T.W. Paterson’s latest: Treasure Lost & Found In British Columbia
29 exciting stories of lost treasure In British Columbia!
Everyone likes to read stories about lost treasure. But how often do you read stories about found treasure?
Well, here’s your chance!
Duncan author/historian T.W. Paterson’s latest book (his 29th) is all about lost treasure—and treasure found—some of it almost underfoot.
As proof, he offers numerous examples as encouragement to armchair enthusiasts who “confine their treasure hunting to television, movies and daydreams. …Few realize that, while there definitely is gold in some of ‘them thar hills,’ it can also exist, in various forms, much closer to home.
“In fact, it might well be under your very nose, unsuspected, at this precise moment.”
That said, he admits that, for all the great stories of treasures lost in British Columbia, the opportunities for striking it rich, at least in the monetary sense, are pretty slim. For all his years of research and scratching about with a metal detector, he has yet to find gold or silver or diamonds although, as he argues, he possibly measures value differently than most treasure hunters:
“To me the ‘gold’ is in the story and every rusty relic that I’ve hauled home from some historic site such as an abandoned mine or logging camp or ghost town is worth its weight in gold to me for what it represents: our history, our heritage.”
Treasure Lost & Found In British Columbia is a revised and expanded version of his first book which he self-published in 1971. Even in its original and crude form it was a minor bestseller, thanks to his being well-known for his weekly historical articles in the Victoria Daily Colonist.
As proof that treasure can be found, sometimes underfoot, he offers the experience of Saanich youth Joseph Johnson who was hired to excavate the basement floor of a home on Dupplin Road for an oil tank. Young Joseph dug in—and struck paydirt in the form of a piece of stainless steel containing five $100 bills, three $50 bills, 20 $20 bills and 10 $10 bills, for a grand total of $1,150. Dated between 1935 and 1937, the currency was in a good state of preservation and quite negotiable.
And: When Mrs. Mary Hilda Hawkins died at the age of 72, in September, 1964, official county administrator Ian Horne found himself in custody of shopping bags containing stocks worth no less than $11,000. Mrs. Hawkins had lived in Victoria’s Beverley Hotel and in the York Hotel on Johnson Street for a week before departing for Vancouver, enroute to Winnipeg. Taken ill before boarding the train, she died in hospital. At last report, her valuable treasure was being held for safekeeping by the provincial treasurer until any heirs were located.
When Walter Doerksen, 24, and Neil Woelk, 23, both of Cranbrook, were moving an old iron bed at the home of Doerksen’s parents, they accidentally broke a caster off a leg and $700 in 1937 $10 and $20 bills, rolled up in an empty shaving stick container, fell out. Examining the leg closer, they found a second $700. Doerksen’s parents had bought the bed at an auction 20 years before for $10, Walter sleeping in it for 15 years, before he married and left home. He split the windfall, 50-50, with friend Woelk.
More recently, a Shawnigan Lake woman who spent 50 cents on a packet of Q-tips in a Duncan thrift store got considerably more than she paid for. As she later explained to a reporter, her “eyes got big” when she opened the box. “I couldn’t believe believe what I was looking at. I took out a string of pearls first, and when I did, all the rings started falling out.”
She returned them to the thrift store which re-sold them for more than $1000.
Some treasures can be deceptive in their appearance and usually require that their finder have some expertise. (You can always ask an expert!) In 2006 one of the most collectible books ever published on photography (Man Ray’s Photographies 1920-1934) turned up in Saanich’s Hartland landfill; it was retrieved by a man dumping off cardboard. He in turn sold it at a flea market where it was spotted by a rare book dealer who priced it, even in its somewhat battered condition, at $3500!
TW’s point is, you don’t have to search (at least, not always) rugged mountain peaks or brave lethal blizzards in quest of lost treasure and he offers numerous other examples of treasures found in the most unlikely of places and under the most unlikely circumstances.
But there’s much more in Treasure Lost & Found in British Columbia—29 exciting chapters telling of lost gold mines, platinum (the so-called ‘white gold’ that the original miners mistook for being worthless), missing payrolls, gemstones (such as British Columbia jade) and gold bullion.
And, of course, the inevitable tales of murder, madness, curses and deathbed-drawn maps showing where X marks the spot.
As for TW’s own treasure hunting efforts, he says, “I’m (the fates willing) by no means finished and my childhood fascination for tales of lost treasure hasn’t abated—I still go out with my metal detector every chance I get and I shall continue to do so as long as I’m able.”
2502460123 awesome, like antique roadshow, many treasures have been unleashed to my knowledge, from stolen sketches of leonardo, to ancient indian medicine pouches, to indian ghost suits, to egyptian alabaster funeral containers , the list goes on. do some research on the millitary man who bought eaglecrest golf course originally, in parksville\ qalicum,,, where her magisty, elizabeth was and diana and charles hung out
Thanks, Angela, for the reminder that lost treasure is, as I state repeatedly in my book, almost everywhere–sometimes underfoot! And that treasure comes in many forms other than the classical pirate’s treasure chest of gold coins and jewels.
In fact, life itself is a treasure hunt when you come to think of it.
We’re all looking for that ‘pot of gold’–at a garage sale, at a flea market, even when we’re shopping. Finally, like beauty, treasure is in the eye of the beholder.
To me, a miner’s tag is gold! –TW
TW, I’m a fan having enjoyed the details you wrote about Camp McKinney in Volume 2 Encyclopedia… Great information. Garnet Basque and Bill Barlee also aided my search for info on the robbery but the BCPP files helped me to find more than 20 pieces of hardware directly connected to the robbery, all found in close proximity and purposefully buried in 3 small pits. I’ve searched for 8 years and am working on a memoir of the adventure. Roderick came from NYC, spent time near Deadwood before moving wife and kids into Washington state. The modern age has allowed me to uncover so much information with a few clicks on the computer. Like this contact, modern communication can be a great medium. I wanted to point out that Mary never searched for the treasure nor did she go north with her 2 kids. She had an investigator go to McKinney and had a hard time accepting Matt robbed the shipment. She remained in Seattle until her death at 71 and worked for more than 25 years as the first female bailiff in King County Superior Court. Only one daughter, Trophy Leona, survived to adult hood also staying in Seattle. A librarian there even found a picture of the house they lived in during the robbery and death. But please don’t mistake my intention here. You are a blessing for all us history buffs and BC is a more informed place to be due to your efforts. Keep an eye on my wordpress blog to see what might develop in my 77th trip to search for the lost gold in late August. My efforts have cost me greatly in every way possible but has made a great story that I hope to publish next year. Most searchers are 3 or more kilometers off the target but that’s better for my purposes. I wish you all the best in good health, Camp McKinney Jimmy
Wow, Jimmy!
Please keep me informed. Going way, way, way back, the robbery at Camp McKinney was written about by Cecil Clark, former deputy commissioner of the B.C. Provincial Police, in the weekend magazine of the Victoria Colonist.
That very article was the one that committed me, still a boy, to writing TRUE B.C. history. To hell with the Great Canadian Novel when truth really is stranger than fiction–and never more so than with a great story like the Camp McKinney gold robbery.
Please keep in touch. –TW