The Museum at Campbell River has been working in partnership with Shaw TV to produce a documentary film recording the memories of long time residents of North Campbell River.
The inaugural viewing of the film will be at the Museum on Saturday, April 18 at 2:30 p.m.
The name of the documentary is ‘The Hay Days of North Campbell River’ and its purpose is to capture the history of the community and record some of the changes that took place after the 1940s, when the town of Campbell River experienced an economic boom with large developments like the John Hart Dam and the establishment of the Elk Falls Mill that forever changed the face of the landscape.
Prior to that time, logging, fishing and farming were the industries that shaped peoples’ lives, particularly for those who had settled north of the Campbell River.
The Vanstones, Perkins, Pooles, Merediths, and Hudsons were all close neighbours who helped each other manage their farms and they even shared their supplies.
The children growing up here remembered summer days of freely playing on the beaches and in the river before the dam was built, as well as winter activities like ice skating on the flooded frozen north field of Hudson’s Farm.
The now famous Painter’s Lodge was built on land purchased from the Hudsons, and to this day the Hudsons and Painters families remain close.
In the early days, the sons of the Vanstones and Perkins worked as fishing guides for the Lodge while the wives and daughters could often be found working at the Lodge or in its kitchen.
Come and listen to the story of North Campbell River as told by the people who fondly remember growing up there – long before the roads were paved and residential neighbourhoods came to dominate the once sleepy countryside.
The documentary was made possible with funding through the New Horizons for Seniors Program from the Government of Canada. For more, call 250-287-3103. Admission is by donation.