The “Way Out West” EP marks the return of Tiller's Folly to the “Stirring Up Ghosts” initiative, with songs and stories of Pacific Canada, its history and culture. Each of these four songs tell a unique tale. Each story offers an insightful look at Pacific Canadian heritage.
The Okanagan Valley has a long history as an agricultural hub. During the First World War, when the men went off to fight overseas, the women stepped up and answered the call to work. They worked in factories, shops, and most importantly for us, the apple packing houses. Who here hasn’t driven past an apple orchard? In the old days, each apple, once picked, had to be sorted and wrapped manually. And it all fell to the Applebox Belles to do it. The “summer girls” came from all over - Oyama, Nelson, and elsewhere.
For more information about Apple Box Belles, please visit:
www.stirringupghosts.ca/apple-box-belles
‘Pioneer Days’ was written by Tiller’s Folly guitarist Bruce Coughlan and was inspired by a visit to the BC Farm Museum in Fort Langley, British Columbia, which was celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2017. For the previous 25 years the Museum Association had been run entirely by volunteers. They insist they are ‘standing on the shoulders’ of all those who volunteered before them and each adding what they can by using their experience and knowledge. This pioneering spirit is just one reason why the BC Farm Museum could be aptly termed the BC ‘Pioneer Life’ Museum. This song is dedicated to those whose shoulders we stand upon: Our pioneers!
For more information about Pioneer Days, please visit:
www.stirringupghosts.ca/pioneer-days
Sam Robertson is an unlikely hero. From his childhood in Orkney, Scotland to his work as a boatbuilder with the Hudson’s Bay at Fort Langley.
Sam’s life spanned the most dramatic changes in British Columbia History, from a Fur Trade Region called “New Caledonia” to a province within the Dominion of Canada. Arriving practically penniless, through practical planning, hard work and keeping steady progress, Sam Robertson retired on 700 acres of land.
For more information about Sam Robertson, please visit:
www.stirringupghosts.ca/a-simply-extraordinary-life
John Angus Cameron had the Midas touch; there was no doubt about it. Finding gold was second nature. He and his two brothers had started out in California goldrush of ’49 ; John was lucky again during the Fraser goldrush. It was then he returned to Canada West and had married his childhood sweetheart Margaret Sophia Groves, a farmer's daughter twelve years his junior.
When Cameron arrived at the Cariboo in 1860 fate dealt him a cruel twist. John “Cariboo” Cameron would strike the richest seam in all the Cariboo and although he became its richest man, he was by no means the happiest.
For more information about John Cameron, please visit:
www.stirringupghosts.ca/john-cameron
