303_Rautenbach_Harbour-House-Hotel

otter.ai

24.04.2023

no

Speaker 1 0:01
Good afternoon and welcome. This is a summary of a long and varied history of the harbor House Hotel. This is Reverend Wilson sketch of his daughter known as home when she met Fred Croft in 19 102. I will be reading quotes from time to time from my sources, often reporters, sometimes historians include me. I will quote first a reporter Helen Davidson, within walking distance of Ganges sprawling in a country setting overlooking the ocean farmhouse called harbor house which became a guest house a hotel by the same name with a long creeper covered veranda wrapping around it, which will feature in the show again and again. Have a good look at it. It's at the end of

Speaker 1 1:05
covered veranda wrapping around. Today, the hotel bustles with activity conferences, weddings and special dinners with white tablecloths. But it wasn't always like that. No, it had a difficult birth, rebellious youth and a myth and struggled through a midlife crisis. Helen Davidson put it that way. Now, I'm contacted to do this presentation because I've done research for a book about the harbor House Hotel for Jack Woodward, to celebrate its 90th anniversary. Its 90th birthday. That was 2006. And the working title of that book that Jack wanted was auto biography 90 years a Saltspring icon. Jack, the owner at that time was thinking of the story from the point of view of an old lady reminiscing about her life so far, usually sedate, but interrupted frequently as rather racy incidents. So I bet that Jack has recently read that, quote, I've just given you a felony Davidson, and that gave him the idea. So today I'm giving you the biography of an old lady, the harbor House Hotel. I'll be divulging a few of her secrets. Not all not today. But some of the racy ones between the Civic achievements of a lifetime. The first 50 years of the hotel's existence were a family affair. That's a good one, that's the one I should have been to pick it through a family affair. So the how the house began as a whole family run result based in the cropton family spawn house. But before we get to the beginnings, the versus a hotel, I'm going to give you a little background of what came before. Just like an autobiography, you go into a previous anti sequencing, genealogy. But for a building once history is all about location. This place had a previous history, which is carried on like the genes of the family through the hotel to this day. I do have interesting material about the conception, but we'll skip that today. I will dwell on the difficult births. However, before splitting the life story into two parts, the first 50 years and then the next 50 years separated by the rather racy midlife crisis. The first 50 years were a family affair, a homely hotel, run by the prophet and family. The next 50 years were under new management repeatedly, again and again. Run by successive a succession of new owners. Most of you present will know the location of the harbor house at the head of Ganges Harbor. The spirit of what harbor house became famous for and very likely been going on right there for many generations previously. For many generations, Aboriginal and settler, the head of Ganges harbour drew people in for a delightful gathering together for feasting and dancing, the music and entertainment supporting the touching upon us and making memories that salaries who would return year after year, say whether you were Aboriginal for generations and generations before, or settler, right now

Speaker 1 4:56
for many generations oops the location itself holds a strong memory. This location is known to the original occupants as those of you who have read Charles Khan's first chapter of the book Saltspring, the story of an island will have read that Reverend Wilson in his pamphlet, Saltspring Island 1895 wrote that as recently as the 1870s it was no strange thing during the months of May or June, to see the shores of Ganges harbour swarming with Indians 500 more in number, their long curiously shaped canoes drawn up on the beach. This is in Ganges harbour that these visits must have been made to the same spot for centuries past is evidenced by the great depths of the clamshell soil, in places even as much as seven feet in depth with trees 200 years old or more growing in it. Reverend Wilson said the object of their visit was to dig, roast and preserve the clownfish. He left behind the clam shells, which made the soil one place with a long bank, a very deep clamshell soil. With ancient trees growing in it was in front of the harbor House Hotel.

