As you might have heard, BC Parks is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2011. Accordingly, the theme of this year’s annual Heritage Week (Feb. 21-27) will be “One Hundred Years of Conservation: Parks and Cultural Landscapes.”
The Yellowhead Museum is planning a display in the Clearwater Library during Heritage Week to honor Wells Gray, Spahats, and North Thompson provincial parks and the recently established Little Hells Gate Regional Park between Avola and Blue River.
The display will include historical material such as First Nations artifacts, photos, as well as written material from pioneers in Upper Clearwater Valley. The natural resources of the area that became Wells Gray Park provided income for trappers, prospectors, and fishing and hunting guides. Later on, it also provided jobs for pioneers in development of woods, trails and the building of amenities for park visitors.
If anyone has experiences or memories of the park in the early days, we will be pleased to display the material. More current park uses (including business operators) are also welcome. Please contact me at 674-3660 or Dennis Greffard at 674-3562 (yellowheadmuseum@gmail.com) or bring the material to Greffard’s Saw Shop by Feb. 21.
While the museum is currently closed for the season, it will reopen again by appointment only during the summer months.
Ida DeKelver
Yellowhead Museum
Clearwater, B.C.