The Wilmer Gold Photo Collection: Diversity, Labour Activism, and Community in the Cowichan Valley

The finding aid for the Wilmer Gold Photo Collection is now available online through our website. Although the photos themselves are not yet available online, an inventory of what is available at the museum can be viewed here, and inquiries sent to kaatzaarchives@shaw.ca. This blog post contains just a small sample of the 1,500-photo collection.

‘Sometimes Strikes are Sort of Like Some Wars’: Letters to Jack Munro During the 1986 Strike

Henry here- I’m back in the Archive, woo! It’s been a while since I contributed anything to the I.W.A. Archive blog. However, upon returning, I found these freshly archived letters so interesting that I had to write about them. This blog post builds on John Mountain’s December 2019 “Digging into History”, which provided background on

“‘Logging Was to Be Their Future:’ My Family, The Logging Industry, and the I.W.A. Archive”, by Kaden Walters

Since this is my first post on the blog, I think it is fitting that I should use this opportunity to briefly introduce myself and outline my personal connections to logging and the I.W.A. I am currently in my fourth year of the Bachelor of Arts Program at Vancouver Island University, of which I am

“Part 2: Union Certification Challenged from Within” by John Mountain, Digging into History 2.12 (December 2020)

Union Certification Challenged From Within Revisited – For this month’s deep dig, I’m again delving into that situation that happened sixty years ago when some IWA members – powerhouse workers – thought they would explore a relationship with another union – the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) In my November 2020 deep dig, I

“Part 1: Union Certification Challenged from Within” by John Mountain, Digging into History 2.11 (November 2020)

In this month’s deep dig, I’m burrowing into a situation that happened sixty years ago when some IWA members – powerhouse workers – thought they could get a better deal for themselves if they explored a relationship with another union. As an IWA rank and file member at the sawmill level and then as an

“Records Belonging to Edna Brown, Leading Figure in the Women’s Labour Movement, (Re)Discovered at the Kaatza Station Museum and Archives”, by Henry John

Two weeks ago, under the direction of the all-knowing Al Lundgren, I stumbled across some historical gold. Rooting through the back-room storage space of the Kaatza Station Museum and Archives, we rediscovered a box that had been left gathering dust untouched for years. This box contains the records of legendary women’s labour organizer Edna Brown.

“Rail Logging Comes to an End at Caycuse and Nitinat”, by John Mountain, Digging into History, 2.10 (October, 2020)

I’m currently nosing around in IWA Past-President Bill Routley’s files which have recently acquired by the Kaatza Museum. The museum has decided to make Bill Routley’s files part of the massive IWA archive collection. And while digging around I discovered a piece about Caycuse and its halcyon days of the 1950s – I think the

“Part 2: Interview with Harold Pritchett, Founding President of the International Woodworkers of America” by John Mountain, Digging into History, 2.9 (September, 2020)

Deep Dig for September 2020 Harold: Founding President of the International Woodworkers of America – This month I have the second part of a two part story that speaks to the origins of the IWA from the mouth of its founding President Harold Pritchett. Harold Pritchett was born on May 9, 1904 in the city

“Part 1: Interview with Harold Pritchett, Founding President of the International Woodworkers of America” by John Mountain, Digging into History, 2.8 (August, 2020)

This month it’s a story that speaks to the origins of the IWA from the mouth of its founding President Harold Pritchett. In the mid-1930s there had emerged forces and circumstances which were to change the outlook of the North American trade unions and aid in the formation of the IWA. The struggle between the

“Digging into History: IWA Ladies Auxiliary” by John Mountain, Vol. 2 No. 7 (July, 2020)

Deep Dig for July 2020IWA Ladies Auxiliary: Women Hone Valuable Leadership Skills – What a super find this month. It’s a couple of items that speak volumes about the important part that loggers and sawmillers wives, their mothers and/or their daughters played in union building and I want to share them with you. First up