-ner Boultbee of Bridge Lake resign- Williams Lake Tribune NEWS EXCHANGE GF THE CARIBOO s3-52 yeiker, G: ® Volume 20 — Number 52 WILLIAMS LAKE, B.C. Wednesday, December 31, 1952 Single copy 10c. $2.50 per year. What Happened In 1952? A Review of Local News Highlights Through The Year What happened in Williams Lake and District in the past twelve months? Here is a summary of the news highlights of 1952 as the pages of the calendar fell. January Business and organizational lee was suggested at a village tivities were at their usual low fol- lowing Christmas and New Year’s celebrations as everyone found diffi- eulty in getting back to their usual routine. The weather had taken no rest though and the lowest tempera- ture of the year was recorded New Year’s Eve when the thermometer dropped to a frigid 40° below in town. The Board of Trade was in trouble ang members who were fighting for its survival had taken paid space to encourage attendance at the second annual mecting to be called. This one was successful and C. F. ‘Bert’ Roberts was elected president. It was to go on to one of its most successful Seasons in recent years, actively ap- proaching rural centres with the hope of forming small ‘committees’ in each one. By the first of the month the defi- nite inclusion of the Williams Lake government. ing 1952. March commission meeting the commissioners seemed inclined to favour the plan money foreed tabling of the suggestion. Ranchers were extremely worried about an outbreak of foot and mouth disease in the prairies. Although it never spread to B.C., it resulted in a closure of the Alberta-British Coluz- bia border to stock shipments and to a more serious embargo placed on beef shipments by the United States As a direct result of the disease the beef market fell dur- and although Barly this amonth the most dam- aging in a series of mill fires in the district totally destroyed the mill of Cariboo Fir Company Ltd., estimated loss of $20,000. Cariboo Zone meeting of clubs endorsed principle moose season as advocated by Game at an game of a cow Stampeders in the new northern puck Department biologists, starting off a league had been assured and the flurry of controversy among sports- lccals had one game under their belt men, guides and trappers that was to against Clinton. outclassed in the new loop and ended The Stamps were'continue all year. Plans for a $75,000 addition to up at the bottom of the league lad-|the Ranch Hotel were revealed by The try did spur hockey en-! directors. der. i thusiasts to greater efforts to secure a coach for the following season, and Jater in the year Ed. McGibbon ap- peared on the scene as playing coach for 1953 Early ip the month our elusive Federal Building came into the news again as Davie Fulton reported the Minister of Public Works had given him: lay es the probable date of a cull fer tender. The call eventually did go out, but not until October. "After five years in the office, Gard- of $130.000. April was well along. ed as chairman of District 27 School is Board. Later in the year he dropped out of active school affairs entirely by refusing to allow his name to stand as Area Representative. _ Newly elected chairman of Village Alastair outlined a program at the first meet- ing that was followed in principle during the year. Points included a sewer system for the village, inclu- sion of the Stampede grounds as a park, a town zoning bylaw and park development. The town zoning by- law became a fact as the months passed and the sewer by-law is now being readied for presentation to ratepayers. The Stampede grounds have been surveyed and work bas! the mercury hit roads. hundreds the valley. Creek, May Commerce. bridges and washed out as melting snows fed of small Jimmy Mellville, was the hero when a slide took out a portion of the PGE track near his home. The boy discovered the slide and turned in the alarm. Dr. Larry Avery was elected presi- dent of the local Junior Chamber of The year’s largest single construction job in town, the hotel addition was originally planned for two storeys, finally wound up with three and cost in the neighborhood Government engineers investigat- ed the road route from Bella Coola valley to the Chilcotin. Wietoria did nothing about the work, the Bella Coola Board sparked a private construction pio- gram and by the end of the