The photo above: Hudson's Bay Mountain near Smithers, with Lake Kathlyn to the right
Six - A Move to Smithers, BC
1934
In 1934 Charles decided to leave Ootsa Lake and his many activities there, and move to Smithers. During the months of January, February, March and April he lived with the Collisons. While he waited for something to open up with the Forest Service he found casual employment at Smithers Lumber Yard, & at Hoskins’ Garage.
On January 7 he applied for Temporary Field work with the Forest Branch;
As a result of this application (in January) he was taken on as Acting Assistant Ranger of Smithers District for period May 1 to September 30. He also worked at building a nearby fire lookout.
In Smithers at first he lived in a house owned by George Heffernan, but in October when he wanted to buy a small house he wrote to his father for a $700 loan – needed to purchase the house - to be paid back in rental payments. His father responded with the desired loan so he bought the house & moved in. Once they were married he got a telegram from his father saying the house was their wedding gift.
In 1934 Charles decided to leave Ootsa Lake and his many activities there, and move to Smithers. During the months of January, February, March and April he lived with the Collisons. While he waited for something to open up with the Forest Service he found casual employment at Smithers Lumber Yard, & at Hoskins’ Garage.
On January 7 he applied for Temporary Field work with the Forest Branch;
As a result of this application (in January) he was taken on as Acting Assistant Ranger of Smithers District for period May 1 to September 30. He also worked at building a nearby fire lookout.
In Smithers at first he lived in a house owned by George Heffernan, but in October when he wanted to buy a small house he wrote to his father for a $700 loan – needed to purchase the house - to be paid back in rental payments. His father responded with the desired loan so he bought the house & moved in. Once they were married he got a telegram from his father saying the house was their wedding gift.
After they were married Charles then had the responsibility of making a living for two. Wherever he could find it he accepted casual work, such as with the businesses mentioned above, or doing cruises (surveying the trees in timber sales) for the Forest Branch,
In Smithers he became very friendly with the Forest Ranger, Ike Martin, and following his example, joined the Freemasons of Smithers.
In those days, dollar amounts of expenses were not large. i.e., the grocery bill was not more than $12./month. One short-term job was to look after Hoskins’ Garage while his friend Oswald Hoskins went on his honeymoon.
The conclusion can be made that he was favourably regarded by the Forest Branch officials as they hired him for short cruising jobs throughout the winter. Following these short term tasks, he was hired from May 1st 1934 to September 30th 1934 as Acting Assistant Ranger.
In this summer job he inspected sites that owners such as farmers and other land owners, proposed for burning; issued burning permits; maintained Forestry tools; organized and supervised fire-fighting crews in the event of forest fires; inspected fire lookouts and their watchmen; investigated smokes seen in the distance from the lookouts; mapped the extent of fires; supervised Junior Forest Wardens in their trips to summer camp; patrolled areas for smokes in the district on a surprise basis; maintained Forest Service vehicles; and put many miles in on foot hiking through the forests.
And it was about August 1st that as mentioned in the Introduction that he was poisoned by devil’s club while hunting for a fire, southwest of Smithers.
In December he worked approximately one week at Fred Noel’s store for the Christmas season.
In Smithers he became very friendly with the Forest Ranger, Ike Martin, and following his example, joined the Freemasons of Smithers.
In those days, dollar amounts of expenses were not large. i.e., the grocery bill was not more than $12./month. One short-term job was to look after Hoskins’ Garage while his friend Oswald Hoskins went on his honeymoon.
The conclusion can be made that he was favourably regarded by the Forest Branch officials as they hired him for short cruising jobs throughout the winter. Following these short term tasks, he was hired from May 1st 1934 to September 30th 1934 as Acting Assistant Ranger.
In this summer job he inspected sites that owners such as farmers and other land owners, proposed for burning; issued burning permits; maintained Forestry tools; organized and supervised fire-fighting crews in the event of forest fires; inspected fire lookouts and their watchmen; investigated smokes seen in the distance from the lookouts; mapped the extent of fires; supervised Junior Forest Wardens in their trips to summer camp; patrolled areas for smokes in the district on a surprise basis; maintained Forest Service vehicles; and put many miles in on foot hiking through the forests.
