island falls power plant - Flin Flon Heritage Project

ISLAND FALLS POWER PLANT
Vol. 24 , No.J
Autumn, 1964
George Moinworing
Edito r.
Editorial
PROFIT
W
HEN a company decides to
launch an expansion programme, there are severa l sources
from which it can obtain the required capital.
If a company has enjoyed a
period of good business and has
practiced thrift in its financial
affairs, it might be able to meet
all or some of the co t out of it
avings. On the other hand ,
many companies would probably
have to meet much of the cost
by borrowing either from a bank
or some other lend ing institution
or from the general public';
through selling shares.
Whichever way a company attemps to raise money, its chances
of receiving it would be pretty
dim unless it was making a profit
Published quarterly at FHn Flon Manitoba by Hudson Bay Mining & Smelting Co . Limited.
Printed by The Wallingford P ress Ltd.,
303 Kennedy St., Winnipeg 2.
Copper engraving by B rigden's Ltd.,
Winnipeg.
Authorize d as second-cl ass mail, Post
Office Dept. Ottawa, and for payment of postage in cash.
-the difference between what it receives fro m th e sale
of its products and what it pay out in taxation , and
operating cost uch as wages, procurement of raw material , maintenance of plant and machin ery and other
cost .
Wh en a company fails to make a profit, it end anger
the li velihood of everyone connected with it. It cannot
find the necessary money to mod ernize its plant and
machinery and failure to do thi s in tod ay's compet itive
era invariably results in a company fa lling far behind it
rival in the race for markets. E ventu a ll y, it has to
close down and this results in its employees welling th e
already formidable rank of the unempl oyed .
It is little wonder that Samuel Gomper , fo rm er president of the American Federation of L abour, termed as
the working man' greatest enemy, " the company th at
fail ed to make a profit. "
THINK THIS OVER
If you are a high chool gradute, don't admit to yourself that you are too lazy to work for a hi gher ed ucation.
Say to yourself that you haven't the money for it, th at
you couldn 't tand working after school and Saturdays
and th at you need the seemingly well-paid truck dri vi ng
job that you are now offered. And then 20 years from
now tell everyone th at you wanted to go to co llege, but
your folks were poor and that you never bad a chance,
never having had a silver spoon in your mouth at the
time you were born.
Picture credits-Front cover, W. McFadden ;
inside front and back, al o pages 13 to 19
by Cyril Steventon . All were taken in the
Flin F lon area.
1
MINE
R . G.
ASH
S
OM E peopl e think of mmmg as a routine
matter, the same thing happening every
day- getting up , going to work , ch anging,
mucking, drilling, blasting, slushing, loading,
tramming, hoi sting, showering and another
day's work in , well - th at is the way it pretty
well is but the mine i a place where things
are continuously changing, the ore going out
and th e fill back in; thi s kind of takes the
monotony out of it and makes mining interesting. Occasion ally we do something differently
and bigger than we did it th e day before-s uch
an incident happened recently that we would
like to tell you about.
If yo u live in Creighton or out South Hudson way, you were probably awakened at exactly 3:02 A.M. , o n Saturday morning, 17
Jul y, by a tremor and a success ion of shots
go ing off und ergro und , for exactl y at that minute 7 16 case or 18 tons of powder were being
electrica ll y exploded in 32 different delay action shots th at fired at different times but within 1% econds from the first to the last shot.
Over I 70,000 ton s or enough ore to keep the
who le plant go ing for 5% weeks was broken
up in that 1 1/ 2 seco nd s, but with ore coming
from a dozen other pillars, and stopes, local
area and Snow Lake mines, it will probabl y
take th e be t pa rt of a year befo re all the ore
blasted by this shot reaches th e Crusher - we
might say here th at according to the record s
and a lso according to Leonard La Pointe, who
was there both time , the larges t shot ever
blasted at F lin Flon was in th e Open Pit back
in 1932 when over 150 tons of powder was
blasted using th e maximum in those days of
I 0 delay action shots. Over 900,000 tons of
material was broken, some of it as large as a
hou se and some of it the size of a baseball but
with enough force for the odd rock to fly as
far as Hill Street.
This recent shot was not an underground
record brea ker for us but it was the first large
shot drilled partially with deep hole percussion
drills , drilling a 2" hole and using 40% - 1 %"
forcite powd er. 28 ,280 feet were drilled this
2
Russ Eag l e repai1·ing
d eep- /ta le d1·i1L .
Art Cooper at SMS underground cru sher.
way in 222 machine-shifts and the balance of
26,010 feet of drilling was done by our blast
hole diamond drills in 215 machine shift . The
loading of the explosives took up 210 manshifts.
For location and size of the blasted area
known to us as No. 4 Vertical Pillar it tarted
at approximately 65 feet above and dipped to
159 feet below the 3250 level , the width varied
from 60 feet to 176 feet and the thickness was
appproximately 80 feet, a pretty big sized piece
of rock, we'd say. In dump cars such as it
will be hauled over to SMS it would make up
a train over 19"1h miles long.
Something new for us is a Hydraulic Fill
System which will pretty w~il do away with
the sand-fill system now in use. If you were
down around the mill around the middle of
July, you probably saw a hole being driven
at a 46 degree angle that came out on the
L4th sublevel of our BN tope 140 feet below
the surface. This hole was drilled as a 2" pilot
and then enlarged to 3% ". The first 16 feet
was later enlarged to 5" so we could grout a
crack in the rock.
A complete set up of 3%" vertical holes will
be drilled and connected up with wire embedSur face drilling
at foot of mill.
