SSS Page 6 January 1985 Cassiar Courier Cassiar Country Last month the Courier began a new feature spot- lighting the people of Cassiar Country. In this issue we visit with George Zimich, a prospector and placer miner living at Centreville along McDame Creek about 20 miles outside of Cassiar. When I asked George Zimich if the Courier could interview him for our “Cassiar Country” feature, he agreed but said there are two things | must realize — first, | must not call him an old-timer. He’s only been prospecting and mining here 25 years and “I’m not an old-timer yet!” Second, I must differentiate between “found” and “mined’’. “Gold is not found,” he said. “It takes hard work to mine it!” People have some strange illusions about gold. George told the story of a young girl who a few summers ago drove into his yard at Centreville in a car bearing New York plates. She jumped out of the car saying, “Where is it? Where is it?” George looked at her, a bit puzzled and asked, “Where's what?” “The gold!” she said. “I’ve been reading all about the gold found up here and I want to find my share!” George laughed after telling that story, and it’s just one in his repertoire about the tourists who pass through his gold and jade shop every year. Their eyes sparkle when they talk about gold but they know little about the hard work involved in placer mining. George knows all about it! He first saw Cassiar Country in December, 1957 when he drove here with Bill Longhurst from Fort St. John. Bill was an old-time outfitter who had just sold his business to Frank Stewart. George liked the look of the area and returned to prospect. here in the summer of 1958. That year he did some prospecting around Tuya Lake west of Dease Lake. He flew in from Dease Lake with Dalziel’s Flying Service. Later that summer he joined Frank Stewart and his outfitting crew on a trip to Tootsie Lake which is north and west of Cassiar. They travelled by- pack horse (25 of them). It took eight days from Cassiar to reach the lake which is in an area that is presently under development for a mine. The party that summer included Fred Callison, the patriarch of the Callison family. Fred and his sons are known characters in this area and Callison Lake near G PARTICIPACTION | ~ RNCIPACTION”= « a experts; share in new ideas to achieve ultimate fitness and by Pat Lewis Beaton Erickson Gold Mine is named after them. George spent the fall of 58 with Bob Wilms, snagging logs on the Dease River. Bob had the government contract for this work which was essential during the building of the Alaska Highway. Freight was shipped from Telegraph Creek to Watson Lake via the Dease River. Bob and George drilled holes in the logs and dynamited them. In 1958 the work wasn’t really necessary any longer, but Bob Wilms was known for his ability to make a liv- ing whatever way he could — whether it was through mining, prospecting, logging, hauling freight, or govern- ment contracts! During their time together Bob got George interested in Placer Mining, and in 1959 they formed a mining partnership to work the Wilms ground along McDame Creek. “Well, the partnership didn’t last,” George said, “and in 1960 I started mining on my own on Centre- ville. The ground had belonged to John Simpson who Audrey and George Zimich died in 1959. I bought three leases trom his wife Agnes in 1961.” More leases were added later and each summer until 1968 George worked the historic Centreville claims, moving tons of gravel, scraping it, sending it roaring through the sluice boxes, cleaning out the traps, checking the-riffles, extracting the gold. : During the winters George worked at his trade as a stationary engineer, working at steam plants and boilers throughout the province. “The winter of °67-°68 was the last time I worked for wages. It was at the pulp mill at Woodfibre, north of Vancouver...1 am a steam engineer by trade — and a prospector by choice.”’ he said. In 1968 George and his wife Audrey moved in permanently and made Centreville their year-round home. They lived in a small building which had once been the cookshack for John Mclsaac’s crew when the Stewart- Cassiar highway was being built. They live right on the site of the old gold mining town of Centreville. Old records differ on the popula- tion of the town. N.L. Barlee in ‘The Guide to Gold Panning in B.C.” says more than 700 miners worked the placer creek at Centreville. The town consisted of store-owners, saloon-keepers, gamblers and, of course, the miners. There were some remains of the old build- ings still standing when George and Audrey moved in. Centreville is perhaps best known for the 73 ounce gold nugget that was uncovered there in 1877. Barlee says, “Alfred Freeman, while sluicing on the Discovery Company’s claim near Centreville, washed out what first appeared to be a boulder. Because of its size he threw it aside but in so doing was impressed by its great weight. Curious, he retrieved the boulder and to his utter amaze- ment it proved to be a massive gold nugget weighing 73 ounces. It was the largest nugget found in British Columbia.” - George Zimich continues to mine the ground and has done so for 25 years. He has the mining records for the creek dating back to the 1880's. Past history helps him determine which placer ground to dig. This year George had a commemorative gold coin struck to mark the 110 years of gold mining at Centre- ville. There is a 14 karat coin and an 18 karat coin. One side says, ‘Centreville Placer Gold 1874” and the other side reads, “McDame Creek, British Columbia, 1984”. The coins are available at George’s gold nugget and jade shop at Centreville. George and Audrey opened the shop in 1968. Most of the gold recovered in the placer mining is shipped out but George saves a certain number of nuggets each year for his jewelry. ; Some Centreville nuggets — the middle hugget weighs about two ounces. In 1966 he uncovered a jade boulder which had been buried under over 10 feet of gravel. He took it to Van- couver and had it sliced and learned how to work with jade. He combined the jade with the gold nugget jewelry. George and Audrey are now looking ahead to retire- ment. George has enjoyed his work as a placer miner but said, “I certainly don’t recommend it to anyone...Govern- ment regulations are slowly strangling the: placer. miners; they make it so expensive it doesn’t pay.”’ He said placer mining with heavy equipment costs over $400 to get one ounce of gold out of the ground. When I asked if they plan to leave Centreville and retire in the south Audrey said with a smile, “‘I’ll never get George out of here!” apa He may not be a “‘Cassiar Country Old-Timer” yet — but he’s working on it! , THE THREE MINUTE WORKOUT THAT COULD CHANGE YOUR LIFE. Bi (Coupon writing time approximately 3 minutes) Clue Ors. CMs. Clmiss Gor Oi None Yes, | want to join the PARTICIPaction NETWORK, Name a ‘the club without walls’ and make personal fitness happen for me. | want to be part of a nation-wide group dedicated Address to a healthier more dynamic life. As a member, | will receive F) fitness educational literature, posters and booklets; a two- way communications channel to the nation’s top fitness City Prov. reduce stress; get major discounts on high-quality, fitness postal Code membership fee of $12.50. education materials; involvement in nation-wide achieve- EI ment programs; access to the latest research results from ; government agencies and much more, all for a low annual Please find enclosed my cheque or money order. a PARTICIPaction NETWORK a 80 Richmond Street, W,, Suite 805, & Toronto, Ontario MSH 2A4 parnapacnon = © Northwest Community Gollege announces Personal Computing Telecourse Northwest Community College in Terrace will give away a 64K Radio Shack Colour Computer 2 in connect- ion with its personal computing Telecourse, ‘‘The New Literacy — An Introduction to Computers” beginning January 15th, 1985. A draw for the computer will be held to stimulate enrollments in the Telecourse which features televised lessons on B.C.’s educational service, the Knowledge Network. The computer course and the draw for the computer are available to Cassiar residents. Persons registering for this Telecourse and others will be invited to enter their name in the computer draw until January 21, 1985. The winner’s name will be ann- ounced and the computer awarded January 28, 1985. Students will have two options in taking the New Literacy. It is being offered as a credit course equivalent to Data Processing 150 in the Business Administration Program. Students taking it for credit will be required to complete 30 hours of computer laboratory lessons which complement the Telecourse. Those who wish may take the course for general interest , This form will be useful for those who wish to obtain a general understanding of computers and their role in our society today. The New Literacy offers a thorough introduction to personal computing. The 26 installment course covers computer terminology, equipment, programming and other topics, in lessons designed for those just beginning to learn the popular new technology.. , For more information contact Bert Seinen, Co- ordinator, Distance Education, Northwest Community College, P.O. Box 726, Terrace, B.C. V8G 4C2. Phone 635-65ll, local 206. 1985 Predictions Have you ever been told that you were psychic, or that you had some sort of sixth sense? Well, I have, in fact, quite often. That’s why I’ve decided to put my predic- tions for 1985 down on paper for everyone to see. Even the ‘amazing Kreskin’ had to start somewhere. The fol- lowing are my predictions for 1985: In the muscial industry Michael Jackson will finally reach . puberty, changing his voice, and his career will be ruined. The British Rock Group ‘The Police’ will change their names to ‘The Criminals’ and come out with a new version of ‘Jailhouse Rock’! Punk band ‘Devo’ will team up with ‘Sting’ from the group “The Police’ to form a new group called ‘Devost’. They'll have a No. | hit called “Michelin Tire Blues”. My next predictions are for television in 1985: Global Television will come up with a smash hit in the fall with their new action packed police adventure series star- ring Eric Estrada of ‘Chips’ fame and Abe Vigoda of “Bar- ney Miller’ called “Fish and Chips”. CBC will continue along the lines of high Canadian con- tent with their new sitcom series “Frog In My Throat” starring John Turner and Jean Chretien. CTV, not to be outdone by CBC on Canadian content, will contract Al Waxman to his own series that will pre- miere this fall called Magnum P.E.I. On the sports scene in 1985, Cassiar will make the head- lines when Labbat’s Brewery will announce that the Tor- onto Blue Jays will be moved from Toronto to Cassiar and will be now known as the “Cassiar Ravens”’. I also predict that Bobby Cox will be fired as manager and our own Don Taylor will be the new man in the dugout feeding them the plays. New York Islanders veteran Clark Gillies will hang up his skates and pick up his guitar to join the new rock group sensation ‘Devost’. The group will be forced to change its name to ‘Gillies Devost”. Has a familiar ring, doesn’t it? My final prediction for 1985 is of a more serious nature. I predict that the hungry will have food, the sick will be cured and that the world will have peace. I’m sure that’s one prediction that everyone hopes I get right. Chris Dopp Stappy Mew Sear Snowridge Elementary School The Grade 7 class has been registered to participate in the Premier’s Sports Award Program this year. The sports for which they have been registered are volley- ball, basketball and gymnastics. The Premier’s Sports Awards Program believes that by improving their basic sport skills, children will feel more comfortable in the sports setting and will enjoy more personal success in organized and informal activ- ities. The children will thus have the skills to be active now and later as adults and they will have a more pos itive attitude towards physical activity. By encouraging basic skill learning, the Premier’s Sport Awards Program helps its participants take an important step towards developing a physically active lifestyle. In the first unit, volleyball, seven students were successful in selecting a challenge level where they ach- ieved award level. These students and their awards were: Sheena Billingsley (Red) Stephanie Bowen (Red) Ellen Artico (Red) David Lanphear (Red) Darla Creyke (Orange) Jennifer Brocklebank (Orange) Trun Lekhi (Yellow) COLLEGE CORNER Several new courses will be getting underway in Jan- uary through Northern Lights Community College. These include a typing course and a course in computer programming in Basic. College administrator Tom O'Connor advises local residents to look for more details on town bulletin boards and the TV. An Industrial First Aid course will be offered in Dease Lake. This will be an intensive. 