When I was a youngster, hanging around the newsroom while waiting for my father to remember he had a home to go to, I heard real newsmen discussing what quality journalism was. According to the consummate professionals of the Daily Colonist the public should be able to read a story without being able to decide what the reporter thinks, and I suspect my own opinion will put in an appearance from time to time.
This is an obituary, of sorts, for the kind of place and people who lived in and built the Lake Cowichan I first came to know. Specifically, it addresses the longstanding family businesses that have served us for decades as they quietly disappear, one by one.
A few short months ago, for example, Tipton’s Gas Bar closed after 47 years. According to owner Rod Tipton the biggest reason was the cost of upgrading the old facility, particularly the fuel tanks.
“If those ever leaked into the river,” he said, “I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.”
“The people in this town are loyal,” he continued, “They still kept coming even though there are two newer stations, but our building was just too old.”
Sic transit Gloria mundi. The old regulars might miss Tipton's, but we have local alternatives available within a few blocks; another upcoming closure may prove more inconvenient.
By Oct. 31 the Lake Cowichan Home Centre will have closed its doors after operating at the same location under different names since 1953. Current owner Rod Peters bought what was then Revelstoke Lumber from Bill and Frank Ney (yes, that Frank Ney, former mayor of Nanaimo and MLA) in 1978. Rod had previously worked in the industry, starting in his father’s store and working his way up to managing the Revelstoke outlet in Mill Bay before buying in Lake Cowichan.
For the last 46 years it has been the family business, where Rod, Bill, Tom and Denisse have sold us what we need to do it ourselves, often making sure we were using the right material and tools for the job. Now they are closing, with no other business of its kind in the Lake to meet local needs.
The Home Hardware outlet does not currently deal in lumber, given the limitations of their current building. Franchise owner Scott Bridger is investigating his options and hopes to know more in a few weeks. Other interested parties have evidently been discouraged by the high cost of rent, which leaves the Lake Cowichan homeowner or tradesman who needs a couple of two by fours and a sheet of plywood with no choice but to make the long drive to Duncan and back.
Lake Cowichan Mayor Tim McGonigle is concerned that more businesses have shut down in recent years.
“When Westland Insurance closed locals had to drive into Duncan, and we lost the Royal Bank branch. West of Hill 60 we seem to have been forgotten.”
“How can people buy local if nobody is selling what they need?”
A good question. Another is how much more residents will have to pay for trades work if an additional hour is added for supplies on a near daily basis. If small business is the engine that drives the economy, what happens when the engine runs out of fuel?
Does Amazon have a lumber yard?