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‘Wednesday, August 6, 1969

: SAANICH PENINSULA AND GULF ISLANDS REVIEW

PAGE BIVE

nies

Not as frail as she might appear is Kup-chah shown being
prepared for open sea. Kayak has withstood plenty of buf-

feting on trip around Vancouver Island. Photos were taken

by Campbell’s delayed shutter

camera,

The other day I receiveda ma-
gazine, and on the cover was a
picture of a wild looking High-
lander, red haired with brist-
ling moustaches, stripped to the
waist but proudly wearing his
kilt. He was what is described
as a fine figure of a man. Un-
derneath, the caption said thathe
was just about to start on a mile
and a half walking race.

“Do you know who it is,’’?
asked Pam excitedly. ‘‘It’s Stue
Spence’’.

“Good Lord, OldStue. There’s

Wit’s End

By Windsor

a man you just can’t keep down.’’”

I first met Stewart Spence

some twenty five years ago. He

“had just returned from the Eighth

Army in Egypt, wrecked in body
but not in spirit. Ironically
enough it was not a bullet or a
piece of shrapnel that had hit
him, but some strange little
known germ whose effect was far
worse. It almost blinded him,
leaving only a little guiding vis-
ion, and if that was not enough
it had also paralysed him from
the waist down.

Is On Your Way
Into Victoria At

TOWN AND COUNTRY
SHOPPING CENTRE

At that first meeting he wason
a hospital bed, but full of humor
and a determination to be his
own master. ‘‘John,’’ he whis=
pered with a chuckle, ‘“‘the damn
fools in this place say I can’t
have a drink, but I’ve got it or-
ganized.’’

The nurse was nowhere in
sight. Quick as a flash he rea-
ched over, fumbled at the back
of the bedside table drawer, and
came up with a bottle of gin.
It was the work of a moment
to pour a couple of hefty drinks
which he then camouflaged with
tomato juice. When the nurse
returned she was delighted.
‘‘That?s splendid Major Spence.
The tomato juice will do you a

Se -

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lot of good. It’s full of vita-
mins.’’

‘eyes, I can feel the benefit
already,’’ he agreed.

Another memory, afew months
later. Stue had graduated froma
hospital bed to a motorized wheel
chair, his guiding vision standing
him in good stead. Around the
streets of that quiet English vil-
lage he roared his vehicle infine
style, scattering dogs, cats, kids,
pedestrians and other traffic,
while a toot of his horn outside
the door of “The Wheat Sheaf”’
pub would bring the barman and
several of the regulars out with
a rush to assist him in, in a
sort of triumphal procession.

Years passed, twenty-one tobe
exact, before I met Stue again,
this time at a veterans’ reunion
in London. Still the same wild
Scotsman with a flair for living
and an independence that asked
no help. By now the wheel chair
had been retired and he used
crutches, and the last memory of
that evening was of Stue balancing
on them at the top of the esca=
lator at the Baker Street Tube
station, resolutely waving aside
those who wanted to help him.
He made it, all the way down.

Now I see that even the crut-
ches have gone and he is manag=
ing with either a stick or a hand
on a friend’s arm, and he is also
managing to go into mile and a
half walking races.

You know, it’s easy to have
courage and to fight bravely for
a few minutes, a few hours or
even a few days, but to keep on
fighting and live with your cour-
age high for more than twenty-
five years takes some doing and
that is just what Stue Spence has
done.

_ Kayak Makes The Cape After All

With A ‘Hitch’ And Short Portage

the west coast towards

journey.

This is the third in a series of reports from Sidney
photographer Dane Campbell on a kayak paddling adven-
ture around Vancouver Island.
a Danish friend from Smithers, Charlotte Oegren.
took to the water in June and headed up the east coast
of the island in Dane’s 17-foot kayak, Kup-chah, mean-
ing ‘“‘voice of the rapids.’’

tells about the Port Hardy to Winter Harbor leg of the

He is accompanied by
They

They now are headed down
Tofino. In this report Dane

BY DANE CAMPBELL

It was at Port Hardy that
Charlotte and I had some long
thoughts about the remainder of
the trip. Many commercial fish-
ermen with whom we talked ad-
vised against taking Kup-chah

into the treacherous waters a-

round Cape Scotton the northern-
most tip of Vancouver Island. We
tussled with the idea of travel-
ling overland to Coal Harbor
and continuing down the west
coast with prevailing winas be-
hind us.

