The Portland Canal Telephone and Telegraph Company

Before BC Tel, Before Gen Tel in Stewart BC and Hyder Alaska
There was the Portland Canal Telephone Company and the Hyder Radio and Telephone Company

Oct 1927 The Portland Canal Telephone Co had 30 phones hooked up in Stewart, privately owned and operated by Ernest Love.
There was a connection with Hyder via the Hyder Radio and Telephone Co, and outlying camps, including the Dunwell on the Bear River and the Big Missouri on the Salmon.
In the spring an extension was planned to the Marmot River
Portland Canal Telephone Company was incorporated at $25,000, in Apr 1928, and operated in Stewart BC,
Central office was in the company's office, “Burn's Block” with a regulation switchboard.
They ordered 2,000 ft of cable from a factory in Montreal.
there was no charge for installations

In Hyder Alaska, the Hyder Radio and Telephone Company operated.

July 20, 1929 a deal was completed where the Portland Canal Telephone Company joined with the Hyder Radio and Telephone Company.
This new company became the The Portland Canal Telephone and Telegraph Company Limited
Incorporated Aug 9, 1929, for $100,000
A 100 Pair Line cable was placed between the 2 exchanges to join the 2 systems.
They also had the Bear and Salmon River lines in the system.
The new exchange was to be on 6th st in Stewart, possibly the building shown on this page
BC Tel- Stewart CO and Radio
Board of Directors of the new company
J.A. Hall- President of the Bank of Hyder (see bio below)
Ernest Love- Managing Director (see bio below)
W.R. Love- Prince Rupert (see bio below)
E.D. Haddon- Hyder Alaska (see bio below)

James “Arthur” Hall
b- ca 1861 Nassua, Iowa, USA
d- May 4, 1940 at Seattle WA, USA, age 78
President of the Bank of Hyder,
His brother Elmer E. Hall from Winnipeg bought control of the Riverside Mine, Oct 1926, 7 miles from Hyder in the Salmon River Valley,
he was also Vice President of the Hyder Bank.
E.E. Hall worked on the Grain Exchange in Winnipeg, at that time
Son in law of J. A. Hall was E.D. Haddon, who became Manager of the Hyder Bank in Nov 1927,
when J. A. Hall went to Vancouver to form the Hall Investment Co with his brother E. E. Hall
James Arthur Hall, age 31, married Nov 16, 1892 Emeline B. Marks, age 22, b- Illinois,
daughter of Thomas J. Marks, and Isabella Manzer
Arthur was a Big Timber Montana Banker when he married in 1892
Apr 1, 1935 he lived in Hyder AK with his wife.
Listed in Seattle in 1940 census

Elmer E. Hall
b- Feb 6, 1865, Nassua, Iowa USA,
d- Apr 19, 1939 in Vancouver BC
They were both sons of Jacob D. Hall and Anna Maria Brooks

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E.D. Haddon
Edwin Duder Haddon
b- May 9, 1896 at Topsail, Topsail, Newfoundland, Canada
d- Mar 17, 1980 Hayden Manor Nursing Home, Scotsdale Arizona, USA, age 84
Father: John Haddon
Mother: Eva Haddon
Went to Arizona in 1969
Edwin married Irene Hall, Oct 21, 1923 at Hyder, Alaska, USA
2 daughters-
Patricia “Patty” Ann Haddon (Tappan)
Marjorie H. Haddon (Stansfield)

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E. Love
Ernest Love
b- Apr 10, 1887 O'leary, PEI, Canada
Baptized- Sep 11, 1888 Prince Edward Island, Canada
d- July 19, 1952 near Stewart BC, age 64,
Drowned when a car he was riding in plunged 15ft into the Portland Canal on Highway between Hyder and Stewart (see below) Buried in Barney's Gulch Cemetery, Stewart
enlisted in WWI in Vancouver, Aug 9, 1916, Regiment Number- 505814
Shown as an Electrician living in Prince Rupert in 1916
next of kin- wife- M. A. Love who lived in Spalding, Idaho, USA in 1916
Former Manager of the Bell Telephone Company in New Brunswick and Nanaimo before he came to Stewart
1912 credited with forming the civic telephone company in Prince Rupert, which still operates today (2020) Mar 1913 he was manager of the local BC Telephone company in Nanaimo, and quit entering his own business
Aug 22, 1921 applied for a US Patent #1,449,904 for a Telephone Transposition Switching Box, shown living in Prince Rupert BC
Jan 22, 1923 he was appointed superintendent of Utilities in Prince Rupert, formerly living in Passadena CA
1937 shown President and Principal Owner of the new company
1937- He also owned and operated a commercial radio station for both towns.
1937 Chairman of the Stewart and District Branch of the Canadian Legion
Father- Albert Henry Love
b- Charlottetown, PEI
Mother- Charlotte Amelia Love, nee Calbeck
b- Charlottetown, PEI
Ernest marriedMary Alice Bolin, July 8, 1911 in Prince Rupert BC
she was born in Indiana
Child: Ernest Bruce Love
brother Walter below

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W.R. Love
Walter Raymond Love
b- July 2, 1891 in O'Leary, PEI, Canada
d- Apr 6, 1955 at home in Victoria BC
buried in Royal Oak Burial park, Victoria BC
Shown as an Electrician in Prince Rupert in 1940
Father- Albert Henry Love
Mother- Charlotte Amelia Love, nee Calbeck (Callbeck)
married Eileen Osborne Jan 2, 1937 in Vancouver BC
1912- operated W. R. Love Electrical Contracting Co, office Fulton St and 3rd Ave
older brother Ernest shown above

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1952 Accident that killed Ernest Love
Surviving: Donald A. McLeod, age 23, was only survivor of the 5, brother of Ian E. McLeod
Other 3 that Drowned with Ernest Love:
Driver- John Brockbank, Vancouver BC, age 37, Diamond Driller
Charles Arnold “Jim” Bradshaw, Vancouver BC, age 32, Student of Geology
Herbert Charles Jamieson, Stewart BC, age 36, Geologist

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