Pull Up Another Chair

About the Book

This is a book of memories. Sitting in their homes, eight men and women recount stories of living in the small community of Armstrong Spallumcheen, British Columbia, when farming and logging were the principal ways of making a living, running water occurred mainly in creeks, and lighting was candles or kerosene lamps. Seven of the storytellers are children of pioneers who settled here in the early years of the twentieth century - stories of parents and grandparents become their own. The eighth recounts her life as a Chinese immigrant who came to join her husband already in the area since 1911.

The words of these old-timers tell of independence and optimism, hardship and endurance. They tell of coping with change, and of the importance of the neighbourhood to their success as individuals and to the formation of a stable community.

Today they participate in a different economic system, and neighbours are mainly strangers looking for a place in the country. The old-timers hope that their stories will root newcomers in this community and encourage the sense of neighbourhood which they all knew and enjoyed.

About the Author

Shirley Campbell had a career as a high school English and history teacher in Canada and overseas and is now a non-fiction writer. She attended school in Quebec and Ontario, and graduated with a B.A. (Hon.) in history from Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, and an M.A. in curriculum and administration (education) from Gonzaga University, Spokane, Washington.

Shirley Campbell grew up in the Gaspé Peninsula in eastern Quebec and saw at first hand the triumphs and tribulations of mixed farming and fishing. She lives with her husband, Kevin, in Armstrong Spallumcheen, where they raised their two children.