2014
Covering the Cariboo-Chilcotin-Coast
Casual COUNTRY
Angie Mindus photo Tom Smith kayaks on Rose Lake.
Celebrating 46 years of people and places in our region
Greg Sabatino photo
Gaeil Farrar photo
Greg Sabatino photo
2 - CASUAL COUNTRY 2014
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SUSAN COLGATE For all your real estate needs!
www.cariboohomes.com by Susan 250-267-1088
Cariboo Realty
232B Third Avenue North, Williams Lake
Welcome to Cowboy Country Apparel
Bob’s Shoes & Workwear 248 Borland Street, Williams Lake • 250-392-7463
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CASUAL COUNTRY 2013 - 3
Casual Country 2014 Stampede
Index
Bella Coola Music Festival ........................................... Page 57 Cry Rock ....................................................................... Page 58 Bear Viewing................................................................. Page 59
Stampede Royals ......................................................... Page 6-7 Alexis Forselle .............................................................. Page 7 Cowboy Poet Frank Gleeson ....................................... Page 8-9
People
Cowboy Hall of Fame ................................................... Page 10-11 Clarence Petal .............................................................. Page 12
Youth Magician Jesaja Class ....................................... Page 62-63
2014 Stampede Poster ................................................ Page 14
Willie Sellars ................................................................. Page 63
Mark Denny .................................................................. Page 18
Horsefly Community Hall.............................................. Page 64-65
Rene and Karla Leclerc................................................ Page 20
Cariboo Memorial Hospital Auxiliary ............................ Page 67-68
Curtis Family ................................................................. Page 21-22
Dale Taylor .................................................................... Page 69
Business Feral Pigs ...................................................................... Page 24-25 Just Because ................................................................ Page 26 Sta-Well Health Foods ................................................. Page 27 Highland Irrigation......................................................... Page 29-30
Sam Tudor .................................................................... Page 70-71 Chief Anne Louie .......................................................... Page 72 John and Norma Bos.................................................... Page 75-76 Tom Smith ..................................................................... Page 78-79-80
Only in the Cariboo
Cougar Hounds ............................................................ Page 31-32
Rock Climbing............................................................... Page 82-83
Haines Office World...................................................... Page 33-34
MacDonald Family ....................................................... Page 84-85
Out West
Carl Buchholtz .............................................................. Page 87 Maureen Saunders ....................................................... Page 88-89 Bags of Love ................................................................. Page 90
Alexis Creek Hospital ................................................... Page 36-37 Ulkatcho, Anahim Lake, celebrate Carey Price ........... Page 39-40 Norman Telford ............................................................. Page 41-42 Naghtaneqed Elementary Secondary School ............. Page 44-45 Cliff and Nellie Kinkead ................................................ Page 47-48
Casual CoUntrY
Bella Coola Valley Valley Seafood .............................................................. Page 50-51 Film Star Adam Beach Visits ........................................ Page 52 Gustafsons Central Coast Adventures ........................ Page 53-54 Bella Coola Rodeo........................................................ Page 55
Covering the Cariboo-ChilCotin-Coast
Jim and Dinah Lulua..................................................... Page 43
On the Cover 2014
Alexis Creek Today ....................................................... Page 38
Angie Mindus photo
Tom Smith goes for a paddle in his back yard of Rose Lake. Now retired, Smith served as a constable in the High Arctic, a lawyer and a well-respected Provincial Court Judge in Williams Lake during his lifetime.
Celebrating 46 years of people and places in our region
Bella Coola Little Theatre Guild ................................... Page 56
Greg Sabatino photo
Gaeil Farrar photo
Greg Sabatino photo
Published by Black Press Group Ltd. 188 N. 1st Ave., Williams Lake, B.C. Publisher - Lisa Bowering Marketing Director - Kathy McLean Editor - Angie Mindus
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STREET
PARTY! s Lake Downtown William th
Saturday, June 28
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2014 CONTESTANTS
Kyra Stuart
Matina Durfeld
Miss Eldorado Estates
Miss Minton Creek Ranch
11:30 pm - 4 pm
Art Walk Show and Sale 2014
August 7th - September 6th, 2014 Take a tour of our downtown core, experience the incredible and diverse talents the Cariboo has to offer, and stamp your way to some fabulous prizes!
It’s time to walk the walk!
327 Oliver Street, Williams Lake, BC V2G 1M4
250-398-5717 - info@wlcbia.com
Michelle Ball
Miss Clusko Logging Enterprises
2013 ROYALTY Photos courtesy Craig Smith of About Face Photography
joy our Come out and en lassic ,c local performers rides, car show, wagon flea vendors, charity key oc market, street h ders & with the Stampe ORE! MUCH, MUCH M le family! o h w e h t r o f n u F
Rachel Abrahamse
2013/14 Stampede Queen
Karina Sukert
2013/14 Stampede Princess
Thanks to: ABOUT FACE PHOTOGRAPHY ALL SILENT AND EVENT JUDGES ANIMAL CARE HOSPITAL AUDIO VIDEO UNLIMITED BOB’S SHOES & REPAIRS BRIGETTE PEEL C PLUS RODEO CANADA SAFEWAY CARIBOO CUSTOM MONOGRAM CARIBOO NEWS AND EVENTS CARIBOO QUALITY CLEANERS CARIBOO SADDLERY CARIBOU SKI CARIBOO SPURS APPAREL & TACK CIPRANIS CITY OF WILLIAMS LAKE CLUSKO LOGGING ENTERPRISES COLGATE, PAULINE ECONO GLASS ELDORADO ENTERPRISES EXCELSIOR JEWELLERS GAZEBO FLOWER & GIFT SHOP HIGHLAND HELICOPTER INDOOR RODEO ASSOCIATION JOHN DELL VIDEOGRAPHY LAKE CITY FORD LAMLEES - KAMLOOPS LESLEY HUGHES MCFARLANE (MARY KAY CONSULTANT) LIZ TWAN (PHOTOGRAPHER) MINTON CREEK RANCH
PARENTS AND FAMILIES OF ROYALTY AND CONTESTANTS PENNY SAVAST PMT ACCOUNTANTS QUICK LANE REMAX - SUSAN COLGATE ROTARY CLUB OF WILLIAMS LAKE ROYAL CANADIAN LEGION, BRANCH 139 SAVE ON FOODS SCHICKWORKS SIGNS & STITCHES THE LOG HOUSE - 100 MILE THE RUSH THOMPSON RIVERS UNIVERSITY TROYCO ENTERPRISES WESTLINE HARVESTING LTD. WILLIAMS LAKE VETERINARY HOSPITAL WILLIAMS LAKE LIONS CLUB WILLIAMS LAKE LOGHAULERS WILLIAMS LAKE RCMP WILLIAMS LAKE STAMPEDE ASSOCIATION WILLIAMS LAKE STAMPEDERS WILLIAMS LAKE TRAIL RIDERS WILLIAMS LAKE TRIBUNE WOODLAND JEWELLERS
If we’ve missed anyone, our sincere apologies.
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CASUAL COUNTRY 2013 - 5
Ropin’, ridin’ and lovin’ it
Wild STAMPEDE
Greg Sabatino photo The Williams Lake Stampede is known for its popular mountain horse race — one of the most exciting events at the rodeo.
Shane Innes photo
Angie Mindus photo
Erika Petal photo
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Stampede
Gaeil Farrar photo
Stampede Queen Rachel Abrahamse paints a horseshoe on the face of Nathaniel Curtis, 6, during the Kids Rodeo Carnival held in conjunction with the Williams Lake Indoor Rodeo this spring. She is looking forward to participating in all of the 2014 Williams Lake Stampede events.
Shane Innes photo
Stampede Queen Rachel Abrahamse and Stampede Princess Karina Sukert sell tickets at a Stampeders’ hockey game.
Stampede royals enjoy a busy year The 2013/14 Stampede Queen Rachel Abrahamse and Princess Karina Sukert have had quite a busy year. “From Williams Lake, east to Alberta and south to Oregon, my Princess and I have made many memories, and have met
some incredible people,” says Rachel. She says mishaps have added to their fun, for instance getting lost in a mountain pass that they thought was a “shortcut” and having a hotel alarm going off at 2 a.m.
“I have never had to run down 24 flights of stairs so fast,” Rachel says. After the very hot Williams Lake Stampede last year, the royals set off for the Calgary Stampede. Their travels also
included attending rodeos in Omak, Wash., Princeville Ore., across B.C. and the Canadian Finals Rodeo in Edmonton. The royals were also busy on the local scene helping out with various community events
Gaeil Farrar photo
Stampede Princess Karina Sukert (left), Museum of the Cariboo Chilcotin society president Ruth Walters, and Stampede Queen Rachel Abrahamse serve up the wagon wheel cake to guests attending the city’s 85th birthday tea hosted by the Museum of the Cariboo Chilcotin in March.
such as the Williams Lake Indoor Rodeo, Williams Lake Stampeders games, Williams Lake Legion Branch 139 events, Museum of the Cariboo Chilcotin’s tea celebrating the City of Williams Lake’s 85th birthday, the Williams
Lake Stampede dinner, auction and dance and much more. In their farewell speeches and in the 2014 Williams Lake Stampede program Rachel and Karina expressed their thanks for all the help they have received
from their sponsors, the Williams Lake Stampede Association, the City of Williams Lake, family, friends and various other individuals for making their year so enjoyable. Karina will be attending Olds College in Alberta this fall.
Greg Sabatino photo
Stampede Queen Rachel Abrahamse (left) and Stampede Princess Karina Sukert introduce the 2014 Stampede Queen contestants Kyra Stuart, Michelle Ball and Matina Durfeld at the Elks Hall this spring.
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CASUAL COUNTRY 2014 - 7
Stampede
Alexis Forseille goes for Miss Rodeo Canada Gaeil Farrar Casual Country 2014
Alexis Forseille, the 2012 Stampede Queen is taking a year out from her university studies to run for Miss Rodeo Canada. Working toward becoming a veterinarian, Alexis finished her second year in sciences at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops at the end of April. She completed her first year sciences at TRU Kamloops, while serving as the 2012 Stampede Queen. A diligent student and appreciative Stampede Queen, Alexis came home to Williams Lake every weekend (31 visits in all) to fulfill her royal duties. “It was a wonderful year,” Alexis says. “I absolutely loved being Stampede Queen.” She says the experience was a huge confidence builder and helped her to work on her strengths and weaknesses in leadership. The contest helped her to develop confidence in public speaking and serving as ambassador for the Williams Lake Stampede and Williams Lake itself. During her reign she met many people and
travelled far and wide. She traveled to 11 rodeos, the furthest being the Omak, WA. Stampede which she says has a mountain race similar to ours. She travelled to the Calgary Stampede and the Canadian Rodeo Finals in Edmonton, which jelled her decision to run for Miss Rodeo Canada. Preparing for the contest will take lots of work and a good memory. She says the contestants have to learn all of the rules and regulations governing professional rodeo. They also have to know all about all of the top 10 contenders in the rodeo events. This is no small task considering there are top 10 contenders in the categories of saddle bronc, bareback, bull riding, barrel racing, steer wrestling, tiedown roping, novice saddle bronc, steer riding, team roping, novice bareback and novice saddlebronc riding. They will also be judged on their own horsemanship skills. The Miss Rodeo Canada contestants will also be required to ride three different horses who are not previously known to them. On two of them they
Gaeil Farrar photo
2012 Stampede Queen Alexis Forseille helps Colin Llewellyn, 4, and his brother, Simon,6, with the hobby horse races held at the junior event in the Indoor Rodeo this spring.
will complete various reining patterns, and on one of them they will conduct a formal grand entry, which involves riding fast carrying a flag then standing their horse in a line. “I am the only one in my family who rides,” Alexis says. Her father Bernie Forseille passed away when she was nine years old and her uncle Ingo Seibert wanted to honour his memory with a gift to Alexis. She chose a ninemonth-old filly that she named Breeze and has been training and riding ever since. “We’ve trained and ridden together for the past 11 years,” Alexis says. For most of those years, Alexis says she and Breeze have just enjoyed riding together, but last year she started taking Breeze further afield. They rode in the Stampede Parade together last year, and this summer they are participating in gymkhanas and learning to run barrels together. “I am also taking riding lessons to get my riding skills as good as they can be,” Alexis says. She volunteered at the Williams Lake Indoor Rodeo this spring
and will be chaperoning the Williams Lake Junior Rodeo Princesses at the 2014 Stampede. “My mom has done an amazing job of taking care of her while I’ve been away at school,” Alexis says. In fact Alexis says she is amazed at the support she has had from her whole family, her sponsors and the community in general. Her parents are Silvia and Calvin Dubray, both school principals, and she has a sister, Kylie, who is in Grade 10. Her “opa,” Hans Seibert, has also been a big help to her. “My Opa has been my number one supporter with everything to do with Breeze,” Alexis says. “He helped build all my paddocks, hay shed and arena for me on his property so that my horses could grow up on his 100 acres. “He’s my arena side spectator whenever I go riding and has not missed a single time I have trailered Breeze.” Basically anything to do with my horses, Opa is involved in!” She has worked for her sponsors Lake Excavating Ltd. summers for the past four years. “I am very grateful for the people I am surrounded by,” Alexis says.
2014 Stampde Queen contestants introduced building a strong bond and trust with, Buddy, her thoroughbred gelding, as the pair progressed through the training involved in the Williams Lake Stampede Queen contest. Michelle has also been an active volunteer with the Williams Lake Stampede for the past four years.
Michelle Ball, Miss Clusko Logging Enterprises Ltd. Michelle Ball, Miss Clusko Logging Enterprises Ltd. is 19 years old and graduated from high school in June 2012. Both sides of her family have lived in Williams Lake since the early 1970s. Throughout high school, Michelle was actively involved in soccer, rugby and school leadership programs. She has had a strong passion for horses ever since she was very young but wasn’t able
*** Craig Smith photo
Michelle Ball,
Miss Clusko Logging Enterprises Ltd. to have a horse of her own until this year. She has enjoyed
Matina Durfeld Miss Minton Creek Ranch Matina Durfeld, Miss Minton Creek Ranch was born and raised in Williams Lake. She is 18 years old.
Craig Smith photo
Matina Durfeld,
Miss Minton Creek Ranch She started taking horseback riding lessons at the age of five. She got her horse Dandy when she was
12, and her horse Amigo at the age of 13, and her horse Kokanee when she was 15. Dandy rests peacefully at Minton Creek Ranch. She continues to compete at gymkhanas, high school rodeos and BCRA’s with Amigo and Kokanee, and in the Child Development Centre’s Horsin’ Around program. She graduated from Williams Lake Secondary in June 2013 and is currently attending the B.C. College of Equine Therapy in Vernon. ***
Kyra Stuart Miss Eldorado
Craig Smith photo
Kyra Stuart,
Miss Eldorado Kyra Stuart, Miss Eldorado is 19 years old and was born and raised in Williams Lake.
Her family settled in the Chilcotin almost 100 years ago. Kyra graduated from Columneetza Secondary in 2012 and is looking forward to starting her bachelor of science degree at Thompson Rivers University next year. As a little girl she competed in local gymkhanas, but as she grew older she became involved with other sports. During the past two years she has returned to riding and her family is the proud owners of Docs Ace O’Lena and Bello who have given her quite a refresher course in riding and horse maintenance.
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Stampede
Cowboy poet brings country tales to life Angie Mindus Casual Country 2014 Funny, charming, intelligent and artistic. Those are just a few of the words that come to mind when trying to describe faller logger and rancher –– turned cowboy poet, Frank Gleeson. “I was going to buy her flowers, but I bought her a heifer instead.” That quip is just one example of Gleeson’s wry humour which he uses daily to charm his wife of more than five decades, Betty. “She’s been such a super wife,” Gleeson says of Betty. “She’s the brains behind the operation. If it weren’t for her, we wouldn’t go on the road.” Gleeson was in his 50s before his talents as a cowboy poet were truly discovered, but the road to showbiz actually began for him when he was just a kid being raised on a farm in Northern Saskatchewan. Gleeson knew early on he may have had something special when his tough boss, chuck wagon racer Cliff Clagget, mounted an old board in his bedroom that Gleeson had written a quick poem on about him while on the job. Even with talent though, one can seldom make a living writing poetry, and so Frank ventured west in search of work, adventure and an opportunity to start his own cattle operation. He found all that and then some when he made a stop in Williams Lake. “The longer I was here, the more I liked it,” says Frank, who worked logging in Beaver Valley. It wasn’t long after that he met Betty, who was born and raised in Sudbury, Ont. Betty was drawn to Williams Lake to
Frank and Betty Gleeson still make each other laugh after all these years. work as a nurse at the old Cariboo Memorial Hospital, situated where City Hall stands today. Both 24 years old, the two had their first date at the old openaired dance hall during the Williams Lake Stampede. “Some people thought it was rough, but really it was just a bunch of young people having fun,” he says of the old Stampedes. Betty says she was taken by Frank’s “personality.” “He’s very funny.” Frank and Betty married December 9, 1961, and started a family, having three boys in four years –– Dan, Kelly and John, and then a girl, Colleen. “It was a lot of hard work,” remembers Betty. “We didn’t have disposable anything back then.”
Frank Gleeson with one of his dozen newborn calves born in the spring at the family ranch. With hard work and perseverance the two raised their children and built up a ranch of their own from scratch just north of Williams Lake. “I wanted to chase
my own cows, not somebody else’s, even if it was the bank who owned them.” To supplement the ranch, Frank worked as a faller most of his life, however, he sustained
two life threatening accidents within eight years –– both times breaking his neck, but recovering against the odds. During his recovery he stayed home to look after the kids
Angie Mindus photos
and Betty went back to work. “She was probably working a lot harder than I was, I just didn’t know it.” Frank says his foray into showbiz was completely by accident, when his son Dan and local veterinarian Eileen Alberton, convinced him to get on stage to recite his poetry at the Harvest Fall Fair. The crowd loved him and he loved the rush of performing. “It turned out what I thought was a curse, was a blessing,” Frank says of years of writing poetry leading up to his first performance. “Then I was like a kid in a candy store, I wanted more.” Frank was offered a gig at O’Keefe’s Ranch in Vernon. He also found a solution to slowing down his fasttalking style on stage
was to sit during his performances. “It’s like playing the fiddle, if I slow down too much I lose my rhythm.” After that there was no slowing him down –– he was booked for performances in Stony Plain and Pincher Creek, the best of the best for cowboy poets and country entertainers. Then he got the call to perform in Elko, Nevado at the internationally-reknown Cowboy Country Festival to perform on the All-Canadian Night with the likes of Canadian stars Cindy Church, Donnie Waddell and Bud McKeg. “It was so emotional. We were all very proud –– it was pretty special,” Frank says. “Going to Elko was like going to Carnegie Hall. I thought, ‘pinch me’.” Gleeson says he was invited back eight or ten more times, and was on a real roll writing - whether it was day or night. “I got up (one time) and felt this poem coming on,” Frank recalls, before Betty steps in to tell the rest of the tale. “He recites them in his sleep,” she says, remembering when he got up in the middle of the night, and “made an awful noise,” cooking bacon, banging pots, turning on the lights, and ended up writing seven poems that night. “Some will hit you and some won’t,” says Frank. Betty’s favourite poem is called Cliff Clagget, in memory of his old boss. “It’s such a good one — I just love it.” Frank and Betty spent the next 15 years on the road, touring across Canada and the United States on the country entertainment circuit.
See GLEESON, Page 9
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CASUAL COUNTRY 2014 - 9
Stampede Cowboy poetry by Frank Gleeson
Cliff Claggett
Bras and Saddle Horns The inspiration for this poem came from Butch and Connie Falk. This is a true story. Now, this gal, she showed up at our ranch, So we put her on a horse And the old western saddle Well, it had a horn there of course. Now ladies bras and addle horns, Well, they don’t always match, And if you get hung up on one You’re bound to get a scratch
Now, this lady, she stepped off her horse, She hoped with grace and style. But, when I saw her hooked on the horn Well, I just had to smile. Now, she’s fighting to get free. but, in spite of what she tries She’s held there by her bra strap, And she’s hung out to dry.
She’s wiggling and she’s squirming And then she starts to curse. It’s harder on my boobs Than to teach a kid to nurse.
So, the next time she comes to the ranch To ride out in the morn I’ll get her an old English set That doesn’t have a horn.
Now, she can ride the buckskin Or she can ride the roan And tell her “why don’t you just bounce along And leave your bra at home.” She’s leaning back there in the saddle. The horse makes quite a stride. Just like a bareback rider On his eight second ride.
Now, she’s a busty gal you see, She’s shaking every ounce. And every time the horse comes down Well things, they start to bounce.
Angie Mindus photo
Frank Gleeson recites his wife Betty’s favourite poem entitled Cliff Claggett at the couple’s home north of Williams Lake.
Gleeson makes Canada proud on Cowboy Poetry Festival circuit Continued from Page 8 “It’s the people you remember. They make the show,” Frank says. One time, Frank recalls, when having a hard time getting the crowd going during a show in Alberta, he looked around and noticed many large breasted-women in the audience. Taking a gambling, Frank recited his poem Bras and Saddle Horns, which tells the humorous tale of a woman getting caught on a saddle. He said the poem was a hit and the night a great success. “Everybody likes
to laugh. You do well when you have humour in your corner.” Frank believes he’s written about a 1,000 songs over his lifetime. He has about 200 or so memorized. Five years ago however Frank and Betty’s house burned down. The couple escaped, but a lot of Frank’s poetry was destroyed. “We lost an awful lot of history.” The last 18 years the couple have slowed down, taking in just a few performances every year such as the Kamloops Cowboy Festival. As well as cowboy poetry, Frank sings and
does the jig. Gleeson was inducted into the BC Cowboy Hall of Fame for artistic achievements in 2010. And after not having cattle for the past seven years, Frank impulsively purchased a dozen heifers this year which the couple calved out this spring. “He’s got more life in him when cattle are here,” says Betty. “But I did tell him, no more heifers — he’s up every two hours in the night!” Frank agrees the ranching life is good for him. “I feel better with the cattle, I’m back to my roots again.”
She’s bouncing right on down the hill. The old horse, he looks back. You swear she had two grizzly cubs Tied there in a sack. So, gals before you go on the trail So things will work out right, Just take a roll of friction tape And wrap yourself real tight.
I’m not telling you to hide them Nor keep them out of sight. But, to save yourself some trouble Just tuck them in real tight.
See, boobs, they are a gift from God. And that we shouldn’t scorn But they belong inside a bra. Not on a saddle horn.
Liz Twan photo
Mike Puhallo presents Frank Gleeson with a plaque marking his induction into the BC Cowboy Hall of Fame at the Kamloops Cowboy Festival on March 12, 2010.
Now way out on the prairies Near Melford, was the town A young cowboy was born there And his name would be renown. For he took a horse and wagon. Chuck wagon racing was his game And I think you all remember him Cliff Claggett was his name. Now, not the best equipment Pretty rugged some would say But it didn’t bother Cliff at all. He just went on his way. I remember out at Clinton, Though his wagon didn’t tip He wound up underneath it, And old Cliff broke a hip. Oh, he travelled all around the West. He had himself a time But, the best part of all of it When down across the line. The looks those fellows gave him The smiles there on their face. They looked at old Cliff’s outfit Like he’d come from outer space. But, next night on the track out there The smiles, they left their face As he passed them on the back stretch And was winner of the race. They thought he was an easy mark, The one they all could beat But when the dust had settled He had won the final heat. Oh, he could be hard on enemies But real kind to a friend. He’d give you his last dollar Or anything he’d care to lend. Then out in Morris, Manitoba While running in the rain Old Cliff was badly injured And would never race again. Oh, he laid there in the hospital And then early one morn He died there on the prairies Not far from where he was born. No longer would he hear the horn That started every race. No longer would he turn the barrels, Then try to set the pace. No longer down the back stretch, Wind blowing in his face Where the local hometown cheered him on As he won his final race. No longer would he harness up, Or run there in the rain. No more laying in the bed, His body racked with pain. No longer would he roll his rig Or run against the best. Those big strong hands that held the lines Would now be laid to rest. No, he’s up there in the land above, Where all good drivers are found, Where the wagons float above the clouds And never touch the ground. He’s up there in the land above Where you never break a hip. Where the ground is soft as angel dust And your wagons never tip. People came from miles around Some to sing and pray, And his casket was laid to rest That sad and sombre day. Yes, hardened cowboys filled the church. They looked up to the sky, As mist and sorrow filled their eyes As they came to say good-bye. Yes, it was his final ride One he’d take alone. The old cowboy they loved so much Had finally come back home.
10 - CASUAL COUNTRY 2014
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Stampede Cowboys inducted into BC Cowboy Hall of Fame Bryson, Petal and Telford family among those honoured for life’s work Museum of the Cariboo-Chilcotin Casual Country 2014 The BC Cowboy Hall of Fame includes several categories. First of all, to qualify in all categories, nominees must be, or have been, a professional working cowboy or rancher whose contributions have been made in British Columbia. The definition of a professional cowboy is one who has made his/her living physically working with cattle and horses. A ranch derives its income mainly from the sale of beef cattle. Categories for the BC Cowboy Hall of Fame are: Working Cowboy, Competitive Cowboy, Ranching Pioneer, Horseman, Artistic, Ranching Family and Century Ranch.
For 2014, there were six inductions into the BC Cowboy Hall of Fame. Three are from wellknown Cariboo Chilcotin families and three from the Kamloops and Okanagan areas. Some cowboys fit into more than one category. Working Cowboy Valentine Haynes is another outstanding working cowboy inducted in 2014 at the Kamloops Cowboy Festival. One of the last of the ‘old time’ cowboys, Valentine (Val) Carmichael Haynes, is a legend in the south Okanagan where he spent most of his 88 years as a working cowboy. He was born in 1875 in the Customs House
in Osoyoos where his father Judge J.C. Haynes was the first Collector of Customs. Val was truly a cowboy with the spirit of the old-time pioneers and is remembered as an outstanding cattleman by his peers. He was a familiar figure on his horse in his flat-brimmed Pikes Peak hat, suit vest, silk neckerchief, woolly chaps and cowboy boots. He passed away in 1963 and will long be remembered by the people in the OliverOsoyoos districts and all over the province. Ranching Pioneer Well known in the Cariboo, the Ranching Pioneer chosen this year was Clarence Bryson, a respected cattleman who
Photo courtesy of the Museum of the Cariboo-Chilcotin
Val Haynes — a true cowboy with the spirit of the old-time pioneers. spent a lifetime in the ranching industry. He is born to John B. and Minnie Bryson, July 22, 1908, and grew up on the Grange Ranch at Pavilion. During the depression, Clarence earned
money to help the family pay taxes on the Grange Ranch by milking the range cows and selling the milk. He was a man of great strength and endurance. In his 20s, Clarence hauled mining
parts and supplies off Pavilion Mountain to the Pioneer Mine using one horse to pull a sled down the steep incline on a single track. The winter weather was harsh, but Clarence
never wore any protection on his hands or head except the white Stetson that became his trademark.
See RANCHING, Page 11
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CASUAL COUNTRY 2014 - 11
Stampede Ranching work honoured by BC Cowboy Hall of Fame Continued from Page 10 Clarence married Eleanore McCallum in 1931 and lived at the Grange Ranch where he and his brother Duffy further developed and managed the 5000 acre ranch. After the death of J.B. Bryson, the five children inherited the ranch and formed the Bryson CoOp Ranching Association. The Grange was later sold to Colonel Victor Spencer who had amassed several ranches including the Circle S in Dog Creek and the Carson Ranch at Pavilion and named it the Diamond S. Clarence stayed on for a while then went to manage Chilco Ranch for Gerry Mayfield. In 1949 Clarence used his share from the sale of the Grange Ranch to buy the Voght Ranch in Merritt. He was a com-
Clarence Bryson munity leader in Merritt and the first leader of the Nicola Valley 4-H Beef Club. Clarence had political aspirations and became an alderman in Merritt and took an unsuccessful shot at provincial politics in the mid- 1950s. When the historic Empire Valley Ranch was listed for sale, Clarence sold the Merritt ranch and the Bryson family purchased the ranch from Henry Koster. In the fall of 1956, they started ranching on Empire Valley. Clarence and his family built up the ranch to 35,000 acres, increas-
ing the hayfields and the cow herd to 2,000 head. They also ran a famous hunting lodge. Empire Valley had the largest mule deer herd and California Big Horn Sheep band in North America. The Bryson family operated the ranch until 1967 when they sold to Bob Maytag. After leaving the Empire Valley, Clarence and Eleanore bought a small place at Monte Creek. Clarence enjoyed helping out his ranching neighbours and became an active member of the BC Cattlemen’s Association and the Kamloops Exhibition Association and helped develop of the KXA rodeo grounds and racetrack in Kamloops. Clarence was an announcer at the Williams Lake Stampede and was the first announcer for the BC High School Rodeo in Kamloops. He died September 15, 1990 at 82 years of age and will
long be remembered by the ranching community. Steffens Brothers Family Ranch Claude Paul Henry came to Canada from Germany in 1885, settling in Ashcroft. In 1904 Claude and his family pre-empted 320 acres near Merritt and that was the beginning of the Steffens Brothers Ranch. When Claude died in 1910, Sophia and their 13 children took over operation of the ranch. The three oldest, Rubert, James and Sophie operated the ranch after Sophia’s death in 1935. Sophie and Rubert never married and had no children. James married Priscilla Olive Smith in 1931. Their five children, Jim, Donalda, Larry, Tricia and Allan were born in Merritt. All of the children were involved in the day to day operation of the
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ranch, but Jim, the oldest son, had the most interest and passion for it. Jim took over management of the ranch with Rubert and Olive in 1958 after the death of his father James, while completing his fourth year of veterinary medicine. He returned to university and graduated as a Dr. of Veterinary Medicine. In the early 1970s, Jim purchased the Steffens Brothers Ranch outright. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, he sold his veterinary practice and started to sell off some of the ranch properties. The Home Ranch was sold to a site developer in 2012. All the ranch buildings and the yard have been demolished. Only memories remain. There is one acre of the original homestead left that contains the Steffens Family Cemetery, still operational after 103 years.
