From the president: BCHF 1922-2022

Shannon Bettles in the ghost town of Anyox. Photo: Grayson Peters 

A message from BCHF president Shannon Bettles as the organization begins its centennial year. We have several things in store to mark the anniversary.

Save the date: BCHF conference

The BC Historical Federation has partnered with the Victoria Historical Society to offer its annual conference June 2-5. Watch our website and social media channels as more details emerge. This year’s theme is Memory. We are recalling memories and exploring the concept of remembrance as we commemorate BCHF’s 100th anniversary.

Three new BCHF awards announced

The BCHF award has announced three new awards with nominations now open. Click the link to learn more about the Cultural Resource Accessibility Award, the Advocacy Award, and the Storytelling Award, each of which comes with a cash prize.

January is BCHF membership month

If you have received a notification that it’s time to renew your membership with BCHF, it must be January. The membership term for member societies and affiliate organizations runs from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31. If you’ve missed the deadline, it’s not too late!

Join the BC History team

We are looking for a special person to work with us on a very part-time basis (approximately 60 hours per year or 15 hours per quarterly issue) to make sure our digital magazine (on the Zinio platform) is as good as it can be. This is fully remote work, so we welcome expressions of interest from all parts of the province. For more information, drop a line to jane@bchistory.ca

A virtual tour of the Vancouver Chinatown Storytelling Centre

The new Chinatown Storytelling Centre in Vancouver provides a fascinating glimpse of the gold rush years, railway building and hardships during the Head Tax and Exclusion Act eras. Carol Lee, chair of the Vancouver Chinatown Foundation, gave a tour to the BCHF’s Mark Forsythe.

Time Travels: Life after the fire

John Haugen (Lytton First Nation), Richard Forrest (Lytton Museum & Archives Commission), and Lorna Fandrich (Lytton Chinese History Museum). Photo: Mark Forsythe 

BCHF’s Mark Forsythe travelled to Lytton to meet with three key Lytton story keepers and learn about their plans to rebuild following the devastating fire there last year.

MEMBER NEWS

Lily Chow appointed to Order of Canada

Author and BCHF member Lily Siewsan Chow of Victoria (pictured) was appointed as a member of the Order of Canada in December “for preserving and promoting the history of early Chinese immigrants to Canada and their contributions to the country’s social and economic development.”

HISTORICAL NOTES

Asahis’ Kaye Kaminishi turns 100

(Courtesy Historica Canada)

Kaye Kaminishi (pictured), who played for the legendary Asahi baseball team in Vancouver before the Japanese-Canadian internment, celebrated his 100th birthday last week.

Couple plans to restore Historic Alexandra Lodge

Image MSC130-06221-01 courtesy of the British Columbia Postcards Collection, a digital initiative of Simon Fraser University Library

The historic Alexandra Lodge, on the Fraser Canyon Highway 1, has new owners. Ken and Shirley MacKinnon plan to restore and resurrect the building. The current lodge, which dates to 1926, is the third building to stand in the area.

IN MEMORIAM

Chief Delgamuukw (1936-2022)

Chief Delgamuukw (Earl Muldon), the named plaintiff in a landmark land rights case brought by the Gitxsan and Wet'suwet'en First Nations, has died at 85. The 1997 Supreme Court Canada ruling in the case affirmed aboriginal title in BC and recognized oral testimony from Indigenous people.

Alan Ramsden (1926-2021)

Alan Ramsden pictured in the Touchstones Nelson archives, 2008. Photo: Greg Scott

Alan Ramsden, who spent 56 years on the board of the Nelson Museum (now Touchstones Nelson), has died at 95. He also had a long career as a broadcaster.

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)

British Columbia Historical Federation

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

The BCHF Secretariat is located on the unceded traditional territory of the Coast Salish speaking Peoples. The BCHF is on Facebook. Join the conversation.