Muriel Poulton Dunford

Muriel Poulton Dunford has spent more than half a century in the heart of British Columbias North Thompson Valley. During this time she has gained an intimate knowledge of the pioneers of the region and their extraordinary stories.

Muriels family moved to North River in 1938 when she was a young girl. The contrast from Saskatchewan parkland to B.C. highlands moved her to write descriptions and poems for childrens pages in the Winnipeg Free Press and Kamloops Sentinel. After completing her high school education in Clearwater, she took what became a temporary leave-of-absence to further her education and start her teaching career.

She returned to the valley in 1950 when she married Ken Dunford. While launching five sons and daughters into the world, she continued her involvement with the education system. Mrs. Dunford spent two years teaching, four years as a school trustee and Cariboo College council member and two years as School District 26 board chair.

As her children grew older and more independent, Muriel began working with words on a full-time basis. She obtained her BA in English, and managed the Clearwater Public Library, a branch of the Thompson-Nicola Library System, for eighteen years. It was during this time that she began gathering tales and photographs of the North River pioneers. Occasional travel in other parts of Canada, Europe and the British Isles only sharpened her appreciation of the hills of home.

Dunfords retirement in 1992 presented a challenging opportunity to capture and frame the history of the North Thompson region. During this period, Muriel and Ken travelled much of the province tracking down the details that make this story complete.

North River

The Story of BC's North Thompson Valley and Yellowhead Highway 5 . With a Foreword by Richard Somerset Mackie

Muriel Dunford has combined her years of experience with nearly a decade of serious research to write an exciting and valuable new contribution to British Columbia's history. Dunford has taken the events of the past two centuries and extracted the stories of those who have lived (and travelled) along the North Thompson River and Yellowhead Highway 5. In North River , she has created the first comprehensive history of the region. © 2001. 384 pages, 125 b&w illustrations, bibliography and index. 6" x 9" paperback. Laminated two-color cover. ISBN 0-929069-13-7 $19.95 * this book is out of print but there is a used copy on amazon. see below :)