Category Archives: Forest History & Archives

TELEGRAPH COVE, BC — Many North Island communities are saddened by the news of the fire at Telegraph Cove on Dec. 31, 2024 as images of the blaze consuming the historic mill building and the Whale Interpretive Centre were startling. …Telegraph Cove is a rare reminder of early industrial life on the coast. In 1909, Alfred Marmaduke “Duke” Wastell was recruited to manage a struggling box-making factory in Alert Bay, also known as ‘Yalis. It was to make the shipping boxes for the cannery operated by BC Fishing and Packing Co. ‘Yalis, with a population of 230, was a hub of economic activity, driven by its booming fishing and logging industries. Logging operations dotted the coastline, but getting timber to market was difficult. …In 1912, the federal government began constructing a telephone and telegraph line stretching from Campbell River to Northern Vancouver Island. At that time, ‘Yalis served as the headquarters for commercial interests, and the superintendent of telegraphs wanted to set up a telegraph station nearby.

Jubiel Wickheim

A world-class lumberjack sportsman from B.C. has died, his family says. Jubiel Wickheim, better known as Jube, passed away on Feb. 17 at the age of 91. The Vancouver Island man was a 10-time world champion in the sport of log rolling, and an avid outdoorsman. Jube grew up in Sooke, B.C. There, he went to school until about Grade 8 — not unusual for those times — and eventually began his career in forestry. …According to a document outlining the history of logging sports in B.C., written by Jube himself, logging sports, including birling, began in small logging towns as a friendly rivalry on weekends. …Jube won the world championship for log rolling 10 times between 1956 and 1969. …After his time as a champion birler, Jude went on to produce and emcee logger sports exhibitions, hoping to share his love of the sport with others. 

A unique club celebrated its 25th anniversary on Feb. 7 with a breakfast attended by 32 former employees of MacMillan Bloedel and Western Forest Products, all of whom once worked at the Chemainus sawmill. The club was founded in 2000 by Bob Heyes, Neal Burmeister and Gary Grouhel, initially bringing together 41 retirees from the Chemainus mill. Over the years, the group has maintained its tradition of breakfast meetings, offering former colleagues a chance to reconnect and maintain friendships. The inaugural breakfast took place on Feb. 4, 2000, at the Mount Brenton Golf Club. Over the past 25 years, these breakfasts have become a cherished tradition where members can catch up, share updates and honour the legacy of their shared workplace. The club’s attendance has fluctuated over the years, but the retirees’ camaraderie has remained strong.

The North American forest products industry has a rich and storied history, and nowhere is it more evident than in Domtar’s combined 205 years of business. Our family tree took root in 1820, and it extends unbroken to today under the ownership of Indonesian businessman Jackson Wijaya. Much has changed over the two centuries that have passed since we began operations in Canada by exporting lumber to Great Britain, but what hasn’t changed throughout Domtar’s history is our relentless pursuit of excellence. …Our story began in 1820, when the William Price Company was established to export lumber to Great Britain from Quebec, Canada. The company, which eventually rebranded as Price Brothers, remained focused on lumber exports until 1912, when it entered the paper business, joining several other well-established Canadian paper companies. After the industry underwent decades of mergers and acquisitions, the consolidated company emerged in 1979 under the name Abitibi-Price.

When Everett Valleau moved his company, Valleau Logging Ltd., to the Alta Lake area in 1955, he came to log timber around Alta and Green Lakes. Valleau Logging was a family business, and over the years each of Everett’s seven sons, at least 10 of his grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren all worked for the company. The Valleaus operated from Parkhurst on Green Lake and later moved their logging camp to Mons. As skiing opened up and development increased, the Valleaus formed a subsidiary company, Alta Lake Contractors Ltd., to provide excavation work, road-building, and more. In 1965, they were hired by Garibaldi Lifts Ltd. to build the road from the valley to the midstation of Whistler Mountain while the logging side of the company removed the usable timber from some of the runs that were cut. …As Whistler placed more emphasis on resort development, Laurence moved Valleau Logging to Pemberton. 

WOODFIBRE, BC — Calling all former Woodfibre residents and employees, a reunion is coming up. Wait, did you know there was a whole town at Woodfibre where the LNG export facility of the same name is now being built? It was a company town built around a pulp mill. …Back in 1911, the British Columbia Sulphite Fibre built a pulp mill at what became Woodfibre. (It was originally called Mill Creek.). In 1917, the mill was bought by Whalen Pulp and Paper Co. In 1925, it changed ownership to the British Columbia Pulp and Paper Company. The mill was bought by Alaska Pine and Cellulose in 1950, and in 1958, it was taken over by Rayonier Canada, who owned it until 1980. By the time Western Forest Products shut the mill for good in 2006, the township had moved on, but the memories live on today. …For more details about the reunion, keep a watch on the Town of Woodfibre Facebook page or email the organizers at woodfibrereunion@gmail.com.

It was the largest known landslide in Canadian history. The Hope Slide forever changed the landscape of the Nicolum Valley in the Cascade Mountain Range, tragically taking the lives of four motorists who were on BC Highway 3 at the time. We recently discovered a series of images documenting the incident itself, as well as search and rescue and reconstruction efforts following the slide. As far as we know, only one or two of these images have ever been shown to the public before now.

