Alumni 1960 - 1969 - Cowichan Secondary

Cowichan Secondary School
Alumni
1960 - 1969
Class of 1964
The Reunion class of 1963-64 created a document, Reunion Rag,
of their Almuni for that year. Scroll to next page to view that
document.
No Photo
Available
Cowichan Secondary School
Alumni Profile
Front Cover – Using 1963 technologies: tracing paper, rulers and paint, Peggy (Rodd) Dickson designed the
front cover. She used the ―old bird‖ and stole a sketch done by Rhonda (Berkey) Deering and added her own
touches.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Berniece (Flett) and Wayne Bruce – helping Joy and transcribing hand written Rag write-ups
Dave Baker – music
Edie (Edgson) Holland) – MC
Joy (Sinden) Williams – receiving and depositing payments
Lewis Scott – Reunion Rag editor/manager
Linda (Hykawy) Halls– Reunion Rag editing and proofing and ―In the Beginning‖ and ―Do You Remember‖
Lynn (Chadwick) and Stan Homer – venues and financials
Lynn (Richardson) Latoski – coordination, contact lists, mailings, name tags
Pat (Davie) Ball –teacher contacts
Peggy (Fink) Theirauf – high school tour
Peggy (Rodd) Dickson – front cover design
Rhonda (Berkey) Deering – decorations
Rick Haslam – list of activities
Suzanne (Russell) Prest – decorations
Suzette (Jones) and Ken Smith – accommodation info
Infigo Imaging for layout assistance and printing this work of art.
And all those good people that helped by passing on e-mails, snail mail addresses and/or phone numbers of
missing people.
If we missed somebody, our apologies, it was not intentional, Ed.
i
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments ................................................................................................... i
In the Beginning – 1945 .......................................................................................... 1
In the Beginning – 1946 .......................................................................................... 3
Classmates ................................................................................................................. 5
Remembering ............................................................................................................ 39
Contributions ............................................................................................................ 43
And Do You Remember – 1963/64 .......................................................................... 47
More Classmates ....................................................................................................... 52
CHS in 2008 – notice the reflection in the upper windows of the new aquatic centre across the street....
ii
IN THE BEGINNING – 1945
Jan. 27
Feb. 2
Feb. 25
Mar.
Mar. 16
Apr. 28
Apr. 30
May 2
May 5
May 8
May 9
June 11
July 1
July 26
Aug. 6
Aug. 9
Sept. 2
Sept. 5
Oct.
Oct. 24
Oct. 29
Nov. 28
Nov.
Dec. 21
Dec. 27
Red Army reaches Auschwitz and Birkenau Concentration Camps
Yalta Conference held in Yalta with F.D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin
Maurice Richard sets a record for the most goals scored in a season
Anne Frank dies in Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp
Battle of Iwo Jima ends
Mussolini executed by Italian partisans in Milan
Adolph Hitler and Eva Braun commit suicide in his bunker in Berlin
Soviet Union announces the fall of Berlin
Canadian soldiers liberate Amsterdam from Nazi occupation
V-E Day in Europe as Nazi Germany surrenders
Russian V-E Day. Hermann Goring is captured by the US Army
William Lyon Mackenzie-King is re-elected Prime Minister
Germany is divided between the Allied occupation forces
Winston Churchill resigns when his Conservative Party is defeated
Atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan by the U.S.
Atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan by the U.S.
WW II ends when Japanese General Tomoyuki Yamashita surrenders to US Forces
Tokyo Rose arrested in Yokohama
Nuremberg War Crimes Trials begin
United Nations is founded with Canada being a founding member
First ball-point pens go on sale at Gimbel‘s in New York City
Family allowance payments are introduced
Earthquake and resulting tsunami kills 4000 in Palestine
First computer, ENIAC, taking up 1800 feet of floor space, begins operation
General George Patton dies from injuries after a car accident
World Bank created
MOVIES:
Abbott & Costello in Hollywood
Along Came Jones with Gary Cooper and Loretta
Young
Back to Bataan with John Wayne
Going My Way with Bing Crosby
Gaslight with Ingrid Bergman
Caesar and Cleopatra
Brief Encounter with Trevor Howard and Alice
Johnson
Captain Kidd
The Picture of Dorian Gray
The Bells of St, Mary‘s
Leave Her to Heaven
Spellbound
HIT SONGS:
My Dreams Are Getting Better All The Time –
Johnny Mercer
Merry Xmas Album – Bing Crosby
Paris 1945 Album – Glenn Miller
King Cole Trio Album – Nat King Cole
Sentimental Journey- Doris Day & Les Brown
Rum and Coca-Cola – The Andrews Sisters
Until the End of Time – Perry Como
On the Atcheson, Topeka and the Santa Fe – Johnny
Mercer
1
SPORTS:
Detroit Red Wings and the Toronto Maple Leafs play off for the Stanley Cup with the Maple Leafs winning the
cup 4-3 .
Detroit Tigers play the Chicago Cubs in the World Series with the Tigers winning 4 games to 3.
Toronto Argonauts win the Grey Cup against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers
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GRANDMA’S APRON
I don't think our kids know what an apron is.
The principal use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath, but along with that, it served as a
potholder for removing hot pans from the oven.
It was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.
From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to
be finished in the warming oven.
When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids.
And when the weather was cold, grandma wrapped it around her arms.
Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove.
Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron.
From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables. After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.
In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.
When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in
a matter of seconds.
When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men knew it was time
to come in from the fields to dinner.
It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that ‗old-time apron‘ that served so
many purposes.
2
IN THE BEGINNING – 1946
Jan. 10
Jan. 21
Jan. 29
Feb. 24
Mar. 6
Apr.
Apr. 7
Apr. 12
June 27
July 22
July 25
Oct. 1
Oct. 14
Oct. 15
Dec. 11
First meeting of the United Nations
Exact distance between the earth and the moon is measured, making communication possible,
and marking the beginning of the space age
Bluenose sinks off Haiti
CIA is established
Canada indicts 22 Communists agent
Juan Peron becomes President of Argentina
Vietnam signs an agreement with France to become an autonomous state
Singapore becomes a crown colony
Tokyo Telecommunication Engineering, now known as Sony, is founded with 20 employees
Sir Harold Alexander becomes Governor General of Canada
Canadian Citizenship Act is passed giving us separate citizenship from the British
King David Hotel in Jerusalem is bombed by IRGUN, killing 90 persons.
First under water atomic bomb is detonated near Bikini atoll
First meeting of the United Nations in Long Island
Canada Savings Bonds introduced, with the first issue paying 2.75%
Hermann Goring poisons himself before his scheduled execution
UNICEF founded
First cross - country automobile journey takes 9 days
Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation is created.
William Lyon Mackenzie-King is the Liberal Prime Minister
MOVIES OF 1946:
The Razor‘s Edge
It‘s a Wonderful Life with Jimmy Stewart
Anna and the King of Siam
The Big Sleep with Humphrey Bogart and Lauren
Bacall
Road to Utopia
Till the Clouds Roll By
The Postman Always Rings Twice
Song of the South
The Best Years of Our Lives with Fredric March
Duel in the Sun
The Jolson Story
Blue Shoes
The Yearling with Gregory Peck
HIT SONGS OF 1946:
Prisoner of Love – Perry Como
Five Minutes More – Frank Sinatra
Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow – Vaughn
Monroe
For Sentimental Reasons – Nat King Cole
To Each His Own – The Ink Spots
A Fine Romance – Johnny Mercer and Martha
Tilton
How Are Things in Floccamorra
Zip - A- Dee-Doo-Dah
Choo Choo Ch Boogie – Louis Jordan and
Tympany 5
The Christmas Song – King Cole Trio
The Coffee Song – Frank Sinatra
Day by Day – Frank Sinatra
3
SPORTS 1946:
Boston Bruins play the Montreal Canadiens for the Stanley Cup with the Montreal Canadiens, winning 4 games
to 1
Basketball Association of America is founded June 6 in New York City
Ben Hogan wins the PGA championship on Aug. 25
Toronto Argonauts win the Grey Cup against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers
First game of the National Basketball Association is played on Nov. 1 at Maple Leaf Gardens between the New
York Knicks and the Toronto Huskies. The Knicks win 68 – 66
St. Louis Cardinals play the Boston Red Sox in the World Series with the Cardinal winning the series, 4 games
to 3
__________________________________________________________________________________________
REMEMBER THIS?
Grandma used to set her hot baked apple pies on the window sill to cool.
AND NOW...
Her granddaughters set theirs on the kitchen counter to thaw.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
BUBBA AND RAY - ENGINEERS:
Bubba and Ray were standing at the base of a flagpole, looking up. A woman walked by and asked what they
were doing.
―We're supposed to find the height of the flagpole,‖ said Bubba, ―but we don't have a ladder.‖
The woman took a wrench from her purse, loosened a few bolts, and laid the pole down. Then she took a tape
measure from her pocket, took a measurement, announced, ―Eighteen feet, six inches,‖ and walked away.
Ray shook his head and laughed. ―Ain't that just like a woman! We ask for the height and she gives us the
length!‖
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Grade 12 Home Ec Sewing Class Fashion Show
4
CLASSMATES
DAVE BAKER
I think I have had rather an unusual life because I‘ve had the opportunity to have two distinctly separate careers.
I have three children, all in their 30‘s now. I‘ve had a wife and two spouses (but not all at
once) and am now in a spousal relationship.
After leaving CHS, I went to UBC and got a degree in mechanical engineering. My first
job was in Montreal where I worked for a paper machine manufacturer. Since that time,
I‘ve worked in four BC pulp and paper mills, another paper machine manufacturer in
Montreal, and two consulting engineering firms. I‘ve lived in five separate communities
and am now living in Maple Ridge. My last job was as Vice President of Business
Development (Sales) for Sandwell Engineering in Vancouver. In 1998, I suffered a career
ending stroke and have been on medical insurance ever since. But that was my day job.
My avid hobby is music. I started writing songs in 1968, became a recording artist and subsequently a
performing artist. I have recorded three LPs (vinyl records in case you forgot) and three CDs, the last of which
is a collection of distinctly west coast songs. To get the complete story go to my website
(www.daveebaker.com).
I‘ve had a number of career highlights, the most recent of which was in
Duncan. The Duncan Choral Society selected 3 of my songs for their May
2007 concert at the Duncan Theatre. When they selected my songs, they had no
idea I was from Duncan. When I phoned and told them I grew up on Maple
Bay Road they were very surprised and invited me to their concert to introduce
the songs. My day job and hobby are totally different but have been rewarding
each in their own way.
Prophecy: Mechanical Engineer! Right On!
Ed. Note: Dave almost moved back to Maple Bay in 2001, but just couldn‟t put up with the ferries; he does
make use of the ferries occasionally though for a Parksville get-a-way.
Dave is a forty year overnight success. He has had six songs performed by others and has had five of them
professionally arranged and published. One of his last performances was at the Forest Museum in 2005. You
can hear one of his songs by going to www.chorleoni.com, click on “CD‟s and Merchandise” on the bar that
comes up click on “Listening Booth” in the box on the left, then go to Canadian Safari 2 and, voila, the song
“Royal Hudson” is from his “Songs and Sounds of Canadian Steam” CD.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
5
MITCH BANKS
One of my best memories of CHS is the break Mr Robertson (Murdy) provided each Math period as he
disappeared to the teacher‘s lounge for a few cigarettes. We used these opportunities to
play a game of hockey between the rows of desks with our rulers and a puck made of
paper. Another was the History/Social Studies/English classes taught by Mr. Calder and
Mr. Kier and Mrs. Pausche. They were among the best teachers I ever had. Does anyone
remember running at full speed out of the gym to cut across the field so we wouldn‘t
have to run a full lap before Mr. Murray came out? The six years of riding the bus from
Crofton were often so wild we were all kicked off on the highway and had to walk home,
hard to believe in today‘s environment. And who could ever forget the glare we would
get from ‗Gump‘ Goddard as he stood ever vigilant making sure we didn‘t go up the
‗down staircase‘ by the lobby.
Following CHS, I went to UVIC and graduated in 1967 with a BSc in Honours Chemistry. I was very
fortunate, as I was able to finance my education by working at the Crofton Pulp and Paper mill each summer,
and living rent free with my parents. So for four years I alternated between university in Victoria and summers
in Crofton. A lot of beer was consumed with my room mate and best friend Jim Gauley.
1967 was a very good year as I had met my future wife Linda at university and was engaged just before
graduation. We stayed in Victoria while I completed a PhD in Organic
Chemistry and Linda worked at the University Bookstore and the Department
of Physics.
We moved to Burlington Ontario in 1970 when I had accepted a position in
Research and Development with Procter and Gamble where I spent over 30
years before taking an early retirement in 2001. We had three children; Tracey
now 37, and twins Michelle and Anthony, 35. We lived for three years in
Cincinnati Ohio but other than that have always lived in Burlington, now a city
of about 150,000, 35 km west of Toronto.
I had a good career at P&G, with lots of opportunity of travel to the US, Europe, Japan and Latin America. I
worked extensively on environmental issues and after retirement I have continued to be involved with the
management of solid waste through industrial scale Composting. Linda and I are active in our Anglican Church
and love spending time with friends and family in our home.
But we still have a lot of family on the West Coast including my daughter Tracey who lives in Maple Ridge, so
we travel to Vancouver and the Island several times a year.
Prophecy: Teacher! You Judge!
_________________________________________________________________________________________
The
Reunion
Planners
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LINDA (BARBER) WILLIAMS
Moving to a new school for the final year of high school can be very traumatic. Lynne Marshall, who took me
under her wing, made it quite easy and meeting ―Zeke‖ didn‘t hurt either. After
graduation I moved to Vancouver where I attended UBC for a couple of years. I moved
back to Duncan where Brooke and I married in 1966. Forty - two years of married life has
given us four great children and eight wonderful grandchildren ranging in age from one to
nineteen. We have had many memorable trips over the years but I think two of my
favourites were travelling to Australia for two months with Howard and Nita Heyd to
celebrate our 25th wedding anniversaries and to celebrate the millennium, the Barber
family went to Hawaii for Christmas, all 33 of us.
Brooke and I have been going to Arizona in the winter for the last fourteen years. Since
Brooke retired in 2000 we have spent 5 months in Yuma every winter. In 2004 we
decided to move into our motor home and take a cross Canada trip, down the east coast to Florida and across the
south ending up in Yuma for our winter stay. After three years in the motor home we are back living in a house
we purchased in Saltair. Early retirement has been the best thing we have ever done.
Prophecy: PE Teacher! I doubt it eh!
TIM BARNES
The only thing I really liked about school was the friends I met there. School to me was like being in jail with
the added danger of learning something. Since that time I did a brief stint at Safeway and
in construction and then I became a commercial fisherman. At sixty one years of age, I
still fish as I always feel I would be missing out on something if I didn‘t go. I‘m usually
right about that.
Since I left school I‘ve had four wives, four children and four grand children. I have had
many beautiful days in my life and I‘ve had my share of perfect storms. As for
memorable moments, it‘s hard to pick. Being caught in the middle of the night
in the middle of winter in the middle of a snow storm and hurricane on the cork
line of the Ocean Cavalier loaded to the hilt with herring and having to save the
crew of the Cavalier when it sank is right up there. Tubing down the Cowichan
River wasted on gin and juice and shrooms with backyard Dave and the girls
comes to mind, or my marriage to my second wife‘s sister with her ex-husband
as my best man, were certainly another couple of memorable ones. Oh hell,
I‘m a fisherman. I can tell you stories all day long. Ed. Note: See short story
on page 42. ... this fisherman is a hero....
__________________________________________________________________________________________
WHAT KIDS WILL DO
At a high school, a group of high schoolers played a prank on the school. They let three goats loose in the
school. Before they let them go they painted numbers on the sides of the goats... 1, 2, and 4.
Local school administrators spent most of the day looking for #3.
Bet you wish we‟d thought of that – can you imagine Gump looking for # 3!!!!
