Category Archives: History

A Language Problem

December 21, 2011Boats, Childhood Memories, Communication, Foreign, History, Humour, Keepers, Lighthouses, Old Website, Radio, Ships, Ships & Shippinglighthouse, lightkeeper, litehouse, name, Point Atkinson, radio, ship, Vancouver Harbourretlkpr

– story from Candy-Lea Chickite

My grandmother loved to tell this one to me. I think she may have had the wrong name of the lighthouse keeper. She said it was her father, or maybe she said her father told her the story – I was young when I heard it but I think it may have been a Mr. Grafton who was the fellow involved. I believe the story is true . . . (a Thomas Grafton was on Point Atkinson lighthouse from 1889 – 1910 and his dates are right for this story – JC)

Back before the days of radios, when a ship entered the Vancouver Harbour they would use a megaphone and call in the name of their ship to the lighthouse at Point Atkinson.

One pitch black evening a horn sounded, the keeper hailed his welcome and asked the vessel to identify itself.

“Wat-a-matta Maru” was the echoed reply in a heavily accented Oriental voice.

“I say again, what is the name of your vessel?” hollered the keeper enunciating each work emphatically.

“Wat-a-matta Maru!”

“This is the Point Atkinson lighthouse, and I DEMAND you identify your vessel before entering the harbour!” replied the keeper of the light.

Again, “Wat-a-matta Maru!” was the return call.

Incensed now, the lighthouse keeper yelled back, “There’s NOTHING the matter with me, WHAT the HELL’s the matter with YOU!”

Life on Kains Island 1933 – 1944

December 20, 2011Adult Memories, Childhood Memories, Children, Coast Guard, Communication, Equipment, Fishing, Foghorns, Government, Groceries & Mail, History, Incidents, Keepers, Light, Lighthouses, Medical, Old Website, On The Job, Operators, Pensions, Radio, School, Weather, Women| Carver, boats, engines, fishing, Kains, lighthouse, litehouse, operator, Quatsino, radio, repairsretlkpr

– Roy Carver (son of C. E. Carver on Kains Island November 1933 – July 1944)

Roy Carver told me he “was born at the Bancroft Nursing Home at 705 Cook Street in Victoria, BC in mid 1930s. This nursing home was set up for expectant mothers that lived in out of the way places with no doctors, like his mother Evelyn Carver. They could come to the home a month before the due date and stay a few days or a week before returning home.”

enlargement — Quatsino Lightstation c. 1930s - photo BC Archives

And Roy definitely did live in an out of the way place with his parents, and later his sister. His father was Clarence Edgar Carver who was the principal lightkeeper, fog alarm operator and radio beacon operator on Quatsino Lighthouse (aka Kains Island) during the period 1933 to 1944. Kains Island is located far up the western side of Vancouver Island on Quatsino sound. Nearest neighbours were six (6) miles (9.7 kilometers) away at the small fishing village of Winter Harbour. Continue reading Life on Kains Island 1933 – 1944 →

Lighthouse History – 31 (1907-08-16 to 1908-03-06)

December 15, 2011Construction, History, Information, Keepers, Lighthouses, Newspapers1858, 1926, BC, British Columbia, Canada, history, lighthouse, litehouseretlkpr

The following extracts taken from early Victoria, British Columbia (BC) newspapers are credited to Leona Taylor for her excellent work in indexing the papers. Full information can be found here: ”Index of Historical Victoria Newspapers“, 2007-09.

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Tees, Captain Townsend, is being kept extremely busy. She arrived at 6pm on Wed and after disembarking her passengers and their effects went to the outer dock to discharge her cargo of whale oil and fertilizer. Returning to the Canadian Pacific Railway dock yesterday morning she spent the day loading cargo for Quatsino and way ports and left last night, well filled with passengers for the various ports of call on West Coast Vancouver Island.
Those who sailed on Tees included: Mrs Jackson and family, Mrs Williams and family, Mrs Leech and family, Miss Ward, Mrs Weiger and daughter, E Sharples, W Garrard, Leo Waugh, Mrs Lindsay, Miss Smith, J Hawthorne, Tainer, L Peabody, R Clark, Charles Lay, Mrs Swartout, B W Bailey, Miss Dixon, Miss Woods, S J Bennison, C B Garrison, H C Continue reading Lighthouse History – 31 (1907-08-16 to 1908-03-06) →

Quarters and Rations (Q&R)

December 11, 2011Adult Memories, Coast Guard, Government, History, Information, Lighthouses, Military, Old Website, On The Job, Pensionscheque stub, lighthouse, litehouse, pay stub, paycheck, Q&R. quarters and rations, R&B, R&Q, rations & quarters, rent, room & boardretlkpr

Quarters and Rations (Q&R), seen on many Canadian government employee pay cheques as Q – R IN KIND is also know as Rations and Quarters (R&Q) in the Canadian military.

