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Ocean Falls Museum
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Personal Recollections
Jack Bouzek - Resident ('58-'60) Contributor
He was born in 1925, moved to an Stewart BC in 1928 at the age of three.
So far we know he was the Collector of Customs and Excise at Ocean Falls
in 1958-60. These are some of his recollected memories of Ocean Falls.
Ocean Falls is located at the head of Cousins Inlet about half way up
the British Columbia coastline between Prince Rupert and Vancouver. In
1900 the location was a food gathering area for the natives from the
Bella Bella area. There was an abundance of berries, bears, deer,
mountain goat and fish in the area but due to the heavy rain there were
few permanent residence. A large lake is situated above the town and
the overflow from the lake formed a large waterfall immediately before
the water entered the ocean. By 1908 the potential for generating
electricity and the availability of trees was noted. First, a sawmill
was built and then the pulp and paper mill was constructed and it
started production in 1912.
The name given to the settlement was Ocean Falls and it has been
a matter of contention if the name was taken from the water coming from
the lake or from the Oceans of water that fell from the sky as rain. The
average rainfall of about 14 feet did not make it the wettest place in
Canada but it is a close second. At the time we arrived at Ocean Falls
the population was about 3,000 and was a well-equipped company town. The
pulp and paper mill employed from 1,000 to 1,200 people that worked in
the mills that were owned and operated by the Crown Zellerbach Paper Co.
The town-site included most of the conveniences found in larger Canadian
cities.
The majority of the town’s population lived in company rental housing
located adjacent to the mill. While the mill area was on a flat area
the houses were built on the hillside. About a mile and a half
outside of the mill-site was a reasonably flat area that allowed the
subdivision known as Martin Valley to be constructed. The land was
owned by the company and prior to purchasing or building a home approval
would have to be obtained from the Crown Zellerbach Company. The company
had full control on the sale of houses and would buy back the houses if
no sale could be made. Residents of Martin Valley could own an
automobile but residences in the mill-site were not permitted to use the
company roads. This meant the only vehicles on the town-site were
company vehicles, garbage truck, delivery trucks, fire engines, police
Jeep, and a taxi.
The town-site area was located adjacent to the paper mill
with a bridge crossing the original river. A large dam had been erected
near the mouth of the river and the power plant supplied power to run
the mill and for use in the area. The largest town-site building was a
hotel constructed in 1947 and called the Martin Inn. It was originally
built with 265 rooms but in 1952, additional construction increased
the size to 370 rooms and making it one off the largest hotels in
British Columbia. While the Inn claimed to be a Hotel most rooms were
occupied by workers at the mill and the building was actually a
bunkhouse. The fifth floor was used as a hotel for visitors or
travelers. The lower floors contained a dentist office, barber shop,
hair-salon, cafeteria or dinning hall, cafe and a beer parlor.
Prior to 1953 Ocean Falls had been a complete company town
but after labor troubles at the mill private companies were allowed to
operate businesses in the town-site. The first two operated the laundry
and the local freight line. The Hudson’s Bay Company replaced the
company store. Although the selection of goods was limited the store
carried goods normally sold in a department store. In addition the
store sold groceries and operated a drug type store. The store included
facilities for reconstituting milk by adding local water to milk powder
and daily delivery of glass bottles of milk was available. Our kids
never liked "Klim" milk and they knew it wasn't "real" milk even if it
came in a milk bottle from the store. They preferred to wait for the
ship’s arrival to bring in real milk from the south. Being able to
purchase groceries and meat at any time was a change from the days in
Stewart. No longer did you have to rush to the store immediately after
the arrival of the weekly steamer if you wanted fresh fruit, vegetables
or meat. Every few days the barges used to transport the paper
products to Vancouver would return with as much supplies as required.
The town center contained the Bank of Commerce, Town Site
Office, Hospital, Doctors office, Federal Building, including Post
Office and Custom Office, Provincial Building, Royal Canadian Legion
Building, B.C. Government Liquor Store, Laundry, Fire Hall, and a Taxi
Stand. The dock where the weekly steamers tied up was located in this
area. The Radio Repair Store, Newspaper
Office, Jewelry Store and the dock used by airplanes were located on the
road to Martin Valley but within two city blocks of the centre of the
town. The school and the two churches were also located close to the
town centre.
