The Victoria Historical Society meeting on Thursday, May 26, 2005 features speaker Betty Funke, a local author, who will speak on her new book Tweed Curtain Pioneers, which is about early women in Oak Bay. The meeting will be at the James Bay New Horizons Centre, 234 Menzies Street at 7:30pm. Visitors are welcome.

Friends of the BC Archives Lecture, Friends of the BC Archives Lecture, "Mr. Ireland and Me: Archival Travels in Search of Sea Power", Sunday, May 29, 2005, 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Newcombe Conference Hall, Royal British Columbia Museum
675 Belleville St., Victoria

Guest speaker Barry Gough, Professor Emeritus, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario, will talk to the Friends and any interested members of the public about his travels as a student, researcher, biographer and historian in search of the connections between and among human societies, with particular reference to Esquimalt, Nootka Sound, Meares Island and the origins of the Canadian Navy. Professor Gough is a well known and award-winning author of numerous books on maritime and Canadian history, and his most recent publication is Fighting Sail On Lake Huron and Georgian Bay: The War of 1812 and its Aftermath (2002).

For more information about this event contact Ann ten Cate, Outreach Coordinator, BC Archives, 250-387-2970 or Ron Greene, Secretary of the Friends of the BC Archives at 250-598-1835. This event is free for Friends of the Archives, $5.00 for non-members, payable at the door. Call in advance for information about handicap access.

Friends of the BC Archives Lecture, "This Old House - Fernwood", Sunday, April 17, 2005, 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Newcombe Conference Hall, Royal British Columbia Museum
675 Belleville Street, Victoria

Guest speaker Jennifer Nell Barr, Executive Director of the Victoria Heritage Foundation, will give an illustrated talk about the homes and builders of Fernwood, and their interrelationships, based on her recent book, which is Volume 4 of the VHF series "This Old House". The VHF funds the restoration and maintenance of designated heritage houses in the City of Victoria. Ms. Barr has worked for the VHF for more than 18 years, and has also worked as a heritage consultant and researcher in Victoria for the past 25 years.

For more information about this event contact Ann ten Cate, Outreach Coordinator, BC Archives, 250-387-2970 or Ron Greene, Secretary of the Friends of the BC Archives at 250-598-1835. This event is free for Friends of the Archives, $5.00 for non-members, payable at the door. Call in advance for information about handicap ccess.

Katherine Gordon, a popular historian and author will speak at the Victoria Historical Society's April 28 meeting on her new book The Slocan: Portrait of a Valley. The meeting will be at the James Bay New Horizons Centre, 234 Menzies Street, Victoria, at 7:30 pm. Visitors are welcome.

Clayburn, B.C.'s first company town and a municipally designated Heritage Conservation Area, will be celebrating its 100th Birthday on Sunday, July 24th, 2005.

Clayburn Village was established in 1905 when a large deposit of fireclay was discovered on Sumas Mountain in Matsqui (now Abbotsford). Founder, Charles Maclure, built a brick manufacturing plant at the base of the mountain and a small town site to house the plant employees was laid out. The unique, brick-faced homes built in Clayburn were designed by Charles' brother, well-known B.C. architect Samuel Maclure. Most of these homes as well as the church, the old schoolhouse and the village store have been carefully restored and are still standing.

The brick manufacturing plant in Clayburn supplied brick all over the province. The plant was shutdown in the village in 1930; however, its successor "Clayburn Industries" continues to manufacture bricks as well as other clay products in Abbotsford. To commemorate this special occasion, Clayburn Industries has produced a "centennial brick" which will be available for purchase at the event.

We would like to invite you to join us on Sunday, July 24th, 2005 between 11:00 am and 5:00 pm to celebrate our centennial year.

Clayburn Village is one and a half miles east off the Abbotsford-Mission Highway (Hwy 11). Take the Clayburn Road exit. For further information check out our website http://www.clayburn.heritagebc.org/ or contact Sherry Green at 604 462 7914 or Helene Sundberg at 604 854 3960.