British Columbia Forest Products Ltd.

[camptramp]

I'll send you a private message , I'm sure we have a lot in common , if your related to George Phillips .

No response to this or a PM . I spent quite a few years in the Port Renfrew area and the only Phillips I recall is the family of George Phillips . I think George was originally from Vancouver . He went to work in a shop at a logging camp in one of the Inlets on the mainland coast of B.C. across the Georgia Straits from Campbell River . BCFP bought out several Logging outfits in the mid 1940's - early 1950's that they shut down for a period of time then "contracted out" . Quite often BCFP would offer good worker's and valued employee's a job in one of their other bigger operations that they continued to operate under the company name and management . George Phillips was moved to the Harris Creek Camp in Renfrew Div. where he stayed as a Heavy Duty Mechanic in the truck shop for the rest of his working career , keeping a fleet of Off Highway Kenworths , HDX Hays and P16 Pacific logging trucks maintained and repaired . At some point George would have become senior mechanic . Good guy , if you had a question , he would take the time to answer it .
After hours he had a side business fixing the locals private vehicles . And for many years was a member of the Volunteer Fire Department .

 

[Welder Dave]

Hopefully Renfrew comes back.

 

[Renfrew]

I'll send you a private message , I'm sure we have a lot in common , if your related to George Phillips .

He was my pops
Miss him dearly

 

[camptramp]

He was my pops
Miss him dearly

George was a good man , If he wasn't busy keeping "his trucks" on the road , he was pulling wrenchs for someone else .

 

[Renfrew]

This abandoned line loader is just one of many relics of logging history resting in the valley, its slowly being picked apart by those who knows its location, please if you know, keep it secret, some crazy individual cut the boom line dropped the boom and stole the grapple a year back
My pops has a ton of pics of his time here in renfrew I’ll be starting to post them, from early camp life to “his fleet” of logging trucks he looked after
Some of my best memories were Friday nights in the shop as a wee kid with pops and his workmates and the test drives in the HDX trucks to the “special magazines” in the lunchroom in the shop

 

[donkey doctor]

SAD !

 

[exploring]

I'd love a copy if one exists of a map of the San juan Valley rail lines as well

 

[Truck Shop]

My pops has a ton of pics of his time here in renfrew I’ll be starting to post them, from early camp life to “his fleet” of logging trucks he looked after

I will be watching for those.

 

[exploring]

View attachment 204000 View attachment 204001 View attachment 204002 View attachment 204003 View attachment 204000 View attachment 204001 View attachment 204002 View attachment 204003 Hiked into the Bear Creek Skidder with a couple of friends on Sunday .

Are you able to Private message me a general area to find this?

 

[exploring]

Hey Steve I posted a few pics of the old logging equipment that I have found up the coast at Teakern Arm. I know where the old skidder was left at Bear Creek. I doubt the old home tree is still standing after all these years, I've heard it is down. Never gave any thought to going back in there the old road must be long gone.

Are you able to give me a general idea of the location on the skidder

 

[Renfrew]

Hello friends
I found this BCFP forestry tag while digging clams just above the cove bridge a few days ago
Can anyone fill me in on the origins of this tag

 

[Hallback]

Looks to me like a pressed tag that came off of a spool of 300 ft of 3/4-in round rope

 

[Welder Dave]

Wonder if it could be for wire rope from a yarder or something?

 

[Hallback]

Wonder if it could be for wire rope from a yarder or something?

It could possibly be a telescoping line or raising line for a Skagit, a live boom gantry line for a swinger or possibly a grub line for a grapple/MSP yarder

 

[camptramp]

It could possibly be a telescoping line or raising line for a Skagit, a live boom gantry line for a swinger or possibly a grub line for a grapple/MSP yarder

What ever it was for will remain a mystery , but WD your correct . Probably stapled to a wooden spool . It must have been laying in the mud for many years , as the Harris Creek Camp was shut down around 1962 .

 

[skyking1]

That's a pretty neat artifact, the spool is gone but the label remains.
Mclennan Mcfeely & Prior was a big supplier of the time.
I found this neat building that still stands from the 1930's that bears the company name.
https://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=3501

Here is a more complete history of the company, and an interesting connection to the Buchart family of Buchart gardens fame.
http://www.butchartgardenshistory.com/mclennan-mcfeely-prior-co-ltd/

 

[Welder Dave]

Acklands history is a little off. Their head office was based out of Winnipeg I believe. It was Manitoba for sure, the same as Ashdowns Hardware which Acklands bought in 1970 when the sons didn't want to carry on with the business. My grandpa had a long career with Ashdowns and was the Calgary branch manager and also on the board of directors. Ashdowns was larger than Acklands. My grandpa got a new car every year during the 30's depression.

 

[Hallback]

What ever it was for will remain a mystery , but WD your correct . Probably stapled to a wooden spool . It must have been laying in the mud for many years , as the Harris Creek Camp was shut down around 1962 .

That alone makes it a pretty damn cool find