Welcome to.
- Hazelton —

If you haven’t- already been

\ | there, this special edition will .
“. tell: yau why you should. Far too:
_iaany people drive past,

an ‘Hazelton, not realizing -thal the’
-+ . +! agtea' five: miles you have to.

“drive is less than nothing when

: compared with what lays along -

_¢ that five mile stretch af road
*_-and-at the end.

First there is, ‘of course, the
"isan Historical Indian Village.

“In this edition we -have

dedicated considerable space to
"Xsan, but sot nearly what it

. “deserves. ‘This project legs than.
ten years old, is already famed

throughout Canada and most of |

the States and visitors from as
far away as Finland and Japan
have added their ‘hames to the
guest book. .

~ But "Ksan isn’t all there is to
see in the area. . There's the
Hagwilget Suspension Bridge, a
marvelous one lane, metal

| decked bridge hung high above -

the Bulkley River, Below on the
hanks of the river is the site of
the old. Hagwilget Indian
Village. These natives had their
own wonder, the Hagwilget
. ‘bridge, they built Jong ago ef
cedar, tied with cedar ropes.
That’ bridge, now gone, had
been called a remarkable
engineering feal.. You can tell
that yourself by looking at the
photo, elsewhere in this
~~ edition. -

There is the old town of
Hazelton itself, where the
riverboats would dock after
there long trip up the Skeena
from Port Essington and Prince
Rupert on the coast. Hazelton
was a booming town long before
areas such as Terrace, Prince
Rupert and Kitimat were even
settled. The Municipal Hall, on
-the very hanks of the Skeena is
... built inthe shape ofa riverboat

:-@ plaque at the north end of

the building commemorates
this particular part of history
At the south end of the building -
there is ati ancient. and intricate

tiem ple

: appendicitis.

To the north, through the
Kispiox Valley is more history.
~In the villages of Kitwanga,
Kitwansool and Kispiox, there.
are many totems.” And one of
them, ‘Hole in the Sky’ is --
believed to be among ‘the oldest
on this-continent. still standing
init’s original place.. This high-

-way’alsa connects - with . the

Stewart-Cassiar’ Highway al -
thé north end of the Nass Valley
and from tliere heads north to

some of the wildest and most §

beautiful country you will find
anywhere on Gad’s green earth.

The scenery of the Hazelton

area berders on miraculous,

from the sharp and craggy face §

of Rocher d’ Boule-Mountain
standing like a sentry over the

~ Hazelten’s, to the green

decidious valleys surrounding

the area. And wild life too, -
bears, wolves, mountain goats, .
salmon and trout, eagles and ff

hawks and so much more. |

You eannot ‘plan on spendi
an aflernoon in Hazelton me
even justaday. Take your time,
and follow your nose, up the
Kispiox, into Hazélton, to the
old buildings and the warm andc-
friendly northerners, into 'Ksaz.
for a tour, a chat with Carvers
or an evening of Native dan-
cing. .

Harelton, the home of history,
is so much more than just a

. Place to drive through or to stag

for gas and a cup of coffee.

gold fused under: certain ‘as-
trological signs could. cure

‘SEELY UKE SERVICE i, acy
- | 1253. ae T

~ 5 fon Wrecker —

Complete Automotive Service.

Box sé T= 11 PM.

r Grandview Inn > Hoel

Phone (604) 842-5221

- Blesta Dining _
_ Lounge. and

Cocktail Lounge
Licensed Preinises .

Complete Facilities

YOUR HOSTS WALLY & ALICE

Luprecki —}

P.O. Box 10,

New Hazelton ;

South Hazelton, ‘BC. |

* Victor: Mowatt is a: *Kean
carver, one of the very few who
have been there since-the start
of the program and one of those
who put-months and months of
work. into the huge © totems
bound both for the "Ksan Village
and” such ‘far. flung places as
Toronto, Vancouver. am down
into’ the States..< 0

tor, a Gitksan Indian, was

be Hazelton and lived there
-was about nine years

old.” “Then; because-his father
had TB. and could fot ‘support

‘The Herald - Hazelton. Tourlst Edition |

Victor Mowait - _Woodcarver Delu: uxe

pole. The tools themselves are
as remarkable as the carvers
- and the totems, more often than‘
not, a knife is a piece of razor.
sharp steel that’ has been

fiberglassed onto a tree branch |
-or piece of deer horn. The adzes ©

are the same and all tools are
-hand made. -

.- Once the design -has been —
-roughed out, fine details around .

eyes.and nostrils and the such

are carved out with knives, .