And it was about August 1st that as mentioned in the Introduction that he was poisoned by devil’s club while hunting for a fire, southwest of Smithers.
In December he worked approximately one week at Fred Noel’s store for the Christmas season.
1935
January 15th dawned clear and cold for the wedding day of Marion Winnifred Collison and Charles Lucas Botham. Marion’s Maid of Honour was Bertha Chapman who 17 months later married her brother Reg – their children's "Uncle Reg", thus becoming her sister-in-law. Charles’ Best Man was her oldest brother Bill, - destined to be their “Uncle Bill”. Following the ceremony in Smithers at the St. James Anglican Church and the short reception in the church hall, they honeymooned at the (Archie) McInnes’ Ranch located in Topley, just east of Houston for their honeymoon.
They had chosen to make Smithers their home, so Charles had to find employment there. At Ootsa Lake he had been able to work at a number of casual jobs, as well as take advantage of sources of foods from nature, such as fish and game. He had become a member of the community, exchanging his help for assistance and advice in cabin building and hunting game animals, as well as advice regarding employment opportunities in the district. Known as a willing pleasant worker at Ootsa Lake, he had been part of a network of neighbours helping neighbours. Now, in Smithers he had to start over and fit in with the relationships between the residents common in a small town.
February, March, and April usually being slow employment months, for a while they had a difficult time. Finding enough casual work to live on was difficult where there were others competing for the same jobs. The Assistant Ranger application, for which he sat, and passed, indicates in this period he was working for Oswald Hoskins at the Hoskins’ Garage where he was able to turn his auto repair skills to good effect.
His March Forest Service application stated the following:
1933: Resided at Ootsa Lake BC, and served as Patrolman for Fire Season; auto repairing for balance of time;
1934: Resided at Smithers, BC and served as Acting Assistant Ranger for Fire Season, again resorting to auto repairing when not working for the Forest Branch (FB);
1935: At present residing in Smithers BC and working as an auto mechanic at Hoskins Garage;
Preferred posting: Prefer Smithers because more business opportunities; & home & other interests were centred in the vicinity.
Additional experience: One season as Acting Ass’t Ranger at Smithers
Cruising & Surveying experience: Assisted Ranger Martin as Compassman cruising
timber sales in Smithers R.D. (Ranger District) in 1934.
Cruised areas for cordwood and tie sales when Ass’t Ranger at Smithers in 1935.
General experience:
A) worked 6 years in offices of large furniture store in England -;
B) 1934 - assisted Ranger in Land Examination, fire, and pre-emption reports;
Other work experience:
Worked on a Gov’t road; helped build bridge on the
Ootsa Lake-Nadina road;
Ran Auto Repair shop at Ootsa Lake 1933;
Worked at Hoskins Garage, Smithers 1934-35 when not employed by the FB;
Military Service: Three years experience in Worksop College OTC (Officer Training Corps
January 15th dawned clear and cold for the wedding day of Marion Winnifred Collison and Charles Lucas Botham. Marion’s Maid of Honour was Bertha Chapman who 17 months later married her brother Reg – their children's "Uncle Reg", thus becoming her sister-in-law. Charles’ Best Man was her oldest brother Bill, - destined to be their “Uncle Bill”. Following the ceremony in Smithers at the St. James Anglican Church and the short reception in the church hall, they honeymooned at the (Archie) McInnes’ Ranch located in Topley, just east of Houston for their honeymoon.
They had chosen to make Smithers their home, so Charles had to find employment there. At Ootsa Lake he had been able to work at a number of casual jobs, as well as take advantage of sources of foods from nature, such as fish and game. He had become a member of the community, exchanging his help for assistance and advice in cabin building and hunting game animals, as well as advice regarding employment opportunities in the district. Known as a willing pleasant worker at Ootsa Lake, he had been part of a network of neighbours helping neighbours. Now, in Smithers he had to start over and fit in with the relationships between the residents common in a small town.
February, March, and April usually being slow employment months, for a while they had a difficult time. Finding enough casual work to live on was difficult where there were others competing for the same jobs. The Assistant Ranger application, for which he sat, and passed, indicates in this period he was working for Oswald Hoskins at the Hoskins’ Garage where he was able to turn his auto repair skills to good effect.
