Administrative history
The British Columbia Fruit Growers’ Association (BCFGA) was founded in 1889 in Vancouver in response to an increase in fruit cultivation in the province during the latter part of the nineteenth century, and a corresponding need for a more coalesced marketing strategy. The first Okanagan-based member of the association was Alfred Postill (1852-1897), who was champion of cooperative fruit marketing. The BCFGA’s first convention was held in Kamloops, BC, in 1910, at the apex of trend in declining BCFGA membership over the years immediately prior, and was convened in an effort to recharge its appeal to fruit growers. Early conventions were concerned with administrative reorganization and stabilization. Over time, the BCFGA was instrumental in integrating the marketing of Okanagan fruit into a complex North American supply chain. The BCFGA is still active at the time of the preparation of this finding aid.

Scope and content
Fonds consists exclusively of a series of portfolios documenting BCFGA conventions from 1932 to 2015. These portfolios contain reports and briefs; letters; agendas, proceedings and resolutions; Presidential addresses; committee and subcommittee records.

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.

Contains press clippings RE: Simpson Covenant.

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.).

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.

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.

Series consists of Doug Cox’s collecting activity carried out in support of his writing. Points of origin are from various interior regions of British Columbia. Collections acquired are predominantly composed of photographic material, secondarily of textual material, with thematically compiled interviews and associated transcripts also included. Contents depict, describe, and comment upon a variety of scenes and settings, primarily concerning industry and infrastructure, family life, city scenes, and landscapes during the first half of the twentieth century. Many photocopies of images exist with annotations by original donor identifying human subjects, their relationships, and their locations.

The series contains 21 subseries.

Series consists of the accumulation of research materials compiled by Doug Cox in support of his author and historian function, and presumed compiled predominantly during the 1980s and 1990s. This series is defined by its collection and/or photocopying from existing published sources and/or other resources, for which the originals reside both within and without the Cox Collection.

Series is composed predominantly of original and photocopied tear sheets from various periodical publications (with emphasis on the annual reports of the Okanagan Historical Society, which have been digitized in full), monograph publications, photocopied photographs with identifying annotations, photocopies of correspondence, some original correspondence, and notes.

Includes copy of the original signed petition, subdivision plans, and press coverage.

Legal documentation giving reasons for judgement in the Simpson Covenant case.

Includes City of Kelowna Memorandum (annotated) Subject: Future of Stuard Part and City Hall Properties with appendices, and Council Meeting minutes.

Legal description of properties related to the
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Simpson Covenant Case, including statutory declaration, and record of extraction from B.C. Land Title Office.

Series consists of original still and moving photography attributed to Doug Cox from the 1970s through to 2008 in support of his career as author and historian Frequently, Cox’s images form a time-lapse continuation of the older photographs he collected for research purposes. There are many reprisals of people, buildings, landscapes, and subjects first treated in his acquired collections. In addition to this, Cox documents many of his interview subjects photographically, and this series in large part complements his corpus of recorded interviews/oral histories and collected manuscripts.

Notable are objects of documentation are locations, specifically Penticton, Blakeburn, and Coalmont, and themes, specifically ranching, mining, and rodeo.

The VHS tapes include recordings of Penticton infrastructure such as the sanitary landfill, water purification plant, recycling depot, as well as the closure of Nickel Plate Mine’s last day of operation in 1996.

The contents of the La Cie hard drive have not yet been reviewed. Physical photographs have been separated, or are in the process of being separated.

The series consists of textual works by Doug Cox, occasionally edited by Joyce Cox. Includes curricular materials developed for the British Columbia Teachers’ Federation, short compositions, historical drafts, biographical drafts, proofs for works destined for publication, and materials prepared as a regular column for the Western Producer. Includes 6 scrapbooks of clippings from the Western News Advertiser covering a recurring column contributed by Doug Cox.

Collection consists of the documentation of Cox’s career as an historian and author. The collection is comprised predominantly of photographic material. There are approximately 15,000 unique photographic images: prints in various standard dimensions (8"x10", 5"x7", 4"x6" and smaller, with some custom dimensions, predominantly in black and white; slide transparencies in black and white and colour; negatives, (120, 35mm, and 4”x5”) in black and white; digital photographs in black and white and colour contained on CDs and one hard drive.

Photographic coverage extends from the 1870s to approximately 2008, with the period 1900-1970s predominant. Original photographs by Doug Cox cover the 1970s through approximately 2008.

The collection also features audio cassettes containing sound recordings of interviews recorded in the 1980s and 1990s with associated transcriptions by Joyce Cox. Government documents (primarily Province of British Columbia, c. 1910-1960s) include topographical maps, tree farm license maps, mineral claims maps, taxation records, forestry examination sketches and other records.

Geography covered is predominantly the Shuswap, Okanagan, Similkameen, Boundary, Kootenay, Nicola and Thompson regions of British Columbia, with sparser coverage of outlying areas as well.

Themes treated include mining, ranching, forestry, agriculture and orchard cultivation, industry and infrastructure, landscapes and cityscapes, sports and recreation, community life, and family documentation.

Subseries consists of a collection of documents covering the inception and development of Apex Mountain Resort near Penticton, BC. Includes form letters to Apex members, reports, and some financial statements. Also included is a collection of promotional brochures from the 1970s – 1990s

An additional sequence of photographs related to Apex Mountain can also be found in series 1.3-1 (Historical Photograph Collection) at the item range 1.3-1/00766 – 1.3-1/00813.

Includes Real Estate Appraisal, Consultation & Arbitration: "Retrospective Market Review…1945 Acquisition of The Kelowna Saw Mill Company Limited" as well as Tom Smithwick's trial notes and body of relevant affidavits.

Spiral bound appeal record between Save the Heritage Simpson Covenant Society and the City of Kelowna, filed at the Vancouver Court of Appeal Registry 17 October 2008.

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

Petition of Save the Heritage Simpson Covenant Society, on notice to The City of Kelowna, files by Porter Ramsay law firm, and filed in the B.C. Supreme Court, Kelowna Registry no. 75886 on 21 June 2007. Includes set of b&w and aerial photographs showing property in question.

Includes prepared body of affidavits, originals from 1951 regarding initial sale of land to City of Kelowna, presumed copied around 2007, and affidavits dated 2007 from Sharron J. Simpson. Also includes chamber briefs.

Contains predominantly copies of press coverage, copies of bylaws, and correspondence. Original materials date to 1945 and more recent, but it is presumed that all copies were made after 2004.

See title. Includes correspondence, copies of bylaws, affidavits, contracts, City of Kelowna Memoranda, and some press clippings. Also speech notes and meeting minutes. | These Documents are the property of Sharron J. Simpson.

Newspaper clippings, CD ROM of saved poster PDFs, copies of press releases.

Includes copy of subdivision plan and prepared historical overview of Simpson Covenant Documentation. 1 aerial photograph ca. 2004.

Correspondence between Porter Ramsay law firm and Sharron J. Simpson.

Zoning Bylaw Amendment Application, filed by Westcorp Inc. to the city of Kelowna and Development Proposal for "Pandosy's Landing," also filed by Westcorp., Inc.

Compositions and transcriptions of reminiscences from former S.M. Simpson employees.

Series consists of writing samples created by Sharron J. Simpson.