When Rotary rolled a barrel to New West along the Fraser River

When you find an interesting piece of history, sometimes you just have to, erm, roll with it.

A few weeks ago, I was at the New Westminster Museum and Archives doing research on a separate story when I noticed a bright, reddish-orange flyer from 1986 in the pile of materials I’d requested.

“Roll Out the Barrel! First prize: $25,000 tax free!”

To put this into perspective: $25,000 in 1986 is just shy of $60,000 today. 

Sifting through the pile, I found a few more related documents: this was a New West Rotary contest for charity that no longer existed. The $25,000 wasn’t the only prize: second place received $10,000, third won $5,000, with a range of prizes for the folks who came in fourth through 20th.

Participants were able to guess the time the barrel would make it to New West from Lytton; the entry form included seven unique times to choose from. One guess cost $2, three were $5 and seven were $10.

“On Labour Day weekend, the New Westminster Rotary Club will ROLL OUT THE BARREL into the mighty Fraser River at Lytton. Hours later, the barrel will float across the finish line at the Sampson V [museum] New Westminster Quay, New Westminster, BC,” reads the flyer, which turned out to be an entry form. Beginning precisely at 10am on Aug. 29, 1986, the barrel would make its way through Hell’s Gate, Spuzzum, Clearbrook, Fort Langley and Port Moody on its journey to New West.

“If hung-up or delayed for a period of more than 15 minutes, the convoy personnel will cause the barrel to be positioned, so that it may continue on its journey down the river.” There were even precautions taken in the event that the barrel didn’t make it to the museum on the first try: they’d launch another one on another day.

“This year [1986] we’re reviving a classic with a modern touch. With our modern, computerized facilities, we can announce the winners only moments after the barrel crosses the finish line.”

The contest happened again the following year, with a story in the now-defunct New Westminster Now showing Rhona and Tom McFeeters hoisting a barrel-cheque hybrid for $25,000 – that article and photo appeared on page five of the Sept. 16, 1986 edition. Along with the cash, additional prizes included a trip for two on Canadian Airlines International (which was merged into Air Canada in 2001), three gas barbecues, a sleeping bag, and a clock radio. For the 1949 contest, prizes included everything from a 12-gauge Ithaca pump action shotgun to a suite of ‘hard to get’ electric appliances made by Canadian General Electric, known today as GE Canada. 

Barrel roll goes back to wartime

The original barrel roll happened annually from 1940 to 1950, referred to as the Fraser River Barrel Sweepstake. The barrel included blinking lights and a flag that would wave in the breeze as it made its way downstream. A variety of charities benefited, including war charities, Rotary, the CKNW Orphans Fund (now called the CKNW Kids’ Fund) and Hyack Charities. Entries for the contest were just 50 cents, the equivalent of $6 in 2022.

In The Province’s Mar. 12, 2005 edition, Vic Crockford outlined the challenge of calling the time for the barrel in 1948. “What had happened was it got as far as the Port Mann Bridge, and the tide took it back up to Mission,” he told the paper. “That was a scary moment, thinking I had missed it.”

During that decade, New West Rotary says the barrel event accounted for nearly 75% of its funds raised. From 1940 to 1950, the contest brought in about $45,000.

Who came up with the barrel roll…and how?

In a letter at the New West Museum and Archives dated Oct. 24, 1950 to a Jack Boothe, local Harry J. Sullivan said the idea was inspired by a log floating contest held at the Washington State Fair in Puyallup. Sullivan initially wanted to use a log with Air Force markings, but another man, Tom Trapp, suggested the use of a cork-filled steel barrel.

Barrel records:

• Fastest time is 55 hours, 19 minutes and 41 seconds, recorded in 1948

• Slowest time was 92 hours, two minutes, 54 seconds, recorded in 1942

So, what happened to the barrel run?

Crockford told The Province the sweepstakes were cancelled in 1951 because of provincial lottery laws, though the event continued to run as a private Rotary project until 1961. Upon its revival in 1986, it didn’t make any money, with Crockford noting that, for all the publicity it received, the event was too small. “We were up against government lotteries,” he told The Province.

Today, a barrel sits in the museum, not far from the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame. The article from The Province says a barrel has been in the care of the museum since 2005. It’s unclear whether this display barrel traversed the Fraser during the ‘40s, '50 and the ‘80s, or if it was only during the ‘80s.

For all its travelling along the mighty Fraser, and serving as a bit of a cash cask, this rotund and relatively small barrel has played a big part in New Westminster’s history.

Our thanks to the New Westminster Museum and Archives for their assistance with this piece.Citations:New West Rotary, Roll out the Barrel, 1986––flyer. Vertical file: Club-Rotary Club; New Westminster Museum and Archives. New Westminster, BC.Damian Inwood, When Rotary rolled out the barrel. 2005––newspaper. Vertical file: Club-Rotary Club-The Province; New Westminster Museum and Archives. New Westminster, BC.Author unknown, Barrel rolls again. 1986––newspaper. Vertical file: Club-Rotary Club; New Westminster Museum and Archives. New Westminster, BC.

New West Rotary, Charity Bazaar Raffle. 1961––ticket. Vertical file: Club-Rotary Club; New Westminster Museum and Archives. New Westminster, BC

The New Westminster Rotary Club, Barrel rolls again. 1949––ticket. Vertical file: Club-Rotary Club; New Westminster Museum and Archives. New Westminster, BC

The New Westminster Rotary Club, RE: Rotary Barrel. Date unknown––personal correspondence. Vertical file: Club-Rotary Club; New Westminster Museum and Archives. New Westminster, BC