Dear Editor:
The photo of the Windermere Beach cottages [September 7th issue] was taken by a Calgary photographer named Stillings and was later used as a postcard. Perhaps readers would be interested to know that cabin rates were $2.50 per night, including fire wood and linens that were changed weekly.
There was indoor plumbing, but since BC Hydro had not yet reached the area, electricity was provided on-site. No electric refrigerators could be used, but there were communal iceboxes, using ice from the lake stored for summer use.
At about 11 p.m., my father would flick the lights, letting everyone know that power would cease in about 30 minutes!
The only radio station available was the CBC, and radios were powered by a batteries. My parents had a loudspeaker set up outside the camp store where adults would congregate in the early evening to listen to the world news. World War Two was, of course, taking place during the early 1940s.
Building lots in adjacent Calberley (a Calgary/Kimberley name) were selling for less than $200 and families spent the summer at their cottages there with fathers carpooling to come visit on the weekends (gas, of course, was rationed).
For the children of this era, it was a magical time, playing outdoor games late into the evening and of course swimming and boating during the day. On Saturday evenings, there was a bonfire with singsong, hotdogs and marshmallows provided. Those of us who have these memories are very grateful.
Bernice (Stoddart) Hathaway
Parksville, B.C.
