Nicola Valley Museum & Archives

Murphy Shewchuk

George McLean

George McLean was the son of Angele Chilihitzia, of the Upper Nicola Band, and Allen McLean, an outlaw who would be hanged for murder in January of 1881. George grew

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Merritt Bowling Green

On Monday May 25th, 1925, Merritt’s first Lawn Bowling Green was opened on James Fairley’s Property on Nicola Avenue. The Merritt Herald listed the price for a seasonal membership as

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The First Rodeo

               On a sunny Friday and Saturday the first rodeo, or stampede, was held here in Merritt in 1934. This was made possible by the efforts of Zack Walker (Pictured

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1927 Diamond Jubilee

               On July 1st, 1927, Merritt celebrated the 60th anniversary of the creation of The Dominion of Canada, then called Dominion Day, now called Canada Day. As this was the

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Nicola Valley Pioneers – 3

Fraser, Alberta (Berta) Evangeline (1912-2006) Berta Fraser’s parents first settled at Canford and then moved to Merritt in the 1950s. She worked for the Department of Veteran’s Affairs in Ottawa

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Nicola Valley Pioneers – 2

Cleasby, Henry Standley (????-1959) Henry Cleasby came to the Nicola Valley in 1887. In 1901, Henry married Matilda Ann Voght, daughter of William Voght. Henry bought the Alexander Coutlee Ranch

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Nicola Valley Pioneers – 1

Antoine, Frederick Gordon (1943?-2004) Gordon Antoine was elected chief of the Coldwater Band in 1975, a position he retained until his passing in 2004. He was involved in the formation

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Heinz Lange

December 18, 1919 – June 11, 2000 A Brief Biographyby Michael Steele Engineer and artist, teacher and inventor, the late Heinz Lange was a native of Eisleben, in central Germany.

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The Warhorse Bonanza

by Michael Sasges The Great War was a good war for the owners of grassland B.C. horse herds. The military purchased its first Nicola Valley horses in September 1914, one

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First Manned Flight

Original article by the late Pat Lean, then Director, Nicola Valley Archives Association.As published in the Merritt Herald – Wednesday, April 27, 1977 Page 3B. Aldermen J.P. Boyd’s Nicola Valley

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