SQUAMISH, BC – Squamish Cable TV founder Lloyd Ingraham passed away on March 24 at the age of 102.
Born September 5, 1916 in Vegreville, Alberta, Ingraham arrived in Squamish in 1919 and worked in a pulp mill in Woodfibre before becoming an electrician. He returned to Squamish in 1955 as an electrical contractor and started the Squamish Cable TV system two years later.
“At that time I believe, there were three TV sets in the valley” wrote Ingraham in Stan Thomas’ 1992 anthology ‘Cable, Vision of the Pioneers’.
“The next level of nonsense was achieved when I purchased a set. The importance of a better signal gained prominence. In a bush lot, I found a signal that looked better. I made enquiries and found a Jerrold pre-amplifier. With the addition of a splitter, I ran another line down and across the street to a set owner. CATV had arrived!”
The family business was eventually acquired by Shaw Communications.
Ingraham was also a member of the Cable TV Pioneers' Club, the board of the Western Society of Cable Television Engineers and the Canadian Cable TV Association.
He is survived by his wife of 79 years, Leona, their three children, many grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
