May 28th 2011 Reunion

Hi again everyone and welcome back. We had another successful reunion again this year with 86 people registered.

Here is the sign that the Cowichan Lake Recreation Centre puts up for us every year

The  2008 reunion was an outstanding success with 133 people attending.  Our special guests Wally Oppal and 20 grandchildren, great grandchildren and great great grandchildren of founder Carlton Stone also came out.  The weather was warm and sunny and many photos were taken outside.

A group photo of Hillcrest founder Carlton Stone's grandchildren, great grandchildren and great grandchildren.  Many thanks to the Stone families for raising over $1000.00 to be donated to the Kaatza Museum.  We also raised over $140.00 by donation at the reunion, and another $90.00 by donation at the museum. 

The day started off at 10:00 in the morning with a visit to the Kaatza Museum in Lake Cowichan where curator Barb Simpkins and Andrea had set up a special screening for anyone attending the Hillcrest reunion.

Barb and Andrea at the Kaatza Museum. 

People started arriving at the Mesachie Hall at 11:00 am and our caterer Arlene already had huge pots of coffee ready for the early birds and set up people.

Wally Oppal and our caterer Arlene Savinkoff. Arlene has done such a great job of catering for us for a number of years now.  Thanks Arlene.

Here are some photos of pioneers who lived at the original Sahtlam Hillcrest.   Ella Holden (Mars), Mary Jolin (Pollock), Ruth Buchkam( Dickson) and Charlie Dickson.

Dick Pollock and Ella Mars (Holden) Dick's father Jim was a book keeper, then General Manager at Sahtlam Hillcrest.  Jim passed away in 1936, but in Sahtlam today there is a road named after the family.

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Wally Oppal, Julie Roome (Stone) and Cec Ashley speachifying on stage.  Julie is announcing to the attendees about the money raised by the Stone families to be donated to the Kaatza Museum in the name of the Hillcrest Employees Association.

A great shot of three old friends and softball players. On the left is Ian Shopland, Wally Oppal and Bill Keserich.  Wally was chosen Most Valuable Player one year in a tournament and Bill has never gotten over it.  Get over it Bill:)

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Here is a great photo of Anne and Doug Stone enjoying themselves. Doug is a grand son of Carlton Stone.

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Don Grant and Georgie Grant. Don's father George Grant operated the 10 SPOT for 30 years at Hillcrest.  And Don worked on the booms at the mill for many years.

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Mike Yip and Lorne Fiske.  Mike's father worked as an edgerman for many years at the mill, and Lorne worked on the booms for 10 years.

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Lorene Milligan with the two cakes she baked for the Hillcrest 40th anniversary shutdown.  One chocolate cake and one white cake. They were a real treat and a hit with everyone there. Besides that they went fast, so I'm glad we were able to get these pictures when we did.  Lorene had even inscribed the Hillcrest Lumber Company Logo on both cakes. Great job Lorene, thanks so very much.

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Here is Harold (Cliff) Lawson selling the special 2008 Hillcrest Reunion Hats. Harold had 5 dozen hats made and sold them all. Harold is wearing one of them, he probably sold that one too.  Click to enlarge and read the inscription on his hat.

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Walter Cooke, Theresa Cooke and Lorraine Coates enjoying lunch and a chat together.  Walter worked as scaler, landing man for 10 years in the Hillcrest woods.  

Here is a great photo of Jack Millar Jr. and sister Marilyn Millar (Hudson). Jack Millar the yard foreman was their father.  Jack came all the way from Ontario to celebrate the reunion with us.  Way to go Jack.  Jack has also sent many great photos of the mill and townsite that are very much appreciated.

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Another great photo of Bill Turko and Dorothy Ryan. Bill was a steam engineer for many years in the mill and Dorothy's husband Reg drove logging truck. Reg hauled the first logs by logging truck when Hillcrest switched over to truck logging.   Reg  hauled the first logs in 1947 and the last logs in 1968. Many will remember that Reg had R.T.Ryan painted on the side of his logging truck.  Reg drove # 2 logging truck.  Dorothy recently moved to Lake Cowichan after living in Mesachie Lake for 53 years.

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Don Gordon with the microphone presenting a 1947 school photograph to Wally Oppal.  Don had discovered this photo of Wally in the Kaatza Museum archives. Standing beside Wally in the photo is Cec Ashley.

