Interviews with John Lapadat
https://search.bvmuseum.org/link/descriptions12259
- Date Range
- December 13 1988
- October 2003
- Collection
- BVM Oral History collection
- Description Level
- File
- GMD
- sound recording
- electronic record
- Scope and Content
- Two interviews with John Lapadat. One was recorded on December 13th 1988 by Ruth Murdoch as part of the "Growing Up in the Bulkley Valley" series. The other was self-recorded by John Lapadat in October 2003. Includes raw and edited .WAV files, .MP3 access files, and a .jpg release form.
- Collection
- BVM Oral History collection
- Description Level
- File
- Creator
- Ruth Murdoch;
- John Lapadat
- Fonds No.
- C5
- Item No.
- 2021.21.52
- Accession No.
- 2021.21
- Physical Description
- 1.14 GB of digital records
- Date Range
- December 13 1988
- October 2003
- History / Biographical
- John Lapadat (1926-2004) was born to John and Anna Lapadat, farmers in the Glentanna area. He was involved in many community organizations, including the Smithers Ski Club, of which he was an original founding member. He and his wife Lois had four children: Judith, Lawrence, Ron, and Tony.
- Scope and Content
- Two interviews with John Lapadat. One was recorded on December 13th 1988 by Ruth Murdoch as part of the "Growing Up in the Bulkley Valley" series. The other was self-recorded by John Lapadat in October 2003. Includes raw and edited .WAV files, .MP3 access files, and a .jpg release form.
- Type of Record
- Archival Description
Audio Tracks
Interview with John Lapadat - December 13 1988
John Lapadat introduces himself and describes the Glentanna farm on which he grew up, some of the chores that were performed, and a few incidents such as being burned by a cookstove and dealing with bed bugs.
1920s; Anna Lapadat; bathing; bedbugs; bricklayer; carrying water; cows; farm animals; Grand Trunk Pacific Railway; injury; John Lapadat Sr.; knitting; livestock; log house; McClary wood stove; pigs; roundhouse; shearing sheep; sheep; siblings; ticks; veterinarian; Victoria
birth; childhood; chores; farm; farmhouse; home; house
Lapadat describes a number of contributions his family made to the Glentanna School: they donated the land on which it stood, his mother served on the school board, his attendance allowed the school to receive provincial funding, and as a young boy he worked as the school janitor.
chores; cleaning; donating land; provincial funding; raise; school board; wages
duties; Glentanna School; janitor; responsibilities; school
Lapadat describes the work that he and his family did on the farm, including looking after the livestock, breeding and training racehorses, delivering produce to Smithers, and raising hogs for the government during the Great Depression.
agriculture; Burns & Company; butchering; butter; chickens; cream; crops; delivering goods; Great Depression; horse races; milking cows; mixed farming; prices; racehorses; smokehouse; trading; vegetables; Watson's Store
chores; farm work; farming; livestock; produce; raising pigs
Lapadat discusses special places where he liked to play as a child, and what games and sports he occupied his free time with.
Bennett buggies; buried treasure; Christmas concerts; Columbia Street; Driftwood School; gardening; Glacier House; Glacier Roadhouse; Glentanna School; horse racing; horse training; horseback riding; Hungry Hill; hunting; Olive Evan; roadhouse; ski jump; sleigh rides; softball; tent; transportation systems; weeding
favourite places; games; locations; playing; recreation; sports
Lapadat discusses his school days, including the harsh treatment of his sister for being left-handed, the ways in which teachers tried (and failed) to maintain discipline, the chores performed by students, and the annual Christmas concerts.
31 Model B Ford; car; carrying water; corporal punishment; Della Herman; ghost stories; horse barn; left-handedness; Mackenzies; MacLean Method; Mary Simpson; misbehaviour; Mrs. Chapman; repeating grades; Santa Claus; singing; skipping grades; song; stage; stockings; trauma
chores; Christmas concerts; discipline; Glentanna School; grades; lunch; school; teachers
Lapadat talks about what means of transportation were used to get to and from town, as well as the usual reason for making these trips.
automobiles; Buick; cars; Chrysler; hauling wood; Model T truck; sleighs; wagons
Smithers; transportation; vehicles
Lapadat returns to the subject of Christmas, discussing how the family would often share the holiday meal with itinerant workers during the Depression.
cooking; food; geese; goose; turkeys
Christmas; Christmas dinner; Great Depression; meals; workers
Lapadat discusses the dances that were held at Glentanna School. He also mentions how his father was forced to sell the family farm during the Depression.
desks; Louise Gilbert; music; musicians; Oscar Engman; Ralph Dieter; schoolhouse
dances; dancing; Great Depression; social events
Lapadat concludes with two brief stories: one about a meteorite crash that occurred while the family was returning from Smithers, and one about the reading material available to him as a student.
animal euthanasia; Mr. Griffin; National Geographics; retired professor
accident; books; education; horse; meteor; meteorite; reading; resource materials
Interview with John Lapadat - October 2003
John Lapadat recounts some of his memories of Hudson Bay Mountain, including the first annual ski championship he remembers watching, a youth ski camping expedition which became stranded in low visibility conditions, and the time his son Ron was caught in an avalanche.
'Sleeping Beauty'; avalanche; Chris Dahlie; hauling snow; Hudson Bay Mountain glacier; low visibility conditions; Nancy Greene league; Ron Lapadat; shelter; Simpson's Gulch; ski jumping; Smithers Ski Club; the Prairie; Tony Lapadat; youth
annual ski championship; avalanche; Hudson Bay Mountain; recreation; ski camping trip; ski tournaments; skiing; sports; stories
Lapadat discusses how the Smithers Ski Club developed the ski hill on Hudson Bay Mountain and gave ski lessons to revive its declining membership.
Canadian Ski Alliance; Chris Dahlie; Daryl Van Tine; Duthie Mine Road; Everett Person; fire protection road; first tournament; Jorgen Dahlie; Prince George; Ross Phillips; ski accident; ski cabins; ski tow; the Prairie; Town of Smithers; Warren Hill; water reservoir; Zobnick Road ski area
Hudson Bay Mountain; instructor's courses; membership; ski hill; ski lessons; skiing; Smithers Ski Club
Lapadat concludes with the story of his unsuccessful attempt to hike the highest peak of Hudson Bay Mountain with a jar of ashes from Mount St. Helens.
hypothermia; Lois Lapadat; Oscar; peppermint schnapps; Swiss Club
eruption of Mount St. Helens; highest peak; hiking; Hudson Bay Mountain