hr one

‘From ©
Alrshow

During the pait half decade,..

the Vanderhoof Airshow. has

progressed from flour bombings} ° |

and spot landings to a. presenta-
tion of world acclaimed per-
formers. wo
Until 1978, the airshow
operated on a fly-in format, with
pilots coming in to compete and
watch a featured performer.

Page 13 - Alrshow Supplement, Vanderhoo!, B.C., July 24 und 25

The, entertainment budget was [age

set at between $1,500 and $4,000.

In -1979, the Blue Mountain
Flyers. decided to increase the
budget to $8,000 and bring in
more performers of internatlonel
callbre.

Joe Hughes and his wing walk-
”. ng act were featured that year,
drawing an estimated 6,000 spec-

tators and boosting the.

Vanderhoof Airshow to. the se-

cond largest weronautic event In

another successful experiment as
the Flyers expanded the show to
. two days and brought in a larger

varlety of acts with a budget, of

_ about $30,000. Even though
disaster in the form of a bridge

fire threatened to cancel the _

show, more than 10,000 people
- attended.
Last summer, 15,000 people
- from all over B.C. awarmed to
" Wanderhoof July 25eh and 26th

- to witness some of the finest acta.

in the world of aviation.

_ ‘Phe-admittance of the Flyers -
'. 0 the International Council of

Ainhows as a voting member

~~ and an expansion of the budget |

to close to $100,000. has allawed
- for a larger program, a better
ground display and an increase in
the facilities“ available | to the
visitors.
This year, there will be five
concession . stands and better
water facilities. Camping’ sites
will be avallable at the airport to
motorists and fly-ins alike.
Daily admission. to the Alr-
show will be $6.00 for adults and
$4.00 for students and senior
citlzens,-Children uncer six years
of age will be admitted free of
charge. * -
An increase in publicity this

year should attract more people’

to the Airshow from various

parts of the province. Adver-
tisements are running on radio
stations between’ Willlams Lake
and Smithers, and a full colour
commercial is being shown on
’ CKPC.-:

: Fifty-two thousand coples of

this supplenient are being includ-.

ed. in. major. newspapers
throughout: the Central Interior
and brightly coloured posters are

/ conspicuously on display.

Committee.

” The Vanderhoof Airshow
Commitice doesn't. just consist

- OF one person, but a dedicated
hard working group of people.
They are Bud Cutts, gate, Barry

" Jones, Dance, Dan Boyd, Ramp,
Louise Wiebe, Reception, Dene

Cutts, Office, Ian Leslie, Per-_

former Support, Dave Silver
_ Bavarian Garden, Clark Borth,

~ 'Ry-in, Darrell Cursons, M.O.T.

‘Liaison, Sue Borth, Program

* Co-ordinator, ‘Tom Smith,
' Campsite, Dan Wiebe,’ Grounds.

Chris Wogan, conmersionts Bud
wil Souvenirs |
‘Wiha

Pini Rta ene

Gerry Janse brings | hia 8-25 bomber to the Vanderhoof Alrehow each year from his home in Vancouver. Last year, he had It
palnted In the mot! favoured by the 418 Squadron of the.City of Edmonton. in 160, it was decorated In nationalist Chinese
“markings and emblazoned with a “Deathwatch” Insigna. - .

vA NDERHOOF OVERVIEW.

Plane shaped valley well

situated for

. The centuries old action of the Nechako and

Stuart Rivers has engraved a plane shaped valley in
the heart of British Columbia. At the centre of the
dasin lies the thriving village of Vanderhoof, a
modern day community with agricultural roots.
* Settled by turn of the century pioneers in search
of fertile land, Vanderhoof in the 1980"s isa

flourishing farming community well supplemented —

by logging and wood derivative industries,
The major employer.in the area is Plateau Mills,

a'lumber processing concern that is part of the.

BCRIC group of companies. The firm provides
jobs for almost 300 people while contracting most
of the logging work out to local independents,

Two other sawmills, Bond Brothers and L and,

M Lumber, operate in the area, employing approx.
imately 200 people. Although a slowdown ‘iin the
forest industry’ has affected most of the lumber

producing companies in B.C. this year, employ-'

ment at Vanderhoof's: “sawmills. -has remained

‘relatively stable.

A growth spurt in the 1 past five years has increas-
ed the population, services ‘and tax base. of
Vanderhoof, turning the municipality into an ad-

ministrative. and supply centre for the Nechako .

Plateau.
Twenty-five hundred people reside i in the- village
while another 5000 have settled on farms and ran-

ches within a 20 mife radius. The trading area ex- .

tends further, encompassing about 14,000 people,

Effective January 1, 1983, Vanderhoof -will
become a District Municipality with an in-lown
population of 4000 peapte. The change in political

' format will unify the community, increase the tax
” base and give the municipality a stronger voice in

provincial affairs.
Over 50 new businesses have opened their doors
in Vanderhoof during the past six years with a cor-

‘‘peSponding boom occurring in the commercial

building ‘sector. In the last year, a luxury apart-
ment, a.new municipal office and a large.

_ Gutomotive parts store have been built, and anew ©
~ fiotel is under construction. Plans are also in the
offing for a new courthouse, two shopping ‘malls.

and a variety of other projects.