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Four old Hillcrest buds. From left, Bill Irving,  Al Lundgren, Lorne Fisk, Gordy Knott

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Here is an awesome photo of four "Mesachie Girls" On the left is Carol Portlance( Scott) Sharon Kidds (Maxwell) Ann Turko ( Adamschek) and Lynn Turko( Dorward).  I don't remember the words to the song that they are singing, but I will find out and publish them here.

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Nancy Davis beside her classic sportscar. A Miata that is 15 years old, but only 300 were produced.

This is an absolutely wonderful picture of 5 generations of the Portlance family. Lenona Portlance husband Neil worked at Hillcrest mill, both at Sahtlam and Mesachie lake as head saw filer for many, many years.

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Bill Keserick  and Cec Ashley.Bill worked in the planer mill at Mesachie Lake as a summer student for 4 years.  Bill's dad and my dad worked together at Sahtlam Hillcrest.  Bill lived as a young boy at Sahtlam.

A terrific photo of Mike Yip, Wally Oppal, and Jack Millar jr. Mike was very generous and presented us with two of his beautiful bird books. We had a draw and  Walter Cooke and Betty Turko were the lucky winners.  Mike's father worked as an edgerman in the sawmill for many years.

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Rollie Gunderson

The following article was submitted by Rolli Gunderson.  Rollie is a reporter for the Lake Cowichan Gazette.

Mesachie Lake School

By Trudie Allen

1993

The vacant lot to the right of the (Mesachie Lake) community hall was once the site of the Mesachie Lake School.  It opened in September 1956 to accommodate grades one through three with Trudie Allen as teacher.  It was later expanded to two classrooms with all the elementary grades.  Other teachers who taught there were Helen Robertson, Pauline Jenson,  Marilyn Traer, Sophie Hancock and Cathe Cocks.

After the mill shut down in 1968 the school building was moved to Lake Cowichan where it became the band room then the art room at LCSS. (NOTE: The building is still in use.)

(Trudie was born in Lillooet, BC on Oct.11, 1928 and died April 22. 2008 after a sudden illness.  She and her husband, the late Ken Allen were long time Lake Cowichan residents.  Their son David of Kelowna, BC survives them.

-Submitted by Rolli Gunderson)

Note:  The Mesachie Lake school was moved about 15 years ago to its present location behind the Kaatza Museum.  A larger section of the school went to the Town of Lake Cowichan maintenance, and a third section is being used by the Royal Canadian Legion.  Information from Don Gordon and Rollie Gunderson  on June 3, 2008.

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A SPECIAL FEATURE ON GEORGE GRANT 

George Donald Grant ( Steam Locomotive Engineer)

Hillcrest Lumber Company 1935-1965

TWO MOMENTOUS AND MEMORABLE STORIES IN THE LIFE OF GEORGE GRANT, LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEER AND FORMER EMPLOYEE OF HILLCREST LUMBER COMPANY SAHTLAM AND MESACHIE LAKE.

He was hired by Carlton Stone owner of Hillcrest Lumber in 1935 from Comox Logging Company to operate the Climax # 9 in their logging operations out at Sahtlam (the original Hillcrest mill site).

The Climax #9 is presently on display at the B.C. Forest Discovery Centre in Duncan B.C.

As logging operations increased it became evident that the 9 Spot was inadequate and upon George Grant's suggestion, and in consultation with Carlton Stone, the Climax # 10 was purchased ( financed by Sue Lem Bing, the Chinese Foreman).  This locomotive was operated by George Grant at Sahtlam and Mesachie Lake until his retirement in 1965.

THE GREAT FOREST FIRE ~1944

There were two notable happenings during George Grant's employment.  The first was a major forest fire which commenced at noon near the end of July 1944 when the last logs of the day were being taken out. There had been no significant rain since June 30th.  The fire was caused by friction when one log was being hauled to a Spar Tree.  Workmen saw the blaze start and rushed to extinguish it.  But slash in the area exploded into flames and the blaze was out of control immediately!  Heroic efforts by workers saved a Skidder from destruction.   George recounted the story of the workers being covered with water soaked sacks ( water being provided by the Locomotive Engine) while they painstakingly severed the thick cables securing the Skidder (no power tools in those days).  The Skidder was then brought to safety by the Locomotive and George Grant Engineer and his Crew.  The Firefighters succeeded that same night to get the fire under control with the use of water and the formation of a Firebreak with one old Army Bulldozer but not before the loss of 150 acres, 3,000,000  board feet of fallen and bucked timber, and two Donkey Engines.  The HEROES OF THE DAY who contained the blaze and put it out were the Mill workers of the closed mill, the loggers and the train crew (all employees of Hillcrest Lumber Company!).

