125 YEARS AGO: SEPT. 10, 1898
Ashcroft Fair: Ashcroft’s annual fair will be held on the 4th and 5th of October. A large list of premiums has been prepared and the prospects are good for the best show ever given here.
Ashcroft As An Entertainer: M.W. Marsh, head of what is to be known as the New York Stock Co., was asked how he had fared here. “We reached Ashcroft on the Queen’s birthday and the citizens celebrated most loyally. The principal street was the race track, and there were no penalties, weights, or red tape. Gentlemen riders, cowboys, and klootchmen [women] participated and a better-behaved gathering or a happier one would seldom be found. We had a game of baseball which ceased only when the cover had been knocked off the last ball in town. The scorer had meanwhile been carried off exhausted.”
Unseemly Behaviour: Some miscreants have been amusing themselves at unseemly hours of late by tossing pebbles into the open bedroom windows on Railway Avenue, thereby disturbing the rest of the occupants.
New Strike In The Cariboo: Letters received from Barkerville tell of a new strike of placer gold in the Cariboo country, which rivals anything in the Klondike or in the pioneer days of the famed Cariboo. On a bench on Williams Creek, directly opposite Barkerville and overlooking what were formerly the richest pioneer diggings, three Chinamen are taking out on an average of sixty ounces of coarse gold a day, one nugget weighing thirty-eight ounces.
Big Apples: The largest apples ever seen in Kamloops are now on exhibition at the Dominion Hotel. They are of the Alexandria variety, and were sent up from Ashcroft. They measure about 16 inches in circumference.
100 YEARS AGO: SEPT. 8, 1923
Bee Keeper Missing: William Wright, who conducted an apiary at the old mill [Harper’s Mill on the Bonaparte River], has been missing from Ashcroft since Thursday of last week. He shipped honey to the coast via C.N.R. on that day and has not been seen since. As he had declared his intention of “beating his way” to the coast about that time, it is believed about town that he may be the missing man who was on the C.N.R. train which was derailed near Spences Bridge on Friday night a week ago. Mrs. Wright, of New Westminster, wired friends here yesterday inquiring about her husband, and it was this message which instigated investigations in Ashcroft. The local police are working on the case. The two injured men who are in hospital at Kamloops are reported to have said that at Ashcroft a man boarded the tender of the engine which was wrecked further down the line.
Lillooet: From a single case of small pox at Pavilion a few weeks ago, the disease has spread among the Indians. It reached Clinton, Kelly Lake, and to a ranch a few miles south of Pavilion. At the 12-Mile House, Lillooet road, one death occurred, an old woman of about ninety years of age. The cases at Clinton are mild and are confined to one family.
Garden Party: Part of the programme at the fete and garden party which is to take place on the grounds and at the home of Dr. Beech under the auspices of the hospital auxiliary on September 12, is one of King Alfred’s time candles about four feet high. This was set going yesterday and a guessing competition is to be put on as to the number of hours it will burn before being consumed. The price of a guess is 10 cents, and tickets may be had at the store of Harvey Bailey, Ltd. The candle can be seen in the Barber shop on the Harvey Bailey block. The prize is a silk waist [blouse].
75 YEARS AGO: SEPT. 9, 1948
Labour Day Here Huge Success: After a few weeks of preparation, members of the local Elks Lodge put on their annual celebration on Monday last. There was a record gathering of patrons from the surrounding towns and districts, and a number of visitors from outside points. At least 90 per cent of the population of Clinton, and the greater part of the residents of Walhachin, took in the events. The Soap Box Derby was an innovation for Ashcroft and the competition between Ashcroft and Clinton was strong, the race being held on the Ashcroft hill. Cars and spectators lined the road side from the old mill road to the top of Peters hill. Another event was the barrel contest, Savona to Ashcroft, down the Thompson river.
Modern Front To Movie Hall: A modern front has been added to the Ashcroft Movie Theatre [Opera House] by Mr. Dan Holgate, who has been engaged in the improvement for some weeks. The new front has added architectural attraction to the movie theatre, and when lit up at night will compare with those in the larger cities.
Drybelt Weather: Fine drybelt weather is prevailing as we go to press, and has been for the past week. Tomatoes are ripening under the ideal weather prevailing, and the cannery is in full operation. Peeling of tomatoes for canning got under way this week.
Walhachin Pears Go To Market: At the Pennie Ranch, Walhachin, pickers, boys and girls, are engaged harvesting an unusually good crop of pears. The fruit, we understand, is being shipped to Kamloops for re-shipment to east and west markets. The crop is estimated to yield about 4,000 boxes, 2,000 of which are already picked. The Pennie Ranch, now owned by Messrs. Harry Ferguson and sons, were first located by the late pioneer Chas. Pennnie around the early eighties when the C.P.R. was within a few years of completion. The property was sold by Mr. Pennie to the Anglesey interests in 1907, after which date the pear orchard was set out. It was bought by the Fergusons a few years ago.
50 YEARS AGO: SEPT. 6, 1973
Cache Creek: Holidays are over and traffic in the area is getting back to normal. Monday was a bumper to bumper caper through Cache Creek from both ways, in fact three, ways, east, west, and north. R.C.M.P. were busy tagging motorists exceeding the posted speeds of 30 miles in the Village.
Cache Creek Game Check Station Open At Night: The Provincial Fish and Wildlife Branch has received extra funds to employ approximately 57 additional auxiliary conservation officers. The staff increase will allow [the province] to continue angles counts and census of the Thompson River and to undertake inventories of steelhead populations in several streams. The wildlife checking station at Cache Creek will be open during the night this hunting season and it will be compulsory for all hunters to report to the station when travelling south on the Cariboo Highway.
No Phones Again In Walhachin: Another two days without phone service. This seems to be becoming a weekly occurrence. Perhaps we should keep close track of the days when the phones are out of order and deduct proportionately from our bills.
Would you like to read more from the Journal archives? An expanded version of this story can be found on the Journal website at ashcroftcachecreekjournal.com.
