Joe George July 8th 1987
Any work you us to do as young man working with horses
do you remember that?
Joe ya young days I use work for the pole yard in New .~
J
Town in New Razelton Carl Cristians was the boss ya do
all that finaly they put me up on top loading poles pell
pole in the bush ya ,that thing there.
Use to have a team of horses ?
Who me,ya use to hav~ a team of horses
Were was your house at were did you live at~
Joe, right th~re right over by Sylverters other sjde of
his place boy was a big log building my use to have a
storebig buildingI do,nt well the build as two storey
high long big long fourty may long dad use to have store
there when we were kids.
When was that ~J
Joe ,oh around 1910 11 12 we were kids well I was born 1
1911 , I,m 76 year~ old
What else did you do be side peal poles ?
Joe, Oh do the odd trapping there and there
Were did you trap at?
Joe,oh me my dad use to go up to Own Lake use to have
cabines but they got uncles trapen cabin old man Joesph,
use he traped that were the~road go now from Huston all
the way up to Morries Lake ya uncleuse to have cabine .'
there openfire you ~ow cabine now theyall got all that
out they all downroad went, th t road through ther a
logging road
Is that the only place you went trapping by Owen lake?
Uoe,ya up Owen Lake towards Owen creek.
Do you remember any stories that any body told you?
Joe,no I forgot them all one winte~ we stay out all wint
er long form fall to the fol10wing spring we stayed~out
all winter trapping we'move around along right along the
Take here and~here.
What did you trap1
Joe,oh I never I was a kid you know I just goalong with
dad my brother thomas trap martine spring they trap
beaver ,muskrat,ya thats what we be doing.
Do you remember when they built the bridge here?
Joe ,old one was suppose to be around 1910 I guess.
wnat about this one here now ?
This one wellit open that bridge in 1931 must of they had
that befor they must of started around ?9 I guess ya.
you guys used a old wooden one just next to it then
Joe, the wooden I ,I remember walking acro~s it me and
mum use to sway like that dang~ ya I heard, acording
to the people there when theyfirst building that there
they use a some kind of twisted roots you know some kind
of stick ya that what they use ,finaly toward the end
they use telephone wire thats what they use no nail noth
ing all bound up by roots rope ceder bark rope thats all
they use ya •
vas ther~ lotsa of houses here in Hagwilget ?l

Joe, oh there was lotsa rrDuld ~unt themall by log build
ing lotsa houses
Do you remember were they were any no were they were
remember who "i twas
~oe, oh yes ola Mackenzie chief Ben Makenzie grand dad
his house was' right there and Pat Brown hea house was ~
right there were we had our first one r-igh't there that
was his old lady. just over there ,all along here useto
be log building some over there one big log building over
little bit this beiween her~ and over there use they use
to have that for I guess they use to use it for potlach
hall that all I remember big wide log building it was
pretty old when:::Iremember it •.
use have that for potlach
hall life ,another log building over there
Just across the road •
Joe, they tlIsethat as church one tim~.'befor they had that
one and they turn that in to a jail once ya middle of in
side they~ptlt a yo~ now no steel they just use wo01 ya
they use that for jail once ,,,t~_,,
Where was that big hall a~ over by Sylvesters?
Joe,1 could,nt counm it quite a few ye~rs ago
You remember any tot~m poles were ?
Joe ,no just dov.n the canyon there\:,was about 4 or5 totei'f\
poles
They moved them all up here?
Joe, no they did,nt move them
What happened to them? They all washed away.
Joe ,ya they bought a couple up 19ues~ is one use to be
over there and is rotten over there and one Mcr-ic t.own-io Ll
Basil Mehhiells dads I think waB there totempole they ~
brou~ht it up here they sold it I forgot the guys name
form Victora .A bunch of use kids brought it up pack
going up the trail conri ng up the trail qiute a bunch of
us pack it up by'hand it was pretty well dry pretty old
by that time not very heavy real dry t.heyhhad him up
there took him away •
Did you go to school ?
Joe,I did day school over here ather'side our big buildi
ng uncLe Joseph big it was,nt very big but tall building
my uncle Josephs hou~e that wer~ they haa school,first
school they had befor my time was above our right at our
wlace that up stai'rs~that were they had scho o'lI dont
how long they had school there till uncle build his buil
ding finshed they move to that place ,I went up to not e
efen fithe grade I quit went done little trapping.
sume times we move away was,rri very strict at all them
days you no not like to day,not lik~ the time today
Do you remember who the teacher wast
Joe 1,do,nt no I remember his first name was a guy marri
ed he had one daughter mr. Brown dad remember I guess
Do you remember wnen they built the church?
Joe ,no but I dont remember that at all that church was

