eee ane we “Terrace Review - — Wednesday, aly 5) 1989 ‘Reunion could draw : quite a crowd sa Early: in 1950, an “advance party” came to Terrace to pre- , pare.a, one-time army ‘hospital _ > for oceupancy, It was to become “the “Home for the: Aged”? —-a “ . psychogeriatric unit operated by.’ - . -- who was the truck driver. But he. ‘| .. gays, Groves didn’t stay long. .| the .Department of Health's Mental Health Services. . ~ “On Oct. 25, 1950, the first 150. -— patients. varrived by ‘train. They © were patients from. -Essondale: who had originally come from all parts.of the province but who had no close relatives living near Essondale — the government of ' the day had decided that mote . room was needed at Essondale- for patients who had relatives living in the Lower Mainland... These patients took up resi- dence in the west wing of the complex and an era began. In. 1967, the name was changed from the Home for the Aged to Skeenaview Hospital with the intent to “improve its image in the community’. But it was also an era ‘that -would end —. sus- pended in time as a salute to the spirit of those who lived and worked there. On Sept. 29, _ 1984, the Minister of Health, the Honorable James A. Neilson, officially opened Terraceview Lodge and all but one of these historic buildings was destroyed. "Terrace resident Jim. Piffer was amember of that “advance . party” and through his recollec- ‘tions and a 1978 thesis, “‘A Case - Study of Skeenaview Lodge” written by ‘Fraser McKinnon, a fairly. accurate picture can be. _, drawn. which depicts those early "years. . *Piffer remembers many of the —_ first workers at the Home for the Aged. Most arrived about _ the same time as the first pa- -” tients and lived in one of the 11 . on-site. apartments that -were a ‘available at a cost of $25 month- -ly for a single bedroom suite and $30 for adouble. Ted Skillicorn - was the supervisor while his .. wife, Marge, the only Registered Nurse there at the time, ran the pharmacy. Fred Stewart, Har- old Clifford, Johnny Morgan and Jimmy Gould worked in the kitchen. Fred Broome was in ‘charge of nursing. And Marie MacDonald, who left her job as a clerk-at. Johnstone and Mi-. - chiel’s hardware store, went to Suspect fires Two recent fires in the Thorn- _ hill area may have been started by trail bikers, says Thornhill fire chief Art Hoving. ; Hoving says the - first fire started on the south side of Hwy. 16 near the Copperside ac-. cess road. He says the fire con- , sumed about one~ hectare of brush in an area with several dirt bike trails; it started too far - from the highway to.be started. . by a tossed cigarette. Hoving says the second fire was started later the ‘same -day - gouth of FGH Concrete on Old Lakelse Lake Road. Several - footprints were found in - the _ grea which also-comtains several ditt bike trails. Both fires are being treated as arson, says Per work i in the office. ce ..Piffer, who was in: charge ‘of the kitchen: operations, ‘Temem- ‘bers another two of those. early employees — Stan Groves, the |. stockman, . ‘and: ‘Art ‘Mitchell, . The following. spring he married ‘a Penticton: school ‘teacher and transferred: to. ‘Vernon. : But his departure was seen as an oppor- tiinity for Moigan, ‘who left ‘his job as a helper in the kitchen for the job of stockman. ‘‘It was better money,” says Piffer. Arid that comment reflects a problem that plagued the Home for the Aged right from the beginning — a lack of money. It meant a high staff turnover and a lack of patient services. “In the old days there was. very little staff there,’’ recalls - Piffer, ‘‘The government wouldn’t pay for very many — staff. It was run on the cheap side — that was the name of the game.”’ The pay rate for staff at ‘the Home for the Aged in 1950 was about $125 a month, says Piffer, at a time when $300 to $400 a month was considered a “good”? wage. So they left. “‘I - mean you would hire them on Friday and they wouldn't be’ there on Monday,” Piffer says. They could make two to three times as much money in the -bush and that’s where many of them went to work. But as is often the case, hard times brought out the best in those who. stayed. The com- munity of workers at the home grew together as a family as they lived, worked and created their own entertainment - together. And the entertainment that - is best remembered by Piffer is the “Hat Club’. - This was put together by Marge Skillicorn, the organizer | of the group. The Hat Club put on dances for the staff two. ‘nights a week that soon began attracting residents of Terrace, located a mile or so to the south. “That’s how we.got to know the people from downtown,” Piffer remembers. ‘‘And then we ‘had Christmas parti¢s... it became quite a thing." Piffer says the facility had an effect on ‘‘almost every family in town” over the years of its operation. If their parents didn’t - work there the children probably did, at least in the summer. “I would. say that at least 3,000 . Staff went.through there,’’ says |. . ‘ -orito campus’ in: ‘September. ‘It’s intended. tor help them get around the college and around the ‘community with a minimum of uncer-. Piffer. “1 don’t.think that I’m exaggerating at all because 1 can’t hardly think of a family in ‘Terrace that wasn’t involved.” With this involvement in the community, the’ Skeenaview re- union to be held from Aug. 4 to 6 should bea major event. It’s already known that a number of our early residents who have since moved away are planning - to travel to Terrace to attend the’ event; What is unknown at this. - point, however, is just’ how ‘many Skeenaview employees oi: - their families still living in Ter-. ‘Tace will become involved. There . may be « few. hundred, or, ac- cording to.Piffer, there could be. The Northwest: Community College cam- pus is virtually deserted for the summer break, but this group — NWCC recreation coordinator Kim Cordiero-and Challenge ‘89 workers Gurmit Grewal, Jenine Taron and Pam Jacobs. — are busy putting together a ‘ student handbook. Cordiero calls it ‘‘a survival guide’, and the 800-1,000 copies of the finished 80-page book will be distributed to students coming “Guide to campus in works - - tainty and alienation. the academic calendar: health, student coun- * | ~ il, community: ‘information, some’ of. the, _ sector of town. seeking advertising for.the.. “We're trying to cover every issue , outside. - things they don’t. tell you about campiis life, _ community services... ” | Cordiero said. The faces above may y become familiar to” local merchants during the summer — they’re also out in the retail and service handbook and ‘trying to establish student discounts: with local businesses. mo Kermode seeks tax exem ption ‘Terrace city council’s Finance Committee is considering a re- quest for-a property tax exemp- -tion from the Kermode Friend- ‘ship Society. According to city administrator Bob Hallsor; : - council is permitted under the. it tak eX. -. Municipal Act to pas son oti organi- emptions . zations, and the society's snumial fequest for am exemption: 7 - been granted by comacll for the past five years. ‘He. adds that it has’ béeen’ council's position to grarit .ex-' ’ émptions’ to’ non-profit érgani- zations: “only. where they: are - deemed not. to be “profit gener- a ating”. In her | request: for. ‘a 1990: exemption; Kermode's executive - ‘that the center is.fuided by the ‘Departarent of Secretary ‘of - State “and there will be no in- crease ‘in their 1990 grant even. ‘though their ‘costs continue to ‘rise. She added that Secretary of -. * State funding fs given in a lump — sum aiid no reduction is made in © -- ~ “the case of a-tax exemption. The money ‘saved-by the granting of a tax exemption could therefore’