The Fox Century Ranch 2014 Members of the Fox family have operated the ranch on Duck Range for more than 100 years. Jack Fox applied for a homestead and received the deed to his 160 acres on October 13, 1900. Brother Fred followed on his way to the gold fields and invited his younger brother Lew to join them, and in 1907, a new era began. Fred and Lew pooled their resources and purchased three quarters of land at Duck Range. On the property, Lew and Fred ran cattle and draft horses. Following Fred’s death in 1929, the partnership was dissolved and Fred’s widow, Mary, got the original three quarters and Lew got title to the other two and most of the livestock. He continued to raise horses and cattle. Lew and his wife Eva had
four children, Elizabeth June, Lewis and Frederick (Bud). Bud and his wife Dorothy eventually took over operation of the ranch. In 2009, the Fox Ranch was recognized by the provincial government and awarded a Century Farm Award. Now, over 100 years later, fourth generation Fox family members are still living and ranching on the same property at Duck Range. Bud and Dorothy’s only son Jim has stayed on the ranch and is in charge of the operation. The Norman Telford Family ranch was also honoured this year in Williams Lake. See Pages 41 and 42 in our Out West section. To see all of the BC Cowboy Hall of Fame inductees from 1998 to 2014, visit the Museum of the Cariboo Chilcotin where the stories, artifacts and photos are on display.
Welcome to Williams Lake Donna Barnett MLA
Cariboo Chilcotin
Stunning. Exhilarating. Welcoming. I hope you also find your time here in the beautiful Cariboo to feel a little bit like heaven and a lot like home.
PAULINE COLGATE-SMITH Cariboo Realty 250-302-1785
paulinecolgate@sutton.com
COURT SMITH 250-302-1176 csmith@sutton.com
www.suttoncariboorealty.com 232B Third Avenue North • 250-392-5959
#102 - 383 Oliver Street Williams Lake, B.C. V2G 1M4 8:30 - 3:30 Monday - Friday Toll Free 1-866-305-3804 Phone 250-305-3800 • Fax 250-305-3808 email: donna.barnett.mla@leg.bc.ca
12 - CASUAL COUNTRY 2014
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Stampede Clarence Petal inducted into BC Cowboy Hall of Fame Museum of the Cariboo Chilcotin Casual Country 2014 Working Cowboy/ Competitive Achievements Chilcotin cowboy Clarence Petal was inducted in both outstanding working cowboy and competitive achievements. Now in his late 70s, Clarence is still ranching on his father’s homestead at Edwards Meadow on the Anaham Reserve in the Chilcotin where he was born in 1935 to Henry and Edith Petal. He has a full-time cattle operation, harvests his own hay and contracts to harvest hay for other ranchers. From the time he was 15 years old, Clarence participated in the long cattle drives from Eagle Lake to the Williams Lake Stockyards, driv-
Clarence Petal ing 100 to 600 head of cattle. Once at the yards, he worked for ranchers helping to put their cattle through the stockyards and herding them to water at the lake twice a day. Clarence worked with his father on haying contracts as far as Cache Creek and the Douglas Lake Ranch and building russell fences, some still standing today. All the work was done by hand, chopping down the trees and splitting the rails.
Clarence cowboyed on many of the ranches in the Cariboo Chilcotin including The Onward Ranch, 150 Mile Ranch, Fletchers and C-1 Ranch. Besides ranching, Clarence has had a successful career in rodeo. He has won championships in team roping and calf roping at the Anahim Lake Stampede and participated in many gymkhanas and competitions. He is a talented horse trainer and farrier and all-around handyman. He can fix ranch equipment, carpenter and cowboy and is always ready to assist other ranchers and families in the area. Clarence is fluent in the Chilcotin language and is knowledgeable about Chilcotin First Nations history, rituals and traditional activities such as drying fish and meat, berry picking and identifying medicine plants.
Erika Petal photo
Clarence Petal gets lots of help from family and friends during branding time on the ranch in the spring at Edwards Meadow on the Anaham Reserve.
Mother’s Day a treat at Petal’s annual timed event Rhoda Petal
Casual Country 2014 It was another great success at our 14th anniversary Mother’s Day Timed Event. We would like to give a big cowboy handshake to everyone who helped out on Saturday, May 10th for branding for us and for Uncle Clarence Petal and for
taking part in our Mother Day’s Timed Event Sunday, May 11, 2014. It all started out with a fun day of roping. Thanks to fundraising through bingos, raffle tickets, Loonie auction and various in-kind donations from our local businesses around Cariboo Chilcotin, rodeo friends and all the
local members from Stone, Anaham and Redstone reserve, our yearly event gets bigger and bigger. Many ropers like coming to our yearly event due to no barriers on all timed events and just coming out and having fun with their friends and family. It is a fun-filled day with many activities
Erika Petal photos
Harvey Petal, a nephew to Clarence Petal, competes in the Mother’s Day Timed Event, held at Edwards Meadow annually.
throughout the weekend, the Lehal tournament in memory of our late Grandfather Henry Petal who was a true Lehal player, silent Loonie auction, and a $2,500 bingo. We also gear towards having many kids riding events, they can use their own horses or compete on a borrowed horse. The smiles we see on their faces is wonderful as they are so happy. We also had the honour of having many top competitors from the BCRA and roping associations to rope with everyone and make friends. To all that helped inside and outside the arena and especially our cooks who cooked our meals and the free big beef barbecue on Saturday and Sunday breakfast to everyone, everyone loved Agnes’s bannock and wanted to know her secret recipe. The whole weekend was a very successful one
Children are all smiles at the family friendly Mother’s Day Timed Event, hosted by the Petal family at Anaham Reserve. and we hope to see you all next year. The family would like to say thank you to all the cowgirls, cowboys and volun-
teer helpers who have participated and hope to see you all at our next Time Events in May of 2015. We welcome you all to come
out to our branding the day before and witness the real cowboy traditional style or just camp out and enjoy the weekend.
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CASUAL COUNTRY 2014 - 13
Andrew Cuthell - Stone Mason - 250-392-1576 • Stone Walls • Patios • Paths • Steps • Custom Fireplaces • Chimneys • Tiling • Plastering • Stucco • Bricklaying
14 - CASUAL COUNTRY 2014
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Stampede Tribune reporter wins Stampede poster contest Precision, action, timing plus a little luck equals a unique, one-of-a-kind image. That’s how the B.C. and Yukon Community Newspaper Association judges described Williams Lake Tribune/Weekend Advisor sports editor Greg Sabatino’s awardwinning photograph captured during the 2012 Williams Lake Stampede. Now that image has been chosen as the official 2014 Williams Lake Stampede poster. The photograph depicts one of the most exciting and popular events at the Williams Lake Stampede — the mountain horse race. The image shows Alexis Creek’s Darren Sulin (back from left) and Merritt’s Chris Dielman, Pat-
rick McLoud (front from left) and Steve Quilt emerging from a cloud of dust before making their way around the track and into the grandstand arena to the cheers of thousands of spectators, all rooting for their favourite riders. The 2012 overall mountain race title was won by Nemiah Valley’s Roger William, followed by crowd-favourite Jimmy Lulua, also from Nemiah Valley. William then went on to win again in 2013, capturing the first-ever King of the Hill championship, following a three-race series held throughout the region. The image received accolades winning first place in the feature photo colour
photo category at the 2013 BCYCNA Ma Murray Community Newspaper Awards at the River Rock Show Theatre in Richmond, beating out hundreds of entries from throughout B.C. and the Yukon. The photographer, Sabatino, was born and raised in Kamloops, graduating from Thompson Rivers University with a Bachelor of Journalism degree in 2008 before he completed an internship with Kamloops This Week newspaper that summer. In September of 2008 he moved to Williams Lake with his wife, Caitlin, to take on the role of sports editor at the Williams Lake Tribune. He has been living,
working and playing in the community ever since. By no means a rodeo photographer by trade, the rookie reporter quickly discovered he’d be spending many of his days at the Stampede Grounds during the spring and summer months covering various rodeos and other rodeo-related events. It turned out covering rodeos — particularly the Stampede — was going to fill a large portion of the job description. Now heading into his sixth year covering the Stampede for the Williams Lake Tribune/Weekend Advisor, Sabatino says he looks forward to roaming the grounds during Stampede weekend each year.
Angie Mindus photo
While the dust may be settled for now, it’s sure to fly for the 88th annual Williams Lake Stampede. Here, Tribune sports editor Greg Sabatino holds up a copy of the poster at the hill where the famous mountain race image was taken.
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CASUAL COUNTRY 2014 - 15
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16 - CASUAL COUNTRY 2014
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CELEBRATING OVER 40 YEARS
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www.pioneerloghomesofbc.com Phone Toll Free 1-877-822-5647 250-392-5577
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CASUAL COUNTRY 2014 - 17
Northern Shuswap Tribal Council
Northern Shuswap Tribal Council 17 South First Avenue Williams Lake, BC V2G 1H4 (250) 392-7361
‘We’re open for business’ The NSTC Board invite you to visit, either at the tribal council office on North First or to check out the NSTC or the Community websites
Northern Shuswap Board of Directors: David Archie, Stswecem’c Xgat’tem First Nation; Bev Sellars, Soda Creek Band; Ann Louie, Williams Lake Indian Band; and, Mike Archie, Canim Lake Band Photo by About Face Photography, Williams Lake, B.C.
Canim Lake Indian Band PO Box 1030, 100 Mile House, BC V0K 2E0 (250) 397-2227
Soda Creek Indian Band 1405 Mountain House Road, Williams Lake, BC V2G 5L5 (250) 989-2323
Stswecem’c Xgat’tem First Nation General Delivery, Dog Creek, BC V0L 1J0 (250) 440-5645
Williams Lake Indian Band 2672 Indian Drive, Williams Lake, BC V2G 5K9 (250) 296-3507
Economic Development & Home Based Businesses The four bands have over 2,000 members, the majority under the age of 30, have a large traditional territory in the central interior of British Columbia, known as the Cariboo Chilcotin. The tribal council and the Band administration, the Band or individual entrepreneurs do the major part of their shopping for building supplies and home appliances; food, clothing, household goods and motor vehicles in the city of Williams Lake and in 100 Mile House. The four communities have been developing their own businesses over the years. Following are some of the businesses or economic development ventures of the four communities: Canim Lake Band Enterprises.; Teniye Logging LTD.; Kenkeknem Forest Tenures Ltd.; Chief Will-Yum Gas Bar; Chief Will-Yum Campsite; Sugar Cane TreadPro; Coyote Rock Golf Course; Sugar Cane Radio 100.7; Chief William Heritage Site; Xat’sull Heritage Village;
Xatśūll General Partner Ltd.; Whispering Willows Campsite; Dog Creek Store & Gas; and, Stswecem’c Xgat’tem Development Ltd. Partnership. Recently Williams Lake Indian Band and Lake Excavating of Williams Lake have signed a joint venture agreement. Each of the four communities also has several members with home based businesses: if you are looking to purchase crafts, clothing, pow wow regalia, quilts, afghans, knitted sweaters or vests, birch bark, woven or pine needle baskets, baby baskets, buckskin vests, mocassins or jackets, and beadwork; photos of cultural activities; home baked goods; aromatherapy products made from the natural environment and catering to small or large gatherings. Please contact the Bands to purchase these products or services
18 - CASUAL COUNTRY 2014
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Stampede Mark Denny 2014 Stampede lifetime pass recipient By Gaeil Farrar Casual Country 2014 Mark Denny has loved every minute of his time as a Williams Lake Stampede Association volunteer, so being named this year’s rodeo lifetime pass recipient came as a complete surprise. “I was amazed when Willie (Crosina) phoned me,” Denny says. “It is an honour.” A saddle-maker by trade, Denny has volunteered with the Stampede association for the past 20 years in various capacities. His favourite part is the Monday night work parties during May and June when volunteers get together at the Stampede Grounds to paint, fix fences, clean-up, and work on various improvement projects. They start about 6 p.m. and work until dark getting ready for Stampede, enjoying each other’s company and working for a common goal. “That’s fun, just working with people who are all
Gaeil Farrar photo
Mark Denny has been a happy Stampede volunteer for many years. He is also one of an elite few people who makes custom saddles for customers with size and design elements made just to their specifications. working for the same thing, to put on a rodeo,” Denny says.
He also served eight years as a director with the association, about two of them
working on the campsite management and development, and six years working
as the sponsorship director. Being the campsite director involves organizing maintenance projects and working with the caretaker on managing the site. As sponsorship director he worked to encourage participation by local and major corporate sponsors. Establishing promotional programs for major sponsors such as Coors, Copenhagen and Dodge involved a trip to Edmonton each year. While no longer a director, Denny continues to enjoy the Monday night work parties. “Stampede is great,” Denny says. “It brings a lot of people to town for the weekend and keeps our western spirit alive. And it’s not just the rodeo. There is a car show, street party, rugby tournament …” Born and raised in Williams Lake Denny operates Cariboo Saddlery, a business started in the lakecity by his late father, Tom, who was also a Stampede volunteer honoured with a lifetime pass.
Mark started working with leather as a hobby during his teens and later took a job at a saddle factory in Calgary where he learned the trade of saddle-making. When he returned to the lakecity he added saddlemaking to the family business of selling and repairing saddles and tack. “Saddle-making is the glory part,” Denny says. “I couldn’t make a living just making saddles.” Each of the 737 custom saddles he has made during his 20-year saddle-making career has a serial number which coincides with the name of the person for whom the saddle was made and details on the specific size and design elements that went into making the saddle. He has had customers from all over the world who come to him to have custom saddles made for them. Customers also call him up to have a new saddle made when the old one wears out or needs a bit of repair.
www.blocksrus.ca
250-392-3646 • 152 Soda Creek Rd
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CASUAL COUNTRY 2014 - 19
WILLIAMS LAKE STAMPEDE
88
th Annual June 27, 28, 29 & 30, 2014
Daybreak Rotary’s Stampede Parade Saturday, June 28th @ 10am ‘Brought to you by The Number 4 and The Letter H’ www.stampedeparade.com
Entertainment All Weekend Long In The Let ‘ R Buck Saloon Ken McCoy, Whiskey Jane and Clancy Wright & the Silverados Friday, June 27th
11:00 am
9:00 pm - 1:00 am
9:00 am
Drill Team Bronc Buster Trade Fair Behind Grandstand Opening Ceremonies and Grand Entry Professional Rodeo Events Firefighters Beef-on-a-Bun and Knights of Columbus 7:00 am Concessions Behind Grandstand Mountain Race Stampede Concession (all day) Stampede Infield Introduction of Sponsors Rotary Club of WL Breakfast 12:00 pm Intermission Show - Clown Brian Potter (7:00 am to 11:00 am) Lake City Ford Back Lot Beer Garden Opens Stampede Grandstand Wild Cowgirls Race Knights of Columbus Pancake Breakfast (7:00 am to 11:30+) Ranch Saddle Bronc Riding Save On Foods 1:45 pm Global FMX Professional Freestyle Motocross Legion Indoor Breakfast (8:30 am to 12:00 pm) Legion Rodeo 3rd Performance Stampede Grandstand Ranch Challenge Drill Team 11:00 am 5:00 pm Bronc Buster Trade Fair Behind Grandstand Opening Ceremonies and Grand Entry Live Band - Clancy Wright & the Silverados Let ‘ R Buck Saloon 2014 Cowboy Hall of Fame Beer Gardens Open Rotary Club of WL Steakout Lake City Ford Back Lot Introduction of Lifetime Members • Parade Marshall Firefighters Beef-on-a-Bun and Knights of Columbus Legion Beef Dip (4:00 pm to ??) Legion Concessions Behind Grandstand Professional Rodeo Events Mountain Race 8:00 pm - 1:00 am Intermission Show - Clown Brian Potter 12:45 pm - FAMILY DAY - Kids Under 12 Free Live Bands - Ken McCoy and Whiskey Jane Rodeo 1st Performance Stampede Grandstand Wild Cowgirls Race Let ‘ R Buck Saloon Global FMX Professional Freestyle Motocross Drill Team Ranch Challenge Opening Ceremonies and Grand Entry Professional Rodeo Events 5:00 pm Monday, June 30th Intermission Show - Clown Brian Potter Live Band - Clancy Wright & the Silverados Let ‘ R Buck Saloon FAMILY DAY - Kids Under 12 Free Wild Cowgirls Race Rotary Club of WL Steakout Lake City Ford Back Lot Global FMX Professional Freestyle Motocross Legion Steak Night (5:30 pm to 7:00 pm) Legion 7:00 am Stampede Concession (all day) Stampede Infield 4:30 pm - 8:00 pm Rotary Club of WL Breakfast Lake City Ford Back Lot Rotary Club Steakout Lake City Ford Back Lot 8:00 pm - 1:00 am Live Bands - Ken McCoy and Whiskey Jane Let ‘ R Buck Saloon (7:00 am to 11:00 am) (4:30 pm to 8:00 pm) Knights of Columbus Pancake Breakfast Save On Foods Legion Steak Night (5:30 pm to 7:00 pm) Legion (7:00 am to 11:30+) Sunday, June 29th Legion Indoor Breakfast (8:30 am to 12:00 pm) Legion 6:45 pm - Wear Red to Support our Armed Forces 7:00 am Rodeo 2nd Performance Stampede Grandstand GRASSLAND Stampede Concession (all day) Stampede Infield Drill Team EQUIPMENT Ltd. Rotary Club of WL Breakfast Lake City Ford Back Lot 9:00 am Opening Ceremonies and Grand Entry Behind Bucking Chutes (7:00 am to 11:00 am), Knights of Columbus Pancake Breakfast Animal Athlete Tour Exchange of Royalty Crowns Save On Foods 11:00 am Professional Rodeo Events Bronc Buster Trade Fair Behind Grandstand (7:00 am to 11:30+) Mountain Race Legion Indoor Breakfast (8:30 am to 12:00 pm) Legion Firefighters Beef-on-a-Bun and Knights of Columbus Intermission Show - Clown Brian Potter Concessions Behind Grandstand Live Band - Ken McCoy
Animal Athlete Tour Let ‘ R Buck Saloon 10:00 am
Cowboy Church
Saturday, June 28th
11:00 am
Behind Bucking Chutes Stampede Grandstand
12:00 pm
Beer Garden Opens
LAKE CITY CENTRAL
Stampede Grandstand EQUIPMENT LTD.
12:45 pm
advisor
the
Stampede Grandstand Bronc Buster Trade Fair Behind Grandstand Rodeo 5th Performance 7:00 am Drill Team Firefi ghters Beef-on-a-Bun and Knights of Columbus Stampede Concession (all day) Stampede Infield Concessions Behind Grandstand Global FMX Professional Freestyle Motocross Rotary Club of WL Breakfast Opening Ceremonies and Grand Entry (7:00 am to 11:00 am) Lake City Ford Back Lot 12:00 pm Professional Rodeo Events Knights of Columbus Pancake Breakfast Beer Garden Opens Stampede Grandstand Mountain Race (7:00 am to 11:30+) Save On Foods Intermission Show - Clown Brian Potter Legion Indoor Breakfast (8:30 am to 12:00 pm) Legion 1:00 pm Heritage Circles Museum at Borland & 4th Ave Introduction of Stampede Directors Wild Cowgirls Race 10:00 am hosted by Museum of Cariboo Chilcotin Stampede Parade Downtown Williams Lake 5:00 pm 1:45 pm - Tough Enough to Wear Pink Volunteer Appreciation BBQ Let ‘ R Buck Saloon Rodeo 4th Performance Stampede Grandstand by Invitation Only
weekend
ld Famous Wor
www.williamslakestampede.com
Stampede Office located at the back of the Grandstand
For ticket sales and information call 250-392-6585 or Toll Free 1-800-71-RODEO (1-800-717-6336)
Monday to Friday ~ June 2 - June 26 • 10 am - 5 pm Open Saturdays ~ June 7, 14 & 21 • 10 am - 2 pm
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20 - CASUAL COUNTRY 2014
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Stampede
Horse community steps up to help sick kids Angie Mindus Casual Country 2014 Rene and Karla Leclerc of the Minton Creek Ranch have
been using their beautiful property just north of Williams Lake, and their connection with the local horse community to make a differ-
Photo submitted
Courtney Burhke shows off the saddle bags she won for highest pledges for a junior during the Provincial Wish Trail Ride event at the Minton Creek Ranch.
ence in the lives of sick kids. For the past several years the couple have organized their annual Provincial Wish Trail Ride fundraiser for the Children’s Wish Foundation of Canada every May and have already raised more than $40,000 for the important charity –– this year bringing in an impressive $14,000 alone. “She does all the work,” Rene says of his wife of 41 years, Karla. “I’m just on the social committee.” The Children’s Wish Foundation of Canada helps make dreams come true for thousands of Canadian children by granting the favourite wishes of those living with life threatening illnesses. The non-profit organization has granted
Angie Mindus photo
Riders come in after completing a trail ride during the Provincial Wish Trail Ride at Minton Creek Ranch in May.
more than 20,000 wishes in its 30 years, creating happy moments for children, providing respite to the child’s family and connection to healthcare professionals and communities. Rene says it’s an easy charity to support. “Whatever the child’s desire is, if they can do it for them, they do,” Rene says of the Children’s Wish Foundation. “It would be hard not to help them.” Rene and Karla found their way to Williams Lake many years ago, when the two came out from Manitoba as young adults to visit Rene’s brother Ernie. “We came out on a holiday some 40 years ago and we’re still here.” The couple first rented a home in Wildwood, before building their own house on 30 acres they purchased just behind the Minton Creek Ranch. Rene worked as a heavy duty mechanic and the couple raised two children; son, Cory, who lives in Squamish and runs his own mountain biking business, and daughter, Risa, a community nurse who just moved to Lillooet and comes home every year to help out with the ride. “It’s a big group effort,” Rene says of the fundraiser. “The people and businesses in town really support us.” Rene said the couple had an opportunity to buy the Minton Creek Ranch in 1993, and have been there ever since, boarding and leasing horses as well as owning their own. “Karla has always had the horse bug,” Rene says. When an opportunity came up to help out with the ride in 2009, the two gladly offered up their ranch, barn and riding trails. “The riding is the fun part,” says Rene, noting they average 25 to 35 riders every year who
Angie Mindus photo
Karla and Rene Leclerk host the annual Provincial Wish Trail Ride at their Minton Creek Ranch to raise funds for the Children’s Wish Foundation.
Photo submitted
Rene Leclerc and his daughter Risa enjoy working together during the annual Provincial Wish Trail Ride at Minton Creek Ranch. collect pledges for the ride. Organizers also offer lunch by donation, a silent auction, a raffle and
even the live music of the Old Time Fiddlers. An added bonus to fundraising for such a worthwhile charity, is
the more than 20 kilometres of spectacular trails avid trail riders get to enjoy during the day-long event.
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CASUAL COUNTRY 2014 - 21
Stampede
Tom Curtis a passionate community volunteer Pat Skoblanuik Casual Country 2014 It’s not often that we have the privilege of knowing a person who is willing to volunteer his or her time without question or expecting recognition. Our community is fortunate to have many people who fit in this category, but one who stands out is Tom Curtis. Tom was born in Williams Lake in the old War Memorial Hospital. He was the 10th of 12 children born to Ray and Dora Curtis. Tom grew up in Williams Lake when the town was small. Kids had the run of the town and everyone knew their neighbours. He has a wealth of knowledge about how the town used to look and who lived where.
He started school at Parkside Elementary, then went to Williams Lake Elementary, Williams Lake Junior Secondary and was in the first class to attend the new Columneetza high school. After finishing school, Tom worked at J.C’s Bootery for about a year then started a career in the forest industry; first with Lignums, then Merrill Gardner and ended his career at West Fraser Plywood plant where he retired in 2010. He raised his family of one son and one daughter in Williams Lake. His children have moved to other cities and are married with families. There are seven grandchildren in all and Tom never misses travelling to Vernon or Calgary for each of their birthdays.
Tom has lived his whole life in Williams Lake and plans to stay here except for the summer months that he spends on his property at Canim Lake. Tom enjoys the outdoors, fishing and kayaking on the lake and his annual fishing trip to Bella Coola. Although he doesn’t rodeo himself, Tom comes from a long line of local rodeo competitors. His father, Ray, uncle Marvin, and aunts, Ollie and Colleen, all competed and helped out in the early years of the Cariboo Stampede, later renamed the Williams Lake Stampede. The Curtis family history in Williams Lake goes back to Tom’s grandfather, Harry Curtis.
See FAMILY, Page 22
Photo submitted
Avid community volunteer and lifelong Williams Lake resident Tom Curtis stands with the Curtis family display at the Museum of the Cariboo Chilcotin.
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Stampede
Family ties steeped in rodeo history Continued from Page 21 Harry came to Canada from England at two years of age and grew up in Ontario. As a young man, he came to this area via the Yukon to look for work. He decided to settle here and married Julia Dussault, a member of a pioneer family. Harry and Julia had gardens along the Fraser River near Chimney Creek and a sawmill where the ‘old ski cabin’ was located, next to what is now Westridge. He also had a sawmill on the south side of the lake. Harry was a Mason, was involved in the community and was one of the first village commissioners when Williams Lake was incorporated in 1929 and contin-
Photo courtesy of the Museum of the Cariboo Chilcotin
Ray Curtis (left) holds a horse during the Ladies Pony Express Race while Hazel Exshaw, Betty Bambrick and Ollie Curtis (on the ground) compete at the Cariboo Stampede in Williams Lake many decades ago. ued until his untimely death in 1931. Tom is also involved in the community. He began playing badminton in 1958 when the
club played in the Elks Hall. He still plays badminton once a week and has been involved in the organization of
the club and helping with functions since he joined. In 1998, Tom became a director on the museum board
and has been actively volunteering since in any capacity that he is needed. He served a term as vice-president and a term as president
and still remains as a director. During volunteer week in April, Tom was presented with a life-time membership to the museum
in appreciation of his contribution to the museum. After his retirement, Tom began volunteering at the Williams Lake Branch 139 Legion. If not at the museum, he can be found at the Legion doing whatever is required, such as setting up for special events, helping in the kitchen and with maintenance and cleaning. One of the biggest jobs is the legion’s annual Poppy campaign in November. Tom is very busy then, helping to distribute and collect the Poppy boxes around the city. We are all thankful to have this active, energetic, dedicated volunteer in our community and hope Tom will continue for many years to come.
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CASUAL COUNTRY 2014 - 23
Photo submitted Rancher Rudy Johnson and his son, Bob, along with Highlands Irrigation Ltd.’s Dick Ford in the mid 1970s.
LeRae Haynes photo
Monica Lamb-Yorski photo
Opportunities at every corner
Cariboo BUSINESS
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Business
Feral pigs help clear Cougar Road Farm Diana French Casual Country 2014 Raising feral pigs (wild swine) was not among the prerequisites Peter and Kim Lange had in mind when they were dreaming of a home on an acreage somewhere in a country setting. The Langes lived at Port Renfrew, Vancouver Island, and liked the Island but land prices there and on the Lower Mainland were higher than they could manage, so they began looking farther afield. Peter is with the Canadian Coast Guard, and the work keeps him away from home for six weeks at a time, then he flies home for six weeks, so he says: “It really doesn’t matter where I live.” Kim’s parents, Hugh
and Louise Smith, live in Williams Lake. Hugh works at Mt. Polley Mine. When she and Peter came to visit them they had the chance to look over the Cariboo countryside and they liked what they saw. They found a place that was just right for them in the Rose Lake area, bought it, and came to live on it three years ago. It was a big decision to move away from Vancouver Island since most of Peter’s family is living in the Duncan area. His mother, Marilyn Lange, a music teacher at the Sunrise Waldorf School, was sad to see him leave but understood the young couple’s need for something of their own. There was a mobile
home on the property and adding outbuildings wasn’t a problem, but the land needed clearing and that was where the pigs came in. Peter and Kim had heard that pigs could clear land in an efficient and inexpensive manner, so they decided to get a few of the animals to try it out. While they were shopping for pigs, they heard about feral pigs. In B.C., feral pigs were originally domestic pigs that for one reason or another escaped from farms and established themselves in the wild. There aren’t a lot of them in this province, and they were considered tame animals. They weren’t much in the public eye until this spring when the provincial government, con-
cerned that they could become a nuisance, if not a threat, designated them as game animals and made it legal to hunt them. Long before this move, however, pig farmers had been “redomesticating” the wild ones. The Langes found a woman in the 100 Mile area who had some part-feral, partdomestic pigs for sale and they bought three female piglets. The trio lived up to expectations in terms of clearing land but they liked to roam. They didn’t understand about property boundaries and they were all over the place until an electric fence put an end to their wan-
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See WILD, Page 25
Diana French photo
Peter and Kim Lange relocated from Vancouver Island for the opportunity to farm and used feral pigs to clear their land.
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Business
Wild pigs also make for a delicious meal Continued from Page 24 Then the Langes decided to raise their own pigs and went looking for a boar. They found one, three parts feral, one part Duroc, on a ranch in the Chilcotin. The couple says raising pigs is relatively easy. Basically all they need is a secure place, shelter, and two meals a day, but things can go wrong and pig farming was a learning experience for the Langes. They found out the hard way not to put two pregnant sows together, and Kim had some anxious moments when she was home alone and one of the sows had trouble giving birth.
The wild pigs are hardy and mostly easy to manage. They are also delicious. Their meat is different than that of domestic pigs. For one thing it is red. It looks like steak. It has a different texture and a different taste (better according to fans). On the down side, feral pigs don’t put on weight or bulk out the way domestic pigs do, and while their smaller size works well for barbecuing (the ribs are small) their size doesn’t appeal to people who expect a pig to be big. The Langes are experimenting with cross breeding with some good results. They have regular customers and the
Diana French photo
Feral pigs have a meat that is different from other domesticated pigs, but very delicious say fans. meat is particularly popular with Europeans. Peter and Kim have found the rural life is all they hoped it would
be. Their property is on high ground so they have miles of unobstructed view of the surrounding land-
scape. They are close to Rose Lake on one hand, and they have acres of countryside to explore with their
quads on the other. It sounds odd for Peter to be working on the ocean when living so far away from it, but it works well. (One of
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his shipmates lives at 100 Mile House.) The six weeks at home gives him time to do things (the next project is a woodshed) and to relax, then it’s off to sea again. He spends the summer months in the Arctic on an icebreaker. In winter he works on the B.C. coast serving lighthouses among other things. The job involves rescuing people who get in trouble at sea. That work can be hazardous to the rescuer’s health and well being. Peter was off work for awhile with a back injury. Along with minding the farm when Peter is away, Kim works for National Car Rental at the Williams Lake airport.
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Business “Just Because…” helps to anchor downtown core Gaeil Farrar Casual County 2014 Just Because…’ may have an unusual name but it is a name with a purpose. ‘Just Because…’ women’s dress shop was created especially to support and enhance the city’s downtown business core. And it was created with a luxurious elegance — “Just Because …women deserve it,” says business owner Karen Pelletier. Karen is not only the shop owner, but the eldest of five daughters raised in Williams Lake by Grant and Nova Dickie who have owned Westgate Plaza for 41 years. The Dickies built the mall to operate their business, Spencer Dickie Drugs Ltd., which continues today on the same site as Shoppers Drug Mart. As the eldest daughter, Karen has managed the mall for the past 18 years, making frequent trips from Vancouver Island where she, her parents, and some of her siblings now live with their families. Four years ago, a 1,500 square foot store in the mall became vacant and it seemed the only applicants for the space would be in competition with the existing tenants. Determined not to create competition among the tenants or let a vacancy have a negative impact on the mall either, Karen decided to open a business of her own. She talked with shopkeepers and downtown business owners and decided to open a ladies clothing store that would not be in competition with any other existing businesses. It was in the middle of the recession a few years back, when other downtown stores were closing, not opening, but Karen wanted to give it a try and was determined to make it a success and create a destination point for downtown shoppers. She decided on a dress shop that would
Just Because founder Karen Pelletier.
