You may know that Prince George is hailed as BC's Northern capital or that a big part of its success came from the fact that its in the intersection of the Fraser and Nechako. However, I doubt that many know that the original owners of the building JJ Springers used to be in ,got the job of being the towns undertakers after the Spanish flu hit and used their Ford Model T as an ambulance to deal with the sick. Not exactly the cute cozy building we now know... PG is the town we live in and for a majority of us, grew up in, yet somehow, a lot of it's citizens don't know much about its history,especially when it comes to our downtown. This is what the Prince George Public Library strives to change with its Downtown Walking Tours. Every summer since 2006 the Bob Harkins branch of the Library has been hosting the absolutely free walking tours. They happen every Tuesday and Thursday, and each year they are hosted by someone else. This year, recent high school graduate Paige Malmgren is leading the walks, and she thinks its an awesome way for PG citizens to get to know their town a little bit more. She state that you "get to learn a bunch of PG's history and see how much its changed over the years". The walk starts off at Bob Harkins branch and leads you around different historic sites in the downtown area. Malmgrens favourite spot is the building that held the original Post office building, since its the same building that stood there in 1939. Many of the historic buildings in PG have been destroyed through the numerous devastating fires downtown has faced over the years, so buildings such as that one are even more interesting. The walk also takes you to other sites such as the courthouse, the building where the Strand theatre used to stand,and WD west studios; along with newer sites like Milan Basic's unique and colourful murals. If this interests you head over to the Library on a Tuesday or Thursday at 11am. The tours are an hour long, so get ready to learn ALOT about your city.
For more info on the tours or anything else library related head over to www.pgpl.ca
-Laura Smith