Friends of Barkerville Summer 2023 (issue 2/volume 23/ summer 2023) Newsletter

Friends of Barkerville

Cariboo Goldfields Historical Society newsletter

From the Editor

Brendan Bailey

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.

table of contents

p1. From the editor

Biking to Barkerville

p2. About us

p3. Bustling Barkerville

Lots to do and see

p4. Bloody good bash

p5. Cariboo’s old timers

Dr. Retasket

p6. Book review

p9. Barnard’s Express Cariboo Sentinel

p10. Fond Memories

p11. Friends of Barkerville

p14. To Play God

Biking to Barkerville

It’s Saturday, June 3rd: the first of one-hundred days of Barkerville this season. I’m cycling the 7.9km from my house to the site. The sun is shining, the willows, poplars, spruce, and cottonwoods lining the highway are a vibrant collection of verdancy in a palette of Scheele, Avonlea, and a truly-authentic Forest green. The ditch is still running with a consistent stream, and the sky is blue and lightly brushed with clouds. The view of Two Sisters across the meadows is majestic and welcoming as always. Large Sandcranes patrol the shallow waters; the whooping call of their wings in the spring evenings is a familiar and sweet sound of home. Bear sign, moose sign, and deer sign is present along the ditch bank and road side, but no surprises are to be had. There is a little bit of a wind this morning (some days a headwind can make you feel stuck in situ while working harder than ever), but the ride is light and invigorating. I pass the five flags at Barkerville’s entrance and see the Dakelh and Secwépemc nations

flying valiantly alongside the Union Jack and Provincial and National flags. This time last year, they hadn’t yet been erected. I am grateful to see them there, and the wind has supported all of five of them perfectly in unison. In fact, they appear to be frozen perpendicular against their supporting poles in ninety-degree angles. They are pointing me onward, around the last corner of highway, and toward Canada’s National Gem. Of course, by the time I’ve stopped, reached into my pocket and retrieved my camera to document the moment, the gust is already beginning to fade in strength. After parking my bike, making my way discreetly up the back street, entering my dressing room, stretching while uttering a series of strange noises that many untrained in the theatrical arts would recognize not as the critically important vocal warm-ups that they are, but rather as impersonations of a wide variety of natural life, I then disrobe from the 21st century, don the identity of James Anderson, historic

Barkerville main street. Photo: Gary Schotel

poet and 19th century miner, and step out into the streets of Barkerville.

The site is busier with tourists than I had anticipated for the first day of the season. I’ve been an actor, performer, singer, and historical interpreter in the site since 2011 (with an absence of a few years in between), and this is my tenth formal season in the site. Even though I’ve seen a great deal of change over the last 13 years, opening day never gets old. The programming all goes well and is well received. This year’s Theatre Royal’s preview performance receives joyous applause. A number of the interpretive scenes that used to take place on the street throughout the day, set aside through the pandemic years, have returned. In many ways Barkerville is renewed, and in many ways Barkerville is as wonderfully nostalgic as ever. I love the work we all do. It is fulfilling, fun, and challenging. Alongside a tremendous team of administrators, operators, carpenters, plumbers, cashiers, campground staff, historians, curators, archeologists, merchants, restau-

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

rant staff, specialized interpreters and curatorial interpreters alike, we get to bring Barkerville to life and to make it an authentic and immersive experience for visitors both local and tourist.

Dandelions and forget-me-nots are in bloom while wild strawberries display their dogwood-esque flowers in shaded hideaways.

Whistle Pigs (Columbian Ground Squirrels) stand tall and chirp at passers-by, and Monarch butterfly’s flit about gracefully while Swallows make their mud nests in the eaves and swoop down to intersect mosquitos and noseeums below. A fledgling crow caws near St. Saviours. Frogs hop around the forest duff making the grasses sway unexpectedly and sending mice scurrying. A swift black fox winds in and out of buildings seeking misplaced treats while sly cats prowl underneath cabins. There is so much life here in this remarkable place if one stops for a few moments to look around. When I have a moment to lean against the building, feel the breeze against my hands and face, smell the rich, fragrant air, and to simply watch for a

short a time, I always take it. It reminds me why I am here. It recalibrates me.

During the ride home (now back in the 21st century), I reflect not only upon how my wife and I fell in love in Barkerville and have built our lives around the site (the Theatre Royal being of enormous significance to us both professionally and personally), but I also reflect upon how grateful I am to have been hired as a musical theatre professional in my mid-twenties and to have spent some seasons on the Theatre Royal stage so many years ago. It inspired me to change the trajectory of my career, “hooked me” as it were, and I then made some very difficult decisions but ultimately relocated from the hustle and bustle of urban life to a place that now inspires me daily.

I hope that everyone gets to experience the magic of Barkerville at least once in their life. I am evidence that it can be transformative. For some of us, it grasps like the goldfever of old. For visitors, it often reminds them that there are important lessons for the present in the past

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

(and that, perhaps, constant connectivity isn’t as healthy and ‘social’ as we are led to believe by contemporary society). Times now passed were not simpler times, no, not at all; merely different times. In a remarkable way, I get to live both while educating and entertaining. In this way, I am one of the luckiest actors in North America. I am able to teach, to challenge myself to make every performance (no matter how many times I’ve performed a piece over the years, usually hundreds) new for those who are seeing it for the first time, and to do it all in a place that is truly unique in this world full of wonders. My personal motto and driving mandate being that ‘historical Interpreters have an historic impact,’ and that I have a responsibility. Not only this, but riches come in all forms and I know all too well that I struck gold in love while I struck gold in this place.

