A City of Beauty in the Wilderness (3/3)- dreem-wotw edition

On September 13, 2020, a massive fire raged through the old pier in New Westminster, which is located upriver from the Quay and River Market (see Part 1 and Part 2). Engulfed in flames, a large portion of the old pier and the new boardwalk addition were damage then had to be closed for repairs. A man was charged and later released. He never went to trial because the charges were dropped after he was found deceased.

The new pier park opened again to the public after a few months of closure. The boardwalk along the river is broad with panoramic views of the Fraser. There are several amenities such as a concession stand, basketball court, picnic areas, playground, hammocks, large chairs, and so forth. It is nicely designed for the enjoyment of the senses. A far cry from its original purpose.

In a coincidental and tragic turn of events over a century ago, on the night of September 10, 1898, several tonnes of hay caught fire and quickly engulfed a wharf, warehouses, canneries, steamers docked on the river, and even the fire hall when the flames leaped from building to building, street to street, not even the firefighters could contain the raging inferno that melted their hoses. Just like they would over a century later in 2020, crews from neighbouring municipalities such as Vancouver came to help the New West fire crews. A large portion of the city was lost along with much of their history. We can only imagine what this amazing frontier outpost looked like back in time.

A cool breeze blew from the river delta, bringing with it a whiff of oceanic air. The water was turbid that day. A grayish green. In this region near the delta, mounds of sediment are churned and deposited daily, making the river seem like an unpolished emerald, which on calm days shimmers with brilliant marine hues.

From time to time, I heard a splash in the water. Something large swam there. What could it be? Salmon and other species call this river home. The strangest of them all is the prehistoric sturgeon. These ancient creatures can live a long time and grow extremely large (7-12 ft). An infographic panel on the Quay's boardwalk down the river tells the story of a farmer who was working a parcel of land, which had been drained 10 years prior, and was surprised when he found live sturgeons on the muddy field. Apparently, the fishes can decrease their metabolic activity and live in suspended animation. Unfortunately, the sturgeon is an endangered species, and so fishing it is limited to catch-and-release or none at all.

Watching the old boats hauling lumber and other products, their palpitating boom boom boom across the wide river, I was transported back in time to that distant epoch, when the industrious drive to open up and exploit new ecological niches finely sculpted the land. It was a titanic collision of cultures, histories, and resources. A swirling mass of activity along the rugged river shore, bringing managerial order to the misty chaotic wilderness in this corner of the Pacific Northwest.

In the distance, I could see the SkyTrain gliding on electric rails across the bridge, a reminder that progress, with everything the word entails, never halts, stage after stage, we build on the work of others who have come before, whatever the distance between us, and together we all go to our next destination.

Notes

Thank you for reading the third part in the series on New West, BC. I merged this last post with the Dreem Word of the Week S1 R3 contest. The word prompt is Distant. I interpreted the word in the sense of distance in time or "memories of the distant past" as @samsmith1971 put it. I think we can easily understand when people are distant in a spatial way, geographically. It is harder to imagine those people that have come and gone; they are ghosts of the past. Nevertheless, the spirits of their existence remains stamped on our streets, and in our memories.

Resources

1. Ireland T. A Look Back At New Westminster’s Great Fire of 1898 [Internet]. 604 Now. 2017 [cited 2022 Sep 9]. Available from: https://604now.com/new-westminster-great-fire-1898-history/

2. Rebuilding New Westminster’s fire-ravaged Pier Park will take years, says mayor - BC | Globalnews.ca [Internet]. Global News. [cited 2022 Sep 12]. Available from: https://globalnews.ca/news/7362681/new-westminster-pier-park-rebuild-years/

3. Charges dropped against man for New Westminster pier fire, suspect is deceased: police - BC | Globalnews.ca [Internet]. Global News. [cited 2022 Sep 12]. Available from: https://globalnews.ca/news/7881873/new-westminster-pier-park-fire-suspect-dead/

Images by @litguru

---

Twitter
Instagram
NFT Showroom Gallery