We are here
September 2020
The registration papers for the Gold Bridge Community School have been delivered. We are here for the fall, with the caveat that if anyone of us is really miserable, we can re-think the scheme.
Now that the decision is made, the declaration to neighbours and locals is occurring at a rapid rate.
Our biggest fan is the librarian.
The Gold Bridge branch of the Lillooet Library is open three days a week. On this particular visit, she and I chatted about all the usual topics: weather, road conditions, and animal sighting/encounter news (eg wolverine attacked someone's dog this week, cougar spotted on side roads). Her delight that our kids would be Kid-Number-Eight-And-Kid-Number-Nine at the school was genuine and touching. As the librarian for 19 years, she has watched the number of pupils shrink over the two decades with jobs and families leaving the valley. She was quick to spot a keener community newbie—I agreed to helping her out on Thursday afternoons before picking up the kids from the school (across the street).
My first helping hour was a lesson in small town mellow pace—there is not a drip of city rush or go-go-go in the place. I am surprised at how connecting the little bit of weekly volunteer time is as she introduces me to nearly every patron. She contextualizes each person for me and shares the good news of our family’s arrival at the school with those I’m being introduced to.
What a dear.
Our cabin is 20 min from Gold Bridge. Although there are only 40-50 year round residents, Gold Bridge is the centre for this upper part of the Bridge River Valley, which includes recreation-residential areas at Gun Lakes, Tyaughton Lake (Tyax Lodge), Marshall Creek, and Bralorne (as well as nearby ghost towns Bradian, Brexton and the old Pioneer Mine).
In the early 1900s, Gold Bridge began as a merchandising and services centre next to to the company-run gold mining towns. At its peak, there was a big range of establishments from insurance and stockbrokers to bootleggers and ‘sporting houses.’
Nowadays, Gold Bridge is small indeed but its importance to our family is growing as many weekly ‘happenings’ occur here: checking for mail at the post office; getting the garbage to the dump; delighting in the ice cream treats at the country store; AND perusing the library books as our new friend warmly looks on.