This program will combine a look ahead to the special events of 2008 along with a selection of images of the local community. A bit of an Historical Society January tradition - an eclectic set of photos - great fun to look at.

This program will explore the 2008 Heritage Week theme by looking at some New Westminster stories and images all taken from the local heritage of business. Archie Miller and Gavin Hainsworth will provide the presentation.

This presentation will feature many items all related to the Fraser River and that make up part of the resources of the Fraser River Discovery Centre. From the Centre's educational programs you will hear some of the things that are studied, played with and learned from. Lots to choose from and many are great fun! This educational team is well known for their innovative programming and the fact that they make learning about the river a lot of fun.

From the background stories that tell the account of this river come many that are strange, curious, hard to believe, and so on. Stories of this river cover a wide range of topics and a selection of these will be presented. This is a wonderful collection of river materials. The presentation will come from Suzanne Dodd, Education Coordinator for the FRDC and historian, Archie Miller.

Award winning historian, Charles Hou, will be a guest this month and will present two looks at BC history. He will briefly talk about the establishment of the Crown Colony of British Columbia in November of 1858 -- one of the 150 year anniversaries being recognized this year.

For the main part of his presentation he will bring examples of how political cartoons have shown items from our past and how they have presented or interpreted our history. Hou will look at some major controversial issues in "BC" from 1790 to 1982 as seen through the eyes of Canadian political cartoonists. Most of the cartoons, Hou states, are from BC newspapers while others are from outside. Charles and his wife Cynthia are well known for their work and writing on the subject of political cartoons especially where the information they contain can be used for students' study. This will be an excellent evening and look at an interesting topic. Be sure to look up the books on political cartoons written by Charles and Cynthia Hou.

This year, 2008, is the 200th Anniversary of Simon Fraser's exploration of the river that would eventually bear his name. In honour of Fraser a number of events are planned for this year to mark this anniversary. The Historical Society will feature a few programs that will focus on the river and its story.

This presentation will look at the Simon Fraser 1808 expedition with quotations from his diary as well as other historical notations about Fraser and his exploits 200 years ago. A note to remember: Simon Fraser's birthday will be recognized as part of the first day of the Hyack Festival a few days prior to the Historical Society evening -- watch for announcements. A number of sources are used in this program and you will hear many descriptions of the events that make up the 1808 expedition. Added to this presentation will be notations of recent research and explorations that have looked at Simon Fraser and his valuable work and role.

2008 is filled with anniversaries of "provincial" importance. This same year is also the anniversary of the formation of the New Westminster Board of Trade, today known as the Chamber of Commerce. For some people the history of such a group must be boring and dry but that is simply not the case. This is the story of some very interesting and remarkable people, people who were closely tied to their community and who wanted to see it progress and expand, people who showed a strong sense of dedication to the town in which they lived and worked. This is an important story of the efforts of a group of people who form a vital part of the history of New Westminster.

This year's Heritage Week theme was Taking Care of Business: The Heritage of Trade and Commerce, and the Historical Society is pleased to honour the 125th Anniversary of the local Chamber of Commerce in this presentation. The presentation will be offered by Dale Miller, writer, researcher and historian, who has, among her many research projects, focussed on the history of the Board of Trade.

[Note: a walking tour of Downtown New Westminster will be presented on the theme of the formation of the Board of Trade. The tour will link early members of the Board of Trade to the street sites of their businesses etc. Watch for scheduling for this.]

The Fraser River is an important part of many of the celebrations to be held in BC this year. A major story that comes out of all this river history is the tale of the paddlewheel steamboat, the sternwheelers, the sidewheelers, the vessels that played such an important historical role. The vessel that is honoured as the first of this type on our coast was the Beaver, a ship under Hudson's Bay Company, that served from the 1830s until the 1880s.

It was with the Fraser River Gold Rush in the 1850s that the great influx of paddlewheel steamboats began. This program will talk of the ships, the captains, the cargoes, the ships' amenities and their travel routes, and will also present many anecdotes of interest all related to this chapter in our maritime heritage.

This presentation will offer a brief history of the Catholic Cemetery as well as a visual walking tour of the site through slides and comments. There are some truly intriguing stories connected to this cemetery and a number of these will be included. Names like Keary, Guichon, English, McInnes, Lynch, Feeney, and Michaud, are prominent in the accounts.

[Note: a cemetery walking tour will also be conducted at St Peter's Cemetery to recognize the site's anniversary. Watch for scheduling of this.]

The Fraser River Gold Rush: Words Of The Day Describe This Vital BC Event

The gold rush on the Fraser River in 1858 had a major influence on the history of what is now British Columbia. This presentation will look at the story of the gold rush through descriptions from that time -- descriptions from many sources: newspapers, diaries, and other written accounts. The words also come from many different places including California, Oregon, Washington, other US locations, Canada, and elsewhere around the world. This was an interesting time with interesting people and many tales.

In BC today you can travel to many parts of the province and see reminders of this gold rush and those that immediately followed in this part of the world. The stories and descriptions that will be offered will lead you to want to know more about this Gold Rush and others as you travel the Fraser Canyon, see the museums of Yale and Hope, follow the Cariboo Road, go into Barkerville, see Fort Steele, stop at Rock Creek, marvel at the Engineers Road in Manning Park, and so on.

This year 2008, we are celebrating the 200th anniversary of Fraser's exploration. One hundred years ago in 1908 the 100th anniversary was marked at the Provincial Exhibition, held in Queens Park in New Westminster. This was a very special fair that showcased Simon Fraser and his deeds with many displays and events.

This was also the year in which it was decided to place a monument to Fraser in New Westminster. This is the monument that can be seen on the boardwalk at Westminster Quay. This presentation will look at the fair of 1908 and the celebrations that took place.
A great many items were gathered together for this Exhibition and Simon Fraser was the front and centre theme of the event that was visited by many thousands of people.

The Exhibition in New Westminster has been a program topic many times with different fairs being examined -- this time it is 1908 and the centennial of the Simon Fraser expedition.

[Note: A walking tour of the sites of the Simon Fraser Monument mixed with Simon Fraser stories will be offered this summer. Watch for scheduling on this.]

1858 is a special year in BC history. It was the year of the gold rush. It was the year that the Colony of BC was proclaimed. The Commanding Officer of the Royal Engineers arrived in the Colony on Christmas Day. What things were parts of Christmas in 1858 -- a Victorian Christmas?

This story will be told in words and pictures,. A selection of period images, all related to Christmas of the day, are to be included in this presentation. Many of the traditional features of present day Christmas trace their own roots to the Victorian age. This program will tie this age to the holiday season in a very young British Columbia.