Speaker 1 6:32
Oops, yes, okay. But that was in front of the harbor House Hotel, and I will go back okay, in front of the hot the House Hotel. This long high bank is there no longer because it was leveled by the enterprising firstborn son of the Prophet and family Dermott to create the famous tennis courts which you can see them and the swimming pool, which themselves are no longer there. The aerial close up view of the tennis courts and pool in the 1960s was taken by Marshall sharp. The swarms of clam diggers were not there on Wednesday, the fifth of September 1860 When Anglican bishop George Hills came visiting Saltspring Island, arriving by boat in Ganges harbour at dusk. Eager to meet any settlers before it became dark. He wrote in his diary, we pulled up the head of the harbor and walked up a winding trail through a deserted Indian village. That is the fifth of September 1860. What was then is an unoccupied village and Margaret shore Walter who is a child so the dwellings of the Aboriginal peoples living around her in the Gulf Islands, describe these buildings as long low community lodges. The photographs of long low community lodges in capturing Bishop Hills walked on through the village of long low community lodges to a log cabin. And he wrote in his diary that night, this was the house of Mr. Lineker. He could he continues his tale of visiting the early settlers of Saltspring. And all of this is on the archives on advertising the archives. It's absolutely wonderful. You can bury yourself there for months on it. Okay. But today we will focus on the location. The land preempted by Mr. Minica. Because this is the land which is now the location no longer have limit his cabin, but as the harbor House Hotel. The limit the family did not stay very long on the island. In the 1940s, Margaret shore Walter interviewed Dominica daughter, now grown up at Harbor house was chosen as the place to meet to learn about this property at the head of Ganges harbor. Margaret had a special interest. Mr. Linacre sold it to offer Walter, who is Margaret's husband. The land then passed from Mr. Walton to Mr. Scoville and then oops. And then from Mr. Scoville to Fred Crafton as written in times past, about the turn of the turn of the century school bell sold to Fred Croft and 100 acres of this land with the house which became known as harbor house, as Reverend Wilson recorded in his journal. Our daughter Nona married Alfred Gerald Crofton. Fred, we usually call him September the 17th 19 103. They have a farm of 100 acres, which Fred purchased from Mr JC Scoville that you Yeah before 1903 Is their wedding. This was before the Malcolm and Purvis store began in Ganges in 1905. The stores in 1907 became motes. So as this young couple living in their farmhouse begin to develop a farm and a family, so to his Ganges about to develop into a business center, the young Crofton family at their heart, where am I sorry, young Crofton family at their harbor house home had a clearer view of the growth of Ganges. This is a part of the story of the conception, but I'm not going to go into it. In 1937 Lindley crease drew this view from the harbor House grounds. As Margaret shore, Walter puts it, a wharf was built on the picturesque peninsula at the head of Ganges harbour, known to the Indians as seal and around this important landing place developed partly through the enterprise and energy of milk brothers, the island's largest business center, Ganges Margaret shore, Walter describes the view and the sounds from Harbor house where she was interviewing the woman who had been the little Linacre girl, that little Linacre girl taught by the Indians how to dig tans to help her survive, because the Linacre parents were inept settlers, and that's partly why they left. Margaret Travolta takes us right there to where she was interviewing the Linacre daughter on the grounds of the harbor House Hotel. In the 1940s. I was standing whether Linda home must have been looking down the harbor, quiet in the sunshine of a beautiful summer day. We stood near the covered veranda looking across fine tents long, sheltered by shade trees to the beach below. were groups of young people in bathing costumes, we're talking happily. So a place where people come to mingle the locals with those from off Island and far away. This was part of the ancestry of this place. First Nations would have done something much the same. Okay, so first, fast forward to 1916. And we're getting on to the birth of the Harper house. No, no, no. And Fred are producing children, one after the other. And the Crofton farm doesn't seem to be doing that. Well, Fred is in depth. The first world war has broken out. Of course, Fred has not been expected to sign up to fight in France. For a start, he's growing food. But he would also be leaving a wife alone with many young children, six by 1916 or under 18. And the youngest, not in this picture, was still a baby. The youngest stairs growing up by now, Fred is by the time that this photograph is taken. Fred has actually less because to alleviate the debt that he had got the family into. Fred does finally sign up. He leaves in 1916. I cannot imagine the conversations. The two of them were having to end up with that decision and how urgent it was for him to go and risk his life in order to pay off her debt. What is known to do she is resilience itself. Known have felt that friends of hers in Vancouver must be lonely just like her their husbands overseas, he asked them to come and visit. Soon a colony of tents sprouted on the property erected in May and taken down in September for year after year after year. After that. modest investments were placed in the colonist and in the province. But the reputation of harbor house actually grew by word of mouth mostly. The CPR brought visitors to the island and to their inquiries. Where can we stay? The answer was harbor house. Nona recruited her younger brother Norman to expand the family home into a beloved resort that added a wing that had bedrooms in it and minimalist bathroom accommodations. Harbor house became a place for families to come year after year to have families like summer camp. As Diane ultimately summed it up in 2010. The Crossing suddenly of salts benign and ran the harbor has continuously from 1916 to 1965. The hotel still welcomes visitors well into the 21st century. But no no Crafton was six young children to provide for and to parent alone, including a newborn turned the family farmhouse into a base for paying guests in 1916 with her husband Fred craft and went off to certain first walk. Notice walks of hospitality and lively resourcefulness such as recruiting islanders to provide memorable library adventures for the guests made the venture and immediate and long lasting success, many visitors returning every year. Some actually stayed all year. The children provided much of the labor this entire farm itself supplied the food for the kitchen, in which an appreciative Facebook Chinese cook le N Who you will see later presided for 50 years to a steadily growing Clinton. His food becoming famous to visitors and salt bring islanders alike not to mention his personality. The hotel served as a community center for gatherings such as graduation ceremonies, weddings, anniversaries, the local fundraisers, it also provided employment and entertainment for the local community. So it wasn't just a hotel for people off Island to come and stay overnight. It was the hub of this community Saltspring Island, it was the place to go to be with all of your neighbors and to be with your community and your family.

