New life is being breathed into an old way of life.
Float camp life will soon be on display at the Port Hardy Museum.
“A surprisingly large number of North Islanders have spent at least part of their lives living in float houses and/or living in float camps while hand-logging along the B.C. coast,” said Jane Hutton, museum curator.
“Some loggers worked alone, but others had float camps with room for anywhere from three or four to 200 men — lots of families lived in float camps, too.”
Although the men-only camps could be pretty basic, the family homes often had gardens and room for children to play on their fenced floats.
“Floating schools were not uncommon,” said Hutton.
“And the GWG camp — home to the original Avalon school — had its own floating church.”
Besides the usual display of artefacts and lots of photographs, there is a special surprise feature to the exhibit, one Hutton refused to divulge before the April 28 opening of the exhibit.
“My lips are sealed,” she said.
However, an attraction is former float camp residents can mark their locations on a map of the coast.
The exhibit opens Saturday and the public is invited to the exhibit opening Saturday, April 28, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
It runs through September.