George E. Mabee photographs and documents, 1907-1919

George Eustace Mabee (1889-1955) was born in Markdale, Ontario. During the early 1890s, his family moved to New Westminster, British Columbia, then briefly to Vernon, British Columbia, and finally to Seattle in the early 1900s. George's family was of modest means. His father was employed as a house painter, and he lived as a boarder when they moved to New Westminster.

Mabee's 1910 Broadway High School (BHS) Annual SEALTH, notes that he entered BHS in 1907 from Franklin High School where he was a member of the baseball team. At BHS, he was a student manager for the varsity baseball team, and he was also treasurer of the Athletic Association.

After graduating from BHS, he studied engineering at the University of Washington from 1910-1912. There, he was a member of the Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity. Some of his photos show him with the Push Ball Team, a popular university sport in the early 1900s.

Between 1912 and 1916, he worked in the Okanagan and Similkameen Valleys in BC as a member of the engineering crews building the Kettle Valley Railway. During this time, Mabee continued his athletic pursuits as a member of Penticton's Baseball and Lacrosse Teams with his older brother, Oliver St. Clair Mabee.

In early 1916, he travelled to Vancouver and enlisted in the army. He arrived in France on April 20, 1917 and served with distinction as a member of the 8th Battalion, Canadian Railway Troops. On September 16, 1918, he was awarded the Military Cross for "conspicuous gallantry." After serving overseas, he sailed from Liverpool on March 15, 1919 aboard His Majesty's Troopship, Royal George, arriving in Halifax, Nova Scotia on March 25th.

On July 29, 1919, he and Gertrude Lucille Boarts were married in Seattle, before moving to Penticton, BC where he had lived before the war. On March 4th, 1921, George and Gertrude were among the original settlers who purchased orchard lots that were part of the Southern Okanagan Irrigation Project, which was instrumental in establishing the town of Oliver, BC. They built their home on their orchard, and George lived there with Gertrude until 1955.

Besides being an orchardist, George established the G.E. Mabee fruit packing house in Oliver, and he was an active member of the BC Fruit Growers' Association.