The Crown Theatre carried first run movies changing at least
twice a week. The community hall, which was used for dances, contained
the swimming pool, bowling alley, library, basketball and badminton
courts. There were tennis courts, a area used for baseball, softball,
and soccer was located just above the town.
The first two weeks we lived in the Martin Inn but we were
desperate to get in the government apartment before the baby was born.
Our furniture was still in Stewart and as the
Union Steamship Co. was
still on strike we didn't know when our household effects would arrive.
When we left Stewart we left the propane kitchen stove so we had knew we
had to purchase a new electric stove, bedroom suite, kitchen table and
chairs.
Click on newspaper for larger view.
Newspaper Clipping From The John Fair Collection
Freight from the south into Ocean Falls arrived by tug and
barge so we purchased these items from Vancouver and we were able to
move into the apartment before our household goods arrived from Stewart.
The Union Steamship never returned to the Stewart run but our clothing
and living room furniture finally arrived on the
Northland vessel
Canadian Prince. By the time we were settled in the apartment Joyce
was due for a trip to the hospital and early in the morning of August
21, 1958 Barbara Gail was born.
The
Federal Building was a fairly modern brick building with the Post Office
and the Customs Office located on the ground floor. The second floor
contained two apartments each consisting of a living room, kitchen, two
bedrooms and a bathroom. A laundry room and two storage rooms were
located on the second floor. Rather than have each of the living
room-kitchens face the harbor the apartments were constructed with one
apartment facing the water and the second apartment facing a high grassy
bank. The Customs Officer had always occupied the front apartment but
when we arrived the Postmaster, who had been there for many years,
thought he should have the front apartment and this lead to our first
altercation. Public Works, who supplied the facilities and collected the
rent, along with the Customs brass said the front was for the Customs
Officer and was to stay that way. The Postmaster, who had never been
friendly with the previous Customs Officer or his family, never was able
to accept these arrangements. The Caretaker, Mr. Louie, was an immigrant
and his knowledge of English restrict him in corresponding with Public
Works. The Postmaster had been in Ocean Falls for many years and he
considered himself to be the buildings local representative. This was to
lead to future disagreements.
The Customs work at Ocean
Falls was very different from Stewart and as I was on my own without
anyone to ask for help, I had to muddle my way through. The vehicles
arriving from Alaska were no longer cars but were large American,
Norwegian, Finnish vessels that would arrive from any port in the world.
As a Customs Officer the largest ship I had been on was one of the
coastal steamers. Now I was to go on board one of these large vessels
and had to talk to Captains that had more experience in clearing Customs
than I had. I was aware of what I was required to do so I soon felt at
ease in processing the required paper work. The commercial goods would
always be reported and you could check with the Customs Report from the
previous port to ensure some degree of accuracy. Finding non-declared
private importation by crew member was more of a problem as it was near
impossible to find anything on a large ship rather than goods hidden in
a trunk or under a seat of an automobile.
In Ocean Falls duty and
taxes were collected on items imported by mail, express and freight and
the amount of revenue collected in a month far exceeded the amount I
collected at Stewart in over ten years. The first foreign vessels I
boarded were 14,000 ton ships that arrived each week or two from Alaska
to pick up rolls of newsprint for newspapers in California. Deep-sea
vessels arrived to load paper for Australia, Hawaii or the Far East and
ships would arrive with a load of China Clay, used to put the glace on
fine paper, or sulfur, used in the making of paper.
While most were United
States vessels some were from Japan, England, Finland and Norway. Three
or four times a year a Standard Oil tanker would arrive from California
with a load of Bunker "C" oil for use in the steam plant. Bunker C is a
type of oil that if it gets cold it turns to tar. The revenue from a
load of oil would more than pay my salary for the year.
At small ports such as
Ocean Falls the Customs Officer represented a various number of
government agencies. The arrival of a vessel from a foreign port
required the services of an Immigration Officer to check passports of
foreign crew and passengers. The Customs Officer duties were to check
the goods arriving with the passengers and crew. As well as receive
documentation showing the goods being imported into Canada. A Health
Officer to determine if travelers are arriving from a country with
health problems and to ensure the crew and passengers appear to be in
good health. A Harbormaster to ensures the vessel adheres to the
requirements of the port and to sign off or on any crewmembers that
wished to join or leave the ship. (Due to the isolation of the community
few members of the crew left or joined a ship at Ocean Falls.) One
person at Ocean Falls was responsible for all of these duties.
