“GO WEST, YOUNG MAN”: Chasing my dad Part 11

[“I rummaged for my toothbrush while looking forward to the key events of the day, i.e., landing in Vancouver, bussing to the ferry, ferrying to Victoria, walking to the hostel, enjoying a shower, taking a ‘walk about’, renting a car and finding a great spot for supper.” Part 10, Chasing my dad]

I was in a stellar mood after enjoying a shower at HI Victoria (Hostel International on Yates St.), because all memories of walking off in the wrong direction after leaving the bus station one hour earlier had circled down the drain and my watch declared I had a good portion of my first afternoon left on Vancouver Island for a walk about, camera in hand.

[“Lost in Victoria, but not for long”]

My refreshing shower, short memory and the island’s pleasant weather (I felt as if Mother Nature had laid out her red carpet for me) were not the only things that contributed to my positive outlook for the rest of the day. So many unique meetings with museum curators and guides and Navy veterans’ wives were already neatly arranged for the next two days and I therefore felt I had concrete opportunities ahead to learn about my father’s faint footsteps upon the ground around me.       

[“Would Dad remember seeing tall totems?”]

For example, a few weeks before I’d left London I sent short portions of my dad’s naval memoirs to Wendy Fried Ollsen, a museum curator in Courtenay. She’d shown them to a person in her community and a recent email from her was filled with promise. 

It read: “I just had a visit here at the Museum from Mr. Lawrence Burns who is a member of our local Heritage committee. He brought with him Dot (Dorothy) Levett, wife of the late Chuck Levett, who was in the RCN with your Father. He also wanted to show the pictures and snippets from your father’s naval memoirs to Maudie Hobson, wife of the late George Hobson. I hope that you don’t mind, I forwarded your emails to Mr. Burns so that he could share them with her. Dot just celebrated her 90^th birthday in February. Mrs. Levett met her husband at a dance in the Native Sons Hall. I cannot tell you how thrilled she was to see the pictures and read the snippets. She said it really was a walk down memory lane for her. She said she was going to go home and remember those happy times. Thank you for the gift you have given to them.”

I was to meet Dot the next day. With a new-found picture of her husband in hand, I felt our meeting would be a memorable one.

I left the hostel - happily smelling like a new boy - in shorts, sandals and a T-shirt, turned right and walked toward the harbour situated less than 200 meters away. Snap, snap, snap. Within minutes another collection of colourful photos joined my growing supply.

[“My first photo after leaving the hostel”]

Truthfully, I have no way of knowing if my father walked up and down the same streets as I did. Some things I will never know about his time on the island in 1944 and ’45 (Who among is not in the same boat?) but my impressions are, based on his memoirs and Navy records, he chiefly spent his time in Comox (working) and Courtenay (playing), two towns about two hours north-east from where I was exploring, and I was quite content to simply follow my nose to see what I could see, to reflect a bit on Dad’s history while creating my own. 

Victoria is such a lovely place, I thought. Won’t my own boys want to come here someday, to see what I am seeing and to connect with their grand-dad? And their dad? Time will tell.

My ‘walk about’ included several highlights:

I sat and chatted for a moment with city benefactor Michael C. Williams, 1930 - 2000.

[“Mr. Williams wears large spectacles too. Cool”]

I chatted with two young ladies inside Roberta’s Hats who were able to provide me with the email address of a high school friend who makes hats of the highest quality in Nelson, B.C.

   

[“The girls liked my story about Dot Levett”]

I found a lovely spot to sit down, rest my tired feet and enjoy a ‘nightly special’ that included a local craft beer.

[“The Bard and Banker Pub. Try their

pizza and pint special, $9.99”]

And, after sampling a second tall glass of the craft beer I was able to find my way home in less than five minutes.

[“Phillips Hop Circle. Two pints were plenty.”]

Day 5 was really quite the day and my feelings can be described by a few short lines:

The Beagle has landed (i.e., every dog has his day, and I had one of my finest)

I followed my nose

I could live here

Big day today, bigger day tomorrow

I slept like a rock


[Photos by G.Harrison]

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Please click here to read “GO WEST, YOUNG MAN”: Chasing my dad  Part 10