Nice work. I was at that council meeting, and it was hot and smelly and did not feel safe. People were yelling and swearing and laughing but not in a good way. That first quote in the article was yelled by a lady who repeatedly told someone to “go back where you came from”.
Thanks for the feedback Jim. I added a new line, which should clear up the confusion:
"Dwight Brooks may have paid for the hall, but the workers who built it — the carpenters, electricians, and painters — would have overwhelmingly identified as socialists."
'significant company influence' wtf 'no reliable sources' wtf Are you that niave?
Chris was not connecting the formation of the CCF to Dwight Hall.
My parents were born raised in Powell River. My father was a WW2 vet. The CCF and the NDP ran elections on shoe string budgets. I remember,as a kid, that mill workers were very nervous about putting CCF signs on their lawns. They did not want retaliation from the company.
I heard many stories back in the day about stuff that went on around the Powell River Company.
Oh, I used to see the Masons exiting the basement of the Dwight Hall after their strange meetings.
If true, I am very embarrassed by the antics at the January 20 Council Meeting.
Oh, Powell River was very racist town back in the day. Sign of the times. Has the town changed? I am not sure.
There’s no clear historical source that directly supports the claim that Brooks personally ran Powell River with an “iron fist” or that every union attempt was crushed.
Powell River was a company town with significant company influence, and that context historically meant limited worker power, but the specific narrative you quoted (e.g., evictions and blacklisting by Brooks himself) is not verified in the historical records. (No reliable sources confirm these dramatic claims.) That wording sounds like a political quote reflecting some socialist statements of the era, but I did not find a trusted historical source tying that exact language to the CCF’s platform as quoted in your text.
The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) did form in 1932 in Canada with broad goals of social democratic reform in response to the Great Depression and general economic injustice.
However, linking its founding specifically to resistance against Dwight Brooks in Powell River is an oversimplification or interpretation that isn’t documented as a direct historical cause. The CCF’s formation was a national phenomenon, not rooted in one town’s labour conflict. (No credible source found connecting CCF formation specifically to Powell River’s situation.)
The CCF was not formed solely by the Socialist Party of British Columbia joining forces with others.
The CCF’s founders included:
• Labour unions
• Farmer organizations (like the United Farmers)
• Socialist groups
• Other progressive activists from multiple provinces
But it was a national alliance rather than a BC-specific coalition. The Socialist Party of BC was one of many groups with similar aims, but it was not the sole or primary founder.
Gargrave was not a member of the Socialist Party of Canada (SPC) at the time he was elected as MLA.
By the 1930s and 1940s, the CCF had become the main social-democratic party in Canada and absorbed much of the energy that had once been in the Socialist Party.
Most CCF MLAs, including Gargrave, were identified with the CCF, not the older Socialist Party of Canada.
Gargrave may have been influenced earlier by socialist ideas, but identifying him as a Socialist Party member at the time of his MLA service is not accurate.
Dwight Hall was built in 1927 by the Powell River Company as a community hall with funding and support from the mill and company leadership.
There isn’t direct evidence that the Gargrave brothers “put their heart and soul into Dwight Hall,” so this phrasing is an interpretation or contemporary view, not a documented historical fact.
The idea that Herbert and Anthony Gargrave would understand today’s crises of homelessness and addiction as “the result of unregulated capitalism,” and would support using Dwight Hall as a shelter for vulnerable people.is a contemporary interpretation, not a direct historical claim we can verify.
We cannot know with certainty how individuals from the past would interpret modern issues.
At best this article is Interpreted and much of it is unsupportive.
If you are so interested in facts, here are some for you, the fire hall in Wildwood is an appropriate cold weather, shelter, location. Exposing a heritage building to possible damage or complete destruction is not only unconscionable, but moronic. The local fire chief stated that there are many locations within the city that could qualify for a warming shelter. Using a designated heritage building is simply idiotic. And the five who voted this in just committed political suicide, they just guaranteed they will not be voted back in, in October
"The problem with today's world is that everyone believes that they have the right to express their own opinion and have other's listen to it. The correct statement of of individual rights is that everyone has the right to an opinion, but crucially that opinion can be roundly ignored and even made fun of, particularly if it is demonstably nonsense." -Brian Cox This is for you Diane KAREN Sparks, as you do not seem to have much awareness of how your dim-witted comments are taken by many who think more deeply than you.
Nice work. I was at that council meeting, and it was hot and smelly and did not feel safe. People were yelling and swearing and laughing but not in a good way. That first quote in the article was yelled by a lady who repeatedly told someone to “go back where you came from”.
