When I was 19, I took part in the Miss Powell River, Youth Ambassador Pageant. It was an amazing experience where I made lifelong friendships and finished first runner-up in a speech competition, which forever cemented my comfort with speaking in public. I laughed, danced and adventured; it was amazing. I owe that experience to Dan and Marian De Vita and the Texada Island Inn.
I remember at the end of the final performance night, Dan and Marian came backstage to congratulate me and give me a hug. Dan said, “We’re really proud of you. Would you like a job?” I practically burst into tears.
And so I ventured into becoming a part of the storied history of the inn; a place where you could set your watch by the people who walked through the door. I still recall the people I worked with, some no longer with us.
Everybody had their own stories, their own recipes and their own families who came and went throughout the days and nights, as we all served plates and coffee and laughed together. I became part of a family; a little family who served the larger family of our island.
The place was brimming over with memories. Not just mine, but everyone’s.
It was where uncountable birthdays, retirements, anniversaries, parties and special occasions were marked.
It was where you danced, even if there wasn’t another single person in the bar and also when it was packed elbow to elbow. It was where whoever was cooking, nine times out 10, could start making your order the minute they saw your face.
It was where you could order “white sauce” and they’d know what you were talking about. It was where you had to cook a million potatoes for Saturday steak lunch because the whole island showed up for it.
It was where so many stories were told by generations, early in the morning until the doors closed late at night. It was where faces were always familiar, which is no small thing, as I now know, living in a city where seeing a face more than once is a small miracle.
It was familiar and it was home. For so many of us; it was home.
For Dan and Marian and their family, it was home and they shared it will all of us in such a huge way.
Their generosity knew no bounds. Whether it was sponsoring or supporting every single island event, hosting parties, picking up boaters, providing safe rides home or being there for their staff and patrons, their openhandedness had no limits.
Texada Island Inn became our island’s heart and Dan and Marian were, and are, the life force that kept that heart beating.
The inn had an irreplaceable patina on it. It was made of stories, and laughter, and tears and memories. And history. The history of the people who worked there, lived there, and moved through there.
And that patina, while irreplaceable, will never really be gone, for it lives in all our hearts and minds. It will always be carried with us wherever we go, even if it’s to Calgary, Alberta where, trust me, you cannot order white sauce.
Jenessa Blanchet is a former longtime resident of Texada Island who is now working as a controller in Calgary, Alberta.
