Tales from the past International Year of the Older Person celebrates memories of days gone by "1999 ts International Year of the Older Person and | the Terrace Standard has taken the opportunity. to tell the stories of people who have seen Terrace : change over the years. Their Stories have been submitted by the Terrace _ Seniors Advisory Commission and will be published ‘ over two issues this summer in recognition of the commitments they have made to this city, Fishing on the Kispiox : By BILL MCRAE ‘Years ago a fellow, Ed ‘McLaren, had a homestead ‘up in the Kispiox along the Kispiox river. Every three to four months he’d come and , Slay in my dad’s hotel, the /Grandview = in’ = South > Hazelton. | He'd get drunk for a day ‘or two, gel his groceries and ‘things together and head : back fo the Kispiox, and you ‘wouldn’t see him again for canother three or four months. Sometimes he used to get telling stories and some were unbelievable. I really couldn’t say ‘you’re not tell- ing. the truth’, but one day 1 said to him: “] just don’t believe you.” “Kid,” he said, ‘‘you come up and stay wilh me for a day or two and I will Show you.” He was telling a story about snaring fish and how he simply went out to the river and snared a fish in the Winterlime every time he felt like il, I did get to go and stay with him. It was in January and everything was frozen, We gol up there and after a day or so he kind of Straightened out and we went to the horse bam and got his tools. He grabbed an axe to chop a hole in the ice, a long pole tuat was rigeed up like a pruning pole [or clipping branches off of trees, only it had a piece of snare wire up through the loops and there was a loop of wire at the end, At the other end of the handle of the pole there was a lever and once you closed the lever the loop of wire on the tip of the pole closed. So we iook these along, as well as a horse bianket, a picce of eight inch stovepipe with a hole at the end on cach side, and a long piece of stiff telegraph wire. When we got to the river he chopped a hole in the ice four or five feet long and a foot and a half wide. He bailed out all the slush ice and put the piece of stovepipe dowa into the water with the piece of telegraph wire through the two holes so it would suspend the stovepipe from the ice, Then he put down his blanket and got the long pole, He laid down on the blanket over the ice, put his eye to the stovepipe and held the pole in the water with the lever in his hands. As he was laying there he could see the fish, dormant, just kind of floating a foot and a half or two feet from the botiom of the eddy. The long hole in the ice allowed light down there so he could see. All of a sudden he closed the lever and up he came with a steelhead. He repeated this three or four times, and each time he came up with a steelhead. He looked at me and ‘said “Kid, that’s how you catch a steelhead.” HOTELS AND Dentistry don't have a lot in common, but Aileen Frank had her tooth drilled right in the lobby of the Filbert (now Skeena) hotel in 1935. Bill McRae's father owned a hotel in New Hazelton that Jooked similar to this in the 1930's. PHOTO FROM B.C. Archives #84383 — Waiting for the dentist in 1935 By AELEEN FRANK Before I came to Terrace in 1934, I had always lived in a city, When I lived in Vic- toria i would catch a bus at the street corner in order to get to town to shop, where I had a choice of a doctor or dentist. It was quite different for me when I came to Terrace, However, 1 accepted what was available and made the besl of country living. Having a toothache in Ter- race was a lot different than having a toothache in Vic- toria where ] could get to a dentist right away. A toothache in Terrace meant a visit to Dr, Mills to have the tooth extracted or wait- ing to have the tooth filled iby a traveling dentist who ‘came to town every other month, | decided to wait to have ‘my tooth filled and made an ‘appointment ito see the ‘travelling dentist when | "heard he had set up shop In ‘the Filbert Hotel (ow The *Skeena). To my surprise the ‘dentist was all set up in the ‘lobby of the Filbert and not ‘in a private room. Here, in the lobby, with patrons of the hotel coming and going, I was going to have my tooth filled, | was motioned to sit in the provided kitchen chair, told to hold my head back and open my mouth. The dentist poked around until I indicated which tooth was giving me trouble. To clean oul the hole the dentist took his drill, which was operated by a foot pump. The foot pump set the levers working which in tum set the drill whirring. No freezing your gums to avoid pain in those days! Several limes during the drilling the needle would hit a nerve and I’d just about jump out of the chair. Then the dentist prepared the mercury filling and worked It into the hole. It took 10 to 15 minutes to harden. What a relief when the ordeal was over. All the while I was in the chair people were around in the lobby taking a good look. No wonder it took a long time to go to a dentist without fear of the pain it caused. THE ORIGINAL: That's the Afton , @ boat Aileen Frank and eight others sailed down the Skeena in. The flood of 1936 left Frank stranded, but with determination and a knowledgeable guide she made it to Prince Rupert in Just over 12 hours. spili water over its banks. The overflow of water played havoc on the railway tracks that ran along the Skeena. In many places between Hazelton and Prince Rupert the tracks were