7
RHONDA (PERKY BERKEY) DEERING
After high school, I briefly attended Vancouver School of Art. Very quickly I realized that a career in art would
not keep me in the manner that I‘d like to become accustomed to, so I entered the
banking world. After working in several banks and a Japanese Trading company, I spent
the last 15 years as a drug pusher - for the Nanaimo Regional Hospital Pharmacy. In
addition, I have been supplying Nanaimo Artisans‘ Studio with hand painted silk art
work and now it is only my art work that keeps me out of trouble. Over the years, I have
also been involved with community activities; as a Director with the Nanaimo Symphony
Society, the Nanaimo Art Gallery, and Nanaimo‘s Wildflower Sanctuary.
In 2007 Allan and I celebrated our 25th Wedding Anniversary and are enjoying our
senior years living in north Nanaimo watching the cruise ships go by. Between the two
of us, we have seven children, nine grandchildren, and one great grandson.
Recent personal achievements include a ―Life Master‖ certificate in duplicate
bridge, a hole in one on a local golf course, and the title ―Duchess‖ of the Red
Hat Society for saving a fellow member‘s life while tubing down the Cowichan
River. I have visited many parts of the world, but thankfully I have spent most
of my life here on Vancouver Island.
I‘m looking forward to a wonderful reunion and re-establishing friendships
with old school buddies. Life is good and this reunion is the icing on top of the
cake. – “I guess eh!”
LARRY BOMFORD
Didn‘t some wise person say that if you remember the ‗60‘s, you were not there? Well I was there and I
remember. Grade 13 looked like a good option. It turned out to be the best year of the
eight I spent in that drafty old building, then I was off to Simon Fraser University, BA,
(Economics and Commerce), 1967. The BA was OK, but the money on the docks at
Crofton for a couple of years was better.
Married Mary Hamel in 1969 and the two of us volunteered with CUSO and became
school teachers in Zambia. My subjects were economics and agriculture. Mary‘s was
English. The work in Africa led to the offer of a Canadian International Development
Agency (CIDA) research fellowship in economic development. I completed my research
at Reading University in England and graduated with an MPhil degree in 1975.
I them became a government agricultural economist and worked in Winnipeg, Dawson Creek, and Fort St. John
until finally being promoted to Victoria where I worked as an agriculture policy advisor. I retired from
government in 2002. Now I am one of a team of consultants on CIDA sponsored projects in Malawi and Chile.
Mary and I always travel together when either one of us finds projects, so we have been very fortunate -- if you
like very rural parts of Africa and South America.
Along the way, Mary and I homesteaded 480 acres near Hudson Hope BC for five years. We also raised two
sons – both of whom continue the farming family tradition. Michael was born in Zambia during our ―Africa‖
years. He is an organic vegetable crop researcher in Kentucky. Mark was born in England during our graduate
school years and he manages the UBC Organic Farm.
8
These days, Mary and I work hard raising funds for AIDS projects in Africa.
The projects support orphans and farming projects helping families fragmented
by AIDS to learn to support themselves through farming. Our project is called
African AIDS Angels.
I am also the current chair of the Keating Community Farm Co-Op in Glenora.
We live adjacent to the Swan Lake Nature Sanctuary in Victoria. I am a
volunteer and director of the non-profit society that manages the sanctuary.
Project next year is to double the size of our vegetable patch!
Don‘t let the hat fool you. Like the rest of the guys in our class (Huh? Speak for
yourself Larry), there is very little hair under the hat.
Ed. Note: And this was the bootlegging, bookmaking guy that wanted to be a persuasive, mechanical, outdoor
scientist......
CAROLYN (BRUCE) GRONLUND
Looking back on my years at Cowichan High, the things that I remember most were the friendships. Not just
the close friends, but the number of really good people that filled those years.
After graduation I went to UVIC and the next summer Fred Gronlund and I were married.
We moved to Saltair while Fred worked at BCFP, Crofton and took an electrical
apprenticeship. We had a son, Don, and I began teaching kindergarten at Maple Bay
School. Three years later we adopted Michael and four years after that we had a daughter,
Breana.
We decided to try something different with our lives, so we bought a section of land and
moved to Montney, 35 miles north of Fort St. John. At the height of our ranching days, we
were calving out 160 head of cattle. You haven‘t lived until you have had your arm in a cow, up to your armpit,
trying to turn a breached calf. We also ran a ―farrow to finish‖ hog operation with 450 pigs at any given time.
We grew our own grain and hay. We couldn‘t afford hired help so we were really busy. Fred went to work in
the oil patch to subsidize the ranch. As the income from farming dropped (and the savings dwindled), we made
the decision to sell G - G Ranch and get ―real‖ jobs. Fred went to work as an electrician for Slocan Pulp and is
retiring next year. We bought property on Charlie Lake and we seem to have been building ever since.
Throughout the years, I continued to upgrade my skills and
won contracts with both the provincial and federal
governments to deliver services to local area people trying to
get back into the work force. I continued that work for eleven
years and retired 2 years ago.
We are very lucky that our children all live in Fort St. John.
Don is married and has a son six and a daughter two. He is
the electrical instructor at Northern Lights College and his
wife runs a very successful day care. Michael is single and
works at Sobeye‘s. Breana is married and has a son five. She
does marketing for the local Credit Union. We are immensely
proud of all of them.
9
Today, the joy of my life is being a grandparent. We have our challenges and continue to learn as one of our
grandsons is autistic and our beautiful little granddaughter has Down Syndrome. But I LOVE getting to be a
kid again! I love sword fights, squirt guns, collages, camping out with s‘mores, trampolines and playing
―pretend‖. I also love fishing, blowing bubbles, and sharing secrets! Most of all, I love it when the door bangs
open and one little voice or another yells out ―Hi Grandma!‖
Prophecy: Teacher! Lyn made it happen.
WAYNE BRUCE
and
BERNIECE (FLETT) BRUCE
Memorable tidbits of the last few years at C.H.S. That is going back a long way. Wayne and Berniece met at
school. Berniece was in Grade 11 and Wayne was in Grade 12.
After graduating Wayne started working with J.W. Griffiths Ltd. in
Duncan. He took a 5 year Sheet Metal Apprenticeship, ending with
winning the 1969 Canadian Apprenticeship Trophy. Wayne stayed at
J.W. Griffiths Ltd. for 26 years, then went to Fletcher Challenge,
Crofton, working in the heat and vent shop. He retired in December
1999. Now he‘s wondering how he had time to work.
Berniece went to General Business School in Victoria after graduating. There she took a
secretarial course. Her first job was summer relief with B.C. Hydro. While there she was required to take a
letter is shorthand. She asked that the dictation be slow as this was her first out of school letter. The staff
member went so slow Berniece was able to write it in long hand! That was the only time she was asked to use
her shorthand and hasn‘t used it since. Next was a job in the office of Duncan Garage, the Ford dealership.
This job lasted 4 years. Next came a job in the Government Agents Office in Duncan. This lasted 33 years.
Berniece retired in March 2002 and has joined Wayne in wondering how she had time to work.
Wayne and Berniece were married in 1970. They have only one child, a daughter Stacey, born in 1976. April
2008 the first grandchild will enter into their lives and the spoiling will begin.
Cowichan Bay has been their home for all there married years. For 35 years
they lived in a house on pilings over the water. In 2005 they moved to Wayne‘s
parents‘ house up the hill from where they were living. Now they spend happy
hours looking out at their fantastic view of Cowichan Bay.
Wayne is kept busy with yard work and trying to fit in some boating while
Berniece helps, when needed, at Stacey‘s pet store in Mill Bay. She also
volunteers one morning a week at an extended care home in Duncan.
Maybe a day (OK, a month then) vacation will fit into their schedule.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
“You cannot permanently help a man by doing for him what he could, and should, do for himself.”
Abe Lincoln
10
LYNN (CHADWICK) HOMER
After CHS, I went to UBC and graduated in 1967 with a BSc with a major in Nutrition. I
interned at the Calgary General Hospital and received my Registered Dietician Diploma in
1968. Having married my high school sweetheart, Stan Homer, in 1967, we continued to
live in Calgary. We have two children, a son, Thomas, and a daughter, Tisha.
My career has been varied. I was the Director of Dietetics at the Calgary General Hospital.
I left to have children in 1976 and then took up a consulting career in Dietetics.
After a sailing trip to New Zealand and back to Alaska with Stan and the children, I taught
in the Health Sciences Department at SAIT. In 1993, I took on the task of being the Executive Director at
Calgary Meals on Wheels. In 2004, Stan and I embarked on a sailing trip
south. We are heading to South America for a few years and then who knows!
I am currently working on a Sainthood having spent 24/7 on a small boat with
Stan for the past 3-1/2 years.
Prophecy: Yearbook said “Home Economics”. Red said “Dietician”!
DONNA (CLEMENTS) VYE
Immediately after I graduated from Cowichan High School I worked in Victoria as a long distance telephone
operator. After approximately two years I moved to Calgary with Patsy Milino and
worked as a telephone service representative with the Alberta Government Telephone Co.
I soon realized I was a small town girl, not a big city one. I missed our lakes and ocean
and family and friends so I returned to Duncan after two years.
I worked in a drug store and for a lawyer before becoming a newspaper reporter for 5
years with the Victoria Colonist and then the Victoria Times out of the Duncan office.
During this time I attained my private pilots license and jumped out of an airplane.
In 1972 I moved to Comox, where I have resided ever since....and I am still in the same
house....unusual for these days. I moved to Comox with my soon to be husband, Gord Vye, of Crofton, who
became the first paid Fire Chief in Comox. Gord had to resign after two years due to ill health. In 1986 he had
a kidney transplant. The good news is that the transplant lasted 17 wonderful years but my terrible painful news
is that he died in 2003 of kidney failure. We had a wonderful happy marriage but no children. Gord already
had five children from his previous marriage.
While in Comox, I worked as a newspaper reporter, Gord and I sold Electrolux Vacuum cleaners for 15 years
and the last 19 years of my working career, I worked as a switchboard/admitting clerk at St. Joseph‘s Hospital
in Comox; Nineteen years of shift work!!!! I took early retirement four years ago and am loving it.
I have a new love in my life, Bruce Ryan. We met four years ago and have
lived together almost three years. Bruce too was widowed and lived in
Nanaimo since 1972....and in the same house. Bruce‘s dream since he was 12
years old was to live on a boat and he did work for 20 years on fishing boats
from the age of 15. Three years ago he sold his house in Nanaimo and bought a
46 foot Grand Banks Alaskan boat. The ―Rana‖ (which means Sea Goddess in
Chinese) was built in Hong Kong in 1970 and is a woodie (which means lots of
11
work...and more money of course). We have the boat in a marina connected to the walkway along Nanaimo‘s
waterfront. So we now live between Comox and our floating ―home on the ocean‖ in Nanaimo. It was never
one of my dreams to be a boater, I even get motion sickness, but I really enjoy life on the boat. I have even
taken Power Squadron courses. Bruce and I have cruised the local and Gulf Island waters and look to many
more safe trips.
Still playing pool Donna?
NINA (COLWELL) BRAATHEN
After graduation, I attended the Vancouver School of Art (now the Emily Carr Institute of Art) where I
completed a Diploma in Fine Art, with a major in printmaking. I received a six month
scholarship from the Institute Allende in San Miguel de Allende , Mexico where I lived
and studied until the spring of 1969.
While attending art school I took a summer job on board a Norwegian freighter. I
boarded the ship in Crofton, sailing south to the Panama Canal, across the Atlantic, the
Mediterranean, through the Suez Canal, then to India, Australia, Japan and finally home
to Vancouver. While on board this ship I met the man who was to become my husband.
We sailed for a year, he as the Chief Officer and I as a stewardess. We then spent a year
in Norway where our first son was born. We made our way to Sechelt on the Sunshine Coast in 1972 where we
had a second son.
I have continued the exploration of printmaking and life drawing with other artists,
exhibiting in Canada and internationally. Ed. Note: See a later section for an
example of Nina‟s work.
Our eldest son works in the forest industry and is an artist (carver) in his own right.
Our younger son is a musician and a music teacher. We have one grandson who is
amazing, of course!
Prophecy: Art School and some exotic spot! Nina made it true!
GARY COOK
Upon graduation I took a motor trip to California with David Lewers and Alfred Gale in Alfred‘s 56 Monarch,
one of those ―coming of age‖ adventures. In 1964 I began working at the Crofton mill as
a Labourer, eight days later I transferred to the millwright department as a helper and a
few months later I signed up for a four year apprenticeship.
I married Linda Neilsen in 1969. Linda became a teacher. We bought and lived in a
mobile home at Four Ways Trailer Park in Cowichan Bay. In ‗72 we bought a 2.5 acre
wooded lot on Braithwaite Dr. and moved the mobile there in 1973. In 1979 we started
construction on our house, moving in on Valentines Day 1981 and we still live there
today. Retiring in 2000 after working 36 years, I took over the grocery shopping and
cooking while Linda continued to work. She retired in 2003. We‘ll be celebrating our
39th wedding anniversary in 2008. We enjoy camping, canoeing, hiking, walking, photography, RVing,
dancing, and winter holidays in the sun.
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Most memorable holiday: Grizzly bear watching at Glendale Cove in Knight Inlet across from Telegraph Cove
on Vancouver Island.
Prophecy: Gary didn‟t spend his time raising “Lazy Susans”!
PAT (DAVIE) BALL
Since sports was the focus of my life at CHS, it‘s no surprise that I carried on with my
education at UVIC, studying PE. I started teaching elementary school in Victoria in 1967
and married Russell Ball in 1969. We have three boys who turned 33, 31 and 29 this year
and we‘re delighted with our five grandchildren.
My family and teaching kept me happily occupied for many years. In 1985 we bought a
sailboat and spent our summers cruising the San Juan Islands, and traveling up to
Desolation Sound. The cruising life is hard to beat!!
After a satisfying career teaching in Victoria (and a year teaching in Australia) I
retired from the BC Education system in 2004 and taught for eighteen months in
Istanbul, Turkey. This was the highlight of my career: international teaching is an
amazing way to see the world. During holidays I traveled around Turkey, cruised the
Mediterranean, and spent time in Croatia, Jordan and Greece. Living and working in
an area where little English is spoken was truly an adventure, and I couldn‘t speak
more highly of the amazing Turkish people.
Nowadays you‘ll find me happily puttering in my little garden or keeping an eye on
the grandkids, but always dreaming of the next adventure – volunteering in Africa,
perhaps?
Prophecy: PE Teacher or an Olympic Star – well, Pat made it half way!
STEPHANIE (DOCHTERMANN) KILLAM
For me, high school was rather mundane. I went to UVIC right after high school where I met my husband,
Don. We‘ll be married 40 years this winter. Midway though university we moved to
Prince George, worked there for a few years, then went to Kitimat for two years. In 1972
we moved to Mackenzie for what was supposed to have been just two years. We ended up
staying 35 years and had two children, a son and a daughter. I guess I should have said
moved to Mackenzie for two children and a lot of years.
The years here have been varied and interesting and I could probably write a book about
the 27 years I spent as a high school secretary and then another book about my husband
and his crony, the liquor store manager. Over my life in this quaint, interesting town that
sits where the Parsnip River becomes Williston Lake (the largest manmade lake in BC and
the headwaters of the Peace River Dam), I have been part of many groups (Ed. Note – see below for some of
this busy lady‘s activities) and hope that I was instrumental in shaping its future. In 1996 I was elected to the
local council and am currently the first female mayor of Mackenzie. Prior to my council activities, I spent a lot
of time travelling to the Lower Mainland where I sat on a number of Provincial Committees as well as Hospital
and Health Boards for the NDP government.
13
Ed. Note: The Museum Society, Club 55, the Chamber of Commerce, the
Municipal Emergency Program Committee, the Mackenzie and Area Health
Advisory Committee, the Mackenzie and District Hospital Board, Community
Health Council, Northern Interior Regional Health Board, and Children‟s and
Women‟s Health Center. Retirement is not in Stephanie‟s
vocabulary….Obviously she has carried on what she did in High School!
