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Simpson Family fonds
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Crown Zellerbach Canada (Southern Interior Wood Products) Photographs

Subseries consists of photographs created or acquired by Crown Zellerbach Canada Ltd. This aggregation consists of photographs concerning the former S.M. Simpson Ltd. mills as well as other mills purchased by Crown Zellerbach Canada at the same time.
The majority of these images are contact prints of aerial photographs from commercial photography studios, commissioned by Crown Zellerbach Canada:
Hans Giesen of British Columbia Ltd.
Jennings Ltd. Photography
Images depict sites, workers, events, processes, and capital projects at Crown Zellerbach mills, including those holdings in Enderby, Armstrong, Falkland, Monte Lake, Lumby, and Kelowna.

Crown Zellerbach Canada

Simpson Covenant Court Case

Series documents Sharron J. Simpson’s activism as the leader of a legal initiative challenging the proposed dissolution of the Simpson Covenant, a restrictive land sale agreement made between her grandfather, Stanley M. Simpson and the City of Kelowna in 1946.
To explain the context of the creation of the covenant: following a mill fire on S.M.S. Ltd. land on what is now Kelowna’s downtown waterfront (around the area known as Manhattan Point) S.M. Simpson sold this land to the City of Kelowna with the understanding that S.M. would sell at a reduced rate, and the City of Kelowna would agree that the land be used for civic or community (not commercial) purposes. In the 2000s, the City of Kelowna moved to dissolve the so-called “Simpson Covenant,” and in response Sharron J. Simpson launched a court challenge to enforce the maintenance of the covenant.
Series contains correspondence, legal documents (including petitions, reasons for judgment, affidavits, civic records and land title office records, City of Kelowna memoranda, press clippings and press releases, appraisal records, etc.).

Simpson, Sharron J.

S.M. Simpson Ltd.

Series consists of records generated by the business activities Stanley M. Simpson, the corporation he founded (S.M.S. Ltd) and its various subsidiaries between 1906 and 1965, when S.M.S. Ltd. was purchased by Crown Zellerbach Canada Ltd.
Series documents the operations of several sawmills and wood manufacturing plants, forestry harvesting operations, and retail outlets owned by S.M.S. Ltd. operating throughout the Central Okanagan, predominantly during the mid twentieth century.
Series includes an extensive collection of artifacts, robust photographic record, and company records.
Series descriptions within this sous fonds continue at 2.1.2.

S.M. Simpson Ltd.

S.M. Simpson Ltd. Photographs

The subseries consists of commissioned commercial photography (portraits, candids, aerials) carried out primarily by three firms (Aero Surveys Ltd., ca. 1948 to 1958; Jennings Ltd. Photography, ca. 1971 to 1974; and Hans Giesen of British Columbia Ltd. ca.1973). None of these firms have a current detectable presence. Other commercial photographers include Jack Cash Photographic Studio, Pope's Studio, Paul Ponich, Kermode Studio, and Ribelin Photography. Of these, only Pope's Studio is clearly still extant. Other photographs originate from the mill(s) proper, and yet others have been collected from third parties' personal photo collections (acquired or copcopied) by Sharron J. Simpson. There are a total of approximately 2,350 images in the form of photographs, scans & photocopies on paper, slide transparencies, negatives, and contact prints documenting mill business (under various nomenclature and ownership) during the years ca. 1910 to 1994, in colour and black & white, with sizes ranging from oversize posters to 10x12cm prints.

S.M. Simpson Ltd.

S.M. Simpson Ltd. sous fonds

Administrative history
The Simpson family fonds is primarily a compilation of the images and records of three corporate entities, (Kelowna Sawmill Ltd., S.M. Simpson Ltd., S & K Ltd.) as well as the records and images of S. M. Simpson’s sole proprietorship between 1913 – 1924, prior to the incorporation of S. M. Simpson Ltd.

