: : Pulpit & Pew by Ministers In the West Kootenay ° By DIRK ZINNER Seventh-day Adventist ~ + Church te Icame across an article the other day, and it contained some real valuable thoughts. and questions as one serious- ly contemplates the begin-° ning of another year. I'd like to excerpt a few thoughts. “Another, year of. life is now in the past. A new year be cpghite before us, What be its record? What will inscribe upén its, spotless. pages?The manner in meh. we spend - each Nordic Lodge: passing day will decide this question. . 2. “Lel us enter upon the néw. year with our hearts cleansed from the defilement' of sel- fishness and pride. Let us put away every sin! indul- gence, and seek to become faithful, diligent learnors in the school of Christ, A new . year opens its unsullied pages before us. What shall we write upon them?... “Seek to begin this year with right purposes and pure motives, as beings who are accountable to God. Ever Makes donation A grant of $418 has been received by Nordic Lodge No. 76 from the’ minister of state, multi-culturalism, government of Canada ior . the continuation and promo- tion of Norwegian A very. successful New Year's Eve party was staged ‘at the Nordic Hall by its members, George and Irene Pater and Polly Travis and their commltice. Food was classes. At present, Norweg- ian language classes are held’ each Wednesday evening at Selkirk College under ‘the direction of Kaare Gjenne- stad. New students are wel- come to enrol at any time. Gar- dei ane prizes. were gen- erol sly donated by West's, Tothm ‘Travel abd Castle Bowl with proceeds from the party to bo donated to astlegar's United Way. bear. in mind that your acts are daily passing into history by the pon of-the recording angel. You must meet, them again whon the Judgement shall sit and books shall be opened, ; “If we connect with God, ‘the source of peace, and light, the truth, His Spirit will flow through us as a channel, to refresh and bless all around _ us. This may be the last year + of life to us. Shall: wo’ not enter upon it wit! houghtful consideration? Shall not: sin: . armed On Sunday after Christ- wee keen “birders,” ith binoculars and tally sifeets, scoured the countryside between Argen- ta and Wanets on the 10th annual Christmas bird count . sponsored by the West Koot- , Naturalists. f Ee [crorainated this‘year by . 3 Street of South Slocan, istedy by Maurice Ellison of Trail and area represen- . ta ved Badge Hollington of cerity, respect,. benevolence, . { mark ou our, deportment toward “Let us withhold ‘nothin, precious life for us... us consecrate ‘to ‘God: the ‘a . property He has intrusted to us. Above all, let us give Him ourselves, a free-will offer- ing. Let us do His will, live jt¥ for His glory, and He will give us a Happy New Ye: These thoughts were tak from.a lengthier “article Ellen. yale -written in the: magazite of: “the Times," “Janiei5, 1882, My prayer.for eachone is that we live each‘ 1981 one day, aba time, ear! g to apprec- Don't forget G By J.A. CHARTERS -The winter birds are * : engaged in a feathered feed- ing frenzy at the trays again, _ and againI am inded of a hood. The sparrows rustling and twittering noisily in the boulevard maples in front of my grandmother's old-fash- small incident from the past — or maybe several’ inci- dents. ioned ‘ging house on Soymour. Street in Vancouv- er;. the Victory Square pi-__ jtroubadors who appeared on sfecial occasions when I was feeling in a-truly ‘mud-colored’ mood, and who, by their own ‘joy-in- Jiving- song,’ brought life to mine. Such a one was the meadow “Many years ego. ‘we JOH IN| CHARTERS’. Reflections & Recollections were visiting’ an elderly , Doukhobor couple who lived up tlie Pass Creek valley by. the river. In: keeping with hospitable custom a: lunch had been served including a rich borscht and BIRD COUNT, made Dac. 286 Nelson, fc ‘Webster: ‘ts: of Castlegar and Jean Cum) ing of Salmo, the team of 100 “spotters” covered a total of 280 ‘miles by | car and 183. miles on foot — usually in” pairs, though some of the more experienced naturalists : traveled alone, cork ° The object of ‘the annual xercise,. carried: on. -by . Mimerousy naturalist SROUpS - thes “to. gain ‘some ' Iden the: ‘numbers ‘in different species in mid-winter, and‘ pass‘ the the! orn- habitat: or the.use’ of peith cides und herbicides, The ; 