Page 6 Cassiar Courier October 1987 -- SS Cassiar Country We continue with our feature on Bill Storie. Bill, a long time resident of Cassiar Country was last interviewed for the June issue of the Courier. Bill says he doesn’t think he was born a prospector it was simply “‘a sign of the times.” He feels that he probably would have stayed with the railroad if it hadn’t crashed in 1929. “A lot of people changed voca- tions [then]. But,” he adds, “I didn’t jump out of any windows - quite a few did!” p The thirties, forties and fifties were challenging, exciting and difficult times in Canada’s “north country.” Many books have recorded experiences of some of those who have trekked this and other well known mining areas in their search for the mineral gifts of the earth. One such man is Bill Storie. Recounting some of the adventures of this man would fill our paper, so I have chosen to write about a few of the highlights of his life. With the experience he gained through working with the Crown Point Mining Company and with the circumstances created by the crash, Bill set his path. Interested in prospecting and deciding to make a living at it, Bill travelled to Atlin by boat. 1936 - BILL NEAR ATLIN, OVERLOOKING SPRUCE CREEK. “T visited fish canneries up the coast,” Bill says. “T wanted to see the ground around Atlin - I wanted to know what it was like! Besides the only way to learn is to do it yourself!” So off he went. j}and Winter fashions at THE CLOTHES CLOSET Maternity Wear} Winter Jackets Unisex Sweartshirts Novelty Gift Ideas for teens , even the man in your life; Hours: : Tuesday , Wednesday and Thursday : 3 2:30 p.m. — 6:30 p.m. 3 Friday 2:30 p.m. — 9:00 p.m. Saturday 10:00 a.m. — 4:00 p.m. Although Bill worked mainly at Wheaton Creek during the *30’s and the latter part of the ’40’s (1947-50). Bill travelled this country extensively - and mainly on foot! He wintered in isolated cabins, and even mushed a sick friend out of the bush who had eaten too much bannock, “The baking powder almost killed!”’ Bill has memories of bush pilots he knew well, Pat Callison and Grant McConachie - Canada! “We used to call McConachie ‘the man with the suitcase’ ” says Bill. It seems that McConachie- always travelled with an attache case! Social life was intermittent but visits to the south- ern parts of B.C. and to places like Lakehouse at Dease Lake provided the talk and entertainment necessary to keep a young man happy. It was at Lakehouse in Sept. of 1939, that Bill learned of Canada’s involvement with World War II. Bill and friend Percy Peacock made their way down to Vancouver where they joined the Seaforth Highlanders. Bill says that in hindsight he should have headed to the north country, but didn’t! Shipped to Calgary, Bill trained at the Sarcee Mil- itary Camp and from there the troop was sent to Toronto where they continued their training and drills in the old automobile building. “There were 2500 men”, Bill remembers. ‘We would drill all day; marching and stirring up the dust. They had painted the inside of the building with green paint. At night the dust would settle and since we slept in this building we would wake up with our eyes, nose and mouths ringed with green! Boy, we looked like real zombies! I think alot of us got sick because of that paint dust.” From Toronto Bill went to Borden, Ontario where he learned to operate a tank, how to drive it, fix it and shoot it. ‘“‘The fact was, you either learned or you didn’t win!” quips Bill with his now familiar grin. Debut, Nova Scotia is approximately sixty miles from Halifax. It was here as part of the Armoured Corps. that Bill had some invaluable experience training with his troops. “It was fairly hilly country and we practiced with armoured carriers.” ; September 1940 found Bill and his outfit load- ladies and } historical names in the legends of Phone: 778-7476 for Appointment ¢ ¢ ¢ ¢ $ ¢ ¢ 5 ’ ¢ ¢ ¢ f ¢ oo Halloween make-up, accessories, ¢ ¢ { ' { ¢ ¢ ¢ { { 222 Kennedy Street { by Lorraine Lanteigne } ed on to the S.S. Labida with 1500 British Negros head- ed for England. “Interestingly,’’ says Bill, ‘we traded our Red Cross scarves and balaclavas for their rum. You see, they received a rum ration and we didn’t!” The negro men were from British Honduras, so they may well have felt that they got the better deal once the troop ship found itself hiding in the North Atlantic! “A five day crossing took us sixteen days!” remembers Bill. “German subs chased us up into the North Atlantic. We hid in the fog, sneaking in and out of it. German bombers would attack us, and we would head back into the fog, very fast!” Arriving in Liverpool, England, Bill ended up pa- trolling the South coast from Little Hampton to Brighton and from Brighton to Folkstone. “We'd have three month sessions in our armoured vehicles, then a short leave. Yeah,” Bill says, “you even went A.W.O.L. sometimes or you would go crazy!” Bill’s mechanical skills moved him into a teach- ing position at Croighten Heath Tech and into the Mar- tinique Barracks at Borden, England. He had been well educated in diesel engines in the shops in Calgary so he stook his knowledge and applied it to his teaching. i “I had about 20 students who changed about every three weeks. I used to get them to rip apart dif- ferent engines, pile the parts