The series contains a copy of a thesis by William Bilsland called "A history of Revelstoke and the Big Bend." 1955. v, 241 leaves: maps, tables. Thesis (M.A.), University of British Columbia, 1955. Bibliography: leaves 235-249.

Also included in this series is an unpublished, typescript draft (2 copies) of an earlier (1952) history of Revelstoke prepared by the author for publication by the Department of Education in the British Columbia Heritage Series.

Stock shots. First part shows A-26 and Firecat airtankers dropping on a fire in the area of Mica dam. The second part shows a helicopter hovering near a fire and a rapattack crew descending from it.

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Revelstoke, 1906-1975 RECORDED: Revelstoke (B.C.), 1975-01-21 SUMMARY: Childhood; meeting her husband; coming to Canada; remembers trip from England; time in Manitoba and Calgary; arrival in Revelstoke; first day in Revelstoke and the first few years; move to the Big Eddy; crossing bridges; life in the Eddy; the Barretts; social life; working on the farm; medical services; experiences of first few years; cabin in the Eddy; more on husband; Farwell; choir days; reflects on life today; meets Mr. Diefenbaker; British Gaumont Film Company [shooting film in Revelstoke area - "The Great Barrier"?]; loss of son.

The sub-series consists of oral history interviews recorded in the Arrow Lakes, Big Bend, Lardeau and Slocan regions of B.C., 1962-1965, mainly dealing with the history of those regions.

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Memories of Revelstoke churches, 1905-1945 PERIOD COVERED: 1905-1945 RECORDED: Revelstoke (B.C.), 1975-06 SUMMARY: Arvid Lundell: Memories of Revelstoke and the Methodist and United Churches there, 1905-1945. [Recorded 1975-06-12.] Muriel Campbell: Memories of Revelstoke and the Presbyterian, Methodist and United Churches there, 1910-1945. [Recorded 1975-06-17.]

Stock shots

The item is a reel of footage from ca. 1960. It contains miscellaneous scenes along the Columbia River and area during surveys prior to dam construction. Footage includes: seismic crew firing underwater tests in winter, aerial views of the Arrow Lakes and vicinity (proceeding north to Revelstoke) and of the Big Bend of the Columbia, shots of the river, Mica Creek and Duncan Lake dam sites, core-sample drilling, the beached sternwheeler "Minto" and logging of reservoir area.

RECORDED: Wilmer (B.C.), 1983-12 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Accounts of hunting grizzly. Snowbound escape from Ice River area via Wolverine Pass. Walter Nixon (father) started packing ore in Parson area, 1907. Was game warden during WWI, political appointment. Gordon Nixon took out survey parties. David started in 1932. Outfit called 2N, was family operation and was sold after WWII. Hunting on Simpson River for moose and grizzly, got three record heads. TRACK 2: Seven point elk. Upper Simpson River had "tame" elk. Built original trail in Simpson Valley. Sir George Simpson's copper tea kettle found. Nixon built a number of other trails. Bill Harrison, Roy McDonald were guides. Some dude trips for CPR resort at Windermere. Packing for Alpine Club camps. Lake of Hanging Glacier. Photo in ice cave. Survey work was good money, climbing parties less so. Packing for surveys on Big Bend Highway. Brother was among those drowned on Kinbasket Lake then. Bugaboos. Nixons helped Conrad Kain. Wintered horses on Police Meadows at Edgewater. Walter Nixon died in 1952.

Amateur film. Travel footage showing places and scenery in British Columbia's southern interior, including the Okanagan, Boundary, Arrow Lakes, Slocan, Shuswap, Nicola and Big Bend regions. Also includes footage showing activities in Zeballos and vicinity during the gold rush there: mining, community celebrations and sports, a flood, and various transport aircraft serving the area. There is also footage showing logging operations, presumably on Vancouver Island.

RECORDED: [location unknown], 1964-10-11 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mrs. Doris Smith recalls Revelstoke in the early part of the 20th century. She describes the society and life in the lower and upper part of the community. Descriptions are provided of the Chinese New Year celebrations, the Fire Brigade socials and Revelstoke of 1910. Mrs. Smith's father came from Switzerland to settle in Revelstoke. He loved the area and enjoyed mountain climbing, with his friend R.R. Copeland. She recounts parties at the Opera House, school days, and Halloween pranks. The Chinese district and ceremonies are described.

TRACK 2: Mrs. Smith continues with a child's view of the Chinese quarter, and the red light district. She includes anecdotes about miners and packers, Christmas and New Year's celebrations, school and Sunday school concerts and impressions of the declaration of World War I. The interview concludes with recollections of the Griffiths farm.

