Not many people alive today can say that they were around when their community was founded.
But because Port Alice was B.C.鈥檚 first 鈥渋nstant municipality鈥� 鈥� emerging abruptly in the late '60s, to house pulp mill workers 鈥� there are many who can make that claim.
Two of those Port Alice residents, Arlyn Lind and Audrey Clark-Surtees, recently shared their reflections on how their community has changed over the years.
Lind, 86, was born at the hospital in Old Port Alice located at the mill site. She grew up on a floating house that was docked wherever her father鈥檚 latest logging claim was. When she seven years old, the family pulled their floating home to a piece of land in Quatsino so she could attend elementary school.鈥�
Lind then moved to Port Alice for high school, staying with friends during the week. After graduating, she went to work at a logging camp and married a local Quatsino man, Fred Lind, soon after.
The newly married Lind's moved to Old Port Alice to start a family. They rented a home from Rayonier, the pulp mill owners at the time. In 1965, Rayonier was in the process of closing residential property operations to concentrate on the industry and to deal with pollution produced by the mill. Consequently, workers were being relocated to Rumble Beach, the location of the current Village of Port Alice.
Lind remembers the new Port Alice under construction in the late sixties with only a few homes to begin with. The streets were not yet paved. There was no landscaping or fences. The downtown area was a cluster of Atco trailers that housed construction workers. She says that after they relocated to New Port Alice 鈥渓ife was good. It was good to get away from the air pollution.鈥� Sometimes, however, a southeast wind would occasionally cause the mill haze to travel to the new village.
Clark-Surtees, 82, came to Port Alice from Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1967 with her husband Lyle Clark and their two children, Roxanna and Rodney. They were lured out to Port Alice by a couple of their friends who told them that Rayonier was hiring.
Lyle attempted to go to Vancouver but was stranded in Jasper because of a train derailment. By the time he arrived in Vancouver, there was a hiring freeze at Rayonier due to a fire at one of its shake mills. Lyle then found a job at the Bennet Dam but was unable to bring his family with him. He later applied for a job in Kitimat but ended up in hospital after inhaling toxic fumes from the plant.
When the whole family was eventually able to get to Vancouver, they had to take a very rusty ferry at Kelsey Bay to get to Port Alice. The 25-year-old Clark-Surtees, refusing to go on the ferry, had to be given a shot to calm down. When they arrived at Telegraph Cove, she was terrified once again when their vehicle, on a pitch-black night, had to be hoisted out of the ferry on a platform suspended by cables.
But Clark-Surtees fell in love with Port Alice. She says everyone was so friendly, and that she always felt safe. She said it was the best place to raise children.
鈥淚 could holler for my kids. People would say, 鈥楬ey Mom鈥檚 calling you'. If your kid did anything wrong, you knew about before they got home.鈥濃��
Lind says t Port Alice has changed dramatically over the years. During the 1970's and 80's 鈥� the boom times 鈥� Port Alice was a busy community of 1,800 with a pulp mill, a healthy logging community and Utah Mines operating 鈥渋n full force.鈥�
Port Alice had a Lions Club, a curling club, and a golf club, all subsidized by the local industries. The population was able to support a pub that brought in live bands and live dancers (including male strippers for Ladies鈥� Night).
鈥淪ometimes party-goers would roam from one location to another and then, when last call came, they would move on to after-hour house parties. Back to current day, with an aging and shrinking population, the community is idling at a much slower pace.鈥濃��
Lind says comparing the ambience of Port Alice from the '60s to now is like night and day. In the '60s, Port 鈥疉lice was overrun with hippies. They lived at Victoria Lake and the Quatsino Chalet Annex that was 鈥渙verflowing鈥� because that was the only available rental. Seaview and Misty Manor were built in the 1980s and things settled down at 鈥淭he Zoo鈥� (Quatsino Chalet Annex) after that.
The shopping centre was full of businesses which included the grocery store, a hair salon, a sporting goods store, a dress shop, a gift shop, a delicatessen, a doctors' clinic (before the hospital was built), a Scotiabank and a Sears mail order agency. In the early 1980's John Christou built the strip mall with a restaurant, a dress shop, a video store, a drug store and a furniture store.鈥�
After the arena was built in 1970 it held adult and minor hockey games, hockey tournaments on weekends and curling bonspiels up to 32 rinks. The golf course hosted several tournaments throughout the year. School athletic events such as basketball and baseball would bring students from all over the North Island to compete. There was even an active art club in the community that hosted art shows.
The first landslide in Port Alice happened in 1973, forcing many people to evacuate. Lind said it took several months to recover. Several families from the top streets had to relocate to a what is now known as Dawson's Landing where mobile homes were brought in and set up.
The second slide in 1975 was not as large as the first but, again, it took months to clean up. There have been several smaller slides since these two major ones. Ironically, the slide of 1985 took the life of a former member of council who was also serving as emergency coordinator at the time.鈥�
鈥淚n spite of all the changes that have occurred in Port Alice, it is still my home and, yes, I like it," Lind said. "Change is inevitable.鈥�
She thinks Port Alice will remain the same for a while.
鈥淭he big question is will there be another major industry that will occupy the former mill site?鈥濃��
Clark-Surtees thinks if the Frigon Road was repaired properly, Port Alice would get more tourists.
鈥淲e also need someone to buy the hotel.鈥疘t should have been turned into a seniors鈥� home when it was in good condition. Now, it probably should be bulldozed and rebuilt.
She added people are moving in and moving out constantly, mentioning that the house across from hers has changed ownership fives times. The latest owner bought the house sight unseen and has recently put it back on the market.
"(Before), you knew everyone in town. Now you don鈥檛.鈥�
