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 […]
On March 15, 1930 Delta MLA James W, Berry planted the first tree at the newly established (1929) Green Timbers Nursery in Surrey, BC marking the beginning of the province’s reforestation and nursery program. Twenty-two VIPS, a who’s who in local, provincial, federal politics and forestry circles came from around the province each planting a […]
There are five known Mann Steam wagons in the world today. Two are located in the UK, one in Australia, and two in Canada. Of the two in Canada, one (# 811) is located in Kamloops and is owned by Roger Blagborne, and the other (# 761) is owned by the BC Forest Discovery Centre.
The following article by Bruce Devitt was written for the Forest History Association of BC’s newsletter and continues the story of an earlier Facebook posting regarding the BCFDC’s tree cookie and its origins. Gerry Wellburn, founder of the BC Forest Discovery Centre in North Cowichan near Duncan BC, was an extraordinary collector; his collections included […]
