The Chief Factor's Residence
"Entering the Fort through the Eastern gate on the right or Eastern side, stood a large two-storied log building, the residence of the Chief Factor in charge, the Mess Hall, Kitchen, &c."
B.C. Archives
J.R. Anderson's Memoirs
AddMss 1912, volume 8, file# 4
"All had to go to church every Sunday, the mess room serving every purpose - baptisms, marriages, funerals, councils, dances, theatricals, or other amusements - and did not seem any worse for it."
"The mess room was more than thirty feet long, by say 12 wide, a large open fire place at one end and large pieces of cord wood burning therein. A clock on the wall, a long table in the middle, covered with spotless linen, the knives and forks clean, decanters bright, containing wine and so forth.
The chairs of wood (Windsor) but everything European...On the corners the soup, then the salmon, then the meats, venison on this occasion and ducks - then the pies and so forth, and down they go into their proper receptacle, each one ready and willing to receive them. Haven done justice to the dinner and taken a glass "to the Queen" many of the junior members left, either to work or smoke their pipes in their own quarters."
B.C. Archives
J.S.Helmcken's Reminiscences
AddMss 505 v 12
"At the mess table each one talked freely and much more freely among each other of course. Mr Douglas usually sat at the head of the Mess table and Mr. Finlayson at the foot - and nothing frivolous was spoken there. Mr. Douglas was not humorous - never joked - always staid and decious and often some subject to talk about which often he had picked up in a review or newspaper,
but personal experiences were not much talked about, excepting when the C.Fs and Ct happened to collect in Victoria or strangers asked questions."
B.C. Archives
J.S. Helmcken's Reminiscences
Add Mss 505 vol12 pg 84
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