Bi!l Urechko dumping ore on tipple.
ded hose and 7,000 feet of 4 " extra heavy
pipes. A new class ifier sy tern in the mill will
separate the rougher part of the tailings which
will be hydraulically driven down through the
drill holes and horizontal pipe to wherever
we might require fill in the Mine.
Thi fill line will have a separate phone system, will be free-flowing and will , after use be
completely flushed out with water. It will
make pillar mining more effective than it is
now and so me of the hard work in cut and
fill mining will be eliminated.
Lothar Heller who first hired on with the
Company 10 years ago in the Yukon left us
in mid-July to take a position as a diesel maintenance man in Salayea, Liberia West Africa ,
for the Lutheran Church of America-should
be quite a change fro m our climate to a new
area where the temperature seldom gets cooler
than 80 degrees. The distance from Flin Flon
is approximately 8,000 mil es.
Office manager to new steno : "Mis Jones,
don 't know how you do it. You've been here
only two weeks and a lready you're a month
behind! "
Maurice Rachuk and Bill U1·echko drilling surface hol e for new fi!l system.
Dan Parmicel!i and
Mike Pawluk in steel s ltop.
SNOW LAKE
Russ YouNG
THESE last three months there has been a
Ready to Load ore at Chise L L ake.
A very
charming
couple.
Tom B arrow
married
W innijred D avie
in May.
BeautifuL s pot just beLow Wekusko Pa LLs.
lot of construction going on in Snow Lake.
The Company are having an additional sixteen houses built for sale to the employees.
Work on them is well advanced and will be
ready for occupancy late this fall. This brings
to well in excess of one hundred the number
of houses built by the Company.
Snow Lake has seen the beginning of a
hardtop program with approximately two miles
of road paved this summer. This will certainly control the dust problem on the approach
to the town as well as clean up the business
district.
The place with the most activity is the Curling Rink where three additional sheets of ice
and new Club rooms are being constructed.
Except for the hiring of one carpenter all labor
is being done voluntari ly. At the outset the
Club e timated it would take between 5 and 6
thou and volunteer hours to complete the project. At the time of writing we are half way
there. A target date for completion is October
15th .
R ecent weddings of note, Tom Barrow Jr.
and Winnifred Davie were married on May
16th and Don Mitchell and Loreli Gudnason
were married on August 1st. Congratu lations
and many years of wedded bliss to you happy
people.
Vacation and camp ing trips are all the rave
this year. The Covert Armsworthys have just
return ed from a wonderful camping trip to
ova Scotia. The Bob Sadlers camped their
way to B.C. and back and report a terrific
tim e. AI Lindgren and Shirley Rachuk motored to Rossland, B.C. with Al 's parents for a
family get-together. The Jack Reeds are now
camping their way to B.C. where they intend
to visit the Jim Kristoff family , former residents of Flin Flon. There must be something
to thi s business of Jiving in the wide open
pace.
A few more fellas have left us. Bob Saul
has transferred to Flin Flon . Mike Zolinsky
(Continued on page 39)
4
Cyril Kemp, 1st operator,
Cyan ide section, i s also
an avid gardener.
Len Lambert, mill carpenter.
MILL
JoE
FIGURA
U
NLIKE the trees and some of the animals
that are thinking about going to sleep for
the next seven months or so we humans must
go on. Sometimes I wonder if it might not be
a bad idea if we could all go to sleep for the
winter. No! on second thought I don't think
it would be, just think of all the winter fun
we would miss. No curling, skating, hockey or
skiing. Whoops - hold on there, this is just
the Autumn issue no time• to think of snow
yet.
Duck season and big game hunting is just
around the comer. It's time to start checking
those waders for leaks and oiling those firearms that lay idle for so long. And if you have
an exceptionally good hoot, take a picture,
hand it in to me, I am sure everyone would
like to have a look.
We have quite a list of Grandparents this
time and to start the list off we have:
Mr. and Mrs. A. Szocs - Granddaughter
May 2, 1964 by Son and Daughter-in-law,
Mr. and Mrs. J . Szocs.
Mr. and Mrs. J. Pelletier- Granddaughter,
May 11, 1964, by Daughter and Son-in-law,
Mr. and Mrs. W. Waldal.
Mr. and Mrs. C. Brown - Grandson. May
20, 1964, by Daughter and Son-in-law, Mr.
and Mrs. D. Shilton.
Mr. and Mrs. J. Lengyel -
Grandson, July
13, 1964, by Son and Daughter-in-law, Mr.
and Mrs. J. Lengyel, Jr. Congratulations
Grams and Gramps.
Now on to the new arrivals to the Stork
Club:
Mr. and Mrs. E. Jensen, Son, May 8, 1964.
Mr. and Mrs. L. Makwaychuk, Son, May
18, 1964.
Mr. and Mrs. R. Dodds, Son, May 26, 1964.
Mr. and Mrs. G. Adams, Daughter, July 6,
1964.
So much for the new life that has come to
make its mark on the earth. Let's just take
a look back and bring mention to life that has
passed. The Mill was grieved at the loss of
two of its old time employees. Joe Haensgen
passed away June 8th, 1964 after a lengthy
illness. Buster McDougall passed away June
30th, 1964 also after a lengthy illness. Two
good men gone but I am sure they will never
be forgotten in the Mill.
Two of the younger fellows in the Mill decided poof on being bachelors so they tied the
KNOT.
Bob Ruckle said I Do to Miss Amy Sorenon and made her his one and only May 16,
1964.
Bill Dickson said I Do to Miss Myrna Haggarty and he also had a one and only. They
were united June 20, 1964.
The Howat family recently acquired a new
addition. Hughie Howat married Miss Minter
July 4th, 1964. (Hugh's father works in the
Mill).
