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University of British Columbia Archives · Corporate body · 1915-

The Department of Physics was one of the original departments within the Faculty of Arts and Science when UBC was established in 1915, and has been in continuous existence since then. It was included in the Faculty of Science when it split from Arts in 1964. The Department was housed with the other science departments at Fairview Campus, and in the Science (now Chemistry) Building at Point Grey, until the Hennings Building was completed in 1947. The Department went through a period of significant expansion during the Second World War related to the research activities carried out by its member for the government, and it remains today one of the University's largest academic departments. Laboratory work has been an integral part of the curriculum of the Department of Physics since its beginning, and the Department has issued manuals for use by students since the 1940's.

University of British Columbia Archives · Corporate body · 1961-

In response to the growing need for professional librarians in Western Canada and with strong support from UBC President Norman MacKenzie and University Librarian Neal Harlow, the School of Librarianship was established at UBC by Samuel Rothstein in 1961. Housed in the upper north wing of the UBC Main Library, the School operated as a professional school within the Faculty of Arts and Science and opened with an enrolment of 30 students and four full-time faculty members. In May 1962, the School graduated its first class of Bachelors of Library Science (BLS). In February 1963, the School's program was accredited by the Committee on Accreditation of the American Library Association (ALA). ALA accreditation allowed the American and Canadian Library Associations to recognize the School as fully meeting the accepted standards for graduate education in library and information science and enabled the School's BLS graduates to seek employment in Canadian and American libraries. In order to incorporate new technologies into the curriculum and prepare students better for their professional careers as information specialists, the School replaced the one-year postgraduate BLS program with a two-year program leading to the degree of Master of Library Science (MLS) in 1971. The School's MLS program was later re-accredited by ALA in 1976, 1985, 1992, and 1998. In 1981, in conjunction with the Department of History, the School offered a two-year program in Archival Studies leading to the degree of Master of Archival Studies (MAS), the first graduate program in archival studies in North America. The first Archival class comprised eight students and one full-time faculty member.
In 1984, the School changed its name from the School of Librarianship to the School of Library, Archival and Information Studies (SLAIS). In 1990, both the MLS and MAS programs were made subject to the academic policies of Faculty of Graduate Studies but the School remained within the administrative jurisdiction of the Faculty of Arts. In 1995, the School graduated the first students with the newly re-named Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS). In 1998, the School initiated a Joint MAS/MLIS program and a First Nations concentration in the MLIS and MAS programs. In 1999, the School offered a multidisciplinary Master of Arts in Children's Literature program (MACL) in conjunction with the Departments of English, Language and Literacy Education and Theatre, Film and Creative Writing. In response to the educational needs of already working professional librarians and archivists, the School also offered a continuing education program leading to the Certificate of Advanced Study (CAS). In September 2003, the School admitted six students to its inaugural Ph.D. program in Library, Archival and Information Studies. In 2020 the School's name was changed again to the School of Information, to reflect the evolution of the information professions and changes within the disciplinary areas of library, archival and information studies.
Since 1961, the Directors of the School include: Samuel Rothstein (1961-1970), Roy Stokes (1970-1981), Basil Stuart-Stubbs (1981-1992), Ken Haycock (1992-2002), Edie Rasmussen (2003-2009), and Caroline Haythornthwaite (2010- ). Additional information about the School is available through their website www.slais.ubc.ca.

Salmon Arm 4-H Club
MS 71 · Corporate body · 1961-1991

According to the BC 4-H Club website, the Boys and Girls Club came into being in 1914. In the first year, over 200 young people between the ages of 10 and 18 were involved in competitions sponsored by the Department of Agriculture. The first clubs focused on potatoes, but later expanded to poultry in order to attract more young people and widen the influence of progressive farming practices on the BC farming community (see footnote below for source). When a local chapter of the Boys and Girls Club was formed in Salmon Arm is not known, but the Club was first mentioned in the Salmon Arm Observer in 1917.

