Restored Kinsol Trestle now open for biking and hiking

Last week I was attending a meeting in Victoria in connection with the provincial government’s decision two years ago to take away the right for Adult Arts Groups to apply for Community Gaming Grants. Readers of this blog are well aware of my opinions regarding this shortsighted decision. However, after attending last week’s meeting I’m tepidly optimistic that the government may see the error of their ways (especially if an election is pending) and reinstate access to gaming funds for community based arts groups. We shall see.

After the meeting I threaded my way through the daily  “Colwood Crawl” out of Victoria to the Malahat, turning left off the highway to Shawnigan Lake. I’d brought along my bike so I could take a short ride on the Trans-Canada Trail that now occupies the old CNR right-of-way north of the lake. I wanted to view one of the most spectacular sights on the old rail grade - the Kinsol trestle which spans the Koksilah River. The bridge, at 615 feet long and 125 feet high, is today the largest Howe truss, bent pile wooden trestle left in the world. Peddling up the Trans-Canada Trail I reached the trestle just before sunset. I managed to get several photos of the majestic trestle which I’ve included in this blog. 

When most Vancouver Islanders think of an island railroad it’s usually the Esquimalt & Nanaimo Railway on the east coast that runs from Victoria to Courtenay with a branch line running from Parksville to Port Alberni. This railway, as folks in this part of world are aware, is still in existence albeit somewhat rusty and worn. Currently the passenger train service is in limbo anticipating some government funding to get the roadbed up to snuff. The only thing presently rolling on E&N trackage is a few slow order freight trains in the central island area and the Alberni Pacific Railway tourist train running from Port Alberni to McLean Mill. 

However, many decades ago there was another railroad beside the Esquimalt & Nanaimo Railway. This railway started out as the Canadian Northern Pacific. Construction on this line began in 1911. It was projected to run from Victoria to Port Alberni. The route chosen ran westward from Victoria to Metchosin, then turned northward along the Sooke River, passed Shawnigan Lake on its west bank to Deerholme, to Lake Cowichan and Youbou, and then continuing northward to the Alberni Inlet. 

However, by 1917 the Canadian Northern was bankrupt and the Canadian Government assumed control over the railway making it part of the Canadian National Railway network. It wasn’t until 1928 that the rails were laid as far as Kissinger at the northern tip of Lake Cowichan. Beyond Kissinger a subgrade had been completed and had reached a point on the Alberni Inlet only 4 miles short of Port Alberni. Evidence of the grade can still be seen west of Port Alberni along the shoreline of the Alberni Inlet. Rails were never laid by the CNR on this section of the grade. However, years later the forest company Bloedel Stewart and Welch used sections of the abandoned grade for their Franklin River Logging Railway operation. 

As I mentioned above, the Trans-Canada Trail now follows this CNP/CNR route on the south island. Until this summer cyclists had to make a long detour around the Koksilah River Canyon in order to travel from Victoria to Duncan. The Kinsol Trestle across the river was literally rotted through and set to collapse. The last train to cross the trestle was on June 20, 1979. The rails were removed in 1983. In the early 1980’s, advocates of the trestle tried to have it restored and designated as a heritage structure but were unsuccessful. Unsuccessful too were vandals who on several occasions attempted to burn down the structure. Finally, after years of campaigns to save the trestle, rehabilitation work (budgeted at $7.5 million with donations from the Federal & Provincial Governments, Western Forest Products, many Duncan and Mill Bay businesses, area Service Clubs and countless Vancouver island individuals) began in 2010. The official reopening of the trestle took place this July 28.

I encourage any of you traveling to or from Victoria to take the time to see this spectacular bridge. You can walk in from the nearby parking lot. Go online at  http://www.shawniganlakemuseum.com/kinsol.html to find directions to the newly restored Kinsol Trestle.

Sproat Lake Summer

The traditional baking heat of summertime waited until August was rolling into September before making its appearance at our Sproat Lake abode. My first summers spent at Sproat Lake were family holidays during the 1940’s at a resort called Bothwell’s Camp (now the Fish & Duck Pub). One warm and sunny morning after Labour Day I cruised the shoreline of the lake looking for memories of those summers spent at this beautiful place. 

