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Trippy Times

When the new psychedelic rock music was sweeping across the continent in the early 1970s, a  Ladysmith resident was cooking up a product to fuel the movement.

Black and white photograph of a middle aged craggy featured man wearing a cap and heavy woollen cardigan holding a wooden archery bow in his left hand.

Art Williams and one of his innovative archery bows, circa 1960s.

A highly intelligent man, Art Williams designed the revolutionary ‘Williams Bow’ which he sold for 20 years from his archery factory near Ladysmith to customers all over the world. After being forced to close the business in 1969 due to the predatory practices of a much larger competitor, Art became well known to police because of his links to the local motorcycle gang. However, the authorities’ real interest in Art’s activities centred on his “BC Institute of Mycology”, a foundation he set up with the help of a considerable grant from the Canadian Federal Government – supposedly to research the cultivation of mushrooms.

Colour photograph of an extensive barn-style three-story building in the shape of a cross, the centre portion of which is constructed of cement and cement block with the ends and upper stories made of wood.

Art Williams’ barn. His hidden underground lab for manufacturing the psychedelic drug MDA was underground at the lower right, 1977.

In 1972, the US Bureau of Drugs and Narcotics was looking into the illegal manufacture of MDA, the psychedelic drug of choice on the West Coast. They traced a large shipment of a key ingredient to Art’s Mycological Institute. They had a strong suspicion that Art was making the drug, but they just did not know where. For five years, they bugged his phone, read his mail and followed his every move. However, Art knew he was being watched and took elaborate counter-measures, which always kept him one step ahead of the authorities.

A steel hatch at the top of a vertical culvert with ladder formed the entrance to Art William’s underground laboratory for the manufacture of the psychedelic drug MDA, 1977.

A steel hatch at the top of a vertical culvert with a ladder formed the entrance to Art William’s underground laboratory for the manufacture of the psychedelic drug MDA, 1977.

In August 1977, the police raided Art’s property and found an ingenious network of ramps and staircases and a very modern laboratory. By chance, a set of shelves was swung back to reveal a solid steel door leading to a vertical culvert, which in turn led up to a metal hatch opening into a 10 by 10 foot secret underground concrete room with an escape tunnel. Traces of MDA showed that the manufacturing facility had finally been found! Now the police had enough evidence to press charges.

Black and white photograph of man crawling out of an underground passage. A three-story barn-like structure is in the background about 100 meters behind where the man emerges.

The underground MDA lab’s emergency escape hatch, 1977.

Out on bail within two weeks, Art used his own plane to fly to and from Vancouver to see his lawyer. On November 30, 1977, Art’s plane supposedly crashed into the waters of the Strait of Georgia on a return trip. No body was found, and the wreckage was minimal. An inquiry recorded that Art died in the crash, but ever since then, the world has speculated that Art faked the crash and escaped the country.

The intrigue continued. In 1979, Margaret, Art’s wife, disappeared without a trace.

Did Art arrange his so-called death? What happened to his wife? Did they escape to a life of luxury in a tropical retreat?

Somebody knows….

Rectangular book cover, grey-green colour with a grainy image of a person, head bowed and arm at side partially ‘washed out’ to reflect the effect of psychedelic drugs, standing to the right of the wording 85 GRAMS ART WILLIAMS: DRUG CZAR in the upper left corner and the words DARYL ASHBY at bottom left.

Cover of book ’85 Grams: Art Williams, Drug Czar’ by Daryl Ashby.

Twist and Shout Revitalization