It’s been a long time since I posted anything as I could think of nothing to write about. Having just finished reading this book about Louisbourg in Nova Scotia, I feel called to say a few words.
First of all, we just visited Louisbourg in August. It was a quick visit as it came towards the end of our road trip and of course, it was foggy that day.
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The night we arrived it was late and the last restaurant in town closed their kitchen just as we entered. We thought we would go hungry but found a corner store that sold us some frozen spring rolls that we enjoyed back in our motel. The reason I mention this is that there were several occasions when the early residents of Louisbourg were very near starvation until the next supply ship came in.
Firstly, what is Louisbourg, or Fortress Louisbourg as it is properly called? It was a fortified French town which existed from 1713 to 1758 on Cape Breton Island also known as Isle Royale. When France lost the War of the Spanish Succession, it lost it’s colonies in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia to England and was forced to consolidate them in Cape Breton.
At great expense, a brand new settlement and fort was built on the NE corner of Cape Breton. It was located there for access to the lucrative cod fishing banks off Newfoundland and because it could control ship access to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, thus protecting Quebec from English attack by sea.
Author John Stuart McLennan (1853-1939) was a Cambridge educated business man who spent his summers in Louisbourg. He became intrigued with its history. As such, his book, is a military history of the rise and fall of Louisbourg and was first published in 1918. He goes into great detail on the military and civil government happenings that occurred during the life of Louisbourg with interesting sorties into the social, economic and political conditions people faced in living in this isolated French colony.
Three things I learned in reading this excellently written book:
cod were so plentiful they would literally leap into the boat and consequently support thousands of colonists and seasonal fishermen financially during this period
many of the leaders of Louisbourg were corrupt and or incompetent and sought to line their own pockets thus sealing the fate of this colonial endeavour
France was going broke and had it been able to provide more ships and resources to Louisbourg (and Quebec), North America would not likely be as “english” as we know it to be today
It was the dashing British General James Wolfe who leapt into the surf and led his men ashore in the bay behind Fortress Louisbourg which ultimately led to its fall in the summer of 1758. Promoted, one year later that now Major General Wolfe returned to Louisburg to assemble a massive armada and sailed up the St Lawrence to victory, putting a permanent end to French colonization in North America.
In 1928, the “Old Town” was set aside as a National Historic Site, and in 1935 a museum was built. Starting in 1960, the Federal Government reconstructed certain buildings to attract tourists and give local employment. We really enjoyed our visit there and I in reading this book. I rate it 4 out of 5 stars (the illustrations were old and hard to read.) (the use of original source material verbatim was excellent) (sometimes there was too much detail)
I leave you with a few photos we snapped while there on a foggy day. Definitely worth a visit.
An excellent book about a very talented Canadian missionary Fr. Albert Lacombe, OMI. It was first published in 1911 by Katherine Hughes Canadian journalist and author. She was approached by Fr. Lacombe to help him write his memoirs after 60+ years of ministering to the Cree, Métis and Blackfeet First Nations people in Alberta. I highly enjoyed reading about his first hand encounters with these peoples during years of tumultuous change and development in north western and all Canada.
Father Lacombe and the Blackfeet, C. W. Jefferys, 1934
Born in Saint-Sulpice, Lower Canada in 1827 it was soon evident that he had a strong interest in religion. After ordination as a secular priest he was sent to Pembina, ND in 1849 where he accompanied the Métis on the plains during there semi-annual buffalo hunts. After a short return to the east he was sent to Lac Ste Anne (Alta) where he joined the Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) religious order. Working with Bishop Alexander Taché of Red River (Man), they selected a new site for a mission near Fort Edmonton where the Cree and Blackfeet came to trade and named it St. Albert. Pere Lacombe established this mission successfully for the Metis who were Roman Catholics being the descendents from french, english and native parents.
In 1865 at his request, Taché permitted him to establish an itinerant ministry to the Cree and Blackfoot. He established Saint-Paul-des-Cris on the North Saskatchewan River. From there he went on to camp with the Blackfeet who were the mortal enemies of the Cree and the fiercest of all the Plains Indians. The Cree were somewhat receptive to Pere Lacombe’s Christian teachings and some agreed to be baptized into the faith. Not so the Blackfeet. Along with their allies, the Piegan and Blood tribes, they had a culture that did not permit a warrior to humble himself. Nevertheless Pere Lacombe gained their respect and became great friends with their Chief Crowfoot.