The photo above shows Klitsa Point at the convergence of the arms of Sproat Lake which are Two Rivers Arm, Taylor Arm, Stirling Arm, and the main part of the lake (sometimes called Kleecoot Arm). The point has a fascinating history having been the location of Klitsa Lodge which was established in 1919. In its heyday the lodge attracted many famous guests including Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Mae West, Gracie Fields, Walt Disney, Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, and John Wayne, to name a few. Since 1960 the property has change hands several times and been sub-divided. Today the main lodge building is a refurbished summer residence.

During the 1920’s several rustic cottages were built on the Klitsa Lodge property and rented to guests for $12.50 per day. The photo at left is the only remaining cottage still standing. It was named simply the “Cedar Cottage”. I recall staying in the cottage when I was about 10 years old with a family that were friends of my mother and father.

Today the most famous residents of Sproat Lake are the Martin Mars Water Bombers. Arriving in the spring of 1960, these converted US Navy World War II flying boats have been fighting fires throughout North America. I never tire of watching the huge aircraft making their landing approach to the lake at what seems like only a few feet above our home. The dishes in our kitchen cupboards threaten to vibrate out of the cupboards every time the iconic aircraft throttle back their roaring quartet of engines as they gracefully drop downwards to the lake’s surface.

Vanderbilt Island (Above) - The following information comes from a 2008 released paperback entitled Sproat Lake Reflections compiled and edited by a number of Alberni Valley citizens calling themselves the Sproat Lake History Book Committee. Contributing researchers were Barrie Forbes, Marilynn Forbes, Peggy Hess, Rick Lord, Harold Bishop, Art Skipsey and Frank Holm. The chapter reflecting Vanderbilt Island chronicles that the first recorded owner of the island was Sir Richard McBride, premier of British Columbia from 1913 to 1915. In 1920 Cornelius Vanderbilt Jr. and his new wife Rachel were on a motoring tour of the west coast and purchased the island from McBride’s widow Christina for $200.  The Vanderbilt’s constructed a lodge on the island in 1921. During their summertime stays, locals were upset with the owner’s practice of flying an American flag over the island. 

However, the Vanderbilt’s marriage didn’t last long and Rachel was deeded the island as part of the divorce settlement. In 1927 Rachel sold the island to Katherine Cooper who was married to Dr. Charles Cooper, the head surgeon for the Matson Steamship Lines in Honolulu. After Dr. Cooper died in the late 1930’s, his wife continued to come to the island, eventually transferring title to her daughter Frances Wood of Pennsylvania in 1947. James Campbell of Seattle purchased the island from Frances in 1954 and being a pilot and owning his own plane (a Seabee) made good use of the island. 

In 1973 Campbell sold the island to a group of seven American couples that time-shared their summers on the property. In the 1990’s two Alberni Valley couples purchased two of the shares, placing at least a portion of the island’s ownership back in Canadian hands.

Photo above: Two Rivers Arm

Photo (above): Our float is activity central during the summer.

The black & white photo above was taken sometime in the late 1940’s. That’s me rowing the clinker-built rowboat with my brother Terry seated in the stern. The location is in front of Bothwell’s Camp (now the Fish & Duck Pub). In the background are the petroglyphs with the Beaufort Range beyond. 

Fast forward to 2010. My brother and I restaged the photo in the same spot approximately six decades later. Yikes! 

The above photo below replaces the two old guys with our grandchildren Nathan and Matthew. 

Photo above: Our old lake house deck at Sproat Lake was rotting and ready to fall apart. Our son Brock and his friend Greg constructed us this new one during July. The cedar wood finish is so beautiful I hate to scuff it up by walking on it.  

Sproat Lake, from my first encounter as a young child, thru the decades to the present day, has given me countless memories and continues to do so. The unsurpassed scenery, the migrating salmon, the swimming and the boating, the family dinners with our children and grandchildren, all make Pat and I feel truly blessed to possess our little piece of paradise. 

Summer in Winnipeg

After wrapping up three days on the Alberni Pacific Railway as conductor, I scooted home over the hump to Nanaimo. I had just a few hours to pack and snatch a bit of shuteye before boarding a 6 am flight out of Cassidy Airport through Vancouver to Winnipeg. My wife Pat was flying to Manitoba to adjudicate examinations for the Toronto Conservatory of Music and I was along as ‘gopher’.

