From California to North 52 Degrees: Cariboo Experiences

In the manner of a good fireside chat with a favourite aunt or uncle, Life in the Cariboo chronicles the Lees' life in one of BC's most rugged areas. We hear about swamp ranches, education by mail, life before universal TV. Best of all, there are tales of some of the Cariboo's legendary - almost mythical - characters, such as Annie Basil and the killer the police couldn't catch.

Todd and Eldon Lee are as intriguing as the Cariboo characters they write about. They were born in northern California in the 1920s, and in the early days of the Depression, the Lees' mother and grandparents loaded up two vehicles with their belongings and their boys and headed north. Todd and Eldon grew up on an isolated Cariboo ranch, dealing with rustic facilities and playing practical jokes that were sometimes funny and sometimes not. Eldon joined the Royal Canadian Air Force and served in bomber command during World War Two, while Todd worked the ranch, cared for their aging grandfather, and wished he were overseas with his brother. Eldon then trained as a doctor and Todd as a minister, although he later became a parole officer. Today both men are married and living in Prince George. Eldon had six children and Todd had nine - a family often called a miniature United Nations because it includes children of all hues. Eldon has recently retired after delivering some 5200 babies, and plans to continue his studies in ancient Greek. In 1990, Todd learned that he had cancer, and decided to do everything he had been putting off. He got his pilot's licence, started writing books (this is his fifth in three years), canoed the Yukon River, hiked and biked and drove around the Cariboo and the BC coast, and is still making plans. Both brothers have published stories in a variety of periodicals, and Todd is the author of He Saw With Other Eyes, A Horse of His Own, Friends from the Sea and The Snoring Log Mystery.

Todd Lee grew up on a Cariboo cattle ranch from which comes the inspiration for many of his books. The first in a series of children’s stories, ’A Horse of His Own’, is based on his experiences as a boy. Author of ’From California to North 52 Degrees’ and ’He Saw With Other Eyes’ and, the writer has also been widely published in children’s publications across North America. Dr. Eldon Lee has been a rancher, fighter pilot, and doctor. Now retired, he is delighted to study classical Latin and Greek, as well as to pilot ultralight planes. He was born in 1923 and raised on an isolated ranch in the Central Cariboo region of British Columbia. At age 19, he enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force, and experienced the war as a bomber pilot in an air crew. Eldon attended Seattle Pacific University and the University of Washington. He took further studies in Canada and England. After 13 years, he earned the following degrees: Bachelor of Science, Doctor of Medicine, Fellow of Canadian Surgical Society, Fellow of American Surgical Society. In addition, he later earned post-graduate credits in Ancient Greek from Regent College at the University of British Columbia. Eldon is the author of a number of unique books including ’Scalpels & Buggywhips’, ’Tall in the Saddle’ (with his brother Todd), ’A Western Doctor’s Odyssey’, ’They Were Giants in Those Days’, ’From California to North 52 Degrees’ (with his brother Todd), and ’The Hatchwell Papers’. His books include a mixture of archival and personal photos, and provide an informative description of the Cariboo region and those who resided within it. He was presented with the Jeanne Clarke Memorial Local History Award in 1998.