The Gabriola Museum corresponds with a number of people whose families lived here in the past. Some request information about their family, others offer it. One question we always ask is “Did your family tell you any stories about Gabriola?”.
Last winter, Mary Warko (nee Walton) of Burns Lake responded with this story about the Entrance Island lighthouse.
“One August evening in the mid ‘50s, when I was a child at our summer cabin near Camp Byng on the Sunshine Coast, my mom and dad looked out of the cabin window towards Nanaimo, and suddenly saw a lighthouse close up. It was the one on Gabriola Island. They could see the lighthouse keeper and his wife (I suppose it was his wife) walking down towards a wharf. Then they saw them walk towards the lighthouse and enter into it. Finally they saw them in the “light” room. They could see them through the glass. This whole scene lasted for about one hour. Then it disappeared.
After that they could only see the blinking of the lighthouse light, something we saw every night.”
“This phenomenon was the talk of Whitaker Beach next day as all the cabin dwellers had seen it. I think it was even written up in the local paper. I’ve often wondered if the people on the wharf were looking at us through our cabin windows.”
“I’m pretty sure the event happened in August when there was a “nip in the air” for the first time. I only got a snippet of it … maybe just woke up as it was happening and then went back to sleep again. I did not see much, and probably would not have remembered it so well if I had not heard it being talked about next day.
My brother (three years younger) remembers that he did not see it - it was late and he was already in bed, but remembers hearing everyone talk about it along the beach the next morning, and wishes he could have seen it too. It did not mean anything to me as a child. I am more interested in it now.”
We asked Mrs. Warko to see if she could find anyone else who remembered the event. She reported back that of the people she knows who might have been witnesses on the beach, many have passed away, while none still alive recall it.
One Gabriola Museum volunteer spent several hours reading the Nanaimo Free Press for July and August of 1955 without finding any reference. The Sunshine Coast Museum in Gibsons generously did the same for the Sunshine Coast News, unfortunately with the same result. We realized that, without a definite date, we could spend a lot of time searching through the 1950’s with no guarantee of results.
Instead, we are turning to the readers of the Flying Shingle for help. If you know of someone who may remember this curious event, or know a similar story, or have any ideas about what happened to Entrance Island, please get in touch with us:
Phone: 250-247-9987 (leave a message)
Email: history@gabriolamuseum.org
While we were researching this subject Vera Wayman, a long time Gabriolan, provided several examples of mirages seen from Gabriola. Sadly Vera passed away shortly after telling her story; but watch for an article of Vera’s reminiscences on this fascinating subject coming soon in this newspaper.
