Billy Proctor Interview, CBC Radio

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AstoriaDave

New member
I know many Brats have visited Echo Bay, BC, up in the Broughtons, and some of those have met Billy or visited his museum over the hill from Echo Bay. Billy just turned 80, having spent his entire life in that part of the world, and is about the last old timer still standing, still active, and still logging, fishing, clamming, collecting artifacts in the swash, and full of stories.

Billy is on the front end of the segment of Living Out Loud linked below.

One of a kind, and 80 years old, all of it spent in BC, almost entirely in the area between Vancouver Island and the mainland.  Never has had a drivers license, never lived anywhere but around the Broughtons.  His dad died when Billy was eight, leaving him and his mom with no money, but they had a roof over their heads, and were surrounded by deer, fish, and grew their own vegetables, as well as a few friends at nearby waterside cabins who helped them out.  They made it.

Intro to the video from CBC:  They call him “the wise man of the woods”. Jenni Schine [interviewer] calls him a friend. 80 year old Billy Proctor lives off the grid in Echo Bay, BC, the heart and soul of a community with just seven full time residents.

http://www.cbc.ca/player/Radio/Living+O ... 2625495018

Some may also be interested in this account of his life and time, coauthored with a neighbor.

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6677 ... Flood_Tide
 
He's a fascinating guy. We have been fortunate enough to spend some time with him. At Echo Bay, by his museum, he constructed a logger's shack with a broad ax out of a single cedar log, walls, structure,roof and furniture. He did it to show how loggers made these one-use shacks when they moved to new sites. There is a bit of information about his childhood life in the book "Totem Poles and Tea" a great Broughtons book.
 
Dreamer":37curkli said:
Thanks Dave,

I just listened to the whole thing and enjoyed hearing Billy's tales.
I couldn't get to it using your link but Googled for it and got this one that worked for me: http://www.cbc.ca/player/Radio/Living+O ... 625495018/
Billy is a treasure for sure and we enjoyed meeting him several times at Echo Bay.
Click to expand...
I find it fascinating to have a foot in each camp here.
First I am a C-Brat and second I was a marine engineer back in the 50's going into Echo bay and the Jungles as we called it. Minstrel Island the Broughton etc. Billy is an anchor to the history there. And of course Alex Morton is the fish God--a Dr of Biology trying to save our salmon. At 79 and still an active C-Dory boater at Qualicum Beach/French Creek I relate to this chat.
 
Blueback,

Sounds like you are a kindred spirit to Billy. Bet you have some tales to tell! That area up there has a fascinating history ... of how people followed the lure of resource extraction until it did not pay to stay. Probably be another cycle of that when the forests are ready for another round of harvest.

A good shot of Billy and one of his museum, near Echo Bay, at this link:

http://www.westcoastpaddler.com/communi ... 226#p79226
 
AstoriaDave":3qfrgnna said:
Blueback,

Sounds like you are a kindred spirit to Billy. Bet you have some tales to tell! That area up there has a fascinating history ... of how people followed the lure of resource extraction until it did not pay to stay. Probably be another cycle of that when the forests are ready for another round of harvest.

A good shot of Billy and one of his museum, near Echo Bay, at this link:

http://www.westcoastpaddler.com/communi ... 226#p79226
Click to expand...
I will tell you C-Brats a little story of the sea.
My family is 3 generations of sailing the Horn (Cape Horn). My grandfather was a square-rigger, born in 1864, London England. My father (born 1895) and went to sea in 1910 as an apprentice (midshipman) to become a deck officer.
This is a lead in to a story Dad told me. When he was in London, at the Officer's Training School in the navigation classroom, the instructor said: "many of you come off large ocean going ships and look down on the navigation skills of small coasters, who look to land forms instead of the Sun, Moon and stars to find your way. However, on the west-coast of Canada there is one of the trickiest coastlines in the world and these Captain's and Mates on that coast deal with some of the highest tides and strongest currents in the world. This, at times, comes with dense fogs and a maze of channels, some with rocks just under the surface. Some Captains in these narrow passages, in dense fogs, have become skilled in blowing there hand held brass horn and listening for the echo to find their distance off steep mountainous shore lines and by this, find their way through to a safe port landing. So remember this gentleman. On your graduation to ship's officer's, never look down on the skills to safely pilot small boats in tricky waters, as this is a great skill to be admired too."
It's kind of a roots family story I share with the family of C-Brats and you are the only ones I thought would appreciate a story of this kind that's over a hundred years in telling to now.
A Merry Christmas to all.
Geoff & Aline in Qualicum Beach, Can.
 
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