Hugh William Price was born in Carreg Yr Aflanc, North Wales, one of thirteen children. He married Sarah Jane Jones of Holyhead, in 1914.
Two children, Miriam and Richard were born in Wales before they all sailed to Canada on the Montrose, landing in Montreal.
Hugh went to work on a farm near Ponoka, Alberta, where a son, Hughie, was born. His next job was managing a farm in the Peace River in 1923, where their fourth child, Betty, was born. He was accompanying a car load of cattle to the States when it was stopped at the border at Kingsgate and he did not have the money to cover the six dollar head tax.
He changed jobs by getting work on the C.P.R. section crew at Kingsgate. As a section foreman, the family moved around a lot for the next few years. They lived at Jerome, on Moyie Lake, then at Elko.
Hugh Price was stationed in Wycliffe for a year and a son, Evan, was born while they lived there. Miriam attended twelve different schools in order to get her elementary eight grades.
By 1929, Mr. Price obtained work as an underground trackman with the Company in Kimberley and the family settled here for a good fifteen years.
Miriam completed her schooling in Kimberley and worked for the C.P.R. as assistant agent for a while then in the Company offices at the Concentrator. Later, she became a cashier in the main office of the Mark Creek Store. It was while she was working here that a memorable event happened. One morning she arrived at work to find the office safe had been blown up and all the cash, checks and receipts had been stolen. The cash boxes were found in the river below the railway bridge at Wycliffe. This led to the belief that the robber had escaped by train or speeder. The culprit (or culprits) was never apprehended.
Miriam married Hercule (Eric) Leveque in 1939. They had two children, Eugene and Louise. Both grew up and received their schooling in Kimberley. Eugene married Sharon Daniel of Chapman Camp. He now lives in the Okanagan at Winfield and is Assistant Personnel Manager for Hiram Walker Distilleries. Louise married Dave Pearson and they live in Glendale, California, where Dave owns a wholesale and retail dealership in golfing equipment.
Eric passed away in 1952. When her children were small she operated a beauty shop in her own home. Later she had a beauty shop above Aikmans Cafe for ten years. In 1962 she married a widower, Norman Reid, who had one son. He has been a jeweler and watch repairman in Kimberley since 1955, and he has recently retired. His son Michael has taken over the business.
Richard Price was killed overseas in 1945. He was with the Kimberley 148th Regiment. Hughie worked for the C.P.R. for a time. He lives in Port Moody and was a parts manager for an automotive firm. Now he is working for Share, a rehabilitation project. He is married with two adopted children.
Betty worked at the Townsite cookhouse before taking an accounting course and worked at the Ladner Airbase for several years. She returned to Kimberley for a time. Betty is now night auditor for the Fairmont Hot Springs Lodge.
Evan attended U.B.C. and married a Vancouver girl while he was there. He taught at the McKim School in Kimberley for almost twenty years. They have three children: Patricia, Pamela and Richard, all born and educated in Kimberley. Evan left teaching and moved to Kelowna where he works as a finishing carpenter on leisure boats.
When Mr. and Mrs. Price left Kimberley, they moved to Delta to farm and later they managed an apartment building. When Mr. Price retired, he took up painting as a hobby. They celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary in 1964 and were nearing their sixtieth when Hugh passed away in 1973. Sarah died in 1976.
Miriam has spent most of her life in Kimberley. She was active in the P.T.A. when her children were attending school. She has been an active member of the United Church choir and the Folk Singing group. Now she enjoys taking night school courses, especially languages such as French and Spanish. She also can speak Welsh.
