Road Trip
Writing

Using your imagination, write a dialogue between two characters in the history of roads in British Columbia. You might want to work with a partner, and each of you could pretend to be one of the characters. Remember to put the name of the speaker, followed by a colon, at the beginning of each new speech.

Palmer: We’re ready to leave Walla Walla.
Miller: Yes, I hope that we make a pretty penny when we sell our goods to those rich gold miners in the Cariboo.

Suggested dialogues

1. Between Palmer and Miller during their expedition in 1858.
2. Between the Welby Stagecoach driver and the woman who provided him with the castor oil for the wheel.
3. Between W.A.C. Bennett and Phil Gaglardi after the 1952 election when they are discussing the need for roads in the interior of the province.
4. Between Governor James Douglas and Edgar Dewdney when Douglas hires Dewdney to build a trail to Rock Creek.
5. Between two members of the Vernon Automobile Club at the time of the first automobile meet.

Study the picture of the two Okanagan area fur traders as they pose for a photograph in front of their collection of fur pelts. Think what each person is saying as he faces the camera. Use a yellow post-it note for each person’s speech, as if the picture were a cartoon.

If you are feeling particularly creative, try thinking up a caption for each of the men on the “First Through Trip from Carmi to Kelowna” photo.