June 15, 2023 Eddy’s Kingdom

The movie screen was filled with his face. Eddy Haymour sat there, larger than life. He stared into the camera, “It is my Island, and I want it back.” the words echoed through the movie theatre.

It was a local screening of the movie Eddy’s Kingdom. We were a couple of the lucky ones who got tickets before they sold out. The story has been told countless times over the years. It is a story of tragedy and triumph, a story of government conspiracies, and a man obsessed.

Obsessed with an Island – Rattlesnake Island.

The story began in the fifties when a man named Eddy Haymour immigrated to Edmonton, Alberta from Lebanon. He knew very little English but he started with a dream and a work ethic. He was a barber who cut hair to give himself a chance to make ends meet. 

And he succeeded.

He met big wigs and executives, and after a while, he was cutting their hair. Eventually,  Eddy owned several barber shops and other ventures and became a respected member of Canadian society. 

Then it all changed.

His wife asked for a separation and took the kids. He was distraught. So Eddy did the first questionable acts of his life. He took the kids to Lebanon and enrolled them in school there. He kidnapped his children from their mother. 

He disagreed. You can’t kidnap your own kids.

His wife felt she had no choice and went to Lebanon and they reconciled. After that, they returned to Canada end went to Kelowna. Where he built a house on the hill and eyed up Rattlesnake Island.

His crazy idea was put into place, he would build Morrocan Shadou on the five acres of land that sat across the lake from Peachland. Morrocan Shadou was his Middle East Theme Park. A place for people to experience the culture of the middle east and the beauty of the Okanagan. 

Some people didn’t like Eddy or his grandiose ideas. But he bought Rattlesnake Island and started building. He had a barge that could take fifty people across the lake, he also made a dock to tie up to. While many people in Peachland liked the jobs he provided others were vehemently opposed to any development on the island. Specifically the Premier of the province. W.A.C. Bennett was dead set against the idea. 

Eddy didn’t care. He was building away and putting all his life savings into the island. He was consumed by his dream. A dream that would be his ultimate undoing.

Eddy built a pyramid, a mini-golf course, and was going to build a huge camel to dispense ice cream out of his belly. Some called him a visionary, others a lunatic. 

Meanwhile, those who wanted to stop him, were doing everything within the law, and in some cases outside the law to ensure he would not succeed. The Premier recruited his cabinet and they arbitrarily changed the zoning of Rattlesnake Island to forestry and agriculture. Many memos went out calling for him not to receive any approvals or permits. 

Eddy pushed on, he opened his island amusement park in June 1972. It was unfinished but he wanted to showcase its potential. 700 people attended the opening day. They all enjoyed a ride across the water on Eddy’s barge. The next day they tried again, but everything fell apart when a storm blew up and the people had to be rescued by the RCMP. After that he was told he could not operate, he didn’t have the proper permits and he was not going to get them. Ever.

Eddy got angry.

He met a guy named Ralph who he confided in. A man who befriended him and told him he was on his side. But he wasn’t. He was an informant for the government of BC. So they did a sting operation and set Eddy up. Eddy tried to turn the tables. He stuffed some envelopes with cloth and told Ralph they were letter bombs meant to send to the government officials who opposed him.

They arrested Eddy and charged him with 37 different crimes. None of which Eddy committed except one. The possession of brass knuckles – an illegal weapon.

They went to trial and the province dropped all the charges except the one for the brass knuckles. Children-sized, toy brass knuckles. Then the government went even further by asking the court to find him not guilty by reason of insanity.

While all this is happening his wife took the kids and went back to Edmonton. She asked for a divorce and he was left alone and devasted. 

Eddy’s mind and heart were broken. So was his bank account. Sensing his desperation the province offered to buy back the island for $ 40,000.00. It was a fraction of what he’d invested but it was all he had to survive. 

He signed over the island and they still put him in Riverview Pysyatric Hospital for the criminally insane. He spent eleven months there. After this, he was released and went back to his native Lebanon.

Eddy was never one to go down without a fight.

When he arrived in Lebanon he shared his story with those who would listen. His cousins all agreed, something needed to be done.

In 1975 Eddy and eight of his cousins walked into the Canadian Embassy in Beruit and took everyone hostage. His demands; Eddy wanted his island back, he wanted money and he wanted his freedom to open his theme park.

Prime Minister Trudeau even got involved. Eventually, he was offered his day in court in Canada if he released the hostages. Lebanon was in the middle of a civil war and the PLO intervened. Yasser Arafat called Eddy and threatened him to release the hostages and leave before war erupted on the streets in front of the embassy.

Eddy felt vindicated by the Canadian offer and possibly a little threatened by the terrorists outside. So they surrendered and were taken to the local jail where they were released with a $ 210.00 fine. No criminal charges were brought to bear. Eddy was free to return to Canada. He was a Canadian citizen after all.

Nine years later Eddy got his day in court. The judge ruled in his favour. The government was made to pay him $ 250,000.00 in restitution. In the judgment, the judge stated it was the grossest case of government abuse of power regarding small business enterprises he’d ever seen. 

But Eddy still did not get what he truly wanted, his island back. He did, however, build Castle Haymour. A six-apartment hotel directly across from Rattlesnake Island. And on the front of the building he had a statue of himself made. 

The statue has since disappeared and Eddly moved away when his second marriage failed. He now resides in a care home in Edmonton at the ripe old age of 93. He still has dreams of getting this island back. A dream that will remain unfilled.

We left the movie theatre, wiser to a piece of Okanagan legacy. A story from a different era. If you get a chance to watch the movie Eddy’s Kingdom click the link here to watch it.