Cariboo-Chilcotin: Pioneer People and Places

Patricia Myers is a historian with the Historic Sites and Archives
Service, Alberta Community Development.

Irene Stangoe has been writing for the Williams Lake Tribune for 44
years. That she knows the area well is obvious; that she loves it dearly
is also apparent. This book is a collection of tales of the early days
in British Columbia’s central Cariboo-Chilcotin Region. The author
used newspaper accounts, interviews, and other historical records to
flesh out the details.

Stangoe tells a good tale. The stories are about the first bathtub in
Williams Lake, the high jinks of the one-legged bartender, the Alkall
Lake Braves hockey team, the famous Wild Mountain Race, getting stuck on
the Cariboo Wagon Road, and a cowboy who died. Within each short piece,
the characters are quite well drawn, and the events told with a
refreshingly unpretentious honesty. She relates the bad times along with
the good, and even delves into historical controversies. While her
sources range widely, she always makes clear which one has informed a
particular story.

Cariboo-Chilcotin is an informative and entertaining retelling of a bit
of B.C. history, and a book you’ll want to have in your back pocket if
you find yourself in that part of the country.