A few friends are throwing a party in West Vancouver and everyone is invited.
The guests of honour, after all, are Canadian national treasures Point Atkinson Light Station and Lighthouse Park.
In 1874, long before there was a West Vancouver, the first light beamed from the new lighthouse built on Point Atkinson. The rocky promontory already had a name: Sk’iwitsut, meaning “turn your canoe” in the Indigenous residents’ language.
The light station would protect marine traffic and confirm Canada’s presence on the West Coast. Its evergreen backdrop ensured the visibility of the white lighthouse and in 1881 the land was preserved in perpetuity as Lighthouse Park.
To celebrate this iconic juxtaposition of rock and forest, and its role in our history and heritage, the Point Atkinson Light Station open house is set for Sept. 17.
The day is organized by Lighthouse Park Preservation Society and West Vancouver Historical Society, with support from the West Vancouver Community Foundation and the federal government’s Canada 150 Community Fund.
Elaine Graham is a director of both societies, as was her late husband, Donald Graham, who was a keeper of the Point Atkinson Light Station from 1980 to 1996.
Point Atkinson became the Graham’s home when they transferred from the light station at Bonilla Island, 96 kilometres south of Prince Rupert. Before that, the family had been at the Lucy Islands Light Station, 15 kilometres west of Prince Rupert. Postings such as Bonilla and the Lucys were known as “going into isolation” in lighthouse keeper lingo.
How isolated?
“The islands were remote but we rarely felt isolated because of the immense variety of marine and bird life that lived alongside us, and of course, the occasional visitor would arrive by boat.
“It was lovely living according to the seasons, watching the whales going by in a parade and, later on, the juncos would come along like a flock of typewriters to peck at the seeds we had just planted in our garden. I remember thinking, ‘Everyone should have the opportunity to experience this.’”
Elaine and Don, a teacher and a historian before they became lighthouse keepers, home-schooled their two boys until the time came when the children required more socialization than the whales and birds could provide.
“We thought about ‘getting off the lights,’ then the opportunity came up to return to Point Atkinson where we had been given our training. I have lived here for over half my life,” Elaine calculates with a note of surprise.
Over the years, as Don carried out the never ending duties of a lighthouse keeper and the boys grew up, Elaine worked to help people connect with the natural world of the park. She developed educational displays, led guided walks and worked with the Girl Guides to develop the nature room in a building that had been erected during the Second World War by the Canadian army.
In 1996, two years after Point Atkinson was designated a National Historic Site, the Grahams “came off the lights.” The station was automated and the job of lighthouse keeper terminated. Don continued as groundskeeper at Point Atkinson until his death in 2003, when those duties transferred to Elaine.
“I was all about the park and Don was all about the station,” Elaine explains.
“In taking on his duties, I came to realize the value of Point Atkinson to our community and to Canada, and its vulnerability.”
Today, interpretive displays created by Elaine and her colleagues trace the history of the station and a recently produced PowerPoint presentation documents the role of the army on the site during the war.
Join Lighthouse Park Preservation Society and West Vancouver Historical Society in celebrating the links connecting the light station, the park and Canada’s Confederation on Sunday, Sept. 17, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Point Atkinson in Lighthouse Park. For details about the festivities, visit pointatkinson.weebly.com.
Laura Anderson works with and for seniors on the North Shore. Contact her at 778-279-2275 or e-mail her at [email protected].
