Forest History and Archives

Arne Johnson (Jonassen) was born in Kingsberg, Norway, in 1896 and emigrated to Canada in ca. 1911-12. He began farming in Saskatchewan and moved to Nixon Camp near Chase, B.C., to become a logger. Johnson became a leading figure in B.C. Coast loggers' organizations by 1928 and was a major figure in the loggers' strike of 1934. During his work career, he was a member of the One Big Union-British Columbia Loggers' Union, Lumber Workers Industrial Union of Canada, Lumber and Sawmill Workers Union, United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, International Woodworkers of America and the Woodworkers Industrial Union of Canada. He left union organizing to return to fall at various logging camps from 1936 until his retirement. The fonds consists of documents relating to Arne Johnson's career in logging, including membership cards in various union organizations; correspondence with Myrtle Bergren relating to her book, Tough Timber, on the history of the loggers of British Columbia; union correspondence, and minutes of some union meetings.

This fonds consists of records related to Bruce Devitt’s activities in the field of forestry in British Columbia as well as his public service in managing critical environmental issues in the Pacific Northwest. The fonds includes news clippings, research papers, letters, transparencies for presentations, and meeting minutes, among other textual content. The photographic material encompasses black and white and color photos in a variety of sizes as well as slides, all pictures pertain to forestry practice in British Columbia.

Chauncey Donald Orchard was Chief Forester of British Columbia. The fonds consists of subject files, sound recordings, photographs and maps relating to the history of forestry in the province, which Orchard created while under contract to University of British Columbia. Some of the files consist of research material he collected concerning hand-loggers, camp living conditions, and wages and salaries.

The fonds consists of two addresses on forestry (1956, 1958), eight reports on tracts of forest and water resources (1914, 1915, 1919, 1942, 1944), timber licence records (1911, 1932, 1950), maps and printed material (1917-1955).

Eric Flesher was born in California and moved with his family to Vancouver in 1901. He began logging in 1912 and his career in the industry spanned some six decades. The fonds consists of Flesher's unpublished memoirs entitled "Timber: The Log of a Western Logger" with revised drafts by Elsie McGill. The manuscript provides an account of the British Columbia logging industry from 1912 to 1965. The fonds also includes five journals (1934-1969), correspondence (1946, 1965-1972), legal documents (1904-1912), photographs of Flesher's family and early logging career and printed material. Most of the records relate to his activities in the Phillips Arm area.

Garth Brown, a founding member of the NDP, worked at the Elbourne Sawmill as Plant Chairman and headed the Plant Committee through most of the 1970s, and was an active committee member in the 1980’s. The fonds consists of correspondence, minutes, subject files and printed materials related to the NDP Executive Committee, the Labour Policy Committee, Vancouver civic politics, labour education, Canadian Labour Congress, International Woodworkers of America and Brown's work at the Eburne Sawmill.

Gordon Price was was born in 1949. He received his high school and university education in Victoria. In 1972, Price was one of the first people to be employed with the BC Legislatures Hansard. Next, undertaking some freelance writing and editing projects, he worked for the Tourism Ministry, BC Hydro, the Ministry of Forests (particularly ForesTalk magazine), and the Outdoor Recreation Council. The fonds consists of subject files which Price assembled through his freelance writing for the publication, Forestalk. Composed of clippings, reports, articles, speeches, etc., the material pertains to various facets of the forest industry in British Columbia.

Harvey Reginald MacMillan was born September 9, 1885 in Ontario. In 1919, he left government employ and established the H.R. MacMillan Export Company Ltd. From then until he retired in 1956, he worked to establish the forestry and paper giant known today as MacMillan-Bloedel Ltd.The fonds consists of correspondence that spans the years 1898 to 1978, with the bulk of the material from 1930 to 1965. Fonds also includes transcripts, press clippings, notebooks, reports, minutes and publications. The fonds reflects the overlap of personal and corporate interests in MacMillan's life.

Harold Pritchett was born in Birmingham, England and arrived in Port Moody, B.C. in 1912. He began working at the Thurston-Flavelle Mill in 1919 and gradually became involved in union activities. By 1931, he was Chairman of the Fraser Mills Strike Committee and President of the Shingle Weavers Union in 1933. He was elected president of the Independent Federation of Woodworkers in 1936; then with the affiliation of the Federation of Woodworkers to the Congress of Industrial Organizations, he was elected founding president. Pritchett resigned from activities in the United States in 1940 and became President of District Council No.1 (IWA) for British Columbia. Following a split in the Union, Pritchett helped organize the short-lived Woodworkers Industrial Union. The fonds consists of a scrapbook (1936-1939); clippings, printed material; correspondence (1970s); financial statements of B.C. District, IWA (1945-1947); ribbons and buttons for IWA and Labour Progressive Party conventions (1944-1948); subject files pertaining to his legal status while travelling in the United States (1936-1938); 31 prints of loggers' funerals and membership cards. The fonds also includes correspondence (1945-ca.1980), subject files, photographs (1940s), memorabilia (1936-1940) and membership books.

Active for over 65 years in his chosen profession of forest entomology, Hector Richmond was a well-known and highly respected forester, researcher, administrator, and consultant. He worked for the Canadian government and then as a consultant to the Council of Forest Industries of B.C. His greatest contribution to the field was his work on the control of the ambrosia beetle. The fonds consists of correspondence, reports, photographs and maps documenting Richmond's work as a forest entomologist. The bulk of the materials are from the 1960s and his work on the control of the ambrosia beetle.

Dr. Hubert William Ferdinand Bunce was a forest researcher active in the Canadian forestry industry for many years. Fonds consists of documents spanning Bunce’s career in the forestry sector, covering both his paid and volunteer work. The bulk of the material relates to his work as a forestry consultant at Reid, Collins & Associates and his work on several national forestry committees. Additional material relates to his years as a graduate student, his early career, his involvement with various professional associations, and his years as part owner of a woodlot near Maple Ridge, BC. Also included are articles he published and notes from presentations that he gave.

The Humbird family held shares in in the Victoria Lumber and Manufacturing Company Ltd. and other companies in British Columbia and the western United States. John A. Humbird was one of the key figures in the development of Seaboard Lumber Sales Company, Limited.
The fonds consists of records of several companies, including the Victoria Lumber and Manufacturing Co. Ltd., Humbird Lumber Company, Jacob Humbird Holding Company, Seaboard Shipping Company, the Jacob Humbird Trust Fund, as well as estate records of John A. Humbird and photographs. Records from the Victoria Lumber and Manufacturing Company include minutes (1889-1950), journals (1889-1943), stock certificates (1898-1946) and ledgers (1889-1946).

Jack Pacey, born in West Summerland, B.C., worked at various mining and fishing jobs before he went to work for the newly-established Canadian Forest Products Englewood Logging Division in the Nimpkish Valley in the northern portion of Vancouver Island. As part of his duties as a log grader, Pacey took photographs of the logging operations. He was also one of the founders of the Nimpkish Lake Photography Club. The fonds consists of photographic negatives which depict the logging operations of the Englewood Logging Division of Canadian Forest Products in the Nimpkish Valley. The negatives were created by Pacey as well as the Nimpkish Lake Photography Club and the Englewood Logging Division Photograph Department of which he played a major role.

John Goodwin was born and raised in Vancouver, B.C.He began working for global corporations in London (UK) and Montreal, but he returned to Vancouver in 1973 to begin working for MacMillan Bloedel. Goodwin joined the Strategic Planning and Development department and his role was to diversify MacMillan Bloedel beyond just the forestry industry. He did not have a background in the forestry industry, but rather brought his perspective of the broad industrial market instead to MacMillan Bloedel. After one year, he joined the Linerboard and Packaging Group; the majority of his records pertain to the work he did on various projects within this department. He focused on projects outside of the Canadian context, namely in the US operations HQ in Atlanta, Georgia and in Alabama as well as operations in the UK. From 1974 to his departure from MacMillan Bloedel in 1986, he also did specific project work or assignments directed by the various CEO’s he worked with over the years. Goodwin’s role was valuable to his superiors and he was referred to as the “chief of staff” occasionally. After leaving MacMillan Bloedel, Goodwin would work in various domestic and international business market consulting roles until 1995 when he became President of a management consulting firm, Effective Business Strategies, where he remains today. The fonds consists of records arising from John Goodwin’s professional career at MacMillan Bloedel.

John Stanton served as legal counsel for numerous industrial trade unions in British Columbia including the International Woodworkers of America, International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers, United Fishermen and Allied Workers' Union and International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union. Stanton worked for the Vancouver Community Legal Assistance Society from 1976 to 1984. The fonds consists of materials pertaining to Stanton's career as a lawyer representing a broad spectrum of industrial unions such as the International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union, International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers (Canada), International Woodworkers of America and the Marine Workers and Boilermakers Industrial Union as well as individual cases relating to the workplace.

John Ulinder moved to Vancouver Island around 1926 and found employment as a logger with the Comox Logging and Railway Company. He held the position of Secretary in the Ladysmith Sub-local 1-80 of the International Woodworkers of America (IWA), 1941-1944. The fonds consists of a notebook, notes, clippings, reports, speeches, correspondence, subject files, and printed material relating mainly in his union activities and concerns over safety issues on the job and leadership issues in the union. There are subject files relating to his union trial when he was suspended for actions detrimental to the best interests of the IWA that pertain to the disagreements between the "reds" and "whites" factions within the IWA in the 1940s.

Mike Apsey, an alumnus of UBC held a long career in forestry, including working for MacMillan Bloedel Ltd., the Council of Forest Industries, and held the position of Deputy Minister of Forests from 1978-1984. The fonds reflects Mike Apsey’s career and his involvement with organizations relating to forestry. The records include briefing notes, comments, speeches, remarks, presentations, made at conferences and different forestry gatherings, meeting minutes, transparencies and slides used for presentations, photographs of Apsey with dignitaries from Canada and the United States, reports, articles, and publications by Apsey about forestry.

