Category Archives: Adult Memories

In Memorium – Evelyn Bruton (1930 – 2011)

Adult Memories, Automation, British Columbia, Children, Fishing, Groceries & Mail, In Memorium, Keepers, Lighthouses, On The Job, Recreation, Women, , , ,

A friend of mine passed on to me the obituary notice of Evelyn Bruton, wife of retired Sheringham Point lighthouse keeper Jim Bruton – left, and directly below

*******************************

BRUTON, Evelyn [August 10, 1930 – September 17, 2011] Passed away on September 17 at Cowichan District Hospital. Born August 10th, 1930 in Ellerslie, Alberta to Michael and Adeline. At the age of 18 Evelyn moved to Vancouver and worked as a stenographer for a local paper. She met Jim Bruton in Vernon and a year later they were married on December 22, 1951, shortly after they moved to Bella Coola where Jim worked in the logging industry. Five years later they moved to lighthouses where Evelyn learned to help with lighthouse work, to run a boat, fishing for extra income for the family. She also became teacher to her four children, instructing them in their schooling for many years. After working on various lighthouses for 30 years Jim and Evelyn retired to enjoy traveling, gardening and visiting with family. After Jim passed away Evelyn moved to Duncan where she became active in the community, especially enjoying the many crib tournaments she participated in and her garden. She will be missed by her family and friends, 4 children, 8 grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren and 2 more on the way. A memorial service to be held on Sunday, September 25, 2011 at 2 pm at First Memorial Funeral Chapel 4725 Falaise Drive Victoria, BC. In lieu of flowers please make a donation in Evelyn’s name to a charity of your choice. 637755

– Published in the Victoria Times-Colonist on 9/20/2011

To include your memories in Evelyn’s memorial please click this link.

******************************* Continue reading In Memorium – Evelyn Bruton (1930 – 2011) →

Book – Godships by Oliver R. Howard (1927 – 2008)

Adult Memories, Books, British Columbia, Canada, History, In Memorium, Information, Lighthouses, Medical, Mission Boats, Old Website, Ships, Women, , , , , , ,

Godships – Little Ships Carry the Gospel Up the BC Coast by Oliver R. Howard

This is a story of the pioneering efforts of the United Church (UC) Marine Mission on the coast of British Columbia. It involves boats and boating in missionary work up and down the BC coast, visiting Indian villages, lumber camps, mining camps, isolated hermits and lighthouses.

 

 

Paperback: 8vo, 239 pages, : ill., maps, bibliography 237-239.
Publisher: United Church Observer (1984)
ISBN-10: 0919920071
ISBN-13: 978-0919920071
Library of Congress: E78.B9 H68 1984
Availability: Used (Out of Print)

Continue reading Book – Godships by Oliver R. Howard (1927 – 2008) →

Lighthouse Libraries and Their Book Boxes

Adult Memories, Books, British Columbia, Canada, Childhood Memories, Children, Coast Guard, Groceries & Mail, Helicopters, Lighthouses, Mission Boats, Ships, , , , , ,
Thomas Crosby V

After writing about the Bookboats and how the Thomas Crosby V used to bring us books to read from their onboard library, I was reminded of the libraries on each lighthouse I worked on. Each keeper that worked the island would leave a few books behind, mostly pocketbooks, and they would take with them new ones from our library.

Library on McInnes Island - photo Paul Kurbis

On McInnes Island lighthouse we had a library of a few hundred pocket books of all sorts. Sometimes, when we got desperate for new reading material we boxed up a bunch of books and sent them off to another lighthouse in return for a box of theirs. We also traded off magazines and newspapers whenever a helicopter came by. Continue reading Lighthouse Libraries and Their Book Boxes →

I have installed a Guestbook at the request from a friend of mine. She thought it would be a good idea, and so do I. Use it to communicate with each other and pass on information, or to comment on something written. Also, please use it to tell me what is wrong –  errors, misspellings, missing links, etc. That way we can keep the material up-to-date and correct. Thanks. Hope to see you on here.

By the way, the comments section is still open – use it just to comment on each article rather than as a general comment on the site, or use both.

The Guestbook can be found above this article listed just below the main photograph on each page, or click here.

Lost Boats #1 – Thomas Crosby V

Adult Memories, Books, British Columbia, Construction, History, Information, Lighthouses, Mission Boats, Ships, Videos, , , ,

One of the interesting things about writing articles about lighthouses, is that one gets to do a lot of research on maritime matters such as boats, shipping, photography.