1980" :total:, of- 9,742 birds tallied in 68-apecies' is ‘one of the highest in the 10 , years on record, with the i100 -participants’ also exceeding” other years, In! 1977, sthere were ‘70. spectes, “of birds: noted, ‘a. close: ‘comparison ted’ ors .with the 68 tnectes of the . eng unuaual Neriationss in bird populations, Declining’ ‘popt lations » mg? bet be‘ has'been ‘yeors once all-tally sheets were in, During th is Jed asthe. highest tb earlier count, shown here being noted by, left to right, Sidney Clarke of Nelegn Jim: Street of South Sloss. Win * treasured. Little’ otider ie: holds such a special place in all the international, Itera- tures,. | * Even the: faithful dome- stic hen ‘has her place in the Kall of memory. How clearly I “evening . Jays, Junkoes and Sparrows, . ‘ A) whe any time in their 1 rela: tionship with mankind; Cer; tainly the flocks of brassy current’ count, and well :up F observed Possibly because! _ mild winter, the very largo - flocks of Bohemian waxwinga: ° —oftens feature of the coun _ were absent this: year. «Two yeara ago, 8,907 Bohem- ‘fans ‘were spotted, din 1974 ie species totalled . - 9,412. Tho 1977 ‘count was 1,210 and the 1980 count only 269. :On “his other hand; 268: a ‘Canada geese Were recorded’ ‘this year, with only 49 in ae 978. < "bays ‘ Seventeen - : hundred’ ‘and : West Kootenay count was great grey owl;'seen on’ the gen Creek road, triumphant’ bird counters’ rom the 40 naturalists: present: were that “this salen ount we ould bo down but - gathered ‘at Selkirk Collegovaci on the afternoon of the count'itivr ae sRonnie,”". Ellison cand, Tae treet, +6 “Job's Daughters to ho a ‘ installation ceremonies: of Bethel No. 60, Steller’s the timid Flickers and beauti- ful Varied Thrushes.and-the jaunty Chickadees who make "thelr daily.“ visits’ at’ our feeders, have equally active ‘and varied-relatives all over the: ‘valley. And the Bald Eagles” who perch in’ the high old’ ~ tree, the Great Blue Heron thick . slices . of wholesome bread. Afterward, when we Wore, : ‘ifito “the fire; . checked by our hostess: “No, no,” she cried -(in- * Russian) :“thou'* must | not" geons rolling . lke sailors hors, -husrying-after lunch- lark who owned a a plece of the _Tecall one sunny summer) My_mothor was. bag. hand-outs.. on..the. side- as” “walk‘or courting’ destriction in the streets, while skilfully dodging motér and streetcar traffic, and gleaning. scatter- forget God's So the crumbs went to’ ‘but ‘the words o in my id throug! ars. Not. that one pedicel the birds before this — they were always given seraps of left- overs, together with oatmeal, grain. and suet when. the weather was cold: — but it - was done haphazardly, inci: dentally, when the thought crossed one’s mind. . .Birds were simply a part of one’s natural background; they were always there — like the trees, the grass, the sun andthe rain. Nonetheless, when one focuses one’s mind on the. subject through the glass of those words, early and ap. parently forgotten recollect ‘tions come vividly and} I _ suspect, uniquely to min: For example, I rem ppings ‘ahead of the clean-up man; gulls, ‘white and grey, swaggering and bullying t! way about, the grassy slopes: ‘between’ the recumbent idlers; the “robins, hopping about like erratic mechanical toys on every green lawn, every so oftea engaging in.a furious’ tug-o-war with. a reluctant worm, Ther there were the ber, as a‘child, the riotouss7" >" *<* summer sunsets with sky and | inlet a symphony of reds and golds. Then, as the colors faded with the setting sun, flocks qf crows with raucous crow-voices: would come streaming to their rookery, a giant dead fir tree, ancient . survivor of an earlier forest fire on the hill. Every summer evening it would recur. First there would be the faintly-audible, almost subliminal calls and the distant black spots in the sunset. Then, as they beat their way closer, converging irom the western horizon in their many scores, the mur- mur became a noisy clangour of greetings, gossipy ex- changes and braggings of the day's adventures in the sur- rounding hills and the sea- shore. Then followed the more indignant sounds — flappings and jostlings — as favoured roosting: places on the bare branches were contested for and finally settled. However, it was soon completed, and by the time the far hills had changed to violet and. the vesper sparrow