STEFI (DOSEN) MCLEAN
The Future Teachers Club set me on a course that had some surprising results. I was chosen to attend a
conference at UBC and instantly fell in love with the city and the university. I knew what I
would be doing when I left Cowichan High. The excitement of leaving home, childhood
and Duncan behind kept me moving through all the homework and exams until I graduated.
I received a Bachelor of Education and stepped into the working world. Vancouver during
the late sixties and seventies was THE place to be.
In 1975 I left Vancouver and moved to the Robson Valley where I learned to look after my
needs in a world with few conveniences. Life was hard. I encountered intense cold and
snow; both were foreign to me, a child of balmy Vancouver Island. I learned to use a chain
saw, grow large gardens, can and dry food from those gardens and found one day that a
land of four distinct seasons was what I loved.
I met my husband Archie McLean in 1978. He thought a woman who could cut her own firewood was quite a
catch; I thought a man who would present me with a truck load of firewood was quite a catch. We now laugh
about who caught whom.
Our only child, Thomas, was born in 1984. For me this was the greatest milestone of my life. I fell
passionately in love with that tiny fellow. He is now 23 and finishing an Arts degree at UBC Okanagan. He
still comes home for Christmas and we visit him in Kelowna a few times a year.
Over the years I have worked at many jobs; some fulfilling, others not so much. In ascending order of
fulfillment: gas jockey, dishwasher, child care worker, day care worker, cleaning lady, teacher, camp
counsellor, fire tower lookout, fire wood splitter, cook, tree planter, and potter. Wonder what this list says
about me?
I have not travelled much, nor have I longed to do so. Archie has worked all over the planet as a surveyor and
engineer while I stayed home doing farm work, raising and home schooling Thomas and throwing pots. Guess
I‘m a homebody. I have many interests which keep me amused, entertained, and learning. I read voraciously,
sew (not little things for little people), quilt, run with my Border collies around the forest trails and fields,
garden and make pots. I‘m involved in the Dunster Community Association,
the Dunster Community Forest Society and the McBride Mural project.
My life is everything I dreamed it could be. I am satisfied. Life is good.
Stefi met her goals, and them some, I guess it was that left turn in 1975 that put
her on the” life is good” road!
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MERRILEE (DRADER) WHITE
The only thing I remember about my last few years at CHS is holding Cary up after a party while he vomited
whatever it was he had been drinking. Fortunately, those days are long gone!
After leaving CHS, I attended University of Victoria and Sprott Shaw Community College
and worked in Victoria as a secretary. Cary and I were married in 1968 and moved to
Burnaby so that Cary could finish his degree. We then moved back to Victoria, where I
worked as a legal secretary and then as a claims adjuster for B.C. Hydro. We built a house
in Metchosin and were blessed with our first daughter, Carrah, in 1978. Our second
daughter, Lynsey, came along two years later.
In 1980 Cary was hired by Workers‘ Compensation Board and we moved to Prince Rupert
for two years. I became a stay-at-home mom. In 1982 Cary was transferred to Nanaimo and we moved to
Parksville, where we are still living. I went back to work as a Teacher‘s Assistant. I then became a Youth and
Child Care Worker, working with troubled kids and their families, developing and delivering behaviour and
anti-bullying programs and liaising with the community. I retired in 2003.
In 1990 Cary and I purchased a converted highway bus. Before retiring we took numerous trips to Disneyland,
Alaska, Mexico, and across Canada once.
In 2004 we travelled across Canada with Ken and Vicki (Joyce) Jacques, Jim
and Suzanne (Russell) Prest, Bob and Jo-anne (Thornton) Windsor . What a
great time we had!
In 2005 we spent two months traveling around Mexico, where we saw a lot of
small villages, ancient ruins, and incredible beaches. For two weeks we stayed
right on the edge of the Caribbean with our hammocks strung between the palm
trees in front of our bus. We sure hated to leave there.
Last Christmas we flew our two daughters down to join us and did a nostalgic trip to Disneyland, Knott‘s Berry
Farm and Universal Studios. As we were heading east along I-8 up over the windy, snowy pass the engine blew
on the bus. We were stranded for about five hours, but eventually got the bus low-bedded to our lot. Cary
spent the next two months re-building the engine!
We are looking forward to our southern trips for many more years to come.
Merrilee wanted to travel around the world, well, maybe just North America for now – but the world is next!
Right Midge?
NORDAHL FLAKSTAD
It has, as they say, been a long and winding road.
After CHS and graduation from Uvic with a B.A., I spent a couple of years in Colombia,
South America, as a CUSO volunteer. It started a relationship with Latin America that
continues even today with some of my current volunteer activities through our church. I
went on to get a journalism degree from Carleton University in Ottawa and to study
economics at Princeton University. Mostly, I have applied what I picked up along the way
15
in writing and editorial jobs with newspapers (Regina Leader-Post and
Edmonton Journal) and United Press International (in Venezuela). My family
and I returned to Edmonton in 1991 and for nine years I was communications
manager with the Alberta provincial engineering association.
After years of writing about oil and resources-sector entrepreneurs, I became
an entrepreneur myself by starting my own modest communications firm. My
kids may find it hard believe, but some people actually are willing to pay me reasonably well for my words of
advice and even just my words.
My wife Lois, a physiotherapist, is originally from Victoria although we met skiing in Montana. It took us a
while to start a family and we have three children – a son (Erik, 27) who until recently worked with a bank in
Sydney, Australia, as well as a daughter (Monika, 24) and son (Martin, 22), both of whom live and work in
Edmonton.
I enjoy my work and, while my health and enthusiasm persist, I have no plans to retire. Lois and I try to stay
active, cross-country skiing in the winter and biking in the summer. A few years ago, in an impulsive moment
of mid-life madness, I began playing a euphonium (my first-ever instrument) in a community band. I‘ve given
that a bit a hiatus while I fill a two-year stint as chair of our church council.
Lois and enjoyed the ‗64 reunion in 1997 (is that right, or is my memory failing?) but, due to other
commitments, will not be there in September. The best to all!
Ed. Note: I had to look it up, so to save you the trouble; the euphonium is a conical-bore, baritone-voiced brass
instrument. It derives its name from the Greek word euphonos, meaning “beautifulsounding” or “sweet-voiced” (eu means “well” or “good” and phonium means
“voice”). The euphonium is a valved instrument; nearly all current models are
piston valved, though rotary valved models do exist.
Prophecy: A diplomat? An economist? It appears the newspaper club won out!
__________________________________________________________________________________________
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SHIRLEY (GARBUTT) MULVENNA
Hello to all from North Vancouver where I live with my husband Alan, one accident prone Bengal cat and
‗Millie‘ a grumpy long hair. I haven‘t nursed for 31 years but manage to keep busy
volunteering, mostly with North Shore Family Services and VanDusen Gardens. I always
thought that we would move back to the Island when Alan
retired but at present have cold feet. We are fortunate to
have our daughters Carley and Zoe close by, so it makes it
harder to move. My main occupations these days centre
around gardening. I confess to becoming a plant nerd. A 20
year plan for our garden has now stretched to 30 years. I
love working outside - well as much as the aging body will
allow.
So instead of beachcombing, Shirley gardens.
KAREN GRIEVE
Fresh out of high school, in 1963, in Vancouver, wearing rose coloured glasses, I figured I could do anything.
It didn‘t take but a few weeks of pounding the pavement looking for a job to find out that
experience counted for everything. Without it no job, with no job you couldn‘t get
experience. Catch 22 for sure. Eventually I ended up working in the Toronto Dominion
Bank for almost a year. Hated it and decided to go back to school in the fall of ‗64 to get
some office skills. I did spend a fun and interesting summer working at a guest ranch in the
Cariboo before exercising those little grey brain cells again though.
I decided to take my chances in Montreal. I spent two years there, some of the happiest of
times. I found out I was a gypsy who didn‘t want to settle down. Didn‘t look back much
after that, moved back to Vancouver, then to Whistler, worked for the Ski School. That
involved hotel work, socializing with the Canadian Ski Team and making wonderful
contacts that got me to San Diego one summer for a month.
From there, I did a stint at UBC‘s Adult Education Research Department. Still had itchy feet though, and was
beginning to want a change from office work. Too much indoors, so I revived my interest in riding and went to
England to take an instruction course in teaching other people how to ride horses. Some ideas are better than
others, this wasn‘t one of them. Had a wonderful time though, met the trainer of the Queen‘s horses and got the
low down on the palace gossip when Princess Anne and Mark Philips were courting. My adventurous stint in
England came to an end when I became very ill and had to return to Canada and central heating.
The next few years saw me working in Vancouver, engaged, unengaged, falling and fracturing my spine,
recovering and moving to London, Ontario. I spent a number of years there working for the YM/YWCA and
becoming involved in back-road stage car rallying, perhaps the most thrilling thing I‘ve ever been involved in.
Still gypsying though…still not wanting to settle down at all. During this time I became involved in Tibetan
Buddhism when I reconnected with my youngest sister Cynde and this has stayed with me. I count it as one of
the major influences in my life. My teacher was a Tibetan monk who fled Tibet
in 1959 when the Chinese took over and his influence in North America in the
70‘s came at a time when many young people were looking for answers.
I‘ve been back and forth since then between BC, Ontario, and Halifax. I
upgraded my skills, worked for the Government, the Commonwealth Games
17
and a dot com company. I spent five years in Duncan to be with my mother until she died in 2005 and that was
perhaps the most difficult time of my life with many challenges to face. Thanks to many good friends who saw
me through and offered strength, conversation, tea and sympathy and made it possible for me to carry on.
2005 also saw a change of venue in my life. I decided to relocate back to Victoria where there was a chance of
getting decent employment. As it turned out I managed to find the most delightful ―cottage in the country‖ right
next door to where I used to live before. It is surrounded by trees and sits at the back of a small organic
blueberry farm - couldn‘t be more wonderful to come home to after a day of office stress. I am freelancing
now, taking jobs as they appeal to me. Only a year and a half to go now until I can hang up my working hat
and put on my retirement hat. I am SO looking forward to that. I have also become very involved in doing Tai
Chi. The main focus now is keeping an eye on my father (age 93) and my stepmother as they down size and
move into a retirement home. I am enjoying this time on the Wet Coast before the next stage reveals itself.
Once a gypsy…always a gypsy, although I expect I will ultimately settle down somewhere – maybe here or
maybe someplace hot and dry.. I want to do more traveling. I did see a bit of Australia, and would like to see
China and New Zealand, Scotland and some of Europe.
So, NOW are you going to become an air line hostess?
HUGH HAMER
After graduating from CHS I started working at the old Chemainus Sawmill. I worked there until 1977. I then
went to work at the Youbou sawmill. I had started to apprentice as a saw filer at
Chemainus and finished at Youbou. In 1985 MacMillan and Bloedel built a new mill at
Chemainus and I returned to work there until I retired in 2006 after 43 years in the Forest
Industry. My wife Jill and I have always lived in Duncan where we raised three daughters.
We now have three sons-in-law and seven grandchildren.
In the summer of 2006 we took our truck and camper and traveled across Canada to visit
relatives in P.E.I. and Newfoundland. It was a fun trip but long. I guess I should have paid
more attention in French class as it would have come in handy in Quebec.
We spent the summer of 2007 in Port Renfrew with our trailer and boat fishing for three months. We plan on
doing this for the next few years as it was a fun time.
We usually spend October in the Interior hunting. The winters are now spent helping the kids fix up their
houses and taking short trips.
Retirement is good. It sure beats working.
Hugh, we are still waiting for that book – “Spelling Made Easy”.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Eileen Mellor with her draft
horses
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PAT (man of few words) HAMER
I left Duncan to log on the west coast. Got hurt. Went to work at the Tofino airport. Quit, went to BCIT and
got my degree in electric power. Went to work for Westinghouse in Vancouver. Got
married and transferred to Abbotsford. Have two sons, Mike, 28, a CGA in Vancouver who
lives with his girl friend of 11 years. She has her own massage therapy clinic in New
Westminster and they just bought a condo in New West. and Sean, 27, who just got his
degree in criminal justice. He lives with me and Mom. Boys are only 10 ½ months apart.
Sometimes good accidents happen. Still working for WESCO (Westinghouse Electric
Supply Co.). Got divorced about 10 years ago. But I bought a condo in Abbotsford with
my ex. We are roomies. Makes it easier to have a family get-together. Besides time heals
all wounds. I‘m still working. I‘d just get bored if I quit.
Funny thing to see Pat write “I‟m still working. I‟d just get bored if I quit.” What happened to the young man
that wished it were Friday again on Monday morning????
RICK HASLAM
Since leaving CHS in 1964, I have remained in the Cowichan Valley for all but a short period of time when I
worked for the Royal Bank. I returned home in 1967 to begin 42 years with BCFP/Fletcher
Challenge/TimberWest, first at Youbou, then as the divisional accountant at Stuart Channel
Wharves in Crofton. Retirement is planned for early 2009.
Marriage has been not quite so simple. I was married in 1970, divorced in 1984 and
married again in 1985 to Melinda. (did a much better job the second time). I have two sons
by my first marriage, a stepson and stepdaughter by the second. No grandchildren yet, but
we keep nagging the kids to help us out.
Some of the fun things we do include walking our eight year old Maltepoo named Swiffer,
golf, and travel. We spend as much time as possible in our 5th wheel in the good weather both here on the
Island and as far east as Winnipeg. When winter comes we like to go somewhere warm for a week or two. For
a number of years we have gone to places like Hawaii or Mexico, then we got
the cruising ―bug‖. We have now done nine, including Alaska, Mexico, the
Caribbean and the Panama Canal.
After retirement next year, we plan to do three weeks in Europe and would like
to go across Canada with the 5th wheel. Beyond that who knows. Walking the
dog, golfing, camping and fishing are definitely on the agenda. Spending a
winter or two Arizona is a possibility. Maybe even another reunion in 2024 or
thereabouts.
What happened to the “L‟il Gray Moe”?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
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STAN HOMER
CHS grad in ‗63 – worked at Hillcrest Lumber Co. for a year and then travelled Europe for a couple of months.
Came to Calgary for some schooling, married Lynn Chadwick (it‘s been tough but we are
still married!) and got into the oil patch.
In 1987 we pulled our son and daughter out of school in Calgary and took them sailing for
2 1/2 years, getting as far as New Zealand and then back to Alaska. The kids got a million
$‘s worth of worldly education but we were cash broke, so back to school in Calgary for
the kids and the oil patch for me.
I retired in 2004 after working an overseas project. Later
that summer, we completed upgrading our boat and started sailing south from
Maple Bay to Mexico and Central America. Our boat, ―Homers` Odyssey‖, is
in El Salvador as I write this, but plan ―A‖ is to have her in Ecuador by the time
we meet up with you in September 2008. Really looking forward to the
reunion. It has been great to have reconnected with some of you and am
looking forward to catching up with a lot more of you.
What Green Zephyr? Now you know why Lynn is destined for Sainthood!
LINDA (HYKAWY) HALLS
Looking back over the last 45 years, it seems to be divided into chapters, four so far, with hopes and plans for
more.
Chapter One: After graduating from CSSS and then taking Grade 13, I enrolled at BCIT to
become a medical laboratory technologist, fulfilling my prophetic yearbook statement. I
took a break to marry to Jim Halls, a Crofton Pulp Mill worker, in 1965. Our first child,
Tracy, was born in 1966. After completing my medical technology internship at Royal
Jubilee Hospital in 1967, I started work as a casual at the Ladysmith & Chemainus General
Hospitals. Jim and I purchased out first home in Ladysmith in 1967 and soon had another
daughter, Andrea, born in 1968 to complete our family. During the 21 years that I was
married to Jim, we built a couple of homes on small acreages. These were our ―back to the
land‖ years when we raised everything from goats to bees and had a large vegetable garden
too. A great opportunity came my way in 1968 when the doctors at Hillside Medical Clinic in Ladysmith asked
if I‘d like to set up a medical lab in their clinic – a heady experience and one of the highlights of my life. I
continued on working in that laboratory for 18 years.
