3 November 2010
Last Spike Ceremonies at Craigellachie will Commemorate 125th Anniversary of
Nation-Building Achievement
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The famous picture of the driving of the Last Spike. |
Craigellachie British Columbia - It's the most celebrated piece of iron in Canadian history, the
shard of metal that marked the culmination of decades of work and symbolically tied the country together from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
The Last Spike, a regular iron spike, unlike many of the gold and silver spikes used to mark the completion of other major railroads, was driven into the
ground at Craigellechie 125 years ago this Sunday, 7 Nov 2010.
The ceremony marked the fulfillment of a promise made to British Columbia when it joined Canada in 1871 of the construction of a cross-Canada railway. It took
nearly five years longer than expected but the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway, symbolized by the driving of the last spike, is regarded as one of
the seminal events in Canadian history and one of the key nation building moments.
The photo from that day of CPR director Donald Smith driving in the last spike while surrounded by railway managers and workers, taken by Alexander J. Ross, is
one of Canada's most iconic. The historian Pierre Berton called it the most famous Canadian photo ever.
To mark the occasion, a ceremony is being held at the Last Spike monument at Craigellachie on Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. On hand will be numerous
special guests, including Jim Prentice Minister of the Environment and Minister responsible for Parks Canada, Fred Green CEO of Canadian Pacific, and Dean Del
Mastro Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage.
Locally, Revelstoke will be represented by David Johnson president of the Revelstoke Railway Museum, and Karen Tierney superintendent of Mt. Revelstoke and
Glacier National Parks and Rogers Pass National Historic Site.
The event begins at 11:30 a.m. with live music and the official celebration begins at noon and will include the driving of a new, commemorative spike, a
demonstration by the Lord Strathcona Horsemen, and a Howitzer salute.
The ceremony will mark the culmination of a year's worth of events celebrating the 125th anniversary of the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway.
The entire event is open to the public but Parks Canada warns that parking is limited and encourages car pooling to the event.
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