Tales from a Childhood in British Columbia: Life in the Robson Valley Wilderness

Heartwarming memories of a young Mennonite family growing up in the backwoods of British Columbia

In 1960, a small group of conservative Mennonite families left the familiarity of Ohio and Pennsylvania for the remote wilderness of British Columbia. Drawn by faith, opportunity, and a belief in “evangelizing by colonization,” they settled in isolated sawmill communities where roads were scarce, winters were long, and daily life demanded resilience.
Tales from a Childhood in British Columbia is Ruth Mast Cunningham’s memoir of those formative years. Through carefully reconstructed memories and family stories, she paints an intimate portrait of pioneer life: washing clothes with creek water, cooking on a wood stove, relying on trains for supplies, and raising young children far from extended family.
At the heart of the book is a compassionate exploration of family, faith, and the unspoken costs of obedience and perseverance. With warmth, honesty, and attention to detail, Cunningham reflects on how place and belief shape identity long after childhood has passed.
This memoir preserves a vanishing way of life and honors the quiet courage found in ordinary lives lived far from the modern world.