Dick Fairhurst – Page 5 – Whistler Museum and Archives Society

Powering WhistlerPowering Whistler

December 2, 2017 Whistler Museum 0 Comments

If you’ve been in Whistler over the past couple of months you probably experienced or heard about power outages around town, most notably on October 18 when most neighbourhoods experienced a loss of power.

The most common reason Whistler residents lose electricity seems to be from trees coming down on the lines due to rain, wind and snow storms. The recent outages remind us how dependent we are on electricity today but only 52 years ago using electricity in the Whistler valley was luxury and something of a rarity.

Residents of Alta Lake made do without connecting to the grid for decades. Ice blocks cut from Alta Lake and covered in sawdust provided refrigeration through the summer months. Wood stoves and fireplaces, as well as a few oil or coal furnaces, provided heat through the winter.

Hillcrest Lodge was one of the buildings which had its own generators, though the lights went out at 10pm.

Individual properties used generators to provide their own power, though some were more reliable than others. Bob Williamson installed a wind-powered turbine at the south end of Alta Lake. As he recalled, “I thought there’d be a lot of wind there, but there was only enough to charge the batteries of the radio, but when the wind was blowing we had lights.”

At Rainbow and Hillcrest Lodges the Philips and Mansells installed generators that ran until 10 pm when the lights went off. Cypress Lodge, as well as a few neighbours, was powered by a water wheel and generator installed on Scotia Creek by Dick Fairhurst. Having a generator meant you could charge a battery-operated lamp to use after the generator was turned off for the night.

Even the Alta Lake School had a gas-powered generator for community use. It ran the weekly movies and played the records for dances, though dances always ended when the gas ran out.

Amenities such as gas-powered washing machines and propane fridges also appeared in the valley, though as Bob remembered, “In those days there was a lot of red tape to put these sort of things in, you had to get a permit, and in these days there was no one to do the inspecting so it was left to this Walter Giel to do the inspecting and he says to me, ‘I don’t known a damn thing about it, just you inspect it yourself.'”

Bob Williamson at work on the transmission lines, well before Alta Lake was able to access the electricity they carried.

Though Alta Lake had no hydro service, transmission lines did run through the valley as early as the 1930s. Bob Williamson even worked on the power lines in the 1940s, despite having no home access to the electricity they carried. More transmission lines were put in by BC Electric in the 1950s, connecting Seton Portage (about 25 km west of Lillooet) to Squamish. It was this project that first brought long-time resident Peter Alder to Alta Lake in 1956 as part of the construction crew.

It was almost 10 years later, just months before Whistler Mountain opened for skiing, that the Rainbow Substation (near Nesters) was completed and Alta Lake was able to utilize the power running through the valley.

Alex and Myrtle Philip were invited to open the Rainbow Substation in November, 1965, even getting to flip the switch.

Alex and Myrtle Philip were invited to officially open the substation on November 18, 1965, and Alex even got to flip the switch. Today it has become hard to imagine Whistler operating without power throughout the valley.

Don’t forget, this Tuesday (December 5) is our annual Big Kids LEGO Building Competition! We’ll provide the LEGO and electricity – you bring you ideas and skills.

Whistler Museum Celebrates 30 YearsWhistler Museum Celebrates 30 Years

February 11, 2017 Whistler Museum 5 Comments

It was the chance for a weekend get-away spot that spurred Florence Petersen and four friends to purchase a small cabin at Alta Lake in the mid ’50s.

Florence Petersen (founder of the Whistler Museum & Archives Society) and her friends (left to right) Jacquie Pope, June Tidball, Fido, Getty Gray and Eunice "Kelly" Forster at their Witsend cottage in 1955. — Florence Petersen (founder of the Whistler Museum & Archives Society) and her friends (left to right) Jacquie Pope, June Tidball, Fido, Betty Gray and Eunice “Kelly” Forster at their Witsend cottage in 1955.

At the time, the valley was a quaint summer fishing resort with only a handful of year-round residents. In the years following, the valley would transform from its humble beginnings into the internationally renowned four-season resort we now know.

With so much change taking place in the ’70s, early pioneer Myrtle Philip and Cypress Lodge owner Dick Fairhurst confessed to Florence a worry that the early days would soon be forgotten. Florence eased their fears by promising them that she would somehow ensure that their stories would be remembered and, true to her word, Florence started the Whistler Museum and Archives as a charitable non-profit society.

The Whistler Museum and Archives cookbook committee, April 1977: Janet Love-Morrison, Florence Petersen (founder of the Whistler Museum and Archives Society), Darlyne Christian and Caroline Cluer. — The Whistler Museum and Archives cookbook committee, April 1977: Janet Love-Morrison, Florence Petersen, Darlyne Christian and Caroline Cluer.

Since incorporating on February 12, 1987, the Museum’s basic function has been to collect and preserve the history of the Whistler Valley and to display, educate and disseminate information about Whistler’s history and its role in the greater society of British Columbia and Canada.

To that end, the Museum collects and preserves artefacts, archives and oral histories. To date we have acquired some 275 feet of archival records, including documents and photographs. Our collection includes 2332 artefacts; 80 oral interviews that have been conducted, digitized and transcribed; approximately 300,000 photographs, both negatives and prints; 150 hours of video (VHS, SVHS, DVD, DVcam, hi8 and U-Matic formats); and 13.5 hours of film in both 8mm and 16mm.

Our Collections Manager Alyssa strives to organize, catalogue and digitize our ever-growing archive. — Our Collections Manager Alyssa strives to organize, catalogue and digitize our ever-growing archive without being swallowed by it.

In order to make the Museum’s information easy to access there is a consistent ongoing project to organize, catalogue and digitize its collection. The artefact collection is 99% catalogued. 150 archival collections have been catalogued and are available online at the Museum’s ICA-Atom archival database. Approximately 42,000 photographs have been digitized to archival standards. The Museum endeavours to interpret the history of Whistler and the Museum’s information collection for visitors and the community with its exhibits, walking tours, blog and programs such as our very successful Discover Nature Project.

2016 was the busiest year in the Museum’s history in terms of exhibit visits, with a 7% growth over 2015 (another record year). We hope to continue our momentum in growing our numbers in regards to both our exhibit visits and the amount of material that we can make available to the public.

An original gondola from Whistler Mountain sits proudly as part of our exhibits.

A special thank you to everyone who has volunteered, donated, visited our exhibits, attended our events, read our stories and helped spread the word about Whistler’s fascinating heritage over the past 30 years.

The Whistler Museum would like to invite you to our 30th Anniversary Open House on Sunday, February 12, 7:30 – 9 pm. Join us for an evening of food, music and free admission to explore the museum, venture into the archives and meet our staff. Everyone is welcome and we hope to see you there.

A Night at the MoviesA Night at the Movies

February 4, 2017 Whistler Museum 0 Comments

For some people the long, dark and cold nights of winter are reason to stay warm indoors and catch up on episodes of something on television or watch movies in the comfort of your own home.

Though now a common way to spend an evening, television did not arrive in Whistler – then Alta Lake – until the 1960s and movie nights in Alta Lake began as community events.

In 1954, the Alta Lake Community Club (a social club formed by residents and regular visitors in the 1920s) raised enough money to buy a projector and began holding weekly movie nights in the community hall throughout the year. On Saturday nights a film was shown using a sheet for a screen and a gas-powered generator for electricity. In the busy summer season these screening would be followed by dancing. Alta Lake resident Dick Fairhurst said of the film selection that, “perhaps they were not the most up to date, but they were fine as we had never seen them.”

The original Alta Lake schoolhouse also served as the valley's first community movie theatre. — The original Alta Lake schoolhouse also served as the valley’s first community movie theatre (among other purposes).

In recalling her first year living in the valley in 1968, Trudy Alder provides a description of a winter’s night at the movies: “The films started when it was dark as the hall did not have any curtains. The shows were usually the social event of the week. Everyone who could walk would come. Sometimes there was a large audience of 25 people. We could buy popcorn and soft drinks from the children. Dogs were only allowed in the movies when you promised to have them sitting under your seat. But they found out fast that it was better to snuggle with the children in a cozy pile on the floor in front of the front row. You should have heard the howling if there was a dog or two in the movie. For us these movie nights were half an hour walks each way in the deep snow.”

