10 - BC Historical Federation

Greyhound Canada - Ron Welwood
In 1922, John Learmonth began his bus service along Kootenay Lake
between Nelson and Balfour. Soon, this bus line was competing with
other small operations, but these separate interests were
amalgamated in 1928 as the Kootenay Valley Transportation
Company Ltd. This company
c aught the attention of
entrepreneurs George Fay, Harold
(Barney) Olson and his brother,
Roosevelt (Speed), who purchased
the K.V.T. Co. in January 1929.
Just over 75 years ago, on 30 November 1929, the company was
reincorporated as Canadian Greyhound Coaches Ltd., B.C. This was
the first Canadian ‘Greyhound’ bus company; and pioneer John
Learmonth, served as the Nelson superintendent until he retired in
1965.
New Historical Publications & vignettes
Remember When .... celebrating 100 Years of Crawford Bay on
Kootenay Lake, B.C.
This is the second book co-authored by Susan Hulland and Terry
Turner Available from Terry Turner, Box 201 Riondel, BC V0B 2B0
or Susan Hulland, Box 42, Crawford Bay, BC V0B 1E0 $25+ shipping
The Eyestone Heritage Home “ The McKinney House”
The relocation and a short history of the people involved.
A fascinating booklet by Curtis Eyestone who moved the 1911
McKinney family home to Dyke Road adjacent to London Heritage
Farm. Contains many vignettes of Vancouver and Richmond history
as well as the moving of the house, complete with drawings of each
of the four floors. See article on Mountain View Cemetery.
26 pages spiral bound 8 ½ x 11. Available from London Heritage
Farm, 6511 Dyke Rd., Richmond BC V7E 3R3 $9.95 + $2 P&H
Ladysmith 1904 - 2004 - Ladysmith & District Historical Society
An interesting 96 page hard cover book with many lovely old photos
of early Ladysmith and a record of events, histories of social and
other organizations.
Mountain View Cemetery & Crematorium . . . .
a humble beginning (edited excerpt from The McKinney House)
Richmond pioneer James McKinney was a member of the little church at No. 3
Rd & Steveston Hwy. W hen a member of the church died and the congregation
debated about where to bury the body after the funeral service, the police
constable in Steveston informed them that no burials would be permitted on the
island as a potential existed for the coffin to float to the surface, being at or below
the water table level, the body would have to b e
taken to Vancouver for burial.
It was a grueling 18 hour canoe trip with the
corpse from London’s Landing to the Gastown
Docks where McKinney, one of the pallbearers,
was stunned to learn that burial in Vancouver was
not an option as the area was mostly solid rock.
They were told to load the coffin on a wagon and
head into the forest along Kingsway where softer
ground would permit burial
This gave James McKinney an idea to financially back two individuals to construct
a crematorium and graveyard on two sections of land he purchased at what is now
41 st and Fraser Street. They were not good businessmen and McKinney
foreclosed on the property. Cremation was expensive and most felt it was
unnecessary since burials were taking place haphazardly throughout the region.
W hen McKinney took back the business, he advertised “free cremation” but the
costs of funeral services, caskets, flowers, music, burial urns, etc. made up for
the free s ervice. Total cos ts for the funerals often coincided with the total assets
of the deceased. T he business was a very profitable one and remained in the
family until very recently. James and Jane McKinney were both cremated and
their urns are displayed in the mausoleum on site.
Our Members are busy . . . . . .
UNION BAY HISTORICAL SOCIETY - Over 300 people from all
corners of the world visited the fine museum in Union Bay over the
past summer. The building was originally the community’s
Gaolhouse and is now a Heritage Building.
Over the past few months, the Union Bay Historical Society has set
up a military display as a tribute to veterans of both World Wards
and another to make the local library’s 50 years at its present
location. They are currently working on a display on Sacred Places,
as the church will be 100 years old next year which will also feature
a display of bridal gowns and related items. [Union Bay is located 15
km south of Courtenay]
THE ROEDDE HOUSE PRESERVATION SOCIETY operates the
Roedde House Museum, a small
restored and refurnished Victoria home
in Vancouver’s West End.
The house was built in 1893 for Gustav
Roedde, Vancouver’s first bookbinder
and printer, and his family. The
architecture is attributed to Francis M.
Rattenbury, best known for the
Provincial Legislature Buildings and the
Empress Hotel in Victoria and
Vancouver’s old courthouse (now the Vancouver Art Gallery).
The Roedde family lived at Roedde House from 1893 to 1926 and is
the period that has been created by the Society. The Museum offers
visitors a unique opportunity to experience Victorian family life in
Vancouver as the rooms are not cordoned off and some of the
artifacts, including a period stereoscope can be handled with care.
Phone 604.684.7040 for hours of operation, admission and
upcoming special events.
Welcome to our new Members and Affiliated Members
- Myra C anyon Trestle Restoration Society - Kelowna
- Gellatly Nut Farm Society
- Fraser-Fort G eorge Museum Society
The BC H istorical Federation represents 94 Societies and Affiliates with a
membership of 9605, working for the preservation of British
Columbia’s history.
Doukhobor Collections
In recent years, important Doukhobor items have been added to the
Special Collections at Simon Fraser University Library and with the
support of the Electronic Document Centre, many of these items are
now accessible over the web. Items such as the E.H. Paterson
collection, the Peter J. Ogloff photographs, Marge Malloff interviews
[originally published in Sound Heritage, 1977], the Plotnikoff family
photos, and much more. Access to this material www.lib.sfu.ca click
Special Collections [under Branches & Collections] and scroll down
to The Doukhobor Collection, 1898 - 1930.
Extensive Doukhobor collections are also located in the libraries at
the University of British Columbia http://webcat.library.ubc.ca and
Selkirk College, Castlegar http://library.selkirk.bc.ca
BCHF Newsletter - c/o Ron Hyde -
#20 - 12880 Railway Ave
Richmond, B.C. V7E 6G2
Comments & suggestions to
Co-Editors Ron Hyde rbhyde@shaw.ca
Ron Welwood r-fwelwood@shaw.ca
The Newsletter is available on the Federation’s website bchistory.ca