Mill Got Lakeshore Buzzing

Times-Colonist-Islander

January 24, 1993

By Ian Baird

Shawnigan's Shay: steam locomotives were key part of lumber operation.

Today, all that remains of the Shawnigan Lake Lumber Company are a few pilings scattered along the shore. Not much to show for a company that was a vital force in the local economy for five decades.

The lumber company was started by former Southern Pacific and E&N master mechanic William Losee in 1898, four years after Charlie Morton built a hotel beside Shawnigan Lake in anticipation of the arrival of the railway.

Losee saw the potential of the forest surrounding the lake and approached railway boss James Dunsmuir for a timber lease that would include every tree within a mile of the lakeshore.

Losee recruited Ewan Morrison, a foreman at the Chemainus sawmill, to be his partner, and by the fall of 1890, they had their new sawmill up and running. A contemporary newspaper account described the operations: “It’s a very large plant, thoroughly equipped with the best machinery and most modern woodworking tools and appliances . . . has a capacity of 50,000 board feet per day and runs full-time year-round.”

Losee and Morrison soon had a financial falling out, however. And Gerry Wellburn, in his informative article “Sawmilling in the Cowichan at Shawnigan Lake,” says Losee sold his interest in the mill to William Munsie and Theophilus Efford. This was a very important move, Wellburn says. “These men and their sons were able to develop the enterprise into a firm of significance and distinction in the British Columbia lumber economy.”

Ewan Morrison sold his interest to John Coburn in 1894. Through the years, shareholders were taken in, and by 1912, there were 11 shareholders in the operation. Control, however, remained in the hands of the Munster and Efford families.

In these early days, falling and bucking techniques involved a laborious procedure utilizing axes, wedges, and springboards. The crosscut saw was the main falling tool. Power saws weren’t used by Shawnigan Lake Lumber until 1942.

Logs were initially hauled by oxen over skid roads, a method “developed on Puget Sound in the 1850s,” according to Wellburn.

A skid road consisted “of 18-inch diameter logs, 10-12 feet long, and spaced about eight feet apart, forming a pattern similar to that of railway ties.”

Oxen were only able to haul a load about one mile, which resulted in the introduction of horses.

In 1898, the donkey engine replaced the oxen. It was a machine consisting of a large wooden sled supporting a boiler which supplied steam to engines that powered a winch system. These donkeys weren’t universally welcomed at first. Joe Martino was heard to yell: “Get rid of that steaming pot and bring back the bulls.”

In 1901, the logging operation was moved to the West Arm of the lake where timber wasn’t nearly as accessible. “Pop” Efford decided to build a pole railway. Essentially, it was a conventional railway, but it had poles instead of rails, and the truck wheels were concave. Part of this railway is visible today near George Pringle Memorial Camp.

Shawnigan Lumber’s first locomotive was named ‘Betsy, the Arkansas Traveler.’ Betsy was constructed from local material with the exception of the boiler and engine, which were purchased in the U.S. Although she could only travel three or four miles an hour, Betsy was quite an innovation. Herbert Hawking, one of Betsy’s first engineers, told federal historian M. Dougan: “She gave fair service for some months and could draw a car loaded with lumber 4-5,000 feet.”

In July 1902, Betsy was followed by a Climax locomotive from the Climax Manufacturing Company of Corry, Pennsylvania. She was dubbed Betsy, too. Interesting mechanical problems arose. The mineral content of the water caused scaling or corrosion of the boiler, and Chinese workers were hired to scrub and clean the boiler surfaces due to the white crew’s aversion to this type of labor. Fresh water was then poured in, and steaming ability was restored. Another interesting fact is that this was the last Climax made to run on pole and steel rails.

In 1908, the pole railway was replaced by steel, followed in 1910 by the acquisition of a 25-tonne Class B Climax locomotive. Times were good, and the company prospered.

On Oct. 2, 1912, the Duke of Connaught and Princess Patricia of Connaught visited the logging operations. The men were initially apprehensive, but the warmth of the royal ladies soon became infectious. A delightful day of activities culminated in a dinner with the loggers, which included venison and bannock, both of which were described as delicious by the royal guests.

Business proceeded successfully until 1914, when the First World War seriously affected markets. Sawmill production declined in the early war years only to reach an all-time high in 1917. Disaster struck in 1918 when fire destroyed the mill, but the hiring of an aggressive woods boss, “Gib” Draper, proved to be the company’s salvation. He revamped logging practices by acquiring new skeleton cars and added automatic couplers and air brakes.

Meanwhile, management had shifted to the sons of Efford and Munster. A 45-tonne Class B Climax locomotive was purchased in 1910. (It was later sold to Mayo Lumber.) A further locomotive of the same type was purchased in 1923 from Timberland Logging at Ladysmith. Shawnigan Lumber’s last locomotive was a Pacific Coast Shay purchased in 1930. (It was later sold to Bloedel, Stewart and Welch.)

Shawnigan Lumber prospered until the Depression tightened its steady grip. Then fire destroyed the mill in 1934. It was rebuilt in 1936, but production was limited in 1937, and the mill was again shut down in 1938.

The mill was sold in 1939 to Chris Boyd and then to Ted Hobson in early 1942. Mr. MacMillan’s Export Company purchased the mill from Hobson in September of the same year and ran it for a year before closing the mill for good on Aug. 14, 1945, ending a colorful era beside the lake. The mill employees had contributed greatly to the social mosaic of the community over the years.