The Kelowna Sawmill dates from 1892 when it was first established by Bernard Lequime, who subsequently sold it to David Lloyd-Jones in 1901. Lloyd-Jones had a variety of business partners during the time he owned the sawmill. In 1942, Stanley M. Simpson, the owner of S. M. Simpson Ltd., purchased and operated the Kelowna Sawmill until it was destroyed by fire in 1944. The corporate Kelowna Sawmill Ltd. was maintained and became the retail arm of S. M. Simpson Ltd. until 1956, when retail operations ceased.
Stanley M. Simpson arrived in Kelowna in 1913 and operated a sole proprietorship for the next eleven years (1913-1924) until incorporating S. M. Simpson Ltd. in 1924. During those early years, Simpson operated his business in two different downtown locations, as well as running, or partnering in various portable sawmills throughout the area. His sash and door factory on Abbott Street, manufactured and sold windows and doors, custom furniture, and wooden fruit boxes for the expanding Okanagan fruit and vegetable industry. The business operated out of this location until 1948.
Needing a reliable and accessible source of logs, Stanley Simpson bought land at Manhattan Beach along the lakeshore, in Kelowna’s North End. In 1930, he began constructing a sawmill and box factory and three years later, added a veneer plant to the site.

The Province of British Columbia created Forest Management licenses in 1951, when S. M. Simpson Ltd. was awarded Tree Farm License #9. Needing to diversity, S. M. Simpson Ltd. created S&K Ltd. to add a plywood manufacturing facility to the Manhattan site. It began operations in 1957.

In the following years S. M. Simpson Ltd. purchased other sawmills and logging operations, including Trautman Garraway in Peachland (1955), Peachland Sawmill & Box (1955), McLean Sawmills (1957), Lumby Timber Co (1959), Ferguson Brothers Lumber (1962), Stave Lumber (1962) Eagle Pass Lumber (1963), R&L Lumber (1964).
Stanley Simpson died in 1959. Horace B. Simpson, Stanley’s son, managed S. M. Simpson Ltd. until 1965 when the company was sold to Crown Zellerbach, Canada. A branch operation of the U.S. company, this was the first of a succession of owners, and though the Simpson name was attached to the operations for several years, the family was no longer involved.

In 1965, H.B. Simpson sold S.M.S. Ltd and its several associates and subsidiaries to the Canadian instance of Crown Zellerbach Corporation: Crown Zellerbach Canada. It continued operating as the S.M. Simpson Division of Crown Zellerbach Canada for several years until the name was changed to simply Crown Zellerbach Canada. In 1969, Crown Zellerbach purchased several more sawmills in the region, including Armstrong Sawmills operations in Armstrong, Enderby, Vernon and Falkland, as well as Ponderosa Pine Lumber Co. in 1970.

In 1981 Crown Zellerbach Canada was purchased by Fletcher Challenge Canada Ltd. and the entity’s name was changed to Crown Forest, and in 1987 the name changed again to Fletcher Challenge Canada Ltd. The company was then subsequently purchased by Riverside Forest Products in 1992. In 2004 Riverside Forest Products was purchased by Tolko Industries Ltd. which operated until 2020.

Scope and content
The sous fonds includes records generated by Stanley Merriam Simpson both before and after the corporate life of S.M. Simpson Ltd., and additionally documents a suite of succeeding companies that assumed the business operations and assets established by S.M. Simpson.

The sous fonds consists of a photographic record that documents the wood processing entity established by S.M. Simpson across iterations of corporate ownership, as well as business records relating to substantial operations, labour relations, safety programs, legal proceedings, and administration.

The sous fonds consists of a photographic record that documents the wood processing entity established by S.M. Simpson across iterations of corporate ownership, as well as business records relating to substantial operations, labour relations, safety programs, legal proceedings, and administration.

S.M. Simpson Ltd. Retrospectives

Subseries consists of various compiled manuscripts and informally published materials either relating directly to the historical narrative of S.M. Simpson Ltd. or to aspects of its operations.
Date range extends beyond the corporate existence of S.M. Simpson Ltd but is included in the series and parent series because of its pertinence to the company.

S.M. Simpson Ltd. Artifacts

Subseries consists of various artifacts in wood, metal, fabric, paper and other materials, generated in the normal pursuit of business by S.M. Simpson and/or deliberately created as souvenirs.

