CASTLEGAR NEWS, May 11, 1980

The future of Yug

Yugoslav President. Josip Broz Tito, who died one week ago at 87, was a symbol of statesmanship and cunning and a champion of non- alignment and neutrality in whose shadow his country has lived since the end of the Second World War. The following article, written shortly before his death, speculates on the fate of Yugoslavia without Tito.

‘by John Wood

retext of “restoring ich for the moment

and isolated little country of 2: lead austere remote lives in this rugged Mediterranean land.

For the past 18 years Albania, despite its ‘pure’ Marxist regime under dictator Enver Hoxha, has been in bitter dispute with the Soviet Union. Again. and again Hoxha has made verbal attacks against the Kremlin, He sided with the Chinese — simply, to demonstrate his contempt for the Russian leadership. 3

And again and again he threatened that Albanians would fight alongside the Yugoslavs if the Russians attacked President Tito. The anger which the Kremlin felt against Albania was not only because litt would not accept Russian authority and | There was another reason why Hoxha was so the clue to this Russian ire lies in the fact that Albania only controls the entrance to the Adriatic Sea, but possesses the finest natural harbor in the entire Medi- terranean, called Durozzo. 2

Ever since the last war the leaders in the Kremlin

azed longingly at their maps. Control of Durozzo would

fil a centuries old Russian dream — the use.of a warm water port in the Mediterranean.

Because of the antagonism of Enver Hoxha, Western strategists always believed that there was no danger of the Russians gaining control of that little country through puppets of the Kremlin.

Today m the West the m

jor concern is that the to Yugoslavia.

ns. Recently for instance Pravda praised the ‘heroism’’. ‘of Albania in freeing itself from the Nazi occupation. The

Russians used the pretext of the 35th anniversary of the -

liberation of Albania to make a plea to Hoxha to relations the two Said Pravda: ‘There is no doubt that Soviet-Albanian triendship and co-operation met the vital interests of the people of the two countries.” 2 e wooing of the Albanians has been gathering pace in recent weeks. A glance ata map will clearly demonstrate why. For Albania has a common border with both Yugoslavia and Greece. the country could once again come under the sway and control of Moscow it will spell danger tothe West. For a start. it will mean that Yugoslavia would be surrounded on all sides by Russtan satelite countries. The danger to Greece and Turk

ey from Russian attack using Albania as a springboard is obvious. The use by Russians of the Albanian ports for its fleet and above all for its submarines would change ‘the entire balance of power in this sensitive area of the Mediterranean. The communist pressure on Italy would be greatly

ed — and would strengthen the hand of the native Italian communist party. !

Why are the Russians so confident that they can more easily regain influence in Albania than succeed in taking over Yugoslavia?

For at first sight it would seem that they are wasting their time as Enver Hoxh has for close on two decades never wavered in his hositility towards Moscow.

‘The answer lies in the capital city of Albania, Tirane.

Enver Hoxha is now an old man — and the entire a, leadership of the country is also in need of fresh blood. Because the country is : and its only income is from the sale of oil and from limited tourism it always did need a protector. x

Before the last war its ruler, King Zog formed an economic alliance with Italy. However the country was invaded by the Italians in 1939. After the war Hoxha took control and fearing that traditional hostility between Albania and Yugoslavia would result in his country being

Before you mow, clear away toys, garden tools, sticks, stones, and even dog bones. Keep safety shields and deflectors

In good order.

How the death of Tito thrusts “forgotten”

Albania into the limelight — and the next prize which the Kremlin is hoping will fall . under Russian control ‘

overrun by Tito, he allied himself with his larger and

eeded ta was still “pure” in ideology and not a country like Russia which he considered to have betrayed communism.

Besides China was far enough distant not to have ulterior motives in giving aid. She would not covet Albania’s ports, Albania withdrew from the communist Warsaw Pact countries and formalized its alliance with China in 1962. The Chinese provided generous aid and both countries frequently launched vocal attacks on the Soviet Union whom they semed to hate more than the Western capitalist countries. q

With the death of Chairman Mao of China however the s

honeymoon between these two. strange ‘allies ended. Peking sto) sending aid. There was now a vacuum to be. filled. 0 was going to be the next ‘protector’ of

Albania? : giRe Moscow saw its chance. It had tried.again and again to

‘make good its dispute with Yugoslavia-.

{ invasion of Yugoslavia in thejnear future Is ° unlikel mee th vy th

of the

be more friendly with th

Hoxha has always argued that isolation from the outside world is the country’s best defence. But it has meant poverty and backwardness for /the citizens of Albania. ‘They are happy in thelr simple ways,” was the conviction of Hoxha. g .

