Who rode sidesaddle 300 miles a century ago to become Chilcotin's first housewife? What rancher carried a portable piano in his buckboard? Who started the Williams Lake and the Ahaheim Lake Stampede? A vivid text and over 200 photographs recall pioneer life in the ranching country that extends westward some 200 miles from the Fraser River to Anahim Lake.

The Witte Sisters, granddaughters of pioneers Tom Hance and Nellie Verdier Hance, were born in the Chilcotin and grew up, married and raised their families there. Home was at Big Creek, where they were educated in a little country school. Irene E. Bliss and her husband, Bill, are still in the Chilcotin, at Redston. Hazel Henry Litterick, a well-known artist who specialized in Chilcotin landscapes in oil, acrylic and watercolour, has passed away. Veera Witte Bonner was born in the Chilcotin in 1918. She attended a log schoolhouse through Grade 9. She married Jim Bonner, foreman on a Big Creek ranch, and they raised a son and daughter. Veera developed a log cabin resort on Fletcher Lake, which she still runs.

Witte Sisters' profile page