(Continued on page 28)
5
The n ew stati onury Lr am at Phantom Lake a source
of pLeasure a<L summer, for young-and oLd!
COMMUNITY CLUB
J.
PELLETIER
A UTUM doesn't mean the end of summer
in fact it is to many of us the best tim~
of the year. There's Thanksgiving, for instance, when we can stuff ourselves just as
we do at Christmas time, and the World Series
when we can watch the games on TV a week
late and make cinch bets with those who don't
follow the games or don't remember the scores.
Then our thoughts turn to hockey which is
just around the corner.
If we want to look backward, however, we
can thmk of the hot ummer days and cool
nights. One can have more fun in our town
than in any place comparable in size and without bursting the pocket book. Your Club's
ummer activities provide enjoyment for young
and old, as will be seen later in this brief
report.
Looking into the future we have two important projects under way this fall. There is
the new cement floor in Whitney Forum which
6
will not only improve the ice urface but will
ensure the use of the rink year round. Very
important is the new Curling Rink for the Uptown Curling Club, replacing the old structure
which had been in use for thirty years. This
bring back memories. Some great rinks played there in the past and names come to mind
with a touch of nostalgia. R emember Roy Dimond, George R awson, Annable, the Murrays
and the Longmores, McArees', Humes, Cook
and so many others, fighting to the last or an
extra end in our famous bonspiels.
The hockey outlook for '64-'65 looks promi ing. Things looked dark for awhile, but we
seem to be back in busines again. Detroit
Red Wings are again spon oring the Juniors
under a new set-up with Gordon Martin as
Manager and Butch Baird as Coach .
A note on summer activities just closed,
shows that more than 900 children from 5 to
18 registered for summer sports. Our Manager, Pinkie Davie was ably as isted by Mrs.
Peggy McDonald and not a day passed without orne form of activity being enjoyed by
(Continued on page 28)
At the H erb K itc hen retirement, !. to r.: CharLie Wh itbread , H erb K itchen, Len D owler,
Adelle K oczka, To ny de V ette, Roy K eronedy.
ELECTRICAL
liM
WARDL E
F
OUR new faces have made an appearance
in the D epartment to lend a band during
the ummer months. Cliff Er ickson, Pat
Davidson, Bill Bloxom, and Nick Sikich are
working with the line gang. Back from University of Manitoba is Don Eckhart and from
St. Paul's College, Dan Richer. Don is working in the Electric Shop and Dan i on the
Con truction crew.
Two of our apprentices graduated in July
and have been awarded their Journeyman Certificates. Jerry Lynn on graduation, ha gone
to Snow Lake to carry on in the trade and
Norm Crerar will be leaving us to tour Canada, the United States and Europe. Good
Smi ling K elly Stevenson,
meter inspector.
luck to both you lads. Norm by the way, with
his paddling partner, Gib McEachern copped
the Gold Ru sh Canoe Derby at the Trout
Festival this year and have already won two
more major Ca nadian races since then.
The Social Club organized a friend ly gettogether at the E lks Club to say Good Luck
and farewell to Errol Ford . Erro l served hi s
apprenticeship with our Department and leaves
the Meter and electronic section for Port
Alberni , B.C., to join Floyd Moon ey and Jeff
Pope.
And speaking of our Social Club. New
officer elected for this new term are Kelly
Steven on, President; R ay McVay, Vice-Presiew directors are Keith Hill, orm
dent.
Rudd , and Len Carter. Other members are
Milt Laing, electric shop .
(Continued on page 32)
Johnny Dosco has
a worried look.
Nothing wrong,
we hope .
Tlte H .B .M.S . disp!ay at tlte Trout F estiva!
drew many visitors.
RESEARCH
SETH MATTHEWS
called a Vacation issue
THISas alltimethemightnewsbe seems
to be of people
coming and going in the usual merry-go-round.
To start close to home. Tommy Warren took
time out for the Trout Festival and had a
good time at the annual celebrations, everybody seemed to agree that the Festival Parade
was tops and the Swan River High School
Band gave the whole thing a touch of class.
Wilf Watt holida~ed around home, while Jim
McFarlane continued his winning ways at the
Rosetown Summer Bonspiel. Jim says that
curling in the summer is "real cool" . Hal
Roberts travelled down east to London, Ontario and the Niagara Peninsula and remarked
on the prosperous looking country which is
some of the choicest land in Canada. He also
Youngsters were particu!ar!y interested.
drove over the bridge at the Mackinac Straits
and thinks that it should soon be paid for at
a toll of over three dollars per car!
Maurice Smith camped his way to Brandon
and other points south and to Winnipeg. Eddie
Paull took a trip to the British Isles and had
a reunion with his son, also visited relatives.
Eddie was relaxing in a comfortable chair in a
local "pub" when an old gent came up and
informed him in no uncertain manner that
Eddie was sitting in his regular chair! Tradition and all that you know.
Wray Henderson is putting in a busy vacation building on his house; the boys turned
out to help pour concrete and another time for
roofing bee. Hope Wray still has all his fingers when he comes back to wrok. Emory
Switzer went camping and fishing in between
showers. Some of our people are planning to
travel east and some west. Gordon Brownridge is contemplating a visit to the east coast,
In the jo !ly atmosp here of an English pub. Eddie Paull
at left with son Bill at right, visit friends and re lattVes
on their recent trip to th e British I sle s. Next to Btl!,
sitting, is Andy Carson of our engineering departmen t.
your reporter is doing the same with regard to
the West. Doug Ross who left us to make his
home in New Zealand sent a long letter to the
gang and certainly seems to be at home down
under. Doug has worked at several jobs and
now works for the New Zealand Forestry
Products at Tokoroa. This is a pulp and paper
mill and Doug works in the Lab. This is the
third he has 'been in and he says that none of
them are as well equipp~d as our lab here.
