Page 20 December 1984 Cassiar Courier Sojourn in the North THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE IS PART TWO OF A FOUR PART STORY WRITTEN BY A RECENT VISITOR TO CASSIAR She was daydreaming again. She had been told that Cassiar - what did the word mean anyway?-started as a tent town in the valley below McDame Mountain. McDame Street, McDame Creek and McDame Lake. She must find out who McDame was - perhaps a pros- pector? An insistent voice intruded: “Gran, what are we eat- ing? I want a ‘sambich’ and I want grapes and | want She sighed and returned to reality. It was cold, and hot soup would be good for them. Her hands slipped into gear and she went through the motions of preparing lunch with effortless ease as she had done thousands of times before. 1952. Her son-in-law, who now worked in the mine, was born that same year in Bulawayo in what was then Southern Rhodesia. She and her husband and older two- year old daughter had left Scotland for Ndola in North- ern Rhodesia that year. How strangely circumstances had conspired to bring them here to babysit two of their grandchildren. “Gran, can I get down now - I’m finished?” He and his little sister - two years old to his four - ran off, always running, always just missing sharp cornered coffee tables, television tables, washing machines and what not. The lounge floor was covered with toys and books and boxes which spilled over into the dining area, the kitchen, the bathroom and anywhere else a toy was dropped when something else captured their capricious attention. Why did it seem more difficult and demanding to look after her grandchildren than her children, she mused? Perhaps it was because she had been much younger then and knew the significance of their every cry and controlled their environment more. But her kids never had so many toys and neither had she. What did she have? She could remember a skipping rope and a ball and a doll and lots of games played outside, with num- bered chalk diagrams on the pavement (She must rem- ember to call it a sidewalk). Perhaps she would have been smarter if she had had some of these educational toys and television and A Ke SEASONS Smoked Hams, Bacon, Tongues GHREEPAINGS to everyone from L Caurus Resources SLI LG IIL LCS LALLA EL EL business. and European style Smoked Sausages - ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ yaa ty swings. Can we have cookies now?” Okeena Yalley Meats Dish everyone in Cassiar Country a Merry Christmas and Slappy Mew Year Jo our customers, Shank you for your cassettes and computers and calculators. But she wish- ed they would learn to clear them away or that there was some place where they and their toys could co- exist without becoming booby traps for a Grandparent’s unwary step. Perhaps they could get them house trained and potty trained and totally articulate and self sufficient during the next two weeks! But really they were very bright, very enterprising, very... Why, they understood every- thing she said and were~ very forward for their age. There now, she was being a Grandmother. Did all Grand- mothers think like that? She was not a very good Grandmother when it came to knitting and darning and sewing, although she could not escape the mending, somehow. She didn’t really feel guilty about preferring golf and fishing and bridge and bingo and her husband approved although she suspected that her daughters would like her to conform more closely to their romanticised con- ception of a Grandmother, “Gran, can we go out and play in the garden?” “You will have to wrap up warmly and Grandad will have to come with you if you are going.on all these contraptions out there.” Still more hazards and her heart lurched when she watched them on their climbing frame and slide and swings, hanging upside down and swinging like Tarzan and treating all these structures with a total lack of respect or concern. “Be still, my heart,” she commanded. They had to be free to express themselves, to be uninhibited, or so she was told. Perhaps these changes were inevitable? Per- haps they were healthy. But she couldn’t help worry- ing. She even worried about what their world would be like ten, twenty, thirty years on. To what new.dan- gers and new-isms would they be exposed? What would their values be then? Maybe grandmothers had always worried and asked these questions and always would. “Gran, Grandad