Tag: Art Den Duyf

Running WhistlerRunning Whistler

October 1, 2024 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

From World Cup downhills to IronMan triathlons to the annual October Turkey Trot, Whistler has been the host of countless athletic competitions and events featuring many different sports. The Alta Lake Sports Club was founded in 1975 and, though a lot of their efforts went to organizing cross-country ski trails and events, the group soon began organizing running events in the Whistler area. It was not until 1982, however, that Whistler hosted its first marathon.

Whistler’s first marathon and half-marathon took place on August 29, 1982 and drew 131 entrants, though Race Coordinator Tom Sutherland had earlier expected only 50 to 75 participants to sign up. A couple of weeks before the race, the course was carefully measured by Sutherland and Wayne Fisher using a Jones Counter, a bicycle odometer, after the pair rode a measured kilometre that was certified by local surveying company Brown & Associates.

Runners (mostly) stick to the shoulder of the road during the first Whistler Marathon and Half-Marathon. Whistler Question Collection, 1982

The 13.1 milo or 21.1 km course took runners from the bus loop in the Whistler Village, north along Highway 99, through White Gold Estates, back to the highway, into Alpine Meadows and down Rainbow Drive, along Alta Lake Road, back up the highway, through Brio, and then back onto Highway 99 and into the Village to finish at the bus loop. Those who chose to run the full marathon then ran the entire loop a second time.

While measuring the course, Sutherland and Fisher carefully placed milage markers to indicate distances and aid station locations. Unfortunately for them, two days after they marked the route, Alta Lake Road was sealcoated and all of their markers were gone. The process also left the road less than smooth and Highways District Manager Ron Winbow told organizers that crews would not be able to sweep the road until it had rained and the surface was damp, making it safe for the operators of the sweeping equipment. Thankfully for the race, Art Den Duyf of Sabre Bulldozing Ltd. agreed to use his equipment to water the stretch of road, allowing highways crews to follow behind with the sweeper.

Runners keep their heart rate up while the waiting for the train to pass through. Whistler Question Collection, 1982

Despite being described by many as a difficult course, most participants appear to have had a positive experience, including Stephanie Greenall who at fourteen was the youngest runner. She ran the half-marathon alongside her father Dave you, having completed the course, spontaneously decided to run it again and finish the full marathon. Former Whistler resident Dag Aabye who in 1982 was living in Squamish told the Whistler Question, “I’ve run in five marathons, and this one is great!” According to Murray Coates, the only full-time Whistler resident to register for the full marathon, “To say it was good would be an understatement. Everybody – the spectators, organizers, volunteers and runners – put all they had into it. It was mind-boggling how great it was.” Because it was the first time the event was held, winners of each category set new records, including Loreen Barnett, a member of the ALSC, who came first in the women’s marathon.

Runner Murray Coates eats his post-race watermelon while Myrtle Philip watches the festivities. Whistler Question Collection, 1982

The marathon and half-marathon event returned the next summer as part of the Whistler Fitness Festival held in July 1983 that also included the Whistler Molson Bicycle Race, a Windsurfing Regatta, and the Mr. Mountain Contest (the summer of 1983 also saw Whistler’s first triathlon). This time, almost 250 runners were registered, including local residents, repeat racers, and one couple from New York who decided that the race would be a great addition to their honeymoon.

In 1984, the half-marathon returned but the full marathon did not and, despite early hopes to establish the Whistler Marathon as part of a marathon circuit, the event appears to have stopped altogether in 1985. Today, Whistler hosts a variety of running events, including the Whistler Half-Marathon that began in the mid-2000s.

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Whistler’s Answers: October 28, 1982Whistler’s Answers: October 28, 1982

October 28, 2021 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

In the 1980s the Whistler Question began posing a question to three to six people and publishing their responses under “Whistler’s Answers” (not to be confused with the Whistler Answer).  Each week, we’ll be sharing one question and the answers given back in 1982.  Please note, all names/answers/occupations/neighbourhoods represent information given to the Question at the time of publishing and do not necessarily reflect the person today.