Game is plentiful, Doug has bagged two deer
and also had gone wild pig hunting. This
sounds pretty rugged as the N.Z. boys according to Doug, train their dogs to hold the pig
at bay and then the hunter dashes in and cuts
(Continued on page 37)
.
Hoops used in electro-magnetic surveys .
ZINC PLANT
EARL
SULLIVAN
to "Taffy" Reynish
CONGRATULATIONS
on receiving his 25 year watch.
Claire Young has left our employ to reside
in Toronto. Eunice Nelson received a letter
from her and said Claire enjoys her new surroundings and office position very much.
Welcome to Liz Tumak. Liz is our latest
addition to the Zinc plant Office staff. Jimmy
Farmery, one of our long-service employees,
retired on August 1st. May you have many
years to enjoy your well-earned leisure time,
Jimmy.
The holiday reports are few and far between. Your reporter took in the Stampede
(Swan River, that is) and noticed a few of the
Zinc Plant boys watching the broncos. Some
of the boys were: John Souter, Vern Mayner,
and Frank Hart.
The Zinc Plant Skeet and Rifle Club held
a summer Smorgasbord on June 20th, in the
Legion Hall. The crowd was not as large as
expected but all who did go, enj oyed themselves.
Spring Bowling pri zes were presented to: L.
Grindle, Marc Trudeau, Shirley Clark, and
Midge Thompson. Cash prizes were awarded
to: J . Nawrocki, Wally Williams, Marg Case,
and Bernice Brautigam. Ladie High Single
and High Three- Marg Beever; Men's High
Single-H. Beever.
(Continued on page 10)
9
Don Hayes at blacksmith. forge.
Tony L innic k in background.
Co lin Pottingor thr eading 4-inch pipe.
Russe ll Huston standing by .
Mechanical & Construction
the Shop has been transferred to Snow Lake.
Our best wishes go with Don in his new location. Henry Klassen, carpenter, left the Company's employment to go into business for
him self in Saskatoon . The Mechanical and
Con truction Recreation Club held a small
going away party for him on the night of his
going away and presented him with a lovely
travelling bag. Best of luck in your new venture.
B ERT lMRlE
THE holiday season is with us again and as a
good many of our steady employees ta:ke
advantage of the summer months to enjoy holidays, in or out of town , a number of students
are hired each year to help make up the shortage of man power. Among th e new faces we
see in the shop this year are Den i Anderson ,
Richard Budlong, Morris Storozuk , David
Hannaford, Russell Hu ton , George Danko
Jr. , Ken Czettisch and John Urechko.
Brian Dixon transferred to the Shop from
the Zinc Plall't and is now working with the
Outside Mechanics. Brian, along with Norman
Murphy were two of the leaders who were in
charge of the Boy Scout Camp at Camp Whitney this July. They report one day of good
weather and thirteen days of rain. Murphy
took his holidays the day he came back from
camp .
We are glad to ee Wes Frechette back on
the job. Wes broke a leg playing for the Warriors hockey team last October and was not
able to come back to work until the middle
of July. Among those sick in the hospital at
this time are George Gauthier, Frank Doran
and Ralph Rutley. We wi h them all a speedy
recovery.
ZINC PLANT
(Continued from page 9)
Bob Lawrence Jr. left the Company's employment and is now working in Winnipeg.
Ken Smith from the Steel Foundry has taken
Bob's place in the Brass Foundry. Don
Teneycke, one of our popular machinist in
For our next issue, we hope to have many
more newsworthy items for your magazine.
Mike Hu cal and oldtimer Bill Ch.lan
blacksmith shop .
'
Jo e Boehm threads bolts in pipe shop.
The Zinc Plant Golf Tourney is still in full
swing so we have no winners to report.
THE LEGION Annual Picnic was held this
year at Cranberry Portage on Sunday, July
12th. This picnic is sponso red by the loca l
Branch of the Legion not only fo r the children
of Legion members but for all children in the
community. Free ice cream, free soft drinks
and ten cent hot dogs was the order of the
day. The day's act ivities included a ba eball
tournament, horse shoe tournament, racing for
young and old, a beauty contest, tug-of-war
and a competition among the young fry to see
who was the quickest draw of the north. The
day turned out to be perfect picnic weather
and thanks to Comrade Vic Sizer, the Chairman for the event, everything worked out to
perfection.
On July 26th the Foster Father's Committee, under the Chairmanship of Comrade Bob
McGregor held a very successful picnic at
Blondie's Be~ch. Close to forty foster children enjoyed a full day 9f boat riding, ice
cream, soft drinks, hot dogs and watermelon.
Again the weatherman was good to the Legion.
WHAT'S WRONG?
Who knows about Canada and things Canadian? Not, it would seem, a high proportion
of today's high school students, our citizens of
tomorrow.
A recent Toronto survey of some 100 such
students from some 17 different schools disclosed a level of general and historical knowledge calculated (one would hope) to disturb
the most complacent among us.
What happened in 1867? Only two out of
three (66 percent) could say. Who was the
first Prime Minister of Canada? Fewer than
half (46 percent) had any idea. Who is George
Vanier? A mere 50 percent knew.
Louis Riel was correctly (if vaguely) id entified by 38 percent of those questioned, Laura
Secord by 48 percent, Canada's Prime Minister
A successful Track and Field meet was held
on June 25th. Two candidates, Chris Bradbury, and Pat WuUum attended the Royal
Canadian Legion Track and Field Camp at
the International Peace Gardens in August.
Comrade Harold McDonald is to be congratulated on the wonderful job he is doing with
our young athletes and the latest word is that
we may have a competitor in the next Olympics.
