history

Yak Flight is a group of six Greater Victoria vintage plane pilots best known for their Remembrance Day flyover. (Courtesy of Chris Walker)

‘It’s just magic’: Vancouver Island flying group thankful for one-of-a-kind hobby

Yak Flight is best known for its formation fly on Remembrance Day

Yak Flight is a group of six Greater Victoria vintage plane pilots best known for their Remembrance Day flyover. (Courtesy of Chris Walker)
Gwen Spencer Hethey with her uncle and mentor Major Frederick Richardson. (Courtesy of Greater Victoria Sports Hall of Fame)

‘She was a killer’: The B.C. woman who pioneered female sharpshooting

Gwen Spencer Hethey made military men ‘look like turkeys’ says her son

Gwen Spencer Hethey with her uncle and mentor Major Frederick Richardson. (Courtesy of Greater Victoria Sports Hall of Fame)
(Courtesy Photo | Frank Zmuda)

Beaver secretion found as part of ancient throwing dart in Yukon

Researchers saying it’s earliest known evidence of Indigenous peoples using the substance

(Courtesy Photo | Frank Zmuda)
A protester swings a hammer in an attempt to remove the head of the Egerton Ryerson statue in Toronto on Sunday June 6, 2021. A much-maligned statue of Egerton Ryerson was toppled in Toronto on Sunday. The statue, prominently displayed on the campus of Ryerson University, has come under renewed scrutiny after the discovery in Kamloops, B.C., of what are believed to be the remains of 215 Indigenous children at a former residential school. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

Beheaded statue of Egerton Ryerson, toppled Sunday in Toronto, won’t be replaced

Ryerson is credited as one of the architects of Canada’s residential school system

A protester swings a hammer in an attempt to remove the head of the Egerton Ryerson statue in Toronto on Sunday June 6, 2021. A much-maligned statue of Egerton Ryerson was toppled in Toronto on Sunday. The statue, prominently displayed on the campus of Ryerson University, has come under renewed scrutiny after the discovery in Kamloops, B.C., of what are believed to be the remains of 215 Indigenous children at a former residential school. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
River Bend Bridge has gone through different iterations since it was first built circa 1910. (SUSAN QUINN/ Alberni Valley News)

QUINN’S QUIPS: How much does a name matter?

The debate about the Orange Bridge in Port Alberni isn’t new…

River Bend Bridge has gone through different iterations since it was first built circa 1910. (SUSAN QUINN/ Alberni Valley News)
Trooper Douglas Mar (family name Mah) of Port Alberni, pictured in his Royal Canadian Forces uniform in 1944, is Robinson (Rob) Mah's brother. (PHOTO COURTESY MAH FAMILY)

QUINN’S QUIPS: Second Mah brother known for efforts in Second World War

Douglas Mah was part of secret unit of Chinese Canadian soldiers

Trooper Douglas Mar (family name Mah) of Port Alberni, pictured in his Royal Canadian Forces uniform in 1944, is Robinson (Rob) Mah's brother. (PHOTO COURTESY MAH FAMILY)
Minnie Paterson, known as the ‘Heroine of Cape Beale’ for her lifesaving efforts following a tragic shipwreck on the west coast of Vancouver Island, poses for a portrait with her dog Yarrow in 1900. Paterson’s husband Thomas was the Cape Beale lighthouse keeper at the time of the wrecks of the SS Valencia on Jan. 22, 1906 and the Coloma on Dec. 7, 1906. Minnie earned her nickname after trekking through rough terrain and weather to Bamfield to alert Coast Guard Service Quadra that the Coloma was sinking. All aboard were saved thanks to her heroic efforts. This photo is one of 24,000 included in the Alberni Valley Museum’s online archives, available for public viewing at https://portalberni.pastperfectonline.com. (PHOTO PN11869 COURTESY ALBERNI VALLEY MUSEUM)

LOOK BACK: Minnie Paterson, the heroine of Cape Beale

Take a peek at Alberni Valley history with the AV Museum and Maritime Discovery Centre