Chapter Two: In 1986 I separated from Jim but continued to live in Ladysmith with Andrea, who was now
attending Malaspina College. Tracy married Steven Boulter in 1987. In 1987, I was also introduced to Chip
Smith, a native of Ladysmith and owner of Scovil Logging based in Port
Alberni. Before long, we moved to Parksville and I transferred to an Island
Medical Lab branch there. I was soon able to secure the position of supervisor
of the Hematology Department at the Nanaimo branch of Island Medical
Laboratories, a career high point for me. We moved to Squamish in October
1990 when Chip bought Triple C Logging. I helped out in the logging
company office doing payroll and other office work but also worked as a casual
tech at Squamish General Hospital. Unfortunately Chip became ill with
pancreatic cancer in the summer of 1993 and died on Jan. 2, 1994.
20
Chapter Three: To rebuild my life I bought a townhouse in Cordova Bay and moved back to the Island to be
closer to family. My eldest daughter Tracy had a bridal boutique ―Shades of White‖ in Victoria, so I did her
bookkeeping as well as working for a hearing aid company. My youngest daughter, now called Alex, was also
living and working as a CGA in Victoria. The fact that both of my daughters have become confident,
successful and financially independent women is a great source of satisfaction to me. Tracy and Steve have
given me two grandchildren, Madie and Reid. Madie and Reid are a continuing joy to me.
Chapter Four: I was living happily on my own in Victoria, when I met up with Gordon Apperley. When he
secured a position as the Director of Utilities at UBC in 1998, we moved together to the UBC area. Our joint
love of travel has taken us to many interesting places and experiences in the world, some by motorbike and
others by car and air. I have become involved with BC Nature, volunteering in their office, being the
advertising manager for their quarterly publication and learning the fine art of bird watching. I am now
working towards a Certificate in Liberal Studies from UBC. All in all, life has been generous to me.
Prophecy: Lab Tech. Yep! But wait for chapters five, six, seven ........
SUZETTE (JONES) SMITH
and
KEN SMITH
Cowichan High School Graduation 1963 !! So long ago and yet the years have flown by.
Ken and Suzette were married in 1965 and Suzette worked at Ken‘s parents Rexall Drug
Store as a Cosmetician for several years. Suzette also had a
day-care in their home while their boys were younger so she
could be a stay-at-home Mum. They owned and operated a
Video Store in Chemainus for ten years where all their boys
began their working careers. Suzette later became an
assistant manager of five apartment buildings in the Duncan
area and since then has Home-Cared an elderly gentleman
for the past eight years.
Ken began working in the Crofton Mill in 1965 and remained until his LTD retirement in 2004. He keeps very
busy in his workshop making garden and Christmas yard decorations and volunteering at a Mystery Book Shop
in Victoria. Both Ken and Suzette enjoy working in the gardens and doing outdoor
projects.
Ken and Suzette have three boys. Andrew and his wife Rhonda have three boys and live in
Prince George -- so that is usually two road trips a year to visit them. Corey and his wife
Leah have two little girls and live here in Duncan so they get together often. Ryan and his
wife Elissa live in Victoria so are also close for frequent get-togethers.
Ken and Suzette enjoy 5th-wheel camping and driving road-trip holidaying. They are
hoping that a trip across Canada and back through the United States to go to a few Nascar
races, (as they are both avid fans), will be in their near future.
Gee whiz, is it Friday afternoon?
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TERRY LATOSKI
While working as School District 72‘s accountant, Terry built three homes, including all the cabinetry on the
final house for his family, as well as a couple of other houses. He also finished a boat and
tried his hand at crab fishing on weekends with his two sons, which helped put his eldest
through university. (The youngest son decided that working at the mill to pay for his
university was a lot easier and better paying.)
Terry retired to enjoy mountain hiking and of course
skiing. Mt. Washington is only ¾ hour from his driveway
to the chairlift. He prides himself on conquering several
mountains including Victoria Peak and Elkhorn.
This year Terry and Lynn will be celebrating their 43rd wedding anniversary.
They‘ve waited a long time, but their youngest son, Darren, finally provided
them with a granddaughter in 2003, another in 2005 and a grandson in 2007.
What a joy they are.
Still reading French novels Terry?.
SUSAN LINES
I have two beautiful daughters, Shannon and Laura, and one beautiful step-daughter, Bronwen. Thanks to
Shannon and Laura, I now have six grandchildren – three of whom are triplets! Laura is
the proud mother of the triplets who are now seven. Two identical boys and the one and
only girl. Laura also has an older boy. Shannon has two boys. Bronnie is too busy
travelling the world and having fun before she settles down (smart kid!).
After everybody fled the nest, I went walk-a-bout. Found my expert advice wasn‘t
appreciated as much as I thought it should be. So, first I went to San Miguel de Allende in
Mexico. Thanks to Nina (Colwell) Braathen‘s advice, I went to the Mexican Art School for
two semesters and lived with a Mexican family – that was the best trip. Then back to the
Island, living on the beach in my VW camper in Port Renfrew for a summer – working at the
pub/restaurant/local store and painting ho-hum paintings. Then to Hawaii. That is too long a story, but I stayed
as long as I legally could (painting). Lived on a boat, worked in between all the adventures here and there.
Was in the secretarial thing for awhile, and then got into healthcare. I have been in that for the last 15 years.
Came to Nova Scotia a couple of years ago to help out Laura and James and the
kids. But wouldn‘t you know it, James was offered his old job back in
Esquimalt (Nova Scotia was very dry in terms of jobs) and so they moved back
to the Island. I stayed on because I have only a few years to go before I retire
and I have a good job, besides I love Nova Scotia. I will return to BC during
the summers and then for good, in four years or so. I have an elderly aunt in
Tatamagouche, and a cousin in New Brunswick. I am happily getting to know
the eastern part of the family, hence my recent photo, showing me hovering
over a large, really large piece of key-lime pie during a recent trip to Florida to
visit cousins. A short but wonderful holiday. Life is sweet, so was the pie.
No doubt Sue will get back to being an avant garde Canadian painter in a few
years.
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DOUG MACADAMS
June 1964 seems to be both a long time ago and only yesterday!
The milestones since 1964: University: UVic (graduated 1970), Laval University (one year
to learn French) and UBC (finished law school 1973). Marriage: in 1976 to Wendy Young,
then a student, later a lawyer and now a provincial judge. Offspring: Alexandra born in
1989 and now in first year university and Juliana born 1991 and now in high school.
Residence and employment: lived and practiced law in Vancouver 1973 to 1988; set up a
civil litigation practice in Abbotsford in 1988 and moved to Abbotsford in 1989. Parents:
Doug and Irene continued to live near Maple Bay until their deaths in 1985 and 2002.
Jimmy Pattison was quoted when his net worth increased by a billion or two that he was glad for the bump up
but that what really is important is being at peace with God, having loving relationships with spouse and family,
having the support of friends, and having good health.
I am rich indeed.
Especially wonderful have been enduring friendships from CSS days, most
notably with John Morton and Nordahl Flakstad whose sons are my godsons
and who, with their spouses Rene and Lois, are godparents to our daughters.
Lewis Scott‘s e-mail inviting contributions to the Reunion Rag suggested
mentioning a memorable job, trip or experience, and suggested humour would
be welcome. This presents a problem for a lawyer who has spent the past 34
years focused on the family, taking care of client litigation files, helping out
with community organizations, and vacationing nowhere exotic. Much is
memorable but is really only of interest to those directly involved! That said,
here are two vignettes:
In October 2006 I attended the 100th birthday party for Don Morton, John Morton‘s father and former mayor of
North Cowichan. It was an inspiration to see that one can be so vital and intellectually lively at an advanced
age. I decided then to adopt the following 30 year plan: practice law for 10, travel for 10, relax for 10, and then
figure out a plan for the next 10 or 15 years.
Wendy and I bought what we call long term recreational property, being burial plots in the cemetery at St.
Peter‘s Quamichan in the Cowichan Valley. On a lovely summer day a year or two ago when we stopped by to
look at our investment I was much amused to see my somewhat impish spouse lying in the grass checking out
the view.
I look forward to seeing friends again now that we are all mellow but still vigorous.
Prophecy: Law and 24 Sussex Drive. There is still time for the 2nd part.
Humpback Near Port Hardy
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EILEEN MELLOR
After grade 12 I attended grade 13 at CHS. From there I went to the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon
where I entered the pre-veterinary program. After two years at U of S my finances
dwindled, so I took the medical laboratory technologist course at BCIT in Burnaby,
followed by a year of lab practical at Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria. Then I moved
home to Duncan and started to work at Cowichan District Hospital in 1969. In 1971 I won
the Irish Sweepstake, but continued to work until 1981. Then I quit the paying job and
went farming; first milking cows and then raising beef cattle (even less profitable). In
1972, I bought 3 draft horses and started breeding them and I am
still raising them. A dream came true in 2005 - one of my mares
had healthy strong identical twin fillies, (a chance of 1 in 300,000
to survive passed 10 days) but that dream was shattered 9 months later when one died
due to carelessness of a veterinarian.
My mother and I co-own the farm I was raised on, so I don‘t get away much, other than
to show my horses at the fairs on the Island. We used to take a 6 horse hitch to
Abbotsford Agrifair in the early 1990‘s, but the cost on the BC Ferries stopped this
event (we thought it was expensive then!).
Eileen almost became a vet, but you can see she is still enjoying working with animals.
PATSY MILINO
I moved to Calgary soon after graduation and immediately got a job at Hudson‘s Bay Oil & Gas, Legal
Department as Secretary to the Assistant General Counsel. Shortly afterward I became the Senior Secretary to
the General Counsel and my career has been in senior positions ever since.
I met and married while in Calgary and had three sons in three years. Even coming from a
large Italian family of eight children could not have prepared me for that! It was like being
under siege raising three sons so close in age, with such different personalities. I can laugh
now, looking back and say I am most proud of them and, thank goodness, none of them
have a record of any kind! John, is a Petroleum Engineer and project manager on the
largest drilling project in the world in Jakarta, Indonesia. Michael is a Java developer and
computer systems analyst in the Group Systems Development Center for HSBC, in
Burnaby. Robert manages a large costume shop in Vancouver, he is in hog heaven as he
always wanted every day to be Halloween!
I married in 1965 and, after the first six years, spent the better part of the next thirty years trying to figure a way
out of it. I finally accomplished it after three tries and eight years of litigation. We lived in the oilfields in Fort
St. John, Calgary, Alaska, and Denver. While in the North, I opened a few
ladies wear stores – going to market was the ultimate shopping high! During
one hiatus from my marriage I returned to Victoria, and for three of those years
was Administrator of the Tourism B. C. Hospitality program. Then to Alaska
for 11 long years! I can recommend a cruise up the coast to Alaska –just a trip in June.
Since 1992, I have lived in Scottsdale, Arizona, returning to BC for three years
to settle my divorce. I operated a store front Paralegal service for five years.
After returning from BC, I worked out of my home under my business
Document Diva as a consultant doing paralegal and administrative work for
corporate and public clients.
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I have been a German Shepherd Dog Fancier for forty years; breeding, training and showing them. My first
champion ranked in the top ten German Shepherds in the US. She was also a Best Puppy at the Canadian
National and a Best in Show German Shepherd, in the US. My dogs have been great companions and
protectors and literally nannies to my sons.
I currently live in the heart of Scottsdale with my Dog, Miracle, who has literally saved my life. Things have
not been easy, but I have worked for some of the best attorneys in the world, have experienced barefoot sailing
in the Caribbean, luged down a mountain run in Alaska, caught a 46 pound Chinook, had the thrill of being in
the Best in Show Dog ring and in the Derby Champion ring at the racetrack, stayed in a remote cabin in the
Alaska wilderness catching trout, danced on the stage at a rock concert, enjoyed front row seats at major
sporting events, concerts and theatres, visited Hawaii, Rio de Janeiro, Trinidad, most of the US and Canada, so I
can‘t complain. I have excellent health, a wonderful family, three great sons and good friends, so I am blessed.
While I have never been envious of others, I do envy those who have someone to share their life with and I‘d
love to dance through the rest of my life with the right person!
We‟ll recognize Patsy – those trade mark ear rings!
JIM MILLJOUR
Following graduation I worked for BCFP log scaling in Caycuse for a year...then off to UBC, Department of
Commerce, to fulfill the year book prediction of ―President of Molson‘s‖. That didn‘t
happen! I married a lovely little Vancouver gal, Sharon Hebert in 1968, and we had a
beautiful daughter ―Tracy‖ in late fall of the same year. Tracy and husband Randy have a
farm in Greenwood, BC where they raise Yorkshire terriers, Morgan horses, various and
sundry animals and two of the best looking young hockey players Canada has to offer –
Jordan, 15 and Dillon, 13.
I managed various Tandy stores in New Westminster, Kamloops, Kelowna, and Calgary
until 1978 when I went into Real Estate in the Kelowna area. After 25 years as a realtor, I
retired in 2003 and now reside in Keremeos, BC.
Jim adds: HAVE A GREAT TIME AT THE REUNION EVERYONE!!!!
(Another man of few words)
JOHN MORTON
After graduating in the Class of ‘64, attending UBC, and armed with an MBA, I moved to Bella Coola with my
wife, Rene (Kopas) to take over her family retail business. Next month (October/08) marks our fortieth
anniversary for both those endeavours (the marriage and the business).
Over that time, we‘ve been involved in pretty much everything that rural life presents:
heritage preservation, schools, healthcare, regional politics, athletics, the arts – and so on.
We live on five acres of interesting land, where we‘ve drained a swamp, reclaimed fishrearing habitat, and maintain a perpetual battle with beavers who dispute our ideas of where
best to have water flowing. Our son, Ashley, a marine electrical engineer, is presently
working in Ulsteinvik, Norway for an international shipbuilding firm. He attended Lester
Pearson United World College and the University of Toronto before spending three years in
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St. John‘s NL, where his wife is completing her PhD in marine ecology.
Ashley played on the U of T Varsity rugby team, and has since attained
international referee certification, providing various travel and social
opportunities. We plan to celebrate our anniversary in Norway this year.
We are blessed with several terrific long-time employees, so we‘ve geared our
work week down to about 50%, leaving us ample time to maintain our gardens,
battle the beavers, and still do our share of community service. Among other
things, I‘m active in the local Legion Branch, the United Church, the Theatre
Guild, and I‘ve been a Credit Union director for 29 years -- currently chair of
the board in Williams Lake (a 900 km round trip for the monthly meeting, but
thank goodness for email and the internet). I still play competitive volleyball
through the winter, and umpire a couple of ballgames a week in the summer.
So far, I haven‘t had to have any body parts replaced.
As many of you know, my father, Don Morton, passed away recently in his 102nd year, so I might be attending
events such as this reunion for another forty years!
John‟s prophecy was a little off, but it is not surprising he is involved in all sorts of things. That beaver is
gonna win John!
ELSIE (NIEMEYER) ANTTILA
After leaving CHS in 1963 I lived in Westholme and my first job was at the Royal Bank in Duncan. In 1965 I
left there to work in the Cowichan High School office with Mr. Lendrum and Mrs. Bird. It
was different going back to school in this capacity but I seemed to fit right in.
In August of 1966, Guy Anttila, an immigrant from Finland, and I were married. We lived
in Ladysmith for some years where Guy worked as a bowyer. Later, Guy worked with in
my father, Peter Neimeyer, in his small scale logging operation.
Our honeymoon in September ‗66 was a ten day guided hunting trip in the Monashee
Mountains of B.C. with the Foisey family as outfitters. I took my first buck deer there.
This was the forerunner of quite an exceptional lifestyle. In 1978 Guy and I found
ourselves on the way to Whitehorse in a two camper convoy with Eugene Foisey, his wife and three children.
