The Making of a Municipality

"The greatest need of McBride at the present time is an executive body of some kind to handle the town's affairs. Owing to the fact that many of the lots in town have only been held by their present owners for a week or two, and clear titles not having been obtained, it will be impossible under existing laws, for McBride to be incorporated as a town."-from the first editorial in the first issue of James Mewhort's The Journal in May 1914.

Within the following year the Farmers' Institute was incorporated and its broad mandate allowed it to take responsibility for many matters, such as petitioning government for a Fraser River ferry at the end of Main Street, schools and improved roads. In 1927 the farmers were joined by the Board of Trade and they worked together on two of the most pressing issues-the roads and sewers. They also promoted sports and tried to develop tourism and trails and encourage new businesses.

Another editorial in 1931 noted that by not being incorporated, McBride had lost thousands of dollars over the years, quoting the village clerk of Abbotsford, the smallest village municipality in the province, as saying "incorporation has proved a boon here."

The Board of Trade called a meeting, January 1932, in the Empress Theatre (now the Elks Hall) to discuss the issue. There was general support and forty people immediately signed the petition. In February, Mr. Wall, a local businessman and chairman of the Board of Trade who had chaired the meeting, received letters of support from MLAs and the ministers of Public Works and Education. Letters Patent were signed on April 7th, completing the Incorporation of the Village of McBride.

The next step was to prepare a voters' list. To qualify to be on the list, voters had to be British subjects, twenty-one or older, and own land of the assessed value of not less than $100. Only people on the voters' list could vote. At incorporation, the provisional Commissioners were: Chairman, Samuel Birkenhead; Commissioners: H.J.Edgar and C.McNab. The Secretary-Treasurer was George Oettle.

Because no survey had yet been made of the boundaries, in August an anouncement was made "for the convenience of the public" defining the boundaries as follows: "The loop road, the lake road, the Cemetery road and the first Creek west of the Village"

A reconstruction of the facade of Mr. Oettle's village office (later McBride's first library) now can be seen beside the farm machinery display by the town ball park. A display recognising McBride's incorporation can be seen at the Museum-Library building on Dominion Street until the end of September.

Note: See early copies of The Journal at www. valleymuseum.ca

- Marilyn Wheeler, 2012