LAST POST
S.S.M. BERNARD BROWNSTONE
14th Can. Hussars
1902 - 1964
NELSON R. McGREGOR
79th Btn. C.E.F.
1898 - 1964
in World War II by just 36 percent. As for
the capital of Alberta, it was known to no
more than 28 percent.
Questions relating to provincial and local affairs met with a similar response.
However that may be, is it unreasonable to
expect a rather better return than this on the
massive investment we have all made in education in recent years? More important yet,
how much can Canada mean to boys and girls
who know so little about what Canada is?
And if, as is to be feared , these results are
an all too accurate reflection of the state of
learning of our national high school population , where lies the fault? In television? Affluence? Poor teaching? Outdated or unbalanced curricula? Parental indifference?
Plainly, there's something wrong somewhere.
11
Jim Kit c h
Norman Crerar
CONGRATULATIONS
To Our New Craftsmen
Class of '64
..
In June, at ceremonies fitted to the occasion, each was presented
with his" Journeyman" papers plus a cheque for $100 for "faithfully and satisfactorily completing his term of instruction ."
Lawrence Clark
Jerry Lynn
PORTFOLIO
BEAVER LAKE and a gentle breeze for a sail
through the islands .
We present an other series of photographs of local interest
by Cyril Steventon . Hope you like them .
PRIDE
If she be proud, is she not also sweet?
DEMURENESS
Tiny and timid, sweet as can be.
WINTER CALM
A lonely trapper just passed by.
SPRING VIOLENCE
An end to the snows of winter.
RAGE
Not reolly temper. He burned his hand
on the birthday candle .
THIS IS THE LIFE
Days we'd like to remember forever .
PRAIRIE NAVAL BATTLE
JT
WAS the spring of 1885; the scene
Batoche. General Middleton's army and
Gabriel Dumont's Metis were all set for the
battle which was to end the Northwest Rebellion and send Louis Riel to the gallows at
Regina. There was no question as to the outcome, for the enemy was not only outnumbered but would be attacked simultaneously by
20
land and by water. What is more, a new machine gun of devastating capabilities was to
be tried out to ensure success. Two of these
guns were to be set up on the Saskatchewan
River steamboat Northcote, which was to join
the action at a signal from Middleton and
rake both sides of the river.
On board the Northcote was Lieut. Arthur
i
~
Howard, the promoter of the new and improved Gatling quick firing (up to 1,200
rounds per minute) gun. Howard was on leave
from the Connecticut National Guard , and
currently attached-somewhat informally-to
the Canadian Northwest Field Force.
The venturesome Howard was farther from
home than any other member of the expedition. He had left a wife and four children in
New Haven to involve himself in a qu:trrel
which certainly did not concern him in the
least-because he loved a gun. Dr. R. J. Gatling, who had invented in 1862 the first successful machine gun ever devised, made it clear
that Howard was not an employee of his firm;
he had gone to Canada, Gatling said, merely
as " a friend of the gun."
There was no question about that. Howard
had chivied and coaxed and cursed until the
Connecticut National Guard had authorized
the organization of machine gun platoons; then,
in thirty days, he had the first one ready, fully
equipped and splendidly trained.
He was no dewy socialite Guardsman, addicted to crisp uniform and show-off drill and
soirees. He had had five years of Indian fighting with the United States cavalry as a private
and noncom before he went back to Connecticut to settle down. There, because he was
an exp~rt machinist, within a few years he
built a carriage manufacturing business which
was netting him fifteen thousand dollars a year.
He sold it and devoted his full time to inventions, most of them connected with firearms
or munitions. He had used the Gatling in his
American service and be knew as much about
it as any man alive; when he learned that
Canada was going to try it out against the
rebellious Metis he hastened to offer his
services.
21
He had a comfortable, happy home in sedate
New Haven and he loved his family, but he
also loved that gun. He thus joined the company of implausible characters who strode
across the stage during the climactic scenes of
the Northwestern historical drama. He had
traveled more than twenty-five hundred miles
into a foreign country to kill men against
whom he had no feeling whatever ; yet he was
not a grubby soldier of fortune and he was
not a killer-he was a mechanic. His interest
in the mass murder of Metis was wholly scientific, cold as mercury in a tube. Batoche was
to be his laboratory.
There had been too few opportunities to
test the beloved gun on human flesh and bone.
It had been used briefly in the closing years
of the Civil War, and even less extensively in
the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. During the
nationalist revolt in Egypt in 1881 the British
had fired it over the heads of rioters in Alexandria, and had made such an impression that
Ahmed Arabi's nine thousand rebels were
afraid to attack the city's British garrison of
only four hundred. It had been used a few
times against American Indians. But that was
about all, and now it had been improved.
Howard had fired it, tiJ,ne after time, into
two-inch spruce planks, had meticulously measured the penetration and checked the spiral
scratches on the bullets, changed the elevation
by a degree and fired it again, computed range.
But it was not the same; the Gatling had been
made to kill men, not to drill spruce planks.
He had drilled and splintered and shattered a
good many, building up his speed at the handle
which he had to revolve to fire the gun. Theoretically the weapon could discharge twelve
hundred bullets a minute (which is faster than
any "automatic" machine gun today) but few
men could turn the handle that swiftly, or keep
at it for long. Well, if it was humanly possible,
Howard would do it; in so far as a man could
make himself a mechanical unit, build himself
into a machine, he had done that.
The Metis and their French-Canadian sympathizers, understandably, hated the cool man
from Connecticut above anyone they had ever
known, except Sir John A. Macdonald. Their
22
bitter outcry against his "brutal" intervention
in an affair which was none of his business
roused their coreligionists everywhere, caused
a stir in the newspapers, and brought the disavowal from Gatling and later ones from the
Connecticut National Guard and the United
States Government. Therefore Lieutenant
Howard, "friend of the gun," was on his own.