A few years back I bought a book edited by Winnifred M Futcher, B.A., published in 1938, and called The Great North Road to the Cariboo. The opening passage, nearly a century old, still harkens to the heart of this place: “‘Let us take a trip to the Cariboo!’ How often do we hear these words spoken and wonder to ourselves what it is all about; and why the glamour and attraction in a territory rock-bound on all sides, subject to extreme climatic conditions, with not a decent-sized city within its whole

circumference. Perhaps that is the attraction–at any rate, for over a hundred years the Cariboo, British Columbia’s vast hinterland, accessible in earlier years only with the hardest type of travel, has been the glamour spot of the Continent… such men (people) have kept the Cariboo alive through gold rush and depression, have improved the country in every way, until today this great area, with its sporadic settlements, its productive mines, its gigantic and awe-inspiring scenery, its wonderful fishing and hunting grounds, draws travellers, prospectors, and lovers of the great outdoors, from all walks of life, and from all over the world.” While some of those views have changed with the reflection of time and certainly in regards to reconciliation, there can be no question that the Cariboo is a special place, and that Barkerville is at the heart of it.

Bustling Barkerville

For those who have been following our newsletters to date, you’ll know that our society donated $25,000 to fund an additional Chinese Interpreter this season. Unfortunately that position hasn’t yet been filled despite a public casting call. We are exploring other options for the funds. There is no Reverend to hold services at St. Saviour’s Church this season,

but those of the local congregation can still use the iconic sanctuary for prayer at their leisure. Cemetery Tours are still conducted by the site archeologist (Dawn Ainsley, who penned “A ‘Dramatic’ Discovery” in our winter ‘22 issue). The Richfield Courthouse is not an interpretive site this year, but visitors can still trek the mile south of Barkerville to see the 1882-constructed Courthouse. Barkerville was awarded a $1,000,000 grant to improve and maintain the campground facilities! Congratulations to the site! Local gold mining partners, Osisko Development - Cariboo Gold Project, have, for the third year in a row, provided funding to maintain interpretation (performance programming) in the site. Horse and carriage rides will be available before the end of June, school groups are already running rampant in the park bringing ‘new life and vigour’ to the site, virtual programs are available for those unable to attend in person (Original Peoples, Blacksmith, and Typesetting), goats keep visitors smiling near the backstreet corral, all the shops are open and available all the way from the El Dorado at the entrance to the Kwong Sang Wing at the far end of Chinatown, there are four lovely restaurants to choose from in between, and exhibits, demonstrative performances, shows, and meanwhile interpretation abounds. There are bed and breakfasts available in Barkerville, Cottages just outside of town, and extensive campgrounds, also.

Lots to do and see!

In nearby Wells, if you’re passing through, hotel accommodations are available at the White Caps Motel, Nuggets RV, Historic Stays (the Willow and Mountain Thyme), and, of course, the historic Wells Hotel. Breakfast and lunch are available at Diggy’s Diner and dinner can be secured at the Wells Hotel Pub or the Jack of Clubs pub. Meanwhile, professional touring and local theatre productions are generally held most Thursday-Saturday evenings during the summer season at the Sunset Theatre (including the Friends-sponsored Sawney’s Legacy on June 30th, July 14th, and August 25th). The art gallery at Island Mountain Arts is open most days and select concerts are planned throughout the summer, as well as select concerts at SARRAS recital venue.

From L to R: Union Jack, Canadian Flag, Dakelh Nation, British Columbia Flag, and Secwépemc Nation. Photo: Brendan Bailey.

Jack ‘O’ Clubs General

250-994-3242

For those who have never visited, Wells and Barkerville are only 7km apart and Wells is an active gold mining community, artistic community, and historic 1930s mining town. Barkerville, meanwhile, is a national historic site, provincial heritage property, 1860s-1950s mining community turned museum and immersive open-air theatrical experience. There are beautiful local hikes, both short and long, and the Bowron Lake Provincial Park is approximately 31km east with further camping accommodations, lodge accommodations, swimming, canoeing, and spectacular views. The elevation here is 4200 feet, so our summers are usually a mix of sun and rain and sometimes cooler temperatures (average of about 14 degrees), but we can experience extreme heatwaves as well as cool nights, so we recommend being prepared for everything. As of last year, Wells alone now has very limited cell service, but please be cautioned that there is no cell service for most of the 80km drive east from Quesnel to Wells. We recommend a minimum of two days in Barkerville to fully explore and to enjoy all the programming, but three days is generally ideal - especially if one wishes to explore Wells and the surrounding areas, also.

Sponsorship

For those who are coming to visit us this summer, please take note of some of the sponsors of this newsletter: don’t forget to stop by Barkerville Brewing in Quesnel to enjoy their upgraded patio and a fine selection of delectable craft brews, including this season’s limited edition Claim Jumper Sour which is a delicious quenching refreshment for a hot sunny afternoon (a membership gives you 10% off).

Stop in at the Jack of Clubs General for fuel, supplies, and nourishment. Check out Historic Stays for Frog on the Bog’s toadily unique gifts (if you purchase a membership and show your card, they’ll even give you a free ice cream) as well as some cozy options and hospitality for overnighting.

Inquire at SARRAS for development, rehearsal, recording, and performance options (and maybe even catch a performance if your timing is right).

Bloody Good Bash

Our 2nd annual fundraiser event, A Bloody Good Bash, will once again be held at Troll Ski Resort. Join us on Saturday, September 16th, in your best miner’s attire for a hearty homestead dinner, good company, revelry, a live auction, and an evening of song and dance provided by The Interstellar Jays! Yes, 19th Century costumes are encouraged! Bring your gold, bring your smiles, and bring your dancing shoes for a special evening!