Speaker 1 16:48
The local community also provided entertainment for the guests I've got here muddled pics in my notes. I will now look at the pictures and speak of my notes. So these would Garden Parties and they're also church fates which were fundraising. And they were reunion. And there were phasing. This is bathing. Wonderful diary entry. Oh, it looks pretty good up on screen. Yes, good. Bye barrel Scott. Scott was known as nice. She had many existence she was so nice that wrote illustrated journals, which again are in the archives, and a total wrong to read all the way through. She's a wonderful writer of what her family is up to and what she thinks. And, and one of the things that are not in this show is my favorite picture ever that the federal Drew, which is saying that it just isn't an ending for something she was writing about. Aren't Nona brought a chicken and the picture that she drew was absolutely definitely no nothing tall and skinny and everything upright. And she's being marched along by a chicken up her head because she has got the chicken on a lead and the leaves attached to one leg of the chicken and it's totally heading off and she's having you see this is why I'm reading from notes. If I start telling you all the stories, you'll be here to my bed. I will stick my notes about the swimming This is a drawing by notice young nice barrel Scott who's amusingly illustrated diaries are in the archives and on the website. The local community also provided entertainment for the guests. I should just see. Oh no, we've got the car. Still. This isn't part of my mother's car outings. One of the guests in the hotel, who ended up staying year round had a car and he helped the hotel out by taking other guests up for rides in the vehicle. That was an early one and after that's just any Island who had a car in the island or who had a boat and any Island ever had bicycles. They would just come collect guests from the other house and take them out. So the people of salt books it might be another one. Yes there's camping as well. The camping not only overnight at the hop house but going up for an adventure camping and picnics now this is back and in its previous age. No No absolutely lived for picnics. You can see this there are so many photographs of a picnic and she's the one in the center there. Her hair is slightly more disheveled than it would be if she wasn't picnicking. Absolutely love to go out. Eating food on the ground outside but with table costs and all that closing their lesson everything is just stupid. In a way of life that ought to be revived, really? So she did this with the guests. There were lots of picnics for the guests. Possibly, because that kitchen was the farmhouse kitchen. Tiny little place. And the dining room was the farms, the farm families dining room at the beginning. So where do you feed lots and lots of guests per show hotels getting so popular? You can pick next up we needed to spread an AMI you've got specialty dining. Okay, so let me see what else we've got. Oh, yes and boating. Now you can see how much fun notice having there and how disheveled her hair is because she's on the far right. Okay. I can tell you that her father Reverend Wilson would have been shocked to the core at this goings on behind his back. And they they will write lots and lots of little notes and things that show you that Reverend Wilson kept a very very strict household and brought them up properly. That they were hiding the facts from him that they were islanders to the core they're living like this instead. Okay. If you've got any more choices here No, no loving camping and loving giving others that camping life well into all the the people of Salt Spring. Yes, the people of Salt Spring used to have the house for celebrations, their own celebrations. For reunions. This is the Rachael family. And for annual the annual pioneer. Visitors who came by sailing boat or yacht moored in front of the harbor house, the head of the harbor by 1918, the CPR passenger steamships called in on Ganges concealing that and there is the spotlight newspapers handy map showing you the ferry routes go to Ganges and car ferry service to Gambia began in 1929 with the side Peck is a partly Saltspring Island business ah before that, just listening to hear what crop what the how the house effected have on the site. Yes, I do know that the top of the car selling during Crafton remembered when the side pet excursion trips came in. They used to call in at Ganges once a week on Wednesdays, and you'd get a lot of people in, they rushed in and what they've done is in half an hour, and Denise coughed and added and then on Sundays Princess Patricia used to come in about 1230 And they all used to walk over for lunch we nearly went crazy trying to serve our own guests and these extras. Billy in going crazy in the kitchen and the rest of them in serving and and washing up the dishes and all the rest of it went into the hopper house provided food for large gatherings and meetings. Oh sorry. This is the harbor house provided food for large gatherings and meetings there is built in yet all the meals were cooked for those first 50 years in the farmhouse kitchen. I had to ask again and again and Denise got fed up with telling me but to me it's astonishing. I know how many turkeys were cooked for Christmas dinner for the old Saltspring island in that kitchen. Crazy. Actually chickens most of the time they couldn't afford this. Couldn't afford the turkeys. Soft bananas couldn't as well as the hotel. I'm deviating from my script. The harbor has provided food Yes. That's the famous Billy Ian, who came as a youngster in 1926 and cooked the harbor house for 50 years. There was no electricity to be had until 1937. The coffins relied in part on a generator operated by the little boys, since Nona didn't have anything to do with such a thing. The laundry was done in a shed by a Japanese family, the mercados who lived at Harbor house, acid Billy and eventually Billy and his wife and their four children to when the Japanese were shipped away from the coast during the Second World War. The crafters had to acquire a washing machine Having somehow managed the ice without their soldier brothers during the war, the Crofton sisters did eventually acquire a refrigerator. And what a treat that was. The harbor house pub was at the back with a separate entrance opened in the 20s when Fred came back to run it with his second son destiny, the beer parlor, as they called it serves the local people, but as the nice craft and said, Awesome, a lot of yachts came in. So now we're on to the roaring 20s, the roaring 20s and the 30s the adolescence. So, this, you have to hold on to this picture because I can't operate computer well enough to keep coming back to it. Okay, there's a lot in the rest of the story that centers in particularly the last 50 years have actually, unlined, it suffices. That's the secret that's going to be unveiled later. So through the roaring 20s adolescence of this young hotel, the hotel kicked up an adolescent storm of lively dancing to the jazz music of the day.

