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The Road Runs West: A Century Along
the Bella Coola/Chilcootin Road.
Diana French.
Grades 8 and Up / Ages 14 to Adult.
****/4
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B.C.'S THIRD OUTLET to the sea, the Bella Coola/Chilcotin Road, traverses
an area the size of Belgium and Holland put together. An area that even
now is sparsely populated. There are still no supermarkets or fast-food
chains west of William's Lake. This is the story of that road and the
people who have lived along it.
These are people
who deal with hardship with not only fortitude and ingenuity, but
exuberance. Here are stories of gala balls that people drove fifty miles
to attend; of a huge hotel with chandeliers hanging from its twelve-foot
ceilings, but no indoor plumbing, built in order to get a liquor license.
Stories of monkeywrenchers, mudpuppies, and polo players; of resourceful
individualists and the impossible, almost impassable, mountain road that
was their communication line. And here also are glimpses of the racism
inherent in the government policy of the day.
In 1951, Diana
French arrived in Chezacut, twenty miles off the Chilcotin Road, to teach
in a one-room schoolhouse. She married Bob French, the son of Chilcotin
pioneers, and moved to Williams Lake in 1970. She has worked as a
reporter and editor, and is currently curator of the Museum of the
Cariboo Chilcotin. This background is reflected in the book; she knows
what she is writing about, and she writes about it well.
A map of the area
is reproduced on the inside front and back covers, and the text is
interspersed with interesting black-and-white photos gleaned from private
collections and the provincial archives. The bibliography reflects the
research that gives the book its authentic flavour; along with an
extensive list of books and newspaper articles, it includes many
interviews and several unpublished archival sources.
I was captivated
by the world that French has re-created, but for high-school students to
be similarly captivated the stories would have to be given to them
piece-meal, in the context of a descriptive lesson about the area.
The Road Runs West gives a human face to history -- an
important part of understanding ourselves. Maybe, in the context of a
creative cooperative teaching unit, this and a number of similar works
would come into their own and breathe some life into Canadian history.
Recommended with reservations.
Bob Haxton is a teacher-librarian at Prince of Wales Secondary School in Vancouver.
To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cmeditor@mts.net.
Copyright © 1996 the Manitoba Library Association.
Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice
is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission.
Published by
The Manitoba Library Association
ISSN 1201-9364