Image Credit: nationaltrustforcanada.ca

By Fraser-Nicola MLA Jackie Tegart

Sound Off

SOUND OFF: Restoring an important gateway to our stories

Jan 26, 2023 | 10:41 AM

I’M PROUD TO REPRESENT THE RIDING OF FRASER-NICOLA, which features a rich history and a number of important and unique heritage sites. One lesser-known historic site can be found in the southernmost part of the riding, in Hope — and it needs our support to be restored and reinvented.

The historic 1916 CNR Hope Station was closed down in 1984. It was purchased by the community and relocated, serving as an arts and culture centre and later, a hub for musicians.

The station was facing demolition in 2020, but a grassroots community campaign rose up to save it. During that campaign, it was discovered that this station had strong connections to the dark history of Japanese Canadian internment, with more than 8,000 Japanese Canadians crossing the platform on their way to internment camps in 1942. Men, women and children were forcibly sent to the Tashme Internment Camp, 19 kilometres east of Hope.

Internment also occurred in the Fraser Canyon communities of Yale, Lytton and Lillooet, where monuments and educational opportunities currently exist to remind people of this chapter in our history.

Hope Station also has links to Indigenous peoples whose homes and land were displaced by the railways. Chinese, Mexican, African Canadian and Indigenous peoples helped to build the railways which had a tremendous economic and social impact on our communities. These workers did this vital, but brutal, work while enduring unsafe working conditions for little pay, and many lost their lives.

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It’s so important that we preserve our local historical sites, which have important stories to tell. They are our connection to the past, serving to educate future generations about our history — both the good parts and the bad. This can assist in our progress toward a more inclusive society, inspiring people to strengthen their commitment to fighting against injustice and oppression.

The new vision for the station is an exciting one. The Tashme Historical Society, in partnership with the District of Hope, has developed a plan to revitalize it into a heritage tourism and education space with a museum and visitor centre, restaurant, and co-working offices — a “Gateway to our stories, a Gateway to Hope.” It’s also envisioned to be a place that brings artists, businesses and tourist together to events such as pop-up markets, festivals, and other programs.

So where do you come in? Hope Station is one of ten finalists in National Trust’s Next Great Save, a national heritage competition. The heritage project with the most votes by February 22, 2023, will win $50,000. If successful, the funds would be used to hire heritage architects and consultants so the work can begin.

I encourage you to visit https://nationaltrustcanada.ca/what-you-can-do/nextgreatsave/competition2022 and cast your vote for Hope Station today. Let’s make this a reality so it can serve as an important educational and cultural site in B.C.’s Interior for years to come.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.