Fort Nelson man passes buck to premiers for half a century

Written By Rob Shaw
Published

Earl Brown owns a dollar bill that is worth far more than one dollar. As a bit of British Columbia history it is, in fact, priceless. On the back, crowded into 15 tiny square inches, are the signatures of every British Columbia premier for more than half a century.

That alone is pretty remarkable. But it’s how those signatures got there — from Brown’s chance encounters with political leaders, to calling in favours, cold calling offices and travelling more than 1,700 kilometres on a whim — that make the story sing.

“It’s a fun, quirky little bit of history,” says the 67-year-old accountant. “And as an amateur historian, I’m happy to be carrying it.”

It started in 1971 when Premier W.A.C. Bennett was visiting Fort Nelson to celebrate the opening of an extension to the then Pacific Great Eastern Railway, linking the town with Fort St. John 400 kilometres south.

W.A.C. Bennett

Bennett was in a jubilant mood that September day, standing on a rail car making celebratory speeches about a rail system he’d spent most of his career trying to expand and push north to grow the province.

In the crowd was a 14-year-old Brown, who thought: “Jeez it’d be neat to get this guy’s autograph.”

“He was just about ready to leave the railcar and I popped up on the car and said, ‘Excuse me Mr. Bennett could I get an autograph?,’” said Brown.

Alas, the teenager had forgotten to bring any paper or a pen.

“He said, ‘Where’s your autograph book?’ And I said, ‘Oh wait a second I’ve got a dollar bill here,’” said Brown.

“He chuckled and pulled out his own dollar bill and signed it. I put his dollar bill, and my dollar bill, back in my pocket. I was pretty tickled.”

And that started the whole thing.

Dave Barrett

Two years later, in 1973, NDP premier Dave Barrett, who had stunned the province by defeating Bennett a year earlier, rolled into Fort Nelson for a visit.

Brown’s father, a mechanic, toured Barrett around town in his 1926 Ford Model T. 

Brown told his dad: “Here, maybe you can get this premier to sign this too.”

Not only did the W.A.C. Bennett dollar bill come back signed, but so did a second dollar bill from Barrett bearing just his signature alone.

Bill Bennett, Bill Vander Zalm

W.A.C. Bennett’s son Bill went on to defeat Barrett and reclaim his family dynasty in 1975. He travelled to Fort Nelson three years later to hold a speech on the back of a truck in defence of his father’s rail line, which by then had been renamed BC Rail and was being considered for closure.

Brown showed Bill his father’s signature, and the younger Bennett not only added his name to the bill but he also carried on the tradition by providing a new $2 bill with just his signature on it for Brown’s troubles.

The strategy of just randomly approaching the premier was so successful, Brown repeated it in 1991 when Bill Vander Zalm visited Fort Nelson.

Rita Johnson

Rita Johnston, though, was a bit more tricky. 

B.C.’s first female premier only served seven months in 1991 before the Social Credit party, roiling from Vander Zalm’s disgraceful resignation, imploded. She never made her way to Fort Nelson. But the town’s former mayor, turned local MLA, Richard Neufeld, heard about the dollar bill and offered to take it to Victoria himself. 

“He said, look I’ll be able to get this autographed for you,” said Brown.

Neufeld came through. Johnston’s signature was also notable because she used the dollar bill to warm up her pen, doodling on it in the top right corner before writing her name.

Neufeld returned the bill to Fort Nelson a month and a half later. The doodle on the bill is still there.

Mike Harcourt

When the NDP’s Mike Harcourt took power in 1991, it was clear the urbanite and former mayor of Vancouver was probably never going to travel all the way up to rough and tumble Fort Nelson. 

So Brown, now obsessed with keeping his tradition rolling, decided to go to him in 1994.

Brown cold called the premier’s office in Victoria, explained the history of his dollar bill, and found himself surprised to be invited to the premier’s office at Canada Place in Vancouver. He made the 1,700-kilometer trip, was let inside, and sat down with Harcourt.

“He was quite happy to see me,” said Brown.

Glen Clark, Dan Miller

By now, with five premiers on the dollar bill, it was getting easier to vouch for the historical nature of the document.

Brown tried the same move in 1997 with Glen Clark, and in 2000 with Dan Miller. Both obliged, and both also signed their own $5 bills.

Ujjal Dosanjh

Ujjal Dosanjh, though, was another story. 

He inherited a BC New Democratic government where the wheels had fallen off the bus, and the bus was on fire while also careening toward an electoral cliff. Dosanjh spent his whole premiership scrambling.

Brown knew he’d never get face time with the premier. But he had by then a well-connected friend in Vancouver who insisted he could get the bill in front of Dosanjh before the May 16 provincial election and what looked like sure defeat for the NDP.

His friend heard about one of Dosanjh’s last campaign events, on May 15, and turned up in person with the bill.

