The hotel about 1960 in deep snow, with the old porch removed

All photographs from Charlotte Gyoba's collection.

But the original general store, on the old Trans Canada highway that wound down the hill toward the old Alexandra Bridge, still stands, converted into a residence with a bed of flowers occupying the space in front where the gas pumps once stood. It is not the most prepossessing building in the province, as you can see, and has lost its porch and balcony, but it has a certain historic significance. It was probably opened soon after 1926, when the Cariboo Road reopened as a toll road following the rebuilding of the Alexandra Bridge.The toll was $1 – an astonishing sum in the 1920s, equally to about two hours of a skilled tradesman's labour, or about $40 in current money.

Postcard c.1960 by J.C. Walker, Vancouver. Collection of Charlotte Gyoba

Charlotte Gyoba, who grew up near the Spuzzum Hotel, recalled that the Bowerman and Lintott families ran the store. Mrs. Bowerman's blueberry pies were famous and once featured in the Vancouver Sun; she paid the local children 25 cents for a tobacco can full of berries picked nearby – blueberries, saskatoons, huckleberries and blackberries, whatever was in season.

The old gas station/café in 2019

From Debbie Saunderson (Bachi), 2021: My grandparents bought and ran the Spuzzum store, gas station, restaurant and post office by the trans Canada hwy, I believe they bought it in the late 1950’s probably 1958.  My mom and her sister were teens, my mom quit school to work in the family business, my aunt would bus to Hope to high school.  My grandparents’ names were Fritz and Olga Luginbuehl – they came over from Switzerland on the Empress of Canada, (1954 or 55 I think) a huge ship (my mom still has the passenger list). They landed in Vancouver.

My grandmother cleaned rooms at a boarding house and my grandpa drove freight up the Fraser Canyon up to the Chilcotin area. He had some pretty scary stories of driving up the Canyon.  He would drive through Spuzzum all the time, I guess he liked it as he ended up buying a business there and moving his family to Spuzzum.  My mom spent most of her time working as a waitress and minding the store.  My Aunt was very good friends with Betty and Nancy Oikawa. 

My aunt (just a teenager) serving customers in the Spuzzum Café

My mom met my dad in Spuzzum while she was waitressing,  he was a logger, worked for Cattermole Timber I do believe.  My mom 16 at the time, married him.  My sister was born in 1962, just after they were married, I was born in 1964.

The Restaurant kept the family very busy,  I remember when I was older 4-5 we spent a lot of time at the restaurant we even had little stools in the kitchen so we could help wash dishes (my sister and I). 

My grandparents lived down by the old general store in a little shed-like house for the first years that they were in Spuzzum, then moved up to the restaurant and store which had an attached living quarter quite a few years later.  My parents bought a two bedroom mobile home and had it moved to a spot beside the old general store opposite side of where my grandparents little house was.  We lived beside the old general store until the early 70s.  I was 7 when we moved.  We went to school in Yale, a bus picked us up from beside the trans Canada hwy.  It carried high school kids from Boston Bar and picked up students along its route all the way to Hope, that’s where the high school kids went to school.  The Elementary school kids the bus picked up in Spuzzum were dropped off in Yale.

I remember the snowfalls in Spuzzum,  so much snow.  The snow would be up to our windows, quite often past it.  The Trans Canada would be closed for days.  We didn’t go to school and the Truckers had their rigs parked out in front of the restaurant and store.  And some along the hwy.  My grandma kept them all fed.  I remember she made the best hamburgers and fries and milkshakes.

I remember the old hotel, it was pretty run down and there was an old man who lived there. We were scared to walk past it.  There was an old car parked to one side of it, door missing wheels missing the seats were all cracked and the windows broken myself and a couple of other kids would sit in it and pretend we were driving. There were only about 6 kids in Spuzzum including myself and my sister. I also remember the old one room school house, my grandpa had the key and let us go in sometimes when he was checking it.  I remember the old school smell of it and it had the desks and chalkboards and construction paper and colouring pens still in it, but was boarded up. I also remember the little house behind the school, an old timer lived there, old Sam I think, he had fruit trees in his yard, and his grandkids would come over sometimes and we would play with them.  I remember we used to roll down a little grass hill in his backyard inside of blankets.

