WATCH: Fifty-eight years ago, Stephen Hussey was born in the front seat of his mother’s car as a neighbour drove them across the Johnson Street Bridge. On Tuesday, he told his story to the media for the first time in his life.
Fifty-eight years ago, Stephen Hussey was born in the front seat of his mother’s car as a neighbour drove them across the Johnson Street Bridge.
“I’m in the front seat of the Volkswagen and the BC Transit bus goes over the bridge in the opposite direction, stops right where the Volkswagen Bug is, and they’re all looking down as my mom’s giving birth to me,” Hussey said.
The incident was covered in two local newspapers, The Daily Colonist and The Victoria Times (now merged as the Times-Colonist).
The Times-Colonist kindly offered to look back at their archives for the original story.
Readers today might find it a bit campy:
“Cool-headed Mrs. Hussey asked her friend to ‘spank it and start it crying’ after the baby was born in the front seat. But, just as Mrs. Denton was going to administer the traditional lifegiving swat, the baby let out a cry of its own accord. Plucky Mrs. Hussey asked: ‘What is it?’ ‘It’s a boy,’ replied Mrs. Denton. When they reached the hospital, Mrs. Denton ran in shouting excitedly: ‘We just had a baby out there.’ Nurses rushed out with a stretcher and took mother and baby inside.”
“It’s pretty neat,” Hussey said. “I actually haven’t read that whole part of the story. It’s pretty cool.”
Some say it’s a testament to what the bridge meant to the city. Not just for commuters, but for everyone.
“The bridge was a place where things happened. where people met, where people went for different events…” said Dave Obee, editor-in-chief of the Times-Colonist. “The bridge has been the scene of many, many things, including people climbing it, including people making love on it.”
As for Hussey, he’s come to terms that Old Blue’s days are over.
“I’m okay with it. None of us will see it anymore, but I’m okay with that,” he said. “It’s time to move on.”
Old Blue is being decommissioned this week, however high winds delayed the project on Tuesday. Removal is expected to start up again Wednesday and finish by Thursday.
Calvin To
