A documentary film crew from the CBC was in Prince Rupert this week filming about the life of Charles Hays and his legacy in Prince Rupert.
The crew is working for the show, Doc Zone, which is planning a documentary featuring Canadian stories about the victims and survivors of the Titanic, to be ready in time for the anniversary of the famous ship's sinking this April.
Charles Hays will be one story out of many that will be looked at during the documentary which will draw stories from all over Canada and not just about people who died. Other mostly unknown stories include the shunning received by male survivors of the tragedy by those who took to heart the saying “women and children first.”
The segment on Charles Hays will focus to some extent about his life and how he eventually came to meet his death on board the notorious ship, but also about his affect on the community he left behind. The crew went around to see just about everything in Prince Rupert that is named after its most famous resident; of which there are a lot of things. But they also toured places such as the port because the segment will also be about Prince Rupert itself and how it stacks up when compared to Hays' vision.
“We're trying to see the difference between what his vision was and what Prince Rupert became and what it's becoming,” says director Jackie Corkery.
The full documentary is scheduled to air on April 5, on CBC.