The Great Years

Format:  Softcover

ISBN:  0-9697601-3-2

Dimensions:  15 x 23 cm (6 x 9 in.)

Page Count:  262 pages

Publication Date:  2000

Out of print

The Great Years

Gold Mining in the Bridge River Valley

By Lewis Green

Bralorne and Pioneer in the Bridge River area were the most important gold mines in British Columbia for much of the twentieth century.  This book tells the story of mining  in the valley, just 170 km north of Vancouver, from the staking of the first claims in 1896 through Bralorne’s closure in 1971.

In its “Great Years” from 1933 to 1941, the Bridge River was an economic bright spot, sharply contrasting with the gloom pervading much of Canada.  Job seekers flocked to the mines.  For many men, finding that job meant living in the bush and standing in line each morning as the shifts started, in the hope that the mine superintendent would give them the nod.

This book tells of individuals such as Arthur and Delina Noel, David Sloan, and Ira Joralemon who believed in its potential, and of the risk-takers who gambled with the own and other people’s money.  It also tells of the many others, in the mines and in the towns, who through their labours made it all come to pass.

There is gold all around you … There is no doubt whatever this district will be one of the biggest gold producers in the province.

- The Prospector, October 12, 1900

Lewis Green

Lewis Green was a retired geologist who worked with the Geological Survey of Canada and later in the mineral exploration industry.  His other books are The Gold Hustlers (1977) and The Boundary Hunters (1982).