Some Parting Shots

First Beach (or Second or Third Beach).

Parking Lot.

Restaurant Staff Room.

The Old Courthouse Inn

Besides the Rodmay, the "Historic District" has another hotel, the Old Courthouse Inn, where I breakfasted at a cafe named after a native daughter from the nearby town of Cranberry. Edie Rae is in her 70s now. Her picture is everywhere.

The Old Courthouse was purchased a couple years ago by a couple from Alberta. These two have done a marvellous job restoring the hotel, enhancing what is best about the building, without losing sight of how we live today.

During my second visit to Edie's I spoke with one of the owners. He said the former mall just south of the hotel was recently purchased by a West Vancouver businessman, with the intention of turning it into a "Granville Island-style public market."

Below is a picture of the mall looking south from the Old Courthouse (note the inverted Jim Price Social Credit campaign sign in the upper window):

Here is a picture of the mall looking northwest, a block east of the Rodmay:

Here is a picture of the Powell River Open Air Market, a long-running community institution that features food and crafts, as well as music, archery and a miniature train ride for children:

Labour Day

"In its heyday, 2600 people worked at this pulp and paper mill, now owned by Catalyst. It's down to 400 now [as of May, 2012], but could soon be zero after creditors voted against the company's re-structring plan."

Powell Lake Marina

On August 20 I posted a picture of Powell Lake. The picture above was taken while visiting the lake's marina -- home of the Shingle Mill Pub & Bistro (where they serve an excellent seafood risotto) and, just west of it, a company that makes cedar float homes. On both my visits the sound of dirt bikes and dune buggies echoed from the surrounding hills.

The more conventional route to the lake has you driving north of the "Historic District", where you come to this sign:

And these to the right of it:

From there you turn right and, about a half mile up the road, you cross a bridge over what is one of the shortest rivers in North America: the Powell River. On the other side of the bridge, to the right, is the entrance to Powell Lake.

Before European contact, the lake drained into the ocean. But with the construction of the mill, the lake was damned, its fresh water administered by the company, as it is in most company towns.

Beaches

Powell River began as a pulp and paper company town. Though the mill remains the region's largest employer (400 workers), new economies are emerging. Tourism is one, retirement is another.

Directly south of the breakwater that protects the mill's logging pond are two beaches. The first beach is known as Second or Third Beach by some, First Beach by others. Those who know the first beach as Second or Third Beach recognize the first beach as Waddington Beach, the tourist beach (see my August 22 post). Those older see Waddington Beach as Third Beach, with First Beach (or Second or Third Beach) the first beach you see just south of the mill.

On Sunday, while watching the sunset at First Beach (or Second or Third Beach), I noticed a seal circling a swimmer. Eventually the swimmer came ashore and, after changing behind his motorcycle, introduced himself as a native son. He told me the gravel road behind us bypasses the town and meets up with Powell Lake; that most of its dirt bike and dune buggy traffic consists of those coming down from the lake to buy off-sales at the Rodmay.

Of course the real reason for this road is not to service beer runs but to bring logs to the logging pond, where they are sorted and sent to the mill. That this road bypasses the town is common to places that like to keep work at a remove. That it is used for play makes towns like Powell River a joy.

The Rodmay Hotel

Opened in 1911, the Rodmay Heritage Hotel in Powell River's "Historic Townsite" district (a mile north of "downtown") was built with financial backing from the mill over which it looks. As you can see from the picture (not the official picture the hotel uses to sell itself), the Rodmay has undergone a number of add-ons and adaptations over the years.

The Squatters Rights

This silent 8mm concert film was shot at Powell River. The clothes, the dance moves and the musical equipment suggest the summer of 1968. One imagines the songs to be closer to surf music than psychedelia.

A 3:51 minute film running at 24 frames-per-second is roughly the length of a super-8 film cartridge. As such, I would guess that this film was shot on super-8, if not for the double exposures at the beginning, which suggests a double-8 format, where the film is flipped halfway through shooting.

The singer in the last band is identified as "Brian Eccles". I search-engineered "Brian Eccles Powell River" and found that between 1965-1968 Brian Eccles was a member of a band called The Squatters Rights. Further engineering returned him to this blog. Turns out I visited Brian's studio three years ago, as a guest of the Queen Charlotte City Arts Council.