After 100 years in operation, McLure Ferry still has purpose in the region

“It’s a great job,” says ferry operator Jan Moore. “You’re out on the water, get to meet interesting folks. It’s a great gig. A piece of our heritage. It’s opened up a lot of the country, attracts the land on either side, moved a lot of people in the last 100 years.”

There is a two-car, 12-person capacity. The current version of the ferry is the second vessel to travel the North Thompson, a sturdier steel upgrade that came into operation in the 1960s after the original was retired.

“This [ferry service] was put into place in 1919 by the province of B.C. There was (previously) a private ferry in existence with some of the ranch handlers, ranch owners and farmers putting it in to access the tracts of land,” notes Moore, who’s been operating the ferry for 30 years.

“But the province saw a need to standardize it a little bit and bring in more technology.”

As he takes vehicles to the Whispering Pines side of the river, Moore explains how unique the ferry is.

“We’re attached. That’s the main difference. We’re on a tether here. It’s a cable ferry, a reaction ferry is what they call it. We’re utilizing the current to propel us, so it’s cheap and green, and that’s probably why it’s been here for so long,” he says.

McLure Ferry operator Jan Moore has been behind the wheel for the last 30 years (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

The ferry goes as far back as 1894 when ranchers would use it to transport cattle. While it’s no longer used in that capacity, the ferry is still a popular mode of transportation for people in the region who use it daily.

The ferry, when in operation, takes about 80 to 100 trips a day across the North Thompson River with about the same amount of vehicles.

B.C. Transportation Minister Claire Trevena took a trip on the historic ferry as part of her visit to celebrate its Centennial birthday.

“The ferry carries a lot of people all the time. Eighty trips a day is significant,” she says. “But it’s also used not just for people who live in the region or work in the region, but it’s also important for evacuations. It was used in the ’03 fire. About 100 trips a day were happening then.”

The McLure Ferry makes 80-100 trips every day across the North Thompson River (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

Passengers like Jim Brown, who is a beekeeper with bees on both sides of the river, rely on the ferry every day.

“If it wasn’t for this ferry, it would be 45 minutes round-trip,” he says, noting he would have to drive through Kamloops to get the Whispering Pines area, and vice versa to McLure. “It’s huge. I need this.”

Moore hasn’t noticed a slowdown in demand for the ferry. He feels it has many years left.

“It’s all about people’s destinations. They’ve got to go somewhere, so whether the route is blocked or the volume, it’s a short cut,” says Moore. “The price of fuel and everything, everyone’s looking for a shorter route, and it’s right here. It’s part of the [highway] infrastructure and I hope it’s here for another 100 years.”

by Chad Klassen

After 100 years in operation, McLure Ferry still has purpose in the region

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