Gaeil Farrar photos
Just Because shopkeepers Debbie Jensen and Linda Isfeld (manager) in their elegant store featuring a comfortable setting designed for women to enjoy a little pampering while they shop.
Shoppers Drug Mart after recently completed renovations this spring. be an elegant and luxurious place to shop and also provide unique and affordable clothing for women of all ages. She went out on a limb and spent $60,000 on renovations with the hope and belief the dress shop she created would become an anchor to draw other businesses to the downtown core. The ‘Just Because…’ name came to her on
one of the trips she was making from Vancouver Island to Williams Lake delivering the crystal chandeliers, water fountains, hardwood flooring, European tile, hand-crafted wood accents, and life-size mannequins that would become the shop’s signature decor. On one of those delivery trips, she was trying to decide on a name and kept asking
herself why am I really doing all this ...? The answer was ‘Just Because …’—‘Just Because…’ the mall needed a tenant, the downtown core needed an anchor with some positive energy, and women in the lakecity needed an elegant and affordable place to shop — ‘Just Because…’ Starting a dress shop has been a real learning experience, but a fun
one. Karen, along with manager Linda Isfeld, Bev Engelberts, Debbie Jensen and Sonya Wells, make two trips to the Metro Buying Shows in Vancouver each year. Unlike many of their fellow buyers, they don’t order anything unless they have tried it on first. “If it doesn’t fit properly we don’t buy
it,” Karen says. Then when their orders arrive in Williams Lake six months later, they try on every garment again to make sure the quality and fit of the samples they tried on in Vancouver is the same as what arrives in their store. She says they go out of their way to create selectivity for their customers in what they purchase. They only buy one gala dress in any given style and only three of any one outfit in different sizes. “We shop selectively for our customers,” Karen says. ‘Just Because …’carries brands such as Joseph Ribkoff, Nygard, Tribal, French Dressing, Jag, Lanalee, Simon Chang, Frank Lyman, Jana, Orly, CYC, French Dressing, Parkhurst and Unbelievabra, plus a range of beautiful and affordable accessories that includes jewelry, purses, scarves, belts, sandals, reading glasses and sunglasses. A unique blend of urban elegance, selective choice, small-town friendly, and over-thetop personalized cus-
Just Because shop keeper Bev Engelberts tomer service has this shop thriving through the recession. “We are starting into our fifth year of business and it’s been wonderful the support the community of Williams Lake has shown us,” Linda says. ‘Just Because …’ offers a great selection of women’s clothing from casual wear to gala worthy gowns and everything in-between. “We pride ourselves on giving excellent customer service and making sure the clothes you buy are suitable to your occasion and body type. You leave the store feeling good about your purchase, with something you love.” And Karen is happy to see the downtown core thriving again with new shops opening and staying. “Just Because… has helped support and anchor the downtown business community, we are proud of its contribution and success, and we wish to thank all our customers for supporting us and shopping locally… Just Because” … Karen says. “Thank you.”
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CASUAL COUNTRY 2014 - 27
Business
Sta-Well Health Foods surviving and thriving after 37 years LeRae Haynes Casual Country 2014 Bruce Mattson at StaWell Health Foods in Williams Lake describes himself as a stubborn retailer in a full-spectrum store that stocks things like produce, bulk food, a full line of supplements, beauty products from cosmetics to hair dye, treats and good coffee. People also enjoy hearing his weather forecasts of the week and his fishing tips for the weekend. Bruce arrived in Williams Lake in 1977 with a wife and two kids. “I set up this store in a meat-and-potatoes town –– borrowed money and opened the doors. People thought I was crazy,” he said. “Even 20 years ago people laughed at the health food industry.” The health food store has been in the same location for 37 years with several expansions over
the years. For the past 12 years he has also made an annual drive to Bella Coola to deliver special orders for valley residents. “I am blessed to be in a locale where customers 450 kilometres away still shop with me. When I deliver to Bella Coola I set up at Kathy Moore’s nursery in the back of the truck and on tables, like the old days,” he explained. Over the years he has seen big changes in the health food industry. “Today customers come through the door knowing exactly what they want. Truthfully, Dr. Oz is my biggest salesman — people listen to him like nobody else. He has had a huge influence on North American retail. I must send him a Christmas card,” he added. “I also think that allergies in general have multiplied drastically in
LeRae Haynes photo
Bruce Mattson at Sta-Well Health Foods in Williams Lake has been offering a healthy alternative for customers for the past 37 years. the past five to 10 years. These are allergies that can’t be explained except by pharmaceuticals, antibiotics and the pollution of the world. “On the other hand, what we have to offer has really increased, too. There are so many choices.”
He said bigger stores have really squeezed out smaller stores, but says he’s still here thanks to faith in his good customers. “I match prices where I can and try to stay ahead of what the big stores are handling,” he said. One group who is a
huge part of his customer base during spring and summer is tree planters, most of whom he gets to know by name. He also said it makes him very proud of the store when travellers come through and are surprised and pleased to find such a good selection.
A unique product line that has generated a great deal of interest at StaWell is Mountain House survival and backpack food, which he said he started carrying thanks to his sister and brotherin-law Arlinda and Bryan Beaulieu. “Bryan is really into survival, and encouraged me to start carrying the line. Of all the food like that on the market, it’s great. It’s tasty and safe, and lasts seven years in the pouch and 25 years in the can. “If there was an earthquake on the coast the bigger stores would be out of food in five days. Having some Mountain House food in the cupboard would be an easy solution: you just add hot water. Bruce said several years ago there was a real run on that type of food. “People remember it from the 60s and 70s – it’s like army rations.
People who have tried it here really like it,” he added. “The scrambled eggs are very popular, and people really like the rice and chicken, granola, turkey tetrazzini and pasta primavera. They even have Neapolitan ice cream.” He said health products have certainly become more mainstream, adding half his customers in the past three years are new - new to town and new to health products. “One new thing I’m excited about is our new line of genetically modified organism (GMO) free supplements. Customers have been waiting for this; I think that if enough people demand GMO-free products the ‘big boys’ will change,” he said. “I think it’s so positive that people want fresh food, good food, healthy food.”
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THANK YOU, WILLIAMS LAKE, FOR OVER FORTY YEARS OF SUPPORT Princess Sue, the great grand daughter of Norman Lee, founder of Lee’s Corner, now wrangles furniture and appliances instead of cattle. This former Stampede Princess and delicate flower of the Cariboo works from sun up to sun down keeping Laketown clients smiling. If you want to speak with someone knowledgeable and friendly then ask for Princess Sue. Rylee Smiley A.K.A. Ry Smy, great-great granddaughter of Norman Lee, our executive in training reduced her workload and focused on showroom maintenance. Ry now spends more time on playing guitar, archery, equine pursuits and growing up… actually she doesn’t need to spend time growing up, it just happens. Edward “The Fixer” Detchkoff closes his eyes as if meditating and listens to your machine running. You watch perplexed and wonder if he has fallen asleep standing up. Suddenly his eyes snap open and he mutters, “Rear bearing”. His hand flashes out and lands on top of the machine as if he is gauging its operation with his palm. “Are you checking for excessive vibration?”, you ask. “Nope. Just a little dizzy. Shouldn’t have kept my eyes closed so long”, he responds. Bringing out the necessary tools and parts from his truck he quickly resolves the problem and leaves… walking into the sunset. Avtar Singh Sunner, not to be confused with Avatar, loves delving into the mysteries of life and unravelling its spiritual secrets. Just as his natural curiosity spurs him into learning about the spiritual universe, it fosters a tendency to disassemble the physical world. This meant he took a lot of things apart when he was a kid. “The only difference between now and then is that now I can put stuff back together, and I need more naps”, he explained. If you need major appliances repaired call Avtar. Samir “Easy Rider Horvat” loves speed and danger and this naturally drew him into the field of appliance repairs. Nothing feels like leaning into a tight corner at 140 Km/H with the engine howling… except for clearing a drain pump on a washer and placing your hand on the top of the machine and feeling it vibrate as it accelerates into high speed spin. Adrenline, pure unadulterated adrenaline Al Gunner Golub fired Marshall Tito’s artillery pieces in his youth, but now believes that it is better to create than destroy… especially grandchildren. When we need to bring in the big guns for an especially complicated appliance repair issue… we bring in “The Gunner”.
Baldish Singh Sunner A.K.A. Bobby believes that it is better to laugh than cry, better to smile than frown and better to work in a job that you enjoy rather than one you tolerate. For this reason he is trying to help the new Maytag Man smile. This, however, is easier said than done. Ramandeep Singh Sidhu is a bounty hunter who brings in dead flat screens and brings them back to life. His healing hands work their magic on any brand, anywhere.. in the shop or in your home. Recently arrived in Canada he was travelling through the Fraser Canyon when he observed an animal skittering up the side of a hill. “Did you see that?”, I asked him. “Probably a monkey.”, he replied…. He’s still kind of new around here. Tejinder Singh: Looking into Tejinder Singh’s eyes one perceives an oasis of calm amid the turbulent sandstorm that we call Laketown Furnishings. His steady, reliable and friendly nature make him a customer favourite.
4 Floors and 20,000 square feet of Canadian-Made Living Room Furniture, Beds & Bedroom Suites, Dining Room Furniture, Futons, Appliances & Decor Pieces To Help You Decorate.
Our gentle dental hygienist Dayna works here during the summer in between getting educated. We give her the toughest jobs and she accomplishes every task with exceptional skill and commitment. Too bad she is going to grow up someday.
L
Arthur James “Goldbond” Melnychuk once jumped from one moving car into another… just for fun. Now he jumps from one project to another keeping Laketown Furnishings looking great.
Cole “Heavy Metal” Hegg is working at Laketown less these days, but he’s just a phone call away.
AKETOWN FURNISHINGS Ltd. Savings, Service and Satisfaction since 1971
Thomas Brandt: Imagine ringing phones, clients at the counter and technicians updating work-orders simultaneously. This intense level of activity keeps Thomas out of trouble, and helps him appreciate his wilderness retreat all the more.. especially on a beautiful day, on a beautiful lake in his kayak.
Darko Plavsin A.K.A. The Croatian Cowboy: Ensures that all of our shipments reach their appointed destinations with military precision yet thickly accented with Eastern European friendliness.. pretty thickly accented. Despite Darko’s somewhat menacing name he is really a friendly fellow… no, really.
Jeremy The Jet Roberts: A lean, mean cleaning, delivery and anything else you need machine
Eden: Works on keeping our showroom looking as beautiful as a garden of paradise.
250-392-6933
99 North Second Avenue TOLL FREE 1-800-371-8711 www.laketownfurnishings.com
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CASUAL COUNTRY 2014 - 29
Business Highlands Irrigation celebrates 40-year milestone Monica Lamb-Yorski Casual Country 2014 In 2014 Highlands Irrigation Ltd. celebrated a 40-year milestone. The company’s founders, Dick and Donna Ford, first arrived in Williams Lake in 1969 when Dick was hired on as an area manager for a Vancouver irrigation company. When their employer went into receivership in late 1973, the Fords decided to start their own business. By February 1974 they were ready to roll. One of the biggest challenges was getting started, Dick recalls. “We made a budget and presented it to our bank. They turned it down.” A well-known rancher, Tex Fosbery, encouraged the Fords to rework their business plan and take it to the Bank of Montreal. An interesting part of their story, Dick says, is that Gibraltar Mines had just opened up in 1972. The Fords had scraped enough money to buy a lot and build their first home on Pigeon Avenue, but the mine had bought every second lot where current development was happening up to Western Avenue. Their property value had almost doubled in two years, so the banker advised the Fords to take a second mortgage on their home and get the business started. Within the next two years with the support of Sture Kallman’s construction expertise they were able to develop the building on South Lakeside Drive which has served them well for four decades. Dick credits the company’s development with activities out west in the Chilcotin, along the Fraser River north to Quesnel, and west of Prince George to Vanderhoof, Burns Lake and Smithers. “We were getting started early in the phase
when Cariboo ranchers were changing from ditch irrigation to sprinklers,” Dick says. It was also at the time that irrigation was becoming more sophisticated with the implementation of electric centre pivot irrigation systems. The centre pivots have been the most popular major advancement in agriculture irrigation because they require no labour input. They are completely electric and completely automatic. Highlands Irrigation is the sole B.C. distributor for the world class Lindsay Zimmatic Centre Pivot product. Lindsay gained its strength by developing completely galvanized structures coupled with the latest technical advances. In a 1978 newsletter to customers, Dick describes the pivot system’s ability to irrigate the complete circle in 24 hours, allowing much improved control of crop moisture, resulting in better yields.
See FORD, Page 30
Photo submitted
Rancher Rudy Johnson and his son, Bob, along with Highlands Irrigation Ltd.’s Dick Ford in the mid-1970s.
Monica Lamb-Yorski photo
Monica Lamb-Yorski photo
Rudy Johnson (right) and family friend, Adele Hamilton, at the Laughing Loon Restaurant during the “Branding Party,” celebrating Highlands Irrigation Ltd.’s 40th Anniversary.
Merv Furlong of Miocene adds his Double Diamond Ranch brand to the mix during a branding party celebrating Highland Irrigations Ltd.’s 40th Anniversary held in May at the Laughing Loon Restaurant. Ranchers were invited to brand three original wood panels from the Rudy Johnson Bridge replaced earlier by Pioneer Log Homes. The event was filmed for the second season of HGTV’s popular series Timber Kings, about Pioneer Logs Homes.
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Business Ford family works together in irrigation business Continued from Page 29 At the same time, the Chilcotin ranchers worked hard to develop an extension of three-phase power right out to Redstone to increase their pumping capacity and provide the power source for the centre pivots. Some prominent Cariboo ranchers, such as Deiter Killinghausen at the C1 Ranch, Rob Moon at Deer Park Ranch, John Moon at Meldrum Creek, Tim Bayliff and Tony Bayliff at Redstone, Neil Harvey, Grant Huffman and Lyn Bonner at Riske Creek Ranching, were quick to take advantage of this technology. Since those ear-
Monica Lamb-Yorski photo
The Ford family celebrates 40 years of their business Highlands Irrigation Ltd. with son Mike, Dick, Donna, daughter Jennifer, son Chris and daughter Julie. ly days Highlands has expanded from Williams Lake to install
hundreds of centre pivots throughout B.C. Another developing
irrigation system in those early days was the hose reel system.
Rudy Johnson was the first rancher in the Cariboo to take advan-
tage of this technology with his gravity irrigation system and long narrow benches along the Fraser River. He was able to move the hose reels and irrigate from his tractor seat. In the early 80s a Williams Lake rancher, John Schalles developed a property near Cache Creek, precipitating Highlands’ expansion to the south. Now Highlands Irrigation has a branch office in Kamloops managed by Dick and Donna’s son, Chris Ford, who designs, installs and services the developments from Kamloops throughout the interior of B.C., south to the U.S. border. While Donna, Dick and Chris manage the company daily, the
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other three Ford children — Julie, Michael and Jennifer — are involved in different capacities. “I’ve always said that Highlands Irrigation has changed the agricultural landscape of B.C.,” Donna says. From the Yukon south to the U.S. border and from the Kootenays to Vancouver Island, the company has developed irrigation systems, specifically for forage crops. “I’m proud of our contribution,” she adds. Dick says he gets his satisfaction from developing a complete system from the water source to the distribution equipment. “I enjoy the challenge, the clients and the rural environment.”
249 Barnard Street 250-398-8411 Toll Free: 1-877-398-8411
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Cougar hounds an affectionate breed Monica Lamb-Yorski Casual Country 2014 Into their fourth generation some Cariboo cougar hounds continue to be a unique breed. “They were built to be a bigger dog,” says Kyle Lay of Layser’s Kennel and Contracting of his dogs. “They needed to have long legs and deep chests to cover this terrain and if a cougar turns they have to work like a pack of wolves.” That all sounds daunting until you meet the hounds up close. At home they are slobbering and affectionate canines vying for your attention. “There’s Chief our oldest and Gunner his grandson,” Kyle points as the dogs jump up at the kennel fence, hoping for a stroke from an unsuspecting journalist.
Monica Lamb-Yorski photo
Photo submitted
As a boy seen here in 1984 Kyle Lay learned all about raising cougar hounds from his dad Dan. The dogs live and work together. They have an inside kennel where three dogs sleep to each elevated bed with shavings. When the radio’s left on, the hounds prefer country music their
owner insists. They eat at the same time — raw food the Lays make in the winter if the dogs have been working outside. Inside the free-run area, the hounds take turn standing on the highest rock in the cen-
tre. Another one howls, pretending to see something in the distance, and they all follow him. Moments later they are huddled back at the fence whining for attention.
Kyle Lay today with some of his cougar hounds. One leans down and involved with map- the panther as possible starts washing the other ping DNA and cancer to introduce it back beone’s ears. research, came to con- cause the panther had “If it rains, they all tract Layser’s to live become so rare, and the lick each other dry,” capture cougars to ex- gene pool was so small, Kyle comments. tract DNA. that the panthers were DNA sperm from The team had been unable to reproduce. these particular hounds across South and North In doing this reis being stored for fu- America to gather search, the team had ture use within the DNA in a search for a hunted and seen hound bloodlines. match to the Florida dogs work across South Several years ago Panther, a subspecies and North America. a group of three vet- of the cougar. See PREDATOR, erinarians and James They were hoping to Page 32 O’Brien, a scientist find a match as close to
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Predator control part of the job Continued from Page 31 During their visit, Lay’s cougar hounds treed 28 cougars in eight days. “They wanted to know how these dogs got bred because they’d never seen dogs do what they could do, despite the heat and the terrain,” says Kyle’s father Dan. They felt this line of hounds, in their opinion, was rare enough and specialized enough that they took sperm in order to ensure this particular subspecies of hound was going to be stored in the rare and endangered sperm bank in the U.S. In the end they took some sperm home with them. The lineage of these dogs goes back to the 1930s and 1940s. The hounds were originally bred for work and bounty hunting for
cougars in the day when cougars “were all monsters and had to die,” Dan says. Jim Dewer, a bounty hunter hired by government, was determined to build a dog that would work around towns and people. In 1956, Dan’s father Jack Lay arrived in Williams Lake with his family and hounds to begin work as a predator control officer for the provincial government. Later Jack transferred to the coast, working there until he retired. Dan began working in predator control on Vancouver Island, then transferred to Williams Lake in 1985, and has since retired. During Dan’s tenure as game warden he ended up with the last of the old blood line of the hounds and started building his own. While he was a pred-
Monica Lamb-Yorski photo
Dan and his son Kyle Lay check out one of the humane wolf traps used to catch problem animals that may be preying on livestock or may have become a threat to humans. ator control officer, Dan removed more than a dozen cougars that had killed, mauled and crip-
pled people. The hounds have also been used to capture and collar cougars for
research, study and relocation and hold a record for picking up a six-day old track one August
near Burns Lake. Today Kyle holds a permit with the provincial government to offer husbandry advice and predator control to deal with large predators or predator conflicts. For example, cougars killing livestock and pets. He also manufactures humane capture devices for wolves and bears, as well as offering training and instructional courses on conducting predator control in B.C., Alberta and the U.S. Kyle and the hounds continue the work his grandfather first brought to the Cariboo in the 1950s. It’s about love of wildlife and working with the hounds to help people and livestock that keeps him going, he says. Kyle keeps a large kennel of hounds, with an outside run. Litters arrive in the spring,
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with an average of eight to 12 pups. It’s a fair amount of work, Kyle smiles. For more than 30 years, the Lays have sold dogs to customers in the U.S., South America, Turkey, Germany and Alaska. “Our dogs have worked on grizzlies, black bears, cougars and jaguars in South America,” Kyle explains. Cougars don’t make accidental attacks, he adds. They will stay with the mother for one and a half to two years, so if something happens to the mom, they may end up near a ranch or area stealing and eating pets. “One or two events can demonize the animal. If a problem cougar or bear can be eliminated, another 20 can be saved.” Kyle Lay can be reached at 250-2963300.
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CASUAL COUNTRY 2014 - 33
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Business Haines Office World going strong Gaeil Farrar Casual Country 2014 Now a second generation business, Haines Office World has been a solid component of the Williams Lake downtown core for 35 years. Despite the ups and downs of the recent global economic crisis and the influx of big box stores, Haines Office World has continued to thrive by providing personalized service and stocking the largest selection of topof-the-line art supplies available in the region. The company was started by Bruce and Lillian Haines. Bruce came to Williams Lake to manage the then chain store, Van Hoy Stationers, that was originally located in Hodgson Place Mall. After a few years Bruce branched out on his own and the couple built Haines Office
World on First Avenue, which also included additional rental space. Their children, Marilyn and Lorne, worked in the family business growing up and for a few years as young adults. And when their parents retired, Marilyn bought the business and Lorne bought the building. Marilyn has been the sole owner of Haines Office World for the past 21 years. The First Avenue location of the business next to the Elks Hall worked well for many years. However, faced with the influx of big box stores and the global economic uncertainty of the past few years, Marilyn decided she needed a more high profile location for the business.
See ART, Page 34
Gaeil Farrar photo
Marilyn Haines with her fiance, Mike Oswald. A carpentry contractor, Mike was a big help to her in moving the store from First to Second Avenue and refurbishing the new store.
Williams Lake Daybreak Rotary Club and the
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Business Art supplies a niche market for a creative city Continued from Page 33 The Hodgson Place Mall, right across from the post office and next to the Bank of Montreal, and other businesses in the mall, seemed the right location. And the rent was agreeable so she took a chance and moved to Hodgson Place Mall in June of 2013. Marilyn says the move was monumental but she had lots of help. Her fiance Mike Oswald built the valances and display counters and helped with repainting the shop. And her helper Holly Woods and her husband, Jim Sunberg, helped with the move. “I couldn’t have done it without them,” Marilyn says. “It was lots of work by everybody but it has been totally worth it.” She said they closed down the old business
Gaeil Farrar photos
Marilyn Haines with some of the specialized paints, paper, and other artist supplies available in her store.
Williams Lake’s Family Owned, Family Operated Pharmacy We are dedicated to providing fast, courteous & informative prescription service.
Chaunigan Lake Lodge operator Nick Spoor, checks out a custom office unit. Marilyn orders and sets up full custom offices for clients. on a Thursday and reopened in the new location on a Monday. Haines Office World has managed to weather the hard times by providing personalized service. Marilyn is proud to say that she has the best selection of art supplies
in the entire Cariboo and is also the only business in Williams Lake that will personally design, deliver and set up an entire office for her customers. “I prefer to support made in Canada furniture suppliers,” Marilyn says. “We have one in Kelowna and one in Toronto.” She meets with clients, helps them to select the furniture and supplies they need, orders what they need, and then when everything arrives, sets the office up for the client. On any given day one might also find customers browsing through the catalogues for personalized wedding stationary, cheques and invoices. Marilyn also takes pride in looking through her many supply catalogues to find specialty items customers may need and supplying them at competitive
prices. “We have a catalogue that has very competitive prices,” Haines says. “People are often surprised what our prices are.” Since most of their suppliers are located in Vancouver and Toronto, Haines says she can most often offer customers overnight service. She says many people in business find it hard to get out of the office so a lot of their orders are taken by phone. And late last year she launched a new website Hainesofficeworld.com In addition to all of the smaller paper and equipment supplies, Haines Office World sells Brother printers and calculators; computer accessories such as keyboards and wireless mice; has competitive prices on inkjet and laser copier supplies; and provides copying, laminating and binding services.
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Erika Petal photo Nate Graham competes at the Petal family Mother’s Day Timed Event. See more about the Petal family in the Stampede section.
Photo submitted
Photo submitted
the people and places of the chilcotin
Out WEST
Sean Glanville photo
36 - CASUAL COUNTRY 2014
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Out West Alexis Creek celebrates hospital centennial Mary Engelbert Casual Country 2014
One small log hospital in Alexis Creek is still delivering medical care 100 years later. In 1912, Dr. William Wright, a retired naval medical officer, was recruited as the local doctor for this quickly growing community. He was originally from Edinburgh, Scotland but because he spent years sailing the South China Sea, many believed him to be Australian. Whatever his origins, he was a doctor of great experience who could adjust to the hardships of living and working in this frontier. He lived and worked from a cabin on the Graham Ranch, now Alexis Creek Ranch, providing care for First Nations and Non-First Nations people. Alex Graham donated about two acres of land on Rimrock Creek on the north side of the main road where the log hospital was built. Big fir logs were cut and hauled in by Frank Witte and Fred Burdett. Bob Miller did the log work and the finishing was done by local ranchers supervised by Dr. Wright. In 1915, Dr. Wright and his nurse/companion, Mary Goode, moved into the small living quarters on the west side of the building. Until 1924, the hospital was officially listed as the Chilcotin General Hospital in the BC Archives, but to everyone in the area the facility was known as the Alexis Creek Hospital. The hospital was financed by the local ranchers until receiving a government stipend of $1,200 per year. During the early years the Chilcotin Hospital Society was formed to manage the facility and for recruitment. For 12 years, Dr. Wright delivered medical care at the hospital and often treated patients in their homes. This meant long, rough and often cold rides in buggies or on
Photos submitted
Elizabeth Richards (left above), hospital founder Dr. Williams Wright, Frances Hall and Cyril Richards on the steps of the Alexis Creek Hospital in 1914.
A view of the hospital as it was in 1947 before the 1949 renovations. horse-drawn sleighs in winter. The kitchen table became the operating table. He delivered many babies at the hospital, the first being Bill Graham in 1915. He often delivered babies at home when the mother could not leave to stay in hospital for a week. Dr. Wright went to a Vancouver hospital in 1924 and passed away there at 78. Dr. Wright painted a picture of his hospital which now hangs in the Museum of the Cariboo Chilcotin in Williams Lake. In 1924, Dr. Charter, a missionary who spent many years in China, came with his wife and three sons and his sister-in-law. During his six-year
stay, an extension was built on to the hospital which could then accommodate 10 patients. Later when the extension was not needed for patients, the visiting First Nations nurses stayed there. Dr. Charter found life in the Chilcotin very hard. He was not used to the cold and didn’t have much experience riding a horse. In the book, Chilcotin: preserving pioneer memories, we read of a rugged trip Dr. Charter made with police officers, the coroner and jurymen to an inquest into a shooting on Chilko Lake in early December. The trip took weeks but they made it back for Christmas.
Dr. Charter and his family moved to Vancouver in 1930 so that his boys could attend university. He must have had a special place in his heart for Alexis Creek because he asked his family to bury him in the Alexis Creek Cemetery. Dr. Kniphel and his nurse, Beatrice Foster, took Dr. Charter’s place. Then a series of young men, Dr. McRae, Dr. Hougen and Dr. Oliver, all recent interns, spent a short time at the hospital. These young men found the isolation and the lack of amenities of life difficult, but working in a frontier hospital was a great stepping stone in their careers. Around 1938, Dr.
Hallows and his wife came and stayed into the 1940s. He had a hard time keeping nurses. His first nurse, Nan Hopkins, left after a year to marry Ray Reagan; nurse, Ruby Craig, married Frank Shillaker in January of 1942. During this time, Christine (Blatchford) Wegmaster, was living in Alexis Creek with her brother, Johnny Blatchford, who was the policeman at the time. Christine worked as a nurse at the hospital. During Dr. Hallows time, an Englishman, Lord Nuffield, donated an iron lung to the hospital but there was no electric power in Alexis Creek to run the machine and no real need
for the machine, so it sat in the entryway for a few years until Dr. Hallows had it sent off to Vancouver General Hospital where it was used during the polio epidemic. In the fall of 1940 the community had a fundraiser to purchase a generator and by 1941 the hospital finally had electric power. June Bliss wrote in her history of the Alexis Creek Hospital, about an emergency trip Dr. Hallows made to a rancher at Spain Lake Ranch, 25 miles west of Alexis Creek. The rancher had lost his hand in a hay-cutting machine. A First Nations fellow rode his horse full tilt to Alexis Creek to get the doctor. Dr. Hallows, in his car, made record time over horrendous roads to get the patient from Spain Lake Ranch to the hospital in Williams Lake. They couldn’t save his hand but they did save his life. Up until now, fast horses were the only way to reach the hospital or for the doctor to go out to the emergency. Now cars and trucks were becoming more common, but the roads were very rough. Until into the 1960s there were no phones. The doctor was often called to accompany the policeman who was Johnny Blatchford, at this time. They attended family disputes and tragic deaths, for which the doctor would perform an autopsy if the situation demanded it. During Dr. Hallows’ tenure, a small newspaper article noted that many improvements had been made to the hospital: indoor toilets and baths with hot and cold water; an oil-burning kitchen range and accommodation for 10 patients. The article also talks about efforts by the board to rebuild this little hospital and to outfit it with the equipment needed. When Dr. Hallows left, the hospital was vacant for awhile, then a Miss Miller came for
a short time. Finally, Mrs. William Anderson came and ran it as a nursing home. In 1949 the hospital board’s wishes were answered. The hospital became the Alexis Creek Red Cross Outpost Hospital on Dec. 3, 1949, one of many outpost hospitals in B.C. At the opening ceremonies, Duke Martin, secretary of the Chilcotin Hospital Society, unlocked the door of the Outpost while another society member unfurled the Red Cross flag. Now this 35-year-old log building had a real makeover. The roof was raised to make living quarters for a nurse and housekeeper. The basement was dug out and a furnace with central heating was installed. New plumbing and a septic system was installed. According to Kathleen Telford’s writings the place was ‘tore apart excepting for the outer walls and completely remodelled.’ Kathleen says that now ‘it was a very modern two-ward hospital with a dispensary and a surgery.’ Alex G. Christie outfitted the smaller ward in memory of his brother who died in the hospital in 1948. It is still much the same today except one of the wards is the office. Sophie Smith was the first Red Cross nurse here at Alexis Creek. She had come from the Cecil Lake Outpost. She stayed only a year. Louisa Ellingsworth was the first housekeeper. She did not stay long either. She became Mrs. Tommy Lee and moved next door to raise her family and run Lee’s store. The first winter for the Red Cross Outpost was a tough one. It was very cold, -40 to -60 F., one of the coldest winters on record. Louisa Lee talked about heating bags of salt to wrap the pipes to keep them from freezing.
