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An excerpt from the Fall 2025 edition of British Columbia History
Vernon Hydrophones, BC Midget champions, 1939. Photo: Larry Kwong family
The kid pressing his ears against the family’s radio console was a long way from the National Hockey League action, but the immediacy of Foster Hewitt’s voice made the game seem close at hand. [1]
Like the radio waves that first inspired Larry Kwong, the story of his giant leap from an Okanagan Chinatown to the top of the hockey world in the 1940s has almost faded into the ether. Kwong’s legend, like much of Chinese Canadian history, has been unsung. For legions of Chinese Canadians, though, Kwong was a folk hero for reaching levels of success that were unheard of.
It was early in the Great Depression when little Larry Kwong took his first strides on a makeshift rink in Vernon’s Chinatown. [2] British Columbia was a hockey hinterland in the 1930s. The Depression would come and go without anyone playing their way out of the province to the big league.
Finances were another constraint. Convincing his mother, a widow with fifteen children, to buy him hockey skates was a tall order. “I really cried for new ones,” said Kwong. “The family probably suffered because of my skates. I don’t know how my mother got the money.” [3]
Known as the China Clipper by age 15, he carried the Vernon Hydrophones to a provincial championship in 1939—a victory credited with putting the city on the hockey map. [4]
Kwong had to battle his own feelings of inferiority as a racialized person: “For me, in those days, ‘Canadian’ meant White people.” [5] The young athlete had cultural differences to navigate in Chinatown as well. As Kwong explained to a reporter in 1947, “The Chinese don’t believe a young man should play a game for a living. They used to tell me that a young man should do more serious things.” [6]
To continue chasing pucks, Kwong would have to sell his mother on “Canada’s game.” She attended one of his games at the Civic Arena and was horrified by the roughness. [7] In desperation, Larry made a tearful promise: “I’m going to play hockey to make enough money to build you a home.” [8] With that, Loo Ying Tow reluctantly gave her blessing.
Kwong’s life was circumscribed by discrimination. He was two weeks old when the Canadian government passed its Chinese Exclusion Act in 1923. Larry’s Chinese-born sister-in-law, Sue, was deported. [9]
As a youth, Larry felt the sting of being refused a haircut because of his Chinese hair. At 16 he was barred from entering the United States with his team because of that country’s Chinese Exclusion Act. Though born in Canada, he had to carry a card identifying him as a non-citizen. Disenfranchisement meant that professions like law, accounting, pharmacy, engineering, and medicine were closed. Most in Vernon’s Chinese community were farmers. In hockey, however, he saw nothing in the rule book that specifically excluded people like him.
Kwong jumped at 18 to the Trail Smoke Eaters, but was denied a job with his teammates because of the smelter’s no-Chinese policy. In 1942 he joined the Nanaimo Clippers, and his debut “attracted four or five hundred of his countrymen” to the 1,800-seat Civic Arena. [10] That Kwong and his fans were foreigners was the assumption. We can infer what it meant to those Chinese Canadians to see Kwong represent the home team during those exclusionary times. No reporter asked the question.
Kwong then starred for the top team in Vancouver, where again he reportedly “had his own gallery of Chinese.” [11] Being the centre of attention went against “the whole Chinese upbringing—that when you’re out in public, just be seen and not heard.” [12] Kwong knew his boldness came with risks. “Ever since I was a Midget, there has always been a player or two trying to cut off my head just because I am Chinese,” he told a Vancouver reporter. “And the bigger the league the bigger the axe they use!” [13]
Before the winter was out, Kwong was drafted into the army to serve his country—a country that still enforced blanket racism against Chinese Canadians.
While Larry was in the army, the Toronto Maple Leafs invited Chinese Canadian brothers Bill, Albert, and George Chin to their 1944 training camp. Leafs president Ed Bickle assured the media that the Chins were “strictly box office,” there as a novelty to sell tickets. [14]
After the war, Kwong’s difference was seen as an asset by the New York Rangers. In 1946 Kwong was invited to their tryouts in Winnipeg. Ranger publicist Stan Saplin wired manager Frank Boucher from New York, “Bring him whether he can play hockey or not.” [15] Saplin knew that Kwong would be “a great drawing card” in the Big Apple, even for the Rangers’ minor league team, the New York Rovers. On September 23, Larry signed to play for the farm club, knowing he would be one call away from the NHL. The Vancouver Sun reported that the China Clipper had “moved within scoring distance of his main goal.” [16] It was a rare piece of good news featuring a Chinese Canadian. The few other stories about the Chinese community were mostly crime-related—a long established theme in North American dailies.
