It was the Union Steamship Co. of BC that continued to be the lifeline for the small communities along the entire coast of BC. Their weekly trips along the BC coast and to Alaska continued until just after I left for boarding school, and were for many years the only means of connecting with the outside world. Once a week without fail they would pull into the various communities along the coast and deliver their needed supplies.
There was nothing that they would not carry. They carried everything from groceries, household items, building supplies, machinery, and the mail. Boat day was a big event at all of the small communities along the coast and just about everybody was there. I can remember every week as we listened to the approximate arrival times on the AM dial the night before its arrival. I can still hear the staticky voice of the purser as he read off the approximate arrival times for each port of call. We would listen intently until we heard the purser’s voice come over the radio saying, “This is the SS Cardena broadcasting the schedule of the approximate arrival times for Friday, July 4, Whale Town, 1 pm, Read Island 3 pm. etc. etc.
I can remember how I anticipated boat day every week, especially if I was expecting something, like a new bicycle. We would be waiting at the wharf long before the expected arrival with our eyes straining to be the first to see it sail around the point.
The small government float with the small freight shed seemed to melt into insignificant as the large freighter loomed into sight and slowly steamed into position next to our float, about tearing it from its moorings as it tied up. The small float wouId be wrenched this way and that as the logs anchoring it to the beach strained against the pressure, nearly breaking lose as the vessel finally came to rest. I knew better then to get in the way of the monkey knot when the deckhand threw the heaving line to the shore man who pulled the giant hawser over to the float, to be secured to the steel bollards while the boat was unloading. This was cool stuff for a kid and I was always excited whenever I was allowed to go with my dad to meet the boat.
I used to love watching the hoist man run the steam driven hoist as he lifted the pallets of cargo out of the ship’s hold and swung them over the float, letting them down on the dock to be unloaded by the stevedores and carried into the freight shed. Again this was real exciting for a kid and I used to enjoy the whole experience to the utmost. Nobody would think about leaving until the last pallet was unloaded and the ship whistled and pulled away from the float, to sail out of sight around the point and to its next small community.
It was now our turn to locate and sign for our freight and especially that bicycle that I had seen on one of the pallets and I knew I was getting for my 9th birthday the following Wednesday. We soon found the bicycle along with all the rest of our freight and after buying some groceries at the store headed home to do it all again next week.
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| Read Island Store & Post Office in new location & operated by the Hill family. (Original store & post office was owned & operated by Joy Lambert) |
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