SKEENA ANGLER. ROB BROWN Gene r. Norman Bethune strode out onto the boards of Vancouver's Orpheum Theatre and spoke into the micro- phone with the self-assurance that ac- companies a keen intelligence, a deep understanding of what must be done, and am unwavering commitment to doing it. After the abdication of King Alfonso in 1931, said Bethune, the people of Spain demo- cratically elected a united front of liberals and socialists who declared their country a republic, bringing an end to 300 years of feudalistic rule by the aristocracy and the Catholic church. Bethune told the assembly how the new rul- ing party put land reform and improving the lot of the working man at the top of its agenda. Then he told how their democratic intentions had been thwarted when General Francisco Franco, backed by the rich and the Church, at- tempted to seize power in Spain. Gene Llewellyn, barely 20 at the time, was in the audience. Young Llewellyn was engros- sed by Bethune’s description of how an altruis- lic Spanish revolution had led to a coup and now a civil war. One of a family of thirteen, Gene was on his own early on; he knew what it was to toil in the work camps for 20 cents a day with no hope of relief in sight. Bethune’s description of the nascent Span- ish union movement reminded Gene of the un- ions that had been organized in the B.C. work camps. The military reaction to the Spanish union- ists made him recall the “On to Ottawa Trek,"when hundreds of men rode the rails to- ward the capital, determined to convince the federal goveriiment’ {6"tnake’ full employment'a priority and actively seek a dramatic redistribu- tion of wealth to alleviate the prinding poverty. Gene remembered how the trains were stop- ped in Regina, and how after a few men were promised an audience with Prime Minister R.B. Bennett, the police, armed with rifles and bayo- nets, attacked, leaving 250 people injured. This war is part of a larger campaign, said Bethune: it was a struggle against global op- pression and poverty — a fight to emancipate the working man. Gene was won over. He signed on with other Canadians who !ater formed the MacKenzie-Papineau Battalion and embarked for Spain. Hopelessly out gunned by Franco, who had nat only enlisted the help of Mussolini’s Italian Fascisiti but also the forces of Hitler’s Wehr- ! macht, who eager for a little exercise prior to annexing Europe, Gene and the _Mac-Paps fought in five major campaigns in defense of the Republic. They withdrew in 1938. Of the 500 brave Canadians who originally made up the battalion only 35 survived. Like so many of his generation, Gene car- tied the indelible images of war home with him. The healing process was difficult; at one point it looked as if he would not survive, but over time the scars of war healed, Gene grew up next to wilderness. He re- lurned to it for income and for succor. Gene fished the great rivers of Skeena as a boy and he fished them as a man, never losing his boy- ish enthusiasm for angling. Over a period of more than half a century Gene stalked steelhead on the Kalum, Copper, ° Lakelse, and Clore. During that time he became a master steel- header whose ability to catch lots of fish and big fish became legendary, yel he never brag- ged. Those who are truly in the know, be they great artists, scientists, athletes, or anglers, know how much more there is to know, and are humble because of that knowledge. Gene had that humility. In the many conversations we had over the years, he was always eager to share a new piece of knowledge that would help me catch fish, but reticent! about his catches. Whenever J visited Gene or met him on the river, the first words out of his mouth were "How’s Caity?" i'd tell him. He’d listen intently. Though he had none of his own, Gene loved kids: Elmer's kids, Jim’s kids, Jim’s grandkids, and his postmistress’s kids, More than that, he cared about the next generation and believed that if there was hope for the planet it turned on the success of their upbringing. Historians conceded that had the govern- ments who became the allied forces in World War Two supported Gene and his comrades, theze is a good chance the war in Europe may never have happened, yet, to this day, the Ca- nadian government has not recognized the men and women of the International Brigades who fought in Spain, With Gene's . passing there are’ ‘only two Mac-Paps left, Like Gene Lewellyn, they a are a special, rare breed,” ; TERRACE STANDARD. The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, July 31, 2002 - Al] 638-7283 Sports Scope province. munities.” for the tournament. New soccer rep elected A LOCAL man has been named to the board of directors for B.C. Soccer — the group that oversees organized soccer in this Les Sinnott, the current chair- man of the Terrace Youth Soccer Association was elected June 22. “I’m hoping to establish com- & munication between organiza- tions up here and B.C. Soccer and make B.C. Soccer more re- sponsive to the needs of — parti- cularly northern — but rural com- Sinnott said many youth asso- ciations are a part of B.C. Soccer but some adult leagues don’t see the value. He’s hoping to hear from those local groups to see what could be done to address their needs. The new duties mean he will have to step down from his duties as chair of youth soccer in Terrace. Hoops tourney cancelled BASKETBALL fans in Terrace will have to take a pass on the 3-on-3 basketball tournament originally planned for the Riverboat Days weekend. The event was cancelled late last week after organi- zers hit some stumbling blocks rounding up equipment But there is still plenty of other action in town this weekend