Then we were shown some
aerial photos of the Cape area
with its many sandy beaches,
and decided we would try it.

We hitched a ride from Port
Hardy aboard the fishing trol-
ler Mar-Jan III to Fisherman’s
Bay. The 38-mile stretch up
Geletas Channel blows a con-
stant nor’-westerly. What
difference! Instead of paddling
her, Kup-chah was lashed safe-
ly down across the stern of the
fishing boat and instead of five
hours of toil, we sat comfort-
ably in a warm cabin with the
rain beating at the portholes.

The skipper, Marian, filled
the wheelhouse with great yarns.

Just before dark, he dropped
anchor in Fisherman’s Bay and
he helped us lower Kup-chah
into the swell. We paddled a-
shore to make camp. Total
cost of the “lift’’ -- one bottle
of rum.

The next morning I couldn’t
wait to walk along the sandy
beach and watch the swells break
into surf. Interesting, too, was
the weather-beaten driftwood,
and white sand, rock pools filled
with marine life moving in subtle
colors, an overcast sky, and ...
bear tracks!

After breakfast we found a
trail leading inland and followed
it hoping to come upon an old

Danish settlement that sprang’

To Serve
4-H Clubs

Minister of Agriculture Cyril
M. Shelford announces the ap-

pointment .of Mrs. Judith Ann’

Mills as Extension Home Ec-
onomist with the 4-H Club Div-
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Mrs. Mills was born in Man-
itoba and graduated from the
University of Manitoba in 1966.
Her previous experience includ-
es retailing and working with
young people at a Neighbourhood
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up aroound the turn of the cen-
tury and was later abandoned
which we had heard about in Port
Hardy. Two or three miles along
we came to several old cabins,
telephone lines and slab bridges.
At the head of Hanson’s Lagoon
we found farm buildings. Later
we were told it is known as
«Old Spencer’s Place.’? Some
of the old rusted wagons and
horse-drawn hay rakes and mow-
ers made fascinating photo stu-
dies.

We were keeping close watch
on the weather and early next
morning we decided to tackle
the sea and reach Cape Scott
before the wind blew up. We
were soon riding the westerly
swell. Fishing boats on the
horizon came and disappeared
with the rhythm of the sea.

A couple of hours later we
headed for the beach about a
mile short of the Cape. Ex-
periment Bight is the approp-
riate name of the bay. We did
experiment and ran Kup-chah
through the surf onto hard sand.
Our timing was right. We land-
ed dry.

We soon had a camp fire
burning and the plastic sheeting

RESIGNATION,

Continued from Page 1

of three to two, Ferner’s ser-
vice was terminated on July 30,
the mayor and aldermen Harry
Perry and Len Bland voting in
favor.

Gardner and Ald. Stan Dear
were in favor of keeping Ferner
on for the additional month.

«:What a mess,’? said Gardner.
«We now have to swear in a

new approving officer and to
repeat the performance on
Sept. 1

At the special meeting on July.
30 Sidney council passed the fol-
lowing resolution: ‘‘That council
write to Mr. Ferner and thank
him for his services above and
beyond those normally expected
after his resignation date, also
that Mr. ferner be advised that
he is released from any com-
mitment to the Town as per the
terms of motion made on June
9, other than the normal sever-
ance procedures.”’

FACILITIES
APPRECIATED

Handsome tribute to ‘the won-
derful facilities of Centennial
Park? was made by the Church
of Latter Day Saints in a letter
to Central Saanich council last
Monday. The compliment fol-
lowed a Sunday School outing ar-
ranged by the church.