Jeft hang- ing in the air. Terrace was isolated because there was no highway connecting Terrace to Prince Rupert or Smithers, and there was no airport. I, along with four other teachers, had plans to spend our summer holidays in the lower mainland or Vancouver Island, but we had no meas of leaving Terrace. Word of our plight got around town and three na- tives from the Nelson family, of the Kit- sumkalum band, gencrously offered their Surviving the 1936 flood By AILEEN FRANK In the winter of 1935-6 we had quite a fall of snow in Terrace. Late May of 1936 brought with it a week-long heat wave, with temperatures in the 90’s for days. The heat melted the snow around Babine Lake and other mountains to the west, causing the Skeena to swell to a rolling boil and Rupert by river route. The Nelsons had travelled the river by canoe many dimes and knew where to watch for sandbars. We gathered under the Kutsumkalum Bridge al 3 a.m, and found the seats on the boat to be in very close quarters. Our navigators steered the boat from under the bridge, but they weren’t prepared for the force of the current, which caused the boat to tip wilhin a couple of inches of swamp- ing the boat. The natives soon righted the boat and we went sailing on. As we teared Kwinitsa the natives pulled the boat close to the bank to allow us to -climb out and pay a visit to the washrooms, It was a wonderful trip down the river and cale. expertise of river travel to take us to Prince Childhood memories By JEAN THOMSON Mother was from England and had come to Canada to marry. She could play the piano and bad sung in the church choir. Later, when we were growing up, she would sing to her two girls while we all did the many chores of farm life; plucking chickens or: spinning wool to the strains of ‘Grandfather’s Clock? or ‘Love’s Old Sweet Song.’ She liked ‘‘a bit of fun’’ and would enterlain at Christmas time with magic and card tricks. She read lea leaves, too, and that was a talent to entrain wilh. We always bad our home celebration with gifts on Christmas Eve, that being the tradition in Europe. Our tree was decorated with white candles in tin candle holders that were fastened to the branches, We would light the candles when fa- ther was sure the flame would be clear of the bran- ches and only if we were watching carefully with a bucket of water near by. We got parcels from En- gland with wonderful baricy sugar loys that we would put in the on the window ledge ta see the colours bet- ter. They would gradually lose a leg or tail as time went by and we couldn’t resist the sweet temptation. CHRISTMAS TIME ls always a fun time for kids, but there were no electric lights There was always an English Christmas cake with thick almond icing made by our grandmother, From Germany, our aunt and grandmother would send parcels done up ia cloth and hand sewn. The address was written on the cloth, or per- haps on a piece of paper pasted on the parcel. What delicious anticipa- tion il was watching mother take the scissors and clip the thread, These parcels con- tained band knitted stock- ings and mitts — not too in- teresting to children —- but they also contained mar- zipan toys. Pink pigs, spotted mushrooms and one time a whole turkey dinner com- plete with mashed polatorcs, peas, a turkey and a Christ- mas pudding. What a great time my sister and [ had en- tertaining our dolls that Christmas! We spent most Christmas days of our childhood at the neighbours, Mr. and Mrs. Graser, and if the weather was not too cold, would walk the two miles to their house. If there was snow, dad would hitch the black horse up to the cutter and off we'd go with a bot brick and a bearskin rug to keep us warm. It was longer, maybe our next stop was at Port Essington where we debarked to have a cup of coffee in a It was 3:30 p.m. when the natives docked at Cow Bay in Prince Rupert. That journey down the Skeena was an experience that [ will never forget in my life, five miles, because we had to follow the road. The Graser home was spe- cial because they always had a big tree with ‘real’ omaments, and sometimes they'd let us have one to take home. I still have a giass bird that goes on my tree cach Christmas. One time, they had goose for dianer instead of chick- en. After dinner the men would play cribbage and smoke and the women, after tidying, would sit at the kitchen table and - mother would do her tricks. We visited the Grasers often and if we stayed after dark and there was no moon, Mis. Graser would lel us use her candle lantems to sce our way home. They were five pound lard pails with the handle turned to the side and holes Punched in the bottom. The candle light was like magic. The holes. made little lights like sparkling stars dancing on the trail and our feet. The big light shone several yards in front of us and made the dog’s eycs glow red. The dog was al- ways With us, and if it was dark he would stay pretty close, nel trusting the night noises, In the daylight he wis always exploring. on Jean Thomson's trae whan she was a child. The tres was decorated with candles, but only lit when a bucket of water was handy to prevent accidents. The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, July 28, 1999 - A5 CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE TERRACE STANDARD The Mail Bag Leave music, band alone Dear Sir: T recently had the privilege of altending the year-end cerentonies at Thombill Junior Secondary School, It was a reward in itself to