120 years of history encompasses many generations, family stories, and memories, all of which are such an integral part of our town's past. The deeper I get into researching the Inn's history, the more fascinated & appreciative I become of Chemainus and the people who had a hand in developing this beautiful place that we currently reside & work in. In talking with only a handful of the town's residents, I have learned so much, yet it has awakened a curiousity in me, to delve into the recollections of 'Chemainians' still present in the community.
To pick up where I left off, the following proprietor of the Inn, was the very well known & loved, Gerry Smith, who owned The Horseshoe Bay Inn from 1945 - 1985. He resided in North Cowichan for over 60 years, was Mayor for 8 of those years & an Alderman for 15. Born in England, his parents brought him over on a ship to Canada when Gerry was 7 years old. He was educated in Duncan, but moved to Chemainus in 1935 to play basketball and had a hand in helping his school to achieve many athletic victories. After graduation, he worked at the local mill and later served overseas in The Second World War for 5 years in our Canadian Army. Following the War, he returned to the mill for approximately six months and began working at the Inn as a Bar Manager, continuing on to become a co-owner with a gentleman named Mr. M.G. Hill, who also owned the Yellow Point Lodge in Cedar, founded in the mid 1930's.
Gerry, it turns out, was a descendant of Esther Smith, who was related through marriage to the Howe family, the original proprietor of the Inn, brought over to install a revolutionary water turbine at the town's first mill & to train the crew who ran it. Matthew Howe liked the area so much, he decided to buy much of the town's property & bought the water rights to Fuller Lake. His son Arthur, opened up a butcher shop on his father's property, next to the Inn & eventually opened up four more shops on the Island.
Mr. Gerry Smith lived with his wife Betty in a small home on the property, running the business and a farm, that also housed stables, a requirement under the old Inn Licensing Regulations. The Inn's watering hole, was still divided into two sections; one half being the Gentlemen's and the other, for Gentlemen & Escorts. The Inn eventually underwent some renovations and played an important part in the lives of the loggers & mill workers that did shiftwork, as Gerry would provide the convenience of cashing their cheques, having an arrangement with the local CIBC. The unspoken agreement with the guys, of course, was to recipricate by obliging in his draught beer and his wife's famous meatloaf & onion sandwiches. His 'right hand man' in the pub, was the very colourful Teddy Francis, who was
married to Louise Underwood (Thulihwulwut), previously elected to hold the position of Chief of Cowichan Tribes in 1960 and again in '73 & '74.
Gerry Smith was revered for many contributions, such as his campaigning efforts to have Chemainus taxpayers included into the District of North Cowichan, community fundraising, and even donating one year of his Mayoral salary to the Old Age Pension, of which he still paid the taxes on. He ran for Mayor several times against the likes of Graham Bruce and Rex Hollett, and during one of the campaigns was quoted by the reporter, Christy Lapi, of the Ladysmith-Chemainus Chronical in 1983, as saying; "I've made a good living here & I want to contribute some time in repayment for what I've taken out." Mr. Smith unfortunately passed away in Hawaii, whilst on a honeymoon with his second wife Ruth, in 1985, and she returned with full ownership of the Inn, never having had a hand in the running of the business. With the town suffering from the shocking loss of their highly regarded friend, and Ruth, with her devastating circumstances, returned to Calgary, and eventually sold the business to the majority shareholder, a logger named Bud Lee, who partnered with millworker, Rod O'Driscoll.
Bud Lee was instrumental in bringing the Inn it's Beer and Wine Store, renovated the kitchen, billiard room & patio, while running a very successful dining room in our present day banquet room. To this day, he still owns The Doghouse Restaurant in Duncan, which began as a small hot dog stand and expanded in '59, was purchased by Bud in '77 and has since been the family run business it is today. The family also took ownership of The Cobblestone Pub in 1983, which was built at the location of the Cobble Hill division of the Cowichan Creamery and continues to be a popular neighbourhood Pub. His partner, Rod O'Driscoll, also bought and ran another pub, located in Lake Cowichan; The Riverside.
In 1994, Mr. Lee & Rod's widow sold the Inn to Murray Gammon, who had high hopes of running the Inn & retiring off of it's success, but it was not to be, as the local mill suffered a 9 months closure, due to an ongoing strike. Murray, previously owned hotels in Salmon Arm and the Banff's Homestead Hotel, and in Victoria, the Crest Harbourview Inn and the builder of the landmark Hotel Grand Pacific on the Inner Harbour. His pride & glory, however; was the Classic Car Museum, which boasted over 40 pristine vintage automobiles, some having been owned by Hollywood stars such as Clark Gable & Errol Flynn. The museum also dazzled visitors with it's wax figures, and even a set of imitation British Crown Jewels, where they are now currently displayed at the Royal London Wax Museum. Gammon was one of the 'big six' tourism leaders who formed the Victoria Attractions Association years ago, and as he loved talking politics, was a friend to politicians, such as former Prime Ministers Jean Chretien and John Diefenbaker, and former BC Premier Bill Vander Zalm. Due to his ailing health & a downturn in the Inn's business, Murray moved back to Banff with his daughter Laura & husband Paul, who in turn opened up their own pub, and sadly, his wife Pennie & son Warren moved back to Victoria.
Before moving on, in 1997 the Gammons placed the Horseshoe Bay Inn's ownership into the hands of Earle Phillips from West Vancouver, who slowly renovated & built the business back up to what we see now. Even though Earle has numerous holdings and interests elsewhere, such as the Royal Coachman in Campbell River, the Jingle Pot Pub in Nanaimo and the majority shareholder in the local Saltair Neighbourhood Pub, 'The Shoe' has for the last 15 years held a very special place in his heart. For the rich history, the ongoing hub of friendly meetings, community events & fundraisers, the longtime loyal staff members, the colourful patrons of the pub, the ambience and the potential he always saw from the beginning.
In ending this nostalgic tour through our pages of Chemainus & BC history, I welcome you to visit us whenever you find yourself on our end of town. From Sun, Sept 9th - 15th, we are celebrating our 120th year Anniversary, with a week full of events, draws, giveaways, tours, food and drink specials, below gov't pricing in the liquor store, entertainment, AND, we're kicking it off with complimentary coffee, tea & biscuits for an open house of our Lobby, Hotel & Dining Rooms. Who knows, perhaps, there'll be a guest appearance from one of our local politicians or you may even run into one of our roaming residential 'spirits'.....oh, the stories we have......
Sources and Thank You's:
~Ladysmith-Chemainus Chronicle
~Times Colonist (Victoria)
~Norma of the Chemainus Valley Museum
~Wendy Baker (Beer & Wine Store Manager)
~Mike Shelling
~Wayne & Diane Kaye
(our almost bosses, who had a handshake agreement with Gerry to purchase the Inn, before he left for Hawaii.)
~ ~ ~ And a loving dedication to our old friend of yore, Mr. Bobby Waters, who we miss every day & whom had many a tale ready, about his good friend Gerry Smith. xoxo