But Albanians cannot forever be kept isolated from the

oslavia without Tito © '

ning elsewhere the

CVn cee yg outside world, Despite all Hoxha’s'efforts to keep his eltizens

from knowing what is hap

wing and in the aft ermath of his death;

to be ch:

ange, led the suspicion of who have ultes ith the country.

i¢ Colonel Gadaffl has

Albania ‘economic ,. °

ons for

ping the Russian ‘bear

its grip. Re rea the We

and

ment. Re

examp templa' creation of a pup!

“invite” Russian ps to ent way that Russian troops were aid of the Afghans.

tween es

rest that Hoxha fs very S11; giving him intensive treat-

the hand of ed Greeks

not that the Russians will follow the lancers, but c

Hs Pail tr0oy 8, Or better still the

In the count wh:

0 will h in the the

If Moscow can get its grip on Albania, it will be only &

uestion of time Tugoslavia — could so easily follow suit.

‘before two other plums — Italy and

Parents. Your child's

first job

could make | a difference

Look around. Some of the most ‘successful people you know were once newspaper carriers

There's a good reason for that. Being a carrier is more than a job ... . it’s an unforgettable learning ex- perience. !t teaches young people how to use their time wisely . . . to handle money . ... to deal with dif- ferent kinds of people. It gives them feelings of. confidence, pride and accomplishment for handling an important responsibility, reliably and well. vanes

And what's more, it's-fun

You don't have to bea boy...

Girls Make Excellent Carriers

Women’s lib is here to stay. Girls are very capable of handling a newspaper delivery route and more and more girls around the country are taking on a carrier job. It's a good way to meet new people, learn good business practices and earn a little extra money, too.

Learning how to be a good carrier can help you throughout your life. The Castlegar News. welcomes female carriers. Join your friends today

Circulation Dept. CASTLEGAR NEWS

Box 3007 Castlegar, B.C. VIN SH4

Carrier.

Name

Or Phone

365-7266 Ask for Circulation

Yes. I'd like to learn more about being a Castlegar News

Address

City

A Word to SENIOR CITIZENS . . .

Why don’t you consider a Castlegar News route? You get regular exercise through an interesting bi-weekly routine, it’s profitable part-time work, and you get the. op- portunity:to meet people and make new friends. As well, you get a choice of area — even your. own neighborhood.

For details phone 365-7266. Ask for Linda.

P.S. We're also interested in Seniors.as vacation relief carriers. It pays well and there is a gas allowance as well. Why not consider this aspect? Phone Linda at 365-7266.

Co-operative endeavor and community involvement: the legacy of Ralph West

- In this period of JOHN CHARTERS’

social fragmen- tation and com- partmentalization it is difficult éven

for those of us’ ‘who

have had some experience to realize the im- portance of the part played by the general store in a small community. To its citizens it was

a combination’

business centre, gossip exchange, social service depor- tment, news ex- change, town hall and link with the out- side world as well as post office, Sunda school, concert hall: and medical emergency centre.

In brief, it was like

the hub of that mar-’

vellous structure, the spider web, for parts of the web radiate from the hub and the slightest movement in any part of the web is conveyed back to it.

It was a less private society than what we are ac- customed to today, for every- one knew something of ev- eryone else's business. But it did make up for it in the fact that each was, in a very real sense, his brother's keeper, particularly if one remem- bers that this was the period of the Great Depression and that every train coming into the Castlegar station would be loaded with men — some job hunters and some hoboes — but all hungry.

_. What this small world lacked in facilities, it made up in cooperative endeavor.

_ What it lacked in professional

the fact people were pre- pared to make their own fun in the form of

Reflections &

Recollections .

: located.

RALPH WEST, businessman and

citizen, circa 1960.

. ing a part of the road al-

izer of the Castlegar “Gun Club? — he, Mike Verzuk and Len Harmston saw the pos- sibilities of the area as a golf course and started the first, sand green golf course in the area.

. Still later, with the co- operation of such enthusiasts as John’ Landis, Dick Way- ling, Jim Kelly, Otto Walker and others, the Castlegar course became one of the finest in B.C. :

But to get back, briefly, to the store: Those early 15-hour-day, seven-day weeks eventually became a six-day week on the basis of SNOW Is Divine precedent, (Sundays 4, y... off).

“People were pretty up- set at first,” recalls Mrs.

West. “But they got used to

it.” ' The business prospered as Castlegar prospered. A basement butchershop was put in with Jim Killough in charge, then in keeping with the expansive times, a road (later Pine Street) was built between the store and the hotel and. Mrs. West found that her kitchen was occupy-

lowance and had to be re-

But even this is typical

.— land survey in Castlegar is

a story in itself. The store expanded, was relocated from its little hill (where Prestige Cleaners is now), to further up the street, and” expanded some more. During _ these early years the apart. ment above the store was oc- eupied by two other doctors after Dr. Grayton, a Dr.