Some context for this week’s question: In August 1982, a contract for the construction of the Gondola Reservoir supply main was awarded to a North Vancouver firm named Ocean Point Contractors Ltd. and then rescinded and awarded to a local company, Coastal Mountain Excavation Ltd. This, and other tenders such as a snow clearing contract in October, led to questions from some people about the way the municipality tendered contracts.

Question: What do you think of municipal tendering practices?

Nigel Woods – Heavy construction contractor – Alpine Meadows

Their problem is they’re inconsistent. It’s of benefit to the area to give contracts to the local guys and if there is more than one of them then awarding should depend on performance.

Art Den Duyf – Contractor of sorts (owner of Sabre) – White Gold

The tendering is usually done properly. I just think it’s a pity at times that Council runs interference with its own staff.

Rick Crofton – Contractor – Alpine Meadows

They seem to leave a lot to be desired. I’m all for letting the local guys get the jobs and if two local contractors bid they should just split it.

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Moving HouseMoving House

October 1, 2019 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

Most people in Whistler are familiar with the process of moving house, including the packing, repacking, and unpacking.  Just about every person you meet has a story to share about moving to or within Whistler, but not many are able to tell you about the time they moved a house to Whistler.

Last week, however, we had someone do just that: Len Ritchie visited us at the museum to share his story of moving a 278 square metre (3,000 sq/ft) house from Garibaldi to White Gold in 1983.

Ritchie and his (not-yet-at-the-time) wife Patty first came to Whistler in 1975 and later moved to Whistler full-time, buying an empty lot in White Gold.  While driving Highway 99 in the fall of 1983, Len spotted a house on the side of the road with a sign proclaiming “For Sale $16,000 Delivered.”

Len and their dog pose next to the price of the house. Photo courtesy of Len Ritchie.

The unfinished house had originally been built at Garibaldi and the owner had decided to move the structure to a lot in Pinecrest.  Bob Moloughney of Squamish had been hired to move the house, but when the owner’s plans fell through Moloughney was left with the house.  He decided to sell it, including the cost of delivery in the price.

The house was sitting on the side of Highway 99, waiting to be moved. Photo courtesy of Len Ritchie.

Moving the house up the highway required some careful planning and could certainly disrupt traffic.  When Ritchie approached BC Hydro and BC Tel about dropping the lines during the move, he was told it would cost $16,000.  Instead, the decision was made to remove part of the roof from the house, bringing it down to a legal height to move under the lines, and move that piece separately.

The roof was reattached once the house reached its final resting place, and, according to Len, never leaked. Photo courtesy of Len Ritchie.

On the first day they got the house as far as Function Junction.  Ritchie recalled, “It was dark, and it was a little rainy, and we’re up on top with our poles to go under the lines.  So the logging truck, Valleau trucking, they were the driver, we had walkie-talkies, so he’d get up on the road and we’d get under a line and we’d go, ‘Hold it, hold it,’ and we’d push the line up, ‘OK, go ahead, go ahead,’ and that’s how we worked our way all of the way up the highway.”

The house waiting to cross the Fitzsimmons Creek Bridge into White Gold. Photo courtesy of Len Ritchie.

To get over the Fitzsimmons Creek Bridge, then the only access to White Gold, took more than four hours.  Lindsay Wilson, fire chief, left a truck in White Gold just in case a fire should occur while the house was occupying the bridge.  The house was jacked up using railway ties and the ends of the bridge railing were cut off, allowing the house to clear the bridge by mere centimetres.  After a while, White Gold residents came out to go to work and about their days, only to find that they couldn’t drive out.  Instead, Ritchie remembers, “If anybody needed to leave, I’d take their hand and bend down and crawl or crouch all the way.”  When the reached the other side, he had taxis waiting for them.

The house moved along the bridge just barely above the height of the railings. Photo courtesy of Len Ritchie.

The last stage of the move was up the hill to Ambassador Crescent.  After one perilous attempt at winching the house up the hill, Art Den Duyf kindly sent over a D6 Cat and a 988 loader to push and pull the house into place.  The top of the roof was then reattached and Ritchie, Patty and helpful friends took the next year and a half to fix the house up.