After a war in which more than 600 Chinese Canadians, including Kwong, had served, little had changed on the home front. [17] The Chinese Exclusion Act was still in place. Voting rights were still withheld. So, for readers of Chinese descent, seeing that Larry Kwong was on the verge of realizing his Canadian dream would have been something to cheer about.
Larry Kwong’s C.I.45 certificate, issued shortly after his first birthday. Photo: Larry Kwong family
In New York, Saplin coined an attention-grabbing nickname for Larry. King Kwong was a smash hit at the box office. Kwong was getting $100 a week, while the Rovers were breaking attendance records at Madison Square Garden. [18]
“Larry is the hero of increasing hordes of proud Chinese who swarm into the Gardens each week,” reported one paper, evoking the Yellow Peril. [19]
News stories about Kwong could feature racist jokes.
A Toronto scribe wrote: “Few Chinese players have gone far in hockey. Too often, when the gong rings to start the game, they think it’s music”; and “Possibly, Chinese boys work too hard in laundries. They think combination play refers to washing underwear.” [20]
Kwong played through the slurs. “You get used to it. They call you ‘Chinaman’ or ‘chink’ or something like that. You take it for granted that the opponent players or fans would call you that.” [21]
Kwong was the opposite of weak, meek, and inscrutable—myths perpetuated in mainstream media in the absence of real voices like Kwong’s. In getting to know Kwong, sportswriters discovered someone who was “popular with his teammates and Canadian to the core.” [22] He was “the big gun” who played “a tough, aggressive game,” while also being a “smiling and friendly” human being. [23] The media capital of the world was being forced to reconsider the stereotypes that marginalized and dehumanized Asians.
November 17, 1946, was declared Larry Kwong Day at Madison Square Garden. [24] The hero was presented with the Key to New York’s Chinatown. Through hockey, Kwong hoped to open doors for the community too. “It would help to make our Chinese people better known and more capable of being successful in lines of business other than the laundry and restaurant,” Larry told journalist Red Fisher. “I have the greatest appreciation and admiration for the Chinese who follow these trades or professions, but I maintain that some of us can start out in fields not yet touched by Chinese people.” [25]
Larry Kwong receiving the Key to New York’s Chinatown from unofficial mayor Shavey Lee, and Lily Pon and May Dong at Madison Square Garden, November 17, 1946. Photo: Larry Kwong family
In January 1947, Kwong’s sensational play prompted rumours he would be promoted to the NHL, but the Rangers held him back. [26] That summer Kwong made good on his promise to build his mom a new house.
King Kwong then had a monster season with the Rovers. Wowing the crowds with his “magnificent stick handling” and trademark “whirlwind style,” Kwong scored more points (86 in 65 games) than any Rover had in nearly a decade. [27] Finally, late in the season, Larry got the call of his dreams. Rover coach Fred Metcalfe told him, “You should’ve been up there a long time ago.” [28]
On March 13, 1948, newspapers across the continent announced that a racial barrier was coming down in hockey.
In the Montreal Forum, Kwong pulled on a New York Rangers sweater and sat expectantly on the visitors’ bench. As time wound down in the game, coach Frank Boucher gave Kwong his first and last shift in the NHL. Kwong’s historic moment was turned into another act of exclusion. Many years later, Kwong still asked, “How can you prove yourself when you get one minute on the ice?” [29]
The obvious answer is that the Rangers didn’t want Kwong to prove himself. “The Rangers got what they wanted,” admitted their former PR director John Halligan in 2008. “They got noticed!” [30]
“I watched Larry star for the New York Rangers farm team, the NY Rovers, for two years,” stated journalist and broadcaster Stan Fischler. “He was super. He got the rawest of all raw deals from the Blueshirts. Only one shift at the Forum; end of debut, end of NHL career. A total, unforgivable disgrace.” [31]
Feeling snubbed, the 25-year-old moved to a rival team in the Quebec Senior Hockey League. Kwong was not giving up on the NHL. The Quebec League was a proving ground for many up-and-comers. Competing against future Hall-of-Famers Jean Béliveau, Dickie Moore, and Jacques Plante, Kwong was named the league’s most valuable player in 1951 and carried his team to the Canadian title. [32]
“Larry was a heck of a hockey player,” Dickie Moore recalled in 2013. “He was a good skater, a good puck handler. He could score goals. What more do they want?” [33]
In 1957, at the age of 34, Kwong let go of his NHL dream, setting off across the Atlantic with his hockey gear in search of new adventures. Kwong had pushed his sport and his society to be more inclusive. That year, a Chinese Canadian, Douglas Jung, was elected as a member of Parliament for the first time. The next year, another racial barrier came down in the NHL as 22-year-old Willie O’Ree became the league’s first Black player.
Kwong landed in Switzerland where, as a player- coach, he helped to develop and popularize the game in Europe. He was received as a gift from the hockey gods. “Le joueur le plus spectaculaire que l’on puisse rêver” (The most spectacular player you could dream of) was a Chinese Canadian. [34] The CEO of the Swiss Ice Hockey Federation, Patrick Bloch, recognized Larry as “a great ambassador and builder of hockey.” [35]
Larry Kwong on the November 1958 cover of Chinatown News, the Chinese-Canadian news magazine. Photo: Larry Kwong family
Just as Chinese faces are absent from the historical record, such as in the famous photo of the Last Spike, so too have players of colour been left out of hockey’s narratives. Following his giant strides onto Forum ice, Larry Kwong lived for another 70 years but did not hear from the NHL again. But we can still tune in to the distant echoes of Kwong’s legions of fans cheering for a change in the game. We can retrace the trails Kwong blazed from the Okanagan across many leagues. For Canada to move forward as a multicultural society and for hockey to grow as a world sport, what’s needed are dive rse stories. Those have often been sidelined. After everything, it’s not too late to put Larry Kwong back in the game where he belongs. •
“A great drawing card” with the New York Rovers. Photo: Larry Kwong family
1. Larry Kwong, interview with the author, March 28, 2009. 2. Kwong, interview. 3. Kwong, interview. 4. “Hydrophones Gain Wide Renown in Five-Year History,” Vernon News, April 17, 1941, p. 4. 5. Kwong, interview. 6. W.C. Heinz, “Rangers Eye Chinese Player,” New York Sun, Jan. 16, 1947. 7. Kwong, interview. 8. Wes Miron and Chester Sit, directors, The Shift: The Story of the China Clipper [film], Dynastic Entertainment, 2013. 9. Kwong, interview. 10. Jack Patterson, “Sport Rays: It’s a War Job,” Vancouver Sun, Nov. 2, 1942, p. 11. 11. Duke McLeod, “Martel Forces Deadlock; Sutherland in Navy Goal,” Vancouver Sun, Nov. 23, 1943, p. 10. 12. Kwong, interview. 13. Kwong, quoted in Alf Cottrell, “On the Sunbeam,” Vancouver Sun, Dec. 29, 1943, p. 11. 14. Andy Lytle, “Speaking on Sports,” Toronto Daily Star, Oct. 7, 1944, p. 10. 15. W.C. Heinz, “Rangers Eye Chinese Player,” New York Sun, Jan. 16, 1947. 16. “Larry Kwong Signs with N.Y. Rovers,” Vancouver Sun, Sept. 24, 1946, p. 6. 17. “Chinese Canadians,” Veterans Affairs Canada website, veterans.gc.ca/en/remembrance/people-and-stories/chinese-canadians. 18. Madison Square Garden Corporation and Lawrence Kwong, Articles of Agreement [Contract], Sept. 23, 1946, Larry Kwong collection; “Rovers Wallop Boston, 6–1, Before Record 15,542 Fans,” New York Daily Mirror, Jan. 13, 1947, p. 24. 19. “Chinese Icer Is N.Y. Hero,” Vancouver Daily Province, Feb. 7, 1947, p. 15. 20. Newton Kendall, “The Sideliner,” Toronto Evening Telegram, March 13, 1947. 21. Kwong, interview. 22. Jim Becker, “Charlie Kwong, Only Chinese Hockey Player, Is ‘Dinghao,’” Berkshire Eagle, Jan. 3, 1947, p. 15. 23. William J. Briordy, “Rovers Set Back Baltimore, 6 to 1”; “Chinese Icer is N.Y. Hero”; Al Colletti, “Larry Has Solid Hockey Following,” CP, Feb. 4, 1947. 24. Madison Square Garden Corporation, Press Release, Nov. 16, 1946, Larry Kwong collection. 25. Red Fisher, “Chinese in Hockey,” Montreal Forum Sports Magazine, 1948. 26. “Gung ho,” Toronto Star, Jan. 20, 1947, p. 10. 27. Sam B. Gunst, “Roving with the Rovers,” Amateur Hockey [Game Program], Mar. 14, 1948; Red Fisher, “Chinese in Hockey.” 28. Kwong, interview. 29. Kenda Gee and Tom Radford (directors), Lost Years: A People’s Struggle for Justice [film], Lost Years Productions, 2011. 30. John Halligan, “All Around the Rink with the Rangers,” Blueshirt Bulletin, March 2008. 31. Stan Fischler [@StanFischler], X [post], Oct. 13, 2024, https://x.com/StanFischler/status/1845456329135075542. 32. Charlie Halpin, “Braves Take 3-1 Lead Trouncing Royals 7-1,” Montreal Gazette, Mar. 14, 1951, p. 20; Jim Bastable, “Valleyfield Braves Capture Alexander Cup,” Ottawa Citizen, May 14, 1951, p. 23. 33. David Davis, “A Hockey Pioneer’s Moment,” New York Times, Feb. 20, 2013, p. B11. 34. “Encore un Grand Match avant la Fermeture de la Patinoire,” Journal du Jura, March 14, 1959, p. 2. 35. Patrick Bloch, Letter to the British Columbia Sports Hall of Fame, Oct. 21, 2022.
Chad Soon is a fourth-generation Canadian of Chinese and British descent who teaches in Vernon on the traditional and unceded lands of the syilx Okanagan people. Soon enjoys exploring Indigenous and Canadian heritage with his students, and he serves on the executive boards of the Okanagan Historical Society (Vernon Branch) and the BC Historical Federation. Soon published The Longest Shot: How Larry Kwong Changed the Face of Hockey in 2024.
Tom Lymbery, who served on the BC Historical Federation board in the 2000s as vice-president, has died at 97.
Lymbery was the longtime proprietor of the Gray Creek Store on Kootenay Lake, which has been in his family for 113 years (and counting). It has always been well stocked with books about Kootenay and BC history and copies of BC History magazine.
Lymbery had also been the president of the Gray Creek Historical Society since its inception in 2002.
Read more at mycrestonnow.com
An excerpt from the Fall 2025 edition of British Columbia History.
Fanny and Evan Hooson, who are buried in the Pender Island cemetery, were among those lost in a 1911 shipwreck.
Established in 1905 on land donated by Rutherford Hope, its white stone crosses cascade down the gentle slope beside Bedwell Harbour Road. A headstone in memory of Fanny Hooson and her son Evan references the sinking of the S.S. Iroquois in 1911, which took both of their lives and reminds us that cemeteries also form a community archive.
The S.S. Iroquois sinks in a squall off of Sidney. Twenty-one people drown, including Pender school teacher Fanny Hooson, 38, (ne Lawson), her 3 year old son, and several new workers for Coast Shale Brick Factory. The ferry capsized three years earlier but was returned to service. The initial capsizing should have been a warning of the vessel’s unseaworthiness when overloaded.
Only 10 people survived — some rescued by members of the Cowichan First Nation in dugout canoes and by other bystanders. The wreck is now a Provincial Heritage Site near Sidney and during a 2020 dive by the Underwater Archaeological Society a whiskey jug could still be seen fused to the flywheel. Three-year-old Evan is buried at Pender Island Cemetery; Fanny’s body was never recovered.
Langley City mayor Nathan Pachal and Clyde Duncan, former president of GCCABC (Guyanese Canadian Cultural Association of B.C.) Courtesy Mark Forsythe
The names connected to streets, parks, and landmarks can lose relevance and meaning, unless their stories are carried forward. Indeed, the names of some streets and communities (e.g., Trutch, Queen Charlotte City) are being eliminated, which has generated heated debate among academics and the public.
Recently the Langley Heritage Society assisted in developing content for a trio of new interpretive signs in Langley City’s Douglas Park to provide some context for visitors. James Douglas was born of a Creole mother and Scottish father in British Guyana, and he would become one of BC’s most significant figures during the transition from fur trade territory to British colony.
The signs were unveiled by Langley City mayor Nathan Pachal, who also is of mixed heritage. He noted, “A lot of the history of Black folks has been ignored. The fact that Douglas was Black and biracial spoke to me and it shows that we belong here.”
James Douglas was a man of his times who, for a while, served two masters: the Hudson’s Bay Company and the British Crown. He is credited with resisting American expansionism and possible annexation during the chaotic gold rush era that began in 1858. He was knighted for his leadership and may still provide lessons in creative ways to assert sovereignty.
Locomotive #2141 in action. https://kamrail.com
For the first time in almost six years, the legendary “Spirit of Kamloops,” locomotive #2141, has rolled out of the Kamloops Heritage Rail Society shop under its own steam. The locomotive was built in 1912 for Canadian Northern Railway and was mothballed at the beginning of the Covid pandemic. It recently underwent testing for Technical Safety BC and Transport Canada certification with the hope that tourists will once again be climbing aboard.
The society has plans to launch a 230-kilometre round trip from Kamloops to Vernon in 2026, creating one of the longest steam-powered rail excursions anywhere. This still requires insurance, access to CNR tracks into the North Okanagan, and more fundraising.
The society’s new board of directors is dreaming big and keen to build a modern roundhouse conference and hospitality facility to help boost Kamloops as a tourist destination. Indeed, hardcore rail enthusiasts have been known to circle the globe in search of unique steam locomotive experiences. The #2141 is owned by the City of Kamloops; the society is tasked with maintaining and operating the locomotive. Kamloops Heritage Rail Society is accepting donations for its steam dreams through the Kamloops Heritage Rail website: https://kamrail.com.
Triplexes at North Pacific Cannery National Historic Site. Courtesy North Pacific Cannery
The Port Edward Historical Society, stewards of the North Pacific Cannery National Historic Site, has restored triplexes that were once home to Japanese Canadian fishermen and their families. The updated units are available to rent at the cannery museum site, located at the mouth of the Skeena River where time stands still. Rentals in the onsite bunkhouse are also an option.
Built in 1889, North Pacific is one of the few remaining cannery sites on the BC coast. Funding for restoration came from the Japanese Canadian Legacy Society, established as a redress initiative by the provincial government in 2020. The triplexes form part of the multicultural history of BC’s fishing industry where Indigenous, Chinese, Japanese, and Europeans laboured and lived, in mostly segregated conditions. A new interpretive display highlighting Japanese-Canadian cannery history is also part of the restoration project.
Parks Canada notes North Pacific Cannery is the oldest surviving cannery on the west coast of North America; it closed in 1981 after almost 100 years of operation. For more information, visit the Society’s website at northpacificcannery.ca.
Entrance to Chief Dan George exhibit. Courtesy Mark Forsythe
Developed by the Museum of North Vancouver, an exhibit focused on the life and legacy of Tsleil-Waututh Chief Dan George has been touring the province since 2017. Its most recent stop was at the Fort Langley National Historic Site, where visitors surveyed information panels, classic movie posters, videos, and paintings that tell a remarkable story of “Chief Dan George, Actor and Activist.”
Born in 1899, Dan George got his first acting role in CBC TV’s Cariboo Country. He also appeared in the film version of the ground-breaking Ecstasy of Rita Joe and was nominated for an Oscar for his role in Hollywood’s Little Big Man. He was also a musician, elected chief, First Nations rights activist, and environmentalist.
His poem “Lament for Confederation,” spoken during a Canadian centennial celebration event at Empire Stadium, was gripping and stark.
“How long have I known you, Oh Canada? A hundred years? Yes, a hundred years. And many, many seelanum more. And today, when you celebrate your hundred years, Oh Canada, I am sad for all the Indian people throughout the land.”
Dan George was at the forefront of the native rights movement. The exhibit notes: “Before reconciliation became part of the lexicon of First Nations relations, Dan George lived and practiced reconciliation.”
To host this travelling exhibit, contact MONOVA curator Andrea Terrón at Terrona@monova.ca. •
Mark Forsythe travels through BC and back in time, exploring the unique work of British Columbia Historical Federation members.
In his Vancouver Historical Society talk, Chris Wong shined a light on iconic venues and key musicians featured in his book Journeys to the Bandstand: Thirty Jazz Lives in Vancouver. Chris, who has been writing about Vancouver's jazz scene since the 1980s, introduced the audience to great Vancouver jazz musicians like John Dawe and Dave Quarin and characterful venues including the original Cellar Jazz Club and the Blues Palace in the talk. His presentation included numerous vintage images and excerpts of rare, unreleased music recorded live in Vancouver jazz clubs. Chris also talked about how he researched the 605-page book that goes from the 1950s to the present.
Watch the full video here.
The Museum of Vancouver (MOV), in collaboration with Simon Fraser University’s (SFU) Faculty of Health Sciences and the Post-COVID-19 Interdisciplinary Clinical Care Network (PC-ICCN), is proud to announce the opening of Living with Long COVID. The exhibition invites visitors into the often-invisible world of those living with the life-altering effects of a COVID-19 infection.
One-in-nine Canadians have already experienced Long COVID symptoms. Despite its prevalence, the condition remains widely misunderstood, under-researched, and stigmatized. Living with Long COVID brings these realities to light, offering a powerful platform for those living with its day-to-day impacts.
The project began in 2024 when people living with Long COVID, many of whom call themselves Longhaulers, expressed a desire to share their experiences with the wider public. With support from SFU’s Faculty of Health Sciences and patient advocates, a national call for submissions invited individuals to document a day in their lives. Forty-six participants from across Canada responded, contributing photographs and short reflections that candidly reveal moments of pain, joy, fatigue, resilience and everyday adaptations.
Living with Long COVID runs from October 4, 2025, to March 22, 2026 at the Museum of Vancouver.
BCMA and MOV Workshop: How to Be Hopeful in a Climate Crisis with Elin Kelsey: Thursday December 4th, 2025
9:00 am - 4:30 pm at the Museum of Vancouver
How do we sustain hope while facing the climate crisis? That is the question author and climate activist Elin Kelsey explores in her latest book, How to Be Hopeful. In this one-day workshop, Kelsey will share insights from her research and writing, framing hope as an evidence-based, active practice that nurtures resilience and fuels climate action.
Join the BCMA and Museum of Vancouver (MOV) for a day of learning and connection. We will begin with a talk by Kelsey, grounding participants in her approach to emotional awareness, community collaboration, and the agency of both humans and non-human species. Drawing from her book, she highlights practical strategies (such as sourcing solutions-focused news, practicing interspecies etiquette, and drawing strength from circles of support) that can inspire action in our own lives and institutions.
Building on these ideas, participants will engage in small- and large-group discussions about how to integrate hopeful practices into museum work and the sector’s climate action efforts. This workshop includes a catered lunch.
Workshop fee: $60.00 for BCMA Members, $75 for non-members.
Register here!
Join the AABC for the webinar "When Good Descriptions Go RAD" to navigate the theory and rules behind archival arrangement and description. Participants will review practical strategies for intellectual processing and how they can be used to create meaningful finding aids for staff and researchers alike. Rules for Archival Description (RAD) will be discussed along with how to strategically use access points. This webinar will be a useful refresher for experienced practitioners and beneficial for students and volunteers processing archival records.
Instructor: Lisa Glandt, AABC EAS Coordinator
Date: Tuesday, Nov 4, 2025 Time: 9:30 – 11:30am PST Location: online via Zoom Cost: AABC members: $25.00 per person; Non-members: $40.00
Registration deadline: Monday, Nov 3 @5:00pm To register for this event, please visit: https://aaobc.wildapricot.org/Webinars
Douglas R. Mayer, renowned historian and railway author, is proud to announce the release of Canadian Pacific Railway on the Revelstoke Division, Volume Nine, the latest installment in his acclaimed series documenting the history of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) in the Revelstoke region.
This new volume continues Mayer’s meticulous exploration of the Revelstoke Division, offering railway enthusiasts, historians, and local residents an in-depth look at the operations, people, and infrastructure that have shaped this vital section of Canada’s railway history. Featuring rare photographs, detailed maps, and first-hand accounts, Volume Nine brings to life the legacy of the CPR and its enduring impact on Revelstoke and surrounding communities.
Canadian Pacific Railway on the Revelstoke Division, Volume Nine is published by the Revelstoke Heritage Railway Society and is available at the Revelstoke Railway Museum gift shop and through the museum’s online store. This volume is an essential addition to the library of anyone interested in Canadian railway history or the rich heritage of Revelstoke.
Available from the Revelstoke Railway Museum online store.
You are invited to join the Vancouver Heritage Foundation as they help launch Elder Larry Grant's new book, "Reconciling: A Lifelong Struggle to Belong" on October 6th.
The event will take place from 7 pm to 8:30 pm at the University Women's Club at Hycroft. You can register here.
About the author:
Larry Grant was born in a hop field outside Vancouver in 1936, the son of a Musqueam cultural leader and an immigrant from a village in Guangdong, China...When Larry Talks about reconciliation, he uses the verb reconciling, an ongoing, unfinished process we're all going through, Indigenous and settler, immigrant and Canadian-born.
A local history book 20 years in the making will be launched at the Silvery Slocan Museum in New Denver on Saturday, Oct. 4, at 1 p.m.
The King of Sandon: Murder, Myth, and the Man Behind B.C.’s Greatest Ghost Town is a full-length biography of John Morgan Harris, a mining magnate with a secret past and a complicated legacy.
Local historian and journalist Greg Nesteroff traces Harris’ life from rural Virginia, where he was born into a family of slaveholders, to northern Idaho, where he risked life and liberty to make a name for himself.
Harris arrived in the Slocan in early 1892, as part a wave of prospectors lured by a silver rush, and bought a promising mining claim that turned into his bonanza. While other tycoons spent their fortunes on mansions in urban areas, Harris built an entire city in the wilderness as a monument to himself. He owned the townsite, its principal buildings, power plant, and waterworks.
He was nicknamed the King of Sandon, but his subjects didn’t always see his rule as benevolent. He was frequently in court defending his interests, and one dispute over a mining claim dragged on for years before finally reaching the Privy Council.
When Sandon’s fortunes declined as the mines in the area played out, Harris refused to leave, even as his town crumbled around him. Although new life teased occasionally, his optimism that the city would boom again was never fully justified.
During the book launch, Nesteroff will present a slideshow and explain the book’s long genesis, including his trips to Harris’ birthplace and burial site in Virginia.
“I became interested in Johnny Harris because so many myths were associated with him,” Nesteroff explains. “While some things were said about him that were false, I was surprised that some of the most unlikely things turned out to be true.”
The book lays bare Harris’ darkest secrets and also looks at how, following his death, Sandon nearly faded from existence, only to be discovered by others determined to save what was left.
The book includes 237 photos and illustrations as well as eight specially-created maps. The King of Sandon is available for pre-order on the book’s companion website, kingofsandon.com, which also contains source notes, photo galleries, interviews, and many other special features.
The book will be available in stores throughout the West Kootenay following the launch.
Nesteroff will also speak on the book at the Slocan Valley Historical Society annual general meeting on Saturday, Oct. 18 at 1 p.m. at the W.E. Graham school library in Slocan.
British Columbia Historical FederationPO Box 448, Fort Langley, BC, Canada, V1M 2R7Information: info@bchistory.ca
With gratitude, the BCHF acknowledges that it carries out its work on the traditional territories of Indigenous nations throughout British Columbia.
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