ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT oxox Madness and the quest for Eden a "BPM 12M Castlegar Recreation Cenire * Bre pavesen 410.00 000" ada at: Pete's TV. Pharmnanane, People's, .0.A., Rae. Contre CASTLEGAR SELKIRK Lion's CLuB WINTER CarNi > SANDMAN * INN Mon.-Thurs. 2 pm- 10pm Fri. - Sat. 11 am- 11 pm sateen nr ° welcomel 365-7017 with members ney pyoses In February each year, we humans go a little stir crazy. We've had a crawful of snow: shoveling it, moving it, and watching it fall—imprisoning us daily. In fact, we get the Febru- ary blues and go a little mad. Despite feeling shut-in and depressed, what we experience is nothing compared to those who spend long winters elsewhere in our country. OPERA PLAYERS presents... February 16,17 & 18 at the Greater Trail Community _ Centre and March 10 & 11 at Rossland Senior Secondary Tickets: $10 advance, $12 at the door, Alpine Drug Mart in Rossland and Pete’s T.V. in Castlegar How would you like to have been Michael Oros who spent 13 years in northern B.C. in the most isolated of circumstances imagin- able? Now there was a man who had cabin fever, and because of it, he was ready to shoot anyone who happened into his territory. Michael Oros’ gripping story—comparable only to that of the mad trapper Albert Johnson himself—is now available in an impressive book called Destent into Madness (Hancock House Press). Written by Penticton Crown prosecutor Vernon Frol- ick, who once had a similar posi- tion in Terrace, this book shows us how wilderness isolation and madness go hand in hand. Initially, the book details how one young man sought what he called “sanity” away from the pressures of a civilization he believed had gone “mad” back in the United States. And when oth- ers interfered with his version of paradise, he became a murderer. It's true that Oros was discon- tent with America and its Viet- nam war when he arrived in Alaska in 1972. Like so many athers of the time’, he was a draft expatriate American friends who only wanted to go home, Oros loved the wilderness. He dreamed of living some- where in the pristine backcountry and setting up a a haven for civi- lization dropouts. He also believed he could help others by writing about his experiences The extracts from Oros’ diary that Frolick includes in the book are illuminating in themselves. Finding his Eden in Canada not far from-Telegraph Creek near Atlin in,northern B.C., he was not at first ready for the lifestyle required. As a hippie, ine Yen’ eae feet ibe ‘moe he Tatts ergeee De cay ty {WED (THU} (FR!) [1 }[ 2) 3] FEBRUARY Sm Are you having ait entertaining event? Advertise your up-coming dance, exhibition, recital, play etc. in the Entertainment Guide. Call Cathy at 365-5266 for more information SS dodger, But unlike many ‘of his he was a vegetarian in a land- FEATURING mexican & Wesvenn Diswes Specializing in: Home made breads, pastries & pies “RUSSIAN FOOD” includes: Borsch, Pyrahi, Varenniki, Lapsha Located Playmor Junction BANQUET FACILITIES & MOBILE CATERING AVAILABLE. ® SHAW CABLE SCHEDULE JAN 30 - FEB. 5, 1995 " 6:00 pm (Mon.) 6:00 pm cuss. 9:00 am (Wed.) KOOTENAY VALUE ADDED WOOD STUDENT AWARDS 7:00 pm Nannootl Bi :00 pm pcg ) 12:00 pm (Wed.) CRANBROOK PEE WEE INVITATIONAL 8:30 pm (Mon.) 8:30 pm (Tues.) 12:30 pm (Wed.) _ KOOTENAY REGIONAL MEN'S CURLING FINALS 10:00 am (Wed.) 1994-95 IEE FARADAY LECTURE 6:30 pm (Wed.) 9:00 am ay SRE ts pm (Sun.) COMMUNITY DA 7:00 pant (ec ). 9:30 am Wy ee 30 opm (Sun.) ELEBRATING GOD: 8:00 pm (Wed » ba A Th hig i (Sun.) 8:30 pm (Wed. , pe onan ner 2 00 pm (Sun.) FAITH A 9:30 pm ee :00 pm (Thur.) 3: ry pm (Sun.) STROKE FOUND: 10:00 om ire 12:30 pm (Thur.) 3: a om ae ) Roser Bisco wen oon am (Fri.) 6:30 af NELSON PROGR. Mi SiN Ist ANNUAL ENTIRE GIFTWARE SALE CONTINUED Sale ends Feb.4 ~ np eee ) IN GIFTWARE PEOPLES DRUG MART 365-5888 scape that required its inhabitants to be meateaters to survive. Asa pacifist, he had never learned to shoot a rifle. After one trip to the backcoun- try where he feared for his life because of bears, he soon acquired a rifle and learned to hunt for his food. Living in a lonely cabin on isolated Hutsigo- la Lake, he kept himself in other staples such as dried vegetables and flour by raiding the camps of outfitters and hunting guides His only companions were his dogs, a-collection of books, and his diary Here was a man who wandered the countryside of that section of British Columbia until] he knew every cabin and every trail. Daily he wrote about his experi- ences in a journal and on pieces of paper which he stored in secret