history

THE OLD BALL GAME The 1939-40 Empire Stevedores baseball team in Chemainus. Back row, from left, are: Bob Cadwallader, Bill Jackson, Joe Horton, Harold (Shorty) Berkey, Danny Wylie, George Syrotuck, George Robinson, Tom Garner, Bill Horton. Front row, from left: Jimmie Syme Sr. (manager), Joe Garner, Ernie Jackson, Jimmie Syme Jr. (bat boy), Fred Somerville, Jack Gill, Pete Hawryluk. (Photo submitted)

Chemainus baseball history

Empire Stevedores 1939-40 baseball team

  • Apr 2, 2021

 

BAKING In THE MAKING George Price’s Bakery at the corner of Oak and Croft Streets, 1946. (Photo courtesy Chemainus Valley Museum)

Historical Moment March 18

BAKING In THE MAKING George Price’s Bakery at the corner of Oak…

  • Mar 24, 2021

 

A petition launched by a group of University of Victoria students calls for the renaming of Trutch Street. (Google Maps)

B.C. students lobby to get racist official’s name off Victoria street

University of Victoria students say Trutch Street puts racist history on a pedestal

 

The booklet roots present day activism in the history of racist policies, arguing the history must be acknowledged in order to change. (CCPA)

New resource dives into 150 years of racist policy in B.C.

Racist history must be acknowledged in order to change, authors say

The booklet roots present day activism in the history of racist policies, arguing the history must be acknowledged in order to change. (CCPA)
Rob Rondeau, PhD candidate at SFU, is embarking on a mission to find definitive evidence of human migration to the continent. (SFU supplied image)

VIDEO: Marine archaeologist looking for clues of ancient migration in B.C. waters

SFU researcher hoping to find 15,000 year-old archaeological sites underwater

Rob Rondeau, PhD candidate at SFU, is embarking on a mission to find definitive evidence of human migration to the continent. (SFU supplied image)
Filing room crew at the Chemainus sawmill marks 2,668 working days without a compensable accident. Anyone recognize some of the men in this photo to identify the year this might have been taken? (Photo courtesy Chemainus Valley Museum)

File it under ‘accident free’

Filing room crew at the Chemainus sawmill celebrates a milestone in this historical photo

  • Feb 18, 2021
Filing room crew at the Chemainus sawmill marks 2,668 working days without a compensable accident. Anyone recognize some of the men in this photo to identify the year this might have been taken? (Photo courtesy Chemainus Valley Museum)
Foresters at the first Recreation Hall in Chemainus in the early 1900s. Situated across and just above the tracks, halfway up the hill to St. Joseph’s, was the Employees Recreation Hall, built in 1896, with the land and material given by the mill. Jan. 1, 1897 was the grand opening ball with sleighs arriving with guests from Duncan, Maple Bay and Westholme. It was used for sports, had a bowling alley, concerts, card games and dances. Next to it was a dining room and eventually the town movie theatre. (Photo courtesy of the Chemainus Valley Historical Society)

Historical Moment Jan. 28

Foresters and Recreation Hall served many purposes in the early days of Chemainus

Foresters at the first Recreation Hall in Chemainus in the early 1900s. Situated across and just above the tracks, halfway up the hill to St. Joseph’s, was the Employees Recreation Hall, built in 1896, with the land and material given by the mill. Jan. 1, 1897 was the grand opening ball with sleighs arriving with guests from Duncan, Maple Bay and Westholme. It was used for sports, had a bowling alley, concerts, card games and dances. Next to it was a dining room and eventually the town movie theatre. (Photo courtesy of the Chemainus Valley Historical Society)
David Carson, director of corporate communications for the Vancouver Island Regional Library, at the podium for the Chemainus library’s official opening. (Photo by Don Bodger)

Year in Review Part Two

The top stories that happened in 2020 in the Chemainus Valley

David Carson, director of corporate communications for the Vancouver Island Regional Library, at the podium for the Chemainus library’s official opening. (Photo by Don Bodger)
HISTORICAL MOMENTFrank Crucil with the Green Lantern Hotel Baseball Team 1936: Frank Crucil and his wife Mary bought the Lewisville Hotel from executors of the Lewis estate circa 1924. Both of the Crucils were committed to sports in Chemainus. (Photo courtesy of the Chemainus Valley Museum)

Historical moment Oct. 22

Green Lantern Hotel baseball team 1936

  • Oct 23, 2020
HISTORICAL MOMENTFrank Crucil with the Green Lantern Hotel Baseball Team 1936: Frank Crucil and his wife Mary bought the Lewisville Hotel from executors of the Lewis estate circa 1924. Both of the Crucils were committed to sports in Chemainus. (Photo courtesy of the Chemainus Valley Museum)
Old Cemeteries Society member Sherry Deptuch helps clean Const. Daniel Mainguy’s gravestone at All Saints’ Cemetery for Police National Memorial Day. (Submitted photo)

Old Cemeteries Society members honour Police National Memorial Day in Cowichan

Mainguy’s 114-year-old white marble tablet had become blackened and encrusted with dirt

  • Oct 10, 2020
Old Cemeteries Society member Sherry Deptuch helps clean Const. Daniel Mainguy’s gravestone at All Saints’ Cemetery for Police National Memorial Day. (Submitted photo)
The Thetis Island Elementary School class from November 2019. Back row, from left: teacher Genny Redman and educational assistant Simone Luckham. Second back row: Westley Knowles, Matti Bannister, Erica Ralston, Raglan Gall. Middle: Sophia Dufort, Sophie Sharp, Lucas Bieber, Aubrey Gall, Daxton Meunier, Amelia Ensminger. Second row from front: Ella Kasting, Elise Meunier, Holly Sharp, Alina Ensminger, Jayleigh Gall, Colten Dufort, Aaron Bieber. Front, kneeling: Kai Kasting, Lily Galbraith, Alder McClellan.

