RECORDED: [location unknown], 1964-09-20 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Carl Thomet was born in Midway in 1905, and lived his whole life there. The interview begins with a description of the railway built in 1900. The first passenger railway service was called the Columbia and Western, and was not extended to Penticton until 1915. The train was the main supply route for Camp McKinney. There is a discussion about the railways battling for business. The Great Northern was called the Vancouver, Victoria and Eastern Railway and in 1905 the CPR tried to hold back the Great Northern. The Vernon-Midway Railway came in 1905 and C.W. took it over. Thomet describes Midway at the turn of the century including the landscape, several characters, some stories of violence and the hotels. The track ends with talk about the loggers and river boats on the Kettle River.

TRACK 2: Mr. Thomet tells stories about several people who worked along the river and how loggers used the river to transport lumber. A person named Steeves is mentioned.

RECORDED: [location unknown], 1964-09-20 SUMMARY: Mrs. Edna Bonnet, originally from Suffolk, England, came to Canada with her father because she wanted to raise horses. They sailed from Liverpool just after the "Titanic" had sunk in 1912. She speaks of the Bell Mine in Beaverdell, the dances and the country around Midway and Beaverdell. The railroad and the failure of fruit farms are discussed as well.

Two procedure (or cause) books: one volume from the Small Debts Court of the District of Yale holden at Midway (Jan 1896), Osoyoos (1896-1899) and Fairview (1898-1905) recorded by C.A.R. Lambly, Stipendiary Magistrate and one volume from Fairview (1909-1920) with a few hearings in Keremeos (1914) recorded by James R. Brown, Stipendiary Magistrate.

The series consists of a record book kept by the Magistrate's court at Midway, B.C. between 1894 and 1916. The earliest entries document decisions and fines levied by the Justice of the Peace within the Yale District or the County of Yale. They document cases heard at Midway, Osoyoos, Rock Creek, Grand Forks, Phoenix, Cascade and Greenwood and include details of the crime and the decision of J.P. which could include dismissal, fines or a jail sentence. Some of the cases were heard by a judge in a speedy trial and these decisions are noted as well.
The book also records licencing court decisions which dealt with applications by hotels for liquor licences. There is a separate index at the back of the book, arranged alphabetically by the name of the person brought before the court.

RECORDED: [location unknown], 1964-09-16 SUMMARY: Mr. George "Romey" Kingsley came from Washington with his father in 1899 and landed in Midway. He went to Anarchist Mountain, then known as Rock Mountain, though people called it One-Eyed Mountain. He speaks about life in Caldville [i.e., Colville, Washington]; mining, hunting, lack of borders, farmers and prospectors. He discusses the history of Bridesville in great detail and then Greenwood; mining stories, surrounding farms and several people who lived there. Then he discusses the Dewdney Trail which ran from Creston to Salmo and the stagecoach routes of the time. Kingsley describes Salmo in great detail with dates of good crop years and bad crop years, prices for crops, what the town consisted of and stories of the settlers.

CALL NUMBER: T0348:0001 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1964-09-20 SUMMARY: Mr. Gerald Harpur landed in Midway on September 22, 1912, and settled as a fruit farmer in the Kettle Valley, farming mostly apples. He talks about his life, where he came from and the early Kettle Valley. He describes people and development including the construction of the railroad. As well, he describes the effects of World War I on the community and land of the Kettle Valley, irrigation, and cattle farming. Harpur speaks about Kettle Valley Flats and Ranch, horse and cattle thieves, and border crossings.

CALL NUMBER: T0348:0002 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Gerald Harpur discusses the Canadian Pacific Railroad and gambling. [TRACK 2: blank.]

This series contains plaint and procedure books. The registry was at Midway, 1898-1899.

RECORDED: [location unknown], 1964-11-15 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Joseph Richter discusses how his father, F.X. Richter, came to the Similkameen Valley; the school at Okanagan Mission; the Brant family; his father's ranches; ranching in Kettle Valley; m;ail service; a story of a hold up at the Midway Hotel; an Indian who was shot at a July 4 celebration; Loomis, Washington; carrying revolvers; and the arrest of a cattle thief across the border. [TRACK 2: blank.]

