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preview Bitten by the history bug Writing can be addictive. Even writing history can grab you in ways you never imagined. Particularly if you do it the way North Vancouver's Doreen Armitage tackles the task. For her, the people and places just seem to come alive. Armitage didn't set out to be a writer. Far from it. Most of her working life she was a teacher, specializing in learning disabilities. Following her retirement, she was at loose ends. But not for long. Her friend Elspeth Bradbury had just written The Gardening Letters, and badgered her to take up writing. "Elspeth encouraged me, and just wouldn't let go of it," said Armitage from her home in Pemberton Heights. "I didn't know what to write. Then I remembered that I'd always wondered about the settlement of Howe Sound." After countless months of research she wrote Around Howe Sound, which was was published by Howard White's Sunshine Coastbased Harbour Publishing. "I learned so much about writing local history with Around Howe Sound I thought I'd better do another one," said Armitage. Now, four years later, she has compiled the most comprehensive history of this area yet.: Burrard Inlet: A History. It will hit the bookstores just in time for Christmas. A renewed interest in the history of where they live made Around Howe Sound a huge seller. That trend is continuing, and orders for Burmrd Intel started piling up back in August and September. The new book, too, is the result of exhaustive reasearch. "My husband Bill and I have been everywhere around the inlet you can possibly reach, and I've explored every inch of shoreline. It has taken hundreds of hours to get to know the area and the people." Burrard Inlet explores the history of First Nations settlements up Indian Arm, the origins of Port Moody, notorious characters such as Gassy Jack (the saloonkeeper who gave his name to Gastown), the reconstruction of Ambleside in 1961 and the remodeling which made Granville Island the arts and cultural core of Vancouver. " I don't just state that there was an explosion on an oil barge in 1974," said Armitage. "I discovered how it happened, why it happened, and talked to some of the tugboat captains from the area to find out how they dealt with it." One of her sources was a 94-year-old man who always wanted to go to sea, but developed polio and couldn't follow his dream. "He made up for it by studying everything he could about the B.C. coast and its ships," said Armitage. "He knew everything that was going on in the harbour without even looking just by the different sounds of the The sternwheeler Skenna in Indian Arm in 1912 Gift Horse Gallery Brand New location 1826 Lonsdale Avenue North Vancouver, BC From Art C a r d s to Zipper Pulls, Gift and home accessory ideas for every taste, all Handcrafted in B C . Over 5 0 % North Shore Artists Pottery, Original Art, Prints, Stained Glass, Blown Glass, Folk Art, Art Cards, Jewelry, Wind Chimes, Table Accessories, Raku Candles, Wood Carvings and many more one-of-a-kind items ships' whistles, whether they were Union Steamships, CP Ferries, North Van ferries or West Van ferries (which were more high pitched.) He's a fascinating man." Armitage says that in high school she hated the lists of names and dates with a passion. "That's why I'm determined to make history come alive. You can actually see the people and what they did, how they lived." In the coming months Armitage will be doing book signings, slide shows and giving talks to accompany Burrard Inlet. And after that? "I don't want to take on another big book project," she says firmly "The research is fascinating, but it takes three to four years. I might do another short book on a local area, though, because I do want to keep writing." Burrard Inlet: A History is published by Harbour Publishing at $32.95. - Al Price SUPPORT YOUR L O C A L ARTIST! November | December