His March Forest Service application stated the following:
1933: Resided at Ootsa Lake BC, and served as Patrolman for Fire Season; auto repairing for balance of time;
1934: Resided at Smithers, BC and served as Acting Assistant Ranger for Fire Season, again resorting to auto repairing when not working for the Forest Branch (FB);
1935: At present residing in Smithers BC and working as an auto mechanic at Hoskins Garage;
Preferred posting: Prefer Smithers because more business opportunities; & home & other interests were centred in the vicinity.
Additional experience: One season as Acting Ass’t Ranger at Smithers
Cruising & Surveying experience: Assisted Ranger Martin as Compassman cruising
timber sales in Smithers R.D. (Ranger District) in 1934.
Cruised areas for cordwood and tie sales when Ass’t Ranger at Smithers in 1935.
General experience:
A) worked 6 years in offices of large furniture store in England -;
B) 1934 - assisted Ranger in Land Examination, fire, and pre-emption reports;
Other work experience:
Worked on a Gov’t road; helped build bridge on the
Ootsa Lake-Nadina road;
Ran Auto Repair shop at Ootsa Lake 1933;
Worked at Hoskins Garage, Smithers 1934-35 when not employed by the FB;
Military Service: Three years experience in Worksop College OTC (Officer Training Corps
1936
Marion and Charles decided to start 1936 with a winter holiday trip to McInnes’s Ranch in Topley where they had spent their honeymoon. In the midst of this trip they received the news of the death of King George V, which for some unexplained reason cut their holiday short. And, as the Depression deepened, their situation became more straitened.
In February and March Charles was out of work but on April 23 he was taken on as Assistant Ranger in Smithers with the Forest Branch, a job which lasted until October 19.
On October 5th Peter, their first baby, a boy, was born at 11 a.m. in the Smithers Hospital. As this was the first grandson for both grandfathers, each of them wanted him named after them. Thus Marion named the baby (the writer of these lines) as follows: Peter (because she liked the name) Elliott (the second name of his paternal grandfather), Maxwell (the middle name of his maternal grandfather) – thus he was given three names.
In those days doctors and hospitals required payments for their medical services, so those were bills that had to be paid over and above their regular daily expenses. Luckily, on the day after he was laid off from the Forest Branch (October 20), he was able to start working on a part-time basis at Noel’s store in Smithers. Thus in spite of his earlier rejection of the position with his father’s store, he was able to use the skills he had acquired there.
This employment at Noel’s was punctuated in November and December with occasional cruising for the Forest Branch. However, conditions were becoming very difficult, so by November Charles had given up on the idea of trying to get on with the Forest Service and went to work in Fred Noel's store, which lasted during the Christmas season.
Marion and Charles decided to start 1936 with a winter holiday trip to McInnes’s Ranch in Topley where they had spent their honeymoon. In the midst of this trip they received the news of the death of King George V, which for some unexplained reason cut their holiday short. And, as the Depression deepened, their situation became more straitened.
In February and March Charles was out of work but on April 23 he was taken on as Assistant Ranger in Smithers with the Forest Branch, a job which lasted until October 19.
On October 5th Peter, their first baby, a boy, was born at 11 a.m. in the Smithers Hospital. As this was the first grandson for both grandfathers, each of them wanted him named after them. Thus Marion named the baby (the writer of these lines) as follows: Peter (because she liked the name) Elliott (the second name of his paternal grandfather), Maxwell (the middle name of his maternal grandfather) – thus he was given three names.
In those days doctors and hospitals required payments for their medical services, so those were bills that had to be paid over and above their regular daily expenses. Luckily, on the day after he was laid off from the Forest Branch (October 20), he was able to start working on a part-time basis at Noel’s store in Smithers. Thus in spite of his earlier rejection of the position with his father’s store, he was able to use the skills he had acquired there.
This employment at Noel’s was punctuated in November and December with occasional cruising for the Forest Branch. However, conditions were becoming very difficult, so by November Charles had given up on the idea of trying to get on with the Forest Service and went to work in Fred Noel's store, which lasted during the Christmas season.