Excellent article 👏
Nice story only the hall was built by the powell river company and named for its Chairman. Only much later was it sold to the Municipality. Jim
Thanks for the feedback Jim. I added a new line, which should clear up the confusion:
"Dwight Brooks may have paid for the hall, but the workers who built it — the carpenters, electricians, and painters — would have overwhelmingly identified as socialists."
If they don't go into Dwight Hall it will be Spring before they can do anything, hmmm.
'significant company influence' wtf 'no reliable sources' wtf Are you that niave?
Chris was not connecting the formation of the CCF to Dwight Hall.
My parents were born raised in Powell River. My father was a WW2 vet. The CCF and the NDP ran elections on shoe string budgets. I remember,as a kid, that mill workers were very nervous about putting CCF signs on their lawns. They did not want retaliation from the company.
I heard many stories back in the day about stuff that went on around the Powell River Company.
Oh, I used to see the Masons exiting the basement of the Dwight Hall after their strange meetings.
If true, I am very embarrassed by the antics at the January 20 Council Meeting.
Oh, Powell River was very racist town back in the day. Sign of the times. Has the town changed? I am not sure.
My name is Doug. Trying to get name uptop.
There’s no clear historical source that directly supports the claim that Brooks personally ran Powell River with an “iron fist” or that every union attempt was crushed.
Powell River was a company town with significant company influence, and that context historically meant limited worker power, but the specific narrative you quoted (e.g., evictions and blacklisting by Brooks himself) is not verified in the historical records. (No reliable sources confirm these dramatic claims.) That wording sounds like a political quote reflecting some socialist statements of the era, but I did not find a trusted historical source tying that exact language to the CCF’s platform as quoted in your text.
The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) did form in 1932 in Canada with broad goals of social democratic reform in response to the Great Depression and general economic injustice.
However, linking its founding specifically to resistance against Dwight Brooks in Powell River is an oversimplification or interpretation that isn’t documented as a direct historical cause. The CCF’s formation was a national phenomenon, not rooted in one town’s labour conflict. (No credible source found connecting CCF formation specifically to Powell River’s situation.)
The CCF was not formed solely by the Socialist Party of British Columbia joining forces with others.
The CCF’s founders included:
• Labour unions
• Farmer organizations (like the United Farmers)
• Socialist groups
• Other progressive activists from multiple provinces
But it was a national alliance rather than a BC-specific coalition. The Socialist Party of BC was one of many groups with similar aims, but it was not the sole or primary founder.
Gargrave was not a member of the Socialist Party of Canada (SPC) at the time he was elected as MLA.
By the 1930s and 1940s, the CCF had become the main social-democratic party in Canada and absorbed much of the energy that had once been in the Socialist Party.
Most CCF MLAs, including Gargrave, were identified with the CCF, not the older Socialist Party of Canada.
Gargrave may have been influenced earlier by socialist ideas, but identifying him as a Socialist Party member at the time of his MLA service is not accurate.
Dwight Hall was built in 1927 by the Powell River Company as a community hall with funding and support from the mill and company leadership.
There isn’t direct evidence that the Gargrave brothers “put their heart and soul into Dwight Hall,” so this phrasing is an interpretation or contemporary view, not a documented historical fact.
The idea that Herbert and Anthony Gargrave would understand today’s crises of homelessness and addiction as “the result of unregulated capitalism,” and would support using Dwight Hall as a shelter for vulnerable people.is a contemporary interpretation, not a direct historical claim we can verify.
We cannot know with certainty how individuals from the past would interpret modern issues.
At best this article is Interpreted and much of it is unsupportive.
🧐
If you are so interested in facts, here are some for you, the fire hall in Wildwood is an appropriate cold weather, shelter, location. Exposing a heritage building to possible damage or complete destruction is not only unconscionable, but moronic. The local fire chief stated that there are many locations within the city that could qualify for a warming shelter. Using a designated heritage building is simply idiotic. And the five who voted this in just committed political suicide, they just guaranteed they will not be voted back in, in October
lol, thanks for reading
"The problem with today's world is that everyone believes that they have the right to express their own opinion and have other's listen to it. The correct statement of of individual rights is that everyone has the right to an opinion, but crucially that opinion can be roundly ignored and even made fun of, particularly if it is demonstably nonsense." -Brian Cox This is for you Diane KAREN Sparks, as you do not seem to have much awareness of how your dim-witted comments are taken by many who think more deeply than you.