Herb Auld leaned back in the chair behind the desk in the showroom of his original dealership and garage building on Highway 97 in 100 Mile House and said: "The best move I ever made was to come to the 100. It's been good to me. I've done as well here as I think I could have anywhere in British Columbia, and I don't see that I could have done much better anywhere else. I'm happy living here."

He maneuvered the chair back to the desk and fingered a pen.

"Of course lots of others have made good here. They worked hard and made good. They kept their noses to the grindstone and worked. I guess that's what you have to do wherever you are."

Herb arrived in 100 Mile House in June, 1918 at the tender age of four years in the company of his father, an ex-policeman, who died in Kamloops in 1965, and his mother, Charlotte, who died in 1960. Also in tow were the other Auld children, Helen, Charlotte and Tom Jr. who was killed in a gun accident in the winter of 1927.

"We came up from Vancouver on the Cariboo Wagon Road with a team and a wagon. We didn't take the old PGE (Pacific Great Eastern Railway, now the BCR) which only went as far as Lone Butte. Dad shipped our stuff via the CPR to Ashcroft and then we came up the Cariboo Road as most every-one else did.

"There was nothing in the 100 but a cattle ranch (Bridge Creek Ranch) and the ranch foreman, four or five cowboys and the old log store. We stayed here a few days and then went on to Forest Grove and lived in a little old cabin, the remains of which are still standing on the road below Jones ' house.

"We kids went to school in Forest Grove, either walking the two miles to school or riding a horse. The store and post office were half a mile from where it is now, at Old Forest Grove Lodge. The woman that ran it was Mrs. Phillips who had originally come from Forest Grove in Oregon so that’s how it got its name.

He said the store changed hands in 1940 from Mrs. Phillips to her son who operated it until 1946 when he sold to Bob Parkin and Archie White who ran it until it burned down in the early 50s.

“The school was on the same site as the one now—a big log building. And there was a big old barn there for the students who rode if they didn’t want to walk. There were no automobiles in those days. And that’s where I finished going to school in 1929 when I was 15 years old. That year I started to haul the mail from here to Canim Lake in an old one-ton Chevy truck. It was my first job. Every Tuesday morning I had to come to the 100 and pick up the mail at the railroad station and bring it down to Jack Lloyd who was running the store. He sorted the mail and I took it to Forest grove and on to Canim Lake. There was no snowplow service in this area until 1937, so for seven years we all used horses to get around, starting around New Year when the road would snow in and stop car Traffic.

MONEY TIGHTIn the years before the outbreak of World war Two in 1939, money in the Cariboo, as elsewhere, was not merely "tight" as it is today, but downright squeezed out of existence for most people.

"In the early 30's," Herb said, "a Cariboo beef cow might get the rancher one or one-and-a-half cents a pound, so how could you make money? You had to keep them in a corral a day before the meat company buyer arrived, and haul water and feed them and wait until the train came at about one in the morning. You'd load about 25 cows to one car, then get on your horse and ride back, either to the Lodge at the 100, or to Forest Grove or Lac La Hache, or wherever."

During the height of the Depression many destitute men passed through 100 Mile House on their way to Wells or Barkerville where they hoped to strike it rich in gold. It was a vain hope. Their favorite mode of free transportation was the PGE.

"Anywhere from 50 to 100 guys would be on the train when it pulled into Exeter

Their favorite mode of free transportation was the PGE.

"Anywhere from 50 to 100 guys would be on the train when it pulled into Exeter Station in the spring of 1931 and 1932, " Herb related.

"Two railway policemen would then jump out of the baggage car and chase off as many as they could. But when the engineer blew his whistle, half the guys got back on the train and away they went. The rest of them then had to grab their bags and walk into the 100."

He said many of the men "put the run" on Ah Joe, cook at the old 100 Mile stopping house, for some breakfast before they hiked up the road on their way to Wells or Barkerville.

"Ah Joe did a lot of work," Herb said. "He had a table that must have been 20 feet long and fed whomever travelled on the Cariboo Road. The meals were about four bits (50 cents), and another four bits to bed down your horse for the night.

"When I drove horses from Canim Lake to 100 Mile I had to carry a coal oil lantern in one of the sleighs so’s to have enough light to see what I was doing. The Bridge Creek Ranch Barn was left open where I put my team, but I had to have my own light to un-harness the horses, tie them in, and lock up.”

