The Basin Record Newsletter Vol.3 Issue 2

From the files of the CranbrookHerald and the Fernie Free Press come a constant flow of stories of wrecks and mayhem on the many railway lines servicing the Basin. On January 11th, 1907, such an accident occurred. According to the Cranbrook Herald [January 24, 1907] the coroner’s inquest determined that the fatal accident occurred one mile and a quarter west of Jukeson at 5:10 in the morning. The Fernie Free Press [January 11, 1907] indicated that the conditions were stormy, windy with temperatures falling below -20º F. The accident occurred at about mile 74 out of Crows Nest, past Jukeson and beforeWardner. Awrecking train was returning from an accident at McGillivray (6.68 miles out of Crows Nest) towing a wrecked engine, and had been cleared Born in crisis on September 12, 1982, the Creston Museum has become a strong established institution in the Creston Valley and in the whole of the Columbia Basin. Responding to the closure of a local private bankrupt museum and the forthcoming emergency court injunction to prevent the auctioning of the collection, a group of citizens formed a Society and purchased a building. Altering the structure tomeet pressingmuseum requirements, the Creston & District Historical & Museum Society moved the collection in. Since that time the museum collection has more than doubled in size. Part of the expansion to meet the collection needs resulted in climate-controlled storage for the growing Archives collection. Currently the Creston Museum is pursuing a South Wing major renovation project to upgrade one of their major museum exhibit and public spaces. After structural intervention is completed new exhibits will be installed telling the development story of the Creston Valley beginning with the occupation by the Ktunaxa Nation and continuing through to the development of industries and the present community of Creston. The Creston museum is currently developing celebration plans for both the 25thAnniversary and the anticipated successful Creston Celebrates Museum Growth Train Wrecks a Constant Threat through Fernie under “slow orders” of 10 mph. A coal train, also running west on the line under faster orders, crashed into the wrecking train from the rear. As the accompanying diagrams indicate, both Jukeson and Wardner had sidings that could have accommodated the “slow order” wrecking train. Arthur Chappell, a brakeman on the wrecking train was killed, with his remains conclusion of the South Wing Project. Tax-deductible receipts can be issued by the Society for all donations of $25 or more. People contributing more than $100 will have their name placed on a permanent donor wall in the museum For more details on the Creston Museum and its projects please go to their web site at www.creston.museum.bc.ca located beneath the first car of the coal train. The Cranbrook Herald [January 17, 1907] indicates that his remains were sent home to Nappan, Nova Scotia. Conductor McBurney of the wrecking train and Engineer Killens of the coal train were both injured, but recovered at the St. Eugene hospital in Cranbrook. A footnote to this story is that Dr. King of Cranbrook was on the scene in “a remarkably short space of time” and tended to the injured before they were transported to the St. Eugene hospital. Our current train wrecks in the Columbia Basin are a continuing part of this tragic story of transportation accidents. An historical analysis of accidents might be useful in focusing resources on rail line improvements in our region. 0004.0013 Creston will become an increasingly important part of the Image Bank. In this 1920 photo of the St. Eugene School of Nursing graduating class the ladies from left are: Annie Gregory and Margaret Simmons (Michel, BC), Mary Carlson (Fernie, BC) and Constance McCarthy (Creston, BC).