Olson, Bob oral history interview

• Main Authors: Interviewee: Olson, Bob, Interviewer: La, Michelle, Interviewer: Arias, Annika, Principal Investigator: Hall, Peter V
• Format: Audio
• Language: English
• Published: 2014
• Subjects: Fraser River; Westminster; Lion Island
• Online Access: http://summit.sfu.ca/item/15849

Bob Olson retired as a tugboat captain after having worked for Westminster Tugboats for several decades. However, when Samson Tugs, a new company, was looking for experienced captains he returned to work and is today 71 years old. He was born on Lion Island, grew up in Queensborough, and has worked on a tugboat on the Fraser River since he was 17 years old. 54 years after he started, he states that he does pretty much the same job as when he started out, but with better equipment. He shares his experiences of multicultural Queensborough, tales about his family origins in Sweden, and his life on the Fraser River. When asked why he chose to be a tugboat operator instead of a commercial fisherman like his father, Olson replied “ I was too lazy to do the work [of a commercial fisherman], and too nervous to steal, and therefore ended up on a tugboat.”