Category Archives: Pre-Hornby

Ferries, Hornby Island BC, Pre-Hornby, Thatch

Lorraine S 2

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1971 (a year before moving here) George McLachlan came to our campsite and said “If you folks want to see the last sailing of the Lorraine S 2 you’d better head down to the ferry landing now!”

Down we went and there was the ferry just coming in. As it approached the ramp we could see George’s wife and boy on the front. Naturally I took pics.

Years later under the  auspices of the Festival Society I did a photo show at the Community hall. A  sponsor supplied the frames (20×24) and I had the matts cut in Courtenay.

The prints were for sale and I sold a lot. $300 and the buyer had to frame them.

I made 4 catalogues with original prints inside (Can’t believe how hard I worked-couldn’t do it today!) Three of them were for sale and the fourth was for perusion. (photo above) I sold two and the third walked out the door in the hands of a friend from California. He thought it was a free catalogue. I never corrected him, on this.

This print was bought by John Ross at the Thatch. Good old John he got me down to $225. He framed it and hung it in the entrance to the restaurant. Soon he was getting requests for copies. i responded by putting a holder for my business cards so that potential buyers could order directly. Then along came Sandy who organized a sale scheme for me. I would supply prints to the Thatch and people could buy them directly. This arrangement lasted quite a few years. (Good old Sandy!) I certainly recouped the money I’d lost to John.

I understand the Thatch has sold the print. The buyer should know that this is the largest print I’ve ever made of this ferry. (and largest I’ll ever make)

Lots of memories here. The mot important was the realization that I was finally leaving the congestion and commotion of the city. That I was moving two ferries into a quiet rural atmosphere. (snorts of derision go here!)

Family Photos, Pre-Hornby

TCA 810

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Probably 1956 or around then. My brother and I would ride out to the airport from Marpole and take pictures.

An update on my post about the airplane crash in 1956. Tw close friends remember the incident. One said he grew up in the area and was reminded by my blog that on the night of the crash he saw a flash in the mountains. The other friend said he remembered the reports and the giant search after the crash.

After I told the author Rien van Tilborg these stories he sent me this:

The flash was seen by a number of people.  One fellow, who lived in Chilliwack, had just come home and as he was hurrying in the pouring rain from his car to the house, he saw the flash.  Light and sound can be distorted in the prevailing weather that night, where the apparent source is actually miles away.

I apologize for my intense interest in this story. I’ll get over it. I promise!

Family Photos, Pre-Hornby

TCA 810

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I received this in the mail July 14 from Rien van Tilborg. It’s a detailed study of Trans Canada Airlines flight 810 which crashed in the mountains near Chilliwack Lake in 1956. I was 12 at the time and don’t remember the reports of a crash but I  vaguely remember the extensive search that took place. Very detailed and interesting account. Why did I get it? I have a picture in it. My brother and I would regularly ride out to the airport from Marpole. We would take pictures of the airplanes and airport.

Her is the reply I got from the writer when we asked why he wrote the book.

In answer to your wife, Kathi’s question why I wrote the book:
In general terms, I’ve always been interested in aviation.  As a kid I was into building model airplanes (U-control and Free flight).  My interest in Flight 810 started the night it was lost.  It was one of those late fall nights with lots of wind and rain.  At the time, my family was living on a farm in Sumas Prairie about halfway between Abbotsford and Chilliwack and 30 miles west of the crash site.  The next day, search planes could be seen on their way to where they thought the aircraft might be. 
 
Major events like this crash are never forgotten.  Like others, I remembered there were football players onboard as well as a Chinese gentleman reputed to have an $80,000 money belt.
Everytime I drove to Chilliwack over the years, Mt. Slesse was a dominant peak in the mountain range towards the southeast, and always reminded me of the tragedy that occurred there on December 9, 1956.
Near the end of 2000, I acquired my first PC computer and decided to find out if anything had been written about this flight, to find only two books that devoted a chapter to it.  I then decided to research it further and write a book.
I appreciate you asking the VIRL if they wish to buy a book.
Look forward to your comments after you have read the book.
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