Editor:
Re: Childhood at hotel (letter, March 28 issue of the Grand Forks Gazette)
The letter from Bob McTavish in the March 28 Gazette regarding the Grand Forks Hotel prompted me to share a few memories of my own.
My parents bought the hotel in 1944 and yes, there were white linen tablecloths and serviettes on the tables as well as settings of silver cutlery. Breakfast was 35 cents, lunch 65 cents and dinner 85 cents, soup and dessert included.
In 1948, when the downtown core was flooded, the water came up so quickly everything in the basement was either damaged or ruined, including the furnace and refrigeration unit for the bar.
Although the water also receded quickly, the pumps ran for days to clear the basement. I still recall empty beer kegs floating around. Fortunately the main floor was spared.
Upon the sudden death of my father in 1953, my mother and sister became the first women in B.C. to have their names on a liquor licence, enabling them to tend the bar and I followed when I became of age. That in itself was an experience!
In 1956, she undertook a major renovation of the bar and some of my wedding pictures were taken there. Special permission had to be given by the Liquor Control Board to close the bar for the occasion.
Growing up in the hotel was a wonderful learning experience for me, although I didn’t realize or appreciate it until years later. Friendships were formed that extended years after my mom sold the hotel in 1959.
It was a sad morning on March 7 when I heard the hotel was ablaze. I’ve yet to drive by and see the grand old lady in ruins.
Caroline Farion Palm, Grand Forks