We had decided to explore the North Country and possibly find a new unspoiled wilderness - somewhere to dig
in new roots. As we were approaching Whitehorse, at a little place called Johnson‘s Crossing, we stopped for
gas. On talking with the fellow there we found out that there was a Big Game Guide Territory for sale in Atlin
approximately 100 miles away.
The Foisey family wanted to take a look and we were in hot pursuit. It so
happened that the guide outfitter, Arnold Edzerza, needed help to run his
hunting operation in the Fall of 1978. As the Foiseys knew all about guiding
already, we decided to try it. I was the cook, as green as you can imagine, and
Guy was the camp boss.
We and three guides worked with a string of 17 horses and guided the hunting
clients as they arrived. We found it enjoyable and challenging. We liked it
well enough so that when the opportunity arose in 1981, we bought into our
own guide outfitting territory which we called Taku Safari. The base camp was
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on the Taku River near Atlin, the most northern village in B.C. Population three to 400 people. We used to
have a long commute to work. Guy used to fly our Super Cub with myself and our dog Jackson every March
from 1978 until 1991 from Duncan up the B.C. and Alaskan Coast. We‘d turn inland just south of Juneau, then
fly up the Taku River and on up the Nakina River, the Sloko River, over Atlin Lake and home; total trip roughly
1000 miles. In 1991 we sold our home in Cowichan Bay and moved to Atlin full time.
In 1996 we branched out and started Apex Air Flying Service servicing the Atlin area for six years with a
Beaver aircraft, a Cessna 185, a 207 plus some smaller Piper Cubs. We found out that this was not our
preferred type of work and so when the opportunity arose we were happy to let somebody else try their hand at
it.
We have now been in the guide outfitting business for 30 years and have friends all over the world. (A
wonderful feeling).
Recently we sold Taku Safari and are now operating the north end of our original hunting territory under the
new name of Guy Anttila‘s Big Game Hunts.
We have to wonder if Elsie still likes pumpkin pie with mountains of whipped cream?
MARIE (NORIE) JENNINGS
We were the country imports from Bonner High in Grade 11 and 12. Because we were only at Cowichan High
for two years, we hadn‘t really melded with the Duncan kids until the end of Grade 12.
The highlight of my days at school was being selected Miss Cowichan High 63/64. I was
totally stunned, never thinking that I would be chosen. The other girls were so gorgeous and
talented. I think I was in shock for about a week. I still have my crown, though it is a little
bent and missing some ―diamonds‖!!! But after 50 years what can I expect!! I‘m a little
worn and missing a few sparkles too. However, not lost in the glamour was the wonderful
instruction given by Des Higgs in biology, and Ken Ridenour in English. They really
prepared us for university work.
Folks would probably best remember me from the days when Peter Sampson and I were dating and we hung out
every lunch hour on the side porch to the gym in good weather, or in the biology lab when it was raining. Pete
could really draw well, so I got him to fix up my biology drawings. Ever present was Pete‘s best friend, Mike
Hoy. The three of us were really good friends and spent so much time together at school, on the bowling team
and flying off in Pete‘s hot green Volvo to the hydro plane races at Fuller Lake, Sproat Lake, etc. Then we
went to university and our lives went in separate directions.
And who could forget chemistry with monotone textbook readings of Jasper J.J.
Jickling. We only had a few explosions in the safety cabinets but they sure
woke Jasper up. We thought the smell in the class was from some of Jasper‘s
chemicals but it turned out to be Jim Dougan. He kept taking his shoes off in
class so we slipped them away down the row of desks in Chem. class, filled
them with pencil shavings and hid them in the bottom of the garbage can under
all the paper towels. I don‘t think Jim ever took his shoes off after that. But,
after school is over, reality sets in and so follows what‘s happened in my life
since then....
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In a nutshell, I attended UVIC 1963-64, and Sprott-Shaw Secretarial College May-August ‗64. I was employed as
Secretary to the Asst. Director in the Dept. of B.C. Tourism from August ‗64 to May ‗66. I married Jim Jennings of
Victoria in 1966.
1967 – I stayed home to raise our two children, Kathy and, three years later, Russell. But during that time, I
volunteered at our children‘s school, Gordon Head Elementary, working with children with learning disabilities.
I started working in Victoria schools in 1980 and retired in 2003 from Colquitz as Secretarial Assistant and Data
Processor. Jim retired in 1997. We just celebrated our 41st anniversary earlier this year.
We have four adorable grandchildren. Our daughter and her husband, Frank, have a girl, Shayla, 11 and a son,
Mitchell, 8. Our son and his wife, Kate, have two girls, Rebecca, 9 and Erin, 7. Our daughter is an elementary
teacher in the Greater Victoria School District and our son is the Shop Foreman at United Engineering/Pt. Hope
Shipyards in Victoria.
Jim and I have developed a show garden the highlight of which is a large koi pond and waterfalls that was featured
in Better Homes and Gardens in Spring 2005. I love painting in acrylics and am taking further instruction hoping to
improve my skills. I also volunteer, enjoy photography, lawn bowling, and hiking. We have two collector cars, a
1930 Ford Deluxe delivery van and a 1932 Ford Roadster, both of which Jim restored from the ground up. We have
loads of fun going to car shows on the Island and Lower Mainland with our cars.
We have a truck and trailer and have spent several winters in Arizona. We also like traveling in the Yukon and
Alaska. In 2001 we celebrated our 35 anniversary with a fantastic cruise through the Panama Canal.
The little grass shack in Hawaii turned out to be a Victoria show garden
JOY PAUSCHE
Joy joined the Bank of Montreal in Duncan in October of 1963 - had to work after getting out of school so she
could feed herself and her horse. Eventually she made enough money to buy her first car
which blew up going 50 mph on the Island Highway just south of Duncan. Until that
moment in time she could be seen bombing around everywhere with her Golden Lab
sitting in the front and her sister sitting in the back.
She stayed with the bank for almost 15 years. In the latter years, Joy became one of the
first women in management in Calgary and eventually moved into Management Training
and Development in Vancouver. There were a couple of great trips during those years, the
most memorable was to Europe for three months with a girlfriend.
She eventually left banking and joined Finning Tractor and Equipment in the Management Training and
Consulting Division, Edmonton. That is where she met her husband, Merril, married him and had a ready-made
family of two teenage daughters, Carolyn and Jamie. Those were some
interesting, challenging and fun years. Sometimes she looks back in awe and
wonder and amazement that she survived. Her own daughter Tamara was born
in 1984 and is now 23 years old and finishing her degree at the University of
Calgary. It was quite an experience to learn some limited parenting skills with
two teenagers and then start over with an infant.
About six years ago she was given the opportunity to take on the Alberta rights
for a leading edge Leadership Coaching Program. With much prayer and a lot
of fear, she and Merril decided to take the risk. The first years were tough
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going and there was a great deal of thankfulness that Merril worked full time and didn‘t need Joy‘s financial
help. There was a breakthrough a couple of years ago and now there is so much business it is hard to plan
retirement.
Summer vacations were filled with family visits on the Island and in Vancouver, and lots and lots of camping.
One of the best camping trips was to Yaha Tinda on the Eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains. Merril‘s
cousin hauled in the horses and three families took in RVs. The days were spent in the mountains on horseback
and the nights around the campfire.
Joy and Merril have now graduated to a new model 5th Wheel and it isn‘t camping anymore.
Joy is still working full time and is still involved in Management and Leadership Development. They have
been in Calgary for about nineteen years and have both been involved with a lot of volunteer work over the
years. Currently their time outside of the business is spent coordinating and leading the Alpha Program for their
church.
Prophecy – Physiotherapy? You figure it out.
LYNN (RICHARDON) LATOSKI
Upon graduation, and leaving Duncan, I attended business school in Victoria then proceeded to work at the
Motor Vehicle Branch of the Parliament Buildings. Terry and I married while he was still
attending UVic.
I was fortunate in being able to stay home to raise our two boys for several years. As they
grew older, I worked part-time while they attended school and then when our youngest
started university, began working full time again. I was secretary in several schools and in
2000 retired from the Maintenance and Transportation Department of our School District.
We lost our eldest son at 22, but our youngest has presented us with two granddaughters
and a grandson. Unfortunately, they live in Vancouver while we live in Campbell River, so
it requires a trip to the mainland at least once a month to play with them.
Our most memorable experience in our travels was hovering over a fast running
volcano in Hawaii. We could feel the heat through the floor of the helicopter.
I now keep busy with family, sewing, church activities, my Red Hat group, and
just enjoying my many friends. We try to fit in an hour‘s walk every day as
well.
It has also been fun in the last few years reconnecting with so many of you. All
in all, to quote one of the guys I worked with, ―Life is good!‖
Lynn‟s activities still include Terry, but where does she find the time with all her other stuff going on
__________________________________________________________________________________________
An economist is an expert who will know tomorrow why the things he predicted yesterday didn‟t
happen today.
Peter Lawrence
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PEGGY (RODD) DICKSON
Shortly after school was out, I moved to Victoria to work. In 1968 I met Derek and spent the next 12 years
messing about in boats. We sailed to Hawaii, fished for tuna, dragged for bottom fish, and
went to California for a year to buy a boat and sail it home. In ‗78 we bought property and
built a house. Our daughter, Susan, arrived in May ‗79.
The following year Susan and I left. We moved to Duncan
where I later met Cam. On our farm outside of Duncan we
raised goats, ducks, turkeys, chicken, fruits, and
vegetables. When the farm chapter ended Susan and I
moved to Maple Bay. I bought a house and have been here
ever since. I made my living sewing canvas for boats,
curtains, cushions, upholstery, clothing, and costumes. I
designed my own line of ―critters‖ that I have been making since ‗84. In 2000 I
volunteered at Providence Farm. Then I was hired to manage the store where I
worked until 2006. Now I sell my ―critters‖ and garden produce at markets and
work on an organic farm as a member of the Community Circle Growers. I
have had a lot of fun traveling and hope to do more. I haven‘t seen enough of
Europe yet. Susan lives in Victoria. She has a degree in writing and literature and is currently working as head
teller in a currency exchange office. She plans on going back to University to get her Masters in Archival
Studies
Peggy did sail over the blue horizon
SUZANNE (RUSSELL) PREST
Hello classmates! I‘m now retired from a regular 9 to 5 job, but loving my new
life as a ―pensioner‖ (without a pension). I owned a retail
store in Ladysmith for 13 years and in 1997 I was offered
the job of manager of the Ladysmith Chamber of
Commerce. I retired from the Chamber in 2005. The
summer before I retired, we went on a three month cross
country tour of Canada with our high school friends, Ken
and Vicki Jacques, Cary and Merrilee White and Bob and
Jo-Ann Windsor. We had a lot of laughs and saw our
amazing country from the Pacific to the shores of
Newfoundland. In 2006, I went on a memorable tour of
Northern India (picture of me in front of the Taj Mahal).
My husband of 41 years, Jim Prest, and I love to travel in our truck and camper
around the province and south in the winter. I‘m looking forward to reconnecting with my high school pals.
Still planning to dazzle all the Danes Suzanne?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
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ANN (SCHARFENBERG) SCOTT
After graduation I continued to work in the offices at the King‘s Daughters Hospital.
In 1964 I moved on to an Office Manager/Bookkeeping position at a new Real Estate
Office/Construction Company. I also married that year.
In 1967 and 1969 our family grew and I became a stay at home mother.
1982-1990 I learned the art of quilting. I taught traditional quilting for several years.
In 1988 I dusted off the cobwebs and returned to the work force, self-employed.
In 1988 I also became a grandmother. I now have three granddaughters and one grandson. They give me a
great deal of pleasure.
1990 was a year of turmoil and change, after 26 years, he moved on.
In 1991 I went on my first trip to Nashville, Tennessee to a huge Country Music
Festival called FanFair. It was my first trip of many for this event. I love it
down there and will no doubt make many more trips. I also went on a few
Caribbean Cruises, all with a country music theme.
In 2005 I felt it was time to retire and enjoy life. I am an avid gardener, doing
lots of quilting and spending as much time as possible with my two youngest
grandchildren.
Prophecies – nowhere near close – things sure can change.
LEWIS SCOTT
I escaped CHS in 1963 to join the Air Force, but I was attached to a bungee cord and bounced back to the
Cowichan Valley in 2002. During those intervening years, I completed high school,
received a math degree from UVIC, married Manon (40 years ago) raised two boys, gained
two daughters-in-law, and blessed with two grandchildren. Hopefully there will be a few
more grandchildren Manon and I can spoil.
We lived in Quebec, Ontario, British Columbia, Alabama, and Heidelberg. We especially
liked our tours in the United States and Overseas. Montgomery because of the tremendous
southern hospitality, and Europe because of the great opportunities to travel, for example,
Trier in 1984 while they celebrated their 2,000th (not a typo) anniversary! Meanwhile, backing up in time,
things in Canada were pretty exciting too – Montreal, 1976 – the Summer Olympic Games – I was part of a
Canadian Forces team that put in the voice and computer communication
systems in the Big ―O‖. One thing I distinctly remember is the facsimile
service we provided to the Olympic media, at the then unheard of rate of three
minutes per page, the media folks were ecstatic with this blinding speed and it
was even free! Now if it is not gone and the acknowledgment received in seven
seconds, something is wrong!
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After leaving the Air Force and before retiring to the Left Coast, I worked at a communications research centre.
During this period I had a fantastic job drafting and negotiating intellectual property licence agreements with
high tech companies that wanted to use the centre‘s technology in their products.
Now I am retired and keep busy making furniture for family. That is the one skill CHS taught me and that I
carried with me all these years, – Industrial Arts – wood working, and oh yes, fractions. Wood working and
fractions go hand in hand. All that English Lit crap just dragged me down and delayed getting grade 12 under
my belt. Besides enjoying our grandchildren, my other pastime is fishing. I like to catch crabs and prawns, and
troll for those elusive salmon.
No comments, I‟m the editor!
JOY (SINDEN) WILLIAMS
After graduating from Cowichan Senior Secondary in 1963, I decided that ‗I loved school so much‘ I went back
and took additional courses in Grade 13, then on to business college in Victoria for a year.
I returned to Duncan, worked part time with Canada Manpower, followed by a short time
at a car dealership before starting a full time job at a doctor‘s clinic. It was during this time
I met and married Roger, my husband of 42 years. He had recently emigrated from
England and had a position at Queen Margaret‘s Girls School. Two years later in 1968, we
bought our first house in Centennial Heights in Duncan for $19,500 – that was a lot of
money, our total income was only $600 a month. When we moved in we had to find an
additional $40 to pay for the furnace oil and in a couple of years started to raise a family.
During this time, I stayed home to raise two sons, David and Peter. After the boys
graduated, I returned to the work force and spent a number of years doing
clerical/secretarial work at Crofton Pulp & Paper. It was then we moved from Centennial Heights in Duncan to
Quamichan Heights in North Cowichan where we continue to live today. In 1997, my husband and I took early
retirement, which allowed us to start a number of home-based businesses including Brierwood Bed and
Breakfast. We have now operated a bed and breakfast for over ten years and hope to continue as along as we
still enjoy it and have our health. Running a B&B has been a great adventure for us. It has allowed us to meet
the most fascinating people from around the world and has provided us with additional money to fund our own
travel expeditions.
Because my husband and my parent‘s family were English, in the early years
we traveled with our children mostly to Britain and Europe. But since
retirement, we have concentrated our vacations in the Americas and in recent
years we have enjoyed winter cruises where we are thoroughly spoiled for a
few weeks. In 2005, we celebrated our 40th Wedding Anniversary on a month
long cruise up the Amazon River. It was a wonderful experience meeting the
Brazilian people along the river in small villages and large cities.
Our sons live in the Cowichan Valley. Our eldest son, David has two daughters, Samantha (12) and Alicia
(five). Our youngest son, Peter has recently become engaged with a wedding planned for October so we hope
that more grandchildren are on the horizon.
