Chronology

January 30 The Native Daughters of B.C. was formed in Vancouver. The group’s objective was to pay tribute to the pioneers and history of the province. Today, they operate the Hastings Mill Store Museum at the north foot of Alma Street.

January 1 The Polar Bear Club swim was started by Peter Pantages. Every New Year’s Day, for more than 80 years now, several hundred cold-defying people leap screaming in their bathing suits (or other more unorthodox attire) into the chilly waters of Vancouver’s English Bay.

March 12 The Capitol Theatre opened at 820 Granville Street. Unlike the Pantages and Orpheum theatres, which were built to house vaudeville and live theatre, the Capitol was a pure movie palace, a lush theatre that originally seated 2,500. It was equipped with a huge Wurlitzer organ to accompany the movies. Calvin Winter and his Capitolians played at the opening.

January 1 At 2:00 a.m. motor vehicles in British Columbia changed from driving on the left to driving on the right hand side of the street. The change went surprisingly smoothly; there were no accidents.

February 14 Irving K. “Ike” Barber was born in Edmonton. On October 3, 2002 Barber, a UBC alumnus and founding chairman of Slocan Forest Products Ltd., announced a $20 million donation to transform UBC’s Main Library. The B.C. Government is contributing $10 million, and UBC is matching the sum of these donations for a total of $60 million to build the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre.