just go and see what happens

Tomorrow I am going to post a story that is one of the most memorable happenings I have ever experienced....There are two other individuals involved....Don from Chilliwack and Jim, a Kiwi from New Zealand .....It is about something that happened when these two guys and myself decided to drive across the US line and go somewhere in the Washington area for a couple of days...We had no plans ...just go and see what happens.....I knew something interesting would probably happen as I had spent quite a lot of time in early 1957 travelling with Jim in New Zealand...he was such a character and usually the leader when it came to investigating opportunities for a little adventure...one might call him a professional party crasher .....On this occasion in September 57 Jim was visiting my folks home in Chilliwack . Both of these friends are passed on now and they both left me with unforgettable memories . We talked about it many times over the years and we all agreed that most people did not believe us....The last time I spoke with Jim on the phone he joked.... we've got to sign an affidavit or something because no one believed him....that was 20 years ago.... and the last time I had contact with him....

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I am checking back and trying to do some organization of the blogs I have written and I see I should have put the following post on the day after the above posting...I dunno....I see it posted away up further in March....well that is weird ...so here it is June 18, 2008 and I am putting in this post in its proper place.........

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do you boys have a room here?

...We decided to go across the line for a few days and headed to Portland ....I was still 19 on the first part of September 1957...Don was 20 and a friend I had met in New Zealand at the first part of 1957...Jim was about 25 (he never did tell us his age) ......this guy was pretty cool dude... and we called him a professional party crasher...Jim could go anywhere he wanted on straight charisma, good looks ...and his gift of the gab(bull) call it whatever, it sure made for some interesting experiences....per example....While traveling in Jim's car he may say....hey where do you guys want to eat tonight....mumbles ... I don no....okay pick a place...(this would be a rural area...usually farms spaced well away from each other....) Okay Jim ...the next one....and he would pull into the drive...then with confidence and charm talk to the person answering the door and we would have supper there...no kidding...he could do that .....everyone behaved themselves ...we learned a little of the "con" from him....People in places like that are bored....a few interesting guys blow in and they are delighted to show off their digs....mind you this was in sleepy New Zealand a long time ago.....there is not enough trust around anymore...I don't think that could be done now on a consistent basis.....well back to Elvis....I borrowed dad's car..a nice 50 Chrysler and away we went....the next day we were in Portland and taking in a huge fire that was burning across the bay from us...then we jumped in the car and only drove a few blocks where we came upon a large crowd of teenagers milling about........I wound down the window an hollered ..hey bud what's the commotion..the reply was Elvis ..Elvis is in that hotel...oh ...oh yeah.....hey waddayaknow...we knew he had just been in Vancouver where an incident had occurred..he was run off the stage by excited fans.....So...you guys ...Elvis?......... what do ya think about that?........Jim says........do you want to meet him ...oh haw haw ..that's a good one..no no...keep going ...there ...turn in at the back.....so I did...are you nuts?.....no.. no ... lets go.....there's a door...Don and I just figured we will go with him but probably not get very far....so in we go smack in the middle of the lobby...the bellhops and counter clerks all looked at us....we just chilled and hung close to Jim as we started up a flight of stairs...I could feel eyes on the back of my neck...Hey.... how are ya..howdy back ....to a bellboy coming down the stairs.....Don, do you believe this.....jees no.....Jim I'm gonna faint......hey, with a smile ...talking through his teeth ...don't give up now, lets go...after a couple of flights we turn a corner and there he is........ The Man Himself...sitting backwards on a chair talking to two reporters and there were two city police men with them...oh boy..woah.....there was a bathroom right there and we all twigged at once and went in...jees .....now what.....there are cops...they are outside this door...ok, Jim says...lets go....so we file out ..one cop says.......do you boys have a room here?...he is puzzled...they are puzzled...we are goners.............Hey its okay Elvis says.... and quickly got up and waved the cops off...hey where are you all from.....Jim is introducing himself...I am in a coma..I can't believe how good looking this guy is.. .but I snap out of it and we got into conversation....where are we from. ba de ba.. ...Chill....aaaahh ... Vancouver..Canada....then it got going good....we talked about the Vancouver show and he said that he was really scared at that one......I asked him if he could ever get out and do stuff...he said no...he had tried though....He was trying to watch a ballgame in Memphis...with a disguise dark glasses etc...and it caused a riot when he was discovered...Jim told him he was from New Zealand ...then he said he would like to get on a relaxing boat and get away....I felt like asking him if he wanted to come home with us........anyway...after a time...we shook hands... said Ill see ya...and that was that...we didn't even ask for an autograph..it just didn't seem like the thing to do....so back to the car...again all the staff looking at us like ....what?...and into the car...wondering if that really happened....I reckon the only people that believed us were our mothers and ourselves....I don't even have a backup now...my two pals have passed on....I don't think Jim and Don ever knew why we had such a hassle free and respectful attitude from the hotel...I found out many years later in a book on Elvis that my daughter gave to me......that they thought we were Elvis's entourage...the guys that went with him everywhere....It turns out that on this tour, Cornel Parker (his manager) told Elvis to leave his pals at home....it was costing to much money to send them everywhere....if they had of been there we would not have made it out of the car.....in fact I am sure they would have taken care of us rather quickly....We ended that trip off with a look at the Oregon state fair...and that is the Elvis story....It was pretty well impossible to tell that story and have anyone believe it...so we didn't tell it much.

someone said watch out

Growing up in Chilliwack.................1948......Fraser River Flood

Anyone from that era will remember the 1948 flood...we were lucky the water never came into Chilliwack..but it got close...Sardis was high and dry as well...but it was coming up quickly the day Dad took us to "Chinatown"( a name given to an area just west of the dyke ...I guess at one time there was more than a few chinese living there).... We went to see how far the water was rising...there were about a hundred people gathered, curious as to the water height....we were walking on the right side of the road ...It was quiet with people talking in groups discussing the complications of the flood ...a loud motor noise started up..it alarmed me....someone said watch out for...and for some reason I ran across the road and right into the path of an accelerating motorcycle...wow..everything was spinning ..I heard someone screaming....it was probably me.....then this shape heading for me ....oh my.... black out time...only for a short while....then I realized Faye was carrying me and there was cries of concern from mum and dad as She rushed me off to the car...I ended up with some skookum cuts and bruises, also a black eye where the handle landed..but I reckon other than a good shaking and my pants torn off...It was a matter of waiting for the cuts and scrapes to heal up...after a night in the hospital.... Dad sent us off to West Vancouver to stay at their friends place..(this had two purposes....a place to recuperate and a safe haven from the flood threat...their friends had immigrated from Manitoba about the same time...and had been very successful...they had no kids and lived in a very posh house in West Vancouver...man, he had a pool table.....and you could look over all of Vancouver from the large patio......... Ozzie and Helen Ashhall were their names...he took us for rides in his big Buick...and I had my own room...it was like the movies..I could hang out on the patio and scan the harbor with binoculars.....man wot a view.....that would keep me fascinated for hours...all the boats and stuff to look at..so my memories of the flood are mostly of that incident and West Vancouver...although I can remember Dad coming home tired from driving a truck. He worked with many voulunteers keeping the dikes built up..It was a tense time and this year the river won and cut Chilliwack off from the west. Many of my friends spent time filling sandbags at the last of the fight ..When the dyke broke, cutting access to Vancouver and the people just waited it out. The river soon crested and went back to its course ..leaving a real mess ...but as most big deals, people worked hard and cleaned up and rebuilt, soon it faded away to just become a memory.
I remember the poor guy I ran in front of...his name was Willard Webb..he worked for my dad at Main Street Motors...(now Liquidation World)..He felt aufull about the accident..awkward huh...my fault, but you can imagine...well, it ended up okay...the cuts heal.
That old Garage had an upstairs ..it was HUGE...and nothing in it except a few old motors and stuff to good to throw away...there was also a room at the front with a window...we figured it must have been a club like the Lions or Kinsmen.. there were playing cards and papers and calendars in cracks and behind walls ..anyway we had a great hiding place..there was a long set of steps up the back..dad gave me a key..very cool for me and my pals' we had a special clubhouse.
We had a slogan in Chilliwack...Lets skate in 48...our own ice arena..well, that didn't happen ....it was started ....and nibbled away at...and finally became a fact in 1958.....now that era is also past and there is a parking lot on that location...a parking lot for a huge new ice arena....