Speaker 1 27:05
Otherwise you don't have to get up and practice your Jitterbug okay. Oh, yes. Okay. Dollar flowed was Applejack and loganberry. Wine and laughter filled the night. Then the city's brought the international tents. Sorry, sorry, sorry. Okay, then the 30s thought the international tennis tournaments. The harbor HOUSE Play courts were known as amongst the best in Canada. And they were romances going on, said Denise Crofton. Denise is on the left and Doreen is on the right. They're holding on to a tennis championship trophy. But what I'm trying to concentrate on is that there were romances going on. Elegant patrons roam the premises in their tents while looking for partners, not always for tents. They arrived in their yachts and motor launches coming to the harbour house for the swimming, the rowing, the cards, the picnicking, and all the kinds of entertainment that went with every community gathering back then. The scavenger hunts were clearly enormous fun. The scavenger hunts were clearly enormous fun remembered years later, and involve in interaction with the locals so that they got to know each other. There was also entertainment at night, crab races on the billiard tables. Rich music singing. The highlights however, were undoubtedly the Saturday dance. This is the the tennis tournament, the tennis tournament Saturday. Women wore long dresses, men their flannels and blazers and the Hake family of sax and piano playing musicians rode over from Castle Island and played jazz until the early hours of the morning before rowing back home again. This URL tournament dance was really quite famous Denise record, we were lucky that the annual tennis tournament could not compete for the Second World War. The last one was held in 1939. sheer tenacity had gotten through the Depression years. Fred Crofton died in the early 1940s. And as Denise coffin put it, the brothers left the Japanese the men in general were gone to the Second World War. So this is where the sisters need to come to the fore and take over absolutely everything instead of the house that they had been doing before. So Denise chop the wood Did the repairs while building in providing such good continuity in the kitchen and garden to overcome the deprivations of the wartime years of the 40s until there's Cofton returned from the war cabins had replaced the tents. And the fad of tourism now began in earnest. I forgot to say that of course during got married, so she had another whole set of things to look after the 1960s, the very first pioneer reunion Day was held on the 15th of June 19. And 50, a movie maker was hired to come, oh, I should have been having back there all the time. I want us to dwell on that, okay, there's no inner center sitting down. And in the back, and all around her are her family, the seven DS, every single one of them had a deed to the beginning of their name. So at the back there is on the best this day. And then the eldest, the firstborn, and then there's Desmond, who went away to war and came back a colonel. And behind them is Darcy, who was not born until after the war when Fred came back. And then there is Denise and then on the far right, is Donovan who sort of broke away from being a D. Got called Patrick and they were all Irish by to say the roll overs. And then the daughters in the back there. On the left is Denise and on the on the on the messed up. No, no. We're talking right. This one here. Just Diane's on the other side. You think that was Diane? Yes. You're right. I'm not sure that photograph is difficult for me because they all look alike. Have to didn't don't usually do that there is no getting older, and her children getting longer too. They're getting more capable of doing things for themselves, as well as running the harbor House Hotel. So Denise was the one that didn't get married. And she stayed on the hotel full time for that reason. Okay, now we can move on to where I have got the very first time 1950s The very first pioneer union Day was held on the 15th of June 1950. A movie maker

