A 麻豆传媒映画time travelogue brought to you by听.
Harry Hooper in 1911. City of 麻豆传媒映画Archives #371-397
Harry Hooper, a.k.a. 鈥淗andsome Harry鈥� or 鈥淟ightning Harry,鈥� moved to Vancouver鈥檚 East End with his family from Ontario in the 1880s when he was a young boy. By the early 20th century, Hooper was a well-known man-about-town through his various pursuits as a dog breeder,听, steamboat operator, taxi driver, and competitive cyclist, but was best known as a race car driver.
After spending his teenage years as a petty criminal, Harry Hooper had gone legit by the turn of the 20th century, but his love of speed landed him back in court on more than one occasion. In 1900 he received a $10 fine for 鈥渟corching,鈥� riding a bicycle at excessive speeds off the track.
Harry found his true calling behind the wheel of a car and by 1906 was the chauffeur for John Hendry, a lumber baron and the head of VW & Y Railway Company. As Hendry鈥檚 driver, he was fined for driving over 20 mph. The next month Hooper accompanied his boss to New York, leading the听奥辞谤濒诲听newspaper to remark that 鈥渋f he starts autoing in Father Knickerbocker鈥檚 staid old town and strikes the same speed as the police clocked him on here, he is liable to put the traffic of that ancient village into inextricable confusion.鈥�
Handsome Harry worked various other driving听jobs, such as听听cars and听听a sightseeing tour car. In 1909, he received a $75,000 inheritance, which,听, he would use to 鈥済et into the automobile business on an extensive scale.鈥� He started the听., but sold out his share shortly after, and of course raced cars whenever the opportunity arose.
Harry Hooper racing a biplane at Minoru Park. 麻豆传媒映画Daily World, 3 July 1919
In 1910, Hooper set a speed record for driving from Seattle to 麻豆传媒映画in just nine hours and thirty-two minutes. In 1916 and 1919, he put his driving skills to the test by racing biplanes. He didn鈥檛 win either time, but put on a good show for the crowd. The first time, the听World听听that Hooper鈥檚 鈥渕echanician perform[ed] some hair-raising stunts鈥� during the race, and in 1919, that the contest was 鈥渘eck-and-neck.鈥�
When the Great Depression hit, Hooper didn鈥檛 want to be one of the many unemployed men clogging Vancouver鈥檚 streets, and so听听on the Fraser River. City archivist Major Matthews听听Hooper in 1937 for his听Early Vancouver听oral history project. This is how Matthews described Hooper:
Pioneer of 鈥淕astown,鈥� associate of prince and pauper, who is in Vancouver, at the Regent Hotel, from his听placer mine on the banks of the Fraser River, two miles from Chimney Creek, twenty-two miles from听Williams Lake, twelve miles from the nearest store, two miles from his mail box, where he lives with his听three dogs and four cats, but no one else, surrounded by his garden full of vegetables; with his radio; gets听six newspapers at a time at the end of the week; hangs beef, pork, and mutton in the shed in winter time,听and when he wants some, cuts it off; catches the finest of salmon in the river, and salts it down; says that听money is worthless; that there is no need for a solitary individual in British Columbia to be 鈥渙n relief,鈥� and听says he has washed fifteen hundred dollars of gold out of the hill side since last May鈥攁bout four months.听He wants a road into his place鈥攁bout two miles of road; he also needs teeth.
Harry Hooper in the 1930s. CVA #371-379
Harry Hooper was back in Vancouver, living听听in the old Stock Exchange building across from Woodward鈥檚 on West Hastings Street, when he died in 1956.