year work Although of ‘Trade Dog Creek was the hottest spot in the district when a general mild spell hit the Cariboo. At that centre the eighties and culverts were waterfalls into] 16, of Whiskey District and townspeople joined ia started on the small park below the/® three-day search that ended suc- hospital. First steel between * Cottonwocd Canyon and Ahbau Creek on tne Quesnel-Prince George extension of the PGE would be laid in February, a railway official annouuced. This work was completed during the year road Poli ical parties their candidates for the June elec- cessfully when Eddie Weetman, :& | year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. Weetman of Brunson-Lake was found in the bush near the Chimney Lake Ted were choosing Premier Byron I. and in November the official opening of the link saw residents along the line make the first help célebrate the Williams Lake was-again the top cattle shipping point in the province for the twelve months previous, ac- cording to Victoria. head were shipped 609 were shipped district. February Barly in-February the most im-{ VS portant news sto as it was the rest the passing of King George VI. It was in this month that former Johnson asked for dissolution of parl ed the avalanche of public speakers who were to descend on district cen~ tres until the June Fluoridation of tion. Ralph Chetwynd was named by Soereds; Don Riley by the CCF, sit- ting member Angus MacLean held the Liberal Banner and Ken Thibau- deau was the Progressive-t ‘Conserva- tive’s man. Lord Martin Ceci] was returned as president of the Cariboo Cattlemen's Association. trip to Prince to event. A total of 11.97 in 1951 and from the Cariboo June une 12th was a big day in Wil- ‘opening of the 26th annual Stam: pede. Ralph Chetwynd: piled up a first ‘choice vote that was to carry him to victory without the necessity of a recount. He was later to be named a to Williams Lake of the world, jiament and start- election. ~ the village water (continued on back page) can also run for cabinet minister, the first Cariboo) constituency has ever had as a rep- resentative. Back with his wife and family a 20 days not knowing who he was. Victoria, B.C., to his anxious family, has no idea how he reached Kitchener) Ont, ere he was going to/try engineers’ exams. Worki a hospital order at Kitchener, he snapped out of the amnesia blacs out. Sympathetic friends gave the penniless man railway fare to return home AMNESIA VICTIM BACK HOME FOR XMAS. tt Alberni, B.C., Alfred Hetherington is glad to forget his past tragedy, when he wandered across Canada for e 47-year-old janitor and painter instead of his destination of ROBBER SUSPECT ‘FACES 3 CHARGES | Henry Sequin, alias Henry Beau- idry, Harry Redford and Henry Go- din, suspect in an attempted bank hold-up here- December 15, faces three charges, all carrying a maxi- mum penalty of fife imprisonment. This week the charges were read to the suspect under the name of Redford. Specifically he has been charged with robbery with violence; wound- ing with intent, and shooting at po-| lice officers with intent. In addition |to_a maximum life sentence, a con- viction under the first charge could result in the court ordering a whip-| ping. Under the charges laid, the suspect will face a preliminary hearing of his case before a magistrate. He may | then elect to, haveja speedy trial be- fore the magistrafé or a trial by jury. | Date of the preliminary hearing will be set as soon as the suspect's | i condition will allow him to appear in court. According to police, Seguin has a long record in Eastern Canada. He is under constant guard by RCMP constables who are taking four hour shifts. Leg irons have been placed Jon him to forestall any possibi ‘of escape. CHIEF THUNDERBIRD HEADS ISLAND TRIBE Baptiste Paul, better known as wrestler Chief Thunderbird, is the new Chief of the Tsartlip Indian tribe on Vancouver Island. He = elected December 18. Baptiste is the son of the late Tom- my Paul and grandson of Ben Paul —noted chiefs of the tribe in Saan-| ish Peninsula’s pioneer days. Chief Thunderbird has wrestled throughout the world. He toured the| South Pacific four years ago, stop- ping at Manila, Midway, Guam and Hawaii and last year he completed another tour of Britain and Burope.