Riske Creek, British Columbia

Mike Kelly · #1 06-05-08, 03:02

As there are more than a few Canucks on this web site . Just wondering if any of you have been to Riske Creek in B.C. ? I ask because I have a book titled 'Three against the Wilderness ', written by one Eric Williams. The book relates his story .. As a youngster he won the trapping rights over a huge expanse of land ,near Riske creek in B.C. This was back in the 1930's to 50's. No machinery at all til after WW2 ( surplus WW2 Jeep), only horses . He came out from the U.K. as a youth . The book is a good read .
Mike

#2 06-05-08, 06:13

I just googled it because I never heard of it and am up for a bit.

Riske Creek is about 47 km from Williams Lake ... Williams Lake being about center of BC and about quarter way up BC from the USA border.

http://www.britishcolumbia.com/Maps/?id=2

Found a tourist site for it and a bit of history (though not the name and history you mention)

http://www.britishcolumbia.com/regio...s/?townID=3575

My eldest daughter lives a couple of hours from there. Gorgeous countryside.

Randy N · #3 06-05-08, 06:36

Hi Mike
I use to hunt in the Riske Creek area. My father in law has been in the Williams Lake area since the mid 1950s and knew a number of the early ranchers and pioneers, including Eric Collier. It is a beautiful part of the country. If you are referring to the same Three Against the Wilderness, the one I have was written by Eric Collier. Colliers Meadows is just north of Riske Creek and the Cdn Military has a training area close by. A cold place for winter exercises!! The amount of beaver and the number of beaver dams is incredible. If you enjoyed the book, look for ones written by Rich Hobson. He ranched further west and north in the 1930-1960s and wrote 3 great books. Grass Beyond the Mountains, Nothing too Good for a Cowboy, and Rancher Takes a Wife.
I even found a few CMP bits and pieces over the years up there.
Cheers

Mike Kelly · #4 06-05-08, 07:57

Sorry to you both , I got the name wrong . It is Collier of course . My edition of his book is an old 1962 Herald-Sun book club publication, printed for a members only group here in Australia. It cost 27 shillings and sixpence .

The pics of the wooden shack he built and the old horse drawn wagon he used to haul supplies are a reminder of how tough life must have been back then. There is a map in the book which shows Meldrum creek , his shack is marked on its banks.

His son was called Veasy , odd name .

Amazed that your father in law knew him . I think he was well educated in the U.K. because he writes with a highly descriptive style that almost takes you there . I've read it over many times . Would love to see it all one day. I'll try to look up those other books too.

Found this web site :

http://www.heritagehouse.ca/press_re...wilderness.htm

Mike

Bruce MacMillan · #5 06-05-08, 17:30

Back in the early 1970s I was stationed in Williams Lake with the telephone company and occasionally made trips out to and past Riske Creek. The telephone line was what is called "open wire" and everyone was on a party line. One of the morning rituals at the test desk was to phone the last person and if they answered, everything was working fine.

It's not well known but Riske Creek was also the home to #4 Special Wireless Station, opened in 1944. It's job was to eavesdrop on Japanese radio communications. Some of the personnel from here went on to #1 Canadian Special Wireless Group in Darwin, Australia.

Bruce

Mike Kelly · #6 07-05-08, 03:50

Hi Bruce

You've probably seen this web page on No.1 Special wireless group.

http://home.st.net.au/~dunn/sigint/1swg.htm

Re: party telephone lines , we had them here too . Each house on the line would have its own ring code ... three short , or two long etc. The problem was the neighbours could listen in on your conversations . No secrets in those days !

Mike

sapper740 · #7 10-05-08, 22:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Kelly

As there are more than a few Canucks on this web site . Just wondering if any of you have been to Riske Creek in B.C. ? I ask because I have a book titled 'Three against the Wilderness ', written by one Eric Williams. The book relates his story .. As a youngster he won the trapping rights over a huge expanse of land ,near Riske creek in B.C. This was back in the 1930's to 50's. No machinery at all til after WW2 ( surplus WW2 Jeep), only horses . He came out from the U.K. as a youth . The book is a good read .
Mike

It's surprising for all the hunting I did in the Cariboo and Chilcotin areas of B.C., very little of it was West of Willie's Puddle. I mainly hunted East and North in places such as Likely, Yank's Peak, Cariboo Lake, Quesnel, Blackwater, and Horsefly to name a few. My first Wife's uncle lived in William's Lake and had a friend who kept a bush plane in Springhouse and took me flying upon occasion out to Chilko and Anaheim Lakes. Like Randy, I too have read those books by Richmond P. Hobson. The adventures of Pan Phillips and "Tophand" are shining examples of what a cowboy, a horse, and true grit can accomplish!

Randy N · #8 11-05-08, 02:41

Derek
I have hunted behind McLeese Lake and up towards Likely. I have also been down around 150 Mile House and the Miocene. A few years ago my daughter and I did a trip from Lillooet up the west side of the Fraser and crossed to the east side on the reaction ferry at Big Bar Creek. We travelled on ap crossong over to the west again just south of the Gang Ranch and eventually came out on the Bella Coola Highway at Riske Creek. The scenery is breathtaking and as it was all gravel it is not used a lot.
My goal is to the the trip again once I have my M37 on the road.
Mike
I will see what photos I have from the area and scan them in as they were all taken with a 3mm long before I bought a digital camera.
Cheers

sapper740 · #9 11-05-08, 14:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by Randy N

Derek
I have hunted behind McLeese Lake and up towards Likely. I have also been down around 150 Mile House and the Miocene. A few years ago my daughter and I did a trip from Lillooet up the west side of the Fraser and crossed to the east side on the reaction ferry at Big Bar Creek. We travelled on ap crossong over to the west again just south of the Gang Ranch and eventually came out on the Bella Coola Highway at Riske Creek. The scenery is breathtaking and as it was all gravel it is not used a lot.
My goal is to the the trip again once I have my M37 on the road.
Mike
I will see what photos I have from the area and scan them in as they were all taken with a 3mm long before I bought a digital camera.
Cheers

Yeah, it's gorgeous country isn't it? We used to cross the Fraser at Lytton and hunted in the Schulaps and Camelsfoot mountains beyond Lillooet. Shot my first Mule Deer there.

There used to be an old boy at the south end of Cariboo Lake who scratched a living from doing odd repairs, welding, and a little gold mining and panning. I don't remember his name but I do remember he had three M37's; a cargo model, an ambulance, and a wireless version. I tried more than once to buy one from him but he wanted to keep them all in case he needed spare parts to keep his cargo model running. He must be near retiring now, if he's still there. You might want to take a run out there one day to see if the trucks are still there as they should be preserved and not Bubba-ized by some locals. He's on the left hand side of the road just before Cariboo Lake, you can't miss the trucks, if they're still there.

Derek.