Elida Peers | Contributed
We don’t see much of tug-of-war teams these days, but there was a time when they were all the rage.
A perfect example is this photo provided by Trudy Davies Pearson, dated Sept. 8, 1966, which included her dad, Gerry Davies.
Folks will remember that one of the biggest employers that this district has ever seen was the Sooke Forest Products Sawmill (later called Lamford) on Goodridge Peninsula. This sawmill was Sooke’s major employer for four decades, between 1950 and 1990, with three shifts working around the clock.
Recently, a reunion was held for former mill employees, with almost 100 turning up to shake hands and tell tales. These folks would all have been young men and women when the mill ceased operations. With all the hefty teammates wearing SFP sweatshirts and showing their trophies, this photo was left with us.
Standing left, Alvin Isaac, Gerry Davies, Larry Larochelle, Dick Thut, George Davies, and Archie Pollock. At the front left is Ian Humphries, the team coach, who we are told was the trimsaw operator at the mill. I’m afraid we haven’t been able to identify the other kneeling gentleman.
Ron Dumont, one of the recent reunion organizers, tells us that he pulled on the tug-of-war team as well during the early 1960s. He recalls them as part of the All Sooke Day events at that time and pulling against the team of Sooke River Logging, run by Eddie Eve.
We noticed the American Stars and Stripes flying along with Canada’s Union Jack in the photo background. We’ve learned from Phil and Reg Davies, whose dad George is in the photo, that one of the teams the group pulled against was the U.S. Navy.
Sadly, we believe that only one member of this team is still with us, Dick Thut, and he recalls that they often competed at the Highland Games events at Athletic Park in Victoria.
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Elida Peers is the historian of the Sooke Region Museum. Email historian@sookeregionmuseum.com.
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