Editor:
The recent passing of William James “Jim” Robertson and David Ottewell, two Delta pioneer residents, is a passing of a part of my life that I have not forgotten, for I knew them both and I interviewed both Jim and David when I wrote my two books on the history of my father and the Delta,
Jim Robertson gave me the whole history of the Robertson family.
Jim’s family history goes back to 1887 when his father Duncan Robertson settled on Westham Island. Jim worked for George C. Reifel and inherited the trapping rights for Westham Island which he held for 30 years.
In 1959 he became the Delta Municipal grader operator for some 40 years.
I remember him grading the gravel shoulders of the many streets before sidewalks were built.
He had taken over the original grader operator who was my neighbor Edward Tancock who was Ladner’s first grader operator.
Jim used to supply me with my firewood.
David Ottewell was the son of Russel Burton Ottewell who came to Ladner in 1912 with his father Dr. Frederick Walter Ottewell, and established R.B Ottewell Drugs on Delta Street in 1933.
David’s grandfather Dr. Frederick Walter Ottewell had arrived in Ladner in 1912 and also was a practicing veterinarian, until his death in 1945.
At the time of the interview in 2011 David was a physicist on the staff of the TRIUMF Project at UBC.
Both of these men and their families contributed a lot to the development of Delta and I am proud to be a part of that life.
Douglas George Massey
