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Forget it Jake, it’s
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Part II What’s Up? KIMBERLEY AND CRANBROOK COMMUNITY CALENDAR
JANUS: Cranbrook Then & Now
UPCOMING
Municipal Pension Retirees’ Assoc (MPRA) Meeting, Monday, March 23, Heritage Hotel, 803 Kootenay St. N., Cranbrook. Meeting 10:45 a.m., Guest Speaker 11:30 a.m., Karen Grant, Cranbrook/Kimberley Hospice Society. Noon-No host luncheon. Have Camera Will Travel.... Join Keith Corbould presenting “Canal Adventures in Italy & France” at Centre 64 on Tuesday, March 24 at 7:30 pm. Admission by donation to the Kimberley Arts Centre. 2015 FREE FAMILY SWIM Wednesday, March 25, 6:00-7:00pm is sponsored by Exact Tax. Persons 18 years & younger must be accompanied by an adult. “Far Above the Clouds - Nepal 2014” a travelogue by David and Patricia Stock and Sabine and Gebhard Pfeiffer for Canadian Friends of Nepal. Will include their travels to Annapurna Base Camp and other areas of Nepal. Wed. March 25 and Mon. March 30; 7 pm at the COTR Lecture Theatre. Admission by donation. Art Movie Night at Centre 64 - Friday, March 27, 2015 at 7:30 pm - “Drawing the Line: A Portrait of Keith Haring”. Also, A Hands-on Experiment: The Emotional Impact of Cut Paper Design. No Host Bar, snacks, admission by donation. View the movie and stay for conversation afterwards. Conference: April 17-18, Fri: 7pm, Sat: 9:30am, 2pm, 7pm. “Kingdom Living: Walking in Emotional Health”. Speakers: Jason and Lauren Vallotton from Redding Calif., at House of Hope Cranbrook, 629-6th St NW. Registration: www.ihopecranbrook. com. Info: 250-421-3784. April 23 - Legacy Builders Lunch (for those 50 and over), 11:00 a.m. Spring into Spring with a Salad Buffet lunch. FREE. Just let us know you are coming. Call Abundant Life Church, 250-426-2866. 501 - 11 Ave. S., Cranbrook.
Jim Cameron
hinatown — in 1899 it was little more than a handful of shacks and a couple of laundries along Van Horne Street, across from the CPR station. By 1904, it was a jam-packed community: houses, stores, restaurants, apartments, gambling dens and opium joints, all tightly bordered by the industrial district of 7th Avenue, the red light district of 6th Avenue and the CPR housing of 5th to 3rd Avenues. Within a block or two stood the Cranbrook business district, the churches, the theatres and the hotels. It was a tightly knit downtown community all-in-all; perhaps too tight. By 1914, many in Cranbrook were exceedingly unhappy with the presence of both the Chinese and their ramshackle townwithin-a-town. The fear of Chinatown burning and taking the entire town with it certainly played a part, as did sanitation and the fear of disease. Cranbrook had constructed water and sewer works in the years following incorporation in 1905, but Chinatown was not part of the programme and conditions there left much to be desired. Still, for all the worry and complaining, there was little change in the ensuing years. Opium, the drug of choice among Chinese and whites alike, was readily available both before and after it was deemed illegal in 1908. The Herald newspaper of April 2, 1914, states that a police raid in Chinatown brought four Chinese men to court for the possession of opium. It was, surprisingly, the first case of its kind in Cranbrook. The judge was lenient and handed down $10 fines. Not so, one month later, when one of the culprits reappeared and was fined $100. From then on police raids in Chinatown became a common occurrence. Local police constable Archie Herrigan certainly went above and beyond the call of duty in June, 1914, when he scaled a nearby telegraph pole to enter a Chinese dwelling thereby catching Mah Sing in the act of smoking the forbidden drug. Crime aside, over the ensuing years many law-abiding Chinese made gradual social
Friday, MARCH 20, 2015
ONGOING
The former Chinese Masonic Hall at 37–7th Avenue, S., is the last reminder of the community that was once Chinatown. Photo Cameron, March, 2015 and economic headway into the community. Chinese businesses appeared on 8th Avenue and then eastward to 9th and 10th. When residents of 8th Avenue raised a petition in 1914 to protest against the erection of a neighbouring residence by two Chinese males, city council advised that it had no authority to stop construction; the Chinese were free to build where they wished. Many of the Chinese, through diligence, hard work and thrift, had money to spend and gradually improved their lot by moving out of Chinatown altogether. Still, Chinatown remained. The Chinese community took a large step forward in November 7, 1920, when a Chinese Mission was opened on 7th Avenue, with support from the nearby Methodist church. There were now over 500 Chinese residing in and about Cranbrook and the Mission provided spiritual, practical and medical aid. The renovated two-story building included a large meeting hall, a kitchen and five bedrooms and was met with general approval throughout the city. New government legislation dictating working hours in laundries lessened the long-running antagonism that had flourished for years between white and Chinese laundry workers and, although some restaurants still advertised “White only,” there was a noticeable community shift towards the acceptance of
the Chinese. A Herald newspaper editorial in May, 1920, stated: “The Chinese are easy to please, complain rarely and have a high sense of honour. They will gamble till the cows come home and their ways are peculiar but they are scrupulously honest … The Chinese is not work shy, never was and probably never will be.” It was a far cry from the “yellow devil” branding of earlier years. January, 1921, saw the formation of a local chapter of the Chinese Nationalist League whose doctrines included the maintenance of political unity in China, the expansion of local self-government and the assimilation of race. Within a month local contractors Sainsbury and Ryan took on the job of converting an older, two-storey building on 7th Avenue into the new Chinese Masonic Temple. Though not related in any way to the white Masonic Order, the fellowship between the two lodges did much to aid relations between the east/ west business communities. Police raids in Chinatown continued throughout the 1920s, resulting in numerous opium, gambling and liquor infractions, although, it should be noted, no more so (with the general exception of drugs) than those brought against whites during the period. On the afternoon of July 22, 1931, following an altercation with the renter of a 7th Avenue Chinatown shack owned by
Letters to the Editor
Mah Wee, Charles Chenier lit the shack on fire. A strong southwest breeze quickly fanned the flames as they spread from building to building and, for a time, it seemed as if the entire Cranbrook business district might be lost. Within an hour a number buildings in Chinatown were ablaze and nearby residents prepared to evacuate as spot fires spread throughout the area. Through the aid of an effective waterworks system and every fireman and citizen available, the blaze was finally contained but Chinatown bore the scars. Over the ensuing years both the city and private interests purchased and rebuilt on Chinatown properties, further adding to the decline of the once populous community. Another major blaze in February, 1952, razed the Chinese Masonic Hall, a neighbouring meeting hall and a nearby laundry. The Chinese Masonic Hall was rebuilt in the following months but Chinatown was on a steep decline, disappearing almost entirely by the 1960s. Today, only the former Chinese Masonic Hall remains as a reminder of what was once Chinatown. The Chinese Nationalist League’s hope of assimilation appears to have been realized, the decades of blatant bigotry and confrontation now a forgotten memory. As Confucius says, “Only the wisest and stupidest of men never change.”