He was not perturbed about any of this; he
was blissfully happy; and he was not in the
least " brutal." He was merely scientific.
He was also effective. The newspaper correspondents in the field , the troops in their
letters home, and even the austere command
sang the praises of "Gatling Howard." And
the prosperous New England mechanic who
fell in love with a machine and followed it
into the wilderness was astonished when he
found that he had been immortalized in campaign doggerel :
Full many a line of expressions fine
And of sentiments sweet and grand
Have been penned of "our boys" who from
home's dear joys
Set out for the North-West land.
We've been told how they fought for the glory
sought,
We've heard of the deeds they've done;
But it's quite high time for some praise in
rhyme
For the man with the Gatling gun.
Music hath charms even midst war's alarms,
To soothe the savage breast;
None can hold a candle to that music "by
Handle"
That lulled Riel's "breeds" to rest.
And they sleep that sleep profound, so deep,
From which shall awaken none;
And the lullabies that closed their eyes
Were sung by the Gatling gun.
All honour's due-and they have it, too-To the Grens. and the Q.O.R.
They knew no fear, but with British cheer,
They charged and dispersed afar
The rebel crew; but 'twixt me and you
When all is said and done,
A different scene there might have been
But for Howard and his Gatling gun!
The stem-wheeler Northcote had two hundred troops aboard or on the two barges it
was tugging downstream, and about three hundred tons of supplies and ammunition. The
hundred-and-sixty-foot steamer drew thirtyfour inches of water, and unfortunately there
were a good many places in the South Saskatchewan Channel at this time, before the
full spring run-off, in which there were only
thirty inches. Therefore the Northcote
"crutched" its way along, grounding on sand
bars about every ten miles and hauling itself
off by "sparring."
This operation, used in all river steamboating, consisted of setting the vessel's spars-tall,
heavy timbers like telegraph poles-in the
channel, one on each side of the boat, with
their tops inclined toward the bow. High on
each spar was a tackle block over which a
Manila cable was threaded. One end of each
cable was attached to the gunwale of the
steamer and the other wound around a steampowered winch. As the winches turned and
the paddle wheel revolved, the boat was lifted
and thrust forward a few feet; the spars were
then reset farther ahead and the operation repeated until the steamer was clear of the bar.
The grotesque appearance of the boat during
"sparring" gave this operation the nickname
of "grasshoppering."
On May 3 the impatient men at Fish Creek
finally had news: the vessel they awaited was
stuck, as usual, near Saskatoon, where it was
found by some of Middleton's mounted scouts.
The scouts watched while the creaking spars
wearily lifted the boat into deeper wat~r once
more, then they galloped back t3 camp to
report. The Northwest Field Force took on
new life; the long wait was nearly ended.
At Saskatoon the Northcote unloaded medical officers and base hospital supplies, and on
May 5 it arrived at Fish Creek. The rest of
the supplies and ammunition were quickly removed and Lieutenant Howard and one of his
Gatlings joined the artillery.
The other machine gun stayed aboard. To
the astonishment of everybody, especially the
Northcote's long-suffering civilian crew, General Middleton had dreamed himself up a navy.
23
~
tlohnstQne l.ake
The Northcote was it: the first "gunboat" ever
to navigate oft the Canadian (or any other)
prairie. And of all the fantastic expedients
resorted to by either side··in the Northwest
Rebellion of 1885, this attempt to convert the
Northcote into a war vessel was undoubtedly
the most ludicrous. It was little more than a
barge with two decks, an exposed engine and
boiler on the lower and a cabin and pilothouse
above. Its top speed under then existing river
conditions was not much more than five miles
an hour. On its trip from Saskatchewan Landing it had averaged only about fifteen miles a
day; a doctor who had been left behind embarked alone in a canoe six days after the
Northcote departed and easily overtook it.
Middleton put the vessel in charge of S. L.
Bedson, chief of transport for the Northwest
Field Force. In civilian life Bedson was warden of the Manitoba penitentiary and thus
probably was the first and only penologist in
history to command a warship. Thirty-five soldiers were put aboard; with the crew and other
able-bodied passengers this provided a complement of about fifty armed men. Three, how-
24
ever were sick. One of these, a victim of erysipelas, was Lieut. Hugh J. Macdonald, the
son of Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald.
With the aid of timbers brought from Dumont's stables at nearby Gabriel's Crossing,
the lower deck was encased with a double wall
of two-inch planks. Oats and other sacked or
boxed materiel were packed on the upper deck
and around the vulnerable pilothouse. Armament consisted of one small cannon, the remaining Gatling and the rifles of the troops;
Middleton couldn't spare any more guns and
in view of the probable effectiveness of his
man o' war, that was just as well. Civilian
Captains Seager and Sheets and Purser Talbot,
who knew their b::>at, took a dim view of the
whole project; but they were in the Army now.
The Northcote, dragging its clumsy barges,
was to proceed downriver to Batoche, await
the arrival of the overland force, then open
fire upon the rebel stronghold from the river
simultaneously with the attack which would
be launched by Middleton on land.
This, if the Metis stood still for it, would
trap them between two broadsides and the war
would be over in short order. It was unlikely,
however, that the enemy would co-operate, in
view of the fact that its scouts, ecurely hidden
in the brush, had watched the whole operation
of "armor-plating" the boat (directed by Captain Haig of the Royal Engineers) and had
gleefully reported aU details to Gabriel Dumont. The fact that there were Metis scouts
about was no secret; Middleton's patrols almost
caught three of them and came back, somewhat staggered, to report that the enemy trio
had been tranquilly playing cards.
