by Rod Hourston<\/em> 1996<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n
POINT ROBERTS IN THE 1930\u2019S<\/u><\/strong><\/h2>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In 1928 my father\u00a0 purchased a lot on South Beach Road from Mr. Steini Thorsteinson.\u00a0 In 1929 he had built a cottage on it and the Hourston family spent the next ten summers at South Beach.\u00a0 There were\u00a0 about fifteen other families who did the same.\u00a0 In addition the Waters family and the Thorsteinson family were Pt. Roberts residents who spent the whole year there.\u00a0 Mrs. Jean Waters with her two children Ken and Dorothy (Tooty) operated the Waters chicken ranch\u00a0 which was located just across the street from us.\u00a0 Mr. and Mrs. Thorsteinson with their children Paul and Dorthea (Sis) owned the South Beach resort and operated the South Beach store.<\/p>\n
The Things We Did<\/h2>\n
The Beach.<\/h3>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Just like\u00a0 Crystal Waters today the beach was the main focus of our summer activities.\u00a0 We had a raft, built by Mr. MacDonald, and swam most\u00a0 days.\u00a0 One thing different though we always built a beach fire to warm us up between dips.\u00a0 When you arrived at it you were always told to \u201cbring your beef\u201d which meant get some drift wood for the fire.\u00a0 We enjoyed swimming when it was stormy because the water was warmer and we sometimes swam at night to see the great display of phosphorescence in the water.<\/p>\n
Racing the Tulip.<\/h3>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The MS Tulip was the boat that ran five days a week between Bellingham and Pt. Roberts.\u00a0 It carried freight and mail and it was operated by Mr. Bill Waters.\u00a0 We would wait until it was out in front of South Beach\u00a0 and then we would jump on to our bikes and race to Pt Roberts to see if we could beat the Tulip to the dock.\u00a0 I can\u2019t recall us ever beating her but you must remember that we only had single speed bikes and the roads were all gravel\u00a0 We enjoyed watching the crew unloading the freight from the hold.\u00a0\u00a0 One year Mr. Waters lost the mail contract and that was the end of the freight run by the Tulip.<\/p>\n
The Hike to the APA Cannery.<\/h3>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The APA (Alaska Packers Association)\u00a0 cannery had ceased operating by this time but the buildings and dock were still there\u00a0 Often during the summer we would pack a lunch and set off for the cannery hiking along the bluff and through the woods\u00a0 We would cut across the end of Waters property , along the Crystal Waters bluff with the four cottages mentioned in last years article, across the Thorsteinson farm and then would enter the woods\u00a0 along a trail that wound through the trees and bushes.\u00a0 It was so cool and quiet in there .\u00a0 We would always keep our eyes peeled for wild animals, but never encountered any.\u00a0 The trail emerged right at the top of\u00a0 the cliff\u00a0 above the cannery.\u00a0 A winding trail down led down\u00a0 to the cannery.\u00a0 We would peer into the buildings but all the machinery had been removed\u00a0 We would then go out to the end of the dock and fish for bullheads.\u00a0 Sometimes the fish trap tenders Pippit and Penguin would be tied up there so we would examine them carefully\u00a0 wondering if we would ever get a ride on them.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Sometimes we hiked to the\u00a0 APA along the beach.\u00a0 We would scale the cliffs and carve our initials and date in the sandstone\u00a0 face.\u00a0 We assumed they would last for ever and that future climbers would see them and wonder who we were.\u00a0 We also walked with our heads down looking for agates.\u00a0 We were hoping to find that perfect\u00a0 clear round one which we were going to make into a ring and give\u00a0 to our mother.\u00a0 I often wondered what happened to those jars of agates which we left on the kitchen window sill.<\/p>\n
The Fish Traps.<\/h3>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Between the Pt. Roberts light\u00a0 and the first reef east of South Beach\u00a0 there were three fish traps , or more properly salmon traps, out in the bay.\u00a0 They were located\u00a0 in the water beyond low tide.\u00a0 The one out from Crystal Water Beach was called the Timpson trap, after the owner of the lease.\u00a0 It started about half a mile from the beach.\u00a0 It consisted of piles driven into the bottom and between the piles\u00a0 wire mesh was stretched from top to bottom.\u00a0 This was called the lead and was designed to intercept the salmon migrating from the ocean to the Fraser River.\u00a0 The lead was (I estimate) about 1000 yards long\u00a0 stretching to the seaward.\u00a0 At the end of the lead were three net enclosures for retaining the salmon.\u00a0 One was called the heart,\u00a0 another the diamond and last one was\u00a0 the spiller.\u00a0 The spiller was made of webbing and was constructed so that it could be raised by means of windlasses at the four corners.\u00a0 At the end there was also a platform on which was built a small one room cabin where the two trap operators lived\u00a0 for the duration of the salmon season.\u00a0 We got to know the two operators, Art Quick and Curly Lee, and a number of times\u00a0 during the season we went out to watch the salmon\u00a0 being harvested.\u00a0 We would leave our cabin about 6 am, (why is fishing always done so early?) and row out to the trap, tie our boat to the ladder and climb up to the platform.\u00a0 Art and Curly would always give us a hot cup of coffee and a piece of toast.\u00a0 The trap tender would arrive shortly after and the spiller would be raised and the salmon brailed into a scow and then transferred to the tender.\u00a0 The catch was mostly sockeye and pinks (humpies they were called) but there was also many large spring salmon\u00a0 in the catch. It was a great morning for us and we would always return with a couple of salmon in the bottom of the boat.\u00a0 The traps were installed in the spring and removed in the fall.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In 1934 there was an \u00a0initiative voted on in the State and the operation of traps was voted down.\u00a0 So- no more fish traps.<\/p>\n
