EES 2 The Cassiar Courier hs rai eteveneraert ls leteteize The Voice of Cassiar Country! Box 100, Cassiar, B.C. VOC 1E0 Published monthly with offices in Cassiar, B.C. Managing Editor........... Gerry Doran, 778-7357 EGILOle peers cree tae: Tenaee: Jerry Rosman, Box 100 Business Manager,....... Arlene Lehmann, Box 100 Production Manager......... Phil Dowdall, Box 100 Advertising Manager........... John Inch, Box 100 246 2A oe A626 e246 2 ie 9 eo 2 ee 2 2 2 i a ok oo ek ake oi ok ak oie ee aK ake ok: School & Social News, Cassiar,....... Esther Lee, 778-7547 Sports and Recreation News ....... Tom Penner, 778-7240 Watson Lake.-......... Susan Micheals, Micheals Gift Shop DeaseiLaker oi ace veh cv ene Mrs, Lillian McPhee & Rae Esplin ISKUtING WSs eye tee elaicteseneveh one Contact the Iskut Cooperative Telegraph Creek. ...:........ Unassigned, contact Editor Good Hope Lake News,,.............. George Holman Asbestos News-Cassiar Asbestos Corp . Frank Buckley 778-7477 Hospital News............... Eileen Rosman, Box 100 Church News & Events.......... Vivian Cousins, 778-7381 Ethnic Cookery,............. Vivian Cousins, 778-7381 Local Union News ............... John Inch, Box 100 Local Mining News. .......... unassigned, contact Editor Births, Deaths, Marriages......... Eileen Rosman, Box 100 Club and Organization News. ... . Contact Club representatives Photography. .............. Paul Clark, Jack Camroux Production Staff: Esther Lee, Vivian Cousins, Jack: Camroux, Chris Doran, Pat Stewart, SEEKER EEE EEE REE EERE ERA AE EERE KEKE ERAE EERE ERR EE ERE EDITORIAL BOARD: Each member of the Courier Staff is a member of the Editorial Board which meets weekly in the Courier offices in Bunkhouse 81, Cas- siar. Telephone --778-7627. Our Yeu Years Resolution New Year's resolutions are usually good excuses for “trying again’, With the Cassiar Courier, we haven‘t _ tried yet, so we can’t “try again’ - yet! In 1977 we . will resolve to try and accomplish these goals: 1. To give greater recognition to people and organ- ' izations that benefit the area... __ 2. To encourage greater involvement of people in the Courier from the communities we serve. We want the Courier to be the Voice of Cassiar country. “Voices” come from people who have something to say... ; 3. To improve our distribution system so the Courier is available to all in reasonable time... 4. To help develop a sense of pride in the communities served... 5. To help preserve and perpetuate the history, culture and environment of the area... 6. To encourage development that does as little harm as possible to people and the environment... 7. To. expose actions that endanger the future of people... : That’s enough! If we can accomplish these in 1977, it will be miraculous, but like all human beings, we'll probably win a few and lose a few! > oo »» needed! We need your help! There's a lot to do in getting each issue of the Courier out, and we're looking for people who can give 3-5 hours a week to help, —- You pick the type of work you'd like _to do. No experience is necessary. We'd like to train a lot of people in how to publish a newspaper. It's in- teresting work, and it can be fun. If you're interested, get in touch with any member of the Courier staff. It's your newspaper. Why not give it a little of your time. Millers Auto Body Box 374, Watson Lake, Y.T. 536 -7535 all collision repairs How to Preserve Newspaper .Here’s a recipe for preserving a newspaper as obtained by McCall’s Magazine from Richard Smith, an assistant professor at the University of Washington. Dissolve a milk of magnesia tablet in a quart of club soda overnight. Pour into a pan large enough to accomodate the flattened newspaper. Soak the newspaper for one hour, remove and pat dry. Es- timated life - 200 years. Chemically, the magnesium oxide com- bines with the carbon dioxide in the soda to form magnesium carbonate which neutralizes acids in the paper that cause deterioration. ISHKOH....continued from page 1 I went to Public School in Atlin until the third grade. Then a Priest came to Atlin and said to the school, “These are my Indians! I will teach them!” We all had to leave school. I never went back. It was a good thing my brother Henry went to school longer. I never went beyond the third grade. When I was 12, I went to work for Mr. E.F. Pill- man, a farmer. I worked seven days a week for $75 a month, Mrs. Pillman was a kind woman and pro- bably: pitied a little fellow like me who was trying to do his best. She said to her husband, “You can have him for five days. I want him Saturday in the house!” So, I carried water and spread wood for her on Saturday mornings, and about noon time, she would say, “Sh-h-h, Now you disappear fot the rest of the day!” Then she fought for Sunday, too, and I didn’t work that day, either. She was a nice woman, and I remember, she made the best rhubarb pies I’ve ever tasted. Louis Was called the “King of Atlin”. He helped every- body - gave them work. If you came to town looking for work, you went to see Louis, He’d say, “What are you doing?” You’d say, “Looking for work!’ He’d stake you to a tent, stove, axe and groceries and say, “You go across Atlin Lake and cut wood. You cut 500 cords, and I'll take them all”. Across Atlin Lake was a tent city with all the people Louis Scholtz staked. If you said you were a miner, he’d stake you to pick shovel and grub and point you toward the gold. Louis was a big man, and into everything. Lavi “ se ES sae es Johnny Taku Jack and his horse, Button on the Telegraph Trail to Atlin in October 1952. His little dog Jimmy was too frisky and missed being in the picture. . When I was 13, I worked for Louis carrying mail some 80 miles between Carcross and Pigtail Point, near Atlin. It was mostly in the winter. In the spring and fall, we carried a boat on our sled, and it was very tough going. Sometimes the boat was on the sled, and other times, the sled was in the boat. Pack, unpack, lift, push, shove, - and soaking wet most of the time. I also worked for a Captain MacDonald on the old Scotia steamer on, Atlin Lake. ‘ That same year, I wanted to go to Carcross and work on the Whitepass Railroad. I was cutting cord wood for Scholtz and asked him if he could help me get a job there. He said, “You can go out with the mail tomorrow, with the stage team. I’ll give you a paper with a number on it. You give it to the road- house men, and they’ll give you what you need. I'll help you get work.’ I was concerned I was too young for a job on the Railroad, but Scholtz said, “You can do a man’s work, so you should have no trouble. We went to the first roadhouse at Moose Arm showed the card and they said, “O.K. That’s all right. , and we ate. We moved on to Squaw Point,which is between Moose Arm and Carcross and camped for the night. The next day we were in: Carcross. I was staying with Frank Sidney, an Indian, and he said, “‘We‘ve got to get some grub.” I went to the manager of the store across from the railway station, (it’s still there), and talked with Mr. Matthew Watson. I said, “I’m here look- Lanne ten te PL ee RA Rn en Se Se aa sal rw Hiss My brother and I also worked for Louis Scholtz Frank Sidney, I’d rather not give it to you, for he’s lazy and shiftless.” Then he said, “I know your ‘father. Do you know why I will trust you for the grub? Back around 1910, your father, Taku Jack owed me $30. He dissappeared that spring without a word. for $35. and a note:Sorry I went back home without letting you know, but I spent the summer hunting. I made some money. Here is the $30. I owe you, plus another $5. for the waiting. Do you know what I did? [sent the $5. right back. I made profit in the $30, and didn’t deserve the extra $5. That’s why I'll trust you anytime for what you want. I know your father,” Then I went down the street to the Caribou Hotel and talked with Mr. Gideon, the owner. He was also a good friend of my father’s. He said, ,“‘well, while you’re waiting for your job, you can spread wood for the kitchen, That will give you three good meals every day.” On the 25th of March that year, Mr. Frazier, agent for WhitePass, sent word I was to get ready the next day to go to work at Pennington, which is halfway bet- ween Carcross and Lake Bennett. I was ready and went. My friends had warned me about the foreman, a Greek fellow named Dennis Costos. They said he was a tough man, and if you talked to him wrong, he’d fire you on the spot. “Don’t worry,” I said, “Ill get along.” Well, Dennis and I became good friends. We played cribbage together, wrestled, and had all kinds of fun. I talked to him as I would to any friend. They would say to me, “How can you talk to him that way?” I would say, “He is just a man, like us. There is nothing wrong with him, except he is our boss!”’ : I spent 5 years on the White Pass, working for-24 cents an hour, six days a week, without any coffee breaks, In those days, if you rolled a cigarette on the job, the foreman would come up and say, “You're hired to handle that shovel, not a cigarette!” Dennis was my friend, and he gave me a soft job at a place called “Peavey”. I had to check the rails, throw rocks off them, and put up flags to warn the trains of any landslides. There wasn’t much to do, and I was bored, so I took a machete and cut all the brush out from under the telegraph lines. When Dennis saw that, he said, “Did you do that?” I said, “Yes, I did!” “Who told you to do it?” “I told myself. You won’t give me enough work to do, and I can’t just sit around and be happy.” : Dennis spent a lot of time teaching me to level and shim track and take care of the railbed. He gave me a little book with all the railroad rules in it, and I stud- ied that. Later he got married and made plans to go to Greece for two months. He told me I was going to take his job while he was away. “How come”, they said, “We’ve been here for 20 years, and he’s a stranger.” Dennis answered them, pointing to his head, “ It’s all in here, boys. If you’re going to do one job and go way around to do it, remember a shortcut will get it done quicker, | remember as Dennis was leaving we were at the supper table. He told me in front of all of them, “If anyone doesn’t satisfy you, Jack, it’s not a hard job to say, ““Yourre fired’”’. : About that time, a friend from Teslin, Billy Hall, came down the Yukon River with the stern wheeler boats. He saw me in Carcross and told me they needed deckhands on the stern-wheelers. I wanted to see the Yukon and Dawson City. I was young, you know, and wanted to get around and see the country. So, I quit the railroad, and for the next 5 seasons, I worked as a deckhand and eventually was the Second Officer on the stern-wheel freighter, Aksala - which is Alaska, spelled backwards. Reese Mr. MrKay was the Captain, and Mr. Malcolm Macauley was the Mate. During our third season, Mr. Macauley took sick and he had to go out to Van- couver. Mr. McKay said, “Is there anyone who can do your job yntil we can get a man from Vancouver?” Mr. Macauley took off his hat, put it on my head, took off he jacket and said to me, “Try this on for size, Jack.” Then he said to the Captain, ‘“Here’s your man. He knows well what to do.’ So, the next trip down the Yukon, here I am with the Mate’s coat and hat on, but with blue jeans and tennis shoes. My friends at the dock said, “Who is that? Is that Johnny Jack with the fancy coat and hat?’’ I surprised them. Mr. Macauley taught me all I needed to know to navigate the Aksala, and I did the job well. Sometimes I would be at the wheel for 8 hours, all through the night. Even today, I can splice any cable % inch to 2” thick. I can splice any kind of rope. They gave me some good advice, too. They said I should save my money and go to Vancouver to navigation school. I would have gone, too, if something hadn’t come up. One day I got a message to call my brother in Atlin. Henry told me that he and a friend, Tom Williams, had been trapping down the Taku River for beaver and found a big body of gold-bearing quartz. Henry said, “We want to go down and stake it, and we'll wait for you!” I rushed back to Atlin. On the 15th of September we headed down the Taku. We were all ready to stake ‘the claims. We had miner’s licenses and all, but when we got there we found claim stakes all over the place. ~ +. Wz ] ‘ e i continued on page 5 Letters TO THE EDITOR The Editor, The Cassiar Courier Dear Sirs: May I take this opportunity through the columns of your paper, to express on behalf of all at CNIB our heart- felt thanks to the citizens of Cassiar -for their fine support during our recent campaign for funds sponsered by the Cassiar Lions. The proceeds of this campaign amounting to $3,123.81 truly reflects the organizational ability of our Chairman, Jon Johnson, and the sup- port of the Cassiar Lions who sponsor this annual appeal. Congratulations are in order for Mrs. Eva Thirwell, who by her efforts was responsible for collecting a third of the pro- ceeds. To those who so generously contri- buted to CNIB through the Lions campaign, our deepest gratitude. Be _-assured that your contributions will be utilized to the maximum in ex- tending our service to blind persons - and in the implementation our our prevention of blindness program with an emphasis on sight conservation’ in school and industry. : I look forward to my annual visit to your fine community in the spring of 1977. At that time, I would be pleased and priviledged