see the many students recognized for their athictic and academic accomplish- ments aver ihe course of this past school year, but the crowning touch for the evening was the fine per- formance of the school’s two bands, stage and concert. I saw poise, maturity, leadership ability and decency of character which is developed through the participa- tion in such activities. One would have to agree that the benefits to society of developing such character in people is immeasurable, It would be naive to think that the degree of musical proficiency demonstrated by these students is attained in one year. Rather, it is nurtured in the primary grades aid further developed in the elementary ycars, to Ibe point where by the time students reach junior high school, they are capable of winning recognition in na- liona] campetitions, If our school board must make cuts to certain pro- grams in order to balance a budget, why target music? Instead, why not put under closer scrutiny those pro- grams Which have lower popular appeal and for which enrollment is limited? Betier yet, why not ask the parents and students of the district which programs they would prefer to see left intact? Rob Hargrove, Terrace (received via email) It’s ashame Dear Sir: I’m sick and tired, like many others, to hear the rhetoric from health care administrators here, How long will it take for the politicians and health care comunitiecs to realize that Mills Memorial Hospi- tal is a centralized, regional facility for the northwest, and not just a little clinic in the northwest? I feel sorry and ashamed for the many good physicians here, trying io serve people regionally and locally, but without bed space, consideration or ade- quate funding. We have au expensive, large new Park Ave. medical building with many doctors’ offices, laboratory facilities and handicapped equipment services, etc, We also have a fair, only, supply of nuclear medicine equipment and x-ray facilities, To what benefit, if not used lo capacity. For the sake of the almighty povernment dollar budget cause, what the so-called govemment overscer and health care society people seem to be aiming toward is an end to effectual medical and surgical care in the northwest, eg, Mills Memorial Hospital. Well-trained doctors and nurses will leave the area, with the result that many patients must take thelr wait- ing list chances elsewhere for treatment at mega dollar cost of airfare, etc. This does not make sense and is not realistic, Mills Memorial Hospital should be adequately funded to give treatment with care and safety to patients of the northwest. Perhaps when considering budget cuts, cuts should be made in administration, health cate council members and government overseers who apparently are not doing a good job of allocating funds to necessary de- partments of health care facilities, The government must find more funds, as health care is a No. | priority, Too much government money is spent and wasted on foolish enterprises eg, government advertising, fast ferries, etc, Many health clients could be served in a home silua- lion with an adequale change of medical coverage and more employment of home nurses. But emergency and urgent cases cannot be turned away from the best quali- ly hospital treatment, The present situation is a downright shame. Edna Jensen, Terrace, B.C. How many millions? Dear Sir; The long running proposal for the Vancouver Partside project with the extra berth for lalest generation super- sized cruiseships sited on arguably the most attractive waterfront realestate anywhere should bea cinch. Outside investors from the private sector should have been chomping at the walls of the shark’s cage to geta chunk of this action and totally front the tab. The likes of Tourism Vancouver, cruise line opera- tors, Vancouver Port Authority, City of Vancouver, hatel-resort consortiums and others should cover all the capital required while senior governments provide only policy assurances to help anchor the development. But the so-called ‘cap’ to the B.C. taxpayer of this behemoth has gone from zero 10 $200M, to $300M, to now a $510M at the latest declaration from a befuddled Premier for total sum of $900M largess, The B.C. government's research says the project will capture $530M in provincial tax revenucs along with federal tax collections over a 30-year horizon, but as this price tag pushes the envelope of $1 billion outlay we'll be lucky to break even, Now if you take Clark’s latest ‘cap’ on B.C. taxpayer outlay of $530M logether with his outright demand that the feds ante-up $170M, then the public is stuck for $700M or 78 per cent of the botlom line! So while it’s terrific for the Premier to talk with such not-at-any- price magnanimity, how did we get to being lorced to swallow the whole enchilada? We are also asked to scarf down a ninth consecutive projected B.C. fiscal deficit of $875M in 2000, plus $35 billion in B.C. debt along with $580 billion of Canada’s debt, The interest to service these debts alone tubs untold programs of funding. C.A.P, is NDP jargon for costs accelerated plus, Gerry J. Bloomer, Lukelse Lake, B.C. (received via esnuil) About letters THE TERRACE Standard welcomes letters to the editor. Our deadline is noon Fridays; noon Thursdays on a long weekend. Yost can write us at 3210 Clinton St, Terrace, B.C. V8G 5R2,. Our fax number is 250- 638-8432 or you can email us at Standard@kermode.net Letters must be signed and must have a phone num- ber, .