Interview with Mel Raymond
https://search.bvmuseum.org/link/descriptions12291
- Date Range
- February 7, 1995
- Collection
- BVM Oral History collection
- Description Level
- File
- GMD
- sound recording
- electronic record
- Scope and Content
- Interview with Mel Raymond, recorded on February 7th 1995 by Carly Blair for the Bulkley Valley Museum. Includes raw and edited .WAV files, .MP3 access files, and a .jpg release form.
- Collection
- BVM Oral History collection
- Description Level
- File
- Creator
- Carly Blair
- Fonds No.
- C5
- Item No.
- 2021.21.68
- Accession No.
- 2021.21
- Physical Description
- 923 MB of digital records
- Date Range
- February 7, 1995
- Scope and Content
- Interview with Mel Raymond, recorded on February 7th 1995 by Carly Blair for the Bulkley Valley Museum. Includes raw and edited .WAV files, .MP3 access files, and a .jpg release form.
- Type of Record
- Archival Description
Audio Tracks
Interview with Mel Raymond - February 7, 1995
Interview with Mel Raymond - February 7, 1995
https://search.bvmuseum.org/media/Digital%20Fonds%20and%20Collections/C5%20BVM%20Oral%20History%20collection/2021.21.68_Raymond,%20Mel/Raymond,%20Mel%201995_02_07.ACCESS.mp3
Mel Raymond discusses his early life, education, and employment in Smithers, including how he came to own Mel's Hardware.
Bill Raymond; children; Eby's Hardware; Elaine Foster; Great Depression; hardware store; hospital; Joyce Raymond; Mel's Hardware; Michigan; mining; mining claims; Pete Bergen; Pete Eby; post-secondary education; railway passes
childhood; education; employment; jobs; marriage; school
Raymond discusses the few trips outside of Smithers that he has taken in his life, including a post-retirement cruise to the Caribbean with his wife.
Bill Raymond; Caribbean; cruise; freighter; Michigan; Toronto
travel; travelling; vacation
Raymond discusses sports he was involved in as a child, and how an injury forced him to give up these activities.
baseball; Fall Fair; hockey; horse races; injury
athletics; horse riding; horseback riding; pony riding; recreation; sports
Raymond discusses which schools he went to as a child.
education; high school; Smithers Public School; Vernon Crockett
Raymond discusses his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
children; family; grandchildren; great-grandchildren
Raymond discusses his school days in Smithers, including the use of corporal punishment on students.
class sizes; grades; Miss Lauder; punishment; spelling bee
education; teachers; teaching
Raymond discusses where in Smithers he lived as a child, how many siblings he had, and the house & neighborhood he grew up in. He identifies various other families who lived on his street (identified first as Broadway and then as Alfred). Note: interview stops and re-starts around 11:00; this was left in to explain the abrupt change in topic.
Alfred Avenue; Broadway Avenue; Elks Dinner; houses; log house; siblings; Wilf Watson
childhood; children; family; neighbourhood
Raymond discusses a new book written by Wilf Watson about the families in the surrounding district.
books; Wilf Watson; writing
Raymond discusses hunting for moose and deer in his youth and explains how meat and other food was preserved.
canning; deer hunting; fruit; moose hunting
food preservation; hunting
Raymond discusses various topics related to his childhood: whether or not kids got into arguments; neighborhood skating rink; how the CNR supplied water to the rink; his interests and activities as a child.
arguments; baseball; Bigelow Lake; Canadian National Railways; fishing; lake; mining claims; park; skating; trains; water supply
childhood; leisure; recreation; skating rink
Raymond estimates how big Smithers was during his childhood and remarks on its steady growth rate.
businesses; Duthie Mine; economy; employers; growth rate; housing; payroll; Silver King Division
development; population; Smithers; town growth
Raymond describes running Mel's Hardware store over the course of three decades.
building homes; Leach Bros; mail orders; money
hardware business; Mel's Hardware; work
Raymond discusses the Bulkley Valley District Hospital, its debt problems at the time of the interview, and the quality of life of vegetative patients.
Bulkley Lodge; debt; doctors; funding; grants; health care system; maternity ward; operations; quality of life
Bulkley Valley District Hospital; health care; hospital
Raymond and his wife were married on the eve of the Second World War. He discusses how many of his friends enlisted and went overseas, but he was unable to due to a knee injury.
Elaine Raymond; injury; nursing; veterans
marriage; World War II
Raymond describes his activities after selling the Hardware Store, such as vacationing with his wife, building townhouses, and working at a liquor store. (Note: interview ends abruptly without proper conclusion).
Babine Lake; Bill Raymond; business trips; Caribbean; liquor store; Mexico; New Zealand; Panama Canal; Toronto; townhouses; West Coast
retirement; travel; travelling; vacation