I’d not seen the renovated domestic flight terminal in Vancouver since the Olympic makeover last winter and was suitably impressed with the new facility. On the other hand, arrival at the Winnipeg terminal later in the day left much to be desired. Peeling wall paint, worn and badly cracked floor coverings plus untidy washrooms. I couldn’t believe a provincial capital could have such a dilapidated airport terminal.  However, it turned out what I was looking at was soon to be demolished. Situated next door to the crumbling edifice we’d arrived at, a brand new state-of-the-art terminal is due to open in a few months. I would guess Winnipeggers will be pleased to see the present eyesore gone.

Retrieving our rental car outside the terminal, I recalled the last time I was in this very parking lot. It was mid-January several years ago and the temperature was 30 plus below zero with a bone-numbing wind chill that made it difficult to breath. I remember having to bang on the frozen doors of our rental car to get them open. This trip the temperature was a baking 30 above and climbing.  Leaving the terminal we made one right hand turn and then it was a straight, and I mean straight, two-hour drive to Brandon.

That evening while Pat was preparing her next day’s examination sessions, I took a drive around the city. Sadly Brandon is a clear-cut example of how life can be sucked out of a community’s downtown business district when mega-store chains open in nearby suburbs.  Unfortunately boarded up shops in the downtown are commonplace as local merchants struggle to compete with the gargantuan internationals surrounding them. For a start I’d suggest getting rid of the coin-gobbling parking meters that inhabit every square inch of the city’s downtown core.

Picking up Pat after her exam session at the University of Brandon, we headed east on the Trans-Canada back to Winnipeg.  Our rental car needed to be dropped off at the airport. Using a GPS to find our way through the outlying streets leading to the Winnipeg airport entrance, the gizmo had trouble with the programmed address resulting in a wrong turn which trapped us into entering the terminal’s short-term parking area instead of the rental car drop off lot. I had to shell out the one-hour parking fee in order to exit and loop around the terminal a second time and re-enter. This time I got it right. After parking the car and turning in the keys we caught a cab to our downtown hotel.

I mentioned above that the last time I was in Winnipeg it was mid-winter. It was unbearably cold and the city’s street life was virtually driven underground as everyone made their way like moles about the downtown by accessing a labyrinth of tunnels and overpasses between the malls and office buildings. What a difference a season makes.  Outdoor concerts, sidewalk cafes, vendors selling their trinkets, farmer’s markets – all surfaced to give an exciting vibrancy to Winnipeg’s downtown core’s summertime street life. On our previous winter trip I skated on the Assiniboine River’s 8.5 km natural ice trail which is the world’s longest according to the Guinness Book of World Records, besting the 7.8 km skateway on Ottawa’s Rideau Canal. In contrast, on this summertime trip I cycled along the Assiniboine on paved bike lanes. The walking trail, which is closer to the river, was still under 6 feet of flood waters.

PHOTO: Three eastbound and three westbound VIA Rail trains (The Canadian) roll through Winnipeg’s historic Union Station each week. Checking out a westbound train one morning I stumbled across an excellent railroad museum located within the historic station complex.

The big sports celebration in Winnipeg this summer is the second coming of the Jets hockey team. The MTS Centre where the newly minted NHL team will play was next door to our downtown hotel. During our stay the hockey rink’s official clothing shop was in the process of purging all the Manitoba Moose memorabilia and replacing it with stock stamped with the Winnipeg Jets new logo. The new loco pays homage to Canadian air force’s rich history in Winnipeg and consists of a blue-circled red maple leaf with a saber jet pointed true north. Apparently there is a smattering of anti-military folks in the city who don’t like that fact and the local scribes were playing up the story. Other news stories about the team wondered if the Jets will be able to attract top moneyed talent because player’s wives might never agree to live in relatively pastoral Winnipeg when the high life of New York, Los Angeles and other more cosmopolitan cities beckoned. Also it was noted there was a severe shortage of suitable luxury homes for rent in Winnipeg.  O dear, the terrible inconveniences these hockey mult-millionaires have to contend with.

