Postscript

View from ferry that brings you into Ocean Falls today.

I often think of our days in Ocean Falls, but organising my thoughts and honing my memory for this project has had some unexpected benefits. When I first started, Lis told me she had some souvenirs that she had kept in a scrapbook from those days. I was amazed to see some very interesting artifacts and memorabilia. There were newspaper articles, Crown Zellerbach newsletters, pulp test samples, test charts from the paper testing station, letters written on various types of paper that I had just tested and was hot off the machines, and some incredible town site maps from the engineering department dated from the 1950's. If I ever go back to Ocean Falls, I will have to take them with me and donate them to the museum there.
I knew we had kept our letters from those days, when the phone service was unreliable and we did not see each other for months at a time. There were well over 250 letters (just the ones I had written) and after reading them over a period of a few weeks, I was totally back in the frame of mind that inspired me to write them. The old feelings of waves of loneliness came back, as I described my life in the hotel and working long hours and not seeing the sun for many days on end. I read them in chronological order and as the letters progressed, I could see my thoughts developing and some maturity setting in. I believe a renewed love for my wife has also been re-kindled in the process. It is easy to forget the days of long ago when we are so wrapped up in today. But I was reminded why I fell in love with Lis and why I loved her so much, and why we were willing to wait for each other as the months dragged by.
There have also been other serendipity's. I have done some research and found some really great sites with tons of photo archives and stories. I have joined a "Yahoo Group" open only to former residents of Ocean Falls and have opened communications with a few people from there. I have not yet connected with some of my favourite people but it may yet happen.
I mentioned my friend who was in the car with me, when I had the accident that led to me taking the safe driving course in Ocean Falls. We have just in the last few weeks 'found' each other. In those days he lived right next door to me. Today, he again lives close, but this time three houses down and across the street in a town home complex. We have been out for coffee twice and are renewing our old friendship.
I realise that not 100% of my tale will be 100% accurate, but my recollections are based on the letters, the articles, and mostly my memory. I realise that time can warp reality, but there was not an intention to mislead or misrepresent. These were my memories and my recollections. It has been a cathartic, nostalgic, and most enjoyable time travel experience for me. I hope whoever reads these blog posts will find it worthwhile, a bit entertaining and a bit educational.

Thanks for reading, you do me a great honour.