A Giant Stick for England

In 1867, Gassy Jack Deighton unfurled the Union Jack as he stood on the roof of Gastown's first tiny building. He growled in his whisky-bass voice "The blood and guts of Old England..."

In many ways, Vancouver is the most Canadian of cities and also the most American in British Columbia. However, there has never been any doubt on where the city's allegiance lay. Through the city's troubled years, the blood of old England - keep a stiff upper lip and carry on - was evident. In times of trouble, we've had the guts of England too. Vancouver's patriotism has stood the test of time even if it isn't as ceremonious and suave as many other provinces. 

A piece of Vancouver historical trivia concerns two of the city's founders and two diversely different people - Gassy Jack and Captain Edward Stamp. Their goal was to keep the old flag flying at opposite ends of the British Empire. Gassy Jack's flag fluttered over the saloon in the middle of the forest until B.C. joined the confederation in 1871. Then Gassy Jack exchanged the Union Jack for its newer version. It was the first Canadian ensign to be flown on the mainland of British Columbia.

The distance between the shores of the Pacific Ocean to the heart of London, England is half the span of the world and Captain Stamp was carrying out his part of the flag duty. In 1859, Stamp cut a giant spar while logging on Alberni Canal. In the name of lumbermen on Vancouver Island, he shipped it to London as a gift to Kew Gardens. The pole fell and broke as it was being erected but Stamp was not deterred. He cut and shipped an even larger stick in 1861, before he moved to the inlets. 

The giant stick was placed and for many years remained one of the minor wonders of Europe. IT was the largest single piece of timber ever seen by millions of Londoners and visitors. Sadly, by 1912, the piece of wood became rotten to be safe any longer. The curator of the gardens sent an appeal "to the gentlemen of the timber trade of Vancouver and British Columbia" to find a replacement.

This is the Union Jack, the first flag flown atop Gassy Jack's saloon.

After British Columbia entered the Confederation of Canada, the Royal Union Flag was flown.

In 1965, Canada got her own flag.

(These three flags are from the site the Chatham Daily News)

Since we are talking flags, here is the one British Columbia used from 1870 to 1906. Compliments of Wikipedia

Vancouver's lumbermen rose to the challenge. Just as Stamp did in '61, the loggers set forth to do in 1912. Actually, they wanted to outdo Stamp! For two years, the timbermen combed the forests of B.C., looking for the right tree. It had to be taller than the tallest tree, slimmer than the slimmest, true, straight and sound. Eleven trees were felled but discarded for imperfections.

The twelve tree was six feet at the butt, 220 feet long and 18 inches inside the bark at the top. It filled every specification.

The tree was brought to Vancouver and shaped by expert broadaxe men. A 33-inch cylinder was used for the first 15 feet, from there a tapered octagon, 31 3/4 inches at 25 feet, 30 1/2 inches at 41 feet, 29 3/8 inches at 52 feet, 24 inches at 102 feet and 19 inches at 152 feet. At the 157 foot it became round again, at 190 feet, 15 inches in diameter, at 215 feet, 12 inches.

The current flag of British Columbia. From Wikipedia

Thanks to the book Vancouver, From Milltown to Metropolis by Alan Morley for the above information.

I hope you find the beauty around you.

Life was Happening

When people talk about the formation of the city of Vancouver, we usually start with the arrival of 'Gassy' Jack Deighton in 1867 then jump ahead to the incorporation of the city in 1886. But what about those years in between?

Those years may have seemed uneventful in the cluster of ramshackle structures called Granville - aka Gastown - but life was happening. In 1871, British Columbia entered the Confederation of Canada. That same year, George DeBeck was killed in one of the inlet logging camps. His widow lived past the century mark and saw her sons and grandsons become prominent citizens in towns that weren't even established in 1971. When Mrs. DeBeck was in her nineties, children who were getting milk from DeBeck's in the early morning would see the widow exercising with dumbbells at the her open window.

A 26-year-old Scot, Richard Henry Alexander, arrived with his beautiful wife to become Captain Raymur's assistant. Mrs. Alexander came to the colony on a 'bride ship' and became the social queen of the inlet. Since Mrs. Raymur preferred to remain in the civilized Victoria, Mrs. Alexander took over her social duties. Richard Alexander was one of the few to survive the horrendous overland trek from Canada to the Cariboo goldfields.

In a surprising turn of events, Gassy Jack, Captain Raymur and Richard Moody were on the same opinion with a matter having to do with respectability. Tompkins Brew was constable at the time and not a very good one. He is remembered mainly for sitting asleep on the verandah with his long beard fluttering in the breeze.

The trio petitioned Governor Musgrave for better protection. Jonathan Miller was appointed. The government built Miller a house and a tiny jail. Brew was kept on as a government agent.

Dr. Black was thrown from his horse and killed on the Douglas Road while galloping to answer an emergency call one night. Dr. Black was a survivor of the Sea Foam explosion.

The price of telegraph tolls to New Westminster went up from 25 to 50 cents. The barque Cornelis loaded at Hastings Mill, set for Valparaiso, was lost on Howe Sound. Her cargo was salvaged.

Gassy Jack enlarged his saloon and made it a substantial hotel. On July 20, Confederation Day, the first Canadian flag was seen on the inlet. A month and a half later, New Westminster was able to fly the flag when Jack loaned the flag to Ebenezer Brown so Brown could hoist it over Brown's Royal City saloon.

What we now see as the Canadian flag only came into existence in 1965. From 1801 to 1965, the Union Jack was recognized as our country's symbol.

1872 was the year Vancouver and area got its first post office. Alexander opened it in the mill store and it was then the use of Canadian postage stamps became common. Previously, mail was sent out on American ships using American stamps.

Deacon Henry Eburne arrived on the Fraser's North Arm and bought an acre of land for $1. This settlement retained Eburne's name until 1916 when it became Marpole.

Two bandits named Brown and Shelley raided a logging camp. Constable Miller had a running fight on English Bay with his revolver against their two rifles. Brown and Shelley fled ashore, leaving Miller with a canoe-load of loot and two frightened Indian women.

October 2, 1872 was the day the first bridge across False Creek opened - it was located where Main Street now runs. The bridge led to a trail that ran through Mount Pleasant and down the South Slope to the Fraser River. 

Not everyone was happy to see the bridge though. An eccentric with a vegetable patch on the south shore of the creek, Julius Ceasar, didn't trust the structure. In his spare time, he rolled large boulders into the creek so people could cross the creek safely, and dry, at low tide.

I want to thank Alan Morley and his book Vancouver, From Milltown to Metropolis for the above information.

I hope you find the beauty around you.