A Shameful History

We all have different opinions of our little town of Oliver..most of our opinions are positive and full of good memories growing up here.

There was a time however when Oliver and Osoyoos went through a period that was racist and shameful.

When Fairview started up, there were quite a few Chinese men that worked the mines. They were brought in to work because they would do anything to make money and usually worked at the most dangerous jobs available….blasting…shoring up the mine shafts and other jobs that the locals did not want to do.

The Chinese were not allowed to live in houses in Osoyoos so a camp was set up at Fairview where they lived in tents or built themselves ramshackle cabins. They seemed content enough to live this kind of lifestyle.

There were a couple of Chinese men that were in good graces with the rest of the miners as they did all the laundry for the men and were very professional in their jobs. The Teepee Hotel sent out their sheets and towels as well as personal items to be laundered by these men and they did an excellent job.

By the time Fairview started to wind down, Premier John Oliver had commissioned the building of the Ditch and most of the Chinese and now Japanese men were hired to work the long hours in the hot sun pouring concrete and building the frame for the Ditch. The Ditch when finished was 23 miles long and in some parts 18 feet wide and almost six feet deep with slanted slides. There were siphons to be built out of barrel staves, tar and metal spikes to carry water where the Ditch could not go. No one had a problem with the Chinese or Japanese working.

The Town of Oliver began to spring up with stores on the east side of the river which were eventually moved to the present day Main Street. The Chinese kept to themselves and lived in tents in a camp that moved with the Ditch as it progressed south. The Japanese went back to Penticton where they had lodgings there.

*** During this time both the towns of Oliver and Osoyoos passed a resolution that all Asians be banned from owning land or homes in their neighbourhood. And so it was that once the Ditch was finished, the Chinese and Japanese left the area. It should be noted that the Japanese worked on the KVR putting in the tracks from Penticton to the south end of the line. My Uncle Lawrence was good friends with one of the young Japanese boys and he was always welcome in my ggrandmother’s restaurant and home.

For many years there were no Chinese or Japanese residents in Oliver or Osoyoos until the resolution was finally rescinded. Even then, they were met with resistance when inquiring about purchasing property and usually left town.

I recall when I was in Grade 12, that a young female teacher got a job teaching at the High School. She arrived in town and went to the Mountain View Motel where she had booked a room. The owners did not realize she was Japanese as her last name was Lee. When she showed up, they quickly told her that there must be some mistake as they did not have any accommodations under her name. She presented herself to the school the next day having slept in her car on the school parking lot the night before. Mr. Reid contacted Alma Faulds and lodging was found for her in a private home. Miss Lee stayed until Christmas and never came back.

Today we have both Chinese and Japanese residents but truthfully there are not a great number of them. I still find it hard to understand why they were treated this way. My Mom’s best friends in Kelowna were Japanese. Kelowna was probably the least racist community in the Valley where all nationalities lived in harmony.

***NB.. information from Donald Malcolm Wilson….a history of Oliver.
“Few of these good folks were of the Oriental persuasion, for around that time that a group of land owners at Osoyoos passed a resolution demanding Asians be barred from owning land in their neighbourhood, so did the people at Oliver.”