Georgie Cole had a grin on her face as she walked into M & P Mercury Sales in Burnaby in 2014. The former Burnaby resident wanted to show a photo to the owner Bill Pappajohn.
“Remember this?” she asked. “My husband and I bought a boat from you 55 years ago — and it's still running.”
Pappajohn was amazed. The photo was of a 12-foot red boat with a pull-start 35 horsepower Mercury motor — and unbelievably the motor was still running like a charm.
Pappajohn and Cameron Montgomery, both of New Westminster, had started M & P in 1957 and over the decades it had become the largest boat dealership in Western Canada. But back in the 1950s the two men were actually house builders. They sold the odd boat and motor out of their home decor showroom on 19th Avenue in Burnaby.
The boats and motors were displayed amongst an array of kitchen cabinets, countertops and rug and linoleum samples. When the construction market tanked the two men suddenly found that boats were selling better than rugs — and their new career was launched.
Back in the 1950s, family boats were just starting to catch on. And Georgie and her husband Bill Cole, who lived a few blocks from M & P, decided to buy a boat and motor. Little did they know that that little red boat would deliver endless fun to five generations of their family. It was named Jor-G in honour of Georgie.
As family lore goes, it was one of the first boats M & P sold — and without doubt, the longest running.
Those were the days of wooden water skis and crazy shenanigans. Just to be ridiculous Georgie would ski in pink curlers alongside her husband who, to add more drama, had a lit cigarette in his mouth. They’d crisscross back and forth across the wake and under each other’s ropes and the kids would scream with delight.
“At Cultus Lake, my uncle (Bill Cole) would come full throttle into the bay, water skier behind, and all the moms on the beach would run for dear life to grab their kids out of the water,” laughed Ron Fetzko, who also grew up with the Jor-G. “Top speed of the Jor-G with one person on board, and a wind at the back, was a rip-roaring 25 mph.”
Over the generations, the 12-foot boat was used for fishing, tubing, kneeboarding, water skiing, camping and as a safety boat at lake swim meets in B.C., Alberta and Ontario — providing unending fun and lasting happy memories.
“We absolutely loved that boat,” said the Cole’s daughter and Burnaby resident Janice Cole. “I can’t tell you how much fun we had every summer camping, roasting marshmallows and going out in that boat.”
In 1986, the Coles gave their beloved boat to their nephew James Fetzko, who was now an adult. Thanks to that boat he’d become hooked on water skiing and had become a trick skier — one of his specialties being skiing barefoot backwards, forwards and spinning around.
The Jor-G spent the next 14 years at the family cabin in the Cariboo where more kids learned to water ski behind her. In 2001, Ron Fetzko bought the Jor-G from his dad James.
“At this point, it was still running well although we lost a lower crank thrust bearing shortly after we moved it to Alberta. I lucked out and found a spare 25 hp Merc for parts — which were identical to the 35 hp. I replaced the bearing without disturbing the rest of the engine and it ran for many more years,” said Ron Fetzko.
In 2016, when Ron’s job took him and his family to Ontario, the boat went too, but unfortunately the humid weather took its toll on the fibreglass boat’s wooden parts and eventually the boat failed structurally.
Two years later, the family said goodbye to their beloved Jor-G. But Ron stripped the chrome off the boat and distributed it to different family members. “And I have attached a piece to every one of my boats ever since for good luck and to remember my Uncle Billy (the boat’s original owner).”
Although the boat was retired, the engine was still running fine. “Of real interest — the motor still had the original prop with no bent blades or marks of any kind. It was beat into me at an early age about what rocks do to props,” laughed Ron.
A heavy equipment mining mechanic, Ron said the engine never needed any major repairs — just the usual tender loving care, like new water impellers and good winterizing.
“Of particular note, the engine head bolts still had the tie wire lead warranty tampering stamps in place when the engine was retired. In other words, no work was ever done on the head. The pistons were original.
“Myself, dad and grandfather were all mechanics — and that engine was really looked after. It was heavy, big and ugly — but it ran forever.”
M & P Mercury is now owned by Bill Pappajohn’s son Robert who has expanded the award-winning business to Nanaimo as well as the M & P Yacht Centre in Coal Harbour. He too grew up water skiing and having fun behind M & P boats. And he was thrilled that in 2014 Georgie came into M & P to tell her story.
Editor’s note: When Georgie and her daughter Janice visited M & P in 2014, Bill Pappajohn failed to get their contact information. His daughter Lori (the writer of this article) wanted to find out more about this mystery boat — but where to look? A number of years later Lori was swimming with a fellow swim fanatic she’d met several summers earlier. Suddenly her friend said:
“Hey — are you related to the M & P Pappajohn’s?” Amazingly Lori’s friend was Janice Cole — Georgie’s daughter. Hence the story of the Jor-G, and the motor that never quit, finally emerged.
Lori is a former Record reporter.
