Someone on my family tree that I have long been curious about is Walter Charles Kettlewell (1889-1942), who was a first cousin of my grandfather R.L. McBride (1881-1959). They both were born and raised in London, Ontario, where McBride family immigrants settled after leaving Northern Ireland for Canada in 1831. Walter was a son of Noah Kettlewell and Kate McBride, who was a sister of R.L. McBride’s father Richard McBride.

Walter Kettlewell, leaning, front right, at about age 10 in 1899 in London, Ontario. Beside him to his left are his cousin Fraser McPherson and brother Keith Kettlewell on far left. Behind them, from left to right, are Walter and Keith’s mother Kate McBride Kettlewell, aunt Martha McBride, aunt Mary McBride, and cousin Ruth McBride.

My dad Leigh McBride often mentioned Walter Kettlewell as a driving force behind the remarkable growth of the Nelson-based Wood Vallance Hardware Company which, at its peak, had a service area as far north as Revelstoke, east to the Alberta border, south to the U.S. border, and west to the Okanagan and even as far as Princeton. The company helped Nelson become known as a centre of commerce — not just mining and logging.

In 1907 R.L. McBride as general manager of Wood Vallance invited Walter and his brother W. Keith Kettlewell (1892-1954) to come west to Nelson to work with Wood Vallance. Soon after, their parents Noah (1850-1910) and Kate (1857-1952) moved to Nelson, where they lived the rest of their lives.

Keith would work for Wood Vallance in Nelson, serve in the First World War, and later settle in Trail where he managed Cominco’s hardware store for a number of years. In that era, Cominco was a substantial customer of Wood Vallance, and its president S.G. Blaylock had Wood Valllance manage part of Cominco’s purchasing function. My dad told me that his father and assistant Les McEachern would drive from Nelson to Trail every Thursday for purchasing meetings.

Walter’s job title for many years at Wood Vallance was “traveller”, which took him on the road to gain new customers for the company, and also develop successful relationships with suppliers. As a very active and enthusiastic Mason, Walter had “brothers” in virtually every community, who welcomed him with open arms, which was a big help in spreading the word about Nelson and Wood Vallance.

I was recently very pleased to hear from Walter’s grandaughter Leah who thought I might be interested in her collection of Kettlewell and Hanna family photographs. While Walter was before my time, I well remember his wife Elva Hanna Kettlewell (1896-1964), who was a teacher at Central School when I was there, and very well-known as a community volunteer, notably as a counsellor at Camp Koolaree.

Walter, third from left, top row, with other gymnastic team members, 1913.

These photos show how Walter was “a picture of health” in Nelson sports clubs before World War One, including several gymnastic formations. Walter survived the war and technically was not injured, but damage to his health from trench warfare would bother him for the rest of his life.

one of the gymnastic team’s poses.

The Nelson Daily News articles posted here include a report of Walter and Elva’s wedding, as well as death notices that reflect on Walter’s life.

Private Walter Kettlewell in uniform in World War One
Walter married Elva Hanna in 1930. Pictured here are from left: A.C. Emory, Elva Kettlewell, Walter Kettlewell, and Ina Steed.
Walter Kettlewell in the late 1930s
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Walter Kettlewell was a Leader of the Growth of Wood Vallance Hardware Company in Nelson, BC
News reports of Walter’s death and funeral in 1942.
Walter’s younger brother W. Keith Kettlewell on horseback. He was among the wounded in World War One. He came to Nelson from Ontario with Walter and their parents, Noah and Kate Kettlewell.

Nelson Daily News Sept. 15, 1954 report of death of Keith Kettlewell at age 64.