Travelling with Pat on her adjudication trips over the years has given me the pleasant occasion to play tourist in many Canadian and American cities. In Winnipeg I found no shortage of things to do. Visits to the Manitoba Museum, the Legislative Buildings, the St. Boniface Cathedral, a boat cruise on the Assiniboine and Red Rivers, attending a minor league baseball game between Winnipeg and St. Paul Minnesota and biking an area called The Forks (think Granville Island) were all on the agenda. I also enjoyed a day at the Winnipeg Zoo, which is currently constructing a $45-million polar bear exhibit. Due to open in 2013, visitors will be able to ride among polar bears aboard a tundra-buggy within a huge building featuring an arctic-like environment. By that I assume it will be refrigerated in the summer with the Winnipeg winter supplying the needed environment at that time of year. Entitled A Visit to Churchill, the exhibit will hold six adult bears and any cubs born on site. Orphaned or injured bears will be brought from the Arctic to the Winnipeg facility and readied to be re-introduced back into the wild.

PHOTO: The Countess of Dufferin steam engine was the first locomotive to operate on the Canadian Prairies. Built in 1872 by Baldwin Co, of Philadelphia, the locomotive is part of the Midwestern Railway Association’s Railway Museum’s extensive collection housed in Winnipeg’s historic Union Station.

PHOTO: Winnipeg’s Fort Garry Hotel stands proudly in tribute to a time when railway hotels catered to the discriminatory traveller demanding the very best in luxury accommodation and service. Built in 1913 by the Grand Trunk Railway the architecture is in the chateau style with steep roofs, turrets and lavish ornamentation. When I visited the hotel a number of years ago a casino was in operating in the ballroom. However, in the early 2000s the hotel removed the casino and restored the Crystal Ballroom back to its original purpose of dining and dancing. Last week Pat and I took the opportunity to attend the hotel’s lavishly presented Sunday Brunch.

While in Winnipeg I had time to catch up on all the summer movies. Pat and I finally got around to seeing the new (and last) Harry Potter film. However my favourite film this summer was The Help based on Kathryn Stockett’s best selling novel of the same name. The film is set in Mississippi in the turbulent, racially charged 1960s and centers on two African-American maids who tell their sad and shocking stories of mistreatment to a young, white privileged southern woman who hopes to become a published author. She convinces the maids to help her tell the story of the racial divide between the southern women of Mississippi from a unique, and never-before-told, behind-the-scenes perspective.

I also caught the concert film Glee. In case you’ve been living on another planet for the last couple of years I’m sure you’ve watched, or heard of the popular TV program about an all-inclusive high school choir. To my mind the weekly show has given an enormous boost to high school vocal programs in North America and beyond. Filmed in 3-D during this summer’s live Glee stage tour, the movie makes one realize why the TV show is so appealing to multiple generations at once. From Beatle songs to Barbara Streisand’s hit Don’t Rain on My Parade, there’s something for everyone. It’s a little hard tell how much of the music in the film is live and how much is pre-recorded, from the singing-dancers who never seem to take a breath to the band, who sound at times like a full orchestra. However, in my book, any musical troupe that can fend off that degenerating Gangster Rap stuff gets my vote. 

Our last evening in Winnipeg Pat and walked to the Forks (so named because the Assiniboine and Red Rivers meet here) to hear an outdoor concert presented by the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. The event was billed as the annual Barge Festival. The orchestra normally plays the concert aboard a barge floating on the Assiniboine River. However with the river still at flood levels the concert was held onshore.

PHOTO: With construction completion projected for 2012, the Canadian Museum for Human Rights is not without controversy. promises to be an inspiring international landmark, drawing visitors from around the globe to Winnipeg. The Canadian Museum for Human Rights is a $310 million project created in partnership between the Government of Canada, the Province of Manitoba and the City of Winnipeg. You can watch the progress of construction by accessing their webcams at http://humanrightsmuseum.ca/building-museum/museum-progress/construction-web-cams.

