Welcome to my Blog - Barry Miller

Why, you might ask, have you received this blog? To be honest I’m hopeful you might take pleasure in reading some of my musings from West and East of the Hump. However, if you’re someone who abhors cluttering your life with yet another email, just let me know your preference and you’ll be dropped from my reader’s list. No offense will be taken.

For those wishing to peruse further and puzzled as to what exactly “the Hump” relates to in the blog’s sub-title, it refers to the mountain pass piercing the Beaufort Range, which divides the western and eastern coastlines of Vancouver Island between the cities of Port Alberni and Nanaimo.

I was raised in Port Alberni, attended 8^th Ave Elementary School and graduated from Alberni District High School in 1957.  Having no master plan for the future I worked for several years in the local plywood plant. In those days one could earn a substantial amount of money working in the forest industry.  Socking away the paycheques, enough was saved to pay for my tuition and living expenses for four years at Westlake College of Music in Los Angeles, California.  

Returning to Port Alberni one summer I met a wonderful and talented girl named Patricia Auld who had just returned from studying piano at the Toronto Conservatory of Music. One thing led to another and a year later we found ourselves married, raising a family and very involved in the musical life of a thriving community. The next 35 years were spent teaching in the Alberni Valley secondary school system. Pat taught private piano lessons and conducted several choral groups including the Alberni Teen Singers, Nu-Port Jazz Choir, AV Chamber Choir and later the Alberni Valley Community Choir Timbre!  Eight years ago Pat and I moved to Nanaimo where we became very involved in music yet continued our musical ties with Port Alberni. Thus my reference: ViewPoint from top of the Hump.

We certainly didn’t vacate Port Alberni lock, stock and barrel and we’ll always consider ourselves citizens of the “community of hearts.” Fact is, we still maintain a summer home at Sproat Lake and Pat drives every Monday evening over “the hump” to conduct the Timbre! Choir and teach piano to our grandchildren. Also we both have non-musical Conductors’ Certification Tickets enabling us to work as volunteer railway conductors aboard the Alberni Pacific Railway in the summer months. I’m also on the board of directors of the Western Vancouver Island Industrial Heritage Society, the Port Alberni Orchestra & Chorus Society and continue to perform with our son Cory in a jazz quartet at Quality Foods’ A Step Above Café. Hopefully these pursuits still qualify us, at least in theory, as Alberni-ites. 

For over a decade I wrote a weekly column for the Alberni Valley Times. However, the column was dropped last year in a budget cut against freelance contributions to the paper.  I miss writing the column and confess this blog is to satisfy my craving to write about things that interest me. Until my next blog posting……cheers.

Photo 1: Pat and myself alongside Loci #7 at the E&N Station in downtown Port Alberni before the 2pm eastward run to McLean Mill on July 15/2010.

Pat uncouples Loci #7 from the passenger cars in preparation for refuelling at the McLean Mill rail yard - July 15/2010.