All good things must come to an end, and Henry John knows this all too well as the time has come for him to move on.
John, who is originally from the UK and a historian by training, has been working as the archive and collaborations coordinator with the Kaatza Station Museum since 2020. It was a bittersweet day for him on Feb. 22 as he gets ready to turn the page on a new chapter. John will be moving to Victoria to work with the B.C. government in their Heritage Branch which is primarily responsible for the conservation of historic places, fossil management and geographical naming in the province.
“This is both an incredibly sad moment for me, but I equally feel an immense swell of gratitude for all the incredible people I have had the honour of working with through the museum,” said John. “I would particularly like to extend my gratitude to the Kaatza Historical Society board of directors, staff, volunteers, and members, who not only made me so welcome here when I first arrived, but have been a tremendous group of folks to collaborate and work with. We have achieved so much together. I am also incredibly grateful to the council, staff, and membership of Ts’uubaa-asatx, for entrusting me with the great honour of presenting their people’s history to the public. And to the United Steelworkers and IWA gang for entrusting me to be their archivist.”
John said it has been a great privilege for him to work with the IWA archives and the historical records of what was the largest industrial union in Western Canada. He notes that members of the IWA pretty much founded what is now the Town of Lake Cowichan, and a lot of the important institutions within it.
“The IWA was such a huge part of this town,”said John. “It has been such an honour to be entrusted with looking after that history, and over the last two years we have had about 75 researchers come to use that collection, and for a small archive that is insane; it just goes to show how important those records truly are. There has been so many great memories here for me. The plaque unveiling was incredible. I think the main thing for me has been working with Joshua Watts — the young carver who is related to the Ts’uubaa-asatx First Nation. It’s been a real privilege working with him; I’ve learnt so much from him — he is just a brilliant, wise and kind human being who had had the most incredible teachers as well.”
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Watts, who trained under Beau Dick, one of Vancouver Island’s most famous carvers, is currently working on a totem pole for the museum and will also be designing new displays inside the museum.
“It’s been such a blessing for myself and the museum to work with him,” said John.
As John moves on to work with the departments of public service and provincial bureaucracy for the B.C. Heritage Branch, he would like to express his thanks to the collaborators, funders, consultants, researchers and all others who play a role in the work done at the museum — as well as to Mallory Marrs who will now lead the charge as his successor. John has been training Marrs to be his replacement at the museum for the past year and a half and according to him she is more than ready to be independent and take control of the reins, and notes that he knows she is going to do exceptionally well.
“Although I am sad to leave, I am most grateful to be leaving the privilege of caring for these collections in such capable hands,” said John. “It’s not really the end though. I will remain serving as a consultant for the Kaatza Historical Society, probably for the rest of my life, should they wish it — and I will stay involved at a distance with specific ongoing projects for the foreseeable future.”
John plans to still volunteer his services to do oral history interviews, and will still be very much involved with Watts’s totem pole project. As he looks forward to a little more stability on his new path, bigger city life, and all that goes with it, he admits that leaving the town he has called home for nearly four years is anything but easy.
“I’ll miss the community,” said John. “I’ve just felt so welcomed here by the board of directors, by the membership, and just by the broad Lake Cowichan population. It’s such a weird, but wonderful town, and it is the people that has made it worthwhile for me. The work has been awesome, but for me the best part has been all the personal interactions, and getting to know all these neat and cool people.”