Interview: Daphne Sleigh, On the Line with Joseph Planta (thecommentary.ca)

Daphne Sleigh

Monday, 04 August 2008

Historian and author Daphne Sleigh joins Joseph Planta to talk about her recent book, The Man Who Saved Vancouver (Heritage House, 2008), a biography of Vancouver's colourful founder and champion of the city archive, Major James Skitt Matthews.

The Man Who Saved Vancouver by Daphne Sleigh. (Heritage House, 2008)

Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: The Man Who Saved Vancouver

You will need the Real Player to listen to the interviews. If you don't have it, you can download it at http://www.real.com.

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line. This is THECOMMENTARY.CA.

There's a fascinating new book out well worth picking up. It's called The Man Who Saved Vancouver, and it tells the story of the life and times of one Major James Skitt Matthews, a colourful, not uncontroversial, persistent, and remarkable man in the city's history. He initiated the idea of an archive for the city to preserve the history of Vancouver. Everything about the man was unique, including how he saved a great deal of history both tangible and oral of Vancouver. Daphne Sleigh is the book's author and she joins me now. Born in England and educated at Oxford, Daphne Sleigh won the 1984 Lieutenant Governor's Medal from the BC Historical Federation for her book, Discovering Deroche, where she lives. She was also the first curator of the Maple Ridge Museum. The book is published by Heritage House and retails for $19.95. The foreword is written by Jean Barman. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Daphne Sleigh; Good morning, Ms. Sleigh.