I thought I heard something...feb 26 08

Growing up in Chilliwack..............1966

It was raining ...rain .....rain....there hardly a clean creek in the Valley.....Lew and I were out fishing again......We went fishing every Saturday.....somewhere.....but this weekend was a bust...the rivers and creeks were swollen and dirty....it was raining ...did I say that.........ok...rain ....what....let's go and see if there is any clean water at Waleach...(a small hydro station where the water is piped out of Jones Lake a few miles down the mountain into the Fraser River creating hydro electric power) it is located a few miles towards Hope from the Trans Canada Waterslides. The used water gushes out of a large pipe then runs as a short creek into the Fraser River...That will take any amount of water without getting dirty......Ok..that sounds good.....We drive there and of course it is windy and raining but there is some clean water that is not flooded. We park right at the outlet and we commence trout fishing....it is noisy from the rain rattling on our waterproof hoods and I am intently watching my bobber anticipating just one bite for the day....After a bit, I glance over at Lew, he is about 15 feet away and looking up the mountain, the rain is biting in his face....What are you doin..... he turns to me..I dunno ...I thought I heard something...huh...hmm....I am back at it, I make another short cast .......the drift is only six feet wide......jees.... just a bite, this day is just about over..c'mon.....Lew is looking back again, his face is scrunched up from facing the downpour...Hey what's up....I dunno..hmm...I dunno...but by then I suggest ....hey Lew...this is stoopid !...Ok, lets go he says....Oh yeah.....That's when you appreciate dry things and coffee...and food....and roofs.
So we throw out rods and rain gear in the van and head home ....another good fishing, bad catching day behind us....another day of experience ...we learned that standing in pouring rain on the last miserable piece of water in the valley, trying to catch at least one trout for the day is really quite .......oh well, we really liked fishing.

So we drive straight to my place........ahhh.....anticipating the cozy warmth.....My wife is at the door right away ....she is distressed.....we are perplexed.... "I have been so worried" ..and she sure was...she was trembling...Hey... what's the matter....."there was a slide, I heard it on the radio."..a slide...what's that got to do with us....where was it....up the road...towards Hope...."the mountain slid in"...huh...Lew and I look at each other....but ...what...."You did not even know where we were"...how did....I know but ..I don't know...Jeez Lew...Jeez Gus....that is exactly where we were...that's what you heard...the mountain rumbling ...I know.....Gawd.....you were looking......I wonder where it was exactly.....

Well .........we found out exactly....where we were is exactly ...right across and out into the river.....that happened in about 5 seconds.......minutes after we left......but we were on the way home ......and Lew and I are very happy to say we were not there to see that..

This story is true...and I have the bobber I was using that day to prove it.. naw...that's a joke....but yes ...even to my wife being so psychic about it. She had no idea that we were going there ...we could have been anywhere.

lost puppy

he made me these terrific holsters

1949
Grandma is on her deathbed...that's Grandma Legg... Grandma Legg...that's her name....She was married to my Grandad Joe ...Unfortunately I don't know much about my Grandad...his name was Joe and he died young..I don't know nothing...I will have to ask my sister what she knows...anyway she remarried a guy named Legg...and I know nothing of him either.....interesting so far huh.... There is a history book.....(Larivier story) around this house somewhere...that is something for you younger ones to remember... Joe fathered all 8 of the kids..or 7...or 8 and a cousin. Dad had a twin sister...Beatrice (cool names eh)...she lived her life in Minneapolis...I don't know nothing about her either...hey, it gets better....anyway Grandma Legg is tired...and we (Dad ,Mum and I drive to Manitoba........they had a nice car...a 46 chev ...We passed a lot of cool turnoffs that I can remember howling about...hey ..the Grand Coulee Dam dad...coming up dad...back at that turnoff dad...We passed it dad......Hey, Glacier Park....we had to see that because the road went through it....he was bound for Manitoba...eyes ahead ..a cigarette sticking straight out of his closed mouth...with its usual 1 inch ash..that finally fell to his pants...well there's more where that came from...they had a cigarette dispenser...mum's job was to keep it filled for them...the smokes were there, to take one when a button was pushed..they came out all lit up......they raved about that device...It was a little smoky in there...we made 600 miles one day...he thought that was so cool.....wow 600 miles...I watched the poles go by and tried not to think about having a pee...I guess my chirping paid off in Wenatchee, Washington.....we stopped and looked in some shops...there in a Woolworth's store were the coolest cap pistols I ever seen...big gleaming silver guns with white embossed steer heads on the handles...wow...and he bought me TWO of them..I think they were at least two bucks each...like now, I am the man...a 10 year old with the dangdest guns anyone I knew had ever seen....we made it to Grandma's hospital in Morden and had a visit... I shot her....naw...I seen her for the last time though....we stayed in Morden a bit...Dad had a brother, Wes, he lived in Morden and was the jail keeper...the jail keeper..cool...whats a jail like...of course I found out...Uncle Wes showed me all about it...it did not look like a great place to live...there was no one in the jail..and to my disappointment he said there hardly ever was...we visited lots of people and when we were in Crystal City...my mother's home town...we visited my other Grandma...Grandma Kerr ........ELizabeth...........what a neat lady...everyone loved her....I never knew my grandpa....John Kerr.........but my sister, Faye did ...she said he was a neat guy and has a picture of them together... he was a harness maker and bootmaker .........there was a harness shop with living quarters ...right in the small town...that's where mum and 7 others grew up...a swell guy named Pat was the harness maker....he made me these terrific holsters for my cap guns...wow...I wore them everywhere...that was a fun place...I met my cousins ,Wayne , Ken and Connie.... there was lots of kids to play with...even went to the famous Crystal City swimming hole....We also went to Winnipeg...stayed with my Aunt Effie (mums sister ), Uncle Wilf ,cousins Bill, Bob and Lois
.......Winnipeg had a big 75th anniversary ...we saw Barbara Ann Scott in a parade...what a skater....she could do a turn in the air... a few weeks after we returned home we got news that Grama had passed away...and soon after that Grandma Kerr married Pat , Harness maker number 2.

