Island Rewind

We dig through the CHEK archives to take a look back at stories from Vancouver Island’s past.

CHEK News at 6 anchor Joe Perkins is cracking open the news vault for a blast from the past in the weekly series “Island Rewind.”

Watch it live every Monday and Thursday night on CHEK News at 6, or catch the stories below after they’ve aired.

1 day Fairmont Empress staff go on strike One of the island's most iconic hotels, the Fairmont Empress, in the inner harbour could soon be behind a picket line. Workers at the hotel recently held a strike vote and 97 per cent of members voted in favour of job action. No strike deadline has been set and the union and employer are set to return to the table soon. Given the current labour dispute, we thought we'd revisit one of the longest strikes to ever hit the hotel. It happened in the fall of 1999 when 400 union staff went on strike for 11 days over wage disputes. CHEK's Murray Langdon had the story.

6 days Victoria's most notorious bank robber Stephen Reid was a member of the so-called "Stopwatch Gang", a trio of robbers who stole millions from banks across North America. But Stephen Reid's run came to an end in the summer of 1999 when he was busted after a failed heist in Cook Street Village. Reid reflected on the botched robbery in an interview with CHEK's Meribeth Burton from Wilkinson Road jail.

2 weeks Clayoquot Sound's historic protest set the bar for todays environmental activism In the summer of 1993, Clayoquot Sound was the site of one of the largest acts of civil disobedience in Canadian history. The RCMP had set a new record for most arrests made in a day, in what was seen as a "logistical nightmare." CHEK's own Harry Maunu had the story.

2 weeks The ultimate long-distance runner Al Howie was one of the most impressive runners in Vancouver Island history. There's a tribute for him bolted to the Mile Zero sign off Dallas Road. In 1987 CHEK's Bruce Kirkpatrick had to put his running shoes on to catch up with him during one of his record-setting runs. Howie was in the middle of setting the world record for the longest, continual run at UVic's Centennial Stadium.

3 weeks The pole-arizing totem in the inner harbour Did you know that Victoria's inner harbour used to be home to the tallest totem pole in the world. It was raised for the Commonwealth games, and from day one it was polarizing. It had thick wires, didn't look right, and had beacon lights on top, that didn't even work. CHEK's Phillip Campbell had the story.

3 weeks HMCS Regina accidentally fires a rocket at View Royal Of all the possible things that could fall from the sky, this was a shocker. In the mid-90s, HMCS Regina accidentally opened fire on View Royal. Thankfully no one was hurt when a rocket was launched from the frigate at CFB Esquimalt, across the harbour, and right onto a View Royal garage.

3 weeks Counting Flowers This week marks the return of an annual tradition in Greater Victoria. Beginning Wednesday, the city will look to whip up some community pride that hopefully will catch the attention of folks looking for a vacation. As this 1984 report shows, we've been counting flowers in the region for a long time.

4 weeks The Alpine Surfer In this Island Rewind we go back to 1984 for a look at a contraption that never really caught on. It was called the Alpine Surfer, a cross between skiing and snowboarding.

1 month Comox Valley's Green Dollars If you lived in the Comox Valley in 1984 and needed to hire a painter or get your car fixed, you didn't need cash or credit. Courtenay was home to a bit of a financial revolution. Hundreds of people took part in what was called the Local Exchange Trading System, or LETS. Instead of real dollars people paid with green dollars kind of like a credit, and some believed the program was the key to solving unemployment. Marissa Adair explained how the system worked.

1 month A Victoria bridge tournament You never know what's in the cards when we go through our CHEK Archive, and our "Island Rewind" feature. We're dealing out a story on a group of people converging on Victoria to play the card game, "Bridge", and as Marisa Adair explains, the higher you go, the more serious it gets.

2 months Adrian Raeside pierces political egos from the comfort of his parents cozy Salt Spring home He’s one of the brightest political cartoonists in the country, and we’re told this February 2023 marks 45 years since Adrian Raeside published his first cartoon. Cartoons you’ve probably seen in the Times Colonist. To celebrate the anniversary, we go back to 1985, when CHEK visited Raeside for a rare interview with the man who’s created a lifetime of laughter.

2 months The last band at Royals Roads Military College It might be tough to get excited about the Speech from the Throne, but back in 1995 on the former campus of the Royal Roads Military College, there was a lot of excitement. The college was in its final months before becoming Royal Roads University and for the cadets in the marching band the throne speech was one final chance to put on a show.