He developed a famous catechesis ladder with pictures that showed the path to heaven and the path to hell. He would use this to instruct native youth while helping to develop Cree and Blackfoot language dictionaries as well as nursing them when sick. He was assisted in this by the interpreter and controversial “lay priest” Jean L’Heureux. At one point Lacombe was caught in a battle between the Cree and Blackfoot. While trying to stop it he was grazed by a bullet and nursed back to health by L’Heureux.
One in the most memorable stories in the book for me was when he was travelling back to a mission in the dead of winter on foot. They had but a few days of food remaining when they came upon a small group of starving Cree. Pere Lacombe invited them to join and they continued together. He immediately gave away the last food he had to the starving natives as they continued to plod forward together. They were all near death one morning. Pere Lacombe urged everyone to walk for one more day. At the end of that day, they finally spotted a light from the encampment and staggered into safety at last. This is the supreme Christian example of giving away what you yourself need as an act of charity to help someone else. This was what Pere Lacombe was like as a man. Please watch this short CBC video for some further testimony.
In 2018 Marie and I took a Great Plains road trip and snapped this photo of Fort Whoop-Up in Lethbridge, AB. Ironically it was closed for the season. Pere Lacombe and the Methodist missionary Rev George MacDougall pleaded with Ottawa to halt the illegal whiskey trade there by Americans in the 1870s. It was destroying the Blackfeet and other tribes. In 1873 the North West Mounted Police force was established and put an end to this devastation for good.
In what I would call Part II of his life, he was called back to the Archdiocese of St. Boniface in 1874 to assist Bishop Taché in fundraising efforts for the western missions. For the next 40 years he criss-crossed Canada, parts of the U.S., Europe, journeyed to the Holy Land and became first hand friends with Prime Ministers, Governors-General, business men like William Van Horne CPR President, and international and church leaders including Popes and Emperors. He served as a peacemaker in the 1885 North West Rebellion by convincing the Blackfeet to not join in with the 2nd Métis rebellion under Louis Riel. He enabled a peace agreement with the Blackfeet to permit the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway across their reservation land. He built a colony for the Métis who were the worst of persecuted peoples even to this day. He established a home for orphans and the aged in Calgary when he was in his eighties. He was a master fundraiser and planner who never kept a penny of donations for his own use. It is reported that he would only eat one meal a day so every extra penny could go into the missions!
Pere Lacombe in 1913, photo Wikipedia
Yes he was instrumental in the founding of the Residential School system in Canada. But he admitted that there were problems. The educated youth who would return to the reservation were neither white nor Indian. He knew then that it was not an ultimate solution. I liken the role of a religious missionary in 19th century Canada to be like the cutting wheel of a vast mining machine (colonialization) that keeps pushing deeper into the coal face. Yes, he could be impatient at times and embelish. But he always had the welfare of First Nations peoples in his heart. They called him “man of good heart”. Finally slowing down a bit…, he moved to Hermitage St. Michel in Pincher Creek to write his memoirs but continued his fundraising trips unabated. It was in 1916 that he drew his last breath in Midnapore, now a suburb of Calgary.
He is the archetype of Oblate missionaries in Canada, always among the people. He was successful for three reasons. First, he got along with everyone he met, easily making friends and gaining trust. Two, he was an adventurer and planner who could never sit still. Third, he was both skilled and compassionate wanting to remain a priest rather than become a bishop with admin duties. In 1932 he was named a National Historic Person of Canada. The cities of Lacombe and St. Albert, Alberta have been named in his honour. Peacemaker, priest and pioneer, Pere Lacombe makes me proud to be an Oblate Associate and a Canadian.
Photo courtesy University of Calgary
Well done Pere Lacombe and Katherine Hughes for writing this highly fascinating, accurate and factual account of a great life. 5 out of 5 stars!
This book published by the Alberta Historical Society in 2018 is a fascinating read. It tells the first hand story of what it was like to live among the Metis, Cree and Blackfoot peoples in late 19th century Alberta. Fr. Leon Doucet was just one of the hundreds of Oblates of Mary Immaculate who left family and home to minister to First Nations in Western Canada, starting at Red River in 1843. With few exceptions their work is not well known as the Oblates do not blow their own horn. Hence this is a remarkable story.
Disclosure, I am an Oblate Associate – a lay member of the Lacombe Canada Province. I became aware of this book when previous Superior Fr. Ken Forster, OMI sent us short excerpts for reflection. Being a lover of history, I could hardly wait to get my hands on it.
