Comox Valley Royal watchers were treated to a personal appearance in 1958. Princess Margaret visited Lewis Park, St. Joseph’s Hospital and the RCAF airport in Comox. This article from the July 23, 1958 Comox District Free Press gives info on everything from what she ate for lunch to who she visited at the hospital!
With legacy support from the Bickle Family and the Comox Valley Echo.
Here is the latest newsletter installment of an image from the museum’s award-winning book Watershed Moments – A Pictorial History of Courtenay and District.
Photo credit: An impressive array of canned goods on display in the Safeway Store, 1932. Charles Sillence photograph.
Photo: CDM Sillence Collection. Page 153.
Our archives houses magazines and periodicals from the past that can often jog memories.
Here’s one for all the folks who ever spent time down on the farm.
The Nor’- West Farmer magazine (which billed itself as “The Pioneer Farm Journal of Western Canada”) of July 21, 1930 featured this informative ad about the 1 ½-ton Ford truck.
Say the name “Merville” to a local history buff and two topics spring to mind: the 1919 visit by the Prince of Wales and the Merville Fire of July 1922.
This month marks the 97th anniversary of the fire. Readers looking for a concise wrap-up of events will find it in the following text from The Land of Plenty.
“The Merville Fire of July 6, 1922, fanned by a north-east wind moved south from the Oyster River through standing timber “crowning” in great bursts of flame. It hit the felled and bucked timber of Comox Logging Camp 2 on the Oyster and gained momentum. It missed the new Camp 3 by half a mile. The velocity of the fire increased as it raced across the reforested ridge north of Merville. The little trees there were flattened to the ground, blackened and stripped of all foliage. It raged through the Merville Settlement destroying buildings and animals. One life was lost; Jack Clifford, a boy of fifteen was found lying on the ground within twenty yards of safety.
Those families remaining in the old Camp Three buildings located on the site of Black Creek store were evacuated by the train crew just ahead of the fire. Some of their men wouldn’t join them and spent the night in wells and in the water pools of Black Creek.
Although the Comox Logging and Railway Company claimed that the fire had started ten miles north of the Oyster River in International Timber Company logging operations, the Merville settlers won their compensation claims against Comox Logging. They alleged that a spark from a Comox Logging locomotive had started the blaze and that the company neglected to take proper precautions to cope with, and extinguish, the fire. Fifty-six settlers claimed for loss of stock, buildings, crops, equipment and permanent damage to the soil.”
Quote from page 195 of The Land of Plenty, Editors-Authors: D.E. Isenor, W.N. McInnis, E.G. Stephens, D.E. Watson, 1987.
Bonus:
Photo of Lewis Park tents that housed burnt out Merville settlers
Earlier this year Ian Clapperton visited the archives from the U.K. to share history and photos from his family collection. Ian is the grandson of Merville settlers Oliver and Elsie Linton. This unique photo illustrates the emergency shelter accommodations set up in Lewis Park.
CDM 2004.7.1.
Bonus bonus:
A photo of the “Resurgam” cup
This silver cup was awarded to settlers Annie and Ken Hanley for the house and barn they’d rebuilt a year after the fire. “Resurgam” is Latin for “I shall rise again.” The Hanley’s home, which was located at the corner of Howard Road and the Island Highway, was demolished in 2002.
There’s a new tour in town…a guided Heritage Walking Tour of Courtenay.
Learn about Courtenay’s first commercial centre, the origins of the Native Sons Hall, the railway which ran through town, and the important role the river has played in the City’s development. Tour guides will also explore industrial, military and recreational ties to Comox Bay and Estuary.
Interested in fossils? Do you like to try new things? Join us on a fossil tour!
Let’s dive into the past and uncover what was roaming the ancient sea floor at the time of the dinosaurs. Now is your chance to explore. You might even find an Elasmosaur!
Open Seven Days a Week
The Courtenay and District Museum is now on its summer operating schedule and is open Monday to Saturday from 10:00 to 5:00 and Sundays from 12:00 to 4:00 until Labour Day. As always, members visit free.
Furrows, crow’s feet, wrinkles, creases or lines…whatever you want to call them, this article from the March 1931 McCall‘s magazine has some suggestions to smooth things over.
All kinds of helpful hints and “how-to” advice can all be found in periodicals from our archival collection.
Here is the latest newsletter installment of an image from the museum’s award-winning book Watershed Moments – A Pictorial History of Courtenay and District.
Photo credit: Navy personnel at Goose Spit, 1940s. George Hobson is second from left in the front row. CDM 999.140.1 Page 187.
Photo caption: “…an article from the Comox Argus of April 20, 1944, titled “Camp Followers in Courtenay,” described a report by Sergeant Hatcher of the Provincial Police to Courtenay city council about camp followers, wild women and sharks – civilians who travelled around to exploit military personnel – who were showing up in town.” Page 176.
Merville was home to the Stardust Drive-In Theatre from 1967 to about 1985.
It opened Thursday, September 14, 1967 with a double bill of Fireball 500 and Muscle Beach Party – both starred Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello. As an added attraction, Muscle Beach Party featured the film debut of “Little Stevie” Wonder.
A press release described the theatre as having a 34′ x 80′ screen and the capacity to accommodate 440 cars. It was part of E.W. Bickle Ltd. which, at that time, also operated two indoor theatres, the Van Isle in Campbell River and the E.W. in Courtenay.
Exact date of closure for the Stardust is elusive – no advertisements appeared in the Comox District Free Press for 1986 whereas previous years featured weekly ads in the summer months.
