The Story Behind The Photograph

There is a story behind every photograph taken.  Pictures are testimonies, they have their own soul and objectives.  One can look at the picture and wonder "why was this picture taken?  What is it trying to tell me?"  It could be a happy moment, something beautiful, endless possibilities.  Pictures even take new dimensions under the fantasy and creativity of the curious onlooker.

In the summer of 2014, my family and I were walking on Main Street Barkerville Historic Park & Town; browsing and window shopping.  The street was very busy, boiling with actors, and actresses wearing the attire from the old days.  It is difficult not to be enchanted by ancient buildings, the irregular dirt road, the actors, horse riders trotting slowly, accompanied by a coach horse-drawn style carriage lifting a slight cloud of dust, like a portrait from years long gone.  The only pieces out of place were the tourists trying to blend in.

An actor playing Billy Barker could be seen talking to people, telling them stories about how he left his native England in rags, to come to Canada to try his fortune, how he made it to the richest, only to lose it all later in life.

On Main Street, past The Saint George Hotel, to the left of the dentist's office was the "Leblanc Photographic Gallery".  Not everyone found fame and fortune in Barkerville, hence sending a picture of oneself home wearing an elegant suit, dress, or holding a sack of "gold" was a form of deception to reassure loved ones that things were not so bad after all and that all these sacrifices will mean something one day.

"Ah, Jose; let us have our picture taken!" - exclaimed Christina with enthusiasm - "It would be our family souvenir!"

As we walked into the studio we were greeted by two young lady employees in costumes of the era.  Following the customary welcome, they explained what the studio was about in the days of Billy Barker.  After the brief history lesson, we went straight into the business of the day: our picture.  Like in the old times, the studio would rent to their customers the clothing for the pose.

"Sir; who would you like to be, a businessman, a miner, the law perhaps?"

"I want to be a prospector..."

"And I would like to be a madam"

"Perfect!  And the young ladies?"  -  said the employee turning to our daughters - "You don't know?  Ok, we'll make you look, tough cowgirls, no one will mess around with you!  Is that ok? Great! This way please."  - showing us the path to the dressing room with a polite hand curtsy.

The dressing room of the Leblanc Photographic Gallery is like a fantasy factory with all sorts of artifacts and costumes.   One could be anything but with so many choices it is hard to select who one wants to be.

"Oh, I need help!" - our girls exclaimed from their dressing compartment.

"Me too!" - Christina also stated.

Once ready, we walked into the stage where the picture was going to be taken.  There were additional artifacts and props to further enrich the story within the picture.

"Take these guns girls" - the studio employee said to the girls - "Yes, you look as tough as nails!  Do you like it?"

"Yes!"

"For you madam, here is a parasol"

"No, no parasol!  Give me a gun!  But I want something for a lady, something that I can conceal in my little purse"

Christina was not a typical madam, and I was not surprised that she wanted something matching her personality.  She was a fighter, and I loved that.

"Everyone ready?  Don't move!...  Let me take another one just in case...  still... perfect!"

What a great idea the picture was!  I enjoy looking at it every day in the morning, and before going to bed.  The picture is prophetic, it tells the story of uncertainty, dangers, but we are ready to face them armed to the teeth.  Later in our lives, that resolve was tested beyond the breaking limit and my wife fought gallantry.  You might think that I am making a connection that does not exist, that the significance of this photograph is a figment of my imagination.  But, what I see in this theatrical play is her character and getting to know her as I did, the picture reveals who she really was.  

You live in our stories my love.

Colophon

I would have never imagined that more than a century later, Billy Barker and I would share a similar loss; we both lost our wives to cancer to find ourselves stripped of one of our greatest treasures.  Now it is clear to me why Billy looks so sad in one of the most famous pictures ever taken of him.  I look straight into his eyes and cannot avoid thinking, "Billy; I understand, I am sorry too".

The Reason I Write

I wrote "What Are You Going To Do With It?" late last night, and have read it many times to re-live it, and also for editorial purposes.  There are many stories in draft mode in my blog.  Often I remember something and I start the post because I do not want the thought to go to sleep again. 

