14
Kilby General Store - Household and Personal Goods Section20th Century, Circa
Kilby Historic Site, Harrison Mills, British Columbia, Canada
Credits:Fraser Heritage Society
15
Margaret Kilby, daughter of Acton and Jessie shares memories: "The first customers of the day were the section gangs, there were two gangs based out of Harrison Mills, east and west. Saturday night was late opening and the men gathered to "settle the affairs of the world" and to have companionship. The big heat grate in the middle of the floor and a few high stools made it comfortable. There was a slot machine on the west side counter and a pinball machine in front of the post the clock was on. Also there was a punch board with fancy boxed chocolates for prizes with beautiful ladies on the lids. The clock was a premium for selling so many packs of Wrigley's gum. The stove was for sale and it was never hooked up. The store was heated by the huge wood and coal burning furnace that is still in the lower basement. The upstairs had wood burning heaters, and after the Fraser River flood the oil heater from the house was installed. I did not work in the store very much, as I helped in the house and garden. I went to boarding school from age 7. The store had a gas light system (piped gas) until electricity came in March of 1950. We always had running water but no bathroom facilities, until 1945. The CPR had a water tank to service its steam locomotives and supplied the village. In 1945 the house pantry became the bathroom, though fixtures were very hard to get. The first tub was called a foot bath, and a regular one was found in Thomson's store on South Granville in Vancouver about a year later."16
Acton and Jessie Kilby - Store Interior20th Century, Circa
Kilby Historic Site, Harrison Mills, British Columbia, Canada
Credits:Fraser Heritage Society
17
The General Store had a large hardware section. Parts for machinery, nails and screws, lanterns, batteries, paint, electrical and plumbing supplies were all a part of the inventory. If the item could not be found in the General Store, Acton Kilby would order it from one of his many catalogues and it would be delivered by train within a very few days.18
The Kilby General Store is situated at the confluence of the Fraser and the Harrison Rivers. During the spring runoff (freshet) there is always high water levels. Over the years there have been many floods in area. In the spring of 1948 one of the worst floods on record inundated the village of Harrison Mills. When the General Store was built in 1906 the Kilby family knew about the constant high water problems and therefore built the store with the main store floor high above the highest water levels. The lower floor was also high above the ground (this was used as a storeroom). The bottom of the store was at ground level and this was the only part that was affected when a flood occurred.The front porch of the General Store is 16 feet above ground and is a post and beam boardwalk made up of split fir timber. All the homes, the railway station and area businesses were all constructed in this manner and joined together with these elevated boardwalks. During the freshet village residents could carry out their daily activities such as shopping, working or visiting without their feet ever touching the ground by utilizing the boardwalk system.
19
Interior of Post Office in General Store20th Century, Circa
Kilby Historic Site, Harrison Mills, British Columbia, Canada
Credits:Fraser Heritage Society
20
Although residents of Harrison Mills had petitioned for a post office as early as 1873, the first post office was not established until 1884. The first postmaster at that time was Frederick Boswell MacDonald and he held the position until December 1885. After that, James Barker was recorded as the postmaster until 1890, then William Menton took over. Thomas Kilby was appointed postmaster in March of 1906, three years after the death of William Menton.Acton Kilby, who had served as assistant postmaster since 1907, was appointed Postmaster after his father died in 1928 and carried on the duties for the next 40 years. Jessie acted as Postmistress during Acton's frequent absences on business. In 1958, the mail train service was discontinued and regular mail truck delivery took over.
In 1968, the Harrison Mills post office was closed and Acton Kilby was forced to retire as Postmaster at the age of 77. The post office was moved to Country Café on Harrison Bay, a building owned by Charles Pretty. Today the post office is located on School Road, a fifteen minute walk from the Kilby Historic Site.
21
Kilby General Store20th Century, Circa 1960
Kilby Historic Site, Harrison Mills, British Columbia, Canada
Credits:Fraser Heritage Society
22
The Kilby's first oil shed was in operation by the fall of 1923, one year after Acton Kilby took over the operation of the store. At the time, the Kilby's stocked gasoline mainly for providing fuel for their tractor and lighting system. In the early years, drums of gasoline were delivered from Chilliwack using a gas-powered boat, and the drums or barrels held 45 gallons of fuel each. Kilby Road was completed in 1926 and automobiles were brought to the area after the construction of the highway bridge across the Harrison River in 1927. After 1927, trucks began delivering the gasoline and oil, and Imperial Oil was the main source of gasoline. The automobile age seemed to be delayed in Harrison Mills, as horses were still favored as a means of transportation. Historic photographs show that the original oil shed was several feet higher off the ground than the present day building which was built after the Flood of 1948. The Kilby's sold gasoline to neighbors and visitors until 1977, and received an award from Imperial Oil in 1973 for fifty years of service.According to Acton Kilby, the gas pumps were not in use in his father Thomas' time of running the store. "He didn't bother much with that stuff. Before the pumps were put in, the fuel was pumped out with a hand pump and hose directly into the tank or container. We used to bring fuel in from Chilliwack in four gallon cans of coal oil to a wooden case from Chilliwack by boat."
Acton's daughter Margaret recalls that vehicles were filled by cranking the pump until the glass top was full and then by filling the vehicles. The high test and coal oil tanks were also kept in the store proper against the stairway to the upstairs wall.
Peter Kilby shares his own experience at the gas station: "The old red pump (without a glass reservoir) was the only pump at the time I began to take any notice. One of my first tests of manhood was to be able to pump the gas up on that horror. Believe it or not, it almost broke my arm once. We kept barrels of white gas (naptha) for lamps, stoves and laundry irons, and we had "marked" gas for farm use and tractors in the small shed beside the pump platform. We sold a lot of kerosene which also came in 45 gallon drums. We used to roll the drums up the incline into the store and then siphoned the kerosene into the black tank with the hand pump that was just outside of the post office under the stairs beneath the hotel. We also had a dispenser for motor oil in the same place. Filling it was just as difficult as getting the kerosene ready for sale. All products came in containers and were delivered by truck from the Imperial Oil depot in near by Agassiz. Over the years, the two pumps with the glass reservoirs were acquired. That allowed us to take the naptha and marked gas and put them into underground storage and made it much easier to dispense. It also made the insurance company happier!"
23
Railway Station Platform with General Store in Background20th Century, Circa
Kilby Historic Site, Harrison Mills, British Columbia, Canada
Credits:Fraser Heritage Society
24
Village residents often strolled along the CPR's elevated boardwalk. Kilby General Store was directly across from the CPR station.25
Acton Kilby General Store20th Century, Circa
Kilby Historic Site, Harrison Mills, British Columbia, Canada
Credits:Fraser Heritage Society
26
Kilby General Store has a wide front porch approximately 16 feet above ground level as well as an upper balcony leading out of the top floor hotel rooms27
Kilby Museum and Boardwalk20th Century, Circa 1970
Kilby Historic Site, Harrison Mills, British Columbia, Canada
Credits:Fraser Heritage Society
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