together and then recon- struct new engines from the parts. If you couldn’t do it, you didn’t pass!” About every three months the Army would test its’ teachers. ‘“‘You had to be able to file a 2”’ x 4” block and in the centre you had to drill and file a 1” square. This was to see if you were any good at fitting. If you failed you were finished and it would be back to the foot soldiers!” Bill didn’t fail - he made sure of that, even using a lathe at times! Bill ended up in France with the 36th Light Aid Detachment. “We fixed things in the field,” says Bill, “but we also carried guns.” It was in France that Bill and a tank had a disagreement, and Bill wound up in hospital for twenty-two days, followed by a stay in a servicemen’s convalescence home which Bill recalls as being a real “‘hell-hole”. Bill recovered and returned to teaching mechanics in England, where he remained un- til the end of the war. CON’T. ON PAGE 14 = Cassiar Hair Design Specialty Gift tems Hair accessories, jewelry, pertume, make-up for all ages spray kits arriving shortly Mon.Wed. Thurs,6:00 - 8:30 pm Saturday: 10:00 am -6:00 pm Cassiar Courier October 1987 Page 7 WE'VE HAD A BABY BOOM! AZAZ Omar and Khadija proudly announce the birth of their son, Wesam, who arrived on July 2nd, 1987. Wesam was born in Whitehorse at 9:48 P.M. and weighed 9 Ibs. 8o0z. BAUER EXCHANGED SHANDLER - CALLAWAY Jenafor Shandler and Richard Callaway were mar- ried August 15th, 1987 at 4:00 p.m. at the North Surrey United Church, in Surrey, B.C. Cindy Menzul was Jenafor’s maid of honour with Danielle McGoldrick and Santana Roberts as bridesmaids. Tara Rother and Keely Jo Scorgie were the flower girls. Rick’s best man was Bill Carter with Grant Ludwar and Randy Fehr as ushers. Daniel Drzimotta was the ring bearer. The reception was held at the Ukranian Greek Orthodox Hall. John Drzimotta was Master of Cere- monies and guided the evening’s events smoothly. The next day an after party was held at the home of the bride’s parents, Don and Stella Menzul. A fantastic time was had by ail. Mrs. Jenafor Callaway will reside in Surrey, B.C. while Mr. Rick Callaway will reside in Cassiar, B.C. We wish them a long and healthy life together. P & W Services SCHEDULE Monday - Thursday open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ; Friday - open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday - open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. CLOSED SUNDAY Les Prosser & Rita Wylie ESSODEALERS _ Cassiar,B.C.778-7383° | 9999S 999999905950 000000 .» hockey, skiing and shooting pool.’ MOFFAT Kimberly Amy, a daughter for Kathleen (Kato) and Carey, was born on August 25th, 1987 at the Whitehorse General Hospital. This little one, weighing only 3lbs. 15¥2 oz., was transferred to the Royal Columbian Hospital in Vancouver and is doing fine. Proud grandparents are Werner and Katrina Schneeberger. BAUER Ed and Maureen Bauer are thrilled to announce the birth of their first child, a son, Marcus Edwin, born on August 4, 1987 at Grace Hosp- ital in Vancouver. Marcus weighed 8lbs. 3o0z. and was 20 inches long. LITTLE MCGILL*14 Jim and Linda and Paul, Dawn, Dennis, Teri, Sandi, Stan, Jennifer, Jacqueline, Bill, Michelle, Kelly, Michael and Anthony are happy to announce the birth of Darlene Loretta on August 30th, 1987, at Prince George Regional . Hospital, weighing 6!bs. 100z. Darlene is a welcome addition to the McGill family. “SKIPC IS KEPT BUSY AT CCC MARSHALL “SKIP” MELNYCHUK Skip joined the Cassiar Community Club staff on September 8th, 1987 as Arena Attendant. Skip calls Watson Lake “home” even though he spent the last three years at the University of Alberta in Edmonton where he received a Bachelors Degree in Phy- sical Education last April. Skip holds certification as a Level II Gymnastics coach and also coaches minor hockey. He has already been recruited by the Jade Mountain Gymnastics Club and will coach the Bantam/Midgets this season. In his “spare time”, Skip enjoys recreational ls cle ah a (ae 7 ©, 4\8 Fy Ate MMe MANDERSON ~arb, Ken and big brother Brandon are pleased to announce the birth of Amber Lee on July 24th, 1987, weighing 4lbs. 130z.. Amber Lee surprised everyone by arriving early at her Grandma and Grandpa’s house in Port Coaq- uitlam! McGILL 446666664 The following poem was submitted by a reader who thought others might enjoy the humour of Morris Bishop, A.K.A. comedian Morry Bishop. HOW TO TREAT ELVES by MORRIS BISHOP / met an elf man in the woods, The wee-est little elf! Sitting under a mushroom tall - Twas taller than himself! “How do you do, little elf?’, | said, “And what do you do all day?” “1 dance and fwolic about”, said he, “N’ scuttle about and play; “1 s‘prise the butterflies, ‘n when _A Katydid | see, “Katydidn’t” | say, and he Says “Katydid” to me! “| hide behind my mushroom stalk When Mister Mole come froo, ‘N only just to fwighten him - / jump out and say ‘Boo!’ ““N then | swing in a cobweb swing Up in the air so high -/N the cwickets chirp to hear me sing, ‘Upsy-daisy-die!” ‘N: then | play with the baby chicks, ! call them chick, chick, chick! ‘N what do you think of that?” said he. ‘I said, “It makes me sick.” “Tt gives me sharp and shooting pains To listen to such drool.” | lifted up my foot, and squashed The Godaam little fool. ee eh ha en a en ee