RECORDED: [location unknown], 1964-11-15 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mrs. Kathleen Dewdney discusses how she and her father, John Robert Ferguson; came to Trail in the Kootenays in 1894, but left upon deciding that the smelter was bad for their health. He decided to move the family to Midway in the Okanagan [actually in the Boundary Region] to have an orchard. She describes the town of Midway as it was when he arrived, including the people there and the ;irrigation system which was in place. She discusses what happened to Midway when the irrigation stopped; the wooden irrigation system and why it failed. Then she describes Trail as a beautiful town,; until the smelter was established in 1896; her father's store in Trail; a Chinese man who lived in Trail and how he dressed and lived; how the smoke from the smelter killed all of the vegetation; the; journey by stage from Trail through the US to Midway the year before the CPR arrived there; what their orchard grew and its success; how they would sell their produce at Greenwood to the workers in t;he smelter; incidents at Midway involving bandits who came from the US to rob people; her memories of Father Pat, including his physical description and manners, and a story of him at Midway, and another of him visiting a sick miner; her job as a teacher in Midway, and incidents there. [TRACK 2: blank.]

RECORDED: [location unknown], 1965-03-10 SUMMARY: Harold "Monty" Moll came from London to Midway in 1910 after being a seaman. He worked for the CPR as a bookkeeper and water boy with a group of Italians laying steel near Castlegar. Mr. Moll describes his brothers' lives working for the CPR in Midway. Mr. Moll discusses how the CPR affected the town of Midway and provides detailed description and stories about the hotel and its owners. Then Mrs. Moll tells about her move to Rock Creek in 1918 as a school teacher. She describes her experience of putting on a Christmas play for the children. Both Mr. and Mrs. Moll discuss the area at that time.

RECORDED: [location unknown], 1964-09-20 SUMMARY: Mrs. I.L. Fillmore, who came from France to Canada in 1908, discusses the story of her family's trip to Midway. Mrs. Fillmore describes her experience of adjusting to a Canadian winter. Then Mrs. Jeanne A. McAlvey describes how she arrived in Midway in 1909 with her family. She describes her life in her first few years in Canada.

CALL NUMBER: T1330:0001 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1961-02-14 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Noel Robinson; a newspaper reporter; recalls some early personalities of Vancouver including: Captain Alex MacLean, the inspiration for the characater of Wolf Larsen in Jack London's "Sea; Wolf"; sailors; captains and others associated with the sea; Hastings Mill; the Empress boats; E. Pauline Johnson; and Mary Capilano. TRACK 2: Mr. Robinson continues with recollections of Mary Capilano; the funeral of E. Pauline Johnson; the Little Theatre company; J. Francis Bursill, including the Vagabond's Club, pageants, and creating the Bursill Institute; B.C. Hilliam and "The Belle of Bur;rard"; and more about Captain Alex MacLean.

CALL NUMBER: T1330:0002 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1961-02-14 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Robinson recalls coming to Victoria and his work on the organ in the wooden cathedral; writing and producing his play the "Cat's Paw" in Victoria. He reminiscences about newspaper person;alities; his work and travels in the Boundary area, including Rock Creek and Midway; playing cricket; hunting in the Chilcotin area; Dog Creek Hill; Bob Piper; Williams Lake; George Murray and early newspapers in Lillooet; the Alaska Highway News; and early journalists Roy Brown, Ronald Kenvyn, and Bruce McKelvie. TRACK 2: This is a very short tape; Mr. Robinson talks about Captain Alex MacLean.

CALL NUMBER: T1330:0003 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1961-04-11 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Robinson recalls J. Francis Bursill, and reacts to comments made about him by his granddaughter, Thekla Bursill-Hall, in a interview. [See T1331:0001.] Robinson talks about Bursill's personality; the Collingwood Institute; the Bursill Library; aspects of why Bursill came to B.C.; the Bursill family; literary life in Vancouver; anecdotes; his pen name (Felix Penne); eccentricities; Hugh Savage; and the death of J.Francis Bursill. Mr. Robinson continues with recollections about his interview with the Bengali writer and philosopher Rabindranath Tagore. [TRACK 2: blank.]

This series consists of a plaint and procedure book for Yale County Court cases heard at Rock Creek, Osoyoos, Midway, Fairview and Keremeos (including mining jurisdictions), Jun 1890 - Oct. 1896; registrar's records book, July 1892 - June 1903; and miscellaneous loose correspondence and orders, ca. 1896-1909.