The Boys and Girls Club was renamed 4-H in 1952. The name stood for the 4-Hs were: Head, Heart, Hands, and Health. The Four objectives of the 4-H are:

  1. To train the heads and hands of the boys and girls.
  2. To give them broad and big hearts.
  3. To improve their health by giving them an interest in outdoor life.
  4. To encourage, on the part of all Canadians, a strong and more intelligent interest in agriculture.
    The objectives are accomplished by competing and exhibiting at Fall Fairs.

The motto of the club is “Learn to do by doing.”

Oddly, the first mention of the 4-H Club in the Salmon Arm Observer was in 1951 as members of Armstrong, Kamloops, Salmon Arm and Lumby 4-H Clubs joined together to attend
the PNE in Vancouver.

Over the years there were multiple branches within the Club including Beef, Dairy, Horse, Goat, Honey Bee, and Clothing Clubs. A 4-H District Council served the area from Sicamous, Mara, Grindrod, Deep Creek, Salmon Arm and Sorrento.

Footnote: History of BC 4-H Club https://www.4hbc.ca/contact/history

MS 145 · Corporate body · 1908 - 1948

Tappen Valley School
When Charles Henry (Charlie) Brooke donated the land for Tappen Valley School he also ensured his children’s education. He had recently moved to Cardinal Ranch in Tappen October 31, 1914. His diaries document a list of activities. He started getting to know the community by personally circulating a petition for a school and, after a Mr. McArthur rescinded his offer of a site for the school, Brooke donated an acre of land himself. It was located on the Tappen Valley Road.

It is believed that, until the Tappen Valley School opened, Brooke took his children to the Tappen School on Bolton Road. On December 15, 1914 Brooke calculated an estimate for the cost of building a new school. A meeting was called and initially, one of the parents, a Mr. Fox, opted out of the project, wanting to send his children to Kault (Kualt) school.

An election of school trustees was held December 28, 1914. Three candidates are recorded in C.H. Brooke’s diaries. Fowler received 15 votes, Brooke 17 and Sweeten 12. It was agreed that all present were entitled to vote, including the women. When it was decided to include the votes of the women present, the meeting had to be quickly adjourned until Brooke could consult the Act. It appeared that women had the right to vote for School Trustees.

Local residents built the one–room school from hand–hewn logs and it was completed in 1915. Neighbours who helped build the school were listed in Charlie Brooke’s diaries: Moseley, Lee, T. Sweeten, G. Sweeten, Fowler, McDonald, S. Elliott, Blair, Gardiner, W. Rogers, C. Laingslow, Woolett, Eggleshaw, and Charlie Brooke.

Acting for the Trustees, Brooke negotiated with and hired Mrs. Eveleen Parker. In an exchange of telegraphs Mrs. Parker responded that she would come January 3rd.

The early teachers were:
• Mrs. Eveleen B. Parker from Revelstoke (~January to June 1915)
• Miss Stirling (August 1915 – December 1916)
• Miss Preston (January 1917 – December 1917). Miss Preston boarded with the Brooke family. Miss Preston may have taught at the Tappen Valley School until June 1918 but there is no surviving register for this year. She asked for a recommendation February 5, 1918.
• Miss E.A. Coles, September 1918 to 1921 (only a partial record has survived for 1921).

When, some years later, the Carlin School Parent Teachers’ Association compiled a cookbook as a fundraiser, Norma Surtees supplied information about the years she taught at the Tappen Valley School (1933–1935). She wrote that it was the teacher’s job to keep the school clean, light the fire, and carry water. The students under her charge were very co–operative and helpful. Older students would arrive at the school before her to get the fire going, and all the students did their share in keeping the school clean. Douglas Miller, a neighbour across the road, used to bring a bucket of water daily for the school children.

According to Allan Wilson, the school served the community of students until 1951, when Carlin Elementary School opened.

