Archive for October 28th, 2019

Don’t Never Tell Nobody Nothin’ No How. The real story of west coast rum running. Rick James.

Don’t Never Tell Nobody Nothin’ No How. The real story of west coast rum running. Rick James. 2018.  The author of Westcoast Chronicles has put together a good local history book, a history that was kept very secret.  I grew up in Fort Langley and knew of Harry Reifel  with his nearby  three Bellavista Farms  one of which had a covered thoroughbred race track.  Harry, who became immensely rich at it along with the Bronfmans,  plays a pretty key role in the commercialization of the West Coast rum running, which had its financial centre in Vancouver and operated out of many islands, and bays in the West Coast.  The Chief Skugat, one of two famous boats left from the run running days is now moored near Fort Langley.  Some of the other boats from those days I have seen cruising in BC over the years as luxury vessels.  A great story and very meaningful in how the West Coast survived the Depression. Rum running supported a host of businesses pouring jobs and money into the local economy.  It was a hoot to read that many of the mansions of Victoria’s Oak Bay were built with rum running proceeds.

Category: History

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