Picking Fruit and Raising Rafters: May’s Letters from 1896 Agassiz

From getting caught in the rain, to organizing dances and plays to fundraise for the church, the Wright siblings enjoy their first June at their Fraser Valley farm.

This post is all about the fundraising efforts for the new church being built and harvesting the fruit on their farm.

Letters Home

May’s Letter Letter to Mother – June 8th, 1896

Rec June 27

Hazeley
Agassiz
British Columbia

June 8th, 1896

My dearest Mother, 

I didn’t write my letter on Saturday afternoon as I quite intended to come straight back from church yesterday so as to have the whole afternoon for letters; Jack & I walked in, it was so early when we started by the time we got out of Church it was pouring so we went to lunch with the Agassiz’s, it got worse so they persuaded us to stay all night. They were very kind and  nice. I walked back directly after breakfast.

The second car of church lumber has come, Captain Jemmett and Mr. Evan Probert were unloading it this morning, it is getting on fast I believe. They want to give another concert at the end of this month & one in August. Everybody goes & it pays well, it is really a very good entertainment for the money. First a concert, then ice cream, coffee & cakes, then a dance.

Last Tuesday, Cecil & Harold & I went the evening; sat the Agassiz’s, Mrs. Brown, & Captain Moore were there. Mr. George was asked but didn’t turn up. We played games & had light refreshments, ice cream, & cakes.

We are painting the sitting ____ was so dreadfully dirty, a sort of terra cotta for the walls  & a darker shad for the doors, it will be dark when it is finished if nothing else.

I must go to bed as it is getting late & I’m tired.

With much love, 

Your affectionate daughter, 

May Wright. 

Please give my love to Julie Hiott & Julia Wilson & thank them both very much for their letters. I wish I had time to answer them now, but I hope to some day; & please give my love to Mrs. Oldham, she would hardly believe how often I think of her. 

May’s Letter to Mother – June 14th, 1896

Rec’d July 6th, 1896

Hazeley
Agassiz
British Columbia
June 14th, 1896

My dearest Mother,

Jack & I walked over to the Agassiz’s yesterday afternoon & found them busy house cleaning, Nellie & Edith walked over with us to see the church, I think it is going to be very pretty, it has a rather loud roof with dormer windows, the chancel is the same width as the church only raised two steps, it is not finished yet, but they hope it will be at the end of the month.

We persuaded Nellie to come home with us last night & Edith is coming to fetch her this afternoon. The last few days have been fine, but on Sunday, Monday, & Tuesday it just poured; the river doesn’t rise much thought, so I hope there will be no flood now. About ten days ago the chief of the Cheam Indians came to visit us, he is a rather like the nice looking old Indian in Father’s photographs.

Road work has been going on lately, the roads will be better for it in time, but at present they are a great mess, they they throwing sod into the holes, & ploughed them in places. “The Empress of Japan” came in last week, there were six pullmans on Thursday’s train, & a special one went up entirely for Chinamen.

They have been here for a day cutting grass around the house, it grows so fast; the red currants are nearly ripe & the gooseberries are big enough for pies. They have ripe strawberries & cherries at the Agassiz’s.

It is time I went to get dressed. Mr. Hamersley & Mr. Gibson are here & will stop I expect.

With much love,

Your affectionate daughter,

May Wright.

May’s Letter to Mother -June 21, 1896

Rec July 9th

Hazeley,
Agassiz
British Columbia
June 21st, 1896

My dearest Mother,

The really hot weather has begun, but it gets so beautifully cool in the evening & quite cold at night. Jack & I walked into Agassiz on Friday evening, coming back it was lovely, quite cool & beautiful moonlight. The mountain road is really lovely now that all the trees are out. The snow is still on Cheam though it is beginning to melt now.

Cecil, Harold, and I walked to church this morning, it was dreadfully hot. The people here call it four miles, I think it can’t be much more than three, but that is far enough on a hot day. The candlesticks arrived on Wednesday, Minnie Agassiz brought them out as she came that day & stopped all night as the boys were wanted at the inquest. I have sent you a paper with the account. Will you thank Mrs. Meyrick from the trouble she has taken with the candlesticks, & please thank Aunt Hester very much for giving them. Mr. Jemmett & Mr. Groucher are very much please; Mr. Groucher says I am to tell Father he is very grateful for anything for the church, & he would very much like it if Mrs. Gordon could work a white silk chalice veil for festivals; they hope to have the church finished by next church Sunday, it’s a fortnight, but I hardly think it will be; we went to see it to-day it looks so nice & church like. On Friday, Mrs. Fred Brown, & Mrs. Leslie came to call. Mrs. Fred Brown lives at the Hotel at the Springs she is cousins to Mrs. John Brown (the married Miss. Agassiz) & Mrs. Leslie is the station agent’s wife; they were both very pleasant.

Mr. Collins has come out this afternoon, & is now down on the prairie with the boys, bathing. He is, I should say, a gentleman of England, he works at the Experimental Farm.

Nellie Woods is thinking of going to England this summer as she wants to get trained as a nurse. She has one brother in England, he is a curate in Norwood, she has no home now as her parents are both dead & she can’t get work here that would do for her at all, she is such a nice charming girl & so bright & jolly; I am afraid she will be very lonely if she goes to London Hospital as she knows nobody, I wish she could be trained at Bridgnorth & then go on to Miss. Hadfield afterword. I wonder whether she would; she is so nice & a perfect lady, it is had for her to have to do for herself now, the Jemmetts are far too poor to do anything for her; the only thing she really cares for is nursing & she is good at that if only she were in a Hospital not far from Bridgeport she could stay with you at home sometimes, but she has not settled anything yet.

I am going to see Mrs. Burnhett soon she is such a nice neighbour & I know it is a real pleasure to her when I go as I appreciate her playing and singing, she is really musical & plays & sings beautifully.

The Agassiz’s have asked me to help with a play they are setting up in aid of the church before Jack goes; I have not promised to yet.

I must stop, with ever so much love to everybody,
Your affectionate daughter, 

May Wright.

Has Dorothy had her photograph taken again, if not could you have a copy of the one in the dinging room done for us, we haven’t one at all of her, & people often ask whether I haven’t a picture of my sister.
Will you give my love to Ms. A Gordon & tell her how very nice I think it would be if she could work thee white chalice veil.

The boys have hired an old soldier, Murrey, to work for them during haying & harvest.

Why The Hazeley Letters Are A Treasure of Agassiz History

These letters were nearly destroyed as they were passed through multiple sets of people to tell the story of the Wright family. After arriving at the Agassiz Harrison Museum, it was clear that these letters were rich in local history, captured the early years of the town with great specificity, and offered a peek into the family and settler life in 1896. Letters like these humanize the settler experience. They show the daily lives of the people who lived during this time and make it more relevant to people today. Through transcription and research of these letters, new insights into settler life and the town have been discovered.

Explore More Pioneer Letters and Stories

If you enjoyed these letters from June 1896, you might also like:

• Repairing the Farm, Building the Church, and Picnics in the Harrison: Hazeley Letters from June 1896

• Inside the Life of May: Ongoing Research and Revelations

• 1896 Letters from British Settlers: The Wright Siblings Begin Their Journey to Canada

These firsthand settler letters offer a rare look at daily life in 1890s British Columbia—from gold mining rumors to cattle ranching, hospital work, and the realities of farming on the frontier

Follow @BCHistoryDiary to get the latest letters, stories, and behind-the-scenes research. 

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