caches. It was,gumoured that he shot at passing airplanes, and after awhile everyone was afraid to travel into the vicinity where Sheslay Free Mike—as he called himself—lived. But one woodsman, a German named Gunter Lishy, did enter Oros’ domain. In fact, he set up his trapline and began to build a cabin near Oros’ place. Oros promptly murdered him, stole all his equipment, and went on liv- ing as the sole occupant of the country for a hundred miles around Hutsigola Lake. As the book illustrates, Oros was an interesting case. When he first arrived in Alaska, he was already paranoid, believing that those ini power were drugging or poisoning him in various ways. He sought to live in the Canadian backcountry in an attempt to get beyond these forces. However, he carried his para- noia with him, and after a period of isolation in the wilderness, he began hearing voices and found himself shooting at society's “sneak-arounds” whom he felt were out there poisoning the landscape—and him. His paranoia heightened dra- matically during the 13 years he Sharon Anne Willson received her Bachelor of Arts from the University: of Victoria upon the recommendation of the Faculty of Human and Social Development in May 1994. Sharon grew up in Castlegar and graduated from Stanley Humphries High School in 1990. meena i] Wednesday, February 1, 1995 The Castlegar Sun éeked out an existence in the ' wilderness. Gunter Lishy was ; killed as much because he was | viewed as an agent of the phan- tom poisoners as because he tres- | passed on Oros’ territory. The rest of Frolick’s book cov- ers the RCMP attempts to bring | Oros to justice. In fact, the book details the moves and moods of | the Mounties from the first | moments of preparation to the } chase itself. The first time Oros was sought in 1982, he was captured, but he was acquitted because Gunter Lishy’s body could not be found. The second time the. Mounties went in after him was a classic instance of how nine Mounties nearly got killed by this wily backcountry woodsman. They were indeed very lucky. One finely-trained Mountie was killed when Oros turned the RCMP ambush into one of his own. But Oros, a marksman who never missed, was killed when his rifle failed to go off. Frolick knew the essential facts of this case from having been in Terrace during the early 1980s when these events were unfolding. He also had access to Oros’ diaries—at least those that were discovered. To put the rest of the book together, Frolick interviewed hundreds of people connected to the case. In addition to understanding the madness in Oros, Frolick seems to have some sympathy for Oros’ quest. Who wouldn’t want to find paradise somewhere? Isn't that what we seek in our limited ways when we spend a few days camping, canoeing, hunting, or climbing in the grandeur of B.C.'s wilderness? If you enjoyed Crusoe of Lonesome Lake or were intrigued by books like Rudy Wiebe's The Mad Trapper, you'll enjoy Descent into Madness. If yop'd like to meet the author Vernon Frolick, he will be in Castlegar reading at the library and Selkirk College in mid-March. Featuring Seniors Discounts every day 314 - 10th Ave. 365-2213 Valentine Gift Boxes, Baskets & Natural p> _- Bath Products Just Ev's CHOCOLATE & Girt Snore 1114 - 4th St, Castlegar 365-7542 ‘Kevin Bader: warden of music JEFF GABERT _ Sun staff Kevin Bader is a man pos- sessed and trapped by a captor that he can’t see and there isn’t much hope of ever escaping. But, as Inck would have it, he likes ‘it. Bader's captor is music adi permeates almost every facet of his life. When he gets up in the morning he goes to work at Sun- shine Radio as the morning announcer and afterward he becomes the lead singer of a band called the Sonny Boys with his brother and Jeff Holitzki, a ‘long-time friend. And in his spare time he writes and com- poses songs for his solo career. And that solo career is about ‘to get a little kick on Feb. 3 when he opens for Farmer's | Daughter at the Capitol Theatre in Nelson. Not bad for a guy from Grand Forks who only | started writiag his own songs | five years ago. } At the ripe old age of 25, } Bader has a lot of travelling yet to do on his musical road, but he has already seen.a few sights. While working in Van- couver as a radio jock for JR Country he became accustomed to the country scene and saw its inner workings. He ended up doing a lot of work as a freelance musician working in studios with other more accomplished artists like Nolan Murray, a former winner of the B.C. Country Music Asso- ciation’s Musician of the Year. He also released his own EP mini