the odd encounter with bears

Growing up in Chilliwack.......................1955

We were finished school ...it was the end the end of June.....Graduation day is over....Its time to look for a job....I knew the Gas pipeline would be a major project in B.C...but that was not until next year....There was an office for Bechtel Co. in Chilliwack...that is a company that will be doing the surveying as well as other jobs that are connected to the pipeline project......It is a big deal....a lot of people will get work from that pipeline job....I was 17 and I wanted to get to work and make some serious money....I will give Bechtel a try.......I went into the office and must have caught them on a good day.....They needed someone to complete a survey crew up in the Coquihalla River area.....okay.....I felt really lucky......the right place at the right time...Do you like working in the bush?.....ya...ya...ya.....I can't believe I'm going to get this job....We were to be paid by the month.....it was a job that they expected done.......Go in the woods with a crew of 7 and stay there a few weeks until it was done.....then out a few days and back to work on another route.The pay was good...about $500 a month...tramping up a river and setting up camp every day.....Hey what a great experience........Most of the crew was up at the Coquihalla Lake Fish Camp.............The Lil-Joe Lodge it was called.........I was driven to Hope.......stayed in a motel....then the next day a railroad guy took me up the tracks on a speeder....those little gas powered putt putts they use for railway maintenance....He was a friendly guy and readily answered all the questions I was firing at him....The speeder zipped along sending its echo sounding putt putt out across that huge valley.....that country looked so big and we must have looked like a small noisy bug spitting along the railroad tracks........ We had to get off the line twice......that was a tricky maneuver......a short set of tracks butting near the rail line...a lift and a twist....the speeder was off......then wait for the train to go flying by a few feet away from our noses...... Mr. friendly was always looking at his watch...I was glad about that ....
We get to the lodge and we find out the crew were up the Coldwater River....Joe told Mrs. Joe who then told Mr. Friendly to take me 1 mile to the Coldwater River bridge and there would be a crew member waiting at the river......Now Mr.Joe, the lodge owner, was an interesting guy..... He had a pipe in his throat....his throat was a pipe.....a medical device inserted because of whatever......when he talked he roared.....Mrs. Joe (Lillian) could understand him, and decoded the message.....that was very memorable.....I had no idea what he was roaring......Anyway...away we putt putt our way up tracks to the river......Sitting by the side of the bridge is an Indian man...he introduces himself as Peter, he is also waiting to join the crew, he has just come from the lodge as well....Okay...thanks Mr. Friendly.......he leaves ......we hear the putt putt echo all the way back to the lake.......After a few hi how are ya's....I head to the bridge for a look down into the water.....Man it is beautiful around there.....the river is super clear..... a big creek would describe it better.....hey ...I can see a fish.... there is large fish laying in shallow water under the bridge....hey Pete....have a look....so he does.....Oh...a Dolly ...that's a Dolly Varden....hmmm a good one....that guy is about 6 or 7 pounds....Oh yeah....look at that.....and look at this Pete...here is a pike pole laying along the tracks......so there is...he grins at me.......lets see that thing........I go over and pick it up.......that's a dandy deal Pete, ya think you can get that big bugger.......He takes the pole and lays down on the bridge, reaching down as far as possible. Yep, yep, he is trying to get the point over the fishes head.......The fish is not alarmed, and that has me stumped. Pete even touched the big guy and it just moved over.....he should have moved out because Pete nailed that guy right behind the head, then held him down until he was expired......he then worked it over and out and up....We had a big fish....ok now what, Pete......We'll give him to the work train......there was a couple of caboosy railway cars just a ways back down the tracks.......a work train....they live there...... a railroad crew...so we quickly ran it back and gave it to the cook...he was delighted....great...we quickly returned to the bridge..... we wait a few hours and one of the guys comes walking out of the woods.....His name is Frank and he is the cook...... I remember he was about 5' 2" tall.......built like a little prizefighter... He talks a lot and there is no lack of conversation.......so I guess we are the camp set-up-movers and off we go into the woods, mostly following the river upstream.....it is not to bad going as there are game trails to follow....man it is beautiful here...after two miles we come to a camp setup...... I guess we are replacing a couple of guys....or they did all this themselves....I dunno.....but here we are anyway...... The tents have to be set up and the camp organized, that is Pete's territory and we do what he says....so far so good, these guys are going to be cool to work with...
There were a few different survey lines being considered for laying the pipe.....Our crew consisted of a boss and his assistant....they figured out the surveying part...with the instruments etc . A couple of guys with them to hack the line and mark it with tape ...they were the smart part of the crew......now there were the 3 of us on the camp end of it......Pete, the big native guy for the woodsy part ....he knew all about the camp set up ...he was the guy with the outdoors experience....then the yappy cook type guy......then me......I helped all these people....my main job was to help with the camp.....relocating it every day...not cooking though.....Frank did all of that..... at about 7 pm the 4 front guys roll in......the surveyor and three university students......hey, how are ya ....yadda yadda.....Ron the surveyor guy has kaki pants, kaki shirt and a Indiana Jones hat.....he looks like a surveyor.....he is about 35.......the 3 guys are in there early 20s.....
We moved the camp everyday...two trips...it was hot, hard work, packing over the deadfalls and logs ....there were lots of no see umms and mosquitoes, and deerflies.....geez they can take a piece of meat right outta your arm.......we had the odd encounter with bears....well...bear poop.....sometimes it was still warm...I did not pick it up and put it to my cheek....but Pete said it was warm and fresh, I took his word for it.....and he wisely said... if you come across a bear....get out of my way........ Well...no bears happened...I like no bears............I had a hand line and some hooks and tackle with me....just in case.....there were lots of really nice looking fishing spots in that wilderness....no go...but I could fish for a while after camp was set up.....and I did.....I managed enough Rainbows and a few Dollies for a feed. Once , while packing.....I came across a large pool with some bigger fish in it....this was in July.......the pool was hard to get at ...kind of a swampy area....I don't know what they were...still don't...it has me puzzled.....I recall red on them...and they were all over 5 lbs.....that has always bugged me...what were they....I wish I could have had a better look..... Spawning Steelhead? Spring Salmon?......I dunno.... maybe. One day in August the crew came back early......Razz, one of the line cutters had cut his hand....he really whacked it with a machete......they did all the medical work they could ......Ron said ...Razz has to go out....to go to a Doctor in Hope and get it attended to...and quickly.......someone has to go out with him.....
....Guess who....so we round up the stuff we need to get out with.....it was five or six miles....Oh joy.....the wound was bleeding off and on...we took lots of bandages.....we used them all.....it was kind of hairy....and also it was getting late......that was a tough walk, we had to dress that hand and try our best to keep the bleeding to a minimum.....it got dark....damn.....that was worrisome ......I lit matches to deal with the dressing, geez what a mean gash....we stayed with the river and bumped our way in the dark for a mile......that was not fun......wow.......a high stress level and Razz had to hold his hand out of the way of branches and keep from slipping and falling.....man, was I glad to see the tracks.....what a relief....the work cars were less than 1/2 mile now...we were okay......The first aid man worked on Razz......dressed his hand properly and cleaned him up ....good news... there was a passenger train coming in the morning..... Mr. First Aid had someone radio it to stop.......We had a few hours sleep, then the train picked us up and in an hour or so we were in Hope.....Razz went to the Doc....I said goodbye and left for home......that was it ...they never called me back ...the job was over for now.......there was not much else doing so I decided to go back to school.
On a beautiful day a few weeks into September....... I was in the Twin Peaks after school with some friends .... Hey...there is Ron having coffee....howsit goin ...good, howsit with you......Hey........
do you want to go back to work?.....( here comes one of my dumber deeds) .....geez I'm going to school....Oh...to bad.....well ...it's there if you want it.....thanks I uhh...geez...I guess I am going to school..... ok...hey take it easy....yeah....Bye.
DUM DUM DUM.........why did I let that go?...I left school at the end of October ...Nertz...I could have gone to work....I goofed ... 1955 was one of the meanest winters ever...It started cold and snow on the 11th of November and went through until February.... I only worked at a few short crappy jobs until April........Then I started in on the 30 inch natural gas line that was being laid in the valley.... that was a good thing

We both see them at the same time.......

