Jessie Sterritt lihen did you arrive here in Hazelton? Life? Have you lived here all your All my life. Here there lots of people or just afew? Oh there we re lots of people in Haae Ltori before, alot of white people When did they come? I don't know Hhen they came. Were you born in the hospital or at home? No. There was no hospital vThen was the hospital them days when I was born. here do you know? I don't really xnow , I remember, 'as our doctor. I was really small then, Dr. Hrinch He wa.s the first one wasn't he? Yes I think. He's the only one I remember. Did you wat ch everything grow? Like the hospital get built up and all the stores, oyu saw all that happen? Oh yes, the first hospital was just a wooden frame. vias that up whe r-e it is now? Yes, the second was •••but I just can't remember the year. Did you attend school at all? Yes our school was down here •. \ as it the one next door? Oh no, dovm on the corner where the mission house is now, on the street down there. Do you know anything about the Indian Day School up there? Ther was an Indian Day School down here next to the church. Oh i see, cause they sa.id it was up on the bench. I don't •••maybe, maybe before my time maybe. Oh I see, what, grades did the school offer? I was only small, I was only eleven years old when my mother died Did alot of people go down for fishing? Alot of people from Kispiox, from Ha~elton; all along the river, all along the Skeena. They go down there during the surrunerand work in hte cannery. But not right now. All the women they all, they all had had jobs do'1n there. In the cannery, but not now. Just very few that worked on the machine that goes. Them days they washed by hand, you know, the fish by hand.and they filled the cans by hand. But nO"J they use machines. There must have been lot of canneries then? Oh yes, Jots of' canneries on t he coast. But all tr& s.re rotted do1'.'11 now. They are all cc")'1r1nr'1nP0;like Berrymore and Fort Essington and l--ayesFort and Car isle and Clarkson and Sur:nyside and f;-.F., Sunnyside Cas ia~ and Inverness and Frince Rupert. 1 There vasn t t a Port Ed tLen? Cora was born in the Oh yes, It's not too ••• Just started up lately. Ttat's where Cora Oceanic. t Carrier word for 'Elk on the Island' was borr:. You, or-Ly werrt ':01'T t.here for t l-e summe r arc you came back here? (Start d fishing, I go around started canning and working in cabs). That's for Salnon thoui<;h. You guys didn't have any, didn't work when the herring run was on? Or yeah, sorne do just lately. it. I only went. there once. I didn't like It's too cold and really stink, worse than salmon. Did you camp down there or 1-18rethere places to stay? no there was pl.e.ces to stay. ca ins for the rorkez-s. The canne ry , the Company wou Ld have Did Frince Rupert have anything Now they have Seafest in June. special going on during the summer? There must have been other fisherman Vancouver or something? that came to Rupert like from I don't really know, cause I don't go. can't tell you much about that. I only went there once. I H01.• about the Chinese people up here do you know when they first cane up here do you know when they first came up here. No, they!re lots there and I remember them. Cause there ~re lots of people buried upon, on the hill. My father is a Chinese too. They they they go to Hason Creek for gold. That's where my dad works. He's got a claim of his own at a place they call Tri-tal around Hason Creek. \'lhere's that, is that up in the mountain? Yeah, you pass Prince George I don't tTot too much, there were alot now they all '10ved avlay. More Indians then, of white him g08S. people here before. But not eh? Remember a man that tha.t owned the now his na~es' (Hexspeach) his just g rown much. Has Hazelton vlliat's go, same house that viard Harshall is name? Hexwspeach Hexws peach? Yeah. Is he old? 1953 he's when they moved away. l'lliat did he do for a living? I think he's ••• 1\10I don't just can't remember now, Ilha t we re the winters want.ed to say that, But he's if he's something. doing a jud.se. I like? The same , Not cold out. Oh, Yes there'll Did you ever be no no flowers skate on the river allover when it town (laughter). was frozen? Fo not me my brothers. liliat did the They skate girls do if my brothers Did you play they didn't skate when there small to watch sports. Hors race, have soccer then? or play they baseball? had a rink do'\o\'11 here. any sports? Rig-ht in town here. Did you? Not me, I used one. They didn't :~o, not whne vie Here small, just lately one street, "Then they started no the up. next l'Ie and that's the last I went to school. My auntie, I stayed with my auntie after my other died. She married to a trapper and we're out in the woods all the time. So I don't even go to school. I'm lucky to write my ovm name now. Did you trap? Did you set traps? o. No, I just go ("long with them trappers. vfuat kind of stuff did they trap? They trap beaver, martin, weasle an' •.