National Network for Equitable Library Service

A captivating account of the lives of Laura, Christine, and Caroline Lindhard—three sisters who left their home in Stege, Denmark, in 1870 due to war, political turmoil, and limited opportunities—and sought out new lives in the Cariboo region of British Columbia. There are few stories of entrepreneurial, business class women in nineteenth century BC. They didn't keep diaries or save letters like the ruling class women often did, and they were usually overlooked in newspaper reports.

It has often been observed that the First World War jolted Canada into nationhood—and as Mark Forsythe and Greg Dickson show in this compelling book, no province participated more eagerly in that transformation—or felt the aftershock more harshly—than British Columbia. In From the West Coast to the Western Front, Forsythe—host of CBC Radio's mid-day show BC Almanac—marks the 100th anniversary of World War I by teaming with historian Greg Dickson and the ever resourceful BC Almanac audience to compile a sweeping portrayal of that crucial chapter of BC history.

Living in pre-Civil War Philadelphia, young Black activist Mifflin Gibbs was feeling disheartened from fighting the overwhelming tide of White America's legalized racism when abolitionist Julia Griffith encouraged him to "go do some great thing." These words helped inspire him to become a successful merchant in San Francisco, and then to seek a more just society in the new colony of Vancouver Island, where he was to become a prominent citizen and elected official.

The first book to reveal the 1858 mining milieu by those who witnessed it firsthand. Only four extensive miners' journals are known to have survived from 1858. Quoting generously from the diaries, Alexander Globe focuses on the miners' actual words, providing an engaging authenticity and bringing the miners' distinctive voices, personalities and experiences back to life. History comes alive as these personal testimonies reveal the adventures and dreams of glory that these courageous men sought, the hardships they endured, and the fortunes won and lost.

Forty years ago, droves of young women migrated away from urban settings and settled in rural areas across North America. Many settled on the north coast of British Columbia, on Haida Gwaii or around Prince Rupert. Gumboot Girls tells the stories of thirty-four women, through their own eyes, as they moved from their comfortable city-dwelling surroundings to the rugged north coast. Part back-to-the-land, part adventure, heartbreak and love, this collection of stories edited by Lou Allison and compiled by Jane Wilde was inspired by the book Girls Like Us by Sheila Weller.

Broadcaster and bestselling author Mike McCardell haunts British Columbia's past in order to summon spellbinding tales of Western Canada. Reprising his 2013 bestseller Haunting Vancouver, Mike McCardell summons the ghost of real-life pioneer Jock Linn to provide hair-raising and humorous versions of what really happened during some of the formative events that shaped British Columbia.

A fascinating tour through BC's historical gold rush trails, focusing on the nineteenth-century churches that were pivotal to the establishment of early settler communities. Much has been written about the Cariboo gold rush—from the trails and wagon roads to the rowdy mining camps, from tales of great luck to those of disappointment and despair. This book paints a different picture of those pioneer days. It is a guide to the nineteenth-century churches that were built during the gold rush or in the settlement days that followed.

The nautical reference book you never knew you needed: an encyclopedia of all superstitions maritime and marine, learn your A-B-Seas of sailors' guiding magic and mythos—and why you should never stir your tea with a knife, lest you invite trouble and strife. Ever wondered why the skipper gave you a hairy eyeball when you stepped aboard the ship with your left foot? Or why a brolly or a bumbershoot—for the newly seasoned sailor, an umbrella—will bring trouble aboard?

Set in the wild country north of Lillooet and west of the great Fraser River, Old Lives: In the Chilcotin Backcountry paints the rugged landscape and equally rugged lives of the Chilcotin's enigmatic old-timers: Aboriginal and settler, male and female, deceased and alive. It takes vigilance, persistence, courage and humour to live where survival requires a deep knowledge and trust of the land, where prosperity is synonymous with self-sufficiency and where thriving is dependent upon a community of neighbours and friends who can be counted on in the direst of times.

The BC tradition of fighting back against unfair pay and unsafe working conditions has been around since before the colony joined Confederation. In 1849 Scottish labourers at BC's first coal mine at Fort Rupert went on strike to protest wretched working conditions, and it's been a wild ride ever since.