The unveiling of the C.P. Air Flight 21 monument at the South Cariboo Visitor Centre will take place on Aug. 31 at 1 p.m.
District of 100 Mile House Counsellor Dave Mingo will attend on behalf of the municipality. Mayor Mitch Campsall says he will be out-of-town or otherwise would have been there, as he acknowledges the importance of the historic event.
Local resident Ruth Peterson came up with the concept to build a rock cairn in 100 Mile House as a memorial to the 52 people who lost their lives in a tragic plane crash near the community 48 years ago.
While the remnants of the Douglas DC-CB remain at the crash site near Dog Creek, Peterson says she felt it isn’t easily accessible to the victim’s family and friends.
To make the cairn a reality, she has raised funds along with a group of others, including local resident Didi Henderson who lost her father, Wallace, in the crash.
The cairn will now help bring awareness to the tragedy, and its location in town offers central place for people to visit and reflect on their loved ones.
It also honours the numerous local people who helped in search efforts when the plane went down.
Peterson had originally hoped to have the cairn completed by July 8 to commemorate the anniversary of the crash, but ran into an unfortunate hurdle when the memorial plaque could not be manufactured in time.
The Canadian Pacific Air Lines Flight 21 was flying from Vancouver to Whitehorse on July 8, 1965 when it crashed about 40 kilometres west of 100 Mile House.
All of the 46 passengers and six crew members perished in the crash, which an inquest determined was the result of a bomb explosion, the source of which was never determined.
