Ed Seebach

Edward Andrew Seebach was born to German parents in 1886 near Kitchener, Ontario. Around 1903 he met Al Huble and trapped with him on the upper Fraser northeast of Huble Homestead. Sam Huble described Ed as “…tough. He could hike 50 to 60 miles in a day.” He also mentioned that Ed remained a bachelor. Ed and Al started up a trading post on the homestead site in 1904, which did brisk business. They became formal business partners in 1909, when Ed pre-empted some land on the homestead, and they built the false-front General Store. This store was closed in 1919 when the road from Prince George to Summit Lake was completed and business declined. Seebach later opened his own store on McLeod Lake, which he operated until 1931.

Seebach in front of his store at McLeod Lake

In 1931, his store’s roof caught fire, and he fell off a ladder trying to extinguish it. He sustained third degree burns and multiple fractions to one of his legs, which later had to be amputated. He appeared to recover his strength, but in February of 1932 his mind became deranged and he was admitted to the Prince George Hospital, where he died on February 27, 1932, at the age of 46.