Click on the image above for a clearer view if needed
The book helps destroy the myth that Christian missionaries were agents of cultural change and the First Nations people were passive recipients. There was a cooperative relationship between the Oblates and the Metis, Cree and Blackfoot as well as with the Piagen, Blood and Sarcee. Fr. Doucet and his colleagues were admired by First Nations people for their steadfastness of purpose. Even when they did not show much interest in the newcomers’ religion, they showed respect and would often permit their children to be baptized. For his part, Fr. Doucet provided comfort and caring for the sick, dying and their families. He would journey for hours in deep snow and cold to offer baptism and administer last rights.
There was a particularly close relationship between the great Blackfoot Chief Crowfoot and the Oblates. In the early 1880s when the Canadian Pacific railroad was being constructed across Blackfoot land, the Oblates were instrumental in working with Crowfoot to get the Blackfeet to accept reservation lands in compensation. In 1885 during the North West rebellion, the Oblates were instrumental in helping convince the Blackfeet not to join with the Metis and Cree in violent battles with Canadian forces. These negotiations were led by the legendary Fr. Albert Lacombe, OMI. Fr. Doucet was personally present at Crowfoot’s death and baptized the chief with his permission before he died.
Chiefs of First Nations peoples benefited from this cooperation as it helped them to maintain social order in their tribes and gave them increased status because of their relationship with Oblate missionaries. Hence there was mutual cooperation. Nevertheless, there was often not much interest shown on the part of the natives in Christian religion (nor of the Oblates in theirs). The Blackfeet continued their annual Sun Dance or Okan which Fr. Doucet describes in detail.
A Metis mission had been established at St. Albert (near Edmonton) in 1861 by Fr. Albert Lacombe, OMI. It was there that Fr. Doucet was ordained in 1870. He then practiced la mission ambulante – he would go where the plains indians were rather than set up a chapel somewhere and hope that they would come. He describes many harrowing trips on foot or horse where they would lose their way in snow and only by the grace of God, find there way out. Later he was sent to Blackfoot Crossing and also helped out at the Oblates St Joseph Industrial School near High River. Typically Fr. Doucet would baptize children, hold catachesis classes, offer Mass for converts and administer last rights. Fr Doucet reports that there were 3144 Oblate baptisms of Blackfoot, Blood, Peigan and Sarcee from March 1865 to October 1890.
I liked this book because it is written in a matter of fact personal voice e.g., we went there, the weather was cold, then we did…my horse ran away, etc. There are many names of people and a short biography of each is provided at the back. There is a good index. Fr. Leon does not much judge, condemn or show any jealousy or anger in his writings. There is the odd bit of humour about competition with Protestant missionaries. He sometimes praises others but usually just reports the facts. A fabulous read for those who enjoy minutiae but also the broader lines of western Canadian history. I would read it again for sure – 4.5 out of 5 stars. (Apparently Part 2 and 3 may be coming in future.)
Note. I will place this book in the Oblate Reading Room at Martha House at the Galilee Centre in Arnprior, Ontario If any one wants to borrow it locally, please drop me a line.
I think my interest in travel was first kindled by the Garcelon Stamp Company. When I was about 12, my parents bought me a postage stamp album. Back then stamp collecting was very popular. Franklin D. Roosevelt had said: “The best thing about stamp collecting is the enthusiasm which it arouses in youth as the years pass. It dispels boredom, enlarges your vision, broadens your knowledge and in innumerable ways enriches your life.” Collecting stamps was a way to travel the world – and still is.
My Harris Ambassador Stamp Albun
I had a Harris album. For each country there was a brief description, their flag and coat of arms. Initially I collected mostly Canadian, U.S. and U.K. stamps. Then I discovered the Garcelon Stamp Company. I soon learned that Sverige is Sweden, Helvetia is Switzerland, Magyar Posta is Hungary, Deutsche Bundespost is Germany, Polska is Poland and Norge is Norway. My collection started to grow and so did my dreams of travel. Do you remember them?
Typical country page in my stamp album
The Garcelon Stamp Company had these ads in comic books saying that if you sent them your name and address they would send you some free stamps as well as others “on approval”. When that fat envelope arrived from Garcelon with my name on it, boy was I in heaven. If you liked the “on approval” stamps you would keep them and send in payment. Else, you would have to return them. Well once a packet of beautiful exotic stamps is in your hands, it is near impossible to send them back. This habit consumed my weekly allowance for several years.