Speaker 1 32:57
Movie Maker was hired to come from far off Victoria and shoot the occasion in color to we have a snippet of this as a treat for you less than a minute. It's much longer on in the archives it's a silent movie. I'm going to try and time what I say to what's happening. Here it goes. This is Simon and it's Margaret coming in with still with us up playing as we watch

Unknown Speaker 33:35
this clip a covered and here's Guttenberg coming to organize everybody

Unknown Speaker 33:51
says the creeper covered

Speaker 1 33:58
on the set of people marching bands, leaving hundreds of children 300 Children and each one got a bottle of pop and an ice cream

Unknown Speaker 34:13
is organized organization. And you remember that? Oh you have to stand up.

Speaker 1 34:21
You're probably in it. Probably recognize. Do you remember the movie? Okay, they played it the year afterwards. The newspaper said that the part of the next reunion was watching this first reunion so they sped it up on having annual pioneer reunion. Okay, so go back to my script. 400 For lunch, and hundreds more for tea and the bandwidth 300 children who said no next then died in January of 1951. And I just feel so happy that she pulled off the first plecnik reunion at the end of her life was excellent. But the hotel continued with this craft and in charge, wielding what influence he could that she died on January the 19th 1951. That's gotten pulled off by insurance he could. In 1960 premier, WAC Bennett and his ministers held a Cabinet meeting at the harbor hotel. The entrance era was in sight. In 1964, the hotel was sold, the craft and family largely withdrew from the operation. The islanders were reassured that the homestyle hospitality hosts that hospitality so inclusive of them might remain, the management will remain in the pupil of Colonel de de coffin was still in charge. from 1965 until 1971, the harbor have settled down the harbor house settled down as what was known by the guests as the tender trap. This is the tender trap still maintaining its old charm into middle age. This is called the tender trap because you couldn't get away from it. It was so nice I guess it gets 10 of the name down to each other. That's what it was no no. So now we have reached the next 50 years. I think give you a quick synopsis. Remember the opening quotations from Henry Davidson how the hotel had a difficult birth and a rebellious use and would eventually struggled through a midlife crisis. Well, here we are. So it's the 70s and the old lady's midlife crisis, drama, the fire and the Phoenix mayhem, murder, and the ghost, all one in the same new owner, Mr. Walter falta had sold 1971 1972 and 1973. But before all that, also hats off, gave the islanders out for Thames murals, sweet, innocent summit, the swelling merch and cloud. And after all that these murals are lost to the islanders. After 2020 For 20 years they stayed, and then they were last but not before the new elements of the 70s and 80s. When the old lady goes downhill poor old and becomes known on Saltspring with great affection as the horrible house. The 21st century will bring Jack Woodward in 2004 as a son of Saltspring. And like all new owners, a son with a dream, but this time to give the old lady back lovely part of her use. Jack redeveloped the harbor House Kitchen Garden, providing fresh food farm to table for the craft. This had been a necessity. There were no suppliers on island and no transportation to get off Island goods at first. So they had to be self sufficient. Notice children did everything. A real family business I see known as children did everything, because lots of them say that. But I also know that Nona was extraordinarily good at recruiting every Saltspring to her with fun. Yeah, she also did get her younger brother Norman, to help her out during world war finally leading up to our current new owners of 2017, to whom we offer a welcome today. We're going to get through all of that sucks leaving you with many questions. So maybe you will have to come back for more another day. But there's a tweet at the end than Jason is here to read you one of his balance of one or more done