Coming home, the Winnipeg to Vancouver leg of our flight was on time. Pat and I were booked on different flights from Vancouver to Nanaimo. My 1:45 pm flight was overbooked by 1 seat. Air Canada asked if someone would give up his or her seat for a $200 voucher plus lunch. I accepted so I’d be on the same flight as Pat at 3:15 pm. However, on Pat’s flight a baggage problem surfaced. A rock band was aboard and the airline had forgotten to load all their musical equipment. The flight was delayed while the baggage handlers repacked the baggage bay of the small Dash aircraft in order to get the band’s ton of gear on board. We didn’t get off the ground until 5:00 pm. Arriving in Nanaimo I had under an hour to get home, shower, pack my piano and head to Qualicum for a gig at the Shady Rest Pub.

There you have it, some minutiae about my 2-week excursion with Pat to the geographical centre of North America. To all those folks who told me I’d be eaten alive by Winnipeg’s giant mosquitoes - to my great relief (and the local population), the annual onslaught of the pesky bloodsuckers failed to show up this summer. Winnipeggers’ are thrilled and outdoor restaurants have never been busier. 

Qualicum Summer

For the past nine years my wife Pat and I have had our feet planted in two communities, Nanaimo where we spend the greater part of the year, and in the Alberni Valley where we have a summer cottage on beautiful Sproat Lake. If I had a dollar for every time I’ve wheeled my van over the hump it would rival a lottery win. 

This summer, if one could call it that, I’ve been playing piano and acting as music director for Anne of Green Gables at the Village Theatre in Qualicum Beach. Except for two or three shows when the production first opened, every performance of the five week run has been sold out.

The Village Theatre in Qualicum Beach was home base this year for Oceanside’s Bard-2-Broadway’s Summer season. 

The curtain calls usually hit the stage about 10 pm enabling me to make it back to Sproat Lake by 11 pm. Passing through Cathedral Grove last Friday I caught a radio news report that there was to be a meteor shower later that evening. So upon arrival I headed down to our lake dock, stretched out on a deck chair and waited for the announced celestial affair to get underway. With a perfectly clear sky and no city lights to intrude, it turned out to be a spectacular show as bits and pieces of cosmic debris streaked in from outer space, turning into fireballs as they entered the earth’s atmosphere. Their reflection in the calm surface of the lake made the phenomenon look even more awe-inspiring.

The quaint E&N Station in Qualicum has been quiet this summer with the cancellation of the daily passenger train from Victoria due to poor track conditions. The Island Corridor Foundation (made up of communities and First Nations Groups along the right-of-way) is hoping for a $7.5 million grant from the Federal Government to make repairs to the 125-year old railway. The BC government has promised to match the grant if the Feds cough up the money.

Performing in Qualicum Beach this summer reintroduced me to the area where I spent many idyllic summers in my youth. During the 1950’s my parents had a waterfront cottage just north of the historic Shady Rest Pub. Last week, as well as playing Anne of Green Gables, I had an afternoon gig at Qualicum’s Milner Gardens with Rosalee and the Jazz Swingers. The group includes Rosalee Sullivan (vocals), Bill Cave (trumpet), Claudio Fantinato (woodwinds), Doug Gretsinger (bass) and Wayne Finucan (drums). Bill Cave let me use his new Yamaha Keyboard so I didn’t have to haul mine (which is 10 times heavier) in and out of the orchestra loft at the theatre. Incidentally you can catch the Jazz Swingers Band at the Shady Rest Pub on August 20 from 7 to 10 pm. I digress.

Having a few hours to spare between the garden gig and the evening theatre gig, I took the opportunity to poke around Qualicum to see if I might trigger some memories from those heavenly summers of my childhood. Sadly the family cottage is long gone, replaced by a rest stop on the Oceanside Highway. In the 1960’s the Qualicum Village Town Council expropriated several properties along the beachfront (including ours) with a plan to construct a marina. The plan never materialized and today the property consists of a gravel parking lot and a strange diminutive viewing deck for bird watchers of a chatty sea goose called a Brant that migrates between Baha California and Arctic climes each spring. However, a family footprint does remain visible - the 6 Japanese Maple Trees my parents planted when they first acquired the tiny cedar cottage that sat only a few feet above high mark.

The property on which our Qualicum Cottage once stood is now a public parking lot. 

The view from our family’s cottage porch was glorious.