After the school was decommissioned the land it sat on was eventually purchased by the owners of a fuse plant in 1969. The old school log building was not required by the new owner, so arrangements were made for Keven Julian (Julian) Codd to move it across the road to his property, formerly Douglas Miller’s farm. The building was used for storage until it was accidently burned in a grass fire in 2010.

Carlin Siding School
The first location for Carlin Siding School was in a log building on land owned by (Thomas Alfred) Saintabin on Tappen–Notch Hill Road, east of the railway crossing where the trestle came across.

When the new school was opened in 1908, Josephine Bledsoe (nee Saintabin) was five. She was sent to school because there were not enough students to open the school. She remembers her first teacher was Miss Greenwood, followed by Carrie Peterson, May Johnson and then Miss Langlow (sic Langslow).

Miss Hilda Hutton was the next teacher, but resigned in December. The School Trustees hired a new teacher, Miss May Cecelia Rath and she and the students moved into a new building on Robert Gardiner’s farm. The old school remained on site and was used by Saintabin for storage.

The new school was also log and is well photographed. Moving the school operation closer to White Lake allowed the Finish children from that area to attend as well. It was only a four mile walk! By September 1913 attendance had jumped to 24 students from 17 in the previous year.

There are conflicting reports of when this move happened, but according to the Observer it was nearing completion in December 1912. In the 1913 register the teacher notes the attendance record on January 7th because the “School was not finished” the previous day. Three students transferred to Balmoral School – Dolf, Louise and Frank Oulette (Ouillette)– resulting in only a net increase of 6 new students. New students were Ernest and Minnie Maki, Vilju (Viljo) Mikkelson, Victor Robinson, Annie and Aile Harju.

The second location was below the present day Carlin Elementary Middle School, on the same side of the highway.

At some point the Gardiner property changed ownership and came into the hands of Joseph Rabie. When Rabie died in 1936, the property was divided amongst family members. Work on the highway further divided the Rabie property.

According to Allan Wilson, the log building served the community of students until 1951 when Carlin Elementary School was opened.
The Carlin Siding School was moved to Three Valley Gap, west of Revelstoke, in 1965.

Lee Creek School
Historically school children in Lee Creek had to leave the community for their education according to the North Shuswap Historical Society publication Shuswap Chronicles. They boarded nearby in Blind Bay and Sorrento for instruction but by 1918 there were enough school–aged children to form a school. Residents of Lee Creek lobbied the Department of Education and in May 1919 the School Inspector visited Lee Creek. He recommended that the catchment area for students be extended from the Adams River to Scotch Creek Indian Reserve to help the area qualify for a subsidy. $150 was granted to help with building expenses and Oliver Freeman, a bachelor, donated an acre of land by the lake for a site.

At a meeting of ratepayers on July 12, 1919 school trustees Mrs. Alex McKay, Bill Dempster, Ray Corning, and Bill McKay were elected.

A five hundred square foot school was built with lumber donated by Freeman. Carpenter Alex McKay designed and supervised the project with help from Ray Corning, Bill McKay, and James Lockerby. Emil De Portier and James Freeman helped cut a road to improve access to the site.

The school was opened in September and Winnifred Smythe of Revelstoke was hired to teach 12 students. The school also served as a community hall for political meetings, dances, parties, and church services.

The school closed for lack of students in 1928 when Barbara Wood and others moved to Kamloops for high school education. It opened again in 1934 for three years and Mrs. Spears was hired to teach. It was closed again until 1950, when it opened until 1954. Eventually school buses were used to take students to Celista and beyond for school.

According to author Jim Cooperman, the building became a garage for a time and fell into disrepair. It was torn down in the 1990s.

