Established by Hugh Fallis in 2015 in memory of his ancestors, this Fund distributes two $2,500.00 bursaries annually, with the remainder of the annual interest the Fund generates going to donor designated local charitable organizations.

A Fund in Honour of His Family

In his own words – Hugh Fallis on the history behind the Fund

In 2015 Hugh Fallis decided to ‘Give Back’ to the community that had meant so much to him and his ancestors over the previous one hundred and twenty-seven years.  From this initial vision, this endowed Fund has grown to the point where its annual income assists two students annually with two $2,500.00 bursaries with the balance of the annual revenue going to organizations that have meant so much to the Bostock and Fallis families.  Through the Fund’s structure with the BC Interior Community Foundation the annual revenue will be of assistance to the community forever.

Hugh, a grandson of Hewitt Bostock had the opportunity as a Toronto teenager to come west and work on the Bostock Ranch at Monte Creek. After graduating from McGill University with a degree in Agriculture he went to Edmonton to work in the agricultural division of Pfizer. 

In the spring of 1971, Cariboo College in Kamloops was looking for an agricultural instructor and Hugh was selected.  This move to Kamloops allowed Hugh to acquire land in the Monte Creek area and he started to develop a ranch of his own from scratch.  As land was cleared and put into production purebred Hereford cattle were purchased resulting in a successful operation for many years. Breeding stock was raised to sell to other producers in BC and elsewhere.  In 2018 the property was sold ending the two families having ranched in the Monte Creek area for 130 continuous years. 

Hugh’s grandfather, Hewitt Bostock, came out from England when he was 24 years old in 1888 and was so impressed with the South Thompson River valley that he bought a ranch at Ducks, now Monte Creek, 30 kms. east of Kamloops.  Hewitt returned to England moving permanently to Canada in 1893 with his wife and family.  The family’s winters were generally spent in Victoria where Hewitt got involved with other ventures.  He and other associates founded ‘The Province’ newspaper in 1894 which eventually moved to Vancouver and became a daily newspaper. 

In the interior he was involved in ranching, lumbering, mining and two commercial buildings in Kamloops.  Politics had always been of interest to Hewitt and he ran successfully in the federal election of 1896 and represented the Yale-Cariboo constituency in Ottawa for one term.  In 1904, he was appointed to the Canadian Senate becoming the leader of the Liberals in the Senate in 1914 until his death in 1930

The ranch operation continued to operate producing cattle, sheep, hogs, grain, hay, apples and potatoes.  Many of these items were sold locally or at the coast.  The ranch also ran a hotel and general store in Monte Creek that serviced the locals and travellers from near and far.

Hewitt died at Monte Creek on April 28, 1930. He was buried in the St. Peter’s Church Cemetery on the Bostock Ranch property.  St. Peter’s Church was built by Hewitt in 1926 in memory of his first son, Alex, who lost his life in the First World War.

The Bostock family had eight children, five girls and three boys.  On Hewitt’s death his wife and two daughters, Nan and Jean, continued to operate the ranch until her death in 1942.  Nan and Jean continued operating the ranch until Jean’s death in 1960 after which most of it was sold.  Jean and Nan were very involved in the Beef Cattle Growers Association and went out of their way to assist the local 4-H movement.  Every year they held a regional 4-H Field Day at the ranch that brought children from all over the interior together for a day of fun.