A burning question remained. What happened to the log house of James MacDonald? I couldn't see it anywhere. A path to the Park Warden's house was blocked with mops and I wondered if she was in charge of this legendary home. Apparently Ming had been the warden here for many years and today she had painted all of the picnic tables. We weren't allowed to sit on them. We saw no sign of Ming. I needed to know. I searched out our guide. He was down on the dock chatting with some yachters.
He grinned at my question. "Oh, well that burned down," he said. I felt crushed. "How?" I asked. "Well, there are two versions to the story. One is that he had the stove going and had gone to pick up his wife who preferred city living and was usually not with him. As they boated down the inlet they could see the house was on fire. That was the end of it. It was in 1940."
"What was the other story?" I wanted to know. I have a soft spot for log homes. "Well the other version of the story is that a woman in Sechelt was not happy he was bringing his wife and that she did it," he finished. "Hell, hath no fury..." I replied. Apparently after that he set up home on a houseboat. Expenses were starting to become an issue.
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| This plaque of James MacDonald reads "Laird Of The Inlet~Friend to all who came here." |