S.M. Simpson Ltd.

Crown Zellerbach Canada (Southern Interior Wood Products) Operations Files

Subseries consists of partial documentation of the substantial forestry, logging, and sawmill operations conducted by Crown Zellerbach Canada (Southern Interior Wood Products) during the 1960s through 1980s. Predominantly, this subseries is comprised of prepared reports, prospectuses, industrial profiles, and descriptions of assets, work processes, and mill specifications.

Crown Zellerbach Canada

Sharron J. Simpson sous fonds

Sous fonds consists of documentation of Sharron J. Simpson’s activities between the years of approximately 1994 to 2011. Sous fonds is predominantly concerned with Sharron J. Simpson’s leadership in the Simpson Covenant court case in 2007 and 2008, as well as the compilation of her personal family research and a few writing samples. In addition, an aggregation of photographs related to her activities is also included.

Sharron J. Simpson Research Files

Series consists of materials documenting Sharron J. Simpson’s efforts to collect external information about various aspects of her family history centering mainly on the history of S.M.S. Ltd., but not including research particular to the Simpson Covenant, which is kept separate.
In addition to the collection of published materials (predominantly newspapers) the series also includes recorded oral histories and select transcripts.

Simpson, Sharron J.

Crown Zellerbach Canada

Series is comprised of documentary record generated by the business activities of Crown Zellerbach Canada Ltd (Southern Interior Wood Products) which purchased the business holdings of S.M. Simpson Ltd. in 1965. Series also includes older materials from mills acquired at the same time as S.M. Simpson Ltd., but which were not affiliated with S.M. Limited during its active existence, namely Lumby Sawmill.
For several years after the acquisition of S.M.S. Ltd., those holdings taken over from S.M. Simpson Ltd. were referred to the S.M. Simpson Ltd. Division of Crown Zellerbach Canada.
In 1973, the name was changed to Crown Zellerbach Canada, and the corporation embarked on a modernization program, documented in this series. In 1981, it was purchased by Fletcher Challenge Canada Ltd. and the company name was changed to Crown Forest.
Series contains documentation of sawmills located in Kelowna, Lumby, Enderby, Armstrong, Falkland, and Monte Lake, British Columbia.
Series within this sous fonds continue at 2.1.3.

Crown Zellerbach Canada

S.M. Simpson Ltd. Legal Files

Subseries consists of legal records including contracts, briefs, land titles, licenses, patents created by S.M.S. Ltd.

S.M. Simpson Ltd.

S.M. Simpson Ltd. Financial Files

Subseries consists of remaining financial records describing the debits and credits of S.M. Simpson prior to the founding of S.M. Simpson Ltd, as well as those generated as a natural by-product of operations of the enterprise, S.M. Simpson Ltd.
Contents of series include banking records, invoices, company financial reports, and payroll & remittances to Workman’s Compensation (currently known as WorkSafe BC).

S.M. Simpson Ltd.

Fletcher Challenge Canada Ltd. / Crown Forest

Series consists of partial record of operations of Fletcher Challenge Canada Ltd, which purchased Crown Zellerbach in 1981 with coverage of safety programs and vendor relations. This subseries is predominantly photographic.
This corporate entity did business as Crown Forest from 1981 to 1987 following its purchase from Crown Zellerbach. After 1987, the name of the entity was changed to Fletcher Challenge Canada Ltd.

Fletcher Challenge Canada Limited

S.M. Simpson Ltd. Operations Files

Subseries consists of contractor information, mill operations specifications and rules, notes, reports, customer and sales information, compiled descriptions of forestry sites, strategic planning, and geographical resources

S.M. Simpson Ltd.

Sharron J. Simpson Photographs

Series consists of photographs taken by, or collected by, Sharron J. Simpson. Subjects documented include sawmill operations, 1999 reunion of former S.M.S. Ltd. employees, and the Okanagan fruit industry, as well as deliberate photographs taken preserving images of S.M.S. memorabilia.

Simpson, Sharron J.

