In the spring of 1897, Harrison Lake was alive with speculation, surveying crews, and renewed hopes of gold. Eager prospectors travelled up the lake, new mining claims were discussed daily in Agassiz, and mechanical inventions promised to transform mineral extraction in the Fraser Valley. Harrison Lake and Harrison…
It is winter after the New Year for the Wright family in Agassiz, British Columbia. Continuing their story from New Year in Canada, 1897, these letters show how daily routines, winter labour, and community life resumed as January turned into February. This post explores This post explores how…
For the Wright siblings, New Year’s in Canada in 1897 meant new beginnings with the neighbours and friends, farming adjustment to make it through the winter, and hopes for their future in Canada This post explores how the Wright family experienced their first New Year’s season in Canada…
This post is all about the Wright siblings first Christmas in Canada in 1896 and how they brought their English traditions to their small community. The Wright’s First Christmas in Canada Christmas in Canada in 1896 looked very different for the Wright siblings than what they had known…
In May’s letters from December 1896, she shares how settlers in Agassiz, British Columbia gathered for the Odd Fellows Ball: an all-night social event that offered warmth, music, and connection during a long Fraser Valley winter. In two letters home, May Wright describes dancing until dawn, winter travel…
In the winter of 1896, the Wright siblings, new settlers living at Hazeley Ranch in Agassiz, British Columbia, experienced their first true Canadian winter, and it was far colder than anything they had known in England. Their letters home vividly describe frozen rivers, dangerous travel conditions, and record-low…
Follow along the journey of the famous Bride Ship – the SS Tynemouth – as it sailed from England to Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. This post is all about the journey of the men and women of the SS Tynemouth in 1862. Among them a man who would…
Excitement over the gold mines and a trip up to Yale, British Columbia have the Wright siblings enjoying their first winter in Canada. This post is all about gold mines up Harrison Lake, a trip to Yale, and planning for Christmas. Yale, British Columbia Yale, British Columbia…
From choir practice, planning for future crops, and travels to Yale for All Hallows, the Wright siblings experience their first autumn in Agassiz, British Columbia, Canada. This post is all about postal delays, train strikes, Hotel Bella Vista and planning for the future. Postal Delays Letters from September…
This post covers postal delays and the Agassiz Dominion Experimental Farm.It also looks at the Canadian Pacific Railway excursion to Agassiz in August 1896. Postal Delays & Lost Letters There is a gap in the Hazeley letters until October 1896. During this time there were significant postal issues…