Ho! for the Koksilah
By mid-1905, the incredibly rich copper strike on Mount Sicker which had sparked three mines, two townsites, two smelters, a railway, a tramline and a deepsea shipping port, had peaked. Although the mines continued to give diminished returns, the principal operators began casting about for another source of income. The exciting rumours of a rich silver strike on the Koksilah River, specifically in the Kinsol Valley, set their hopes soaring. For a few short years the Lenora Mine, as was the neighbouring Tyee Mine, fabulously rich. But, by 1905, the bloom was off the rose for Mount Sicker. —BC Archives Koksilah River silver never came close to achieving the size and scope of the activity on Mount Sicker but, for five years, it kept prospectors hoping and hopping. The story of the Cowichan Valley’s second mining boom in...
Read MoreRUMMINGS BOTTLES MORE POPULAR THAN EVER
Rummings bottles, with their logo, a crossed pick and shovel, are as ‘Nanaimo’ as the Bastion, but don’t forget the much-sought-after bottles of John Mitchell, Union Brewery, Alex Phillips’ Pioneer Soda Water, and Louis Lawrence. W.E. Rumming siphon bottles. —www.theouthouse.ca Nanaimo is highly collectible these days. Old Nanaimo, that is. We’re talking pioneer bottlers: Besides Rummings bottles, Louis Lawrence, W.E. Rumming, John Mitchell and Union Brewery have become much sought-after since the bottle collecting craze arrived on Vamcouver Island in the 1960s. Although the hobby has lost some popularity since then, among the die-hards and a new generation of collectors, these old stalwarts have maintained their appeal and have appreciated in value at antique sales, flea markets and online. It was back in May 1886 that the Nanaimo Free Press mentioned John Mitchell of Bastion Street and his Pioneer...
Read MoreVANCOUVER’S OWN TRUNK MURDER
Although it doesn’t rank with the infamous trunk murders of Brighton, New Orleans and Winnie Ruth Judd, Vancouver does have its own sort-of ‘trunk murder.’ –Courtesy www.pinterest.com This bizarre case, which first broke the news with garish, glaring headlines in the July 12, 1969 Vancouver Sun—B.C. MURDER SUSPECT SEIZED WITH HOSTAGE; Buried Body Discovered—was described by an RCMP spokesman as one of “the most bizarre, unbelievable” cases ever recorded in B.C. The story broke with the arrest of former mental patient John Melville Ritcey, 24, near Prince George. Sought in connection with the discovery of a badly decomposed body near Hope. He was armed and had taken a 19-year-old Surrey man, Steve Thorlakson, hostage after commandeering his car (because he couldn’t drive) but surrendered without a struggle when pulled over on the John Hart Highway. Investigators had already identified...
Read MoreCharles Taylor remembered Alberni’s colourful pioneers
“And a very interesting man he was, too,” the late Charles Taylor remembered, years ago. He was referring to Robert Parkinson who appeared in the Alberni Valley in 1885 from London, Eng. A professional shoemarker, he settled beside the small bay which unofficially honours him. Although it’s not formally listed as such in the B.C. Gazetteer, locals have long known the indentation on the west side of Alberni Harbour as Shoemaker Bay. There has to be a story behind how a middle-aged man started life over again, a world away from home, in a cabin just 10 feet square. Its only contents were a bunk, a table, a workbench and a converted oil drum for a stove-heater. Whatever was Parkinson’s past, he kept it to himself. Alberni pioneers, identities unknown. —www.pinterest.com His needs were few; dinner was either salmon...
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