| He has put in several appearances at Williams Lake. Members-of the Tsartlip band ga-| thered at the Catholic rectory at} Brentwood for the election. The. election was held under the| new Indian Act of 1951. Under this/| act women have the right to vote and office. | No woman ran for office at the Tsartlip election but they took ad- vantage of the right to cast their ballots and almost one-third of the jvoters were women. It is believed that a woman will be chosen by the |new council as recording secretary. | Chief Thunderbird defeated David Elliott, his only rival. Horace Paul, who was listed as a candidate, with- drew prior to the voting. [of them {at Tatlayoko Lake News IT WAS with a feeling of shocked incredulity that we received news of the death of Robert Graham. Tatlay- oko joins with the surrounding coun- try in expressing sympathy for the aham family. Our trips to ‘Tatla Lake will feel a note of sadness at the absence of Bob, hereafter. SCHOOL was over on the 19th for the Tatlayoko children, The Christ- mas concert held that night and at- tended by parents and friends from a distance of thirty miles was a work of art. All credit goes to our teacher, Mrs. Gaustin, who in one short year has transformed a collection of mis- neous ages, types and personali- well-regulated, progres- The carols were h cour- lies into a sive school group. §ung, the plays acted out w ; age and grace. Santa made ‘His’ time- iy appearance, loaded with gifts for $2i.und so full of hounce. and jolly good humour ‘he’ spread Christmas cheer throughout the tight-patked schoolhouse. Sandwiches, cakes and coffee were served to all, amid whirring tops, raucous mouthorgans and mite sized mechanies busy on the floor. De- parture came after order had been somewhat restored to the school- room, gaily decorated with. Christmas tree, cutouts, paper fireplace and fes- tooned with boughs. MRS. GAUSTIN spent Christmas with Ken and Mary Haynes. THE TERRY FAMILY, Gagne family .and Moores spent an enjoy- able Christmas afternoon ice skating on a couple of acres of windswept ice near Tatlayoko Lake, which ineciden- tally, does not freeze until March, and that only seldom. caused by the big 13th is apparent ome DESTRUCTION wind of December throughout the valley. Fir tree: 18 inches through, as well as other types fell, blocking roads and trails, or crashing buildings and implements. The watertank roof blew off at Ken Haynes’, sailing 50 yards to crash on the hill. Fences standing ‘ight angles to the wind were over- turned and twisted out of sha: neighbors of the West Branch ed similar mishaps. The six inches of snow disappeared magically and the hillsides were deluged with an inch of rain that night. J. SCHUK, H. McGhee and K. B. Moore were all out to Williams Lake on business during the storm. Mr. Moore, first to depart for home en- | countered fifty-three trees across the 20 mile branch road in from Tatla Lake. The road bed which was fine when he went out, had disappeared in a mud bog inches deep. MRS. T. I. FOSTER of Mission, drove in with Ken Moore to spend Christmas and the holidays with her andsons and daughter, Gerry Moore. PGE To Start Service To Prince The Pacific Great Eastern Railway company will start a freight and express service to Prince George January 12, The ‘Tribune was informed yester- day in a special wire from Hon. Ralph Chetwynd, Minister of Railways. ~ The communication goes-on to say that the preliminary service over the new extension will be three days a week, leav- ing Monday, Wednesday and Friday from Vancouver. Lake Freezes Second Time This Winter For the second time this winter, Williams Lake froze over on Decem- ber 23. The lake first froze December 10 and three days later a boistrous Chinook broke up the new ice. Last year the lake froze over on December 4, ten days later than 1950. Statistics on the ice coming and going on Williams Lake are careful- ly recorded each year by magistrate J. D. Smedley. Assault Charge Laid Following Wounding| Kenneth Price of Williams Lake will appear in police court this morn- ing on a charge of assault causing grievous bodily-harm as a result of a fracas in the early hours of Tues- day morning. In hospital suffering from knife slashes to the face, chest and stom- ach is Douglas Johnson of Spring- house. The assault case will probably be remanded today pending dis- charge of Johnson from: hospital. According to police