The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Page 6 West Vancouver Historical Society February 2000 FEATURE PRESENTATION REPORT Belcarra - "The Fair Land Upon Which The Sun Shines' By: Anne Vernon & Helen Davies Mike Cotton, co-author of the book Between Forest and Sea: Memories of Belcarra. shared memories of the village and of Indian Arm with us at our November meeting. 1998 marked the 50th anniversary of the Woodhaven - Bedwell Bay Property Owners Association, a predecessor of the present Community & Recreation Association of Belcarra (CRAB). To mark this occasion, the Belcarra Historical Group researched, wrote and published a book about the Belcarra area. Titled "Between Forest and Sea: Memories of Belcarra f the book was co-authored by Mike Cotton, John Doerksen, Diana Drake and Colleen MacDonald. The Belcarra website describes the community as a quaint village, located about 28 kilometers (18 miles) from downtown Vancouver. Situated one mile up Indian Arm from the junction of the Arm at Burrard Inlet, it lies on the east side of Indian Arm. Incorporated in 1979, there are approximately 700 residents. Thousands of years ago, the area now called Belcarra lay on the sea-bed, but, following the ice age, as the ice sheets receded, Indian Arm inlet was created. According to our speaker, Mike Cotton, Captain George Vancouver is thought to have been one of the first Europeans to explore the area and come in contact with the First Nations. At this time, the area was a land of plenty and provided a rich source of food and shelter for the aboriginal population. For example, there was an abundant supply of deer in the area and the Inlet teemed with salmon and shellfish. The cedar forests provided a plentiful source of materials for making clothing, baskets and canoes. Mike remarked that. Chief Leonard George of the Tsleil-Waututh (Burrard)* First Nation, says that a common expression was "when the tide goes out the table is laid." Mike related many lively and interesting stories about the happenings in and around the Inlet over the years. He spoke about the large town that was built on the hillside for the families involved in the construction and operation of the power station which supplied electricity to Vancouver. He also related an amusing story about how a group of kids teased the wartime soldiers who guarded the walkway between the two towers. There was also the indomitable Captain Andy of the Harbour Navigation Company, the company that provided transportation to the local sawmills, small townships and cabins which sprung up along the banks of the Inlet. One of Mike's particularly favourite stories about Captain Andy was when the Captain carried a very drunk passenger who had travelled to visit his sister who lived in one of the cabins. It seems a week later his sister carried her brother back to the boat, still drunk, and plunked him down, telling the Captain that his fare was "in his shirt pocket" and to "please look after him." When Captain Andy tried to retrieve the fare he found, to his horror, that his passenger was dead! Our speaker suggested that the sister may have decided not to advise the Captain as to the condition of the passenger because the fare for a passenger was much less than that for freight. Over the years, many famous people have lived in Belcarra, possibly the most famous being Eric Hamber one of B.C.'s Lieut. Governors. There was also a German Count who built the beautiful Wigwam Inn. The Count lost ownership of the Inn in 1914 once the war broke out, because, as a German citizen, he was considered an enemy alien! The Wigwam passed through several hands over the years, suffered a period of neglect and was badly vandalised, but it has been rescued and now serves as an outstation for the Vancouver Yacht Club. Space permits me to re-count only a few of the fascinating, colourful stories which are described by the authors of the book. It makes highly entertaining reading, especially for those who grew up around these parts or who know the Inlet well and is available at local bookstores. Copies can also be ordered through the Belcarra web site at http://www.vob.belcarra.bc.ca/. *The Tsleil-Waututh are part of the Halkomelem linguistic group of the Central Coast Salish. "Tsleil-Waututh" is the name of an early aboriginal village at the mouth of Seymour River and is translated as "people of the inlet."