From dirt trail to paved road

Today's trip down memory lane takes us through the scenic Fraser Canyon.

A main route to the Lower Mainland from the BC Interior for decades, there was a time when travelling to the Coast was no easy task.

But a paved highway changed all that and opened the region up to travel in both directions.

Vernon historian and videographer Francois Arseneault has in his extensive collection of historical footage a professionally made feature looks at the history of the region starting in the early 1800s.

From early explorers to the creation of a paved roadway, the footage is a fascinating look at BC history.

“'The Fraser Canyon' is a BC government film produced in 1960 now in the public domain. This nearly forgotten and hard-to-find film was produced to showcase the achievements of the construction of the paved highway through the Fraser Canyon that still serves us to this day,” Arseneault said. “This 24-minute, 16mm film tells the century-long story of road building of what would eventually become the highway along the Fraser Canyon, forming part of the Trans-Canada Highway.”

Arseneault said from the well-produced re-enactments of early colonial explorers and Royal Engineers to the massive trucks and bulldozers of the 1950s, the footage shapes the story effectively.

“The narration and pacing of the film are perhaps quaint by today’s standards, however it was shot through the social lens of its time, focussing on the growth of the province in commerce and trade as well as connecting the communities,” he said, adding post war, the demand for better highways and improved access to far reaching communities had grown dramatically as the family car was far more common than during the great depression and the war years.

“This was the days of ‘Flying’ Phil Galardi, the brash and outspoken Minister of Highways. As the film clearly depicts, Gaglardi's ministry was marked y the rapid expansion of the province's paved road system and the completion of most of the major road bridges in British Columbia.”

The film was directed by Bernard Atkins, an award-winning, long-time photographer, cinematographer and film director for the BC Government Department of Travel.

Arseneault is always looking for more information on the vintage footage he digs up, and he encourages people to add their input in the comments section on his Youtube page.

Arseneault has an extensive collection of vintage footage, and he is looking for more.

Anyone who may have old 16 mm or 8 mm film footage of the Vernon and Okanagan area is invited to email Arseneault at stockshooter.yyc@gmail.com.