Corporate body · 1959-

The first United Church Chaplain, Rev. M.J.V. Shaver, was appointed to the University of British Columbia after its creation by BC Conference in 1959. An interdenominational committee, the Anglican-United Joint Chaplaincy Committee, was formed in 1969, through the BC Conference Committee on Church and State in Education, to begin the process of creating a joint chaplaincy at UBC. In 1970 the Anglican United Campus Ministry (AUCM) was created. In 1974, the AUCM and the UBC Student Christian Movement (SCM) merged to form the Cooperative Christian Campus Ministry (CCCM) at the University of British Columbia. In 1979, the SCM left the CCCM and the United Church and Anglican Church continued to operate campus ministry at UBC through the CCCM. In 1986, the CCCM was dissolved and the partnership between the United Church and Anglican Church at UBC ended. Later that year, after a brief period without a United Church campus chaplain, the United Church Campus Ministry (UCCM) at UBC was formed. In 2021, Campus Ministry at UBC became a part of Pacific Mountain Regional Council through the formation of Campus United.

Corporate body · 1991-

While courses in women’s studies were first offered at the university in 1971, the degree-granting Women’s Studies Program in the Faculty of Arts began offering an undergraduate major in 1991. The program was an interdisciplinary field of study that drew upon the social sciences, humanities, research methods, theory, literature, and gender relations. Tannis MacBeth Williams was the program’s first chair.
Early faculty involved in the Women’s Studies Program were Dr. Dawn Currie, Dr. Valerie Raoul, Dr. Veronica Strong-Boag, Prof. Sneja Gunew, Dr. Sharalyn Orbaugh, Dr. Becki Ross, and Dr. Lenora Angeles. The Women’s Studies Program worked closely with the Centre for Research in Women’s Studies and Gender Relations (created in 1991 with a mandate to support research and develop links between local and international scholars, policy makers and activists). The Founding Director of CRWSGR was Veronica Strong-Boag. Graduate-level courses were first offered in the 1998-99 academic year, initially from within the Interdisciplinary Studies Programme in the Faculty of Graduate Studies. The CRWSGR began administering M.A. and PhD programs in Women’s Studies and Gender Relations in 2000-2001. It changed its name to the Centre for Women’s and Gender Studies (CWAGS) in 2006. In 2012, CWAGS and the Women’s and Gender Studies graduate and undergraduate programs merged to form the Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice, directed by Dr. Mary K. Bryson.

Rossland School Board
Corporate body · 1895-[196?]

The Rossland School Board was the main administrator of Rossland’s schools since the first classes were held in 1895, in the Methodist Church. The School Board kept in contact with the Provincial Education Department, but were ultimately responsible for the schools administration, finances, and hiring decisions. Under their administration, the School Board built and operated Kootenay Avenue School/Rossland Public School (1896-1915), Central School (1898-1917), Cook Avenue School (1901-2002), MacLean School (1918-1981), and the Rossland High School/Rossland Secondary School (1951-2013). Rossland High School operated out of Cook Avenue School after the Rossland Public School closed and until the new high school was built in 1951. The name of the high school changed to the Rossland Secondary School sometime in the early/mid-1960s.

In 1960, the School Board merged with the Trail School District. Rossland’s schools are now under School District 20 (Kootenay-Columbia).

