FVC History Edition - Aug. 30, 2024 - When the Paralympics came to Hope

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Good morning!

Here we are again at the end of another month, ready to take another dive into Fraser Valley history. After several attempted visits that went awry, I was very fortunate to get to tour the Powerhouse at Stave Falls with Janis Schultz. You’ll get to learn more about Janis, the powerhouse, and her family in our main story below. I encourage you to make the trek up to the dam yourself if you ever get the chance—there is a lot more there than just big old generators.

We’re also reminiscing about Hope’s 2010 visit from the Paralympics—which are currently underway in Paris—and are revisiting a $10 coupon from Aldergrove’s centennial celebrations.

For future editions, we’d love to feature some of your personal histories as well! Do you have a back-to-school memory to share? A reminiscence about a popular community business? A photo of a really bad ’80s hairdo? We’d love to hear about it via this form.

– Grace

HISTORY

A family history of the Stave Falls powerhouse

The only way you’ll get Janis Schultz to leave the powerhouse is if she’s dead.

“I always tease them that they’re going to have to take my cold, dead body out,” she laughed.

Schultz has been a tour guide at the Stave Falls powerhouse north of Mission for 21 years, teaching students and visitors about the national historic site, its history, and the surrounding community. But she has learned a lot as well— the more time she spends at the powerhouse, the more she discovers about her own family history.

In the early 1900s, Schultz’s great-grandfather Albert Miller helped build the generating station. Her grandfather, Charles Miller, began working there as a labourer in the 1930s. And today, Schultz is taking on her family tradition to help shape the next chapter of the dam’s history.

• Today, Grace visits the powerhouse at Stave Falls to learn more about one family’s history with one of the Lower Mainland’s oldest hydro-electric generating stations.

Related

🐟 August 5, 1893: Mission’s Board of Trade held a ‘long and heated discussion’ about the unfinished construction of a future fish-curing establishment [Mission City News]

🎉 August 7, 1914: The just-started war will be over in time for residents to enjoy the Abbotsford Fair, Abbotsford’s newspaper declared [Abbotsford Post] / The war would continue for another four years [Vancouver Daily Province]

🚧 August 20, 1924: The construction of the North Fraser Highway between Agassiz and Harrison Mills was well underway, although it had taken a long time to get going [Agassiz Record]

🐄 August 1948: Roughly 4,000 cows had been artificially bred in the Fraser Valley in 1948 , producing ‘splendid results’ [Butterfat Magazine] / Artificial insemination has come a long way, as we reported in these cow-breeding stories from earlier this year [FVC]

💼 A 12-year-old Chuck Strahl returned home to Ryder Lake after spending a month with relatives in Manitoba [Chilliwack Progress] / Strahl, a long-time Chilliwack MP, passed away earlier this month [Dignity Memorial]

🗳 August 30, 1978: Matsqui alderman Doug Taylor accused his fellow council members of being nothing but ‘a bunch of socialists’ after they planned to build a $14-million civic centre in Clearbrook [Aldergrove Star]

🩺 August 4, 1993: Chilliwack hospital employees were worried about layoffs after a new restructuring plan aimed to tackle the hospital’s $1.8 million deficit [Chilliwack Progress]

New in history

📦 Hope plans to remove 71 artifacts from its museum; most of them will be offered to other heritage organizations, although some are in such bad condition they can’t be saved [District of Hope]

📰 BC’s Japanese community could lose access to a significant newspaper collection, after SFU said it would no longer host the digital copies online [CBC]

🎂 Abbotsford’s Margaret Leboe celebrated her 100th birthday this month [Abbotsford News]

🛶 Fort Langley’s Brigade Days have kept some attendees returning to the celebrations for decades [Aldergrove Star]

🏫 Many Indigenous elders want St. Mary’s Residential School demolished, but that could still be years away [Mission Record]

🏭 Heritage BC’s new Industrial Heritage Map is now live, showcasing sites like Clayburn Village, the Tashme Shoyu factory, and the Stave Falls powerhouse [Heritage BC]

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When the Paralympics came to Hope

Today, Canadian Paralympians are in Paris competing for a chance to take home a gold medal in sports like wheelchair basketball, para archery, and boccia. Fourteen years ago, 600 different runners carried the Paralympic torch across the country. Hope was one of the dozen communities chosen to support the torch run and celebrate the lead up to the Paralympic Games.

On March 9, 2010, Barb Bell had the honour of being the first torchbearer in Hope for the Paralympic Games. She was among 30 torchbearers who ran a route through and around Memorial Park in the community. (Roughly five of those 30 torchbearers were from the Hope area.) BC had hosted a contest to determine which members of the public would be chosen to carry the flame within BC. The province had also given Hope $35,000 to pay for celebrations, which included a two-hour live show with local singers, musicians and Indigenous groups.

In the image above, taken part way through the Paralympic torch relay in Hope, Ian Stent was captured “sharing a moment” with fellow torchbearer Nadine Fournier.

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1958 Centennial coupon

In 1958, British Columbia celebrated its centennial year by sending a restored stage coach from Victoria to Barkerville. On May 13, the stagecoach stopped in Aldergrove, as well as Langley’s two municipal halls. In Aldergrove, the arrival of the stagecoach and its six horses marked the start of a celebration that included games of chance, costumes, dancing, and a beard-growing contest. The coupon likely would have been used during the centennial celebrations.

This artifact is courtesy of the Alder Grove Heritage Society.

Cowboy talk: Historian Ken Mather will be at the Chilliwack Museum on Thursday, Sept. 5 at 7pm to talk about his research on early cattle drives in BC, and their connection to Chilliwack. Details online.

Community quilt: The Agassiz Harrison Museum hosts a special exhibition of Agassiz’s community quilt from Monday, Sept. 9 until October. Each square has been designed by different community members. Details online.

Douglas legacy: On Saturday, Sept. 21, the Fort Langley National Historic Site will be sharing the legacy of BC’s first governor Sir James Douglas at an event centred around learning and celebration. The day is hosted in partnership with the Guyanese Association, and will include details on Douglas’ diverse heritage. Details online.

Historic workshops: Learn how to make kitchen staples from the early 1900s in four different workshops on Saturday, Sept. 21 and Sunday, Sept. 22 at the Kilby Historic Site. Make cornbread, butter, apple pie, donuts, and honey spice cake. Pre-registration is required. Details and tickets online.

Community art: The Chilliwack Museum and Archives will host a community art show from October to January, and will be accepting submissions of artwork between Monday, Sept. 23 and Saturday, Sept. 28. Details online.

Have a history event to tell us about? Fill out this form to have it highlighted here.

Catch up

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