On January 8, 2009 I sent a letter and application to the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, proposing the designation of the crash in Golden, of an aeroplane making the First round trip Air Crossing of the Canadian Rockies as a national historic event.

I have just received word from the HSMBC stating: Parks Canada staff historians, who assist the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada in the conduct of its business, recently reviewed your application. I regret to inform you that on the basis of the information provided, this submission has not been recommended for formal consideration.

Here is the description that we supplied: On 7, August 1919, Ernest C. Hoy took off from the Minoru Park Race Track in Richmond, British Columbia with the goal of flying over the Canadian Rocky Mountains in a round trip to Lethbridge, Alberta. Flying a Curtis Jenny JN4 biplane, Hoy made a successful one-day trip to Lethbridge, stopping for fuel, meals, and mail delivery at Vernon, BC, Grand Forks, BC and Cranbrook, BC., and going on to Calgary the same day. After resting for a couple of days in Calgary, he set out for the return leg of his trip. He landed successfully in Golden, BC. on August 11. On takeoff, however, he made a hard right turn, possibly swerving to avoid two boys who had run out in front of the plane; the wing caught on the ground and the plane crashed. Hoy was not seriously injured, and he returned to Vancouver by train.

Hoy’s flight was the first flight across the Canadian Rockies and the first airmail delivery across the Rockies. As such, it was designated on the recommendation of the HSMBC in 1961 as the First Air Crossing of the Canadian Rockies, to be commemorated with dual plaques at the Vancouver and Lethbridge airports, the take-off and terminal points of the flight.

Criteria and Guidelines: The Crash of the Aeroplane Making the First Round Trip Air Crossing of the Canadian Rockies can be evaluated under the HSMBC’s criterion 3 for national historic significance, according to which an event may be designated of national historic significance if it represents a defining action, episode, movement, or experience in Canadian history. Specific Guideline 5.5 states that normally disasters will be excluded from consideration by the Board; the Board will consider only the most exceptional disasters if they were seen to have caused changes to some facet of Canadian Society, for example, changes to social programs, public policy, or causing long-standing economic impacts.

Analysis: The crash of Capt. Hoy’s plane can be considered to be part of the larger event of the first air crossing of the Canadian Rockies, or as a separate event in its own right.

If it is considered to be part of the larger story of Hoy’s successful crossing of the Rockies, then it is clear that the unfortunate end of his flight, in Golden, BC, did not actually take away from his achievement. Although it was certainly Hoy’s intent to return to Vancouver by air, the main goal of the flight was to show that it was possible to cross the Rockies by plane. Hoy’s crossing of the Rockies has been determined to be of national significance, and appears on numerous timelines of aviation history.  The crash of the airplane is an interesting element of the story of Hoy’s flight, of particular importance to the history of Golden. Except in the most unusual circumstances, the HSMBC recommends only one commemoration for each event of national significance.

If, instead, the crash is seen as a separate event, then it needs to be considered in the category of accidents and disasters. Because of the HSMBC’s guideline on disaster, there are few designations related to these types of events. In the case of the crash at Golden, BC, there is no evidence that the event had any long term impact, such as improvemtns to airplane design, that led to changes in some facet of Canadian society. While it is an interesting episode in the story of Capt. Hoy’s historic flight over the Rockies, it is difficult to argue that it represents “a defining action, episode, movement, or experience in Canadian history.”

It is hoped that the Golden & District Historical Society will find other opportunities to interpret the crash of Capt. Hoy’s plane at the local level.