Bridge River-Lillooet Country - Cast of Characters (A Mug's Gallery)

NB My apologies to locals and others for the incomplete state of this site, and to any errors in history or locations or comments as much was written "on the fly" from memory; contributions welcome, as the eventual intent of this site is an open community heritage/memorabilia archive; if you have stories or other input (including corrections) for this site please contact me (replace "_at_" in address with @ symbol). The site is a constant work-in-progress and contributions of historic or scenic photos are always welcome, as are family and individual stories connected with the history of the region (which spans the area from Harrison Lake via Pemberton to Lillooet and up the Fraser as far as Big Bar, with some spillover towards Cache Creek and Lytton).

Ma Murray	Dr. Masujiro Miyazaki	The Hurleys
George Murray		The Martleys
		The Hoeys
		The Durbans
		The Duguids

Comprehensive Site Index

Index By Area/Theme

INTRODUCTION

This site is my personal tribute to a very special part of British Columbia in which I was fortunate to have spent my early childhood, and (now and then) a few years of my adult life. Still obscure nearly 150 years after it played an important part in the founding of the Crown Colony of British Columbia and despite its stunning and complex scenery, it has somehow escaped the intensity of settlement and development which have so drastically changed other better-known parts of the province. Although most of its frontier-era buildings are long gone, and the goldfield towns are largely quiet it retains much of the atmosphere of the Wild West and, as almost everyone who visits the region comes to realize, "has something unique" that mere words cannot explain.

Just under five hours from Vancouver, and a little over two hours from the Olympic site at Whistler, its torrid summer climate, sunny skies, rich history and spectacular gorges, lakes and mountain ranges seem likely to propel into the the forefront of provincial tourism, if not of urban development as it exists in the Okanagan, Kootenay or the Strait of Georgia regions. All this has been forecast before, however, and yet fortune never did catch up with the oft-cited boundless potential and stunning beauty of the place and its resources and agriculturally-favourable climate. The ruggedness and variety of the scenery throughout the region have on important quality, however - they create a sense of remoteness, of apartness, of a unique place very separate and distinct from the regions around it, that no matter how developed or connected to the outside world it may (or may not) one day become, it will always remain what it is, and some vestige of its storied past will always be found in the character of the people who live in it.

This site has been for many years completely unsponsored except for the donation of webspace by synercom/edi, a Vancouver software firm owned by a friend of the author. The site is essentially a compilatoin of many, many photographs and related commentaries within, some from the author's family collection or own photographic work, but many kindly relayed from the BC Archives online photographic database, or donated by readers of the site and residents of the region. The site is currently undergoing a major revision incorporating maps and newer photos and narratives on specific topics and locations which were lacking before. Those new sections are listed in the table above; the older version of the site, which is interconnected with the new pages, is farther below, and nearly all the pages there are also facing revision and improvement.

Because of the download costs associated with the many images on the site, which have until now been borne by synercom/edi, the author is now prepared to invite potential sponsorship of individual pages, either for commercial advertising by local businesses (or even corporate sponsors) or by individuals interested in furthering and supporting the site. Please contact me if you have any questions or wish to make application for sponsorship or advertising space. The site will remain non-profit, part of the reason for which is the use of the BC Archives photos, but costs for any well-visited website that has a lot of content invariably start to rise at some point (and, frankly, the author spends a lot of time working on it in lieu of paid work and would appreciate help with the rent and groceries....)

Index of pages/sections by Area/Theme - in no particular order
(scroll down)

Mile 'O' & The Golden Mile	Lillooet Sites & Stories	Fountain & Fountain Canyon	Seton Portage, Shalalth & The Lakes
Canyonlands	Pacific Great Eastern Railway (BCR)	Bridge River Country (Main Index)	Bridge River Canyon
Mountains & Mountain Ranges	Bridge River Power Project	Bridge River Goldfields	The Chinese in Lillooet
Nkoomptch (Seton-Cayoosh Gorge)	Marble Canyon	Moran Canyon & The Upper Fraser Canyons	Pavilion
Golden Cache Mine	D'arcy, Birken & Pemberton-Mt. Currie	Lytton & The Thompson Canyon	Mountain Men & Guide-Outfitters
Resort & Recreation Info	Links and Stuff	Bibliography
The Pemberton Valley (the Lower Lillooet Country)	The Hanging Tree	Fountain Ridge	Horses of the Bridge River-Lillooet & Chilcotin
	Japanese Internment Camps 1941-45 (being researched)	Ranches & Ranching History (Under Construction)	Personalities & Just Plain Folks
Comprehensive Site Index The reason for this index is that many of the picture-links above lead to further subindex pages on certain topics and regions and many of these cross-linked. The comprehensive index lists all pages and topics directly, rather than via sub-indexes, so that finding a particular page or location is a lot easier.

Musical Improvisations		Acting
Chinook Jargon	Poetry & Other Writings	Family History	(links/pages added soon) Travel Photography

Comprehensive Site Index

INTRODUCTION

Mike Cleven - Other Interests & Creations: