Opening Day

A crowd assembles at the Hugh Keenleyside Dam opening day, June 9, 1969. Arrow Lakes Historical Society photograph 2018.027.9.17. Photographer: Wilf Hewat.

On June 9, 1969, a crowd gathered at the dam for the opening day dedication ceremony. The local children had the day off school. There was food, entertainment, and multiple speeches. Premier W.A.C. Bennett officially named the dam the Hugh Keenleyside Dam after the retiring co-chairman of BC Hydro. The premier praised the project as:

A great day for this area, a great day for British Columbia and also for our great united nation of Canada

W.A.C. Bennett giving a speech at the opening of Hugh Keenleyside Dam, June 9, 1969. Arrow Lakes Historical Society photograph 2018.032.217. Photographer: Milton Goddard.

During the speech an outcry was heard from the audience: “Not for me.”

The protest came from Ignatus Bajowsky, a local resident who was fighting against the expropriation of his property by BC Hydro. Officials quickly pushed him to the back of the crowd. After the event, Dr. Gordon Shrum, BC Hydro co-chairman, promised an investigation into the case.

Ignatus Bajowsky, and his wife Mary, had property on Mount Begbie Road, south of Revelstoke, on the west bank. They refused all of BC Hydro’s offers to buy their land. They sent back an uncashed cheque of $24,823.55 for their property, to the Premier. By the opening day, the Bajowskys still refused to sell.

Following the ceremony the property was reappraised, but BC Hydro came back with an even lower offer. By October the Bajowskys had received permission to stay for the winter, followed by a final offer of $25,000. They accepted it with the condition that they could purchase their land back if it was deemed safe. Mary Bajowsky successfully bought back the property on March 16, 1976.

Ignatus Bajowsky’s outcry at the opening echoed the voice of many displaced residents who could not feel the day was one of celebration for them.