A complicated system of signals was worked
out by which the steamer, using its whistle,
would communicate with the land force and
the latter would reply with bugle calls.
At last all was ready. The Northcote, built
in 1873 and since then prosaically engaged in
supplying Hudson 's Bay posts along the river,
was-outwardly at least-transformed.
Along the riverbank the willows, sap-red
and tumescent, quivered in the wind but
seemed to shake with the surging life and lust
of spring. The air was scented by them , and
the men on the Northcote stood on the deck
and breathed deeply. A wonderful day, never
to be forgotten; a day to tell about back home
where spring wa slow-winged and long-lived
and did not just suddenly happen, all at once.
Boulton's horses and the guns raised some
dust but the breeze carried it off, and most
of the time the marchers could see for miles.
There were no houses , no people, no creatures.
The birds, few in prairie country, cowered in
their nests scooped in the sod. Nothing moved ,
nothing lived but the grass and brush and
flowers. One of the marchers noted mentally,
for his letter home, that it was almost as if
they were the first men. Truly a great lone
land, he would write, but lovely; one could
25
understand that men might be willing to die
for it.
This war didn't make sense ; damn the politicians, on both sides. But it would soon be
over, and it was good to be alive today. He
must remember to write what spring was
like ....
There was little talk and few commands
were needed. But sounds carried a long way.
The rattle of the horses' gear, the creak and
thump of the gun carriages on the uneven trail,
could be heard to the end of the long column.
So could the sudden rattle of gunfire, and
the frantic, futile squeals of the Northcote's
little whistle.
The steamer had been under way for less
than an hour. It was approaching a long sand
bar which jutted into the river from the eastern shore, at the southern limits of the straggling Batoche settlement. The channel was very
narrow at this point and the pilot was feeling
his way, hugging the brushy bank opposite
the bar.
Suddenly, on an unseen and unheard signal,
rifle and shotgun fire from both bands of the
river raked th& vessel's deck. Captains Seager
and Sheets, who doubled as pilots, still had
grave misgivings: only the ''lower part of the
pilothouse could be shielded, lest vision be
obstructed. Whoever occupied that position
was going to do a lot of dodging, and Seager
and Sheets knew all too well who that would
be. But now-it was early on the morning of
May 7-they manfully tooted the whistle. A
bugle answered from the neat ranks on shore,
and the joint land-and-water expedition set
forth from Fish Creek.
Eyes right, the Northwest Field Force
marched past a stone cairn topped by a tall
white cross of peeled poplar which marked the
resting place of the victims of the Canadian
Army's first clash with the Metis, and swung
into stride on the trail which led north alongside the river. The first spring blooms, the
purple wild crocus or Pasque flower, nodded
gently in the breeze. It was a glorious day,
sunny and warm. The column contained about
nine hundred men in uniform; teamsters and
other civilian employees raised the total to
26
more than a thousand, and there were six hundred horses.
Awaiting them in Batoche were two hundred
Metis fighting men, haphazardly armed, and
their families and noncombatant friends, probably in all about seven hundred people. Moving slowly to join them-but too slowly to get
there in time--were an unknown number of
Metis reinforcements, probably not more than
fifty, and Poundmaker's Crees.
In the afternoon of the 7th the Canadians
halted at Gabriel's Crossing and camped, and
the Northcote tied up. From that point to
Batoche, six miles north, the river road was
unsafe: it led through dense brush and small
timber in which the Metis could station snipers
or even establish an ambush. Therefore when
the march was resumed the next morning the
troops were led out of the ravine on a wide
detour over a prairie trail which would take
them several miles from the river and bring
them back to Batoche from the east. The
Northcote's commander was instructed to remain where he was for the day and to proceed
cautiously the next morning.
The steamer and the troops were to meet
at Batoche at nine o'clock the morning of
May 9. General Middleton, than whom a more
cautious commander never lived, had done
everything he could think of to build an overwhelming offensive except the one thing that
would have helped the most--calling out the
experienced Mounties at Prince Albert.
If everything developed as planned, the last
stronghold of the New Nation of the West,
the log-cabin capital of an upstart colored
race, would be reduced in at most a few hours.
In Batoche, meanwhile, the most indomitable man that New Nation had produced
went quickly about his business. Gabriel Dumont was confronted now with the battle of
position he had desperately tried to avoid, and
would have avoided had not Riel, after Fish
Creek, again overborne his pleas for a guerilla
campaign. But Gabriel shrugged. N'importe!
He would do what he had to do. Although,
as an "illiterate," he could not have known it,
he was not the first commander to have his
strategy upset by the political arm of the state,
but he look it with better grace than most.
He checked Metis assets and liabilities. Two
hundred fighters, every one a sharpshooter;
but some of them, like their Indian forebears,
had never fully comprehended the idea of collective and organized fighting. The cowards
who had fled at Fish Creek had been weeded
out, but there still were some whose resolution
had been weakened by their wives and the
priests. Miscellaneous armament-Springfield,
Winchester and Martini-Henry rifles; many
shotguns and ancient muzzle-loaders: that was
bad, but couldn't be helped. Terrain-Gabriel
and his warriors knew every inch. Holes in
the ground, and brush and logs. Dirt and fire.
And a psychological factor: a prophet, Louis
David Riel, with a wonderful working voice,
some letters from a bishop, and a crucifix a
foot and a half long.
Well, it was not enough to win. But, sacre
bleu!, he had always known they couldn't win.
It would serve ; it would upset the English
apple cart.
