The Campbell River Maritime Heritage Centre

About the Book

"Old Stinky was the abandoned sewage treatment tank on the seashore at the edge of down town Campbell River. Removal of the series of steel reinforced concrete tanks that had served as waste digesters for 40 years was a daunting task that contractors shunned. However, little daunted the members of the Campbell River Rotary Breakfast Club. They saw the possibilities for a community service project that would turn the useless piece of real estate into a marine oriented Community Center with a home for the famous $5 Bill boat; the BCP45, a wooden fishing seiner built in 1927 whose picture graced the back of the Canadian $5 bill for many years. Under leadership of Rotarians, the community joined in a volunteer effort that made an impossible project possible. People joined to donate thousands of hours of labor and business donated materials, to make the project financially possible. This book documents the four years of effort that went into the creation of the Maritime Heritage Centre.

About the Author

Warren Thompson was born in 1914 and raised on a remote cattle ranch in Western Montana. Growing up during the roaring twenties with Model T Fords, cow ponies and flappers, he gained a unique perspective on life. During the “Dirty Thirties,” he worked his way through most of a four-year University of Montana major in journalism, only to find that writing was a tough way to make a living during a depression. Salesmanship was easier and his entire career was devoted to small business. With his recently deceased wife and partner of 66 years, Rhoda, he lived a full and complete life. Both he and Rhoda were light plane pilots and flew their own aircraft over much of the western world. They traveled extensively, mostly in third world countries. His long life of varied experiences equipped him to write his first novel at age 90. His second book, a documentary on the Maritime Heritage Centre, was finished before his 94th birthday.