Tickets: $80 per person, or, $750 for a table of ten. To purchase tickets, please stop by the Frog on the Bog in Wells, contact the society at friendsofbarkerville@barkerville.ca, or reach out to one of the directors.

Free overnight camping (no services) will be provided by Troll for those who wish to imbibe. Please enjoy all that Barkerville and the Cariboo Goldfields have to offer this year!

– Brendan Bailey, on behalf of the Friends

Enjoy all that Barkerville Historic Town & Park has to offer (a membership gives you 20% off admission), and while there, be sure to take in an excellent meal at the Wake-Up Jake (we particularly enjoy their breakfasts before a day on the town, but the entire menu of lunch and dinner options is superb) and before you leave, an array of freshly-baked sourdoughs, sweets, savouries, and quenching beverages are available across the street at the Goldfields Bakery. Our thanks extend also to the Wells-Barkerville Community Forest Board, who work tirelessly to responsibly manage the surrounding community forest with the community’s best interests at heart. When visiting Wells, interpretive trails await you across the meadow and heading up Cornish Mountain.

Supports the Friends

CARIBOO’S OLD TIMERS WERE COLORFUL MEN

By a strange coincidence, W. Urquhart, John Munroe and Steven B. Mattice all came from Cariboo Cameron’s bailiwick, “Glengarry.” Big Steven Mattice was possibly the most perfect specimen of physical manhood among the army of pioneers who blazed the trail into the Cariboo hills.

Mattice was a quiet, unassuming personage who tried hard to avoid trouble with his fellowman. Slow to anger, he would shy away from belligerent bullies. Verbal abuse rolled from his person like water from the proverbial duck’s back; but woe betide the bully who ventured to force a fight by delivering the first blow.

Most mining camps produce a modicum of bullies, but fighting men in the old Barkerville camp were never known to seek a return bout with Big Steve. John McLean, colorful pioneer, who was highly respected and later lived and died in Quesnel, was an American.

In the early days great rivalry existed between the Yanks and the Canucks. John was the topnotch scrapper among the Yanks, and he had cleaned up most of the Canadians but had been unable to come to grips with Steve. Failing to force a fight with verbal abuse, John – in an ugly mood – slapped big Steve with his open hand.

John McLean never knew what happened from that moment until he awoke in the Barkerville hospital three weeks later. John McLean, however, proved himself as good a sport as he was a scrapper by going at once to Steve’s cabin, where he grasped his opponent by the hand and exclaimed: “Thanks Steve; you’ve made a man of me!”.

That was John’s last fight.

Dr. Retasket

Of particularly special note, we would like to extend a tremendous congratulations to our friend and fellow interpreter, Mike Retasket, who, together with his partner and companion, Cheryl Chapman (who had been knocking on Barkerville’s door since 1996 with her own family history in the townsite), have developed and brought the Original Peoples interpretation to Barkerville replete with inconvenient truths, a remarkable sense of grace, deep love, powerful teachings, and sincere friendship. Mike was presented with an Honourary Degree in a Doctor of Letters on June 13th by the University of the Fraser Valley. UFV journalist, Anne Russell, notes in his biography: “A renowned dancer, drummer, political leader, negotiator, cultural interpreter and traditional Secwépemc knowledge keeper, Mike Retasket’s experiences combine for invaluable insight on boards ranging from the First Nations Leadership Council to the Fraser Basin Council, First Nations Forestry Council, Union of BC Indian Chiefs, Tourism Industry Association of BC, and many more.

Wisdom earned through 10 years as Chief of the Bonaparte Indian Band helped him negotiate important government agreements, acting as a signatory on the Transformative Change Accord, Public Safety Accord, and the Leadership Accord. Despite the long hours, Retasket insists he’s happy to do the work — although it hasn’t been without difficulty.

By R. N. Campbell

(extracted from The Cariboo Observer, VOL. XXXIII No. 40, Saturday May 9, 1942, pg.3)

– Submitted by Lana Fox.

Born in B.C., Retasket was raised largely in Washington State by older siblings after his parents passed away when he was five and 13, respectively. The youngest of 11 children, he was identified at an early age as a talented drummer and dancer. This integration into traditional Indigenous customs opened the door to a lifetime of diverse activism, leading to his current job educating tourists about the region’s rich Indigenous history in B.C.’s Barkerville Historic Town and Park.”

Thank you for all that do you, Sintse, and to you and Lucie for shedding light on the whole story of Barkerville, of the Cariboo, and of this vast land we all share. Congratulations on your highly deserved honours, Dr. Retasket!

Book Review

British Columbiana: A Millennial in a Gold Rush Town

British Columbiana is a fascinating, thought-provoking exercise in the style of gonzo: wherein the author is situated as the protagonist in a documented series of actual events; the first-person narrative varying between self-realization and self-deprecation through intimate emotional exploration. Teed’s former peers are amalgamated into composite archetypal characters and represented under pseudonyms. Meanwhile, significant details, dates, and events are altered to either justify documented emotional interpretations or to serve the storytelling. Nonetheless, Teed proves to be an excellent storyteller, make no bones about it. Captivating writing and a challenging commitment to intimate inner monologue serve the forward momentum of the piece. This book is hard to put down.

Teed, holding an MA in Medieval Archeology, was hired on as Curatorial Intern in Barkerville Historic Town & Park for the winter of 2018/2019 and then took a contract as one of the site’s Historical Interpreters portraying both a Victorian Schoolmistress and interpreting Edwardian domestic life for the May-September tourism season. While she only experienced a brief window in Barkerville and the neighbouring community of Wells, about ten months, she worked both an administrative position removed from tourism interaction as well as an acting and interpretation position with consistent tourism interaction. This gives her a curious viewpoint from which to reflect upon her experiences.

