On the trail of the golden spruce By Carolyn Walton
W
e’re the lone walkers on this short forested trail along the Yakoun River where once hundreds hiked in to marvel at the majestic grandeur of Kiidk’yaas, the vibrant Golden Spruce. This evergreen had a rare genetic mutation causing its needles to be golden in colour. Once venerated by the first nations people of Haida Gwaii, it is but a cherished memory, its story told in John Valiant’s best-selling book, “The Golden Spruce: A True Story of Myth, Madness and Greed.” My husband, Ross, had actually photographed the still-standing Sitka spruce before its tragic demise in 1997, so I wanted to follow this trail along the Yakoun River near Port Clements on Graham Island, to see if we could find any remains of this 200-year-old mighty giant that towered sixteen stories high, measured twenty feet around and could have lived another 600 years. Sadly, it was cut down by a 48-year old unemployed forest engineer, Grant Hadwin, as a political statement against industrial logging companies. He was later arrested, but disappeared on his way to trial. According to John Valiant’s book, what is believed might be Hadwin’s broken kayak and effects were found on a remote island some time after he went missing in a rough sea. Whether he had been killed, accidentally drowned, or left his belongings behind on purpose is not known. Alas, although we gaze across the river at the spot where Ross had photographed the tree, the underbrush has completely taken over and not even the stump can be seen. The only wood harvested from the tree was used by Nova Scotia luthier George Rizsanyi and broadcaster Jowi Taylor to make a guitar dedicated to Canadian history. Also included in the guitar were pieces of wood from Pierre Trudeau’s canoe paddle, Paul Henderson’s hockey stick and fabric from one of Karen Kain’s ballet costumes. Haida Gwaii proved to be most serendipitous indeed! Our hosts at Dorothy and Mike’s Guesthouse in Queen Charlotte City, knew Leslie Geddie, who ran a café and dress shop
A sad sign-post commemorating the demise of the much-revered Golden Spruce • Carolyn Walton photo
in Tlell and is now the Les behind Coombs’ and Bowser’s Dress for Les shops. Leslie’s sister Dawn Geddie along with partner, Morgan Bristol operated the town’s eclectic On the Rock boutique now called Funk It! But strangest was an encounter of another kind! When friends heard we were heading for Haida Gwaii, they suggested we look up potter John Davies, whose brother Dave Davies has a water colour studio in Qualicum Beach’s TOSH. On the island I entirely forgot the potter’s name so figured we wouldn’t meet. On our last day there, we were to return our rental vehicle by noon although our ferry to the mainland wasn’t leaving until evening. It was a gorgeous sunny warm day, we had lunch fixings with us so I suggested we pay the extra rental and enjoy our time left. We had driven north to visit the Crystal Cabin Gallery at Tlell to buy some of the island argillite carvings. Looking for a picnic site we passed an unmarked laneway leading to the ocean, turned around and drove in, only to come upon a private home. However, a sign marked Potter intrigued us so we parked and found a little shop behind the house. A couple came out and introduced themselves as John and Jennifer Davies, at which point, still not recalling the name, I asked if he could possibly have an artist brother in Qualicum Beach? According to brother Dave, ill health has since forced John to cut back on his pottery production, but their Bottle & Jug Works Studio still has items for sale. It also turned out that well-known carver Jeremy Humpherville, owner of the prestigious Coastal Carvings gallery in Coombs, grew up nearby and as a boy would come over to the Davies’ to work with clay! A fitting finale to our serendipitous adventures on Haida Gwaii. ~ Travel questions? Contact me at wordsbywalton@shaw.ca
EyesOnBC Magazine | www.eyesonbc.com | May 2012
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