Risking it All – Oil on our Coast is a short film that outlines the plans for the pipeline and tanker route and what it means for our beautiful coast. It is produced by Twyla Roscovich in association with Hartley Bay & Gitga’at Nation, Oil on our Coast is meant to inspire, empower and help fuel the battle to save what sustains us. – Twyla Roscovitch
Risking it All – Oil on our Coast from Twyla Roscovich on Vimeo. Continue reading Risking it All – Oil on Our Coast
One of the duties of a lighthouse keeper on some stations, was to do a daily Sea Water sample. It was started very early on (see the story here), before the advent of Global warming, and the observed data has been beneficial in many ways as you will see at the bottom..
In the above-mentioned story from Kains Island lighthouse, the samples started in 1935, so we have seventy-seven (77) years of ocean data. Also in the story is the fact that in the early years . . .
. . . the small glass bottles of sea water with cork stoppers were stored in wooden boxes with many little squares, one for each bottle1. These boxes would be shipped out when the supply ship re-supplied the station once a year, usually in July. Continue reading Ocean Water Samples
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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phs/Clayoquot, called after a West Coast tribe of Indians. ‘Cla-o-quaht’ means people different from what they were. (See Walbran). It is situated partly on a peninsula of Vancouver Island and partly on Meares and Stubbs Islands. The white settlement is commonly known as Tofino, though it is registered at the Provincial Land Office as Clayoquot Townsite, and is situated at the Northwest extremity of the peninsula extending about 9 miles Northwest from Long Beach. The Indian village, known as Opitsat is situated on the Southwest shore of Meares I. The hotel, large store, and wharf belonging to Mr Dawley are on Stubbs I, with the Post Office and police stn shown on the Admiralty chart as Clayoquot.
The common meeting ground of all the settlements is the large sheet of water between them, full of sand banks and channels, with strong tide rips, so that all the inter-communication has to be by boat, making it a miniature Venice. There are many Norwegian seafaring settlers, many of whom form the lifeboat crew at Tofino; besides owning their own houses, they build rowing and motor boats with great success. The only motor boats and pilots to be hired for the work up the many inlets of Clayoquot and Nootka Sounds are at Tofino. The expeditions after timber, minerals, earths, cannery sites and land locating in these sounds are nearly endless, and they have been all transported by these Tofino guides and their motor boats. In fact, Clayoquot is the best place to commence any small expedition to any inlet South of Cape Cook and Quatsino Sound. Continue reading Lighthouse History – 40 (1912-04-14 to 1912-07-20)
In 1975 we (myself, my wife Karen and our two young children, our dog, cats, and all our furnishings) were on our way clockwise around Vancouver Island from Quatsino lighthouse to Pachena Point on board the CCGS Sir James Douglas with acting Captain Tom Hull. This was a grocery run so the trip was already pre-planned and we were just passengers.
The seas were not high but as we rounded Cape Scott, the northern-most tip of Vancouver Island, we began to roll in the southwest swell. As we motored around into quieter waters on the inside of Vancouver Island, we were still being tossed around by occasional large ocean swells. Continue reading Supplies for Cape Scott Lighthouse 1975
Another artist that will get your lighthouse blood running is Graham Scholes. He just loves lighthouses and has artwork of southern and northern BC lightstations. Click the photo below for a link to his website.
The following video came in an email today and it brought back memories of the ravens that lived near my old lighthouse at McInnes Island. Ravens are very intelligent!
I was on the early morning shift for most of my time there. I loved it! Every morning very early (about 03:00) I walked from the house up through the trees in the dark with coffee cup in hand for the first weather report of the morning. It was such a delight if the sky was clear to see the constellations I recognized. One could almost tell the time by their position in the sky, especially with Orion, the hunter. Continue reading The Wise Raven
The Cloo-Stung was a catamaran of the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) used for delivery of personnel and supplies to Prince Rupert area lighthouses in protected waters. The groceries were delivered to the Coast Guard base in Prince Rupert from the local stores. These were then packed in slings (large canvas or net circles with ropes attached to allow them to be attached to a hook) and loaded onto the Cloo-Stung. Continue reading Groceries at Green Island c.1975
If you do not know what Mise Tales is then please see Mise Tales One.
One or two things have come to mind. A friend wrote and asked if I had ever heard such and such a story about a crazy lighthouse keeper who killed himself.
Reading his story brought to mind another story that I had heard or read about at one time, but a Google search cannot seem to find any reference to either one.
Anyways, here are the two stories about crazy lighthouse keepers. If anyone can help in locating the source, or more information, please contact me.
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Tale Number One from my friend.
Bob says:
I was again browsing your multi-faceted site and got to wondering if you had ever chanced on the story of a supposed suicide wherein a keeper bludgeoned himself to death by repeatedly running headfirst into a brick/stone/concrete wall?
The instance as it was told to me almost fifty (50) years ago was that a headkeeper on an unnamed light on the Pacific Coast went mad and performed the terminal skull-smashing in the presence of his assistant keeper.
It was related that the assistant keeper was a recent immigrant from Eastern European background with very little English language capabilities and who, by dint of his Eastern Bloc Soviet state upbringing, was also very fearful of any form of police or military authority. Continue reading Mise Tales Three
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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Up to the time of going to press this morning no further word had been received regarding the accident to Tees reported to have struck a rock in Kyuquot Sound.
There was much anxiety regarding Tees since early yesterday. Northwestern en route to Seattle from AK, caught a wireless message from Tees. It was brief, stating only: ‘Tees struck rock. Kyuquot Sound.’ The message was transmitted to Estevan and thence to Victoria. United States Steamship Tahoma was at Neah Bay and when Tatoosh heard the news at 4:30am this vessel was notified and proceeded at once to the scene, being due at 11pm at Kyuquot. Mr E J Haughton, Superintendent of the Dominion Wireless Stations, sent a message to tug William Jolliffe of the Fisheries Protection service, which was off Quatsino. C P Edwards of Ottawa, who is on board making a visit of inspection to the coast Stations, has fitted a set of apparatus on the tug and sent a message reporting Jolliffe would reach the scene about 5pm. British Columbia Salvage Co sent the salvage Steamer Salvor with a wrecking crew, and Captain W H Logan, special agent of London Salvage Assn, was a passenger. Salvor is due at Kyuquot this morning. Steamer Newington of lighthouse service, last reported from Clayoquot 2 days ago, has also gone to render assistance. Continue reading Lighthouse History – 39 (1911-11-30 to 1912-04-10)
Photos of British Columbia lighthouses by Cyril R. Littlebury in the years 1922 to 1932 with thanks to Dudley R. Booth for permission to publish – please visit Dudley’s new website at Historic Photos. There are many more photos there besides lighthouses.
When Dudley Booth developed some old negatives his father gave him he found a treasure trove of scenes from 1920s and 1930s Vancouver.
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Continue reading Lighthouse Photos by Cyril R. Littlebury c. 1922-1932