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Billy Miner appears to be alive, well and lunching at his own restaurant in Princeton

Shawn Galloway is a soft-spoken, experienced and legitimate cowboy who works at Copper Creek Ranch
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Left is Billy Miner in a photo taken by Mary Spencer of Summerland. Right is Shawn Galloway in a photo taken at Billy’s Restaurant by Andrea DeMeer.

Diners at Princeton’s Billy’s Restaurant often have the chance for the full ‘Billy’s experience.’

The popular eatery is named for Billy Miner, the famed B.C. outlaw, and one of its regular customers causes many patrons to do a double take.

Shawn Galloway is a soft-spoken, experienced and legitimate cowboy who works at Copper Creek Ranch.

He also bears a striking resemblance to Miner, a well-known stagecoach and train robber, who died in 1913.

This gives owner Randy McLean a sense of satisfaction.

“The heck with the Billy Miner pictures, we have his spitting image in our restaurant more often than not,” he told the Spotlight. “It gives Billy’s Restaurant the credibility it deserves, and we thank Shawn – Billy Miner II – for gracing us with his presence.”

Miner was something of a celebrity, who escaped several times from prison and is credited as being the first person to say “hands up.”

He was known for his good manners and was widely referred to as ‘The Gentleman Bandit.’

Legend has it he told his comrades they could fire their guns to escape capture but “to never kill a man.”

Miner, who was born in the United States, lived near Princeton while he was planning a train robbery near Kamloops.

He stayed by Baldy Mountain, which was renamed Miner Mountain by the Princeton Board of Trade in 1952, and it is rumoured today that his gun is hidden somewhere along what is now Princeton-Summerland Road.

The 1982 Canadian film, The Grey Fox, is based on Miner’s life.

Related: Caravan Farm Theatre holds outlaw themed fundraiser

Related: One last holdup on B.C. railway tracks

Do you have something to add to this story, or something else we should report on? Email:andrea.demeer@similkameenspotlight.com


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Andrea DeMeer

About the Author: Andrea DeMeer

Andrea is the publisher of the Similkameen Spotlight.
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