The Past
Businesses
Churches
Communities
Community Services
Entertainment
Ethnic Groups
Geography
Heritage Homes
Industries
Organizations
People
Schools
~ Ashton Creek
School
~ Enderby
Schools
~ Grindrod
School
~ Hupel-Mabel
Lake School
~ Mara
School
~ North
Enderby School
~ Springbend
School
~ Trinity Creek
School
~ ~ Czechoslovakians
Transportation
Most of the people who moved to the
Trinity Creek area were of Czech origin and had worked in the coal mines of the Crow's
Nest Pass. After a series of explosions in the mines, in which quite a number of miners
were killed ,they decided to go farming in British Columbia. They first settled at
Bluenose, just south of Lumby, but the farmland there was terrible, so they looked
elsewhere. About fifteen Czech families came and settled south of Shuswap river (Trinity
Creek). Others bought trapper's homesteads or bought crown land. Most arrived during a 10
year span.
The Czech people would always speak their language at home; as a result, many of the first
graders did not know a word of English when they went to Trinity
School. Stan Wejr
learned English as he followed the teamsters driving their horses; and those were the only
English words that he knew when he started school. Most parents could speak English but a
few women could not. Stan's dad was the secretary of the school board for many years and
he always kept two sets of minutes, one in English and one in Czech. As a result of
keeping two sets of minutes, everyone in the Trinity Creek area would understand.
In the spring of 1948 the Shuswap River flooded
Mabel Lake Road beginning at Foghs (about 6.5 miles from Enderby) to Peavine Corner (about
3 miles from Enderby). The flood lasted a whole week, and during this time there was no
school transportation to A.L Fortune School. This very impractical situation was quite
sensibly overcome by the students having to travel this route. Marie Blackburn (now Mrs.
Marie Olich) took her horse and buggy and, together with Henry and Alvin Raboch and Glen
Lloyd, would drive through 3 feet of water and mud (the road wasn't paved) to Enderby.
They took a detour up Watershed Road and drove along the base of the mountains emerging
just beyond the flood at Peavine corner. They had to be quite careful not to get their
lunches wet, since the water came above the floor of the buggy!
Natalie Affolter
ALF School 1989