Sunshine Valley is an
unincorporated community
An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...
consisting of cabins,
tiny homes
The tiny-house movement (also known as the small house movement) is an architectural and social movement that advocates for downsizing living spaces, simplifying, and essentially "living with less."Ford, Jasmine, and Lilia Gomz-Lanier. Family a ...
, and RV parks on the
Crowsnest Highway
The Crowsnest Highway is an east-west highway in British Columbia and Alberta, Canada. It stretches across the southern portions of both provinces, from Hope, British Columbia to Medicine Hat, Alberta, providing the shortest highway connection b ...
between
the town of Hope
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
(NW) and the entrance to
Manning Park
E.C. Manning Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada. It is usually referred to as Manning Park, although that nomenclature is also used to refer to the resort and ski area at the park's core. The park covers 83,671 hecta ...
in the
Cascade Mountains
The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, ...
of
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
. The community has its own volunteer fire department (SVVFD), recreation centre, heated outdoor pool, and playground. As of 2016, the population of Sunshine Valley is 177.
History
During World War II, Sunshine Valley was named
Tashme
The Tashme Incarceration Camp ( nglicized pronunciationor apanese pronunciation was a purpose-built incarceration camp constructed to forcibly detain people of Japanese ancestry living on the West Coast of Canada during World War II after th ...
. The area was used as a
Japanese Canadian internment
From 1942 to 1949, Canada forcibly relocated and incarcerated over 22,000 Japanese Canadians—comprising over 90% of the total Japanese Canadian population—from British Columbia in the name of "national security". The majority were Canadian ...
camp. Opened September 8, 1942, it was designed to house 500 families, making it one of the largest and last camps in B.C., and was located just outside the 100-mile "quarantine" zone from which all Japanese Canadians were removed.
Men housed in the camp were employed in the construction of the highway during the war.
After the war, the site was sold off and has continued in existence as a proposed Boy's Town, the Allison Lumber Company (a combined lumber and mine venture) and then a small campground and recreational community. It served as the basetown for the small
Silvertip Ski Area Silvertip may refer to:
*Silvertip bear, a name sometimes used to refer to the grizzly bear
::*The Everett Silvertips, a WHL hockey team named for the bear
*Silvertip badger, a grade of badger hair used in a shave brush
*Silvertip fir, a type of e ...
which was located at the head of Tearse Creek, a tributary of the
Upper Sumallo River which flows north into the town from the south and upon entering the town, turns southeast and enters Manning Park. In Hope, there is a
Tashme Friendship Garden in memory of the camp and its residents.
In popular culture
The Tashme internment camp is one of the settings in the 2018 novel ''Floating City'' by author
Kerri Sakamoto
Kerri Sakamoto (born 1960 in Toronto) is a Canadian novelist. Her novels commonly deal with the experience of Japanese Canadians.
Sakamoto's debut novel, ''The Electrical Field'' (1998), won the Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best First Book. It ...
.
See also
*
List of internment camps
This is a list of internment and concentration camps, organized by country. In general, a camp or group of camps is designated to the country whose government was responsible for the establishment and/or operation of the camp regardless of the c ...
*
Judo in British Columbia
The Japanese martial art and combat sport judo has been practised in the Canadian province of British Columbia since the early 1900s, and it was the only place in the country where judo was practised prior to the Second World War. The first long ...
References
{{reflist
''Hastings Park to Tashme 100 Mile Journey'', Mike Gerard, ''The Bulletin, a Journal of Japanese Canadian community, history and culture'', August 3, 2008
External links
TASHME: Life in a Japanese Canadian Internment Camp, 1942-1946Discover Nikkei Website: Description of TashmeDiscover Nikkei Website: Photo collection
(Nos. 4, 5 and 8 are of Tashme)
Designated places in British Columbia
Unincorporated settlements in British Columbia
Canadian Cascades
Ghost towns in British Columbia
Internment of Japanese Canadians
World War II internment camps in Canada