The dedication reads: “For those intrepid pioneers who built the communities, and left them to us.” The words appear in the book Lost Orchards: Vanishing Fruit Farms of the West Kootenay by Joan Lang, published in 2003. Last week, Joan passed away peacefully in Nelson. She was 96.
Joan was a student of history, a lover of the Kootenay region, and an extraordinary person. We became friends after she approached Steve Thornton and me for help self-publishing her Masters in History thesis, written when she was a mere 74 years of age — testament that if you love learning, you never stop. Joan’s thesis was a wonderfully readable account of an important regional industry, and through the publishing process it was a pleasure to appreciate her attention to historical accuracy, keen mind, and signature sense of humour.
Local histories are written for love. They’re written because there are stories to be told, the better to understand ourselves. They are often self-published, because traditional publishers know that here is no profit in them, and so by the time they’re in your bookstore or your library the author’s contribution includes research, time, and money, as well as a measure of blood, sweat, and tears. Did I mention love?
Look in our local history section and find books by Susan Hulland, Tom Lymbery, John Norris, Milton Parent, Elsie Turnbull, Terry Turner, and a great many more. Each owes its existence to those pioneers who agreed to be interviewed, those archivists who found every file, those books that went before. Just now we have a special display of local history books in our non-fiction section where you can see for yourself the breadth and depth of their subjects.
A few to highlight include Art Joyce’s A Perfect Childhood: One Hundred Years of Heritage Homes in Nelson; Rita Moir’s The Third Crop: a personal and historical journey into the photo albums and shoeboxes of the Slocan Valley; Ken Morrow’s A Boyhood in Nelson: growing up during the depression, and a recent arrival to the local history scene: Children of the Kootenays: memories of mining towns by Shirley Stainton. Of course, I’m just scratching the surface. But fair to say that Joan was in good company, as they were in hers.
Touchstones Nelson — in particular retired director Shawn Lamb — is acknowledged in Lost Orchards for her generosity in “time, materials, and moral support.” Others include Dr. Bill Sloan of Selkirk College, Ron Welwood, and Jean Madsen. Joan acknowledged the folks who shared letters and stories with her, as well as prolific author Ted Affleck, “who interviewed every Kootenay pioneer he could find and wrote down their words so their histories would not be forgotten.”
Perhaps in gratitude, perhaps because it just made sense to her, Joan was a long-time volunteer in the Touchstones archives, helping to ensure that local stories are honoured and preserved. I know she’ll be missed by archives volunteers past and present, all of whom embrace the same dedication, which is why she loved it so much. History-lovers are a singular tribe.
Behind every local history book lies a passion for place, as writers of local history honour the dedication, perseverance, hard work and hope that built the places in which we live.
What a fine thing it is that we have had, and still have among us, these custodians of our stories writing the books we read so that we may understand where we’ve come from and, by extension, have the perspective to know where we’re going.
It’s pioneership of a different kind, with the literary fruits of their labours generously left to the rest of us to savour into the future.
Anne DeGrace is the Adult Services Co-ordinator at the Nelson Public Library. Check This Out runs every other week.