A look through the Reco Hotel guestbook
- Greg Nesteroff
- 8 hours ago
- 9 min read
Updated: 18 minutes ago
Old hotel guestbooks are fascinating documents, but they’re hard to come by. In the case of Sandon’s Reco Hotel, however, no less than 10 such books survive.
There were actually three hotels by that name. We know little about the first. The second opened on Jan. 1, 1897 as Black’s Hotel and was renamed the Reco when Johnny Harris and Fred Kelly acquired it the following year. Harris and Kelly were principals in the Reco Mining and Milling Co. (I’ve recently published a biography of Harris, which you can read more about and order here.) The hotel burned in the May 4, 1900 fire that destroyed much of the town and killed one man.
The Reco Hotel (or Hotel Reco) is seen at right on May 1, 1900, less than three days before it burned down along with much of the town. (Richard Trueman photo/Image C-05207 courtesy Royal BC Museum and Archives)
Harris then converted a livery stable he owned that had somehow survived the fire into a third Reco Hotel, which he admitted was smaller than the old one, but he insisted it would be “more comfortable and convenient.” Whether that was true I don’t know, but it survived much longer than its predecessors. Except for a brief closure in 1906-07, it appears to have operated until Sandon suffered a major washout in 1955.
Wine list from the rebuilt Hotel Reco. (Greg Nesteroff collection)
Johnny’s widow, Alma, decided in the summer of 1956 to have the building demolished. Hans Schlaffke tore it down and used the salvaged wood to build a service station at the corner of 6th Avenue and Highway 6 in New Denver, as well as a house that reused the hotel’s windows. The house is still standing, but the gas station was demolished in August 2014 to make way for a new Valhalla Pure store. By coincidence, relatives of Johnny Harris’ were visiting from the US at the time and salvaged a few splinters as souvenirs.
As for the Reco Hotel guestbooks: one is in the Sandon Museum, and the fact it survives is amazing, because it’s from 1899, so it predated the fire of 1900. It doesn’t appear to show any signs of scorching, but it does have heavy water damage, presumably from the 1955 flood.
The 1898 guest book in the Sandon Museum.
The book was originally purchased from Bailey Brothers Co. Ltd., booksellers and stationers of Vancouver and Kamloops. It includes advertising from E.M. Sandilands, mining and general agent of Sandon; Hunter Bros. general merchandise of Sandon and Rossland; Mitchell, Lewis and Staver Co. of Spokane; P. Burns and Co. meat merchants of Sandon, Rossland, Trail, Nelson, Kaslo, Three Forks, Silverton, Slocan City, and New Denver; and Thomas Dunn & Co. hardware and ship chandlery of Vancouver.
The Royal BC Museum and Archives has eight volumes of Reco Hotel guestbooks, spanning 1908 to 1954. They have posted images online of a couple of pages, seen below, from August 1908 and August 1918. I’ll have to make a point of requesting to see them the next time I am in Victoria.
I had the privilege of looking at another volume, kindly loaned to me by Kevin Sherstobitoff of Ootischenia, who obtained it from a Grand Forks collector. It covers the period of April 1, 1905 to March 27, 1908.
It’s the second opportunity I’ve had to read a hotel guestbook page-by-page, the first being one from the Newmarket Hotel in New Denver. Unlike the Newmarket register, this one didn’t fall victim to much vandalism, i.e. people writing phony names or otherwise filling the pages with nonsense. Too bad!
This book was produced by the Nelson Daily News.
The top of each page reads:
HOTEL RECO
Sandon, BC
Ritchie & Bewley, Proprietors
All Money, Jewels, Coats, Valises, and other Valuables must be left at the Office, and Checks received for them, otherwise the proprietors will not be responsible for any loss.
GUESTS WITHOUT BAGGAGE ARE REQUESTED TO PAY IN ADVANCE
An ad at the bottom of each page reads: “DO YOU READ THE DAILY NEWS? It is the Brightest Newspaper Published in Kootenay. Subscriptions $5 per year.”
For 1905, stickers from the Hotel Kiaserhof of Chicago are used to denote the start of each day. Thereafter, the dates are written by hand. Pink ink blotters are found between each page.
Some interesting people and things I noted:
April 6, 1905: St. Elmo Davis, Reco Mine
This was Johnny Harris’ first cousin, whom he installed as superintendent of the mine. His only qualification for the job appeared to be his relation to Johnny.