In the spring of 1918 the family left Vancouver and journeyed by train to Clinton. Charlotte Auld and the children took the stage to 100 Mile House while Thomas followed with a team and wagon. It took him a week to make the journey to Clinton. The only person they knew in the area was Mr. Biss. They initially homesteaded 160 acres but gradually increased this holding to nearly 1500 acres which included the current town site of Forest Grove. The early years were difficult for Mrs. Auld (Charlotte) who was at heart a city girl. In those days if there was a severe illness it was necessary to go to Vancouver for treatment and in the 1^st winter Charlotte Auld was stricken by acute appendicitis followed by gall bladder problems which necessitated a stay in Vancouver of nearly four months. This left Thomas Auld with the care of the family which he managed with the help of a hired girl. Helen Auld remembers that her father was not much of a cook and that prunes and rice were a frequent dish.

When the Auld family first arrived they lived in a little cabin on Mr. Oscar Brown’s property. It took until 1935 to finish a proper house. Until this was complete there were only two bedrooms in the existing dwelling so the Auld boys lived in a bunk house. Helen recalls that the telephone arrived in 1924.

Thomas Auld was a farmer but soon realized that a better living could be had by running a sawmill. He initially dammed Bridge Creek and attempted to power his mill by means of a turbine. This did not work and he next attempted a water wheel and finally a steam engine. The mill employed from 2 to 11 men depending on demand and the season. Most men were local and were fed by Georgina Auld. The farm provided milk, beef and later mutton. There was no refrigeration in those days and to use the meat before it went bad a “beef ring” was established with neighbours and a butchered animal moved around until the meat was gone. There was in addition a “wonderful” vegetable garden.

At various times the Auld home was a guest ranch and even a hotel for visiting policemen and the Indian agent.

Helen recalls neighbours: the McNeil’s, Herby and Benjy, Slim Hendricks, Gene Ladoucer.

Staple supplies were purchased by case lot from Woodwards and other wholesale outlets in Vancouver. Off season fresh vegetables could be purchased from Lillooet which arrived in 100 Mile by train and were brought in by young Herbie Auld when he delivered the mail.

Georgina Auld served as a nurse on the Canim Lake Indian Reservation in the employ of the Indian Department. Many local Indians were employed over the years in the mill and are remembered as good workers.

For entertainment there were dances in the winter and picnic outings in the summer. Christmas was a wonderful time because all of the local schools would put on Christmas concerts. The Auld family went to them all – Bradley Creek, Buffalo Creek as well as Forest Grove.

About 1924 the first cars began to appear on local roads. Helen recalls that Lester McNeil had one of the first – an old Ford.

There were several bachelors in the area including Oscar Brown, Andrew Johnson and Dick Millie. Oscar Brown died in 1935 [sic] of heart trouble.

Vital Event Death Registration

Name: Oscar William Brown

Event Date: 1931 4 21 (Yr/Mo/Day)

Age: 59

Gender: male

Event Place: Forest Grove

Reg. Number: 1931-09-465407

B.C. Archives Microfilm Number: B13143

GSU Microfilm Number: 1952654

Helen Auld went to Forest Grove school until she was in grade 8. She tried to do correspondence in grade 9 but with French and algebra on the curriculum it was very difficult and she gave it up. The Forest Grove school was a small log building with wood heater. There were typically 7 or 8 students in the class. She recalls that a cousin of Mr. Gustafson rode horse-back from Buffalo Creek to teach in Forest Grove. The log school burned in 1930. The new school was built by Mr. Greenlee and was located further up the hill. The Auld children often rode to school on horseback sometimes with four kids on one horse.

She recalls (Texas people) Mr. and Mrs. Buchanan on Canim Lake who owned an old truck affectionately called the “galloping goose.” In the early days Grandpa Pinkham at Eagle Creek would meet the mail run by row boat having rowed 8 miles down the lake. In 1929 Herbie, Helen’s brother, got the mail contract.

In 1936 Helen Auld came down with appendicitis was taken to Williams Lake through snowdrifts and was six weeks getting home.

She recalls seeing the old ranch house in 100 Mile burn. At the time Mr. and Mrs. Forbes lived there.

She met her husband to be, Judy Wood in 1937. He came to the Auld mill as a hired an. Hired men were paid $1.50 a day and board. In the winter they earned $40 a month and board. The hired men lived in bunkhouses. Helen and Judy were married in November of 1938. They continued to live at the home place while Judy worked in the sawmill. There were often 30 to 40 people at a meal in the Auld home.

Helen and Judy Wood had three children.

[1]Roger 20 October 1941

Norman 18 December 1951

Tommy 6 December 1952

All three children were born in Kamloops. Thomas and Georgina Auld moved to Kamloops in 1947.

Helen recalls that their electric lighting was generated by a Delco Light Plant – a 32 volt system with storage batteries. They had a propane stove and fridge. Sawdust was stored in the basement for a heating stove with a big hopper that was filled twice a day. She kept a big garden and up to 500 chickens which were purchased every February. These chickens were sold all over the country and the eggs were sold to by case lots of 37 to the 100 Mile Store. Helen and Judy moved to 100 Mile House in 1955 and to Lac La Hache in 1960 where they ran a motel for fourteen years. They later settled in 117 Mile.