* Beckwith and then by Dr. V.

Goresky who recalls paying the magnificent sum of $12 a month for four rooms and

‘i

GROUP SHOT of Ralph staff in the early.1950s. |

SESW

«

2 in this Jan. 1, 1951 snap of W

it zi

4a

West (standing, left) with store

vate company for 12 years, before it was sold to the Village of Castl incor-

pienics, musicals, Christmas concerts and family enter- tainment.

What it lacked in mobil- ity and material goods it made up by amore unhurried life style, and in all of this and more the local general store played some part.

It is not surprising, therefore, that when Ralph West felt that the increasing popularity of tennis could come to Castlegar, if there was a place to play it, he obtained'permission from the CPR to use the property behind the station; then local clay was prepared, ina roller

* borrowed from the Bloomer

ranch’ and, lo, volunteers soon had the first tennis court built. :

The same court when flooded in winter served as an ice rink, on which the new hockey team practised, and then travelled by train to South Slocan to play that town’s team on their frozen pond.

Perhaps there are some of those players still around.

During the Second World War a local Air Raid Precaution (ARP). organi- zation was formed and Mr. West's contribution was the organization of the Castlegar

“Volunteer Fire Brigade, of

which he was chief from 1940 to 1952, when Ed Lewis took over. ‘ : About the same time a Patriotic Society was organ- ized for the purpose of send- ing parcels overseas, and

, looking after the interests of

service personnel and their families. A darker side of this service was the responsibil- ity laid on John Waldie and Mr. West of delivering the telegrams on war casualties to next-of-kin,

One natural outcome of this work was the creation of the Castlegar Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion with Ralph West as its first pres- ident. Pas Realizing early the need for a water system, Ralph organized the privately- owned Castlegar Water Works. It started with some men putting up capital, others working for shares and with Barney Trussler performing miracles of main-

porated two years earliey, in 1948.

Before and during this time he also found time to act as secretary of the Castlegar school board when additions were being made to the old Castlegar Elementary

School, first built beside the -

as chairman of the’ hospital board of trustees; stipendi- ary magistrate from 1933 to 1938.

He also organized the Castlegar Holding Company; was first president of the Castlegar Chamber of Com- merce, and held the post of Justice of the Peace until his death in 1971.

In 1945 he became in- terested in what, apart from his business, was to be ‘the

most important single acti- vity of his career — the establishment of a district airport in Castlegar.

Then with the co-oper- ation of such men as John Waldie, Jim Macbeth, Sam Muirhead and R.J. Morice, and -in the fact of many dif- ficulties, the airport was built and local citizens saw Can- adian Pacific Airlines’ planes making their first scheduled flights into Castlegar on Sep- tember 22, 1947. In 1951 he was made chairman of the airport committee and in 1952 was honored by having the airfield named after him.

Sometime later, while hunting in the hills above Brilliant, — did we mention

bath. He was later to be known as the ‘father of Kin- naird.’ * * One evening in 1960, the Wests were shaken out of their beds by a $3,000 borrh blast — but the store con- tinued to expand, though Mr. West's health began to fail and he sold the store to the present owners, Wally Horn- ing, Peter Vatkin and Mrs. O.J. (Lee) Friesen who have continued: to expand it and have ‘just celebrated ‘the West's Store golden anniver- sary.,This enabled Mr. West to devote more of his time to his private hobby — wood turning.

His concern for public service was also reflected in

TAKEN IN 1956, this Castlegar News photo includes Ralph West (bot- id of the Castl

tom left)

ig past pr at

ar and District Chamber

of Commerce

an Also d

‘ce ‘sar Pp (standing left to right) are W.T. Waldie, C.A. Anderson, M.B. Dalton

N.T. Oglow and J.M. Macbeth, and (seated)

A.T. Horswill, S.C. Wat-

son, Cash gar Rotary and Kiwanis Clubs, and it fitting therefore that in 1967 the Kiwanis honored him as the 1966 Citizen of the Year.

He died, after a lengthy illness, on July 22, 1971 and is

survived by his wife, Mar- sjorie and their only son, Don —an electrical engineer with Hydro, married, one son — also soon-to-be an electrical engineer.

In making the presenta-

In 1945 he became interested. in what, apart from his business, was to be the most important single activity of his career. — the establishment of a district airport in Castlegar. ‘

highway about 1907 or 1908;

that he was also the organ-

his membership in the Castle-

1925: the blaze came from the sky

By HAROLD WEBBER

(An account by the Castlegar aréa's historian and amateur archivist of a fire that refused to die.)

