March 26, 2001 For Immediate Release

A total of 19 reels containing historical local news coverage are being donated to the University of Northern British Columbia Archives by the Prince George Oral History Group. The tapes were originally produced and collected by Jack Carbutt, a long-time local broadcaster at CKPG.

The tapes profile a number of significant local events: the opening ceremony for the Peace Power Project (the WAC Bennett Dam) in 1968, the second annual Northwest Brigade canoe race, and Remembrance Day services in 1960 and 1964. There are also interviews with Ma Murray, Fraser River steamboat operator Jack Davies, and an interview of Jack Carbutt himself, by Bob Harkins. Some of the tapes also feature the music of local bands. All of the tapes have been transcribed by the Prince George Oral History Group and are accessible for research.

The tapes will be officially presented to the UNBC Archives at 10am on Tuesday, March 27th. The event will be held in the CKPG Studio at 1220 - 6th Avenue. Those in attendance will include Jack Carbutt's daughter Lorna Carbutt, Barb Harkins, Ernie Kaesmodel of the Friends of the Archives group, Ken Kilcullen of CKPG, and Ramona Rose of the UNBC Archives.

"Jack Carbutt was described by Bob Harkins as 'the voice of the North,' and this collection of tapes provides public access to the important people and developments in northern BC's history," says Ramona Rose of the UNBC Archives.

Jack Carbutt was one of three employees who launched CKPG in 1946. As well as being an announcer, he was the sales and program manager. He was born in 1917 and passed away in 1990.

The UNBC Archives officially opened in November and already holds the genealogical history of Carrier-Sekani families, 5500 slides and descriptions of northern BC landscapes and flora, and the entire historical record of the Cassiar mining community. The Archives is located on the upper floor of the Geoffrey Weller Library at UNBC.