good investment to put up a dozen or twenty cottages for rent next season … It has not been learned that anyone was killed in town on Thursday night as was at first feared. The whoops and yells were only the peculiar way that some of our young men have under certain circumstances.
100 YEARS AGO: JULY 28, 1923
Another Fire On Bridge: For the second time within the past two weeks the traffic bridge across the Thompson river [in Ashcroft] has been on fire. The bridge on both occasions was saved by persons who chanced to be in the vicinity. The board of trade has wired the public works department advising a patrol during the warm weather and more water barrels for emergencies of this kind.
Cooney Home At Savona Completely Destroyed By Fire On Saturday Night: The home of Mr. and Mrs. Tom Cooney at Savona was completely destroyed by fire last Saturday, the building being burned to the ground and none of the furniture except a piano being saved. All of the family’s clothing was destroyed. The loss is placed at about $8,000, and no insurance was carried. The blaze started in the shingle roof from a fire in the kitchen chimney when breakfast was being prepared at 7:30 in the morning. The saving of the piano was due to the quick response of the C.P.R. section hands, who hastened to the scene of the fire and rendered valuable assistance.
Ashcroft Potatoes In Arctic Circle: The Ashcroft Journal is in receipt of a letter from W.J. West, manager of the Alberts & Arctic Transportation Company, Limited, in which he says in part: “I may say that Mr. J. Strand of Quesnel made a trip with me this year to the Arctic, and I enjoyed having him with me very much. This year we brought in a carload of Ashcroft potatoes, and at Aklavik Mr. Strand traded some of the potatoes for white foxes with some of the Eskimo, and I also presented them with some of the same potatoes. I wanted to introduce the use of Ashcroft potatoes in the Arctic region. They boiled them with their skins on and ate them cold and seemed to enjoy them very much. I am telling you about this because I peddled Ashcroft potatoes all down the Mackenzie delta and gave sacks of them away to the Missions and others so as to give them a change of seed, and I know that the people of our district will be interested to know that their potatoes are being distributed right down to the Arctic Circle.”
75 YEARS AGO: JULY 29, 1948
Ashcroft Locals: The tomato crop around Ashcroft and district is shaping up well with a promising heavy yield, according to Jim Hewitt, manager of the local cannery. Semi-ripes are being shipped from the Walhachin ranch but the inclement weather is holding up ripening … The heavy clouds and subsequent rains of this past week are still hovering around, however none are quite so heavy as the downpour experienced on July 17 on Sunday evening when it really came down “cats and dogs” — no fooling. It was a real old fashioned cloud burst and while no serious damage was caused here, the Junior baseball team who were playing at Merritt that day were pretty late, or we guess it was early in the morning, in getting home due to washouts on the Merritt road.
Chow Cheu, Ashcroft Chinese, Passes Away: Chow Cheu, well known Ashcroft Chinese, died in Royal Inland Hospital Thursday last. He was aged 58. His body has been forwarded from Dwyer’s Funeral Home to Vancouver, from where it will go, by freighter, which sails today, to China, to be buried beside his Chinese ancestors. His wife and sons reside in Canton. Chow Cheu lived in Ashcroft for 40 years and long had been a bookkeeper for Wing Wo Lung Co.
Historic Phone Call: History was made this week when Miss Wendy Wearne spoke from the Clinton telephone office to her sister in England. This is the first time that a call has been made from this district over such a long distance.
Small Machine Can Detect Deadly Gas: Development of a small machine about the size of a portable radio that can detect tiny quantities of deadly carbon monoxide gas in the air was announced. The machine registers the amount of gas on a motor. It also has an electric warning system.
50 YEARS AGO: JULY 28, 1973
Ashcroft Area Included In Northern Development: Canada’s biggest single railway expansion program in more than half a century was outlined on Monday by B.C. and federal government ministers. The B.C. Railway and Canadian National Railway will jointly develop northern B.C. and provide a rail route bypassing the Fraser Canyon. The outlines of the plan are a $20 million 40-mile link, slightly east of Ashcroft on the CNR mainline to Vancouver, to connect with the BCR at Clinton Creek. This will enable both CNR and Canadian Pacific Railway trains, which run side by side west from Kamloops, to switch to the BCR when the slide-prone Fraser Canyon is blocked. For CPR, the existence of a line up the Bonaparte Valley to join Ashcroft and Clinton will cut by seven days the cycle time on lumber cars moving between its system and the BCR.
Ashcroft Shopping Centre: Council reviewed a letter from the Ashcroft and District Chamber of Commerce advising that a Shopping Centre is now feasible but for the best interests of the shopping public it should be located in the downtown core instead of the North Ashcroft area. Mayor Johansen outlined that for the last year and one-half, discussions with developers of a Shopping Centre and the cost of land in the downtown area almost prohibited a Shopping Centre in that area. Mr. C. Reich of the Chamber of Commerce opposed the location [a shopping centre had recently been announced for North Ashcroft], and stated that population in the area does not warrant a shopping centre, thereby creating two shopping areas.
editorial@accjournal.ca
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