Another old timer was a fella named Old Walter, my parents knew him well. Sometimes he would come by the trailer for dinner, but not often as he was a recluse.  Walter stayed to himself a real hermit, had a little shack in the bush off the hwy, hard to find. He was an inventor of sorts, had a water mill he made himself which provided the only electricity for his home. There were a lot of other things he had made as well, like all the furnishings in his shack.  When we moved in 72, I had a brother by then who wasn’t quite two, and old Walter made him a Backhoe out of wood, with all moving parts, fashioned all the tracks by hand. He then drove it the 8 hrs it took to drive all the way to Falkland where we had moved to, to deliver it. In an old Volkswagen van  My brother could sit in it and scoop dirt.  Quite the feat for an old man who had hidden away in Spuzzum for years and lived on his own, Years later when I was a young adult I tried to figure out where his little cabin had been but the forest had reclaimed everything and it was impossible.

Speaking of old,  the Old Alexandra Bridge was a main walk for us, when grandpa wasn’t working up at the garage he would sometimes walk with us along the old hwy, so we would end up going over the Alexandra Bridge.  Most of the time though the walks were with my mom, we walked for hours, following the old gold rush trail (the road that went right by the old general store close to the Fraser river).  I remember the Old Alexandra Bridge had a metal grid like surface, so when you looked down you could see the rushing water of the Fraser River beneath you, I tried to never look down!  We had a small Eskimo Spitz dog that my mom would have to pick up and carry over as his little feet could get caught in the grids.

The Esso station there used to be a Gulf Station and I also remember the old B/A sign, my brother has the old Gulf sign from the Spuzzum garage hanging in his garage now,  it was given to him when my grandfather passed away.

General Correspondence about Spuzzum

From Darla Shier, 2021: I am an adoptee who has spent the last 2-3 years putting together my biological family tree. My 2 times great Grandfather ( on my bio Mother's side) was a man named Blas Leon. he was one of the Mexican packers that came to BC and worked during the gold rush. Blas was great friends with the fairly well known Jesus Garcia, in fact Blas left Jesus his land etc when he passed away. I know that Jesus married a woman from Spuzzum who was called Mary once they were married ( I forget her native name) The story is that she was the Chief's daughter. Blas married a woman known as Ratchinak.....my thought is that she was from Spuzzum as well. Honestly I am reaching out, to see if you heard of Blas Leon or Ratchinak ( Louise or Louisa) in your research and gathering of stories.

From Lorelie Michaud, 2019: I was a resident of Spuzzum for many years... before I was born my Grandparents owned the old hotel with the pictures of the Japanese folk on the steps. My parents rented a cabin off of old Sam while I was a baby and then later bought the house across from the old school. I attended grade 1 in that school. I knew many of the people in your pictures and lived next door to the Gyoba family during my childhood. Your article brought back so many memories...thank you. I still live in Yale and have raised my children here and like to go to Spuzzum to remember on occasion!

From Maxine MacKenzie, 2016: My Grandmother Christine James was partnered with Mack Bobb. I have a picture of them net fishing at their designated spot. I am willing to share pic. She was buried in 1951 at the cemetery near the tunnel. Does anyone know anything about its up keep? Or have a contact person I can reach.

From Sandra Holcik, 2016: Our family are old friends of Arthur Urquhart and Annie York and have years of fond memories visiting their home in Spuzzum each summer enroute to Alberta. We first met them in the summer of 1961 when my parents' vehicle overheated on the side of the road near their home and Arthur kindly assisted my Dad with water for the radiator.  They had much in common and became lifelong friends. Many Spuzzum residents and visitors will remember Arthur's 1925 Packard Sedan that he bought with his Dad in Vancouver, drove to Hope for groceries every Sunday and eventually stored lovingly away in the old garage. The car has survived and we will be driving it on a Vintage Car Tour this July 8-10 (2016) in Hope.  If you wish a full write-up of the car's history, I would be glad to write and email one for your webpage.

From Margaret Jurgens, 2016: here are some old photos of my mom, Marion (Bambi) McInnes, my grand parents ,John and Hazel McInnes, Uncles Bill and Ronny McInnes, aunts Katie and Joan, and 2 old postcards of Spuzzum. My grandparents were both full native ...my grandma was from Lytton BC, grandpa from Laqamel and my mom was born on reserve in Katz BC.

