Skip to content

In 1947 the Fraser Canyon sees heavy traffic: 800 cars in one day

Plus in 1897, Clinton-made bricks are touted as a home-grown replacement for lumber

125 YEARS AGO: JULY 24, 1897

Clinton Bricks: F. Soues, the government agent at Clinton, is having a brick vault four by ten feet built on to his office to stow away all the valuable papers, etc. which he is compelled to keep in his office. The bricks are all home made and of first class quality. The brick making business is likely to thrive at Clinton, as it is far cheaper to use home bricks than it is to buy imported lumber.

Ashcroft School Progress: Agitation of a subject causes it to be brought to the notice of the proper parties. The JOURNAL mentioned last week the effort that was made by Messrs. Evans, Mackay and others interested, to get an appropriation for a new school building. Mr. Mackay is in receipt of a letter from Colonel Baker, commissioner of schools, stating absolutely that work on a new school house for Ashcroft would be begun at once, and a building suitable to the wants of a thriving community like Ashcroft supplied. It pays if you can’t see what you want to ask for it. How about our new jail? We don’t expect to want to use it, but somebody will, and it would be just as well to have it ready.

New Hotel: The incorporation papers for a new, commodious, and in every respect first class hotel are out. A hotel of this class has been long wanted at Ashcroft. It will bring a class of custom to the town that will leave money here that has heretofore not come owing to a lack of accommodations. A man who has two or three dollars a day to pay for accommodations should have what he pays for, first class accommodation.

Healthy Climate: Mrs. Frank Bach and children and Miss Grace Calhoun, her sister, who have been visiting relatives in Ashcroft for some time, will return to Alaska on the City of Topeka on the 28th. Miss Grace has become from an invalid, three months ago, stout and healthy, which shows the result of the clear, pure atmosphere surrounding Ashcroft and along the Thompson. There is probably no healthier place on the globe than this section of British Columbia.

100 YEARS AGO: JULY 21, 1922

Citizens Meet To Discuss Fire Protection: A meeting of the citizens of Ashcroft took place at the fire hall on Monday night last to discuss matters appertaining to fire protection. Mr. James Haddock, who has been for a ggreat many years associated with the local committee for the protection of fire, gave a short address. The matter of the water supply being turned off at night on the back streets from 1 to 5 a.m. was brought up, and a resolution was passed that the management of the water company be asked to discontinue the practice. The manager being at the meeting, the request was made forthwith, and we understand that in future the supply will not be cut off during the night

Governor-General Lord Byng Visits Ashcroft: Lord and Lady Byng of Vimy visited Ashcroft for a short time yesterday afternoon, and they were met by a number of the citizens. Mr. Semlin read the address which had been prepared for the occasion, and the Governor-General replied very ably, thanking the people of Ashcroft for their hospitality. He also said that nothing gave him more pleasure than the meeting with comrades who had been through the Great War with him. An Indian basket filled with new potatoes was presented to His Excellency at the close of his address, and three little girls presented Her Ladyship with three bouquets of local grown flowers. The request that the Ashcroft School Board be granted permission to name their new school “The Lady Byng School” was graciously granted, Lady Byng expressing delight at the suggestion, and expressing a wish to be kept in touch with the progress of the “Lady Byng School”.

75 YEARS AGO: JULY 24, 1947

Ashcroft Gets Modern Paving: The Storm Construction Co. are engaged with heavy and modern road-building machinery bringing the front street of Ashcroft up to date. When completed Railway Avenue will be four lanes wide from China town to beyond the cannery. Brink street from the bridge to the [Lady Byng] school also is receiving treatment, along with several others, and when finished most of Ashcroft’s streets will be completely modernized.

Other Road Work: Paving has been completed from the Perry Ranch to Cache Creek, and from Cache Creek to Ashcroft Manor. This new highway is one of the best in B.C., level, free of sharp curves and smooth as glass. The traffic through the Fraser Canyon Highway has been very heavy with a maximum of 800 vehicles on Saturday, June 28th.

Make Ashcroft Your Shopping Centre: Shopping in Ashcroft is a pleasure when you can save money and get what you want when you want it. It is a pleasant feeling too when shopping because there is a friendly feeling when you enter the business places. Do your shopping in Ashcroft and you will be a satisfied customer.

Why Housing Costs Are Prohibitive: Thousands of young Canadian married couples — like their parents and their grandparents before them — have one urgent ambition: a home of their own in which they can wash their own dishes after baby is in bed. Yet such couples, with salaries or wages of from one to two hundred dollars a month, cannot find these homes with the desired kitchens because — so we are told authoritatively — it costs too much to build them. Nor is the reason why it costs too much for these people to have homes of their own with kitchens in them, hard to find. An advertisement that appeared recently in Vancouver newspapers, for instance, supplies a clue. This showed a schedule of wages offered to workers in lumber camps of British Columbia, in response to the latest demand for an increase of wages. One line is significant: “Dishwashers May 1946, $5.41 per day; Now $6.61. New offer $7.41.” It is because it costs $7.41 per day to get dishes washed in lumber camps that the prices of homes are inevitably forced up beyond the reach of any young couple who may be possessed of the dream of a kitchen of their own in which to wash dishes but are without extensive capital reserve to enable them to make it come true. And, by the way, if this is not inflation already present and doing its destructive work in Canada, we would like to know what inflation is.

50 YEARS AGO: JULY 20, 1972

Lytton Residents Show Concern Over Losing C.N. Station: Over 30 local citizens showed their concern on Wednesday evening, July 12 when a meeting was held in the community hall, Lytton. The meeting was held with C.N. Railway officials numbering seven. Many and very logical protests were made concerning the attempted closure. C.N.R. Traffic Supervisor Mr. W.S. Loueseth was impressed by the concern shown by local residents in the meeting, which lasted over three hours. The previous evening, when their meeting was held in Ashcroft, only three residents appeared to show interest.

B.C. Government Should Buy Gang Ranch — Cariboo M.L.A. Says: Alex Fraser, Social Credit MLA for Cariboo, said Friday he has written to Lands and Forests Minister Ray Williston suggesting that the government buy the Gang Ranch, largest cattle ranch in North America. The ranch includes the Perry Ranch a couple of miles east of Cache Creek. They control about 80,000 acres directly and hold grazing leases on another one million acres of land. The ranch is on the market for $5.5 million, not including livestock and machinery. The ranch at one time had more than 5,000 head of cattle. A lot of the cattle were brought to Perry Ranch by truck for winter feeding and feed lots.

Municipalities Favour Present Election Set-Up: There will be no change in the method of electing municipal councils to two-year alternating terms as far as the Union of B.C. Municipalities is concerned. A survey of the UBCM’s 161 member municipalities in regional districts revealed that 81 per cent favour retaining the present system of electing half the councils annually. Only 12 members want to adopt the Vancouver system whereby the full council and school board are elected to two-year terms every second year.



editorial@accjournal.ca

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter