Editorially speaking…
Does it never end? Every time I turn around, there’s more, more: new leads, followups to old stories, emails, letters from readers, unfinished business, research, deadlines. More to do, more to do.
Oh, the hardships of an author/historian/publisher...
Seriously, I’m always mildly surprised by the number of current news stories that have historical roots and thus provide more fodder for the Chronicles’ editorial page. So let’s begin to catch up, and my apology for its being even more of a grab-bag than usual.
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For starters, faithful reader Bill Irvine sent along this digitally coloured photo of cabins and shacks in Victoria’s Inner Harbour. The black and white BC Archives’ version dates from the 1870s. What a difference technology can make!
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From our mailbox: A reader pointed out that I referred to “the discovery of 100s of graves at residential school sites across the country,” when, to date, no graves, so far as I know, have yet been confirmed. This news story has yet to be played out.
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In another recent editorial mention, this one about a ship breaking firm in Union Bay that has been charged with pollution, I noted that the firm defended itself by partially blaming historic coal mining operations from the Dunsmuir era. The Dunsmuirs being the infamous Robert and James, of course, whom I reluctantly thought unlikely as the villains for once.
Well, the ship breakers have been fined for “unauthorized effluent discharge” and failing to fix things after warnings from the province. But those damn Dunsmuirs haven’t been totally exonerated in this matter, the Ministry of Environment and Parks acknowledging “widespread historic contamination in the larger Union Bay region,” i.e. the result of the decades that Union Bay served as a coke processing plant and as a shipping terminal for Cumberland (Dunsmuir) coal.
Residues from the Union Bay coal washing plant in the 1920s apparently still pose environmental problems today. —BC Archives
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On a lighter note, Maureen Alexander, president of the Malahat Mill Bay Historical Society, dropped a line to say she enjoyed the Nellie Cashman segment of my recent Good, Bad and Ugly series, and that she was looking forward to the final instalment, that of Ugly Agnus MacVee.
Don’t tell me that I don’t celebrate women pioneers here on the Chronicles!
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I’ve written before about old family photos that turn up at flea markets and garage sales. Several weeks ago, Ottawa resident and former White Rock, B.C. resident Corinne Friesen found a box old Kodachrome slides (35mm transparencies) among her possessions.
Her son had found them in the back of a book case while helping her to pack up to move to Ottawa, three years ago; now, she’d like to find their owners. Appearing to be from the 1980s, they’re obviously part of someone’s family history.
Old photos found at garage sales always make one wonder: who, where, when? In this age of digital genealogy, many such mysteries have been solved and the photos reunited with their rightful owners. —Author’s collection
At the time the story made the news, Ms. Friesen thought she’d narrowed ownership down to a likely candidate but hadn’t been able to contact her through social media.
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Finally—for today—this sad note I posted on Facebook:
Ian MacInnes, the author of seven books on Cowichan Valley history, much of it based upon his having grown up in Duncan, has passed away, age 92.
I was privileged to know Ian and his fine books are in my library.
Perhaps his best known title is that shown here. It should be noted that Ian didn’t write and publish for a profit but for the joy of sharing his knowledge and research with others.
Bless you, Ian MacInnes!
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