to attend a public meeting to outline our service program and to show a film relative _ to the work of the CNIB, in order that you all may be more informed on the programs you are making possible through your support to the Cassiar Lions and CNIB. As another year draws to a close, may I take this opportunity to wish each and every one a Joyous Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year. Sincerely yours. George Gibbs, Supervisor, District Offices _ £d note: We think the Lion’s Club should be congrat- ulated by all for their superb job for CNIB...plus the people of Cassiar applauds for their worthy generosity. on’t tell me that Cassiar doesn’t have a heart! Dear Editor ...The “Why don’t you get a skidoo?” conspiracy. Ever since coming to Cassiar we’ve heard remarks like, “O.K. You’ve got your house and you've got your car and it’s winter so what’s next? - a skidoo, right? — Wrong! I admit that skidoos are fun. They’re a good way to see the bush-country. They’re economical to operate as opposed to a truck or a car. And they have “‘In- crowd’ appeal. O.K Did you hear about the eleven year old boy who was . killed in Dawson Creek recently, when the skidoo he was driving ran into a truck? Don’t an awful lot of . _ people let their children drive skidoos? I often see skidoos drving on the streets at night with no lights - how easy do you think it is to spot them from a car? did you know people in several parts of the country have been beheaded when they drove their skidoos into a barbed-wire fence? Don’t skidoos frequently get stuck in the middle of nowhere? In any collision between a skidoo and a standard vehicle, who’s likely to win? In other words, especially where children are concerned : skidoos are dangerous. Next, touring the country. When we tell skidoo- Owners we've just become addicted to cross-country skiing, they say, “‘ But isn’t a skidoo what everybody wants to work up to?’ Uh-uh. On skiis we also cover a fair amount of country and we have the peace, the stillness, and the TIME to enjoy all that marvelous scenery. Throw in the stimulating exercise and the feeling .of -achievement, .and..you’ve got the 'skidoos Uickediany dawekr aykaranescte (tyr mast kee TIT AER OP UE Leck be ok Pe tes eat Be ea eI we do not know. : Mr. Jerod-Rosman, tes Of course skidoos are cheaper to operate than a car. But the initial outlay is outrageous. Also, can you consider them in any way equivalent as a SERIOUS vehicle? Come shopping day, or a long-distance trip, or several passengers, isn’t it always a standard type vehicle you turn to? Sorry folks, but skidoos are strict- ly recreation material, and they certainly are not cheap. In-crown appeal? Well, I guess we’re happy going our Own way. At any rate, happy enough to quite easily resist the “Why don’t you get a skidoo” conspiracy! P. Stewart Ed. note: Some say snowmobiles are the thing, and others, like yourself say they prefer other sorts of out- door pursuits. I guess that’s what makes us people, and not machines - different likes and dislikes, We all have the right to say “No!” to anything, except death and taxes. Editor Cassiar Courier Cassiar, B.C. Dear Sir: In answer to your query about Thaltan Bear Dogs, I must unfortunately write that they have com- pletely died out, at least in Telegraph Creek. My hus- band, Johnny McPhee, who was born and raised in Telegraph, says the last two Thaltan Bear Dogs died about iliree or four years ago. We have a Polaroid picture of both of these dogs and if its possible to use them in your newspaper we’d be happy to lend them to you. About 25 years ago, Johnny’s mother, the late Louise McPhee, took a pup to Atlin. Whether the descendants of this dog survive, Lillian McPhee Ed. note: Thank you for the information. Yes! we would like to borrow the photo of the Bear Dog so folks can see what they looked like. Still confused, though. Some say they’re around, some say they’ve died out. Hope someone makes a project out of finding out! This is an example of how we sometimes act too late to save our history and heritage. December 6th, 1976 Cassiar Courier, P.O. Box 100, Gassian be. VOC 1E0 Dear Jerod: This is to acknowledge receipt of your letter of November 24th and of your first issue of the Cassiar Courier for which I thank you. With my personal congratulations to you on pioneering and establishing the Courier, and wishing you every success in its operation, I am, Yours very truly, Frank Calder, M.L.A. cA AR . gION'RCWWE | * < BRITISH CHINE ere LIONS NEWS by Jon Johnson Here’s one. of the two colour television sets given to the Cassiar Hospital by the Lion’s Club being received by administrator Lee Patton. Stands are being built for each of the sets. Lion Reg reports Lions may now use Bunk- house 85 for storage of beer bottles. The Pac- ific pallets have arrived so that most of the 3000 dozen beer bottles will be able to take a holiday south to renew their strength. The weekly average has dropped near 100 dozen per week, but Christmas probably pushed the average up a little. The road signs have been changed to show the location of the Lions meetings - the Den. Thanks the best ‘marksman -was-R.’ ‘lLaClair; the’ best' Po cent Neos <>” Continued on:page 4- What is Thaltan ? by Johnny Taku Jack as told to Jerry Rosman Our history tells us that before the 1700’s there were no people in the Cassiars, Indian or white. Tlingits from what is now known as Wrangell at the mouth of the Stikine would travel through this country heading north by canoe and foot to the Trading Nahanni country. The legend of Thaltan in our Tlingit history starts with a woman named Seh-Key* who was Tagish. She was walking through this country when she came out on the northern side of the little Thaltan River - which had no name at the time. At the same time, a man named Doats*, who was Tlingit and Haida came up the coast from the mouth of the Stikine and was camping across the river from where Seh-Key came out. Seh-Key saw his smoke and hollered, “Who are you?” “My name is Doats!”?, came the answer. “What is your name?” “Seh-Key!” “Are you from the Who- nee-yah (north), or from the Sawnah? (south)” Doats forded the river and carried Seh-Key across. They married one another and went up on top to where the Reserve is today. They caught and dried fish for the winter. The next year, many people started coming in and around and started living where Seh- Key and Doats had settled. They came from all over. There were Caw-saca (Casker), Taku, Teslin, even Indians from Nahanni, Bear Lakes and Nass River. At that time, they ask one another, “This is our finding. What shall we call it?” Seh-Key said, ““Tt looks like someone put a dishpan down in the ground, so we will call it, “Thaltan” (Dishpan, lay down). ‘What shall we call the river?” Seh-Key. said, “Thaltan-heeny” (Dishpan, lay down river). Another year, more people came, more fish caught and dried for the winter. They ask one another, ‘What will we call the big river??? Nanook, one of the Doats - Chiefs said, “The discoverers will name the river!” So, one day Doats came home and said to Seh-Key, “I found a name for the river, - Tauu-tze-ken”, (bottom cranky). “Why do you call it that”, she asked. “Be- cause in the three years we have lived here, the river has always been crabby and cranky - all riled and mud- dy. So, the river the white people call the Stikine is ~teally called, Tauu-tze-ken - bottom cranky. When Doats first came from the-coast; he camped at a canoe landing white peoplé now call Glenora. This is where the Tlingits landed their canoes before portaging to the Head of the Lake at Dease. When Doats found he could get his canoe upriver further- about 10 miles, he stopped and camped by a creek emptying into the Tauutzeken. He didn’t know what to call it, but he found all kinds of berries there - rasp- berries, saskatoons, strawberries, cranberries, currants, blueberries - all kinds. Doats named the creek, “Clare- ‘go-heeny” (berry creek). It was always called Berry Creek until the telegraph line came through and then they named it Telegraph Creek. *Ed. note: This is Johnny Jack’s story of the Thaltan nation in his memory as a Tlingit. We’ve attempted to reproduce the Indian words phonetically, as they are pronounced in Tlingit. C.CC. CONTRIBUTES | C.C.C. Lounge lost a bit of its glitter as $200.00 in bills was taken down from the walls and distributed to Lung Research ($100) and Salvation Army ($100). Arrangements were made by Eve Thirlwell with Royal Bank foot- ing the costs for money orders. CHINOOK CONTRIBUTES At Chinook Christmas party $70.00 was donated to the Handicapped Children. Ar- rangements were made by Eve Thirlwell and again the Royal Bank paid the costs for the money orders. PRODUCTS Bertha MacLeod , 51/7 MALOZEMOFF ST. 778 ~ 7233 Call before 3 and after 7 pm. SO ee eR Sie a nes ils pl ae atthe ——— Il RE Bd ac rl ee —>— ee en ae See ee cetieee Sena ; ——————— Oe ? ~*~ a: Le a { Me i 7