April 26, 1905: Rev Dr. Herdman, Calgary
James Herdman was described as “one of the most enthusiastic mountain climbers in Canada” and helped found the Alpine Club of Canada. Herdman was listed along with Rev. Mr. Ferguson of Nelson. As the Nelson Daily News explained a day prior to this guestbook entry, “The induction of W.G. Brown, as Presbyterian missionary in charge of Sandon, takes place today, the ceremony being conducted by Rev. Dr. Herdman of Calgary and Rev. Mr. Ferguson of this city.”
April 29, 1905 and May 1, 1905, among others: W.S. Drewry, New Denver
Drewery was a provincial land surveyor who worked in the West Kootenay in the 1890s and 1900s before moving on to the Cariboo. Mount Drewry on the west side of Kootenay Lake is named after him. Darby James Cameron’s thesis, An Agent of Change: William Drewry and Land Surveying in British Columbia 1887-1929 can be downloaded here.
May 30, 1905: Several people listed themselves as from “3 Forks” rather than Three Forks, which is cute.
July 3, 1905: H.H. Claudet, Rossland
Henry Hayman Claudet was a mining guy and a classmate at Dulwich College with one John Pratt. Around 1910 in Vancouver, Claudet ran into Pratt’s brother William, who was struggling to make ends meet. Claudet offered him food and money and helped him find a job. William never forgot the favour. Eventually, his acting career took off and he adopted the name Boris Karloff.
July 14, 1905: L. Metzgar, Wallace
I don’t know who Metzgar was, but he sticks out because Wallace, Idaho, is where Johnny Harris was living before he joined the Silvery Slocan mining rush of 1892.
July 23, 1905: E.P. Davis, Vancouver
Davis was Johnny Harris’ lawyer in the infamous Rabbit Paw case that saw Harris tangled up in court for the better part of a decade fighting the Byron N. White Co. Davis was one of Vancouver’s most prominent lawyers, but Harris eventually dispensed with his services, because he could no longer afford him. Harris won his case anyway, which was ultimately decided by the Privy Council.
Aug 2, 1905: “Great Northern Railway passenger advertising industrial and photographic party, Sandon”
Sept. 4, 1905: This was about the busiest day in the book, with about two dozen guests, thanks to Sandon’s robust Labour Day celebration. According to the Nelson Daily News, the event “could not have had better weather and there was a great crowd in the city, coming from all points with special trains from Kaslo and Nakusp … The arrival and departure of the trains were busy scenes as the visitors were welcomed and offered the best hospitality that Sandon could afford.”
Sept. 26, 1905: R.T. Lowery, Nelson
Robert Lowery was the West Kootenay’s most prolific newspaper publisher and had formerly owned the Sandon Paystreak, which had folded by this time. Lowery was apparently going back and forth between Greenwood, where he published The Ledge (formerly of Nakusp, New Denver, Nelson, and Fernie), and Nelson, where he published Lowery’s Claim (formerly of New Denver and Vancouver).
Sept. 29, 1905: Harold Nelson Co.
This was one of the more durable touring theatrical companies of the era, led by a Nova Scotian described as “the only important actor of his generation who set out consciously to use his talent in the service of a vision of a specifically Canadian theatre.” Sandon was without a newspaper during this time, but from an appearance in Nelson the week before, we know the company’s repertoire included David Garrick and Prince Otto. The company signed in again at the Reco on Oct. 26, 1905 as part of a return engagement.
Dec. 30, 1905: J.E. Brouse, New Denver
Dr. Brouse came to New Denver in 1895 and opened the community’s first hospital. Two years later, he built a new hospital that served the community for more than 80 years. When he wasn’t saving lives, he was building boats, one of which is now displayed outside the Silvery Slocan Museum. He’s the namesake of Brouse Lodge in New Denver and the community south of Nakusp.
May 29, 1906: Last day of operation
At this point, hotel proprietors Ritchie & Bewley, who had been leasing the Reco from Johnny Harris, gave up the ghost. They had struggled mightily to keep the business going, telling Johnny in a letter that “Business here has dropped off to nothing and it is certainly no fault of ours that you are not getting your rent.” The hotel remained closed for more than seven months.
Jan. 15, 1907: “Fire destroyed the Filbert Hotel”
Filbert Hotel proprietor William Bennett found himself burned out by a blaze that also destroyed the Balmoral Hotel and Charles Gales’ barber shop. Bennett’s guests escaped with their lives, and, having nowhere else to go, Bennett arranged to move them en masse to the Reco Hotel, which reopened under his management.
Jan. 25, 1907: New Denver hockey team including J.E. Cornwall
Cornwall was the manager of the Bank of Montreal. Two years after this visit, he donated a cup in his name for the senior men’s hockey championship of the Slocan. It was awarded off and on until the early 1950s and is now on display in the Slocan village office.