See OUTPOST, Page 37
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CASUAL COUNTRY 2014 - 37
Out West
The Alexis Creek Hospital, no matter how it changed over the years, has brought many young couples together. Here in 1939, local boys Bobby French (left) and Billy Broughton prepare a carriage for a couple of newlyweds.
Photos submitted
In 1949 Rae Milton (left), Doreen and Janet Kinkead, and Sophia Norse, (the first Red Cross nurse), were there for the dedication of the old hospital under new management as the Alexis Creek Red Cross Outpost Hospital.
Outpost hospital a rural matchmaker Continued from Page 36 In 1950, Miss Lillian Whiteside came and stayed for six years. During this time, Miss Merle Glennie came to work as a relief nurse. She met Timothy Bayliff and they married in 1954. In 1956, relief nurse Kathleen Telford took over. The daughter of Alex Graham, she was raised at Alexis Creek. After Kathleen, Mrs. Swanson, then Mrs. Humphreys, a local policeman’s wife took over for a while each, followed by Roma Walker who stayed for five years. In 1960 Dr. Sterling Haynes talked about how his colleague Dr. Barney Ringwood found a set of surgical instruments in a saddlebag stored in the hospital attic. There were bone saws, hemostats, needle drivers, needles, scalpels and metal catheters. The instruments were all wrapped in velvet and looked new but were probably very old. The second find was a rectangular box lined with velvet that contained a cathode tube and a crank handle. This was a primitive X-ray unit.
Mary and Henry Engelbert were among the local matches made between nurses who came to work in the community and the local boys. Mary and Henry raised their two children at Alexis Creek, while she served as head nurse and he was engaged in ranching and logging. The community will celebrate the hospital’s 100th anniversary with a party in September. Dr. Ringwood took these items back to Williams Lake where he and his colleagues tried out the X-ray equipment taking pictures of their own hands and arms before sending the finds on to the B.C. Medical Museum in Vancouver. Also around 1960, land was divided off from the hospital lot
for the construction of the Indian Health Centre. This building housed two residences and an office. Now the federal nurses did not need to stay in the old extension at the Outpost. It was said that the Red Cross Society charged the federal government a dollar for the property.
This property, donated to the community so many years ago, was still being used for a health facility for the community. In 1966, Louise Thompson was the head nurse but, sadly, passed away in 1968. Nurse Dorothy Sandborn followed, staying for 10 years and marrying Roy McDougall
in 1974. Apparently Roy did a lot of work on the front yard at the Outpost, putting in the nice lawn that is there today, likely to replace the old extension that was removed in the 1970s. Maureen Duffy was the nurse in 1977/78, leaving to work near Revelstoke. From 1978 to 1984,
Ted Christian, his wife, Bertha, and family moved into the Outpost. Ted and Bertha were both nurses so she acted as his relief when needed. Ted very soon realized the need for ambulance service. After writing many letters to various politicians and government agencies he was successful in getting B.C. Ambulance service for Alexis Creek in 1979. Many volunteers took the ambulance training which changed the work load at the hospital. Instead of holding patients for hours until Williams Lake ambulance could come to pick them up, patients were sent off as soon as they were stabilized. Around 1980, the provincial government started picking up the full cost of running the Outpost hospitals. Until then the Red Cross Society received only a percentage of the cost of delivering this service. Given government support, more maintenance was done on the buildings. Since the big renovation of 1949, the building had been reroofed and repainted, I am sure, but now more
was done to make the clinic more efficient and the living quarters more comfortable for families. In April 1984, I, Mary Engelbert, and my husband and family moved across the driveway from my public health job at the Alexis Creek Health Centre to my new position as nurse-in-charge at the Alexis Creek Red Cross Outpost Hospital. This was a convenient work situation for a mother of young children whose husband was away logging or ranching during the work day. As more electronic equipment became available, life became easier for a nurse who was always on call. The best of the new gadgets was the portable phone that Mary carried all about the community. Then a ‘taxi phone’ was installed outside the clinic door which rang only to the clinic number, saving clients from running about Alexis Creek to find a functioning pay phone. Yearly inservice training was also provided for nurses in Vancouver.
See TODAY, Page 38
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Out West
Today the old hospital is a health centre lance. Throughout the Outpost’s history local police, doctors and nurses supported each other at scenes of accidents, sickness, and death to make sure the best was done for clients and their families. During my time as nurse, a single phone call to the RCMP dispatch brought an officer to the Outpost within minutes. This was very important because the nurse worked alone. In April 2005, the Red Cross flag was lowered at the six Red Cross Outpost Hospitals in B.C. when these facilities were turned over to the B.C. Health Authority. On Dec. 14, 2005 the Alexis Creek Outpost Hospital was transferred to the management of the Interior Health Authority. Community members and visitors celebrated the 56 years of Red
Continued from Page 37 During this time the highway was being paved beyond Alexis Creek and there were now Nursing Stations at Anahim Lake and Tatla Lake. Anahim Lake soon also got an ambulance. Patients would be sent off in the ambulance from one of these facilities and if they needed assistance along the way, they would stop at the Outpost Hospital. One night a big tow truck pulled up at the Outpost. In walked an ambulance attendant followed by the tow truck driver carrying a sick lady. An axle on the ambulance had broken and caused a wheel to fall off. The tow truck driver scooped up the patient and brought her to the Outpost to await another ambulance, then went back to deal with the disabled ambu-
The original hospital building, plus upgrades over the years now serves as Interior Health’s Alexis Creek Health Centre. Cross service at Alexis Creek with an afternoon tea at the Happy Eater. Over the years the hospital became a great matchmaker. The nurses who came to work at the facility were very strong, talented, resourceful women, many of whom went on to be brides for the settlers and local ranchers. In addition to the couplings mentioned above, Ruby Craig be-
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came Frank Shillaker’s wife and raised her family in Chezacut. Merle Glennie married Timothy Bayliff and settled at Redstone. In later years, nurses, Lynn Blatchford, Corinne Bayliff and Mary Engelbert, all married and settled in Alexis Creek. The hospital continued under the name of Alexis Creek Outpost Hospital, until the Alexis Creek Health Centre
closed and the Health Canada nurses moved to the Sage building on Anaham Reserve. Now Interior Health has named its facility the Alexis Creek Health Centre. Are you confused? The locals still know the white log building in Alexis Creek as ‘the clinic’ or ‘the outpost,’ or even ‘the Red Cross.’ It will take awhile to change.
In 2007, I retired after 23 years as the Outpost nurse; 23 three years on call! After I left, many relief nurses came for short terms. Finally, Heather Peterson took the position for three years. Now Lily Ducharme has already been here for a year. Patrice Gordon came as a relief nurse about six years ago. Along the way she upgraded and now she holds the part-time position as a qualified Nurse Practitioner for the area. Hours of service are much the same as they were years ago, Monday to Friday 9 a.m. to 12 noon; closed for lunch; open from 1 to 5 p.m.; emergencies only after hours and weekends. This story is just a listing of the times and the people who were involved at that time. The real story is what the log walls of this small hospital would tell us. The
tales of joy in a newborn safely delivered, tales of worry and relief when the sick or injured improved and tales of heart breaking sadness at the death of a loved one. This old building has seen it all. Who would have guessed back in 1912 just what they were building … thanks guys. Retired Red Cross Outpost Hospital head nurse Mary Engelbert has developed this history for the centennial celebration of the former hospital and now health centre which is coming up in September. She has referenced stories from the Williams Lake Tribune (June Bliss, Sheila Serup); unknown newspaper clippings; The Alexis Creek News (June Bliss); and books written by local authors The Witte Sisters; Sterling Haynes; Kathleen (Graham) Telford; and Patricia MacKay.
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Out West Ulkatcho, Anahim Lake residents proud of homegrown talent Greg Sabatino Casual Country 2014 It’s safe to say there are a lot more kids playing hockey in Anahim Lake these days. Well-known community member and volunteer Graham West has witnessed the meteoric rise of his hometown’s own Carey Price — the starting goaltender for the Montreal Canadiens and Canada’s 2014 Olympic gold-medalwinning netminder. He’s also seen first hand the positive influence Price has had on members of the Ulkatcho Reserve and the residents of Anahim Lake — particularly the youth. “The kids admire him,” West says. “The ones that follow him now, back then when he was here growing up, were probably too young [to remember him] and some were not even born yet, but now
Photo submitted
Carey Price (left) stands alongside Graham West. they know his name and it gives them hope to say ‘OK, if he can make it, maybe we can make it, too.’ “It’s not only for his hometown reserve, but everywhere else in the
country. It gives people hope that yes you can make it with a little bit of hard work, and you can make it if you work hard enough — and everybody here just loves that as they watch
Photo submited
Residents of Ulkatcho and Anahim Lake built a Montreal Canadiens tribute alongside the ice hockey rink in the community. him progress game to game.” Reflecting back to when Price was a child, West points to the long hours Price would spend working on his game at a rink his
brother-in-law, Dennis Cahoose, built and has maintained for the past 25 years. “Dennis used to watch him. He’d be at the rink all the time — he was a rink rat you
could say,” West joked. “That’s what Dennis remembers the most. He would be flooding the ice and Carey would be there and wouldn’t want to leave, and Dennis didn’t want to chase
him off the ice, so he’d flood the rink at one end, let him skate to the other end, then do the other side.
See PRICE, Page 40
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Out West Price a role model for First Nations youth Continued from Page 39 “Carey would always smile at him — give him that look.” That look is now recognized throughout the world as Price backstopped Canada to a 2014 Olympic gold medal in Sochi, Russia. It was an exciting time for members of the community, West said. “It was pretty crazy during the Olympics, especially with the [late] times the games were on,” he said. “It was like, sometimes in the middle of the night, and there were still people phoning each other asking what time the game was. We’d watch it at the school. “Watching the games cheering him on, it brought everyone together. Everyone was so proud of him. You were sitting there with people
from the community that normally you don’t sit with. It brings people together, and that’s how it was.” During the National Hockey League offseason West said it’s a highlight for the youth when Price comes home to visit. “He’s humble, calm and really approachable,” West said, adding he probably gets those qualities from his dad, Gerry, and his grandmother on his mom, Lynda’s side, Theresa Holte. “The kids all over here, they just can’t wait for him to come back. All the kids have his picture on their walls. They get their picture taken and his autograph and stuff like that, but they respect him and give him his space. They realize the magnifying glass he’s under in Montreal.” Even the elders are proud of what Price has
accomplished since his beginnings in Anahim Lake, travelling back and forth with his dad — often by plane — to Williams Lake for hockey practice. And win or lose, no one cares. “He made everyone proud when he got drafted to the Tri-City Americans,” West said. “That was big enough for the people here, and the more steps he took just made people even more proud. Even though everybody knows he’s a super star, he doesn’t say he’s a super star and that makes the elders proud of him here. Regardless of what happens next in Price’s career, it’s clear his fans will always have his back. “The sun always rises in the same place and sets in the same direction, and we’re always going to be here for him.”
Photos submitted
Ulkatcho and Anahim Lake residents gather at the hockey rink Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price grew up playing on to cheer him on during the 2014 Stanley Cup playoffs.
Dennis Cahoose floods the ice hockey rink he built and has maintained near his home in Anahim Lake for around 25 years. Carey Price would often be the last kid off the ice while growing up.
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Out West Ranching family inducted into BC Cowboy Hall of Fame Museum of the Cariboo Chilcotin Casual Country 2014 The Norman Telford family ranch received top honours in Williams Lake this spring as the family was inducted into the BC Cowboy Hall of Fame. Norman Telford was the grandson of pioneer Alex Graham, who, while on his way to look for gold, set foot in the Chilcotin and spent the rest of his life there, building a cattle ranching legacy for his family that would encompass five generations and continue to operate today. Alex founded the C-1 Ranch and started the small village of Alexis Creek. With his wife Anna and his two daughters, Frances and Kathleen, they set about building a large, prosperous cattle ranch
and quickly expanded by adding other properties. Alex passed away in 1934 and his youngest daughter, Kathleen and her husband George Telford, took over the ranch. Their family of two daughters; Louise and Olive, and three sons; Norman, Billy and Robert, grew up on the ranch. They continued to improve their holdings and increased their cattle herd to 1,000. In 1948 George died and Kathleen was left to raise their family and run the large ranch. Kathleen became well known as Cattle Kate the Lady Rancher. Her KC brand became synonymous with top grade Hereford cattle. In 1959 Kathleen retired from ranching and divided the properties into three separate parcels, selling them
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Norman Telford does his part during branding time in 2002. Norm passed away in 2003, however, the Telford Family Ranch received the honur of being inducted in the BC Cowboy Hall of Fame this year in the ranching family category. to her sons, Billy, Norman and Robert. Billy and Robert sold their properties out of the family. Norman stayed in
the ranching business, making his home on the original Armstrong ranch site (where he was born). Norman married
Valerie Jaynes in 1955 and they spent the next 48 years working together to make their dreams come true. They called their ranch
Canyon Ranch. It was nestled in a natural basin bordered by a high Rimrock, the Chilcotin River and Bull Canyon. They have three
daughters, Beverly, Carol and Jennifer. The girls grew up taking part in all aspects of the ranch operation, becoming accomplished riders and livestock managers. During the 1970s the girls were involved in High School Rodeos and the Interior Rodeo Association. They always did well and managed to collect a large number of trophies and belt buckles. In 1980 Carol was chosen as Miss Rodeo B.C., and also won All-Round Cowgirl awards. Today Carol is busy in Europe, breeding and training her own horses, specializing in reining and working show horses, and is a National Judge in both disciplines.
See TELFORD, Page 42
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Out West Telford family honoured for generations of ranching Continued from Page 41
Photo courtesy of the Museum of the Cariboo Chilcotin
The Telford Family Ranch was inducted in the BC Cowboy Hall of Fame in 2014. Above, Val Telford is surrounded by her family; (from left) granddaughter Brooke, son-in-law Al Madley, grandson Garrett Madley and daughter Beverly Madley. and manager of Canyon Enterprises Ltd. Her husband, Al Madley, fully supported
Beverly’s decision and is always ready to help out when needed. Bev and Al’s chil-
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in the industry. Garrett, also a shareholder, now works fulltime on the ranch. He
Ranch was nominated and won the B.C. Cattlemen’s Association Environmental Stewardship Award. They were also nominated for and won the Canadian Cattlemen’s National Environmental Stewardship Award. Beverly sells exclusively through B.C. Livestock in Williams Lake. They were able to purchase some of the original ranch land on the A-l Ranch (originally started by partners Alex Graham and Archie Macauley) and the Young Place, which Norman’s mother had owned. They still operate a cow-calf operation, and now use Red Angus bulls and Hereford/Angus cows on their family ranch. Norman passed away in 2003 at the ranch where he was born.
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Beverly attended the University of Victoria and Fairview College studying veterinary courses. Today she is president of the board of directors of the B.C Livestock Producers Co-Op, and was president of the local Chilcotin Stockmen’s Association for many years. Jennifer graduated from Olds College, majoring in agronomy. She then worked for the Ministry of Agriculture in Williams Lake before changing her career to the field of nursing. Norman and Val retired and in the year 2000, it was agreed they would sell their ranch shares to their oldest daughter, Beverly, and she became the major shareholder
was the 2011 BCRA Saddle Bronc Champion, and is always ready to ride. He is a part-time brand inspector and vice-president of the Chilcotin Stockmen’s Association. Brooke worked in the tourism industry and for B.C. Cattlemen’s in Kamloops and still writes the art stories for Beef in B.C. magazine. She is an excellent ranch hand and cowgirl in her spare time. Beverly is fluent in current cattle industry regulatory “burdens” such as traceability requirements, age verification of cattle, premise ID, etc. The ranch is a registered member of the Verified Beef Program and has registered for the Beef Information Exchange Program. In 2009 the Canyon
CASUAL COUNTRY 2014 - 43
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Out West Luluas build a life together in the Nemiah Valley Sean Glanville Casual Country 2014 It’s been a wonderful ride for Jim and Dinah Lulua who have experienced countless great memories during their 35 years of marriage and 40 years together. Members of the Xeni Gwet’in First Nation, they have been fixtures in Nemiah Valley for decades and admired throughout the community for their kindheartedness and willingness to open their doors or lend a helping hand. “We really try to look out for each other here in the valley, it’s a very close knit community,” says Dinah, who was born and raised in Nemiah. Jim was born about 50 kilometres north along a rough, slow road at the Xeni Gwet’in traditional salmon fishing spot along the Chilcotin River known as Henry’s Crossing. “One of my earliest memories as a child was
riding our horses and wagons. We would ride out to Stone (Yunesit’in Reserve) and my parents would hire somebody to take them to town (Williams Lake) for supplies while my siblings and I would stay with my aunt, the late Helena Myers,” recalls Dinah. Jim recalls the highlight of his youth being the annual horse and wagon ride to Anahim Lake rodeo each summer. “Our people would travel by horse and wagon team for five days to Anahim Lake for the rodeo, we could have done it a lot quicker but my grandma never seemed to be in much of a hurry,” jokes Jim. Both Dinah and Jim attended St. Joseph’s Residential School near Sugarcane. Dinah started school there in 1965 and attended the school for seven years. She remembers using sports as one of her coping mechanisms during her time there. “Playing sports was al-
Sean Glanville photo
Dinah and Jim Lulua pose together on their property on Chilko Lake. The couple has been together for 40 years and is renowned throughout the Nemiah Valley for their kindness and generosity. ways my favourite thing to do; I think it helped us not feel so lonely because we missed our home and our parents,” says Dinah. “It also gave me the chance to play on teams and to travel out of town. I did the Scottish Highland
Fling Dancing, played baseball and skated at the school rink.” Jim attended the school for eight years and he too leaned on sports as his outlet. “We played a lot of soccer at residential
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school and baseball and sometimes our hockey team would travel to the outdoor rink in Lac La Hache and play against out-of-town teams; that was a lot of fun,” recalls Jim. The two were also cast as extras in the 1974 Walt Disney movie The Bears and I starring Chief Dan George which was filmed on location at nearby Chilko Lake. Dinah has spent her career working various jobs at the local school, Naghtaneqed Elementary Secondary. She began work as a custodian back in 1977 at its old site about 10 kilometers down the road from the current school. She is now in her 37th year at the school and is currently a First Nations Liaison Worker. Jim is the school bus driver but contributes to the school in countless ways, whether it is for his handyman skills or emceeing the numerous school events from Christmas concerts to
Halloween Costume Parties. Jim also has announced at the Nemiah Rodeo for years along with the Red Stone and Anahim lake Rodeos, and the Xeni Gwet’in’s Brittany and Elders Traditional Gatherings. The couple began dating as teenagers and when Dinah became pregnant at 18, Jim, then 26, decided to join her and quit drinking. The couple has stayed sober ever since and credits this decision with dramatically improving their quality of life. “I don’t feel like I’m missing out on anything and I have just as much fun staying sober and at least this way I know what I’m doing,” laughs Jim. Dinah and Jim have two sons, James and Jeremy and helped raise step-daughter, Melissa, until she was 12 and opted to return to her parents. They are also grandma and grandpa to a threeyear-old granddaughter,
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Violet. Dinah and Jim run a bed and breakfast at their beautiful home overlooking Chilko Lake, which Jim helped build in 1978. “George Colgate told me about the spot here on the lake and the first time Dinah and I went to see it was by boat and the second time we drove down Tsuniah Lake Road then followed the creek about five kilometers to get here,” adds Jim. “We like it here and plan to stay forever.” Dinah’s devotion to her family is evident and similar to many First Nations cultures, renowned for taking outstanding care of their elders. Her 91-year-old mother Mabel has lived with her and Jim since she no longer could be on her own. “My mother was born in a tent on Jan. 19, 1923. She only speaks Chilcotin; I think she knows a bit more English than she lets on though but chooses not to use it,” says Dinah.
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Out West
Naghtaneqed Elementary Secondary School the heart of Nemiah Valley Sean Glanville Casual Country 2014 Located in the remote Nemiah Valley, home to the Xeni Gwet’in First Nation, is Naghtaneqed Elementary Secondary School. It’s an idyllic setting in which wild horses roam free among the crystal clear lakes and snow-capped mountains creating one of the most picturesque backdrops of any school in the province. Naghtaneqed in Chilcotin translates to waves crashing, adopted from the waves which collide onto the shores of Konni Lake as you descend into the valley. The school has been a pillar of the community since it opened its doors way back in 1974. It has not only served to educate the youth but also houses many annual events from Halloween parties, Christmas concerts, Culture Week and much more. Former Chief Marvin Baptiste helped orchestrate bringing the school to the reserve back then in 1974 after discussions with the Department of Indian Affairs in Ottawa. “The main reason for him wanting to bring the school to Nemiah was so our children did not have to leave the reserve and go to the Mission school for an education,” says Marvin’s daughter Sharon, the school librarian. Sharon is one of four of Marvin’s daughters who attended Naghtaneqed and she has had all four of her children receive their education there as well. Sharon’s two youngest daughters Nellie and Xeni currently attend the school. “The school makes an effort to incorporate many of our cultural and traditional values in the students
and we have high expectations on how they should treat each other,” adds Baptiste. Principal, Joan Simmons, originally from the small town of Austin, Manitoba, has now been part of the staff at Naghtaneqed for 18 years and principal for the past 11. She remembers her first foray into the valley back in January, 1996 when Bob Wanless drove her to an interview for a teaching position. Simmons accepted the contract and shortly after met husband Terry and decided to make the valley her permanent home. “The more I got to know the people, the more I liked it here, and the mountains and scenery and the outdoor living all really appealed to me,” explains Simmons. The school makes a real commitment to implementing First Nations culture and traditions into the curriculum. “It’s a real partnership between the school and community. It’s a bit of a learning curve in getting to understand the First Nations way of thinking and living and in this school we try to accept and adopt many of their beliefs,” adds Simmons. Like most rural schools in the district, Naghtaneqed has dealt with typical problems such as dwindling enrolment and a high turnover of teachers. This year 24 students from grades 1 to 9 attend school, although it offers Kindergarten to Grade 10. With so few students, it creates a family-type of atmosphere in which everyone is very familiar with and cares for one another. It’s not unusual to see a Grade 9 student pushing a Grade 1 student on the swing or all 24 students playing together on the big toy
Sean Glanville photos
Naghtaneqed students Austin Billyboy (left), Chantu William, Xeni Lulua, Sierra William, a Bowen Island visitor and Be-nal Lulua take part in the traditional First Nations game of Lehal during Culture Week in May at the school.
Around every corner in Nemiah Valley is a postcard-perfect view. Here, free range horses graze among the foothills of the Chilcotin Mountains about five kilometers East of Chilko Lake.
Students Samuel Yellowhorn (left to right), Aaron Lulua, Chakotay William and Pacen Setah learn the traditional craft of gaff hook making from instructor Jim Lulua. Here, the students burn aluminum rods in the coals of the fire until they can be manipulated into hooks used to catch salmon.
at once. “Being such a small school you really get to know the kids and their families very closely; it’s like they
from elementary to secondary school, it’s possible for kids to attend Naghtaneqed for up to 11 years from Kindergarten right
become your own kids after having them for so many years,” said Simmons. Unlike most students who graduate
through finishing Grade 10. This factor parlayed with the small number of students creates plenty of time for the
staff to create a unique bond with each individual student.
See CULTURE, Page 45
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CASUAL COUNTRY 2014 - 45
Out West
Culture, legends play large role in school Continued from Page 44 “A lot of former students still stop and talk to me when I see them in town. “It’s funny because the kids that spent the most time in the office are usually the ones that talk to me more so. They grow up and I’m no longer an authority figure,” laughs Simmons. The school is part of an innovative online rural school academic program where students from Nemiah along with Horsefly, Tatla Lake, Rosie Seymour (Canoe Creek), Alexis Creek and Distance Education complete their four core academic courses including: math, social studies, science and English online. The program is catered to students in grades 8-10 and each
Naghtaneqed Principal Joan Simmons day they meet through a collaborative online website and sign in to their courses in which they are taught interactively with their online teacher. Once the students complete Grade 10
Sean Glanville photo
Students and staff at Naghtaneqed Elementary Secondary School form a tight-knit group in the Nemiah Valley. they must then move to Williams Lake to complete their final two years of high school. The beauty of this curriculum is that it prevents teachers in multi-grade classes
with the impossible task of having to teach only one or two students in each senior grade all four core academic courses. Culture plays a huge role in the
school as all children are taught from a young age the Xeni Gwet’in legends including their most famous being Mount Tsy’los, which is spiritually significant. According to tra-
dition, Tsy’los keeps watch over the people of the Xeni and their territory and pointing at it is considered disrespectful and doing so will offend Tsy’los, resulting in severe weather changes.
Each May Chilcotin teacher June William spends countless hours organizing Culture Week at the school. For four days the community welcomes everyone to take part in traditional games and activities such as Lehal, Gaff Hook Making, Sweat Lodge, Horse Management, Bannock Making, Traditional Cooking, Beading, Rope Braiding and much more. This past year more than 100 visitors including all the rural schools and guests from Bowen Island took part in culture week. Countless former students and community members often pencil this week on their calendars to return home for their fill of First Nations culture.
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Building Foundations in the Community that Last a Lifetime ONCRETE DY MIX C
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CASUAL COUNTRY 2014 - 47
Out West
Kinkeads kept communication flowing out west Diana French Casual Country 2014
Cliff and Nellie Kinkead of Alexis Creek were an integral part of the Chilcotin county for many years. Cliff was an entrepreneur, at different times hauling freight, operating a saddle and harness shop, and working as the telephone lineman. Nellie was the longtime telephone operator at Alexis Creek. She was the first to hold that position when the Government Telegraph and telephone Service opened the office there in 1932. Cliff was born in Nebraska. He came to the Chilcotin as a teenager, travelling with his dad, Sam, who freighted goods from Ashcroft to the isolated Chilcotin communities. Teams of four to eight horses pulled the
Photos submitted
Nellie and Cliff in the early days at Alexis Creek. wagon trains, depending on the load, and it is believed the Kinkead team was six horses. They left Ashcroft in the spring, following the trail north through the Gang Ranch.
It took three days to cross the Fraser River, one day down the treacherous trail along the side of a sheer rock wall, one day to cross the river, and the third day to get up the other
side. They made the return trip in the fall, hopefully before snowfall. Sam didn’t stay in the Chilcotin, but Cliff came later and took up a homestead at Big Creek. In the early 1920s Cliff moved to Alexis Creek where he built a house and started a saddle and harness shop. He was a talented leather worker and repaired equipment for the local cowboys and ranchers, and shoes and whatever else came his way from local residents. He also had a second hand shop, selling furniture and dry goods, and he was often the community’s barber. At different times he hauled freight from Ashcroft and drove truck for Redstone storekeeper Andy Stuart. In 1931 he married
Nellie Owens. Nellie was born in Saskatchewan, and her family moved to Williams Lake when she was nine. When she was 16, she got a job as a nanny in Vancouver, but when she arrived on the doorstep of her wouldbe employer, she was told she wasn’t wanted. She had only her suitcase, and one dollar. She wandered
around until she found a Salvation Army shelter where the staff took her in and saw that she got safely home. Back in Williams Lake she worked for a time at the Lakeview Hotel and later for Lees at Hanceville. It was there she met Cliff. The year after their marriage, the Government Telegraph and Telephone Service brought telephone service to the Chilcotin
and opened an office in Alexis Creek. Nellie became the agent and the switchboard was located in the Kinkead home. Along with operating the switchboard, she was responsible for recording calls received or sent outside the village and she collected the rents for telephones in the village.
See NELLIE, Page 48
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Out West
Nellie and baby grand-daughter, Roxanne, at the switchboard, which is now at the Museum of the Cariboo Chilcotin in Williams Lake. Nellie retired as the Alexis Creek operator in 1966.
Although the Chilcotin was often muddy and dusty, the Kinkead’s, Stan, Nellie (holding Doreen), Janet, Joan, and Allan were always “dressed up,” with the girls in dresses. Their sixth child Marilyn came along later.
Nellie celebrates 102nd birthday in 2014 Continued from Page 47 In the beginning only six or eight villagers had phones. The switchboard was battery operated. The operator had to crank a handle with her right hand to generate the power to run it, and operate the switchboard keys with her left hand. The office was officially open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, but the switchboard had to be open at all hours for emergencies, so Nellie was actually on duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week. No matter what she was doing or when she was doing it, she had to drop everything to answer the phone and deal with whatever was required. Chilcotin homes were short on amenities in the 1930s and 40s, and the Kinkead residence was no exception. Cliff was away from home a lot so Nellie had to cope with chores. Their water supply came from the nearby Chilcotin Hotel, two buckets at a time, and she was often the carrier. It was a daunting task, especially in the winter when the roads were icy. They had a light plant that provided all of 32 volts.
Photos submitted
Cliff and Nellie with their grandchildren, Owen and Roxanne, during the 1960s. Nellie seldom walked, her usual pace was running as she managed the telephone business, the household, and raising children. Somehow she found time for community work as well. She and Cliff raised a family of six, two boys, Stanley and Allan, and four girls, Janet, Joan, Doreen and Marilyn. When they were old enough, the girls learned to operate the switchboard which helped Nellie with the work load. While Nellie managed the telephone office, Cliff worked for
the government service as the lineman. He was mostly responsible for the lines in the Chilcotin valley, but the job could take him as far away as Bella Coola. He had a government truck to haul the tools and wire he needed, but sometimes he had to walk for miles, through the bush, snow, mud or wherever, looking for a break or a tree fallen over the line. Occasionally people “borrowed” a piece of wire if they needed it. No kind of weather, be it snow, pouring rain, or stormy winds stopped him. When Allen was old
The Kinkead children Doreen Walker (left), Allan Kinkead, Marilyn Van Tol, Janet MacKay, Joan McLennan, and Stan Kinkead gathered in Smithers in January for their mother’s 102nd birthday. enough he went along to help. He still has the “portable” phone they used to communicate while on the road. The lineman would climb up a pole with this mobile phone and connect it to the line so he could call in to see if the system was working. As Chilcotin communities grew, more telephones came on line, and the switchboard became more than a one person job. In 1952 Nellie hired Vera Hance to assist her. In 1954, the BC Telephone Company bought the Government Telegraph and Telephone
Service. The new office hours were from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. but the switchboard still had to be open in between for emergencies. Customers’ ideas of emergencies could be elastic. Even during regular hours the operators would field some odd requests, like a villager asking “can you look out the window and see if my husband’s truck is at the store.” There never seemed enough time for Cliff to go hunting for meat to feed the family, so Allan took on that job, bringing home moose,
deer and fish. Cliff stayed with BC Tel for a time, then spent the seven and a half years before he retired as maintenance man at the USA Airforce Base at Puntzi Mountain. He passed away at home, at Alexis Creek, in 1965, following a stroke. A year later, Nellie retired as telephone operator, and left Alexis Creek to live in Williams Lake. Vera Hance and June Bliss operated the switchboard until 1968, when BC Hydro reached the Chilcotin and the telephone line was automated.
