Beloved historical building and unique hostel burns down in the Shuswap
A small brick building with a long history and big connection to communities in the Shuswap and beyond was reduced to rubble by wildfire earlier this month, leaving many locals and travellers saddened.
The Squilax General Store has sat for almost a century on the side of the Trans-Canada Highway between Sorrento and Chase acting as a post office, then a train station, and finally a store and community hub. In 1993, owner Blair Acton added a unique hostel behind it, where guests could stay in CN Rail cabooses.
Both the store and hostel were destroyed when the Bush Creek East wildfire flared up on Aug. 18.
“The hostel was a special place for my family, I’m heartbroken,” said a creative writing coach in Kamloops, Janet Whitehead. “I’d take my grands on camping trips there. We’re so happy we went this year for one last visit.”
Whitehead has been hosting writing retreats at the hostel on the Little Shuswap River over the years.
“It’s so unique and unpretentious,” she said. “The setting inspires creativity, everyone that showed up for the retreat was in awe. It was perfection.”
Whitehead said the biggest reason the store and hostel was so important was because the owner, Acton “absolutely cared about providing a place where people could relax and retreat.”
“It was an affordable, safe place,” she said. “So many people from around the world have spent time there.”
The Squilax General Store has a colourful and important history which local historian Jim Cooperman recently detailed in his blog Shuswap Passion after finding old documents from the store in an abandoned barn in 2022. The papers included correspondence between postmaster Clifford Herring and the Postal Service from 1935 to 1959. Cooperman included several black and white photos and lists of the names of the people who used to live and work in and around the building decades ago.
READ MORE: Videographers now part of BC’s wildfire fighting team
Acton’s home and business were not insured and many in the local community and beyond are showing support with financial donations to help her and her family get back on their feet, according to a crowdfund set up by Acton's friend, Sheryle Saunders.
“For 30 years, people from all over the world have come to have a unique Canadian experience sleeping in cabooses, enjoying pancake breakfasts with real maple syrup, s’mores by the fire pit looking at the endless night sky, or soaking up the sunshine on the dock by the water watching the beavers and bald eagles go about their business,” the crowdfund account reads.
“The fire came so fast that Blair (Acton) lost her home and her business before she even got an evacuation order. She was able to get out safely but has lost everything.”
Acton said it is difficult to talk about her situation. She has been on the property since the fire and “things have been reduced to fine powder.”
“I’m at the stage of trying to grapple with what will happen next,” she said. “I’m not sure what the next steps are. I’m talking about a total loss, nothing can be retrieved.”
READ MORE: Vacuum of news on Facebook during a disaster being filled by conspiracy theorists
She said all that remains of the hostel is are two “completely gutted” cabooses, one half-gutted caboose and one that might be salvageable. All that remains of the general store are bricks.
She is grateful for the offers of help she’s been receiving, and “heartbroken” for all of the surrounding communities affected by the wildfire.
“Mostly I’m angry,” she said. “My place burned down before I was alerted to evacuate.”
To contact a reporter for this story, email Shannon Ainslie or call 250-819-6089 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.
We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here.
