Cowboy bids at local auction

Cowboy bids at local auction

by | Feb 16, 2017

Cowboy bids at auction

I have a series of photographs taken at a livestock auction somewhere north of Courtenay in the late 1970s or early 1980s. I took this image of a man raising his hand to bid at that time. For some reason I think it took place at the Norwood Equestrian Center, but the auction involved all kinds of livestock.

Does someone know the exact location of this auction and whether it still occurs? And if anyone recognizes this man, please leave a comment on this website or on the Decafnation Facebook page.

George Le Masurier

Decafnation | Feb. 17, 2017

Dancing and 1970s fashion at the Renaissance Faire

Dancing and 1970s fashion at the Renaissance Faire

by | Feb 10, 2015

Dancing and 1970s fashion the Renaissance Faire

The Comox Valley’s counter-culture came together during the 1970s for the annual Renaissance Faire. There was music, dancing, arts and crafts and, to the horror of The Establishment, smoking of marijuana — done secretly in those days, of course. Fashion trends seem to favor long skirts and dresses for women, while the men went topless over old jeans.

Do you recognize anyone in this photograph? if you do, please leave a comment below. Or just share your memories of the Renaissance Faire. You can also join the conversation by “liking” the Decafnation Facebook page.

Keep on truckin’

George Le Masurier

Decafnation | Feb. 10, 2017

Farmhand — at Knight Road potato farm

by | Jan 28, 2015

Potato farmer on Knight Road

I knew Robin and Danny Woodrow, and sometimes visited the Woodrow brothers potato farm on Knight Road. On one of these visits, in the late 1970s or early 1980s, I snapped a photograph of a farm worker in front of a warehouse full of their recent harvest. But I never even knew his name. I would like to know more about him.

Leah Woodrow contacted her uncle, Robin Woodrow, in Arizona who provided this information: “This is Gerry Scott, ex-armed forces. Worked for Danny and myself, very loyal employee. Always arrived half-hour early and stayed half-hour later than he had to. Wendell Kline now lives in his house on the Tsolum River Road.”

George Le Masurier

Decafnation | Feb. 6, 2017

Dave Hardy, chopping a wood pile in Cumberland

Dave Hardy, chopping a wood pile in Cumberland

by | Jan 27, 2015

Dave Hardy, in Cumberland

I bought a house and moved my family from Comox to Cumberland in the late 1970s. The village had become an enclave for a new wave of artists emerging from the newly formed Comox Valley Arts Alliance, and others in search of affordable housing.

One of the first people I met there was a commercial fisher named Dave Hardy. He had a trawler moored at the Government Wharf in Comox (I can’t remember the name of his boat) and worked local waters. He was a kind person. When my father visited from Minnesota, Dave  offered to take him on as deckhand for a day. It was an experience my dad talked about for years.

I walked by Dave’s house one late-summer day and found him working on an enormous pile of logs in his yard. He heated his house with wood, as did many in Cumberland. The way he trimmed his beard always made me think of Abe Lincoln, but better looking and living the west coast lifestyle.

George Le Masurier

Decafnation | Jan. 27, 2017

Group of singers at the Renaissance Fair

Group of singers at the Renaissance Fair

by | Jan 26, 2015

Singers at the Renaissance Fair

The Comox Valley Arts Alliance was formed sometime in the mid-1970s. I joined the organization soon after it was founded. During my lunch hours, I left my desk as editor of the Lifestyles section of the Comox District Free Press, and walked down McPhee Avenue to the Arts Alliance building. I hung out there often, and played chess sometimes with reporter Brian Belton. I also once hung my first one-man photography exhibition there.

I’m fuzzy on when and where this photograph was taken, so maybe readers can provide more reliable information. I captured this image at one of the Comox Valley’s Renaissance Fairs, which I think were promoted by the Arts Alliance. The scene is typical of the new cultural events happening in the 1970s. People sang, danced, created art and where just there.

I don’t know any of the singers in this photograph, so maybe readers can add some names and a better recollection of this event.

George Le Masurier

DecafNation | Jan. 27, 2017

Molly Guilbeault, ready to work at Leung’s counter

Molly Guilbeault, ready to work at Leung’s counter

by | Jan 24, 2015

Molly Guilbeault, at Leung’s

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, I often slipped into Leung’s Grocery store at the top of Fifth Street in Courtenay, B.C. for a Denver sandwich at the lunch counter. There was something addictive about those sandwiches. Maybe it was the grease or the extra fresh onions. But I was hooked. I’d even take my toddler daughter there on weekends. She wasn’t a fan of the Denver sandwiches, but she loved their classic milkshakes.

On one particular Saturday, my daughter and I were sitting near the street end of the long 1950s-style counter playing eye-spy. The shelves behind the counter were jam-packed with stuff for sale: cigars, metal cigarette lighters, cribbage boards and other games, jigsaw puzzles and, of course, a display of fine pies. There were little signs tacked up everywhere with clever sayings.

While we waited, my favorite server stepped behind the counter. As she got ready to start her shift, Molly Guilbeault picked up a chrome napkin dispenser from the counter and used it as a mirror to apply her lipstick. I grabbed a picture at that moment. It’s still one of my favorite images.

George Le Masurier

Decafnation | Jan. 27, 2017