This item consists of an audio recording labelled "Joe Hilton's Recollections as to the Park Naturalists, Don Gough and Al Midnight." The interview concerns the following topics:
SIDE A The fires in manning Park; Japanese internment camps; man-made wildfires; wildlife; the first moose sighting in the 1950s; animal populations; the Park's history before the 1950s; "cougar dogs;" trapping numbers; bear encounters; trapping stories; lynx encounters; prices for fur; human impact on animal populations; why the Park is experiencing more traffic; mammals in the Park; fish populations; the origin of lakes seeded with fish; how records for trapping were dealt with; lake flow, dams, and drainage; elk populations; the first white trapper; rumors of lost mines; trapper and prospector diplomacy; identifying old buildings; the story behind why "Lone" is the name of everything; when buildings were built; when the trails were constructed (Skyline, Heather); indigenous relations; history of hiking trails, and the steamboat trail.
SIDE B A female homesteader of note who lived in the area; ghost stories and legends; the story behind Windy Joe; why there's an old ladder by Strawberry Flats; relationship with farmers; how folks came in before the highway; lost trails; the Great Northern Railway proposal, and when certain diseases entered the Park.
This item consists of an audio recording labelled "R.H. Boyd, First Sup't [Superintendent] of Manning Park. Rec. At Rosedale BC." The interview concerns the following topics: old cattle trails; the first white men in Manning Park”; the movements of local indigenous folks; information about the namesake of Allison Pass; how Manning got its Park status; the early staff of Manning Park; the first building built at Manning Park; Joe [Kanski?], a homesteader who was in the Park where the Cambie campsite now stands; the “Big Burn”; 1949 being an especially bad year for fires started by lighting strikes; trail-laying; the connection between steamboat mountain and prospector gold; the origins of many trails; the original names of various landmarks; the matter of bringing pack horses into the park (and why it failed), among other topics.
This item consists of an audio recording labelled "Provincial Parks History Mr. Ahrens, copy 2." The interview concerns the following topics: discussion of how the government figured Parks and Recreation within other programs/branches (the reorganization of 1978); a concern that the government is going to sell public Parks to private commercial interests; the focus on Marine Parks; the origins of “Nature Conservancy Areas”; Parks standards, and why BC’s Parks feel like National Parks.
This item consists of an audio recording labelled "Tom Moore ... Interviewed by Louise Shaw ... Tape 1." The interview concerns the following topics:
SIDE A Working on the Seymour development; the story of how he first started working in Manning Park; the arguments between Bob Boyd and Davie Davidson; the importance of being a jack of all trades; Davie Davidson’s love of blasting; building forest access roads; trail construction; Windy Joe being the only lookout in Manning Park; digging out water systems; the legend of Bob Boyd jumping on his hat; time off activities, and horses at Manning Park.
SIDE B The purpose of the horses at Manning; [Sly Olderman?]; working as the cook’s assistant; campsite construction; conscientious objector and Japanese internment camps; the Youth Crew projects; fire fighting; the origins of the Big Burn; skiing at Manning Park; the first rope tow installed in Manning Park.
This item consists of an audio recording labelled "Tom Moore ... Interviewed by Louise Shaw ... Tape 2." The interview concerns the following topics:
SIDE A Hanging lights [presumably for Christmas]; Mayor Bob [Boyd]; Bob Boyd being environmentally conscious; mining rights in Manning Park; logging in Manning Park; development decisions (dam-site; Lighting Lakes); the Blarney Stone that’s in the dam; the relationship between government engineers and Manning employees; [Sly Olderman?]; what it was like living with the same folks all-year round; the original ski location, which failed; the various concessionaires; [Rene Peltier?]; the importance of the highway in the success of Manning Park.
SIDE B Relocating rope tows and general rope tow discussion; early ski infrastructure; relationship with Davie Davidson; racing cars and trying to set records into Hope; non-regulation/inspected building developments; where Davie Davidson and Bob Boyd got their drive; the [Tower?] family; winters at Manning Park; Christmas at Manning Park; parties and dances at Manning Park.
This item consists of an audio recording labelled "Tom Moore ... Interviewed by Louise Shaw ... Tape 3." The interview concerns the following topics: contact with the public; activities that drew the public in the early days of Manning Park; bear interactions with human beings; horseback riding and the search for an outfitter; Manning’s reputation as family-friendly; the naturalist programme; interpretation programmes in the Park; the ski area; Charlie Velay; how they cleared the slopes.
This item consists of an audio recording labelled "Charlie Velay ... Interviewed by Louise Shaw ... Tape 1." The interview concerns the following topics:
SIDE A Early biography and path to the forest service; fixing up an old campsite that was originally used by conscientious objectors; work at Mount Seymour; [E.G. “Sy” Olderman?]; the opening of the Hope-Princeton highway; Manning Park’s status as a ranger district; the building boom of 1949; meeting Davie Davidson and Joe Hilton; first time in Manning Park, by the old Japanese internment camps.
SIDE B Why the park wasn’t named Melrose; the morbid cigarette structure to get folks to not throw their butts out of their cars; how Joe Hilton got involved with the Park; early fire prevention roads; Davie Davidson’s “fearless” attitude towards dynamite; the toilet paper surveys; the tension between Manning staff and government engineers; attitudes towards the Hope-Princeton highway corridor; horses in Manning Park; why renting horses didn’t take off; comparing Manning to other Canadian Parks; Christmas at Manning; the tennis court.
This item consists of an audio recording labelled "Charlie Velay ... Interviewed by Louise Shaw ... Tape 2." The interview concerns the following topics:
SIDE A Restrictions on trapping and mining; the matter of wanting “more wilderness” or keeping wilderness wild; preservation as recreation and vice versa; Davey Davidson blasting; horses.
SLIDE B Log structures at Manning; carvings; structure manufacturing in Langford; water and power needs; the different guest facilities and accommodations; original kitchen and kitchen staff quarters; the sitting room.
This item consists of an audio recording labelled "Charlie Velay ... Interviewed by Louise Shaw ... Tape 3." The interview concerns the following topics:
SLIDE A [Rene Peltier’s] role in the development of Manning Park; keeping up with the work; skiing facilities including the tow; toilet paper survey and Bob Boyd’s tendency to fire and rehire folks; Davey Davidson’s handiness; Bob Boyd and Davey Davidson’s drive; design and construction of campgrounds; when camping got big in BC.
SLIDE B Fishing and camping in Manning; unregulated vs. Regulated camping; funding; the future of who has the privilege to camp; the cost of developing Manning Park; developing a ski area; the interpretation programme;
This item consists of an audio recording labelled "Davey Davidson ... Interviewed by Louise Shaw ... Tape 1." The interview concerns the following topics:
SLIDE A How interviewee got his start in Parks; meeting Bob Boyd; recon trip into Manning; the Big Burn; water works; building the first ranger station; conscientious objectors.
SLIDE B The Big Burn; Bob Boyd’s special badge; racing in Manning and trying to set speed records; other “construction days” stories; the opening of the Hope Princeton highway at Allison Pass; the gas station; trapping and prospecting.
