Nechako Country: In the Footsteps of Bert Irvine.

David W. Leonard is Project Historian—Northern Alberta, Historic Sites
and Archives Service, Alberta Community Development, the author of
Delayed Frontier: The Peace River Country to 1909, and the co-author of
The Lure of the Peace River Country: A Fost

When the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway began to extend its track west from Fort (now Prince) George B.C. to Prince Rupert in 1911, a number of settlers began to take up land off the rail grade. Because of the rugged terrain of B.C.’s northern interior, not many farms were established, but hunting, trapping, and prospecting were standard pursuits for the newcomers. This was still largely the case in 1953, when a trapper-hunter-hunting guide from the Barrhead-Iosegun Lake district of northern Alberta named Bill Irvine, possibly disenchanted with oil exploration in northern Alberta, decided to exchange one semi-wilderness home for another. Accompanied by his wife and two daughters, he packed his 1949 Packard with as many family belongings as it could hold and set out for Vanderhoof, B.C., some 75 kilometres west of Prince George. From here, they headed to the Nechako River Valley to the southwest, where the family resumed their life of trapping, hunting, and fishing, with Bert serving as a trail guide for mostly American hunters visiting the district. He also took odd industrial jobs when they were presented.

The story of everyday life along the Nechako River during the 1950s and 1960s forms the substance of this biography of Bill Irvine as told by his daughter, June Wood. It is presented from a very personal perspective, with attention to the details of daily life and little attempt at analysis. The book is rich in photos and has some good maps, and captures the atmosphere of the place and the time through folksy storytelling, but lacks an index.