Minnie Paterson, known as the ‘Heroine of Cape Beale’ for her lifesaving efforts following a tragic shipwreck on the west coast of Vancouver Island, poses for a portrait with her dog Yarrow in 1900. Paterson’s husband Thomas was the Cape Beale lighthouse keeper at the time of the wrecks of the SS Valencia on Jan. 22, 1906 and the Coloma on Dec. 7, 1906. Minnie earned her nickname after trekking through rough terrain and weather to Bamfield to alert Coast Guard Service Quadra that the Coloma was sinking. All aboard were saved thanks to her heroic efforts. This photo is one of 24,000 included in the Alberni Valley Museum’s online archives, available for public viewing at https://portalberni.pastperfectonline.com. (PHOTO PN11869 COURTESY ALBERNI VALLEY MUSEUM)
In this photo, taken by Joseph Clegg circa 1930, the ship S.S. City of Victoria heels over to portside while fully loaded with lumber in the Port Alberni harbour. (PHOTO PN03874 COURTESY ALBERNI VALLEY MUSEUM)

LOOK BACK: Steamship mishap in the Alberni Harbour

Take a peek at Alberni Valley history with the AV Museum’s online archive

In this photo, taken by Joseph Clegg circa 1930, the ship S.S. City of Victoria heels over to portside while fully loaded with lumber in the Port Alberni harbour. (PHOTO PN03874 COURTESY ALBERNI VALLEY MUSEUM)
A petition launched by a group of University of Victoria students calls for the renaming of Trutch Street. (Google Maps)

B.C. students lobby to get racist official’s name off Victoria street

University of Victoria students say Trutch Street puts racist history on a pedestal

A petition launched by a group of University of Victoria students calls for the renaming of Trutch Street. (Google Maps)
In 1916, a set of wooden stairs and a footbridge connected the north and south sides of the Dry Creek gully around where Ninth Avenue is now. There were 78 steps on the north side and 58 steps on the south side, and they were called the Golden Stairs. A 1992 newspaper column by historian Jan Peterson notes the origin of the name was ‘undecided.’ This photo is one of 24,000 in the Alberni Valley Museum’s online digital archives. See more about the Golden Stairs at https://portalberni.pastperfectonline.com. (PHOTO PN01401 COURTESY ALBERNI VALLEY MUSEUM)

A LOOK BACK: The ‘Golden Stairs’ of Port Alberni

Take a step back in time with the Alberni Valley Museum

In 1916, a set of wooden stairs and a footbridge connected the north and south sides of the Dry Creek gully around where Ninth Avenue is now. There were 78 steps on the north side and 58 steps on the south side, and they were called the Golden Stairs. A 1992 newspaper column by historian Jan Peterson notes the origin of the name was ‘undecided.’ This photo is one of 24,000 in the Alberni Valley Museum’s online digital archives. See more about the Golden Stairs at https://portalberni.pastperfectonline.com. (PHOTO PN01401 COURTESY ALBERNI VALLEY MUSEUM)
The booklet roots present day activism in the history of racist policies, arguing the history must be acknowledged in order to change. (CCPA)

New resource dives into 150 years of racist policy in B.C.

Racist history must be acknowledged in order to change, authors say

The booklet roots present day activism in the history of racist policies, arguing the history must be acknowledged in order to change. (CCPA)
Rob Rondeau, PhD candidate at SFU, is embarking on a mission to find definitive evidence of human migration to the continent. (SFU supplied image)

VIDEO: Marine archaeologist looking for clues of ancient migration in B.C. waters

SFU researcher hoping to find 15,000 year-old archaeological sites underwater

Rob Rondeau, PhD candidate at SFU, is embarking on a mission to find definitive evidence of human migration to the continent. (SFU supplied image)
David Hooper has learned about the Spanish flu from 1918 from his great-grandfather Francis Grant’s first-hand accounts. Grant lived in Victoria, B.C. and was working at Spencers department store when the Spanish flu came to Vancouver Island. He wrote about the epidemic in his daily diaries. (SUSAN QUINN/ Alberni Valley News)

B.C. man’s diaries reveal glimpse of life when Spanish flu hit

Port Alberni’s David Hooper shares ancestor’s writings from 1918

David Hooper has learned about the Spanish flu from 1918 from his great-grandfather Francis Grant’s first-hand accounts. Grant lived in Victoria, B.C. and was working at Spencers department store when the Spanish flu came to Vancouver Island. He wrote about the epidemic in his daily diaries. (SUSAN QUINN/ Alberni Valley News)
25 years later: The water skiing legend on Kalamalka Lake

25 years later: The water skiing legend on Kalamalka Lake

A group of waterskiers were towed behind a plane on Kalamalka Lake back in 1995

25 years later: The water skiing legend on Kalamalka Lake
The Beaufort Café, inside the Beaufort Hotel on Third Avenue in Port Alberni, was the place to be seen in 1944. Standing at the counter on this particular day are Mr. Hugh Lee, left, and his wife Phyllis, waitresses Mollie, Jacky Mulcaster, Cathy Peterson and Sylvia McMillan, and bookkeeper Birdie. Historian Glen Mofford was gifted with this photograph by Jacquelyn R. Zambon (née Mulcaster) in 2013. (PHOTO COURTESY GLEN MOFFORD)