Driving a half km north, I turned west off the Oceanside Highway and parked near the E&N Railway tracks. As youngsters we would hike along the tracks northward to the mammoth Little Qualicum River railway trestle. By hiking down a steep fisherman’s trail near the trestle, I came to the deep pool that back in the 1950’s served as the local swimming hole. Some of my fondest memories are connected to the hours spent here swimming with my brother Terry and neighborhood summer cottage friends. The river, which flows out from Cameron Lake is still crystal clear. As it was a warm day I almost peeled all my clothing off and dove in. However, being alone and a little older and with the river flowing unusually swift for this time of year, I felt it could be a little dangerous and scrapped my impulse.

Clawing my way back up the sandy bank to the railway right-of-way, I retrieved my car and spent the next couple of hours driving through Qualicum sub-divisions, most that didn’t exist back in the 1950’s. Just east of the train station and a short walk downhill on Beach Road will bring you to where the Tudor-styled Qualicum Beach Hotel once stood. Built before the First World War, the hotel in the 30’s and 40’s was a favourite vacation destination for Hollywood movie stars such as Shirley Temple, Errol Flynn, Bob Hope, Spencer Tracey and Bing Crosby. The hotel continued to operate until it was sold to a developer in 1969. Today the property is a sea of private homes.

As a youngster I recall hiking through the luxury resort’s extensive grounds whenever I was on my way to catch a movie at the Village Theater, the same theatre I’m currently performing Anne of Green Gables in. However, I don’t call to mind ever seeing a movie star wandering the hotel grounds. The only famous person I remember meeting in Qualicum was Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent who had stopped his chauffeured limousine at the war memorial on the beachfront across from the present Shell Gas Station. It was sometime in the early fifties and I believe St. Laurent was in the midst of a federal election 

campaign. Along with the local dignitaries who had come to the beach to greet the Prime Minister, all the kids hanging about received a handshake from “Uncle Louis” as well.

Continuing along the waterfront I passed a resort called Buena Vista by the Sea that was operating in the 1950’s and still is. Nearby is a resort called the Sand Pebbles Inn. On this site I recall there being a community dance hall called the Log Cabin Inn, which I believe was closed in the late 60’s after being badly damaged by a winter storm. Apparently a number of drift logs impaled the waterside walls and ended up on the dance floor. 

Continuing southward, I turned off into a beach area known locally as Judges Row which in the 1950’s had a number of luxury summer homes including one owned by BC’s iconic lumber baron H.R. MacMillan. Today the area is still very beautiful and several monster homes have replaced some of the original summer residences.

This mammoth home sits at the end of Judges Row in south Qualicum. A far cry from the small two bedroom cottage our family enjoyed in the 1950s. 

Eventually the clock ran out on my little tour around Qualicum and I had to skedaddle up to the Village Theatre to get ready for show number 11 of the Anne of Green Gables run.

Following the closing of B2B’s presentation of Anne of Green Gables on Aug 5th, Pat & I returned the following day to our other conducting jobs as railway conductors aboard the Alberni Pacific Railway in Port Alberni. Photo shows the APR train awaiting passengers at the (E&N) Port Alberni Railway Station.

This 1913 McLaughlin Buick belonged to Port Alberni’s first mayor A.E. Waterhouse. Port Alberni was incorporated in 1912 and is planning major celebrations for its 100th birthday in 2012. The McLaughlin Buick is currently housed in the Port Alberni Railway Station as part of a recently opened Industrial Heritage Society truck display.

Island Railway still in Limbo

I was looking forward to the new schedule for the VIA Dayliner that had the train heading south from Nanaimo to Victoria in the early morning with an evening return, making it possible to visit the capital city without staying overnight. Unfortunately passenger service was discontinued before the new schedule was implemented due to poor track conditions on the historic railway. The Island Corridor Foundation, a conglomerate of regional districts and First Nations 

communities adjacent to the E&N corridor on southern Vancouver Island, is currently lobbying the provincial and federal governments for $15 million for crucial upgrades and other important repairs needed to get the Dayliner back on track. Not one to turn a blind eye to a photo op, Premier Christy Clark recently pledged $7.5 million toward track improvements. However, the money is conditional. An inspection of bridges along the line must be completed and the federal government must cough up similar funding.