After a time in Williams Lake, Nellie moved to Mission where she lived until 1975. She returned to the lakecity for a year, then moved to Smithers where she now lives in Bulkley Lodge, a care home. Her family were all there to help her celebrate her 102 birthday in January this year. Son, Stan, lives in Terrace. Allan is back in Williams Lake. Joan is in Vernon. Janet is in Maple Ridge. Doreen and Marilyn live in Smithers. “All six of us are old age pensioners” Allan notes.
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CASUAL COUNTRY - 2014 49
Michael Wigle photo The Bella Coola Valley has become a popular destination for bear viewing.
Caitlin Thompson photo
Sage Birchwater photo
Wilderness, Adventure and arts await
Bella Coola VALLEY
Caitlin Thompson photo
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Bella Coola
Valley Seafoods pampers Pacific catch Sage Birchwater Casual Country 2014
Tucked away in the specialty fish section of Margetts Meats in Williams Lake are the delectable salmon products of Bella Coola Valley Seafoods. One taste of halfsmoked spring salmon filets will have you hooked. So will the mouth-watering readyto-eat, hot-smoked packages have you coming back for more. It’s a long way from Williams Lake to the Central Coast waters of Labouchere Channel, Burke Channel or North Bentinck Arm where Ed Willson spools out his 1,200-foot gillnet to catch his harvest. However, the western terminus of Highway 20, some 450 kilometres away, is Williams Lake’s closest access point to the salt chuck and some of the world’s finest seafood anywhere. Up Saloompt Road on the sunny side of the Bella Coola Valley, Ed and Sandy Willson process the fish Ed brings home to their state-ofthe-art facility. They’ve been operating their provincially licensed Bella Coola Valley Seafoods for more than 20 years, and sending their products as far afield as Fort St. John, Dawson Creek, Mackenzie, Kamloops, Invermere and Vancouver. Ed made a good living as a commercial fisherman when he first got started in 1976. In those days the fishing season ran from April 1 into October, with openings up to four days a week. Now the season doesn’t start until the beginning of June, with one 24-hour opening per week until July 1. Then the night fishing is cancelled and the opening shortened to 16-hours a day. There may be two openings a week throughout the summer, depending on the number of fish available and the particular species being targeted. Ed says the Bella Coola fishing fleet is only a quarter the size it
Sage Birchwagter photos
Ed Willson of Bella Coola Valley Seafoods spools out his 1,200-foot gillnet to catch his salmon harvest. He and his wife Sandy produce specialty products for the local and regional market. was when he got started 38 years ago, and they only catch 20 per cent of the fish they used to catch in the 1970s. What killed the commercial fishing economy was the fish farming industry that got established in the early 1990s. The flood of farmed fish on the market sent the value of wild fish plummeting. The money paid to commercial fishers for their catch wasn’t enough to sustain them and many went out of business. Faced with diminishing returns, Ed and Sandy decided they had to add value to their fish. They took a leap of faith and invested in a fish processing facility and Bella Coola Valley Seafoods was born. Ed says one thing he loves about fishing is the variety. “You’re always doing something different and not always doing the same damn thing. There are so many different things you’ve got to know how to do.” For one thing Ed hangs his own nets. “When I was 12 or 14 years old I was the net
Ed Willson purchases salmon packed in ice from his brother-inlaw Grant Bittner at the Bella Coola wharf. boy for Margaret Siwallace, Addie Saunders, Annie Schooner and Mercy Snow. They were the best in the business and I learned how to hang and mend a net from them.” A week before the start of last year’s fishing season, Ed and Sandy sit in the shelter of their Saloompt Road fish processing plant preparing their nets. Ed methodically hangs the lead line for a new nylon gillnet, while Sandy spools thick green cord
onto an array of net needles. Out of the blue Ed suggests I go fishing with him to get a better understanding of the industry. A few weeks later he picks me up at 4:30 a.m. on a Sunday morning. It’s mid-June as we head to the wharf in Bella Coola harbour where the couple’s 35foot Carlson gill-netter, Whispering Winds, is moored. Behind his pickup he tows a trailer carrying four insulated tote boxes of ice. It seemed strange
getting such a jump on the 24-hour opening still 36 hours away, but Ed has his reasons. The opening runs from 6 p.m. Monday to 6 p.m. Tuesday, and Ed wanted to secure a prime fishing spot along one of the fjord channels that leads to the open ocean. As we motor out of Bella Coola harbour and head west along Burke Channel, the landforms have descriptive names like The Bluffs, Flagpole Point, Big Bay, Green Bay, Bachelor Bay, Mesachie Nose
and Cathedral Point. The locals know them by those names but on the government charts they are all identified numerically. By 9 a.m. we anchor in a small cove protected from the prevailing winds blowing up the channel from the ocean. “I like to come early and read what’s going on,” Ed explains. “This bay is where the high boat has been for the past two weeks. It’s the best fishing hole right here.” He tells about a strange sight he saw a week earlier of a grizzly swimming across Burke Channel to King Island escorted on either side by a pair of dolphins. “I’ve never seen a grizzly swimming in the salt chuck before,” he says. Ed reads the signs and ponders where the crest of the run might be. There’s a lot of guesswork and luck involved in fishing, but with nearly 40 years of experience, Ed knows what to look for. The tides, phases of the moon, the colour of the water, the behaviour
of dolphins and seabirds are all factors. And then there’s the weather. Ed picks up the VHF radio microphone and speaks briefly with his brother-in-law and fishing partner, Grant Bittner, anchored in a different bay up the channel. Then he calls his wife, Sandy, on the satellite phone. He explains how he and Sandy share all aspects of their fishing and processing business. “When we started out, I was in the habit of saying ‘I’m going to do this,’ or ‘I’m going to do that.’ Then Sandy told me if I wanted her to help me with this, I’d better start saying ‘we.’ We are working partners. I discuss over the phone with her, where to go to fish.” Ed heads for his bunk in the fo’c’sle of the boat to catch up on some badly needed sleep after long days processing fish and the early morning departure. He offers me the use of the skiff to jig for cod or rockfish if I desire. A spectacular thunder and lightning storm blows into the channel cresting whitecaps in the open water. I waken Ed as the action of the winds and waves has loosened the anchor and we are drifting uncomfortably close to the rocky shore. Ed resets the anchor and sets a shoreline to keep the Whispering Winds pointed into the weather, then calls Grant on the VHF. The storm is blowing heavy down Labouchere Channel too, Grant informs him. The storm abates and we spend a pleasant evening chowing down Ed’s great cooking, and planning the next day’s activity. At 6 p.m. sharp Ed spools his net across the bay. Secured to buoys at either end, the net forms an arc in the tide as Ed patrols it with the Whispering Winds, retrieving fish as they get snagged in the webbing.
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CASUAL COUNTRY 2014 - 51
Bella Coola Specialty products create enduring market Continued from Page 50
We make three or four more sets before nightfall, then grab a few hours rest until first light. An aluminium revival box attached to the starboard gunwale beside the net drum, is designed to revive steelhead or coho incidentally caught in the net. Fortunately we never had to use it. The next morning our luck tapers off and Ed speculates the main run might be further up the chuck. We motor to a new location and his intuition pays off. As we pull in our last set at the 6 o’clock deadline, our tote boxes are full. Back at the wharf that evening we learn we are one of the “high boats” of the fleet for that opening, with the most number of fish. Besides processing their own catch, Ed and
Sandy buy fish from half-a-dozen other fishers who produce the high quality fish they demand. “We look for firm fish that are looked after properly,” Ed explains as his brother-in-law moors his boat next to the Whispering Winds. “If there’s a bunch of blood and the fish are limp, then they haven’t been looked after. They would look like hell in the package.” Grant Bittner has had success as well. Two full totes of Grant’s Spring and Chum salmon are hoisted onto Ed’s trailer along with Ed’s catch, bound for the processing plant. Last year Ed and Sandy purchased 11,000 pounds of spring salmon from other fishers, paying more for them than the commercial buyer. This helps sustain the local fishing economy.
Sage Birchwater photos
Ed and Sandy Willson together at their business Bella Coola Valley Seafoods. At their fish processing plant the next day, Ed and Sandy are both up at first light, cleaning, cutting and packaging the fish to ensure optimum quality. The fish they don’t have time to process right away are flash frozen and glazed in sugar water to preserve their
freshness. The whole glazed fish are wrapped in plastic in big totes and kept frozen at -25 degrees Celsius. As Ed cuts up the steaks and fillets, Sandy vacuum seals them in attractive packaging. They get the smoker going and hot-smoke the smaller pieces into
ready-to-eat products. “We utilize everything,” Sandy says. “Nothing goes to waste.” Besides producing their own delicacies for sale through Bella Coola Valley Sea Foods, Ed and Sandy custom cut other people’s fish. “The custom stuff is all written down and stamped ‘not for resale,’” Ed explains. “The paper trail documents and backs up everything.” There are always unknowns when it comes to the fishing industry, and the 2014 salmon fishing season is no exception. Four years ago in September 2010, a big flood decimated the spawning beds in the Bella Coola River system. Salmon predominately have a four-year cycle, so as Ed and Sandy get ready for this year’s first opening they have no idea how many
Ed cuts up salmon for packaging, taking pride in careful handling of the fish to ensure the best possible product. fish will return and how it will affect the number of fish they will be allowed to catch. “The 2010 flood will really affect us,” Ed predicts. “A pub with no beer and a fish shop with no fish is the same bloody thing.” But if the Willsons have learned anything in their four decades of plying the waters of the Central Coast, it is
about resiliency. It may mean fishing in other waters not affected by the flood, or buying more fish from other regions along the coast. Time will tell. At any rate you get the feeling they will roll with the punches and find a way to continue processing fish for their customers who have acquired a taste for their second-to-none products.
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Bella Coola Film star Adam Beach visits Bella Coola Caitlin Thompson Casual Country 2014 Celebrating their 13th year in April, the Nuxalk Nation’s Snxlhh Transition House’s annual Walk of Hope featured an impressive turnout and a special guest: Hollywood movie star Adam Beach. The Transition House has been operational since 1998, offering safe shelter to women experiencing abuse and various counselling and educational outreach programs aimed at stopping family violence. The Walk of Hope is their annual event intended to raise awareness around violence, in particular violence against women. Successful First Nations actor Adam Beach was brought in as a motivational speaker to coincide with the Walk of Hope and the first local students’ completion of the Chemical Addictions Worker Certificate Program, known as CHAD. Thirteen students have completed the first portion of the certificate program, offered by the Nicola Valley Institute of Technology, through Lip’alhayc College. Beach’s presence, aimed mainly at the youth, was part of the celebration of these achievements. Graduates of the CHAD program offered presentations on their experiences, which were overwhelmingly positive. Graduate Ron Schooner, who presented on addiction, said the program changed his
Caitlin Thompson photo
During his visit to Bella Coola, Arctic Air star Adam Beach (second from right) gave encouraging talks to youth and participated in the Bella Coola Walk of Hope. First Nations Hereditary Chiefs walking with him are Jeff Snow (left), Rhonda Schooner, and Noel Pootlass. life. “It’s time to end the cycle of trauma and abuse because we turn to addiction to cope,” said Schooner. “These addictions cause more hurt and problems in the long run, we need to take it on, one by one.” Joyce Webber, who presented on Self, Health, and Wellness, spoke from the heart about how the program opened her eyes to the effects trauma had on her own life. “We need to decolonize our minds,” said Webber. “Tell your kids you love them, show them affection. Residential school took so much away, it’s time to take it back.”
The CHAD program’s community presentation included booths from Bella Coola Community Support Society, Bella Coola Home and Community Care, the Snxlhh Transition House, RCMP, Tsow-Tun- Le Lum, Lip’alhayc College, the Nuxalk Nation, and First Nations Health. “I think the most important thing we learned is that the healing needs to take place here,” said graduate Nola Mack. “We need to do it together, in our territory, in our home.” It was within that spirit of healing that Beach, who spent three days in Bella Coola, shared his personal story of childhood trauma,
loss, and abuse, and how he overcame these challenges to enjoy a successful Hollywood career as an actor. Born on the Dog Creek First Nation in Manitoba, Beach lost both his parents within months of each another. His mother, eight months pregnant at the time, was hit by a drunk driver outside his home. His grief-stricken father drowned eight weeks later. “Losing my parents, the people I loved most in the world, changed everything,” Beach shared. “I lost all my fear because I had nothing left to lose; it had already been taken from me.” Beach and his two
brothers were initially sent to live with their grandparents, and later on with their aunt and uncle in Winnipeg. It was during his teen years that Beach was surrounded by alcohol and drugs and hanging out in gangs. It all could have gone very differently if he hadn’t found his culture. “The Anishinabe spiritual teachings are what give me my strength,” said Beach, sharing his sacred cultural items with the crowd. “I carry them with me wherever I go.” Beach went on to pursue acting, landing his first major role at age 16. He never looked back, going on to star in
independent indigenous films (Smoke Signals) and massive Hollywood blockbusters (Cowboys and Aliens). Most recently, Beach starred as Bobby Martin in CBC’s popular series, Arctic Air. “Acting was my way out,” Beach explained. “There is a world out there: challenge yourself and let your passion motivate you and go seek it out.” Beach is now taking his passion across Canada. His new project, Bandwidth, aims to bring first-run and independent movies to reserves across the country through the concept of ‘pop-up cinema.’ Beach premiered the first theatre two weeks
ago in the community of Brokenhead First Nation about 65 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg. But there are plans to bring pop-up theatres to other communities, including Norway House First Nation and back to Bella Coola. “This is something that can bring people together,” Beach said. “And now we have an opportunity to share more aboriginal films, so we’re basically creating a bigger market for native film. But also, we are now being able to bring the world to these communities.” The Nuxalk community celebrated Beach’s presence with a potluck supper and an evening of cultural celebration and dancing, with a strong focus on honouring the youth. Beach was showered with traditional gifts and honoured with a Nuxalk name: Micmiklh kulhuuts (literal translation: Star Beach). Hundreds of star-struck fans flocked to Beach to get their photo taken or an autograph. Dorothy Pootlass, who spearheaded the initiative to bring in Beach with her husband, Archie, said she was inspired by his story and felt he could relate to the community. “I was taken in by his ability to accomplish what he was doing,” Pootlass said. “I felt our community would benefit from bringing someone in from outside who is doing something so positive.”
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Bella Coola
Gustafson family brings in the big catch Monica Lamb-Yorski Casual Country 2014 Trevor Gustafson says he has two lives and likes it that way. “I work in the auto industry all winter and go fishing all summer,” the 23-year-old fishing charter operator says. Between the end of May and Labour Day, Trevor runs Central Coast Adventures out of Whiskey Cove on Denny Island near Bella Bella. When he isn’t catching halibut, salmon, crab, prawns, mussels or clams, he’s netting sales with his father Kerry at Gustafson’s Chrysler Jeep. Trevor grew up fishing on Quesnel Lake and other nearby smaller lakes with his brother, Dylan, now 25, dad and mom, Janice.
See WHISKEY, Page 54 Photo submitted
Bella Coola/Bella Bella is a great place for fishing. Trevor Gustafson (left), the owner of Central Coast Adventures fishing charters and Whiskey Cove Bed and Breakfast, with Kari Seibert, Karl Seibert, Kerry Gustafson and Ayla Cierra after a good day’s catch.
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Bella Coola Whiskey Cove a hidden gem for the fishing lover Continued from Page 53 After Dylan worked at a fishing lodge out of Prince Rupert when he was 15, the family was inspired to go into the fishing business. Instead of the Prince Rupert area, however, the Gustafsons chose the Central Coast where there isn’t as much pressure, Kerry says. They opened up a bed and breakfast and fish charter business at the old abandoned Namu cannery southeast of Bella Bella. For three years they were at Namu and then relocated seven years ago and bought a house at Whiskey Cove. These days the business is run by Trevor, along with two First Nations fishing guides from Bella Bella. Using a fleet of five Grady Whites and one King Fisher, clients are outfitted with fishing gear and tackle for a day on the water. “We can cruise out there, even if it’s rough waters, about a half hour from the dock,” Trevor says. From his experience, the fishing hasn’t changed, although the limits have. People aren’t allowed to keep as much halibut as they were in the past. Possession limit for one trip is eight salmon, four of which can be Chinook, two halibut — one under 133 centimetres and one under 81 centimetres, six lingcod and six red snappers. There aren’t many guests who go home without their limit. “We don’t guarantee fish, but limiting out is what we’re after,” Trevor says. There’s an expectation of large runs of Chinook Salmon this year, and judging from the early season, it will be a good year. “It’s been amazing and we’ve caught a lot of fish, including a 40-pound Spring.” Clients come to fish with Trevor and his guides from all over B.C., and Alberta, and return for some of the best fishing on the entire west coast of Canada,
The Whiskey Cove Lodge on Denny Island is home base for Central Coast Adventures which provides bed and breakfast accommodation for customers and other visitors to the Central Coast.
Monica Lamb-Yorski photo
Trevor Gustafson, 23, prepares to depart from his job at Gustafson’s Chrysler Jeep for another season of fishing on the Central Coast. for not only quantity but for the size of Spring Salmon and Coho in the area. Trevor and his staff fillet the fish, then it’s commercially vacuum packed, boxed and frozen for people to take home. “People don’t have to worry about anything, they just have to bring a fishing license.” Then again, if they
forget the license, they can use a computer at the lodge and get it then. Aside from fishing, the scenery is great, with opportunities to see whales, orcas and dolphins. Trevor says they have a comfortable lodge right on the ocean, a dock and a hot tub to relax in after fishing. Guests can choose to stay in big rooms, or
private cabins. This year a new post and beam log home, designed and built by Pioneer Log Homes out of Williams Lake, was added. “We needed a new place to expand,” Kerry says. A full-time chef and his wife run the bed and breakfast. On the water, Trevor’s out of cell range
Photos submitted
Fishing guide Daniel Hopkins is one of two employees from Bella Bella working with Central Coast Adventures. Here he holds a one of the giant salmon caught in the region. and there are no computers, and that’s OK with him. “It’s just you and the ocean. You’re fishing and hoping to catch a big one.” As long as the fish are there, Trevor will be too. When asked for a favourite fishing story he references a fibre glass fish displayed at the dealership.
It was the first 50plus pound Chinook Salmon he caught on his own. He was fishing solo with Tim Menning of Williams Lake. “We went down to my favourite fishing spot and managed to land this Spring Salmon. It was one of the biggest fish landed that season. I think it was 52 pounds.”
The fish was also caught during a beautiful day on the water. Trevor’s business is one of four main fishing charter businesses in and around Shearwater. A new one is starting up on July 1, he adds. Kerry says he gets out to the lodge to fish regularly, but only does it for the fun. It’s his son’s operation, he smiles.
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Bella Coola
Photos submitted
Steer wrestling is always a challenge!
Rodeo lovers get one of the best seats in the house with views of the spectacular mountains surrounding Bella Coola.
Bella Coola Rodeo a 30-year tradition Caitlin Thompson Casual Country 2014 There is likely no more interesting place in the world to watch rodeo antics than in the Bella Coola Rodeo grounds.
Set back next to Walker Island Park, the rodeo grounds host spectacular mountain views, great food, and a beer garden. Hosted annually by the Valley Ridge Riders, the Bella Coola Rodeo
is almost 30 years old and still going strong. A fully approved British Columbia Rodeo Association (BCRA) event, the 29th Annual Bella Coola Rodeo June 28 and 29 features all the favourite
events such as gymkhana games, calcutta steer riding, BCBRA barrel racing and jackpot team roping, starting at 1 p.m. both days. Stock is provided by DnB Rodeos. Monday June 30
there will be ‘Buckles, Barrels and Bucks,’ performances. And of course there will be popular dances Friday and Saturday nights starting at 9:30 p.m. featuring the Johnson Brothers.
Raised in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, the Johnson Brothers (Brett and Trent) have proven to be one of the hardest working bands in the province. Their passion for
music and high-energy stage shows have caught the attention of music lovers and has helped set the brothers apart from other acts. For more information, go to www.rodeobc.com.
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Bella Coola Bella Coola Little Theatre Guild turns 50 Black Press Casual Country 2014 “All the world’s a stage” wrote William Shakespeare some five centuries ago, and for generations, for weeks on end at different times of the year, Bella Coola Valley residents have turned the stage at Lobelco Hall into their own small world. From Japan to Manhattan, from Istanbul to Kansas, valley women, men, and children of all ages have trod the boards at Lobelco, and at times other venues, turning the space for a brief time into another world for themselves and their audiences. This past year marked the 50th anniversary of the Bella Coola Little Theatre Guild — officially formed in 1963 after decades of earlier live theatre in the valley. Since the 1930s val-
The Bella Coola Little Theatre Guild members in a production of the Pyjama Game ley folks have been hamming it up on stage with performances at first produced by the Women’s Institute and the local PTA, events remembered fondly by Maureen Harrison, who recalls going to performances as a school girl
when her love of the theatre was instilled. The theatre in those days was spearheaded by Reg Edwards, remembered by Maureen as “an Englishman who worked with Fisheries.” Since then, the casts, crews, directors, and
producers of more than 100 productions have created a host of worlds on stage. They have set the audience on edge with the super-natural suspense of The Monkey’s Paw and probed the existential questions raised in
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Waiting for Godot. They have examined the dark spaces of the human mind in the Giocanda Smile, the greed and guilt of All My Sons, and the bleak, destructive social forces that wreak ruin in Arthur Miller’s The
Photo submitted
Crucible, the parody of 1950’s American fear of Communism. They have also sent their audiences into gales of hilarity with farcical comedy including mistaken identity and gender-swapping, along with sweeping ro-
mantic musical productions such as My Fair Lady and The Merry Widow, with highly choreographed dance scenes, elaborate stage craft, and home-devised special effects. Too numerous to name, the guild has been blessed with hundreds of participants over its 50 years including the mechanical/electrical genius who fashioned home-made footlights still in use decades after their creation. As well, backstage light dimming apparatus of metal rods raised and lowered with cords into glass jugs of foulsmelling liquid. And there are panels of sheet metal which, when shaken in a certain way, created rolling thunder synchronized with the lightning flashing on-stage.
See LITTLE, Page 57
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Bella Coola Bella Coola Music Festival line up delicious Caitlin Thompson Casual Country 2014 One of the most popular bands in Canadian history: 54-40 is headlining the Bella Coola Music Festival in July. Having played the festival a decade ago, 54-40 is happy to be returning, much to the delight of local fans. Now in its 15th year, the annual Bella Coola Music Festival is a family-friendly weekend festival taking place July 19 and 20 this summer. The rest of the lineup is equally as delicious as 54-40, featuring singer-songwriter Cree/ Metis Don Amero from Winnipeg; Fernie-based Shred Kelly, who are famous for their own brand of ‘stoke-folk;’ the fabulous foursome who make up The Fugitives; and Burns Lake virtuoso Rachelle Van Zanten. And if you are looking for something totally different, then it’s Petunia and the Vipers for sure! Petunia defies convention and yet there is some conservancy to his music, with an
Michael Wigle photo
The Bella Coola Music Festival is a family friendly event set against a magnificent mountain backdrop. infectious blend of his famous yodel (yes, he yodels!), bluegrass, and 1930s swing. And for that taste of world music, the festival is proud to present the fantastic five of
Caribbean/Trinidadian flavoured Kobo Town. Kobo Town is named after the historic neighbourhood in Port-ofSpain where calypso was born, and the music reflects the roots.
Kobo Town will be complimented by the amazing Argentineanbased Gabriel Palatchi Band. For a list of the full lineup, dates and times where to stay, and on-
line tickets, check out www.bellacoolamusic. org. The festival also features a popular Children’s Site (kids 12 and under are free), which runs from noon to 5
p.m. on Sunday featuring top-notch children’s performers. This year features Winnipeg-based favourite comedian Al Simmons and circus performer Mike Battie,
plus a bounce house, and other children’s activities. The festival also features the work of local artisans and homecooked food available on site. Prior to the festival there will be a twoday fiddle camp on July 17 and 18 with professional fiddle instructors Wesley Hardisty and Ivonne Hernandez. Nestled in the mountains in what is now referred to as the Great Bear Rainforest, the Bella Coola Music Festival is a labour of love for the all-volunteer board, directors and staff. With the help of one paid, part-time artistic director, more than 100 volunteers take part to pull off this professional festival, which attracts about 1,000 visitors each year. Advance tickets are only $20 per day ($40 for weekend pass) and $15 for students and seniors. Wait for the gate and the price goes up, but only by five dollars! Tickets are available online at www.bellacoolamusic.org and at Andre’s in Williams Lake.
A little theatre tackles some big productions Continued from Page 56 Maureen recalls the stagecraft that went into making for faster set changes. “Nothing is worse for the director,” she says, “than seeing the audience sitting there while the crew is changing the scenery.” Along with the musicals, dramas, and comedies, the guild also presented themed gala events — 15 of them in all. These included: an Hawaiian Gala, a Western Gala, a Space Gala (in 1969, the year of the first Moon landing), a Roman Gala, and a Mediterranean Cruise Gala. Other ambitious events with locally written scripts commemorated the BC/Canada confederation — the Centennial Ball in 1971.
Eighteenth-Century seafaring expeditions were celebrated in 1977 with the Captain Cook Ball. The guild celebrated its 25th anniversary with a big event in 1988, and the 1994 Norwegian Centennial Pageant commemorated the valley’s Norwegian settlement of 1894. Throughout these times, Maureen, who directed 23 of the larger productions between 1969 and 2006, was among the stalwarts in the guild. She recalls Molly Walker, motoring along Highway 20 with a P-A system on her pickup truck announcing upcoming performances; and sporting a huge white rabbit costume around town to promote the whimsical comedy Harvey. She reminisces about the scene at the Ascot
racetrack in My Fair Lady (1981) with the English ladies in their finery decked out in showy hats each stitched together by hand. Then there was the time in 1971 when the poster advertising the upcoming Nude with Violin raised the ire of certain valley residents. She remembers actor Ken Corbould driving down regularly from Stuie for rehearsals of Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap in 1988; and similarly for his part in Noises Off! — probably one of the cleverest staging and funniest productions of the 50 years. A fire in Lobelco Hall forced the guild to take its 1974 – 1976 productions to the SAMS school auditorium. The huge cast of Annie Get Your Gun provided a major challenge, but as always, the obsta-
cles were overcome, and the show went on. Renovations to Lobelco reduced the changingroom space, and cast access to “stage right” became choked off, sometimes requiring an actor to engage in a mad footrace back stage in order to re-enter on cue “stage left.” Then there was the on-stage gunshot during rehearsal — a startling event to the visiting veterinarian who was conducting a clinic in the room behind. Maureen remembers the guild’s “most polished” production as The Club (1983), in which six women pretended to be members of an all-male club at a time when women were excluded from such places. She recalls the 1981 staging of My Fair Lady as the most challenging. But maybe not: She
also remembers coming into the production of Here’s Love in 1993. This stage version of Miracle on 34th Street — complete with a Macey’s Thanksgiving Day Parade — had more than 50 performers in the cast. Maureen came into the production halfway through the rehearsals, taking on the task of directing the dozen or so children under 12 years old. While she has enjoyed all of her time in Guild productions through the years, Maureen says she had “the most fun” with The Pyjama Game, which she directed with Liz Endicott in 2004. “It was a lot of fun and work over the years,” she says, “but even so, it was always easy to find people to help.” These days, 50 years on, as times have
changed in the Bella Coola Valley, so has the world of the Bella Coola Little Theatre Guild. With the aging population and the intrusion of other forms of entertainment, (television, movie rentals, and the Internet) the outside world is in every local living room, and fewer and fewer valley residents have been stepping forward to become involved in amateur theatre. While many seem to have an interest in performing on the stage, it has become increasingly difficult to identify people to take on the role of directing and producing. While the guild has historically engaged in at least one production annually and often two or three, the guild has been inactive for four of the past seven years. The most recent Lit-
tle Theatre Guild production (2012) was The Noble Spaniard a Somerset Maugham situation comedy directed by John Morton, who has been involved as an actor and director/producer since the 1970s. “We do this (amateur theatre production) for ourselves, but also for our community,” John says. He adds, live theatre provides “not only satisfaction for the actors and everyone associated with a successful production, but great entertainment. The theatre guild has contributed tremendously to the valley,” he adds. John believes that institutions such as the theatre guild “define the culture and fabric of our community and through that enrichment make it a more attractive place to live.”
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Bella Coola Cry Rock debutes on Knowledge Network Caitlin Thompson Casual Country 2014
Part documentary, part personal story, Bella Coola Nuxalk filmmaker Banchi Hanuse’s first documentary will certainly strike a familiar chord with many viewers. Written, produced and directed by Hanuse, the film features faces many will recognize and explores a theme many can identify with. Cry Rock was originally released in 2010. Since then, the film has won eight awards including Best Short Documentary at the Women in Film Festival in Vancouver and the Kodak Image Award. Hanuse was also awarded the Indigenous Filmmakers Award in 2012. Hanuse first had the idea for the film almost a decade ago. “I wanted to tell this story because it’s very
Photos submitted
Violet Tallio packages smoked fish in the Nuxulk Territory at Bella Coola.
Alvin Mack and Clyde Tallio in a scene from the award-winning documentary film Cry Rock that has now been picked up for airing by the Knowledge Network. significant to me,” she says. “The film is partly about my personal struggle, but also touches on the larger struggle within many communi-
ties.” The film features Hanuse as narrator and a central figure in the struggle to discover the best way to preserve and record the stories
that embody the spirit and culture of the Nuxalk Nation — stories that are slipping away as fluent Nuxalk speakers dwindle and young Nuxalkmc people lose
touch with their traditional way of life. Featuring a cast of four main characters, the film blends vivid shots of the Bella Coola Valley with watercolour
animation to illustrate the role of Nuxalk oral tradition in past and present life. A familiar irony surfaces as members of the Nuxalk community try to understand how modern technology can help preserve their culture while at the same time causing enormous harm.
While Cry Rock continues to be screened across North America at various film festivals. This will be its first debut on a major television network. The documentary Cry Rock debuted at 9 p.m. on Tuesday, June 17 as part of Knowledge Network’s popular Storyville series.