On arrival of a ship the
Customs Officer would go aboard the vessel and be met by the Purser who
would show the way to the Captain's cabin were the ships documents would
be examined. The outward report from the last foreign port would be
examined to see what cargo had been loaded on board. The inwards would
have to list the cargo being discharged in Ocean Falls and if the vessel
were going to another Canadian port the cargo for those ports would be
listed. A crew declaration would show the goods in the possession of the
crew. Each member of the crew was allowed up to 40 oz of spirits and 200
cigarettes. Goods for sale to the crew or passengers, in excess of the
normal tourist allowance were recorded on a Ships Stores form and they
would be sealed in a locked room. An exception could be made to allow
the Captain or Purser allowed extra spirits for use on board the ship if
they intended to hold a ships party. Any excess of the amount allowed
would have to be sealed with a Custom seal in a secure locker and the
locker had to remain sealed while the vessel was in port. If the vessel
remained in Canada for 7 days an issue of liquor or cigarettes would be
made to the crew from the surplus ship's stores.
One of the first vessels I
boarded at Ocean Falls was flying a yellow flag from the ships main
mast. I knew enough to know that the vessel required Quarantine
Clearance as it might have some form of disease on board. The long-shore
gang who tied up the vessel also knew what a yellow flag meant and they
were reluctant to tie up the vessel. I became the only person to board
the ship and soon found out the Captain had sailed from Guam and wasn't
sure if it he was required to fly the flag. There was no indication of
any sickness on board so the flag was taken down and worked started on
loading the ship.
When you completed your
business with the Captain he would always offer you a cup of coffee or a
drink. Most arrivals were during working hours so I would join the
Captain and a Purser for a cup of coffee. One Captain of one of the
American Mail Line ship had gone to China, from England, with his
missionary father as a young lad in the 1930's. When he was older he
went to sea as seaman on vessels operating on the coast of China. He
worked his way up to a Captain and had the good sense to leave Shanghai
just before Pearl Harbor. During the war he worked for the Americans in
the war zones of the South Pacific as a civilian responsible for the
unloading of freighters carrying war supplies. Because of this service
he was granted U.S. citizenship and received his Master ticket and a
position as a Captain with the American Mail Lines. His vessel became a
regular monthly visitor to the Falls and after we became friendly he
would tell me stories about his time growing up in China and of his
wartime experience in the South Pacific. He was a quite man and his
experiences came across as fact. I often think how nice it would have
been to have a tape recorder.
With the exception of a few
bottles of brandy used for medicinal purposes alcoholic spirits were
seldom-carried board U.S. registered vessels. This Captain never drank
liquor but he always had one bottle of Old Granddad Bourbon on board.
One his first trip into Ocean Falls he asked me to seal the bottle with
other ships stores. Six months later the same bottle was in the locker
and as it was Christmas time he asked to leave the locker open. As there
never was a reason to seal the single bottle and as I thought he wanted
to give some of the shore personnel a Christmas drink.
Vessels leaving for
the United States had to carry an outward report that listed the cargo
on the ship. This report couldn't be signed until the just prior to the
ship departure as the longshoremen never knew the exact number of rolls
of paper they could get on board. When I arrived to complete the outward
report the Captain presented me with two pith helmet, which had been on
the vessel since it was last in the south seas, as Christmas presents
for our sons Bill and Glenn and a paper bag. As I had a good idea what
was in the bag I took the two helmets and "forgot" the bag. As the
vessel was pulling out of the harbor there was knock on the door and two
longshoremen were standing there with the bag. The Captain had given it
to them for delivery saying I had forgotten it. While it was not ethical
to accept liquor I knew that if I just took the bottle they would think
I would drink it. Luckily they were drinking men as they were invited in
to finish the bottle. Bourbon, and this was reputed to be the best, is
one of my less favorite drinks. At least the boys had a great time with
their helmets even if they were much too large for them.