George's son Don (aged 14) and his daughter Zelda (aged 5) recalled the crimson red sky to the west of the Mesachie Lake Town site and the resounding noise of EXPLODING GAS BARRELS.  The sight of COMPLETELY ROUND GAS BARRELS that had not exploded following the fire will be remembered vividly by them forever!  Don recalls his father George getting home in the middle of the night with eyes burning from the excessive smoke.  Eye drops were procured from the First Aid room which George's wife Bernice instilled in both eyes throughout the night to ease the inflammation!  Don also recalls that his father rarely spoke of this experience as it was so traumatic for him and we're sure for everyone involved!  We believe that all who shared this time felt extremely fortunate that the wind which had been fanning the blaze died down by nightfall and that the fire, which could have been catastrophic, was history!

THE GREAT TRAIN WRECK~JULY 28,1947

The second, but by no means the least experience in George Grant's employment was the infamous Train Wreck at 10:30 am July 28, 1947.  It appears that immediately following a "refit" of the Climax#10 with new tires and brake shoes, while coming down a 9% grade near Nineteen Creek with a full load, the locomotive RAN AWAY!  The load consisted of a Bulldozer, an Air Compressor, a full tank car of water, and a Donkey!  When the brakes and Johnson bar were applied they did not slow the engine and its load!  In fact the engine gained speed and was soon OUT OF CONTROL!  When it came to a sharp bend Nels Laforge, Ted Doney and the Flat Car, which held their equipment, were swept off the tracks and they were injured (although miraculously not seriously!)  The Fireman Pete Watson and Second  Brakeman E. McRae had jumped but not the Engineer.  George Grant stuck to the controls for some time letting off steam to prevent an explosion from happening when the engine left the tracks.  George found mountains on one side and a steep incline on the other, which made his plight NERVEWRACKING!  The first clear spot came into view and he leaped off just before the engine left the tracks and landed on its side.

Upon extensive investigation, it was found that every precaution had been taken by the train crew, but the effects of a drizzle of rain a roadbed newly ballasted, the weight of the load, and the new tires and brake shoes on the engine had caused the runnaway to happen.  The #10 was rebuilt after the accident and was returned to service in 1948.  The Climax #10 is now part of the Mt. Rainier Scenic Railway at Elbe, Washington, U.S.A.

Above is the 10 SPOT sitting on a flat car after the accident.

Click on photo to enlarge

Thanks to Don and Georgie Grant for this rare photo. 

Note: A video of the #10 Spot can be viewed on this website by clicking on the link below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84eUsZwxTJI

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of  Zelda Humphrey ( Tinker Grant) George Grant's daughter, and Don Grant's younger sister, on Sunday June 1st, 2008. Tinker came to one of our reunions and was planning to come to this years also, and was looking forward to meeting with Wally Oppal again after many years.

Below is a photo of the 10 SPOT with George Grant at the throttle.  This photo was taken beside the old loading shed at Mesachie Mill.

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MY MEMORIES OF HILLCREST

MARY JOLIN (POLLOCK)

My father Jim Pollock was the book keeper first then General Manager of Hillcrest until he died in October 1936.