Nelson Lougheed was born in Thornbury, Ontario and came to British Columbia with his family in 1889. In 1905 he moved to Port Haney where, with J.W. Abernathy, he established the firm of Abernathy and Lougheed Ltd. which operated a sawmill. Over the years Lougheed was active in both British Columbia mining and logging ventures including Greenwood Gold Mines Ltd., Allco Silver Mines Inc., Abernathy-Lougheed Logging Company, Ltd. and Edgar-Lougheed Logging Company, Ltd. He also represented Dewdney as an MLA in the 1920s and 1930s and served as Minister of Public Works and later Lands. The fonds includes business and ministerial correspondence, legal documents, the records of Robert A. Grant, a materials cost price diary (1927) and daily journals (1925, 1926, 1935).

P.S. Bonney was a forestry engineer who was involved in the Alcan, B.C. Project. The fonds consists of a B.C. Forest Branch report (1913) and photographs and maps relating to the development of Kitimat as part of the Alcan, B.C. Project.

Patrick O'Neal was the western regional organizer for the International Brotherhood of Pulp, Sulphite and Paper Mill Workers. Prior to his holding that position, he served as Secretary-Treasurer of the B.C. Federation of Labour. In 1973 he became vice-president and director of Area XIV, United Paperworkers International Union. The fonds consists of correspondence, reports, scrapbooks and printed material relating to O'Neal's activities, mainly in the field of union organization (ca. 1965-1975).

Peter Anderson was born in Onsjo, Sweden. He emigrated to the United States in 1885, settling in Minnesota. After working as a farmer, he joined Weyerhaeuser Timber Company in Wisconsin as a logger. In 1888 Anderson moved to Tacoma, Washington where he became a partner in a small shingle mill. After the mill closed, Anderson went to the Klondike in 1897. While there he earned enough money to open a saw mill back in Washington State. He then moved north to British Columbia where, after contracting to log for Hastings Mill, he and his sons began a new company at Knox Bay and then Grassy Bay. The fonds consists of photographs of early logging in British Columbia, including those of the Knox Bay Camp (1890s-1929), and Anderson's reminiscences about his life.

Fonds consists mostly of cartographic materials relating to reconnaissance trips taken by R.C. Harris. The maps are both historic and those drawn up by Harris for his trips, incorporating old trails on current maps.Bob Harris was born in England in 1922. After he served with the Royal Engineers during World War II, he graduated with a degree in Civil Engineering from the University of London in 1948. He was later married to Rita in July 1948 and sailed to Canada that same year. In 1950 Mr. Harris and his wife moved to Vancouver where he worked for 25 years for the Dominion Bridge Company. Then, in 1975 he moved to the structural engineering company of Buckland and Taylor where he remained until his death in 1998.

R. W. "Dick" Scott is a prominent member of the forest products industry in British Columbia. In the 1960s he founded the Vancouver firm of Barnett Lumber Industries Ltd. that was involved in logging, manufacturing, wholesaling, and world export. He later founded R.W. Scott Industries, Pac-Deck Sales Ltd., and Scott Forest Products Ltd. His lumber interests led him into the membership of the International Concatenated Order of Hoo-Hoo that was devoted to the interests of the lumber industry and to promoting the use of forest products. He was initiated in the Vancouver Hoo-Hoo Club in 1951 and became President of the Club in 1955 and the International Order in 1959. As President, he initiated an international wood promotion campaign in 1960. He has continued his involvement in the organization.The fonds consists of records of the Vancouver Hoo-Hoo Club No. 48 and the International Concatenated Order of the Hoo-Hoo and the records of Scott's participation in these organizations. It includes correspondence, financial records, minutes, photographs, printed material and related material.

Rex Pendril “Pen” Brown was born in Vancouver in 1923 to Emma Bentall Brown and Philip Pigott Brown, both from Essex. Brown attended UBC at age 16. At age 19, Brown was called to serve the army in WWII, but received conscientious objector status
Brown served his time in alternative service work camps at Kootenay National Park and Blubber Bay. He also served 30 days in Oakalla prison for refusing to complete work during his service.

Richard ("Dick") M. Herring had a long professional forestry career during which he worked as a logger, forester, prospector, senior executive, and consultant. His work took him all over the world, from the tropics to the forests of Alaska, British Columbia, and the high Arctic. Fonds consists primarily of textual materials related to Herring's forestry career. Materials related to his extensive interest in the forestry industry are also present, including documents related to various lectures and conferences in which he participated. Materials include correspondence, reference materials, maps, blueprints, financial documents, handwritten notes, photographs, slides and more.

The fonds consists of nine maps drawn for MacMillan & Bloedel Ltd., identifying timber status and tenure lands on Vancouver Island and the Lower Coast Region. The textual records include different timber licence documents.

The fonds consists of Murray's photograph album depicting logging operations, loggers, and maps pertaining to a lumber camp on the Bonaventure River near New Carlisle, Gaspe Peninsula, Quebec.

William Gerald Burch, known as Gerry Burch, held a longstanding career in British Columbia Forest Products company, becoming Chief Forester in 1968, and Vice President of Timberlands and Forestry in 1976. He also served as President of the Canadian Institute of Forestry. Many of the records in this fonds were used in relation to Burch’s autobiography, and therefore pertain to his childhood, education, navy service, and largely to his career as a forester.