‘knives’ with ‘curved blades or”

knives with straight blades,’ -

in’ - each with it’s specific purpose.

some carving,as did most af the
young boys, carving small

totem. poles which they would.

‘sell to the tourists fora dollar a

id not : finish school ,

11 ed:'to the . Pacific
orthwest, . working .as | a

isherman | out of Prince Rupert

in the summer and as a logger .
in the'Hazelton area during the
winter months, a life style not
whcommon among both Indians .

The final finishing is done witha -
'D’ adze, chopping away small >.’
pieces of wood and leaving the.”
pole and it’s design smooth. By.

the time the pole is half finished .
the | carver. “or “:carvers’. ‘are;

already walking: about.on- a’
‘thick, springy carpet. of cedar :

chips fram their poles.’

+2. -, Vietor. Mowatt -is -a: * gtoeky: :
man with his’ black,’ crew-cul -:

hair sprinkled with-gray hairs.

. He's rarely seen without a smile -—~

‘and he very much enjoys

chatting with the tourists that’
. stop by to watch: the carvers al:

work.

from a school .in :near-by

Smithers gathered ardund to!
. watch. Victor looked up at the”
. group ‘and ‘asked; sowhere are.

you Indians from?”.
There was some confusion in:

. the ranks of the children, all

.. Bet-

ween that .and. raising: four-

children, he’s‘ kept very busy.

Because his carving skills -

past..he: studied at the ‘Ksan
school far the carvers, working

of. You're .right”’, he- said,“T 4

pol aie take up to’ three
months of hard, patient werk. It
slarts. when someone com.

sions a ‘pole, The carver ©

sends~ the- buyer sketches of
three'.or four different poles,

from which he selects one. Then -
the work: begins. The carver -.

takes the design, he has drawn

gquares ©

at the back and along the sides

witha chain saw. Squaring it up
th the chain saw takes

white, Finally one ventured the
opiniog that they were not. In-.”

‘dians. -

~and . then - looked . around - the
group once more, He scratched
his head in puzzlement and then

suddenly showed surprise. He
rvil ‘- took. his sunglasses off and *

‘Jooked again.

just forget I was wearing my_

"sunglasses". .
..; Another group to visit were a

middle: age _eouple who
“watched Victor carve for a few ,
minutes before the woman
spoke.

‘Do you ‘paint these poles

alter they're carved?”

“We're carvers not painters,”
‘Vietor replied, not unkindly. -
‘Does someone else paint’

_ them for you?!” she persisted.

Vietor set his sunglasses
down on the pole he was carving
and looked up at the couple.

“If anyone tries ‘Tl cut his —

_threat,” he annotinced, a wide

- grin on his face. The couple, -

some what shaken by the ex-
change, left shortly after.

As well as his carving, Victor
has another dream, he is seeing

. come true this year, For

‘during the entire construction.

Then comes three months of
“0 hard work, using ‘hand teols,
1." gimiliar to those used by the

“. "ancient. Gitksan carvers.
vec The design ig layed-out in
a on the pole and, star
“oo pencil of) and an elbow adze,..

the figures are carved © onto the _

several years he has had the
thought of building a drive-in
restaurant on the ‘Ksan site,
whith Would specialize in
barbecqued salmon and feature
other native food. After some
hard battles with the ‘Ksan

In fact, by ihe

AL one point: | in - our -con- *
versation a group of children

Victor raised his eyebrows :

time you.read this, his drive-in As well as the salmon and feature stich favorites “a5"—
may be open. - other Indian foods, he. will? jhamburgers, pop and ‘donuts.

 PAM'S
HAIRSTYLING -

Pain: 1 Mahoney:

ross ‘from the Teter ‘Cafe on Highway 16.

Standard, Oil Products — Astro Tires -
: Chevran Jenkins Service Ltd.,

_ Meverything for Your Automabite"
Po.Bx2  . 8 AM— 10 PM.

. New Hazelton “942-6655 2

ee
. 4 ’ : oy - ~
reno

people, he’s finally ready ta go. ;

af

_ McDONALDS -
oe Red & White | Store

Quality Meats, ;
"Groceries and Produce

9 AM. to - 8 PM.
We have fishing licenses
_ ishing tackle
block.leo....

_ "Big enough tos serve you .
small enough. to know you"

a

Box 93. : New Hazelton |