Se cee a ae

‘Island.

- robes,

10, ENTERTAINMENT, THE HERALD, Wed. July 14, 1976

THE “BUTTER CHURCH” ©
By Jean MacKenzie

. Eritish Columbia’s major
_ hietways are punctuated by

distinctive green and gold
signs that mark the,

province’s historic sites.,

There are other points of
interest--off the beaten
track-that are also worth
seeking out. One of these is
the Old Stone Church which
overlooks Cowichan Bay,

‘near Duncan on Vancouver

Island. Sometimes called

the “Butter Church”, this

little building played a part

in the early history of our

province.
‘In 1858-the year of the
Fraser. River gold rush--

. Father Peter Rondeault

arrived. on Vancouver
Though _ first
assigned to the “‘civilized”’

“surroundings of .Fort Vic-

toria, the young priest
longed to work among the
Indian People. His bishop,
Mgr. Demers, finally
agreed and .34-year-old
Rondeault, ‘‘with a sack of
flour, a gun and his
-breviary” headed into the
wilderness. He travelled

north, up the Saanich”

Peninsula and crossed by
canoe to Cowichan Bay. His
task--to evangelize the
“Comiaken’’ Indians. They
made him welcome and
soon many of their number

"were attending services in
~ his little log . cabin--part

church and part -house.

Five years later, their

conversion was a factor in a

. quarrel with the nearby

Quamichans. Father
Rondeault sent word of the
impending trouble and the

little Royal Navy gunboat .

Forward hastened to the

“scene. Then, on Comiaken
Hill overlooking the bay, the .

missionary called the people
together and Bishop
Demers, imposing in his
rebuked the

permanent

troublemakers. Backed up

by the implied threat of the —

Forward’s tiny cannon, he
exacted their pledge of good
behavior. .

Perhaps not entirely
unrelated to this incident
was Father Rondeault's
determination to press on
with the construction of a
church,
designed in the style of his
native Quebec. This was to
be a stone building 64 feet
(20 metres) long and 30 feet
(nine metres) wide, with

walls over 16 feet (five

metres) tall and a “tower
and gable 20 feet (six
metres) higher than the rest
of the structure.’’.

_The sandstone was.

quarried from Comiaken
Hill itself and broken into
workable size, according to
one account, with a cannon-
ball, souvenir of an earlier

ROAM

A TRAVEL BRITISH COLUMBIA FEATURE |

disagreement with. white ' ae:

authority.

The native people labored
Jong and well-to build their

church, cutting the stone
and bringing it to the con-
sturction site. A
stonemason, William
Williams of Victoria, came
to act as ‘building
superintendent”’ and ac-
cording to a news. report of
the time, Father Rondeault
worked “‘as regularly and
faithfully with Mr. Williams
as if employed by the day’.
‘Not only missionary,
mason and_ carpenter,
Rondeault became a farmer
and dairyman as well.
Butter from his ‘‘two cows’”’
was sold to buy the skilled
labor, the mortar and the.
other necessities for con-.
struction.
Finally, in 1870 the
“Butter Church’? was:
completed--a, triumph of
faith and hard work. It was.
in use for a decade and then,
for various reasons,
reluctantly abandoned. A
new chapel, more centrally

ne ; : . _ . 2 : : .
| Dining;Room Open
ee et eae

Buffet

/

. 7 a
. '

4828 Hwy. 16 West ©
Terrace, B.C. |

11:30 AM, = 1:30 PAM
°° SAUNA BATH
~... .SWIMMING POOL —

635-9151

Lunch

located and on church
property, was built. The old
stone church, its doors and

' windows ’removed, fell into

disrepair. The belfry top-
pled and the hard winter
sains all but destroyed the
roof, Father Rondeault died.
Pioneer ‘days became
modern times. ,
Then in 1958, as a Cen-
tennial
Cowichan Indian Band
restored the little sanc-
tuary.. Thanks to their
cooperation, it may be
visited today. 7