I was about five years old and remember our house caught on fire.  We lived close to the mill site.  They figured that a spark from the burner landed on some pitch on a stump very close to the back of the house.  I can't remember the extent of the fire but that was when the decision to build a house for us on the hill across from the mill site was made.  Eventually many houses were built there.  I remember on our side of the road were the Popes, Dicksons, & Westons.  On the other side were Traers, Bortolottos, Andersons, Portlances & the Drews.  There were a few more but cannot remember the names.  The children from Grades 1-8 had to walk to the school in Sahtlam.  We would walk through a trail just behind our house through the woods which took us to the Lake Cowichan Road.  Otherwise we would have to walk 2 or 3 miles on the road.  When we left the trail it was not far on the road to the school.  It was a one room school with a pot bellied stove.  Miss McConnell was our teacher.  Eventually, Hillcrest built a school right on the hill next to our house.  By this time my older sister and brother had to cycle into Duncan to go to high school.  The school of course, again was one room but much larger than Sahtlam.  Mr. McDonald an Englishman, was our teacher.  We had a Girl Guide Troop & a Boy Scout Troop.  Colonel Dopping-Hepenstall, Commissoner for the Boy Scouts in our area, referred to our Scout Troop like a league of nations because we had Chinese, Japanese, East Indians included in the troop as well.  There was a gully between the mill site and the hill where we all lived.  The Japanese built a foot bridge over it.  My dad could walk to work and we used to go to the Japanese store, run by the Inouyes, to buy candies, etc.  Now, again looking over from our house, we could see the log pond and just beyond the pond was the Swede mill.  I don't remember what year it was built but I do remember 2 Swedish gentleman, Mr. Sunbomb and Mr. Sunderquist, who came over from Sweden to oversee the construction of the mill.  They visited us at the house a few times and were very interesting.  I'm sure you have all remembered certain words or sayings in your early life that you still remember.  Today, I can't remember what I did yesterday.  However, when you are young ( I would have been about 10) and in grade school, Christmas is so exciting, school concerts and festivities at home, etc.  Well, till Easter seems an eternity away.  I must have said or complained that Easter was a long way off.  Mr. McDonnell said, "Mary as you grow older, you will find that time passes very quickly".  I have thought of that so many times in my later years.  Then in Hillcrest, the Drews were over visiting one summer evening.  We often sat out on our front porch to relax.  Well, Jack Drew's sister and husband were visiting from Vancouver, Chester and Aida Swain.  They were telling us about a drive-in restaurant that just opened in Vancouver, Granville & 57 called the "White Spot" !!  Time moves on quickly.  My dear father passed away in October 1936 and we moved to Duncan but I'll always remember our happy days in Hillcrest.

Sincerely, Mary Jolin (Pollock)

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Below is a school photo that Mary sent to me and was taken in 1934/1935 school term. Note the poster on the school door. "CENTENARY VICTORIA AUSTRALIA 1934"

Top Row: from left: 5th boy is Stewart Pollock, 6th boy is, Bill Pollock.

Next row down: from left: Viola Portlance is first, 3rd is Ruth Buchham (Dickson) Georgina Portlance is 5th. Laura Harvey is 6th, and Mary Pollock (Jolin) is 7th.

Next row down: June Weston is first, Ella Holden is 4th, and Helen Pollock is 5th.

Front Row: Cal Traer is 4th from left,  On the far right side, second boy in is Charlie Dickson.

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PLEASE CLICK ON ANY PHOTO TO ENLARGE

Here is a great photo of Jack Millar ( Shipping/Yard Foreman) standing on the Sumner head-rig carriage with the last log cut at Hillcrest Sawmill.  Are there any other photos of other people with the last log cut.  I would dearly love to hear of them if there are.

Check out Jack Millars web page in the left hand column.

Photo courtesy of Jack Millar Jr.

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If anyone would like to have their relative who worked for Hillcrest added to our column, please e-mail me or phone me at:

250-247-9653      Or my mailing address is.

Cec Ashley

625 Balsam Street

Gabriola, B.C.

V0R 1X1

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I have received these interesting photos from Jack Millar recently.

Thanks Jack.

Photo taken from Mesachie mountain.  You can clearly see the barker on the left.

Click on any photo to enlarge 

This is a great shot of the mill pond from Mesachie mountain.  This photo shows more of the lumber storage yard and a little of the townsite. 

I believe this photo was taken from Jack Millars townsite home showing the mill yard, dry shed, planer mill, sawmill, burner and smoke stack.  Taken from the North in 1945 or 1946.

1961 FLOOD. This is the railway bridge over the Robertson River.  The tracks have been buckled because of the build up of debris pushing against the bridge.  Paul Stone's home on the edge of Bear Lake was also in danger of flooding. Julie Roome (Stone) thinks the photo below was probably taken at an earlier time, perhaps 1955 or 1956.

Paul Stone's house in danger of being flooded.  

 George Smart lived across the road from Paul Stone's house and he also got flooded and they had to use their boat to get to the roadway.  George's floor furnace was full of water.

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I received the photos below from Cliff Pascoe.  They are in Robertha Pascoe's book "Camp People" Robertha was the daughter of Leo and Mary Portelance.  Many thanks Cliff.

This is a very rare and extraordinary good photo taken at Old Hillcrest at Sahtlam in the filing room in 1940.  From left, Ed Portelance, Johnny Cuillet, and Leo Portelance.

Another photo from Robertha's book "Camp People" shows the crew from the Swede mill in June 1940. "Big" Bill Luhtala is 4th from left.

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Here is an interesting picture of the Hillcrest mill at Mesachie Lake taken probably in the  mid 1940's.  If you look close you can see that the loading shed hasn't been built yet, where the box cars are sitting.  This is where they used to load the box cars with lumber.  Shorty Wright supervised this area.  Also the planer mill is only partially completed, just the area over where the big Timber Sizer was has a roof over it.  This was my first job in the planer mill, second feeding.  John Peters was the feeder on the timber sizer.