Like many of us, graduating from high school was the first big step in my life. I had not considered too much
about what the long-term future would be. But in reflection, my life experiences over the last forty plus years
have far exceeded anything that I would have dreamt of when I was eighteen. I consider myself very fortunate
to have enjoyed a rewarding life and look forward to more new adventures in the future.
Nursing? Not really! B&Bing is more this gal‟s style.
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COLLIN STAFFORD
I finally left Cowichan High (and the memorable single lane, one traffic light highway running through town)
after completing Grade 13 in 1965. I graduated from the BC Institute of Technology in 1967
(definitely the best year ever!!!), followed by 36 homesick months in Ottawa working for
Nortel. During that time, I realized that computers were more than a collection of electronic
parts, and meandered back to the coast (in my blue 1968 Javelin) to complete a B.Sc. at
UBC in 1972. Realizing that I what I really, really, really wanted was a degree in computing
science, I ventured back to the place of my birth (Northern Ireland) and obtained a M.Sc. at
Queen‘s University.
Down to my last $20, I accepted a job at the Ministry of Health in 1974. I left government
during the great purge of civil servants in 2004, graciously accepting the severance package and a pension, but
declining the $20 offered to all retirees for a celebratory ‗tea‘. After some eight months of getting my ‗honeydo‘ list down to a manageable size, I returned to the Ministry as a technology consultant. And that, for the most
part, is where I continue to ply my trade on a part time basis.
On a personal note, Judy and I have been married since 2001, having met each other originally as naive but
enthusiastic Beaver Leaders in Scouts Canada, way back in 1988. We have a total of four kids between us:
Evan, 26 (mine); Matt, 23 (hers); Brys, 22 (mine); plus the baby of the family, Mike, 20 (hers), who is currently
living with us.
Judy is a paediatric intensive care nurse who works long, hard, often thankless
hours at Victoria General, taking care of sick kids of all ages, and dealing with
their anxious parents. Stress relief is provided by the fact that she is a
passionate golfer and a member of Royal Colwood Golf Club. As a bonus, they
have a great chef and an excellent 19th hole, so I make a point of joining her
and her cohorts after the matches as often as possible. After all, unwinding
should be a mutually beneficial process.
On that note, I look forward to this reunion and renewing acquaintances with some very special people in my
life...fellow Cowichan High graduates. Wow!! It‘ll be 44 years. Bring it on!!‖
Another prophecy that came true, plus some.
MARY (WATT) HOLMAN
I don‘t remember too much about the last two years of High School, so for me I guess it wasn‘t very exciting. I
just know that I had to work hard to be able to graduate.
After graduation, I went to Esquimalt for a year and worked at a TV repair shop and at
Eddy‘s in downtown Victoria. Then I moved back to Duncan and got a job at the
Overwaitea and later, the 5¢ to $1.00 store, until I married in 1967 and moved to Lake
Cowichan where my husband, George, worked. Been at the Lake for 41 years now.
We were blessed with two children, a daughter, Dalene, in 1969 and a son, Michael, in
1971; but unfortunately our son died in 1999. He did leave us with two beautiful
grandchildren, a granddaughter, Kiana and a grandson, Hayden. Our daughter-in-law and her new husband
blessed us with another grandson, Ethan.
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I was a stay at home Mom for most of the children‘s school years, so I was kept busy running them around.
Then I went to work at the drug store in Lake Cowichan for 15 years. I enjoyed working there.
We spent our earlier holidays camping on the Chemainus River and then out at
Port Renfrew fishing and enjoying the beach. We have also camped at
Parksville, Qualicum, and Campbell River and have taken a few trips to the
Interior and Alberta.
George and I are now retired and enjoying our place on the river.
We can understand the red trucks, but camping in strange places???
CARY WHITE
Special Note – Cary died suddenly on June 10, 2008. We all send our condolences to Merrilee, daughters
Carrah and Lynsey and extended family.
After graduating, I went to UVIC and managed to struggle through first-year. Then I thought I would give the
University of Alberta a try. After waking up in my car after a night of partying, freezing,
with 6 inches of fresh snow – in September, I got my money back and high tailed it back to
UVIC.
My study plan was to cram all night before the Christmas exams. That afternoon, Windsor,
Prest, and O‘Keefe came down to Victoria and made me go drinking with them. Got home
at 6 a.m., took ten aspirins and went to bed to get some sleep before my 8:30 exam. After
failing second-year, I went to work at Hillcrest for eight months and then registered at
Simon Fraser University in their opening semester. I graduated in 1971 with a BSc in
biochemistry. Not sure why.
During that time I had worked in various logging and saw mill jobs. Merrilee and I were married at this time
and we moved to Victoria. I had one course to pick up, so was commuting three days a week to Burnaby on my
motorcycle. The ferry workers suspected I was a dope runner so one night I got roughed up by the narcs in
front of our apartment. A guy grabbed me by the throat as I was getting off my motorcycle (to keep me from
swallowing the condom of heroin, I later learned) and I kneed him in the balls. Luckily Merrilee worked with
an ex-RCMP officer.
After graduating I realized that I could make more money logging than I could
with my degree so I went to work in Jordan River for 8 1/2 years. Merrilee and
I built a house in Metchosin and had two daughters. I had worked my way up
through the ranks and was a rigger handymen when in 1979 I had a run in with
the first Compo Inspector I‘d ever seen. It was my fault. I mistook the blue
emblem on his hard hat for the Bank of Montréal when it was actually The
Workers Compensation Board. I thought he was there to foreclose on the
company so our conversation was a bit strange, to say the least. I figured if this
Nimrod could do the job then I certainly could.
In 1979 I couldn‘t even spell Compo Inspector and in 1980 I was one. We were
stationed in Prince Rupert. I inspected worksites, investigated accidents and
put on educational presentations. We really liked the people there, but the
34
weather and remoteness made us very glad to transfer to the Nanaimo office in 1982. We bought a house in
Parksville and have been living there ever since.
In late 2002 the WCB was looking to downsize by buying out redundant employees. My hand was so high they
could see it waving in Richmond. They kept me on until the end of January 2003 to finish up a Faller safety
presentation.
After retiring I hung out my shingle as a Consultant and was hired by the Ministry of Forests as a Safety Officer
for the fires of 2003. That turned out to be too tough a job for an old retired guy and I was glad when that was
over. I lost interest in any serious sort of work after that.
Merrilee and I had done a lot of traveling in our motor home before we retired, so after my stint on the fires we
started doing some serious traveling. Merrilee talks about that in her newsletter.
Dentistry or putting up with the cold? What‟s to understand? Warm always wins!
BILL WILSON
After CHS I followed my big interest in astronomy through four years of physics at UBC, a
couple of years in Waterloo, Ontario, for an MSc in astronomy and then several more in
Calgary for a PhD in astrophysics. Many years more as a postdoc in physics and astronomy
at the U of Calgary finally turned into a permanent position, and I‘ve been in Calgary ever
since. R&R during the 70s was primarily hiking, climbing and backcountry skiing in the
mountain parks, fitting it into the nooks and crannies of studying, teaching and research (or
was it the other way around?).
By the end of the 70s I started to figure maybe there‘s more to life than astronomy and mountains, and started
ballroom dance lessons. A year later, in 1980, I started dating another dance
student, Dawn, and as things turned out we‘ll be celebrating our 27th wedding
anniversary this July. Dawn was in art school at the time, and after a lengthy
break to raise a couple of kids she is back into art again. Our daughter, Anna, is
22 and in graduate school at the U of Alberta in Edmonton studying genetics,
and our son, Michael, is 20 and working towards a career in computers.
I‘m still at the university, teaching future Engineers how to do physics, but
retirement is starting to be visible on the horizon.
Bill became an astrophysicist, exactly as predicted!
CAROL (WINDSOR) REEKIE
I went to Cowichan High from Bonner, for grades 11 and 12. I don‘t remember many memorable events but, of
course, some of us will remember our moments of asinine stupidity, and I think I had many
of those. The first place I went after grad was Vancouver, as I won a bursary that allowed
me to go to school for one year. Talk about being a fish out of water, my big city skills
were certainly lacking. I worked in Vancouver for awhile, got married and had two boys.
In 1971, we moved to Kelowna, (where I continue to reside) but was divorced in 1976. I
later re-married a fellow who had custody of his two children, so my family grew to four.
We have six grandchildren and of course all of the ―outlaws‖ that come when one‘s children
get married.
1981 was a scary year as I was diagnosed with cancer, and one takes stock of their life and
35
their accomplishments during this time. After successful surgery and recovery, I decided to go back to school
to become a teacher. Nothing like going to college with your kid!!! In 1984 I got my teaching certificate, but in
the Okanagan, teaching positions were not to be had. I found alternate employment until the day I got my first
classroom of rowdy grade fives and sixes. While I taught, I went to night school and summer school and
completed my degree. In 1991, I crossed the floor at SFU and received a Bachelor of General Studies Degree.
When this school district went to the middle school model, I transferred to Glenrosa Middle School where I
taught Math and Science and then Learning Assistance until my retirement in 2005.
We have had many exciting trips over the years, like rafting the Colorado River on my 50th birthday and rafting
the Flathead River in Montana this year with my daughter and granddaughter. The first year after retirement,
we went to England for three weeks and from there took a Baltic Cruise that went to Russia, Germany and four
other countries. Retirement has been great, but the foundation was set with a good education from Bench
School, G.E. Bonner and Cowichan High School. The teachers that I had like Mr. Ridenour and Mrs.
Sanderson have made me a lifelong learner, and who knows when or where the next adventure will be.
Ummm, no mention of Boston cream pie.
RAYMOND WITTEVEEN
I came to Cowichan High School in 1962 from George Bonner. I was always very competitive in sports but
didn‘t impress Mr. Murray at first. I threw the rugby ball like an American football and
that was a no no for the English. Actually soccer was my game, not rugby. In grade
eleven, I entered every sport and the Sports Day trophy was mine to share with Allan
Farmer.
In 1964, I went to work in the Chemainus sawmill, pulling lumber. Then in 1970, I went
to work at a saw mill in Honeymoon Bay for three years. During this time, I got my
grading and tallying tickets. In 1973 Allan Farrell and I went to Europe for three months.
It was a trip of a lifetime. We had a Eurail train pass for three months to go all over
Europe, first class. I was born in the Netherlands, so we went to all my aunts and uncles over the three month
period. We criss crossed Europe, England, Sweden and Denmark. We never stayed more than three days at
any one aunt or uncle‘s place but we went to every brewery and drank their beer. Lucky for us, we had a travel
guide with the languages of the countries and how to keep the costs low. We did quite well, coming home with
money in our pocket.
Home again, I went back to work at the mill in Chemainus. In 1974, I took the Industrial First Aid course. I
still remember my first major accident at the mill. I attended a millwright who had put his right hand into the
planer knives. I bandaged him up and promptly got him to the Chemainus hospital. End result, the worker
ended up with a hook. For thirty years, I was a first aid attendant. Sometimes
the stress level was above and beyond comprehension. I was hired on at the
Saltair mill in 1983, and I stayed until 2004.
I love to travel, went to the world series in 1988 – LA Dodgers against the
Oakland A‘s. My Dodgers won that year. People in San Francisco were not
pleased with my world series T shirt.
In 1990, I went with a friend to New Zealand and Australia for a month. We
flew to Auckland where the 1990 Commonwealth Games where being held.
We went to Kaikohe, the sister city of Duncan, where I exchanged pins at city
hall and we toured both the North and South Islands.
36
From there we flew to Sydney, Australia. After visiting Melbourne, we travelled on the Great Ocean Road. We
came back to B.C. via Fiji and Hawaii. Then I got the cruising bug. I‘ve done the Caribbean five times, gone
through the Panama Canal twice and visited the Mexican Riviera and Hawaii. Every other year, I fly to Ontario
to see my two brothers and their family.
All this time I have been a bachelor living in Duncan for 28 years on Bell McKinnon Rd. I have been all over
the world and Vancouver Island is the best place to live.
From “kicking the daylights out of a soccer ball” to world traveller – nice transition Ray
__________________________________________________________________________________________
John Morton remembers:
 blowing the whistle on the pre-circulation of an English exam, and getting banned from Geneva
Pausche's English 12 class as a result (I had to finish the course using correspondence papers)
 Norman Burhoe and Jim Milljour shaving their heads after being told that their hair was too long and
they "had to get a haircut"
 getting hauled out of typing class by Mr. Goddard and sent to the woodwork shop to make a table
instead (the table only got a 'B' and I still can't type very well)
 smoking in the council room (how did we ever get away with that?)
 keeping detailed notes of Sam Palmer's BS (he was the band/math teacher in 62-63) and figuring that if
he'd actually done everything he told us, he'd have to be 75 years old
 losing two front teeth in a charity grass hockey game a month before graduation (Odean whacked me in
the face with her stick)
 writing alternating verse poetry with Donna McGeachy when English class was boring
 listening to the French 12 final exam dictation read successively by Mr. Schamberger and Mr. Gallagher
and being quite sure they were in two different languages
 knowing crazy people like Charlie Hill
 knowing really great people like Doug MacAdams
 keeping in touch for years with Garry Bruce, who hasn't written a letter or sent a Christmas card in his
life, ever
 the Parliamentary Club debates
 adolescent love affairs
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Jack Knox of the Times Colonist writes on Sunday June 22:
―The only way I would give a grad speech is if they dragged me up as a bad example and let me offer ‗Advice
You Should Have Taken‘. It would go like this:
Follow your heart. Or any other convenient part of your anatomy.
Kindness is for the weak. So are grammar.
When the oil light comes on, drive faster.
Don‘t travel. The world is a frightening and dangerous place, and will only infect your head with
confusing ideas.
Remember, alcohol improves judgment.
Forget the Bible, forget the philosophers, live by bumper sticker aphorisms instead: ―He who dies with
the most toys wins‖; ―Body by Nautilus, brain by Nintendo‖; ―If you‘re not the lead dog, the scenery
never changes.‖
Drift into the first job that comes along. Stay there.
Do unto others before they do unto you.
Appearances matter more than values. Always trust people who rate your outside over your inside.
Go ahead, roll down your window and feed it. The black ones aren‘t dangerous.
Follow the herd. Someone up there must know where he‘s going.
Red means stop. Green means go. Yellow means go faster.
Hold on to your grudges. Forgiveness is for quitters.
They wouldn‘t let you have a credit card/mortgage/motorcycle if they didn‘t think you could handle it.
One cigarette won‘t hurt.
You probably won‘t get pregnant.
Go ahead and take your clothes off. It‘s not like anybody watches YouTube.
Girls want to hear about your truck. Guys want to hear about your shoes.
When the roadblock cop says ―Anything to drink tonight?‖ reply ―Thanks, I‘ll have a margarita.‖
Cracks them up every time, particularly when it‘s raining and they need a laugh.
Airport security staff like a good joke, too.
Invest your energy where it counts the most: Just as your prom is more important than your actual
education, your wedding day will be more important than your marriage.
Always heed the advice of your elders. They wouldn‘t be giving grad speeches if they didn‘t know what
they‘re talking about.‖
Re-printed with permission
... a little bit of humour always helps ...
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REMEMBERING
Richard Corfield
Stan Archer
Diane Berkey
Dwight Dayman
Ken Carson
Louis Dobson
Arnie Clark
Arlene Easton
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Lynn Marshall
Jim Jeffries
Larry Labossiere
Welbier Mayer
Eileen Meynell
Jon Leney
Wayne McLarty
Anne MacKenzie
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Moray McKay
Len Sideroff
Ron Meed
Linda Taylor
Winnie Rodriguez
Faere Walmsley
Tom Watson
Richard Rushworth
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Cary White
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Beautiful memories are wonderful things. They last till the longest day.
They never wear out, they never get lost and can never be given away.
To some you may be forgotten, to others a part of the past.