I had always thought that it is was an American company but turns out Garcelon was based in St. Stephen, NB. It grew to 150 employees with daily mailings to stamp customers weighing tons! Mr. Garcelon trusted in people and it sure paid off for him. Here is their brief story.
As the years went by I lost interest in the hobby as I started travelling. Back in the early 80s I got briefly interested again and started up a Brazil stamp collection – I suppose because of my travels there.
While my collection sits dormant now, I hope someone will want them some day so they too can dream and travel – all thanks to Garcelon Stamp Company.
This book written in 1955 by Canadian historian Donald Creighton is an absolute page burner! It is one of the most riveting books that I have read in a long time. Written in novel style, it tells the detailed story of the “architect of Canada”, our first Prime Minister – Sir John A. MacDonald – from just after he took office in July 1867 until his death in June 1991 at age 76. It is Vol 2 of a 2 part book that won the Governor General’s award for history and is considered a classic of Canadian history.
Why I like it is because the style of writing makes the history come alive. It is written as if John A. were writing his own autobiography except rather than in the first person “I did this or that or felt this or that” it is told in the third person “He did this or that or felt this or that” with all the intimacy of personal action. Somehow Donald Creighton is inside the head of Sir John A. and so are we the reader.
While this style of history writing may be somewhat discredited now as it can only present one side of the subject, it makes for a most entertaining and intimate portrait. I learned so much about Canadian history that I never knew before:
the long delicate balancing act to prevent the U.S. from annexing or attacking parts of the fledgling Dominion
the creation of a strong federal government in the face of demands for more power sharing from provincial governments
deft political integration and peaceful coexistence between English and French Canadian societies
the financial challenges of completing of the Canadian Pacific Railway which literally and figuratively knitted the county together
the need for tariff protection to build up a strong Canadian economy in the face of American bullying and self-interest
importance of the direct ties with Great Britain, Canada’s one and only ally during these critical birthing times
He was a nationalist like no other. Today many look back and say yeah, but he bulldozed the indigenous culture and had Metis leader Louis Riel executed. He was a colonial tyrant who destroyed everything that was not of the British culture or liking and furthermore he was white and Scottish. Yes but, IMHO, if he had not been so visionary, so persistent, so crafty and so indefatigable, we would not even have a country from within which we could look back to make such judgments. If it were not for Sir John A., we would most likely be casting votes in the upcoming American election!!!
Yes, he has his faults – he was a workaholic and never retired. He would not name or mentor a successor until his dying bed and he drank too much from time to time. His party and he personally accepted bribes from a Montreal business man who was trying to get the contract to build the CPR.
Perhaps in the book there is too much detail about proceedings in the House of Commons and the names of various ministers. Perhaps there is too much denigrating of American politicians. Perhaps we would like more discussion about his private life with his 2nd wife Agnes and their daughter Mary. But all in all, this book is a measure of the times that we know too little about – yet we think we do! Personally, I dropped out of history class as soon as I could in HS. If I had read this book back then, perhaps I would not have done so so quickly.
Whoever says Canadian history is boring should read this book. Highly recommended read – 5 stars out of 5!
It was the last few days of Ramadan. The public call to prayer that we heard 5 times daily was truly beautiful and unforgettable. Broadcast from loud speakers on tall minarets around Istanbul, there was often an echo you would hear from farther away, adding to the overall mystery. The Koran when chanted like this is very beautiful. But let’s back up a bit.
I bet you knew that Istanbul used to be called Constantinople, but did you know it was called Byzantium before that? Byzas, a figure in Greek mythology, is said to have founded the city named after him, on the Golden Horn in 667 BC. Byzantium became a trading city located strategically between Europe to the west, Asia to the east, the Sea of Marmora and Mediterranean to the south and the Black Sea to the north. The city was taken by the Persians in 513 BC and then by the Greeks in 411 BC.
In 196 AD the Romans overran Byzantium and desecrated it. In 330 AD Roman Emperor Constantine built a palace there after having legitimized Christianity. The city was renamed Constantinople after his death and became the capital of the culturally rich Byzantine Empire which flourished from the 4th to the 15th century AD.
Despite its Roman beginnings, Constantinople remained oriented to the Greek culture and the Eastern Orthodox Church. By the 12th century it was the largest and wealthiest city in Europe, well known for its artwork and culture. Sadly, Constantinople was delivered a mortal blow in 1204 AD when it was sacked in the Fourth Crusade.