including two days of beach volleyball in the Mr. Mike’s parking lot, a white water paddle party, a major youth soccer tournament at Christy Park and the Monte Cristo Challenge — participants walk, run or wheelchair from the Legion to City Hall. Les Sinnott CAR 96 catches “fire just after driver Jules LaFrance bagged a 2 win in July 20's Aa xe a“ ‘r ve AK WN Net iN AN B-Hobby heat at the Terrace Speedway. SARAH A, ZIMMERMAN PHOTO Cinchos mark races THE TERRACE Speedway’s 35th reunion race days July 20-21 may not have seen a lot of fans but those who were there saw some great crashes and close races. Friday night’s B-Hobby heat saw Jules LaFrance in car 96 and car 55’s Debby Reinhardt battle back and forth for first, LaFrance caught up at the very end to take the checkered flag. Right after his victory lap his engine caught fire. It was Riders rocket down | root-bound course By SARAH A. ZIMMERMAN wMOUNTAIN bike riders from around the northwest flocked to Shames Moun- tain July 21 to race-down a gnarly, root-bound, reck- infested, technical down- hill course, The All Seasons Source for Sports and Norco downhill race was the first event of five in the all-new Terrace Standard Adven- ture Challenge 2002 - a series of outdoor competi- tions running all summer long. Sixty-five riders battled the gruelling course. The 19 and over age group saw some tight com- petition with Terrace’s Natou Kurtz nabbing first place and the overall fast- est time in 2:15. He was followed by Norco representative and Canada Cup competitor Pat Mulrooney in 2:29. Terrace's Shane Spencer was edged out by one sec- ond taking third in 2:30, Mulrooney had high praise for the event and its riders. The Coquitlam, B.C, resident took part in the All Seasons downhill race last year and said he was impressed with some of the changes to this year’s course. “Honestly, I was very impressed with the new section. The top was as challenging as some of the Canada Cup courses,” Mulrooney said. He said the talent he saw at the race and while hitting the trails with local riders was impressive. “LT think the calibre of rider here is. among the highest in the wortd,” he said. Suki Spencer, 25, nab- bed the women’s. race coming down the trail in 2:27, The women battle the lower three quarters of the technical course. She beat out Smithers sisters Tashi and Gabrielle New- man who came second and third respectively. The 16-18 division saw local phenom Steve Ro- ders, 17, nail first spot in 2:29 — that was also good - enolgh for a tie for second overall best time, : ADVENTURE CHALLENGE men's division points leader Natou Kurtz comes ripping towards the finish line in the July 21 downhill race. Roders hit the finish line hard, his front tire and tube flying off, but still managed to cross the line — though his front rim took a bit of a beating. The Masters division winner was Chris Cordts of Terrace in 3:15. Linda Zurkurkin placed second in 3:23, The 12 and under divi- sion saw Terrace’s Lee Miller, 10, complete the half course route in 1:30, A hard luck award was presented to Dawson Le- Blond, 9, who took a hard fall just three feet before the finish line, He was a teal trooper and fortunately didn’t suffer any major in- juries other than some minor scratches and bruises. Matt Bruinties also pileked up a hard luck award for the masterful de- struction of his bike's chain and derailer while doing his pre-run. The 13-15 category saw the boys take on the full length of the course and Terrace's Kyle Wilcox, 15, took top spot in a time of 2:38, With the first event. of | the Adventure Challenge over, preliminary leaders Dawson LeBlond have been named. The men’s division points leader is Natou Kurtz with Suki Spencer leading the race. in the women’s division and Kyle Wilcox is at the head of the junior division. Results. of the event's second event challenge - the King of the Mountain: footrace July 28 ~ will ap- . pear in-next week’s issue. The third event of the series - Azad Adventures’ tock climbing competition is set to. go Aug. 3 at Chist Creek forest recreation site and climbing. area, The - challenge's fourth event goes Aug. 4 as BMX bike | ‘iders’ and skateboarders Tip it up at the skate park. put out and caused minor damage. On Saturday the B-Hobby main event saw four of five cars get tangled up com- ing out of corner four. The crash caused some damage to the front and rear axles of two cars. Gary McCarthy and Kevin Pongracz also picked up some new track records over the weekend, Check out the speedway this weekend for the Bomber Invitational Aug. 3-4, Scoreboard Kathleen Finney Biking All Seasons Source for Sports Norco Downhill race - July 21 Lee Milter 1:30 Connor Gough 1:33 Chapen LeBlond 1:38 Ages 13-15 - full course Kyle Wilcox 2:38 Jared Oakes 2:49 Jeffery Wilcox 2:56 Steve Roders 2:29 Rory Stevens 2:35 Nathan Park 2:38 Natou Kurtz 2:15 Pat Multrooney 2:29 Shane Spancer 2:30 Chris Cordts 3:15 Linda Zurkurkun 3:23 Tony Moore 3:38 Suki Spancer 2:27 Tashi Newman 2:46 Gabriella Newman 2:53 Terrace Standard Adventure Challenge 2002 Leaders Points Suki Spencer 115 ' Natou Kurtz 146 Junior (under 16) Division Kyle Wilcox 126 Polnta based on number of entrants in each division Stock Car Racing Point standings to July 21 Hobby Gary MacCarthy Car 92 Paul Flaming Car 10 Bob Barnett Car 10 Kevin Pongracz Car 117 — Stan Sweet Car 516- Kris Sweet Car 515 C Bomber Cindy Dollemore Car 243 Marianne Munson Car'114 Car 171 Terrace Terrace Terrace Terrace Prince Rupert Terrace Terrace Kitimat Terrace Terrace Coquitlam Terrace Tarrace Tarrace Terrace Tarrace Smithers Smithers Home town Terrace Terraca Terrace 432 370 368 397. 386 986 400 $79 847