September 2004 - Vol Four, No.10

History Helps, Volume Four, Number 10, September 2004
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WELCOME TO FALL!

School Days

"School Days Begin Tuesday

With Delta’s hundreds of children getting ready to go back to school next Tuesday school officials have for the past few weeks been getting ready for their arrival.

Among the more or less unexpected duties and expenses of the school board is the replacement of large numbers of broken windows in the schools.

At Kennedy, Ben Brandrith, chairman of the school board, reported more than sixty windows broken by vandals. While investigations of the breakages have been carried on with suspicion pointing at adults well beyond the school age no charges have been laid due to insufficiency of information.

At Delta Central at least eight windows have had to be replaced."

Source: The Ladner Optimist, 29 August 1946, page one.

1901 Census of Canada

Here’s a recently discovered site that has a free database (incomplete at the moment) of the entries in the 1901 Census of Canada. You can find it at http://automatedgenealogy.com/index.html.

This is a volunteer-transcribed database and it‘s free. There is also ongoing work being done on the 1906 Census for the Prairie provinces.

Match-Making

"ESTABLISHING NEW INDUSTRY

The Dominion Match Company, Ltd., Will Operate on the Banks of The Fraser

A new industry that will mean much to the Fraser valley has been announced for location at New Westminster and a few months will see a match factory on the banks of the river, sending British Columbia made matches from Montreal to the Orient. The name of the new company is the Dominion Match Co., Ltd.

The first appearance of the new project in public was at the local Exhibition, where one of the marvellous new machines was on exhibition. The basis of the new industry is that by a new process of match cutting and holding, the native woods, such as alder, cottonwood and spruce, can be utilized, by a rapid economical method that results in enormous saving in the cost of production. It is due to this fact that British Columbia is able to appear in the new role of a match producer for the Dominion of Canada.

Local investors were immediately interested in the new project and the first block of stock was subscribed for in Chilliwack, New Westminster and Cloverdale, within two weeks. The first opportunity to be owners in the new industry has been given to the local investors as it is the policy of the company to have its owners here in the region to be most benefitted.

The new plant to be constructed will have a capacity of one car load of matches per day. Under the new process it is expected to clear in profits not less than $1000 per car. As the capitalization is only $1,000,000 par value this will mean that the company would pay some 30 per cent dividends, and considerably better on the basis at which the stock is temporarily being sold locally in accordance with the request of the company. The material used will be common alder, with which the region is plentifully supplied, and the wonderful new process is simplicity itself. The new machine, while on exhibition at Speck’s store in New Westminster, and afterwards at Chilliwack, attracted interested crowds. It is at present on exhibition at 328 Hastings street, west, Vancouver. A common alder log is cut into ribbons of veneer by the usual veneer process. These strips are run into matches which are simultaneously wound in a belt.

The match ends are then dipped in the composition which makes the heads, without being removed from the coil. The match is then complete, and to pack it into a box is a mere matter of unrolling the coil, the belt winding up again ready for use and the matches sliding down a chute into the waiting box. This unloading machine is also an invention of W. H. Parker, who invented the match cutter."

Source: The Delta Times, 04 November 1911, page four.

Japanese Education

"JAPANESE TO HAVE OWN SCHOOL ON SEA ISLAND

A school entirely for Japanese children will be erected shortly by the Oriental residents at the Vancouver Cannery on Sea Island.

The structure will be erected to comply with the provincial regulations, and the Richmond School Trustees have agreed to pay the teacher’s salary at this school.

The Board have announced their willingness to agree to a similar joint arrangement at Steveston, where the increase of population necessitates additional school accommodation.

The Japanese Canadians say that they would themselves prefer that their children should be educated with other Canadian children, but the Board consider that the Japanese learn more quickly when taught in a special school, and that when the two races are together the teachers find they have to devote greater time to the Japanese than their numbers warrant, owing to their imperfect knowledge of the English language."

Source: The Weekly Gazette, 10 April 1920, page one.

Passport Information

I was just recently trying to get caught up on reading (as if that were possible) my various history-related magazines and came across an area of research that was new to me.

This particular article related the use of passport applications as a source of information about family members. Granted that the example was American, for which there exists a substantial collection of records, I’m wondering if anyone has had any experience in researching Canadian passport applications, if those are available or if the information is covered by Freedom of Information legislation.

I checked out the appropriate section at Cyndi’s List that covers passports, namely, http://www.cyndislist.com/passports.htm but couldn’t find anything related to Canada.

Something Else Related to Education

"THE TEXT-BOOK BRANCH

A special branch of the department of Education has been in existence since 1908 to assist in keeping educational costs low, so that all pupils might have an EQUAL OPPORTUNITY TO PARTICIPATE [sic] to the fullest extent in the educational opportunities offered throughout our B. C. public school system.

Text-book costs, in a free school system, unless they are reasonable, are frequently the cause of promising students leaving school before they have attained that scholastic standard their natural aptitude and ability warrants.

The Text-Book Branch purchases by the ‘carload lot’ the required books for B. C., establishes a proper retail price, and sells to dealers throughout the province. It distributes to the various schools the prescribed text-books FOR THE FIRST SIX GRADES, and they are loaned to pupils WITHOUT COST. In GRADES VII TO XIII PUPILS may rent all the prescribed text-books for a NOMINAL RENTAL FEE.

Through the adoption of proper business methods, text-book costs in British Columbia are comparatively low, and the branch is operated at no cost to the tax-payer.

TEXT-BOOK BRANCH

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

VICTORIA, B.C.

HON. W. T. STRAITH, K.C., Minister."

Source: The Ladner Optimist, 05 January 1950, page four.

Self-Promotion

Here’s the blatant part -- I’ll be doing a presentation, which I’m hoping will be interactive, on the subject of Tsawwassen for the Delta Museum and Archives on Saturday, October 2nd at 1:00 p.m. The title is "Was there a Tsawwassen before the Tunnel?" and that essentially captures my approach to my next book.

If you’re interested in attending, pre-registration is required at 604-946-9322. I believe that the cost has been set at "admission by donation."

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Gwen Szychter, M.A.

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