Port Alberni: More Than Just a Mill Town
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Port Alberni: More Than Just a Mill Town

Port Alberni: More Than Just a Mill Town

by Jan Peterson

Overview

Any community that has ever been labelled a “mill town” carries both the promise of prosperity and the constant threat of collapse, its fortune hinging on a single industry whose performance is as much related to the whims of a global economy as it is to the abundance of a key natural resource. The people of Port Alberni, located deep in Vancouver Island’s Alberni Valley, know all too well the highs and lows that come with such a label.

Jan Peterson, who lived in Port Alberni for two of the town’s most tumultuous decades and worked as a reporter for the Alberni Valley Times, describes how the town’s people persevered through three decades of boom and bust, developed a vibrant arts and sporting community, and strived to make life better under any circumstances. From the prosperous 1970s, when Port Alberni earned the reputation of “forestry capital of Canada,” to the decline of the industry in the 1980s, when economic uncertainty signalled a need for diversification, to the environmental protests in nearby Clayoquot Sound, which polarized the community, Port Alberni tells the town's story from a perspective that is rarely heard. Through fascinating interviews and meticulous historical research, Peterson captures the heart and soul of a town so often defined by dollars and cents.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781927527696
Publisher: Heritage House
Publication date: 05/08/2014
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: NOOK Book
Pages: 224
File size: 4 MB

About the Author

Born and educated in Scotland, Jan Peterson immigrated with her family to Kingston, Ontario, in 1957. In 1972, she moved with her husband, Ray, and their three children to Port Alberni. With a lifelong interest in painting, writing, and history, she is recognized for her many years of involvement in the arts and community service. As a reporter for the Alberni Valley Times, she won a Jack Wasserman Award for investigative journalism. Jan and Ray retired to Nanaimo in 1996, where she continues to research and write. She is the author of eleven books, including Mark Bate: Nanaimo’s First Mayor; Port Alberni: More Than Just a Mill Town; and Kilts on the Coast: The Scots Who Built BC

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Table of Contents

Introduction 7

Chapter 1 A New Beginning 11

Chapter 2 A Macmillan Bloedel Town 16

Chapter 3 Getting to Know the City 28

Chapter 4 Unions and First Nations 62

Chapter 5 Community Recreation and Preserving Heritage 84

Chapter 6 The Arts Community 100

Chapter 7 Sugar in the Fridge; Mice on the Table 128

Chapter 8 The Recession Hits 140

Chapter 9 Fighting Back 159

Chapter 10 Forestry in the Hot Seat 173

Chapter 11 The Floodplain Dilemma 190

Chapter 12 A Year of Celebration 193

Chapter 13 Interviews of Note 208

Chapter 14 People of the Alberni Valley 217

Chapter 15 A Changing Forest Industry 240

Epilogue 253

Acknowledgements 257

Endnotes 258

Bibliography 262

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