Speaker 1 39:58
after the first 50 years The Hobbit house goes through 50 years of being under new management. In 1971, Delta Hertzog bought the heart the house, just checking, I don't believe

Speaker 1 40:19
there any URLs that he gave to Saltspring island by employing after 10 When I asked Alfred, if he was paid really well for this masterpiece, first off, it said arts no Sistine Chapel, but I think it's the Sistine Chapel. I think it's even better than the Sistine Chapel. He said, No Sistine Chapel, he said, I just was glad to get work at any time. So I don't know that he got me Well, that's fine. It was an obsession that Alfred was allowed to continue. Let's put it that way. That the mural is covered two walls. They were concrete walls and what mural murals Afric felt was set apart needed something nicer than concrete walls. So he hoped that this would would sort of soften it a bit.

Unknown Speaker 41:20
Okay, yes. So we have I can't find it. I have to say it all. Okay, here it is.

Speaker 1 41:32
Started with Dave Alford free reign. So Africa, the two walls of the new pub with a vivid history of assaults been a source of pride in the community. There were eventually these were eventually lost to the patrons of the pub. But thanks to the new owners of 2017 they reappeared.

Speaker 1 41:57
And there they are cleaned up by Frank photo photography can do wonders that actual restoration artists would find extremely difficult to do. So after much consideration, these re exposed murals have to be covered again, but not before being photographed in full color in black and white photographs have been taken. Oh, wonderful. Okay, what do I do now

Unknown Speaker 42:36
restored in photography

Speaker 1 42:47
Thank you. in black and white photographs have been taken as a full mural freshly completed, completed in May of 1972 by Marshall shop. So I have I have no this set of them. There were more. Two more, we're now in the museum. And then we can see some outfits work in the private homes that are just stunning. He took the stories of B Hamilton to illustrate the history of Saltspring island so they're incredibly funny. And Alfred wrote poetry which is children's cringed doggerel. To Children cringy your poetry good. For children, I think it's was a bit a bit rough, because, of course he's his first name his mother tongues German. So His English is in his poetry, but I love this poetry. This can see all of it that each panel has a whole poem written by. Okay, that's not written down here. In November, yes in black and white photographs have been taken up the full mural freshly completed, that's may 1972. In November of that same year 1972 The old rustic harbor house burned to the ground. had built a heavy duty firewall between the old buildings and the new pub with accommodations above. You can see the new public accommodations about the newly built addition remained untouched. Firemen had their strong suspicions. Alpha temple believes the fire was deliberately set for the insurance, he was not alone. It must also be said that the old wooden building had had it stained and was due for demolition. gotta hurt Salk had already told everybody when he first came here that the final stage of his improvements to the harbor house would be to the disappearance of the old wooden building. So this was a bit sooner than they expected. But perhaps plan went ahead