In the early morning hours of Saturday, January 9th, 1965, a snow avalanche blocked the Hope-Princeton Highway, in the Nicolum Valley, just outside of Hope. A queue of motorists on the Princeton side of the avalanche began to collect. Some of them chose to turn around and head back up the mountain, while others chose to wait for crews to clear the slide.

At approximately 7 am, a devastating rock slide occurred at the same location, when half of Johnson Peak collapsed and descended into the valley below. The slide filled the valley bottom with more than 47 million cubic metres of rock, mud, and debris – up to 500 ft deep in some locations.

A Kamloops artist has created a series of prints made with a salvaged wood piling from the historic Red Bridge, donating part of the proceeds to local charities. Casey Macaulay, a forester, has been making prints using rings cut from trees in wildfire-damaged areas since 2021. After the Red Bridge burned down in a suspected arson in September, Macaulay said a friend of his, who was able to obtain a piece of the debris before it was taken away for disposal, suggested using it for his art. “It totally fits in with the type of work that I do — I just didn’t think of it before he did,” Macaulay told Castanet Kamloops. The artist started creating prints from tree rounds after the devastating 2021 wildfire season. He said he thought he could find some blocks from interesting trees to practice with — but the resulting pieces turned into “a story about wildfires and recovery and memories.”

Best-selling Vancouver Island author Sylvia Bourgeois is releasing her latest historical fiction novel, Here, Now, on Nov. 22. Here, Now offers a vivid glimpse into a 1920s logging camp on the shores of Nimpkish Lake. Bourgeois is a resident of Fanny Bay who draws on her deep connection to northern Vancouver Island to craft a compelling tale of love, loss, and self-discovery set against the backdrop of the region’s rugged landscape and booming timber industry. Here, Now follows the journey of Eva Clark, a young Seattle woman who trades her career aspirations for an unexpected marriage and life in a remote camp. As Eva grapples with personal tragedy and the challenges of her new environment. …The novel spotlights Bourgeois’ meticulous research into life in the early 20th century, from smoke-filled city saloons to our island’s mist-shrouded wilderness. 

The Grande Prairie Museum has added another building to its historic village. A fire lookout tower was relocated to the museum on Sept. 30. “It’s very historic; it will help us tell the story of forestry in Alberta,” said Charles Taws, Grande Prairie museum curator. “The museum does have a small forestry section and we’d like to have forestry represented in a larger way.” The tower was in disrepair, and Alberta Forestry offered it to the museum. “This has been a project that we’ve been working on for a while with the Grande Prairie Museum and the Peace Historical Society, and also with the Forest History Society of Alberta,” said Kelly Burke, Alberta Wildfire information co-ordinator for the Grande Prairie Forest Area. “We’ve been working with them for 10 years to put together a forestry display for the museum, linking the past with future generations, and strengthening our partnerships with the community.”

COWICHAN, BC — A piece of Vancouver Island history is poised for demolition, ending a wooden trestle’s over century-long run in the Cowichan Valley. The Holt Creek Trestle is a popular, towering bridge that connects the Cowichan Valley trail. …The historic wooden railway bridge that the Cowichan woman and tens of thousands walk over each year is about to be removed. The 102-year-old wooden railway trestle is slated for demolition, and trail-clearing work to make way for the heavy machinery has already begun. According to the Ministry of Transportation, a structural review of the trestle was completed in 2017 and revealed it was already nearing the end of its lifespan. The province has decided to replace it rather than continuously repair and maintain it. However, the province is not disclosing the cost of restoration, and Pynn says the historical value alone should make that worth exploring.

A new online map displays 76 significant industrial heritage sites in B.C. Prepared by Heritage BC, the sites range from coal mines and pulp mills, to ghost and company towns riddled across the province. It helps trace the historical industrial activities that positively and negatively shaped livelihoods, community growth, economy, and B.C.’s environment. There is also an accompanying document that provides context to the map because communicating the history of industry in B.C. is an enormous task. The sites were submitted by communities, organizations and individuals across the province. The submissions were then reviewed by a committee of industrial heritage advisors from Heritage BC. …The map represents a wide range of industries, including commercial and manufacturing, power, transport and infrastructure, food and drink production, forestry, pulp and paper, and non-renewable resource extraction and processing.

All aboard for the triumphant return of the Hillcrest Shay No. 1 geared steam locomotive — BC Forest Discovery Centre invites train lovers of all ages to Journey of Labour: From Past to Present this Labour Day weekend. The Shay steam locomotive is only one of 21 of its kind in the world. This labour of love journey to bring this 104-year old icon back to life spanned over eight years as 24 volunteers logged over 14, 400 hours, who were forced to take a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic. To get this project on track, 16 Major sponsors provided cash and in kind support which estimated around $485,000, while a further $202,493 was raised through private donations.  …”At the turn of the last century, geared locomotives were extensively used in logging on Vancouver Island. While there are a few that have survived as exhibits th Hillcrest Shay No. 1 is the only one of its kind in Canada that is operational,” said Alf Carter, president of the BC Forest Discovery Centre board.