125 YEARS AGO: APRIL 28, 1900
Thompson River Indians: Mr. J.A. Teit, of Spences Bridge, has been in Ashcroft for several days. Mr. Teit, who is a native of the Shetland Islands, has for the past 16 years travelled and lived amongst the Thompson River Indians and knows more of their history and traditions than any other white man. In conversation with a representative of the Journal he gave the following information concerning them: The name which the Hudson Bay Company gave the Thompson tribe was the Coteau, which means a knife, but the proper Indian name is Ntlakyapamugh. Mr. Teit is a contributor to the American Museum of Natural History, New York, and has lately had printed by the American Folk Lore Society “Traditions of the Thompson River Indians of British Columbia.” He has also written a book called “Thompson River Indians” of over 200 pages, fully illustrated, giving their full history. Another book written by Mr. Teit, which will soon be published, is “Mythological Stones of the Canyon Indians” living between Lytton and Spuzzum.
Bad Road: The Cariboo road is in a terrible condition, much worse than it was last year. One freighter who hauled last year 14,000 pounds could, with difficulty, get along with 10,000 pounds, and had a much better team. The prompt arrival of the B.C. Express Co.’s stages speaks well for the management and equipment of that company.
100 YEARS AGO: APRIL 25, 1925
Outlook For Tomato Growers Is Bright: Thos. Bulman, president of the B.C. Tomato Growers’ Association, is of the opinion that this should be a banner year for tomato growers in this province, the various canning companies having contracted with that organization to accept the product of over 2,000 acres. The new cannery here in Ashcroft will have a capacity of some 40,000 cases and two more canning factories will be established in this district.
Rebuilding Of Fraser Canyon Highway; Number Of Camps Established And Already Much Work Done: Work on the Fraser Canyon highway from Yale to Lytton is progressing rapidly. Several camps have been established, survey work is being done, and in some places actual grading is going on. A cable has been stretched across the Fraser at the site of the old suspension bridge at Spuzzum and communication established between the east and west sides of the river by means of a basket suspended from the cable. The new highway is practically following the original Cariboo road with a few detours where the old trail has been swallowed up by the railways. Rock retaining walls that have fallen out in spots are being replaced and old bridges and culverts are being substituted by new. About the most tedious part of preliminary work is in the clearing trees and brush that in many places have almost completely obliterated the old highway. Across the face of Jackass Mountain, over which an entire team disappeared one day in the early [eighteen] sixties, the new road is to follow the old, but this portion of the work will no doubt be rendered absolutely safe for autoists. At the present rate of progress the fall of this year should witness the entire road from Yale to Lytton nearly open for traffic, thus linking with a good highway the coast and interior of the province that have been isolated since 1885.
North Bend May Be On Highway: Probability that North Bend will be given access to the new Fraser Canyon link in the Provincial Highway without any change in the location of the road, as the subject of an engineering investigation, was announced by Hon. Dr. W.H. Sutherland, Minister of Public Works. “It is probable that we can most economically include North Bend by throwing a special bridge across the river right opposite that town instead of building two extra bridges and re-routing part of the highway on the right bank of the Fraser in the vicinity of North Bend,” he said.
Motion Picture To “Shoot” At Lytton: The Frank Lloyd Company, which has been shooting scenes on Seymour Creek for “Winds of Chance,” will change locations when they leave for Lytton to take some trail scenes. Low water on the Seymour has interrupted the work of photographing scows shooting the rapids, but the company may return to that location after they have finished at Lytton.
75 YEARS AGO: APRIL 27, 1950
Board Of Trade: The Ashcroft and District Board of Trade is in receipt of a letter from Hon. E.C. Carson in reply to their letter with regard to an Ashcroft Manor-Ashcroft-Savona road on the south side of the Thompson River. He says in part “I have asked our construction branch to make a survey of this road so that we might have the detailed cost and a comparison made between the cost of this section and that of reconstruction from Cache Creek through to Savona on the north side of the river. When this information is to hand it will be given full consideration and I am hopeful the comparison will be such that it will be possible for us to include this section as part of the Trans-Canada Highway. Having in mind the overall saving of distance of some eight miles, we could afford to spend considerably more on this portion rather than go on the north side of the river.”