The Standard Oil of California
tankers brought in the heavy oil were ex-wartime deep sea that delivered
bulk oil between California, Hawaii, Alaska and B.C. ports. Customs
instructions stated that a Customs Officer had to be present while the
tanker discharged the oil into the heated shore tanks. These tankers
usually arrived in the evening and took 8 to 12 hours to discharge their
oil. Upon arrival of the vessel the office had to ensure the oil outlet
from the shore tank was closed. The officer, the Standard Oil
representative and a mill worker were required to climb up a steel
ladder affixed to the side of the tank to measure the amount of "old"
fuel in the tanks. After the ship’s oil was pumped ashore the tanks were
measured again to determine amount of "new" oil that was added. This
meant climbing up the open ladder on the tanks in some very inclement
weather, especially tricky at night in high wind and rain or snow.
Especially welcome after on of these climbs was a cup of hot coffee.
Coffee was always available but I had been use to drinking my coffee
with condensed milk. The only milk that was available was fresh milk (if
the vessel was at sea for a long time the fresh milk had been frozen) so
most of the crew drank their coffee without cream. I tried it and after
the Captain said try it without milk or sugar I gave it a try. I still
drink it black and no sugar. Normally U.S. registered vessels were not
permitted to have alcoholic beverages on board but these tankers usually
carried four bottles of brandy for medical purpose. Just the medicine
you require to the top of the tanks on a cold, wet, rainy night.
One foggy morning a US
freighter was inbound when it neglected to make the turn into the dock
and it ran into a boom of logs stored on the side of the canal. By the
time the vessel arrived at the dock the Manager in charge of log storage
was waiting on the dock with me. He was as mad as hell and asked for
permission to come on-board, as he wanted to tell the Captain what he
thought of him. Soon as we arrived on deck the Captain was standing
waiting. Being in uniform I never needed to introduce myself and as soon
as I introduced the man with me the Captain immediately said "Oh I guess
you came to apologize for putting your logs in my way." The manager
stopped in his tracks and started to laugh as he said "I hope you
realize I came to give you hell for spilling the logs all over the
harbor but after that what can I say?"
Once a year a freighter would
arrive from England with a shipment of China Clay that came from the
cliffs of Dover. China clay was used to coat newsprint to produce the
glossy paper known as rotoprint. This is the type of paper is used for
glossy magazines and most of the Ocean Falls production was used by Time
magazine. The clay arrived in bulk as a fine powder and some spilled
onto the vessel and the dock. When it rained the spill, on the decks,
became a slippery mess and one had to be extremely careful where you
walked, especially on the steel decks. One night a seaman, returning
from a night on the town, slipped into the chilly waters and drowned.
During the first two years of
our stay a Finnish vessel brought the clay and the Captain was a
remarkable gentleman who, during the Second War, had served in the
Baltic Sea as the Master of a Finnish vessel. Finland was on the side of
the German's and he would relate how it was to be on the other side of
the fighting. One thing I always remember, from that vessel, was that
strong Turkish coffee, served in a very small cup and filled with sugar
and was not for a person who drank coffee without sugar.
The first Japanese ship I
boarded arrived at 8 am and I was standing on the dock with the ship’s
agent and I said they are just in time for breakfast. His reply was “Do
you like fish?” I said no I had thought of bacon and eggs. His reply was
they have bacon and eggs but when it is cooked the cook swabs the stove
with fish oil and cooks the bacon and the eggs in the oil and it ends up
tasting like fish. I decline breakfast and on my inspection trip about
through the vessel I noted the fish oil pot on the stove and the smell
of fish in the kitchen.
Doing business with the Master
was very formal and it seemed strange to be bowed to by the ships Purser
and Captain, especially as I had been informed that during the war he
had been a Captain on a destroyer in the Japanese navy. Although the
Captain could speak little English he was very friendly and although I
had already visited the area of the ship I was interested in he insisted
I make a have a complete tour of his ship. The vessel was new and was
the first I had seen without a ship’s wheel on the bridge. Steering was
done with hydraulic levers like used to drive a tractor. The radar was
the most modern and one had no difficulty in distinguishing the outline
of the town. The two items of most interest was a Buddhist shrine
located behind the bridge and the absence of toilets. Washrooms
contained holes in the floor and they replaced the toilets. The other
thing I learned about the Japanese came just prior to sailing when I was
offer a glass of Japanese beer which was served with a dish of large
peanuts. For some reason the Japanese always served these extra large
peanuts when they served you a beer.
