24 — Castlegar News, 1986 Review, March 30, 1986 THROUGH THE YEARS A look at On the first day of July, 1947, R.J. (Bob) Henry Sr., commenced operation of a three-day a week general freight service between Vancouver and Kamloops. The service was provided with one truck and one driver departing from Vancouver on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The carrying capacity of the truck was eight tons, but it was seldom loaded to a maximum. By the only two points of service, the firm was named Vaneouver-Kamloops Freight Line Ltd. The remainder of the 1940s saw the service expanded to daily and the equipment fleet increased to four trucks. The length and weight restrictions over the Fraser Canyon route demanded that the new trucks continue to be restricted to the eight-ton carrying capacity. The line continues to operate today under the same original ownership, the difference being that it now serves all Trans Canada Highway points from Lytton through to Golden, the Okanagan Valley, all points on the Yellowhead route between Kamloops and Prince George, the West and East Kootenays, Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada and Arizona, along with Vancouver Island. Today, service is carried out through seven company terminals using 355 pieces of licenced equipment and 210 employees. THE 1950s The "50s were interesting and exciting years for almost all motor carriers serving the Interior of the province from the Vancouver area. Vancouver-Kamloops Freight Line Ltd. pioneered the use of semi-trailers through the Fraser Canyon route. These huge units by yesterday's standards were 20-foot single axle trailers pulled by single axle gasoline powered tractors. These units were capable of carrying the unheard of payloads of 10 tons,.a full two tons more than the original single axle straight trucks operated over the route. By the end of the ’50s Vancouver-Kamloops Freight Line Ltd., as well as other firms, would be using tandem axle diese! powered tractors pulling tandem axle 40-foot trailers carrying 20-ton payloads. The "50s saw Vancouver-Kamloops Freight Line Ltd. acquire the Vancouver based lowbed and heavy hauling firm of Seaboard Cartage Co. Ltd. These years also saw the firm acquire Interior Truck Terminals Ltd. of Kamloops. Interior ‘Truck Terminals Ltd. continues to operate as a highway customs suffetance warehouse as well as serving as the Kamloops terminal of the freight line. Finally, the 1950s saw the Vancouver-Kamloops acquisition of White Transport Ltd. This resulted in the expanded operating authority into the Kelowna and Vernon areas. THE 1960s Through the siti of Kami Sal Arm Transport Ltd. and Big Bend Freightways Ltd. the Vancouver-Kamloops name was seen East of Kamloops as far as Revelstoke in the early 60s. The opening of the Rogers Pass would finally put Vancouver-Kamloops through te Golden on the Trans Canada Highway. Van Kam The year of 1962 saw the end of Vancouver-Kamloops Freight Line Ltd. as the name of the firm. The expansion into the various areas of the Province demanded a name and an image far less definitive than the original. Van-Kam Freightways Ltd. was born as a result of a need of a new image for an old company. Along with the new name and image and continuous service such as the ition of Kamloops Merritt Freight Line Ltd. in 1966, Van-Kam has continued to upgrade its equipment fleet. THE 1970s Someone once said “go north young man” and although neither a young man nor a young company, Van-Kam decided to heed the advice in the early "70s. The year of 1973 would see _Van-Kam acquire Camor Transport Ltd. of Kamloops and Camor Transport North Ltd. of Prince George. These acquisitions have provided a service to the population along the route that they have never had before. A direct one carrier service from Vancouver to their doorstep. Fifty pounds or 50,000 pounds destined for Tete Jaune Cache now gets the same Van-Kam treatment as a similar shipment destined for Kamloops, Kelowna or any other Van-Kam point of service. The two Camor acquisitions in 1973 also included the purchase of Prince George Truck Terminal and a highway customs sufferance warehouse, the only one serving the Cariboo, Following the acquisitions the need became apparent to purchase a terminal in Prince George, and this was done in 1975. This terminal continues today to serve as Van-Kam's most northern terminal as well as the Cariboo's only highway customs sufferance warehouse. THE 1980s Although expansion continues in the "80s, something new is sharing the time of the Van-Kam management team. Through a combination of demand and design, it has now become evident that the ‘80s will become the decade of specialization and customization at Van-Kam. Customers are seeing their transportation needs undergoing rapid change. Along with this, they are seeing Van-Kam's services being continuously challenged to meet these changing requirements. This decade is not half over but we have seen the area of specialization set the trend for the coming years. Our 10 new two-trailer sets of B-Train van trailers pulling payloads of 76,000 pounds over the Hope-Princeton and Fraser Canyon routes are indeed the trend setters of the future. A few short years ago, the figure of 76,000 pounds was the gross weight of our vehicles and loads combined. Our new equipment sees this figure become the weight of the actual payload. Almost five of our original full loads now going up the road in one highway unit. What do the 1990s hold in store for Van-Kam? The only thing we are sure of is that this fiercely independent carrier will continue to push back their horizons of service and inventiveness. TRAIL sc. A Progressive FORD and MERCURY DEALERSHIP Open January, 1985 and Growing FAST! Rentals Gas & Propane Propane Conversions “Sooner or later — you're going to test drive an A.M. FORD!" i AM.g= TRAIL B.C. MERCURY Your FORD COUNTRY HEADQUARTERS in Trail! hh in Gh 2795 t ry 364-0202 9! y Dr. Ceigar Pulp is one of the world's finest bleached