Steveston Stories The Next Great Steveston Novelette

©Peninsula Publishing—Cover of "Steveston Cannery Row: An Illustrated History," by Mitsuo Yesaki and Harold & Kathy Steves.

Steveston, once an independent village, is now part of the region's most multicultural cities, Richmond, BC. Richmond is blessed with a majority of its residents being of Asian decent, making Richmond, a city of 170,000, a diverse and tolerant city, following in the footsteps of its older brother, Steveston. However, things weren't as tolerant in Steveston during it's heyday as a bustling fishing port. The Steveston fishing industry relied heavily on Native, Chinese and Japanese workers, who weren't always treated as they should have been, but they persevered and helped make Steveston what is today.

Today, Steveston is a busy fishing port, as well as tourist destination, a unique combination, all within a short drive or bus ride of the busy city center of Richmond. Steveston has a totally different feel, having historic buildings, a more laid back and relaxing atmosphere, with lots of things to see and do in a compact area.

So, join me in celebrating the history of Steveston in books, many written by those who live, or who have lived, here. You never know what little tidbit of history you may uncover. Steveston may be quaint, but never boring... Enjoy!

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR OF THE BOOKS BELOW: Mitsuo Yesaki was born in the Steveston Japanese Hospital, a descendant of three generations of Fraser River fishermen. The Yesaki family was evacuated and interned after the attack on Pearl Harbor to Picture Butte, Alberta. They remained their for 8 years, from 1942 to 1950. He fished a ‘mosquito’ skiff during the summer school holidays from 1952 to 1958. He earned his BSc. from the University of British Columbia, and completed courses for a MSc. from the Institute of Fisheries at this university.

From 1963 to 1966, he was employed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service at the Exploratory Fishing and Gear Research Base in Juneau, Alaska. While at the Base, he participated in trawl and pot exploratory fishing cruises for shrimp, and conducted gear research on trawls and pots for shrimp. Mitsuo then worked with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations from 1966 to 1992, with breaks in 1970-71 and 1983-86. He was assigned to various fisheries projects, ranging from 1 1/2 to 5 years, in the Caribbean, Central America, Brazil, the Middle East, Thailand, Philippines and Sri Lanka. In the first five assignments, he was involved in exploratory fishing for tuna, demersal fish and shrimp. In the last two projects, his duties were primarily concerned with collecting tuna statistics, and encouraging local scientists to conduct research on coastal tuna.

After returning to British Columbia in 1992, he hand-lined for rock cod during the summer in the southern Gulf Islands until 1996. At about this time, he started researching the history of Steveston and Japanese Canadians and, to date, has self-published five books.

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STEVESTON Cannery Row: An Illustrated History

Details: Soft cover. 128 pages with 139 photographs, 26 maps, 5 tables and 1 graph. Bibliography and index.
Price: $25.00 CAD / $20.00 USD
Order Form: For Canada / For U.S.

Description: This book describes the development of the southwest coast of Lulu Island from the arrival of the first Caucasian settlers in the 1800s to the present. The Fraser River supported one of the largest runs of sockeye salmon in the world. The first salmon cannery was built on the Fraser River near New Westminster in 1870 and the number of canneries increased exponentially thereafter. Marshal English built the English Cannery on the Steveston waterfront in 1882. The number of operating canneries on this waterfront increased to three by 1890 and fifteen by 1900. A total of twenty-three salmon canneries were built on this one and half mile stretch of waterfront. Their numbers started declining in the 1900s. The last cannery, Imperial, stopped canning salmon in 1992 and terminated all operations the following year... more->

A Historical Guide to the Steveston Waterfront

Details: Soft cover. 34 pages. 40 photographs and 44 maps.
Price: $12.00 CAD / $10.00 USD
Order Form: For Canada / For U.S.

Description: This guide describes the development of the one and half mile extent of the Steveston waterfront from the late 1880s to 1971. The waterfront is arbitrarily divided into eight sections, including the following:

1. Scottish Canadian Cannery
2. Burrard Cannery to Gulf of Georgia Cannery
3. Star Cannery to London Cannery
4. Brunswick Cannery to Hume Cannery
5. Phoenix Cannery
6. Britannia Cannery to Hong Wo General Store
7. Great West Cannery to Colonial Cannery
8. Beaver Cannery to Canadian Pacific Cannery

A short description is given of each section of the waterfront, as well as maps for 1889, 1897, 1911, 1936 and 1971. These maps show the locations of salmon canneries, public wharves and significant businesses on each section. Several photographs, mostly from 1971, show the character of the waterfront... more->

SUTEBUSUTON: A Japanese Village
on the British Columbia Coast

Details: Soft cover. 148 pages with 71 photographs, 28 tables and 6 illustrations. Bibliography and index.
Price: $25.00 CAD / $21.00 USD
Order Form: For Canada / For U.S.

Description: This book traces the immigration of Japanese into the Fraser River fishery from first entry in the 1870s, their immigrant surge in the late 1880s and their dominance by the 1900s. The majority of the Japanese fishermen settled in Steveston where they lived primarily in cannery bunkhouses supervised by Japanese fishing bosses. Each boss supplied his contract fishermen with accommodations, fishing boats and gear for a percentage of their catch. With this fishing boss system, Japanese immigrants with initiative were able to accumulate capital, and to expand into other businesses. Japanese entrepreneurs started the salt chum salmon and charcoal-making industries in the 1890s, the salt herring industry in the 1900s and the live lingcod fishery in the 1910s... more->

Watari-Dori (Birds of Passage)

Details: Soft cover. 175 pages with glossary of Japanese words.
Price: $15.00 CAD / $12.50 USD
Order Form: For Canada / For U.S.

Description: Watari-Dori is an historical novel of a fifteen-year old Japanese immigrant’s first six months fishing on the Fraser River. Because Miyakichi refused to continue his studies in Japan and instead insisted on becoming a fisherman, his father reluctantly sent for his wife and son to join him in Steveston, BC. Miyakichi fished as a boat-puller with his father during the sockeye salmon season. When his father accepted a position with a boat works, Miyakichi was left with the choice of either being unemployed or fishing the boat by himself... more->

Salmon Canning on the Fraser River in the 1890s

Details: Soft cover. 35 pages including fifteen colour illustrations. Bibliography.
Price: $12.00 CAD / $10.00 USD
Order Form: For Canada / For U.S.

Description: This book describes how salmon were caught and processed in the canneries on the Fraser River in the 1890s. Caucasian and Japanese fishermen caught sockeye salmon in gill nets fished from Columbia River boats. Steam tugboats collected and transported the catch in fish barges to the salmon canneries. In the canneries, salmon were processed in mass production assembly lines, consisting of a series of tables, tanks and manually operated

Also, a Japanese language edition... more->

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