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Rufus Charles Gibbs1882-1968
Greatest Benefactor to the Yale Church, and to Many More Organizations
Few people ever existed within the history of mankind that were so generous and devoted to the cause of doing good. His list of generous donations makes the sum of $12,000 to restore Yale's church seems inconsequential. But, to the people of Yale and to the history of B.C. the donation he gave to the church is anything but that.
Gibbs claimed that his motive to help others was dictated by wherever his spirit said it was needed. He made his money through sport fishing, inventing among many things his own line of fishing tackle. His store, now known as Gibb/Nortac, is located in Vancouver, B.C.
Gibbs was born in Petersborugh, Ontario on February 5, 1882. By 1906 he was working in Quebec and then moved on to Ohio, where he made his way to Vancouver and built his store in 1912. By 1915 he had gone into the fishing tackle business and has earned himself a reputation that places him within the B.C. Sport Fishing Hall of Fame.
Gibbs was involved in numerous clubs and organizations throughout his lengthy career. Remembered for more that just his contribution to sport fishing, he is recalled for his numerous donations within Vancouver and beyond. He received the award of Vancouver Good Citizen of 1959 in recognition of his generosity within the city. Among his notable donations is the $50-60,000 that went towards the establishment of a boys club, $100,000 to the Vancouver Aquarium, $12,000 to St. John the Divine in Yale, $60,000 to the Canadian Arthritic and Rheumatism Society and $50,000 to Trent University. For this and more he was made the ‘Freeman of the City of Vancouver' in 1963.
The money that he donated to the Church in Yale went towards new exterior siding, a new floor, an enlarged vestry, furnace room, pulpit and electricity. At the time that Rufus made his generous contribution the local Anglicans from Hope and Yale had nearly exhausted their fundraising efforts.
Foster Isherwood, treasurer of the church during the 1950's, estimates that 90 to 95% of the money to restore the church came from Gibbs. Among the renovation costs was replacing the old cedar post foundation with cement blocks. The rotting of the posts was causing the building to sag forlornly in different places. "We saved the old thing from completely falling down," said Isherwood. Those involved in the fundraising included Foster Isherwood, Clara Clare, Judge C. E. Barry, and Gladys Chrane of the Teague family. The efforts of the fundraisers, and Gibbs, came just in time for the old church.
Rufus Gibbs never married, perhaps preferring the bachelor life. He was a man that valued the power of the dollar and utilized this knowledge to ensure that it would do the most good. Despite the fact that he never had children his name and memory are forever entrenched in history as a result of his unfaltering generosity. Rufus Gibbs died on December 10, 1968 at the age of 86.
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Religion & EducationThe church of St. John the Divine still overlooks the town, witness the beginning and the end of Yale's position of prominence. A decline in population and activity decreased the need for full time ministers.
With the opening of other finishing schools for girls in more populated areas All Hallows in the West boarding school was closed in 1916, and the teaching sisters returned to England in 1920. Even today visitors recall their ancestors' attendance and the education they received at All Hallows in the West.
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