Tea & Tales 2018 Collection

George Vanderwolf tells us the Legend of the 1876-1877 Lillooet Cattle Drive. George Vanderwolf has lived in Lillooet for 64 years and has worked as a prospector, game guide, trapper, rancher, and in road construction. Robert Carson’s cattle drive of 1977 led to improvements in trail construction and maintenance through the Pemberton area. Remnants of the old trail can still be found in the Sea to Sky corridor.

In the last Tea & Tales Niki Madigan, curator of the Pemberton museum, gave us some more recent stories about the murder of Tom Poole.

Lex was born in 1956 in Lillooet, BC and grew up in Mt. Currie. He works with the Lil’wat Nation as a Cultural Resource Technician and is a local Elder. During the day he can be found doing many things, from guiding groups on field trips up Lumpy’s Epic Trail, to researching First Nation’s customs and rituals. Lex also does botanical hikes with groups, helping to identify traditional use plants. Lex tells us five stories of creation.

Our theme this year is Myths & Legends as we’re celebrating 160 years of Pemberton history this year. The Murder of Tom Poole and his Children in 1879 on the Pemberton Portage trail is one of the oldest legends in the settlement history of Pemberton.
Museum staff will provide an outline of the case, the characters involved, the investigation and the stories associated with the tale from the archives. Professor Matthew Unger from Concordia University will provide some of the insights from his research into this murder and the investigation and court processes that followed, and how it reflects the colonial identity of the times.
Matthew P. Unger is an Assistant Professor in Sociology and Anthropology at Concordia University in Montreal. His continuing projects focus on accusation and governance, nature and law, and Paul Ricoeur’s thought on symbols of fault. He is co-editor of “Accusation: Creating Criminals (UBC Press, 2016)” and is currently working on “Entryways to criminal Justice: Accusation and Criminalization in Canada” (UAP, 2019).

This week we have Diane Mitchell curator of the Britannia Mine Museum and Marshall Tichauer a tour guide at the Britannia Mine Museum coming to present “The Legendary Copper Mine at Britannia”. Diane Mitchell has a background in geology and she spent 12 years working for the National Museums of Scotland in both curatorial and education roles, before moving to BC to take up the position at the Britannia Mine Museum in 2007. Diane is responsible for overseeing the development and implementation of school and education programs including exhibits. She also oversees Collection Management of geology specimens, archives and mining artifacts. Marshall Tichauer worked at the Britannia Mine from 1965-74. He did multiple jobs including mine sampler, geologist engineer, ventilation assist, mine clerk, warehouse man, inventory clerk, purchasing agent, safety officer, assistant employment officer, captain of the mine, rescue team and F.A. Team. Marshall has also worked at the Wood Fiber Pulp Mill, Railwest Car Mano Plant, Granishe Copper, MacMillan, Whitaker Equipment and now works at the Britannia Mine Museum as a tour guide.

Tuesday July 31st the Museum Staff presented the tale “Pemberton Trail Tales & Legendary Packers”. Niki Madigan and Emma Eslake give us a look at some legendary packers, characters and the history of the Pemberton Trail. To see the slideshow presented here, check out our events page.

The fifth Tea & Tales of the season the museum featured Johnny Jones, a cultural resource technician for the Lil’wat Nation, who took us on a journey through Lil’wat traditional territory using old maps. He also talks about his grandfather Kupman, the Medicine Man. To see the slideshow presented here, check out our events page.

Tuesday July 24th, Eric Andersen, a Squamish local historian and Director of the Sea to Sky Forestry Association, came to the Museum to give a talk about the probability of Pemberton having a maritime history for our annual Tea & Tales. To see the slideshow presented here, check out our events page.

George Vanderwolf tells us the Legend of the 1876-1877 Lillooet Cattle Drive.

George Vanderwolf has lived in Lillooet for 64 years and has worked as a prospector, game guide, trapper, rancher, and in road construction. George married a local girl, Karen Osterlund when he was 20 and she was 17. Karen’s grandfather came to the region in 1896 as he was going to the Klondike, but he found gold in Bridge River and stayed, pre-empting 160 acres.

George has been an advocate of lillooet’s rich history for many years. he was very involved in the “Jade Walk” feature through the downtown area which you must see if you haven’t checked it out.

George Vanderwolf tells us about the Jade Walk in Lillooet.

George Vanderwolf has lived in Lillooet for 64 years and has worked as a prospector, game guide, trapper, rancher, and in road construction. George married a local girl, Karen Osterlund when he was 20 and she was 17. Karen’s grandfather came to the region in 1896 as he was going to the Klondike, but he found gold in Bridge River and stayed, pre-empting 160 acres.

George has been an advocate of lillooet’s rich history for many years. he was very involved in the “Jade Walk” feature through the downtown area which you must see if you haven’t checked it out.

Niki Madigan, curator of the museum, gives us a brief look at what is in store for the Tea & Tales speaker series.