New Westminster, British Columbia didn't become my home until 1996. Of course learning the history of one's place is an innate desire. My little city is important in the history of this region. At the time of the great Gold Rush, this was the starting point for many miners coming from San Francisco and Seattle. They headed up the Fraser River from here. In fact, New Westminster once had the honor of being BC's capital.
These things are in my mind today, as I watched a crew disassembling some very old piers along the river. The work is being done as this little stretch of riverfront is being made into a municipal park. I can view the progress from the apartment. In the early 1900's these piers were the site of fish canneries. I am sure that after the days of the canneries, the location was used for some sort of heavy industry. Much of the dirty soil was contaminated and has already been trucked away. We arrived here nearly a decade and a half ago and this area was abandoned. Weeds grew unfettered behind rusting fences.
Now, I am beginning to see the huge timbers that were long covered with layers of wood, and then tar. I can't but wonder about the time they were placed there. I also think about those labourers who toiled so many decades ago putting them in.