Left: Christ Pantocrator mosaic from the Hagia Sofia, circa 1261, courtesy Wikipedia
Since the 11th century, the Seljuk Turks had been making steady progress in conquering Anatolia, just across the Bosphorus from Constantinople. Later, the Byzantine-Ottoman Wars would bring about the end of the Byzantine Empire. In 1453, Constaninople fell to the 21 year old Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II. Sunni Islam was now the state religion and the city was renamed Istanbul.
Right: Mehmed II the Conqueror’s entry into Constantinople, by Fausto Zanaro, courtesy Wikipedia.
Fast forward to the 20th century. Field Marshal Mustafa Kemal Ataturk founded the modern Republic of Turkey from the ashes of the defeated Ottoman Empire after the First World War. He implemented a series of cultural, economic and political reforms that transformed Turkey into a modern secular nation state. He died in Istanbul in 1938 hailed as a great leader against colonialism and imperialism. The current President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has denied that he wishes to reimpose Islam in favour of the secular state. However, his authoritarian style has been criticized both within and outside of the country.
This short tour of Istanbul’s history sets the context for the mashup of architecture, art, history, religious, culinary and cultural experiences and activities we were about to enjoy there on our 3 day sojourn. The city of 16 million awaits us.
This is an excellent read. I had very little understanding of the Spanish Civil War 1936-39 when a friend leant me a copy of this book.
Who were the good guys? Who were the bad guys? What happened? What was Canada’s position. How about the Church? Best selling author Adam Hochschild takes us through the very sad and brutal story of all this with some great prose. His 2016 book is well documented with maps, notes and photos.
Due to rising popular pressure, King Alphonso XIII abdicates in 1931 and the 2nd Spanish Republic is proclaimed. In the feudal system that had prevailed up to then, no one other than the existing land owning class was permitted to buy or own any land. In January 1936 the Socialists, Communists and Republicans work together under the name the Popular Front. They win the election, defeating the National Front consisting of monarchists, landowners and the Catholic Church hierarchy. It is the overthrow of the feudal system in Spain. Unwilling to accept this outcome, monarchist General Francisco Franco launches a coup. When the coup fails, a civil war erupts and he quickly becomes leader.
The Nationalists (led by Franco) are supported by fascists Adolf Hitler and Benito Musolini with troops, planes, bombs and guns. The Republicans are supported only by Joseph Stalin. The United States, Canada, Britain and France decide to remain neutral, refusing to supply arms to either side. The Nationalists win the ugly war and over 200,000 civilians are killed making it one of the most brutal wars of all times. Thousands of Americans, Canadians and Brits volunteer in several international brigades fighting on the Republican side and are in the end decimated. The Vatican surprisingly to me, aligns itself with the Nationalists as it is strongly opposed to the secular Republican state. Hence it is a war of the rich and privileged against the meek, poor and destitute.
In the book we learn about the key role of journalists such as Ernest Hemingway and authors like John Dos Passos and George Orwell in getting the word out about what is happening. Also about volunteer leftist American fighters like Bob Merriman who commands the volunteer Lincoln-Washington Battalion for the Republicans. Some 1500 volunteers from Canada join the Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion (the Mac-Paps). However, Texaco supplies oil for Franco’s war machine while the U.S government looks the other way. Hitler and Mussolini’s arms, planes, bombs and troops turn the tide for the Nationalists.
Guernica by Pablo Picasso
Guernica, a small town in the Basque country in northern Spain is carpet bombed by the Nationalists killing over 200 civilians. It takes 40 years for the truth of this and many other like events to get out. Prisoners are routinely shot on the spot, thousands of priests are murdered by the Republicans. Later the Catholic Church would canonize many of these martyrs but still refuse to officially recognize the hundreds of priests in the Basque country who supported the Republican side, many of whom were murdered by the Nationalists. You can see how poisoned these times were. It seems the western allies were paralysed by their fear of communists on one side vs. fascists on the other, and consequently did nothing.
While the book is more a rendition of American volunteer participation on the Republican (democratic) side and the nasty role Texaco played in fueling the Nationalist (fascist) side, it makes for a good introduction to these troubling times. I rate it 9.5 out of 10, a great read.
Clearing Imperial Oil refinery site at Ioco, 1914. (City of Vancouver Archives)
Ioco (Imperial Oil Co) Refinery was built in 1914 in Port Moody (Vancouver), BC and closed in 1995 when it was converted to a petroleum products terminal. I worked there as a chemical process engineer from 1974-78. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.