It is a topic over which I fought against the Coast Guard bureaucracy my whole working life. I wanted it defined for the lighthouse keeper!

It is paid – why can the keepers not have the benefits? When I was working I had the personnel office in Prince Rupert in a turmoil. I even filed a grievance with the Union, and all the bigwigs in Vancouver could not find out what our benefits were and said let it drop.

When I worked for the government in the north of Canada, and today on many postings where government personnel – police, military, weather observers, ships crews, radio operators, airport personnel, etc. are sent into isolation to do work for the government, they are given Q&R benefits. (Is anybody missing from this list? Please contact me and let me know.) Continue reading Quarters and Rations (Q&R) →

Was Nootka Lighthouse Also Attacked in WW2?

December 6, 2011Adult Memories, Children, Communication, Equipment, Foreign, Government, History, Incidents, Information, Keepers, Light, Lighthouses, Military, News, Old Website, On The Job, Operators, Radio, Submarines, WW2| Chamberlin, attack, Estevan, Japanese, letter, lighthouse, litehouse, military, navy, Nootka, submarine, WW2, WWIIretlkpr

Letter_p1 — page 1 of H. F. Chamberlin letter letter courtesy of Zellie Chamberlin Sale

Howard Frazer Chamberlin was on Nootka lighthouse in 1942 according to the interview by the Naval Reserve (see letters at left). But there is a problem here.

When I received a copy of this letter I thought it was referring to the attack on Estevan Point which supposedly helped introduce conscription in Canada during the Second World War. But if you check the dates, this seems to have occured almost a month later to the day that the Estevan Point shelling happened. According to all records, the shelling of Estevan Point took place nightfall of June 20, 1942.

Letter_p2 — page 2 of H. F. Chamberlin letter letter courtesy of Zellie Chamberlin Sale

This letter seems to show that there was another attack at Nootka lighthouse about a month later on the evening of July 18, 1942. In fact the lightkeeper states that he phoned Estevan Point Wireless station to see if they were being plastered again! (my emphasis – JC) But Estevan returned the call and said that they had heard nothing so it must have been nearer Nootka. From working with explosives in mining and prospecting, Howard Chamberlin knew the difference between industrial explosives and high-explosives.

The only thing that appears to be at odds here is that he feels the vibration from the explosions as from underwater. I wonder if he was hearing depth charges going off? This is just one month later than the Estevan incident. I will bet that the Navy and the Naval Reserve were on high alert during this time and expecting the worse. Perhaps a floating log triggered the release of a few depth charges.

A transcript of the original letter(s) follows:

                        From H.M.C.S. “Pryer”
To COAV
Esquimalt BC
                        Nootka Lighthouse
                        2200 / 19 / 7 / 42
Subject
            Interview With Mr. H. F. Chamberlin, Lightkeeper

I was sitting in the kitchen of the Light
house, overlooking the sea, and having
a cup of Tea at 1902 hours July 18/42, when
I both felt and heard an explosion from
a southerly direction. (out to sea) and
this was followed by six other shocks
at intervals of about one (1) minute
between shocks.
I was naturally surprised and could
see the vibrations from the shocks in
the cup of Tea.
As an old Miner and Prospector I can
easily tell the difference between “blasting”
and “submarine” shocks, and the shock
I both heard and felt were definitely from
seaward, and from the “feel” of the vibration
I would say from underwater.
The first shock occured at 1902 and the
last shock at 1911, as I noted the time of last shock.
I phoned the wireless station at Estevan Point
and asked them if they had been “plastered” again, and
they informed me that they had felt or heard nothing.
It was at 1915 when I phoned Estevan Pt. Wireless.

Page 2
(same as Page 1 but with signature at bottom)

Witness
      Chief Skipper J. D. McPhee, R.C.N.R.
            Commanding Officer
                  H.M.C.S. “Pryer”

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

– Howard F. Chamberlin (Lightkeeper on Nootka 1936 – 1941)

Langara Island 1943 – 1945

December 5, 2011Adult Memories, Childhood Memories, Children, Communication, History, Keepers, Lighthouses, Military, Old Website, On The Job, Operators, Radio, Womenchildren, Langara, lighthouse, litehouse, military, radio operators, soldiers, WW2, WWIIretlkpr

– Norma (Kinnear) Money and Willa (Kinnear) Studiner (daughters of William Norman Kinnear, Senior Keeper on Langara 1943 – 1945)

Original interview from the Pine Tree Line¹ website which is now hosted on this site.

rds26-16 — The duplex – light tower barely visible on right side

Comments by Ren L’Ecuyer ² – The Kinnear family lived at the lighthouse complex on Langara Island in the 1943-1945 time period. I was fortunate to communicate with Norma Kinnear in February 2004. I had requested her assistance in trying to recreate what once existed at Langara Island. The following detail is a series of questions and answers – all of which provide additional information on what occurred at Langara Island during this period of time.