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Bella Coola
Bear viewing a popular activity in Bella Coola Caitlin Thompson Casual Country 2014 Besides trying your luck catching a salmon, you can also try catching a glimpse of a grizzly bear in the Bella Coola Valley. Bear viewing is an increasingly popular activity in the Bella Coola Valley and Central Coast, and there are several local tourism operators and a BC Parks viewing station designed to help you have a safe and enjoyable experience. The Belarko Bear Viewing Platform, cooperatively managed by the Nuxalk Nation and BC Parks, is located on the banks of the Atnarko River. Constructed to view bears at an optimum distance, the platform is fully staffed and is open from Sept. 1 to Sept. 30. For more information, check out the BC Parks website. If you are interested in taking a guided tour,
several businesses offer river drifts and guided walks. Bella Coola Mountain Lodge, operated by Fraser Koroluk and Holly Willgress, offers bear viewing tours and river drifts. Tweedsmuir Park Lodge, located in the heart of the park, is also offering tours and wildlife photography workshops. There is also Bella Coola Grizzly Tours, located in Hagensborg. Going with a guide is certainly the recommended approach, and will ensure that both bear and visitor are as safe as possible. If you plan on taking a bear watching trip to Bella Coola, make sure you are well prepared and understand proper safety precautions around dealing with wildlife. Be Bear Aware! Visit www.bearaware.bc.ca to ensure you are equipped with the right information.
Michael Wigle photo
A coastal grizzly bear snatches a snack near a viewing platform in the Bella Coola Valley. Bear viewing is becoming an increasingly popular activity in the region. The best time for bear viewing is in September when the rivers are full of salmon.
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Shaping the world around us
Our PEOPLE
Patrick Gillan photo Sam Tudor performs in Vancouver in advance of his latest CD release.
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People
Youth magician Jesaja a class act By Sage Birchwater Casual Country 2014
Nemiah Valley magician, Jesaja Class, (you pronounce his name Jay-sigh-ya), is in a class all his own when it comes to performing magic in the Cariboo Chilcotin. With a growing repertoire of tricks and sleights of hand, he holds his audiences spellbound. Whether it is with a deck of cards, spinning diabolos, juggling flaming torches, or getting rings, cards or balls to disappear, he keeps you wondering. Jesaja was introduced to magic as a sixyear-old, when a guest at the campground his parents managed, gave him a trick to make a ball disappear. “Cups and Balls is the oldest trick in the world,” Jesaja says. Shortly after that another camper gave him a little magic set from the toy store and a woman from Taiwan showed him how to juggle three balls. He was off to the races. He began practicing his various tricks and by the time he was eight years old, he was performing them around the kitchen table for guests at his family’s bed-and-breakfast. At 12 years old Jesaja turned heads when he gave his first public performance at Naghtaneqed School in Nemiah Valley. From there he headed into Williams Lake to entertain more kids in other schools. At 14, Jesaja got his first big break when he was invited to début his act on stage for the City of Williams Lake’s Performances in the Park concert series. Word quickly spread and he was hired to perform at various festivals, private parties and events around the region such as the Williams Lake Stampede Street Party, Arts Wells, Arts on the Fly, the Quesnel Farmer’s Market, Hootstock and the Medieval Market. Now at age 17, Jesaja is ready to expand his horizons beyond the Cariboo Chilcotin. He wants to take his show
Sage Birchwater photos
Jesaja Class has been building his magic skills since he was just six years old and even invents his own magic tricks such as this disappearing apple device.
Jesaja keeps his fingers nimble for his magic shows by doing beadwork and playing piano in his spare time. to another level. “I’d like to get to bigger stages and pursue opportunities by traveling to other parts of Canada,” he says. “My first step is to try and promote myself more through the Internet.” Jesaja grew up in an isolated, self-reliant environment on Big Lake in Nemiah Valley, and never attended public school. His parents, Roland and Udette, immigrated to Canada from Germany in 1984. After living around Vancouver for five years, Roland got a
job building a cabin in Nemiah Valley, and the young couple immediately realized that was where they wanted to live. They bought a lease on Big Lake, and in 1991 they moved up to their property full time. Jesaja was born in 1997, and until he was six years old only spoke German. When he started interacting with the international clientele at the campground, he learned to speak English. When he turned seven, Roland and Udette
Jesaja with his parents, Udette and Roland, at their lakeside home on Big Lake in the Nemiah Valley. enrolled him in the Wondertree SelfDesign home-school program headquartered in Vancouver, and he thrived in that learning model. Udette says Wondertree allows Jesaja the freedom to explore his interests and have a hand in designing his own curriculum. “He’s very creative,” Roland adds. “Developing his magic show has been a big part of his education. For 10 years he’s been honing these skills.” When he started with Wondertree, high speed
Internet wasn’t available in Nemiah Valley, so his parents would drop him off at public computer access sites in Williams Lake when they did their shopping. “The Tourist Discovery Centre has the best high speed computer access in town,” Udette says. When high speed Internet became available in Nemiah Valley, it opened up a whole new spectrum of possibilities for Jesaja’s selfdirected learning. He improved his computer literacy skills and has
become very adept at seeking out information online. “I go online to find new stuff, different music and different magic routines. I’m always trying to improve and change up my act.” He says there are hundreds of stores online where he can order new tricks. “You can buy a gimmick that comes with a CD that explains the sleight of hand, and shows you how to make the props you need.” Lately Jesaja has been getting into filming his tricks, editing them with Final Cut X and posting the short clips on his website, www.magicaljesaja. com. Film-making is a whole new direction for his creative energies. When Jesaja was quite young his parents bought a box set of Cirque du Soleil CDs from a video store and he watched it over and over again. “It triggered a lot of things in Jesaja,” Udette says. “It sparked an interest in performing.” He has also been inspired by the magic and music in the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy, and by the magic in the Harry Potter series. Jesaja performs on stage with style and grace. Dressed in a magician’s top hat, cape and mane of curly auburn hair, his sleight of hand is quicker than your eye can follow. He flashes cards, makes them levitate, disappear, then appear again, then sends them shooting across the stage. You wonder if the quickness of his hands is a natural ability or the result of hours and hours of practice to improve his dexterity. “I don’t practice endlessly because Dad needs me at home,” Jesaja says. He doesn’t have too much time to goof off, because helping his parents with chores and projects are a part of the lifestyle he has grown up with living off the grid. There’s always something to do: taking care of the solar power system, tending gardens, maintain-
ing the guest cabin for B&B clients, cutting firewood, looking after the public campsite and entertaining guests. Then of course there is his schooling and extracurricular studies like music, hobbies and craftwork. Roland says his son’s dexterity comes from all the things he does with his hands. “He’s always playing the piano, sketching, doing beadwork, carpentry and origami.” At the same time Jesaja admits he spends hours, days and even weeks perfecting certain aspects of his magic show. “Doing manipulation magic takes a lot of practice,” he says. For instance he spent two months practicing his CD manipulation act, standing in front of a mirror, repeating it over and over. Once he got it down, he was able to add new aspects to the routine in a much shorter time. Roland says as his son gets older he is making better use of his time. “He used to sleep all the time in the truck during our trips into town. Now all he does is manipulate cards while we are driving along. That’s three hours in, and three hours back.” To help defray the costs of traveling great distances to stage his show, the family has put together a mobile crepe vending business which they set up where Jesaja performs. Between acts Jesaja helps out by cooking crepes on the homebuilt grill he helped his dad devise. They prepare the crepes by adding a selection of fresh fruit toppings to the customer’s taste, along with whipped cream, maple syrup and caramel to make a yummy nutritious treat. “We’re all part of Jesaja’s acting business,” explains Udette. “All three of us work together as a family running the B&B, managing the campground, or selling crepes at the festivals.”
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People
Willie Sellars writes first children’s book Monica Lamb-Yorski Casual Country 2014
A love of dip-netting has spilled over into a first-ever children’s book written by Willie Sellars. The 30-year-old Williams Lake Indian Band Council member and special project co-ordinator, father and goaltender for the Lac La Hache Tomahawks said Dip-Netting with Dad will be released in the middle of September. “Dip-netting’s something I’ve been doing for as long as I can remember,” Sellars says. “I think I started when I was seven and if I wasn’t dip-netting I was at the river with my dad, mom or my uncles.” They fish at Farwell Canyon, at the Rudy Johnson Bridge, Sheep Creek Bridge and at Soda Creek. “There’s a huge variety of fishing spots you can go to. It all depends on the runs and how high the river is.” Aside from his love for dip-netting, Sellars also enjoys reading to his children Cash, 6, and Milah, 4, and says it’s tough finding any books out there
Sage Birchwater photo
Kevin Easthope (illustrator, left), Vici Johnstone (publisher) and Willie Sellars (author) for the soon-to-be-released book Dip-Netting With Dad. with First Nations content and written by a First Nations author that are a really good read for kids. He decided through writing the book he could show his own children the traditional way to fish. “We’ve got some core values to get the kids’ minds thinking about how hard work pays off, about how earning your catch or keep by contrib-
uting in the cleaning process and things like that.” There are hidden values the readers will glean as they go through the book, he continues. It involves the whole process, from preparing to go the river, the trip to the river, the act of fishing, and travelling home to where the really hard work starts. At home there’s the
cleaning, drying, wrapping and preparing of the fish, ending with the eventual eating of the fish. After Sellars wrote the text, he approached his friend Kevin Easthope to illustrate the book. The two had met fire fighting with the Ministry of Forests and Sellars saw Easthope had talent as a fine arts graduate.
dollar store glued onto a keychain reel from Walmart, and voila! – he’s got the prop for his disappearing apple trick. Besides doing his magic, attending to his studies and chores around the homestead, Jesaja has other interests. He’s fascinated by archery and fabricates his own bows out of PVC pipe, and makes his own steel-tipped wooden arrows fletched with feathers. He is also into music and takes classical piano lessons in Williams Lake. Since he only gets to town periodically, he augments his formal training with sheet music he downloads off the Internet. He is particularly fond of playing tunes from Lord of the Rings on the piano. Udette and Roland are both proud of their son’s accomplishments and the direction his life
is going. “As long as he’s having fun doing 100 per cent what he loves, I support 100 per cent whatever he is doing,” says Udette. At the same time she would like her son to get some qualifications in a range of fields so he will have something to fall back on if he decides to do something different. Roland figures if Jesaja keeps working hard he will soon be stepping onto bigger stages outside the Cariboo Chilcotin. “With the skills he has in magic he can continue in this field without a formal education. We’ve given Jesaja all the support to be a magician. He’s so creative I leave him the freedom to choose what he wants.” Asked what he likes about performing magic, Jesaja says it’s all about fooling people. “I
like giving people that moment they can’t explain.” As we are about to take our leave from their comfortable home in Nemiah Valley, Jesaja asks if we like chewing gum. He places an unopened package of Trident Splash strawberry/kiwi gum on the table and proceeds to shuffle a deck of cards. Randomly he asks me to pick a card from the pack and I turn up the Jack of Diamonds. Then Jesaja tears off a corner of the card, pops the ripped piece into his mouth and starts chewing. Then he gives a convincing swallow. He hands me the Jack of Diamonds card with the corner missing, and asks me to look inside the gum package. There’s a single red chiclet beside the box and in the centre cavity of the unopened, sealed
“He was a good buddy and I had seen some of his artwork so I told him he should work on this book with me,” Sellars explains. It took a few years for Easthope to have enough time to commit to the project, but once they got started it all came together. When some rough sketches were completed
they took the story into classrooms, where it was well received and many people encouraged them to get the book published. Eventually Williams Lake author Sage Birchwater put them in touch with Vici Johnstone at Caitlin Press. “We presented to her for 30 minutes,” Sellars recalls of the meeting with Johnstone. “The final draft we have now is significantly different than our original.” Easthope describes drawing as his passion. “Willie is a close friend and what an amazing experience it was working together to bring his story to life.” Easthope wanted to create dynamic scenes that could draw the reader into the world the characters are living in. “To achieve this, I exaggerated the actions of the characters to feel as though they were ‘popping’ off the page.” He tried to push the boundaries of perspective to the limit, he adds. “I wanted each scene to look exciting and load-
ed with energy because dip-netting is an extremely exciting event and a rigorous one at that.” The colour palette Easthope selected was representative of the Chilcotin landscape with the grey blue hues of the rivers to the gold and greens of the grasslands. “I wanted the illustrations to be modern, crisp and brightly coloured.” Sellars was born and raised in Williams Lake. He lives at Sugar Cane with his children and his wife-to-be Mimi Grant. His favourite fish to eat is dried fish by far, he says. “Honestly we really love fish and try to eat it as much as we can.” Last summer Sellars did not go forest fire fighting so he had more time to go fishing. He dried and vacuumsealed a ton of fish, but his family supply is beginning to dwindle. As he anticipates the coming fishing season, he is almost as excited about the fish showing up in local rivers as he is about the book coming out in September, he chuckles.
Rural isolation inspires exploration
Continued from Page 62 Recently they were asked to make adjustments to their mobile crepe stand to comply with food safety standards, and Roland and Jesaja worked together to build the heated hand-washing unit. Roland is very creative and innovative. For a few hundred dollars he designed and manufactured the crepe grill setup using recycled materials. Buying the outfit new would have cost several thousand dollars. Jesaja of course helped every step of the way. Taking a page from his dad’s creative genius, Jesaja creates many of the props he uses for his acts. Instead of paying top dollar for a gimmick in a magic store, he buys the parts to make his own. A plastic apple from the
Sage Birchwater photo
Jesaja Class juggles fire torches at the ArtsWells Music Festival. In addition to magic he is a talented cook, artisan, and musician. plastic package, is the errant corner fragment from the Jack of Diamonds card. Quite mind-stunning for the uninitiated. Pure magic, pure sleight of hand. Go figure. At 17 years old, Jesaja still depends on
his parents to realize his dream of becoming a professional entertainer. He doesn’t have his driver’s license yet, and they all attend his engagements as a family unit. Developing his www. magicaljesaja.com
website, Jesaja is taking on more and more of the responsibility of managing and promoting his entertainment business. This entails realizing his own worth and how much to charge for his appearances.
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People Horsefly community rallies to build hall in 1954 Bruce MacLeod Casual Country 2014 January 1924 must have been a particularly cold and miserable winter in Horsefly. In an effort to combat depression and loneliness, a group of residents formed a private club which they named the “Town Hall Company of Horsefly.” Sixty-six shares were issued at $5 each and these were divided among 26 men and women. Shares could be traded as new members joined, or older members left or passed on. A hall was constructed from recycled buildings and lumber obtained from the Horsefly Mine. The new hall was located at the site of the present museum. It was a large hall with a stage and curtains, and over the years many dramatic performances were given.
The year 1930 brought new ideas and different people, and the name was shortened to the “Horsefly Social Club,” and became a registered non-profit society with a membership limited to 100. This was the forerunner of our current Horsefly Community Club. The location was situated on land owned by Robert Neil Campbell and Alexander Blackwood Campbell, who in 1934 deeded over their property to the Social Club for the sum of $1. Eventually the land was surveyed and the sale registered in September 1940. In the year of 1949, the Horsefly Social Club voted to change names once again, and the Horsefly Community Club was born. A new constitution was drafted at this time and all indebtedness was paid out
Photo submitted
Allan Brigden, Jack Gardner, Jack Wynstra, Casey Walker, Gus Olsen and Ernie Gruhs build the Horsefly Community Hall more than 70 years ago. to the remaining shareholders. The current community hall was the idea of a small group of people including Bill Walker,
Arbor Otson and Erma MacLeod. This occurred in July 1953. Information is sketchy, but I can remember several meetings where Arbor, Bill,
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Erma, Rod MacLeod, Harry Brown, and others met to discuss the idea. A building committee was formed, and by January 31, 1954 a floor
plan of a thirty-two by sixty foot building with a full basement was proposed. The rough plan was given to Erma MacLeod who drafted a plan to scale as well as drew a picture of what the finished building would look like. Unfortunately, these plans and drawings have been lost. Arthur Hooker executed the final blue prints. At the February Community Club meeting, the plans were presented to the club members for approval, and in April 1954 the current site was offered as a donation by Harry Brown, and accepted by the Community Club. In May 1954 excavation of the basement was done by Cal Day. Erik Vixten was the carpenter in overall charge of the project; in fact Erik was the only paid worker on
the project; all other construction was carried out by volunteer labour, and materials were donated by Gardner’s Sawmill and Fetters Sawmill. It is interesting to note Horsefly did not have electricity in 1954 when the hall was built, but the building was wired in anticipation of the Hydro that would arrive a decade or so later. The hall was officially opened in June 1955 with a community dance, but had already been used for a few functions including a wedding prior to June. The old hall was put for tender and purchased by the Overton brothers and eventually sold to Bill Blain, who used it as a residence for a few years, and it later became a pool hall, and eventually burned down.
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People
Horsefly Community Club stands the test of time Continued from Page 64 The list of volunteers who worked on the hall is long, and many of the people have long since passed away, but I will list the ones I know of and trust I haven’t left too many out. In no particular order they are: Bea and Bessie Hooker, Alf and Grace Gardner, Ernie Gruhs, Peter Branch, John Peterson, Dorothy Rosenau (Newton), Clare Gibbons, Joe Fetters, Harold Patenaude, Erik Vixten, Dan Atkins, Ed Goetjen, Jack Gardner, Millie Racher, Clarence Hooker, Bill and Ruby Reid, Bill Walker, Joe and Agnes Williams, Arthur Hooker, Charlie Simmons, Clarence Simmons, Arbor Otson, Bernard Rockstad, Ben and Esther Gruhs, Jim and Ileta Jenner, Alan Brigden, Walter Klymchuk, Cecil Gibbons, Freeman Fetters, Wilfred Patenaude, Ron Teppema, Hazel Hockley, John Vaness, Bob Gardner, Jack Hooker, Horsefly Women’s Institute, Ken Harmon, Lou Hudgens, Cal Day, Chris and Mary Von Hugo, Jack and Owen Wynstra, Rod and Erma MacLeod, Melvin Hall, Andy and Mabel Iuon, Sandy Toma, Harry and Melba Brown, Albert Coghill, Dal Junek, Phillip Patenaude, Casey Wynja, Owen Callaghan, Dick and Ina Branch, Kerr Dunlop, Wilfred and Alice Racher, George and Florence Niquidet, Kelsey Moore, Julius Thygasen, Frank Boesch, Louis Niquidet, Gary Clarke, Bruce MacLeod, Joe Thygasen, Jack Dunlop, John Webster, and Monty Gunn. Work continued for about three years off and on, adding finishing touches like a decent floor you could spread a little corn starch on and dance on all night without getting splinters, and fine wood on the inside walls. Today, 70 years later,
Photos submitted
Owen Wynstra, Allan Brigden, Jack Wynstra, Jack Hooker, Joe Thygassen, Lou Hudgens, Ernie Gruhs, Lorne Brigden, Harry Flynn, Gus Olsen and Clarence Hooker build the Horsefly Community Hall in 1955. In the historical photo, one can see Barrett’s house in the background.
Arbor Otson, Joe Thygassen, Allan Brigden and Rod MacLeod mix cement for the foundation of the Horsefly Community Hall.
the community hall is still the focal point of any major event in the area, and has upgraded to total accessibility both upstairs and downstairs as well as an accessible washroom facility. It stands as testimony to the spirit of the people who envisioned it those many years ago, and the volunteers who shared in the construction process including the women who cooked and served and hammered as well. It has been visited by the Governor General of B.C. among other dignitaries and many politicians of various stripes and has been the gathering point for several reunions of old timers, many who have left this earth for what some call a better place. It has also been the centre of memorials for many of our residents after they pass on. In the early days before liquor permits were even thought up, folk brought their own beverages to the community hall for some of the community functions like dances, weddings, etc. George and Louis Niquidet bought beer bottles for 17.5 cents a
never been to a theatre. Square dance classes were held, drama clubs performed, and there was a teen club organized by Louis Niquidet. Certainly this hall was one of the better investments in time and labour that the community has, and other than Eric, it was all free material and volunteer labour. The Horsefly Community Club still meets
dozen, and quite a few youngsters including myself earned spending money by being first at the hall after a function. A couple of gunny sacks full of empties could yield close to a dollar and a bit. There was a quiet competition where the early bird got the worm so to speak, and if you were late you lost out. I can remember hitting the hall as early as 2 a.m., just as the last stragglers were leaving. No one ever had a serious accident because there were places to stay in town such as the old Corner House where people would go banging on the door no matter who was living there, as it was a Horsefly tradition. At one time the entire hall was threatened because the Horsefly River was gradually eroding the riverbank and endangering the community hall, so some major rock work was carried out to rescue the river bank, which remains to this day. In the 1950s the three different classes; primary, secondary and seniors to grade 10 performed every Christmas for our annual Christmas
Community members continue to maintain and upgrade the Horsefly Community Hall, including making it wheelchair accessible in 2010 with the addition of a ramp. concert followed by a visit from Santa. Sunday school and Church were held at the hall. We had a rifle range for .22 single bore in the basement where Joe Fetters taught us how to shoot properly. More laughter has happened in that hall than anywhere in the world, probably. It has been, and still is, the scene of many events and memories.
For the first 20 years or so there was a room in the basement where bunk beds were rigged up for youngsters to sleep during special occasions like when Taller O’Shea and his group came to entertain, or Evan Kemp and the Trailriders entertained. We used to have movies about once a month, which were a real treat for those of us who had
the first Thursday of every month, and quietly keep the old hall up and running through volunteer work and maintenance, so functions such as the Horsefly Follies, Old Fashioned Christmas, dances, the Fall Fair, and many other events can continue through more generations of young folk. Bravo to all of our volunteers!
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Historical
150 Mile House One of the original stops along the Gold Rush wagon road was 150 Mile House. The bustling community became a departure point for mining settlements on the banks of Keithly, Antler and Horsefly Creeks.
150 Mile House around 1890
The village included a district telegraph office, express office, post office and provincial constable’s office, not to mention its well known 153 Mile Store roadhouse. built in 1914 Today you will still find a roadhouse at 150 Mile welcoming travelers as they tour our beautiful British Columbia. While it is still a small community, it is growing and is home to many businesses and amenities for travellers and its residents. Locals and visitors alike can still enjoy the historical value this community has to offer. A point of interest is the fully restored 1890’s “little red schoolhouse”, which is a visible landmark in the community.
Little Red Schoolhouse
For more information on the school house, contact the 150 Mile School at 250-296-3356 and book your personal tour with the principal during the school term. From 150 Mile House, travelers can head east to historic Likely, Quesnel Forks and Horsefly.
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Cariboo Memorial Hospital Auxiliary celebrates Cynthia Wilson Casual Country 2014 The Cariboo Memorial Hospital Auxiliary was active in Williams Lake two years before the first hospital was built and continues to serve the hospital to this day. That is 91 years of service that started in 1923 with their motto Comfort and Service for patients. Except for a lull in service between 1928 and 1930 the auxiliary has been working continuously for the hospital and its patients since then. In the early days nearly every woman in Williams Lake attended auxiliary meetings or helped out in some way to raise money for hospital equipment and supplies. One of the first jobs taken on by auxiliary members was to sew bolts of fabric into
sheets and pillowcases for the new hospital that would open in 1925 on the site where the new city hall stands today. In fact that first hospital served as city hall for many years after the new hospital opened in 1962 with 84 beds on the site it occupies today on North Sixth Avenue. The original hospital didn’t have electricity or running water so the auxiliary members would take the bedding and other linens home to be washed. The auxiliary also supported, and continues to support, the hospital with other random acts of kindness. For instance in 1930, the hospital lost its cook so for a month until a new one could be found an auxiliary member pitched in and cooked for the patients and staff.
See AUXILIARY, Page 30
Gaeil Farrar photo
Cariboo Memorial Hospital Auxiliary members Shirley Pehota (left) and Carol Leckie looking at the old scrap book of Cariboo Memorial Hospital Auxiliary activities that date back 91 years this year.
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Gaeil Farrar photo
Cariboo Memorial Hospital Auxiliary members Martha Novakowski (back row left), Eileen Dell, Judy Reid, Judy Newbery, Cathy Whyte, Shirley Pehota, Irene Sherlock, Christina Ford, Janet Miller, Carol Leckie, Judy McCreery; Diane Bland (front left) , Marie Payne, Cynthia Wilson, Ruth Fraser, Mary Lewis, and Elsie Johannesen at a luncheon held in December, 2013 where Ruth received a plaque honouring 50 years of service with the hospital auxiliary.
Auxiliary predates first hospital by two years Continued from Page 67 There are few records about the auxiliary’s activities between 1930 and 1958 when the group started a scrapbook. These records show that during parts of its history the auxiliary fundraisers were also major community social events. During the 1920s the hospital had its own orchestra which raised $50 per gig for the hospital. One of the auxiliary members was the orchestra’s pianist. For many years the auxiliary also hosted a dance on Valentine’s Day. In 1959 the auxiliary decided to forego the Valentine’s Day dance and organize a cabaret instead. The cabaret proved so popular that hospital cabarets were the social event of the year for the next 10 years. During the 1950s the auxiliary also added to the community’s social calendar by hosting a number of fashion shows.
For many years the auxiliary also sponsored the blood donor clinics. Over the years auxiliary fundraising activities have also included rummage and garage sales, teas, bake sales, raffles, silent auctions and bazaars. Today the auxiliary’s primary fundraisers are the annual Christmas bazaar and running the hospital gift shop. In addition to managing the hospital gift shop, the auxiliary manages the television rental program, the baby photography program and provides other acts of kindness for patients and visitors. Volunteers make sweaters, mitts, and baby outfits for the gift shop; deliver flowers to patients on the wards, supply baby layettes for new mothers in need, buy favours for patient food trays on special days such as Valentine’s Day, Easter, Halloween and Christmas; collect and place magazines for waiting patients to read; take a cart with treats, cards and gifts around the hospital as a con-
Photo submitted
Volunteers Irene Sherlock (left) and Judy Reid prepare the Cariboo Memorial Hospital gift shop for visitors. venience for patients and visitors; and select and donate a gift for the New Year’s baby each year. Since its inception 91 years ago the auxiliary volunteers have
donated countless hours of service and raised more than $400,000 which has been spent on helping to fund needed repairs and purchase all kinds of supplies, equipment, furnishings,
medicines and more. Examples include microwaves, patient gowns, bedding, bassinets, reading lamps, curtains, blood bank refrigerator, pharmacy refrigerator, various mon-
itors, digital baby scale, and so much more. When the nurses’ residence was built on the new hospital site in 1966 the auxiliary completely furnished the main living areas from sitting room to kitchen. The most recent auxiliary purchases include an $8,000 ceiling lift to assist in moving patients from bed to wheelchair; a $2,700 piece equipment to move patients from bed to bed; $2,600 for a reclining chair; $6,000 for four baby bassinets and three wheelchairs. Five quilts have also been made by volunteers and donated for use by patients receiving dialysis in the renal unit. Today the auxiliary also provides two $1,000 scholarships each year for students going on to study medicine. People have been very generous with their support. The hospital gives us a wish list and then we choose where we think we can help. These days the auxiliary’s primary need is for more younger members to take over for
those who are retiring. In 1958 when the first interior regional hospital auxiliary conference was held in Williams Lake the auxiliary had 45 active members. The late writer and columnist Ma Murray was a guest speaker at one of several provincial conferences that have been held here since 1958. But today there are only 25 active hospital auxiliary members who collectively logged 3,440 hours in 2013. The current executive includes president Judy Newbery, treasurer Mary Lewis, recording secretary Penny McIntosh, and publicity chair Cynthia Wilson. Many of the hospital auxiliary members have devoted so much time to the job that they have been made life members. These honourees are Eileen Dell, Christina Ford, Ruth Fraser, Joan Jackson, Carol Leckie, and Britta Titford. The auxiliary meets on the second Wednesday of each month at Deni House starting at 7 p.m.
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Dale Taylor: a familiar community voice LeRae Haynes Casual Country 2014 Radio announcer and community volunteer Dale Taylor has been described as the sound track of the community: the voice on the radio that wakes people up in the morning, entertaining them and giving them information in their vehicles and offices throughout the day. A dedicated volunteer, he also lends his voice to countless community events. Morning show announcer at The GOAT radio station, Taylor said that he got his start on the air while working at a mine near Fernie. “There was a radio course being offered in Cranbrook and my parents urged me to take it — I had always liked doing that kind of stuff. It cost $1,000,” he said. “You’d come over after hours and do some copywriting and some news — it was a blast and nerve wracking and suddenly you were live, talking once or twice an hour. You’d play records and check the lists and cue up the news.” He said he got a job in Fernie doing the news, shows and commercials and eventually headed to BCIT for a two-year program. “After a year and a half I got a job offer in Quesnel and worked the summer of 1983. “I went back and finished school and got a job in Williams Lake. They wanted us to wear dress clothes, and I remember showing up in dress pants and dress shirts that hadn’t been ironed; I didn’t have an iron and I looked like I rolled out of a ditch,” he laughed. He has been in the same control booth since he moved to Williams Lake 30-some years ago, and says the job has its challenges, but it’s something new and different every day. “The framework is the same, but you’re always asking yourself, ‘How can I talk about that event, or that person who’s done really
LeRae Haynes photo
Dale Taylor has worked for the local radio station for the last three decades in Williams Lake. This year he was recognized for his community efforts outside of work; by Williams Lake Chamber of Commerce with his nomination for the Hugho Stahl Memorial Award and also the Stampeders hockey team, who he announces for throughout the hockey season.