Not dissimilar to Anne Walsh’s 1984 young adult fiction novel Your Time, My Time (which was both written and set in Barkerville in 1980), Teed has captured the site in a precious moment in time. Her work is both fragile and jarring. As a long-time interpreter and Barkerville employee myself, I found elements of Columbiana sweepingly nostalgic. 2019 was the last season to date where the site was not operating in some form of deficit due to

Josie Teed, 2023; Dundurn Press

provinical environmental detriment caused by either wildfire, flood, or pandemic. While reading, I found myself mourning what, at the time, had seemed so much a relatively regular season typical of any other. (Although, it too, had been preceded by two wildfire seasons; the last truly normal season with regular visitation numbers in excess of 65,000 persons had been 2016.)

More significantly, it was also the last season that the interpretive programming was divided into a series of independent performance contracts all working under the umbrella of the site: the Daily-Life/Street Interpretation cast which included tours, scenes, multiple discourses, and a regular presence as well as the blacksmith and printing house; the Chinese interpretation contract which included tours, discourses, and cultural programming; the Early Justice interpretation lecture-shows and trial reenactments held in the Richfield Courthouse and Methodist Church; the Theatre Royal contract which was producing multiple daily productions in repertory and had been operated, at that time, by Newman & Wright Productions for 16 years; the Original Peoples programming offering an honest, educational, subversive, welcoming, and complex alternative to traditional colonial narrative; the Domestic Contract comprising a few daily Victorian school lessons and Edwardian-era rural domestic life; and the Mining Interpretation contract which included three daily Cornish Waterwheel comedic shows and demonstrations as well as numerous discourses.

Since 2020, all of the above individual theatrical troupes have now been brought together as one curatorial interpretive cast that rotates through all of the aforementioned programming as a slightly smaller troupe in reparatory with one show daily for each component of the programming.

So, Teed, perhaps unknowingly, captured an essence of Barkerville lost to another time, a time before the entire world was rocked and changed by a once-in-a-century collective experience of pandemic. This lends a documentative aspect to her narrative that is celebratory in some aspects and melancholic in others. This makes British Columbiana very unique; offering a profile, for better or for worse, of a very different era - one that is still so recent that the memories are almost touchable in their clarity.

That Teed sat down and took the time to share her story speaks volumes to its impact on her. She experienced a coming-of-age during her time in the community and site (often universal for most first-time interpreters). Teed’s vulnerability and observational honesty is brave, even if it is cutting at times.

Not all those who have discovered their own essence in the pages (disguised, sometimes only translucently, under another a name) have felt themselves fairly portrayed, fully understood, or that the situational circumstances were entirely accurate. It has proven challenging for some of those who interacted with Teed, or were associates or friends of Teed’s, to separate her emotional reality from their reality. Or, to separate the fiction applied for the sake of storytelling from the facts of the situations documented as non-fiction. However, Columbiana is an emotional experience, an inner-monologue presented as if fact. An interpretation. In this way, Teed’s writing reminds of a few philosophical and psychological realities:

1) While we are all the protagonists in our own lives, our personal perceptions of ourselves are not usually the perceptions of others.

2) Our own conditioning plays in how we comprehend or react to the values, opinions, circumstances, or stimulus presented to us.

3) While we may be the hero in one person’s story, we will inevitably be the villain in another’s (and often we will be blissfully unaware in either circumstance).

4) There isn’t a person out there in the world who isn’t navigating their own very personal and intimate life, undergoing some sort of learning curve replete with successes and challenges, entirely private and unperceived by others.

5) How we approach our challenges and emotions determines how we interact with others in our environment.

There is an overarching metaphor present in the entire story. It is the account of a lost soul seeking purpose. Something so common for those whose first twenty-five years of life are dedicated to meeting systematic educational expectations, and who then suddenly find themselves accomplished yet free of academic structure for the first time. Finding herself in this position, Teed receives an overwhelming education through experience, falls in love with a place, falls in and out of love with some of the people present with her, undergoes a series of trials and tribulations, and then ultimately comes to feel that she has outgrown the place and found renewed confidence in herself as an adult.

The calm after the show. Photo: B.Bailey

This follows the arch of a first relationship: the learning of another person, their blemishes and beauty, their complexity and perplexity, their joys, angers, fears, and sadness, their triggers, their allergies, their obsessions and patterns, their expectations and desires, and ultimately learning all of these things about one’s self during the process.

Barkerville, if personified, appears to represent Teed’s first love. The sweet intimacies, the good memories, the self-defining foundational memories, the challenging perspectives, the differences in opinion, the vast degrees of life experience, and the devastating moments when you realize that while you might have some influence on your partner, that you ultimately have no control or ownership over their actions or decisions and that they may fundamentally disagree with you or eventually choose to leave you. This can lead to the discovery of self-confidence and boundaries and the understanding of the importance of clear communication. These themes are all present in Teed’s work whether intended or not.

A wonder, confusion, curiousity and fascination with Barkerville as well as the people who bring it to life is steeped in every page. Teed makes two brief, but enormously apt, observations about Barkerville Historic Town & Park: “Interpreters were the lifeblood of Barkerville, the public face,” and, “History would always be there, as would the financial and bureaucratic barriers preventing the government from funding it properly.”