Ioco Refinery circa 1923
The refinery converted 40,000 bbl/day of light Alberta crude oil to a wide range of products including gasoline and diesel fuels, aviation and marine fuels, home heating oil, propane, butane, bunker fuels, asphalt and specialty chemicals like xylene. Crude oil arrived by pipeline; products were shipped out via pipeline, truck, rail, ship and barge. As such it was a small medium complex refinery. The diagram below is indicative of this facility. We did not produce petroleum coke or hydrogen.
I was contact engineer for the crude distillation unit and then subsequently for the amine treating and Claus sulfur plant. As contact engineer I was responsible for monitoring and reporting on the operation, dialoguing with the operators and equipment techs on issues as well as for special projects such as optimizing the thickness of insulation to install on heated oil tanks, designing pumping and product blender installations, etc. Below is the actual flow plan for Ioco Refinery prepared by Art Quan, P.Eng in 1974.
A good part of the job was problem solving. We were taught that “A problem is a deviation with a cause unknown.” We were given lot’s of training on how to solve problems. Example problems: “We are flairing off too much propane this week because the capacity of the merox treater is down;” or, “The output of the sulphur plant is low because we can’t control the air to H2S ratio accurately.” Fix it! You get the idea.
I remember my first day, entering the control room glittering with controls and screens, slide rule and text book in hand, thinking I was going to change the world. The operator looks up at me and scowls to himself, “not another green engineer that I’ll have to break in.” Well I quickly learned to be humble, ask questions, build trust and gradually the operators would open up and tell you what the problem was from their perspective e.g, “I can’t increase the flow to the crude unit without the safety valve blowing on the distillate recycle tank. Maybe the safety valve pressure setting should be checked.”
Ioco Terminal Today
Once the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers union went on strike. I think it was over the imposition of wage and price controls by Pierre Trudeau. Well we engineers and management staff took over operating the refinery. I remember working 7 x 12 hour midnight shifts in a row. We would walk around the units checking the colour of a gauze indicator pinned to our jacket. If it started to turn brown you were in danger of being gassed to death by H2S. I got so tired and stressed out I had an anxiety attack and quit smoking for awhile. Probably a good thing, lol.
The best thing about working at Ioco was the people. I made so many friends there. We skied together, golfed, fished and partied. We had fun and felt a real calling to working there. I worked with some great engineers like Ron Brenneman who went on to become CEO of Petrocanada. Ditto Brant Sangster who became VP Marketing at Petrocanada. I met good friend Greg Walther who went on the manage the Coastal Refinery operations in Corpus Christi, TX. I remember working with John Hunter, a good engineer; Blake Forrest who was bright and good natured; senior engineer Les Gould who mentored me; supervisor Peter Ambrose who moved on to Syncrude; Bob Runge in the instrument shop; Ron Stalker chief of inspection who went to the same high school I did, became chief inspector at CITGO in LA and has passed away now; Ken Blowey (where are you Ken, people have been trying to reach you); supervisor Art Quan, Barry who I went fishing with (here fishey fishey) and Marilyn and Shelley in the office. Also refinery fire chief Al Sholund who authored local history including about Ioco oil tankers.
I also remember working with Chuck Chang who moved on to BC Hydro Gas, Eric Brown and Michel Poliquin in the computer group, Al Matsumoto with Reid Crowther Engineers, good friend Neil Nicholson from Newcastle on Tyne who moved back to the UK, Roy Warnock who went to Bechtel, Edmonton, Tom Mitchell who transferred to Dartmouth Refinery (and then worked with my university class buddy Gerry Sullivan as the CEO of Open Corporation) and, a slew of others. (If any of you and any other Ioco colleague I failed to mention are reading this please drop me a comment – thanks!)
Imperial Oil was and is an extremely well managed company. However it is a tough company not unwilling to make changes which affect people. After 4 years at the refinery, I moved to their Product Distribution Division for another 4 years.
Alex Pivarnyik was Refinery Manager and a compassionate leader
About the demise of Ioco Refinery. Remember that pipeline, the Trans Mountain that brought crude oil from Alberta? Well turns out it can also bring refined product. In 1976, Imperial built a brand new state of the art refinery in Edmonton. The Strathcona refinery was huge, first 120,000 bbl/day, then 165,000 bbl/day and now 187,000 bbl/day capacity. In 1995, Imperial Oil decided to shut down the relatively inefficient Ioco Refinery and ship refined petroleum products by pipeline from Strathcona and some by rail to Vancouver from Alberta. The cost of the landed product is less this way. So Ioco Refinery was permanently shutdown and dismantled at the end of 1995. A sad day for the hundreds of skilled employees that worked there for sure.