St. John’s College UBC
Corporate body · 1997-

St. John’s College UBC is a graduate residential college for graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and visiting scholars from around the world who study and teach at the University of British Columbia. St. John’s College was founded in 1997 by a joint venture agreement between The Johanneans’ Educational Foundation and UBC in memory of the original St. John’s University, which was once one of China’s most prestigious and influential universities before the institution was forcibly closed down in 1952 following the successful communist revolution. Symbolically, the College is next to the Pacific Ocean facing Asia. The first Principle of the new St. John’s College, Grant Ingram, took office in August 1997. St. John’s College seeks to inspire a global vision and foster a spirit of community among its residents and alumni through multicultural education, intercultural understanding and international exchange. The College is committed to enriching the intercultural and cultural life of the University, as well as welcoming and engaging with off-campus communities. It strives to embody the traditions of academic excellence and public service inherited from its founders, the alumni of St. John’s University Shanghai.
St. John's University was established in 1879 as “St. John’s College” by Samuel Isaac Joseph Schereschewsky, the Anglican Bishop of Shanghai, by combining two preexisting Anglican colleges. In 1879, St. John's began with teaching 39 students mainly in Chinese. Subsequently, more college courses were offered. In 1896, St. John's was reformed; and in 1905, it was granted university status and started to confer bachelor's degrees. Gradually, the number of registered students started to expand and various schools were established, including arts, science, medicine, and theology. In 1913, a graduate level school was founded. The university began to accept female students in 1936. St. John's University was one of the 14 renowned
universities established in China before the founding of the People’s Republic of China. Up until 1947, the university was approved to register with the then Chinese government. St. John's combined with three other schools -- Shanghai University, Soo Chow University and Hangchow Christian College – and formed Shanghai United Christian University on August 13, 1937. St. John's University gained an international reputation as one of the most prestigious universities in China. The university was famously known as "the cradle of diplomats in China" or even "Harvard in the Far East." St. John's became independent from the American Anglican Church in 1952. In the same year, the Ministry of Education in China reconstructed the departments and faculties of St. John's University. The journalism program was incorporated into Fudan University, architecture into Tongji University, economics into the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, politics into the East China University of Politics and Law, Chinese language and culture into East China Normal University, and the medical school into Shanghai No. 2 Medical University, which became the School of Medicine at Shanghai Jiaotong University in 2005. Thus, St. John’sUniversity became history. The initial English motto of St. John's is "Light and Truth." However, the Chinese motto, originated from Confucius, is "Learning without thinking is labor lost, thinking without learning is perilous." Both mottos are incorporated into the emblem of the former university.
During the first world reunion of St. John’s alumni – or Johanneans – in 1988, they promised to uphold the spirit of St. John's by starting new educational enterprises, and, if possible, restore St. John’s University, their alma mater. Therefore, this vision led to the founding of the Xinpu Institute of Technology in Taiwan, subsequently renamed as St. John's University of Science and Technology, which gradually become a comprehensive university. This view also motivated the establishment of St. John's College at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver in 1997. The Johanneans continue to contribute to society from all walks of life.

Corporate body · 1977-

The UBC Office of Research Services was established in 1977 as Research Administration. Prior to its establishment, the President’s Office oversaw the administration of research activities for the University. In 1983 Research Administration changed its name to Research Services. In 1986 it became Research Services and Industry Liaison. In 1992 it changed its name back to Research Services. Throughout this time Richard D. Spratley managed its activities. In 1983, when Research Administration changed its name, Spratley’s position as Research Administrator was re-named Director.
The Office administers grants and grant programs for the University. A number of separate committees are responsible for administering grant programs and overseeing different types of research. The Human Ethics Committee oversees ethical review procedures for research involving humans. The Animal Care Committee approves research involving animals, while ensuring that animal care guidelines were met. The Biosafety Committee reviews and approves research involving bio-hazardous materials, and also sets safety standards.

Pacific Educational Press
Corporate body · 1971-

Pacific Educational Press (PEP) is the publishing house of the Faculty of Education at the University of British Columbia. PEP publishes educational books and media resources, including textbooks and supplementary resources for schools, scholarly books for education specialists, textbooks for teacher education programs, and professional resources for practicing teachers. The Press was founded in 1971 as the Vancouver Environment Education Group (VEEP). In its early years VEEP focused on providing resources for elementary school teachers, focussing primarily on environmental education. In 1974 it changed its name to Western Education Development Group – abbreviated to WEDG, and later, WEDGE, only retaining its full name in the copyright information of its books. WEDGE expanded the range of subjects of its publications, and a number of series were produced in conjunction with other organizations during this period. The final name change to Pacific Educational Press occurred in 1987. PEP began producing textbooks for both the K-12 market and for teacher education courses. In addition, the Press has published a number of supplemental resources for teachers, and also several children’s fiction books with accompanying teacher guides.
The original director of the Press was Kip Anastasiou, who often served as the editor or even co-author of the books. The second director, Catherine Edwards, began circa 1990. She also served as an editor of the books produced by PEP. Edwards retired in 2014 and the Press is now under the direction of Susan Howell. The Press has remained small throughout its history, as of 2014 employing only about 10 full-time employees.

