03-011: The Arrival of the First P.G.E. at Fort St. John, Oct. 3, 1958

 By Dorthea H. CalverleyThe first three “official” trains to enter Fort St. John arrived on the minute at 1:30 p.m., October 3rd, 1958. Premier W.A.C. Bennett, Joe Broadbent, superintendent and representatives of nine major railways were greeted with “Cock O’ The North” played by the Dawson Creek Pipe Band. The bright coloured Diesels hauling ten… Read More

03-012: Did You Hear a Whistle?

G.R. Clare, 1998Prairie settlers’ dreams of homesteads and farms were often followed very soon by dreams of towns and railways. In the case of the Peace River area, railway surveyors had been here many years before the settlers — as early as 1872 — when the CPR was looking for a suitable route to the… Read More

03-013: Knox McCusker, Guide & Surveyor with the Mary Henry Expedition

 By Dorthea Calverley Knox Freeman McCusker was a remarkable guide, who had been a District Land Surveyor in the Fort St. John area from 1927 to 1931. During that time he had laid out the initial meridian, base line and subdivision surveys in the Peace River Block and beyond. In 1931 he and his partner Glen… Read More

03-014: Incident on the Alcan Highway

By Dorthea Calverley The American Army Engineers could build tote-roads, but it took Canadians to “drive” them. Fred Newby, now an alderman, but formerly manager of the largest store at Mile Zero of the Highway tells a typical yarn of that day. It began when the garrison at Fort Nelson ran out of flour. The officer… Read More

03-015: The Alaska Military Highway

By Dorthea Calverley(from material provided by the Canadian Bank of Commerce) The surprise attack by the Japanese on Pearl Harbor on 7th December, 1941, justified the defense program which the United States Government had already under way in Alaska, and which consisted mainly in the improvement and extension of naval and air bases on the mainland… Read More

03-016: My First Trip on the Alaska Highway

By Eugene Wilkinson Started out from Dawson Creek With five and a quarter ton. When I saw the road so smooth and wide Says I “Why this is fun”.   So I settled back as I purred along And lighted up a hill But my air of ease soon passed away When I struck Peace River… Read More

03-017: Want to go up the Highway with me?

G.R. Clare, 1998In March of 1944, Lloyd Vandergrift had a load to go from Dawson Creek to Fairbanks for Spinney Trucking and, wanting some company on the long drive, asked Bert Moffatt to go along on the nine day round trip. Always the adventurous type, Bert agreed immediately and began work on getting the necessary… Read More

03-018: Fur Brigade Routes

By Dorthea CalverleyThe early fur-traders entered the Peace Country by rivers and lakes – not pleasant rippling streams nor peaceful mirrors of water. Not one stream was unbroken by the rock ledges and waterfalls caused by our geological past. When a voyageur died, often by drowning, his companions buried him there, under a crude wooden… Read More

03-019: Going up the River?

G.R. Clare, 1998For about 500 miles, between Fort Vermilion and Hudson Hope, the uncontrolled Peace River of the past was free from rapids and a perfect place for boats of any size, from the dugout canoes of the native hunters to the steamboats of the 1920’s. The navigable part of the great river began at… Read More

03-020: Roads

By Dorthea CalverleyThe first road in the district was an ox cart trail from Grouard to Peace River. This was built at the expense of the Hudson’s Bay Co., who sent Tom Kerr with some twenty men to locate and cut out the road. The Reverend Gough Brick did the first road improvement work west… Read More