The totem pole is back where it belongs.
Anyone who lives in Mission and has shopped at the The Olde Stove Works has seen the totem; it’s a fixture in the store’s showroom.
But the pole was recently moved.
A movie company has been using The Olde Stove Works as a filming location and the store has been closed for several weeks.
Film crews moved out much of the merchandise and wanted to move the totem pole as well.
But Cody Parsons, an installer at the shop, didn’t think it was a good idea.
“Mr. Totem Pole pretty much spoke to me and said you need some advice on this,” said Parsons, who decided to call the Mission Friendship Centre.
Originally, he was told not to move it at all, but after explaining the situation, he was given some specific instructions.
“They said to take it down with as many hands as you can, no machinery. Treat it with respect, lay it down, off the ground and preferably on something organic like a hay bale.”
Parsons followed the instructions exactly and the pole was removed.
Now, several weeks later, filming has ended and The Olde Stove Works is getting ready to re-open.
Workers are busy putting everything back into the shop, including the totem pole.
Parsons again contacted the friendship centre and had Herman Dan come to the shop and perform a ceremonial smudging ceremony for the pole and the building.
The pole is now back in its place.
Stove Works owners Ray and Marilyn Walsh have owned the store since 1983 and say the totem has a special connection with the building.
Ray was in Mission on Third Street years ago when he first noticed the pole.
“It was lying horizontally on some saw horses, unfinished,” he said.
Having always wanted to own a totem, he began to make inquiries.
“I was told that Norman Diablo was the person carving it,” said Ray, who then went to Diablo’s door to speak with him.
Nobody was home so he left a note.
About six weeks later, the two men finally got together and agreed on a price. The only problem was the totem still wasn’t finished.
“He had some detail work to do and some painting, but no place to do it. So we set him up a spot in the shop and he worked on the pole here.”
Diablo, who Ray said was 89 at the time, spent a lot of time at the shop.
“He was such a lovely man,” said Marilyn.
His totem pole is a fixture at the shop and will remain there for years to come.
“There are not many buildings where you can put a totem pole. They are usually outside. This one is going to last forever,” said Marilyn.