3 bridges over Spuzzum Creek

-----------------------

From Rob Irving, 2016: My dad, Kelly Irving was stationed in Spuzzum in 1941 as a member of the B.C. Police.  I was born 8 DEC 41 in Chilliwack as that was the closest hospital at the time.  I have no memories of Spuzzum because dad was transferred to Hazleton in 1942.  I do remember a couple of stories he told pertaining to the area. I have driven by there and through there over the years and it is hard to believe it was once a fair sized community.  Enjoyed the stories on your site.

From Gerhard, 2015: I/we have lived in the Valley for many years, while often, many, many,
innumerable times racing up or down the Canyon, either coming from work, or
going to it.  I used to be a Professional Engineer, in Geology.  In the last
20 years, or so, I have specialized in dealing with placer gold deposits in
quite a few spots in our World.
Now I'm old and getting grey..
During many of these, often nightly, trips I frequently, if not always had
the radio tuned to the Radio. With such a remarkable name as Spuzzum, many
mental meanderings ensued.  I love plays on words.  Someone on the radio
often was broadcast while eloquently, deliciously, played with words,
rhyming our English language, using his accented Radio voice.  It was a
delectable feast, a wonderful break, in an often mind-less race to come from
somewhere, wishing to get somewhere, in a hurry.
The time frame could be in the 70's, 80's??
Have you heard of such an artistic work, highlighting "Spuzzum"
============================================================
another question, now we're at it.
a long time ago, when the Alexandria bridge was still being used, I remember
that there used to be a tunnel, one of the several; in later years the
highway was improved, by mining out a new tunnel (presently in use), while
the old one existed a bit higher in elevation, and a couple of hundred feet
towards the Fraser River side.  I often wonder whether wayfaring people
might be using this wonderful hide-out?
==============================================================
an anecdote you might vibe with: as a young high-school graduate (Oliver
1957) I got my first summer job for the Forestry.  On the Greyhound, I
happily sat upfront watching the world go by. I think I was a row back from
the front.  A lady sat in front.  Well, you might still remember that the
highway, leading up the canyon from Yale, snaked itself on the west side of
the river, a narrow little piece of road that was, much of it tight against
the overhanging cliffs on the left, and endless depths to the Fraser below.
So that being said, there was one curve to the left, very tight curve, in
which the Greyhound appeared to the person sitting upfront, was in effect
hovering in thin area over the brink of the Canyon! Would you believe, she
screamed, and fainted.
A gorgeous bridge.  Is it still passable for pedestrians.  Probably not; I'm
sure.
===============================================================

From Thomas Lockhart, 2013: I'm the present owner of the School House in Spuzzum.  I have owned it for about 25 years and know a little bit about the history of the town.  I have old photos of the area/site that came from an resident that lived there for some 60 years.... Old Sam.  He worked for the railway for years and lived in a cabin just north of the old school marm’s house (both now owned by Spuzzum Pete).

Photos from Thomas Lockhart

From Kat Bat, 2013: I passed through Spuzzum on the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1974 when I was just eight years old when my family moved to the west coast from New York.  My memory is of a train station, a grocery store, a post office and not much else.  My siblings and I loved the name and drove our parents crazy repeating it over and over ad nauseum.  In the early 2000s (I forget the exact year) my husband and I were travelling in B.C. and once more I passed through Spuzzum.  We didn't do very much searching but the only evidence we saw was a sign that said Welcome to Spuzzum.  I'm glad to see that civilization still exists there.

To have others enjoy it as much as I do, would be very rewarding. I would love to see the Knowledge Network air it again but hard to say if they will. 

Here is a link to the transcript of the Imbert Orchard Interview with Annie York, which opens separately in a pdf file.

From James Harbeck, 2011: I do a blog of "word tasting notes" - like tasting wines, but I taste words - and a friend suggested Spuzzum. I include a link to your site in the article on it, so I thought you might like to read it: http://sesquiotic.wordpress.com/2011/11/27/spuzzum/

Note from Irene Bjerky, who recently tried to buy the former hotel, 2009: Most of what I have is the former owners' info; apparently it was owned by a recluse for some years, who, it was found after his death, had the tool shed filled to the roof with beer cans he either drank or collected, I'm not sure which.