“He showed up there, and the premier, who had not been briefed on the buck, said yeah whatever,” recalled Brown. Signature acquired.

Not 24 hours later, the NDP would suffer an historic defeat at the polls, reducing the party from government to only two seats in the legislature, and costing Dosanjh his job.

Gordon Campbell

Premiers also infused their own personalities into the bill.

When Brown travelled to Vancouver to meet BC Liberal premier Gordon Campbell in 2003, Campbell was cocky.

“He chose a bold spot on the tip line of the bill and he said, ‘You’ll have to wait awhile to get another premier’s signature because I plan on being premier awhile,’ said Brown.

Campbell was right. He spent a decade in the premier’s office.

Christy Clark

Next was Christy Clark, who took Campbell’s job after he was forced out of office over the HST. Clark, who liked to travel the job-generating rural communities of the province, and don a hard-hat, visited Fort Nelson in person.

The only problem? Brown didn’t know she was going to be there until the last minute. He heard she was in town to meet with some oil and gas executives.

“I quickly called down to the premier’s office and said I need to see premier Clark,” he recalled. “They said, well, you are on your own.”

Brown dug up clues she was at the local recreation centre. He threw caution to the wind, marched down there, found the meeting room, and knocked on the door. An aide answered. And, surprisingly, it worked.

“We made it happen,” he said. “Christy, when looking over the bill to find out where to sign, saw there was a spot underneath Vander Zalm’s signature. And she said, ‘Not bloody likely I’m going to sign under Bill Vander Zalm.’”

True to form, she instead chose the far right edge of the bill and became the first premier to pen her signature vertically.

She also produced her own $5 bill and signed that for Brown.

John Horgan

That signature would provoke a visceral reaction in the next premier, John Horgan — who was often provoked to visceral reactions when it came to Christy Clark. He met Brown in his Victoria office in 2017.

“He looked at things and said, ‘Well if Christy signed the extreme right end, I’m taking the extreme left edge.’” So he signed vertically in a mirror image of Clark, but on the absolute other side of the bill.

Horgan proved to be Brown’s favourite premier. He even took him on a tour of the building, including a spot where his official portrait had yet to be hung, posting for pictures with his head in the empty space for Brown’s daughter.

“We had a blast,” he said. “Horgan had quite a keen interest in B.C. history. He was taking the bill and showing other people in his office saying, ‘Hey look here’s every premier who has signed this bill and now I have too!’

“He absolutely got a kick out of it.”

David Eby

Then there’s David Eby. 

By this point, 12 signatures spanning 53 years, Brown didn’t have much trouble securing the meeting. He wrote a letter outlining his story. He was invited to visit Eby’s Vancouver office on July 19.

Still, there was one problem. By this point, there was very little space left on the bill.

“He said, where do you want me to sign it?” recalled Brown. “And I said, well historically NDP premiers have signed on the left.”

Eby picked the top left corner. 

But unlike other premiers, including the doodling Rita Johnston, Eby did some warm-up signatures on a scrap piece of paper to ensure his pen was fully functional and he had his form down. Brown found it amusing.

“I genuinely appreciated that he was very astute with the amount of space he had,” said Brown.

BC Premier David Eby signs the far left corner of Earl Brown’s 50-year-old one dollar bill. [Photo Earl Brown]

Eby was also informed of the tradition of providing a second bill. But he didn’t have any cash. “He said, ‘I gave my last five bucks to my kid because he lost a tooth,’” said Brown.

“So, very astutely, one of his aides snuck a $5 bill across the table.” Eby hit it with a sharpie.

“The session with Mr. Eby was a hoot. He was calm, and relaxed, and keenly interested in it. It was a lot of fun.”

‘I’ve got a quest to complete’

And that’s the story of what Brown has come to call the “Premiers’ Buck.”

More than 53 years, and 13 signatures later, he’s not sure how many more premiers will make the cut. Voters will decide Oct. 19 if another name needs to be added.

For now, Brown said he’ll keep going as long as his health allows. His three kids and eight grandchildren find the pursuit humorous, he admits. His wife, a retired school teacher, might even turn the topic into a book.

It’s even more remarkable, because Brown is not really all that interested in politics.

“I’m not a drum-beating member of the Social Credit, or NDP team, or whomever we are calling people these days, Conservatives and what have you,” he said.

“It’s a passing interest. But I certainly appreciate the story.”

All this because he forgot to bring his autograph book as a 14-year-old boy. “Thank Christ I didn’t,” he jokes.

Eventually, Brown said he might donate the bill to a museum, or find it another home for it to be preserved.

There is no other document quite like it in British Columbia history. A pursuit that spanned more than five decades — even though, a couple of times, it almost faltered.

“My heart was in the thing,” he said. “I thought dammit I can’t let it roll over and play dead now. I’ve got a quest to complete.”

An odd hobby, that took a lot of time, which Brown is philosophical about.

“Some things you can’t rush.”