Few have done more to promote outdoor recreation in and around 100 Mile House than John 'Jack' Barnett.
The husband of longtime community volunteer and politician Donna Barnett, Jack passed away in 2013 after decades of volunteering within the community. Jack helped found the 100 Mile Snowmobile Club, develop the 99 Mile recreation area and lay the foundations of what would later become the Gold Rush Snowmobile Trail.
On Wednesday, May 7, at an intimate gathering District of 100 Mile House Mayor Maureen Pinkney dedicated a new memorial plaque for Jack located at the 100 Mile Snowmobile Club Clubhouse at the end of Ainsworth Road. In attendance was Coun. Marty Norgren, snowmobile club secretary Bruce Andersen and Barnett herself. Both Pinkney and Barnett were visibly emotional during the dedication.
"Jack, along with Donna, were instrumental in getting a lot of recreation happening in our community. This spot in particular would not be here without Jack and his desire for recreation, for things to do in 100 Mile," Pinkney said. "He was unwavering in the energy he put into it. We wanted his legacy to be here permanently so people realise, especially in small communities, things don't happen without the volunteers. Today still, it is the volunteers that create things and get things moving, and we really need to honour them."
Pinkney noted that the Gold Rush Snowmobile Trail now connects communities across B.C., and it was all thanks to Jack's vision. Andersen agreed with Pinkney that the Gold Rush Snowmobile Trail and other endeavours by Jack have created a great deal of entertainment over the years.
He recalled all the work bees that he, Jack and other members of the snowmobile club worked on over the years to create the trail. Now he noted it's rewarding to see new residents of the community enjoying the fruits of their labour.
"Lots of people take advantage of the Gold Rush Snowmobile Trail and it was definitely one heck of a good thing to have been the instigator of," Andersen noted.
Over the years, Pinkney noted a wide range of events and community groups have been hosted in and around the 100 Mile Snowmobile Club Clubhouse. Today, in addition to the snowmobile club itself, it's used by the Bighorn Archery Club, South Cariboo Track & Trail Dirtbike Association and the 100 Mile Model Flyers Club.
Barnett, who moved to the South Cariboo with Jack and their children in the 1960s, said that when they first came to town, snowmobile racing used to be done at 101 Mile and later the 100 Mile Outriders Grounds, both of which proved unsuitable. She noted that the 33-acre area that would become the 99 Mile recreation area was picked out by Jimmy Keller. Barnett explained they were able to purchase the land with the help of MLA Alex Fraser for $750.
"We had a company build a track for us and we built a shack of a clubhouse. We had no power, no water, no nothing and we had 340 racers maybe four times in a winter up here racing," Barnett remarked. "Then that shack, the hunters used to come up and shoot it so we had to take it down and build another one. It got destroyed even worse, so one Halloween we told the RCMP, we told the firemen and we told forestry we were going to set it on fire and we did."
The current lodge was constructed by several volunteers, with Jack serving as their foreman. Barnett quipped that the project almost caused a divorce. As far as the Gold Rush Snowmobile Trail went, Barnett remarked that not even she quite understood the vision Jack had when he first started talking about it.
"Everybody thought he was nuts. We had meetings from Clinton to Barkerville and the only problem we had was that the ranchers did not want ATVs. There was a reason for it and everyone had to learn to live with it, so that's why it was called the snowmobile trail," Barnett remarked. "His vision was that someday, and most of us couldn't see it, that you wouldn't be able to go anywhere (you want). If you have a trail people are staying on, they're not destroying the ecological area. That was his vision and I thought he was crazy, but it was a good thing."
Pinkney agreed, adding that the new plaque will remind people of Jack's legacy and his contributions to the South Cariboo's tourism sector.
"I think it's really important in a small community to recognize people who have really changed the path of a community. Industries come and go, businesses come and go but the great outdoors is here always and we need to embrace it," Pinkney remarked.