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Cranbrook Community Tennis Association welcomes all citizens to play or learn to play. Call Neil 250-489-8107, Cathy 250-464-1903. Canadian Cancer Society- if you have spare time and would like to volunteer, interested applicants can call 250-426-8916, drop by our office at #19-9th Avenue S, Cranbrook or go to www.fightwithus.ca and register as a volunteer. Royal Canadian Legion Branch 24; Friday Meat Draw: 4:30- 6:30, Saturday Meat Draw: 3:30-5:30. Parkinson’s Support Group are meeting at 2 pm on the third Wednesday of each month at the Heritage Inn. For more info. phone Linda @ 250-489-4252. No meetings July, Aug or Dec. Do you have the desire to stop eating compulsively? Overeaters Anonymous (a 12-Step Program) meets Mondays from 7-8pm at Cranbrook United Church, 2-12th St. S., downstairs. Contact: cranbrookoa@hotmail.com North Star Quilters Society Meetings are held the 2nd & 4th Monday at 7:00 PM, basement of Centennial Centre, 100 4th Ave Kimberley. Welcoming all! Info call Heather 250 427-4906 ‘Military Ames’ social/camaraderie/support group meetings are held in the Kimberley Public Library reading room the first and third Tuesday’s of the month. All veterans welcome. For more information contact Cindy 250 919 3137 Dance/Practice: every Saturday. Practice from 7 to 8 PM, dancing until 11 PM. Dance With Me Cranbrook Studio, 206-14 A 13th Street, South, behind Safeway. Volunteers are needed to assist staff with childminding while parents attend programs at the Kimberley Early Learning Center. Come play!! Weekly or monthly for 2 hours. Diana 250427-0716 BINGO - every Monday except public holidays, 6:30 pm at Kimberley Elks, 240 Howard Street. Proceeds to Kimberley Helping Hands Food Bank. All welcome! Funtastic Singers Drop-In Singing group; free to attend-just for fun! No experience necessary! CDAC Office&Gallery 135 10th Ave S, Tuesdays; 6.45-8.15pm 250-426-4223 / cdac@shaw.ca / www. cranbrookanddistrictartscouncil.com Cantabelles, an all-female singing group, meets Mondays, 7-9 pm. Join us and learn how to sing with 2, 3 and 4 part harmonies. Contact: Sue Trombley, 250-426-0808. suetrombley53@gmail.com Support literacy and special projects at the Kimberley Public Library-visit the Friends of the Library Used Bookstore-an ongoing fundraiser- on Main Street Marysville, Wed-Sat 10:30-3:30. Operated totally by volunteers. The Canadian Red Cross is seeking Client Service and Technician Volunteer for the Health Equipment Loan Program in Cranbrook. Please go to http://www.redcross.ca/volunteer/who-is-needed for more information or call 1-855-995-3529. Volunteers always needed for the Marysville Thrift shop! Please contact Marilyn @ 427-4153 or Jean @ 427-7072. Bibles For Missions Thrift Store, 824 Kootenay St. N., Cranbrook serving our community to benefit others - at home and abroad. We turn your donations into helping dollars! Open Tues-Sat 10am-5pm. Phone 778-520-1981. East Kootenay Women Executives & Entrepreneurs (EKWEE) meet the first Monday of every month at the Heritage Inn, Dining Room Annex, 7:00PM. Join us for of the menu dinner 5:30-7:00. Pay your own tab. Networking, share accomplishments, education. Bev Campbell 778-481-4883 Place your notice in your “What’s Up?” Community Calendar FREE of charge. This column is intended for the use of clubs and non-profit organizations to publicize their coming events — provided the following requirements are met: • Notices will be accepted two weeks prior to the event. • All notices must be emailed, faxed or dropped off in person. No telephone calls please. • NOTICES SHOULD NOT EXCEED 30 WORDS. • Only one notice per week from any one club or non-profit organization. • All notices must be received by the Thursday prior to publication. • There is no guarantee of publication. Notices will run subject to space limitations.
CRANBROOK TOWNSMAN & KIMBERLEY BULLETIN COMMUNITY CALENDAR
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