Untold Stories of Fort Langley

01/03/2026

Almost finished reading Eve Lazarus's unbelievable Vancouver Exposed book. There was one story about Vancouver's Second Hotel in particular that stood out to me and honestly it is infuriating. They tore down what would have been a historical landmark in Vancouver today and it was replaced with a parking lot for multiple years.

This was no ordinary hotel, it was crafted with the highest standards in mind. It was visited by celebrities like Babe Ruth, Bing Crosby, and British Royalty alike. The open air restaurant at the top of the building would have had amazing panoramic views of the city.

All of this was simply just bulldozed for nothing.

See some of the pictures and the comparison photo from before and modern day.

(Pictures from BC Archives, Wikipedia, and Vancouver Sun)

12/23/2025

Early Christmas Gift for people who love fishing🎅. With the holidays finally here, I have a chance to catch up on long overdue reading. I am currently reading he People of the Harrison by Daphne Sleigh.

A story in the book that caught my attention, talks about a "magical" and prominent rock at Chehalis Lake. A spot so legendary that anyone who stands on this rock, will see a fish jump at least 4 times.

I have never been to this lake. To be quite honest, I did not even know it existed until now.

👉Has anyone been to Chehalis Lake and know which rock this might be?

12/03/2025

🔥 Just finished listening to Joe Rogan chat with Mel Gibson earlier this summer, and they mentioned this gem of a book The Frontiersman by Allen Eckhart.

Now, when Mel Gibson says “read this,” I ask no questions. And wow! he wasn’t wrong. This book is raw, gripping, and brutally honest, pulling you straight into the lawless early days of America.

I’m almost at the end, and it’s been a wild ride hard fought battles, betrayals, and a hard look at history.

⭐ 10/10. Highly recommend if you want history that reads like an adventure novel.

👉 Has anyone else read it? Or do you have another “hidden gem” history book I should dive into next?

12/01/2025

I’m truly blown away by the level of support lately! Even though I’ve been inactive for a while, it’s amazing to see people still jumping onboard. I’m so thankful for all the followers and everyone continuing to support my first book. I’ll do my best to share more posts soon. In the meantime, I came across this fascinating video, these historical mysteries always challenge your thinking, and I love that."

Deep in the remote forests of Northern Canada, researchers uncovered one of the most baffling archaeological mysteries ever found: a massive stone slab carve...

08/07/2024

I always love thinking about the “what if?” scenarios of history.
Here is another big what if courtesy of Derek Hayes book British Columbia: A New Historical Atlas. This is one of the proposed Canada/US boundaries during the tense negotiations trying to determine who will own what land. This border would have seen Victoria, among other cities, go to the Americans.

This timeline would have radically changed today’s BC economy, among other aspects of our province.

08/02/2024

I noticed a few more people have become followers to the page. So thought I would kick start things with a historical mystery. I love historical mysteries and this one comes courtesy of Derek Hayes Incredible book British Columbia: A New Historical Atlas. (I will throw a few more from his book in the near future).

A Map from 1814 depicting BC created through Simon Fraser’s explorations shows near the Lower Fraser Valley a note stating “To this place the White Men came from the Seas”. Historians have no clue what this could be referring to as there is no record of any entry this far inland before the 1814 date. Could be unknown Spanish explorers or other unidentified groups lost to history.

05/03/2024

It's been awhile since my last update but I see I have gained a few new followers. So, my last book is available in local libraries. I have been busy reading other non historical books but I did get my hands on a great BC book and I will share some interesting highlights out of that book over the coming days.

03/06/2024

I have always been a fan of the mysterious and what if? Part of history. The second book I wrote leans fully into this. I always loved the story around Whattlekainum, a Kwantlen Chief, who is heavily featured in both books I wrote. Whattlekainum fits the description of a stereotypical action hero. Raised on a spartan like upbringing, fighting in numerous battles, feared by many. Yet, according to the history books, he retreated only once, out of fear, when he faced the Lizard of Lulu Island.

Did the lizard exist? What if? Scientists have done research of the ground on Lulu Island and around the time of Whattlekainum there was a massive fire event across the entire island. One theory proposes that the fires were deliberately set to destroy something.

Picture is of the Northern Alligator Lizard found in 1980 on the island

03/03/2024

We are nearing the 3-year anniversary of the devastating wildfire that destroyed much of Lytton. However, December 21st, 2023, officially marked the start of the first house to be rebuilt in Lytton! That is just unbelievable!

Barkerville experienced a similar event in Sept 1868, where a fire in a matter of hours destroyed virtually everything in the bustling town, which included 120 homes. 1 week later, with the ground still smoldering, 30 homes were already in the rebuilding process.

How could this be? That in modern times it takes almost three years for just 1 home rebuild to get going?

The Barkerville story is from the book The Trail of 1858 by Mark Forsythe and Greg Dickson. Pictures are Lytton from Global News and Barkerville from100 Mile Free Press

03/01/2024

Still pushing forward with the 2nd book. I am thankful the library has agreed to take on the second book and it's already picking up readers even before it's available. I appreciate the support!

02/25/2024

It is Sunday so thought this would be fitting for today.

Charles Amos (Wahuxgamalayou) was a Haisla man who, upon visiting Victoria in 1874, became a devout Christian and went back to Kitimat. Upon returning to his village, a handful of people converted.

It quickly challenged the traditional way of life.

One Christian prayer meeting described in Gordon Robinson’s book was disrupted by another Haisla man who, upon doing a traditional dance, took glowing hot embers out of a fire and threw it at the men to disrupt the meeting.

Charles went on to build the first church in Kitimat and is now buried in a local graveyard.

No matter your beliefs, the courage it took to do what Charles did has to be recognized.

This will be the last story out of Gordon Robinson’s book, Haisla Legends. I encourage people to try to find it. I did not share the stories about Lakelse Lake, a giant ship sinking octopus, and the water grizzly bear, to name a few.

Photo from Charles Hamori-Torok article title Haisla. (not Charles gravestone)

02/22/2024

I don’t know if people quite grasp the amount of money that some average everyday men were making in the gold rush in BC. In areas around the Cariboo region, many men were making, on average, about $1640 a day in today's numbers. On extraordinary days, they would pull in what would equal today $74 000 a day!

Photo from BC ARCHIVES C-01201