"a, ENTERTAINMENT, THE HERALD, Wed. Jan. 5, 1977

ACTON KILBY'*

STORE
by Ron Gadsby

If you are the type who
anythin likes to throw

ing away, perhaps you
have an earthly patron saint
in the tiny community of
Harrison Mills.

The ‘saint’, aided and
abetted by his wife of 47
‘years, is Acton Kilby,
proprietor of Kilby’s Store,
a man who is a_self-

- proclaimed pack rat. Their
store is the perpetuation of
the old fashioned village
store of the early 1900’s and
is now a provincial govern-
ment historic site. It is a
shrine ‘that shouldn't be

missed by anyone who has.

nostalgia in his veins and
who hankers’ for the days
that used to be.

Kilby's store sits behind a
dike that protects it from the

ravages of high water on the
' Fraser, just as it has done
since 1904 when it was
opened by Acton’s father,

4720 Labelee

"Tllceum
“Tata “Theatres
Lid,

ROAM AT HOME!

A TRAVEL BRITISH COLUMBIA FEATURE

‘rnomas: And to look at it
and the stock on its shelves,
you can’t help believing it

sn't changed since. .

The old general store was
operated by the senior Kilby
until 1928, when young Acton
and his bride, Jessie, took-it
aver. The village post office
was part of the premises
and they ran that until it was
closed in the 1960’s. They
also operated a dairy farm
until the devastating. floods
of 1948 that saw the demise

of many of their cattle.

From then on it was the
general store alone. .

Today, the couple con-
tinue to operate
premises but their main
concern is making the
visitors who come from all
parts of the continent

welcome to an experience in.

history.
-The ancient showcases
are filled with memorabilia
of bygone days, There are
oil Jamps, flintlock rifles,
horse shoes and square

638-5il

ven

War, Warner, .

-' Que showing nightly at §:00 fim

5-6489 .

éxctading Sandays

CLINT)
| EASTWOOD Ce
| OUTLAW i

The Gutlaw Josey Walest Clint
Eostwood diractad thls western os
wall as starred in it as o Missouri
farmer who embarks on a trail of
eance aller Kansas guerillas
wal) his family during the U.S, Civil,

THE

JOSEY
WALES

mature- -

warning: occasional vigiencs

the —

“ The Sugarland Express “
~ GOLDIE HAWN

Showtime 7:00 &.9:00 DU,

—

Sanday 9:00 PM. Only.

“The Happy Hooker”

RESTRICTED

WO ADMITTANCE TO AIASONS LOTR TE

m

a

a. Each has a story to tell.

nails. There is a typewriter
‘patented in 1909. - The
showcases themselves are

s heirlooms.

At the rear of the main
store there are two floors of
accumulated bits and pieces

of history that Acton Kilby.

just couldn't throw ‘away.

Along with the ac-
cumulation of hardware and

a soitgoods, the Kilbys kept
® extensive scrapbooks which

document the history of
their long span in the area.
Pictures of the 1938 and 1946

 flocds and stories of events

that highlighted the years —

a are all there.

However, the best part of

A visiting Kilby’s store is

meeting the Kilbys them-

“aa selves. The proprietor says

he'll never see'é5 again and

a his unsquelchable sense of
fhumour shines through

when he talks about the
ast. There is a chuckle in
is smile and Mrs. Kilby is
just as warm and friendly.

a She was once described as

the type who should be
everybody's mother and it
1¢5,

Most of Harrison Mills is

gone — the victim of flood,
§ fire and a changing society,
Mm but Kilby’s store remains.

BA To find it you follow the

you compare.

THEATRE .

Rn iP fs __ PASSES

Lougheed Highway (High-
way 17) east through
Harrison Mills, across the

*Harrison River Bridge.

Watch for the sign a few
hundred yards past the
bridge. _

From Highway No, 1 take
the Agassiz Harrison cutoff
on Highway 9 through
Agassiz to Lougheed and
proceed west. The Kilby
Museum sign is about one
mile (a kilometre and a

* half) from the bottom of

Woodside Mountain. It is a
. trip you'll never forget. |
- (This Roam at Home

article is one of a series

provided by Tourism British

Columbia.) :

Me Too

Hidden somewhere in the ads

: in the entertainment section
ir are two Terrace phone numbers.

Find them, and if one is yours you've won.

"I just gol out af prison
this morning,” a traveler -
told his fellow-passenger as
they were riding the same
bus together. “It’s going to.
be tough facing old friends.” —
"Tl understand what you
mean,” said the other. “I’m
a Congressman returning

- home from my first session |
in Washington.” | ,

and