The Town of Gibsons has reclaimed a lost and cherished member of the community: Persephone, the famed work boat turned “show boat” of CBC’s “The Beachcombers.”
Persephone has been in a kind of limbo for the last five years. It used to be on display next to the Molly’s Reach cafe at Five Corners in Lower Gibsons, but when the vacant lot was sold for development, the old log-hauler had to go.
Persephone being removed from Lower Gibsons after years in the elements.It was serendipitous in a way. Persephone had been under assault from the elements for decades and needed repair. So in 2021, it was moved to the town’s Public Works Yard for safekeeping. Updates on Persephone were few and far between as deadlines for its return passed one after another—until this May.
Andrew Wood from Spani Developments remembers breaking ground on the Five Corners lot. Wood grew up watching “The Beachcombers”, so when he helped remove the boat from the job site he wondered about its future.
“After we built the building, I started reaching out to the parks department and the CFO of the Town of Gibsons to say ‘Hey, what are we doing with this boat?’” said Wood. “I definitely helped rally the troops. I had a real strong connection with the idea of getting it back down into Lower Gibsons and back on display where it should be.”
Andrew Wood (left) and Doug Spani (right) the day Persephone was returned to Lower Gibsons. Source: The Coast Reporter.On May 11, Persephone was triumphantly returned to Lower Gibsons by Wood and Doug Spani. Wood said, “Seeing it back down in Lower Gibsons was a real treat. And seeing people immediately start walking up to it and enjoying it again—there’s a sense of pride there for sure.”
Persephone had a ribbon cutting ceremony on May 31 at the 100-year anniversary of Molly’s Reach. Councillor David Croal for the Town of Gibsons worked on the show for eight years and returned for the two movies. He said countless visitors passed through the vendors market, live music stage and beer garden that celebrated Molly’s Reach. “It is an iconic piece of architecture for the West Coast. So the fact that 100 years later the building is still standing—there’s a thriving business in it today—is really exciting.”
Molly’s Reach and Persephone have long been associated as iconography from the hit show, but their history runs deeper.
Molly’s Reach was purchased by Charles Smith in 1926. There, he raised six children including Henry who grew up to have his own son, John. In 1964 Henry Smith bought the boat that would later star in “The Beachcombers”. In an interview with PY, John Smith said “Persephone’s real name is John Henry. Named after myself and my dad.”
“When ‘Beachcombers’ came along, my dad didn’t want anything to do for the show. He was a bit of an entrepreneur,” said Smith. “I had quit school and was beachcombing, and he said ‘if you want to look after this, go ahead,’ so I took it on.”
Smith captained John Henry on air for 16 years. Anytime the boat was far from the camera or being used for stunts, Smith was at the helm. In 2003 the family decided to donate John Henry to the Town of Gibsons as a piece of history.
A model of Persephone made by John Sleep who worked on special effects for “The Beachcombers.”While the boat was being restored, Smith came to help. He had several of the boat’s original parts, which were first salvaged from the historic ship Brico, as well as a scale replica of John Henry given to him by John Sleep from the show’s special effects department. The restoration team used that model to piece the boat back together and as a reference for the paint job.
Some fans have noted the restored boat looks different than it did by the end of the show. That’s because the model was based on an early design of John Henry, dating back to an accident on set that required the boat’s wooden hull to be replaced with steel.
“After all the work and time it took to restore the boat and bring it back to where it is now, I think everybody should be pretty happy,” says Smith.
John Henry, or Persephone, is staying for good. The next project is to build a permanent structure around it. Spani says he’d like to see a timber cover with wheelchair-accessible platforms around the boat for viewing. Fans can donate to support the project at gibsons.ca/community/save-the-persephone/.