• Did he bring it here himself? Oh they bring it in to town here and sell it to the Hudson B y. Hudson Bay store. Is that how you made your money, your living? Hy aunt, yeah. Just trapped and nothing else? VIe put in a big garden. \'ere there rules and regulations when you did your trapFing? they have ru'es or did you ,do whatever you want.ed to? Did Anything you wanted to. You didn't have to have a license or anything? No. Not them days. \"hat t:-pes of businesses were there, like the bank or store, police? There vias a police station where the Inlander Hotel is now. there when I was small we had the same lot. se lived Ivas that befo re the Inlander vias built? Yeah, oh geez. It's only lately the Inlander 'vas built. 1'Jha t churches we re Lnvo Lve d in the co-rnurd ty? Just one. Just the 'nglican. Just one? Yeah. That's all I remember. Then the salvation Army stcrted up. That was just reC2ently then? Yeah. 11 the people, the old people belong to this church and moved out when the Salvation rmy came. Did you or anyone close to you go off to the war ? Yeah. My •.•my •.•a fellow; ~ard Marshall. Fhat was it like here when the war broke out? Everything was ratio~ary~ Did you have to get sta~ps for food? Yeah. Not •••not on the first World v-ar. I can remember we were in the woods all the time. Who gave out the stamps? h. This is ridiculous. I'm so forgetful. sta~ps. No I just can't remember. Yeah, I remember using Do you know •. rhen the steamboa ts quit coming? Oh yeah. vie L'i ved down by the river here. I r-emembe r the first canoe come up •••up .••the river, just~ ••just when the ice melts. When the ice goes away the big steamers come up. ve have no fresh food all winter. yhen the first canoe come up we soon had fresh food. nnl.es and oranges just •••three apples for twenty-five cents and ()ra:ngesjust •••three apples fro twenty-five and oranges two for tvlenty-five , Lots of money then hey? Twenty-five cents for two apples. We pay fifty cent a pound. I don't know. The boat used to stop at; below our place. vlhen the other boat stops where the old totem pole is no•. t, That's the landing there. And at the Bay down here, .; __, is another landing for a steamboat. Thatls as far as they came, right here to Hazelton? didnlt they? Hudson Bay moved Yeah. They used to be do•. rn by the river there. "It 1saIl" -Ut S ed -avmy now eh , 1950 •••no•. [ when was that? 'I'hat.t s when ••• alot of land "Tashed away , Along there. That was one whole street that washed away? The house that Jeff is in now used to be down on the other side of the street. But they pulled it away. The very same house he is in? Yeah The Sunrise Cafe too was pulled up? Hmmm , The Sunrise •••1 donlt remember that. Ellen Johnson, your grandmother, we 1 re both the same age. Her mother and my mother •. rere cousins. And they used to come down when Ellen was small eh , They used to stay with us; my mother, maybe one or two weeks. And they go back to Kispiox. And Ellen and I are really close. used to have a ball park down across from the old police station. The hi.g1 school field now:; Yeah, the next lot from where Freddie •••Freddie tlales' house. Can you tell me any more about the race track? anything on horses? viere t.hey betting on .Ie er bet they just used that stre,t, that street down here from d01m the 0 d stable up to that old school. Nas it just for fun? It's racing. Jus t the .nen raced the horses. ,1Io"'TO"'!1en. I don't r-enember any women, vie we re so small. \JhE..t else happened there was hors racing. I dJn't ~ [8rr.berit at all. B2seball. rot them days , T was sma L" t.he r ,. it's not like today. Did they have outside r.eop.Le come in for horse racing. Oh yeah, ther was lots of peo.pl,e along this side of street and the other side because there's udson~Bay store along the other side street and theres Cunninghams' store. Beside each other Cunrri.nghams' store? Cunninghams store right that's Cunninghams store. No , here that totem pole is now, Was it a pretty exciting day? Does it happen only once a year when the horses rTaS that big flood? That was the year of the big flood anyhow? They never replaced ever? it No Is that why they have the Hagwi.Lge t bridge now? Yeaht That used to be an old wood,enbridge? No. Well there's an old wooden one, way below. The road goes down wher-e the Hinister of ••• United ••• PentecostaL •• Jack vTilliams? Yeah, yeah. Did it That's wher-e the road goes, down, it take long to get up there? goes down there. Did you go by horse or walk? Walk. I never would have made it. You two, are pretty luck, ••• putting Public Works blew it up. You mean this bridge around. Trying to clean the logs from under 'it? here? Yeah. They tried to save it, but they couldn't. There were a lot of houses washed away.along the river. I just can't remember about the year. Hy little cabin was about that big. About that big salmon inside it. Downby the river. Good thing we moved everyt.h ing out. Did it wash away finally? No, it's a log cabin. It was just •••just some drunks going to town, IV8S there a ferry that used to go across from here going to there? What