A quaint little town of just over 4,000 inhabitants, nestled on the sheltered west coast of Vancouver Island, wouldn’t be worth a second thought except for the fact that its residents and mayor overcame a near slide into oblivion and ruin and became known as ‘The Little Town That Did’.
Chemainus has justly earned the nick-name “The Little Town that Did”, but in the early 80’s, facing a devastating unemployment rate, and a global recession, the little town that did, almost didn’t.
Stsu’minus: The Beginning
Long before the English-speaking settlers arrived, Chemainus was an important First Nations village. The band’s name and village name was Stsu’minus.
Mural 12- Native Heritage- artist: Paul Ygartua
A Canadian Version of The Garden of Eden
With one quick look at the geography of the area, it’s easy to imagine why the Stsu’minus chose to settle in this area. The vast and plentiful Cowichan valley stretches out to the west behind Chemainus. The valley is hedged on the west by the Insular mountain range at a mere distance of 40 km, which protects the area from cold, harsh winds.
As if that weren’t protection enough from Canada’s northern climate, the south-eastern coast of Vancouver Island offers a unique micro-climate. Vancouver Island snuggles up as close as 35 kilometres in some areas to the mainland. The narrow Juan de Fuca strait is dotted with smaller islands between the island and the mainland. The warm and calm waters of the strait offer the entire area a very unique and moderate climate which rarely dips below zero in the winter.
These climate factors not only provide a mild winter, but also an abundance of fish and wildlife.
The First Settlers
The first English-speaking settlers also saw the benefits of the area and started arriving in the Cowichan Valley in the late 1850s.
Mural 6 — Arrival Of The ‘Reindeer’ In Horseshoe Bay : artists: Sandy Clark and Lea Goward
The plentiful forests surrounding the area promised a bountiful timber industry. They founded the town in 1858 and within a year 6 families had settled there.
Mural 8 — Chemainus 1891- artist : David Maclagan
The name of the town was anglicized from the Coast Salish ‘Stsu’minus’ into Chemainus. By 1862 the first sawmill had been built and Chemainus became the most prosperous logging town on Vancouver Island. The new sawmill brought over 500 jobs to the people of Chemainus and the town grew and grew.
Mural 35- First Chemainus Sawmill 1862- artist: Sylvia Verity Dewar
Soon Chemainus could boast of a school,
Mural 17- First Schoolhouse 1883- artist: Kiff Holland
a hospital,
Mural 23 — Chemainus Hospital (1899) — artist : Doug Driediger
and the ‘modern’ steam locomotive; all of which set the stage for the good life of the early 20th century.
Mural 28 -№3 Climax Engine- artist: Dan Sawatzky
By 1920 the population had grown to over 600 and for the next 100 years the town continued to flourish. Life for the residents of this one-industry town was the envy of logging towns across Canada.
The Logger’s Life
The life of a logger wasn’t easy, but it was steady and reliable. Men without a high school education could start work at 16 and start earning a respectable salary in no time. The logger was on his way up in the world.
Mural 9 — Camp 2 On A Sunday — artist: David J. More
By the 40s, the trade unions had pushed the government into enacting labour laws which promised over-time wages, unemployment benefits for seasonal workers and gave the logger a good credit standing at banks. He was able to take out a mortgage for a house and buy a car. He was held in high regard at the bank, a place that was normally outside the boundaries of his world. His family enjoyed an envious style of life indeed.
Mural 19 — Mill Street In 1948 — artist : Mike Svob
The Crash
Just as the logger’s world looked like it would be the envy of any tradesman, the walls came crashing down. In the 1980s, the world changed the way it did business and the loggers on Vancouver Island were hit hard. The old system, which involved a lot of manual labour, was replaced by automated systems. The one-industry town of Chemainus all but shut down.
The jobs dried up almost over-night and the bankers, ever ready to call in credit, loans and outstanding mortgages at the slightest hint of late or no payment, became the most feared men in the valley. The uneducated loggers, who knew next to nothing about global markets and world economy, were at a loss. They simply didn’t have the knowledge or the foresight to prepare against a disaster such a this. Living off credit was a way of life for these people and the bankers weren’t about to educate them about a more prudent way to deal with their money. Some lost their homes, some even lost their families, but all of them lost their hope for the future.
