Hector Walter Borthwick

Hector Borthwick was born in North Vancouver 22 February 1915. His father, George, was a stonemason and his mother, Elizabeth a housewife. Hector Attended North Vancouver Secondary School until grade 10 at which time he dropped out. In August of 1933 went off to see the Cariboo where his older brother George was living. He took the boat to Squamish and the PGE to Exeter station just outside of 100 Mile House. He remembers the 100 Mile as being pretty small with a store, the lodge and the old barn. He caught a ride from Exeter station with Herb Auld in the mail truck. Forest Grove at that time consisted of a lodge, the store and a barn. His brother George was living 24 miles north of Forest Grove near Murphy or eagle Lake. George had purchased a place and a trap line from a man called Vaughn. Vaughn and a man called George Bowers had been partners and when Bowers went missing foul play was suspected but the body was not found and Vaughn, the suspect in the case, sold his place to George Borthwick. Hector made the trip from Forest Grove to his brother’s place on horseback – his first time on a horse – and recalls being very sore. George Borthwick was running a small ranch and was glad of the help with his haying. Hector soon decided that this was where he wanted to be. He no expectations but it “felt good.” The first winter he helped George on the trap line which covered the area around the property and over to Murphy Lake. They used conventional leg hold traps and trapped, mink, fox, fisher, beaver and coyote. The traps were set up in a small tented lean to and baited with fish, often sardines or squawfish. They also used scent such as perfume, Hudsons Bay rum mixed with beaver castor to prevent the mixture from freezing. They did not overnight on this trap line and were home each evening.

Hector Borthwick cutting Archer White's hair at the old Forest Grove Lodge

Staple food supplies were bought from the Forest Grove Store – mostly canned goods. They could not buy bread but made their own biscuits and the meat came off the land. A moose shot in November would last all winter sometimes supplemented with a deer later in the winter. They were not adventurous with their cooking and either prepared stews or fried the meat. Moose had come back into the local area about 1924 and were plentiful. There were lots of moose in the 1930s. They hunted on foot but used a horse to bring in any animals which had been shot.

Hector Borthwick (seated), Alfie Roper (left) and Bob Parkin during construction of the large sleeping cabin at the old Forest Grove Lodge. This cabin is still standing.

Hector decided to remain in the Cariboo because of the Depression and remained with his brother until 1935. George Borthwick decided that his kids needed a proper education so he traded his place with a North Vancouver man called George Ruddy. George Borthwick had married one of the Phillips daughters (Lillian Arna the youngest child of Arthur and Mary Alice Phillips) but the marriage did not last and there is no mention of her in Hector’s account. The place George traded consisted of a log house, barn and hay sheds. Much later it became the Pogue place. While Hector was there they cleared more land and increased the stock until there were cattle, horses and chickens.

Hector took over the trap line when his brother left and stayed with George Ruddy for about 2 years while he built his own place on Oie lake. He homesteaded the Oie Lake property which was located about half a mile from his brother’s. He built the log cabin himself with logs he brought in during the winter. The foundation was made of rock. He used the conventional saddle and notch method rolling the upper logs up poles leaned against the side of the wall of the cabin. The cabin was roofed with fir shakes as no cedar was available in that area. The log house stands empty today looking out on Oie Lake.

Hector and his brother George built these sleeping cabins at the old Forest Grove Lodge. They are still standing and can be seen from Eagle Creek Road.

There were very few jobs available at that time although Hector did some haying for $1 a day and board. He often worked at the Forest Grove Lodge haying and doing some fencing. There were very few amenities in those days although the Forest Grove Lodge had a phone which was on a large party line. Each phone had its own distinctive ring as in two shorts and a long or five shorts which was the Forest Grove lodge number. There were three or four stores, one at Canim Lake, another at Buffalo Creek and the Forest Grove store. Another store was run by a man called Becker at Bradley Creek. A doctor came up from Ashcroft once a month and used the Forest Grove lodge as his consulting room. If you were very sick you were taken to Williams Lake where there was a hospital.

In the 1940s Hector did some guiding often with Alfie Roper. Hunters made their arrangements by mail and stayed in Forest Grove at the lodge. Hector recalls being paid $10 a day and the lodge supplied the horses. They usually hunted the Murphy Lake area and mostly for moose or black bear and sometimes deer. Hunters typically came for a week and from as far away as California. Meat was hung and frozen until there was a hard crust on it and usually made it safely back to the states. He recalls one pair of hunters, a doctor and his son, who found a grizzly bear eating a dead moose. They shot the bear but when a deer appeared they took three shots at it and missed each time. Hector and Alfie hunted separately and usually got game. Game became harder to hunt after the logging roads opened up the country.

Hector guided from 1944 until 1951 and then went to work falling for Con Deitche for 5 years. He was paid by the 1000 board feet which worked out about $1.50 to $1.75 an hour. After he quit falling he went back to his cabin and trapped and guided until 1963. He then went to work for Wilcox Lake Lumber near Murphy Lake and was able to live in his cabin. During this time he took the test for scaling and was employed as a scaler. Between 1963 and 1969 he worked for Cariboo Cedar Products (owned by Jack Wilcox) and in 1969 he moved out to Exeter where he scaled and worked on a barking machine. He was concerned about the impact logging had on the environment and did no more trapping. In 1970 he turned the trap line over to his brother. “There comes a time when you have been mean enough to the animals and decide to quit.” He continued to work for Cariboo Cedar Products until about 1977. At the time of the interview he had no plans for the future but knew he no longer liked the cold weather. “The Cariboo has been good to me.”

Hector Borthwick seated on the porch of one of the cabins he built at the old Forest Grove Lodge

Vital Event Death Registration

Name: Hector Walter Borthwick

Event Date: 1984 10 19 (Yr/Mo/Day)

Age: 69

Gender: male

Event Place: Nanaimo

Reg. Number: 1984-09-017357

B.C. Archives Microfilm Number: B13642

GSU Microfilm Number: 2073300