A life has ended, with the passing of a friend,
the memories of times, have come to an end"
- poet Abby Willowroot
Sadly, a small bit of Port Coquitlam history quietly slipped away on Aug. 23 with the passing of longtime resident Walter Carlson.
You may recall Walter's story in a Tri-City News article from February 2008 during Heritage of Business Week that described his hard work and dedication in owning and operating Medo-Land Farm Dairy from 1946 until 1967, literally starting from scratch with his brother Nils and partner Andy Erskine.
The dairy was located at 2353 Pitt River Rd., just west of the Shell gas station on the corner of Shaughnessy Street. Only a vacant lot marks the location of the once-thriving business, which was torn down in 1969.
Many young men and women from PoCo got their start working there at various times over the years, including Bill Marshall, Bob and Doug Rooney, Morley Deans, Bryan Wingrove, Gordon Routley and Lona Orr, just to name a few.
It was hard work pasteurizing and bottling the milk and making deliveries to their growing list of customers, although hard work and tough times were nothing new to Walter and Nils. The Carlson family previously had a dairy farm on 40 acres leased from the Canadian Pacific Railway around Coast Meridian Road and what's now Lougheed Highway in the 1920s and '30s. Their father Gabriel died suddenly in 1935 and Walter eventually had to quit school at age 16 in 1939 in order to take over the farm and milk deliveries.
Like the postman, neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet, nor hail kept Walter from delivering to his customers during those difficult years. You can also add "typhoon" to the list after Hurricane Freda in 1962 made getting around town a bit tricky, with all the fallen trees and power lines.
I met Walter late in his life, in 2006, when I first became interested in Port Coquitlam's history and heritage. He would come to the Heritage Display Centre on Mary Hill Road every week, usually bringing us some zucchini or tomatoes fresh from his garden. We would often spend an afternoon just talking about the old days. I will dearly miss the recollections and stories he shared.
This humble man's life ended just the way he had lived it: with honour and quiet dignity. As the past generations slowly grow old and fade away through the passing of time, we lose a bit of our history each and every day.
I miss my friend, but they will always be near, inside
of me, inside you, and all who took time to hear,
the music of this life so dear, a life now silent,
living only in the memory of those who survive.
Goodbye old friend.
Your History is a column in which, once a month, representatives of the Tri-Cities' three heritage groups writes about local history. Bryan Ness is with the Port Coquitlam Heritage and Cultural Society.