Clinton: The school children are busy practising various activities for celebrations in connection with the crowning of the May Queen May 12. There will be choir singing by pupils of the high school, while Grades 5 and 6, under the direction of Miss Delong, will stage a fashion show depicting the changes in styles since the first Clinton Ball, 82 years ago. A Maypole dance will be performed by Grades 3 and 4, under the direction of Miss Kennedy, while pupils of Miss Avanzino in Grades 1 and 2 will do various other dances.
Marble Tournament To Be Held Soon: Ashcroft Marble Tournament, sponsored by the B.P.O. Elks, will be held the week of May 15 and the finals on the Saturday. Play will be in front of the C.P.R. station. Fred Elgie and Jackie Johnson have been appointed to take entries for the following age groups: 6 and under; 8 and under; 10 and under; 12 and under; 14 and under. The best all-round player in the Ashcroft Marble Tournament will receive a cup outright, and there will be prizes for others. So knuckle down, children, and get in trim for the big event.
50 YEARS AGO: APRIL 23, 1975
B.C. Government Hires Full Time Ambulance Crew: As of April 10, a full-time Ambulance crew now covers the area from Ashcroft west to Spences Bridge, north into Gang Ranch country and up to 70-Mile House, east to Savona, and south into Highland Valley. Rod Craggs and Bob Rodford will be on steady day shifts and available on call-out basis after regular shifts. Volunteers with industrial first aid tickets, and nurses, will be used as much as possible, exceptions being in cases of a real emergency call, when there is not time to go down a telephone list to form a crew, and after midnight where volunteers may be delayed getting to regular jobs. Last year we answered 187 rescue calls, ranging from heart attacks, highway accidents, drownings, and aircraft crashes to a train wreck. Originally the ambulance was bought by the Village and manned by Volunteer Fire Department members as a Rescue Unit and ambulance. Most of the crew were trained in Industrial First Aid and were ticket-holders working at Bethlehem Copper, who also paid for and arranged the training. As many as 12 first aid men were available, with an almost equal number of men working on each shift. During the last year, several have left and the remaining firemen have moved to steady day shifts at Bethlehem. So the problem has been a bad one for some time, with no ambulance crew for the day calls. We hope now this problem is solved, and with the usual bad highway accident season coming up people will be able to get quick help and minimize the suffering and pain, by the quick arrival of a trained ambulance crew.
Ashcroft Village Has Three Problem Areas: Nothing has been resolved with either the Federal or Provincial governments on the funding for the Sewage Plant on the south side of town, costing in the neighbourhood of $380,000 a few months ago. The figure is probably higher at this time. This project is the most essentially needed in Ashcroft. Still another pressing problem is completion of the Drylands Arena, which needs furnishings for the upstairs club room, also the updating of the dressing rooms. And still another headache is the question of our 20-year-old swimming pool. A new pool would cost approximately $260,000. Repair to the existing pool could run as high as $40,000. The last three years have seen nothing but breakdowns of pumps and filters, resulting in periods of pool closures. Our needs are mounting and money is getting in short supply.
Cache Creek: The Village regrets that so many dogs are causing a public nuisance and biting children. For years animal control has been difficult to obtain and manage. The Village has come to the point where service has to be supplied in an effort to remedy the situation, and Cache Creek has requested the Regional District’s immediate attention to the problem.
Further To The New Cornwall Mall Complex: While plans are still to be finalized for some of the businesses which will be included in the mall, some of them have already been finalized and funding arranged. The Ashcroft Band hope to have the 17 acres concerned, on which the complex is to be built, included within the boundaries of the Village of Ashcroft. If approved the facility will be served by fire protection and water supplied by the Village. The inclusion of the complex into the Village of Ashcroft will mean a release from Indian lands must be obtained for the acreage and a bylaw prepared by the Village, which will take some time. A complex of the proposed square footage will take considerable facilities, especially water, and could mean the North Ashcroft water and sewage plants would have to be increased to supply the extra demand. While it will mean an added attraction and shopping facility, which will no doubt draw buyers to our area, it will also mean added planning and deliberation for our Village Fathers.
Loon Lake Ratepayers Change Name: The Loon Lake Ratepayers Association will be known in future as Loon Lake Road Community Recreational and Agricultural Society. This change will enable the group to obtain more funding in available grants.
