CASTLEGAR NEWS, Thursday, Sept. 11, 1958

A Prairie Immigrant, Yes
But it Paid Off Really Big

@ Kinnaird ‘Looked Like a Sandpile and of No|#

Value’

@ ‘Despite ihe Fact that Kinnaird was Starlod
on Nerve Alone, it Prospered’

(continued from page one)

cating the whereabouts of some
of the pipes, but we ‘had water
and we were happy.

When it came time to bulld
my own house I was deter-
mined to have a nice place
with lots of flowers and fruits
— both cf which I am very
fond of.

Being used to large prairie

acreages I thought I should go
easy and buy only an acre. Little

and he in turn interested. 0,
Lightle who was willing. te}

CENTRAL FARMERS’ INSTITUTE meeting
held in Robson about 1930, Only local resi-
dents in the picture still living are O. B. Bal-
lard, J. T. Webster and Duncan Carter of
Robson, W. Esling, a one-time Rossland MP,

take a chance and

Norman Wells,

‘The four of us bought some
Pipe and a small deisel engine
and then Messrs, Watson, Lightle
and Wells dug ditch and put the
water up to the highway. Mr.
Lightle put in the tank.

However, about that time we
were all broke and in debt.
Things sae black and our
the butt

did I realize the work

That first winter was very
mild and though I had little
money I had lots of time. So I

worked between calls
the land and removing the stones,

Many of my patients were
not able to pay their bills but
were willing to work so I set
them digging out the rocks and
doing other odd jobs.

‘The and in Kinnaird had ai-
tracted my gaze many times, Al-
though it looked like a sandpile
and of no value, I. thought that
perhaps I might put- water on
it and keep it as a farm, selling
it for lots later.

I got an option on 300 acres
but it was too big for my purse.
Cecil Watson became interested
after a conversation with me

of a lot ots jokes.

Yet our scheme soon began
to prosper. P, Hiles and S, Mc-
Leod bought two lots for $200
each. This we invested in pipe
to give them water to complete
the tank.

Even then some of us would
have been glad to sell out at cost.
Mr, Lightle then sold some of
his lots and installed more pipe.
This helped a little. e

Gradually, others bought lots

and before long every avail-
able spot from Castlegar to
‘Trail was sold, I¢ was high
finance with a vengéance but
we succeeded in proving its
possibility. Despite the fact
that Kinnaird was started on
nerve alone, it prospered.

is sitting at the extreme left aha Col. Lister,,
Creston MLA,
right. Mr. Ballard is seated in the centre with
M. Macdonald, minister of agriculture, im-
mediately behind him.

is standing at the extreme

Farmers’ Institute Starfed 1924

By 5. f. WEBSTER
The British Columbia Far-

tent by the provincial depart-
ment of ean for the fur-

in the] I

make settlers welcome.
The government subsidized
i

titut

mers’ t was

under the societies act in 1924
but was functioning before that
time, :

It was subsidized to some ex-

province.

Farmers’ Institutes seemed!
to reach their peak soon after,
the first world war when’ troops
were peaaa! and the

‘We later sold our. stock to
Mr. Watson for tand and he sold
the water system in 1952.

Once again I began to look
for land for a farm, I saw the
Westley property and bought it
at a reasonable price as it had
gone back for taxes. ©

I was planning to sub-divide
it, but Celgar Limited offered to
buy. After some high-powered
legal persuasion I sold it to them
for a reasonable profit,

This brings my story of
Castlegar up to date. It was an
era that Castlegar and Kinnaird
will never see again.

It was the story of men who
were willing to take a chance

when nobody else would.

Oswald Motors

Columbia Avenue, Castlegar, B.C.

- Your Imperial Esso Dealer

Body and Fender Work
24 HOUR

HEAVY DUTY WRECKER SERVICE .

IAAT

them and getting them on the
Jand.

The objects of the Institutes
were to promote the theory and
practice of agriculture in any or
all of its branches by lectures,
essays, competitions and educa-
tlonal methods. It was to stimu-
late interest by prizes

in
powder for clearing land and in
placing pure-bred sires in a|
farming district.

From Farmers’ Institute
meetings in Robson, the Robson
Co-op was formed for the pur-'
chasing of feed, The West Koot-
enay Poultry A the

Water System
From Oswald's fo Truster’

@ Water Wheels on

@ GPR Supplied Some Water

Up until 1938 the limited’ of 1938.this had grown to 68 an:

number of people living in Castle-'
gar‘ depended for their water
supply on a number of water
wheels. along the bank of the

Columbia river.

