Whistler: A Town – Whistler Museum and Archives Society

Challenged Books at the Whistler Public LibraryChallenged Books at the Whistler Public Library

August 25, 2026 Whistler Museum 0 Comments

Written by Anna Donaldson

Photo: Joan Richoz with a collection of challenged and banned books during Freedom To Read Week in 1994. Whistler Question Collection.

This year marks the 40th birthday of the Whistler Public Library. To celebrate our friends at the library, we at the museum thought we should highlight some of the amazing work the library has done for the community. Known as Whistler’s Living Room, the library provides crucial services, resources, and programs to community members. One of the ways the library does this is by making sure everyone has access to knowledge. Every year around the last week of February, the Whistler Public Library recognizes Freedom to Read Week. Freedom to Read Week, spearheaded by the Canadian Library Association, has been taking place in libraries across Canada since 1984. It sheds light on books, magazines, and other pieces of media that have been challenged or even banned.

As Canadians, our right to intellectual freedom is guaranteed under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Charter was signed in 1982, only two years before Freedom to Read week was established. Freedom to read week encourages us to explore books that were challenged, and learn about why they were challenged, and the action that was actually taken by the organization that housed them. Ignorance can bloom when we don’t learn about these books, despite their controversy. Reading these books is how we can learn about the controversial topics they may contain, and how we can better ourselves from it.

Many books that are deemed as classics have been banned in places all over the world. Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, and Lord of the Flies by William Golding have all been banned in specific libraries across Canada. In the ‘90s, the Whistler Public Library staff would cover the books for Freedom to Read Week in plain paper bags to draw interest. People are always shocked at which books have been banned in Canada, the U.S.A., or other countries. Joan Richoz, one of the founders of the Whistler Public Library, states that it is a “great way to teach the public that not everyone likes all the books in the library”, and that different people will have different opinions on what is acceptable.

Joan Richoz reading to a group of children at the Whistler Public Library in 1991. Whistler Question Collection.

Whistler is a very progressive community, as Richoz states. However, the Whistler Public Library is not immune to challanged books. Since its creation in 1986, the library has had very few books be challenged. The first book to be challenged was Headhunter by Michael Slade. It was challenged under the belief that it did not promote “good Christian values”. In an interview with the museum, Joan remembered that the classic children’s book Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak was issued a complaint by a parent for being too violent. Lots of challenged books are children’s books that have not aged well. Joan herself says that while these books shouldn’t be kept in the kids section, it makes sense to put them in a different section to reflect the socio-cultural ideas of society at their time. These books should be read not with the intent to take their messages to heart, but from a sociological perspective. Challenges are always taken very seriously, but ultimately the Whistler Public Library has not formally removed any books from its shelves.

The Whistler Public Library has been very outspoken about their belief in intellectual freedom. Every February, the staff at the library curate a list of books that have been banned or challenged across the country, and promote them. Freedom to Read week encourages us to expand our knowledge, and learn about why these books were banned so that we can better ourselves and our minds. The next Freedom to Read week is from February 21 to February 27, 2027. The current Freedom to Read list can be found below.

https://whistler.bibliocommons.com/v2/list/display/915621879/2473631239

Anna Donaldson is the Summer Program Coordinator at the Whistler Museum through the Young Canada Works Program.

Train Wreck turns 70!Train Wreck turns 70!

August 11, 2026 Whistler Museum 0 Comments

Combine a speeding train going more than twice the speed limit with a heavy load of logs and a narrow section of track and one might say you have a recipe for disaster. Seventy years ago on Aug. 11, 1956, that’s exactly what happened on a portion of rail near Function Junction.

Today, the Train Wreck is one of Whistler’s most popular and family-friendly attractions: a site accessed by a one-kilometre-long trail through forest and over a Cheakamus River suspension bridge, where one happens upon a scattering of derelict, rusting railway cars all covered in bright and ever-changing graffiti. A suite of ruin, also very much alive!

The story of what actually happened that fateful day seems to have remained quite hush-hush for some time. The reasons for this can only be speculated: was it because the Pacific Great Eastern Railway (PGE) tried to deflect attention from the matter? This is neither confirmed nor dismissed—but what we do know now, from first- and second-hand accounts, is that not only was the PGE responsible for the accident, the company also could not clean it up itself.

Train wreck in 2013. Photo: Kristina Swerhun

In 2013, the Whistler Museum’s executive director Sarah Drewery published a piece in the Whistler Question about the “mysterious” Train Wreck. The piece served as a public query and resulted in two members of the Valleau family—who ran a large logging operation based out of Mons—reaching out to the museum and sharing what they knew.

