Author: Whistler Museum

Collecting, preserving, documenting and interpreting Whistler's natural and human history. Want to learn more about Whistler's culture and history? We showcase Whistler's history: pioneers, skiing on Whistler & Blackcomb Mountains, Olympics and black bears. Family fun, interactive exhibits, children’s activities. Great for a rainy day!

The Story Behind “100 Years of Dreams”The Story Behind “100 Years of Dreams”

July 16, 2011 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 5 Comments

*Note: this post was originally published in July 2011*

While deep snowpacks, sprawling ski lifts and downhill dirt made Whistler the international mega-resort it is today, it was actually fish that brought the valley’s first fun-seekers. And it was 100 years ago, this summer.

In a community as young as Whistler, 100 years is nothing to sneeze at. In celebration of the centennial of the Philip’s fateful first visit to this valley, the Whistler Museum and partners are hosting a 5-day series of free events, entitled “100 Years of Dreams.”
 
John Millar in front of his cabin, where you could get a plate of steller’s jay pie for 50 cents.

Around the turn of the twentieth century, the Whistler Valley–then known as Alta Lake–was home to a handful of trappers, prospectors, and loggers. Life was rough and the only connection to the outside world was the Pemberton Trail, a rugged path leading from Squamish (then Newport) to Lillooet and the interior goldfields.

In the spring of 1911, a local trapper named John Millar (for whom Millar Creek in Function Junction is named) was in Vancouver selling some of his furs and picking up provisions. One day a hungry Millar stopped by Gastown’s Horseshoe Bar & Grill where he struck up a conversation with the restaurant manager, Alex Philip.

Millar’s description of his secluded mountain valley struck a chord with Alex, who had recently moved to BC from Maine with his wife Myrtle. It was the Philips’ dream to one day open a fishing retreat in the Canadian wilderness, so they were enthralled by this string of glacier-fed lakes teeming with trout. They took  Millar up on his offer and made the 3-day trek to Alta Lake that August.

The Philips on the Pemberton Trail, en route to Alta Lake, August 1911.

It was perfect. They fell in love with Alta Lake, instantly recognizing that this was the place to pursue their fishing-retreat dreams.

In 1913 they returned and purchased 10 acres of land on the west side of Alta Lake from another local trapper, Charlie Chandler. To raise money Alex returned to managing the Horseshoe in Vancouver, while Myrtle’s family, the Tapleys, moved out from Maine to help build their lodge.

The next summer Rainbow Lodge–named after the bountiful rainbow trout in Alta Lake–was ready to go. That same year the PGE railway, running from Squamish into the BC Interior, opened up, making Rainbow Lodge a much more accessible day-trip from Vancouver.

Rainbow Lodge

The Philips jumped at the PGE’s offer of running “fisherman’s excursion” packages in partnership with Rainbow Lodge. The first such trip brought 22 men up from Vancouver, who returned to the city raving of the great fishing and grand mountain views. From that moment on the Philips had little trouble attracting business.

Rainbow Lodge quickly became the centre of the Alta Lake community. By the 1930s the Philips had added 45 outbuildings to support their growing operation, including a general store, a horse-stable, tennis courts, and a dedicated railway station. Rainbow Lodge advertisements boasted that it was the most popular tourist resort west of Jasper.

An expanded Rainbow Lodge and surrounding facilities, ca 1930.

It may seem modest compared to the excess and grandeur of Whistler today, but Rainbow Lodge and the Philips deserve credit for recognizing Whistler’s unique beauty and promoting it to the outside world. They’re one of the biggest reasons why you live here today (or wish you did).

Alex and Myrtle Philip were the first in a long line starry-eyed visionaries to visit the Whistler Valley and encounter a landscape grand enough to fit their dreams. 100 years later, the Whistler Valley continues to be re-shaped by the Philips’ special brand of hard work and bold ambition.

3 remaining guest cabins at Rainbow Park. Jeff Slack Photo.

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Valley of Dreams Walking Tours video profileValley of Dreams Walking Tours video profile

July 12, 2011 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 2 Comments

Shaw TV Whistler recently produced a feature on the Whistler Museum’s Valley of Dreams walking tours. Check it out!

Our walking tours are offered every day in June, July, and August, starting from the Whistler Village Visitor’s Centre (adjacent to the taxi loop). They last approximately one hour and involve moderate walking through the village. By donation.

Also, as part of our 100 Years of Dreams series of events, running from August 3rd-7th, we will be changing the route to end at the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre, where participants will have the chance to sample fresh bannock and other treats, and explore the beautiful SLCC!

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Appreciating Whistler’s CemeteryAppreciating Whistler’s Cemetery

July 8, 2011 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

Earlier this summer after an outing to Rainbow Park some of us museum folk paid a visit to the Whistler Cemetery. None of us had ever been so we figured it would be a good opportunity to see this oft-forgotten but integral local landmark.

Cemeteries provide historical researchers with a wealth of useful information that can often be hard to find elsewhere. Rows of gravestones offer reliable data such as people’s full names, places of birth, years of death, etc. Examining gravestone design and cemetery layout can provide clues regarding religion and class structure in a community, among other things.

I was especially interested as my academic background is in environmental history, a field concerned with not only the history of our landscapes, but the history in our landscapes as well.

