The store is a treasure-trove of details about the town, whose history dates from the early 1900s when the site first came to the attention of investors looking for the ideal location for a saw and paper mill. Cousins Inlet was deep enough to accommodate large ships, and the impressive cascade spilling down from Link Lake provided abundant power. Last but not least, it was surrounded by great stands of timber that would provide the fibre for paper. Later a new dam would be constructed, along with rows of neat houses and apartments, a hospital, a hotel, schools, tennis courts, a theatre and an Olympic-size swimming pool. The town swelled to over 3,500.
Wildflowers grow in abundance through cracks in broken asphalt and concrete.
The paper mill whose drums once spun out thousands of rolls of newsprint for newspapers as far away as Los Angeles is padlocked, and broken glass is strewn about its concrete pad. Signs warning visitors of danger are posted along the bridge to the mill. Everyone knew everyone-if not by name, at least by sight. And we never locked our doors. Teenagers didn't have time to get bored.