Ladysmith &
District Historical Society |
|---|
Welcome to the web site of the Ladysmith & District Historical Society.
"We keep the history of the area for all to use"
In partnership with the Town of Ladysmith we operate the Ladysmith Archive, a repository of History for the area. Come visit and see the displays we have or to research the history of Ladysmith.
| History in Ladysmith is alive and well! It has been 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. We 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. And remember "history started just a mere second ago". 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. Because the website is growing so fast we are adding more information almost daily. So, it is recommended that you return to the home page as often as you can where we try to keep the main index current. Otherwise you just might miss something new! As well, when you open a page you look at regularly use your Refresh/Reload icon (or just hit the F5 key) to make sure you have the latest information. A number of pictures are clickable for a larger image. When you put your cursor on a picture (usually with a coloured border) it changes to a hand. Clicking on the picture will bring up a larger image of it. As well some text in articles is underlined or coloured. That is a direct link to the appropriate topic and is clickable. Because the official website name is a bit long, and perhaps hard to type we have linked this site to http://ladysmitharchive.org and http://ladysmithhistory.org Any of these two links will also link directly here. Winning tickets for Spring draw Lucky ticket holders for the Spring draw were held at the offices of the Ladysmith Chronicle. Congratulations to the following winners: First Prize: W. Worms
Second Prize: Patti Clark
Third Prize: Susan Ford, Shawnigan Lake
Fourth Prize: Doug Godkin
Word has just come in that the Ladysmith Archive has been recognized by the HeritageBC. The Historical Society and the Town of Ladysmith have been jointly recognized for the establishment of a permanent Archive. A benefit for everyone in Ladysmith and area. Irving (Ike) Barber was a foremost entrepreneur in British Columbia. A recognized pioneer and businessman in the BC Forestry Industry. Graduating from the University of British Columbia in 1950 he went on to a distinguished career in forestry. In 1978 he founded Slocan Forest Products a company he was chairman of till 2002. His donation to his Alma Mater has resulted in substantial grants in his honour. We are pleased to have been accepted as a recipient for 2009 to place 3000 of our photographs on the Internet. Work will start immediately. Hopefully we can do the same thing next year. Click here to go directly to the image search. Ladysmith Hospital Auxiliary celebrates 100 years of service
May 2009 is the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Ladysmith Hospital Auxiliary. A group of volunteers who were actually founded a year before the first hospital was built. They worked tirelessly right off the bat raising money, sewing sheets and providing necessary help and financial support for both the patients and the staff. The Archive has many photos of the early days of the hospital, as well as some interesting artifacts. Shown are the founders; Susan Sanderson, Sarah Hulme, Mabel Pollock and Jane Steele. Member's Pages are being redesigned As most members recieve meeting and agenda information by email, this section was really reduntant. As well we always allowed the public to visit this page. It is therefore being redesigned to represent information, news and topics of particular importance to members. The public will still be free to view the section. We are not alone.. There are a great number of notable private collections in our area. There is one in Extension of mine ore cars. There is an awesome one of tools and car badges right here in Ladysmith. If you want your collection highlighted we would love to hear from you! Doesn't matter if you are in our area. We recently received photos of a small collection of tin plate auto engine demonstration cards. You turn the crank and they actually work. They belong to a Cowichan area resident who was kind enough to share with us. We now have a new volunteer researcher... Looking for a relative or just want to know about folks in Ladysmith? Send an email on our website to Bridget. She has a very high success rate of searches. The community is important to us. We need your donations, not just cash but those things you have up in the attic down in the basement or out in the garage. We realize that the donation of any cash is important to us. It helps us in the operation of our facilities. But just as important is the donation (or loan) of artifacts, documents and photos. Everyone has something somewhere of value to us. Some of those seemingly trivial items that "grandma and grandpa" left to the family just might be valuable to us too. As a "not for profit" society we also provide tax receipts. Right now we are specifically looking for old movie projectors (and movies) and reel type tape recorders. They don't have to be working, we have folk who can fix them. We have an extensive collection of 8mm movies and reel tapes we need to catalog. But of course, any donation of cash is always welcome too! Be sure to check our events and projects pages for all the latest happenings! - click here to go directly there - Have you gotten your copy? The Historical Cook Book!
Ladysmith Cemetery, Heritage Buildings, Mayors...
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 of any homes or businesses for this new section. Check out our section on the Mayors of Ladysmith. We will eventually have a full collection of photographs and history.
Ongoing projects are keeping our volunteers busy. Keep coming back, and tell your friends. Ladysmith and its history is our commitment. But, we need you! Don't loose the history of the town. If you have pictures or artifacts we want to hear from you. You don't have to give them to us, just let us copy or photograph them. Get up to the attic and " mine out " that history!
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! Come to our meetings... Our meetings are the third Tuesday of the month at the Ladysmith Archive. Anyone can attend the meetings, you don't have to be a member. Not a member? Come to the meeting or drop by our office and we will sign you up.
You are encouraged to check back here often for more information, and when you do please click the refresh/reload icon (or hit your F5 key) to make sure you have the latest version.
** Disclaimer (the legal stuff) **
|
|---|
This page was updated May 3, 2009
Not just a cook book but a record of the people who built, worked and lived in Ladysmith. Get a copy now. We have bundled them together with the award winning book of Ladysmith's Anniversary. $20 gets both. Available from our office on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It is also for sale at Salamander Books and a number of businesses in town. . 
Check our 