In other words, Teed came to understand what so many politicians, bureaucrats and provincial administrators over the last six and half decades have not (and frankly, dating even further back to nearly 160 years): Barkerville is important and the people who maintain and bring Barkerville to life are important, no matter the present political climate, funding trends, or causes. It is not reconstructed, it perseveres. Barkerville isn’t just a place, it is something different, something rare and unique, something visceral and real, and people fall in love with it just as they do with the people in their lives… heck, even a Millennial in a Gold Rush Town.

When it comes to seeing some of Barkerville backstage (and I do stress only some; in fact, almost exclusively the experience of seasonal newcomers who lack prior context or legacy connections), British Columbiana provides a rare insight. I highly recommend it, grain of salt and all. It reminded me of when I first fell in love with Barkerville myself, and all of the ups and downs experienced since.

More so, it reminded me of falling in love with my wife in the site. She, while her character was portrayed as naïve and infantile in the narrative, was actually already a competent, assertive, respected and oft-sought professional in the park (and southwest BC) with her comprehensive stage manager, production manager, technician/designer, and administration background. Evidencing, once again, that perception is often only an opinion or a perceived and uninformed

notion. Teed’s inner narrative is her own honest reflection, but it does not always reflect knowledge of reality. But, isn’t this the case for us all? People are simply who we interpret them to be until we allow ourselves the opportunity to be enlightened.

Perhaps contradictory to local opinion, I devoured this book. I found it to be very brave… though, I do question whether the editor and publisher should have encouraged a little more separation between fact and fiction in the narrative to spare the hearts of those who can piece themselves together in the parsing. It is very funny, but often at the expense of real people who are portrayed as foils to the protagonist’s narrative. Regardless, Teed’s affection and bemused curiousity for Barkerville remains apparent and that’s part of what makes her version of events such a compelling read. And, frankly: this is Teed’s story, Teed’s inner monologue, Teed’s memories, Teed’s perception (that is key), and Teed’s take-away; that all has emotional value. This was a page turner, and it brought back a lot of memories for me. Some altered for the narrative, but based on perception none-theless. At least that was my take-away… as an older millennial in the gold rush town

You can find British Columbiana: A Millennial in a Gold Rush Town at the Eldorado in Barkerville, Books and Company in Quesnel and Prince George, on Amazon, or on your preferred e-reader. Enjoy.

– Brendan Bailey

After the day is done. Photo: B. Bailey

Barnard’s Express in Barkerville

Francis Barnard established the F.J. Barnard Express Company in 1861. His first trips to the mines of the Cariboo entailed walking the entire distances carrying letters for $2 and selling newspapers for $1. By 1862, he had purchased a wagon and hired a driver, Stephen Tingley. The next year he obtained the contract for the mail and in 1864, the inaugural run of the first stagecoaches occurred. By this time, Barnard’s Company had a virtual monopoly on moving people and freight throughout the province. The company ceased automobile, freight wagon and stagecoach traffic by 1913 and all business, including steam ships, by 1920. Not only was it the longest stagecoach run in the world, but also the last one running in North America.

The legacy of Barnard’s Express was reignited when Barkerville became an historic site and began welcoming tourists from around the world. There have been many who have taken up the mantle, passing the torch from one operator to the next. Perhaps one of the most memorable and longest running of those names is none other than Glen Escott, known lovingly by his coworkers and friends as James “Happy” Hamilton. He worked as a teamster for several years prior to 2003, and in 2009, returned to Barkerville to continue operating the Barnard’s contract. Sadly, Glen was later diagnosed with cancer, and in April of 2022, after a long run of driving his teams through the streets of Barkerville, he passed on, leaving Barkerville with some big cowboy boots to fill. With heavy hearts, word was put out to drivers and teamsters across BC and Alberta that the Barnard’s contract was available, but there didn’t seem to be much interest. For much of the winter, it

appeared as though contracting a new operator would prove impossible. Had the legacy of Barnard’s Express passed on with Glen? Had the days of horses in Barkerville come to a close? These were not easy questions to address, and so the search continued.

Thankfully, where there is a will, there is a way. At the eleventh hour, a deal was struck with another alumni of the Barkerville stagecoach, Tyler Setzer, who operated the contract from 2004 to 2008. An arrangement was made for him, his wife Brianne, and their horses to return for the 2023 season. We are very much looking forward to their arrival and to see the legacy of the stagecoach continue. Tyler and Brianne will begin operations at Barnard’s Express on June 24th.

– Stewart Cawood, Manager, Public Programming and Media

My Journey to the Centre of the Cariboo Sentinel

I have been tied to the Cariboo Sentinel since my first year in Barkerville in 2007 (not literally, of course). Every person I have portrayed has had something to do with the print shop, even the fictitious character Lexington Fitzgerald

lifetime. It has been an interesting journey, to say the least. Learning as I go, foregoing the usual apprenticeship that one goes through to be a typesetter and printer.

Continued next page

Smith. I have been Joshua Spencer Thompson, George Wallace, Alexander Allen, and Robert Holloway–all of whom were editors of the paper; with Wallace, Allan, and Holloway owning the paper at different points over its

Some of the block lettertype at the Cariboo Sentinel. Photo: D. Van Stralen

Fond Memories

A day trip along a winding gravel road, up & down each hill.

The annual trek with the family, driving to Barkerville.

Childhood memories of a long drive, getting car sick.

Passing creeks where miners used a gold pan & their pick.

8 and 11 mile hills, Cottonwood House, Mexican Hill, Wingdam, Stanley, Devil’s Canyon, Slough Creek, Jack of Clubs Lake, Wells.

