FVC History Edition - May 30, 2025 - More than 150 years of recreation on Cultus Lake

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Good morning!

Today’s story has been a year in the making. When I was still on maternity leave, Tyler messaged and asked if I would be interested in going on a Halq'eméylem place names tour during the BC Historical Society conference. The answer, of course, was a resounding yes. Shortly after I returned to work, I stepped onto a bus, and spent four hours listening to Sonny McHalsie tell the history of the Fraser Valley like I had never heard it before.

Most people who are even a little familiar with Coast Salish history know Sonny. He has been an anchor of Stó:lō research for decades, and has uncovered dozens of nearly forgotten Halq'eméylem names for the places and landmarks along the Fraser. He can be difficult to get ahold of, but also holds a massive wealth of information that makes it worth the effort every time.

Today, just one week after his retirement, we are bringing you the story of Sonny’s career. Many of us want to have a job with meaning, that will impact people’s lives. Not all of us get to achieve it. Sonny, however, did.

The story contains a number of Halq'eméylem words. If you don’t know how to pronounce them, you can check out the Stó:lō Shxwelí, First Voices, or Sq’éwlets websites.

– Grace

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HISTORY

Names of a Sxweyxwiyam

His colleagues say he is a man of integrity whose authenticity and genuine interest made his connections to Stó:lō elders possible. His family says his work was guided by their ancestors, and his acquaintances defer to his understanding of their shared history.

For more than four decades, Albert “Sonny” McHalsie committed himself to learning Stó:lō history and sharing it with both the Stó:lō and Xwelítem (the hungry people, the Halq'eméylem word for white settlers). Now, he is finally retired.

McHalsie gathered stories and names from Halq'eméylem-speaking elders, collected and corroborated hundreds of histories from Stó:lō past. He rebuilt maps of Coast Salish communities, and spent time in the field digging into the physical remains of sqémél (pit houses) from centuries past. He has introduced thousands of Fraser Valley residents to the history of their own communities, and helped many First Nations rediscover their own heritage.

He participated in dozens, if not hundreds, of projects over the years—from naming schools and narrating documentaries to writing books and publishing academic articles. In the process, he earned two honourary degrees and two hereditary names: Naxaxalhts'i and Si:yémiya.

He is a Sxweyxwiyam—a historian—and over the years has become one of the most respected authorities on Stó:lō history and place names.

But it was never foreordained.

• Today, Grace explores McHalsie’s decades-long career and the influence his work has had on both Stó:lō and Xwelítem understandings of local history.

Related

⚖ May 21, 1866: Yale residents hoped a court-house would be built in the community over the summer [British Columbia Tribune]

🌊 May 25, 1907: Construction on flood protection below the Vedder Bridge was completed ‘as substantially as honest labour and painstaking care and skill could make it’ [Fraser Advance]

🚗 May 20, 1910: Abbotsford’s only automobile was a boon to real estate agents, who hitched rides to show clients around the district [Abbotsford Post]

🏥 May 17, 1921: Langley council was out $700 after local patients left Vancouver General Hospital and Royal Columbian Hospital without paying [Valley Sentinel]

🍞 May 7, 1924: The Agassiz Ladies Aid held a successful sale of cooking and cookbooks, including one handmade in Agassiz with 200 tested recipes [Agassiz Record]

🏫 May 22, 1958: Aldergrove high school students were happy to finally have their own school, even as continued construction interrupted their classes [Aldergrove and District News]

🚓 May 18, 1977: Two people were arrested after a $30 million drug haul in Chilliwack that may have been the largest of its kind in the country [Chilliwack Progress]

New in history

🗳 Long-time Abbotsford volunteer Gwen Settle was knighted for her commitment to service [Abbotsford News] / The Current interviewed Settle about her experience as a teenage submarine hunter in 2022 [FVC]

🎉 Former students from Cheam Elementary came together to celebrate the school’s 150th anniversary this month [Chilliwack Progress]

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More than 150 years of recreation on Cultus Lake

Cultus Lake is one of the busiest Fraser Valley lakes today, and its popularity as a recreation hot spot extends back more than 150 years.

The Stó:lō people had lived near Cultus Lake for thousands of years, recognizing the lake as the home of the stl’áleqem (supernatural being) T’liteqo Spá:th, an underwater bear. In the 1870s, Europeans began to notice the lake was an ideal spot to camp and swim. By 1924, the lake had become so popular that the City of Chilliwack and the Township of Chilliwhack joined together to begin managing the lake. Less than a decade later, the joint committee was replaced by the Cultus Lake Park Board, which continues to manage the area today.

(You can read our story on what the Cultus Lake Park Board actually does here.)

In 1942, the military base that was established near Vedder Crossing changed the atmosphere of Cultus Lake. What had before been a summer resort evolved into a year-round community. Summer cottages were transformed to allow year-round accommodation for military families.

Today, fewer than 700 people live at Cultus Lake full-time. But the lake welcomes more than 800,000 people each year, mostly in summer. It hosts various sailing excursions, canoe races, fishing events, movie nights, and occasionally even triathlons.

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Box of Dominion brand hops

This box of hops was found on Silvermoon Farms, 43026 South Sumas Rd., in 1970. They were in the outbuildings, and presumably left there by the previous owner, Rudolph Hidebrandt. Hidebrandt and his brother started farming at the spot in 1933, and built the farm buildings in 1940. The hops were packaged by the British Columbia Hop Company, which was established in 1896. The hops were of the Kent variety, one of the three main varieties grown in the Fraser Valley following the depression. Those hops were marketed and sold across Canada, and often shipped to breweries as far away as England.

This artifact is courtesy of the Chilliwack Museum and Archives.

Guided tours: Langley’s salishan Place by the River hosts 45-minute tours every Friday at 1pm until the end of July. Tours are free, but registration is required. Details online.

Culture day: Selxwi:chel Arts & Culture Day takes place at Mill Lake on Sunday, June 8. The event includes drum-making and cedar-weaving workshops. Details and workshop registration online.

Father’s Day: The Kilby Historic Site invites dads and their families to go fly a kite on Sunday, June 15. The event will have a limited number of kite-making materials available. The day will also include a butter-churning competition pitting dads against their kids. Details online.

Young archeologists: The Agassiz-Harrison Museum hosts its first day camp of the summer season on Friday, June 27. Kids will get to excavate artifacts, paint wooden dinosaurs, and undertake a cookie excavation. Details and registration online.

Abstract textiles: The Chilliwack Museum and Archives hosts a textile collage workshop with artist Kiranjot Kaur on Saturday, June 28. The workshop is free and all materials are provided. Details online.

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