Just when you think you know a person, that person writes a book about his life and you realize you knew only a fragment. Ian Ridgway, known as a carpenter on the Sunshine Coast, is now hovering on the brink of his 80th year. He has published A Carpenter’s Tale, the story of his life, written with author and editor Jim Brown (Deluxe Gypsy Books).
There is no navel-gazing here and no excess sentiment; instead, it’s a fresh and fully documented account of the times – the 1960s through 1980s – that will be familiar to many baby boomers. The book is told through transcripts of interviews, cleverly blended into a narrative that takes in stories from others, many of whom you will know. In fact, each reader will know at least one of the characters that Brown and Ridgway describe. Many are famous – Ridgway describes being at a party in London with model Jean Shrimpton and actor Terence Stamp while exchanging baby names with Maureen Cox Starkey, Ringo Starr’s wife. Later he talks about Sunshine Coast artists and performers such as Donna Balma and Glenn Lewis and how they influenced his move to the Coast.
Ridgway lived through some musically exciting decades that started in London’s pre-Beatles era and moved to Vancouver’s festival friendly shores. He and his pals enjoyed life, loving and music. Remember the Pleasure Faires in the Fraser Valley? Ridgway was among the crew that built the Faires on their sites, including the Mission Faire where Joni Mitchell sang to an enchanted crowd. He used his skills as a carpenter to build stages for many musical acts and he also worked to construct the set of McCabe and Mrs. Miller, the 1971 Robert Altman film.
Ridgway’s description of his home on the Vancouver mud flats where other squatters lived is a slice of little known local history. Though the squatters were eventually evicted, it was a happy place for its residents. Vancouverites will remember Habitat Forum in 1976 at Jericho Beach. It was here, while he was constructing what was billed as the world’s longest bar, that Ridgway wooed Pat, who was later to become his wife. The couple moved to the Elphinstone area and set up their home and Pat’s artist studio.
The book is available for $30 at Daffy-downdilly Gallery in Gibson’s Landing and by contacting Pat Ridgway at her email: [email protected]. It’s a long, entertaining read with photos, worth its price.