Many years ago, around the time I arrived from the United States to join my wife for good, I told Christina that perhaps we should write our story.  

"Write it" - she said to me.  I meant to tell her, that we should write it together; but she was adamant.

"No, this is something you need to do.  Write it".

It is amazing how much I remember.

What Are You Going to Do With It?

Road trip!

There wasn't a summer that we didn't set out to discover new places in British Columbia, and road trips were a joy for our family. Our roads are well built and maintained, very safe to travel on. There are attractions for all tastes, but if I have to select my favorite, that distinction belongs to the Cariboo Gold Rush Trail!

The Cariboo Road, a project that started in the mid-19th century starts a few kilometers north of Hope, in Fort Yale.  This town has an interesting history, and it helped make a lot of people very rich during the Fraser River Goldrush.  To this day, modern prospectors visit Fort Yale, where the province holds an open claim for everyone to try their luck.

We visited Fort Yale many times over the years; it was one of our favorite close-to-home road trips destinations.  The warm breeze combing the trees, the sound of the raging river, the girls running around laughing, and Christina cooking Goulash on the riverbank while I was gold panning is still fresh in my mind.  Christina always lives in that painting; I am looking at it right now.

Towards the end of the summer of 2020, Christina was feeling stronger as she was starting to recuperate from her chemotherapy and radiation treatments.  Her cancer was shrinking and we truly believed that she was going to beat her condition and our lives would return to a new normal.  An extra complication was the new pandemic, COVID-19, making traveling in the province more difficult with new restrictions on the number of guests in hotels, restaurants, and public places.  Due to the new scenario, the summer was not experiencing many travelers, and booking in a high-end hotel was a lot easier and more affordable than in previous years even after adding the new cleaning and disinfecting fees. 

With a positive outlook in our minds, we ventured, once more, on our British Columbia roads to explore, and revisit our favorite places, setting Barkerville, a ghost town on the gold rush trail about 9 hours drive from our home, as our destination.

For our family, a road trip is a special time to be together.  Road trips are also times to soak in unforgettable memories.  Today I look at the empty passenger seat and see my wife there, smiling at me, looking at me, touching my thigh with the tip of her fingers, telling me that she loves me.

Driving to Barkerville from our home is a two-day event.  The first leg of the trip is Kamloops, where we always stop to visit local attractions and spend the night.  Before Christina's cancer, we would start our day early, and after breakfast, Christina would often be the first shift driver.  However, this time it was different and she became tired after a  short hour.  Looking back, Christina taught me a lesson; delegate when one needs to.  She never put us in harm's way.

In Barkerville, we had made a reservation to stay in the village at the Saint George Hotel, located on Main Street.  Depicted as the once infamous saloon & brothel of one Madame Fanny Bendixon, the hotel provides guests a flavor of life in a gold rush town.

 

The hotel was occupied by only two families due to the new COVID restrictions.   We had booked two rooms, one for the girls and the other for Christina and me.  This meant that we had the hotel all to ourselves!  To keep a safe distance between the guests, the lobby was divided into two sections one for each family.  In the lobby, we had an opportunity to socialize with the other guests, Enid and Andrew a senior couple.  

Another negative effect of COVID on the town was that there were not many actors on the streets.  Stores were not in full capacity with just a few open.  I found the solitude perfect because it gave the town a ghostly feeling of the bygone days. 

Next to the hotel was the only restaurant in operation.  The waiter was the son of the owner; a very animated young fellow, who was visibly taken by the beauty of our daughters.  To go the extra mile and make our visit to his restaurant memorable he played for us on an out-of-tune piano, an absolute antique located very close to our table.  He apologized for the poorly sounding piano, but I loved it because it added to the atmosphere just perfectly.  It reminded me of an old western film!

A Momento

What is a road trip without a souvenir, a little token, a postcard, a used ticket, something to remember a moment in time on a future date? 

