After Imbert Orchard moved from England to B.C. in the aftermath of the Second World War, CBC hired him as a regional editor for television scripts in Vancouver. He later he began producing documentary history programs for CBC Radio. Before he died in 1991, Orchard donated his invaluable archive of B.C. history recordings to the B.C. Archives, mostly gleaned from his travels around B.C. with recording engineer Ian Stephen between 1959 and 1966. The pair recorded some 998 conversations, mainly with pioneering British Columbians, totalling 2,700 hours of material.
With an MA in history, Robert Budd of Victoria has scoured through Orchard's invaluable collection of recordings to prepare Voices of British Columbia: Stories from our Frontier (D&M 2010) and Echoes of British Columbia: Voices from the Frontier (Harbour 2014). The books combine archival photos and sound recordings on DVDs to represent one of the largest oral history collections in the world.
Author of:
Orchard, Imbert. Martin: The Story of a Young Fur Trader (Provincial Archives of B.C., 1981)
Floodland and Forest: Memories of the Chilliwack Valley. British Columbia Public Archives, Sound and Moving Images Division, 1983. Sound Heritage Number 37.
Co-author of:
Voices of British Columbia: Stories from our Frontier (D&M 2010). With Robert Budd.
Voices of British Columbia: Stories from our Frontier (D&M 2010) and Echoes of British Columbia: Voices from the Frontier (Harbour 2014). With Robert Budd.
Edited:
Growing Up In the Valley: Pioneer Childhood In the Lower Fraser Valley. British Columbia Provincial Archives, Sound and Moving Image Division, 1983. Sound Heritage Number 40.
[BCBW 2010] "Local History" "Forts and Fur"
With an MA in history, Robert Budd of Victoria has scoured through Orchard's invaluable collection of recordings to prepare Voices of British Columbia: Stories from our Frontier (D&M 2010) and Echoes of British Columbia: Voices from the Frontier (Harbour 2014). The books combine archival photos and sound recordings on DVDs to represent one of the largest oral history collections in the world.
Author of:
Orchard, Imbert. Martin: The Story of a Young Fur Trader (Provincial Archives of B.C., 1981)
Floodland and Forest: Memories of the Chilliwack Valley. British Columbia Public Archives, Sound and Moving Images Division, 1983. Sound Heritage Number 37.
Co-author of:
Voices of British Columbia: Stories from our Frontier (D&M 2010). With Robert Budd.
Voices of British Columbia: Stories from our Frontier (D&M 2010) and Echoes of British Columbia: Voices from the Frontier (Harbour 2014). With Robert Budd.
Edited:
Growing Up In the Valley: Pioneer Childhood In the Lower Fraser Valley. British Columbia Provincial Archives, Sound and Moving Image Division, 1983. Sound Heritage Number 40.
[BCBW 2010] "Local History" "Forts and Fur"
Articles: 1 Article for this author
Voices of British Columbia: Stories from our Frontier (2010)
Promotional literature
Publisher's Catalogue copy:
Between 1959 and 1966, the late CBC Radio journalist Imbert Orchard
traveled across British Columbia with recording engineer Ian Stephen
interviewing nearly a thousand of the province's pioneers. The resulting
collection-2,700 hours of audiotapes describing both extraordinary
events and everyday experiences-is considered is one of the best sources of primary information about the province. To the general public, however, the tales in these tapes remain virtually unknown. Combining text, archival photographs and the original sound recordings from the CBC Archives onto three cds, Voices of British Columbia draws 24 stories from this collection to immerse us in daily life in the early 20th century.
You'll meet Sarah Glassey, a spirited homesteader who carried a rifle and bagged more birds than any man in the Kispiox Valley. You'll hear Bill LaChance, the sole survivor of the 1910 Glacier Snowslide, describe that tragic avalanche. And you'll discover how Great
Chief Kwah of Fort St. James spared the life of James Douglas, future governor of British Columbia. By turns sad, contemplative, insightful and funny, these stories reveal as much about the spirit and resilience of people as they do about the history of the province.
Robert Budd, known to many as Lucky, holds an NA in history, with a
focus on oral history. He has worked with the CBC and the Royal British
Columbia Museum preserving and restoring one of the largest oral history collections in the world. He lives in Victoria, British Columbia.
Imbert Orchard moved from England to B.C. after the Second World
War. The cbc hired him as a regional editor for television scripts, and later
he began documentary history programs for cbc Radio. Before he died in
1991, he donated his recordings to the B.C. Archives. Introduction by Mark Forsythe.