34 Years Ago (1984): B.C. Railway budgeted for a new two-storey at Exeter Station near 100 Mile House. The intended purpose of the facility was to alleviate crowded working conditions, with office space on the second floor as well as providing passenger waiting room on the 1,200 square foot main floor. The hope was for the project to start in May or June of 1984.
26 Years Ago (1992): Resource jobs were fading fast, according to federal economist Roslyn Kunin. “The resource industries are declining industries. This is not the usual cyclical pattern we’re used to in B.C. - this is a structural change. The good old jobs are gone like the good old days and they are not coming back.” The most important demographic change was baby boomers who were “out there spending and consuming all through the 70s having past their house-buying years.
20 Years Ago (1998): Half of the doctors who were serving the 100 Mile House hospital were planning to resign from the emergency room on-call schedule. Five of the nine doctors who provide emergency coverage decided to withdraw their service to draw government attention to the problems of burnout facing rural doctors. Their actions joined service withdrawals in Burns Lake and the Elk Valley.
12 Years Ago (2006): B.C.-Canada Place was the surprise hit of the winter Olympics, and hoard of people were queuing up to see the building from the South Cariboo. “When it first opened to the public, we were amazed that they had 1,500 people on the weekends and 400 a day,” said John Johnson, co-owner of Sitka Log Homes. “And now, hundreds of people are lined up outside to go in.”
8 Years Ago (2010): Medical marijuana was being grown in the area legally. Jane and John Doe (not real names for security reasons) completed a 15-page application and had a criminal record check before the licence for production was issued. They had one client at the time. “We’re hoping doctors will try to get with the modern times are realize there are benefits [to medical marijuana].”