What do you think?
Rate this book
Boom Times in Chilliwack: Memories from the Post-war Years
Not yet published
Expected 31 Mar 26What began as a steamboat landing on the Fraser River, in the traditional territory of the Stó:lō Nation, became a pioneer settlement in the 1860s. Today, Chilliwack is a thriving agricultural hub with a population in excess of 100,000. The more the city grows so too does local interest in its history, coupled with a move to preserve what is left of the community’s past and its heritage.
Boom Times in Chilliwack celebrates a dynamic time in the city’s past when it experienced unprecedented growth. After World War II, with surging population growth and a steadily increasing tax base, came major infrastructure projects such as a new library and firehall, courthouse, arena, hospital and civic centre. The Paramount Theatre installed its iconic neon sign downtown in the spring of 1949, and a drive-in theatre on the edge of town opened the next summer. Meanwhile, the city’s restaurant options, retail sector, schools and sporting scene all grew significantly.
These cultural and physical shifts—including fast-food drive-ins, subdivisions and a burgeoning consumer culture—represent in microcosm changes that were happening in communities across North America, but with a special local flavour. Accompanied by a wealth of archival photos, Boom Times in Chilliwack chronicles the entertaining tales that come with rapid change, and captures the developments and the economic optimism of the 1950s and 1960s that laid the groundwork for the Chilliwack of today.
Boom Times in Chilliwack celebrates a dynamic time in the city’s past when it experienced unprecedented growth. After World War II, with surging population growth and a steadily increasing tax base, came major infrastructure projects such as a new library and firehall, courthouse, arena, hospital and civic centre. The Paramount Theatre installed its iconic neon sign downtown in the spring of 1949, and a drive-in theatre on the edge of town opened the next summer. Meanwhile, the city’s restaurant options, retail sector, schools and sporting scene all grew significantly.
These cultural and physical shifts—including fast-food drive-ins, subdivisions and a burgeoning consumer culture—represent in microcosm changes that were happening in communities across North America, but with a special local flavour. Accompanied by a wealth of archival photos, Boom Times in Chilliwack chronicles the entertaining tales that come with rapid change, and captures the developments and the economic optimism of the 1950s and 1960s that laid the groundwork for the Chilliwack of today.
336 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication March 31, 2026
5 people are currently reading
1 person want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
January 3, 2026
A well researched and surprisingly engaging slice of history of my hometown, which even I, a fan, must concede is not a very interesting place as far as they go.
I did not expect to be held in rapt attention by the chronicles of various retail outlets and subdivisions that have come and gone in this town, but it was delightful to see the development of areas I had thought were well known to me overtime.
Though I’ll be the first to say that I think the growth of Chilliwack in recent years that has made it, if not a real city than perhaps a distant cousin of one, has been a positive change, it’s hard not to be a bit sad for the loss of the way things were (even though I never experienced most of the way things were set out here).
I mean, I’d never trade out my modern entertainment options for bowling, but the idea of living in a time and place where bowling was so popular that a city of 20,000 people had competing bowling venue options makes me wistful in a way I find hard to pin down.
Highly recommended to Chilliwackians and anyone else interested in Chilliwack (the ven diagram of which is probably a circle).
P.s. From reading this it seems that a shocking number of notable Chilliwack structures have been lost due to confirmed or suspected arson. If you happen to own an interesting building in Chilliwack, I might double check my insurance policy if I were you.
5 stars.
I did not expect to be held in rapt attention by the chronicles of various retail outlets and subdivisions that have come and gone in this town, but it was delightful to see the development of areas I had thought were well known to me overtime.
Though I’ll be the first to say that I think the growth of Chilliwack in recent years that has made it, if not a real city than perhaps a distant cousin of one, has been a positive change, it’s hard not to be a bit sad for the loss of the way things were (even though I never experienced most of the way things were set out here).
I mean, I’d never trade out my modern entertainment options for bowling, but the idea of living in a time and place where bowling was so popular that a city of 20,000 people had competing bowling venue options makes me wistful in a way I find hard to pin down.
Highly recommended to Chilliwackians and anyone else interested in Chilliwack (the ven diagram of which is probably a circle).
P.s. From reading this it seems that a shocking number of notable Chilliwack structures have been lost due to confirmed or suspected arson. If you happen to own an interesting building in Chilliwack, I might double check my insurance policy if I were you.
5 stars.
Displaying 1 of 1 review