LOOK BACK: The historic Beaufort Hotel in Port Alberni

Taking a peek at Alberni Valley history with historian Glen Mofford

The Beaufort Café, inside the Beaufort Hotel on Third Avenue in Port Alberni, was the place to be seen in 1944. Standing at the counter on this particular day are Mr. Hugh Lee, left, and his wife Phyllis, waitresses Mollie, Jacky Mulcaster, Cathy Peterson and Sylvia McMillan, and bookkeeper Birdie. Historian Glen Mofford was gifted with this photograph by Jacquelyn R. Zambon (née Mulcaster) in 2013. (PHOTO COURTESY GLEN MOFFORD)
Unpinning layers, years and memories from my bulletin board at the office as we prepare to move to a new building in September, I uncovered this gem from coworker Rachel Theus’ baby shower for her youngest son. I found the photo on Erik’s ninth birthday. (SUSAN QUINN/ Alberni Valley News)

QUINN’S QUIPS: Memories build up on bulletin board of life

Oh, my office bulletin board is full of reminders and schedules, but it is also full of memories

Unpinning layers, years and memories from my bulletin board at the office as we prepare to move to a new building in September, I uncovered this gem from coworker Rachel Theus’ baby shower for her youngest son. I found the photo on Erik’s ninth birthday. (SUSAN QUINN/ Alberni Valley News)
Mohawk Council of Kanesatake Grand Chief Serge Otsi Simon discusses the current situation and actions relating to the Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs during a press conference at the National Press Theatre in Ottawa on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

30 years after Oka crisis, Kanesatake land claims remain unresolved

Serge Simon, the current Grand Chief of Kanesatake, vividly remembers the events of July 11, 1990

Mohawk Council of Kanesatake Grand Chief Serge Otsi Simon discusses the current situation and actions relating to the Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs during a press conference at the National Press Theatre in Ottawa on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
An image from the Royal BC Museum’s digitized collection of historical photographs shows an Interior Salish woman and child weaving baskets. The image is one of thousands posted in an online database. (Courtesy of the Royal BC Museum)

B.C. museum releases more than 16,000 historical photos of Indigenous life

Digitized images preserved and shared with Indigenous communities

An image from the Royal BC Museum’s digitized collection of historical photographs shows an Interior Salish woman and child weaving baskets. The image is one of thousands posted in an online database. (Courtesy of the Royal BC Museum)
Volunteers with Alberni Pacific Railway returned to the roundhouse parallel to Third Avenue on Saturday, June 13, 2020 to begin replacing some rail ties by hand. Physical distancing was respected as 18 ties were replaced. The railway’s train and locomotives are located at the roundhouse. (PHOTO COURTESY ALBERNI PACIFIC RAILWAY)

All tied up at Alberni Pacific Railway

Volunteers begin to replace railroad ties

Volunteers with Alberni Pacific Railway returned to the roundhouse parallel to Third Avenue on Saturday, June 13, 2020 to begin replacing some rail ties by hand. Physical distancing was respected as 18 ties were replaced. The railway’s train and locomotives are located at the roundhouse. (PHOTO COURTESY ALBERNI PACIFIC RAILWAY)
Mary Chester sits on a log on a beach preparing grasses for making baskets. In this photo, one of a series in the Alberni Valley Museum’s digital archives, she is holding and turning a tool over a plate. The AV Museum has an extensive exhibit on Indigenous baskets and prominent Nuu-chah-nulth makers. See more at https://portalberni.pastperfectonline.com. (PHOTO PN03464 COURTESY ALBERNI VALLEY MUSEUM)

A LOOK BACK: The culture of Nuu-chah-nulth basket making

Take a peek at Alberni Valley history with Alberni Valley Museum

Mary Chester sits on a log on a beach preparing grasses for making baskets. In this photo, one of a series in the Alberni Valley Museum’s digital archives, she is holding and turning a tool over a plate. The AV Museum has an extensive exhibit on Indigenous baskets and prominent Nuu-chah-nulth makers. See more at https://portalberni.pastperfectonline.com. (PHOTO PN03464 COURTESY ALBERNI VALLEY MUSEUM)