Friends of Barkerville

Cariboo Goldfields Historical Society newsletter

From the Editor

Brendan Bailey table

Dear Friends of Barkerville –Cariboo Goldfields Historical Society members, former members, and prospective members alike, we certainly hope that you are enjoying our quarterly society newsletter-cum-historical periodical and all of the benefit perks that come along with being a society member.

Passings

We would like to extend a debt of gratitude to, and to take a moment of acknowledgement in memory of, Lauchie MacLean, who left us in February. Lauchie has been a member of the Barkerville family for many years and the site won’t be the same without him. His work can be seen in every building, boardwalk, and railing in Barkerville. Our condolences to his family and loved ones, and it is with heavy hearts that we recognize his passing.

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We also recognize the loss of Ross Douglas in March. Ross was a songwriter, troubadour, and stage performer for the Eureka Theatre Company from the mid-90s through the early-00’s. Many of the songs he composed for the Theatre Royal stage and Barkerville’s late afternoon street music set found their way onto his recorded albums, and he was adept at winding together humour, reverence, and reflection in his work through composition complimented by his playful, resonate, and expressive baritone voice. Ross also expressed a deep love for his experiences in Wells-Barkerville with songs such as DrivingtoQuesnel,

WorldsApart,TheSunset,WingdamSouthof Wells,PooleyStreetStomp,Solibakke , and his local anthem: Wells TheBarkervilleSongwas sung daily in a cappella by street interpreters through the nineties and has presently been sung during their Town Photograph scene since 2014. TheValueofGoldis a tribute to every gold-seeker while Here’stotheFoolsis a tribute to every Barkerville performer. You can find Ross’ albums in local stores such as the Sunset Theatre lobby and Frog on the Bog Gifts or digitally online; CaribouEclecticbeing considered a local classic. A personal favourite, if I may, is Ross’ sweet love ballad, ATouchofYou , from his delightful 2009 offering TheArtofYouand I . You can hear Ross’ powerful re-imagining of ValueofGoldin the short film TheLongRoad toCariboo

Updates

As you may have recalled from our previous newsletters, our society is now (once again) a charitable organization. Work on the Stanley cemetery will commence later this year, and work on signage for the 21km Stanley to Barkerville circle connector trail continues. More suited to off-road mountain biking, the restored Cariboo Waggon Road trail will provide historical anecdotes, gps pins, elevation data, maps, historical photographs, and kilometre markers for winter snowshoers and x-country skiers, or, summer cyclists and ambitious hikers alike. Our Bloody Good Bash fundraiser and party was such a success last year that we are tentatively looking at Saturday, September 16th this year. Get ready for a joyous evening of food, drink, a live auction, camping, song and dance!

Following the success of last season’s emergence-from-the-pandemic model, Barkerville Historic Town & Park is gearing up for another busy season being promoted as the 100 Days of Barkerville: Saturday, June 3rd through Sunday, September 10th.

In February, Barkerville hosted a comprehensive series of Indigenous Tourism Workshops and Courses, and also held a free four-hour event on Family Day.

Who Are We?

We are the Friends of Barkerville - Cariboo Goldfields Historical Society, a Charitable Non-Profit organization comprised of dedicated volunteers. Our focus is to enhance Preservation, Protection, and Promotion as it applies to Barkerville Historic Town & Park and the Historic Cariboo Goldfields area.

Executive Directors

Hildur Sinclair (president),

Grant Johannensen (vice president),

Tony McDonald (treasurer),

Kwynn Bodman (secretary),

Other Directors: Robin Grady, Emily Bailey, Brendan Bailey, Hayley Archer, and Rocky Nenka.

Director’s Meetings

Monthly meetings are held at Troll Resort. We try to hold two of the meetings about June and September in the the town of Barkerville in the new school building. Members and/or the public can attend these meetings

Later in the month, the final leg of the 31st Gold Rush Trail annual Dog Sled Mail Run and Barkerville Dash took place on February 26th. This special event ensures that actual post is authentically delivered by dogsled to the historic Barkerville post office (which hasn’t been staffed for a few years but will be operating again this summer) where it is received by a mail courier for delivery. The Goldfields Bakery provided delicacies for the event and had hot beverages available for the small, supportive crowd gathered to encourage multiple generations of sled dogs and mushers over the finish line.