Growing up in Chilliwack.............1952 to 1956


I guess that after my first Steelhead in 1952....I have to wrack my brains for any other steelhead catches until I was 18 or 19.......I guess they did not happen that often. The growing up years require time to be doled out on many various things and only later on, one tunes into a few activities for specialized participation. But on occasion we took time to fit some memorable trips to the Vedder...Verne --------- and I spent time together Steelhead fishing ....we did not hang around with the same crew on regular time but had a great time together on fishing excursions to the Vedder river.......We were an aww of his older brother Merril who seemed to be a Steelhead pro.......he was already married and in full time fishing mode.......Although we never all fished together, we took his advice and methods seriously.........We fished in places in the upper river that Merril had shown Verne when he introduced him into the steelheading world......There was a cabin at a place called the Anderson Run. Verne asked Merril about it and was told it was empty and open ....and not vandalized.......near the road.....(maybe if Verne reads this he will remember what it was there for).....It was a neat little one room, wood frame shack with unpainted shiplap walls and a good roof.....I think it had only been there for a few years ........anyway we decided that would be a great place to put in a few days in the winter............Vern borrowed his mothers 1950 Chevrolet ...... we loaded in our stuff and Leroy -------....( I just remembered that...Leroy came with us.... I wonder how Leroy is doin?)....Anyway the cabin was about 8 miles up the river from the Vedder Crossing......... We always had to look forward to grinding up Mud Hill to get there, but we always made it.....luckily I never was stuck on that booger of a hill....It was always on mind when heading up to the upper reaches of the river.....lots of fishers parked and walked up the hill when it was to snowy or muddy..............We stayed a couple of nights.....There was a mattress and a woodstove..... and ...yep....a mattress and a woodstove, that's it,.... nothing fancy....the great outdoors served as lavatory purposes..... We had the whole river to ourselves for two days and were completely skunked .....nadda ...not a bite......on another trip a few years later.....Mervin ------ , Verne and I stayed in the cabin..... again we had the river to ourselves and again we were completely skunked for the whole trip......We always anticipated great fishing results but it never happened....that's fishing I reckon...but not for lack of trying....the trips were great ....what's more fun than doing that.....everything is a joke......when the stove was going ....and the gas lamp on ....just being warm was a good experience.


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Dec. 1956

As much as we loved fishing.... we had only caught a few Steelhead until this time....the ages of 14 to 18 as you can imagine were very busy, but we fit as much fishing in as we could and only the odd steely did we manage to capture....Then one day .....here we go again, Verne and I, to the upper reaches of the Vedder ..... just a few days before Christmas, we stopped at the limit hole....or the Abutment as it was called........Slesse creek enters the Vedder at this point and it is illegal to fish above this boundary.....There was no one there...we had it to ourselves.....it was freezing and overcast.......the two rivers met forming a quiet spot between them as so often does under those conditions.....a hole is formed before the river gathers power and welds together as one....we are standing on the concrete remainder of a bridge used for railway logging in the 1930s................The water is super clear...we are excited about the looks of this ......Maybe today!..........Vern is using a new fangled rubber imitation of bait (how dumb is that)........ plop, plop, our casts are in unison....the bobbers dip a bit as the weights find their depth......both floats travel about
2 feet ,then Verne's dives ....outta site....up he comes.......O ya - O ya......there is life there..... the Buck Steelhead is out of the water then all over the pool before catching the race at the bottom end ....a long tug of war ensues ...will he come off?....but the fish finally tires , he manuvers it tight to rocks and I scoop the booger out....Yahooo! Yippeee!......a beauty Verne...about 12 lbs..hey, there may be more........I head back and I am desperatly wishing a fish to bite before they spook or quit or maybe that is the only one......nuthin doing....Then Verne joins in again, with that silly rubber egg cluster doo dad he is using.....Hey......look at that......the water film clears off once .....offering a clear window for a few seconds....There is a bunch of em down there.....We both see them at the same time.......o jeez.......this is exciting .......and the fish are like, right there........How many casts have I made with my great bait...real bait...the kind they should like to eat...uummm good.......plop .....Vern casts out again.....same story.......his float vanishes.....yow .....a big steelhead clears the water.....I can see that not so silly, orange rubber blob in its mouth.......splash, another jump and the fish cartwheels into the current......give and take follows ..and finally I lift another one out for him....Verne is some smiles ....he dispatches the big buck steelhead ...then joins me as I try to make one of these boogers bite......O man....I want one just one ...fish god......just one.....or a bite......Okay Gus....you can do it....I am getting much encouragement from my friend......Do you want a rubber egg cluster?....uumm....Naw.....gotta get a fish while they are in the bite mood.....if they are in the mood.........Just a bit more ...I don't want to take the time to chan..........my float dives....outta site.......connect....life ...a twist .......a flash of silver...then the steelhead realizes something is wrong....straight up and out....out again........jeez these fish are well rested..........That steelhead followed the script.....only this time it was Verne scooping him out.........now I am the smiller......oh gawd, that feels goooooood......can it be repeated....naw, we have already done the very unusual....but after a dozen casts and 2 guys shouting at the bobber over the noise of the river......get down....dive.......eat it........chomp that thing.........the float tips , half sinks and I put it home......wow.......this is crazy...could I be lucky enough to land it......we have not missed a bite so far....very lucky.....and lucky I still was as Verne finally scooped that one out for me.......
We are all alone in that grassy area by the abuttment......if anyone could see us from the hillside ....we were yippeeing and dancing together like a couple of weirdos........that was one for the books....those kind of days are once in a lifetime......

Hillary's Licence

you put er in there pretty good

Growing up in Chilliwack..............Winter 1958

It was raining hard again......Mervin -------- and I had made arrangements to take Pete Toms Steelhead fishing in the Vedder.....and it rained ....it poured ...by the time it came to go fishing the river was shot.....but maybe not the upper part...away up......a place called the Ranger Run.......we could drive up there....what about the road....it should be okay....so.....let's go......Pete could teach us something......He called himself "the old man", he bragged he would show us how to catch one of those steelhead......We are in my old 1947 Cadillac......it's a fairly dependable car...what the heck......we go to pick Pete up early in the morning and we have to wait at his house while he finishes his 8 pieces of toast....Then soon we are grinding up the infamous mud hill...we made it..(damn hill always scared me)....no problem tho...but it is still pouring rain....the river is still dirty and we hope it will be cleaner up at the top end.....there is water everywhere....the road was not to bad ....but...... the water on it, yikes.....it was hard to see it in some stretches........what was road and what was not ..try to figure out where the edge was....we finally got to a place could see the river....and hurray....it was fishable........and the road got better...things are looking up.....it was draining a lot better...I could relax until we had to go back......there was just nobody up there....nadda...no one........another mile, we park and walk in to the Ranger Run........it 's a bit more than a few blocks.....it is still raining....we are gonna fish......we get to the run....the weather lightens up a little.........man the river is high ......it was big and angry compared to its normal fishy flow..... there is an edge though.....it is not impossible....Pete and I bait up and start casting in what we think is the best piece of water ....the river is fishable....not too dirty, but a lot of leaves and forest stuff was drifting down .....it looked pretty hopeless.....Man, what er we doin here..........Mervin moved upstream towards the top end.....We actually were not there long and there is a loud yelp ....geez , Merv has a fish on.....yahoo.....The flow is really heavy...the fish is a good size.....it is pulling hard and forcing him to give it line....down past Pete, who just lets him go by, then casts out again.....I put down my rod and join the fun......the fish is in really heavy, heavy water and is the boss at this stage....Merv is now at the tail end of the run and that fish is not gonna stay put....using its body to it's advantage in the heavy current, out it goes and around the bend.....geez Merv........we will have to pass the rod....it's the only way to get by these sweepers.....the flow was so high it forced us in the trees......we had to stick the rod out far as possible.....without falling in the river...the boughs are pushing at our heads......we pass the rod about 6 foot at a time......take the rod , hold the reel snug........is the bugger still there...ya ...somewhere...it is exciting....pass the rod ....We can feel him moving down the river.......jeez.....this is exhausting......another 20 ft..........finally, we get through that mess...we have come way around the corner......the Steely is not so full of it now.......and we are really tired as well....but Merv was not to tired to play the last out of the fish and slide him heads up on the bar...I gave it some help with by boot....and the big buck is Mervin's......Well, that is a beaut.....We dispatch that guy....about 12-13 lbs.....and walk back to Pete ...he is still casting , he gives a big no toothy smile......way to go boys......and we have another whack at it as well...but, well....that was it...nothing doing.....We figure 1 fish under these conditions is a miracle......so, back to the car and head home......here we come to the crappy part again...Oh man.......it seems worse than when we came in.....I just guess where the road is........and hope we get through this flood.......nope.....I put er in...a wheel goes off the road and in we go...hey, in we go..the car is like, on a 45 degree angle...there is water inside it........we will be here for life.....We climb up and out......Pete says, geez Gus ...you put er in there pretty good.....wow....look at that, it's damn near tipped ....now what...we start walkin?.......I don't think we were stuck more than 10 minutes before we could hear a motor running from the direction we had come ...sure enough .....here comes a truck..a good sized truck, with duo wheels on the back ......it was God..............no, it wasn't ....it was a couple of guys.....Shake Spliters ? I guess....they had a chain.......man....they pulled me out like I was no weight at all.......how lucky could we be.....oh yes....that was ......like .......we won't be here all night....so lucky.....thanks ...thanks.....hey, no problem....we make it to drier ground and then home........Mervin is a hero......I remember Merv's dad smiling from ear to ear when Mervin showed him that fish.......life is good.......another one to remember.