Monica Lamb-Yorski photo
Dale Taylor (left) is recognized for his dedication and commitment as a volunteer to the Williams Lake Stampeders hockey club by marketing manager Calvin Dubray, general manager Kelly Kohlen and head coach Cliff Philpot during the team’s awards night in April. well in a way that people who are driving around with the radio on say, ‘Hang on: I gotta listen to this!’ That’s what you want. “The songs are there and they’re in and out and people have favourites, but you hope that they listen for the parts in between where it’s about people and events in their community.” One of the volunteer projects he does is announcing for the Williams Lake Stampeders hockey games, something he describes as a lot of fun. “Half the fun is about the game and half the
fun is behind the scenes. Those guys all have jobs and busy lives and they get out there and do their best,” he explained. “They play 16 weekends a year: eight away and eight at home. To see them succeed last year at the Coy Cup was pretty cool.” He said that he sometimes faces challenges when announcing or hosting an event, adding that it can be facing last minute changes. “Sometimes it’s straightforward and sometimes it isn’t. The RCMP musical ride last year was a good example: the sun beating
LeRae Haynes photo
The Taylors’ business, Taylor Made Cakes and Sweets, is a family affair with Dale and Brenda Taylor and their children Benn and Abbi working together at the bakery. Dale and Brenda are also passing on their spirit of volunteerism to their children, showing them first-hand the importance of being a part of the community. down on you with a longsleeved cowboy shirt and hat and it’s hot and the sound system doesn’t work,” he said. “In the beginning I thought, ‘I guess I could roll up a piece of paper for a megaphone or just yell,’ but the script was all there and everything went fine.” He said it was both an honour and a challenge
to MC for Dale Moon’s service in the Gibraltar Room. “It was tough: you feel that everyone is hanging on every word and it has to be right; you want to do well for them and make them shine,” he said. “It really isn’t about you.” Taylor also said he appreciates the understanding and support of his wife, Brenda, with all his
commitments and volunteering. “It’s nice to have someone who always says to have fun, and afterward wants to know how it went.” Dale, Brenda and their two children Abbi and Benn work together in a family business they started with Brenda’s father two years ago. The vision for Taylor Made
Cakes and Sweets is custom cakes and quality baking, and the shop sells things like muffins, pies, cakes, cupcakes, bread and unique soda options. Benn, 17 and Abbi, 20, do almost everything in the bake shop. “This has taught me so much about how a business runs. Some of the classes I’m taking in university are on things like assets and current assets and I’ve been able to do well in them thanks to my experiences in the bakeshop,” Abbi said. Self-confidence and the ability to approach people and talk to them are some of the things Benn has learned from working at Taylor Made. They said they grew up hearing their dad on the radio. “When I was little I thought my dad wore earmuffs and sang songs: I thought that’s what he did,” Abbi said. The whole family knows what it’s like to work hard to contribute to a community event. They all pitched in for this year’s Cariboo Foundation Hospital Trust Gala: the whole family in the bake shop, Brenda setting up and serving the entire desert buffet and Dale on stage as the MC. Dale said when he helps at a community event such as a Stampeders game, he is just a small part of the whole event. “Everybody says, ‘Oh, there’s Dale; he’s the voice’ but I just read the announcements the best I can. It’s the people out there on the ice, and the people off the ice, who make it come together. It’s an effort on the part of everybody. If one part isn’t there it doesn’t work,” he added. “Often a group of people will get together to organize and plan an event and they get to the part where they need an MC and might call me. I come out and do my little part when they’ve done so much. They’ve done all the heavy lifting. “I think you just kind of help out where you can.”
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People Big Lake musician Sam Tudor releases new CD Monica Lamb-Yorski Casual Country 2014 According to musician Sam Tudor, the combination of the sacred and the profane could be the theme of his newest CD. “I really like that balance,” the 21-year-old Big Lake native says. “I like the idea of having something completely silly tucked inside something that presents itself as serious and important.” Titled The Modern New Year, his third CD could be divided into two parts. It reflects his tendency to write some “darkish” songs with a pretty cynical eye, on one hand, while on the other hand, he’s realized there’s nothing inherently wrong with writing songs that have familiar or simple parts, he explains. “Cheesy love songs are so popular because
they are universal. There has to be a good reason people have been saying the same things in songs for years.” That’s not to say all of the songs on the new CD are cliché love songs. During the making of the CD, Tudor says he believes he experimented more than ever. “There is this weird sort of duality in the fact that one track will be an ominous society rant or something, and then the next song will sound like something from a kid’s television show.” Other influences may have come from some old “dystopian” stories he was reading at the time, he muses. He reread George Orwell’s 1984, was reading some Ray Bradbury novels, and has always really liked Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World. And while he says
Patrick Gillan photo
Musician Sam Tudor prepares for a performance in Vancouver. Tudor is releasing his third CD this summer. as the future, and now he doesn’t want to those eras. There are huge dif- we are living in it. sound pretentious talk“We take ourselves ing about the books ferences, but also some that inspired the album, really close similarities, very seriously but it is all a little ridiculous.” he thinks it was cool Tudor suggests. “So I guess the tiHe also thinks the to see what those authors thought the world tle, ‘The Modern New songs and the title Modwould look like in the Year,’ is a combina- ern New Year are about future, and what it ac- tion of those things. So balancing two very diftually looks like now many cool books and ferent lives. Tudor grew that people are living in movies saw the 2000s up at Gavin Lake Forest
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Education Camp in the woods and has spent the last couple of years in the city, “sort of addicted to the Internet, and feeling that weird disconnect,” he says. “The modern new year is like a fictional thing that people tell themselves is going to happen. ‘Good things are going to happen next year’ or ‘the end of the world will come next year.’ “I tell myself that too when I’m in Vancouver, when I could just be enjoying what I’m doing in the moment.” To record the new CD, Tudor returned home to Gavin Lake. His house in Vancouver is next to a busy street, with thin walls that have holes in them. Every time someone crossed the street he could hear the pedestrian signals beeping. “I couldn’t stop people from crossing the street so I decided I’d
record when I came home at Christmas break.” With equipment from Long and McQuade in Vancouver that was “surprisingly cheap” to rent and some lent to him by friends, he headed home on the bus. His two big suitcases were so full of really expensive things that was no room for socks and underwear. Tudor holds Gavin Lake as a really important place and says considering some of the songs on the CD, it’s really fitting that is was made there. “Plus, I got a whole log cabin to myself where I could just spend the whole day working on it. I didn’t have to worry about school or work or anything, just get up in the morning, walk over to the cabin, and start recording.”
See LOVE, Page 71
HAPPY 88TH STAMPEDE!
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Katherine Gizikoff (left) and President Connie Sauter selling drink tickets at the Hospital Gala last year.
Ingolf and Janet Sandbe rg, Rennie and Gala Mae Carmen (Hill) Johnstone, Johnson, and Joy and Carl Hennig. Daybreak Rotary’s first Carmen was International Exchange Stu den t 19 years ago. She was visiting from Aus tralia and stopped for a visit.
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e from Terra McGuire (left) receives her $500 chequ of three Bronco President Connie Sauter. Terra was one they’re all gone! Button Winners last year! Get yours before
Daybreak Rotary meets every Tuesday morning at 7:00 a.m. at The Hearth Restaurant - 99 South 3rd Ave.
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Love of music reflected in The Modern New Year Continued from Page 70 Usually he recorded all day and believes that being in a log building contributed to the actual sound of the album. “Something about wood walls absorbs sound in weird, good ways, and I like to think the feel of the album is better for it.” Brent Morton of Drum and Bell Tower and Tudor’s brother Harry also recorded with him. “I’ve been really influenced by both his songwriting and his playing style in the past few years, so it was really cool to have him bring something to the record,” Tudor says of Brent’s contributions. “It’s funny, because you can identify his parts in the CD pretty easily. You hear a guitar come in and know ‘oh, there’s Drum and Bell Tower.’” Brent is an amazing
standalone drummer, Tudor says. Harry played the stand-up bass and sung some harmonies. “We recorded a few boisterous songs, and for some reason Harry became the guy who would shout whenever we needed boisterous shouts.” Tudor can’t whistle, although he’s been trying to learn for years now, so Harry had to take over whistling duty as well. Their uncle, Tom Howell, was visiting for Christmas. “He is a really “wacky” violin player and “in about half an hour he did some really cool stuff that I almost think is album-defining.” Later on, well-known Horsefly musician Marin Patenaude added some harmonies. “When she is singing you can sometimes hear the fireplace crackling
Monica Lamb-Yorski photo
Sam Tudor at the 2012 Performances in the Park with Brent Morton and Marin Patenaude who both play on his newest CD. in the background, because it was pretty cold the day we recorded and we didn’t want to leave its proximity.” Once he returned to Vancouver in January, his friends Heather Gunn
and Layten Kramer added trumpet and electric guitar tracks. A lot of people helped out in making the CD happen, he says. Tudor has completed two years at the Univer-
sity of British Columbia. The first year he was enrolled in ArtsOne — the second year in the film program. By accident he’s found a “nice little niche” in the film pro-
gram that works well for him. The fourth year film students, who are making graduate films, cannot afford to license music for their movies. Tudor started offering his services and has become really involved in composing scores. “So my film degree is sometimes twisted into a music composition degree, which is absolutely fine by me.” Through the process he’s learned that making music for a film is all about helping the film and helping the story, not about how awesome a musician you are. For one movie he did this year he created a complex soundscape, which he thought was cool. But when he showed it to the director he was told it didn’t work. What ended up working was one single piano note repeated about seven times throughout the
movie. So Tudor threw out the whole score and played seven piano notes. A couple films he scored and was proud to be a part of were screened at the Rio Theatre in Vancouver. Big projects like that, with more people involved, can be a lot harder, but also more fun, he says. “You have to get out of your own head, which is something I think I still need to work on.” Tudor grew up in a musical family and began playing the piano when he was six. He quit after five years and then picked up the guitar when he was 14. This summer he will be at Arts on the Fly in Horsefly on July 11 and 12, at Performances in the Park in August, and hopefully at a few other festivals in between. Once his CD is ready he hopes to launch it in Williams Lake.
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People Chief Anne Louie leads her community into future Monica Lamb-Yorski Casual Country 2014 Williams Lake Indian Band Chief Ann Louie comes from a long line of leaders. Her great-grandfather was the legendary Chief William who in 1879 appealed to the B.C. government to help the plight of his people. Some of her family members were a hereditary chiefs. Louie has been chief since 2008 and confirmed in May that she will run again for one more term this summer. She wasn’t going to run again, but changed her mind after many people encouraged her to. “They said I cannot stop now because we are working on so many things so I have told them if I am re-elected I want to begin mentoring someone else for the position,” she says. Under her leadership the band has made significant strides. She points to the four laning of Highway 97, the Coyote Rock development, the Chief WillYum Campground, the Northern Shuswap Treaty, the band’s specific claims tribunal and the First Nations Management Act as some of the projects she has helped bring to fruition. “When I got elected I was tasked with helping our community develop economically because we couldn’t function,” she recalls. “There was nothing to do for our people.” With direction from economic development officer Kirk Dressler, the band has developed powerful treaty, natural resource and administration teams, she explains. During her time as chief, people in her community have had the utmost respect for her and vice versa. Elders check up on her regularly, taking turns calling to ask how she’s doing, often nudg-
Monica Lamb-Yorski photos
Williams Lake Indian Band Chief Ann Louie at the Sugar Cane Reserve with Williams Lake in the background. ing her to take a break and put other people to work. “I’ve witnessed how chiefs have been treated in the past, not only in our community, but in other communities, and they are not given the respect that they deserve,” Louie says. “They are more or less bullied or called down. I can say that I’ve only experienced two incidents in our community against myself and my family and that to me says a lot.” Growing up Louie never aspired to be a chief and recalls wanting to be a nurse. In her position, she appreciates the powerful legacy of leaders who have come before her and says the words of her grandmother resonate today. “My grandmother said our people were treated like dogs,” she recalls. “When you’re a child you don’t really understand so I asked her what she meant and she said they’d take us and move us wherever they wanted.” Evidence of that today is the fact the Sugar
WLIB council members Willie Sellars, Joanne Moise, Rick Gilbert, Chief Ann Louie, lawyer Leah Pence of Mandell Pinder Vancouver, band negotiator Chris Wycotte, councillor Heather Mackenzie and her granddaughter Maya Johnson during a specific claims tribunal celebration held in April. Cane Reserve is located where her community was finally placed, after moving from Chimney Creek, Glendale and the Mission. Louie was born in Williams Lake 60 years ago at the old hospital and has lived at the Sugar Cane Reserve her entire life. She never went to residential school. Instead, she attended the Indian Day School on the reserve, then went into Williams Lake for her junior
and senior high school years. After graduating from Columneetza Secondary school, she worked full time while taking courses at Cariboo College part-time to achieve a human services certificate. She worked for the WLIB as a recreation worker a few months, then as a band social worker for seven and a half years. In 1982, Louie was elected to the band council.
After the first term, however, she was not re-elected. There was a lot of dissension in the band so she resigned from her job, she says. Around that time, she received a call from the provincial government asking her to come for an interview for a position with employment and income assistance as a financial officer and as a substitute supervisor. She was hired and stayed in the position
for 25 years, working in Williams Lake and 100 Mile House, Bella Coola, Quesnel, Prince George and Vanderhoof. Louie recalls people constantly asking her to run for chief so in 2006 she ran for council and was elected for a twoyear term. Pressure increased from community members for her to run for chief and in August 2008 she was elected chief by a large margin, followed by acclimation to chief in 2010. To get out from under the Indian Act will be the best thing that ever happened for all First Nations, Louie says. “You hear people saying we should be equals in Canada, and my answer is ‘yes, we should all be equals.’ Everyone should have to live under the Indian Act for 10 years to see how they like it.” Louie grew up living off the land in a time when people used horses and wagons or sleighs to go to hunting camps, and to rivers and lakes to fish.
To travel into Williams Lake from Sugar Cane her people crossed the frozen lake in winter, she recalls. They hitched their horses at the edge of town where Save-On Foods is located today. Trips to Williams Lake always involved a stop at Mackenzie’s grocery store, in the days when there were boardwalks in the town. When Stampede time rolled around, people from Sugar Cane would go into Williams Lake and camp on the rodeo grounds. Afterwards they stocked up with goods and headed to the Fraser River to fish for salmon and pick berries. “I can remember going as far out by the West Bridge and fishing there,” Louie remembers. Then hunting season would arrive. Along with other groups of families, Louie’s family would venture to Squawk Lake near Knife Creek. “I still fish,” Louie says. “I don’t go right down on the river. My sons don’t want me to because I’m getting up in age, but we do go out on the lakes.” Louie’s parents were John and Mary Violet Moore. On her mother’s side, her grandparents were Alec and Caroline Tillian Gilbert. Her great grandparents were Chief Tillian William and the Great Chief William. Her father’s parents were Mary Peters from Soda Creek and George Moore, the son of John Edgar and Annie Moore who owned the Moore House and Alkali Lake Ranch. Louie has two boys and daughter of her own, two stepdaughters and stepson. She has eight biological grandchildren, 22 grandchildren and will welcome her first biological great grandchild this July.
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Horsefly
Gateway to Horsefly River, Quesnel Lake & Horsefly Lake
Horsefly is very proud that the community is, and many outdoor activities are, accessible to disabled persons. Every business, the library, the community hall and the museum have ramps. There is also a wheelchairaccessible fishing ramp at Tisdal Lake, east of Horsefly where you can almost be sure to catch a rainbow trout. The interpretive trail at the salmon spawning channels is also accessible for disabled persons.
EST 1859 www.horsefly.bc.ca
from a life’s journey that took them far out into the ocean and back into their home waters to spawn. Horsefly celebrates the return of the salmon every autumn on the Labour Day weekend. There are educational displays on the riverbank, and lots of entertainment. There is an interpretive trail that goes around the entire salmon spawning channels that is wheelchair accessible. Sockeye return to the Horsefly River every year, but it is only every four years that they return in peak numbers.
Outdoor adventure from fishing to horseback riding, kayaking to snowmobiling, await you in and around Horsefly. Just a 40 minute drive east of 150 Mile House on Highway 97, Horsefly is a diverse area of hundreds of small lakes and rivers. The more commonly known large lakes, Horsefly and Quesnel, offer opportunities to angle for Kokanee, Dolly Varden, Lake Char and wild stock Rainbows. As you approach Horsefly, you are presented with an enticing panoramic view of the Cariboo Mountains. The miners of the mid 1800’s have long since left this area, but not without leaving their mark. If you’re a history buff, the Jack Lynn Memorial Museum, open during the summer months, offers you a look into what life in Horsefly was like in those days when Harper’s Camp was first established. It wasn’t until the 1930’s that Harper’s Camp officially became Horsefly. While logging and ranching have become the mainstay of people living in and around Horsefly, many of the descendants of the early miners and pioneers still call Horsefly their home.
CASUAL COUNTRY 2014 - 73
location, open from May to October. It offers nicely groomed campsites, a picnic and swimming area, boat launch, trails, nearby laundromat and much more.
We invite you to visit and expect to stay a while. Find out more about Horsefly by visiting our website: www.horsefly.bc.ca or for a more complete history of Horsefly, www.harperscamp.ca. Once A variety of accommodations are you’ve been here, you will return! available: resorts, B&Bs, guest ranches, Call 250-620-3440. a motel, as well as seasonal camping at Forest Service spots or the Provincial Park. Horsefly offers great shopping, whether for groceries, From diverse still waters to creeks and rivers, the exceptionally beautiful hardware, gas and unique Quesnel Lake ecosystem offers Rainbow Trout angling that is (regular and unparalleled anywhere in British Columbia. diesel), propane, a light or full meal, Complete sport fishing adventures, romantic getaways alcohol, souvenirs hand crafted by and vacation packages local artisans, camping supplies, fishing and hunting licences, stamps or even a piece of property - bare or built up.
At the other end of this vacation The Horsefly continuum is the Horsefly Provincial River turns Park, located 11km east of Horsefly, crimson as millions a popular destination or base camp of Sockeye return Offering Rural, Recreational, Ranch & Commercial Properties in the East Cariboo Lakes District.
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Cabins, Guest Rooms & RV sites available, all with a beautiful lake view 250-243-2433 • www.elysiaresort.com • rainbow@elysiaresort.com
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CASUAL COUNTRY 2014 - 75
People
John and Norma Bos create sacred art with glass Sage Birchwater Casual Country 2014 Glass artist, John Bos, has his work cut out for him. He retired early from his career with BC Hydro more than 20 years ago to pursue his passion for stained glass. Now he has a project that will engage him and his wife, Norma, for years into the future. When he immigrated to Canada from the Netherlands in 1964, John came to the Lower Mainland of British Columbia where he found a job working for BC Hydro’s Power Smart program. One weekend he took a silent retreat at Sacred Heart Church in Ladner, and was struck by the beauty of the stained glass windows in the retreat centre. John had always been intrigued by the stained glass artistry in the great cathedrals of Europe. When he was finally able to break his silence, he went to see the Prior of the church, Father Othmar, and learned that it was the Prior himself who had created the beautiful windows in the facility. When Father Othmar invited him to try his hand at stained glass work, John didn’t hesitate. He was immediately hooked and thus began a life-long passion that endures to this day. When John was transferred by BC Hydro to Prince George he continued making stained glass as a hobby. Before he knew it he was teaching glass art classes in an adult education program. “I never took any courses and am basically self-taught,” he says. “I talked with other stained glass artists of course, but that’s about it.”
Sage Birchwater photo
John and Norma Bos with one of their completed stained glass windows for Sacred Heart Church in Tl’etinqox. This window of the Virgin Mary has now been installed in the church. After six years in Prince George, BC Hydro transferred John to Williams Lake and he continued teaching glass art classes in his spare time. John married his first wife in Vancouver and they had two children, but their marriage ended when their children were still very young. Then John met Norma, also a single parent with two young children of her own, and they fell in love and were married in Williams Lake in 1975. With a twinkle in his eye, John points
out that he and Norma each have three children but only five offspring between them. The math is simple: John had Jonathan and Monieka before he met Norma, and she had James and Catherine. Then together they had Michael in 1976. Norma shared John’s passion for stained glass and together they taught glass art classes in Williams Lake. “We must have taught a thousand students or more over the years,” John estimates. In 1992, after 28 years with B.C. Hydro, John took early re-
tirement and in 1993 set up his studio, Bos Glassworks, above Home Hardware in Williams Lake. “I retired early to continue my stained glass business full time,” he says. In December 2006, Sacred Heart Church in the Chilcotin community of Tl’etinqox on Anaham Flats east of Alexis Creek, burned to the ground. It was a big blow to the people of Tl’etinqox. Four years later, after much community involvement and support, Pioneer Log Homes of Williams
Lake erected a magnificent 6,802 squarefoot, post-and-beam log church in its place. One of its main features is a 50-foot bell tower on four carved cedar posts forming the entranceway. It is indeed an awe-inspiring edifice. Tl’etinqox Chief Joe Alphonse says the new church is a work of art that identifies his community. “As soon as you enter our valley you see the church,” he says. Of course a building of this stature wouldn’t be complete without stained glass windows,
and that’s where John and Norma come in. “We went out to the Tl’etinqox and showed some of our work to the members of the community and they were eager to have us involved,” John says. The church commissioned them to create two windows, and it soon became clear that the community wanted more as various parishioners stepped forward and offered to sponsor more windows. “We’ve now done five windows and have eight more to go,” John says. “I feel very privi-
leged to be part of the process. It keeps us very busy.” John and Norma work together on the windows doing the design and artwork. John does the cutting and fitting, and Norma assists with the soldering. John has a friend in Toronto, Sue Obata, of Obata Studios, who hand-paints some of the fine details for the windows. She paints faces, hands and feet on pieces John has precut and sent to her. “The painted glass is then fired in a kiln and the image is there forever,” John says. Obata creates 12inch round, handpainted medallions which John inserts as a centrepiece in the windows. “This helps keep the cost of the windows down,” he says. “One medallion features First Nations Saint Kateri Tekakwitha.” John credits Father Derrick Cameron of Williams Lake, the priest responsible for Sacred Heart Church in Tl’etinqox, for being an inspiration behind the project. “Father Derrick has been very helpful,” John says. After nearly 50 years at his trade, John has learned some subtleties of stained glass art. “The most critical part of stained glass work is to come up with the right design,” he says, adding that glass can be both textured and see-through, with the cost ranging from $10 a square-foot to more than $100 per square-foot. “Hand blown glass, with gold oxide to create colour, is worth its weight in gold,” he says. “It’s blown out like a balloon, then cut, flattened and rolled with special wooden rollers into a sheet.”
See ARTIST, Page 76
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People Artist instrumental in establishing Club 27 for teens Continued from Page 75 During their four decades in Williams Lake, John and Norma have left their mark. Through the inspiration and encouragement of city matriarch, Hazel Huckvale, they got involved with the Multicultural Association of Williams Lake. One of the results of this was a 15-minute song and dance performance called “A Touch of Dutch,” that John and Norma took part in with their five children. This lasted about 10 years and took them to many places in British Columbia and Alberta. “We often represented Williams Lake at folkfests,” John says. John was also instrumental in establishing the local chapter of Big Brothers in Williams Lake, and was the found-
Sage Birchwater photos
John Bos with an image of Aboriginal Saint Kateri Tekakwitha. ing president. In response to the needs of local teens during the late 1980s, the Bos’ helped establish Club 27 — an alcoholfree teen cabaret for ages 13 to 18 in Williams Lake. “We were a non- profit society and received many donations,” John says. “Governments, sawmills and individuals contributed generously.” Club 27 was located right next to Lo’s Florists on Second Avenue and
seated 250 people. “It was the fanciest place in town,” John says. “We rented it to adults when the teens were not using the Club, as a means to help with on-going expenses such as rent.” Along with the dry teen dances held in Club 27, there was also a very active life choices program for the teens, called “Straight Up,” which met once a week, year round. With a large staff of
Completed stained glass windows of Mother Mary and Jesus now installed at Sacred Heart Church in Tl’etinqox. teens, and a board of directors, John and Norma ran Club 27 for five years, and were named citizens of the year because of their efforts. Along with their ongoing work creating
stained glass windows, John and Norma continue to offer glass art workshops upon request. A side interest to the stained glass work is the creation of kiln-fused glass pendants and light
Skyline Stables
catchers — a craft shared with anyone participating in the workshops. For more information on stained glass or workshops, contact John and Norma at Bos Glassworks, 250
C South 6th Avenue in Williams Lake (above Home Hardware). Phone 250-392-4347, or e-mail john_bos@telus.net, or check out their website www.bosglassworks. com.
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People High Arctic captures heart of young constable Angie Mindus Casual Country 2014 Tom Smith has been called a lot things –– Constable when he was patrolling the High Arctic by dog sled, barrister when he worked as a criminal lawyer in Williams Lake, and Your Honour when he served as one of the city’s prestigious Provincial Court judges. But for those who still have the old habit of calling him Your Honour, as I used to back in the days when I was a court reporter and he was a judge, he is swift to correct. “It’s Tom,” he says kindly, but firmly. That down-to-earth presence, coupled with a wildly high intellect and natural interest in people makes Tom Smith the fascinating
man he is. As he welcomes me into the beautiful log home he and his wife Midge had built on Rose Lake 40 years ago –– almost every inch of it he designed himself, with a little help from architect Don Gessinger, after pouring over books on architecture and how natural lighting impacts a person’s mood –– it is evident that Tom finds great pleasure in understanding, and paying attention to, all the fine details in life. “Little things can make such a difference,” Tom says. That statement rings even truer if you’ve had a cup of his coffee. While most would be happy to brew a regular cup of coffee, Tom takes the time and effort to not only grind his own beans and make an
individual cup of coffee, he actually roasts the beans himself from a 60-pound package of beans he orders from Costa Rica. He calls the perfect combination of texture and temperature a “God shot.” Tom was born in Birtle, Manitoba to parents Eleanor and Arthur Smith. His mother was a teacher, then a nurse and his father worked with First Nations communities. When Tom was in Grade 2, the family moved to Nelson, B.C. where Tom’s father wanted to retire. “I wasn’t a very diligent student. If I didn’t feel like writing an exam, I didn’t.”
Ningyoo photo
Tom Smith, dressed in Cariboo clothing, stands with his dog team in front of an iceberg to the left. His dog team, rough ice, and south Ellesmere Island are to the right.
See SMITH, Page 79
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People Smith finds happiness and peace in the outdoors Continued from Page 78 Nearing the completion of high school, Tom recalls the moment when he and friend Doug Farenholtz looked out the window of the school one day and saw a police car driving by. At a loss for what to do with their lives, the two friends decided then and there that they would join the RCMP. Both promptly failed the English exam required to become an officer. “I always thought RCMP officers were nice but not that bright. (Failing that test) was one of life’s great lessons.” Next time around they studied for the test, and both young men passed and were sent to Rockcliff, Ottawa for nine months of training in 1961. Tom was sent to Wetaskiswin, Alberta briefly for his first posting before applying to go North with the Mounted Police. In the spring of 1962, at the age of 20, Tom was transferred briefly to Frobisher Bay and then on to a longer stay at Alexandra Fiord on Ellesmere Island, the most northernly post of the RCMP, to assist the country in maintaining sovereign over the High Arctic. That move began a love affair with the North, and the Inuit people, that Tom holds close to his heart today, particularly his time at Alexandria Fiord. “It’s a magical place in the Arctic. Explorers call it a paradise,” says Tom, who promptly set about learning how to navigate over the dangerous ice and lands with a dog sled team, how to hunt for food for himself and his dogs and how to communicate with the Inuit people in their language of Inuktitut. In all, the isolated community consisted of two RCMP constables, Tom Smith and Senior
Angie Mindus photos
Midge and Tom Smith enjoy life out at Rose Lake. The couple moved to Williams Lake in the 1970s and have no plans of leaving any time soon. Const. Bob Combs, as well as two Inuit special constables and their families. The young constable and senior officer Combs did everything imaginable during their posting at Alexandria Fiord; they gave needles, followed a four-page instruction sheet on how to pull teeth and also operated the post office. A supply boat came only once a year and Tom says he spent as many as six months of the year exploring and hunting on Ellesmere Island by dog sled, harvesting seal for their main diet. The one thing they didn’t do, however, was open a single police file. “I didn’t do any police work. I was mainly chasing dogs, giving needles and hunting whales,” he recalls.
Tom Smith says his love of gardening comes from his father, who was an avid gardener. “The Inuk were just marvellous people. I was there three years and we never opened a file. Jail
was not a concept they knew about.” While many would perish in such a harsh,
remote place, Tom not only survived but thrived in the High Arctic and was saddened
to learn a senior RCMP official who had never been to the Alexandria Fiord post, decided to close it. “When he visited, he was sorry he shut it down,” says Tom. In 1963, Tom was transferred south to Grise Fiord, the most northerly Inuit settlement in Canada and the most northerly RCMP post now. At Grise Fiord, with a population of about 70, Tom even assisted in removing a placenta after one of the local women gave birth. Tom received instruction over a ham radio from an American armed forces doctor in Thule, Greenland, and relayed those to another officer. In 1965 Tom’s time in the High Arctic came to a close and he trans-
ferred to Whitehorse. In the fall of 1965 Tom left the RCMP and moved to Calgary where he went to school at Mount Royal, and later transferred to the University of Alberta in Edmonton. From there he went on to law school at UWO and then to England for a Masters in Law. “At the time, I didn’t want to be a lawyer, I just wanted a liberal education,” Tom says. “But all of the sudden I was captured by the courtroom. If you are interested in people, court is a fascinating place.” After exploring his options, Tom and his wife Midge, whom he met while going to school in Edmonton, moved to Williams Lake in 1972 to work at the law firm of Skip and Allan Vanderburgh. “I fell in love with the Cariboo when I was a boy and I had come through with my dad.” He was called to the bar in 1973 and by 1977 he was in charge of Crown counsel in Nelson, B.C. Impressed by his organizational skills, a colleague urged him to become a judge. “In a moment of weakness,” Tom says he applied and was appointed a provincial court judge in February 1981 at the young age of 39 years old. “Listening is one of the best skills a judge can have, I think,” Tom says. “Over the years I kept reminding myself of that.” Tom says the most difficult cases for him were when he was presiding over child custody battles. For the most part, though, he was able to leave his work at the office and enjoy his private life at Rose Lake, where he and Midge raised their children, Kendra and Craig.
See SENTENCE, Page 80
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People Sentence reforms needed in complex legal system Continued from Page 79 Always a keen outdoorsman, Tom also enjoys kayaking and has built two wood kayaks of his own which he has taken on many trips, including some of his 15, 116-kilometre trips on the Bowron Lake Circuit — which he has sometimes done twice in the same year. “Last year I just did it once.” He also maintains and sets several kilometres of cross country ski trails in and around Rose Lake for use throughout the winter months. These days Tom remains active at home and also with work, though he just sent in his letter of resignation after serving as a circuit judge in the north for the past few years after
retiring from full time work in Williams Lake. “I feel so privileged to have sat on the bench.” On the law, Tom says he believes the system has gotten too complex and feels sentences should be more evidence-based. “We’ve made things too complicated,” he says. “We have to look at what works. Do we really need laws prohibiting drugs when it breeds organized crime? The war on drugs isn’t working –– it never will.” But as he paddles through the calm waters of his own personal backyard paradise, society’s troubles are a world away and Tom says he feels blessed to live the life he has in the country and the place he loves. “What a country we live in. What luck.”
Tom Smith enjoys his retirement years after serving as a Provincial Court Judge.
