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18 - Hriday, March 16, 1990 - North Shore News

From page 17

The ferry service was the idea of
West Vancouver founding father
John Lawson, who, in 1909,
started iL up as a private company
Operating under the name of the
West Vancouver Transportation
company. Later in 1912, when
West Vancouver was incorporated,
the private ferry company was
transferred to the municipality.

Mary Chapman of the West
Vancouver Historical Society lived
on the waterfront as a child and
has fond memories of the ferry
site. ‘We lived in the third house
west of the ferry wharf... We
could set our watches to the fer-
ries,’’ she relates. Of the building
itself, she recalls, ‘‘On the south
side it was divided in two, with a
smaller room in front for ladies,
and on the west wall, was a ladies’
washroom which flushed right into
the creek!” she says with muted
horror, adding ‘‘We weren’t aware
of those (environmental) things
back then.”

“In the middle of the floor,’’
she continues, ‘‘was a pot-bellied
stove which was on in the winter
and you could sit around it and
Stay warm. in the back section was
a general waiting room and a tittle
room — the ferry ticket office.’’
Tickets were purchased individu-
ally or in books and punched by
collectors on the ferry. ‘Of
course, there were some who tried
to get away (without paying) by
hiding in the ladies’ room,’’ she
says, laughing.

The building’s original location
was several yards to the east, right
at the foot of the dock. It was
moved slightly to the west to ac-
commodate revitalization work at
Ambleside. Comparing photos of
the original building to recent

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LIFESTYLES

Ferry service was vital W. Van link

FOR OVER thirty years the ferry building was the gateway to West Vancouver's ferry service which took passengers through the inlet to downtown
Vancouver. This photo shows the service buildings, a combined office-waiting room to the west and a freight shed to the east. Notice the abundance

of trees in the background.

photographs of the restored build-
ing, there are some ‘‘added’’
details on the building. Says
Chapman, “it has been restored
exactly as it was to have been on
the original (architectural) plans.”
Chapman remembers the
Jatecomers running madly down
the hill of 14th Street to catch the
ferry. ‘‘Everyone was so friendly.
If someone wasn’t on in the morn-
ing we said ‘Omigosh, they slept in
or they're sick.’”? On board, the
seas were very rough at times, she
recollects, and the ferries had to
navigate through ‘“‘lots of fog from

all the mills."

But the boats were hardy and
spirits always high. Overall, the
ferry service had a very good re-
cord, even in the most inclement
weather, as dramatized in an arti-
cle in the 1934 West Vancouver
Leader printed in Bruce Ramsey’s
Chronicle of West Vancouver:
“True to the best tradition of the
sea, the sturdy littl ships that
make up the ferry service kept well
on schedule and the hardy mari-
ners who make up their crews, the
captains and the mates and the
deckhands, stood staunchly at

their posts. ‘Carry on’ was the
watchword ana carry on they did.
Waves were mountains high and
the troughs were valleys deep.
From the shore there were times
when the ships were hidden from
sight, and sightseers held their
breath. But with the decks awash
and spray smothering the wheel
houses, the gallant little vessels
proved that West Vancouver has a
navy to be proud of.”’

The ferry building may be a
modest and unassuming structure,
but it acts as a reminder of the
founding days of West Vancouver.

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WRIGHT

Today, as we drive across the first
or second narrows bridges to
downtown, we hardly think of the
North Shore's separation from the
mainland by water. But over 50
years ago, it was ferries with
names like the Sonrisa, the
Seafoam, and the Doncella which
provided the only tink to points
beyond the wooded shores of West
Vancouver.

information for this article was
provided in part by the West Van-
couver Museum and Historical
Society. For more information call
926-2643.

Tai-Pan Oriental
Gallery
1400 Marine Drive

988-4153