It was decided that Dick and Noreen would live in Bamfield which was close to the fishing grounds. It had a store and repair services through Ostroms machine shop with supply store and “ Ways”, a facility for pulling smaller boats up to provide hull repairs etc.
The Ostrom family were very prominent in the community and had a very good reputation. It was made up of four members then. Roald was the oldest (I think) followed by sister Ebba who ran the store and business end and Carl who rotated on their gas dock, machine shop and store. Roald was a machinist , welder, and talented all around repair guy.
The fourth member who appeared on the scene was Leonard Jennings who was a fish buyer initially, I think for BCPackers on the barge in the outer end of the inlet where fish boats could sell their catches. I seem to recall that Ebba and Len were married around the time that we first appeared in Bamfield. He was an energetic Cockney and in later years we became good friends.
So it appeared perfect and Dick and Noreen with their big energetic toddler son Brian bought a small bungalow on the west side of Bamfield with a float in front where the Jean B could be tied. They got a good deal from a Swedish employee of the Trans Pacific Cable Station operating out the huge facility on the east side of the Inlet, named Gus Rundquist. I recall that he had a very pretty daughter who was lusted after by the boys. Roald knick named her “Daisy Mae” after the Al Capp comic strip.
I think the maiden fishing voyage was in the late spring of 1947. Skipper Fred in command. I am pretty sure that summer, Dad and I went out for a look see . He was miserably seasick and with his weakened state it must have been terrible for him. He passed away after a progressive lingering illness from lung cancer in 1948. The trip was interesting. I learned how to clean a fish and commit it to ice. Shades of things to come !!
I don’t know how successful the first few seasons were but Dick and Noreen survived. Dick learned the ropes and gradually became a proficient fisherman and ran the boat on his own with a deck hand - ME - when i wasn’t in school. He made lots of friends in the Bamfield fleet.
The boats often paired up and I remember one was the Carluke run by Johnny Norman and brother Joe from Vancouver. There were two anchored fish camps in the Inlet where fish could be sold but if a trip was productive it paid to run it to Victoria or Vancouver where the prices were higher.
One camp was from BC Packers and the other a Co-op, the Kyuquot Trollers who also had a general store. Dick joined the Co-op. They had a fish processing plant in Victoria. Fish packed in ice were transported from the fish camps to the city in large “packers” which called frequently to deliver ice and pick up the fish. I came to know Jimmie Goldie at the co- op camp quite well. The store manager, a guy called Paul and I played softball for the Bamfield team when I wasn’t out fishing.
One of the packers on of the crew was a huge Norwegian guy called “Borge” who was a bit of a legend because of his great strength. It was said that he single handed picked-up a large portable engine, threw it up on his shoulder and walked down on the dock and set it down. There was a hotel right behind the dock with a pub where they had arm wrestling competitions. No one ever beat him, so the story goes.
After a year or two it became apparent that Noreen was very unhappy in Bamfield. Dick was away fishing for quite long periods. She felt isolated and chasing Brian around was a challenge. The elevated board walks, poorly equipped with railings, were a constant threat for him to fall through down onto the rocks. She had to keep him on a leash with a sturdy chest harness to control him. She was a prairie girl and this was certainly a culture shock. It was finally decided to sell the Bamfield house and move down to Victoria. They bought at 891 Darwin Road, about a ten minute walk from our home on Lovat Ave, where she was more comfortable and supported. Later they added to their family with Patricia and Allan.
An interesting read. Roald and Nan Ostrom were my aunt and uncle.
Hi Charlie, I was wondering if you could tell me more about Gus Rundquist? Could you contact me through Facebook?