I may be one of only two people alive today to have attended the dedication of the cairn at Fort Shepherd some sixty years ago.
I was reminded of the event by a feature Greg Nesteroff wrote for the Nelson Star (Feb. 18, 2011 pp 14,15) entitled Six Unusual Monuments, one being the cairn at Fort Shepherd. Erected in 1951 on the site of the sometime Hudson’s Bay Fort (used on again, off again from 1859 to 1870) the monument has now lost its plaque, but that may soon be restored.
As I remember the day, there were very few people who ventured along a rough road down the Columbia River from Trail. I believe that my brother and I were the only children present. I was armed with my Brownie box camera and took the pictures, below. The first picture was taken before the dedication and shows the cairn draped with the Canadian Red Ensign. I believe that the man on the left is Trail’s mayor. The second picture was taken after the dedication and shows the plaque, a Union Jack fastened to a tree, a member of the R.C.M.P., and again the mayor (this time with a cane).
The background looks like a wasteland…guess Trail has always looked barren
The hillsides around Tail are vastly greener now than they were sixty years ago.
The site and blog are now among my favorite stops on the internet. Alistair, did you ever see the email that I sent to you concerning the slide collection that I found in a second hand shop in Nelson?
Yes, I saw your note, and even answered it. Hmm…, I had better try to reach you again.
These photos capture a wonderful moment in history. Thanks for sharing them, Alistair.
. . . and Greg’s article reminded me of a short item about the cairn in the British Columbia Historical Federation’s Newsletter, #32 p.3: http://bchistory.ca/publications/newsletter/oldnewsletters/32_dec2010.pdf . Great ‘historic’ photos Alistair!
Awesome, awesome photos! How wonderful to still have those photos you took as a youngster and to be able to use them so many years later. Makes history even more interesting!
I must admit that, when I did the calculation, I was a bit surprised just how long ago it was that I took those pictures. One measure of it is the flags: the Canadian Red Ensign and the Union Jack. The adoption of a national flag for Canada was still fourteen years in the future.