But to us who loved you and lost you, your memory will always last.
anon
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CONTRIBUTIONS
The Sinking of the Ocean Cavalier – Tim Barnes
About ten or fifteen years ago I attended an Eagles meeting in Duncan. The topic of conversation came around
to fund raising to send a seven year old Toronto girl to the United States for a very complicated and expensive
operation. The Duncan Aerie and Eagle Fraternities across Canada had taken up the cause. It was December
and I suggested we could raise some money by having a herring sale. Naturally, since it was my idea, I was
chosen to carry out the plan. Within a few days I found myself out on the MV Western Surf. The Western Surf
was a beautiful, modern aluminum seine-boat and was state of the art for that time. My crew consisted of
myself, my friend and brother-in-law, Darrel Modeste and Gussy Modeste, his son and my nephew. Now
Gussy was just a teenager at the time, but he was a big teenager, and when I say big, I mean BIG. Also along
were my best friend, Lloyd Cook, who I have known forever, Mike Cross, who had fished with me since he was
a kid, and Garry Biggar, known universally as Yogi. If there was a reality show concerning who was the best
deck boss, Yogi would win hands down. He's as big as a bear and just as ugly (if you ever read this Yogi it's just
payback for all the earring jokes).
When fishing for food herring or charity herring usually one boat is designated as catcher boat and about five
others are designated to scout for herring and pack in their allotment when the set is made. On this night the
Ocean Cavalier was the catcher boat. The Ocean Cavalier was an awesome steel seiner built in the modern
design and possibly one of the best boats of that time. We were one of the packer scouts. The night started out
well enough, although it was extremely cold, and we could find no fish. We had started in an area by Entrance
Island outside of Nanaimo. After a little while of fruitless searching, I decided to run up to an area outside of
Nanoose and see what I could find. There was herring there alright, about thirty thousand tons in one massive
school. I called the catcher boat and told him he should come up that way and to look for a little splinter school,
as he would catch too much if he set on the one big school. Of course when he got there he set right in the
middle of the main school and he must have had a thousand tons in the set, so we had to wait for a long time
while they spilled out enough herring so that we would have a manageable amount. There was still two to three
hundred tons left. I was choked as we were expecting the wind to come up around midnight and I wanted to be
out of there by then.
When fishing herring the catcher boat has another boat come on the other side of his net and pick up his corkline. In that way the fish are suspended between the two boats and can be pumped out by means of a huge
hydraulically driven pump that each boat carries to load themselves. We were the designated cork-line boat.
By the time we were situated on the cork-line the wind had begun to pick up and it began to snow. Yogi was
my deck boss, so within no time we were pumped full, about fifty tons, our hatches were battened down and we
were flat in the water. I looked at the Cavalier and she seemed to be sitting too low in the water as they were
not as successful at getting their pump operational and, at that time, had little herring aboard. I hollered my
opinion at the skipper and he sent his engineer to check things out. A short time later the engineer was back on
deck with no bad news. Some boats naturally sit low in the water, especially if they are tanked down. I put it
out of my mind for a while. What was on my mind was the wind which was now approaching a full force gale.
Herring make an interesting sight in a net when it is stormy as they look like a giant silver wave running
between the two boats. To top matters off, there was a giant bull sea-lion swimming about trying to get aboard
our boat, since being fully loaded at the time, we were the lowest in the water. We managed to keep him off our
deck. And the wind blew harder. By this time the Cavalier was definitely not looking right to my eyes and
Yogi must have agreed as he told all the deck crew to get a knife in order to cut free of the net if things went
wrong. The skipper of the other boat seeing this asked Yogi why all my crew had knives and Yogi told him
"Well let‘s put it this way, if you go down, we're not going with you". This didn't seem to affect the other crew
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and they kept working away at pumping herring. The next thing you know that old bull sea lion had clambered
aboard the Ocean Cavalier and the crew were scrambling around trying to find something to ward him off. I
took one look at the boat and told the skipper "You're f--king sinking you know." The effect was electrifying!
Immediately everyone on the other boat dropped whatever they were doing and ran to the bow of the sinking
boat. Well! There we were, net all around us, the rigging of the listing Cavalier towering over us, and staring at
an empty deck, save for a totally belligerent sea lion. We cut loose while I called on the other boats to rescue
the crew of the sinking boat. I could not put the Western Surf in gear as I was surrounded by the fish and web
of the other boat. In time the wind pushed me clear. It became apparent to me that if there was any rescuing to
be done, the Western Surf and its crew would be the ones to do it, as no other boats were around. Immediately I
realized that I would actually have to run into the bow of the sinking boat and hold the power on to effectively
weld the two boats together, as the plunging up and down of the two boats could rip the bow off the aluminum
Western Surf. This I did from the dodger (flying bridge) as it was easier from that position to gauge the
distances and talk to my crew who where waiting on my bow to help the stricken boat crew aboard. It was no
piece of cake, as the wind was now howling fiercely, and the snow was coming sideways. I could barely see
what was going on, all the while wondering where the hell the net was. "Is everybody aboard?" I hollered. No
answer. "Is everybody aboard?" I again hollered over the wind.
"Yes, we got them all" came the reply. I put the Surf in reverse
and started to back away. Luckily or unluckily, as the case may
be, the crew of the other boat had tied their inflated life-raft to
the bow rail of the sinking boat. Unluckily, because the last man
aboard had tangled his foot in the line and within a second he
was dragged overboard and fell about fifteen feet into the frigid
waters of the Winters Gulf. Luckily for him, because he had
something to grab onto when he surfaced. Meanwhile the
momentum of being in reverse had backed me a couple of
hundred feet from the other boat. I could see the man overboard
had his body about halfway out of the water on the side of the
life-raft but within moments he had slipped back in so only his
head and arms showed above the water. We faced a real life and
death situation. I couldn't take the Surf alongside the Cavalier
as I would crush the drowning man between the two boats and if
we didn't do something right away, he was going to Davy Jones
locker for sure.
The hero of the moment was my brother-in-law Darrel. I had
always thought that the life rings hanging on the side of every
boat were of little more use than a decoration, but Darrel comes to me with one in his hand and says "If you can
get me close enough, I can throw this to him and we can pull him in." Sports news channels show ―Plays of the
Week‖, Darrel made the ―Play of the Year‖! He tossed that ring from fifty feet, about the distance of all the line
tied to it, and perfectly ringed the guy, which was totally fortunate for the desperate man, as he was about to go
down. Immediately the rest of the crew hauled him in and dragged his near lifeless body aboard. I stayed in the
wheelhouse in order to get away from the now rapidly sinking Ocean Cavalier. I could hear Lloyd talking to
the victim down in the galley. "Man, I thought I was a goner!" came a frozen chattering voice, and Lloyd‘s gruff
voice answering in return "Yup, I thought you were a goner too."
The Ocean cavalier being launched
The beautiful Ocean Cavalier didn't go down easily. I can still see her on her side with the radar scanner still
going round like a paddle wheeler and the big halogen lights exploding in a shower of sparks like fireworks on
New Years Eve when they hit the water ! The last to give up was the engine, which seemed to explode a
cylinder at a time. Then all was quiet as she slipped slowly beneath the waves. We transferred the Cavalier‘s
crew to the now waiting Fisheries boat, the M.V. Laurier, and set a course for Vancouver. Most of the crew
44
were up in the wheelhouse discussing the evenings events when up comes Gussy with two life jackets strapped
around his massive body and with wild eyes as big as dinner plates he took one look out at the raging storm and
another look at the wheelhouse crew and loudly stated "We're gonna die!". We laughed halfway to Vancouver
over that one.
I don't know how the little girl's operation went but I hope she is a healthy, happy young lady now. She has
friends she doesn't even know about……..
Nina (Colwell) Braathen – 2007.
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Charged By A Grizzly: – Elsie (Niemeyer) Anttila
Seeing grizzlies and keeping them out of our base camp at Inklin was pretty much a daily occurrence but some
bears are different. This happened one sunny October day:
Our last hunters had left after the Fall Season, so Guy and I decided to play for a couple of days taking videos of
bears. We went to a location where Guy on a previous day had watched some bears. We saw a medium sized
sow with a large cub, which I believe, was three years old and normally would not be hanging around the
mother any more.
They were both fishing. They seemed to be loosely attached, not wanting to be separated more than 50 – 60
yards. We were hiding in a pile of logs on the gravel bar about 50 yards from the bears as they were fishing.
After about 30 minutes the sow is full and she is heading out, probably to bed down for the day. She ends up on
our side of the creek passing us at about 40 yards without spotting us. She continued into the brush. The cub
realized that mum had left and it takes off on a run to catch up, also disappearing into the brush.
I knew that if the bears continued in the direction they were heading they would cut our scent, probably a
hundred to one hundred and fifty yards back in the bush. My thoughts were that it did not matter, we had
enough videos.
With the bears gone we were standing along side of the log pile discussing the camera. I had been the gun
bearer and had leaned my 375 against the log pile between the two of us. Some minutes went by, when Guy
caught a movement in his peripheral vision to the left, a movement at the brush line about 65 yards away. It
was the sow in full flight. She was charging up the scent trail without having seen us.
Guy dropped the camera and reached for the gun and instinctively shouted at her which was automatic to him
because bears sometimes take a run at you when they see a movement, they may think they are looking at prey
and a shout will often stop them in their tracks as they realize their mistake.
This situation was different. The bear knew what we were and had no hesitation about what she was going to
do about it. It was a silent charge; Guy‘s shout only pinpointed her target. Sand was being kicked up behind
every leap. Slow motion kicked in as Guy centered the rifle on her head that was in a low position, pulled
slightly to the right side of the head and touched it off. She was 25 yards away.
The bear piled over backwards. The slug actually knocked her back a few feet. She tried to get up but her left
front leg was not co-operating. The second shot put her down.
The next morning I was feeling very sad that we had to kill the grizzly but Guy straightened my thoughts with
these words, ―If we hadn‘t seen her charging and shot her in time, she would have had us for supper.‖
Fortunately, over the years, we have had a lot of joy watching the wildlife, including hundreds of grizzly bears,
walking by our camp at Inklin on the Taku without incident.
46
AND DO YOU REMEMBER?
THE WAY IT WAS IN 1963/64
1963
W.A.C. (Wacky) Bennett was Premier of BC
President John F. Kennedy made it illegal for US citizens to travel to Cuba or have any financial or commercial
dealings with the country
Patsy Cline was killed in a plane crash while returning from a benefit performance in Kansas City
Simon Fraser University is founded on March 1
Mt. Agung on Bali erupted on Mar. 16th killing 11,000
Alcatraz Penitentiary in San Francisco closes
The Front de Liberation du Quebec sets off its first bombs in Quebec on April 20
Lester B Pearson becomes the 14th Prime Minister of Canada on April 22
Coca-Cola debuts its first diet drink, Tab cola
Dr. No, the first James Bond film, was released
Pope John XXIII dies.
Pope Paul VI becomes the 262nd Roman Catholic Pope.
ZIP codes are introduced in the US.
The Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism is announced on July 22
The Great Train Robbery took place on Aug. 8th in Buckinghamshire, GB
Martin Luther King gave his ―I Have a Dream‖ speech at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC
Hurricane Flora hits Hispaniola and Cuba killing 7,000 people.
A volcanic eruption off of Iceland creates a new island Surtsey.
John F. Kennedy was assassinated on Nov. 22 in Dallas, Texas. Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson is sworn in
as the 36th President of the US
On Nov. 24, alleged assassin Lee Harvey Oswald is shot dead by Jack Ruby in Dallas
118 passengers are killed when Trans- Canada Air Lines Flt. 831 crashes near Ste-Therese-de-Blainville,
Quebec on Nov. 29
47
SPORTS:
Toronto Maple-Leafs win the Stanley Cup beating the Detroit Red Wings: 4-1. (Oh, so they did win again)
Los Angeles Dodgers win the World Series over the New York Yankees: 4-0
Hamilton Tiger- Cats win the Grey Cup over the BC Lions 21 – 10 at Empire Stadium in Vancouver
CHART TOPPERS:
Go Away Little Girl – Steve Lawrence
Walk Right In – The Rooftop Singers
Hey Paula – Paul & Paula
Walk Like a Man – The Four Seasons
Our Day will Come – Ruby and the Romantics
He‘s So Fine – The Chiffons
I Will Follow Him – Little Peggy March
If You Wanna be Happy – Jimmy Soul
It‘s My Party – Lesley Gore
Sukiyaki – Kyu Sakamot
Easier Said than Done
Surf City
My Boyfriend‘s Back
Blue Velvet
Sugar Shack
Dominique
I‘m Leaving it Up to You
MOVIES OF 1963:
Cleopatra
The Longest Day
Irma La Douce
Lawrence of Arabia
How the West Was Won
Mutiny on the Bounty
Son of Flubber
To Kill a Mockingbird
Bye Bye Birdie
Come Blow Your Horn
FAVOURITE TV SHOWS OF 1963/64
The Beverly Hillbillies
Bonanza
The Dick Van Dyke show
Petticoat Junction
The Andy Griffiths Show
The Lucy Show
Candid Camera
The Ed Sullivan Show
The Danny Thomas Show
My Favourite Martian
My Three Sons
The Flintstones
Walt Disney
The Saint
Hockey Night in Canada (of course)
Reach for the Top
1964
The US Surgeon-General reports that smoking may be dangerous to one‘s health on Jan. 11
Plans to build the World Trade Centre are announced
The first Beatles album ―Meet the Beatles‖ is released in the US
The Winter Olympics are held in Innsbruck, Austria
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The Beatles arrive in the US on Feb. 7th and are on the Ed Sullivan show on Feb. 9
Cassius Clay (Mohammed Ali) beats Sonny Liston and is crowned the Heavyweight Champion of the World
Jack Ruby is found guilty of killing Lee Harvey Oswald, purported assassin of John F. Kennedy
The Good Friday Earthquake on Mar 27th killed 125 people in Anchorage Alaska and caused tsunamis that do
damage in Prince Rupert, Port Alberni, Tofino and Zeballos
Canadians are issued Social Insurance cards for the first time
General Douglas McArthur dies at Walter Reed Medical Centre on April 5
The Ford Mustang is unveiled in the US on April 17
Shea Stadium in New York opens in April
John George Kemeny and Thomas Eugene Kurtz run the program in BASIC on a computer on May 1
Northern Dancer wins the Kentucky Derby
Jawaharlal Nehru of India dies on May 27
Nelson Mandela and 7 others are sentenced to life imprisonment on Robben Island in South Africa
The US sends 5,000 more advisers to South Vietnam on July 27 bringing the total to 21,000
Ranger 7 satellite sends back close-up photos of the moon
Country singer Jim Reeves is killed when his private plane crashes near Nashville, TN
US Destroyers USS Maddox and USS Turner Joy are attacked in the Gulf of Tonkin
Walt Disney‘s Mary Poppins premieres in Los Angeles
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip start an 8-day visit to Canada on Oct.5
Dr. Martin Luther King is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on Oct. 14
Nikita Khrushchev is deposed on Oct. 14/15 and Leonid Brezhnev and Alexei Kosygin assume power in the
Soviet Union
Harold Wilson becomes British Prime Minister on Oct. 16
Lyndon B. Johnson defeats Barry Goldwater to become President of the US
On Dec. 16, the bill creating the new Flag of Canada is passed in the House of Commons
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SPORTS:
Toronto Maple Leafs win (what? again?) the Stanley Cup 4-3 over the Detroit Red Wings
BC Lions win the Grey Cup 34-24 over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats
St. Louis Cardinals win the World Series over the New York Yankees: 4-3. Mickey Mantle hits 3 home runs in
his last series to beat Babe Ruth‘s mark of 15.
