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Journal archives: Frigid weather strikes region across the decades

In 1925, 1950, and 1975 temperatures well below freezing brought frozen pipes, stalled cars, and closed schools

125 YEARS AGO: JAN. 20, 1900

Cigar Factory: The Inland Cigar Factory at Kamloops is a busy place. About 25 hands are employed in all, 16 of these being cigar makers and the rest strippers and helpers. At the Kamloops factory all employees receive their pay every Saturday night, and as it is then past banking hours the results are that on Monday very few of the boys swell their accounts much. It is one of the very best factories in the province, and the earnings of the factory nearly all being spent in the city adds considerably to its prosperity. The men employed are a well-informed lot. They work by the piece and are about as independent as printers, often changing locations on short notice or perhaps none at all.

Quick Trip: Stuart Henderson made a quick trip to Onward Ranch, near the 150-Mile House, this week. By special B.C. Express Co.’s team he left Ashcroft last Sunday night at 7:30, reached the 150-Mile House at 4:30 Monday afternoon, and arrived back at Ashcroft on Thursday. To travel 270 miles in four days and transact important legal business is pretty good work.

New Houses: The new houses of Messrs. Elliot and Knight add much to the appearance of Bancroft Street.

Congratulations: The proudest man in town is C.B. Deans. He is not attentive to business this week as a little son has arrived at his home.

Weather: And still no ice for skating or curling.

100 YEARS AGO: JAN. 17, 1925

New School: Clinton is to have a new school this summer, if all rumours are to be accepted for truth.

Ashcroft Moves Over To Cariboo: By an act of parliament passed at the recent sitting of the legislature, Ashcroft and vicinity are now situated within the county of Cariboo so far as County Court matters are concerned.

Skating: The children have a fine private skating and “hockey” rink near the CPR track [in Ashcroft], which is an endless source of pleasure to them.

Store Hours: Arrangements have been made by mutual consent among the Ashcroft store keepers that their stores will close at 6:30 on Tuesday evenings instead of remaining open late as heretofore. This is a move that will injure none, and will not interfere with business in the least.

Walhachin: Mr. and Mrs. H. Parkin are moving to Spatsum in a day or two, where Harry will be section foreman in place of Mr. Nicol, who has got Lytton. We are very sorry to lose Mr. and Mrs. Parkin, but for their sakes are glad of their promotion.

Weather: When the north wind blows, we shall have — frozen pipes.

75 YEARS AGO: JAN. 19, 1950

Clinton: With the mercury at 25 below at mid-morning, the sound of the fire siren last Saturday was a fearsome sound. The fire was in the laundry room at the Clinton Hotel, but with the quick response that Clinton always gives to a cry of “fire,” within minutes there were many willing hands to man the hose. Those at the hotel had already attacked it with all the fire extinguishers at hand, and it was not long before the firefighters brought it under control. The main building was untouched, but the laundry room is a sorry-looking sight, blackened and scorched and ice-encrusted. All in all this has been a grim week, with the mercury hovering between 40 and 50 below each morning, and not going above 20 below all day. With the ever-present spectre of fire from overheated stoves, and frozen plumbing, we are all a little weary. Schools have been closed since Thursday of last week.

Spences Bridge: The big news nowadays seems to be the severe cold weather, of which there seems to be no end. School closed, frozen pipes, and fuel supplies dwindling are of grave concern to many; motorists with balking cars being towed around, and icy roads making driving hazardous.

Around Your Hi-School (by L. Louie): Rumours have got around that our long-awaited floodlights have arrived. This will mean a great deal to our hockey teams. A practice and skating schedule will probably come into effect as soon as the lights are installed, and everyone will be happy all the way around. The girls have already started to line up a team, and hope to give the little Pee Wees some competition.

Whist Drive: An enjoyable evening was spent at Shaw Springs on Friday the 13th, when the Spences Bridge crowd motored down to attend the weekly whist drive. Refreshments galore topped off the evening’s entertainment. The previous week Mr. and Mrs. Riste lent their home for the whist drive, the hall being too cold for any activities these days.

Amateur Night: All entries for the Amateur Night on Feb. 22, being sponsored by the Women’s Auxiliary to the Canadian Legion, must be in the hand of the secretary, Mrs. Z. Rodford, by Feb. 7. There will be two groups: 15 down, and 16 years of age up. The prizes will be 1st $10, 2nd $5, and 3rd $3 for each group. General admission for the public will be 50c, children 25c. If you are talented, or if you know anyone who is talented, get an entry form made out and send it in. There are many citizens, both young and old, who can sing, dance, play instruments, and who can put on skits, and these people should come forward and help make the evening a success.

50 YEARS AGO: JAN. 15, 1975

Deep Freeze: About the only living thing in the country that didn’t mind our sub-zero temperatures last weekend were the kids! Temperatures ranged from 4 above to 30 below around the area. Outdoor rinks are in style again, lakes and smaller rivers are frozen safe enough for skating with bonfires, coffee, and wieners filling the leisure hours for many families. It’s nippy, sure, but it’s fun. Of course other discomforts are in the style too: frozen water pipes, stalled cars, frozen stiff motors. This sort of thing is not enjoyable winter recreation.

Big Things To Come? We hear via the grapevine that Alan Parke will develop the subdivision on his ranch adjacent to the Cache Creek Drive-in Theatre on the south side of Highway 97. This is a 25-acre site for which a right-of-way has already been negotiated and sewer lines established. The plan includes 70 lots for residential and multi-purpose building, with commercial lots on the highway frontage. A trailer park has also been planned on the lower section bordering the Bonaparte River. Cache Creek village council will build a much-needed larger water reservoir in 1975, on Collins Road, and will be of 300,000 gal. capacity, to cost in the neighbourhood of $225,000. This facility has been on the planning boards for some time to cope with pending expansion. The Village of Ashcroft has plans for a much larger sewerage facility on the south side of town. When first discussed it was to have cost about $375,000; now, due to delays of financing and spiralling prices, the figure is closer to $800,000.

No Golf: The Mini Golf Course idea to be built at the Cache Creek Park has been dropped as there is not sufficient acreage to plan it at the site.

Metric Signs: The first metric road signs will be erected in B.C. in April, a provincial highways department official says. Twenty-six educational signs showing road distances in kilometres will be set up alongside existing signs “to get people used to the idea.” The actual switch to metric signs will not take place until September 1977, when signs across Canada will be changed. At that time all B.C. road signs, totalling approximately 25,000, will be replaced at a cost of about $250,000. By 1977 all new cars are expected to have speedometers marked in kilometres, and decals should be available to stick on the speedometers of older cars. Canada is expected to go completely metric by 1980, with different sectors of the economy changing during the next five years.

Watch Out: Don’t forget to feed the birds, and watch it shovelling snow if you are fortyish or so!