till today it~ close to hundred years old, even me I,am
76 now •
Did you go fihing down Princeupert?
ya I did once first time I went fishing down there was
with my brother Sam was 1927 wag my first trip out there
them days it was all sail boat very few jet boat like' .',
very ~ew few Japanese them days all I do,nt know about
14 15 canniers all sial boat t~em days ,
Lotsa people from here went down?
uoe, oh ya qiute a few not very many ~rom around ~.
Hazel t onj Ki ap i ox , Glen Vowell.nobody ar-oundahece in the
summer time few young kid not many few old people few ,\70
young boy~ they go •
Do you remember when WWll started?
Joe ,~ishing net long net
Did,nt join the army in WWll did,nt want to.
Joe,no
Your brother was Thomas what did you guys do travel arou
nd the country togat~er working trapping?
Joe ,ya trapping work.
Di~ you have big family?
ya qiut a bit I do,nt know how many died ,Thomas died
Fraces he died Sam,gus Willie the lQst one theyoungest
drowned downthere in1934 .oh I thinK about ,about 12 in
the eamily,~y dad was relix George mum is Cecil.
They owned a store?
Joe ,ya them days people all had money by trapping
some of them do odd work in the bush,
Do you remember what New Town was like?
Joe no.
Old Town do you remember waat it was like.
Joe no
You guys go over to babin ~ots
Joe oh ya lots?in the spring they come this use to be
head quartsduring from 1912 and no till 40s then kind of
slacken down then people use to spend about two months
early in the spring on wagon a11 horses them days by
wagon Eabin people come this wa~ on theroad with horses
pack horses saddle horses.
THey come to fish?
Jpe,no just their holiday towards August everybody take
off g~ back haying time them days people from Burns Lake
Stellaco.FRASer Lake all come this way all gather here.
two months close to three months early in May come here
month ofMay they come here June July, close to august
t'1.eytake of!'
Did you go to school in LaJacqe to.
I went there we spent a Couple of weeks then we run
awayI did,nt like ,I wounld,nt of done it its cause of
Franies that I did it he led me S0 I had to go we took ,0f4!'
we got we did,nt on the train all at Endacko we
got off in Huston you no them days lucky wa~ in the fall

dam lucky it was not winter eventhe fall night timecold
you know the place where it closes t.hat s where we·,.werer
put Franies on the in side I sit on the out side every'
time the train stop we jump off and stand around on the
out side every time the train moves we jump back on in
the morning I do,nt what time in the morning the train
stop at Huston station the train stop right at t~e plate
form we were was just like getting off the coach we just
take off we spent a couple days there I guess with am ~h
them Jim Hollen out fit they were living in Huston then.
the guy name then big ~ommy Namox he live in Huston t
guess he send a letter to my dad down here where we
were ,there were three of us went to La Jaqae Mary too
Mary was home all ready when we got home she came back
on the train but us we just took off so daa send him a
money to get our tickets fare from Huston to here thats
when we came back we spent thpee da~s at Huston ya three
days ya we spent a weekor two at La Jacque plue went to
school at]:'
~ort St Jamies in 1917 me and Sam my brother
one other guy form MOrriestown three o~ us I was about
seven years old I think we spend one winte~ there
Them days no car to run was winter time when we went thr
ough well when school opening any way in~S~p$ember when
s~hooI opening any way we got off in Vandrhoof we stay
a night or two in Stoney Creek form there some guys took
use up ,father wa~ with use priest I think it was father
Alard they took us to Fort St Jamies by wagon ya we
spent the~winter there school,following spring out we
came back did,nt go back again.
Sylvester your brother.
Joe, ya
Where you get the water form ~
Joe , use to have ell over there was still there toward
where those by Ji~y Joseph house9is there was well there
down below there was a well there.Stillthere yet I never
go over there for a long time eirst place I remember
there was' a well here r pump by hand and they move over
there for well for water
You guys do much earming here in ~he village?
Joe, oh not very much, out in the field here horses cut
a little bit of hay for them us to rai~e a few pigs
Donld Grey us to have a big farm he ownall that land
over here across here well he never owned but he
bought it off somebody who owned it them day was
pretty cheap •
What did you do for entre1ianment hire Hazelton ocistra
for dance ':..~-'
~_ ~
JTlilinRsGwerepr~.tty b~d ~Ufd&.a.the depression
amount
oe,orr Od ya ~lllngS er
~l
acordlng to the

today you woulded want to work :or dollare and quarter
a day today how much dollare an nour they do,nt go duri~
the depression oh dollare and quarter a day was the high
est wages then hard work then to ~eight hours 8 day •
One time I was pllowing for George Parent big pollow
~our horses I use I think it wa~ 35 he was paying me
dollare and half a day then they started thrashing over
there them guys on t~e thrashing machine they :ound out
that George Parent was pating me dollare and half a day
they were working for dollare quarter a day he cut me 0C
down tweNjy five cents I qiut right there.