The next owners were a Dutch or German couple who apparently moved the kitchen from the downstairs to the upstairs; redid the plumbing and wiring, and added a really good airtight wood-burning stove (about 1994). Then the final owner that I tried to buy from was named John Butler, who lives in California, I think (have to look that up too); and the new owners that finally were able to buy the place are the owners of the Fort Hope Trading Post Antique store.

In any case, as you correctly stated, the place was built in 1923, and was a hotel first I think, but don't know for sure. It was a police station with a jail, for the BC Police (one of my relatives, Arthur Urquhart, was a member of the BC Police force in Spuzzum around that time; Andrea Laforet knows more about this). And, I can ask my mom more about when it was used during WWII in the internment camp years.

The house has seven decent sized bedrooms, four downstairs and three upstairs; two bathrooms; a very large living room downstairs (where the wood stove is), and a very large living room upstairs. The kitchen has a large pantry off of it. There are two medium-sized balconies, as you know, one fronting the access road (First Avenue), and one facing the large yard that borders the Trans Canada Highway. There are all kinds of fruit trees, garden stuff, and outbuildings on the property, with an elaborate sprinkler system. The water system comes from a small creek across the highway, part of the property ownership. The fruit trees have apples, pears, crabapples, and cherries, as far as I can remember, and there are various berry bushes in an enclosure. There is a garden shed, a tool shed, a greenhouse, and a woodshed. It is a wonderful place, and I desperately wanted to own it.

Note from Jack van Beers, 2009: I made an enquiry at the Hope Museum about Annie York, and Arthur  Urqhuart, in November 2008, and was informed that they were deceased but that a book authored by Annie York and Andrea Laforet had been published, “Spuzzum Fraser Canyon Histories, 1808-1939”.  Within one week I had purchased the book and became enthralled in Annies stories that were documented in that publication. Some of those stories, I had personally heard Annie tell when I was staying in her and Arthur's property in the little blue and white trailer, south of the house, that is still there today!  I stayed there in the summer of 1962, and 1963, when I was 18 years old. The trailer belonged to Tom Muir, a surveyor for (CPS) Canadian Puget Sound, Jordan River division. I was Tom Muir's assistant, and our mission was to survey a logging road along Spuzzum Creek, with the objective harvest the old growth timber in that region.

I have many fond memories of Annie and Arthur, as I spent countless hours with them in their home, that I remember as spotlessly clean and organized. Annies stories of the sasquatch haunted me, and left me trembling with fear several times as I thought I heard Bigfoot while sleeping in a tent along Spuzzum creek many, many miles in from the Trans Canada Highway, laying  out the logging road.

Arthur, on several occasions treated me to a ride in his Packard to the Spuzzum Store for an ice cream. What a treat! Arthur was such a calm slow talking gentleman. It has been a very long time, but I still remember that both of them had a dislike for alcohol, and viewed it as a real vice.

I feel very privileged to have been in Spuzzum during that period of time, and particularly fortunate to have had Annie and Arthur as part of my life. Many thanks to Andrea Laforet for documenting the history of this area, and the lives of many families, but particularly Annie’s, and Arthur’s.
 

Note from Lois Matson, 2009: I was recently looking up some info on the tunnels in the Fraser canyon and came across. your web site. My parents Doug and Gladys Lintott bought the original store in Spuzzum in 1947 along with my grandparents Grace and Ken Bowerman. They built the new store up on the new High Way in 1958 with the help of  my uncle Les McCabe and other relatives that would also show up to help. We sold the store that year and moved to Penticton and my grand parents moved to the coast. I was wondering if you have any e-mail address from the former residence of Spuzzum. Several years ago I ran into Eddie Gyoba when we went to Spuzzum to spread my cousin Diane’s ashes. I had just been talking about him to my husband  when we saw this man standing on the side of the road looking at our little group. We stopped to explain who we were and I was so surprised that it was Eddie who no longer lives there. What are the chances that some one from your past  40 some years ago would be at the same place as you? I wonder what has happened to Betty and Nancy Oikawa as they were my best friends and I remember being devastated that my parents had moved us. I have many great memories of Spuzzum, we had some really great family gatherings there.