TCV underway

My last article on the Thomas Crosby V (TCV) left me with the question, what happened to the ship itself? According to all the reports she was sold to Kennford Limited, a cruise operator in the Cayman Islands. The only listing I can find in the Cayman Islands is Kennford Hotels, and then it is a dead end. Continue reading Lost Boats #1 – Thomas Crosby V →

Thomas Crosby V – One of the “Bookboats”

Adult Memories, Books, British Columbia, Lighthouses, Mission Boats, Old Website, Recipes, Recreation, Ships, , , , , , , , , , ,
TCV underway

One of the most frequent visitors to the lighthouses, beside the Coast Guard (CG) ships and helicopters, was the United Church medical mission boat, nicknamed a God-Boat or Godship, the Thomas Crosby V (TCV).

The following article used to be on the Prince Rupert Library (PRL) website. The article was borrowed with their permission before it was removed from their website.

In this story the boats were nicknamed the “Bookboats” because they brought with them a library of books, both fiction and non-fiction for all ages, plus an assortment of magazines. After the Prince Rupert Library ceased sending boxes of books to the lighthouses, the TCV was one of our only sources of reading material.

TCV at Boat Bluff - photo Ed Whitebone

Not only books, they also brought friendship, and on many trips, a nurse. The nurses were most welcome to families with young children, advising on baby problems and administering inoculations when required. The minister on board came as a friend and was welcomed as one. They performed baptisms and weddings, and provided counselling when required. Just like the lightkeepers, the ministers on the Thomas Crosby V were jack-of-all-trades. – JAC Continue reading Thomas Crosby V – One of the “Bookboats” →

Memories of Boat Bluff c. 1980s

Adult Memories, Humour, Keepers, Lighthouses, Old Website, On The Job, Recreation, Women, , ,


– Ray MacKenzie (Assistant Keeper on Boat Bluff 1982 – 1986) 

Boat Bluff at low tide, Summer 2003; Mike Higgins photo

My wife Petra and myself and our dog Butch arrived on Boat Bluff Lightstation on the 2nd day of October, 1982 aboard the Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker “CCGS Wolfe”, having been picked up in Port Hardy by Capt. Mellis on the CCGS WOLFE whilst it was on it’s fall re-fuelling run.

It had been a very nice, albeit long trip, as we were on the fall refuelling run. We had an opportunity to go ashore at a few of the stations which made it very interesting to a couple of greenhorns with stars in their eyes.  Continue reading Memories of Boat Bluff c. 1980s →

In Memorium – Peter (Pete) Fletcher (1937 – 2009)

Adult Memories, In Memorium, Lighthouses, , , ,

My dad died on Oct. 31, 2009. He was born Jan. 1, 1937. He worked at Saturna Island from 1960 to 1964, Cape Scott from 1964 to 1966, and Ballenas Island from 1966 to 1970. When he left the lighthouses, he continued to work for the Canadian Coast Guard at their base in Victoria, and became part of the work crews that went out to repair lighthouses all along the coast. His years on the lighthouses were the happiest ones of his life, and he always took an interest in all things lighthouse related. He was a perfectionist in all he did, and poured concrete sidewalks and curbs at Ballenas, and cleared the brush to make his own little golf course, complete with greens, holes and flags. He took pride in his work and never did anything half way. In the 1980’s he took a picture of the light at Ballenas and had it copied and tattooed onto his shoulder. – Sharon Gagnon (daughter of Pete Fletcher)

To include your memories in Pete’s memorial please click this link.

 Pete Fletcher

 

In Memorium – Annie Frances (Arden) Sullivan (1909 – 2007)

Adult Memories, Children, Genealogy, In Memorium, Keepers, Lighthouses, Old Website, Rowboat, , , , , ,

The Passing of a Lot of Memories

To include your memories in Annie’s memorial please click this link.

– In Memorium posted in the Victoria Times-Colonist October 24, 2007

If any members of the family have photos or stories of the life on Sheringham Point lighthouse, I would be pleased to present them here. I am sorry for your loss – she really did live an adventurous life.

In Memorium – Stanley Westhaver (1942 – 2005)

Adult Memories, In Memorium, , , , , , ,

Stanley (Stan) Westhaver (January 30, 1942 – December 06, 2005) was a great person, a practical joker, the life of a party and a very good friend. As someone said, “He would give you the shirt off his back.” Stan died as he would have wished – at a party among friends. – John Coldwell (one of many friends who misses his bullshit every day.)

To include your memories in Stan’s memorial please click this link.

 Dscf0017