We are grateful for the generous donations that make this award possible. Because it was the decision of the judges not to award the BCHF Centennial Legacy Fund in 2022, funds gathered last year were disbursed along with donations made to the fund this year.

We would like to introduce the winners of this year’s round of awards:

Barriere and District Heritage Society team, 2023. (Courtesy of the Barriere and District Heritage Society)

BARRIERE & DISTRICT HERITAGE SOCIETY, REMEMBERING THE 2003 MCLURE WILDFIRE ($1,500)

Twenty years after the 2003 McLure wildifre, the Barriere & District Heritage Society will be conducting interviews and gathering photos to create a small travelling exhibit illustrating the fire’s force, its destruction, and its legacies.

Upper Phoenix cemetery gates. (Courtesy of Boundary Historical Society)

BOUNDARY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, GROUND PENETRATING RADAR FOR UPPER PHOENIX CEMETERY ($4,000)

Phoenix Cemetery, near Greenwood, dates from the time the City of Phoenix was a major producer of copper, between the 1890s and 1920. The Boundary Historical Society took over the care of the Phoenix Cemetery in the 1990s. Although the records for the cemetery are lost, research has determined there are approximately 160 graves, most unmarked. This project will enable the society to determine next steps in the care of this place.

Victor Menzies diary detailing daily life, April 1923. (Courtesy of the Pender Island Historical Society)

PENDER ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY, VICTOR MENZIES DIARIES: MAKING 50+ YEARS OF ISLAND HISTORY ACCESSIBLE ($5,000)

The Pender Islands Museum holds the Victor Menzies collection that spans over 90 years and includes 33 diaries and related records that detail island life and the interconnectedness of the island community. The digitization and transcription of this valuable and vulnerable resource will ensure its survival and accessibility.