What year did you come to Bowen?
1981
How did you come to be here?
We were living in a townhouse in North Vancouver and I hated it. And I came over to Bowen on a whim and saw this house with a tree trunk in the middle of living room and fell in love with it.
Is that the house you’re still in?
Yep.
The house is built around a tree trunk?
The house is sort of built around the tree trunk. It’s a dead tree. It’s not a live tree. There’s a tree trunk right in the middle of the living room.
That’s so cool.
Where on Bowen do you live?
The best part of Bowen, which is Miller’s Landing area.
What’s your favourite place on Bowen?
Goodness me, Miller’s Landing. And all of the trails.
What’s something Bowen Islanders have in common?
We’re all fairly eccentric if we stay long enough.
What’s your favourite Bowen fact or story?
I’ve been here so long, there are a lot of stories – many of them aren’t repeatable in the newspaper.
In the “old days” when we used to commute to town, the ferry was full of derelict cars, unlike the fancy ones we have nowadays. You knew everyone who was on the ferry and there was lots of socialising, particularly on Friday afternoons when someone would break open a bottle or two and there would be lots of merrymaking. The best party ever on the ferry was the last run of the Howe Sound Queen. Nowadays, I scarcely know a soul on board, partially because our commuting days are over and also because the population has at least tripled since we arrived.
What do you do for fun these days?
Spend time with my family and friends, swim in the summer, hiking and jog (slowly) at other times of year.
When you’re going around Killarney Lake, do you go right or left?
Probably go right. As someone said the other day, then you get the hard part over first.
