Ladysmith and District Historical Society, BC, Canada

At a recent gathering it was suggested that we all " mine the history of Ladysmith ". We know the coal mines are long gone, but the concept of digging up the history is alive and well. As well we will soon have a "research" page where residents can help us. We have a number of unknown pictures and artifacts. We will be posting some on the Research pages. If anyone knows what they are we want to hear from them. It is important to us that the residents help us to dig up the history of Ladysmith.

People who own houses have approached us already to give them the history of the building. Nearly every house below or near 4th has a historical significance attached to it. We actually found details on one house that told us it was designed and built by P. Leonard James, who also designed the Lake Louise swimming pool, the Royal Jubilee Hospital of 1921 to 25, and Crystal Gardens of 1924.

Every page or section that leads directly to another area has a selection index at the left. Clicking on any underlined or coloured heading will take you directly there. Some links do not go to other selections, so there is no index. If clicking on the "Back" icon does not return you to the last page just close the browser and you should return back to the site. We also constantly remind you to use your "Reload" or "Refresh" icon. This will make sure that you always view the latest revision to a page.

We are constantly expanding our site. The selection index will have some new categories. If they are not highlighted or underlined they are not complete. An example of an incomplete one is the "Ladysmith Mayors" selection. This will change when it is done.

Billie Buckner from the Native Daughters presented the society with a cheque for $6500 at our March monthly meeting. The cheque is the proceeds from the sale of their cook book. They generously gave us all the proceeds.

Gerold Haukenfrers presents Susan Jones with a check for $2500 for new shelves. Incoming president Tom Wickham looks on. Once our new Archive building is complete we will be able to start with sparkling new shelves.

Ladysmith Archives has an extensive collection of all the newspapers, photographs and artifacts of the area. The addition of new shelves is important for the storage and safe keeping of these items.

About 1% of our collection of Chronicles is in the foreground.

Our first spring plant sale was a huge success. I am sure we will be making this an annual event. Thank you for all those members, families and friends who contributed the plants. I guess we could say it was a "Bloomin' Success"

Presentation of our Annual Report and Election of Officers was the main item. Each year we try to have a Keynote Speaker. This year we were pleased to have T. W. (Tom) Paterson as our guest. He talked about the mine at Mount Sicker and present a brick from the site. The new slate of officers for the upcoming year was elected. Minutes will be posted as soon as they are ready.

The prophets say that with every bit of good news there is a bit of bad. Sadly, Susan Jones has had to step down as the President of The Society. But the good news is that she has recieved a grant from The Town to do the duties of the official Curator/Archivist. For the next 4 months she will be working 3 full days a week to enter and organize our collections and manage the operations of The Society. Dr. Tom Wickham has assumed her duties as the President . Outwardly there will really be no change. The funding has now enabled us to move to a higher level as a real Archive for the Ladysmith and District Historical Society. We all look forward to the new facility opening some time this summer. Hopefully when the facility is opened we will have even more good news to report. Dr. Wickham has already indicated that the next step should be the creation of a full fledged museum.

Not just a cook book but a record of the people who built, worked and lived in Ladysmith. Get a copy now, they are only $12 and all the proceeds go right back into the community archives. Available from our office on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It is also for sale at Salamander Books, The Chronicle, Shar-Kare, Bean Time Cafe, the Jameson Center and the 49th Parallel Grocery Store. Click here for details.

Did we miss your family? We have had a number of requests for a Volume 2. We will be doing it slightly different this time. You do not have to be a long time resident. We want to know why you chose Ladysmith to live, work, retire, play or just love it. Call Isabelle at the office or (250)245-2918 if you want to be included. We will have a form that you can fill out and tell us your story. The form will be posted here or available at our office. Watch for it - coming soon! Hopefully published in 2009 or for the 2010 Olympic Year.

Be sure to check out our events and projects page for news and details of this event. We will have some great prizes, just for Mother's Day. Tickets are now available from members or some select locations in town.

Check our new Cemetery Section for a clickable listing of the Ladysmith Cemetery. There are 4 areas, A for Anglican, P for Presbyterian, M for Methodist (includes United) and C for Catholic.

There is a new section on Heritage Buildings. This is an ongoing project to compile some history of buildings past and relate them to today's buildings. We invite comments and submissions for this new section.

At our October meeting the Mayor announced that council have approved our Archive Building. As soon as the necessary workers are allocated work will start at the Tim Horton's location. We were scheduled for May, but there may be some delays. However, progress is being made. As of April 1 our president for 2007-2008, Susan Jones, has received a grant from the Town of Ladysmith to become the first paid "Archivist/Curator". Unfortunately she has had to step down as the president due to conflict of interest. The Society wants her to continue her association by also wearing the hat of Manager on behalf of The Society. Outwardly there will be no change with the exception of more time being available to get the collections on line. Her main task is getting our computer system loaded with all the photographs and details of what we have.

2008 is the anniversary of the recognition of Vancouver Island as a colony of Britain 150 years ago. As part if this event we are working to bring the Spirit of Cowichan Days to Ladysmith. A whole day of celebrations happened on May 4. The weather was great and the turnout was good.

As part of our community involvement we have partnered with a number of community and area organizations. The year 2008 is an exciting year. We have the 150 anniversary of our island being established as a colony of Britain. We have the Spirit Pole coming here as part of Spirit of Cowichan, a buildup to the BC Aboriginal Games. And of course our own Archive opening. Spirit of Ladysmith is an incentive to connect the youth of our area to our seniors and mentors. This project will be a permanent record through the eyes of the young people of the folk that made our area what it is today. Click here for details .

Memberships and sponsorships are being promoted. Join the Society and become a participant in probably the most exciting project since the Ladysmith Centennial. Corporate sponsorships and donations are eagerly welcomed. Any donations or sponsorship will receive a tax receipt. Volunteers are needed to help with the projects!

Not a member? Come to the meeting or drop by our office and we will sign you up.

We have a section for members. Minutes and business of particular interest to members have been placed there. Anyone can visit for the time being.

You are encouraged to check back here often for more information, and when you do please click the refresh/reload icon to make sure you have the latest version.

Browser problem with Netscape... we have noted that there is a problem with the way pages open with Netscape. Instead of opening a new window it opens a new tab at the top. We are working to fix this problem, however all you have to do is click on the tab and it will open the page.

Check our website regularly for news. We will have all sorts of details of what we are doing.
Remember the address, http://ladysmithhistoricalsociety.org and check back often.

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