While Japanese Captains were
the most formal the Americans were the least formal. When you arrived on
board you were greeted like a long lost friend and there was always a
cup of coffee waiting. A rather large RCM Police Corporal told the story
of the time when his immediate supervisor was inspection the detachment
and he had taken the Inspector to visit a U.S. vessel that was leaving
port. While they stood on the dock the Captain disappeared from the
bridge only to re-appear wearing a RCM Police Corporals red serge tunic
which was much too large for the Captain. The Corporal had a difficult
time explaining how he had given this American an old jacket. The
Corporal was relating the story on board another U.S. ship. The Captain
said "Oh, you’re the one, Captain Smith had to fight to get the Uniform.
He is now the Dock Superintendent at Guam and he loves to wear this
large jacket and explain how he had taken it from a policeman in the
wilds of Canada."
The offices duties were never
very strenuous. The majority of the imports arrived by parcel post and
this required me to visit Post Office each day. Most parcels from
foreign were stamped duty free and those subject to duty were cleared by
the staff from Crown Zellerbach Company or the Hudson’s Bay Company.
Private residents would be advised their goods were held at Customs
until they attended and it could be determined if the goods were subject
to duty and taxes. My duties included accepting, examining the goods,
determining if there was duty payable, completing individual importer’s
entries, and, when duty is owed, collecting the money. Revenue collected
was deposited in the bank and make sure it was forwarded to Ottawa each
week.
The Customs Officer also acted
as the Immigration officer I would accept applications from residents of
Ocean Falls who wish to bring members of their family to Canada as
immigrants, During my time most of the applications came from Chinese
mill workers. One of the requirements was to supply a letter from the
Mill Personnel Office outlining the applicant’s job and rate of pay. I
would always wonder why I worked the Customs Service, when I would
receive an application from a Chinese janitor, who could barely speak
English, and his letter showed he was making considerable more in pay
than I was.
Our first Christmas in the
Falls was different from our time with the customs service in the
Stewart area. At Stewart the office was located two miles outside of
town and was open from eight to midnight for seven days a week. Winter
arrived about the middle of November and stayed till April with a
snowfall measured in feet. I had also spent two years at a Custom Office
called Silver Heights, situated in the mountains on the way to Premier
Mine. But although my hours were 7 am to midnight we lived in the same
building.
During Christmas and New Years
the office was closed at Ocean Falls. The first year after our arrival,
the Company gave us a Christmas gift of a turkey and I was invited to
the staff cocktail party. Prior to 1958 it was common for Companies to
presented gifts at Christmas time to their workers and staff. The gift
was, usually a turkey and a box of Japanese oranges, to the married
employees, a toy to their children, and the single employees were given
a carton of cigarettes. Policemen, Custom Officers, School Teachers,
Doctors, etc were included on their gift list. When the unions organized
the employees the practice stopped and only the staff and those
mentioned were given a gift. The Union negotiators demanded the
employees should be treated as staff so most companies discontinued
giving any Christmas gifts.
When I arrived at the staff
Christmas party I was introduced to the assistant manager. He handed me
a drink and asked what I knew about the Boy Scout movement. I thought I
had left the scouts in Stewart but I was soon informed that he was the
scout liaison and informed me that he knew I had been a cub and scout
leader in Stewart. He also asked if I would join their scout group. The
Companies Broker, who handled the Standard Oil accounts, was from
Vancouver and he was attending the party. He was also the BC Scout
Commissioner for BC and he had noticed my name on his list and had
passed the information on. I ended up as an assistant Scoutmaster and
later became the Scoutmaster. The local youth enjoyed the scout movement
but they did not like the uniform. Short pants and large hats did not
meet the rainy conditions of the area so it was decided that the group
become Sea Scouts. The boys seemed to be much happier in a sailor type
uniform especially as most field trips started out on a vessel.
For some reason the Custom
Officer had worked for the Provincial Government as the Registrar of
Births, Deaths and Marriages. This included the duties of performing
civil marriage ceremonies. The B.C. Government paid me 75 cents for each
birth, death, or marriage registration form that I accepted for
furtherance to Victoria. In addition I received ten percent of the fees
for issuing a marriage licenses or performing a civil wedding. Marriage
licenses were $5.00 while the fee for performing a wedding was $7.50.