RECORDED: [location unknown], 1965-01-29 SUMMARY: TRACKS 1 & 2: Doug Abrahamson recalls Revelstoke at the turn of the century. His family came from Sweden, settled in Revelstoke and built and ran the Central Hotel. He describes the social life and customs in Upper Town and Lower Town, characters from the Revelstoke area and Big Bend region, the steamboat "Revelstoke", and trails in the area. Incidents around town. The local red light district; the various "houses" and their inhabitants. He also discusses the Rogers Pass slide of 1910, Illecillewaet, and the transfer of the CPR divisional point from Donald to Revelstoke.

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Revelstoke history RECORDED: Sicamous (B.C.), 1975-04-14 SUMMARY: Personal information; C.B. Hume Store; Dickey family history; Earle Dickey biography; Mount Dickey; opening of the Big Bend Highway; hobbies; industries and business in the 1920s; some characters and anecdotes; Chamber of Commerce; photography, both Dickeys; internment camp; Billy Moore, the Bell house; more on old businesses; Golden Spike Days; more characters and anecdotes.

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Life at Big Eddy, 1908-1940 RECORDED: Revelstoke (B.C.), 1977-02-17 SUMMARY: Father was an early farmer at Big Eddy -- his farm was, for several years, a government sponsored experimental farm; field day; roads and bridges; neighbours; country schools; Christmas concerts; teachers; how a young couple dealt with hard times in the Depression; event when Nels Nelson became world champion ski jumper.

RECORDED: [location unknown], [196-] SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mrs. Frances Bell describes where she was born at Chase Ranch; her father, James Ross, who was born in Scotland and came to Canada in 1863, and landed in Victoria; his adventures in the Big B;end country; a description of her father, including his interests; the thirty-year age difference between her father and mother; details about her family; how her father fell in love with the area around Chase; her mother Sarah Chase; old Mr. Chase who was a school teacher; details about his life; the school built near Shuswap; the origins of the town of Chase; her schooling in New Westminster; Louis Cummings and other early settlers; how pace of life in these days is much faster than in the old days; and cattle ranching. [TRACK 2: blank.]

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): General Revelstoke history RECORDED: Revelstoke (B.C.), 1975-04-18 SUMMARY: Family background, family homestead in Revelstoke, employment, recreation, church, travels, husband; description of Mackenzie Avenue in 1928; business career; the Depression in Revelstoke; organisations involved in; Miss Atkinson; A.E. MIllar; social life in Revelstoke; changes in Revelstoke.

RECORDED: Three Valley (B.C.), 1982-06-12 SUMMARY: Gordon was born in Calgary and moved to Revelstoke in 1940. He tells of his courtship and marriage. He worked for builders and contractors in the Revelstoke area.;

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Lardeau area, 1920s and 1930s RECORDED: Revelstoke (B.C.), 1977-01-10 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Arrival in Trout Lake, 1920; personal background; description of Trout Lake; work as a nurse's aide in Kaslo; describes Revelstoke, 1924; training as a nurse in Revelstoke, 1924-27, skis on car. TRACK 2: Meets future husband in Beaton in 1930; Comaplix, 1931; Beaton, 1931; logging and mining in the area; North Okanagan Health Unit; ferries; more on mining; nursing in Beaton and area; travel; sternwheelers.

RECORDED: Brisco (B.C.), 1983-12 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Arthur Tegart homesteaded at Windermere in 1886. Guided hunters in early 1900s. Guiding supplemented farm income. Bob and Buster continued family outfit after 1925. Jim Tegart stated about 1929; own outfit in 1943. Used wild horses in pack string for a total of forty. Areas hunted. Built trail in Squaw, Lodgepole, Marion Creeks, White River. Indian hunting trail from Kananaskis. Game, roads, and decline. Tegart Pass and Mountain. Jim Thompson guided. Tents reverted to cabins on Albert River, Tipperary Falls, Queen Mary Creek. Frequent fly-camping. Names of old time game wardens. Albertans hunted the Palliser. TRACK 2: Austrian hunters. Woman hunter, 69 years old. Lost supplies fording a river. Doreen cooked for most parties; an all day job. Daughters have cooked, sons did guiding. Old area outfitters; Jim and Gordon McKay, Upper Kootenay, Beaverfoot, Bill Harrison, Alpine Club. Big Bend Highway work. Banff/Jasper highway packing. Rode a horse to death. Hunted in the Purcell Mountains. One-armed hunter.

