He got wind of a poorly organised housing project with an impossible deadline, took it over and immediately set about rounding up all available labour from local bars.
Pretty and Co. At the end of the 1890s, the forestry industry was gaining momentum and importance in British Columbia and Charles began to invest in timber lands.
The corporation acted as brokers for timber limits scattered throughout the province, accumulating large acreages for sale by buying up numbers of smaller holdings.
By the start of the First World War, Pretty was director or president of several major forestry companies.
His sons would go on to enter the logging industry, a venture that the family continues to be involved in to this day.