The Quyon Legion was packed to the rafters on Saturday night as hundreds of people from the community and beyond gathered to congratulate former ferry owner and operator Don McColgan on his well-deserved retirement.
Although he had made the news public earlier this spring, Don’s daughter Tracey and his son Ralph decided to organize the party to give locals and ferry customers a final chance to thank their father for his longstanding contributions to one of the region’s most notable family-owned businesses.
“He’s worked on the ferry forever,” Tracey said.
To kick off the event, Ralph gave a brief word of welcome to the attendees, which was followed up by a speech from the man of the hour thanking everyone for coming out and supporting him for so many years.
In his speech, Don spoke about the notion that his business is different than most enterprises in the sense that it serves such a vast number of people who depend on it to function on a daily basis. Otherwise they would be forced to drive great distances in order to cross the Ottawa River.
At the entrance of the building, a few framed photos were laid out on a table, including one which was filled with hundreds of signatures and positive messages taking up the perimeter of white space on the picture frame.
In a career spanning over 50 years, Don started working the docks as a deckhand when he was 10 years old, after his father Ed purchased the company from Angus McLean back in 1956. Those were the days when the company only operated with a single old wooden ferry.
When his father passed away in 1973, Don took over as the man in charge and things remained that way for the next 45 years.
Among his finest memories working at the ferry, Don most fondly remembered the people he met and formed connections with, whether it was customers crossing the river for work every day or his long list of dedicated employees who always gave it everything they had.
“The people I’ve met over the years, just some fantastic people,” he said. “I’ve made some good friends over the years, a lot of commuters. I can say we’ve had some good customers over the years and some good workers too.”
Meeting so many people of all walks of life through thousands of river crossings over the last five decades, Don has crossed paths with folks from all over the globe and it hasn’t been uncommon for him to get noticed in foreign places.
Plus, when he has been noticed, he’s almost always been referred to as the Ferryman, a fitting nickname that he identifies with to this day.
“People tell me ‘I know you from somewhere,’” he said. “I say ‘Have you ever been to Quyon?’ ‘That’s it. You’re the Ferryman.’”
Tracey explained that although her father was born and raised in Quyon and still lives there, the Ferryman’s legend lives far beyond the outskirts of the Pontiac.
“We’d go on a trip somewhere and someone would always recognize my dad,” said Tracey. “It doesn’t matter if we were in Florida or the Dominican, like anywhere someone would always recognize him. So many people know the area because of the Quyon Ferry.”
While he still enjoys a lot of what the job demands and what it offers in return, Don looks forward to not doing anymore paperwork for the business – something that took away a significant portion of his time.
“I love working down there and meeting people but there’s an awful lot of bookwork too,” he said. “I just hated the bookwork, so it was time.”
Although he won’t be around the company in the same capacity as before, Don ensured that the company will remain in good hands as his son Ralph and his nephew Eddy, who already have loads of experience, have taken the reins.
“The two of them know it inside and out,” he said. “Ralph’s good on the computer work and the bookwork,” he said. “Eddy’s very good on the maintenance.”
As he intends on enjoying his freedom the best way he can, Don’s mind is set on getting more air miles under his belt with desires to hit up a few tropical destinations.
Not planning on leaving too far however, he knows in the back of his mind that he’ll still be around the business every now and then, doing the odd maintenance jobs or just hanging out with the old crew.
Delighted with the turnout, Don said that the community’s appreciation for his work over his long career really solidified his belief that what he did a lot of good things in their eyes.
“You expect relatives,” he said. “But when you see the customers come out, it makes you feel like you’ve treated people good down there. I did get that reputation that I treated everybody fairly. That’s all you want.”
From Tracey’s perspective, the sight of so many people recognizing the impact that her father has had on the community brought her a great sense of pride and was a true testament of his personable character.
“It’s very humbling and overwhelming to see so many people come out,” she said. “Not to say thanks but congratulations to him. It’s just really touching to know that he’s kind of affected many people’s lives, whether it’s crossing the ferry or from growing up living in Quyon running a business his whole life.”
by J.D. Potié