July 25, 1925 saw an electrical ‘storm brewing in the Rob-

son-Castlegar area. * About seven o’clock in the evening, a- bolt of light- ning hit high on the hillside above East Robson, starting a small fire. Within minutes a bolt hit on the West Rob- son side above the old West- ley site. Two more strikes fol- lowed quickly in the same

area. :

H.R. Foxlee, a longtime Robson resident now living in Trail, witnessed the strikes and immediately telephoned Charley Nichols, the district Forest Ranger, who had also witnessed the lightning cra shes. Nichols quickly dispat- ched men to handle the ensu- ing blaze.

“T was sitting looking out the window when the first bolt struck, it must have hit a giant dead bull pine,” des- cribed Mr. Foxlee, “causing it to explode into a shower of dust and branches.” This re- sulted in a river of flames rolling down the mountain: side. : :

The next day Frank Quance, a bookkeeper at Wal-

dies sawmill, and four men climbed the hillside and put out the East Robson fire in quick order. The crew at West Robson built guards a- round the fire, which was not easily accessible due to gul- lies and crevices. It was thou- ght that the fire would burn itself out in a short time. As it was,. circumstances ‘did not agree with this thought.

On the following Wed- _nesday a wind from the west developed into gale force and fanned .the almost dead fire into renewed life. The flames spread quickly and soon en- gulfed the hillside above ‘ Westley. ‘It then started its rush toward Castlegar.

Mr. Foxiee described the fire as resembling a roarin waterfall. “It was a tremend- ous, terrifying noise,” he re- flected. The fire spread as if being pushed by an invisible hand, travelling from West- ley to Kinnaird in the same day. In East Robson red hot cinders were cascading a- round the homes, causing. great concern to the resi- dents.

A woman residing at Rob- son, who along with her mo- ther had been trapped in the great Fernie fire of 1908, suf- fered such a vase of shock at witnessing this local fire that

she required several weeks of hospitalization to overcome the experience.

The fire burned to with- in a short distance of the railroad station in Castlegar. The CPR, fearful of loss, mov- ed all their rolling stock out of the danger area. 2

The forestry built back- -

fires along the West Robson road and. along the bottom of the hill behind the Castle-Bar Ranch in an effort to stem the flames. A West Kootenay Power construction crew was also dispatched to fight the fire at the Kinnaird end un- der the guidance of fire sup- erintendent Marc Dumont.

_ As the fire was approach-

ing Kinnaird, several families who had homes on the hill- side above the town were moving. their possessions down to the river bank. One of these families, the Killou- ghs of pioneering and for- estry fame battled against the fire to protect their home. Three Killoughs and two fri- ends, one of them a visitor named Smith from Texas, went up the Merry Creek canyon area (the small creek that runs just below the pre- sent Castleaird Plaza) and built back-fires all night a- long an old logging road. While these back-fires were

being built a certain party, not believing in their value, was endeavoring to put them out with a shovel as fast as the Killoughs. could light them, These back-fires, plus a God -given change in wind, drove back the fire, saved their homestead and a good Portion of the countryside -as well.

The fire was brought un- der control after two weeks, but continued to burn until finally extinguished by: hea- vy rainfalls at the end of August. The fire had extend- ed from the bottom of the mountain to the height of Robson ridge overlooking Cel- gar’s pulp mill, and from Westley to Merry Creek in Kinnaird.

One humorous sidelight occurring during the fire was the incident involving the Killough’s neighbors, the Peter Swanson family. Fear- ing for the loss of their val- uables, the family took most of them out of the house and buried them. A greatly prized possession, a gramophone, was given the same treat- ment. It was subsequently ruined by the gravel. As fate sometimes works (happily in this case), the fire reached only as far as the clearing bordering their property.

L.V. Campbell and J.R. Elliott.

tion of the Citizen of the Year Award, the late Mickey Moran said it was “hard to believe that a man in his life time could’ accomplish as much as Ralph West.”

In his acceptance speech, Mr. West paid tribute to his wife Marjorie, a very tal- ented lady in her own right, and to all of those persons and organizations — most of whom, regrettably, space limitations have not per- mitted us to name. '

Tam sure, however, that both he and they, as a part of the basic tabric of this com- munity, would appreciate the words of John Donne, who, 400 years ago, in one of my favorite quotations wrote:

S He also found time to act as secretary of the Castlegar school board . . . stipen- diary magistrate from 1933 to 1938 . . . organized. the Castlegar Holding Company . . . first president of the Castlegar Cham- ber of Commerce . . . justice of the peace until his death in 1971.

“No man is an island, entire of itself... every man, is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as ifa promentory were, as well as ifa manor of thy friends or thine own were; any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.”

Sincere thanks to Mar- ° jorie West, to Clara Bloomer and to John Landis for help in a most difficult, but very re- warding, work. ‘\