Marriage licenses were issued for church wedding in which bands had not
been published at the church for at least three weeks. Licenses were not
required for a civil wedding. The civil weddings were to be known to me
as a two-bit wedding. If the couple had been married in a church I would
receive the 10% commission on the $5.00 license. The 10% commission on
the $7.50 wedding left me twenty-five cents richer. In early times
(Twenty-five cents was known as two-bits). Weddings were usually held in
the Custom Office during office hours. At work I always wore a Customs
uniform but for weddings I would change to a suit so for my 25 cents I
would have to go upstairs change from my uniform, perform the wedding
and if I had to go on board a ship would have to change back to the
uniform.
During my three years at Ocean
Falls I performed eight weddings. The only one I remember making more
than the 25 cents was when the wedding was for the Manager's Chinese
cook. The cook had sent to Hong Kong for a bride and although they had
been married by proxy the manager's wife insisted the couple be married
legally as soon as the bride arrived in Canada. The groom had never met
the bride until the aircraft arrived in Ocean Falls and they immediately
came to the office to be married. After the wedding ceremony was over I
was given small box of cigars and a bright red and gold envelope. I then
collected the $7.50 due the Provincial Government. Later when I opened
the envelope I was surprised to find $20.00 and I felt bad about asking
for the $7.50. I those days I was not aware of the good luck use of red
envelopes by the Chinese.
There were two separate R.C.M.
Police detachments at Ocean Falls. a Corporal and two constables policed
the town site and the area known as Martin Valley. A R.C.M. Police
launch with a Sergeant, Corporal and a Constable, as the crew, policed
the small outlying villages, fishing camps and logging operations in the
area. The vessel’s home port was Ocean Falls but most of the time the
vessel patrolled from the northern tip of Vancouver Island to Princess
Royal Island in the north and Bella Coola to the east. Their duties
included attending accidents, domestic disputes, and checking for boat
safety regulations. The Canadian Coast Guard had not been formed so the
Police were required to ensure boats met the Department of Transport
regulations as to licensing of vessels and checking the safety equipment
such as life jackets, paddles, fire extinguishers etc. On occasion I
would join them on some of their safety patrols and if they checked a
vessel and the owner didn't have a vessel license they would send them
to me and I would issue a license. These license were issued free of
charge and providing the owner painted the number on the boat it could
be used to identify the vessel.
One trip the Skipper of the
Police Boat invited Joyce and the kids to join him and his wife on a
trip to the settlements of Bella Bella. This was the children’s first
visit to a native village. The native village of Old Bella Bella with
wooden roads was followed by a visit across the bay to New Bella Bella
and the location of the local hospital and General Store. Next, came, a
visit to the old wartime air force station at Shearwater located across
land from New Bella Bella. During the Second World War Stranraer and
Canso aircraft flew out of this station to patrol the central part of
the coast looking for Japanese submarines. A local resident had
purchased the old station for use as a marina for his logging and
salvage operation. The hanger and some of the buildings were still in
good condition and as I have talked about my time in the R.C.A.F. the
boys were interested in these relics of the war years.
On weekends I became a
"baby-sitter" at the police Station. If a person was arrested and locked
in the cells the prisoner could not be left alone and someone had to be
available to unlock the cell in case of fire or medical emergency. The
money I earned was used to pay for my first 35mm Pentax Camera and which
I used to take slide photographs. Seems there are pictures out the front
room window in spring, summer, fall and winter. Pictures include almost
every large vessel that visited Ocean Falls during our time there as
well as scenic pictures of the area..
The social life in Ocean Falls
was a change for the better. In Stewart, having to work took up every
other evening. In Ocean Falls there were very few evening I had to work
and if a vessel was to arrive outside office hours I was informed well
in advance. There were many activities available. The town site had a
theatre that ran two first run movies, shown at least six times a week
plus a children’s Saturday afternoon movie. Bowling alleys, a large hall
for dances, basketball, tennis and badminton courts, to an Olympic size
swimming pool. Above the town was a baseball and soccer field. Then
there were the weekly Boy Scout activities.
Soon after we arrived in Ocean
Falls a young child was drowned at the small boat floats, located just
in front of our apartment. A father, accompanied by his young son, went
to his boat moored at one of the floats to check for water in his boat.