A few lucky people near the
CPR station were supplied with
water by the railway company

for domestic use only.

Sprinkling was not permitted

as the rallway had only a lim-
ited supply at thelr disposal.
In those days there was noth-
ing to indicate the growth that
was in store. This resulted in
great difficulties over money to
put in a system when in 1936 a
water company was formed for
the purpose of installing a wa-
ter supply,
However, the community was

Robson Irrigation District and
the Local Fruit Growers Associa-
tion were also formed in this
way.

Robson at one time was
quite a poultey, dlateict -with|
it was al-

and other means. It was to pro-
vide for a better method of pur-
chasing supplies end for a bet-
ter method of distributing pro-
ducts. The Institutes were to im-
prove rural life conditions and

so euugaarics for aie candling
and distribution of poultry pro-
ducts.

The Robson Farmers’
stitute held a lot of

In-

in Robson of the Central Far-

and the sy-
stem was installed and. put in-
to operation in the fall of 1937.

The water company had 22
customers when the system was
put into operation. By the end

mers’ Institutes of the Kootenays,
put with the encroachment of
homebuilding and subdivision of
property, farming is getting to be
a thing of the past with young
people seeking higher wages in

112 customers. E
An immediate result of th
organized water service was

by the end of 1939 there werSiamm

But services were soon beln gam
installed beyond these bound aay

The original officers of thd

and R, BE. McGauley, E. Watts
and T. L. Bloomer, directors,

well on the way to being one off

the towns with less hours work.

THEN...

Over 100 years ago the natives of B.C.
lived in an economy based on the forest.

The woods

provided the material for their

clothing, homes, furniture and household
utensils; their transportation, their hunting
‘and fishing equipment, their recreation and
their art. The Tsimshian Indian homemaker

of the Skeena River

area shown here wears

a cape and skirt of Cedar bark as she
prepares the family meal i in wooden utensils.

AND. NOW...

these same forests are playing an important

role in the lives of Canadians

everywhere.

Columbia Cellulose and Celgar, manufacturers
of pulp and lumber products, together with

cir affiliated companies

are producing

mee fibres, plastics and many other
‘modem living.

products of mi

Today's homemaker depends on
lumber in its many forms for
construction of her home. She
wears dresses of Acetate and Arnelt
—beautiful textile fibres made
from wood. Curtains and draperies
are made of Fortisant (another
cellulose fibre of exceptional
strength and beauty).
frames, combs, beads, and shoe
- ‘heels are made of Lumaritht
(cellulose acetate)—a plastic made ..
from wood, Prepackaged foods
and soft goods are displayed and

Spectacle

Early Robson was a Railroad and Lake
Transportation Gentre

Rebscn Robbed Trail of a Governor Gen-
eral’s Visit and’ Started the Trail Creek

News Screaming

A Gaol for Wayward Gitizens was Located
Behind the Old Robson Hotel

Robson, ‘The Cream of the Kootenays,’
Gave 3! Reasons For Purchasing its Land
Future Prima-Donnas Sang from the Ghurch
Platform at School Plays

Seltlers Earned Extra Money Building

Roads
Packing House .
Dance Hall

By 0. B. BALLARD
’ Robson in the early days was’
a transportation centre. At that
time Robson meant East Robson.
In 1892 a railroad was built|
icom Nelson to Robson and in
1893 a railroad was built from

$. Nakusp to Roseberry. This latter;

ling, connected with the Arrow
Lakes boats.
In 1894 2 railroad was bullt,
from Slocan City to Slocan
junction connecting with the

Une from Robson to Nelson)

and the Arrow Lakes boats,
The main purpose of these lines
was to provide

and passengers,

The Trail Creek News of
Oct. 19, 1895 relates that the new
and palatial steamer Nakusp ar-
rived at Trail with all flags fly-
ing in honor of a distinguished
visitor who was expected to be
on beard,

‘The flags were flying in hon-
or of the Earl of Aberdeen, Gov-
ernor General, but the distin-
guished guest Had got off the
boat at Robson.

The paper ends up by say-
ing, We doubt that.the dis-
ed guest can be more
royally" at Robson

to and from the mines,
At the time there were three

; boats on the Columbia river and

Arrow Lakes — the Lytton, Trail
and Nakusp. The’ boat to and
from Trail-used to tie up at Rob-
son and discharge and take on
freight and The boat

than he would have been at
Trail if he had come on.”

