50 Years Ago, 1961
• A two-day ceremony to mark the completion of the Ruby Creek Road, the first stage of the Haig Highway, and to place the plaque on the cairn at Port Douglas was planned for late March 1961 by the Agassiz Harrison Board of Trade. It was hoped that Minister of Highways Phil Gaglardi would attend the road ceremony. A social evening at the Harrison Hotel would be followed by a boat trip to the head of Harrison Lake for the cairn ceremony next day.
• Some farmers in Agassiz decided to change to growing canner peas instead of corn. Peas were considered a more profitable crop than corn but were also a gamble, particularly in a dry year. The current Corn King that year, Wade Whorly stated he would stay with corn.
• The Agassiz Builders Supply posted a tongue-in-cheek advertisement in the local paper giving advice on how to paper your own bedroom ceiling. It read, “The first step…many do-it-yourself paperhangers tend to forget, and even professionals have been known to be lax about …is to remove carefully, one by one, all the flies that are resting on the ceiling. This is absolutely essential to a good job, as flies that are papered over will cause unsightly lumps. For this reason, the best time to paper ceilings is mid-winter when there are fewer flies.” This ad points out one of the annoyances of living in those days, when flies were a problem most of the summer and fall, and in spite of screens on windows and doors they managed to get into homes, buzzing around at night, getting into food and spotting up woodwork and wallpaper.
• The North Fraser Valley Auto Court operators of Harrison Hot Springs met at John’s Restaurant in Harrison Hot Springs to discuss strategies for the upcoming tourist season. A discussion over whether the Village of Harrison Hot Springs should amalgamate with the Kent Municipality brought forth many ideas and opinions.