Thousands of swans descend on Vanderhoof, bringing birdwatchers with them | CBC News Thousands of swans are flocking to Riverside Park in Vanderhoof, B.C., as part of their bi-annual migration, delighting local residents, birders, photographers and nature enthusiasts.

"But the swan population in the area hasn't always been so healthy. Trumpeter swans were once listed as an endangered species. In the 1930s, fewer than 70 wild birds were known to exist after they were over hunted for their white plumage."
#bchist #cdnhist #envhist

www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Did no one even vett this, @royalbcmuseum.bsky.social? Even by generative AI standards, it is a horrifyingly inaccurate depiction of gold prospecting... #bchist

Taste of home? Had breakfast this morning at Miss Molly's Diner in west Ottawa (great shakshuka!). When my son asked who "Molly" was, the waitress replied that it was named for Molly in The Beachcombers! A corner of a snowy field that is forever the Sunshine Coast.. @scmuseum.bsky.social

#bchist

Vancouver poet A.M. Stephen wrote this satirical poem mocking patriotic verse. But earlier, Stephen had written plenty of patriotic ditties. Why the change? Check out my article on interwar BC poets and national identity! #worldpoetryday #cdnhist #bchist #cdnlit

canadianpoetry.org/wp-content/u...

petroglyphs near bella coola bc, 1970s. postcard by dorse mctaggart
#bchist #cdnhist

Not really "new", though: they are finally implementing the design granted to the City by the Chief Herald of Canada in (checks notes) 2008: www.gg.ca/en/heraldry/...

#vexillology #heraldry #cdnhist #bchist

He's sweet as custard
'Cuz he always cuts the mustard:
Steve cuts the mustard every time!

(At Steve Marshall Ford in Nanaimo)

Steve cuts the mustard every time!

#bchist (after a fashion)

the skeena river and the industrial waterfront in kitselas bc, during construction of the grand trunk pacific railway during the early 1910s.
#bchist #cdnhist

Quite the entry sign, @benbradleyca.bsky.social and @jmcelroy.bsky.social!

#bchist

Found a bit of Vancouver history in an Ottawa thrift store this weekend. Internet sleuthing tells me that New Chungking Chop Suey at Pender and Main burned in 1963. It was well known for serving "cold tea" after the bars closed. Ad from Chinese Times, Sept 21, 1963. #bchist #cdnhist #foodhistory

Victoria's Scavengers For Victoria's early Black residents, the job of scavenging provided an opportunity to earn a living and demonstrate their civic dedication.

Victoria’s Scavengers
#BlackHistory #cdnHist #bcHist #yyj buttondown.com/leftcoastdis...

I love these discussions of historical pronunciation. For some #CanCon, Major J.S. Matthews, first City of Vancouver archivist, insisted that "Burrard" should be pronounced Burr-Erd" (equal emphasis on the two syllables), not "Burr-AHRD", as we do today. #cdnhist #bchist

Victoria Conference centre could see major upgrades Destination Greater Victoria is exploring three options to upgrade the Victoria Conference Centre, with one option that would create a shared space inside the Royal BC Museum.

how about a massive "heck no" to any notion of the victoria conference & convention centre taking over (ie: sharing a "multi-purpose hub" with) the royal bc museum? the bc archives are already being exiled to the outer edge of the regions electrical grid.
#bchist #cdnhist
cheknews.ca/shared-space...

curious to know more about "railroad ricky," the raccoon locomotive engineer mascot of port moody bc's "golden spike days."
#bchist #cdnhist @jmcelroy.bsky.social

on the trail to the silver cup mine, near hazelton bc, in the late spring or summer during the 1920s.
#bchist #cdnhist

US officials have long overestimated western separatism. In 1877, the US Consul at Victoria wrote, "Nothing can conciliate [BC separatists]," and "many desire...the annexation of British Columbia to the United States." Spoiler alert: nope. Full text in alt-text. #cdnhist #bchist #cdnpoli

A silverish coin with a smiling caricature of former BC premier W.A.C. Bennett and the inscription "Bank of B.C. / One Bennett"

Lots of talk about Alberta separatism of late, but other western provinces have considered going it alone in the past. Is this odd coin a relic of a BC independence movement in the 1960s? Not quite... a short 🧵 #cdnpoli #cdnhist #bchist #exonumia

Old Long Since The song is also about beginnings, which might be why William Fraser Tolmie sang it as he paddled the Columbia River in 1833

Auld Lang Syne is about goodbyes, endings, and beginnings, which might be why it came to mind for Dr. William Fraser Tolmie as he paddled the great #ColumbiaRiver one day in May 1833. #cdnhist #bcHist #oregon

buttondown.com/leftcoastdis...

The wikipedia entries for much of BC history are pretty sad. Ive known this for years, but today I looked up a very well known fur trade figure who worked in the US and BC. The entries for his US time are quite fulsome, and then it basically says “also he lived in Victoria for 40 years.” #bcHist

"mount view" youth hostel on the outskirts of banff, alberta in 1972 and 1973, operated by the banff youth council with assistance from parks canada.
#bchist #cdnhist #envhist

I stopped for coffee on a drive from Osoyoos to Vancouver this summer and am pleased to report it hasn't really changed that much #bchist #cdnhist

downtown princeton bc in the 1930s or 1940s, showing bridge street plus bridges over both the tulameen (foreground) and similkameen (background) rivers.
#bchist #cdnhist

crummy view, looking north (towards the rockies rather than the cariboos) at the intersection of 2nd ave and main street in mcbride bc, c.1913.
#bchist #cdnhist

The Gatineau Village des Valeurs is, oddly, a good source of vintage British Columbiana, including this seasonal offering today. Taking its place in my painstakingly assembled set of Sound Heritage, including @djduffy.bsky.social's "Imagine Please" #cdnhist #bchist #ThriftingThursday (a day early)

Libraries At Their Breaking Point With library funding in BC unchanged for almost two decades, the federal Liberal government is set to make things even worse.

My latest Left Coast Dispatch:

Libraries At Their Breaking Point buttondown.com/leftcoastdis... #yyj #bcHist

Not often that Kitchener, BC, a tiny community east of Creston, gets a shout out. I wonder how this ended up in Nebraska? #cdnhist #bchist #archives

(Photo of the Kitchener Hotel, about 1940, from BC Archives, and a street view of downtown Kitchener today, just because..)

John Hart John Hart - A Businessman in British Columbia Politics; Through biography, John Hart illuminates the political and economic history of British Columbia during the Depression and two world wars.

I chatted with Dr. Patricia Roy last week and she menrioned an upcoming interview with @gregorcraigie.bsky.social about her new book on BC Premier John Hart. And i managed to catch it this morning! #bcHist #Cdnhist

www.ubcpress.ca/john-hart

The Cowichan decision is a long time coming | The Narwhal Governments of Canada and B.C. laid the groundwork for the Cowichan decision by ignoring the issue of Indigenous Title for more than a century

If you’re angry about the Cowichan decision, lay the blame where it belongs. For more than a century, provincial and federal governments have tried to dodge the issue of Indigenous Title — creating problems for First Nations and private property owners thenarwhal.ca/opinion-eker... #bchist #cdnHist

here's another idea, #bcpoli

#bchist

The memory of the Aroostook War lingered long. It was behind this (entirely serious and not-at-all-silly proposal from the BC Legislature in 1870 that Canada buy Maine (along with Alaska) #cdnhist #bchist

tinyurl.com/2hdx6uwt (starting at p. 70)