125 YEARS AGO: MAY 5, 1900
Victoria Day: How will Ashcroft celebrate the 24th of May? Is it to be a picnic, an excursion to Savonas, or a day of sports at home? However the day is to be celebrated, all should join in it. Ashcroft is too small a town to run two shows on one day, and we should decide on some one form of pleasure that the majority can take part in.
Horse Race: Tommy Gannon can be depended upon to get up a horse race if there is a ghost of chance. Charlie Brown had purchased a good looking horse from C.F. McDonald, of Hat Creek, and as Tommy had a racer in training this was an opportunity he could not overlook, so he quietly arranged a race Thursday, and increased his finances to the amount of $20.
Good Gardener: Probably the most enthusiastic gardener in Ashcroft is Dr. Williams. Flowers or vegetables, he is to the front as an early producer of the best kinds.
100 YEARS AGO: MAY 2, 1925
Ashcroft To Quesnel Road Open For Autos: The Cariboo road from Ashcroft to Quesnel is now open for automobile traffic. A private car from Vernon was the first over the road this spring, making the trip as far as the 150-Mile House without having to use chains.
1926 Will See The Completion Of Road; Fraser Highway Grading Expected To Be Finished This Fall: The Fraser Canyon Highway, missing link in the Trans-Provincial road, will be completed by June 1926, according to Mr. A.B. Palmer, whose company has the contract for two sections of the work. He believes the work will be sufficiently advanced this fall for cars to pass through the canyon by making a short detour to Lillooet. Grading of all three sections will be practically completed this fall.
Cannery Preliminary Work Begins; Mr. W.J. West Opens Office Here For Preliminary Work: Mr. W.J. West, manager of the Ashcroft Canners, has opened an office here and some preliminary work in connection with the cannery is being pushed along. The building which will house the plant is being reconditioned to accommodate the new occupancy, and the machinery is expected along in due course. Negotiations are underway with the C.P.R. for the laying out of a spur from the main line to the factory. This will occupy some time, and the matter of installing the plant cannot be undertaken until the spur has been laid out. Mr. R.M. Taylor, government road engineer, was in town a few days ago looking after the interests of the people in the matter of the spur crossing the public highway. Mr. West has arranged with some of the growers to supply the cannery for the first year. The plant will have a capacity of 40,000 cases, and it will employ about 75 hands during canning season.
B.C. Express: The B.C. Express office [at 6th and Railway] has been purchased by the provincial government. The government has been using the building for some time.
Modern Equipment In New Quesnel Ferry: The new ferry launched at Quesnel recently is large enough to accommodate three automobiles at one time or two four-horse teams. In addition to other modern equipment, the ferry is supplied with life belts, an innovation this year.
Post Office Grounds To Get Lawn; Board Of Trade Succeeds In Having Grounds Beautified: Mr. J. Mitchell, caretaker at the Ashcroft Dominion public building [now the museum], has received instructions to seek tenders for fencing and planting the vacant grounds of the building. One foot of the present surface is to be removed and a sub-soil of clay and a layer of loam is to be added. A fence will encircle the “park,” iron pickets along the front and a tight board fence along the other two sides. The beautifying of the post office grounds will not only add to the appearance of the public building, but it will give a richer and more healthy tone to that section of the village.
75 YEARS AGO: MAY 4, 1950
24th Of May Picnic Will Again Be Held: Preparations for May Day are going ahead. The P.T.A. is taking charge this year. The annual 24th of May picnic and May Queen crowning will be held at the Semlin Ranch, we understand, thanks to Mr. Leslie Cameron. There will be ice cream and free coffee as usual. This is being supplied by B.P.O. Elks and Canadian Legion as in past years. Field sports will also be held. This is Ashcroft and district’s largest event of the year, so plan to attend with the rest of the citizens. Just bring your lunch. Trucks and cars will leave the post office about 10 a.m. on Wednesday, May 24 for the grounds.
Legion Notes: A letter was received with regard to older veterans asking that if anyone has positions open to give them work. If there are any who have such a job open, please get in touch with the president, R. Rogers, or G. Elgie.
Spring: The old familiar rocks in the river are slowly disappearing under water. The river is very low owing to cool weather. Although we had more snow here than for the past 40 or 50 years, it disappeared into the ground without any washouts, and there is a possibility we may have a cool year which allows snow in the high levels to sink into the ground, avoiding high water.
Savona: Most of our feathered friends from the south have arrived for the summer, yet still the weather keeps cool. The wild canaries are bursting their hearts in song while killdeers can be heard calling plaintively close by, and we understand the swallows are here but have not seen any so far. Two flocks of wild geese were seen flying overhead recently on their way north. It’s spring all right, but our gardens don’t make much of it owing to lack of warm weather.
50 YEARS AGO: APRIL 30, 1975
British Columbia Awards For Physical Fitness: Three proud local individuals are some of the first to have successfully completed the Community Recreation Branch Fitness program for having run 100 miles. Dave Hunter, physical education teacher at Ashcroft Secondary School, made the presentation as the sponsoring agent for the program. To successfully complete the program you must be medically fit, run the 100 miles during any consecutive six-month period, and run at least one-half mile, but not more than two miles of running, during each day of running. Mr. Hunter notes that many people are using the new high school track, and he would like to encourage them and others to get credit in this Fitness Program. Similar programs are available for walking, swimming, and bicycling. Besides feeling more fit you will have the pleasure of receiving the fine awards-jacket crest, descriptive parchment, and Centennial Fitness Medal. There are no age restrictions.
Clinton Wants Oil Study: The mayors of Surrey and Merritt say they’ll wait for more information before deciding whether the government should go ahead with intensive studies on the feasibility of locating an oil refinery in their communities. But Clinton, the other community in the running for a proposed $350 million provincial oil refinery, wasn’t nearly as hesitant. At a village council meeting Wednesday night, council members decided to send a telegram to Premier Dave Barrett asking that the detailed feasibility study be done in their area. Barrett said in an announcement earlier Wednesday that Surrey, Merritt, and Clinton were the proposed sites for an oil refinery. But he said that if none of them want it, the government will look elsewhere. He said the government’s next step would be to meet with the three councils to see whether they want to continue the studies beyond the preliminary stage. Surrey mayor Bill Vander Zalm said he appreciates Barrett’s promise that if a council does not want the refinery, the government will not go any further with the idea. He said council would be meeting with government officials in the near future to obtain information on such matters as pollution, the number of people a refinery would employ, and tax revenues it would entail so a decision could be made on the basis of information, “not emotion.” Mayor Allan Collett of Merritt said the local Chamber of Commerce seems quite interested in the refinery, “but we don’t have enough information to see whether it will fit into our environment.” Clinton mayor Grethyll Adams said she understood that the premier said he wanted tp work in conjunction with local councils, and if the local councils decided they wanted a feasibility study, the government will do it. After it is done, she said, it will go to the public for their opinions. “You can’t make a decision until you have the facts, and you won’t have all the facts unless the detailed study is done,” she said. She said she is concerned about the environment, but was reassured by Barrett’s statement that the refinery would be one of the lowest polluting ones anywhere.
