The Past
Businesses
Churches
Communities
~ Enderby
~ Grindrod
~ Hupel
~ ~ John Dale
~ ~ Men At Hupel
~ ~ Hupel Stage
~ ~ Hupel
School
~ Kingfisher/
Mabel Lake
~ Mara
~ Population
Community Services
Entertainment
Ethnic Groups
Geography
Heritage Homes
Industries
Organizations
People
Schools
Transportation
John Dale was
a man of the woods and of the mountains, with a great love of life.
John Henry Dale was born in Portage La Prairie, Manitoba in 1895. His father was Alexander, a victim of the Enclosures Act of the 19th Century. In 1897, when John was 2 years of age, his dad (Alex) moved his family to North Enderby area by steamship, travelling up the Shuswap River from Sicamous. John also attended school in Enderby for a while.
At the age of eight, John started his first job attending cattle for his neighbors, while having to do his own chores at home. He soon made his living off the land. John Dale was doing many things at an early age: a logger, river driver, and a trapper. By keeping cows, chickens, pigs and horses he raised most of his own food.
At the age of twelve, John proudly killed his first deer. Finally in 1905 Alex, John's father, again moved the family. They settled in their new home, a quarter section on the Shuswap River, halfway between Enderby and Mabel Lake, on the land which is now owned by Rob and Marion Dale. John homesteaded the property adjacent to it and owned by George Salt today.
In 1909, Mr. Dale helped build the road from Enderby to Mabel Lake. Later, at the age of 34, John met Anne Bruynel while he was driving a stagecoach delivering mail, goods and loggers from Enderby to Hupel. Anne and John soon became good friends.
One of John's closest friends was Sir James Baird of England and Ireland. Baird travelled with a hunting party, and John hunted with the group as their guide. They travelled to the Cariboo to hunt ducks and geese, which were all given to local residents.
While John was working for Sir James Baird at Hupel, he had a pet bear which he had raised from a cub. The bear greeted visitors when the stage arrived, which he enjoyed immensely. The bear also took great pleasure in wrestling with the locals but was a poor loser. Eventually, the bear became too big and started to root out apple trees for fun and had to be shot.
In 1914, John and Anne were married and ultimately had six children: Tom, Agnes, Norman, Don, Betty, and Bruce. John and Anne were quite different in character. He was a woodsman and she was well educated with the knowledge of six languages and played classical piano.
After a full life, John Henry Dale died at the age of 77 in 1972. His wife Anne Dale died in Enderby, B.C. on November 11, 1982.
Jean Fitzgerald
ALF School, 1989