Note from Jack "Norman" White, 2009: I am a former resident of Spuzzum and would like to correspond with Lois Matson who appears on your web page [contact link at the bottom of this page – ed.]. My family lived in Cathmar, a neighboring village, from 1939-44.

Cathmar was a small settlement of CPR  railway workers at Hell's Gate. Cathmar is now called Ades. I believe it was renamed after Alfred Ades, a former Road Master who lived at North Bend. Some of the houses and buildings used at the Hell's Gate tourist site were former Cathmar buildings. When the CPR built a railway siding they would give it a name for reference purposes. As I type this note I am reminded of one time my mother was going to plant some flowers around our house. When she put the shovel in the ground she dug up some old rotten railway ties, so it looks like Cathmar was a siding. This part of the railway was built by contractor Andrew Onderdonk; maybe he established Cathmar? After all, he used to run sightseeing trips with his trains.

Note from Paul White in the UK, 2009: I and other members of my family have been trying to locate the family of my Father who was born to a young lady in 1912 in Birkenhead, Cheshire, England. Her name was Olive May Hamerton / White. She was born in Spuzzum around 1895, her parents being  Octavus Nelson Hamerton and Euphemia Hamerton nee White. If anyone has any information, no matter how small (and any photos would be absolutely fantastic).We have been looking for a long time and kept hitting the proverbial brick wall. So any leads would be great, and very much appreciated. Update 2010 from Sharon McKenna: I am the great-niece of Olive May Hammerton (our family spelling) and Nelson Hammerton and his wife Euphemia are my great grand-parents. I remember my great-aunt very well ; she had two daughters and I believe several grand-children are still living in California. I have always thought that great-grandmother's name was Birrell before marriage. My grandmother was Emma Jane Hammerton (House), Olive's sister. There was another sister, Annie (Pafford), a brother Harold, and a brother Ernie. [Please correspond with her via the link at the bottom of the page]

From Johanna Sawer, 2009: I also have fond memories of driving to Spuzzum on a Sunday afternoon as a child. My parents were Howard and Mary Stevenson - friends of the restaurant owners I believe - and we used to drive to Spuzzum just to have breakfast . It was a wonderful memory for me growing up, the drive up the canyon was breathtaking. My Dad was a logging truck driver - and knew many of the men who made Spuzzum a stop on their routes - Today - I would love to start up the tradition with my own kids - only I understand it burned down a few years ago. So sad.

Note from Terumi Leinow, 2007: I am one of the many families who lived in Spuzzum – Charlotte Gyoba was a classmate of mine in the one-room schoolhouse in Spuzzum. I am part of the Oikawa family (there were two Oikawa families who lived there). My father Kengo, his wife, Shimako (who just celebrated her 90th birthday last weekend) and me, Dulce Terumi. My father's brother Keigo & Maikie had 4 children, George (who lives in Hope - and still owns property in Spuzzum), Mikiko, Ritsu and Hitomi (who live in Vancouver). It is interesting for me, who married an American and now lives in sunny California, that my past somehow erases itself behind me! Tashme, where I was born, no longer exists and Spuzzum where I spent part of my early childhood is slowly vanishing. I grew up with the name Dulce Oikawa for most of my life and reverted to my Japanese name Terumi when I moved to California. I have fond memories of the Spuzzum days, where all the families gathered at the bathhouse near the hotel and my father would piggyback me on his back as we returned to our cabin under the night stars. The local store was a treasure to us, and I recall my mother feeding the "hobos" that came by on the trains!

This is a watercolour I [Michael Kluckner] painted in 1992 of the old TransCanada highway at Spuzzum. The CPR track is on the right and the view looks northward; the current TransCanada highway is out of the picture on the left. The small cabin with the porch on the left is now in ruins, as is the cabin with the blue door visible between the large trees in the middle of the picture. The brown wall in the distance, to the left of the leftmost tree, is the side wall of the old hotel. The Gyobas' house was out of sight in the distance. Note from Miki Wilson: I used to live in Spuzzum with my grandparents. [In your picture] you can see some of the old hotel and Mr. Rockell's house.

A view from about the same spot in 2019 – it's become hoarder's heaven. 

Photos below from Yale and District Historical Society