The Seine Boats.<\/h3>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In the mid 1930\u2019s salmon fishing was carried out five days a week.\u00a0 The purse seine fleet would arrive off South Beach\u00a0 early Sunday evening.\u00a0 It was a nice sight to see all the masthead lights shining that night.\u00a0 You would hear the boat engines starting up about five in the morning and by the time we were up for the day\u00a0 they were busy fishing off South Beach, around the Point, or over in Boundary Bay.\u00a0 We got to know all the boats by their shape and configuration and would have contests naming them as they appeared.\u00a0 We would often row out to watch them make a set and then hang around the bunt end as they would be brailing the fish on board.\u00a0 The fishermen would invariably toss a couple of small salmon into our boat which we would gratefully thank them for.\u00a0 We could never understand why they would say to us \u201cnext time bring out your sister\u201d.\u00a0 We would tell them that we did not have one.\u00a0 We would then row ashore and have no trouble selling the salmon to the local campers. I still remember many of the names : Sunset, Tagatoff, Louis G, New York, Hannah. Solta, Liberty, and Myrtle (Mr. Largaud\u2019s boat).\u00a0 I know some of those boats are still fishing today.<\/p>\n
The Bonfire and Singsong.<\/h3>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 One of the campers, Cyril Smith, would organize a\u00a0 singsong on a Saturday night when all the fathers were down.\u00a0 We would build a fire on the beach just east of the South Beach store.\u00a0 When all the parents had arrived Cyril would lead the singing\u00a0\u00a0 The great songs they sang: By the Light of the Silvery Moon, Sidewalks of New York, Put on Your old Grey Bonnet, Let me call You Sweetheart, Shine on Harvest Moon, In the Good Old Summer Time etc.\u00a0 Finally when they sang Good Night Ladies us kids knew it was time to put out the fire which we would do with the buckets which had been brought along for that purpose.\u00a0 There would be beach fires burning all along the beach from Bell\u2019s Grove to the cottages along\u00a0 the beach at Crystal Waters.<\/p>\n
Roller Skating.<\/h3>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The Whalens built a roller skating rink at the eastern end of the road that ran along the beach at Boundary Bay.\u00a0 It was made of concrete and was in the shape of an elongated oval with grass in the middle and railings along both sides of the rink.\u00a0 You rented the skates which you attached to your shoes and you skated to music piped out over a PA system.\u00a0 By this time the boys had discovered the girls (or was it the other way round?) and skating parties were often arranged on Saturday nights.\u00a0 The fun we had skating to the music of the big bands: Amapola, In the Mood, and\u00a0 Take Me Out to the Old Ballgame.\u00a0 After that we would drive around the Point, if we were able to borrow our parents cars, stopping at various locations, Lily Point comes to mind.\u00a0 My father could never figure out how we could use up so much gas driving around a place that was only five\u00a0 square miles in area.<\/p>\n
World War II.<\/h3>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It was late in the summer of 1939.\u00a0 My brother Archie and\u00a0 I\u00a0 had the News Herald delivery route.\u00a0 This involved biking down to the Canadian side of Boundary Bay\u00a0 where the delivery man would bring us the papers from Vancouver.\u00a0 We would then deliver them to our customers at Boundary Bay and South Beach.\u00a0 On this particular day\u00a0 he announced that an Extra had been\u00a0 published and he had brought us a bunch of extra papers to sell.\u00a0 The headline was \u201cGermany invades Poland\u201d\u00a0 Those papers sold like hotcakes and we were sure happy with the extra money we made that day..<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Little did we realize\u00a0 that that headline meant the end of our carefree days of summer at Point Roberts.\u00a0 Canada was soon at war and our activities from then on did not include summers at the cottage.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In 1961 Evelyn and I bought a lot from Laugi and Ella in Holiday Meadows and, commencing in 1963, our family again spent summers at Pt. Roberts.<\/p>\n\n\n\nBrailing salmon from spilter<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nCannery<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe Hourston Cabin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crystalwaterbeach.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Hourston-Rod.gif?resize=110%2C125\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crystalwaterbeach.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cannery2.gif?resize=258%2C186\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crystalwaterbeach.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cannery1.gif?resize=300%2C192\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crystalwaterbeach.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/hourston-cabin.jpg?w=840\")