kraft pulps. Made from a unique blend of slow growing Western Canadian tree species it is used in the world's finest paper products. Celgar Pulp Operations are Western Canada's only custom-blend pulp specialists. Ceigar pulp is made from combinations of Western Hemlock, Alpine Fir (locally known as Balsam), Spruce, Pine, Western Red Cedar, Western Larch and Douglas Fir. Our chip stockpiles are segregated by species. That means accurate blending, top quality, high uniformity —from the first bale to the last Celgar Pulp is famous for its brightness, its strength, and its uniformity. Celgar Pulp Operations produce Numerous specialty pulp grades to suit our customer's needs Celgar Celstar Celgar Celfine Celgar Celect Ceigar Celstar Semi-bleached Celigar Custom-Blend yy IN Westar Timber Ceigar Pulp n HLL WESTERN HEMLOCK ALPINE FIR LODGEPOLE PINE WESTERN WHITE PINE WESTERN RED CEDAR EE iy itt PRT GA BE WESTERN LARCH ENGELMANN SPRUCE WHITE SPRUCE DOUGLAS FIR yy IN Westar Timber Celgar Pulp Operations Highway 3A which goes north to Nelson, south to Trail, Highway 3 east to Salmo (and Calgary) and Highway 3 west to Grand Forks (and Vancouver). It is no wonder, then, that the city between Castlegar and Calgary. And last year saw the introduction of two new airlines: Air BC and Adastra Aviation. Air BC flies daily direet flights between Vancouver and Castlegar, while Adastra flies between Castlegar and C Kel and F And it soon will provide flights to Kamloops, Williams Lake, Quesnel and Prince George. In addition, charter airline and helicopter services are available. As well, Transport Canada plans a° $6 million expansion of the airport terminal building, tripling its sire. = ‘The CPR travels south to Trail, west to Grand Forks, north to Nakusp and east to Nelson. The Northern comes from Seattle and Spokane, Wash. and travels as far north as Nelson. The city is also home to major truck transport earriers, including Public Freightways, Williams Moving and Storage, Skyway Distributors and, more recently, Van-Kam. As well, CP Transport relocated its depot from Trail to Castlegar in 1983 to take advantage of the city’s central location. Labatt’s Brewing Co. also has a major distribution depot in the city. In 1982 the city established a fully-serviced industrial park to handle the increase in light industry requirements. The park has 37 lots on Highway 22 in south Castlegar, within easy reach of the airport. Currently, there are three tenants in the park and a special development board is helping market the lots. The board has been active, setting out marketing st ei and ii i an i i sales program. Other business highlights include: @ a new chamber of commerce tourist information and business information office, presently under $250,000 jon to the Central Kootenay Health Unit. @ a new $750,000 office complex under construction for the Ministry of Forests. a new 10-unit senior citizens housing complex presently under construction. © upgrading of the Pharmasave building @ renovations to Castle Bowl @ two new automobile dealerships © renovations to Pioneer Arena. the crossroads of tl West Kootenay. Castlegar boasts air, rail, road and.even water links. Highway 3 (lett), more commonly known as the Southern- Jrans Canada, connects €astlegar with Vancouver to the West and Calgary to the East. CP Rail (far left) is the oldest transportation link and the station house is a historical landmark. And the Castlegar-Robson ferry is both a tourist attraction and vital link for the nearby communities of Robson and Raspberry. Union of Spiritual C of Christ (Doukhob Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints ~ (Mormons) * Chamber of Commerce Beta stgmme a Ph (Alpha) Phi (A! Bowling Club Boy Scouts, Brownies and Girl Guides Cancer Figure Skating Club Gel club 4-H Horse Club Horsemen's Association Kootenay Lion's Club McMixers Square Dance Club ion Naturalists’ Club Order of Masons Pistol Club Red Mountain Ski Club Rock and Mineral Club Women's Institute Women's Missionary Council and Society United Church Women Wildlife Association Castlegar News — twice weekly Nelson Daily News — morning daily poper Trail Daily Times — evening daily paper Vancouver Sun and Province — local delivery RADIO Radio EJAT (610) Trail Station (AM) Radio CKQR (760) Castlegar Station (AM) Radio CBC (1067) (AM) TELEVISION Cable West TV Ltd. (ABC, CBS, NBC & PBS) four channels Channel 10 — Cable Community Channel CBC and BCTV — two channels POSTAL DELIVERY SERVICE Castlegar Post Office 305 - 319 Eleventh Avenue Castlegar, B.C The Castlegar Post office is the distribution centre for all mail in the West Kootenay from/to Colgnry and Vancouver. The mail service is door-to- with general delivery and boxes in the post office. HOTELS /MOTELS City Centre Motel, 18 units . . Fireside Place Motor Inn, 55 units Flamingo Motel, 10 units . _ Hi-Arrow Arms Hotel, 50 units Marlone Hotel, 18 units .. . z Monte Carlo Motor Inn, 48 units ... Rivergreen Lodge. 12 units . . Ron's Motel, 17 units Timberlane Lodge, 10 units Twin Rivers Motel, 10 units Sandman Inn, 105 units pERREREEEEE FEZSESSee Eg CONVENTION FACILITIES COMMUNITY COMPLEX — The Complex, which opened in 1976, consists of a full-size arena, full kitchen facili f ing hall, two t e rooms and an arts/crafts room which can be made into a meeting oreo for 60 persons. The main meeting hall is 348 metres square with o seating capacity of 350 to 450, sliding partitions allow for three smaller rooms with o seating capacity of 120 per room Fireside Place Motor inn — The Fireside hos three meeting rooms, two of the rooms ore adjoining with sliding partitions between them giving a total seating capacity of 160 persons. The one meeting room in the | y hos o seating capacity of 30 per- sons inn — The S has seven 9 rooms. The Discovery Ballroom hes a seating capacity of 400, the two Discovery Rooms each have o capacity for 200, Suite 122 and Suite 148 can each seat 25, the Heartiand Banquet Room can seat 50, and the Courtyard con seat 100.