Meanwhile, Barkerville has been much more active on social media as of late, so be sure to subscribe to their facebook page for regular updates. If you follow Barkerville on Youtube, you’ll note that a vast repository of collected site footage (including scenes shot for the 2019 Rich In History educational website) have now been uploaded for your viewing leisure.

Regarding society business, we Friends have been looking over our administrative records and realized that during the last 35 years our membership dues have only increased by $5. In recognition of the important work that the Friends of Barkerville-Cariboo Goldfields Historical Society completes, we are increasing our membership dues ever so slightly in 2023 to $25 for a single membership and $40 for a couple/family membership. No more than a second pint of Barkerville Brewing’s finest per with advance notice, but they cannot vote unless it is during the AGM. Members are welcome to express their input, suggestions, and ideas.

Newsletter

Credit and Copyright to the contributors unless otherwise noted. Minor editorial supervision by Brendan Bailey and layout by Dirk Van Stralen. All persons with submission of articles and photos are given full credit. Please feel free to send in your items of interest for consideration in our upcoming newsletters.

Positions

Society director positions are a one-year term from the November AGM through the following November AGM, during which time, as per constitution, positions are elected or re-elected. Committee Positions include: membership, special projects, newsletter, and website.

Membership Perks

• May 1st to April 30th annual issue (only $25 individual, $40 couple)

• Quarterly Souvenir Newsletter Subscription $15

• 20% discount on Barkerville Historic Town & Park Admission

• 10% discount on a day-pass at Troll Ski Resort on Highway 26

• 10% off your bill at Barkerville Brewing Co. in Quesnel

• A free ice cream at Frog on the Bog Gifts in Wells

Contact

Mailing Address: PO Box 4152, Quesnel, BC, V2J 3J2

Primary E-Mail: friendsofbarkerville@ barkerville.ca

Website: www.friendsofbarkerville.ca

Facebook: Friends of Barkerville - Cariboo Goldfields Historical Society

Memberships: in person or via paypal through website (see QR code)

Newsletter: brendan.bailey@barkerville.ca, or fobgoldfieldsmembership@gmail.com member, but it will help us to better serve our mandate and this region.

Due to the increasing popularity of our souvenir historical periodical/newsletter and the expense of post, members requesting mailed copies will now subscribe to the quarterly publication for an additional $15 (to cover the postage fees at nearly $4 per issue). Please note that printed copies will remain available at select local businesses by donation, and, of course, are available to read at your leisure for free digitally on our website. This year’s memberships go into effect on May 1st but can be purchased in advance through our website, via the QR code in this newsletter, in person from our society directors, or through the Visitors Reception Centre in Barkerville Historic Town & Park.

Woman of the Year

We would like to extend our congratulations to Barkerville’s present Chief Executive Officer, Kate Cox, for being the recipient of the Business Woman of the Year Award at the BC Tourism and Hospitality Conference Awards Gala held on March 2nd, 2023. Cox noted, “This award belongs to my teammates as much as me,” and reflected upon Barkerville’s second nomination in the Remark-

Cinematic Barkerville

Regarding fans, those who have enjoyed the immeasurable and often overlooked talents of Canadian cinema will already know that Canadian icon and actor, Gordon Pinsent, passed away in his nineties in late February. Pinsent voiced King Babar in the popular animated series, got up to eastcoast hijinx with Brendan Gleeson in the Canadiana comedy, The Grand Seduction, blazed a trail for independent Canadian filmmakers with his 1972 film, The Rowdyman, and gave one of the most powerful performances in contemporary cinema, (alongside Julie Christie’s Oscar-nominated work), in Sarah Polley’s adaption of an Alice Munro short story, Away from Her. We recognize Pinsent here because in 1979 an adaption of Jack London’s stories was filmed at various locations throughout British Columbia, including, of course, where else? Barkerville!

able Experiences category, “We wouldn’t have received the Remarkable Experiences nomination had it not been for the spectacular team of people who I work with, they are incredible … I am proud of the work we do every day to keep our National and Provincial Heritage Site standing. I am grateful every day to work with people who have proven themselves to be flexible and adaptive to ever-changing circumstances.” (as transcribed by Pat Matthews, My Cariboo Now)

Furthermore, the recipient of the Remarkable Experiences award went to Prince George’s Northern FanCon (an event that originated in a Barkerville-hosted, steampunk-themed Geekenders convention in September of 2012; it would branch into Northern FanCon and a now retired Lost in Time closing-weekend event in Barkerville).

