Day 53 – Monday July 10/17  

(Posted Friday July 14/17)

(Note to our friends, families and faithful blog readers: We have had several inquiries through texts and emails, and we want to reassure you all that we are safe from the terrible wildfires that are ravaging the interior of BC. We are further west and north than the affected area. We do want to send our love and safe wishes to Kirk and Suzie Ambrose who were our hosts just a week ago. They are surrounded by fire on three sides and are prepared to leave if required. It seems impossible to realize that roads we travelled just a week ago and parks we stayed in are now closed. Godspeed to all in the wildfire zone! NJC and MEJ)

We needed an alarm this morning to get us moving on our full day.  After breakfast and shower we began to organize for our three days (and four nights) away from Rocinanate II. We are allowing our dependable trailer a few days of rest as we journey on to Haida Gwaii without it. But there are lists of clothing and food that must be taken from the trailer, packed and put into the pickup. There are also lists of items to be taken out of the truck and put into the trailer. All this shifting and reorganizing while at the same time doing the usual pre-hookup cleaning and tidying routine. Happily at 11:30 a.m. we moved Rocinante into the storage area of the same RV campsite where we are staying and to which we will return on Friday.

Cut free from our 'tagalong' we did some banking and shopping in Prince Rupert and drove out of town. We had a pleasant picnic lunch on a quiet inlet on the way to a neighbouring village of Port Edward. Our destination was the North Pacific Cannery National Historic Site. (photos)

We arrived just after 2 pm and had just a short wait for a 3 pm guided tour. To fill the time we watched a 1950’s-era government film on BC fishing. The voice, production quality and music reminded us of the many such educational films we watched in elementary school. But we did learn the techniques of gill netting and seine pursing used in fishing for salmon as well as the production line techniques for canning that we would also see later in the tour.  

This particular canning plant was built in 1889 and closed in 1968.  It was one of over 200 canneries that existed in BC in the province’s heyday of canning. (On the same road we passed a plaque for the Inverness Cannery and saw signs for the Cassiar Cannery). (photos)

We were part of a small tour group led, as has been the custom, by a knowledgeable young person. We spent an hour and a half walking through a net loft and machine shop, (photos)

The net loft

Nancy takes a moment to play in the net loft!

Michael hanging' out in the machine shop
(as a teenager, Michael used one of these spark plug testing and cleaning units
 when he worked at the Sunoco gas station in Carnarvon)

the working dock and the canning production lines – one a manual operation and one an automated line. 

Along the manual canning line

The automated canning line

We also toured the workers' living areas. It was interesting to note that the workers were housed in company-provided lodgings. These accommodations were segragated based on race/ethnicity. The First Nations, Chinese, Japanese and European workers were all housed in separate areas.  

The First Nations fishers were the only ones allowed to bring their families and that was because the women worked in the plant as well. They mended nets and processed fish for canning. The First Nations men fished as well as the Japanese men. 

The Chinese men worked on the canning production line as fish cutters. When the shift was made to mechanized processing and canning, a machine was designed that replaced 30 Chinese fish cutters. It was called, unfortunately, in the idiom of the day, "The Iron Chink". (photos)

In all about 500 people lived on site. The housing for the company manager and clerks was in charming separate buildings. (photo)

Manager's, Ass't Mgr's, and clerks housing (left)

Company store (right)

The company also ran the store where the employees had to by the staples of life in this isolated outpost. We were reminded of the Tennessee Ernie Ford song, "I Owe My Soul To The Company Store", for it seemed not unusual for a fisher or other employee to work all season and find that his or her debt to the store outweighed her or his earnings!

We left Port Edward and returned to Prince Rupert where we treated ourselves to an oceanside seafood dinner. We located a restaurant that had been recommended to us by people in the bank this morning. Smilies was an older establishment that looked like there should have been jukeboxes on the tables in the booths. But a small area overlooking the harbour had a good view of passing ships and wildlife. (We saw a bald eagle and a seal while dining.) We shared a bowl of clam chowder and a fisherman’s platter consisting of poached salmon and halibut, four shrimps, four scallops, 2 fried oysters, salad and a baked potato.  A feast that was delicious. We were glad we had split the large portion.

By the tine we were done eating we needed to head to the ferry dock. We thought we had lots of time as the BC Ferries website told us to be there an hour in advance. But when we got to the gate the attendant told us we had barely made it as he was about to close up the gatehouse. Apparently we should have been there two hours in advance (note to selves re: departure from Skidegate Thursday night!!!). We were the last ones in line but got on with no problems.

We enjoyed standing on the top deck to watch the departure. It was fascinating to watch a large Chinese cargo ship ("China Shipping" - green containers) in port beside the ferry terminal being loaded by a mass of cranes and transports. We staked out seats in the lounge and explored the inside of the ship. After trying several locations – one was too noisy, one was too bright – we finally settled on seats and tried to sleep. Nancy even tried the floor at one point. Nancy slept fitfully but Michael never managed to sleep at all. As we left the ship we put our name on a waiting list for a cabin for the return voyage.