10 day course starting January 8th. Anyone wishing to register for the course should put a note in Box 128, Cassiar. The course costs $240. Mr. O'Connor said he will be holding several evening — information seminars during the month about the Know-— ledge Network, the B.C. Open Learning Institute and Distance Education. The seminars will discuss the various services these educational facilities offer. The college administrator said he continues to en- courage people to drop ideas into his box for courses they would like to see offered in Cassiar. Cassiar Courier January 1985 Page 7 NorthwesTel Appointment D. C. Campbell, president and chief execu- tive officer of Northwestel Inc. has announced the appointment of W. A, Dunbar as vice-presi- dent and general manager of the Company. Mr, Campbell made the announcement recently at the Annual Meeting of all the Company’s manage- ment personnel, held in Whitehorse during the week of December 10th. Mr, Dunbar was previously general manager of Northwestel, His appointment is effective immed- ately. “Mr. Dunbar’s appointment is a reflection of the additional corporate responsibilities that have been transferred to Northwestel, and of the great- er autonomy the Company now has in its own af- fairs,” said Mr, Campbell. “A majority of work previously handled in Division Headquarters in Toronto is now under Northwestel’s direct respon. sibility, such as. engineering and regulatory af- fairs. Also, as a corporate officer, Mr. Dunbar has a number of important responsibilities, such as re- presenting the Company at regulatory hearings and representing the Comapny in policy reviews _ with various government bodies, These duties are more fully recognized by his new appointment”, he added, Mr, Campbell said the appointment also ac- knowledges the progress and the success of North- westel since the Company was incorporated in 1979, Mr, Dunbar will continue to direct the Com- pany’s operations from Northwestel’s headquart- ers in Whitehorse. Lioness News The Cassiar Lioness will be holding an open meeting on January 7, 1985, for all Cassiar area ladies who would like to join or at least see if they are interested in the Lioness, The time is 1:00 to 3:00 p.m, on Monday in the Lions Den. If you need transportation call Judy at 778-7393, Rita at 778-7216, or Pam at 778-7324. COMMUNITY CLUB NEWS BALLROOM DANCING By popular request (ask any of the participants from the last class) we are bringing ballroom dan- cing lessons back in January. The format is one class per week for eight weeks, the cost of the les- sons is $15.00. Lessons start late January or early February. You do not need a partner to come to the class. A minimum of 10 registrations is re- quired for the class to go ahead. There is also a cut-off limit to the number of male and, female participants. All registration is on a first come, first serve basis. Registration is not confirmed un- til the full payment is made. Registration can be done through the Rec Centre and the deadline is January 14, 1985. HOCKEY TOURNAMENT The Cassiar Rec League Hockey will be hosting a tournament on January 18, 19 and 20, 1985S. The arena schedule will be changed on these days. For a more detailed tournament schedule, please watch for the C.C.C. newsletter and posters in the arena. NORTHERN B.C. WINTER GAMES All participants who have confirmed their bus reservation are asked to pick up a copy of the trip’s itinerary the week of January 21 from the Rec Centre. The Games will be held in Kitimat on February 1, 2 & 3. The bus will leave Cassiar on January 31 and will return on February 3, 1985. BONSPIEL The Cassiar Curling Club will be holding the Inter- Departmental Bonspiel at the Curling Rink Jan. 11—13, 1985. Please check with the Curling Club if you are interested. BEGINNER’S BADMINTON Anyone interested in picking up a lifetime sport should be looking into badminton lessons. You progress at your own pace. We will be offering lessons for beginners for eight weeks, with classes being held once a week. The cost of the lessons is $15.00 per person. There is a minimum registr- ation of 8 people required for the course to go ahead. Registration deadline is January 14, 1985. The course will start late January. INDOOR SOCCER We will be starting Indoor Soccer in late January. Anyone interested in playing should get in touch with the Rec Centre. A meeting will be set up in January for all the players. For more details, please watch for the C.C.C. newsletter, radio and - TV announcement or contact the Rec Centre. BINGOES The Cassiar Minor Hockey Association will be holding its Cash Bingo on Wednesday, January 9, 1985 instead of the regular date, the first Wednes- day, January 2, 1985. The Blue Valley Figure Skating Club will have its Big Prize Bingo on Wed- ‘nesday, January 16, 1985. Both bingoes will be held at the Rec Centre at 7:30 p.m.