1906 Disappearance Another Story For My Mill…

Nanaimo bottle collector Bill Wilson’s latest book, ‘Beer Barons of British Columbia,’ has given me another great lead for a story….

A question often put to me is, Where do I get my ideas for the 52 Chronicles columns I write each year for the Cowichan Valley Citizen?

As surprising as it may sound, although my favourite ‘deja vu’ angle of using a contemporary news event to take you back in time should be a pretty good clue, a major source comes from my reading. My reading of newspapers for the most part although the Spring 2013 issue of British Columbia History  is a departure from the norm. Not a departure from my usual reading but that this great lead for a column came from a non-newspaper.

This magazine, if you’re not familiar with it, is the quarterly publication of the B.C. Historical Federation (www.bchistory.ca and info@b.c.history.ca). It’s well worth the annual subscription price of $20 ($32 U.S.). I buy mine with my yearly dues for the Cowichan Historical Society

In this issue Bill Wilson, Nanaimo real estate appraiser, bottle collector and co-author of Pioneer Soda Water Companies of B.C., gives a chapter from his book Beer Barons of B.C. Provincial history is a natural subject for Bill whose family has been here since 1889; his great-great grandfather helped to build the first Lumbermen’s Arch in Stanley Park, in fact.

Anyway, Bill tells the story of the Stanley Park Brewery which “has achieved a near-mythical status among those interested in Vancouver history but left many unanswered questions for brewery historians”. It’s a lengthy, detailed and exciting read, all of eight pages with photos and bibliography. On the seventh page is a reference that made me sit up and pay even more attention to the article.

That’s the “sad episode” in the Vancouver brewery’s story when its traveling sales representative Walter Travis went missing in late June 1906. His friends had notified the police after he failed to check in with them for several weeks. His regular sales route, reported the Victoria Colonist, brought him to Vancouver Island. Police determined that he had, in fact, arrived safely in Nanaimo and conducted business with several drinking establishments before proceeding to Duncans (sic). As of July 5th, however, “all trace of him has been lost…”

Travis was eventually traced to Duncan

Alas, the mystery was soon solved but without a happy ending. The 55-year-old Travis had made it to Duncan all right and checked into the Quamichan Hotel. It was there that he was found, in his room. He’d hanged himself.

Now there’s a perfect Cowichan Chronicle lead if ever I saw one! So when I can make the time, I shall visit the Cowichan Valley Museum/Archives to follow up on the tragic Mr. Travis in the Cowichan Leader of the day. After all, that’s why they invented the micro-film machine.

As they used to say, there are 8 million stories in the Naked City…