Corporate body · 1969-1973

An interdenominational committee, the Anglican-United Joint Chaplaincy Committee, was formed in 1969, to begin the process of creating a joint chaplaincy at UBC. In 1970, the Anglican United Campus Ministry (AUCM) was created. In 1974, the AUCM joined with the UBC branch of the Student Christian Movement (SCM) to create the Cooperative Christian Campus Ministry at UBC.

Corporate body · 1964-1983

The history of the University of British Columbia Resources Office can be traced to 1964 with the establishment of the Resources Committee Office. In the early 1970s, the organization became the University Resources Council based at Cecil Green Park. In 1980, the name was changed to the Resources Office and it appears to have operated until 1983.

Corporate body · 1986-1987

In 1986 and 1987 there were numerous meetings held by the Jubilee Park and Playing Field committee concerning the proposed upgrade of the Jubilee Park for Rossland Secondary School (now Rossland Summit School). They proposed a slight leveling and raising of the field, a double soccer field, jogging track, tennis court, and basketball court. Cook Pickering & Doyle Ltd. surveyed and presented comments and recommendations on the geotechnical matters affecting improved drainage for the playing fields. Members of the advisory committee included Jean Cormack, Hugo Smecher, Lloyd McLellan, Harry Lefevre, Stan Fisher, Iain Martin, and Jack Richardson. Ultimately, the plans never went ahead, possibly due to lack of funding by the Ministry of Education.

Corporate body · 1891-1925

The first branch in B.C. of the Methodist Woman's Missionary Society was organized at the old Pandora Avenue Church in Victoria in 1888. It soon became the auxiliary of Metropolitan Church, and its original purpose was to help in the setting up of a "rescue home" for Chinese women and girls who had been forced into prostitution. Other local auxiliaries soon appeared throughout the province, and in 1891 they were unified through the establishment of the B.C. Conference Branch of the W.M.S. In 1904, District branches were created for Victoria, Vancouver, Westminster and Kamloops. Besides the rescue home in Victoria, the Methodist W.M.S. in B.C. supported Residential Schools such as the Crosby Girls' Home in Port Simpson (Lax Kw'alaams), the Coqualeetza Institute in Chilliwack, the Elizabeth Long Memorial Home in Kitamaat (Haisla); the Turner Institute in Vancouver; and Methodist hospitals at Port Simpson, Bella Bella and Hazelton.

Corporate body · 1903-1925

The Presbyterian Woman's Missionary Society, nationally organized with a few auxiliaries in B.C., was originally concerned with foreign missions. Both native Indian and Chinese work in B.C. (as they were known at the time) were included as foreign. As an outgrowth of the committee, which supported the Atlin Hospital, a new organization emerged in 1903: the Woman's Home Missionary Society. In 1914, the two societies were united nationally as the Woman's Missionary Society and a provincial synod branch was organized. In addition to its support for the Atlin Hospital and a hospital at Telegraph Creek, it took special interest in the Loggers' Mission. Support was also give to Indian Residential and Day Schools at Alberni, Ahousaht, and Ucluelet. After church union in 1925, the society was merged into the Woman's Missionary Society of the United Church of Canada.