BOAT FROM

bson

ROBSON, 1897

West Robson — Robson, now
known as East Robson, lost its
asa.

centre,

The old hotel has been torn
down and history does not re-
Jate which room or rooms the
Governor General occupied,

Behind the hotel there used
to be a log building that served

as a gaol or'lock-up, but this has|’

vanished along with a pile of bot-
tles that Iay at the back of the
hotel and perhaps served as a
connecting link between the two

buildings. i

Almost in front of the hotel,
at the side of the present road,
is a ‘partly-fllled depression
which was once ocupled by
the CPR depot. Further up the,
road is the remains of the old
turntable that started the lo-!
comotives back to Nelson.

+ The present road, from the
point where the. railroad turns
off toward the bridge, up to a
point beyond the packing house,

largely follows . the old railroad} ~

With the completion of the} bed.

railroad through the Crows Nest
Pass to Kootenay Landing in
1897, and a little Jater the com-
pletion of the CPR bridge at
Cc and the of

from Nakusp did the same,
The railway from Nelson and

R Slocan City brought more freight

the line to Midway — coupled
with the fact that a line had al-
ready been built from Trail to

So did one chapter of Rob-
son's history close, but another,
was soon to start.

It had béen found some time}
before that B.C. was in many
parts suitable for fruit growing. |
One of these areas proved to be,
the West Kootenays and a boom'

in fruit growing was the result.
A firm of real estate agents,

McDermid and McHardy by.

name, issued a “Rob.

CASTLEGAR NEWS, Thursday, Sept. 11, 1958

WE JOIN |.
IN THE SALUTE
TO BRITISH -
COLUMBIA AND
THE PIONEERS
OF CASTLEGAR
AND DISTRICT

sermon, served as the stage _
the. school concerts.

On: this platform, possibly
not more than: elght feet. by
10, plays were produced and
future prima-donnas sang. : At
school concerts the building
was crowded, In fact many
were unable to get in and
listened from outside,

At that time the social life
of the community centered large-
ly around the farmers’: and
‘womens’ institutes, Almost with-
out exception the settlers had
to learn as they went along and

through the institutes the gov-
ernment provided instruction.
Possibly today some people
might think the life of the early
settlers was q@ull, and uninter-
esting; but these ploneers had a

(continued on page four)

KARNIES

LADIES WEAR

son, the Cream of the Kootenays.”
Among other things, it gave 31
reasons why land should be
bought in Robson which was

surely enough to convince any-

one with an open mind.

About 1908, settlers began to
come in and take up land. For
a while, until they had some
kind of bulldings on their lots,
they lived in the old hotel or
in tents.

By that time many of the
windows in the hotel had been
broken ‘so life must have had
some drawbacks for them. Some
of the settlers brought horses and
at least on one occasion, oxen.

‘They lost no time in start-

ing. the arduous task of land
clearing. and house building.
Among other things they built a
church which; with some alter-
ations, still. stands.
But education, too, claimed
their attention, and the first
school meeting was held in 1903,
From that date until 1914, the
church had-a dual role — it
served ‘as church and school
house.

At Christmas .the platform
at the front of the church, from
which the preacher delivered his

TRY OF OURS:

TO SALUTE THE PIONEERS OF CASTLEGAR AND DISTRICT WHO DID
SO MUCH TOWARDS THE DEVELOPMENT OF THIS WONDERFUL COUN-

ee DEALER FOR
SHORES CREDIT JEWELLERS

LEO BOSSE °

274 Columbia Avenue, C

B.C. — Phone 2041

WE HAVE ENJOYED SERVING YOU OVER THE PAST SIX YEARS AND HOPE
.TO BE OF SERVICE TO YOU IN THE YEARS AHEAD

Dealer for the .

Monamedl line of paints and varnishes, Western Gyp-

sum Stoneboard, Stonelath and Plaster, the Ace Tex line

of roofing, Dennacona Wallboards and ceiling tile.

Canada Cement - Monodors and a complete line of

sold in window boxes and bags
and other containers made of
Lumaritht Acetate film and sheet:
Household appliance handles and

CONTRACTING

“WE PAY TRIBUTE TO THE * Building Materials. |

OLDTIMERS OF THE DISTRICT

FOR THEIR VISION AND TOIL

IN DEVELOPING THIS DISTRICT”

OTA

We Have Served This District For 18 Years

COMPANY, UMITED

parts of

other parts, telephone sets and

radio cabinets are all moulded
of cellulose plastics such as |

Lumaritht and Forticelt.

Sicovcell

CAAbtan CHEMICAL & CELLONE ConA, F

Colgan Kin ree

Oglow Bros. Buildin

CASTLEGAR, B.C

‘GENERAL CONTRACTING

g & Supply Co

PHONE 3351.