S.M. Simpson Ltd. Administrative Files

Subseries contains documentation of the auxiliary functions of S.M. Simpson Ltd. carried out in support of substantive mill and wood processing operations.
Includes correspondence, meeting minutes, organizational chart, and document register.

S.M. Simpson Ltd.

Crown Zellerbach Canada (Southern Interior Wood Products) Labour Relations

Subseries consists of documentation of Crown Zellerbach Canada’s interactions with its workers, as well as their labour union, the International Woodworkers’ Association.
Subseries contains primary instance documents including forms (blank and completed), collective agreements, meeting minutes, seniority lists, job categorization lists, correspondence, committee rosters, contracts, bulletins, etc.

Crown Zellerbach Canada

S.M. Simpson Ltd. Civic Engagement

Subseries contains documentation of the awarding of the Freedom of the City of Kelowna to S.M. Simpson in 1957
Includes declaration, speaking notes, and other documents. Related photographs available in S.M. Simpson Photographic Record subseries.

S.M. Simpson Ltd.

S.M. Simpson Ltd. Publicity Files

Subseries contains newspaper clippings, copies of newspaper clippings, and tear sheets from publications which provide press coverage of the activities of S.M. Simpson Ltd. and which were published during the operational tenure of the business.
Subjects covered include the opening of the plywood plant in 1957, labour union disputes and strikes, mill fires, land sales, news of the acquisition of S.M. Simpson Ltd. By Crown Zellerbach Canada Ltd., and various advertisements placed by the company.
Related retrospective press coverage written and published recently, particularly in reference to the Simpson Covenant can be found in the Simpson Covenant series of the Sharron J. Simpson sous fonds.

S.M. Simpson Ltd.

S.M. Simpson Ltd. Labour Relations Files

Subseries consists of documentation of the interactions between S.M. Simpson Ltd. and its workforce.
Includes union documents featuring collective agreements, union charters, legal records of dispute, seniority lists, wage lists, payroll records, and pension plan documents,

S.M. Simpson Ltd.

S.M. Simpson Ltd. Plywood Plant

Subseries consists of compiled records, photographs, and memorabilia commemorating and documenting the development, launch, and reception of the S.M. Simpson Ltd. Plywood plant between the years 1957 and 1959.

S.M. Simpson Ltd.

Simpson Family fonds

  • CA OSC-ARC-02
  • Fonds
  • 1904-1994, predominant 1924-1965

The fonds consists of two separate streams of documentation. The first consists of documents, photographs, and artifacts pertaining to the operations of a succession of sawmills and wood manufacturing plants founded by Stanley Merriam Simpson) and assumed by his son, Horace B. Simpson in the Okanagan area.
The second stream consists of the materials generated by Sharron J. Simpson, a Kelowna author, publisher, and activist. Sharron J. Simpson's records within this aggregation are primarily in relation to legal proceedings against the City of Kelowna in pursuit of the maintenance of the Simpson Covenant, which limits use of waterfront land on a former mill site sold by S.M. Simpson to the City under restrictive terms of sale in 1946. In the 2000s, the City sought to dissolve the Covenant; Sharron J. Simpson founded a society to challenge this initiative.
In total fonds consists of approximately 2,642 photographs, in various forms, including some duplicates. Records provide documentation of legal proceedings, finances, substantial mill operations, safety initiatives, administration, civic engagement, publicity, and labour relations relating to mill business, general family research, and writing samples. Artifacts include exemplars of production and souvenir materials.

Simpson, Stanley Merriam

Court Findings 2007

Also includes Tom Smithwick (lawyer) affidavit, and letters of support from the community which are not part of the public record.

Sharron J. Simpson Research

Various newspaper clippings and copied tear sheets, annotated by Sharron J. Simpson. Originals date from ca. 1918, but all materials presumed copied around 1999.

Miscellany

Miscellaneous collected documents from the Sharron J. Simpson sous fonds. Includes a map, funeral program, some copied clippings, handwritten notes of unknown context, OHS report #23 report on population of Okanagan cities, ILMA directory, KPMG Forest Industry Update, and 2 souvenir calendars.

Slides

Includes interior mill, exterior forestry management, maps, exterior mill, trucks.

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