Today's vintage video is a 'reel' mystery.
Vernon historian and videographer Francois Arseneault said the footage was “found in a cabin purchased by one of our regular viewers.
“This 1977 reel depicts an adventurous trip possibly on the Kechika and Turnagain Rivers in the far north of British Columbia some 1,200 kilometres northwest of the Okanagan.”
And it is that remoteness that attracts certain people to the area which is rarely visited even today.
Just getting to the Stikine region from Vancouver is a 21-hour drive on today's roads.
“In 1977, the trip would have been longer and dustier with the Alaska highway still gravel,” said Arseneault.
The footage contains a shot of several men aboard the boat who may be identified.
“Look for a moose crossing the river and a small, abandoned boat on shore that may be the point of their trip,” said Arseneault. “With drums of fuel and plenty of supplies, this would have been a well-planned undertaking on this remote river.”
A small as-of-yet unidentified settlement appears towards the end of the footage that Arseneault would like more information on.
There are few clues to help identify the precise locations, except perhaps by someone intimately familiar with the region.
“Bringing a Super8 film camera onboard a river boat in rough waters required a certain confidence in their combined skill sets,” said Arseneault, himself a skilled and experienced camera operator.
The four men on the boat are likely in their late 70s or 80s by now.
“Perhaps they will be recognized,” said Arseneault. “Thank you to Jim Henderson for generously donating this reel.”
Arseneault is always looking for more information on the vintage footage he digs up, and he encourages people to add their input in the comments section on his Youtube page.
Arseneault has an extensive collection of vintage footage, and he is always looking for more.
He currently has more than 1,000 episodes from 54 countries dating back to 1917.
Anyone who may have old 16 mm or 8 mm film footage is invited to email Arseneault at [email protected].
