Interview with Chris and Elsie Dahlie
https://search.bvmuseum.org/link/descriptions12238
- Date Range
- 1988
- Collection
- BVM Oral History collection
- Description Level
- File
- GMD
- sound recording
- electronic record
- Scope and Content
- Interview with Chris and Elsie Dahlie, recorded in 1988 by Bulkley Valley Museum staff. Includes raw and edited .WAV files and an MP3 access file.
- Collection
- BVM Oral History collection
- Description Level
- File
- Fonds No.
- C5
- Item No.
- 2021.21.32
- Accession No.
- 2021.21
- Physical Description
- 1.06 GB of digital records
- Date Range
- 1988
- History / Biographical
- Christian (Chris) Dahlie (1896-1989) and Else (Elsie) Widing (1901-2001) immigrated from Ringsaker, Norway to Holden, Alberta in the late 1920s with their three children: Martha, Hallvard, and Jorgen. In 1933 the family moved to the Bulkley Valley, where they became well-known for their expertise in skiing and their development of the sport on a local level. Chris trained ski patrol divisions during the Second World War and later worked for the BC Forest Service.
- Scope and Content
- Interview with Chris and Elsie Dahlie, recorded in 1988 by Bulkley Valley Museum staff. Includes raw and edited .WAV files and an MP3 access file.
- Type of Record
- Archival Description
Audio Tracks
Interview with Chris and Elsie Dahlie - 1988
Interview with Chris and Elsie Dahlie - 1988
https://search.bvmuseum.org/media/Digital%20Fonds%20and%20Collections/C5%20BVM%20Oral%20History%20collection/2021.21.32_Dahlie,%20Chris/Dahlie,%20Chris%20ACCESS.mp3
Interview begins with various questions primarily related to skiing, both in Canada and Norway. Topics include: what sort of tournaments Chris Dahlie competed in, when he started ski jumping, how skiing has changed over the years, a ski cabin built by the Dahlie family on Hudson Bay Mountain, how skis were made by hand. Note: interview begins mid-sentence without a proper introduction.
childhood; cost; dairy farm; expensive; hickory wood; immigration; Larry Lutz; making skis; Norway; Norwegian; Prince George; ski cabin; ski jumping; ski tournaments
skiing; sports
Elsie and Chris Dahlie discuss their move from Norway to Canada and their early days living in Smithers. The family rented a home for a time before building their own log house.
Dahlie children; horse; house; ice harvesting; Lake Kathlyn; log cabin; logs
immigration; Norway; Smithers
Discussion of good skiing areas, the ski cabin at Silvern Lake, and Chris Dahlie's involvement in ski jumping.
Harry Orm; Hudson Bay Mountain; Silvern Lake; ski cabin; ski hill; ski jump; skis; Smithers; Vancouver
recreation; ski jumping; skiing; sports
Chris Dahlie discusses his personal feelings on skiing, the last time he went skiing (at age 85), what type of skis he used, and where/how often he skied in his younger days.
equipment; Larry Lutz; skis
recreation; skiing; sports
Discussion of the previous popularity of ski jumping in various locales throughout northwestern BC (including Smithers), and how this sport has declined in favour of cross-country and downhill skiing in more recent years.
Barkerville; Burns Lake; Norwegians; Prince George; ski jump; ski races; Smithers
northwestern British Columbia; ski jumping; skiing
Discussion of Larry Lutz, a friend of Chris Dahlie's, and his recollections of past ski days.
1960s; ski tracks; ski trails; Smithers Alternate School; Smithers Secondary School
Larry Lutz; skiing
Discussion of why the Dahlies left Norway, whether they ever wanted to move back, and return trips to visit relatives.
family; Great Depression; great-grandchildren; relatives
immigration; Norway
Chris Dahlie shows the interviewers his ski trophies, one of which was given to him by the King of Norway (probably Haakon VII). Many of the cups have been sent to a museum in Vancouver. Note: this section is quieter as the interviewers/interviewees move further away.
King Haakon VII; King Olaf V; Norway; ski tournaments; Vancouver
ski trophies; trophies
The interviewer asks what it is about skiing that the Dahlies love so much.
cabins; exercise; fresh air; lunches; outdoors
skiing
Discussion of the Dahlie's children (Hallvard, Jorgen, and Martha), grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, including one grandson who works as a smokejumper and a granddaughter who lives near Seymour Lake.
bus driver; firefighter; grandchildren; great-grandchildren; Hallvard Dahlie; helicopters; Jorgen Dahlie; Mark Dahlie; Martha Dahlie; Salmon Arm; Seymour Lake; smokejumper; Sylvia Pearson
Dahlie family; family; relatives
Discussion of various topics, including ski trails, tournaments, trophies, and the Stewart RCMP.
coffee; juniper trees; museum display; RCMP; search and rescue; ski tournaments; ski trails; ski trophies; Stewart; Telkwa; Whitehorse
skiing
Elsie Dahlie talks about how the family lived at Olof Hanson's farm at Lake Kathlyn for four years, and how the children would walk long distances to attend school in Smithers. Note: interview ends abruptly without proper conclusion.
exercise; Garth Pearson; Hanson farm; Mexico; Olof Hanson; school buses; walking to school
Lake Kathlyn; school