The Inlet: Memoir of a Modern Pioneer

Ann Turner is the financial and budget manager of the University of
British Columbia Library.

Why would anyone leave the comforts of a modern West Vancouver home to
live and raise a family in the wilds of a remote inlet up the B.C.
Coast, accessible only by boat and floatplane? Artist Helen Piddington
and her husband, photographer Dane Campbell, did just that 26 years ago.
Her reminiscences of their life there, illustrated by her own drawings
in charcoal and pastel, make wonderful reading. The heavy work, long
hours, and ingenuity required to be self-sufficient in such a place
would not suit everyone, but Helen and Dane rose to the challenge,
reveled in the natural beauty and peace of their surroundings, and
thrived. The essays that make up these memoirs describe vividly their
daily life in Loughborough Inlet over the years. Fishing, raising pigs
and chickens, growing food, home-schooling the children, greeting
visitors exploring the coastline by boat, and warding off the bears,
cougars, and other animals that shared their land were all in a day’s
work. They got to know other families in the area and learned of earlier
settlers long departed. Reading these memoirs we can perhaps understand
why these modern pioneers love the Inlet they still call home in spite
of the hardships, and be grateful that they chose to share their
experiences.