Frank is the newest member of the BC Forest Discovery team. He was donated by Patricia Greenwell and is named after her father who worked for CN Rail as well as Macmillan Bloedel (Copper Canyon). He’s looking forward to this year’s Christmas Express, and hopes you’ll stop by and say hi. (Hint: Frank’s favourite locomotive […]
The following is a story told to Maynard Atkinson by Percy Stacy, involving a switching maneuver using the BC Forest Discovery Centre’s shay locomotive which is on display near the front entrance. Maynard a “Railway History Enthusiast” (his own words) has worked collaboratively on several books by Sandy Macham author of Odds, Sods and Logs, […]
Camp 3 (Nitinat) was located near Kissinger Lake (West of Lake Cowichan), and at the time of the photo was operated by Industrial Timber Mills (ITM). The two-man saw is most likely a “Timberhog” (Model K) produced by Industrial Engineering Limited (IEL), and came equipped with a 60” bar. The following is an excerpt from […]
Opened on September 4, the exhibit provides a fascinating and informative look at the lives of the BC forest Service’s men and women who were responsible for the protection and management of BC’s forests. Wonderfully curated by Lorraine Bayford and Carol Miller with assistance from retired Forest Service employees Tom Walker and David Woodgate the […]
The good news is that Carl Wassink of Corry Pennsylvania read my earlier post regarding Betsy, Shawnigan Like Lumber Co.’s locomotive. The bad news is that a lot of information was incorrect, and so my thanks to Carl for putting the record straight. “In looking through your site I came across the photo and your […]
Summer Intern Dayna Obbema from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario has been working on a research project about the Somenos Lake Farm Property – which currently houses the BC Forest Discovery Centre. She is working on writing a book about the farming years on the property that will eventually be available for purchase in the […]
Betsy, when finished, was 24 feet overall and weighed about 12 tons. Her boiler was a curious “T” type, that is a vertical boiler with front extension (a sort of 1902 uplift model), the entrance end being topped with a jaunty little spark arrester. Just how the two sections of boiler held together bumping along […]
Earlier this year the BC Forest Discovery Centre was gifted several items from Bruce Wilkinson, in memory of his father Gordon Wilkinson. Gordon was a pilot for 60 years, accumulating over 17,000 flight hours on 14 different types of aircraft and 62 individual airplanes and flew for two major forest companies including BC Forest Products. […]
The Chief Forester’s Photo Album is part of the BCFDC’s BC Forest Service Collection. The photos range in date from 1912 to 1929, which leads us to believe it was made for Peter Zemro Caverhill (1884-1935), who was BC’s Chief Forrester from 1920-35. A tree was planted in his memory in Stanley Park by the […]
The S-amuna’/Somenos Marsh has a long history of occupation and use by the people of the Cowichan Tribes and today is recognized for having significant cultural values to both Cowichan Tribes and other residents of the Cowichan Valley. S-amuna’ (Somenos) was the largest of the Cowichan Tribes winter villages, located on what is now the […]