In honour of the anniversary, we share an excerpt from Drewery’s article “Train Wreck Mystery Revealed,” the piece we subsequently published in 2014 about the conversation had with the two Valleaus. Rick Valleau remembered his father talking about the wreck. Rick’s uncle Howard actually remembered the incident first-hand.

“The crash occurred in 1956 shortly after the Valleau family had moved to the area. The wreck happened on an area of track constricted by rock cuts, and there were three boxcars loaded with lumber jammed in there, blocking the line. The PGE Railway’s equipment couldn’t budge them so the company approached the Valleau family,” Drewery wrote.

“The Valleaus took their logging machinery (a couple of D8 Cats) down to the site, put a hitch (luff) on with two moving blocks to the boxcar and pried them out. They then dragged the cars up the track and into the forest, where they lie today. To all those who were confused by the fact that there is no damage to the trees around the wreck, this is because the train did not come off the rails at this point, but the boxcars were moved there after the fact.

“The train had been assembled in Lillooet by John Millar, a conductor for the PGE. Millar told the story to Howard Valleau, as follows: The train had four engines. There was a mistake made on the tonnage of the train, making it too heavy, and they had to split the train to get up the grade to Parkhurst (on Green Lake). This put them behind schedule, and they tried to make up time by travelling a little faster than usual. The speed limit on that section of rail was only 15 m.p.h. (24 km/h). The fourth engine turned a rail, causing the train wreck. They checked the tape in the engine, which told how fast they were going—the crew had thought the speed was 15 m.p.h., but in fact it was 35 m.p.h. (56 km/h).

“Millar told Howard Valleau that had they known the actual speed, they would have taken the tapes out. The engineer and crew were subsequently fired after the investigation into the wreck.”

Ted Tempany riding Train Wreck [1999]. Insight Photography Collection.

It just so happens that the week of the Train Wreck’s 70th anniversary also coincides with the Whistler Museum’s 30th annual Building with Lego Bricks Competition! To celebrate both, this year’s competition theme is “Build Your Best Rescue Machine.”

On Sunday, Aug. 16, the museum invites children ages three to 12 to register for the exciting event, held in Florence Petersen Park: blending imagination, colour and innovation! There will be prizes and activities. For more info click here.

Citizen of the YearCitizen of the Year

July 29, 2026 Whistler Museum 0 Comments

Featured Photo: John Howells (left) receiving the 1978 Citizen of the Year award from 1976 winner Paul Burrows (right) as Drew Meredith and Grace McCarthy look on in the background. Whistler Question Collection, 1978

By Anna Donaldson

As nominations for this year’s Citizen of the Year award come to a close, let’s take a look back on the history of this award. The Citizen of the Year award is an annual honour presented to a single member of the community or a couple by the Whistler Chamber of Commerce, and also happens to be the longest-standing award in the community, even predating the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW).

The RMOW became Whistler’s official government, and Canada’s first resort municipality, when it was established on Sept. 7, 1975. Before incorporation, community organization and representation were largely carried out through local groups such as the Alta Lake Ratepayers Association and the Whistler Chamber. The Ratepayers Association provided residents with a collective voice on local issues, while the Chamber helped coordinate businesses, promote the area, and support community initiatives. Together, these organizations played an important role in bringing residents and businesses together and shaping the development of Whistler prior to municipal government.

The Citizen of the Year award was created in 1968 with the intent to recognize those who contribute to the community that otherwise would not be recognized for their work. People who volunteer to make Whistler a better place with their longstanding contributions are eligible for this award. Anyone is eligible to be nominated, and the person who nominates them must be backed up by three other people. Although the specific criteria has changed slightly since the creation of this award, the basic standards still apply. Nominees for the Citizen of the Year award can be any age and live anywhere in B.C., as long as their contributions to the community have impacted Whistler in a positive, lasting way.

Molly Boyd receives the 1984 Citizen of the Year Award from 1983 recipient Brian Walhovd. Boyd was recognized for her many contributions to the community, including her work with the Whistler Singers. Whistler Question Collection.

Nominees in the past have been recognized for all sorts of generous donations to the community. The first winner of Citizen of the Year, Bob Walker, drove busloads of children to the high school in Squamish in all sorts of weather, dependable when other drivers ran into trouble. The 1972 winner Dick Fairhurst was chief of the volunteer fire department, even going so far as to create a makeshift fire truck out of an old milk truck. Florence Petersen, the founder and president of the Whistler Museum, won in 1986 for her wealth of contributions to all sorts of organizations around Whistler including the creation of the Whistler Museum. Past winners have founded the Whistler Public Library, helped reestablish the lives of flood victims, served on the Parent Advisory Committees of various schools, and so much more.

