Lesley Keith's Squamish roots run deep. Her great, great grandfather Alexander Robertson and his family were the first European settlers in the valley who remained any length of time.
Though they only stayed three or four years before moving to Vancouver, Alexander Robertsons daughter Katherine Robertson and son-in-law Allan Rae followed them west from Manitoba and settled here in February 1889 a few months before the Judd family settled up the valley.
At the front of her book The Squamish Valley Before the Highway: A Story of Squamish through Photographs, Keith acknowledges her cousin Mark Armstrong and uncle Bob Armstrong as being among the inspirations for the book.
Bob Armstrong used to give a slide show of the history of Squamish, Keith writes at the front of the book. When he no longer wanted to do this, I asked him for the slides as I did not want them to be lost to Squamish.
The photos passed along by her relatives serve as the basis for the book, but Keith also acknowledges the contributions of many others, including Philip Judd's book The Judds of the Squamish Valley, the Squamish Public Library's history archives, and photos gathered and passed along by June Halvorson.
Mark Armstrong passed his set of photos to Keith about 10 years ago, she said.
I just figured I should do something with them and started collecting together other photos to put together a story of Squamish, she told The Chief. I didn't put out a formal call but I had some friends out looking for others, and there's a lot from the library.
The result of Keith's work is an easy-to-read pictorial history covering the period from the first European settlement of the Squamish Valley until the completion of the highway from Vancouver in 1958. It includes not only photos but brief stories providing insight into the lives of early pioneers and the changes that have occurred.
Eric Andersen, a local amateur historian, said Keith's book is a valuable resource for anyone with an interest in Squamish's past.
The history is told as it was lived looking out the window watching it go by. For example (on page 76): 'The Armstrong children and grandchildren liked to watch the train go by from the house by the tracks' Andersen wrote in an email to The Chief.
We get a way of lifethe logging camp employee (Lesleys grandfather) doing his laundry (page 79) how the Squamish Valley was experienced by its residents.
Andersen said the books attention to detail and Keiths acknowledgement of the contribution of Mark Armstrong whose drawings of local heritage landmarks and recreations of historical scenes awoke interest in local history give it the ring of authenticity and of being the continuation of Armstrongs efforts.
My own interest in local history and no doubt that of many others was very much stimulated by Mark Armstrong's drawing and writing work, often featured in the newspaper some years ago, Andersen wrote.
There is a lot of careful detail in this book accurate dates of persons, etc. and a lot of work behind these details, no doubt! Lesley Keith's attention to accuracy in the details is very commendable, and has set a standard.
The soft-spoken Keith said she's been flattered by such praise since the book first hit the shelves a few months ago.
I've had some very nice comments from some of the old-timers, so it's really been nice that way, she said.
A couple of years ago, Keith pitched the book concept to a B.C.-based publisher, but received no reply. Instead, she compiled and laid it out in the InDesign program herself and Garibaldi Graphics agreed to print 100 copies at a time.
The book, which came out in April, is on its third printing. It costs $20 and is available at the Adventure Centre, Portico Gallery and Britannia Mine Museum.
Keith will be among the many speakers at the Squamish Culture and Heritage Festival, put on by the Squamish Historical Society in conjunction with Quest University, Nov. 23 and 24 at Quest. For more information about the festival, please visit the society's website, www.squamishhistory.ca