An excited group on the deck of the house, now on its lot and once again in one piece. Photo courtesy of Len Ritchie.

The house has since been sold a few times, but it is still standing.  In Ritchie’s opinion, the house that he first saw covered in tar paper, is now “a beautiful big house up there today,” and it has quite the story behind it.

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How McKeever’s Got Its NameHow McKeever’s Got Its Name

June 4, 2019 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 2 Comments

This past week we opened a new temporary exhibit at the museum featuring the various ways people have found a place to call home in the valley (the exhibit runs through July 31st so be sure to drop by!).  While putting together the exhibit we’ve spent quite a bit of time thinking about housing and development and what has and hasn’t changed.  We recently came across an article in the Squamish Citizen that featured the beginning of a building that has changed quite a bit while, in some ways, remaining the same: McKeever’s General Store.

On July 22, 1986 Sue Cote, a reporter for the Squamish Citizen, was invited to a groundbreaking ceremony in Alpine Meadows by Chuck Johnstone, the owner of the property at the corner of Alpine Way and Highway 99.  Attended by MLA John Reynolds, Alderman Paul Burrows, Michael and Mark Sadler of Sadler Brothers Building Ltd. and Harry McKeever, the actual breaking of the ground was done by Art Den Duyf and his grader (no spades were needed).

With approval from the neighbourhood and the RMOW, Johnstone planned to develop a convenience store and laundromat on the property.  The store would be owned and operated by McKeever and his sister Linda who committed to leasing the space.  After early reports of opposition to the store were published in the Whistler Question in October 1985 Alpine Meadows residents Sonya McCarthy and Margaret Kogler conducted a petition that showed overwhelming support for the idea.  By the end of 1986, the idea had become reality and residents now had access to McKeever’s General Store and Dirty Harry’s Laundromat.

Harry McKeever, Alpine Meadows resident, Vending Machine Operator. Whistler Question Collection, 1982.

McKeever’s was a well-known name in the valley well before the opening of this store.  Harry McKeever first came to Alta Lake on holiday in 1957.  In 1960 is family bought property and built a cabin in Alta Vista.  Not too long after that he moved up permanently and when Garibaldi Lifts began operating in 1965/66 McKeever became one of the company’s first lifities.  Working mainly in the gondola barn in the valley, McKeever became valley supervisor and stayed with Garibaldi Lifts until 1975.  According to a 1993 article by Bob Colebrook in the Whistler Answer, “McKeever could give seminars to today’s lifties on courtesy and friendliness, although he might have a hard time imparting his sincerity.”

Lifts were not McKeever’s only occupation; he ran a successful vending machine business between 1970 and 1990, supplying the valley’s game, pop and cigarette machines, and became known to some as Whistler’s “slot machine mogul”.  During his time in Whistler McKeever was also an early member of the Chamber of Commerce, on the Board of Directors of the Whistler TV Society, a member of the Whistler Rotary Club and the sponsor of Dirty Harry’s hockey team.

When McKeever’s General Store opened in 1986 it carried groceries, hardware, auto supplies and video rentals while the laundromat provided a welcome service to residents.  Shortly before they opened Linda McKeever stated, “We want to make the store a focal point for the neighbourhood,” a goal they certainly achieved.  McKeever’s provided a convenient location to pick up eggs or butter (especially if you already happened to be checking your mailbox) and for the children of the neighbourhood it was the closest place to buy popsicles in the summer.

When discussing the store with Colebrook in the early 1990s, Harry McKeever told him: “It’s excellent, it’s the first easy job I’ve had.  As the staff learns more and more my work gets less and less.  It’s a great way to keep in touch with the people.  Also, by having my name on the store I get a lot of people from twenty-five or thirty years ago coming in because they saw my name.”

The store has evolved since McKeever left the valley.  The laundromat (and the linoleum flooring) is gone, replaced by Alpine Cafe and the store is now named Alpine Meadows Market.  The McKeever name, however, will always be associated with the address: 8104 McKeevers Place.

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