CALL NUMBER: T0866:0001 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1964-11-09 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. and Mrs. Bergenham discuss farmers; railroaders and con men in the Kootenays. John's father came to Canada in 1892; worked for the CPR; living conditions in Golden at the turn of the century; Walter Moberly was the CPR surveyor; Golden's fluctuating fortunes were dependant on lumber and the CPR; complaints about the highway and how it brings about the demise of the small family farm;er; he began to work for the CPR at age seventeen; then worked on construction of Connaught Tunnel. TRACK 2 Mr. Bergenham continues with more on the construction of the tunnel; description of the Roger's Pass line; varied discussion of railroading around Golden from 1900 to 1920; several anecdotes on smelter construction by fraudulent stock companies; preachers pushing shares from the pulpit; famous outlaws at Golden such as Bill Miner; and several more anecdotes.;

CALL NUMBER: T0866:0002 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1964-11-09 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: More old timers in the area; "sporting houses" in Golden and Donald at the turn of the century; the naming of Golden. Then Mrs. Bergenham speaks. Then John's mother speaks. (She is 103 [101?]; years old and speaks in Swedish, and John Bergenham translates.) She came to Canada in 1893; hard times in Canada still better than hard times in Sweden where one could not hunt or fish. [TRACK 2: blank.]

CALL NUMBER: T1391:0001 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Revelstoke, 1917-1975 RECORDED: Revelstoke (B.C.), 1975-02-17 SUMMARY: Parents background; childhood; description of Revelstoke; houses lived in; chores; play; school days; size; subjects; anecdotes; extracurricular activities; public health; facilities; anecdotes; epidemics; churches; jobs; travels in the U.S. and Canada from 1928 onward; speakeasy; travel service; bus driver, bodyguard, organised Young Liberals in 1933; truck driver; Depression in Revelstoke; more on jobs and travel; farming in Wigwam; assistant park warden; utility man for provincial government.

CALL NUMBER: T1391:0002 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Revelstoke, 1917-1975 RECORDED: Revelstoke (B.C.), 1975-02-17 & 03-07 SUMMARY: Working on the CPR from 1945 onward; anecdotes and incidents; changing from coal to bunker fuel; change from steam to diesel; structure and method of local government; provincial and municipal law enforcement; personal involvement in civic organisations; comments on the Columbia River Treaty; how Revelstoke has developed as a city.

Travelogue. From Revelstoke to Golden over the Big Bend Highway, and south to the U.S. border and Creston, with views of Kootenay and Yoho National Parks and southeastern BC. Footage of interest includes: Revelstoke station and rail yards with locomotives; coal mines and miners at Fernie; coke ovens at Michel; farming in Creston area.

RECORDED: [location unknown], 1965-05-16 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Lance Porter originally came to Sandon to visit a friend's brother in 1895 and stayed to reside in the Burton area. This tape is filled with many recollections, reminiscences and anecdotes about the early community and people of the Burton area. Mr. Porter had a variety of experiences working in the mines and woods, and he relates stories about these experiences. He recalls Burton residents and settlers including MacDonald, Hudson, and Demers.

TRACK 2: The interview continues with Lance Porter's reminiscences, including mine stories that include Mineral City and New Glasgow. He worked for a time surveying timber in the Big Bend area, and Revelstoke. He speaks of his diary "The Gospel According To Moods", his relations with ministers of various congregations, religious discussions and his study for the ministry. There are many humorous recollections of people, events and wildlife included in this interview.

RECORDED: Revelstoke (B.C.), 1977-03-21 SUMMARY: Family arrives in Farwell, 1895; early Revelstoke hotels and businesses, 1900s; early churches and their attitudes toward each other; activities; ministers; attitudes toward prostitutes, alcohol; father's business; school days; job as a telephone operator; fire brigade; white slavery; Chinese population; Chinese funeral.

CALL NUMBER: T2628:0001 RECORDED: Revelstoke (B.C.), 1977-01-25 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Family background; oriental population; characters up the Big Bend, ca. 1920; pack trains and prospecting up the Bend; early Revelstoke history; CPR; churches; business; red light district. TRACK 2: Prospectors in the 1920s; school in Revelstoke, A.E. Miller; entertainment; making of the film "Silent Barriers" [i.e., "The Great Barrier"]; first marriage and personal experiences up the Bend; work and interests outside the home; father's jobs; CPR strike 1902; ice cutting on the Columbia; south country communities.

CALL NUMBER: T2628:0002 RECORDED: Revelstoke (B.C.), [date unknown] SUMMARY: TRACK 1: More on A.E. Miller; natural disasters; more on father's jobs -- surveying, cattle ranching, dairying, forest ranger; Indians; hobo jungle around 1915; family history; building of Connaught tunnel; snake rooms in old hotels; formation of the Revelstoke Art Club. [TRACK 2: blank?]

Stock shots. Shows Mica Dam, spillway and diversion tunnels under construction; cleared pondage area behind dam; Harvey Creek; Canoe River. Also aerial footage of the Canoe River and Kinbasket Lake.