Charlie Crane was just a baby in 1917, when he was rocked by the Halifax explosion. The collision between Military ships in the Halifax Harbour. He lost his hearing, eye sight, and he could not speak. But his family put together Braille, a raised setting of letters for blind people to read!
I was 32 years old when I met him. He was 56. We had a beer together in a small cocktail lounge in the Alpine Lodge at the Garibaldi Station in 1973. I have had a good relationship with the Crane family and have known them for many years. Charlie died at the age of 57. He enjoyed smoking a Cuban cigar as did his older brother, John Crane.
John Crane was the manager of the Ritz Hotel on West Georgia Street in Vancouver. After John Crane retired, they closed the Ritz Hotel. A lot of Hollywood celebrities stayed at the Ritz when visiting Vancouver. After so much time went by, they decided to demolish the aging old hotel. They placed dynamite on the pillars at the base of the building. When the blast went off all the floors came down perfectly as planned. The demolition of old hotel was shown on CBC news as it came down!
Jim Wilson
Valemount, BC