Speaker 1 45:29
it was a very hot fire. Even the vehicles parked nearby a melting pot. Yeah, actually, there's another presentation that's about this by Les wagon

Speaker 1 45:51
rising from the fire, hotel rebuilt after fire at Ganges 10 months later, September 1973. Mr. headstock was murdered. If you want to know the grisly details of the mayhem and murder, find this account in the archives. Shades of a colorful past by Helena Davidson, writing for an off Island audience, which does so love to hear. That's crazy. Saltspring Island is reporting the mayhem and murder of Walter Hertzog. This report emphasizes secrets and the mystery and surmises, Hertzog wanted the hotel to be a swift resort for well heeled tourists. This meant getting rid of riffraff and they did not like that one bit. Someone took it upon himself to do the dirty deed, or get someone else to. For now, I'll just say that a man died. A woman was widowed, and a young Saltzman Islander, went to jail for nine years. What followed was reporters writing about a ghost. You can see the ghost in the photograph, a white shadowy figure appeared in this infrared photograph taken at the hopper house. This has been great fun for Islanders and often this. For many years, ghost is presumed to be that of Walter Hertzog and all the fun of him in the sky. He disturbs band members and cleaners and out in the community, will you you will hear remarks like I used to be the head housekeeper at the harbor house in the early 1990s. And yes, Walters spirit was around a lot. Again, if you want to know all the spooky spooky details, or the basis of the interest of foreign professional spiritualists specializing in exorcism, this local driftwood account in the archives is solid. It includes the fun of the inexplicable ghostly pranks, lots of electricity and and serious discussion from a spiritual point of view, believe it or not, isn't. Back to the murals? How can murals be lost? I'm just going to check what the next showing you are. Yes. So it's got so much in this article. The apple of His eye is saying that headstock had said that this project as a harbor House Hotel, the hotel was the apple of his eye, he just loved doing this. And so it was surmised that when he died, he couldn't leave. And also he sort of took the life out of everybody. Afterwards, he was having all the fun instead of murdered man's ghost place plank in hotel, in hotel. So that's all the reports of the oddities that occurred. Okay, so, back to the murals. How can you be lost? After told me walls always get pulled down or painted Denver as a new realist, he was used to it. He was amazed at how islanders responded to the loss. Louise Woodward, a painter who had studied what the walls while her husband and their friends drank and smoked in the pub told me that when they were ruined, she went home and wept. What happened? Well, for nearly 20 years after the murals first went up on the walls from 1973 to 1992, a series of new owners came and went. Sometimes new owners connected with community groups to understand the island way of life, that however in the end, they usually develop their plans based on what was best for them. essence. Someone recently wrote an interesting piece about why Saltspring Island is wary of newcomers. Island this recall when the new owners purchased the islands historical landmark harbor House Hotel in the early 1990s. Their plans included major changes to the hotels path, a place that brought together hippies, loggers, pioneer families, and the motorbike crew. The pub also housed two walls of murals depicting the history of Saltspring Island and providing a great source of pride in the community. During the renovations, the murals were covered and destroyed, the community was upgraded. To the locals, the harbor house had had a history of feeling like it belonged to them, was there for them. That new pub risen from the ashes of the old hotel with its murals of old mayhem and eccentricity and become known to locals as the horrible house, they felt it was theirs. Sometimes when the hotel became a bit worn or disreputable new owners would feel happy with their investment having made such changes. Some locals might well appreciate the upgrade. Some might miss the familiar. The hotel was not always a total success. sign tells the story or doesn't. Like the Phoenix, it maintains a history of rising again. I will have to leave out the 21st century developments because it's time for that. We will end with fun and laughter revisiting the horrible house years of the 70s and 80s then Jason will read to us his Ballad of harbor house. It's good to have you with us. It says it's good to have you with us. And I love whoever

Unknown Speaker 52:05
it's a photograph in color because look at the size but the lady's not looking too good on that. Okay, do you need the microphone? So Ross do you need to do something? Just kidding

Unknown Speaker 52:27
your wireless

Speaker 1 52:39
do we need the lights? No, we bought this behind. Okay, I've lost that's to illustrate what what Dan is going to say.