1937
In January because of all the delays, and the intermittent nature of his employment with the Forest Service to that point, and because with a family he needed to ensure some sort of regular and steady income, Charles decided to permanently drop the idea of full-time employ-ment with the Forest Branch and accept a full-time position at Noel’s store. It was becoming obvious to him that the experience he had gained in his father’s store in England would be invaluable to him in such a job.
However, what happened next served to prove that his heart was really in the outdoors, for on February 1st when he was offered the position of Acting Ranger at Hazelton, he quickly accepted. The misfortune of the previous ranger, Sharpe, who had had to quit because of a heart attack, had become Charles’ good fortune.
On April 21st 1937, Charles again wrote the “Examination for Forest Rangers” and again passed it. When he was advised of the results he was told that the Examination had been held “to establish an eligible list … from which appointments will be made as Rangers are required, and does not mean that a permanent position would be actually guaranteed to any or all of the successful contestants.” While he felt that this explanation did not fully justify having to write the exam again, it points up some of the conditions of competition in the Civil Service in those depressed times.
So, suddenly conditions had changed. With the loss of Ranger Sharpe the permanent position had suddenly become open.
Following Mr. Sharpe’s misfortune, an administrator in the Forest Service called on Charles. They wanted him for the position of what was termed Acting Ranger and then only for two weeks. He went to Hazelton without his family and was able to find room & board with a local family, the Newberry’s. At the end of the two weeks he was asked to stay for another week.
While Charles was in Hazelton, a friend of Marion’s, Olive Evitt (her future wife of her brother Bill, and her future sister-in-law, moved in with Marion to keep her and her baby company. When she moved in she informed Marion that she was coming down with a cold. But after her arrival her "cold" quickly developed into a full case of red measles. When she realized what it was, it was too late to back out. The deed had been done! The germs had been passed on and both Marion & Peter, who was four or five months old at the time, also got it.
This was also the time when Olive and Marion, both ailing with cold-like symptoms, decided one evening that they should make themselves some “therapeutic” hot rums. They had all the ingredients so proceeded to mix these two drinks – adding hot water, of course, as their husband and boy friend usually did, to the rum in the glass. After they had completed these concoctions, they decided that something was not yet quite right. Usually when their men mixed hot rums the resulting drink was darker. Their conclusion was that they hadn’t used enough rum, so they proceeded to correct this lack and added more. It still didn’t meet the darkness requirement so they added more. Finally, as the drinks seemed to be as dark as they were going to become, they decided that they should drink then anyway. This they proceeded to do, and soon both were as drunk as lords – er, ladies! This was something of a surprise! But they found out a basic truth about hot rums when next they consulted their men folk. It seems that their past hot rums had been made with a dark rum, while for these they had been using a white rum. The result was that their drinks were as strong as several normal drinks!
At the end of the two weeks of working as Acting Ranger in Hazelton, Charles returned to his family in Smithers. However, he had hardly walked in the door when he received another request to return to Hazelton for two to three more weeks. This he did at the end of which time he returned to Smithers.
After being back in Smithers for two weeks he was told to return again to Hazelton. This time they decided that his family would again go too. So on April 1 of 1937 Marion and Peter moved back to Hazelton with their few necessities, this time by train. And at this time they rented the Anglican Mission Hall (which interestingly, had been built by Marion’s grandfather, WH Collison, who had established the Anglican Mission in Hazelton.) When the local Anglican ladies heard that they were moving into the Mission Hall again they tried to stop them from moving in. However, the rent for that time period had been paid with the first period’s rent so they couldn’t legally stop them.
At the end of the summer of 1937 he was offered and accepted the position as Acting Ranger in Hazelton. At this time Charles made some inquiries and found a small house on the riverbank belonging to Claire “Bud” Dawson, across from Jimmy Turnbull’s house and below Bill Sargent’s small house.
In October (1937), because Marion was expecting a second baby, she went back to Smithers to be with her mother for the birth. On October 20th their daughter Ann Margery was born in the Smithers hospital. After Marion had recovered sufficiently Charles brought her and the children home to Hazelton.
They were still in Bud Dawson’s little house over the winter of 1937-38. Having a new baby there only accentuated its inadequacies as a winter shelter.
