CASTLEGAR NEWS, Friday, May 28, 1976

Slee Name Board Now at faint College

The Sterawheeles) “Minto”

Skeleton Among Junk

Provies Pol ait puny )

You can’t take it with you
when you go, and John Vickers
didn't.

Among the scrap wood,
bottles and junk he had col-
lected and hoarded in his
southeast Vancouver home,
children found his skeleton.

The 77-year-old man had
been dead more than a year.

As reporters and photo-
graphers crowded through the
back door on Tuesday of last
week, the-stench of decay hit
them. Homicide Det. Bob Des-
marais, used ‘to such things,
took: an aerosol can from his
briefcase and sprayed the air.

“He was a packrat; he
collected everything and car-
ried it home,” Homicide Sgt.
Sam Andrews said.

‘And it was true, All the
rooms were piled high with an
assortment of junk and | debris.

There were rolls of insula-
tion and sheets of plywood; four
old refrigerators and as many
broken lawnmowers; several
tablesaw blades and a jointer,
rusted beyond repair. And
everywhere there were bottles
—wine bottles, beer bottles and
whisky bottles,

Det. Demarais pointed out
the old boxspring mattress
beside which Mr, Vickers’ skel-
eton had been found, ‘partly
covered with a blanket, :

Not much is known of the
late John B, Vickers, An old
passport indicates he immi-

grated to Canada in 1949 from
England" ‘*

His mail shows he received
a veteran's disability pension.
The rest of his mail is official or.
impersonal.

There were no letters from
friends or family,

A final notice dated July 8
last year threatened to have his

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power cut off, It was apparent-
ly disconnected later’ that
month,

There was a bill for city
taxes—for the last three years.
He appsrently ed his home
at 4718 Bruce.

“Police said he was born in
1900 but they don't know what

he did for a living or whether he

has any relatives in Canada.

According to neighbors he
had a cat. There were some
bones that could be part of a cat
‘on one of the refrigerators,

A couple that live ‘next
door, Mary Kucharonok and
Fred: Scholten, said-the last

time they saw him was: just.

before! Christmas 1974.°>> >",

“He came to the door with

al ter that he said wasn't for
" said Mrs. Kucharonok.

He never had any visitors,
the couple said, and appeared
very much. alone.

In March 1976 after they
had not seen any lights in the
house for some time, the couple
called the police. The police
went inlo the house but'didn’t
discover the old man's body.
They said the house was
vacant, said Mr. Scholten.

The neightbors assumed
Mr. Vickers had gone into a
hospital or an old age home.

“But I feel bad about the
way he died—alone. We should
have some better laws for
checking on older people,” said
Mrs.

Tho lost mortal remains of
the Queen of the Arrow Lakes
have been transferred from
land-locked =Sparwood to
Castlogar within eye view of

Minto’s ond of

In his spare time he built
boats, one of which was the
Miss Nelson, built in 1938 for
Dr. Roy Shaw which was
Hinchi to be the fastest’

HH trip landing.

George Clerihew, of Spar.
wood, whose family worked on
the boats on Arrow Lakes and.
Kootenay Lake, has presented
the gilded name-plate which
stood on the pilot house of the
old boat to Selkirk College

> Library in memory of his.

grandfather, George Robb
Clerihew.

John Mansbridge, colloge
librarian, sald the college would
find a place of honor for the
nameboard. which has  wit-
nessed so much of the history of
the West Kootenay.

How it got to Sparwood is
a story in itself. Minto, which
ran from Arrowhead.on Upper
Arrow ‘Lake to Robson on
Lower Arrow Lake, a hop-skip-
and-a-jump from Selkirk Col-
lege, went out of service in
1954.

George's grandfather, who.
worked at the Nelson shipyard
asa carpenter, often went up to
Nakusp to repair her, and so, in
1967 when everybody in Cana-
da was celebrating the. cen-
tennial of Canadian Confedera-
tion and cities, towns and
hamlets had their big centen-
nial projects, he took on onc
himself: to find what he could of
the

in Western Canada,

He died in 1968, i

The. stories told about
Minto could fill a book, but none
would:be complete without the
one about George: Clerihew's
father, who was another
George.

He and. Billy Huston,
(whose father was a newspaper.
man and Nelson's first mayor,
were working on ‘Minto at
Nakusp. She was tied up to the
wharf, just below the Leyland

Neither of these two guys
\ked to-do the dishes, so they
threw them out the porthole
after each' meal. Then along
came the superintendent, who
saw the chinaware reating on
the lake floor, Guess who had to
do some diving?

