New Denver

I had assignments in the Village of New Denver down the Slocan Valley at the north end of

Slocan Lake. Here again, I did a control plan because there was little to no evidence of any posts

from the original turn-of-the-century survey. I had to convince the Registrar of Titles to accept a

posting plan. I knew that it would be looked at many times more than just a subdivision plan.

Anytime anybody would do anything in the village, they would refer to this overall plan. So, I

created a system where they made a special filing in the land title system. I also did another

cemetery at Burton. When BC Hydro flooded the Arrow lakes, they had to excavate graves that

were being flooded out, recreate a cemetery, and rebury the bodies.

Another interesting thing happened in New Denver, carried over from the days when Japanese

Canadians were interned there. A dormitory had been set up with no insulation or any other

facilities. These poor Japanese people were trucked into the area by the hundreds. The settlement

had thirty or so parcels surveyed by my old boss, and it had this little hut made for a summer

camp. These families had to live in these places, and they would fix them up after they were

moved in. Their first winter was very harsh.

Many years later, I got the job of rechecking all the surveys to make sure there were no

encroachments. I was working for the Department of Public Works so that they could sell all

these places to whoever wanted to move in.