3. Coming to Vancouver

Vancouver Archives AM54-S4-: Be P73.2 & On This Spot Enterprises

1930s

The dreadful journey on the Robert Kerr lasted months. They were hounded by storms much of the way and the captain fell ill and died. Finally in September 1885 the wind-lashed Robert Kerr limped into Vancouver harbour. Joe had found his new home. Joe quickly got a job as a shoeblack at the Sunnyside Hotel. These were exciting times: In April 1886 the rowdy sawmill town of Gastown was incorporated and Vancouver was born. Then only a couple months later it completely burned down. As the fire swept through the town's Joe found the wife and eight-year-old son of a local Member of Parliament in one of the hotel's rooms and ushered them outside and into a boat, the flames licking at their heels. The heroic act of saving the family of a Member of Parliament won Joe some powerful friends. As the city rebuilt he climbed a few rungs up the social ladder and found work as a bartender at the Bodega Saloon on 21 Carrall Street. His magnetic personality and easy-going attitude quickly made him one of the most popular people in the city. How else to explain this 1888 news report in the Daily News-Advertiser? "A gloom seemed to pervade the city yesterday, especially that part lying around Carrall Street. Men went about with a sad look on their faces, dogs wore a dejected air, and even the rats seemed to feel the general depression. The cause of the universal sadness was the fact that Mr. Joseph Fortz, alias Joe, the popular bartender of the Bodega Saloon, was suffering from indisposition. He looked quite pale as he sat in a chair thoughtfully placed for him in Tattersall's stables and mused on the mutability of human affairs. All the leading physicians were in attendance and hourly bulletins were issued. Up to the time of writing, Joe, although not quite himself, was in a fair way of recovery and probably by this time as light-hearted as ever."