Stomping Grounds Saturday: Frank Ney, the Pirate of Nanaimo

The day of exploring my little corner of the world. *****

When you go for a walk in Maffeo Sutton Park in Nanaimo B.C Canada, you will come across this statue.

And you wonder, "Is this the founder of Nanaimo? Or possibly Captain Vancouver? Or some other legendary historical figure from long ago? So you look at the plaque.

And you discover that long ago was just 3 decades.

Frank Ney has become a legend in Nanaimo. Partly for his generous and imaginative spirit. Partly for his eccentric behavior. Partly because he served as mayor for quite a while. I wasn't here when he did serve, but people still talk about him. Apparently the guy had 5 different pirate costumes that he wore for other occasions other than Halloween.

Someone decided to decorate him in this picture.

He does look like a happy guy. He was responsible for starting the now famous Nanaimo Bathtub Races. I checked out if the boats are really bathtubs, but no. They are modelled after bathtubs and have a small motor attached. Still, you have people in boats the size of a bathtub, going out on the ocean where there's whales and sharks and killer seals. There wasn't a race this year due to the Big C.

He's also responsible for some of the weird street names around here. That will be another post. He was the father of 11 children with his wife Jocelyn who gave birth to several of them.

One day while he was mayor, he decided to find out what it was like to be disabled. So he spent the day in a wheelchair and tried to navigate through the town. The result was design modifications to make it easier for the disabled. Born in England in 1918, he served as a pilot during WWII. Not only did someone write a book about him, but there was a musical and a play written about him as well. I've only read good things about this guy. That's unheard of in a politician. Apparently he developed affordable housing and gave away some of his property for parkland. I'm just imagining Mayor Ney having a council meeting in one of his pirate costumes. So cheers to Frank Ney. Aye Aye Captain.