Lottery

Then there was General
Frederick Burnham, to give a
Minto story encore, who was

Lord and Master of Halcyon ,

Hot Springs,

Known as. the Hero of
Montenegro during the Firat
World War, he used to come

down to Minto in full uniform, |

medals up, baton under arm, *

with his pets, not dogs or cats,
but goats,

These animals would range
all over the boat, and you can
imagine the problems they set
up with the cleaning staff,

George traced down the
nameboard, and when he
moved to Sparwood, he
brought it with him, where it
became a bit of a shrine for
himself and all those who knew
and loved Minto,

‘Now it has gone home to
West Kootenay and to Selkirk
College.

Her memories are close to
home,

Post Office has Operation ry 000

“A public lottery has been
launched by Canada Post to
boost its Olympic support pro-
gram. The ‘project has been
named “Operation 50,000."

Postmaster T. R. Deans
says all Castlegar area postal
workers are now ready to

Since being taken out of
service, Minto had many tragic
vicessitudes.

The CPR, who owned the:
great little paddlewheeler, sold
it to Nakusp for one dollar, with
the hopes it would be used as a
museum. Nakusp went on. a
fund-raising drive and took in
$165 — that's all.

It then fell into the hands
of a junk’ dealer, who then
stripped Minto of all her finery,
an act that brought tears to the
eyes of anold rancher at Galena
Ba; ite hame of John

aan ieiew the Queen
when she was a Queen. He had
her towed up to his place, and
wanted to restore her into his
own museum. But son-of-a-gun,
there was no way he could
beach the hulk.

So John got down on his
knees and prayed, That night
there was a rainstorm. The
rivers of the West Kootenay
rose to near record heights,

It darn near flooded Ne!-
son. It darn near flooded Trail,
but it put. the Minto right
where John wanted it.

Well, John couldn't do
much with it, even though it
was his pride and joy. When
B.C. Hydro bought his land to
allow flooding behind the Hugh
Keenleyside, or High Arrow
dam,'they took the remains of
the Minto out into middle-lake
and gave it a Viking funeral by
fire.

"Minto had come to the
lakes by a very curious route,
possibly even’ through Spar-
wood. She, and his sister. ship
Moyie, now. a perfectly re-
spectable museum at Kaslo,
were. built for. service on the
Stikine River in northern B.C,
during the Klondike gold rush.

With the building of the
White Pass and Yukon Route
Railway, the CPR changed
their plans and shipped both
boats out west by rail, in pieces,
of course, to do service on the
profitable lake trade in B.C, -

She carried miners, ranch-
ers, remittance men, pro-
motors, fallen angels, parsons,
equipment and memories all
her life.

But then the trade fell off, -
and when ‘she was given a
Viking funeral most of her
ports of call had died by
drowning: Carrolls Landing,
Makinson Landing, Arrow
Park, East Arrow. Park, Fau-
quicr, Fire Valley, Halcyon Hot

Springs, Arrowhead, Beaton, |

Comaplix, Fostall, Valhalla.
Shoreholme, Lardeau City,
Hall's Landing, Galena Bay,
Deer Park.

R.LP.

She could float across the
dew, that Minto,

George Robb. Clerihew
came out from Scotland in 1906,
and after a brief. sojourne in
Winnipeg, came: to ‘work in’
Nelson where he worked as a
carpenter until 1912.

Then, for the next 37 years
he' was on the Nelson ferry
which crossed the North Arm
where the present bridge is
located.

distribute the lottery entry
cards to the public.

For 50 cents worth of the
postoffice’s special Olympic Ac-
tion Stamps, citizens can buy a
chance on the’ top national
prize—a trip for two anywhere
in Canada that is served by a
commercial carrier and a post
office, plus $1,500. in cash.

The national draw will’ be
conducted July 28 in Ottawa.

In addition, there will be
three provincial draws for Brit-
ish Columbia and Yukon for
sets of the popular Olympic
Stamp Sculptures,

Box
pheee' winners will’ be sel: 5 VOB 4N2.'

ected in each drawing for the

sculpture sets, valued at from~

.) The B.C./Yukon
draws will be made June 14 in
Kamloops and July 19 in Prince
George.

Postmaster Deans said the
lottery entry cards and rules
can. be obtained only) from
postal employees, who become

-the entrant's sponsor,

The employee sponsor will
win a’ duplicate of the prize
awarded to the lottery winners,

To be valid, any entry card
must bear the name . and
complete home address, includ-
ing the postal code, of both the
entrant and .the sponsoring
employee, plus 50 cents worth
of Olympic Action Stamps, as
shown on the card,

All entries from BC/
Yukon will be mailed to P.O,

50,000, Vancouver, B.C.