MOVIES:
Tom Jones
The Carpetbaggers
It‘s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
The Unsinkable Molly Brown
Charade
Goldfinger
My Fair Lady
Mary Poppins
Zorba the Greek
Dr. Strangelove
A Shot in the Dark
A Hard Day‘s Night
CHART TOPPERS:
You Really Got Me – The Kinks
There I‘ve Said It Again – Bobby Vinton
She Loves You – The Beatles
My Guy – Mary Wells
Chapel of Love – The Dixie Cups
Everybody Loves Somebody – Dean Martin
Where Did Our Love Go – The Supremes
Baby Love – The Supremes
Leader of the Pack – The Shangri-Las
Oh, Pretty Woman- Roy Orbison
I Want to Hold Your Hand- The Beatles
House of the Rising Sun- The Animals
A Hard Day‘s Night – The Beatles
I Feel Fine – The Beatles
Just One Look – The Hollies
Do Wah Diddy Diddy – Manfred Mann
Ferry Cross the Mersey- Gerry and the Pacemakers
Gloria- Them
I Get Around – Beach Boys
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REASONS WHY THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE IS HARD TO LEARN
1. The bandage was wound around the wound.
2. The farm was used to produce produce.
3. The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
4. The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
5. He could lead if he would get the lead out.
6. The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
7. Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.
8. The buck does funny things when the does are present.
9. After a number of injections my jaw got number.
10. There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.
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A classmate was sitting in the waiting room for her first appointment with a new dentist. She noticed his DDS
diploma, which bore his full name.
Suddenly, she remembered a tall, handsome, dark-haired boy with the same name had been in her high school
class some 45-odd years ago. Could he be the same guy that she had a secret crush on, way back then? Upon
seeing him, however, she quickly discarded any such thought. This balding, grey-haired man with the deeply
lined face was way too old to have been her classmate. After he examined her teeth, she asked him if he had
attended Cowichan High School.
‗Yes. Yes, I did. I‘m a Thunderbird,‘ he gleamed with pride.
‗When did you graduate?‘ she asked.
He answered, ‗in 1964. Why do you ask?‘
‗You were in my class!‘ She exclaimed.
He looked at her closely.
Then, that ugly,
Old,
Bald,
Wrinkled,
Fat ass,
Grey-haired,
Decrepit,
Son-of-a-bitch asked,
‗What did you teach???‘
That‟s all folks!
Nope, wouldn‟t you know it – late submissions follow:
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MORE CLASSMATES
SHARON SWEENEY
Memorable tidbits of my last few years at CHS.
Always being late for school until I had a Corvette to drive (late getting her write-up in
too!), receiving the French proficiency award thanks to the brilliant teaching of Des
Gallacher.
A few words describing my life since I left CHS:
After grade 13 I went to business school, worked for a law firm, travelled in Europe and
the Middle East for a year picking grapes in France and living on a kibbutz in Israel,
graduated from UBC, hosted the 8th year grad ‗63 reunion at my parents‘ home, got married and raised two
daughters in Vernon, divorced, went to the Yukon, now living in Duncan, teaching high school and enjoying
my new puppy.
Memorable experiences I‘ve had:
Going back to teach at CHS, white water raft trip on the Tatshensini River for
ten days for my 60th birthday, being shot at by the Egyptians in the Sinai
Desert (where‟s a „vette when you need one!), working on restoring the old
Westholme Schoolhouse (A far cry from knitting, cooking and sewing)
BRIAN HARRISON
Coming from George Bonner, I spent just two years at Cowichan High School. All was not totally new, though,
as several teachers were moved along from Bonner as well. I was blessed to have Ken
Ridenour for homeroom and for several subjects. In fact, Ken taught me each year from
grades seven through twelve!
I remember being one of the few boys in the Future Teachers Club at Cowichan High. This
served me well, as I pursued a career in Education (BEd,MEd.) and taught or was Principal
in many schools in the Cowichan School District (36 years) until I retired several years
ago. (one would think that as a former teacher, his assignment would have been in one
time.) Some of the interesting events in Administration included having one of my former
teachers as a member of my staff. I also had the privilege of having Graham Corsan‘s son
start kindergarten at my school the same year my own son was starting his life with Graham at Cowichan High.
Both Graham and I agreed to watch out for each other‘s son!
I married Gerry Forbes (we were the quintessential high school sweethearts) who graduated the year before I
did at Cowichan. We have two children—son Kent and daughter Kim (who both attended and graduated from
Cowichan High) and have two grandchildren.
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I haven‘t wandered from the Cowichan Valley and have tried to give back to the community that has treated me
so well over the years. Among the highlights was being elected by my community to five terms on the
Cowichan Valley Regional District Board, and serving for several years as Board Chair.
Hockey was always an interest for me, and I played every week up until a few years ago. Presently I serve on
the Executive of BC Hockey as the Director of Junior B Hockey (16- to 20-year-olds). This is a great
assignment, as it involves working with 36 teams across the province in a sport I enjoy.
Other interests that Gerry and I enjoy are boating and RVing. We recently completed our first cross-Canada
trip to St John‘s, Newfoundland--quite an adventure!
I now look back at my time at Cowichan High and realize it prepared me well for my future endeavours. It is
always a treat to run into those I attended school with and share stories of the years we spent at Cowichan High
and compare the various perceptions we had of those days. Where did the years go?
Brian‟s hobbies, Gerry and hockey, have served him well.
STEPHEN SPARKS
From 1964 – 1966, I attended SAlT in Calgary and graduated in Land Surveying Technology. Between 1966 –
1970, I worked for various surveying companies in Port Alberni, Duncan, Vancouver and
Williams Lake and covered a lot of varying terrain in B.C. and Yukon. In 1970, I moved to
Terrace with a large Vancouver surveying and engineering firm and used this as my base for
16 years. In 1972, I opened All Seasons Sporting Goods which is still a vibrant business in
the Pacific Northwest and solely owned by my first part time employee. I continued to
survey on a contract basis in the telecommunications industry throughout the U.S.A. and
internationally and it gave me the experience of spending 22 months (5 trips) in Saudi
Arabia surveying the microwave system for the new telephone and television network that
covered the entire country (830,000 sq. mi.).
In 1986 – 1997, I took on a new challenge in resort development on the Hawaiian Islands and specialized in
golf course construction. In 1997, Hawaii suffered a construction bust and I returned to the mainland (Seattle)
to work in construction management on a new town site development, Snoqualmie Ridge. From 2000 – 2002, I
went to work in northern California in the fiber optic industry and ended up in the Mammoth Lake ski resort
expansion (Intrawest) before retreating back to B.C. For the next 4 years, I answered the ‗call of the wild‘ and
the ‗midnight sun‘ in Whitehorse and the Ft. Nelson area. I took a job on
Vancouver Island with the faint thought of looking towards retirement but it
wasn‘t like the good old school days and in 2007, travel, challenge and
adventure brought me to Belize in resort development. I‘m living in the small
fishing village of Hopkins (pop. 500) and fitting into the local way of life with
the local people on the Caribbean Sea quite nicely.
Travel and geographic have been a big part of my life since graduating from
Cowichan and I have been around the world twice and have worked or traveled
through the following places: U.S.A. (47 states), Belize, Guatemala, Mexico, El
Salvador, England, Ireland, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Netherlands,
Denmark, Sweden, Greece, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, India, Nepal,
Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Guam, Saipan, Australia, New Zealand and
Fiji.
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During the past 11 years since the last reunion, our boys, Bryce and Eldon have obtained bachelor degrees from
U of Calgary and are testing the waters of the real world to see what they want to do for the next 2-30 years of
there life (so many opportunities). They both have the travel bug so that must be in the genes.
If work schedules permit, I‘m hoping to be at the reunion to visit and trade a few stories of yesteryear with
the old classmates.
No wonder his write-up was late – he‟s never home long enough. “a smiling surveyor or a rich civil
engineer”, how about a smiling world traveller!
CAROL (RUTH) WATSON
Wow forty years go by so quickly!! Shortly after high school I left for to travel Europe and ended up
working for a head hunter organization in London, England. This was quite a learning
curve – remember I was a young lady from the hamlet of Shawnigan Lake, pop. 500!!!
After taking secretarial and computer courses and living in Victoria, Regina and
Vancouver, I moved to Calgary where I met and married Les Watson who was from
Vancouver. We were married in 1971. Our son, Cameron, was born in 1973 and our
daughter, Tiffany in 1977. Both our children did their undergraduate degrees at the
University of Calgary and our daughter went on to graduate school at the Oregon Health
Science Centre University. We have been blessed with three grandchildren. Our son
and his wife live in Calgary and have Alex (6) and Amelia (4). Our daughter lives in
Oregon and she and her husband have Abigail (7 months). We LOVE being
grandparents!! Need I say more?!!!
We enjoyed the years of parenting, with all the children‘s activities etc. but these years are so very special! It
is nice to see our own children established in their careers and doing a great job of raising our grandchildren!
Wouldn‘t it be nice to be able to put life on ―pause‖ for awhile to savour the moments?!
Our primary residence is still Calgary but we are fortunate to have a place in Victoria and we go back and
forth quite often. I still have a ‗soft‖ spot for the Coast – especially the Victoria area. I can walk forever
admiring the architecture, gardens and the sea! We have kept in touch with Alf and Dianne Gale and we
enjoy our visits with them.
Les and I enjoy traveling. We recently went to Italy and enjoyed an autumn tour of New England last fall.
We had plans for a trip to Ireland this past June but we had to postpone it due to Les‘ health issues. I enjoy
antiques, old architecture, gardening, walking and reading. I also enjoy having friends in for a nice dinner
and a glass of wine!
I wish everyone health and happiness in your retirement years. Live each day with love, compassion and
enjoyment! Regretfully, I cannot attend the Reunion but I hope that you will all have a super time.
This little gal has seen a lot of water flow under the bridge since working in a Shawnigan Lake café.
ANN (WESTERMAN) WEEKS
I regularly pass by Cowichan High School on my way up island to visit my mother who lives just north of
town. I noticed several months ago that the once beautiful cinder track is overgrown now with grass. Its like
my memories of grades 11 and 12 at Cowichan High, more difficult to access after so many years.
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I can‘t say that I loved being in school then, the ages of 16 and 17 being what they are. I
wasn‘t one of the ―popular‖ kids. I was one of the ―yearning‖ kids — yearning to be
beautiful, to have perfect hair, to have the boyfriend I just couldn‘t manage to get, to be a
different person than I was.
Luckily, the culture began to change then, heralded by the Beatles and folk music. It stirred
me up; I began to have an inkling of who I was. The summer I graduated, I bought a
motorcycle, a Honda 50. Life was getting better! I remember the freedom of riding down
the island highway on warm summer evenings.
In the fall of 1964, I enrolled in a ten-month commercial art program at the Kootenay School of Art in
Nelson, BC. Wow! That was a time of too much beer, and lemon gin. But a time of wonderful friendships
and adventures and learning to make my way in the world.
In 1965, I relocated to Victoria, ―the big city‖ and began my first job as a designer at Fleming Printing. The
nights were long and lonely; the days were dark and wet. I missed my life at art school desperately. I met
George Weeks then; perked me up some; I fell in love. After a six month stint of work in Prince George in
1966, I visited my birth country, Holland. I reintroduced myself as a 20 year old to grandparents, aunts,
uncles and cousins. I felt so lucky and so embraced and loved.
I married George April 5, 1968 … so unsure … ―I think I am supposed to be doing this, aren‘t I?‖
Those early 20s; a time of retreat from my expansive self; I made a pact with Ann Westerman to stop
listening to rock and roll — I was too old for that now.
Marriage, life (his life) on the boat, up and down the coast several times, and suddenly…
1970!!!! Rock and roll re-emerged. Life became exciting again. Hippies. Dope. Beer. Laughter. Up all
night. Encounter groups. Looking inward and outward. Didn‘t want to be married anymore.
Met new and exciting people who took me away from the constraints of my life. George and Phyllis from
Chicago, who were to become so important in my life.
In 1973, Phyllis and I moved in together after falling deeply in love over a period of three years. We lived in
Duncan; started a women‘s centre, then in 1974, went back to art school at
Malaspina College in Nanaimo. In 1975 we moved down to Victoria and
bought our first house, so Phyllis could get her degree at Uvic. I worked at
several jobs as a graphic designer.
It was another heady time…the women‘s movement…lesbian life in the
city…disco dancing and fun!
In 1983, we bought another house in James Bay where we lived for 24 years.
I took time off from graphic design in the eighties and worked in theatre as a
lighting designer and production manager. I took up playing the cello several years ago, an instrument my
aunt in Holland played all her life. It brings me a great deal of joy.
Phyllis and I are now living in Oak Bay. We have a nice life here — I am still working in my home studio as
a designer, and she as a professional painter in her studio below me. The last 20 years seems to have gone
very quickly, I think for all of us. Grandchildren and godchildren. Weddings, Bat Mitzvahs and
celebrations. Travel to the USA, Europe and Israel. Lots of sorrow and lots of joy — lots of life!
This wee gal was a hip-swingin‟, long-haired „Peter Paul and Mary‟ type briefly, and then common sense
prevailed.
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PETER MOORE
After graduation I attended UVic and got serious just in time to pass first year. I discovered a deep interest in
Biology, learned to study, and ended up graduating with scholarship offers, but I had to
work for a year before I could continue with grad school in Zoology or Physical
Anthropology.
Having worked in northern B.C. during my summers, I knew there were well paying jobs
in the bush but be damned if I studied that hard to drive a bulldozer. I decided to teach up
North for the winter. First, it‘s warmer inside. Second, I was sure I could do a hell of a lot
better job teaching than some of the teachers I had.
I learned a couple of things that year. One was that teaching really is a lot tougher than I
thought. But more importantly I learned that I really enjoyed teaching and interacting with teenagers. I had
found my ―calling‖. So I returned south, entered the UVic special teaching certificate program and actually
became a teacher.
I got a job in Vancouver and lived the wild bachelor life in the city for ten years, finally meeting the right
woman. Reyna and I have been very happily married for over thirty years living a life of fun and adventure.
Our first settled summer together (1979) we traveled by local transport across Mexico for two months with just
a bagful of essentials. (This is settled?) That pretty much established our life‘s pattern. For the next 25 years
we spent one quarter of our time backpacking the world from the heights of the
Himalayas to the depths of the oceans. All of our travels have been
independent and adventure oriented. We always wanted to do our toughest
travels when we were young and have taken on challenges such as white water
canoeing (not rafting) the Nahanni River in the Northwest Territories, hiking to
Everest, Annapurna, and K2, (ahhh, now you are getting settled) crossing
Africa, camping and hunting with pygmies in the Congo jungle and countless
similar trips. In addition to teaching, I became a photographer and made
several Nature and Travel Photography presentations at the Vancouver Planetarium and other venues. I retired
in 1999.
Career reflections? I feel I succeeded in doing better than many of our teachers did. My Bi 12 students always
beat the BC and city average, I get invited to class reunions, my ex students greet me with hugs, and I have
many lasting friendships with them.
Influences? I always tried to be as organized as Mr. Proctor, as good-hearted as Peggy Boyington (even when
she was giving you heck for being bad she gave the impression she liked you) and to speak as well as Mrs.
Pausche.
Reyna began taking half year consulting contracts in San Francisco in 2000 while I played ball, golfed, played
with stocks, planned trips, and enjoyed life.
In 2005, a gnome checks the Life Book and says ―We gotta slow this guy down.‖ So… Cancer... Operation…
Liver transplant... Complications... Investigations... Complications… Surgery... Complications.
Presently we live in a condo on the water by the Granville Island Market where we can walk for fresh fruit and
vegetables. We will be spending all of our time here until my health problems clear up.
Pete still loves playing ball!
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Now we‘re done, but let‘s have a few more laughs...
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Two English businessmen in London were sitting down for a break in their soon-to-be new store. As yet, the
store wasn‘t ready, with only a few shelves set up.
One said to the other, ‗I bet any minute now some idiot tourist is going to walk by, put his face to the window,
and ask what we‘re selling.‘
No sooner were the words out of his mouth when, sure enough, a curious Irishman walked to the window, had a
peek in, and in a thick Irish accent asked ‘What might ye be sellin‘ here?‘
One of the men replied sarcastically, ‗We‘re selling assholes‘.
Without skipping a beat, the Irishman said, ‗Well then, it looks like you‘re doin‘ quite well... only two left!‘
Englishmen, God bless them, should not mess with the Irish.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
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