Thetis Island one-room schoolhouse marks 100 years

Cherished role in the community stands the test of time

  • Sep 10, 2020
The Thetis Island Elementary School class from November 2019. Back row, from left: teacher Genny Redman and educational assistant Simone Luckham. Second back row: Westley Knowles, Matti Bannister, Erica Ralston, Raglan Gall. Middle: Sophia Dufort, Sophie Sharp, Lucas Bieber, Aubrey Gall, Daxton Meunier, Amelia Ensminger. Second row from front: Ella Kasting, Elise Meunier, Holly Sharp, Alina Ensminger, Jayleigh Gall, Colten Dufort, Aaron Bieber. Front, kneeling: Kai Kasting, Lily Galbraith, Alder McClellan.
Thetis Island Elementary School as it looks today. It TIES the community together with its appropriate abbreviation. Long-time school traditions are maintained, like the hand-ringing of a brass bell for recess. (Photo by Kelly Bannister)

Historical highlights of Thetis Island School

Perseverance required on many occasions to keep the school open

  • Sep 10, 2020
Thetis Island Elementary School as it looks today. It TIES the community together with its appropriate abbreviation. Long-time school traditions are maintained, like the hand-ringing of a brass bell for recess. (Photo by Kelly Bannister)
25 years later: The water skiing legend on Kalamalka Lake

25 years later: The water skiing legend on Kalamalka Lake

A group of waterskiers were towed behind a plane on Kalamalka Lake back in 1995

25 years later: The water skiing legend on Kalamalka Lake
Hong Hing original store. (Photo courtesy of the Chemainus Valley Museum)

Historical moment

Store depicted in mural stood near the Thetis Island ferry terminal

  • Aug 7, 2020
Hong Hing original store. (Photo courtesy of the Chemainus Valley Museum)
Historical Moment

Historical Moment

Drop in copper price sealed the fate of Crofton Smelter

  • Aug 2, 2020
Historical Moment
Waiting for the parade outside McBride’s Service Station in 1961. (Photo courtesy of the Chemainus Valley Museum)

Waiting for the Parade 1961

McBride’s Service Station an ideal vantage point

Waiting for the parade outside McBride’s Service Station in 1961. (Photo courtesy of the Chemainus Valley Museum)
Fred Hart sharpening saws. He came to Chemainus in the 1930s to be a filer in the Chemainus sawmill just like his father, Burton Hart. (Photo courtesy of the Chemainus Valley Museum)

Historical Moment

Another glimpse into the Chemainus Valley’s past

Fred Hart sharpening saws. He came to Chemainus in the 1930s to be a filer in the Chemainus sawmill just like his father, Burton Hart. (Photo courtesy of the Chemainus Valley Museum)
Mohawk Council of Kanesatake Grand Chief Serge Otsi Simon discusses the current situation and actions relating to the Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs during a press conference at the National Press Theatre in Ottawa on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

30 years after Oka crisis, Kanesatake land claims remain unresolved

Serge Simon, the current Grand Chief of Kanesatake, vividly remembers the events of July 11, 1990

Mohawk Council of Kanesatake Grand Chief Serge Otsi Simon discusses the current situation and actions relating to the Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs during a press conference at the National Press Theatre in Ottawa on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
In 1863, Sam Lewis was the first teacher in Chemainus. He gave up teaching to build and operate the Lewisville Hotel. It burned down in 1906, was eventually rebuilt and the name has flip-flopped to and from Green Lantern over the years. (Photo courtesy of the Chemainus Valley Museum)

Historical moment

Lewisville Pub, a.k.a. Green Lantern, a landmark in Chemainus

In 1863, Sam Lewis was the first teacher in Chemainus. He gave up teaching to build and operate the Lewisville Hotel. It burned down in 1906, was eventually rebuilt and the name has flip-flopped to and from Green Lantern over the years. (Photo courtesy of the Chemainus Valley Museum)
An image from the Royal BC Museum’s digitized collection of historical photographs shows an Interior Salish woman and child weaving baskets. The image is one of thousands posted in an online database. (Courtesy of the Royal BC Museum)

B.C. museum releases more than 16,000 historical photos of Indigenous life

Digitized images preserved and shared with Indigenous communities

An image from the Royal BC Museum’s digitized collection of historical photographs shows an Interior Salish woman and child weaving baskets. The image is one of thousands posted in an online database. (Courtesy of the Royal BC Museum)