_Only five miles. (eight
' kilometres) north of Mill ©
Bay on Highway 1 is the

Cowichan Bay road. A right.
turn at this junction leads

past marinas and lumber -

project, the:

yards for a further five
miles (eight kilometres) to
Tzouhalem Road and onto
Cowichan Bay Indian land. |
The church can be seen on
the left-hand side of the
road, one mile further
along. Those who wish fora
closer look may drive on
slightly past the church toa

‘small, unmarked parking

space on the. left. There a
zig-zag trail climbs beneath
broad-leaved maples and
through tall grass to a side
of the church, an approach |
which does not intrude on
the privacy of the homes
that cluster at the base of
the hill _
The short climb is well
worth the effort..At close.
hand the church. is’ sur-

Sinatra to meet _

prisingly large. The thick
stone walls stand firm, their
buttresses frescoed . with
lichen. The arching windows
offer serene views of sky,
green-clad hills and_ blue
sea. Like an insistent finger,
the steeple stabs the sky.

- Those who contributed to -

the restoration of the
“Butter Church”
preserved a worthwhile

fragment of our history. In -

addition, they have ensured
ait enduring monument to
the man who planned it--and
to. the

to build it... =.
(This Roam at Home travel

feature is provided by the
British Columbia Depart-

ment of Recreation and -

Travel Industry.)

Miss PNE contestants

 ‘Fickets ‘to the Frank
Sinatra. Show, an on-stage

. appearance with Lawrence
|) Welk... these are just two of
- the ‘highlights planned for

contestants in the Miss PNE
Pageant at the annual

- Pacific National Exhibition

August 21 through Sep-
tember 6. ‘

A total of 40 contestants,
representing communities
throughout the province,
will. be booked into the Hotel
Vancouver on August 20.

The next day they will be
featured in the ever-popular
PNE. Parade, a_ colorful
event seen -by hundreds of
thousands. of people lining
the route, as well as by a
substantial television

‘| audience...

' In ‘the evening the girls
will attend the opening
ceremonies and will be ©
guests at the Frank Sinatra
Show, which-is the kick-off
for the Star Spectacular '76

series in the Pacific.
Coliseum. Initial enquiries
for tickets to this show in-
dicate that it will bea
sellout.

On Sunday, August 22, the
event-filled social calendar
continues with . the

traditional’ garden and |

swimming party hosted by
Dr. J.R. MacLean at_ his
home on Southwest Marine

Drive. A visit to Playland ©

completes the Sunday
schedule. =

Monday the girls will

‘appear in the first of two on-

stage performances. They
will be on the Pacific
Coliseum ‘stage in. the af-
ternoon and in the evening
return: to the Coliseum
where they will be in-
troauced on stage by
Lawrence Welk.
Tuesday night the suc-
cessor to. Leanne Moore of
Abbotsford, Miss PNE ‘75,

‘Pageant finals in the Pacific

Coliseum. As usual, the
winner will receive many
prizes. including a cheque

rom the PNE for $1,000, an.

“Qsear’’ statuette, a

modelling course and a

lifetime pass to Playland.
Communities represented
in this year’s Miss PNE

Pageant are: Abbotsford, . .

Burnaby, Cariboo, |
Castlegar, Chilliwack, ~..
Cranbrook, Creston, -

Dawson Creek, Enderby,
Gibsons, Grand Forks,
Hazelton, Hope, Kamloops,
-Kelowna, Ladysmith, Lake
‘Cowichan, Langley, Merritt,

Mission, Nanaimo, Nelson,

New Westminster, North
Shore, Parksville, Pen-
ticton, Powell River, Prince
George, Prince Rupert,

Quesnel, Revelstoke, Rich-—

( Ridge-Meadows, .

Salmon Arm, Squamish,,
: ‘ Surrey, Trail,, Vancouver;
will be ‘chosen at the Vernon and White Rock.) °° “J

mond,

have |

long-ago -
_“Comiakens” whe worked