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‘845 Homby St, Vancouver, B.C. V6Z 1V1 of Phone area 604-687-6781.

PUBLIC HEARING ;
Commission on.
" University. Programs -

in Non-Metropolitan
Areas _

The Commision wil be holding = pole bearing la
Castlegar on June 16.

In preparation for this hearing the Commission has
produced a working paper ohtitled “A Series of
Proposals for the Provision of University Degree
Programs in the Interior of British Columbia”.
interested in i
to the commission should obtain a copy of the -
working paper from the address below, Briefs;
Prepared in advance of the public hearings can be
forwarded to the Commissioner, and enquiries
concerning the commission should be es to:

abrief

#500 - 805 West Broadway, Vancouver, B.C, VSZ 1K?
‘Telephone: 872-0245

‘The public is urged to attend this important hearing,

and may submit either written or oral briefs at that

time. Details of time and location of the hearing will
announced nearer the date of the meeting.

¢ DEPARTMENT. oe EDUCATION

COLUMBIA, VICTORIA, B.C.

‘The Census of Canada will

all Canadians,

andask for ZENITH 01976,

Thats why

‘We're countingon you. ‘
‘The 1976Census of Agricule «+

you pro-

the Censusol Agriculure whofarms itsomething we

vide on Census Dx
anada that

= doltright

requiring you to

the 1976 Census of te i

Y

fay 3ist,or :

your choice,

iv "Statistics Canada Statistique Canada

A

Re eS

oy en

CASTLEGAR NEWS, Friday, May 28, 1976
’ “Vy

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HERE ARE THE ANSWERS TO MOST QUERIES

May: relatives give a shower for the bride?
It is not considered proper.
What does the groom provide for his ushers?
Boutonnieres, ties and gloves.
Who provides the corsages for bride and mothers?
The groom.
Who provides for the wedding and reception?
The bride's parents.
How sre wedding bands initialed?
Bride's initials come first inside: the band, then
groom’s and date of marriage.
{na church wedding, which side is usually reserved,
for the bride's family and friends?
The left. The groom's is the pie side.
Does the groom always kiss the bride at the altar? -
The clergyman will rule on it, according to church
practice.
ts the clergyman invited to the’ reception?
Yes, with his wife. He sits at the parents’ table,
Are checks displayed with wedding presents?
No but they may be noted on a card.
Is it soctally correct to exchange duplicate wed
ding gifts?
Yes.
Do ushers and best man stand in receiving line?

io,
Who cuts first pisce of cake?
The bride, with the groom's right hand over hers.
They break the slice and eat it ouster: A friend
or waiter then takes over the slicing.
Is the groom obligated to dance with someone
besides his | bride’
Yes — his mother, mother-in-law and mald of honor.

When should invitetions and announcements be

ana two months before the wedding.

When are invitations to a formal wedding sent out?
Three to four weeks before the ceremony.

May. quests ibe invited toa ‘reception “and not the
wedding itself?

Yes, when the ceremony is attended only by rela-
Hee and, close friends.

of i ?
vee No rebeavciione — except Mr., Mrs., It Dr.

“Is it correct to use “and family” on invitation en-

velopes'
No. Send seperate invitations to adult sons and
daughters. For small children address the outside

‘envelope to their parents, write thelr first names on

the inner envelope under thelr parents’ names.
What gifts “may a bride give a bridesmaid?
A small lasting gift, perhaps jewelry.

What gift does.a groom give his bride?
Something personal, Usually jewelry,

Who gives clergyman his fee?

| The groom pays, but best man hands # over in. plain
ceremony.

white envelope before or after cere

Are identifying cards put with the presents-on
display?

Not these days. 3 ;
What happens at reception if the other couples stect
clincing bettas the bride and groom’ end
When the newlyweds appear, ges stops
they waltz once around the floor solo,
oe reception cards snclosed, wih inv fationst

es, and so are reply cards ar envelopes.
:The home address should be printed on . reply en
velopes.

When ‘should speeding 12 announcements ibe mailed?
A day. or two ‘after: wedding.

Are wedding announcements ever sent to anyone
who's: been invited to the ceremony or. reception?
0,

May a bolse wedding be just as formal as a.church

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Yes, although there are never as many attendants.

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CASTLEGAR NEWS