King
Karl of Cortes Island
A very interesting character is King Karl of Cortes
Island. He is a self-proclaimed
King because he built his own castle out of 13,000 “stones” or what most people would
call concrete blocks.
He is about 80 years old and the last 10 years have been a series of
broken bones, strokes, heart attacks, and surgeries. Currently
he is blind in one eye as a
result of a stroke and has limited vision in the other eye. But
in Karl’s words “My sight
could come back. I’m not giving up yet.”
When Karl was
17 years old he left his home in Hungary because he didn’t like what was
happening in his country. His
first stop was Italy. He was surprised that he could
understand many of the Italian words he was hearing. His Catholic
training as an Altar Boy
and Latin twice a week gave him the basis for understanding many languages. So when
he was in a restaurant
in Italy he tried to order a glass of water using the Latin he knew.
He was pleasantly surprised when
the waiter indeed brought him a glass of water. He is
proud to say that because of the Latin he learned as a boy, he is able to speak
7 different
languages. He only wishes he would have paid more attention when he was in school so
that he could have learned
even more.
Karl didn’t stay long in Italy.
His next stop was Germany where he stayed for 5
years. He wanted to immigrate to Canada but because he had fled
from Hungary and was
not as Karl describes it “Aryan” he was not allowed to go to Canada. “If you can’t
beat
them join them,” he said. So he became a German citizen and “in a way I beat them
because I became the champion
of Germany in wrestling in 1950.” He said his name was
on the Olympic list for the country of Germany.
Even though his heart was not in
Germany because of how they had treated his homeland of Hungary he gave “the
German” credit
for being intelligent. “I learned a hell of a lot from them.” But finally
he
was allowed to immigrate to the country of his choice, Canada.
He had many jobs
in Canada. The first was on a poultry farm in northern Ontario where it
was cold and very windy. His pay
was $1.00 per day plus room and board. The problem
was that he had to get up at 4:00 am to feed the chickens and gather eggs most of
the
day. Then later in the day he had to butcher fryers to feed the farm hands and the
owners. Many
days ended at midnight and then to get right back up at 4:00 am was a bit
difficult. Karl did acknowledge eating at least his share of
eggs and fried chicken but he
knew he had to wave goodbye to the poultry industry. Next he worked in the northern
most part of Saskatchewan
on a cattle ranch. He could not stay long there either because
it was the coldest place he has ever been. And
he still says that to this day. After leaving
Saskatchewan he was finally able to move to British
Columbia where he has lived ever
since. He moved to Cortes Island in 1951. Each year he would
work four months in the
Arctic in the fish camps as a cook and baker. The rest of the year he would return to his
home on Cortes Island
and work on his castle.
Somewhere along
the line Karl taught himself how to do woodcarvings. He said that at
first he would throw the finished products in
the fire because they were so awful. But he
kept working at it and became an accomplished woodcarver. A tour
of his shop shows just
some of the articles he has made out of wood. Many wooden bowls and other utensils you
might find in a castle
are on display. The intricate carvings of animals, plaques, and a
horse drawn wagon are remarkable and a testament
to Karl’s character and
sense of
humor.
King Karl’s
castle which is called Wolf Bluff Castle is something to see. He has done all
the work himself which
includes the handmade beds, tables and chairs. All the furnishings
look like they could have been in a castle of
long ago. The doors are short and rounded.
There are turrets and many tiny rooms with small peek-a-boo windows.
He has swords,
rifles and axes hanging on the wall. The ivy growing up the sides of the castle cover about
half of the outside walls
and will someday envelope the whole castle. The queen’s room is
complete with a balcony. There
is an old upright piano that came from Scotland and is of
vintage 1800 with real ivory keys. The dungeon is incredible.
When visiting the place, if there was nothing to see but the dungeon, a person would not be disappointed.
Karl’s sense of humor shows through once again in this room of doom and gloom. There is a
stuffed pirate hanging on the wall spread eagle in shackles, another stuffed body “staked out” on the ground.
Then there is the wooden cage with the likes of a human inside. The huge spider, old skull and tools
of torture all add to the atmosphere down in the dungeon.
Karl worked
on the castle for 14 years. Although it is still unfinished it was a bed and
breakfast and a gathering place for some of the yacht clubs who cruise to the island.
Today the workshop which is full of wonderful woodworking tools and years worth of wood
and unfinished projects sits quiet. The remaining work to be completed on the castle has
come to a halt. Health problems won’t allow Karl to work. But
the King can be found
sitting outside the castle door waiting for visitors to arrive. He
proudly allows those who
wander up his driveway to tour his castle. He will happily share
with you some very
interesting stories. And he might even let you take his picture
as long as he can wear his
crown.