‘Twenty-three government agencies have’ head.”

quarters in the Village with the majority offering

- services on a regional basis. In addition, the com-
munity. offers locally orlented facilities geared

toward recreation, health, history and the arts.

The Vanderhoof arena, completed i in 1979, of-
fers ler skating, swimming ‘lessons ‘and
children’s ams during the summer months
and a variety-of activities in the winter. The indoor
curling rink, constructed in the same year by an in-
dependent local club, complements the roster of
seasorial sporting activities, -

Other. recreational facilities include five ball

diamonds in town and one in the neighbouring

area, two developed parks, a large riverside bird
sanctuary attracting up to $0,000 Canada geese a
year, a campground, a beach and four terunls
courts, ‘Another paved ; court i is stheduled for com.
pletion this year, °
- The Vanderhoof, “Airport, four miles north: af
the Vill a 2, is anh concern, housing twa fly-

7.

aviation.

a non- directional beacon. ...

The village also boasts a seaplane base, located
on the Nechako River near the Riverview Drive
sutxlivision. . .

An active local group, the Nechako Valley
Historical Society, opened the Vanderhoof Com-
munity Museuns last summer after months of in-
tensive restorative work on the. original: ‘Board of

Trade building.

The 70 year old structure; i in derelict shape when:
-the Society moved it to its present location at
Highway 16'and Pine Avenue, was officially open-
ed as a museum on Canada Day, 1981,

“Two other buildings, the original OK Cafe and

the first Royal Bank, are slated for restoration in
the next few years. As more buildings are moved to
the site and refurbished, the museum will be
operated as a historic village. ,

Although. run ona volunteer basis, the arts are
flourishing in Vanderhoof with regular features
organized by Arts Unlimited (the local gallery}, the
Vanderhoof Coffeehouse, the Nechako Commant-
ty Theatre group and a music society. *

The environs of the village have definite attrac- ,

tion with several ‘sparkling lakes and fish filled
rivers within casy driving distance. Hunting is

popular in the fall, attracting | enthusiasts from far |

away.
“Alcan’s Kenney Dam Is a 100 kilometre (@ mile)

drive from Vanderhoof along’a scenic, forested -

roadway..Once North America's largest earth and
rock filled dam, the massive structure holds water
in Knewstubb Lake, part of the glittering, Ootsa
chain, and reroutes flows to the Kemano
Powerhouse, 300 km west. :
Nearby, Cheslatta Falls sends rainbow: hued .
spray high into the air ‘a the entire volume of the |
Nechako River plunges 100 feet into the channel,
“The river has been much publicized-tince Alcan”
first announced plans to implement Kemano Com-
pletion, a water- re-routing’ scheme capable. of

depleting’ the flows in North Central H.C. 's river

system,
Further south, in the Kluskus Shield, mining ex-

ploration companies are reportedly drilling for

silver, legd and copper. While some small scale

gold and jade activity is taking place to the north -

of Vanderhoof, the majar concerty in the district to
date has been the Placer Development
molybdenum mine in Endako, located 90 km from
the village.
* Politically, Vandeshoof is governed by a four
member Council headed by Mayor Don-Gran-
thami,‘ currently in-his sixth year in office. In|
January, the Council will expand to six caldermanic
? ACES,

--Grantham is also a director of, the Regional

‘ District of Bulkley - Nechako, the administrative
body for unincorporated areas ‘between Smithers

and-Fort St. James,

At the provincial level, the vilinge is represented .
by Omineca MLA Jack Kempf, a Socred who hails
from! Houston, In Ottawa, the msenaber ‘is Lorne

ve riderhoot Alre
A Due eeS: TRENTON MCCUE ALE LSP Pat be earaeO ONTEY al Satan aan a

BOB SINGLETON

%

Professional DJ

Professional radio announcer,
Bob Singleton makes his home in
Abbotsford,—in the beautiful-

- Fraser River Valley,

He has been announcing Air-
shows since 1968, when he began

‘hosting the Canadian National
_ Airshow, held in his. honietown

each August. Since that time he.
has announced every Abbotsford’

“Airshow, becoming the primary

announcer in 1979,
‘Singleton has co-hosted the

. Washington State International

Airfaie at Everett with KOMO-
TV"s Bill Brubaker since 1977, In
1978, he became principal an-
nouncer at the two day, North .
Central British Columbia Air-

. show in Vanderhoof,

In 1980, he’ was invited to
travel to Edmonton to announce

announces 1 ow

taxiway and main runway were paved in 1978-79, .
‘and further development is on the way. Top priari-- |
ty has been given to the installation of lighting and *

the Alberta °75 Airshow com-
memorating that province’s 75th
Aaniversary in Confederation. -
After riding on the top wing of .
Joe Hughes Super Stearman in

1976, Singleton determined it

was much more comfortable to
tide inside an airplane and have
authority over the controls, so he
embarked - on. achieving his
Private Pilot's licence, Since
completing the-z¢quirements in

1978, he flies regularly, ‘giving

summertime traffic reports for
Abbotsford Radio Station CFVR
where he is General Manager.

' Singleton spent three years a3 a

director in the B.C. Association .—

of Broadcasters and six yearsasa
director of the Abbotsford Inter-
national Airshow Society. ‘

‘Bob Singleton has been the. primary announcer for he

how since

a ae SANSA LEA