A group of community improving champions are dialing up a new way for West Coast locals and visitors alike to share and exchange experiences.
The Army Navy and Airforce Veterans Club is calling out for artists to help transform the former phone booth from 52 Steps Dock in Ucluelet into a creative and whimsical free hub for board games, puzzles and books.
The phone booth had sat empty at the dock since 2022 when its phone was removed along with 19 others across the West Coast — 12 in Tofino and seven in Ucluelet — as part of a pay phone exodus by Telus.
“All of the payphones we are removing are in areas with cell phone coverage and have been rarely used, generating on average less than $5 worth of phone calls in 2020 and 2021,” a Telus spokesperson told the Westerly News at the time.
While three payphones survived that 2022 cut in Ucluelet, they have all since been removed and there are now none operating in the region.
Rather than let the relic of a bygone era rust away at 52 Steps, local volunteers Stephen McDow, Maude Fillion, Captain Peter Janssen and Miriah Whitton arrived at the dock last month to remove it and the booth is now primed for a makeover before it becomes a free exchange for books, boardgames and puzzles outside the ANAF Club at 1708 Peninsula Road.
Local ANAF president Bronwyn Keller told the Westerly News that she had previously spoken to Ucluelet Harbour Master Kevin Cortes about obtaining the booth for its historical value and, when the idea for a new exchange hub was brought to her by Maude Fillion, she thought it would be the perfect fit.
She added Fillion is a staple-volunteer with the ANAF and had previously helped transport the original popcorn machine from The Lodge Bar and Hotel into the Army and Navy.
“She’s totally down for moving old pieces of Ukee into new homes,” she said, adding the ANAF is building a delightfully eclectic display of local relics and “organically turning into a little museum of local culture.”
She added she was delighted that Fillion brought her idea to the ANAF and to give the new exchange hub a prominent place in town.
“We just want to be more interactive with the community in every way, so this was an easy win for everybody…The Army and Navy is all about empowering people to realize their dreams. The world is your oyster and so in the army and navy. Maude is an absolute example of being able to add positive things back to the community through the structure of the army and navy,” she said.
“It came together awesomely…I love how this community has all kinds of ideas that get thought up late at night or when you’re taking a walk on your beach with your friends and are realized over and over again, which is what makes us so unique I think.”
The Army and Navy has become a beacon of community engagement and consistent go-to for anyone with an initiative they think would benefit the community and Kelleher is loving the view of watching people enhance their town’s vibe through grassroots gusto, creating a culture that beautifies itself with little supervision.
“It’s like standing at the dock and watching the ships sail away without you on it and I’m so proud of the ships sailing away without me. It’s happening all by itself. Who knows how this phone booth is going to evolve? There’s multiple different people involved that I’m sure all have a million great ideas and somehow they’re all probably going to be combined together to have a phone booth of epic proportions.
"With the size of the phone booth, we could have it all,” she said.
Anyone interested in helping out with beautifying the budding exchange booth is encouraged to reach out to Miriah Whitton at miriah.whitton@gmail.com.
