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| Shallow drafts made it easy to come close to shore. |
By Maryanna Gabriel
Given it is summer, the SS Moyie, a paddlewheerler that is located in Kaslo, BC, is open. As a frequent flyer, BC-Ferry-person, it's fun to see how it all was in the year 1898. My friend and I went aboard.
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| SS Moyie in Kaslo, BC commissioned by CPR Railway 1898. |
Definitely more elegant than modern conveyances. What we loved the most was the Ladies Salon, a lacey wonder with touches of violet. Why? Not only was it a more gracious era, the times were affluent given Nelson and Kaslo had struck gold and it was the highway system for the towns, along this deep and beautiful waterway flanked by snow-capped mountains. It would chug along with two men feeding a huge boiler with masses of coal.
If one wanted to rent a sleeper cabin it was three dollars a night which included meals. There is even a smoking room with spittoons - an acceptable practice.
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| Pretty salon. A lacy violet wonder. Ladies only. |
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Smoking room with spittons. A nice feature.
The display case features antique rubbish that
passengers shoved down the window sills. |
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| Private birth for three dollars a night. |
At the very top of the ship was the wheelhouse. The ship's whistle has a nice breathy sound. There is a story about the whistle. The SS Moyie made her final voyage in 1957. When it was docked in Proctor, it was vandalized. The whistle was stolen. Then in the 1960s the whistle was donated to the Nelson Museum and Archives. There is a story the whistle was "found" in the Nelson shipyards. Winston Barclay, a machinist for the CPR was instrumental in its restoration.
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| The ships whistle. For a small donation one can make it sound. |
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| The wheelhouse. The wheel turns. |
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| Archival photo of the wheelhouse. |
After a good wander around Kaslo, my friend has departed. Soon so must I.
There is much I will miss about this area... it has been wonderful to explore.