All familiar names along the way, each with a story to tell, stopping for snacks, drink, picture, taking in sights, sounds, and smells.

All eyes were peeled, looking at the side of the road, in swamps, the shadows of the forest or through the sun’s glare.

All the while, hoping to catch a glimpse of a deer, moose, caribou, wolf, black bear, or elusive grizzly bear.

After a couple hours of bumps, dust, and turns.

Stepping out of the car, the stomach churns.

A quick visit to the washroom.

Then off to see a mining flume.

A stop at the candy store and Mason & Daly. As small children we ran, jumped, & smiled with glee.

Gold panning at the Eldorado never got old. Shaking, sifting, for that sparkling speck or flake of gold.

Next, tickets were purchased for a stage coach ride & Theatre Royal show.

Into the saloon, for a mug of root beer & the bakery for sourdough.

Down the street or on the boardwalks we ran as fast as we could go.

To dress up at LA Blanc’s studio for an old fashioned photo.

A walk to Chinatown to see buildings, artifacts, & where terraced gardens lie.

A look at Barker’s mine shaft, the Cornish waterwheel, & Williams Creek flowing by. Hats off, no pictures, bench seating, stomping, hollering, clapping, slapstick, music, songs, high stepping & twirls.

Fran Dowie, Sid Williams, Michael B. Palmer, Richard Wright, Amy Newman, Stu Cawood, & Hurdy Gurdy Girls.

A walk along the Cariboo Waggon Road to the Courthouse in Richfield.

The place where Begbie, the hanging judge ruled & where his sentences were revealed.

To the north & west of town, up a hill, is the pioneer cemetery plot.

If you dilly dally or sit too long, you may secure your final resting spot.

As you leave, you have a view of Waverly, Greenberry, & Murray.

On either side of you are the campgrounds of Forest Rose & Lowhee.

To the east is the chain of Bowron Lakes where you can paddle for sport.

At Pinegrove you drive beside the popular local Troll Ski Resort.

A must, is to drive through the eclectic town of Wells, quaint, beautiful, and creative. Colourful homes and characters, crafty, talented people who are innovative.

At the site of Charles Blessing’s grave there is a roadside rest stop.

Robbers Roost above the old Wagon Road is a rock outcrop.

All that remains of Stanley is the Lightning Hotel, lonely and solitary.

Visit the grave sites and kiosk for a glimpse of history in the cemetery.

Follow west, Lightning & Peters Creek which both feed into the Swift River.

Forming the Cottonwood, into the mighty Fraser it will deliver.

Upon arrival at the city of Quesnel. You will have some fascinating stories to tell.

– Grant Johannesen Feb. 2023

I have been printing regularly for 5 years and change, and I have been in the shop for 7 years. The first two years of being in the Cariboo Sentinel I was only talking about the Newspaper, the people involved with the paper, its part in Barkerville’s history, and of course, the press itself. Talking about the press presented the biggest challenge when I first opened the shop, primarily because at that time I had no idea how it worked. Luckily there was a gentleman still in town who had worked in the print shop many years prior to me being there. They were nice enough to come by and give me a rundown of how the press worked, how to print, how to set up a frame to print, and what the names of the tools and equipment were called. From there I had enough to explain the process to the people stopping by. Unfortunately, I was unable to use the press as it was sitting for quite sometime before I entered the picture. However, because of my actor training, I became very good at miming how the press worked. It was remarkable, but not a substitute for running the press itself. After my first two years and a particularly difficult summer in 2015, I decided to take a break from Barkerville and decided I wouldn’t be returning in 2016.

Fast forward to the spring of 2016 and I am living in Vancouver. I had turned down two job offers from other employers in Barkerville and Wells when my former employer and friend messaged me that Barkerville had acquired a newer press that they could print on. I picked the wrong time to take a leave. I did come up for a few days to help the person who would now be working in the Cariboo Sentinel and using the new press. I made regular trips to Wells as Barkerville that summer and would always stop by the print shop and look on with envy.

The following year was much of the same with the exception that I had the opportunity to fill in for the typesetter/printer for a glorious tenday stint. It was heaven. I was finally able to do all the things I pretended to do and more, no more miming. It was not long after that I decided I wanted to move back to Wells even though I was not guaranteed a job in Barkerville, I just knew I needed to be back there. I found work and was happy just to be back.

In the fall/winter of 2017, the gentleman who took over the shop decided they needed to take some time away, which allowed me to enter the Cariboo Sentinel and begin my journey to the centre of the Cariboo Sentinel.

I was very fortunate that the person before me had put in a lot of work to get the shop in fantastic working order. The following season was a huge learning curve filled with challenges, all of which were welcome and important to my growth as a typesetter/printer. Other than the person who gave me my first quick rundown of the shop (30 to 45 minutes), I relied on my own curiosity and desire to become a competent typesetter/printer as well as the many visitors to Barkerville that have worked in the same type of shop, setting type, operating the

press, and the maintenance of these marvellous machines.

Even today, I learn something new from a fellow typesetter/printer. I still marvel at the progress I have made, from developing an eye for minute detail to how long it takes to do a job and how quick the turnover between jobs has become. I have printed a plethora of copies of prints on the press and during the last two years we have now started using the two older presses that were there when I first started in Barkerville.

Operating these presses now comes as easy to me as riding a bike, I don’t have to think about it, I can just do it. If you had told me in 2007 that one day I would be printing regularly on a press that is over a hundred years old, I don’t think I would have believed you. To say it was a pleasant surprise would be a gross understatement. Here’s to printing for another hundred plus years.