The machine shop and first aid room has yet to be built and Slim Ashley's garage still had a sloped roof.  It was replaced with a higher flat roof in the 1950's to accomadate the forklifts with their high booms.  I don't even think the Swede mill was built yet.  No time clock either.  And I don't see any dry kilns and no chip bunkers.  We had two chip bunkers later, one small one and a larger one.  Bill Ashley used to work on these loading the trucks with chips for the pulp mill.

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We are really in need of fresh stories and photos for the web page.  If anyone has memories of anything at all about Hillcrest Lumber Company, please take a few moments to jot them down on a piece of paper.  Now is the time to do it as the older we get the more our memories fade, and it would be a shame to see such wonderful history disappear.  It dosen't have to be a lot. Anecdotes, work related or personal stories, anything at all would be welcome.  Photos are particularly welcome. Let's keep the spirit of Hillcrest alive.  I really enjoy doing the web page and recording the history of Hillcrest but I need all the help I can get.  I can't do it all alone. I will do all the work,  just get the information to me please. 

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Thanks to Jack Millar for sending me this photo of the mill and town site taken from Mesachie mountain in 1959.  It is a little fuzzy but if you look close you can see the dry shed, dry kilns, planer mill, and the community hall.  Thanks Jack.

Note the old burner in the lower left corner.

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Check out Axel and Lorne Fisk's page.  Look in the left hand column and scroll down to Axel and Lorne Fisk and click on their link.

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Dorothy Russell has sent me some very interesting photos of her Dad Ernie Peacock who worked in the woods in the early days. Please check Ernie's web page under his name in the left hand column.

I have added a new page called "In REMEMBRANCE"  It will be a page dedicated to workers and family members  who have passed on since January 1st, 2008.  Please click on the link below to view.

IN REMEMBRANCE 

Click on Loggers

Sahtlam Reunion

THE 10 SPOT

Click on the link below to view video of the Old 10 Spot. It is now operating at Mount Rainier Scenic Railroad in Washington USA.  The video is 4:50 sec long and still has the original Hillcrest Logo on the tender.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84eUsZwxTJI The Hillcrest brick is in place now. Click on photo to enlarge

Click here for *Hillcrest Reunion 2007*

Click on -JOHN PADJEN-

Click on- Forest Worker's Memorial Park

Click on- St. Christopher's Church

Click on -  Old Hillcrest

Thanks to George Smart for the above photo.  This is advertising the 3rd Annual Reunion.  More stories at end of page.

The Hillcrest Lumber Company Employees Reunion was started by George Smart and Frank Vanyo in 2001.  George was the logging manager for Hillcrest Lumber Company when the operation closed down in September of 1968. Frank lives in Duncan and was a bulldozer operator in the logging division. George  and Frank thought that it would be a good idea to get the former logging employees of Hillcrest together for a reunion. Thus the Hillcrest Lumber Company Employees Reunion was started.  The first reunion was held at the Silver Bridge Inn in Duncan, B.C. The second being held also at the Silver Bridge Inn. In 2003 the reunion moved to The BC Forest Museum in Duncan B.C.  Since then the reunions have been held in Mesachie Lake B.C. at the original Hillcrest community hall, except for 2005 when we had to use the Honeymoon Bay Hall as Hillcrest Hall was under going renovations. In 2003 Doug Stone took over as the organizer of the reunion.  Doug is a grandson of Carlton Stone the founder of Hillcrest Lumber Company.  In 2004 Cec and Joyce Ashley took over as full time organizers.  Cec Ashley worked at Hillcrest in the planer mill from 1959 until shortly before it closed down in 1968. Cec's father Jack" Slim" Ashley and brother Bill also worked in the mill. Jack Ashley started at old Sahtlam in 1935 and moved to Mesachie and worked as garage foreman until he retired in 1965.

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Here is a little history of Hillcrest Lumber Company Ltd, it's founder, and his sons who ran it after his death and the people who worked and lived in the town that Carlton Stone created.

Carlton Stone

Please click on the link   Carlton Stone

This is the # 9 Spot and the  #1 spot that Hillcrest used to own: Locomotive. Simply click on the word Locomotive and scroll down.

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Ian Macinnes published a book called "Carlton Stone's Hillcrest." Ian's father worked at Hillcrest from 1932 until 1942 in the machine shop where he learned the trade of machinist.