Speaker 1 52:58
Oh, we could have the lights. You could see what your meeting. No, we can remember it. That's Fine Gael we can remember it turn the lights on.

Speaker 2 53:10
So I can do something other than 1976 I have to find a job right away. I was here I could tell. And it had me carrying a tray full of beer glasses of water. I pass the test. Next day, I was working as a card vendor they are vendor as a bartender at Barbara for two years. That was a very tiny introduction. Because it was everybody's living room. And all kinds of shenanigans went on there. And during that time I was was inspired by what was going on there to write some kind of recounting what, what I saw and did and ended up writing songs about the heart wrenching itself. At the same time I was reading a whole bunch of other poems and ended up publishing a book called Westeros whimsy anvil max. And it was a very, very successful book probably because I mentioned so many so many people's names.

Unknown Speaker 54:52
People love to be recognized and they met far and wide. Was there a lot of people A

Speaker 2 55:01
whole bunch of artists there who pretty much outrank everybody else. And when they saw it, they were in the book too. They ended up sending it to everybody and it got around, I ended up selling over 1000 copies of the book,

Unknown Speaker 55:17
but never reprinted this year at the urging of my kids action, and now talk songs son than four years on top three, and it had some comments in the bucket. Last year, was going on then some further comments, but

Speaker 2 55:44
the first one that I called Corporate ice hockey, and you'll probably recognize some of the names of some of you.

Speaker 2 56:04
On to the Hartford, forget your bluing pride. Come on to the harbor. We'll take you for a ride there's beer and tear a plenty for just a five or two come onto the harbor house and join ourselves there's all bill in the books where he will say he caught you sneaking in the fields of habitat and that are buried on the floor is barred for life for more. The cops will have come up the back. But watch that other door. Man Here comes no problem there. With aka how John and if that mum on the phone just said that I'm long gone. I didn't hear what's that return to say? One stock? Picking draft? It's 16 draft. Okay. Fair enough. Kids play with the jukebox. Are you waiting there for hours? Hold on. I'll be right back. You say there's no sober and now there is no phone. I think my dogs were stolen. Or took it out on loan. spilling over the tables wet with booze. How long to the harbor hoods? What have you got the greatest show around? Come onto the harbor of a circus is in town. Meatball reg and Foxy are sharing that one cue and Michael was back to us is really very blue. The fairies have just come in. They look like they're in pain. They never reached long harder than have to swim from name will all the while there ain't no perio overseeding that quick and match their style. Marks horse was mighty thirsty, snorted. 16 draft and Mark just threw his head back and laughed and laughed and laughed. A birthday doom for Kathy come to serve me. She's been drinking here forever. And now let's turn Nike wants to change his bills and just there wants to dry don't bother with those doors. They're they're talking on the sly Joe's in the heart bar. And this my friend is no bull. He hasn't sought a cupboard full of warm and virgin wool. But that's another story and not for those who scrounge surfaces more costly if you're drinking in the lounge. Our favorites are the old time Bob that'll make you feel going here just one more run saw gold arrow strong song and tell a joke at you. The city's in the woodwork and Jack there is one too. All the seats are empty. Where they are gone. 27 people inside the wilderness John

Speaker 2 59:21
take off the cat. I'll come see you later for my journey behind the taps. The news here somebody else the class of 59

Speaker 2 59:37
but when we're all jabbing there's nothing quite self mind. Barb and Tommy worked here and recent remedy to about everyone you see here was keeper of the zoo. Just upgrade and join us. Don't worry if you're new. Come on to the heart robots are living rooms for you. They're slideshows here money much more And I can tell that you can have your own here

Speaker 2 1:00:16
there's another one. I won't read through the last few lines because it's so appropriate to neurologia at the hotel. Let's go home yet again. And better put more glasses on yet looks like this house is talking still. Come on over and pick your fill. The name of the game is having fun, and we're gonna do it till it's done. Oh, come on to the Heartbreakers and join us if your game. The more they change the harbor house, the more safe to say