– Chris Cooley, Cariboo Sentinel Interpretive Lead

Friends of Barkerville – Cariboo Goldfields Historical Society

“Since 1985, the FOB have raised millions in dollars in grants and donations to assist with many projects in Barkerville, and they have also undertaken important projects outside of the historic site.”

– Barkerville Heritage Trust

Annual Report 2018 - 2019

The Directors of the Friends of Barkerville –Cariboo Goldfields Historical Society (FOBCGHS) are passionate about, and dedicated to, Protecting, Preserving, and Promoting Barkerville Historic Town & Park and the surrounding Cariboo Gold Fields.

As a visitor to this historic site, we hope that you either will, or have already acquired, a newfound interest and passion for Barkerville and this surrounding area. We encourage you to either get involved with, or support, the FOB-

CGHS by first obtaining a membership at Barkerville’s registration desk in the Welcome Centre. Or, you can do so on our website using Paypal.

We are a Charitable, Non-Profit Society so you can make a donation to the FOB-CGHS and be issued a tax receipt. Our annual membership extends from May 1st until April 30th of the following year. You can choose between a single membership for $25, or a couple/family membership for $40.

Barkerville is teeming with practical items and instruments of the era. Photos: D. Van Stralen

Our History and Activities:

The FOB-CGHS has been in existence since 1985. Over the years we have raised funds through memberships (in-person, through our website, through Barkerville’s Visitor Reception/Welcome Centre, at trade fairs, and during Victorian Christmas events), donations, grants, retail sales (some of you will remember our former store in the Barkerville Hotel), selling shares for the Canadian Claim project, and during our inaugural Bloody Good Bash event which was held at Troll Resort on October 22, 2022. Our Bloody Good Bash is an annual affair – this year’s date is September 16th! Book your tickets!

We have partnered with Barkerville, New Pathways to Gold Society, Barkerville Gold Mine/Osisko Development - Cariboo Gold Project, West Fraser Mills Ltd., Tolko Industries Ltd. – Riverside, Emcon Service Inc., Cariboo Regional District, Dunkley Lumber Ltd, Troll Ski Resort, Barkerville Brewery, Frog on the Bog, Brick Layer Brewing, Gold Rush Cycling Club, and called upon members for work-bees, fundraising, and donations in-kind.

In consultation and cooperation with Barkerville, we identify and prioritize projects and activities identified as requiring support and toward which we can invest our volunteer efforts and funds.

The FOB-CGHS have conducted work-bees, contracted workers for trail maintenance (brushing, removing and bucking blowndown trees, assessing, identifying and falling danger trees, marking trails, putting-up posts and signage, hand ditching and water barring, laying corduroy, and GPS’ing points. We have conducted guided tours of the 1861 Gold Rush Pack Trail (GRPT), as well as snowshoe treks along a ditch line to the Richfield Cemetery and Court House along Williams Creek. Other trails used and maintained by the FOB-CGHS to some degree are the Van Winkle Trail, the 1861 Gold Rush Pack Trail, the Grouse Creek Trail, and White Grouse Creek. Alongside volunteers from Wells, in the past we have provided cleanup and repairs to the Barkerville Cemetery.

Contributions made during the past 15 years:

• $20,000 to the Canadian Claim project.

• In coordination with Dunkley Lumber Ltd, the donation of a bridge to cross Williams Creek to access the Canadian Claim.

• $5,000 toward the construction of the Billy Barker Shafthouse.

• $5,000 toward the Richfield Cemetery.

• $5,000 toward construction of the low mobility access trail from Barkerville’s Welcome Centre to the Barkerville Ceme tery (including trailside benches).

• $19,000 to repair the Stamp Mill.

• $10,000 for repair and stabilization of the Barkerville Cemetery.

• Fundraised and contributed extensively to the construction of the Cornish waterwheel (the FOB-CGHS were instrumental in lobbying West Fraser Mills Ltd. to donate lumber which was processed by the Antique Machinery Parks’ sawmill for use in the construction of the present site Cornish Water Wheel).

• $5,000 was donated to the Bonepicker Gold Rush Backstories documentary

project (an ongoing project comprised of numerous documentaries that further explore the backstories of Barkerville pioneers).

• We sponsored Newman & Wright Production’s Phoenix Tour in 2019, wherein that season’s Theatre Royal cast visited local Cariboo communities impacted by the 2017/18 wildfires during the month of April and performed Mrs. McGinley’s Gold Rush Variety Show.

• We paid a contractor to brush, weed, and maintain the Barkerville Cemetery.

• We arranged for the recovery of a boiler from a steam shovel used in the Slough Creek area to be displayed beside the stamp mill.

• We paid for a contractor to make replacement headboards for Barkerville Cemetery.

• We put money toward the purchase of electric scooters for use by persons with mobility issues in the site.

• We put money toward the purchase of AED’s for emergency response in the site.

• We donated two bicycle stands with locks for use in Barkerville’s parking lot.

Dust devils on Barkerville’s main street. Photo: D. Van Stralen

• We sponsored Noble Players Theatrics’ production of Sawney’s Legacy, a play about historic Barkerville poet James Anderson, in the 2022 Victoria Fringe Festival.

• Annually, we award two $500 bursaries to students attending Correlieu Sr. High School who are pursuing post-secondary education.

• We oversee the Stanley Cemetery (having installed outhouses, low-mobility access, signage, fences, picket-fencing around graves, and an informational kiosk honouring those buried).

• We donated $25,000 to Barkerville in 2023 to fund an additional Chinese Historical Interpreter.

• FOB Directors and Members volunteer an average of 1500 or more accumulated hours a year (donation in-kind of nearly $45,000 annually at $30/hr value), and promote the site at events, online, and through society newsletters numerous times throughout the year (promotional donation in-kind of nearly $3200-5000 value annually).

