History: Tom's Corner

The Crawford Bay Hall

I wish I had a copy of Bill Fraser’s address on the opening of the stage addition to the Crawford Bay Hall. Bill spoke for 45 minutes without using notes. He described in detail the earlier hall which was built about 1912 on Crawford Creek Road where it is joined by Purcell Road. About 1938 the community decided it would be much better to have the hall next to the Crawford Bay School, where the hall stands today.

This was in the depths of the 1930s Great Depression, so innovative funding was necessary. Bill Fraser helped with negotiations with the Relief Board, as virtually everyone was on government Relief at that time. To qualify for this assistance they had to work on the proposed road project between Gray Creek and Crawford Bay. Negotiations allowed some locals to use construction on the hall as their work project, instead of the road.

Volunteers dismantled some of the former hall and took mostly timbers and lumber to the new site, which was on land owned by the Crawford Bay School Board. (Individual communities had their own school boards before schools were amalgamated.)

Lumber was also contributed by the Burden & Watson sawmill in Crawford Bay, again with assistance from volunteers. Most of the lumber was moved to the new site by horse and wagon. Lloyd Johnson contributed the cedar poles necessary for the roof, and volunteers supplied the cedar shakes. This was long before chainsaws so all material was cut using cross cut saws.

After the brick chimneys were built, a wood furnace was set up in the basement and Commander Matthew Harrison of Wedgwood Manor contributed a heavy round Oak Chief cookstove to the large hall kitchen. I don’t know where the flooring came from but it made a substantial dance floor. There were alcoves in the corners at the east end and one of these was used by a Creston orchestra to play for dances.

Since the hall was adjacent to the school, it was used for school activities, the principal sport being badminton. I can remember both Rose and Percy McGregor had the skill to send a shuttlecock up and over the visible rafters in the ceiling. Herb Draper supplied a generator to put on occasional movie events, setting the projector up in the upstairs room.

Once the stage was completed, the Crawford Bay Women’s Institute were able to put on plays. One memorable ad-libbed play featured Mrs. Francis knitting, and she was asked by Mrs. Hawkins, “What are you knitting?” She replied, “Long underwear – for you!” This brought the house down, as Mrs. Hawkins was not wearing a slip – an essential garment in those days. At one of these events, Teddy Piete, age 5, beautifully sang “How Much is That Doggie in the Window.”

The Fall Fair was the biggest annual event at the hall. The fair was assisted by a small grant from the BC government, on condition that the District Horticulturist from Creston was the judge of the fruit, vegetables and livestock entries which included chickens. We had a very active Fall Fair committee which worked much of the year to plan what would be added or subtracted from the entry list. Mary Karpowich entered both Creston and Crawford Bay fall fairs and remarked that competition was stiffer in Crawford Bay. Tony Kunst, the Boswell postmaster, entered his elderberry wine and also served on the committee. Some years we had a prize for the most entries and Alex Mackies of Boswell won with 75 or more.

Einar Strom worked hard to alleviate the acoustic problem created by the many windows and the lack of insulation. He found that it was most important to lower the sound level of the drums. The Western Kings orchestra from Wynndel / Creston played for dances every two weeks except in the busy summers, and Sharon and I never missed these.

Community dances seem to have disappeared. I have heard some suggest that the Crawford Bay Hall should be replaced by a new hall, but they possibly haven’t seen that the interior as well as the structure itself are in good condition. Once the exterior is refinished it will look so much better – most important for so valuable a community asset.

(Originally published in the East Shore Mainstreet, January 2020 edition)