In January because of all the delays, and the intermittent nature of his employment with the Forest Service to that point, and because with a family he needed to ensure some sort of regular and steady income, Charles decided to permanently drop the idea of full-time employ-ment with the Forest Branch and accept a full-time position at Noel’s store. It was becoming obvious to him that the experience he had gained in his father’s store in England would be invaluable to him in such a job.
However, what happened next served to prove that his heart was really in the outdoors, for on February 1st when he was offered the position of Acting Ranger at Hazelton, he quickly accepted. The misfortune of the previous ranger, Sharpe, who had had to quit because of a heart attack, had become Charles’ good fortune.
On April 21st 1937, Charles again wrote the “Examination for Forest Rangers” and again passed it. When he was advised of the results he was told that the Examination had been held “to establish an eligible list … from which appointments will be made as Rangers are required, and does not mean that a permanent position would be actually guaranteed to any or all of the successful contestants.” While he felt that this explanation did not fully justify having to write the exam again, it points up some of the conditions of competition in the Civil Service in those depressed times.
So, suddenly conditions had changed. With the loss of Ranger Sharpe the permanent position had suddenly become open.
Following Mr. Sharpe’s misfortune, an administrator in the Forest Service called on Charles. They wanted him for the position of what was termed Acting Ranger and then only for two weeks. He went to Hazelton without his family and was able to find room & board with a local family, the Newberry’s. At the end of the two weeks he was asked to stay for another week.
While Charles was in Hazelton, a friend of Marion’s, Olive Evitt (her future wife of her brother Bill, and her future sister-in-law, moved in with Marion to keep her and her baby company. When she moved in she informed Marion that she was coming down with a cold. But after her arrival her "cold" quickly developed into a full case of red measles. When she realized what it was, it was too late to back out. The deed had been done! The germs had been passed on and both Marion & Peter, who was four or five months old at the time, also got it.
This was also the time when Olive and Marion, both ailing with cold-like symptoms, decided one evening that they should make themselves some “therapeutic” hot rums. They had all the ingredients so proceeded to mix these two drinks – adding hot water, of course, as their husband and boy friend usually did, to the rum in the glass. After they had completed these concoctions, they decided that something was not yet quite right. Usually when their men mixed hot rums the resulting drink was darker. Their conclusion was that they hadn’t used enough rum, so they proceeded to correct this lack and added more. It still didn’t meet the darkness requirement so they added more. Finally, as the drinks seemed to be as dark as they were going to become, they decided that they should drink then anyway. This they proceeded to do, and soon both were as drunk as lords – er, ladies! This was something of a surprise! But they found out a basic truth about hot rums when next they consulted their men folk. It seems that their past hot rums had been made with a dark rum, while for these they had been using a white rum. The result was that their drinks were as strong as several normal drinks!
At the end of the two weeks of working as Acting Ranger in Hazelton, Charles returned to his family in Smithers. However, he had hardly walked in the door when he received another request to return to Hazelton for two to three more weeks. This he did at the end of which time he returned to Smithers.
After being back in Smithers for two weeks he was told to return again to Hazelton. This time they decided that his family would again go too. So on April 1 of 1937 Marion and Peter moved back to Hazelton with their few necessities, this time by train. And at this time they rented the Anglican Mission Hall (which interestingly, had been built by Marion’s grandfather, WH Collison, who had established the Anglican Mission in Hazelton.) When the local Anglican ladies heard that they were moving into the Mission Hall again they tried to stop them from moving in. However, the rent for that time period had been paid with the first period’s rent so they couldn’t legally stop them.
At the end of the summer of 1937 he was offered and accepted the position as Acting Ranger in Hazelton. At this time Charles made some inquiries and found a small house on the riverbank belonging to Claire “Bud” Dawson, across from Jimmy Turnbull’s house and below Bill Sargent’s small house.
In October (1937), because Marion was expecting a second baby, she went back to Smithers to be with her mother for the birth. On October 20th their daughter Ann Margery was born in the Smithers hospital. After Marion had recovered sufficiently Charles brought her and the children home to Hazelton.
They were still in Bud Dawson’s little house over the winter of 1937-38. Having a new baby there only accentuated its inadequacies as a winter shelter.
