Nickoli “Nick” Kanda was born in Cranbrook, BC on October 9th, 1924. He came to the Peace River Country and Bay Tree area with his mother, father and two brothers around the 1st of June in 1930. He moved from Creston, BC when he was 5 years old. His first job was working at Jack Olsen’s farm driving horses; he was 14 years old. In 1941 he worked south of Rycroft for a farmer and lived there from March to the middle of harvest. In 1942 he worked close to Dawson Creek, BC and in 1943 he worked just east of Spirit River until the fall when he became old enough and enlisted in the Army. He started in Calgary and then went to Vancouver Island to continue his training. He served for about 3 years. When he was shipped overseas, he went in the New Amsterdam boat, a Dutch luxury liner that was being leased by the US military for carrying troops to war. On this journey he went with 14 000 troops and was fired on by German subs about 200 miles from England. They landed safely in Scotland and he went to southern England to finish his training. When he returned to Canada in 1946, he took a half section of raw land under the Veteran’s Land Act. He moved a log cabin that he had built from his brother’s land onto this newly acquired land. He was a founder of the Bay Tree Hardball Club, moving around town on a pedal bike before purchasing a new half ton in 1951. He met Rose Cook at a local picnic in the summer of 1951 and they married on April 27th, 1953, having four children. The family stayed on the homesteading quarter until 1956. Nick passed away on April 23rd, 1991 at the age of 66 in Dawson Creek, BC. He is buried in Hillhaven Cemetery, Bonanza, AB.
- Homesteaders’ Heritage, 1982, p. 66 – 68.