had sung his _ last sad notes from a nearby bush, sil was quiet in-the great crow-tree and the sum- mer night had begun. s And there are other summer-bird recollections, sounds and sights of child- 11d. “‘Tiine’ ei tune ai Be é ould burst'from the grassy field and on a spiral of purest. melody’ rise to become a speck in the simmer~sky taking us bored and drowzy classroom-bound mortals with him. : He was a champagne bubble of life and he changed nothing for the ‘best. His alter-ego was the Italian nightingale who sang outside . my hospital window in south Italy. He wasa very. shy little fellow with a small voice, but in the silent graveyard hours of the summer night his song, was an experience to be fe i gittib ‘an the back’ door-step. “One 6f* the “several,” very elderly, leghorn hens stopped , her aimless who fishes the shallows and ‘the. gulls who’ fly the air. _ currents over the river who* slowly.and deliberately up to © mother, sat down quietly at her side, and just as quietly, died. My mother, normally a ne and reserved waman, quite unexnectedly broke a to tears. But what of the winter birds? ‘They are, if conver- sations with friends -and: neighbors are any indication, better fed and more carefully observed and cared for than pecking, walked « They are, infect, a living reminder of that poetic line of hope “If winter's here’ can spring be far behind?” — our~ firmest anchor ts the reality of the real world in a time of increasing, - mechanized ali- enation; our:strong link with the -past ‘and one’ of‘ our strongest bridges. to the future. : We. owe “them a eres Billy Gordon: | lighter vein after last week's tirade to Lloyd Axworthy.. about the Unemployment In-- surance Commission.- ‘ . * * * First. off, many thanks to Lyle Kristiansen, Gota letter read my “interesting and * very human” (the quote is‘ ’ his) column of Nov. 9 about, my Japanese PoW friend,: Jim Secord. Lyle : had , his NCP. Ottawa staff try totrack him - down. Unfortunately, they. . drew a blank in both who Liter moved over to the. Trentonian: and: some years down tho road wosked with Gary. and our. advertising. manager, Tim Messenger.” Onee upon atime Roy was “a Beatie Brena but, as the International Order of Job's Daughters, were very busy duit the month of Decem- "Despite the day’ being extremely blustery, the ‘pre- Christmas tea held Dec. 6 in the Legion Hall, was success- ful and well-attended. The hall, was decorated. in the seasonal theme with the focal point pelng | the Christmas -. eontered wit "> Bla. ‘tated tapers, were: Fd 2. ase . and Mrs, B.. Crawford. : ‘The craft table Was. 8 tribute to the many hours the girls put into their. work - parties suring the preceding month, and ¢! table was lavishly si The door ‘prize, donated by the Hair Annex, was | won by. G. Finney. + A fashion doll, whlch had been: beautifully dressed by: Mrs. G. Murdock“ and, don- ated for raffle, was won by 8. Sinker" about, it, z But he had a weakness, He liked to play Scrabble,,So did my sister Lois, That was-his ** undoing. ~ A .. Nice guy that Iam; I tured" Roy to my parents place one.. night for a game (of Scrabble): co: “Hieaiss. Fe ee pecial disp ngazio regulsr meeting was*held the Masonic Hall, 7 ec iL * instead “of Dec.°10. *? ,Hlection of ‘officers - was conducted by... scrutineers Mrs. .M, Mra, K. by honered q ho «tented "the" members. to fb : Bethel No." 60° ‘members: companied horiared queen - Diane to‘a church ‘parade held. Dec. 4 eh St. David's, fibetet party. Vader. and Mr. B. Foubister. Those : elected : to’ office were: honored queen, Celina Sookachoff, senior princess Janna Sylvest, ab, junior, prin- cess Kim 2 guide ». Tracey. Abanone ‘and mar- appointed officers, will be installed into office in after-. noon installation ceremonies tobe held at 2p.m., Jan. 24 in the Woodland Park school, This ceremony is open to the: publie and an § . which a luncheon was held in Diane's \ home..:- Diane's grandparents, Mr. ‘and Mrs. Rogers, from Oliver, were in attendance. | ‘ By dispensation, the sec. Tie ond regular meeting of: the , month was changed to Dec. from the Dée-“17..' Santa. thadea ise visit wit ‘pack of gifts,’ chatted with every .girl.and received 8 aN: tribute ‘for each gift be- stowed. Fun was had by all.” During the. Christmas break, the members worked three for tho extended to anyone who would like ‘to attend. For - someone interested in mem: bers time'to attend, The regular meetin Bethel Guardian Cor hel : Worst ‘Virginia’ and a news- ‘paper ‘tycoon named Gannett were.out at. the. Quinte: Golf ‘and.Country Club. Nixon was vico-president of the Us 8. of ‘ A, at the time. Off I tore, out to the golf: ‘club, Would you believe, they ipted me to-make up 8 Thamesville and. Thames- .” i ford, Ont. (They found some Secords in Thsmesville, but they were the wrong clan.) Anyway, I thought it-was pretty decent of our MP to take on the task umask Again, Lyle, thanks a bunch, ” Gary’ Floaing, ot our ad-. vertising ‘department, re- _ turned with his wife Cathy’ a ‘ae a Birds are simple a part of one’s - natural background after visiting family. ‘in Trenton, Ont., over Christ-; mas and New Year's. While there he phoned my dad who igave him this message ‘to ‘ pass on to. me: Pos “If you're ever talking to Billy Gordon at CanCel, say’ hi to him from Bill Brum- mit," So, Billy, there you have it” from Bill via Grant Harvey” via Gary via me. - . re. * . Trenton brings back fond memories of my firat news- paper job at, the now-defunct (I had nothing to do with it) Courier-Advocate and my: a a ~ponithevey : Regional Recreation Society ” assembling brochures. Meetings will resume this ‘Wednesday in the Masonic Hall. A pot luck supper and otshe the ‘ friendship night will be held : for ‘the girls-and their'par- . Hents., 3 for a ni hteap a two o thre. VOR e's The: encounter proved, ” beneficial yeara later when 7 wrote President Nixon ask- ,ing for help in. getting to cover the war in Vietnam asa free-lance, A few weeks after I'd sent the letter, a fellow frém the. Pentagon called and said he'd ‘been given instructions from the’ Oval Office to get me on hoard a B-52 at Spokane on such-and-such a date, * [was so elated I went out and celebrated and woke up next day ‘with a tattoo in Mandarin on my .chest, It “says “Made in Canada” and ‘was applied on the recom. - mendation of the Pentagon that Ishould carry something - 8 to identify me asa ‘years. fled . by and . worldly . “experiences, took their toll, he turned: into a dirty old man, ..(Much -like me.) “He certainly did’ ike well: turned ankles and st sweaters ‘on . the . opposite: sex. And could'he swear! (Unlike me, ‘who ia as pure a3 yollow snow.) | - ; Roy, now managing editor of the Trentonian, once lived . in & converted Tailway cae boose just. dutside. of town and he had a library loaded with -all sorts of goodies, usually of a soft porn variety. And he loved: to play his wheezy pump organ, when he wasn't fishing in the Trent . Canal or writing his weekly column, “Hook, Line ‘and with Lois:'Shé decked him in? all games played. Now, Roy’. isn’t, the type” who takes defeat: sitting “down. He asked for,:and got, a return engagement. See i that thc! too, even though Roy-had had the forésight to bring along a ° . dictionary to check some of the words, she came up with.’ Tve often wond her he's still smarting. La * . Speaking of swearing, I've only. run! into one. ‘other person who could outdo Roy. ‘That:wag Richard M. Nix of Watergate fame. . Z I was working as a repért- er on the -Belleville,. Ont.,. “Intelligencer when we got a- tip that Nixon, Sen. Byrd of ‘whet- ‘Plays Dickie. Secret service agents were censpletons, bre ‘thelr ; bsence.” seply to have” a-weekend* away from “the girls” and.to pick up some Black Diamond cheese.’ (Belleville “is “Black Diamond’ 's_head. offied.) We went’around the nine-- hole “course | twice; all - the. while Nixon reg tne with expletives (Fa lousy golfer; never touched an iron until -then): ‘and © raunchy “Jokes. Boy, -was he. goodl * f Afterwards,.we went into Belleville to the City Hotel,” quaffed a few brews and the .wound up on the Ptarmigan. Canadian’ should .I fall into the wrong hands'in Vietnam. Otte Canadian. Press in wa got me a rt within 48 hourg. .: yee Unfortunately, the United’ Nations ‘phoned from New » York'and messed things up. It‘wasn't all that easy — or wise’ — to go into Viotnam. .° without Proper press accred- itation: I figured that while it “would be Gepressing enough to fly. to .Saigon-on board a plane carrying empty “cigar boxes,” I didn't want to come back in one, The boxes wera full on the return trip — with” the, es | of fallen service- men.” Sol called: off the trip and. “went camping, instead, Tm -no hero.