This is a photograph of Hillcrest Mill at Mesachie Lake B.C.  It was taken in 1968 shortly before it closed down.

Please click on the link below and view the KAATZA MUSEUM in Lake Cowichan:Kaatza Station Museum

A newsletter is published once or twice a year and we call it the "Last Whistle".  The idea came about from Harry Wright's tape recording of the last mill whistle when Hillcrest closed down.  We play this one minute recording at the start of each reunion.  Above is a photo of Joyce Ashley taking a break at the registration desk at last years reunion.

Here is a photo of some of the grandchildren and spouses of Hillcrest founder Carlton Stone

This is the old Hillcrest community hall that was built by the company about 1948.  Cliff Pascoe can recall wiring the hall in 1948.   We hold our reunions every May here. It has been upgraded over the years with a new roof and siding. Last year the interior was renovated.

The entrance at the hall before registration. This is a classic photo of the sawmill when it was a going concern. Many people have painted this mill, most notably the artist E.J..Hughes "A National Treasure" who passed away earlier this year at 94 years of age.

A sign at the Lake Cowichan Sports Arena advertising our last years reunion. The Lake Cowichan Sports Arena takes care of all of the hall rentals in the Cowichan Lake Area.

Two of the top lumber graders in the province of B.C. Bikar Mann on the left won a lumber grading championship, and Terry Geernaert was a PLIB lumber inspector for many years. 

Some of the wives of former Hillcrest Employees enjoying the festivities.  A lot of families lived in the houses that the Company supplied in Mesachie Lake.

Shorty Wright, Jack "Slim" Ashley, Jack Stroughler and unidentified person sporting Hillcrest Lumber Company softball jerseys. Hillcrest sponsored softball for many years.

 Hillcrest employeed many different nationalities of people.  Chinese, Japanese and East Indians had their own communities, churches,bunkhouses and cookhouses.  Hillcrest constructed an Anglician church for their employees.   Please click on this link- St. Christopher's Church was dedicated in 1948.  Both volunteer and Hillcrest employees working on company time contributed their skills to the construction which used yellow cedar siding, a hemlock interior Douglas fir corner posts and a crucifix of maple burl. Cliff Pascoe can recall wiring the church and having to crawl along the beams and chisel out a recess for the metal cable as Mr. Carlton Stone didn't want the wiring exposed. Cliff suspected he wanted to give the church an old look (as if the lighting was by candle light or some thing to that effect).   Hillcrest also provided for their Sikh employees.  A Sikh temple, a Gurudwara, was built with land and lumber donated by the company in 1935.   Tara Singh on behalf of the Sikh community requested and presented plans for a Sikh temple at the mill.  Mr. Stone had a Sikh temple and community hall built for all employees in 1935.  The temple, a two story building 20' x 36' with an outside verandah was completed in August 1935 and consecrated September 7 and 8, 1935.  Indian Independence Day was celebrated at Hillcrest Gurdwara on August 15th, 1935.  This temple was moved to Cowichan Lake in the early 1940s to be near the new mill site at Mesachie Lake.  Today the Sikh communities of Lake Cowichan uses a temple built in 1969.                 ****

The following photos were taken by Wilmer H. Gold, a well known local photographer who lived at Gold's Park in Youbou from the early 1930's until his death.

Taken in 1933 at Old Hillcrest(Sahtlam) Herb Cross seated middle row far left- Shorty Wright middle row 5th from right.

Please click on photos to enlarge.

Old Hillcrest  ( Sahtlam) 1936- Jack "Slim" Ashley standing at far left. Shorty Wright top row upper left.      

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                                                    At left is a photo of Bill Crawford taken in 1941 when Hillcrest was starting to build the mill at Mesachie Lake. They dug the gravel out of what became the garbage dump up past camp.  They laid tracks down into the site and loaded the cars with steam shovels.  This is the original # 2 locomotive that was later renumbered #9.  It is now on display at the  B.C. Forest Discovery Centre in Duncan BC.

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As this web page is new it will be updated frequently, please come back often for updates.  Thanks for your interest.  Any comments, additions, corrections or suggestions greatly appreciated.  If you know of anyone who would like to be on our web page listing please have them e-mail me at cecil.ashley@gmail.com or phone 250-247-9653 and I will be sure to include them. Thank you.

 Cec Ashley

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Thanks to George Smart for sending these newspaper clippings of the first Hillcrest Lumber Company Reunions.