Q#1 – Can you please provide the names of your parents, your sister and yourself? I assume there were just two children when you went to Langara Island.

A#1 – Father: William Norman Kinnear. Mother: Doris May Kinnear. Sisters: Willa Margaret Kinnear and Norma Kathleen Kinnear.

Q#2 – How old were you and your sister when you arrived at Langara Island?

A#2 – My sister (Willa) was seven and I was eight.

Q#3 – Was Langara Island the first location for your father as a light keeper?

A#3 – Yes. Continue reading Langara Island 1943 – 1945 →

Lighthouse History – 30 – Estevan Point (1907-06-15 to 1912-04-14)

December 1, 2011Construction, History, Information, Keepers, Lighthouses, Newspapers1858, 1926, BC, British Columbia, Canada, Estevan, history, lighthouseretlkpr

The following extracts taken from early Victoria, British Columbia (BC) newspapers are credited to Leona Taylor for her excellent work in indexing the papers. Full information can be found here: “Index of Historical Victoria Newspapers“, 2007-09.

As I was collecting this information from the newspaper archive website, I noticed that many articles were in consecutive order and applied to Estevan Point, so I collected them all together here. It is a bit long, but interesting, as it describes the building of a lighthouse from the ground up as they say. Take note of the dates at the end of each article. it surely was not done overnight. More extensive information can be obtained from the actual scanned copies of the newspapers themselves on the above website.

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B H Fraser, Engineer of the Marine Department at Ottawa, is in the city, having arrived on Thurs night, to look into the construction work to be carried on in this province. He said he was now looking over the local situation, and it was possible that other work than that scheduled will be carried out on this coast. Among other works planned is the construction of a first-class coast lighthouse and fog alarm station, which will be perhaps the best on the Vancouver Island coast, to be established at Estevan Point, near Hesquiat. A site for this has been cleared. The light will be of the order of the Pachena Point lighthouse, but the tower will be higher. It is likely that this work will not be carried out until next summer. [Colonist, 1907-06-15] Continue reading Lighthouse History – 30 – Estevan Point (1907-06-15 to 1912-04-14) →

Cape Scott Before the Lighthouse 1942 – 1943

November 28, 2011Adult Memories, Construction, Equipment, Government, History, Information, Lighthouses, Military, Old Website, Radio1942, Cape Scott, LAC, lighthouse, litehouse, military, N. 10 Radio Detachment, RADAR, RDFretlkpr

In July 1942, seventeen (17) years before the present lighthouse at Cape Scott was lit, the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) established a radio detection finding (RDF) transmitter and receiver at the point. Work was started in July 1942 and the station was online in December 1942. It continued in operation until September 1945. (please see reference notes below).

Late in 2005 the lighthouse keeper at Cape Scott, Harvey Humchitt, received an inquiry from Ernest J. Ferguson who was reminiscing about his earlier life and wanted to visit Cape Scott, his old haunt from 1942. He was a well-retired RCAF Pilot Officer who started on Cape Scott in July 1942 as a Leading Aircraftman (LAC).

In his email he wished to visit the area once more but Coast Guard would not permit it because of his age (he was 85 years old this year [2006]). Since then he has written Harvey and myself and given us a few black and white photos and stories of his time setting up No. 10 Radio Detachment on Cape Scott. Continue reading Cape Scott Before the Lighthouse 1942 – 1943 →

Porlier Pass Lighthouse 1949 – 1965

November 27, 2011Adult Memories, Automation, Childhood Memories, Children, Coast Guard, Communication, Construction, Equipment, Government, History, Incidents, Keepers, Lighthouses, Medical, Medical Emergency, Old Website, Pensions, Radio, Recreation, School, Stories, Womenlighthouse, litehouse, Porlier Pass, storiesretlkpr

– Denice Goudie (grandaughter of Henry Edward Brown, Senior Keeper on Porlier Pass 1949 – 1965)

Please go to the Porlier Pass lighthouse website, a project of Dennice Goudie, and read the rest of her account and recollections of life at Porlier Pass and a history of her grandfather.

porlier4 — Building on Race Point demolished in 1996 - photo - Chris Mills

Grandfather of this researcher Denice Goudie, Henry Edward Brown (November 29, 1899 – September 27, 1974) served as lighthouse keeper at Porlier Pass between 1949 and 1965 which was established 15 November 1902; automated April 1996.

Every summer and most school holidays of my memory were spent at the north end of Galiano Island. At first in the house which stood further up the hill; lit by coal oil lamps, outhouse, water by bucket from the cistern and after that house burned down a 3 bedroom house that can be viewed from Virago Point Light, looking toward Race Point. Continue reading Porlier Pass Lighthouse 1949 – 1965 →

Lighthouse History – 29 (1907-06-29 – 1907-08-13)

November 24, 2011Construction, History, Information, Keepers, Lighthouses, Newspapers1858, 1926, BC, British Columbia, Canada, history, lighthouse, litehouseretlkpr