At first I was surprised by how few grave sites there were. With some thought I recognized that over the years most local people remained connected to their places of birth, or chose to retire elsewhere; only in recent decades have people been born “Whistlerites.” The fact that grave markers were greatly outnumbered by still-unoccupied spaces, perhaps more than anything else, expresses just how young this community is.

Of course, cemeteries don’t only record useful data, they are hugely important community institutions. By paying tribute to our loved ones in an enduring, often highly personal manner, they preserve memories and emotion in their rawest, most human form.

With this in mind, I was equally struck by the landscape design of the cemetery as a whole.

It is refreshingly modest and incredibly peaceful in there.


There are no standing gravestones, only ground-level plaques to mark individual burials. In one corner there is a garden with some stone structures to house urns, as well as a separate meandering path through the forest along which ashes may be scattered. This simplicity and consistency in design ensures that nothing is overshadowed by larger monuments. Everyone has their place.

A simple, but fitting Eulogy for Myrtle.
By all accounts, Seppo was the man.

A few days after our visit, I was pedaling up the Westside Road, tired but content after a solo, late-evening trail ride. As I approached the cemetery turnoff, a hulking mule deer suddenly appeared ahead, staring intently at me over his shoulder. Ignoring my impulse to stop, I instead geared down but kept moving, the deer and I remaining locked in an intensely quiet gaze. Finally, after I had passed the deer and the distance between us grew, he turned his head and calmly wandered into the forest towards the ash-scatter garden.

The deer was at home.

As I rode off, I gained an even deeper appreciation of our community’s cemetery. This thoughtful landmark modestly commemorates  Whistler’s past without  disturbing its present. The local wildlife are far more rooted here than us human folk, after all. An inspiring model of sustainability, and a fitting tribute to past loved ones, one might say.

At the Whistler Cemetery new generations draw strength from memories of our past.
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Nudity? Heavy Metal? Canada Day Done Right!Nudity? Heavy Metal? Canada Day Done Right!

July 4, 2011 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 2 Comments

We’ve been extremely busy at the museum of late, preparing for a number of events and new projects. We were especially excited for this year’s Canada Day Parade, a Whistler mid-summer staple. After some enthusiastic brainstorming, ever-changing plans, and frantic, last-minute costume gathering, we were able to put together what we thought was a pretty strong entry.

The theme for the parade, “Celebrating Whistler’s Vibrancy, Lifestyle and Achievements,” was perfectly suited for the museum. In our interpretation of the theme, we dressed up as a disparate cast of characters representing as many of the Whistler Valley’s different eras as we could. The approach was summed up by the banner “100 Years of Dreams,” which is also the title of a major festival occurring this August to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Myrtle and Alex Philip’s fateful first visit to Alta Lake.

The team.

Our motley crew consisted of Alex and Myrtle Philip from the 1910s (Don and Isobel Maclaurin), a (rather fashionable) trapper from the 1920s (Alix), a mountaineer from the 1930s (Jeff), a car from the 1950s (the MacLaurin’s beautiful 1953 MG convertible), a ski-area developer/business dude from the 1960s (Brad), a pseudo-nude Toad Hall frolicker from the 1970s (Sarah), a retro ski bunny from the 1980s/90s (Anna), and an Olympic torch runner from 2010 (Bridget).

Don, Isobel, and Anna ham it up for the crowd. Jeanette Bruce photo.

The parade featured loads of great entries from local businesses and clubs, so we were excited and honoured to find out that the Museum was awarded “Best Interpretation of the Parade’s Theme”!

Whistler’s care-free spirit is alive and well.

Sarah’s costume certainly got the most reaction from the crowd. From the front of our group I could hear a steady progression of people’s laughter–and sometimes shocked reactions–as we made our way along the route. We especially enjoyed a comment from a local fireman that was a little too PG-13 (though good-natured) to print here.

An unexpected highlight that not many parade viewers were privy to occurred at the very start of our route. The marching band was right in front of us, and had been playing some catchy renditions of pop classics like Tommy Tutone’s “867-5309/Jenny.”

Brad reppin’ GODA… Like a Boss!  Jeanette Bruce photo.

But just as the parade crossed Blackcomb Way and headed into the Library’s underground parking, they broke into a full-on cover of “Paint it Black.” The heavy reverb, especially from the drums and brass section, was out of this world. This marching band was metal! Our resident noise-nerd Brad described it as some of the coolest sound he had ever heard. Needless to say, we were pretty pumped by the time we returned above-ground to be welcomed by the crowds on Main Street.

I found no cairn on the summit, so I’m claiming the first ascent of the Lot 3 retaining wall.  Jeanette Bruce photo.
 

Some added flare in my climbing outfit was my personal highlight. As a mountaineering history buff, I’ve dressed up like this before for costume parties and other events. This time, however, I had the added bonus of some authentic props. Little did I know that Don, a retired forester, was an active mountaineer as far back as the 1950s. He leant me his original ice axe and climbing pack, both now more than fifty years old! Thanks Don!

All in all we had a great time, and can’t wait to defend our title next year. Thanks to everyone who came out to cheer us on, and a special thanks goes to Don and Isobel MacLaurin for contributing their beautiful car, some great props, and, most of all, themselves! Happy Canada Day!

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