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Captain Darius Smith - cont’d. Alice’s bow and the side of the cabin. Captain Smith located her and charged down the stairs to her aid. Alas the water came in too fast and the main result of Captain Smith’s efforts was a sharp blow on his own forehead from a falling beam. At this point he was in danger of being drowned himself. His mate, George Hayes, and his lookout, Arthur Garthorne, dragged him out, semi conscious and bleeding from a head wound. The ferry went down in minutes and poor Mrs. Burritt with her. The ferry was beached for the night near Brockton Point, and the next day was towed to the Pacific Salvage Company’s dock in North Vancouver. She was a total loss - only the engines were saved. Darius Smith was the acknowledged hero of the tragedy. A testimonial letter was signed and presented to him by hundreds of ferry passengers. My own favourite tribute was a poem written by Don Reynolds (Grade?), which includes a statement of events, some fine purple passages, and even philosophy. The Disaster of the No.5 It was a foggy day at Vancouver And the ferries ran on time, The foghorns sounded their warning And the bells kept steady chime, As through the foggy twilight The Alice steamed her way. She was late close up to an hour Through the fog that hid the day The ferry was headed northward. Opposite Calamity Rock, When the steamship Alice struck her With a splitting and sickening shock. It struck her just aft of her amidships Cutting her nearly in two: The ferry stuck to the monster. Then sank to the merciless blue, A woman was pinned in the cabin, ‘Tween timbers and liner’s bow Capt. Smith fought so bravely With bleeding neck and brow But steadily the ferry was sinking And luck seemed against him that day. So he left her there in the cabin And the fog closed around deathly grey. Now the Almighty has made the Narrows And the mountains surrounding, grand; He alone knows why it happened Though we cannot understand. Plight of Canadian Lighthouses Submitted bv Ian Macdonald Barry MacDonald, President of the Nova Scotia Lighthouse Preservation Society was in B.C. during the past couple of weeks. He is staying in West Vancouver and we met with him three times now - our first “cup of coffee” lasted three hours! He has given two public talks on the plight of Canadian Lighthouses, particularly those that are de-staffed and deteriorating (such as Point Atkinson). At his talk in Vancouver last Saturday, February l?^*’, Elaine Graham introduced him and we thanked him on behalf of our Society. His talk highlighted the fact that all over Canada the Coast Guard are allowing heritage quality lighthouses to deteriorate and yet it is extremely difficult for local people or Governments to get any action on taking them over and saving them. Our Society and West Vancouver District have been trying to do this for ten years and we have failed. Apparently, Barry’s, talks have reach the ears of the bureaucracy because he was called by the “Director of Real Properties Divestitures”, in Ottawa and they talked for an hour and a half. A good portion of their talk was about Point Atkinson, our failed efforts there and the Director” told Barry he wanted to be in touch with us here in West Vancouver. When asked, Barry said he would be happy to share his experience with us and the District. On February 22“**, he, Elaine and I met with the Mayor, Councillor Day, Kevin Pike and Doug Leavers from Parks. The meeting was very positive; Mayor Goldsmith-Jones is behind a project at P.A., as are the Parks people, and they will definitely be in touch with Ottawa. We also e-mailed David Burden, (the Director) to express our Society’s willingness to participate. This may be the breakthrough we have been looking for re P.A. We have Ottawa’s attention and the District is stepping up to the plate (which has never been a problem). Keep your fingers crossed. The Other thing that is happening re lighthouses is that Senator Pat Carney’s Bill S-220 has passed in the Senate and is now in the House of Commons. The bill will protect heritage lighthouses from being allowed to deteriorate and likely make it easier for local Governments and groups to step in. We have e-mailed our local MPs urging their support of the bill. If any of you wish to do the same they are: Blair Wilson, blair@blairwilson.ca â€" Don Bell, BellDl@parl.gc.ca Princival Officers: President 1®* Vice President Past President Secretary Treasurer Hon. Archivist Directors: Ian Macdonald Tom Taylor Pamela Friedrich Harvey Hill Bonnie Kyle Jim Carter Cont’d. next page Vacant Vacant Ian Macdonald Bonnie Kyle Joan Cox Rupert Harrison Pam Dalik Don Grant Carole Howie Joan Skipper Dave Barker Joan Cox Page 4