Also of note, the partially Barkerville-filmed haunted documentary series, Beyond the Haunting’s Haunted Gold Rush, received the Tourism BC Innovation Award.

A heartfelt congratulations from all of us Friends to Kate Cox and the Barkerville team, to Northern FanCon, and to Beyond the Haunting. Barkerville was recognized at the 2022 BC Tourism and Hospitality Conference in a number of facets!

Theatrically released in 1980 as Klondike Fever, a late 1970s Barkerville was transformed to represent an 1890s Yukon in a number of winter scenes. Pinsent portrayed the historically charismatic rogue, Swiftwater Bill, and relied on Pierre Berton’s research for character development (for which Pinsent received a Best Supporting Actor Genie). Dated, but charming, you can still find copies of Klondike Fever if you look hard enough, or, you can stream it on Youtube.

Books

If you’re looking for more reading material, Fred W. Ludditt’s invaluable account of Barkerville, including first-hand interviews with some of the ‘old-timers’ and with an overview of his own experiences living there in the thirties through fifties, Barkerville Days (first published in hardcover in 1969 with a revised paperback edition in 1980) is seeing an additional revised re-issue through Caitlin Press featuring an introduction by his daughter, Karin Ludditt. Though some of the previously accepted facts of the era have been amended by further curatorial research and increasing archival collections over the last 90 years, Mr. Ludditt was an invaluable historian and lobbyist, was instrumental in the conservation of Barkerville, and Barkerville Days (as well as its companion volumes: his earlier Gold in the Cariboo, 1958, and later Campfire Sketches of the Cariboo, 1974) is one of the most important reads for any history enthusiast keen on gleaning a fuller picture of Barkerville’s vast and influential history. Similarly, provincial history buffs will also be pleased to know that Heritage House Publishing has a number of new volumes available which can be found at www.heritagehouse. ca. Heritage House is the publisher of Richard Wright’s quintessential Barkerville and the Cariboo Goldfields (2013), and Linda Peterat’s acclaimed From Denmark to the Cariboo (2022).

Perhaps of interest, a former Barkerville curatorial assistant and interpreter, Josie Teed, has recently published her debut novel: British Columbiana: A Millennial in a Gold Rush Town. A highly fictionalized and yet very personal account of her experiences in the site, her coming-of-age quasi-memoir is receiving compelling reviews (“vulnerable, sweet, and funny all at once” and “a hilarious and refreshing debut”) and we look forward to reading it ourselves.

Long Road to Cariboo, the short film by Newman & Wright Productions and New Pathways to Gold (featuring the work of Ross Douglas on the soundtrack), and their 2019 documentary: Nam Sing: A Man for Gold Mountain, were both recent semi-finalists at the Hong Kong Indie Film Festival. Long Road to Cariboo was awarded Best Editing. Congratulations to

Newman and Wright.

More on Richard Wright, our Founding Chair, an early film project involving him and his family, 1978’s Family Down the Fraser, has recently been remastered and made available to watch for free by the National Film Board of Canada. The film documents the Wright family’s journey rafting the Fraser from Tete Juan Cache to the Pacific Coast.

Back to Barkerville: we Friends have donated $25,000 to assist with interpretation employment this season. Namely, in seeking an Historical Interpreter with a passion for Chinese history and music. Meanwhile, other initiatives to support the site’s critical interpretative component are under consideration.

We hope you enjoy this newsletter, dear members. If you are not a member, we encourage you to join the Friends of Barkerville. You can note the perks of doing so in this newsletter or by visiting our website. Most importantly, we hope you can make it out to visit Barkerville Historic Town and Park for their 100 Days of Barkerville this season!