Two other Vancouver refineries were shut down leaving only one in operation (Parkland Fuels Corp.) Fast forward to 2019. The population of British Columbia has grown immensely, particularly the Lower Mainland. There is now a shortage of refined product which is filled by imports from Washington State. There is an industry perceived need for a new refinery to be built in Vancouver but the political, social and environmental forces arrayed against this are huge. Meanwhile, massive traffic jams, slow commutes, unaffordable housing and high priced fuels are common here.
Ioco Crude Unit c. 1977Ioco tank farm looking toward Belcarra c. 1977Ioco pipeway c. 1977Ioco butane sphere c. 1977
I am all for a greener future but we have to stop driving our fossil fueled cars, make better use of solar and electricity to heat our homes, take public transit more often, stop flying, cruising etc. Thanks for all those memories Ioco friends, you are not forgotten. In the moment, what do you think about the oil industry, pipelines and how we can ensure a greener future?
Original Ioco fire hydrant courtesy Bob Lindley
Bob Lindley recently sent me the above photo of an Ioco fire hydrant destined for the metal dealers dump that he rescued. I wonder if it was ever used other than for training and maintenance? Thanks Bob. Do you live near Ioco and/or, did you work there?
I am adding this recent photo of the Trans Mountain Pipeline marine terminal in Burnaby courtesy of the Globe and Mail. Apparently they are dredging Vancouver harbour so that the crude carrying ships can be loaded to 100% capacity vs. the current 70%.
In the 1690’s, the policy of Louis IV became expansionist and aimed at hemming in the British east of the Appalachians. To secure this strategy, Pierre accepted a mission to Louisiana to find the mouth of the Mississippi River in the Gulf of Mexico and select a good site to block entry into the river by other nations. Accompanied by brother Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, in October 1698, he sailed with 4 vessels. After successfully locating the mouth of the Mississippi, he established a temporary fort on Biloxi Bay (Fort Maurepas, present day Ocean Springs, Miss.) and leaves a garrison of 81 including his brother Bienville in charge and returns to France.
Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville was awarded the cross of the Order of St. Louis, the first Canadian born to receive it. In 1700 he returns to Louisiana and builds Fort Mississippi, 40 miles inland on the river. He argues for colonization of Louisiana to contain the rapid expansion of the English in the Carolinas. Adequate resources were not initially forthcoming. In a 3rd voyage, he establishes Fort Saint-Louis at Mobile (Alabama). He advocates policy to befriend the Indian tribes in the Mississippi basin by means of trade and religious missionaries in order to strengthen the French presence.
Statue of Pierre d’Iberville in Cuba
Iberville’s health is deteriorating due to malaria attacks and he writes his memoirs while back in France. In 1705 he is well enough to lead a squadron of 20 vessels to the Spice Islands of Martinique, Guadalupe and Nevis in the British West Indies. It was during this campaign of fear that accusations of fraud, illicit trade and manipulation of the King’s stores were aimed at the Pierre and his brother Serigny. In July 1706, Iberville suddenly dies while on a stopover in Havana, likely due to complications from yellow fever. He is buried in the Church of San Cristóbal (Havana Cathedral).
Pierre had married Marie-Thérèse Pollet in 1693 and had 5 children. They lived mostly in France. After Pierre’s death his great fortune was tied up in the aftermath of the “Nevis Affair”. An inquiry found him guilty of fraud and his estate was ordered to pay back 112,000 livres. Hi wife remarried and moved to Paris but this debt drained her inheritance.
I would like to finish with a quote from Bernard Pothier’s excellent on-line biography of Pierre that I have used for this mattersofthemoment series:
“However devoid of military or political consequence the career of Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville may now appear, his achievements are nevertheless of lasting significance. Indeed Iberville’s exploits, like those of no other in New France, illustrate the physical and moral strength, the resourcefulness and adaptability that were required in some measure of the whole colonial society to survive and prosper in the exacting wilderness conditions of North America. The fierce patriotism, the bravery, even the savage cruelty, which characterized Iberville’s campaigns against the English, were to a lesser degree the qualities essential to all life and progress in early North America. In this context, Iberville is an important figure, and is beyond doubt the first truly Canadian hero.”
