125 YEARS AGO: AUG. 27, 1898
Express Company A Success: The British Columbia Express Company, under the management of Jas. B. Leighton for the past year, has been a decided success and has had a large business. We hear no complaints of service nor of the mail delivery, and it is fair to presume that there is no dissatisfaction. The outlook for Cariboo travel has never been so good since early days than at present. Much money will be invested in Cariboo within the next 12 months.
Ashcroft’s Annual Fair: The Inland Agricultural Exhibition for the season of 1898 will be one of the best ever held. There will be races and games of various kinds, including football and lacrosse, athletic sports, and good music. A ball in the town hall will be not the least among the attractions. The race track will be put in good condition and some good horse races may be expected. Turn out and help along the fair. The hotel accommodations have been largely increased since last year. The electric light system will be in perfect condition within the next week and Ashcroft will be in shape to welcome one and all.
Clinton: A fire occurred at Foster’s ranch, four miles from town. It completely demolished the stable and all the harness, selfbinder, cultivator, and eleven tons of hay. Through the heroic efforts of the Goss brothers the house and a stack of hay was saved. No one knows the origin of the fire. The loss is estimated at $200.
Horses Run Free: F.W. Foster’s delivery horse, with wagon following, made a quick trip around the square in Ashcroft on Thursday night. Fisher Williams’ and Mr. Barnes’ saddle horses acted as escorts. Not much damage was done, and for a wonder there were no children in the way on the street, so no one was hurt.
100 YEARS AGO: AUG. 25, 1923
Ashcroft Board Of Trade Addresses Cariboo Highway Question: Mr. N.S. Fraser, the newly appointed president of the Ashcroft Board of Trade, accompanied by W.M. Huston, spent the weekend along the Fraser Canyon gathering data re: conditions of the old Cariboo road. It would appear that the distance between Spences Bridge and Yale, covering the missing link of road, is in the neighbourhood of 72 miles. Of this, 37 miles of the original Cariboo road is still in existence and much is yet being used by settlers along the Fraser and Thompson rivers. Some of this would require cleaning out and repairing only. Mr. Fraser was surprised to note the permanency of the work which had been done on this old highway, over which freight was hauled by ox wagons or packed on the backs of mules from Yale to Barkerville in the sixties. About 32 miles of disjointed portions would require to be rebuilt. “When the Royal Engineers could build a road in ‘62’ when all material had to be packed in on mules, surely we can rebuild without difficulty with two railways running conveniently along the same route,” he said. There are 19 miles of good wagon road running south from Lytton, which is being used at the present day by autos.
Pleasant Trip: Melville Bryson and family members motored over Pavilion Mountain on Sunday, going via Clinton and Kelly Lake and returning via Marble Canyon. This is one of the most delightful drives in this section of the province.
To Whom It May Concern: I will not be responsible for any debts contracted by my wife, Mrs. John Spintlum, from this date. John Spintlum, Meadow Lake, B.C., August 23rd, 1923.
75 YEARS AGO: AUG. 26, 1948
Elk’s Picnic: Sunday last was an exceptionally fine day when a joint picnic was held at Savona lake by the Ashcroft and Kamloops branches of the Elks lodges accompanied by friends. The Kamloops Elks instrumental band rendered appropriate music by the lakeside during the afternoon. Ice cream and soft drinks were served by lodge members and there were foot and swimming races and other juvenile sports for the children. The gathering arrived by bus and private cars and there was a great contrast between Sunday’s picnic and those of the gay nineties. In those days Savona was too far away for the horse and buggy, so we went from Ashcroft via C.P.R. coach attached to a freight, and from Kamloops by steamboat (perhaps the “Peerless”) down the lake.
Are We Too Well Fed?: Perhaps it’s too bad we have so much to eat in Canada while in the Old Country there is a wave of austerity that gives no promise of coming to an end. While we eat, drink, and make merry, our friends and relatives are rationed so that they are buying food by the ounce rather than by the pounds. Politicians agree that the British Isles are over-populated. There is a cure for that serious conditions, and that is to ship half the people to Canada, where there seems to be plenty of room and much vacant land. In Great Britain there are forty million people while in Canada there is a mere twelve million. Is there any wonder Canada is well fed while our British relatives are rationed even to the breaking point? [Note: As of 2021, Great Britain’s population was 67.33 million; earlier this year, Canada’s population topped 40 million.]
Villagers See Ball Games On Home Made Television Set: Cedar Springs, ON: Cedar Springs fans have been watching big league baseball — without leaving their own village — thanks to the genius of Fred Pardo, whose homemade television equipment brings the telecasts from across Lake Erie at Cleveland. Since he was a small boy, Fred has been a radio enthusiast. He built his first radio receiving set from scrap which included old broom wire and discarded batteries. Fred has not yet perfected the sound track on his set, but the “silent” reception of baseball games in Cleveland has been a sensation in this part of the country.
50 YEARS AGO: AUG. 23, 1973
Shooting Incident At Cache Creek: Joseph Guy Degagne, 43, has been charged in connection with a shooting incident in Cache Creek last Thursday. He was remanded in provincial court for 30 days for a psychiatric examination. RCMP surrounded a building in Cache Creek Thursday afternoon just after 2 p.m. following a complaint that a shot had been fired at a local citizen. Two additional shots were fired at the policemen but the shots were not returned when no one was hurt. The police spoke with the man while he occupied the building for a considerable time before he surrendered about 4 p.m.
Agricultural Reserve Meeting Accepts Village Proposal: The Public Meeting held by the Village of Ashcroft on Agricultural Reserves was attended by a small group of interested people on Tuesday night. Acting Mayor Wally Rolston gave an outline of the purpose of Agricultural Reserve land, and proposed boundary extension. These would include the Circle 7 field, east of Bethlehem Town houses and apartments [on Government Street], a portion of land at Cozy’s Trailer Camp [where the River Inn is located], a portion of Mesa Vista property around the now developed housing on the hill immediately south of the Village, which is now within Village boundaries, and the DuPont chemical plant [now Ashcroft Terminal], which with other lands included would mean 1,200 acres, plus the other three pieces of land.
Rail Route Rumour: The recently announced railway link between Ashcroft and Clinton to provide an interchange between CN-CP-BCR, has naturally caused elation within the area. Rumour has it that the link will begin 10 miles north of Clinton, travel along Clinton Creek to the Bonaparte, follow the Bonaparte to Cache Creek, cross over two ranches and tie-in at a railway whistle stop four or five miles from Ashcroft. The line will continue along the side-hill there to the edge of the DuPont plant area. It is reported excavation and clearing for the long awaited connection could begin this winter which, if true, would certainly create a lot of needed jobs in the district.