My duck! My duck!

Comment and banter about old times in Chilliwack

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Fond memories!

I especially remember the time Don [Hic] and I decided to raise the water level at Daytons pool We worked all afternoon to make a dam, using some old planks, floating weed and grass sods which we placed across the creek to the bridge abutments for support.
We were really pleased with our efforts as the water had risen substantially making a great swimming hole. We were about to leave when Don tapped a little hole on the side of the road near one of the bridge abutments.Whoosh! a big gaping hole appeared. The force of the water flowing under the dam undermined the bridge
and part of the road had disappeared. What had we done!I think we tried to remove the dam, but the damage was done. We high tailed it for home and it was weeks before we had the courage to return to our favourite swimming hole.

Bob

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Yep, I can barley remember something like that (Daytons)....there was a time when someones shotgun went off and a few pellets found Hic's hand....something like that....your gun..his gun...hmmm.... I know I sprayed Gordon good one night...he was on the other side of the pond and a whack of ducks came in when it was dark....I couldn't see the buggers but I could hear em....Jeez ..what a war...we shot of 48 shells that night and got 3 ducks.....Don Reimer was there too.....A bear of a black night......There were ducks landing all over the place ...right in front of us....It's a wonder we came out of it.....( I can still hear Gordon hollering at me....dumb)

gus

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My gun,

Dad's old pump hammer gun. I was unloading it on the side of the road. The gun went off, some pellets ricochet back off the pavement. Thank God that's all that happened. Certainly taught me a lesson on gun handling. To this day I am reminded of that incident when I load or unload a gun. That reminds me of the time Don, Val and I went hunting. Don shot and wounded this duck,chased it down, caught it, proceeded to kill it by stretching its neck. I am not sure how he was carrying it as he was walking back to retrieve his gun. The duck started to flap its wings, got away and took flight , Don chasing it hollering, My duck! My duck!,as it disappeared over the horizon. Val's laughter is still clear in my mind, and I get a chuckle when I think about it.

Bob
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Jeez that's funny...I wonder if Terry will read this....his wife has email...I must try and get his address...bin out of touch a few years...

Gus

what if we made a riffle box

Growing up in Chilliwack................................1950

The music festival....oh gawd what a drag.....every year.......it is so boring .....well....what if we did not go.....would they miss us....Bill ....I can't stand that festival...neither can I....I know something that's educational.....what......remember the fools gold we were picking up last Saturday at the rock quarry...yeah...well, what if we made a riffle box ....yeah..and took a 5 gallon can for water....maybe we could do some serious mining.....we talked ourselves into it.....we will skip the festival and mine for gold...what a cool idea...what if we get caught...let's worry about that later..besides we wont get "caught" but dealing with it next school day will be tricky.. anything is better than going to the music festival..... so mining we did...that was really fun...we banged together a box from stuff Bill's dad had...Mr.Maxwell (Ralph) was a carpenter...in fact he was foreman on the job when the Paramount theatre was built in 1948.....anyway we made a box with wooden riffles in it, took a 5 gallon pail and a shovel .......and set it up at the rock quarry, by a puddle of water.......we had an idea where the best mining was.. ..we had been there before...but this time we had a gold mining setup....it was a sunny day in April..........we had a lunch .....and a couple of bottles of pop.....and we had a great time....at the end of the afternoon we had a small matchbox full of fools gold...it was like a treasure...fun to pour out and look at...to hold it .....it looked like gold..I guess it felt like gold ........we found out it was called iron pyrites.......ok ..that day was over....now what..so we go to school the next day.....to our amazement we were not missed...just the other kids wondered where we were....and how we pulled it off...Bill and I were not in the same rooms in grade 8 nor in the same musical presentation....but we guessed the teachers were just to wrapped up in their festival business to notice us gone.....what a win we had pulled off....and that's what it was....it was never brought up and we had a heck of a good festival day.

Hey,we swim in there....feb 17

Daytons Bridge

Hope river winds its way, beginning at the eastern side of the Rosedale down to Chilliwack and runs into the Fraser at Wellington Avenue, forming Fairfield Island.....Actually the river is artesian and pops out of the ground and it is really only close to being an Island.....nevertheless someone thought it was close enough and called it Fairfield Island....That's a pretty good name anyway it is a nice area and most of it has been reserved for farmland and open spaces....Taking a trip out there is still a pleasant experience, it is Chilliwack rural, well kept, and healthy looking...........Camp Slough joins Hope river at Dayton's bridge.....a few miles east ofChilliwack.......it is artesian as well and begins in the same area as Hope River, the upper part was connected by a spillway to the Fraser 35 years ago.....and a flow is let through on occasion, if at all......I am not sure of how, why or when this is done...at first it was built to clean the creek out...but there has been problems with the success of that and the Salmon Fisheries are involved.
The first time I ever saw Dayton's I was with mum and dad...I guess they were on one of many Sunday drives that we went on ...this time it was out to Fairfield Island.....Daytons, woah....this is a neat place ......after seeing the kids swimming in the clear water and the many fish that were around the bridge, I made sure it was one of my haunts when I was old enough to ride my bike out there....We used to swim at Dayton's... we could start in April..the water was cold but we did it anyway if it was sunny out...the creek warmed very quickly if the weather was cooperative.... it was much the same as it is now...what a great place to play around ...a bunch of 12 year olds on a Saturday adventure...There is a run of pike minnows (squaw fish) that run in June...as soon as the rivers starts backing up from the Fraser freshet.......at night time they are thick under and below the bridge...it was a great place to learn to fly-fish....there were lots of em in the big pool where the creeks meet...I think that still that still happens but to a far less degree. I had a buddy.....Terry Valjean..... who liked to fish as much as I did.....we went fishing on our own often....catching fish off and around that bridge ....The area on top side of the bridge was made into a huge swimming area in the late 60s...it worked well for a few years ...hundreds would go there (We took our family there often)...it was huge...then the Municipal Government found out it wasn't healthy and shut it down....It just grew back to its old self then..... Dayton's is still a pretty place ......as can be seen by these recent pictures.....the top side where all the grass is was where the swimming pool was.....imagine all that area was clean water .....with diving boards and people swimming and picnicking.....cars parked all about......so.......the pool came and went.....it looks much the same as when we were kids now....except there was a room size pool to swim in just above the bridge.....
One time, not in swimming season...on of the boys threw a bottle in the bridge pool.....hey cool...about 5 of us pick up stones and started to have a gay old time throwing rocks at it as the thing bobs back towards us.........HEY.... it dawned on us...WE SWIM IN THERE....duh....doody do......O man ....how stupid can we get....lucky....we did not hit the bottle....Kids

the kids could swing out in a great arc....