Present Projects:

• We are working with the New Pathways to Gold Society in identifying, marking, GPS’ing, maintaining, and developing signage for along the original Cariboo Waggon Road (sic) from Stanley to Barkerville.

• The Stanley Cemetery enclosure fence and gravesite pickets will be repaired, replaced, and repainted. Tolko Industries - Lakeside Division of Williams Lake will be donating twenty-two 2x6x12 foot longboards to repair the fence.

• The brush, small trees, and danger trees in the cemetery will be pruned, felled, bucked and removed.

• The 1861 GRPT will be maintained by clearing brush and removing blown-down trees from the trail at the Richfield end, so as to allow for day hiking on the northern portion of the trail. The Cariboo Waggon Roads’ terminus is in Barkerville at St. Saviour’s Church.

A vintage Platen Press at the Cariboo Sentinel. Photo: D. Van Stralen

Enjoy your Visit!

We appreciate your support and encourage you to experience all that Barkerville Historic Town & Park has to offer.

Please take a few days to explore the surrounding area and to become familiar with the friendly people in Wells, Bowron Lake, Troll, and savour the gorgeous scenery, trails, creeks, lakes, wildlife, mountains, and fresh country air (respectfully and responsibly, of course).

Be sure to come back with your friends and families.

– The Friends

FOB-CGHS Scholarship in Memory of Jerry MacDonald

The Friends would like to congratulate Sophie Turton and Cameron Finlay for their bursary essay entries, and for being awarded this year’s Jerry MacDonald Scholarship by the society. The first of these two entries appears below in this summer edition, and the latter will appear in our autumn edition.

To Play God

A Story by Sophie Turton

Fever.

That’s what it’s been called. Gold fever. A sickness. Something that corrupts the healthy, weakens the body, the mind, and turns it into something unrecognizable. Illness that leaves grief in its wake, that poisons the lives of the afflicted, leaves all those around them victims to its whims.

How does someone overcome an illness like this? One that isn’t born of blood and festering wounds, but of something more cruel. Of something as inherently human as a man’s greed. They say a simple chance of seeing that sun-kissed metal will turn brother against brother, husband against wife, man against himself. Yet, how can we blame them? Travelling hundreds of days, leaving everything one knows behind. Many of these miners speak a different tongue, and can only communicate within their circles. The breeding of animosity, whether that be race, language, wealth or newfound fortune, is inevitable. This illness kills, not in a way of self-succumbing, but in murder.

My name is Matthew Baillie Begbie, and I play God. I was born to no land of my own, on a ship under the Crown’s name while it sailed the ocean. I grew with education at my fingers, Scottish might and egalitarianism in my blood. I pursued law, the study of justice and trial, and navigated my way through a freshly colonial British Columbia. I have done right by many different people, and I have also done wrong. I set precedents.

I have been called cruel.

I have been called cutthroat.

When I die and my legacy gains legs, I will garner the title, ‘The Hanging Judge.’ That name is not in any way misleading. My word has been the finality in many men’s lives, and that is not something that weighs on a person lightly. It is a hard thing to do, to actualize playing God with the people that live on this land. It is not something I decide easily, to define someone’s death by the crimes they have committed. Despite this, being a judge is my life, and not many cases have haunted me, followed me throughout my every waking moment and fundamentally changed me.

The murder of Charles Morgan Blessing, however, was an exception.

I remember the witness’s description. The hollowed look in his eyes of dissociation. How he described the decaying body, the separated, bullet pierced skull. I remember the next witnesses, reinforcing their accounts of one James Barry being responsible.

Mr. Barry insisted on his innocence, with a stare that went through you and a chin that pointed up in the self assurance of only one who believed himself impenetrable. I remember his arrogance, and how it wormed under my skin and caused a tick in my jaw. I remember going to look over the evidence brought forth for nights on end, deliberating with my council. I remember listening to the defending lawyer, and losing faith in my fellow man word by word.

I lay awake at night, pondering if it was worth it to Mr. James Barry. To shoot a fellow neighbour in the head for that hunk of metal. Did Blessing’s final breath lay heavy on his consciousness as James revelled in his newfound wealth? Did he stop and pause in the action of loading his gun, or was it already loaded, any semblance of redemption long gone? Were James Barry and I really that different, both playing God with the lives of others? Sure, my word was my weapon, ordained to me by a higher education and a pledge for justice, and his was merely a simple gun. And yet, was this not the same? There was no doubt in my mind that James Barry was guilty, all evidence and witness testimony pointed to it.

But I still wondered.

The results for the trial come swift. I adorn my robes, black as night, and a powdered wig that I feel holds no other meaning than to show my elevated position. I take my stand and meet Barry’s eyes for the first time.

James Barry had shot Charles Morgan Blessing through the back of his head. James Barry did not look Charles Morgan Blessing in the eyes when he played his hand at being God. He stole a life, then stole the gold. His fever overtook him in a violent upheaval, and because of the sickness of greed a man lay buried. Cold in the ground.

Me and James Barry are not the same.

I have made mistakes in my life. I am by far not a perfect judge. I have sent men to the hanging block, and made errors in judgement over the long years I have been serving under this country. But I condemn with the hope of preserving the safety of others. That is the difference between James Barry and I.

So when it comes to showing my cards, when it comes to throwing my hand at playing God, I meet James Barry’s eyes. I grant him the comfort that he could not grant Charles Morgan Blessing.

Because when I play God, I play fair.

– Sophie Turton

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