As a member of the Western Vancouver Island Industrial Heritage Society in Port Alberni and a conductor aboard the Alberni Pacific Railway, I’m conscious of the funding challenges in keeping a railway operational. The Industrial Heritage has a legion of volunteers working on the right-of-way within our jurisdiction, which runs from tidewater in Port Alberni, eastward along the Beaufort Range towards Parksville.

To give you an idea of how hard volunteer crews have been working to keep the line clear, here are three photos of a recent rockslide at Mile 27.5 above Port Alberni.

PHOTOS OF THE ROCKSLIDE BELOW

CLASSIC MUSICAL PLAYING IN QUALICUM

Anne of Green Gables – The Musical opened last week at the Village Theatre in Qualicum Beach. Loved by millions around the world, this family classic relives the poignant and funny story of Anne Shirley, the spunky, redheaded orphan who comes to Prince Edward Island hoping to find a happy home. The show definitely has legs, running for 46 consecutive seasons at the Charlottetown Confederation Centre of the Arts since 1965. 

This is the second time I’ve had the opportunity to conduct the show as musical director. The first was in 1992 when I was teaching high school in Port Alberni. Then, having access to large numbers of student musicians, I was able to use the full instrumental score complement of 17 musicians. However, for the version I’m currently performing for the Bard 2 Broadway Summer Theatre in Qualicum, I had to rearrange the original score to be played by 5 musicians.

If you’re looking for an evening of top-flight musical theatre I highly recommend you take in the show. For a complete review of the production go to: http://www.bclocalnews.com/vancouver_island_central/parksville_qualicumbeachnews/entertainment/125380418.html

For tickets and further information visit www.b2btheatre.com or call 250-752-4470

Photo above: Pictured above is the 5-piece combo I’m using to accompany B2B’s Anne of Green Gables at the intimate Village Theatre in Qualicum – Larry Miller (baritone sax, clarinet and flute), Claudio Fantinato (alto sax, clarinet and flute), Michael Wright (drums), Brian Anderson (bass) and myself on piano. In the theatre we are situated on a platform high above the stage. Since we can’t see the singers I follow the action by watching a television monitor sitting on my piano. 

OVERWHELMED BY STUFF

My wife Pat announced last week that clutter, related to a lifetime of music making and teaching, had overtaken our home. Sheet music and books were the worse offenders with a spare bedroom, innumerable closets and a garage bursting at the seams with piano and choral scores, shelves of hard cover books and stacks of outdated computers and printers. Even the laundry room was lined with storage containers. Where to start became the query of the day.

Fortunately Pat at some point in the past had cut out a Reader’s Digest article by Stuart Foxman entitled “You Can Be A Clutter Cutter”.  We decided to base our campaign against our accumulated clutter on points of reference in the article. First we had to ask ourselves if our stuff made us feel good, if we really needed it, if it was outdated, if it inspired us or if our life would change drastically if we let it go. Not a problem with the boxes of old computer hardware stored in our garage that had relegated Pat’s car to be parked outside in the driveway for the past eight years. After destroying the hard drives, several computers and printers went straight to the local recyclable depot, destined I reckoned to be picked apart in some far-away land for spare parts or to be melted down. 

However, reams and reams of sheet music are proving to be another matter. Turfing arrangements and scores I’ve written and played in my college years I admit is proving stressful. Determining what to keep is excruciating. I’m fearful that I’ll make a wrong decision and chuck something that I might need at some time in the future. However, I have made a start and the rotten summer weather is keeping me at it. Meanwhile, at this writing, Pat is agonizing over what to do with a vast collection of thank you cards she has received from students over the years. At this writing she can’t bear to throw them out. Decluttering our lives is proving to be not only traumatic, but very hard work.

ALBERNI PACIFIC RAILWAY HELD UP AT GUNPOINT BY BEAUFORT GANG LAST WEEKEND

PHOTOS ABOVE: News Flash - Port Alberni’s notorious Beaufort Gang held up the Alberni Pacific Railway’s 2pm run to McLean Mill last Saturday. Conductor Kevin Hunter was taken hostage when no payroll was found onboard. However, Conductor Hunter was released unharmed when the robbers failed to find anyone willing to pay his ransom. The public is being warned that the marauding gang is on the loose again this summer and train trips to the McLean Mill National Historic Site are a likely target. Check www.alberniheritage.com for further information.