Growing up in Chilliwack...................1972

About this time ourselves and some friends aquired campers , trailers or some type of RVs ....,in our case it was a 14 foot trailer.....Lew ------ had a truck and camper. Lew and I fished the Vedder often and we found a spot on a gravel bar on the south side of the Vedder River, near Liumchen Creek that looked Ideal for camping.....never used by others at that time , it was like having our own place to go to on the river...a beautiful large area alongside the Vedder, a high cutbank where the woods started and then trees surrounded the area, giving it an enclosed private kind of feeling. The way into the bar off the main gravel road was a hundred yards or so with trees growing overhead like a tunnel sometimes...It was really a fairly large area....We had a good crew of people that enjoyed that area for day use and camping for many years.......The problem of a lavatory was solved with a portable plywood one holer that was installed in the woods ...far from the campers.....over a hole ...and had a system of occupancy by indicating "busy" at the start of the outdoor trail.....hey.... that worked well...a very important part of group camping...... There was a large maple tree reaching out for the skys off of the cutbank....like it was pleading not to be taken by the last floodwater that was smashing the cutbank....well, it was plenty dry now ...and those leaning branches were a perfect place to attach a heavy yellow nylon rope.....a limb seat was attached to it and the kids could swing out in a great arc above the gravel bar....so could the adults....The bar was also used in the winter time....One winter some friends spent New Years Eve there in their camper...I can remember the snow falling lightly, it was a picture,,,..but for the most part use was early Spring to late Fall.....we all spent hours liberating small salmon that were caught in flood pools on that big gravel bar.....a plastic sheet was placed in the water and the little guys were herded over it......then caught and released in to the river.....there was a creek running through it at times that was fun to dam and break........once when it was quite high and getting higher by the hour from runoff, Tracey decided to put on my waders and do some water tricks...like going under and being swept down stream....thankfully, Gerry Karr was near by and quickly grabbed her out....blubber, spurt.......won't do that again. I sometimes seen my motorcycle putt-putting by in the woods with 4 or 5 kids on it....grins from ear to ear........Great competitive games of horse shoes were played......the odd beer or wine was consumed......many, many night fires ....how many fires have we stared into , an activity that is done in all types of weather...but really nice on those summer nights. That location was so close to home...10 miles and everyone is back to get ready to start the working week again.....Oh ya , we had the best of it.......It was a wonderful place ..... eventually the "people" demand for outdoor area over ran the place and it became a zoo.....but....we have the good memories ......

Jack looked at her and threw up

Growing up in Chilliwack............1946

1946.........nearly 9 years old...we lived at School St. for some months by then.......Wendle Schindle lived across the road , Jack Mcdermid , on the corner , the Max Mcleod clan on Ontario street, then the Edwards family in a house behind Leo Edwards and Sons (it is still in business)...there were lots of kids in this neighborhood.....Faye and I have talked about all our homes and concluded that big house with the big veranda was the best of them all....
Wendle's folks were from Germany or thereabouts, part of a segment of people who escaped oppression in their homeland ....they did not speak English and Wendle was important as a interpreter and negotiator....I thought he was a pretty cool kid...this 10 year old who explained things to his parents....Jack Mcdermid and I played together at home but we did not know each other on the school grounds ...he was a grade ahead....kids huh...anyway, one Saturday we managed to scrape together 30 cents and buy a pack of cigarettes....oh ya..we were going to do some serious smoking...it was not hard to buy a pack because we often ran to the store for cigarettes for our parents...but we had to buy Mrs. Morran's brand....there is some humor there somewhere but it is kind of lost in the names...Jack had his dad's name and his mother had remarried....anyway we had the cigarettes.....Players plain....in a box...20 of them....So off we head for the pirates ships..........over Yale Road and down a block..........There was a big oval area where the electric tram line came into Chilliwack and made a loop....it took in where Salish park and the Rhombus hotel are now....that is where telephone poles were stored...there was piles and piles of them...they were pirate ships mostly....when a pole could be found that was sticking out a long way that was a bonus...it made a great springy bouncing device....Also there were always boxcars sitting idle....that was where we decided to smoke these things.......we got a new pack of Players and a lots of matches...(Kitchen matches were handy because they could be carried singly and struck anywhere).....so we are sitting in a boxcar and proceed to smoke the whole box of them...we could not risk carrying the leftovers....when there was 4 or 5 left we were smoked out....nothing like a smoke break to get that relaxed feeling.......Oh gawd we are pretty green even though we just puffed and blew ...but Jack being older had decided to inhale a few drags and really felt quite lousy....now its time for supper.....we fling the rest of the smokes into the back of the boxcar and head home home.....Mrs. Morran says "hello boys" ...as we walk in their back door ....Jack looked at her and threw up......swell.....now I will have to tell my mum now...jees.....I can remember these words coming from Jack's lips ...his hands, palms out towards his mom...."I confess mommy"..."I confess mommy" we have been smoking............I confess mommy? ........what the heck has he been smoking?.........."Well Gary...you have to go home and tell your mother."...oh umm ya okay....on my way across the road I'm thinking...should I try ,"I confess mommy".....I don't think so...I'll try.......Mum ...I've been smoking ...and Jack got sick but I didn't inhale.....and see how that works. Yeah sure....

We are upstairs in Jacks attic..Ron Snow , Jack and I.....these guys are 2 and 3 years older and much wiser.....Jack owns a bunch of plastic soldiers and we want to get them out past Mrs. Morran without any questions...mothers are pretty sharp and would suspect anything out of the ordinary...we don't want her to know about it because we have this great plan to burn them in a war game and she does not need to know about that or the matches.....okay.....Ron is the leader..lets sit down and think of a way to get these things outta here....we do that...sit.....and low and behold ...I say "out the window" I can't believe my craftiness...I was congratulated by the leader and we did just that...the whole operation was a success ...the soldiers melted with fire on every drip of burning plastic...the drops made a zipping noise as they fell to the next object below...it was a wonderful site.

About that time we had a real snowy winter ...it had piled up well..I guess there was a couple of feet...Mr. Bibby on Ontario street decided to tow a sleigh behind his car...oh was that so cool...soon he had a train of slieghs hooked on behind the car...there had to be 10 of them ..I don't know what could have been more fun than that ...very little traffic...and getting towed up and down the roads in our area...he was carefull and stopped whenever someone dumped.....honestly that was such fun ...at the first of that snowfall and hardly any traffic that old model a ford could cut through the snow like a tank....what started with a ride for his toddlers and wife turned into sleigh train ....it was only once because of the timing and traffic etc...but it was an event that was so much fun it is still so clear in my memory.