Each year more impressive citizens of Whistler are nominated, and the decision of who will be recognized becomes harder to make. This decision is never made lightly, which is evident in the 1977 award. That year, 10 equally impressive citizens were up for the award, but the committee, who was made up of the three most recent winners, decided that each nominee was as good as the last. To avoid hurting feelings, no specific person was chosen that year. This is one of the unique things that makes Whistler such a great place to live, that there are so many people who want to volunteer and contribute to the community that this award can be given to someone new and deserving each year, with plenty more nominations.

This award is still presented annually at the Whistler Chamber of Commerce Excellence Awards Gala along with many others. This year’s Excellence Awards, the 60th instalment, is set for Thursday, Oct. 22. To this day, these awards recognize the positive impact these volunteers have had and continue to have on the Whistler community.

Anna Donaldson is the Summer Program Coordinator at the Whistler Museum through the Young Canada Works Program.

Grief in archives: Handling the collection of photographer, Bruce RowlesGrief in archives: Handling the collection of photographer, Bruce Rowles

April 20, 2026 Whistler Museum 0 Comments

By Kat Hodgson

Featured Image: Bruce’s photo of his light table setup to view his slides.

Before beginning my internship at the Whistler Museum, I had never visited the town before. In October 2025, I arrived as an outsider. I also arrived grieving.

The day before I moved, my grandfather suddenly passed away, marking the fourth loss in my family in two years. As I settled into this unfamiliar place, the nerves and excitement that come with a new job and community were tinged with the constant weight of grief.

This mindset shaped how I approached the project of organizing the Bruce Rowles Collection. This collection of 35mm slides, documents, posters, and much more was generously donated by the family of Bruce Rowles in batches from 2024 to 2026. Comprising over 70,000 slides, it is now the largest photographic collection in the Museum’s archives. Working with it offered me the chance to get to know Whistler as Bruce saw it, while also viewing glimpses of the life behind the camera.

Bruce Rowles, often called Rowlesy by friends and family, was a prolific photographer and artist who spent more than three decades in Whistler. His photographs captured action-filled competitions and wild nightlife scenes, but also contained quieter moments, such as vast landscapes, meals and trips with friends, or photos of plants and insects that he’d found beautiful. Some slides were labelled with quips that let his personality shine through, hinting at the humour and creativity that guided his work.

A wonderful example of one of Bruce’s quips with his commentary on his slides.

For me, the most striking materials in this vast collection are three binders labelled “Lost Friends”. They contain portraits, sports shots, and candid photographs of individuals Bruce had known and later mourned. Nearly every slide is labelled with names and locations, already arranged in archival-safe sleeves as an act of remembrance as much as documentation. In assembling these binders, Bruce preserved not only the images of these people, but also the memories and relationships he had with each of them.

Working with these materials, I came to understand the collection through the lens of grief, both my own and that which he was expressing in each carefully arranged page. Scholars have described this response as “empathic grief”: the emotional weight archivists may feel when encountering records shaped by loss. All records are connected to lives, and often to those who are no longer with us. That persistent connection can make it difficult not to recognize and react to the emotions held in records, requiring the archivist to carry them throughout their work, sometimes even feeling them alongside their creators.

Bruce’s collection both captures and expresses several positive emotions – celebration, humour, excitement, and curiosity, to name a few – while also making space for absence. Over the past six months, I’ve felt all of them, allowing me to see the world through Bruce’s lens. His careful remembrance of others became, unexpectedly, a reminder that grief is part of the greater act of loving someone. In the midst of my own losses, that perspective helped shift my own grief from being purely painful into something that could also hold gratitude for the privilege of getting to carry memory forward.

Bruce wanted to ensure his life’s work would be remembered and appreciated. A selection of his photography will be exhibited at the Whistler Museum from April 24th to June 14th.

Bruce captures humour with his self-portrait.

Kat Hodgson was the Assistant Archivist at the Whistler Museum this winter through the Young Canada Works in Heritage Organizations (YCWHO) program.

Category: Whistler: A Town

Challenged Books at the Whistler Public LibraryChallenged Books at the Whistler Public Library

Train Wreck turns 70!Train Wreck turns 70!

Citizen of the YearCitizen of the Year

Grief in archives: Handling the collection of photographer, Bruce RowlesGrief in archives: Handling the collection of photographer, Bruce Rowles