Fonds UBCA-ARC-1429 - John Liersch fonds

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Title proper

John Liersch fonds

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  • Textual record
  • Photographic material

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Fonds

Reference code

UBCA-ARC-1429

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Physical description

2 cm of textual records
96 photographs

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Archival description area

Name of creator

(1905-1981)

Biographical history

John Edward Liersch was born on 2 September 1905 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He later moved with his family to North Vancouver. Liersch attended UBC, earning a BA in 1926 and a BASc in Forest Engineering the following year. After a short period in survey and inventory work with the British Columbia Forest Service, he received a master's degree in forestry from the University of Washington. Over the next decade, he worked as a logging engineer and contractor along the coast of BC. In January 1942, he accepted the Head of the UBC Department of Forestry. However, he took leave of absence three weeks later to work for Aero Timber Products Ltd., a Crown Corporation producing spruce components for military aircraft. Liersch returned to UBC after World War II but left in 1947 to join the Powell River Company, eventually becoming executive vice-president and director. One year after the Powell River Company was bought out by MacMillan & Bloedel in 1959, Liersch joined Canadian Forest Products Ltd. As vice-president and director of that company, he helped form several joint-venture forest companies in the BC interior before retiring in 1970. Liersch served on the UBC Board of Governors from 1962 to 1971 and was Chairman in 1970/71. He was awarded the Order of Canada in 1971 and received an honorary degree from UBC in 1980. John Liersch died on 9 March 1981 at his home in Richmond, BC.

Custodial history

Acquired by the University Archives from John Liersch's daughter and son-in-law, Susan and Richard Austin, in March 2007.

Scope and content

Fonds consists of materials that document John Liersch's life and career, and include correspondence, clippings, personal documentation, and photographs. Many photographs also illustrate logging practices and equipment from the B.C. coast in the 1940s and 1950s.

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Some photographs have been digitized and are available through UBC Library Open Collections series UBC 131.1/.

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Please see the finding aid for an inventory of files.

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