Christopherson, John

British Columbia Packers Limited established its oyster operation in Boundary Bay, Delta, in 1940/1941, under the management of John Christopherson. The Company leased foreshore lots from the province, including Lot 698 which already had a wharf that had been built in the early 1900s by the Municipality of Delta for access to the farms in East Delta. The wharf, at the end of 112th Street and on Oliver Slough, was rebuilt and became the foundation for the oyster plant opened in 1941. The plant processed oysters harvested from Mud Bay to Beach Grove, and from other beds located in Puget Sound and the Gulf of Georgia. In 1958 B.C. Packers bought Crescent Oyster Company, located at Blackies Spit, which had been established in 1904 by Bill Lambert. Assets of the subsidiary company were transferred to B.C. Packers in 1961 and the Crescent Oyster Company was dissolved. The licenses for the oyster operation in Boundary Bay were pulled by the federal Fisheries Department in 1963 due to concerns about pollution, the result of animal and human sewage entering the Bay. The plant on Oliver Slough was closed in 1963. The plant buildings, acquired from B.C. Packers by John Christopherson in 1968, eventually deteriorated and were demolished in 1995. John S. Christopherson was the manager of the oyster plant in Delta from 1941 to 1963. Previously Mr. Christopherson was a shift boss for Crescent Oyster Company. Mr. Christopherson and his wife Grace both worked hard to make the Delta operation a success. Mr. Christopherson also supervised oyster leases at Comox, Drew Harbour, Denman Island, and Ladysmith, and represented B.C. Packers in the Pacific Coast Oyster Growers' Association. After the Delta plant shut down in 1963, Mr. Christopherson continued to manage B.C. Packers' oyster operations, and was involved with the oyster seed operation at Pendrell Sound. John and Grace were both active in the Delta community. John belonged to the Kinsmen Club and Grace served as the first president of the Kinette Club in 1951. John also served on the executive of the Delta Chamber of Commerce in the 1960s. John (1911-1989) and Grace (1907-1991) married in 1936 and had no children.