As told by Ida Scarf Hopkins of ArrasIt was decided that the best way to upgrade the cattle was to import a purebred bull. In co-operation with the Department of Agriculture it was thought a Dual Purpose Shorthorn breed would be most suitable — heavy-set for beef, good milkers and hardy for the cold winters…. Read More

  As told by Helen and Stan McCreaAfter leaving dusty, wind-swept southern Saskatoon in 1931 I brought my family to British Columbia, not to seek a fortune, but to find a new home. I left Saskatoon in a cloud of dust and arrived at Gundy, B.C. to beautiful gardens and new hopes. After spending six… Read More

By Jean Lawrence and Joe LafondThe story of the meat business in Dawson Creek starts in the Old Town. According to Wes and Bob Harper, the first businessman in Dawson Creek was Mr. Thomas Ray, who opened the first store on the corner of W.H. Neeves homestead in 1918. According to other old timers, his… Read More

Mr. Hellerud opened northern Meats in 1943. This business was primarily a locker business, renting lockers for storage of meat for individual customers. Beef and pork being brought in by farmers to have dressed, cut, wrapped and sharp frozen and stored frozen in six cubic foot lockers holding about 200 lbs. of meat. Initially about… Read More

By Ray Newby, interviewed by Dorthea CalverleyInt. — I am interviewing Mr. Ray Newby tonight. He has been in the country since 1921, so he has seen most of the businesses in the early development of the country. R.N. — Right! You were asking me about the creamery. As I remember, the first creamery was… Read More

By Dorthea CalverleyThe first creamery in the B.C. South Peace was at Riley’s Crossing, where Dawson Creek joins the Pouce Coupe River a few miles down stream from the present village. Except for Rolla, the major settlement in the area was at Sunset Prairie, miles west of Old Dawson. Frank Parr had the job of… Read More

By Dorthea CalverleyThe homesteader’s wife had a vested interest in the cattle industry. Many a family got their only ‘cash money’ from the barter of butter for store-bought luxuries such as a comb or pencil. Butter and eggs from the hens, if laying were the housewife’s currency. If she were a good enough butter-maker, many… Read More

By Dorthea CalverleyCheese making was a pioneer domestic art. The most common form of this high protein food was “cottage” or “homesteader’s” cheese, the making of which could be so simple as to rate hardly a comment in records of the time. Those who use pasteurized milk exclusively today cannot enjoy this universal pioneer food…. Read More

Interviewed By Dorthea Calverley, 1975Cross-posted: 18-010: Henry Bentley Speaks His Mind INTERVIEWER: Today I’m interviewing Mr. Henry Bentley of Progress, B.C. Mr. Bentley has been recommended to me as the most outstanding cattleman in the country. I know that he recently received a significant award for his work. First of all I would like to know,… Read More

By Dorthea CalverleyTwenty years is several generations in livestock breeding — long enough for the influence of one breeder to make an impression on a district. In 1934 when we came to the Grande Prairie area from the dried-out prairies, one thing that impressed us most was the quality and condition of the fine horses… Read More