Editorially speaking...
Well, another historic Cowichan Valley icon bit the dust this week.
The E&N overpass on Shawnigan Lake Road has been heavily damaged by a truck driver who ignored the sign warning of the height restriction.
This landmark goes back to the very building of the E&N in the early 1880s.
The attractive rock work of hand-hewn sandstone was quarried at Koksilah, just north of St. Andrew’s Anglican Church, Cowichan Station, almost opposite Bright Angel Park.
Even if the E&N returns to service, an ever more unlikely scenario, the old Shawnigan Lake Road span might not be returned to use with its original components.
Chalk up another one for ‘progress’...
*****
Doris Gravlin has become a modern legend.
This week’s Chronicle is the conclusion to the two-part serial on Doris Gravlin, reputedly B.C.’s most famous ghost. The two promos that appeared on my other website, www.twpaterson.com, and Facebook drew a score of responses, including some from people who claim to have seen Doris—or something—on or near the Victoria Golf Course.
Here two of them:
Chelsea Gillis - Used to live in Vic and would drive through that golf course to get home often enough. If dark out I would always speed up—it was [an] eerie, hair raising place at night.
A few friends claimed to have seen her. I never did.
Lynne Trace - Late one evening mom and I felt it would be interesting to drive to the Golf Course to see if the ghost lady was wandering. My German Shepherd came with us and he promptly fell asleep in the back seat.
We parked in the right area and not much of interest happened. A couple of people wandered by but there was nothing unusual about them. It was getting late when we decided nothing was going to happen so we should head back home.
But then, across the grass and near some bushes, a white mist started to form. At first we thought it might be fog drifting in from the ocean. But it wasn’t very big and started to form an upright shape. We didn’t say anything but just watched.
Suddenly my dog stood up on the back seat and started to growl.
We turned to look at him and saw he was staring directly at the “foggy” shape in front of us.
We went home.
* * * * *