Rivers Lost can be found at Huble Homestead Historic Site.
That’s the name of the flat-bottomed riverboat made by Bernard McKay, author of the Crooked River Rats and modeled for those riverboats that were used during the first half of the 20th century.
The McKay family donated the handmade piece to showcase the boat on the historic site.
“I built the riverboat about 10 years ago and had it on display at Huble shortly after that, then I used it for a few years and then I gave it to my son and he actually donated the boat,” McKay said. “And then I donated the antique motor that goes on the back of it.”
The motor is a Johnson Sea Horse dating back to the 1940s.
“So it was a family affair,” McKay said.
McKay wrote his best-selling book the Crooked River Rats about his experiences of running the rivers for 17 years with his family.
“We explored the whole province using an old-fashioned river boat,” McKay said.
McKay built this particular riverboat when a man commissioned him to do it.
The man requested a plank-style riverboat and then promptly canceled the order.
“But I decided to build the boat anyway,” McKay said.
“So I cut down the trees and sawed the logs with my little band saw lumber mill and planed the lumber and built it from scratch. It really had a pleasing look to it.”
McKay will be at Huble Homestead on Dominion Day July 1 and will give a brief talk about the boat at 1 p.m.
“I’ll talk about the river men and the early pioneers,” McKay said.
Dominion Day will be celebrated at Huble Homestead until July 4 so people can explore the historic site and see how they celebrated Canada Day in days gone by.
Huble Homestead is pleased to accept the generous donation, Krystal Leason, executive director said.
“We’re very excited to have Rivers Lost on display at Huble Homestead,” Leason added. “It provides us with an excellent example of the riverboats that traversed this region during the first half of the twentieth century. Bernard McKay’s interviews with river boaters from this area, including Al Huble Jr. provide us with an even greater connection to the historic site.
“Rivers Lost also helps to center Huble Homestead in the broader context of the river trade that took place during the years that the Huble family lived on the banks of the Fraser, as similar boats were taken across the Giscome Portage by Al Huble and Ed Seebach.”
Huble Homestead Historic Site is located on the unceded traditional territory of the Lheidli T’enneh, 40 km north of
To book demonstration time slots, view activity schedules and learn more about safety measures, visit www.hublehomestead.ca or call 250-564-7033.