the men were two of a group of people who were at the home of Mrs. Margaret John-/ son in town. An argument ended in a! fight between two and three in the morning when Johnson sustained his wounds. PIONEER CHILCOTIN RESIDENT PASSES The Chileotin and surrounding dis- trict were shocked and saddened by the sudden death of Robert Graham, who passed away quietly at his home at Tatla Lake, December 23rd. He suffered a stroke while making the rounds of the ranch. “Bob” as he was affectionately known by his friends and neighbors. was born at Mosside, County Antrim in Northern Ireland over eigthy-one years ago. He moved to Canada and the Chilcotin in 1891 where he filed on property which is now the village of Alexis Creek. He then followed in the wake of the gold rush to north- ern B.C. In 1901 he purchased the Benny Franklin homestead at Tatla Lake, and settled down to developing the fine ranch that it now is, with the help of his loving wife, Margaret, hom he married in 19909. Bob retired ten years ago, the ranch being competently managed by his two sons, Bill and Alex, and his daughter Betty. He continued as Justice of the Peace, however, which he had been since 1930. Funeral services were conducted j from the main house at Tatla Lake, | with a large crowd of neighbors and friends coming from near and far to pay their respects to this pioneer. He was buried on a hilltop over- looking the ranch. Services were con- ducted by T. L. Chignell. Pall-bearers were Alexander Robertson, Donald Robertson, Alfred Bracewell, Jack Ross, Jack Lee‘and Dave Wilson. He leaves to mourn his passing, his wife Margaret, daughters Betty and ;Alexinay sons Bill and Alex, and one sister in Ireland, Mrs, James Me- Comaughy, and his grandchildren, Roy and Anne Graham, and Betty, Bob, Frank and Linda Renshaw. ee Caribeo Experi e 4 7 3 = = ‘Green’ Christmas This part of the Cariboo ‘experi- enced a rare ‘green’ Christmas this Christmas day the weather re- ‘mained comparatively mild and Box= ing day the temperature slid down to the lowest point this year. Several Narrow Escape As Lake Ice Gives Way Skating across Williams Lake Christmas Day, John Gibbon had a narrow escape when the ice gave way plunging him into the icy water. Fortunately he was accompanied by his brother-in-law, Jack Abbott, who crawled to the edge of the ice and caught hold of John. Cautiously working his way back he managed to pull John to safety. The incident oc- curred between the points of land on Barney Boe’s property. on one shore and Steve Malesku’s on the other. 16 PASS CHRISTMAS EVE IN LOCAL BASTILLE Seasonable celebrations were. car- ried on too long by 16 men who |. wound up Christmas eve in the local bastille. Honours were evenly divided be- tween Indians and white with eight of each hue being accounted for. Charges ranged from just plain in- toxication to creating a disturbance in a public place. STORES TO CLOSE DAY: FOLLOWING NEW YEARS Retail stores in town will observe two holidays this week~as they re- main closed the day following New Year's. After they close the doors for busi- ness at 6 o’clock today they will not reopen until 9 a.m. Satufday. th in town and near the lake recorded 7° below, although the minimum at the airport was at three above by the time the readings are made at eight o’clock in the morning. The following day it warmed up again and late Monday -afternoon heavy snow fell for several hours. Just when we had decided that win- ter had finally come to the Cariboo, sent the mercury up to a high of 45 on Tuesday and most of the snowfall of the day before had disappeared. There is still no ice at the arena and hockey players have had to con- fine their activities to ponds and lakes around town.? Men To Be Tried On Retaining Charges Aftermath of a Breaking: and en- tering case October 2? w made off with $50 ca worth of clothing from the 150 2. store was the laying of retaining charges in Kamloops last week against three men. The men, Gordon Thomas Lam- bert, Archibald Cameron and Frank John Ross, all believed from the coast, were picked up by RCMP of- ficers in connection with a breaking and entering case at McClure. When they were picked up they were found to have clothes in their possession that were later identified as part of the loot taken in the 150 Mile rob- bery. The men will be tried January 15 in Kamloops.