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Robert Lucky Budd

1 December 2014 | Email This Post Email This Post | Print This Post Print This Post

The historian and author Robert Lucky Budd discusses Echoes of British Columbia: Stories from the Frontier (Harbour Publishing, 2014), the historian Imbert Orchard, oral history, and more, with Joseph Planta.


Echoes of British Columbia: Stories from the Frontier by Robert Lucky Budd (Harbour Publishing, 2014).

Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Echoes of British Columbia


Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, at TheCommentary.ca.

Robert Budd joins me again. Better known as Lucky Budd, he is a historian, who has spent many years already digitising oral histories in British Columbia. Whether it’s oral histories of the Nisga’a First Nation, or some of the CBC’s archives, he’s done great work in preserving what would have otherwise gotten lost. His new book is called Echoes of British Columbia: Stories from the Frontier. It’s a great collection of oral histories presented in a fine book, that’s accompanied with CDs of actual recordings Mr. Budd recovered from the provincial archive. The recordings come from nearly a thousand interviews totalling nearly three thousand hours of material, conducted by CBC Radio journalist Imbert Orchard. Between 1959 and 1966, Mr. Orchard, who died in 1991, traveled the province to talk to some of British Columbia’s pioneers. The conversations are remarkable, and add so much to the understanding and memory of this place. Lucky Budd joins me now. This book is a follow up to his first book, Voices of British Columbia, which was published in 2010. He’s the co-author with Roy Henry Vickers of the popular Northwest Coast Legend series, which has yielded two bestselling books, Raven Brings the Light, and Cloudwalker. The website for more is at www.memoriestomemoirs.ca. Some of the Imbert Orchard interviews have been featured on CBC Radio’s North by Northwest, as part of the Voices of BC series. Incidentally, Sheryl MacKay will join Lucky Budd this Wednesday, 03 December 2014 at 7.00pm at the Book Warehouse on Main Street for the book launch. That’s at 4118 Main Street. It’s a great shop. I’ve been in from time to time, just this past weekend actually, and it’s a great addition to the neighbourhood. The book is published by Harbour Publishing. Please welcome back to the Planta: On the Line program, in Victoria, British Columbia, Lucky Budd; Mr. Budd, good morning.