Visiting the local Barkerville stores is very enjoyable; it is like a trip to the past.  Decorated with very old artifacts, and with excellent imitations on display for a price, these stores are the delight of visitors of all ages.

One of these stores had on display many different replicas of weapons of the era, very commonly used in western films, including long guns and revolvers like the Colt 45 single action Peacemaker used by Clint Eastwood in the Spaghetti Western "Dollar Trilogy".  There was one replica that called my attention; a Colt's Dragoon.  When I saw the weapon I was very excited and asked to see it, to touch it, I wanted to hold it in my hand.  

"The replica is very authentic" - the store owner told me -"The mechanism is identical to the real one, you can even put the original caps and can fire the caps and it will fire real nicely.  The weight is the same as the original...  we even have a replica of the holster and a belt to complete the set...  the price is separate, however."

"Christina, do you know which gun this is?"

"How much is the gun?" - she asked the salesman

"$150; only the gun.  The holster and belt are separate."

"It would be my souvenir!"

Christina never said "no" to me for something I wanted.  I also treated her the same way, but we were both responsible; we had a family and had to watch our funds carefully.

"Do you know what gun this is?" - turning to the salesman.

"Yes, a Colt's Dragoon"

"There is a movie where this gun is in the forefront!  Do you know the film?"

"No"

"True Grit!" - he smiled at my enthusiasm and perhaps visualized a big sale.

"This is the gun that Mattie Ross used to shoot Chaney, the guy who killed her dad!  This is a John Wayne film and there have been two movies.  The first one was released in 1969, and the second..." -  I went on and on talking about these films while the salesman and Christina stood silently watching me.

True Grit was taken to the silver screen for the first time in 1969 with John Wayne, Glen Campbell, and Kim Darby.  I love this film; all of it.  I like the character played by Kim, Mattie Ross, who never gives up in her quest for justice. 

The film was remade in 2010 with Jeff Bridges, Hailee Steinfeld, and Matt Damon.  The film presents the same story.  Often remakes are forgettable but not this one, and this film is as fresh as the first one.  I like them both equally; it is the story and how it is presented, the care that each actor and actress put in their work, the cinematography, the musical score.  The movie was filmed in Colorado and the scenery is stunningly impressive, captured on celluloid by very accomplished cinematographers.  The film could have been shot in British Columbia because we have very similar settings.  Today the areas where the movie was filmed have "True Grit Tours".  I would love to do one of those tours one day! 

"If you really want this gun, you can have it"  - Christina told me, but her eyes were telling me something different.

"Thank you Christina!" - and facing the salesman - "Thank you for showing the gun to me... I think that $150 is a bit too much, how about $110?"

"Sorry, I wouldn't make any money on it".

"That is too bad...  I'll think about this.  How late are you open?"

Outside of the store:

"Christina, I really like that gun!"

"I noticed!"

"Can I have it?"

"Yes, you can, but tell me; what are you going to do with it?" - looking at me with a smile on her face, showing those beautiful pearls at me, so sweetly.  I did not know what to say; I just wanted the gun!

"Are you going to watch a John Wayne movie and hold it in your hand, and point it at the TV?"

"yes" - I answered a little subdued by the reality.  Then I realized she was right.  We both laughed heartedly and I did not buy the gun.

Days later, on the way home, I made a reservation to stay at the South Thompson Inn, in Kamloops where we stayed two nights.  Those were the two happiest days of the summer of 2020 for my wife.  It was truly magical.

The price per night was $150.

In Memoriam

We met Enid and Andrew in Barkerville.  Andrew's story was amazing; an accomplished engineer with a rich work history in Canada and Australia.  Andrew was also fighting GBM.  Christina and he shared the same surgeon from the Royal Columbian Hospital.  Andrew spent his last days in his native Australia in the company of his wife and close family.  He succumbed to GBM in August of 2021, a few weeks after Christina.  He was survived by his wife who loved him dearly.

Fly well, my friend.  Say hello to Christina for me, and tell her not to fly too far for me to catch up when my time comes.