But the original general store, on the old Trans Canada highway that wound down the hill toward the old Alexandra Bridge, still stands, converted into a residence with a bed of flowers occupying the space in front where the gas pumps once stood. It is not the most prepossessing building in the province, as you can see, and has lost its porch and balcony, but it has a certain historic significance. It was probably opened soon after 1926, when the Cariboo Road reopened as a toll road following the rebuilding of the Alexandra Bridge.The toll was $1--an astonishing sum in the 1920s, equally to about two hours of a skilled tradesman's labour, or about $40 in current money.

Postcard c.1960 by J.C. Walker, Vancouver. Collection of Charlotte Gyoba

Comments and historic pictures of motoring through the Fraser Canyon are included in the Alexandra Bridge page. See also the Alexandra Lodge page. Charlotte Gyoba, who grew up near the Spuzzum Hotel, recalls that the Bowerman and Lintott families ran it. Mrs. Bowerman's blueberry pies were famous and once featured in the Vancouver Sun; she paid the local children 25 cents for a tobacco can full of berries picked nearby--blueberries, saskatoons, huckleberries and blackberries, whatever was in season.

Note from Lois Matson: I was recently looking up some info on the tunnels in the Fraser canyon and came across. your web site. My parents Doug and Gladys Lintott bought the original store in Spuzzum in 1947 along with my grandparents Grace and Ken Bowerman. They built the new store up on the new High Way in 1958 with the help of  my uncle Les McCabe and other relatives that would also show up to help. We sold the store that year and moved to Penticton and my grand parents moved to the coast. I was wondering if you have any e-mail address from the former residence of Spuzzum. Several years ago I ran into Eddie Gyoba when we went to Spuzzum to spread my cousin Diane’s ashes. I had just been talking about him to my husband  when we saw this man standing on the side of the road looking at our little group. We stopped to explain who we were and I was so surprised that it was Eddie who no longer lives there. What are the chances that some one from your past  40 some years ago would be at the same place as you? I wonder what has happened to Betty and Nancy Oikawa as they were my best friends and I remember being devastated that my parents had moved us. I have many great memories of Spuzzum, we had some really great family gatherings there.

Note from Jack "Norman" White, 2009: I am a former resident of Spuzzum and would like to correspond with Lois Matson who appears on your web page [contact link at the bottom of this page -- ed.]. My family lived in Cathmar, a neighboring village, from 1939-44.

Cathmar was a small settlement of CPR  railway workers at Hell's Gate. Cathmar is now called Ades. I believe it was renamed after Alfred Ades, a former Road Master who lived at North Bend. Some of the houses and buildings used at the Hell's Gate tourist site were former Cathmar buildings. When the CPR built a railway siding they would give it a name for reference purposes. As I type this note I am reminded of one time my mother was going to plant some flowers around our house. When she put the shovel in the ground she dug up some old rotten railway ties, so it looks like Cathmar was a siding. This part of the railway was built by contractor Andrew Onderdonk; maybe he established Cathmar? After all, he used to run sightseeing trips with his trains.

Note from Paul White in the UK, 2009: I and other members of my family have been trying to locate the family of my Father who was born to a young lady in 1912 in Birkenhead, Cheshire, England. Her name was Olive May Hamerton / White. She was born in Spuzzum around 1895, her parents being  Octavus Nelson Hamerton and Euphemia Hamerton nee White. If anyone has any information, no matter how small (and any photos would be absolutely fantastic).We have been looking for a long time and kept hitting the proverbial brick wall. So any leads would be great, and very much appreciated. Update 2010 from Sharon McKenna: I am the great-niece of Olive May Hammerton (our family spelling) and Nelson Hammerton and his wife Euphemia are my great grand-parents. I remember my great-aunt very well ; she had two daughters and I believe several grand-children are still living in California. I have always thought that great-grandmother's name was Birrell before marriage. My grandmother was Emma Jane Hammerton (House), Olive's sister. There was another sister, Annie (Pafford), a brother Harold, and a brother Ernie. [Please correspond with her via the link at the bottom of the page]

From Johanna Sawer, 2009: I also have fond memories of driving to Spuzzum on a Sunday afternoon as a child. My parents were Howard and Mary Stevenson - friends of the restaurant owners I believe - and we used to drive to Spuzzum just to have breakfast . It was a wonderful memory for me growing up, the drive up the canyon was breathtaking. My Dad was a logging truck driver - and knew many of the men who made Spuzzum a stop on their routes - Today - I would love to start up the tradition with my own kids - only I understand it burned down a few years ago. So sad.

Photos below from Yale and District Historical Society