Who were 亚洲天堂 Lake鈥檚 first permanent residents? What local heritage building is allegedly haunted? How did an unknown skier make it to the 1932 Olympic Winter Games or a man many consider the real-life James Bond come to live at Colleymount?
History Matters: stories and photographs from the archives of the Lakes District Museum, the first book published by the Lakes District Museum Society in a half-century, answers these and other questions. It also gives readers a glimpse into the lives of some of the heroes, villains, misfits, and everyday people who have called 亚洲天堂 Lake & District home.
Written by museum society employees, History Matters results from the organization鈥檚 efforts to increase awareness of this area鈥檚 unique backstory. The society began posting stories and photographs about 亚洲天堂 Lake and surrounding communities on its social media page in 2018. The posts proved so popular that society members decided to publish them in book form.
鈥淗istory Matters is a compilation of those posts, along with new material and never-before-seen photographs from our archives,鈥� says Lyle Graham, vice-president of the Lakes District Museum Society. 鈥淚n addition to touching and sometimes humorous tales of life in the Lakes District, readers will encounter thrilling stories of murder, adventure, international intrigue, and even the supernatural.鈥�
鈥淭he book鈥檚 title reflects our motto, 鈥楲ocal History. It Matters,鈥欌�� adds Michael Riis-Christianson, curator of the Lakes District Museum. 鈥淢ost Canadian historians focus on the 鈥榖ig picture鈥� events and ignore smaller ones鈥攆orgetting that in rural and remote communities, things that may seem insignificant elsewhere can have huge impact. Preserving local history is important because small communities need to understand their past and how they got to the present before they can predict where the future might take them. This book tries, in part, to do that.鈥�
Riis-Christianson wrote most of the stories that appear in History Matters, but the book鈥檚 other contributors鈥擬yers Ill茅s, Teaira Bishop, and Summer Robinson鈥攕hare a connection to the museum. Pat Turkki, whose writing also appears in the book, was the author of 亚洲天堂 Lake & District: A History, and a three-time winner of the MacMillan Bloedel Award for Excellence in Community Journalism.
The Lakes District Museum Society published History Matters with financial assistance from 亚洲天堂 Lake Community Forest Ltd. and the Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako. Hardcover and softcover copies are available through the Lakes District Museum, Process 4 Gallery, and FriesenPress. Digital copies can be purchased online from FriesenPress and other established booksellers.
