Lake Cowichan: From Village to Town

Since my time as a BC Notary in Lake Cowichan, I have seen it grow from a village to a town.

It feels like a long way away from the fancy downtown Vancouver law firms where I used to work, although they had their charm and character. I miss catching a ride from the firm’s bicycle courier (Mike Bike) down to the local pub for a drink after work with all my co-workers, the fancy Christmas parties, the noon “makeup seminars” for the ladies (so we would look our best), and meetings in the Boardrooms with the lawyers. Each giant law firm was its own village.

Lake Cowichan is fairly remote; there’s a real sense of community. My clients pick the hay off my clothes because, in addition to running a Notary practice, I own animals. Living in Lake Cowichan has afforded me the opportunity to live out my dream of having horses. I didn’t mean to have five horses, but the mare I rescued from the Dawson Creek auction 2 years ago was pregnant and I didn’t know that.

I rode my horse to the bar and, since it is technically an “inn,” I joked with the owners that they had a legal obligation to provide me with a hitching post and water—and they did.

For the past years, I’ve bought all my hay from fields owned by my Notary clients the Robertsons, from Mesachie Lake. I need about 1200 bales of hay a year. If l run out, another client will sell me a top-up.

Last year I got 860 bales from the fields in Mesachie Lake. Lifting and stacking them built up my arm muscles so much, I won the “Ladies Longest Drive” contest at the Bear Mountain Notary Golf Tournament. I was hitting the ball a very long way.

This year we fertilized and got double the yield—1745 bales. I just about fell off my chair when I heard the bale count. It’s an all-or-nothing deal.

Pat with Rutt, her niece’s horse

The beauty of a small town is that when you put the word out, people show up to help. Keith Nelson, owner of Countrywide Real Estate, loaned me his flatbed trailer and brought over his two very cute grandsons Ryker and Roczen for a couple of evenings to help. Keith and I have worked together for about 25 years. He switched his career from the logging industry to real estate back about the time I arrived here. He helped a lot with the tiedown of the hay—important when you have 150 bales sitting on the back of a vehicle. LOL!!!

My client and friend Jeannie brought her truck and flatbed and ferried 116 bales for me; my neighbour and client Brad who owns a donkey came with a flatbed behind his truck; my son Robert rounded up his teenage friends who were the strength of the operation. The parents of the teenagers were almost all clients of my Notary practice, as well.

It feels good to support my clients’ hay businesses as well as employ some of their family members. I was literally racing out to the hay fields between Notaryclient appointments, trying to get it all in as fast as possible before the elk railroaded the bales or before it rained. It did rain on about 300 bales on the last day!

The marketing techniques in a small town are much different

House call to my client Mrs. Burnstein

than in the city. When I first moved here, I was warned not to go to the local bar because it was a pretty tough place. I’m glad I didn’t listen. I rode my horse to the bar and, since it is technically an “inn,” I joked with the owners that they had a legal obligation to provide me with a hitching post and water—and they did. I bought beer for all the locals. It was the best marketing technique ever for my circumstance.

I had a corral built around my office so I could ride to work. I used to love my commute but the old draft horses are too old now to make the journey, although I still trailer them there to mow the lawn occasionally.

My new horses are not ready for town yet, but I’m working on it. s Pat Thomson is a BC Notary in Lake Cowichan. I have been a Notary for over 30 years and have used a variety of software solutions for my conveyancing practice. We switched to ProSuite and we have been extremely happy with the product. A great product and a great company to work with!

Patricia Wright, Notary Public

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A visit to the A & W for ice cream pucks all around!