BCHF BUZZ

BCHF concerned about BC Archives reading room closure

The BC Archives in Victoria. Wikimedia Commons

The BCHF has written to Premier John Horgan and Royal BC Museum CEO Jack Lohman to express our concerns over the closure of the BC Archives reference room until an unspecified date in 2021. We feel it is unacceptable. You can read why by clicking the button below. We are also helping the Friends of the BC Archives to learn of specific examples of how this is affecting your work, or that of your organization.

BCHF participates in Great Canadian Giving Challenge

The BCHF has joined the CanadaHelps Great Canadian Giving Challenge. We are raising money for our Centennial Legacy Fund, which gives back to BC’s public history community by financially supporting diverse research, preservation or commemoration projects. Every $1 donated to the BCHF in June via CanadaHelps automatically enters us to win an additional $20,000.

BCHF AGM to be held virtually

The 2020 BC Historical Federation annual general meeting will be held on Sept. 12 at 7 p.m., virtually. We are looking for new members to join council. If you would like to be considered or if you would like to recommend someone, please email jane@bchistory.ca or submit the nomination form.

BCHF scholarship recipients announced

Emma Quan and Harry Deng are the recipients of the 2019 W. Kaye Lamb Awards for the best student works for students at university or college in British Columbia. Their essays were selected from 10 entries submitted by students attending post-secondary institutions in BC.

Wayne Norton wins 2019 Anne and Philip Yandle Best Article Award

Wayne Norton of Victoria is the recipient of the 2019 Anne and Philip Yandle Best Article Award for Identifying the Enemy: The Tale of Herman Elmer, which appeared in the Winter 2019 edition of British Columbia History. It examined how Elmer went from a respected union member in East Kootenay to the Vernon internment camp during the First World War. Click below for a video interview with Norton.

An interview with Jennifer Ashton

British Columbia History editor Andrea Lister interviewed Jennifer Ashton, whose efforts to trace her third great-grandmother’s birth name earned an honourable mention for the 2019 Anne and Philip Yandle Best Article award. Click the button to watch the video.

Summer issue of British Columbia History on its way

The Summer 2020 issue of British Columbia History is now appearing in mailboxes. The cover features a colourized photo of Piper Andy McGeorge with mascot Wallace of the 1st Battalion, Canadian Scottish Regiment. To subscribe to the print or digital edition, click here: bchistory.ca/british-columbia-history/subscribe.

A list of 2019 entrants for the BCHF historical writing awards

If you are stumped for what to read next, we have assembled a list and video of all 40 books submitted for the 2019 BC Historical Federation historical writing awards.

MEMBER NEWS

Apply now to the Terry Reksten Memorial Fund

The Friends of the BC Archives are now accepting applications to the Terry Reksten Memorial Fund. There are two grants of $1,000 each available, which assist with acquiring, preserving, indexing/disseminating archival material relating to BC and its regions. The deadline is June 30.

HISTORICAL NOTES

Vancouver Island authors win Lyman book prize

Vancouver Island authors John M. MacFarlane and Lynn J. Salmon have won a John Lyman Book Award for best book published in the category of Canadian Naval and Maritime History for their 2019 release Around the World in a Dugout Canoe: The Untold Story of Captain John Voss and the Tilikum.

Destination BC offers Road To Recovery webinar series

As part of their efforts to support the tourism industry in British Columbia, Destination BC has launched a webinar series called the Road to Recovery, designed for tourism businesses and organizations that have been impacted by COVID-19.

Author Q&A: The Kissing Fence

Visiting day at New Denver for Sons of Freedom children, 1954. RBCM C-01739

Our new blog series, Author Q&A, pulls back the curtain on the historical writing process, introducing local authors and hearing how their stories featuring aspects of BC’s history were inspired. Monica Miller of Caitlin Press sits down with B.A. Thomas-Peters the author of The Kissing Fence, a work of historical fiction about Sons of Freedom children seized from their families in the 1950s.

IN MEMORIAM

William Sterling Haynes (1928-2020)

The BCHF was saddened to hear of Sterling Haynes’s passing on May 23 at the Kelowna Hospice House, age 91. Sterling wrote several articles for British Columbia History magazine.

ADVERTISING

The BCHF offers a number of advertising opportunities in our e-newsletter, which is distributed to our entire membership monthly. Advertisements are jpeg images sized to 600 px wide for electronic distribution. To submit an ad, contact Greg Nesteroff: greg@bchistory.ca

Members enjoy discounted advertising rates. Choose 12 months for the best deal:

1-3 months = $100 each ($100-$300 annually)
4 months = $90 each ($360 annually)
6 months = $80 each ($480 annually)
8 months = $70 each ($560 annually)
12 months = $50 each ($600 annually)

Rates for non-members are as follows:

1-3 months = $150 each ($150-$450 annually)
4 months = $140 each ($560 annually)
6 months = $130 each ($780 annually)
8 months = $120 each ($960 annually)
12 months = $100 each ($1,200 annually)

BC Historical Federation
Box 448, Fort Langley, BC, V1M 247 • info@bchistory.ca

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