Depression Deepens
Most of the young loggers in the 80s had followed in their fathers’ footsteps. Fathers, who had worked hard and reaped the benefits of the recession-free 50s, saw no value in sending their sons to college. In the 50s recalling loans and mortgages was unheard of. When you got a job, it was guaranteed for life. The logging families were not aware that the cup that runneth over could one day run dry.
Some young families were torn apart. The men were now at home all day instead of in camp for weeks at a time. Young couples who had rarely been together for more than 3 days at a time, had to get to know each other and many of them didn’t like what they got to know. A working man, who can provide for his family and has good standing in the community, is usually a content and congenial husband and father. But a man whose ego has been shattered and has to bow his head to the banker he once towered over, can be hell to live with. For many of these men, the only answer to the day-in-day-out depression was the camaraderie they found in the bars. Misery loves company and it had plenty of company in the logging towns of the 1980s.
The Slough Of Despondency
Almost 700 jobs were lost in a town with a population of 4000. Alcoholism, depression and suicide were all issues that the simple folk of Chemainus dealt with privately on a daily basis. Divorce rates sky-rocketed as loans and mortgages were called in while the unemployed loggers sat drinking away their sorrows and the family’s money. These men spent their days waiting to be called back to non-existant work with their chums in the bars, sinking lower and lower into the slough of despondency. It seemed that the wheel of fortune had become a vicious circle of depression and drinking.
Hope: A Spark of Light
Sunrise from the Queen of Capilano — Photographer: Richard Smith
Then came the spark of hope. The young mayor, Graham Bruce, who refused to let the town go to ruin, had heard about a provincial grant program to revitalize downtowns. He believed that revitalizing the downtown area of Chemainus to make it attractive to tourists could bring badly needed jobs to his community. Bruce approached the business sector of the area and soon the Chemainus Revitalization Committee was formed. They decided to portray the story of their town on murals throughout the downtown. The committee hired an inspirational businessman, Karl Schultz, who helped them to make decisive choices regarding the art and artists.
We Think We Can, We Think We Can…
Shop owners, on the brink of closure, saw no harm in offering their shop’s exterior walls as canvases for the murals. To many, it was a last-ditch effort to save their livelihood. as the paint began to brighten up the place, so did the residents’ faces and spirits. Soon the whole town was involved in the project. The result was a massive outdoor gallery of impressive murals, many of which you have been looking at while reading this article.
Through sheer will of spirit and a spark of innovation, an entire community pulled itself up by its bootstraps and overcame some the most devastating causes of human despondency; unemployment and loss of dignity. Chemainus is not only a model of how human will and spirit can fight off the worst valleys of depression but also an amazing feast for the eyes. Although the art is itself astonishing, knowing the story behind, I think, adds immeasurable value and appreciation.
mural 27 — The Spirit Of Chemainus-artist : Dan Sawatzky
The Outdoor Gallery
Local and national artists have painted more than 39 murals on buildings in and around the town’s core. A walk through the town is a walk through the history of British Columbia in the early 1900s. One can admire metre high murals of the early railway, life as a logger, portraits of the founding fathers and the exquisite murals of the native heritage. Not to be outdone, the local shops have also added a splash of paint to their storefronts. Almost every building in the town is worth stopping at to marvel at. With all of this outstanding art, the little town of Chemainus should be on the itinerary of anyone who is planning on taking a vacation in Canada.
The Town’s People
The town’s people are friendly and helpful as tourists are now the bread and butter of this small island town. Everyone in Chemainus is a self-appointed tour-guide making sure you don’t miss a single mural. If you’ve ever taken a vacation to Canada you’ll know that Canadians are well-known for their friendliness. The people of Chemainus are well up to the task. They will make sure that you’ve seen every single mural. Then they will ask you if you’d like to have lunch in one of the many restaurants. If they notice you have a packed lunch, they will direct you to the ample picnic areas and ocean walks. You’ll spend an unforgettable day in this most unforgettable town.
I have provided a link to what I believe is the most comprehensive website dedicated to this impressive little town that did.