Angie Mindus photo
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ounging on the beach, fishing in Quesnel Lake, or visiting Cedar City Museum, a trip to Likely is a treasured experience for travellers who are lucky enough to find their way there. If you arrive on the May long weekend you will be able to take in the world’s shortest but most enthusiastic parade. In summer, the locals get together with teams from all around the region for a popular competitive fun ball tournament. Of course there are endless opportunities for fishing, camping, hiking, canoeing, kayaking and other outdoor sports. Situated where the west arm of Quesnel Lake empties into the Quesnel River, Likely is one of the few remaining gold rush settlements. That early history is reflected in the decor of the famous Likely Deacon Hotel - affectionately called the Likely Hilton by locals. Quesnel Lake is the largest lake in the Cariboo and the deepest fjord lake in the world, with more than 500 km of scenic shoreline. One spot in the lake is over 610 metres deep. Likely, at the west end of the lake, was originally called Quesnel Dam. The name was changed to honour John A. Likely of the Bullion Pit Mine. He was affectionately called Plato for his tendency to philosophize. In 1898 the Quesnel River was dammed near Likely to enable downriver areas to be explored for gold. During the last week of October in 1922, more than 697 ounces of gold were recovered at the Cedar Creek Mine. In 1935 the Bullion Pit became the site of the largest hydraulic monitors ever
installed in North America. It operated from 1892 to 1942, constructing over 64 kilometres of canals to draw water from nearby lakes and creeks to feed the hydraulic nozzles. In fact, Morehead Lake was created to supply water to the Bullion mine. Today, the Bullion Pit attracts many tourists. It stands as an astonishing man-made canyon which can be viewed from the road to Likely or a trail above. Plan a visit to Likely in late August and watch thousands of salmon migrate up the Quesnel River to their spawning grounds in the Horsefly and Mitchell Rivers. Cedar Point, now a park and campground has mining artifacts and displays positioned throughout. You will not want to miss the historic mining museum located at Cedar Point. For more information on what to do in Likely, call 250-790-2323 or call the Williams Lake Visitor Centre at 1-877-967-5253 or locally at 392-5025.
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CASUAL COUNTRY 2014 - 81
Exploring the world we live in
Only in the CARIBOO
Greg Sabatino photo Ryan Grady (top) and Mike Garrard scale one of the climbing areas at Esler Bluffs.
Photo submitted
Greg Sabatino photo
Gaeil Farrar photo
82- CASUAL COUNTRY 2014
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Only in the Cariboo
Rock climbing a hidden Cariboo gem the rock for climbers to clip their carabiners into (bolt clips attached to a climbing rope and harness) for safety. Each of the different sections of the bluffs have cheeky names like Morning Sickness, The Slab, The Rat’s Nest (this one gets its name because the line up the face is inhabited by several pack rats, and their droppings), Obsession and the Satisfaction Wall. On the opposite side of the Esler Bluffs overlooking the Fraser River is an even more challenging climb split into three 25-metre sections totalling a 75-metre climb. Climbing guides, such as The Rock Climbers Guide to Central British Columbia by Lyle Knight
Greg Sabatino Casual Country 2014 There’s a littleknown gem hidden amongst the geology of the Cariboo Chilcotin a small, but passionate group of rock climbers can attest to. Tucked away in the foliage in the Esler area are the limestone Esler Bluffs, as they’re known to local climbers, which represent one of three climbing spots near Williams Lake and a large portion of the quality climbing opportunities. On any given day you’ll come across climbers, if you’re lucky, on both sides of the bluffs, with roughly 60 separate lines ranging in difficulty, all bolted — a permanent anchor drilled into
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Alex Tranq scales a face at the Esler Bluffs in Williams Lake, located at the end of a logging road accessed near the trail head of the popular local mountain bike trail Snakes and Ladders off of Hodgson Road.
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— now out of publication — or the more recent and local Williams Lake Climbers Guide by Brian Nuttall, exist filled with essential information for climbers like how to get to the locations, type of rock, height, number of climbs, gear required, photos and difficulty ratings, plus a brief description of each line. It all began about 30 years ago as ‘The Godfather of Climbing,’ Dave Dunaway, and his friends Ryan Watt and Kerry Beaulieu were wandering around scouting for some rock to climb. “We just happened to spot that through the trees by Sheep Creek and we found that,” Dunaway says.
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Climbing community small but passionate Continued from Page 82 “Brian Nuttal and Greg Wilson joined us and we just started climbing there and putting up roots. It was kind of a progression. The first climb was probably in 1983/84 and it [the Esler Bluffs] became the place to go.” Dunaway and his buddies cleaned up the area and shortly after he began teaching climbing courses on weekends. “I was teaching young guys who are still climbing today and that’s good to see. It’s not big and that, but if you climb there you build tough fingers and it teaches good technique. That rock turns out good climbers,” he says. “I got the bug just seriously from that spot and never quit.” Today, the climbing community is somewhat smaller, say Ryan Grady and his wife, Tera Grady. “The climbing community is pretty hit or miss,” says Ryan. “It was most popular about four years ago.” Ryan, who grew up in Nelson among a large climbing community, and Tera both started climbing in high school. Ryan’s parents, also climbers, bought him a rope and said “give ‘er,” he says. He adds climbing is truly a team-oriented sport. One person climbs, another person watches from the bottom of the line, holding the climbing rope, to hold the tension if the climber falls. “If I slip Tera keeps me from falling,” Ryan says while climbing the Obsession Wall. “The ropes have some give. They’re a bit stretchy so you don’t get jerked around.” Then there are newcomers to the sport like Matt Stefan, Alex Tranq and Dominique Morin, or relatively new residents to Williams Lake like Sirel Moliner, who says he’s climbed for eights years but didn’t know about the opportunities locally. Morin says she started climbing last summer and fell in love with the sport. She even travelled to Prince George during the winter to practice at the Prince George Climbing Centre in preparation for this year’s season.
Greg Sabatino photos
Alex Tranq (from left), Dominique Morin and Matt Stefan prepare for a climb at the Esler Bluffs in Williams Lake.
Mike Garrard (holding rope) spots for Jeannie Rudyk as she climbs the Obsession Wall at the Esler Bluffs.
Climber Tera Grady (left) helps her son, Olen, 6, practice climbing. “Now, I try to come out whenever I can,” Moliner says. It’s also a social outing for families as even Moliner’s son Oihanes Clark, 5, and Tera and Ryan’s son, Olen, 6, have the courage to strap on a rope, harness and climbing shoes to attempt climbs. The other somewhat popular areas to climb near Williams Lake are at Moon
Road Bluff — located on the west side of the Fraser River 32 kilometres north of Williams Lake along Highway 20 — and near Alkali Lake, called Alkali Bluff. “We’ve got a pretty good range in Williams Lake,” Tera says. “You can be a good climber and have lots of challenges, or there are some to start out on.”
Sirel Moliner (right) attempts one of the more difficult climbs at the Esler Bluffs while Ryan Grady spots.
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A love for rodeo Gaeil Farrar Casual Country 2014 Lucille Erlandson and her family have been avid rodeo fans since first arriving in the Cariboo back in 1951 — after they got settled that is. Lucille (Bosworth/ MacDonald) Erlandson was born in Redding, California and moved to the Cariboo in July, 1951 when she was 13 years old. She and her parents, Walter and Florence Bosworth and her siblings, Jim, Barbara and Elsie Rose, a dog named Cookie and two small birds, travelled to Canada in a loaded caravan of vehicles consisting of a dump truck, oneton pick-up truck and a pontiac. The rest of their belongings were shipped in a rail container that arrived three months later.
“Upon arriving at Big Lake, I soon realized that all of the comfortable amenities like running water, electricity, a fridge, and walking across the road to school were not the norm in Big Lake,” Lucille says. “We all rode horse back to school and in 1952 my brother, Jim, and I moved into Williams Lake to the dormitory which is now the school board office.” That same year she attended her first Stampede. “My brother Jim and I hauled our horses into town with the one-ton truck and camped at what is now the trail riders arena. “We had no tent or camping gear, so slept under the truck. I can’t remember how or what we ate but we were young and adventurous. “We rode in the parade and watched the rodeo each day, went to the dances at the Elks
Hall each night. “Things were very informal then, we spent most of our time behind the chutes with the riders and our friends. You just hung out, people did not have to sit in any specific area. It was like being in an old western movie, with all the ranchers coming to town to visit and compete against each other.” Lucille carried on her love for Stampede with her husband Gilbert MacDonald and their three children, Roy, Sharon, and John. “Each year I would save our family allowance cheque for the month of June so that we could go to the Stampede,” Lucille says. “The cheques were anywhere from $12 to $18 and that would get us all in the gate for the weekend. I would dress them all up in their little boots, Levi jeans and cowboy hats.” Later Lucille owned
Gladie E Fashions and always had fun decorating her store windows and dressing in period costumes for Stampede, and locking up the shop so they could watch the parade. She says her favourites of the old events were the horse races, chariot, chuck wagon, horse races, roman riding, mountain race and bucking events. “When I think of recent Stampedes I think of the parade, the street party and meeting up with my family to watch the Stampede,” Lucille says. “There were some very proud moments for me in the past few years when my granddaughter (Kirsten Braumandl) was crowned 2009 Williams Lake Stampede Queen and following that Miss Rodeo Canada Princess in 2011.”
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Four generations of the MacDonald family Lucille Erlandson (back left), Jennifer and Nicholas MacDonald, Kirsten Braumandl and her mom, Sharon MacDonald, with Jen and Nic’s children Amelia and Cole at the Williams Lake Indoor Rodeo this spring.
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Family love for Stampede extends to four generations Continued from Page 84 Lucille and her family have maintained a booth in the Stampede Grandstands for the last four years and look forward to all of the events with their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Kirsten’s mom, Sharon MacDonald, left Williams Lake twice, once to attend the College of New Caledonia and then to work in Port McNeill for seven years for the forest service. She returned to the Cariboo when Kirsten was two years old. “Coming back to the Cariboo was coming home for me,” Sharon says. “I continue to work for the Forest Service (Ministry of Natural Resource Operations). Raising Kirsten in the Cariboo we have both been fortunate to have many wonderful friends
and family to support us and organizations we have both been enjoyed being involved in.” She says she never wanted to be a competitor but for as long as she can remember she enjoyed watching Stampede and is now an avid rodeo volunteer both with the Williams Lake Indoor Rodeo and Stampede. She started volunteering with the Curling Club at the main gates during Stampede and has also worked in the grandstand and behind the chutes. For four years she served on the Stampede Queen Committee. She is currently on the Williams Lake Indoor Rodeo board, which is preparing all sorts of celebrations for the indoor rodeo’s 25th anniversary in 2015. “Some of my favourite events over the years have been the barn dances, horse racing,
Gaeil Farrar photo
Former Miss Rodeo Canada Princess Kirsten Braumandl is all tied up in teaching her cousin, Amelia, how to rope during the kids rodeo carnival held prior to the Williams Lake Indoor Rodeo. mountain races, bull throwing contest, pony express, chuck wagon races and rough stock events. Like her mother and grandmother, Kirsten has enjoyed Stampede her whole life. “My first memory of
the Stampede as a little girl is going to the parade, street party, carnival and then the rodeo with my mom,” Kirsten says. After she joined 4-H Kirsten says she enjoyed being in the parade instead of just watching it.
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Kirsten says. “I am actively involved with rodeo queen pageants and clinics in Alberta, and continue to attend CPRA rodeos when ever I can. Once university is complete I look forward to seeing where my career will take me.” Kirsten’s cousin Nicholas MacDonald, a teacher, and his wife, Jen, live and work on the Rafter 6 Ranch in Horsefly with their children Amelia, 6, and Cole, 3 and his parents Roy and Kathy MacDonald and are also avid rodeo supporters. “I loved to put on my cowboy boots and hat when I was little,” Nicholas says. “I still do. My favourite events are the timed events, ranch challenge, chuck wagon races and the mountain race. I will never forget the Stampede Amelia (age 6) said she is going to be a rodeo queen one day.”
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Her group would get up at 7 a.m. to prepare for the parade, quickly undecorate their float after the parade so they could catch the Street Party, and then get to the rodeo. After each Stampede her 4-H club would
clean the grandstands as a fundraiser for their group. “When I was little, my favourite part of the rodeo was the mountain race, the royalty, the drill team and the barrel racing,” Kirsten says. She says it was an honour serving as Stampede Queen and then Miss Rodeo Canada Princess, a role in which she enjoyed educating youth about the sport of rodeo in Canada and the western way of life. Kirsten is currently attending the University of Lethbridge where she is working on her Bachelor of Arts and Science and Bachelor of Education. During the summer she works in Airdrie, Alberta at the Canadian Pro Rodeo head office as a central rodeo entry system operator. “I continue to be part of the rodeo family as an alumni member of Miss Rodeo Canada,”
For over 30 years the Gallery Society has helped form Community Connections. In the photo below, Gallery Summer Student, Kasey Stirling, and her grandmother, Yvette Rogers, proudly show off Yvette’s painting. It is part of the Cariboo Art Society’s 70th Show & Sale at the Gallery.
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This is one of the reasons The Gallery is important to our community. We are asking for your help to help refurbish the outside of the building by supporting the July 5th Fundraiser “Chew the Fat”. Come and share your ‘Connections’.
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The first ever Lake City Secondary School Lahal Tournament took place May 21 in the commons area at the Williams Lake campus featuring close to 60 students. The idea of the touranment was for First Nations students to display to the rest of the students at the school a part of their history and culture.
Students host first ever school lahal tournament Greg Sabatino Casual Country 2014 A group of First Nations students at Lake City Secondary School wanted to do something a little different this year for their peers — show the rest of the school a part of their culture through the first-ever LCSS Lahal Tournament. LCSS counsellor Mike Levitt spearheaded the event, held May 21, after a student, Geralyn Billy, was tasked with an oral presentation in one of her English classes. “She said, ‘Hey, can I do lahal?’” Levitt said. “[We had a small game] and we were kind of short of people so I got to play. That girl went from being the little girl who hardly speaks, she’s so shy, to being in a game of lahal singing out loud and drumming.” Several other students at the school heard about the tourna-
ment and asked Levitt if they could play a game in the library. About 20 students showed up, and Levitt inquired about their lahal tournaments outside of the school. “They told me they had tournaments, so that’s kind of where the idea hatched,” he said. This time, however, the students didn’t want to play in the library — they wanted to play out in the open in the commons area at the LCSS Williams Lake Campus for all of their peers to see. “When we were playing in the library one of the kids said: “Let’s play in the commons for all to see.’ That really resonated with me,” he said. From there Patsy Grinder, the First Nations Liason Worker at the school, and Elannie Hunlin, the Care Aid teacher at the LCSS Columneetza campus, helped spread the word and get kids signed up
Lake City Secondary School students Ethan Hunlin (from left), Tristan David, Faith Myers, Shania Cook, Meradith Jackson, Mountain Lake Alphonse, Hunter Dickie and Chiotin Alphonse play lahal during the first LCSS Lahal Tournament in May. for the tournament. Bruce Baptiste and Randy Billyboy from the Tsilhqot’in National Government were the official referees. Team captains were selected and four teams totalling about 60 students were formed. Lahal, for those unfamiliar, is a traditional gambling game — also known as a stick game,
bonegame or bloodless war game — played by two opposing teams. There are two pairs of two bones — one with a black stripe and one without. There are also scoring sticks (usually 10). Two players on a team each take two of the sets of bones. The opposing team then has to guess the position of the unmarked bones
hidden inside the palms of the players. If they are correct then they receive the bones, but if they guess wrong they pass a scoring stick to the opposing team. The game continues until a team runs out of scoring sticks. Teams also sing traditional songs and drum to provide “magi-
cal powers” to help them guess right, says Peyal Laceese, a Grade 11 student at LCSS and one of the team captains. “As we know it this game originated around nations coming together instead of going to war — to show peace and agreement — instead of fighting, to bring balance,” Laceese said. “It brings people together. “Sometimes our people had power back in the day and we try to put that on display [through our songs] to kind of use that power in the most positive way to show the significance of the people without showing it in a harmful manner.” Another student, Lane Setah, said he had a fun time at the tournament and enjoyed showing a bit of their culture to the other students. “We showed people what we do,” Setah said. “Not being shy
of showing a part of our culture. Other kids were asking how we played it and things like that.” Laceese said throughout the daylong tournament students gathered inside and above the commons to watch, which he thought was pretty cool. “A lot were there to listen to our songs, too,” Setah added. All said they hope it becomes an annual event and tradition at the school. “Our parents and some of the people who were there said they were proud of us,” Laceese said. Levitt added he never imagined the momentum the tournament would achieve. “For me I think it’s so cool for First Nations kids to be able to exhibit and show this part of their culture,” he said. “They’re so happy and so proud to be doing this.”
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Only in the Cariboo Guides in training pay tribute to their mentor Gaeil Farrar Casual Country 2014 Carl Buchholtz is 85 years old and still going strong as a wilderness hunting guide. His fellow staff at Chilcotin Holidays in Gold Bridge, where Carl guides spring and fall, were so impressed with their mentor that they made a tribute video for him this spring. “He has a great attitude and is an inspiration to everyone,” says camp owner Kevin Bracewell. “He is real patient and a real good mentor.” Bracewell says young people come from all over the world to work with and train as guides with Chilcotin Holidays, and Carl shows them the ropes, often outworking his first young crew by noon and taking on a second crew in the afternoon. When he isn’t out guiding hunters into the wilderness Carl, a carpenter by trade, works around the camp repairing and building things and teaching the younger staff his skills. Chilcotin Holidays has been operating in the South Chilcotin provincial mountain parks and areas near Lillooet for the past 24 years. Bracewell says Carl has been working with him as a hunting guide for 30 years, going back to when he operated a guiding business in the Tatlayoko region in the west Chilcotin. Kevin says the Chilcotin Holidays guiding territory at Gold Bridge is the oldest one in the province. Clients have been coming to the camp from Europe since 1870. Clients may spend up to three months at a time being guided through the territory. Last year he said Carl and a helper spent six weeks from September into October taking two clients at a time on one-week tenting expeditions into the mountains. “They face whatever nature throws at them, snow, grizzly bears…,”
Carl Buchholtz enjoys the outdoors. Bracewell says. “Even when it’s raining the sun is always shining when Carl is around.” Born and raised in Williams Lake, Carl is a descendent of William Pinchbeck, one of the city founders. Like Williams Lake, Carl celebrates his 85th birthday this year and was among those invited to an honorary birthday tea held at the Museum of the Cariboo-Chilcotin this past spring. Carl’s interests are many and diverse, and he says work keeps him young. “I don’t know where this old age thing comes from because I’m still doing the same things I was doing at 35,” Carl says. But he admits he doesn’t have to work as hard as he once did. He says he continues guiding because he really enjoys the staff at Chilcotin Holidays and meeting the clients who come from all over the world to hunt and explore B.C. He especially appreciates the women at Chilcotin Holidays who wrangle the horses and cook for him and his clients on the hunting trips. There was a time he had to cook. “It spoils you,” Carl says. “I don’t have to cook.” He ran his own construction business for
Binoculars at work Carl Buchholtz looks for signs of game on the trail.
At work around the lodge. 60 years and now uses those skills to help out with carpentry, electrical and plumbing repairs around the lodge. When he isn’t helping out down south he enjoys duck hunting with his son, Daryl, hiking some of the famous trails around the province, and moose hunting and gold sleuthing and panning with friends. He also passed on his building skills to his sons Daryl and David who both work in the building trades, David as supervisor at a modular home company in St. Albert and Daryl is a carpenter working in Williams Lake. His daughters, Brenda and Gaylene, have also lived in Williams Lake all of their lives. Somewhere along the way Carl was given the nickname (Mr. Hockey) with the Wil-
Photos submitted
Riding for Chilcotin Holidays Carl Buchholtz gets to share his love for B.C. wilderness. liams Lake Stampeders for his many years of playing hockey. He played hockey for about 20 years with the Stampeders, another 10 in the commercial league, and 20
years with the old timers hockey club, only hanging up his skates when he was 75. Summers he also works in his own garden, and doing repairs on his own property. In
the winter time he says there is a lot of snow to plough. People also bring him their precious and other old metal fixtures which he takes to the recycling station once
or twice a year. He also enjoys visits with friends at his “office” (Signal Point Gaming). “I’m probably one of the more successful ones.” Carl says.
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Only in the Cariboo Maureen Saunders exits with great praise Gaeil Farrar Casual Country 2014 A new chapter is beginning for dance in Williams Lake. Maureen Saunders, founder of Maureen Saunders School of Dance is retiring and turning her studio over to her lead protege, Corinne Stromsten. “It has been an emotional year,” Maureen says. “We work really well together. “I would not leave the studio unless I knew I was leaving it with the perfect person, which Corinne is. The studio has been my baby for too many years.” Maureen says it is difficult to give up the studio but it is the right time to do so. She and her husband, Jim, want to move closer to their daughters and their families who live in Vernon and West Kelowna. And after being a passenger involved in two car accidents a few years ago, Maureen says she is not able to handle a full teaching schedule the way she once did, although she plans to continue dancing and be there for Corinne when she needs her. Maureen was born in Ladysmith on Vancouver Island and spent her first five years in Penticton before moving to Nanaimo. Her father was a hotel owner and operated hotels in Ladysmith and Penticton, before set-
Gaeil Farrar photos
Eden Barton (left), Mackenzie Magnowski, and dance instructor Maureen Saunders get ready for the Maureen Saunders School of Dance 2014 dance revue Finale, a fitting title for Maureen’s retirement. tling in at the Tideview in Nanaimo, which Maureen says is now a mini-mall. Maureen started dancing at age nine with the Morag Renig School of Dance in Nanaimo. She advanced to the Grade 6 level of ballet and was accepted to train at the Winnipeg School of Ballet after spending two sum-
mers working with the school’s director at the Banff School of Fine Arts. But Maureen says her dad had a bad heart and she didn’t feel comfortable leaving her family. She had also met Jim. So instead of heading off to Winnipeg, Maureen took over the ballet school from Renig, who
was retiring. She was just 17. While the parents of her students were a bit hard to handle at first, thinking she might be too young for the job, she loved teaching dance from the beginning. “Back then the rules regarding training to teach dance were not as tight as they are now,”
Maureen says. At the time, she says there wasn’t anyone west of Toronto who had more than Grade 6, until Sheila Kennedy came to Canada from England to set up a dance studio in Victoria. For five years Maureen taught at her dance studio in Nanaimo and made frequent trips to
Victoria to advance her training with Kennedy. She was the first dancer west of Toronto to receive her intermediate and advanced one exams and her associate and licentiate degrees in the Cecchetti method of ballet which gave her full teaching credentials. Maureen says her father lived long enough
to walk her down the aisle with Jim and see his first grandchild born. She gave up the Nanaimo studio when Jim was promoted to assistant manager at the Prince Rupert Safeway, and soon afterward to assistant manager at Williams Lake Safeway. Maureen and Jim came to Williams Lake in 1977 with their twoand-a-half year old daughter, Candice. They didn’t know it, but Maureen was already pregnant with their second daughter, Christy, when they arrived. While their girls were little, Maureen started teaching dance classes part-time for the city’s recreation program, two days a week for the first few years, on Jim’s days off when he could be home with the girls. She taught classes for the city in various school and community gymnasiums around the city. Both Christy and Candice started dancing at an early age and by the time they were in their teens, they were also teaching some of the younger classes. By 1984, she had so many students that she had outgrown the school gymnasium and decided to take a chance on opening her own studio, The Maureen Saunders School of Dance on Midnight Avenue. See MAUREEN, Page 89
Maureen Saunders always wrapped up her shows with the popular Can Can Dance, which is a popular addition to rodeos as well. Ashley Beauchamp (left), Karalee Stromsten, Kendall Jensen, Madisen Gaylord, Natasha VanDer Maaten, Rahne Brunsch, Emily Stromsten, and Kylie Forseille enter for the final dance of Finale, the 2014 revue in June marking dance teacher Maureen Saunders’ retirement.
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Only in the Cariboo Maureen Saunders School of Dance changes hands Continued from Page 82 For many years she taught students from age four, right through to adult classes in both ballet and jazz. About 10 years ago there were so many children and teens wanting lessons that she had to drop the adult classes. Over the years she has taught an average of about 125 students a year. Some students may only dance for a year while others have danced with her for 14 years. Some of the advanced students work part time teaching classes, and may take up to nine, one-hour classes a week working toward teaching or professional dance certification. At the national ballet school she says dancers will put in 30 hours a week in the studio. “It’s repetition that
Corinne Stromsten, who will be taking over the studio, dances The Call. makes you better,” Maureen says. Becoming a professional dancer or dance instructor is not for everyone who enjoys dance, but it is something one can do for a lifetime if they choose. Some of Maureen’s students have gone on to study dance at Simon Fraser University, to dance with profes-
sional companies for a while, and/or to become dance instructors. Corinne is one of those students who put dance to the side for a while to have her children, and once they were old enough went back to dance. Corinne started taking lessons with Maureen 10 years ago, working on her intermediate and advanced level exams. She also taught dance to about 55 boys and girls in Horsefly where she lives with her family. Five years ago, Corinne also started teaching classes for Maureen, and two years ago she began teaching more hours, taking over the jazz classes and adding modern dance to the mix. This spring Maureen and Corinne travelled to Vancouver where Corinne took the gruelling three-our exam to
Gaeil Farrar photos
MC Jennifer McPhee (left), dance teacher Corinne Stromsten and students gather on stage at the end of Finale to honour Maureen Saunders and present her with retirement gifts. earn her Cecchetti associate degree. Maureen and Corinne choreographed a beautiful dance revue for her final show, fittingly called Finale. The school puts on a major dance revue for the public every second year and in the off years concentrates on preparing students for their exams.
This year’s show was magnificent in scope with more senior students on point than ever and Corinne dancing right along with them in ballet, jazz and modern dance numbers. Maureen and Corinne choreographed the dances, structuring them to reflect the steps students
are learning at each level. One class of senior students also choreographed their own dance for Finale. “It’s all out of our heads,” Maureen says. “We listen to a piece of music and start putting steps together.” After the last Finale show Maureen’s students, present and past, paid tribute to her con-
tributions to dance in Williams Lake with a fun dance that she was asked to sit in the audience and watch with Jim. For most revues Maureen is hard at work behind the scenes and doesn’t get to see the full show. She was also honoured with the traditional gift of flowers and another wrapped gift. For her part Maureen thanked her students and parents for all of their hard work, Jim for all of his support over the years, and her daughters and their families for being there for her final show. Past students in the audience were also asked to stand up and be recognized. About 60 former adult and child students stood up. After the show everyone was invited back to the studio for her retirement party.
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Don’t show a ranch in the winter. Don’t show a ranch in a drought. Don’t show a ranch on a windy day Whether the wind be from north or from south. Do show a ranch in the springtime. Do show a ranch in the RAIN. If you plumb bog down it won’t bring a frown No legitimate buyer would every complain. Do show a ranch in the late fall When you’re shippin’ and the calves are fat And they’ve been sold by the pound for a dollar or more. There’s not a much better picture than that. Don’t show a feedlot after a rainstorm. Pick a day that’s sunny and bright ‘Cause cattle in mud plumb up to their bellies Are an awful uncomfortable sight. The same thing goes twice for a dairy To sell a dairy you sure need good luck And you lose your taste for milk if that ol’ cow Is standin’ udderly deep in the muck. Show a farm on a day when you’re irrigatin’ Water runnin’ evenly in every row. Show a farm before the “root rot” shows up. Never show it when the dams are low. There’s somethin’ to be said for good timing And we’ll give it our very best try. But the very best time to show anything Is when the buyer is ready to buy. Ralph Flake, Snowflake, AZ
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Bags of Love for Cariboo Kids LeRae Haynes Casual Country 2014 Caring services are available for both pet owners and vulnerable children in the Cariboo, thanks to Dr. Doug Magnowski at Animal Care Hospital and Big Lake wood worker Graham Carey. Beautiful, unique, handcrafted urns for pets are one of the options offered Animal Care Hospital clients who have to say goodbye to a pet. Big Lake resident Graham Carey designs and handcrafts the urns, using all proceeds to fund Bags of Love for children with the Ministry of Children and Families. Animal Care Hospital offers cremation as an option for clients who have to say goodbye to a pet — a service that has solved a huge problem in terms of disposal, according to Magnowski.
“Before the crematorium was installed in 2005, it was just the landfill. And before that we took them to the sawmill burners,” he explained. “Clients are very appreciative about having this option: we’ve cremated thousands since we first offered this service. “We are all animal lovers here, and all of us know what it’s like to lose a pet: this is something we’ve all been through. Our motto is that we care, and that’s the key. When it comes to end-of-life decisions our goal is provide respect and compassion for both the pets and the clients.” He explained that the cedar urns made by Carey are not only tasteful and beautiful, they are also the means to a heartfelt project for children in the area. “Graham Carey takes all the proceeds from the animal urns and puts
LeRae Haynes photo
Big Lake wood worker Graham Carey and Dr. Doug Magnowski of the Animal Care Hospital team up to help children and pet owners. them into something called ‘Bags of Love’”, he said. “This is such a great project for kids in our communities.” A retired teacher, Carey said that he saw a TV show about the Bags of Love program in the U.S. and was instantly intrigued. Bags
of Love are literal bags — given to children who are taken into care by the Ministry of Children and Families. “The duffle bags contain personal items for kids that are their own: a quilt, a huggable stuffed animal, things like books, phone cards for the older kids,
How about
school supplies and toiletries,” he explained. “Things that make them feel that something belongs to them.” He said that he and his wife Teri thought it was something they could do in the Cariboo and started contacting people to make quilts and duffle bags and collecting toys, books, school supplies and toiletries. “I spread the word from here to 100 Mile House and Quesnel, and had friends and church members step forward to help, including retired school principal Ron Williams and his wife, Ann.” The bags are agespecific. “Once we hit on the idea I had to find an outlet for it. I went to the Ministry of Children and Families and they loved the idea. We deliver the bags to their office. “When I asked the lady at the ministry if the bags made a differ-
ence she said, ‘You can’t imagine the difference these bags make. Sometimes we’re seen as the bad guys and it makes a huge difference when we can give each child a bag of love.’ “These kids often don’t have time to pack a bag, and sometimes they don’t have much to begin with,” Carey said. “It’s so rough for these children and the bags make a difference — the focus is on the bag instead of the trauma. It gives them something that absolutely belongs to them to make them feel comfortable and cared about.” He added that the bags also include a letter to each child saying there is someone who cares about them. “Every night when they go to sleep they have their own quilt made just for them and a soft toy to hug,” he said. “The need for the bags can be unexpected
and sudden. We always make sure we have bags at the ministry and a few made up ahead of time. We’ve had help from friends and from church members, and the quilting club in Horsefly has been incredibly supportive.” When the proceeds from the urns for Animal Care Hospital are not needed for Bags of Love, they go to other charities, including Vancouver Children’s Hospital. “I will never meet the kids who receive the Bags of Love, but there is a connection in our hearts, he said. “Jesus said, ‘If you’ve done it unto the least of these, my brothers, you have done it unto me.’ This is just doing what He taught us to do.” For more information about Bags of Love, including how you can help, phone 250-2430076.
LIVESTOCK PREDATION LAYSER’S KENNEL & CONTRACTING Services include investigation of livestock and pet losses to determine predator responsible, predator removal and livestock husbandry and management advice. We are licensed, permitted and insured for large predator control year round. Report predation as soon as possible For best results - call 24-7
Cariboo Christian Outreach
Kyle Lay 250-296-3300 | 250-296-3246 Call 24-7 • Cell: 250-305-6269
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