they like me...they really like me

Growing up in Chilliwack...............1956

18 years old...I had worked about 3 months on the gas pipeline that was finished in 1957. After starting in April and knocking around at different labor jobs ....I ended up swamping on a side boom.....in English that means a big Caterpillar tractor that has a steel boom with a big belt on the side of it to carry 30" pipe ....the swamper operates the belt hook up with the help of the swamper on the next tractor.....that was for young guys like me who could hop around on that pipe and jump in and out of the ditch....that was on the tie in crew......wow it paid well when the hours were totaled up...we got 10-12 hours a day at 1.30 and 1.95 after 40 hours a week....it took 1/2 a week to get the 40 hours....nobody wanted to loose their jobs...we all "cut it"...It was a good crew.....Welders made an unreal wage....3.50 an hour....but they had to be good...a few bad welds and they would be "run off".....Slackers were not tolerated...putting pipe in the ground was expensive business....a bad weld tied up the crew for hours....or a dangerous operator.....once I seen an extra side boom being moved in for our crew...the guy dropped the boom..."BANG" flat on the ground......fortunately no one was under it......the operators sun glasses tilted towards the tie-in foreman ..... God himself ,dressed in kakis and a 10 gallon hat....(The foremen were 99% "You Alls"......that is southern guys .....imported from the states.......always stand out characters....most pretty good guys).........anyway, our boss "DUB FLOWERS" just eyeballed that boom operator, then turned his thumbs down in the air like a roman emperor and the guy was run off right there and then. Yep...I said Dub Flowers ...that was his name.....Once I was really late...like 4 hours.........I missed the crew bus to the Harrison hills...o man ,I was a wreck,I thought sure I was going to be canned, I got a ride with a mechanic who had to leave the Chilliwack yard and go over to fix something....I had overslept , working long hours and staying up all night.....I had been out on Saturday night...to late, to much fun...and I was paying for it....We finally got to the site and they were getting ready to lower a section in.....God was standing on the ditchfill on the far side of the pipe where everyone could see him...He is the guy that guides all the sideboom cats to lift the pipe and lower it in ....there was 4 tractors hooked up......So I thought here goes ...I walked up to him and the whole crew is looking...all is quiet except the clacking of the cat motors.....I just looked at God expecting the thumb thing....he eyed me for a while then said...wipe the lipstick off your face and get to work......Ohh gawd......I gave off somekind of body language because my operator, Ronny Jebb started to snort his motor...then the rest did...they were all snortin...they like me...they really like me...ha ha...and I went to work....I thought I was through ...a lot of my pals thought I was through....but I went to my tractor.....and threw my lunch in it...there was smiles all around...nobody wanted to loose that job.....lots of times we would have to wait for ditch to be blasted or some breakdown, holding things up.....the bosses did not mind if you goofed off...but you better be there when the time comes....
One day we were putting in the Ruby Creek crossing...there was about 6 cats hooked up to a long section ready to drop it into the dug out creek.......3 on each end....I got there early and proceed to start the tractor up....a small gas motor is started then throw a lever and engage the big deisel motor ...it turns over then catches with a roar.....I never noticed the master clutch was engaged...that means the big cat was in gear...yow...the machine jerked forward...I was dancing on the tracks trying to avoid disaster...somehow I managed to slap the master clutch and everything stopped...o my gawd....I am white as a sheet....Ron came along and calmly jumped into the drivers seat and backed it up the 10 feet to its original position, the belt straightened ...whew.....I sat down and talked to him for a while....wow, that was close...nobody was the wiser....and I still had all my parts....and the site was normal ,all the motors were mumbling and work was about to start. Ron Jebb was a great guy.
Later on I took over from a fellow that had to leave and was then a Welders Helper...that paid 1.50 an hour......Just keep the welder happy and everyone is happy........also hope the welder is a good one....if he got fired...would I get fired too?.......that did not happen...I worked with Paul Reno until the end of the job in November.

this was going to be a howler

Growing up in Chilliwack.......1950


My Uncle Charlie and Aunt Eva lived on Portage Avenue....they had a VLA home (veterans Land Act) it was in the first subdivision built in Chilliwack.....He worked at Buckerfields....Charlie had been overseas in the war and New houses were offered to war vets at a really good interest rate and low down payment.
My 2 cousins Cathy and Linda were toddlers...six months previous to our visit there one evening ,Uncle Charlie had misplaced a very expensive ring. A ring he acquired in Germany when he was overseas.He was devastated about the ring ...I can remember him mourning his 500 dollar loss and writing it off to the kids flushing it down the toilet or some horrible fate like that...they were all talking and visiting in the front room and for some reason I was looking down the hot air grate...they had hardwood floors and the air duct was covered with a matched crisscross hardwood grate plate..I have no idea why I was peering through the holes..anyway..guess what...I spot a black topped ring with a diamond in it.........its barley showing down in the dusty pipe..wow...I knew about the ring...I said that.....I paused.. ...I knew this was going to be a howler......they were all busy talking ...but it went dead quiet when I said...Uncle Charlie....there's your ring....WHAT....he quickly came over and pulled the grate out...reached in and grabbed the ring.....YAHOO...wow was he one happy camper....he picked me up ..waved me around a little then set me down...he was babbling excited like all the while....from his wallet he pulled a five dollar bill...wow a five dollar bill...I reached for the fortune at the same time mum said... no no Charlie ....he doesn't expect to be paid for finding it...that's all I could hear...he doesn't expect to be paid...(oh ya paid would be good...I like paid.....It has a nice ring to it...it's my favorite thing.....so they argued back and forth but good old Uncle Charlie won....I got the five bucks ..all mine....and Uncle Charlie was the happiest guy ..he had a great celebration that evening.....

I couldn't believe what a neat guy I was....

Growing up in Chilliwack..................1951

I guess I was 13...my first real date...I was taking a girl to the movies....I was walking to her house, going to the door ...meeting her folks probably....her dad is a cop...oh gawd ...I was a mess all day Saturday.....but I had asked her and that was it I guess, no backing out.....I met her at the skating rink.......... The Strand Theatre was converted in to a skating rink in 50 or 51....The new Paramount theatre was finished in 1948 and Rudy Martins Dad converted the Strand to a wooden floored roller rink....I liked to skate .....It was a neat little rink and had a small cafe on the front where the large entrance and ticket booth used to be....we rented boot .......but back to the first date......Louise Dougherty.....she used to help lead the city parades with the majorettes...marching and throwing a baton around ....she was 2 grades behind me......and I was going to the movies with her.........I had a bath and picked out the best clothes I had, then I combed my hair forever trying to get the wave just right....sometimes I used Brylcream and sometimes a little sugar and water to keep it in place......I may have used both this night....what did I get myself into...I was a mess.....so nervous, I wanted to back out.....but ....I'm going to do this.......I walked 8 or 10 blocks to Her house on Princess Avenue which seemed weird as I usually rode my bike everywhere.....It was a warm summer night .....I was warm....yipes.....I'm here .....up to the door.....whew ....here goes..........knock.... knock...
She is at the door....oh gawd...Hi....come on in, this is my dad ... daddy this is Gary Scales ....uhh Hello Mr. Dougherty...Gawd I'm gonna die....my mouth has dried up...my chest is pounding ..Louise says I will be just a minute and has to do something as I sit down and look at Mr. Dougherty as he is reading the paper....he didn't say anything...nothing...just read the paper...maybe he will say something ....should I say something....my mouth is to dry........ just ....oh gawd Louise, please hurry....five hours later she flits into the room......Good bye daddy.......umm gbye Mr. Dougherty.....and outside we go....ahhhhh I start to calm down....I am not near as nervous anymore...the nervy stuff was scared out of me I guess......she looks so young and nice ( she is only in grade 6 or 7) her hair had a ribbon in it...and here I am with a girl, going to the show......as we walked and talked I wondered how she could be so cool when I felt like a babbling idiot.....but it was getting easier now...I was fishing today.....she said she liked fishing......by the time we got to the Paramount I couldn't believe what a neat guy I was.......we sat downstairs....I didn't want to sit in the balcony, downstairs near the back we were safe from any teasing classmates........ I can't remember what movie was on but we had popcorn and drinks ...the whole deal....then after a while, when the main feature came on.... ...oh man... it's the arm thing...do I dare put my arm around her...I've got to do that or I would have to tell of my failure the next day.....It's almost mandatory...what if she doesn't like that.....but I did.....I did put my arm around her....It was okay...she moved in a little closer.....whoa ...I had my arm around a girl...not my sister or my mother...but a whole other person....like me ....only a girl person ....who has agreed to let me hold her.....I was just inches way from this girl person,. the screen was a blur ,I was thinking ....what is she thinking.....it was magical but also my arm went asleep....when it's there it stays there...too much trouble to go through all that again.... the movies over at 9 pm...it is still plenty light out and the brightness makes us squint when we leave the theatre......I don't remember the walk to her home...but I do remember rubbing my dangling arm, and I certainly do recollect the quick kiss when I walked her to the door and my feeling of accomplishment as I walked to my home.....
I dated Louise a few times in High School and when I was 19.....One Saturday night and we went to a dance at the East Chilliwack Hall.....Shirley was involved with putting the dance on...I knew that and that is kinda why we went there....I had just met Shirley days before but we had not been out together yet.....Well I was definitely stuck on her and we danced just about every song.....When the dance was over and I was driving Louise home she said "she sure is cute isn't she"...well, yep...embarrassed...... she sure is ....and thanks for being so understanding........I don't know how to end this except I drove my "first date" home and married that cute girl who was at the dance.

