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What’s Halloween Without a Ghost Story?
Not even an ‘atmospheric river” kept people away from the Old Cemeteries Society’s annual ‘Spiritualism in Victoria’ tour, this past Sunday. Other than guide John Adams, umbrellas were de rigeur until the sun broke through the clouds for the first time in three days. Spiritualism and ghosts are almost one and the same; at the very least, they have the same strong attraction, as was confirmed by the turnout for Sunday’s drizzling tour of Ross Bay Cemetery. Rain or shine, the Old Cemeteries Society tours of Ross Bay Cemetery draw a crowd; here, guide John Adams addresses a crowd of umbrellas. —Author’s photo For the upcoming October 27th tour, the Society will pull out all the stops. Its phenomenally popular Annual Ghost Tour is based on ghost stories linked to people buried at RBC and, “On some of the graves, the occupants might even seem to come to life and tell their tales. Extra guides will be on hand for large numbers,” advises the OCS promo. Extra guides, is right. Nine of them! Previous turnouts have been so great that the usual single guide and leisurely, 90-minute tour just isn’t possible. And it has to be the best entertainment bargain in town: $5 for non-members, $2 for OCR members. (The annual membership fee is...
Read MoreForest Workers Memorial Park, Lake Cowichan
With everyone’s thoughts on the COVID-19 crisis, this year’s national Workers’ Day of Mourning passed quietly. For some years now April 28th has been officially designated the annual Day of Mourning to “remember those who have died on the job, and to reflect on what needs to be done to prevent more deaths and injuries”. Locally, it has become the practice of representatives of various labour councils and others to gather at Forest Workers Memorial Park, the first of its kind in B.C. It’s situated in Lake Cowichan because the Cowichan Lake region has a long history of logging and milling and because it’s where a loggers’ union, the IWA, first took root in the 1920s. Funded by the sale of Commemorative Bricks, the local Credit Union Legacy Fund and local industry, the small park consists of a fountain, three carved signboards depicting various logging scenes, and a chunk of concrete foundation from the Canadian National Railways bridge that used to span the Cowichan River at this site. The piece of bridge symbolizes the many logging railways that once worked around the lake; the fountain recognizes the mountains, lakes and rivers in the area; the interpretative panels carved in yellow cedar depict historic events from the forest industry. One of the carved signboards that...
Read MoreRUMMINGS BOTTLES MORE POPULAR THAN EVER
Rummings bottles, with their logo, a crossed pick and shovel, are as ‘Nanaimo’ as the Bastion, but don’t forget the much-sought-after bottles of John Mitchell, Union Brewery, Alex Phillips’ Pioneer Soda Water, and Louis Lawrence. W.E. Rumming siphon bottles. —www.theouthouse.ca Nanaimo is highly collectible these days. Old Nanaimo, that is. We’re talking pioneer bottlers: Besides Rummings bottles, Louis Lawrence, W.E. Rumming, John Mitchell and Union Brewery have become much sought-after since the bottle collecting craze arrived on Vamcouver Island...
Read MoreVANCOUVER’S OWN TRUNK MURDER
Although it doesn’t rank with the infamous trunk murders of Brighton, New Orleans and Winnie Ruth Judd, Vancouver does have its own sort-of ‘trunk murder.’ –Courtesy www.pinterest.com This bizarre case, which first broke the news with garish, glaring headlines in the July 12, 1969 Vancouver Sun—B.C. MURDER SUSPECT SEIZED WITH HOSTAGE; Buried Body Discovered—was described by an RCMP spokesman as one of “the most bizarre, unbelievable” cases ever recorded in B.C. The story broke with the arrest of former...
Read MoreCharles Taylor remembered Alberni’s colourful pioneers
“And a very interesting man he was, too,” the late Charles Taylor remembered, years ago. He was referring to Robert Parkinson who appeared in the Alberni Valley in 1885 from London, Eng. A professional shoemarker, he settled beside the small bay which unofficially honours him. Although it’s not formally listed as such in the B.C. Gazetteer, locals have long known the indentation on the west side of Alberni Harbour as Shoemaker Bay. There has to be a story behind...
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