the common bond between seafood and books
What do books and seafood have in common?
Unfortunately, there is no hilarious punch-line (at least that I'm aware of). But, a Vancouverite who gives the question enough thought might come up with the answer I had in mind: Joe Fortes.
I've lived in Vancouver for five years and in the West End for over three years, within walking distance of the Joe Fortes branch of the Vancouver Public Library and the Joe Fortes Seafood Restaurant. And, despite the references, I only discovered today who Joe Fortes is.
I stubbled upon the story of Joe Fortes quite by accident while perusing one of my favorite websites: the City of Vancouver Archives photo site. I love using the search feature to type in local landmarks and West End street names to get a glimpse of what the city looked like before the era of concrete apartment buildings and glass condominiums.
This morning, I searched for Stanley Park and found these gems, dating from 1890s and early 1900s:
Then, I queried "English Bay", with the following being a small sample of the results:
The first photo was captioned: "Joe (Seraphim) Fortes in front of his tent at English Bay". Who was Joe Fortes, exactly?
❝ One of the best-known of British Columbia's early Black pioneers would have to be Seraphim "Joe" Fortes, a man who has had much written about his presence in Vancouver from 1885 to 1922. Despite the many words describing his life in Vancouver, however, very little appears to be known about the man himself... [H]e arrived in Vancouver aboard a three-masted barque ... eventually settling in a small cottage on English Bay near Stanley Park. With his home so close to the water, it is no surprise that he became the official lifeguard and keeper of the beach, where he saved many lives and taught hundreds of children how to swim. Archival notes attribute Joe with establishing English Bay as a primary swimming beach for 'the residents of Vancouver. The location today is still one of the most popular swimming and sunbathing areas in the Lower Mainland. (via the Black Historical Cultural Society)
❝Seraphim “Joe” Fortes ... was a former sailor, originally from Barbados and then Liverpool, and a legendary figure in the early history of Vancouver, Canada. After moving to the city in 1885 (the year before it was incorporated), he worked as a labourer and bartender (at the Sunnyside Hotel on Maple Tree Square in Gastown), then became a fixture at English Bay Beach, where he lived in a small cottage, acted as unofficial security guard, and taught hundreds of children how to swim. The city appointed the burly, friendly man, who had been a competitive swimmer in England, as its first official lifeguard at the turn of the twentieth century.
When he died in 1922, Vancouver held a record-breaking funeral procession for Fortes, which was especially unusual because he was one of the city's few black citizens at the time. Even in the twenty-first century, Vancouverites remember him with a monument near the site of his home, a branch of the Vancouver Public Library, and a well-known downtown restaurant, named after him when it opened in 1985, one hundred years after he arrived in Canada.
When he died in 1922, Vancouver held a record-breaking funeral procession for Fortes, which was especially unusual because he was one of the city's few black citizens at the time. Even in the twenty-first century, Vancouverites remember him with a monument near the site of his home, a branch of the Vancouver Public Library, and a well-known downtown restaurant, named after him when it opened in 1985, one hundred years after he arrived in Canada.
(via Wikipedia)
I now find myself wishing I had known the history of Joe Fortes sooner, because I don't think that most people in Vancouver know about him and I'd have liked to spread the word. My sense is that, when asked "what do you know about Joe Fortes?", Vancouverites are more likely to describe the roof-top patio or the menu than the black man that lived near English Bay and taught people how to swim.Some more photos of Joe, from the Archives:
And a couple more photos of Stanley Park (the first - taken near Second Beach) and English Bay (the second one - view of what is now Kits Beach from the West End)
(I had attached more photos, but they seemed to have disappeared en route from my email to Posterous. I encourage you to check out the Archives site - it's "win")
