When Things Come Together And People Give Back....

Dave H

Well-Known Member
Back in 1996 the then existing SSBC Branch at Campbell River built a small memorial rest area on the Quinsam River called Eric's Riffle.
It was a memorial for two young people lost in accidents related to steel-heading, one being Eric Hanley and the other Doug Bruce.
A shelter above a swing, a picnic table and a large barrel for garbage were all part of it and it has served well for all the years since it was built, and I've been looking after the garbage barrel for many years now.

Recently a young fellow approached me and asked about the roof on the shelter, pointing out it was old and deteriorating and he'd actually fixed a leak recently.
He said he was a roofer by trade and thought he might be able to facilitate a new roof if he could get some of his friends in the industry onside.
To that end he invited me to meet a friend of his, actually his old boss at one time, so I did, and this is what happened.

Lucas, the original guy, introduced me to Matt Storie, owner of 2nd. Storie Contracting, and a roofing specialist.
We looked over the old roof with the idea that Plan A would be to replace the cedar shingles with new ones, if we could get some. I was dismayed to find they are over a grand a square nowadays, so out of my price range, but Matt thought he might be able to get a donation from a guy he knew and then trim or resaw any bad ones.
That didn't fly, so Plan B it was.
Matt said he had lots of metal roofing pieces left over from jobs and he'd be happy to supply that, plus the scaffolding required for access to the roof and all that. He also offered his truck and a couple of workers.

I contacted Ed, the hatchery manager at the Quinsam Hatchery, and ran the plan by him, our main concern being they close the gate at 3:30 PM daily and we might be longer there and needed an exit protocol.
Ed was very supportive and helpful and arranged for our exit as required.
A tip of my hat to him.

So, last Saturday, at 1:30 PM, the crew arrived and tackled the project.
Some photos to illustrate.

Here's the shelter with old roof and regular user Rollie, aka Guardian Of The Garbage Barrel crossing in front.
From time to time he has cleaned up after a bear has stuck his snout in the barrel and rooted something out, not a common thing and Rollie's cleanup is appreciated.



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Here's Lucas Balcom and Danny Rheault tearing off the old shingles.

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New underlay plywood, stained to blend in, and the first metal piece in place.
Once the main pieces covered the roof the side panels had to be created and installed.
That was done by a fellow named Erick Korhonen, owner of Logical Sheet Metal and a master bender and fitter.

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Here's the finished job, which looks good and fits into the environment too.
Shouldn't take long to develop some patina, being under an old tree.
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Here's the crew, listed below from left to right.
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Matt couldn't make it so Rollie stood in for him, far left.
The bearded gent is James Strong, who works for Matt and donated his time and skills.
Next is Erick Korhonen of Logical Sheet Metal who donated his time and skills.
Next is Lucas Balcom, the initiator of the project who got the others involved. He used to work for Matt.
Next is Danny Rheault, another employee of Matts, who also donated his time and skills.
Far right is Tamsyn Gregory, girlfriend of Lucas and keen participant in the project also.

Not shown is Matt Storie, but he deserves a huge THANK YOU for supplying his truck, all the materials, the scaffolding plus two current employees.
He refused my offers to pay for his gas and the tipping fee at the dump and threatened me with a pointy stick if I brought the subject up any further.

Anyway, just a shout out to two small businesses who give back to their community plus the people who jumped in to make it happen.

I am so stoked this happened and that memorial will carry on for many more years.

There is life outside the Tyee Pool.




Take care.
 
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