Jan. 30, 1907: Kaslo & Slocan Railway crew
Hereafter, these crews stayed regularly at the Reco.
Feb. 1, 1907: Rev. Father D. Jeannotte
A Catholic priest in the Slocan who is favorably depicted in Francis X. Atherton’s novel Tuppence Ha’penny is a Nickel. Atherton’s father J.J. was a newspaper publisher in Trout Lake, Sandon, New Denver, and Creston.
Feb. 13, 1907: This is the first page that is written entirely in pencil, suggesting a Sandon ink shortage.
March 2, 1907: While it’s unclear how much the Reco Hotel charged guests in this era, Norman Hurlburt is noted as staying from March 1 to April 7 for $9.25, which works out to just 25 cents a day, and sounds like an exceptionally good deal.
April 3, 1907: S.S. Fowler, Nelson; S.S. Taylor, Nelson; F.L. Sizer and wife, Helena
S.S. Fowler was a mining man closely associated with the Bluebell mine at Riondel. S.S. Taylor was a Nelson lawyer (and future mayor) who was E.P. Davis’ co-counsel on Johnny Harris’ Rabbit Paw case until Harris decided Taylor could win the case on his own. He was right. F.L. Sizer was a mining expert who testified on Harris’ behalf.
June 8, 1907: Harry Thaw, New York; Duke of Abruzzi, New Denver
These are among the very few instances of mischief I noted in the book. Neither Harry Thaw nor the Duke of Abruzzi stayed at the Reco. Thaw was an heir to a fortune who shot and killed architect Stanford White on June 25, 1906. His first trial resulted in a hung jury. The second trial resulted in a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity. The Duke of Abruzzi was Luigi Amedeo, who had led a mountain climbing expedition in Uganda a year prior to his imaginary visit to Sandon. Curiously, immediately after these two names are three others in the same handwriting that look legit.
July 17, 1907: M.L. Grimmett, Nicola; D. Brandon, Silverton; W.H. Brandon, Silverton
Martin Luther Grimmett was a former mayor of Sandon and another of Johnny Harris’ lawyers. Dan and William Brandon were Silverton hoteliers and namesakes of the Brandon townsite adjacent to Slocan.
Aug. 30, 1907: A.W. Davis, Eureka; Col. R.E. Morse, Spokane
Angus Davis was a prominent mining man who left us his memoirs, including an account of playing bridge against Johnny Harris in 1946. He said Harris was much better at poker than bridge. Col. Morse also checked in on Nov. 22, 1907, but he had been demoted to “Major” Morse of the American Boy mine. I don’t know anything else about him.
Dec. 6, 1907: Cripple Creek Co.
I don’t know much about this theatre company, but they also performed in Nelson and Fernie on the same tour. Their repertoire included The Fatal Wedding and the cast included “the most wonderful child actress, Mamette Girard.”
Jan. 24, 1908
For the first and only time, William Bennett scratched out Ritchie and Bewley’s names at the top of the page and wrote his own in.
Feb. 14, 1908: New Denver hockey team
I don’t know who won. The relevant issue of the Slocan Mining Review is missing.
Feb. 15, 1908: R.T. Lowery, Greenwood
On the facing page, there is a photocopy of a letter that Lowery sent to Andy Shilland of the local miners’ union from Fernie on Nov. 14, 1904 on the letterhead of The Ledge. It says “Dear Sir — As your sub[scription] to the Ledge has expired will I continue sending it to you? I sent a [illegible] to you yesterday. If there are any more I must have them in Nelson.”
Feb 1908: Kaslo Hockey Club
Sandon beat Kaslo 4-2.
Feb 1908:
For some reason, part of this page was sliced out of the book, but not removed. Immediately below the piece that was cut, A. Edward St. Ewart signed in as “from the city that’s growing, Kaslo” and someone else wrote below that: “And a man that was never known to buy a drink,” then underlined it eight times. What does it all mean?
March 11, 1908: Last day
The book concludes here, although it contains a loose page with some names from March 25 and 27, 1908.
There are also interesting doodles on some of the blotter pages, including one where someone wrote “Hotel Recaux.” The Reco mine was originally the Rueceau, after one of its locators, Louis von Ruceau. But I’ve never otherwise seen the spelling Recaux.
Plus there’s this portrait of Aleck Forrest, whoever he is.
And this cartoon implores us to “Turn Him Out,” whoever he is.
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For more on Sandon, check out my new book at kingofsandon.com