Corporate body · 1952-

The School of Kinesiology was originally named the Bachelor of Physical Education Program, and in the interim was called the School of Physical Education, the School of Physical Education and Recreation, and then the School of Human Kinetics. The first physical education courses were offered in 1946 after the appointment of Robert Osborne (who directed the program until 1972) in 1945. The Bachelor of Physical Education Program ran until 1952 when the program was formed into the School of Physical Education in the Faculty of Arts and Science. In 1960 “recreation education” was added to the name, though Bachelor of Recreation Education were only conferred starting in 1969. In 1958 a master’s program was added to the School of Physical Education. In 1963 the School moved to the Faculty of Education. When Robert Osborne retired in 1978, he was replaced by Robert Morford. At the same time the school began to align with the greater University’s goals of implementing more academically centred programs. There was a new emphasis on science relating to physical activity, and the School’s laboratories began to develop and grow. In 1979, a Sports Medicine Clinic opened in the School’s John Owen Pavilion on the south campus with specific faculty of this clinic also being associated with the School in both teaching and research. In 1992 the School was renamed the School of Human Kinetics and The Bachelor of Recreation Education was phased out in 1995. In 2011 it was renamed the School of Kinesiology.
The School of Kinesiology’s mission is to “generate, advance, and disseminate knowledge about the biophysical, psychosocial, managerial, and pedagogical dimensions of human movement to enhance the health and quality of life of all populations across diverse settings.” Their specific goals are to advance knowledge about a) the factors underlying human physical performance, (b) the nature of the human quest for excellence in competitive and expressive forms of human movement, and (c) the role of sport, leisure and exercise in society from both a contemporary and a historical perspective; teach students about physical activity in general and about sport, exercise and leisure in particular; to prepare educated professionals to serve the present and future needs of society in a variety of professional settings related to the active health, leisure, sport and physical education fields; and facilitate the application of pertinent knowledge to professional and lay agencies concerned with the promotion of recreation, physical education, sport, fitness and active health at local, provincial and national, and international levels.

B.C. Mining School
Corporate body · [ca.1971]-1982

The B.C. Mining School in Rossland was original an open pit program at the Molybdenum mine on Red Mountain which started in June 1971. It was a twelve-week course, and the students were chosen by Canadian manpower. The students were typically from the metropolitan Vancouver area with an average education level of grade eight. Due to its success, an underground program was suggested, with the site of the school moving to the base of Kootenay Columbia Mountain. The first sixteen-week course started in October 1943. The school was to later produce the first open pit, and underground female worker. On fifth August 1981 newly arrived students came to the school to find a padlock on the door. The school was abruptly closed with little warning. The last open pit and underground classes had their graduation take place on third July 1981 and nineteenth June 1981. Multiple letters and resolutions were sent to the Minister of Education (later Minister of Energy Mines, and Petroleum Resources), Brian Smith (1975-1983), and many other ministers and organizations to try and reopen the school. This included a considerable amount of action was taken by Harry Lefevre.

There are multiple different reasons that were given for the student closure of the school, two of which being that (1) according to Smith, that the Canadian Employment & Immigration Commission refused to sponsor any more students after September 1981, and that, (2) according to Gerald Bell of Western Industrial Relations, major mining companies no longer wanted to employ graduates from the school. This, apparently, had nothing to do with the standard of teaching but rather that Canada Manpower had not carried about sufficient screening of potential students, which resulted in an excess of poor-quality students. Harry Lefevre attributed the closure to a breakdown in the financial support agreement between the Ministry of Education and Canadian Manpower.

Salmon Arm Grebe Festival
Corporate body · 1996-1998

The Salmon Arm Grebe Festival functioned under the umbrella of the Salmon Arm Bay Nature Enhancement Society (SABNES) which was formed in 1988 to lead the effort to protect the local marshlands and enhance the nesting areas of Grebes and other species in the area.

In 1994, SABNES commissioned a study to determine the feasibility of staging a festival centred around Grebes to draw attention to the species and Salmon Arm’s unique location in providing habitat for the largest nesting colony of Grebes in Western Canada. In 1995, prominent festival organizer Dick Finkle was commissioned by the Chamber of Commerce to make recommendations about holding a Grebe festival. In 1996, SABNES organized a “Celebration of the Grebe” day and the success of the event resulted in consideration of a multi-day festival moving forward. In October 1996, the Salmon Arm Grebe Festival was officially announced and a committee was formed comprised of SABNES members, local business owners and citizens who were tasked with planning and coordinating a three-day festival in 1997. The first Salmon Arm Grebe Festival was held May 16 – 19, 1997.