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T errace Review —— Wednesday, February 12, 1992 25

Franks leave city a green hillside legacy

by Tod Strachan

Heritage Week in British Col-
umbia begins Monday, Feb. 17.
And in recognition of our own
local heritage the Terrace
Regional Museum Society has
planned a special project. Every-
one should be able to participate
— there is no special time to
attend, anyone with am interest
can choose your own day and
hour during the week. The place
is centred on a focal point of

‘Terrace’s past — Eby’s Landing:

Eby’s (or Kitsumgallum)
Landing was located on the bank
of the Skeena River about two
kilometres east of the Kitsum-
gallum (Kitsumkalum) River. Ed
Eby and his family, along with
brother Sam, moved to the Ter-
race area around 1906. In 1907

the Eby brothers opened a hotel,

bar and store near the riverboat
landing which would soon bear
the name Eby’s Landing.

The hotel was simply a stop-
over for traffic headed north. To
take advantage of that north-
bound traffic, the Eby brothers
also established a freighting
business at the landing in 1907.

The Eby brothers freight busi-

- .ness hauled supplies from Eby’s

Landing to settlers at Kalum
Lake and telegraphers and lines-
men working on the Rosswood,
Anyox, Telegraph Creek line.

The hotel compound included:a--

barn which housed two teams of
horses, and for a short period of
‘time Ed Eby owned property
between the landing and Kalum
lake where he rested . and
changed his teams. ~

To accommodate the Eby

‘brothers 1907 freighting. busi-

ness, a road was needed. And
although it may have been
altered somewhat, that road still
exists, Anyone who has travelled
the short section of logging road

‘between the north end of Frank
‘St. (at Skeena Sawmills) and

‘Kalum Lake Drive has travelled

it.

Pioneer Floyd Frank remem-
bers the construction of that
original road. Frank was born in
1904. at Port Essington, located
at the mouth of. the Skeena
River. In the spring of 1908, he
and his family made the trip
from Port Essington to Eby’s
Landing by sternwheeler. From
there, the family. packed their
belongings up the trail to their
pre-emption cabin located on the
property where Northwest Com-
munity College now stands.

The trail used by the Frank
family in: 1908 was in a slightly
different location than the
freight road then under construc-

tion, although both began from -

about the same point at the base
of the bench. The historic trail
has been preserved over the
years by the Frank brothers, and

‘is now one of the main features

of Frank Park.

Frank Park? You may not have
heard of it, but you can access it
either from the north end of
Frank St. at the base of the

bench or from the extension of

Kalum Lake Dr. on the eastern
perimeter of the Pioneer Cem-
etery at the top of the bench.

Floyd and Aileen Frank built a
home at the base of the bench,
on the west side of Frank St., in
1938. In 1991, they sold their
property to Skeena Sawmills and
moved to Twin River Estates.

Sixteen years carlier, however,
Floyd and Aileen Frank donated
their historic two-acre hillside
on the northern edge of their
property to the city. The Franks
wanted the park to be used for
the enjoyment of present and
future generations of nature
lovers in the area.

Frank Park boasts the 1907
trail, plus a few more that have
been added over the years, and a

_ number of trees native to British

Columbia. Over the years, Frank

has planted ,sitka,..Englemann,,

white and black spruce; western
red and yellow cedar; western
hemlock; alpine, © amabilis

(Pacific silver), Douglas and

grand fir; lodgepole, white and

ponderosa pine; and larch. ‘Yet to

be planted are yew trees. .
For the benefit of those who

might have a little difficulty

identifying one tree from
another, 32 trees from this
assortment of species in the park
are conveniently labelled with
their name. .
Last month, a few representa-
tives of the Terrace Regional
Museum’ Society, including
Mamie Kerby, toured the historic
trails of Frank Park. They found

it a pleasurable experience, and

encourage everyone to follow in
their footsteps sometime during
Heritage Week.

"Many people have walked the
trail or heard talk of this treas-

ure and decided that some day —

they would investigate the trail

and see.first hand the. planted —

trees from all over British Col-
umbia," says Kerby. "I had heard
stories of a Mr. Quigley w who has

made trails branching out from
the. original Frank Trail and
fashioned park benches on. the
hillside for resting and viewing
the Skeena River, and decided to
investigate.

. "On Sunday afternoon, Jan-
uary 26, 1992, we donned our
rain clothes and walked the

trails. Parking at the bottom of |

the bench’ on Frank Street, we
soon found the sign ‘Frank
Trail’. ‘Under it, a few printed
words told of its historic import-
ance. The trail led us above the
park forest. We walked to the
point where the trail scissored
back and went east and up to the

parking lot of the Pioneer grave- _

yard.
"Instead of going ‘up, we
followed along the well groomed

trails to the far end of the fields -

overlooking the Seventh Day

_ Adventist School and the sand

and gravel pits. At all points
walking along the trails we had
a beautiful view of the Skeena
River and the old site of Eby’s

. Landing; or as it was known at

the turn of the century in the

‘mailing circles, Kitsumgallum

P.O.

"As there was no snow and
the temperatures were mild, it
was a delightful hike. The grade
on the trails was such that even
as seniors we had no trouble
hiking along. This being Jan-
vary, the trails should be super
when Spring arrives and the
birds return. Imagine watching
the geese flying overhead as
they prepare to land in the open
fields next to the Pioneer Cem-
etery." .

Floyd Frank’s legacy includes
yet another heritage offering.

Anyone who wants to find it can

borrow or dig out those old
Stompin’ Tom Conners albums.

Find one labelled "My Stompin’
Grounds". Pick out and cue a.
tune called "The Song of the
Cohoe". Then lean back, close
your eyes, and conjure up your
favourite Skeena Valley scene.
The Song of the Cohoe is only .
one of Floyd Frank’s songs that
have been published. You may
want to search out others.

‘Because Floyd Frank — logger,

farmer, dairyman, song writer,

pioneer and local historian —

has catalogued much. of our
heritage in a variety of imagin-
ative ways for the pride and
pleasure of this and all future
generations.

at no charge.

Heritage Day at the arena

Everyone is invited to take a trip through the past Feb. 23.
when the Terrace Regional Museum Society hosts its annual
Heritage Day celebration. There is no charge for the event,
scheduled to be held from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Museum society
president Mamie Kerby says this year’s theme ‘is "Family
Heirlooms and Attic Treasures".

Terrace Guides and Scouts are offering coffee and donuts ,

a

The Directors ot
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