The Train Dock in the 1980's
I was warned by my mother never to set foot on the dock without an adult present; a rule I broke early and often. The train dock beckoned little kids like me to crawl all over it's sticky creosote beams.
As teenagers, the boys would dive off the towers into the cold waters of Okanagan Lake while the girls suntanned on the deck. Honestly, it was never a great place to swim - the creosote beams created a smelly oily film on the surface of the water and our bathing suits would easily be stained with dark brown tar. But it was a great place to meet and hang out. I have fond after-school memories of eating ice cream sandwiches with my best friend, our bikes dumped unceremoniously in the nearby gravel.
Then, one day in 2002, news spread that the Train Dock was gone. It was deemed unsafe and disappeared so quickly, many Naramatians were surprised and shocked at the speed of it's demolition.
The Train Dock in 2010
And so, this is the train dock the way I remember it when I was 12 years old. This print was composed from a few old photographs and a lot of memories.
"The Train Dock"
Hand-painted block print
Limited edition of 12
My sister will have these prints for sale at the Christmas Faire held at the Naramata Heritage Inn and Spa, along with her paintings. More on that soon!
The stories and pictures of life in Naramata by you and your sister are wonderful and charming.
ReplyDeletePS. I just found some of your comments that hadn't been published on my blog.