While he was operating the pump his son fell from the boat into the
water and apparently came up under the float. The father located the boy
and took him in his arms and ran to the doctor’s office located at the
top of the dock ramp. Unfortunately the boy was dead. Our boy's were
threatened with everything possible to impress them not to ever go onto
the floats and at the earliest opportunity were enrolled in swimming
classes. The instructors at the pool were all accomplished swimmers
having won gold and silver medals at the Empire Games.
While other cities and towns
had automobiles Ocean Falls residents had boats, either on the lake
located behind the hydro dam or tied up at the floats located in the
harbor. The few private automobiles were restricted to Martin Valley
residents. The only vehicles in the town-site were those owned by the
Crown Zellerbach Company, delivery trucks operated by Johnson Storage
Company, fire engines, an ambulance, a police jeep, and the taxi
operated by the local barber.
Fishing was the prime outdoor
recreation but because of the effluent from the mill the fishing had to
be done on the lake or some miles down the inlet. While we didn’t have a
boat I was lucky to have been invited on a few fishing trips. Bill
Boykowich invited me to travel in his boat on one of the most memorable
trip I was to make. It was a two-day trip to the top of Cascade Inlet to
catch some of the largest crabs I have ever seen. On the way we stopped
at Mackenzie Rock, which is the westerly limit of Alexander Mackenzie’s
historic trip across Canada in 1793. In 1960 when one stood on the rock
and looked about the land it looked much as it had in 1793. There were
no signs of logging, no houses or other signs of civilization. Not even
indications of the unfriendly natives that Mackenzie is said to
encountered in the area.
Another memorial trip was with
the Sea Scouts. It was a beautiful sunny day and as we stood on a rock
on the shoreline a family of killer whales surfaced within a few hundred
yards of our location. The white water from their wake and the sun
reflected of their black bodies made one wish he had brought the camera.
Unfortunately I had not expected such a sight.
I was even lucky to be invited
on a trip to see the beauty of Link Lake. The cascading waterfalls and
motorboat moving across the smooth lake stand out in one’s memory.
On one trip, our oldest son
Bill and I were invited to go fishing on a larger slower boat. We
stopped at a small bay that seemed to contain lots of small fish. Bill
was happy to spend time catching a fish each time he put his hook in the
water. He was especially delighted when he chased the small octopus he
caught across the dock. A great fishing adventure for a ten year old.
After a holiday in Stewart to
introduce our new daughter to my father we returned to Ocean Falls and
found the job very routine and it became a bit boring. The rain came
down with its 180 inches a year. The most excitement was that I got the
mumps. The Doctor came to the house, his office was next-door, looked at
me laughed and said you have the mumps, no work for a couple of weeks. I
didn't think it funny. His reply was “Just think of the laughter I had
endured when he got mumps” “I was an intern at the hospital.” An officer
had to come from Vancouver to take my place for the two weeks.
August 1961 would be the start
of our fourth year at the Falls. It seems that if a person remains in a
place for more than three years it becomes increasingly difficult to
move. So we decided to explore the possibilities to apply for a job in
another location. We wished to move when the kids were out of school.
The job openings were for a Superintendent in Prince Rupert or a
Relieving Officer at Vancouver. I applied for them both and was offered
either job. We then had to decide if it would it be back north to Prince
Rupert or south to Vancouver.
Looking back at my school days
in Prince Rupert I remembered walking to school in the rain and if the
rain didn't drench you on the way down it would hit the sidewalk and
bounce up under you long rain coat. We thought that we wouldn't want our
kids to suffer the same conditions. I didn't remember my school time in
Vancouver as being wet so we opted for the Vancouver position. The
Customs Act stated that the top position in a Port is known as a
Collector of Customs and Excise. Ocean Falls was a port so my title was
Collector of Customs however the pay was the same as I received in
Stewart as Customs Excise Officer 3. My new position in Vancouver was to
return to the same pay grade but with a $300.00 a year allowance as
Relieving Officer.
The end of August found the family in a Grumman Goose aircraft on the
way to Vancouver.
Over the years the memory of
the rain and the fact that the sun never shone on the town site in the
winter has faded and one only remembers the sunny days showing off the
beautiful scenic countryside, the many adventures one had, and the good
friends one made.
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