Denis and Pat Beauregard, who ran movie nights as ALCC volunteers, receiving silver coins for Whistler Mountain's 25th Anniversary from Maurice Young (centre). — Denis and Pat Beauregard, who ran movie nights as ALCC volunteers, receiving silver coins for Whistler Mountain’s 25th Anniversary from Maurice Young (centre).

Pat and Denis Beauregard ran the movie nights for eight years as volunteers in the 1960s and 70s, first in the community hall and then later in the cafeteria at the base of Whistler Mountain using a portable screen donated by Myrtle Philip. For those who missed a show due to impassable roads, the Beauregards would provide an extra showing in their home.

The building of the Rainbow Theatre during the construction of the Village in the 1980s marked Whistler’s first commercial theatre. Due to having only one screen and limited show times, however, movies continued in many ways to be community events (without the howling dogs), especially during the slower spring and fall seasons.

Today visitors and residents of Whistler have many options when deciding what to watch; Village 8 Cinemas opened in December 2002 with multiple showings of various films daily, the Whistler Public Library has a large collection of movies that can be borrowed for free and streaming services such as Netflix provide access to films without the need for walking through the snow at all.

A Hike to Russet Lake with Dick FairhurstA Hike to Russet Lake with Dick Fairhurst

August 27, 2016 Whistler Museum 0 Comments

While some may lament August as the end of summer, it is primetime for alpine hiking. The winter snowpack is completely gone (or nearly so) bugs are becoming less of a bother, and crowds are starting to diminish.

This week we’ve decided to share a series of photographs that were in s photo album belonging to local pioneer Dick Fairhurst. The photo album contains dozens of beautiful images presumably taken by Dick of the Alta Lake valley and surrounding mountains, in winter and summer.

We will likely share more of these images on this blog in the future, but for now we are posting a series of images from a hike he took to the Russet Lake area, likely in the early 1960s.

Enjoying the view of Black Tusk (back right) from the Singing Pass area.

With ski lifts up on Whistler Mountain still several years away, the main access-point to Russet Lake was via the historic Singing Pass trail up the Fitzsimmons Valley. Even though the area had been part of Garibaldi Park for at least a half century, it seems like the “no dogs” rule had not come into effect yet (or simply wasn’t enforced) as Dick and his hiking partner brought along two canine companions.

Taking a break on the shores of Russet Lake.

At this point there was still no formal campsite or mountaineer’s hut at Russet Lake (the Himmelsbach Hut was completed in 1968), but the prospector’s cabin in Singing Pass was still standing. Without a photo of their campsite, we can’t be sure if they stayed at the cabin or pitched a tent elsewhere.

Hiking around Russet Ridge, close to Adit Lakes. The flanks of Fissile Mountain are visible to the left.

Hiker standing on the lower Overlord Glacier. Adit Lakes are visible below the clouds on the right-hand side.

Hiking above Russet Lake, near where the first instalment from the Spearhead Huts Project is set to be built, perhaps starting summer 2017. The flanks of Fissile Mountain are visible to the left, with Whirlwind Peak at back right.

On the summit of Fissile Mountain, with sections of the McBride Range and the heart of Garibaldi Provincial Park off in the distance. Check the feather in that cap!

Today, Russet Lake is a very popular hiking and camping destination, which can be accessed via the Singing Pass trail or over the Musical Bumps from Whistler Mountain. Next time you’re planning an alpine hike around Whistler, consider following in Dick Fairhurst’s footsteps!

Tag: Dick Fairhurst

Powering WhistlerPowering Whistler

Whistler Museum Celebrates 30 YearsWhistler Museum Celebrates 30 Years

A Night at the MoviesA Night at the Movies

A Hike to Russet Lake with Dick FairhurstA Hike to Russet Lake with Dick Fairhurst