Francs

peutigues
We. Buy and Sell.
B® Old China, Silver,
Furniture

-and Bricabrac_

/ 9812 4th. Street, Sidney
Phone 656-3515

Glistening sands near Cape Scott at the northern tip of
Vancouver Island are enjoyed by Charlotte Oergren and
Dane Campbell -- but watch out for the bears in them thar

hills!
up before the rains came. Dres=
sed in our black rain capes and
hoods we must have looked like
fire-worshippers squatting in
front of the flaming beach wood.
Soon warmed, we left the fire,
ignored the rain and went beach=
combing.

It was here we had the bear
scare you may have read about
in an earlier edition of the Re-
view which we phoned in. We
had found an old cabin which
gave us better protection from
the weather. I was at the other
end of the bay when I noticed
Charlotte running towards me
along the water’s edge.

<‘¥ou should feel my heart,”’
she gasped.

<‘P’ve just been face to face
with a bear!’’

She was in the cabin and had
heard footsteps outside. Think-
ing it was me, she called outa
hello and then looked out the
window.

Poor Charlotte wasn’t sure
at first. Me with a beard, and
that black hooded rain cape --
not too unlike a bear ...

But it was the real thing.
Thank goodness the beast de-
parted, and later we found the
carcass of a sea lion on which
it had been feeding.

Still later, this time through
binoculars, we saw a bear with
two cubs ambling along. We
kept our distance; a bear, spec-
jally one with cubs, is not to be
messed around with.

A south easterly continued to

blow the following day and we

made plans to portage across
a quarter-mile stretch of sand
dune where the ocean almost
cuts Cape Scott off from Van-
couver Island. Fishermen call
it «“The Goose Neck.”

The portage saved us more
than three miles of tough pad-
dling in treacherous water kept
active all the time by wind,
swell and tides.

Soon we were sailing with a
westerly wind out of Guise Bay
towards San Josef Bay, and an
overwhelming feeling of being
on the homeward stretch came
over us. It seems like a down-
hill run to Victoria and Sidney...

INDIAN. WRESTLER |
WIDELY RESPECTED

Andre Adoree of Los Angeles,
in his time a reknowned wres-
ler in Canada, the U.S.A. and
the Orient, paid a flying visit
to Brentwood Bay on Sunday un-
aware that a former college,

Jean Baptiste Paul, had passed
away.
He had intended to invite

‘Chief Thunderbird’ to accom-
pany him to Japan on a forth-
coming visit in connection with
a sporting promotion. Although
profoundly disappointed, Mr. A-
doree told The Review he was
happy to have had a’ few words
with Chief Thunderbird’s daugh-
ter, Mrs. Cooper at Brentwood
Bay.

In reminiscent mood, the visi-
tor told of a day in the early
1930’s when an Indian young man
arrived in Portland and spoke
of his wish to become a pro-
fessional wrestler.

He said that a particularly
influential promotor became in-
terested in the possibilities of
Baptiste Paul and undertook his
training for the professional ring.
His subsequent impressive car-
eer fully justified the promoter’s
faith, said Mr. Adoree.

The visitor told of Chief Thun-
derbird’s many triumphs on this

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continent and in England, and of
the universal respect he com-
manded.

“Tt was very sad when his
career was terminated so ab-
ruptly after his tour in Eng-
land,”’? said the visitor.

Actually he was incappacita-
ted most probably by an unfor-
tunate circumstance. Billed to
wrestle in Boston, Mass., Chief
Thunderbird was dressing for
his bout and his attendance in
the ring was required earlier than
had been expected. In his haste
the lace of a boot snapped and

rather than hold up the proceed= _

ings he met his opponent wear-
ing a boot only partly secured.

Consequently when he was awk-
wardly thrown his leg was bro-
ken below the knee and at the
ankle.

‘Baptiste was magnificent as
a man and as a wrestler. He
was a top-liner on any wrest-
ling bill,’’? said Mr. Adoree with
conviction.

Mr. Adoree claims to be the
introducer of modern style
wrestling in Japan. He led a
team of American wrestlers to
that country in 1951 when the
ostensible purpose was to en=
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