was it for? There were the people that lives on the other side ••• other side of the river. vihite people? Lots of farmers there, yeah. When did that stop? Oh, I just can't tell what year. The ferry; The high water washed the ferry a'ltmy. And that's it ••• They didn't replace it. And they put the road in after, the Kitwanga road? Do you know anyhting about Temlahan No , I co n r t know which one to believe. Before my time.Too many stories, Has this place a.lways been named Hazelton? Yeah. Why? I don't really know. I think that it's Hazelton 'cause there's so many hazel bushes. I think that's why they call it Ha~elton. The Happy Six, we re they all 'It"hi te people? No , they we r'e all native. No wh lt.e, \'Iho were they, the Happy Six? Oh , I can't r-emember- their names. I think they all passed avlaY. They must have played at the dances then, eh? Oh, no. You had lots of dances? Up at the old hall. You know, it's ••• that hall was just completely finished when it burnt down. They put in a hardwood floor, and the new kitchen range. Everythil!:g's new in there. They were just washing the floor when ••••. Do yb u know how it burnt? They say they boiled something on the range, forgot all about it, and it boiled over. And then went up in flames. ! don't know what kind of varnish he was heating, but he used the floor, eh? That's wha t they say anyway; Did you live down in Hazelton area when they built Gitanmax Hall? Did you live down here? Yah. ~'[henwas that built, do you know? The old Hall? Yah. The one up here Oh no. I jus t can't te 11 you wha t year. It was preety exciting what happened there? Well this is long long time ago. They must of had a big celebration when they built it eh~ Oh yeah. Dances and stuff? Yeah. Did they have entertain~ent or anyt.lri.ng? at their banquets, No. Like I know they had an opening. I just donlt remember. Do you know who built the hall? who built it? like Indian dances Was it the people from the resreve The resreve. The old people._ People lik~ Tommy Muldoe, his brother Bill Huldoe, Tom Campbell, Johnny Smith, Alfred Danes •••is lot more. Is alot of people in them days. I can't really mention all their names. There is really lots of them. Charlie Clifford. Did the coming of the railway make a big difference here? ~\Ihenthe railroad first come. When they built the railroad did it make any difference? Oh oh yeah. What changed? People can go an~~here they want; down the coast. Along time ago they use the boat, the boat to the coast. But when the train goes through they went by train. Did you travel by train anyvlhere? Was it expensive? Yeah, we LL them days t.hey t r-e not too expensive. Did you go fishing down on the coast? Yeah, I wo rked in the cannery for a long time. How did they travel back and forth? vTalk, sometimes From Kispiox? No cars. \'Ie canoe. Were there many cars? never knew wha t car is. them days. They didn't have taxes or anything they have now? No, just Dr. I'Jrinchhad a little car for him, two wheels and one horse. To go to visit the house of sick people. Did he have to do that all the time; go out to where the people were sick? Yeah. He come to visits the house. When the boat landed be Low our place and they cleaned out that •..you know that oranges. They have little spots and they would just get spoiled. They t.hrow them out in the river. And we go out take our shoes off. We don't wear no pants in them days. We wea.r dress, pull our dress up to our waist and go out to the water and gather the oranges. I used to gather most cause I was taller than her (laughter). I'd come home cut out, the rotten piece out and sit there and enojoy our treat. i'lhatwere the events surrounding a wedding? honeymoons or anything like that? VJere there receptions or Oh no, but they aLways put up a feast eh , Is when they put up a feast when somebody dies, that's what they do. Did the people marry younger? Yes 11m here. Or older? I •.• \lJhattypes of entertainment was there? Sports, dance. Just lately when they do a wedding dance. Just lately but in the olden days I don't remember any dances or anything. Do they do the some thins at a feast as for a wedding body dies? as when some- Yah some thing. Do they have the couples,by,themselves or Yah they have a special yah. Do people give them stuff? Or do they feed everybody, like they do feasts now they give out food. Do people bring stuff to have like pots and pans?-and dishes and that? Oh yes. Yes the~e all the same thing you know your tribe they help out •.They all bring their wine •. vIas she an Indian? ,:That was her name? Esther. Esther vrho ? Esther Joseph. That's not 1"0. from Hazelton Her dad is vJhct happened though? from Hagwi.Lget , to your dad? Related Is he buried to Sylvester up on the George. hill? No, he werrt back home to China. He came back and werrt back again. He want ed to take us, my brother and I back with jlim. fy brother wouldn't go, so he didn't go • He didn't want me to go by myself. I~d be too lonesome. And he .•.. rent back once again to visit us and that's it.