Vital Event Death Registration

Name: Helen Mary Wood

Event Date: 1984 3 24 (Yr/Mo/Day)

Age: 88

Gender: female

Event Place: Burnaby

Reg. Number: 1984-09-006668

B.C. Archives Microfilm Number: B13638

GSU Microfilm Number: 2073155

Vital Event Death Registration

Name: Julius John Wood

Event Date: 1982 8 18 (Yr/Mo/Day)

Age: 69

Gender: male

Event Place: Williams Lake

Reg. Number: 1982-09-013204

B.C. Archives Microfilm Number: B13622

Julius John Wood

Julius (aka Judy) Wood was born in Athabasca, Alberta on the 24^th of July 1913. His father was Louis Hay Irving Wood who was born in 1880 in Scotland. His mother was Natisha Rice, born in Belfast, Ireland in 1885. They were married in 1912 and had four children. His father came out to Canada because he wanted to be a farmer.

Judy went to school in South Athabasca until he was 12 years old when he went to work. He bought a violin with his first earnings and learned to play by ear. ( I can recall him playing in our house while my mother played the piano.) He came to BC in 1937 and worked in Vancouver for 2 or 3 months. He quit this job and took the train as far as Ashcroft as he intended to meet a friend in Dawson City. Arriving in Ashcroft he found himself out of money so walked up the Cariboo Highway as far as Williams Lake where took a job with the PGE and later at Exeter Station. He was employed “tamping railway ties. He spent a month a Wright Station and a month at Exeter Station before taking a job in Tom Auld’s Forest Grove sawmill.

He started out driving a team skidding logs out of the woods but later became a sawyer. At the time Judy worked for Tom Auld there would have been about a half dozen men employed. He thinks, however, that in the early years there may have been as many as twenty. A waterwheel ran the conveyors and the edger but a steam engine ran the head saw. The waterwheel was powered by a dam on Bridge Creek. In --- a fire wiped out the mill but Tom Auld rebuilt but no longer used the waterwheel. He did, however, keep the dam on the creek so that the logs could be floated. Much of the output from the mill was ties of all dimensions with the 5 X 10 ties exported to England. The mill was situated two miles east along the road leading to Canim Lake.

The only entertainment in the area in the area was dances at which Judy often played his violin. He met his wife Helen Mary Auld, Tom Auld’s daughter, when she came out in the truck to pick him up at Exeter Station. She was with her sister and wanted Judy to ride in the back but he got in front, with his fiddle. They were married in 1938.

After they were married he continued to work in the mill and lived with the Auld family. They later bought the old Bates place and built a home on 1200 acres. To make a living he ranched and sawmilled. In 1947 Tom Auld sold out and Judy worked 6 more months for the new owner. In 1949 he ran a sawmill on the Indian Reserve. This work lasted until 1951 when the Wood family moved to Kamloops for the winter to help Tom Auld build a four plex. The Auld seniors had retired to Kamloops. Judy and Helen returned to Forest Grove in May of 1952 where they continued to run the ranch and Judy worked in a sawmill.

The hours were very long as Judy had to get up at 4 am in the morning to feed the cattle before going to work in the mill. In 1954 Judy and Shig Uyeyama bought a sawmill west of Tatton – U & W Mill. They were under contract to Gordon Graham who obtained the timber for them. This operation lasted until 1959. Judy and Helen sold the ranch in 1955 and moved to 100 mile House where they leased land which they eventually bought. In 1959 they bought a motel in Lac La Hache which they ran for fourteen years.

They later acquired considerable land in the Lac La Hache area.

Judy and Helen had three sons. The eldest was Roger who I ([Robert White) knew at school in Forest Grove and later at boarding school (University School) in Victoria. Roger had been at the school a year when I arrived to start grade 9 and it may well have been on Judy and Helen’s recommendation that I was sent to the same establishment. The only person I knew on arrival at my new school was Roger Wood which may not have been a good thing. It soon became clear to me that Roger was not a happy camper in this environment and that his unhappiness was made worse by constant bullying. I have fond memories of the visits to the school of Roger’s grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Tom Auld, who would take the two of us out to lunch at the Dominion Hotel. The other sons were much younger, Norman and ---- whom I never knew.

[1] Robert White knew Roger quite well both from school in Forest Grove and later at boarding school in Victoria. I recall his grandparents, Thomas and Georgina Auld, coming to the school and taking the two of us out to lunch at the Dominion Hotel in downtown Victoria.