The Life and Times of Texas Fosbery: The Cariboo and Beyond

W.J.C. Cherwinski is a professor of history and co-ordinator of Canadian
Studies at Memorial University of Newfoundland. He is the co-author of
Lectures in Canadian Labour and Working-Class History.

This slim volume, illustrated with family-album photographs, is a
tribute to one Canadian pioneer who helped open up central and northern
British Columbia to development after World War II. It is also a tribute
to the resiliency, adaptability, and plain good luck that characterized
this small breed of restless adventurers who survived by the seats of
their pants as they created the infrastructure necessary to exploit the
rich resources of Canada’s wilderness.

The hero, septuagenarian Texas Fosbery, learned to be resourceful on
his father’s ranch in the Chilcotin, B.C. Fosbery moved to prospecting
in the Yukon and the B.C. interior where he was first introduced to the
Caterpillar tractor that became one of the mainstays of his existence.
Private contracting on a number of projects in a variety of frontier
locations during the 1950s and 1960s provided the financial resources he
needed to expand into aviation as he sought out even more remote
locations for his services. Fosbery officially retired in the early
1970s, but continued to dabble in contracting.

Although it focuses on one man’s experiences, Piffko’s book has
much to say about Canada’s north and the impact of unbridled
development on what is now the post-Fosbery frontier.