When, during the construction of the transcontinental railroad, the Canadian Pacific Railway — now CPKC — decided to put a station and depot beside its tracks at the line’s northernmost point in B.C. before it headed east, the town of Ashcroft was born.
It’s therefore safe to say that the community of Ashcroft probably would not exist had it not been for CP. Today, a tangible legacy of that long-ago decision is the annual CPKC Holiday Train, which has stopped in Ashcroft almost every year since the first run in 1999.
The brightly-decorated train cars, with thousands of lights and colourful displays, consistently draw more than 1,000 people each year to the Ashcroft stop, where the crowd is entertained by live music and high-energy performances. At the Excellence in Gold Country Awards presented in November, community members voted the CPKC Holiday Train the “Best Winter Event” in the region.
There is a more serious purpose to the Holiday Train, however. All along its various routes, the Holiday Train raises money for, and awareness of, local food banks, and presents a cheque to the food bank in each community where it stops.
In Ashcroft, the South Cariboo Elizabeth Fry Society food bank is the beneficiary. When the Holiday Train stopped in Ashcroft this year on Dec. 18, food bank coordinator Chelsie Rankin was there to accept a cheque from CPKC for $5,500. Since the Holiday Train’s inception, the E. Fry food bank in Ashcroft has received more than $125,000 from CPKC.
Attendees are encouraged to bring food and/or cash donations for the food bank as well, and Rankin says that this year a total of $985.25 was donated, as well as 372 pounds of food. She says that the donations from CPKC and the public really help the food bank, particularly since it comes in winter..
“At this time of year the need is high, and the Holiday Train helps so much,” Rankin says. “Over the last four years we’ve tripled the number of people visiting the food bank, and in the last two months we’ve seen numerous new people we haven’t seen before, including families.
“It’s heartbreaking how many people have been here.”
Ashcroft resident Joyce Buckland spearheaded a community food drive challenge in Ashcroft and Cache Creek in November, which Rankin says was a huge boost.
“Before Joyce started the community drive our shelves were bare, and now they’re full, so that will probably get us through to at least March. We’ve had 22,236 pounds of food donated this year. The donations of produce from Monette Farms over the summer was wonderful, and they’ve just donated more squash.”
Rankin adds that the cash donation from CPKC and the Holiday Train helps so much at this time of year. “We take that money and buy fresh produce, and sometimes buy milk and meat, because the biggest thing we have a problem with is protein.
“The donations [of cash and food] we’ve had this year have been substantial, especially when we had nothing. People are very generous.”