says he’s cold and-tired of pushing the to be continued Turkeys, Chickens, Geese and Ducks R.R.4, 1720 Laurel St. Terrace, B.C. V8G 4V2, Ph. 635- 6997 ee es SSS Shoppers Shorts We wish all customers a Slappy Holiday Season and a prosperous Sew Year The store this year is hoping to make your Christmas shopping experience a more pleasant one with a Christmas Shopping Discount Night scheduled for Tuesday, December 18th, starting at 7 p.m. This is again, an adult only evening and there will be some real surprises - so don’t miss this one. The children will have their own shop- ping afternoon on Wednesday, December 19, from 3 p.m. - 5 p.m. This is a kids only event so no adults please. Visa cards are now accepted for your shopping convenience (please be aware that items over $100.00 charged to Visa require that the cash- ier phone the Visa centre for clearance.) Any returned merchandise purchased on Visa will be credited with a Visa Credit Slip. Have you had a 1% Discount slip yet? Well, if not, you could be missing something. How does it work?—Well, for each purchase of a non-food, non-drug item of $20.00, you receive one token which entitles you to a 1% discount on your next purchase. Tokens can be accumulated up to a maximum of 30 tokens: 30% discount. These tokens are not accepted against food, drug or already discounted items. But if you’ save them up and use them prior to December 31st, you can realize some good savings. During Christmas, the store hours and truck schedules will change considerably. Please read the notice of store hour changes as they are posted. Tired of not being able to watch a movie when you want to watch it, missing your soaps when you’re at work, need some children’s entertain- ment for parties, not sure what to buy him or her for Christmas —why not take a stroll into Town Admin. and see the videos and find out about the movie rental club. Movies to suit all ages and all tastes are available for rent or purchase. Town Admin, is offering everyone the opportunity of viewing some of the merchan- dise we carry, from videos to vacuum cleaners, ' Royal Doulton China to Copper Cooking Ware from Switzerland. You name it, Town Admin, will try and get it. You know Sears, Canadian Tire and Radio Shack’s prices — why not check out the whole market — just come and see Town Admin’s prices. We look forward to being of service to you dur- ing the Christmas season. Please feel free to ask for service or suggestions for gifts during your shopping. SAFETY HOME SAFETY This is a very happy time of year for most of us. In a short time the Christmas Season will be here and, if you are anything like me, you will be looking forward to it. Christmas at our house is special. The excitement of the kids fills every room. We try to plan how we can give them the gifts that they need and will make them happy. When Christmas morning arrives the looks on their faces have made all the worry and catalogue shop- ping worthwhile. A brightly lit and decorated tree stands in the corner casting its glow of peace, love and happiness over everyone. Let this be called the tree of the Christ Child; gather Cassiar Courier December 1984 Page 21 by A. Borsato about it, not in the woods, but in your homes. There it ‘will shelter no deeds of blood, but loving gifts and rites of kindness. CAPITAL PUNISHMENT It is indeed a terrible tragedy when innocent people are condemned to death because someone else drank too much, drove too fast, disobeyed a common sense safety rule, or failed to observe reasonable precautions. These are the victims who receive the DEATH SENTENCE through accidents. Yet each year in Canada, we have several hundred people who carry out the application of the death sentence on innocent people because of accid- ents for which they were partially or wholly responsible. RE PO SO eee ae bust For Kids | Ey a Steadman Clocks & Rocks Some Saturdays * NORTHERN SKETCHES" * OIL PAINTINGS % BURL CLOCKS %* JADE CLOCKS * IMPORTED ROCK CLOCKS * JADE CARVINGS %* BLACK CORAL % RAW ROCK SAMPLES Now on display at 356 Brown St. Tue. and Thur. evenings 7p.m.- 9p.m. > HATS * PEN STANDS * BOOK ENDS * JADE JEWELRY * GOLD NUGGET JEWELRY %« JADE BASES AND SNOW WHITE DOLEMITE BASES FOR CARVINGS % BELT BUCKLES Wisk everyone A Very cherry Christmas For more information call 778-7764 after 5 p.m. oreo om eo oo oe oo oo oe oe oe oe oe oo eo oe ee oe ; A \\