A recent archives donation has museum experts baffled at the contents of one of its journals.

Last month, the Princeton and District Museum and Archives came into the possession of a series of journals from Rev. Dr. John C. Goodfellow, a prominent historian, pastor, publisher and community booster in Princeton from his arrival in 1927 to his passing in 1968. His grandson, Chris, allowed the museum to take in his grandfather's entire collection, which included some journals filled with notations in an unusual shorthand method, one that the museum was eager to decipher.

The journal series ranges from the 1920s to Goodfellow's death in 1968, but only entries from the last few years adopt the unrecognizable shorthand. The museum even posted a photo of one of the pages from the journal on its Facebook page on March 11, asking the public if anyone could identify the particular method. Pitman shorthand was suggested, along with different languages such as Croatian, Dutch and German, but none were a match. 

Museum operations manager, Todd Davidson, said they have had multiple volunteers working on the collection since they took possession, and the "wealth of information that has come to light has been amazing", but the shorthand still remains a mystery.

"At one point in his journey, the Reverend decided to start using a particular shorthand method," he said. "Most of the informed opinions are that it is not strictly confined to an accepted method and is likely his own interpretation."

Fortunately for Davidson and the museum, Chris has said that he has a key to interpreting his grandfather's writings.

"We certainly hope that this is true," Davidson said.

Davidson added that he is grateful for Chris' donation, which allows Goodfellow's collection to stay in Princeton.

"The Princeton Museum is very fortunate that his grandson, Chris, allowed us to take in the fonds of his grandfather, rather than send them to the provincial museum," he said. "Reverend John kept meticulous records in the form of diaries and scrapbooks and produced research files on a vast number of subjects, particularly on important individuals and subjects that affect Princeton."

Davidson and the museum will continue to work on the collection, with help from Chris in regards to the mysterious journal entries.

Goodfellow was born on May 14, 1890, at Broughty Ferry in Dundee, Scotland. Trained as a bookkeeper, he came to Canada in 1908 as a Presbyterian student minister, spending a year in Saskatchewan before travelling to South Africa and returning to B.C., where he enrolled in the Presbyterian Theological College (Westminster Hall) in Vancouver.

He enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force in 1916 and served in England, Macedonia, Italy, Belgium and Germany. He spent 16 months in France with the Canadian Army Medical Corps, where an ear infection caused some permanent hearing loss in his right ear.

Goodfellow married Isabelle Marshall in 1917 and returned to Canada in 1919 to resume his theology studies, which he completed at Westminster Hall and the University of British Columbia. He was ordained in March 1923 and served in Port Moody from 1923 to 1925 before moving to Victoria to be an assistant pastor at the First United Church from 1925 to 1927. 

He arrived in Princeton with his wife and three young children, John, Eric and Lois, in the summer of 1927 to serve as the pastor at St. Paul's United Church. In addition to Princeton, he also served communities in Allenby, Copper Mountain, Coalmount, Tulameen and Jura, and did occasional pulpit exchanges with churches in Keremeos, Merritt and Vancouver. St. Paul's Church flourished with Goodfellow at the helm.

As the leading religious figure in the community, Goodfellow baptized, married and buried countless Similkameen residents. He concluded his record-breaking pastorate of 31 years when he retired in 1958. 

Aside from his duties as pastor, Goodfellow was also an avid historian, as he had a strong interest in the history of Similkameen and Okanagan in addition to the Presbyterian and United Churches. He was a frequent contributor to the BC Historical Quarterly and the Okanagan Historical Society Annual Reports and served on many boards and councils within the community. Goodfellow was also president of numerous Princeton groups and organizations.

Goodfellow provided leadership and direction to youth in the community as well, as he was an inaugural member of the committee to form a local Boy Scouts troop and attended multiple camps, including one within a month of first arriving in Princeton. He organized the annual 60-kilometre Hope Trail Trek which took a group of young adults over the Hope Trail as well. He even gave magic lantern shows at the Princess Theatre. 

Goodfellow is an important figure in Princeton's history, and more can be learned about him and his legacy, including his mysterious shorthand, at the Princeton and District Museum and Archives.