Postscript.
Bienville, Iberville’s younger brother was left to govern the slow growing Louisiana colony. In the spring of 1718, he founded New Orleans which becomes its capital. It was named after Philippe II, Duke of Orleans. In 1723, Governor Bienville moved into his new home in the French Quarter, in what is now the Custom House. Thus it is a Canadian born who is the founder of one of the most culturally unique cities in North America. If you google Iberville or Bienville, you will find dozens of towns, schools and communities which proudly bare these names today. This is living Canadian history folks. Thanks for reading.
We left the Canadian adventurer Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville in France getting ready for the 1692 season of war against the English in New France. It was not to be. The two ships he was given were required to escort a supply convoy to New France and arrived in Quebec too late to make the voyage to Hudson Bay before ice would set in. The same thing happened in 1693. Finally, in 1694, Pierre was appointed commander of an expedition force to remove the British from York Fort in Hudson’s Bay; his life long goal.
Setting sail from La Rochelle, the shrewd 36 year old agrees to pay the crew’s wages and cover their supplies. In exchange, the French crown provides the vessels and military supplies and grants Iberville a monopoly of trade in Hudson’s Bay until 1697. The directors of the Compagnie du Nord are outraged at these generous terms afforded Pierre. However, they had not contributed adequate resources leading to previous failure, feels Pierre. He agrees to share all booty and profits with his men.
Arriving at the mouth of the Hayes River on Sept 24, he lands a party to reconnoitre York Fort and begins preparation for a long winter siege. In October, he summons the English to surrender and surprisingly, they do. Though well supplied with men, heavy cannon, food, and trade goods, governor Thomas Walsh had neglected to lay in firewood, ignoring earlier warnings of an impending French attack. That winter, there was much hardship and scurvy takes the lives of many Englishmen, French sailors and Canadians too. In the late spring of 1695, York Fort, now renamed Fort Bourbon, is left in charge of the French and Iberville returns to France. During his campaign there, the Indians had brought 450 canoe loads of rich pelts to trade.
Iberville had finally captured the Hudson Bay Company’s most lucrative station and his own star shone more brightly than ever. He sets his sights on further adventure. In 1696 Iberville sets out from France with 3 vessels to attack English stations along the Atlantic coast from the New England – Acadia boundary north to St John’s Newfoundland. Iberville quickly routes 2 defensive frigates at the mouth of the St John River. He then besieged Fort William Henry, 200 miles west of St John with 25 regulars from Acadia and 240 Abenakis. The English fort capitulated as soon as the French set up their batteries on Aug 15.
Iberville than sailed to Placentia (Plaisance), the French capital of Newfoundland, determined to route the English from the island. It is to be one of his most daring, ingenious and cruelest campaigns ever. Iberville marches his men across the Avalon Peninsula (this had never been done before by a military force) and proceeds to attack station after station, killing, looting and utterly destroying the fishing settlements of the English. There is an excellent detailed story of his campaign worth a read here. It is truly a gruesome result. 36 settlements are destroyed, 200 persons are killed, 700 are taken prisoner. Thousands of pounds of cod are taken and marketed by Iberville and others. It was not to be for long though as immediately following his departure, an English squadron and 2000 troops land in St John’s to induce the survivors to return and rebuild their settlements.
Le Pélican 2
Meanwhile, the English have reestablished themselves in Hudson’s Bay. Iberville joins a squadron from France heading there led by his brother Serigny. Iberville’s lead ship, the Pelicanwith 44 guns, becomes separated from the others in the fog. He is attacked by 3 English war ships – the Hampshire 56 guns, the Dering 36 guns and the Hudson’s Bay 32 guns. Iberville engages in a duel, carries out brilliant naval manoeuvres and sinks the Hampshire. The Hudson’s Bay is captured and sinks. Iberville’s vessel the Pelican is severely damaged and abandoned. His men regroup in a camp near York Fort and the next day the 3 remaining French vessels arrive. After 5 days of light skirmishing, York Fort is surrendered to the French for a second time. This had been Iberville’s swiftest and most brilliant campaign.
Iberville managed to have his monopoly at Fort Bourbon extended to 1699. Returning to France in 1697, the hero of Hudson Bay was about to be drawn into an entirely new theatre of adventure: Louisiana, which was henceforth to play an important role in France’s revised imperial designs. Conclusion of this riveting Canadian history will follow next time.