Mum told me she could read lips...

Cawley's Grocery Store

Growing up in Chilliwack.............1944
Mr. and Mrs. Lawnmower lived next door to us at south Fletcher St....She was very old and really nice to me,I never seen much of Mr.Lawnmower...he was even older and didn't come out much....She was the neighbor that could always be counted on for a couple of eggs or a cup of sugar.....and I was usually the one who was sent over to take or pick up something...I also ran errands to the store for Mrs. Lawnmower...Cauley's Grocery was only one short block on Nowell Street behind Auld Phillips... the unique thing about Mrs. Lawnmower was ....she was deaf.....like really deaf...I asked mum how could she always know what I was saying....Mum told me she could read lips...like watch my lips move..and she would know exactly what I said....well...that blew me away....how could she do that?...so one day when she was in her yard tending the flowers.....I ran over to the fence to see her....She said something like ....hello Gary.....and I came back with a greeting and Whatcha doin...waterin your flowers?...only I just moved my lips...try it ...it feels kinda silly....anyway sure enough......she answers ....oh yes ...they do need a drink now and then.....hey...that is so neat and she never said what? or eh? or pardon me?....like most old people ....so after that I always talked to her in lips..but good lips..you have look right at her and move them properly and not when anyone was around...that was my own secret....I always wondered if Mrs. Lawnmower could tell what I was doing ...if she could, she never let on..........



Chocolate bars were always 6 cents.....it seemed like a reasonable price...but then the candy people raised the price to 8 cents.....some kids in the city made a fuss the word got out via newspapers and radio...then kids all over took up the cause....Don't buy 8 cent bars....we wrote it on everything we could lay our hands on...Gary Hogg and I went to work penciling that slogan on
all the discarded paper and pads we could lay our hands on...then we put them on car windshields and also stuck them on windows .....it was an exciting battle for a while but it soon pooped out as kids could not endure cold turkey for very long....soon it was completely forgotten .I guess I revived it for a bit with this journal...I thought of it when I mentioned Cauley's old Grocery store that also sold bones, jawbreakers, torpedoes along with 8 cent chocolate bars.


The house on the north side and corner belonged to the Stonehouses it was on a neatly kept large lot....their house was stucco with glass...colored glass...you could put you hand on it and cut yourself if you rubbed hard.....I always thought that was a strange thing to put on a house but it was popular....a lot of houses had that on them...it must have been a fad from the 1920s..the houses have a reddish look from a distance....the Martins lived across the road ...P.J. Martin and Dolly
......then another boy, Bob.... then Phil ,Thelma and Billy. Billy was a bigger boy 2 years older than me...We played together and Faye chummed with Thelma...Thelma looked pretty good to me even if I was only 7....but I was already in love with my teacher...Miss Patriken..... I could cut through the back of Martins to my music lesson...at Mr. Drinkwater's house....he taught piano.....that was
about it....a music lesson , I only took one ...or two....not many....I didn't get it ....he asked me...Gary, why can't you get it...I told him I was stupid... (my mother told me that years later.) So that finished that....I cut my wrist on a broken bottle cutting through the back of his yard...the scar is a beauty...another job for Dr. Patten....

some mother was missing a box of clothespins

Growing up in Chilliwack.............1952

We lived on Fletcher St. South ...across from Keltone Cleaners...in fact mum worked at the cleaners for a few years....I would be 11, 12 and 13 at that home........It was a neat little house.....with an upstairs that was accessed by trellised covered stairs going up the side of the house...there were 2 garages....one for storage and one very good one...with a pit (for servicing a vehicle)...it was well built and had a slight ramp up to the door.. ....For a while dad operated a shop there and did mechanical work from it...Uncle Gordon (Barber) lived down the lane a block and a lot of other kids were in the Neighborhood...there was an huge empty lot across the road before Margaret ave. came through it in the 50s...the old guy who owned it only had a neat little garage that he kept his seldom driven 36 Plymouth in...my, that car was in perfect shape...anyway it was safe from us and we used the lot as a war field and a grounds for sword fighting, etc....the playing of good guys and bad guys with guns was down to a fine art....the bickering about who got shot was solved....we invented an elastic gun that was fairly powerful..a accuracy range of 25 or 30 ft....we made long barreled pistols out of wood with a clothespin fastened to the back of the handle....we found by trial and error that red motorcycle tubes (yep some were red) were the best...we cut em off the tube about 3/8 inch thick..stretch them onto the barrel, stick the end in the bite of the clothespin..now we had a weapon that could actually hit a person and proved you had a hit...no more arguing...then we each took 3 clothespins and clipped them on our collars...when the war was started..if you were hit you had to give a clothespin to the shooter...the one with the most pins when supper was called was the winner...some mother was missing a box of clothespins...another rather dangerous one was the canons....we took a 30-30 metal shell casing (the kind hunters shoot big game with) and drilled a hole in the top of the end...then nailed it down, curving the nails and securing the shell to a block of 2"x4" about 9 inches long..........At Halloween we could buy all kinds of fireworks...we took the gunpowder out of the red firecrackers ...we could break them and squeeze it out...then pour it into the shell casing (how much depending how far you wanted to go looking for your canon)..then stuff a bit of toilet paper in the barrel.......then a ballbearing ..then more toilet paper....put a fuse in the hole....then line up the canon to a target...usually a board...light the fuse...stand back...BANG....look and see how far the ball went into the wood...then run how far you wanted to go looking for your canon..they went about 50 ft. or so....a ballbearing would bury completely into the wooden board.....

The first year we moved there I started grade 7.....The school was bursting at the seams and a new Sr. High School was being built across the road......for a while grade 7 to 13 went on shifts ......... 7 to 11 am for grades 10, 11, 12 and 13.......12 - 4 pm for 7, 8, 9 and 10...It worked fine ........when we went into grade 8 the new school was complete and the 9 -13s moved over......

I had a little 2 month old black white spaniel dog named Pepper...He was a good little guy and the whole family enjoyed having and teaching him ...he was about 6 months old...I came home for lunch at noon and as usual called for the mutt...no dog...hmmm....I knew it was bad news when I seen how sad mum looked.....she had to me tell Pepper was run over by a car in front of the cleaners...oh...what a bummer ......over the years there was other bummers ..it just happens if you have pets...anyway....I went out to the garage kind of thinking that would be where he was... it had just happened a few hours ago...sure enough I found my dog in a cardboard box....I told my pals...Bill Maxwell and Bob ----- the sad news and they agreed to help with a funeral for my dog....after school that day I painted a sign.."PEPPER" while the boys prepared a hole at the back of the property....we did the deed and put rocks around the grave..it was all a solemn occasion...there was no crying ..just a quite service..then we broke it up and got on with some cool games..main while I found out later mum was watching out the kitchen window and I reckon there was a flood in there...

This is what the house looked like in 1952 (right) but painted better...some how over time it must have been resurveyed...I guess we were lucky to have the garage and driveway...that is a stairway on the left side of that house...it was closed in later by extending the house..that's why the window is not centre in house 1 (right)