Dawn came at four o'clock. At five-thirty
the Northwest Field Force was on the march
from its overnight bivouc nine miles east of
Batoche. In the lead were seventy-five mounted
scouts un&r the command of Major Boulton,
who had headed the "PP,rtage party" in 1870
and once was under sentence of death in Fort
Garry.
Next came the Gatling on its wheeled carriage, and other guns.
At seven o'clock the Northcote cast off its
lines and started slowly downriver from Gabriel's Crossing.
The sun was bright and a soft spring breeze
stirred the bunch grass, green and tall and
tangled now that there were no buffalo to feed
upon it. The crocuses turned their cupped,
gossamer heads to the light and bowed, and
their purple petals opened like the arms of
Cree dancers worshipping the sun. Nine hundred army boots crushed millions of tiny blossoms hidden in the clumps of grass, in the
gravelly ruts of the trail, under rocks.
Bullets thudded harmlessly into the thick
timbers behind which the troopers promptly
flung themselves prone, but they pierced the
unshielded hull and the flimsy walls of the
cabin on the upper deck. The sick men rolled
out of their bunks in the cabin, grappled frenziedly with their mattresses, thrust them against
the walls. Lieutenant Macdonald, the Prime
Minister's son, his face swollen and aflame
from his malady, seized a rifle and crawled
out on deck.
A horse with Gabriel Dumont standing in
the stirrups danced out on the bank. Gabriel
shouted to the Metis marksmen and the line
of fire moved up. Bullets riddled the pilothouse. The helmsman, splinters of wood flying
about him and a bullet hole in his jacket, let
go of the wheel and dropped to the floor. The
Northcote, out of control, ca~eened into the
sand bar, caught in the current, scraped the
other side of the channel. Dumont shouted
again and a few Metis broke from cover, running to board the lurching vessel, but the Gatling started up then and they raced back. Gabriel watched for a moment, heedless of the
bullets flying about him; then as he saw that
the current would keep the boat from grounding he spurred his horse and set off on a run
for the center of the settlement.
It was eight o'clock, an hour before General
Middleton had "scheduled" the start of the
Battle of Batoche, and the troops were nearly
four miles away.
Purser Talbot, a rifle in his hand. crawled
into the pilothouse to "cover" the helmsman,
Captain Seager, who had taken the wheel again
and now had the steamer straightened out.
Co-captain Sheets and the engine crew were
building the steam pressure to the limit; Seager
swung the boat into the middle of the river
and the Northcote ran for its life. Only one
or two shells were fired from its cannon ; the
gun was too slow. But the Gatling raked the
banks behind the boat and the Metis kept their
distance.
The steamer reached the center of the settlement and chugged on toward the ferry landing. Too late, Captain Seager saw Dumont
and a group of men working feverishly with
the two ferry cables. He tried to stop the boat,
but its momentum carried it on as the Metis
dropped one of the cables to the river's surface, just behind the vessel. The other cable,
27
a few feet ahead, was coming down, too.
Seager signaled frantically for· full speed ahead,
plowed into the cable just ·as it scraped the
top of the pilothouse. The Northcote's two
stacks, its mast, its two tall spars and its whistle
were yanked off and flung on the upper deck.
The deck immediately began to burn.
While a bucket brigade doused the deck
under fire, the vessel slid around the big bend
in the river. The Metis bombardment dropped
off; the steamer was out of range now and
almost safe. Captain Seager went on another
mile or two and dropped anchor in mid-channel. All hands went to work to repair the torn
and charred deck and reset the stacks, spars
and mast. Restoring the whistle to its high
perch on a stack was the worst job and no one
would undertake it until Private C. Coombes
of the Toronto Infantry School Corps, promised a fifty-dollar bonus, volunteered. Just as
he finished , a Metis sniper spotted him and
opened fire, too late.
Bedson and others tried to induce the ship's
civilian captain and crew to swing about and
go back to Batoche, but they refused. Anyone
ought to be ablt:: to see by now, they argued,
that the Northcote was not ~ gunboat. Three
men had been wounded while the rickety little
craft ran the gantlet for five miles; the vessel,
if it returned, could not get past the lowered
ferry cables and its passengers would be sitting ducks for the Metis.
The military men had to admit that the captains were right. So the first and only warship
ever seen on the prairie "sat out" the war three
or four miles from the major battlefield, plaintively tootling its little whistle in the hope that
somebody would come and find it and tell its
military complement what to do. But nobody
heard the whistle, and the Metis were between
the vessel and the marching troops , and soon
everyone was too busy to worry about the
Northcote. A few days later, accompanied by
another steamer which had come up from
Prince Albert, it got back to Batoche. The
war was over, but the Northcote got there in
time to blow its whistle for the victory celebration.
28
MILL
(Continued from page 5)
Mr. and Mrs. N. Wells are very proud of
their son Davie. During the summer Dave
attended an Athletic Training School and won
praise for his abilities. Keep up the good work
Dave.
Del Davis took a sick spell last June and
was sent to Winnipeg for treatment. We hope
you are back to work by the time this issue
is out Del.
The way styles are these days with topless
bathing suits and topless dresses it wouldn't
surprise me if next summer they come out
with some sort of nothingness outfit. I'm sure
the fellows wouldn't mind and neither would
the Optometrists for I think cases of severe
eye strain would go up one hundred per cent.
COMMUNITY CLUB
(Continued from Page 6)
youngsters of ranging age groups. When rainy
days interferred with the program, alternate
programs were arranged by the supervisory
staff at the Channing Auditorium . Up in the
Green Room, the Arts and Crafts section taxed
our facilities to the limit, while on the big floor,
volley ball and many other group games created enjoyment for all.
By all reports outdoor playgrounds were
well supervised and very popular. Swimming
activities received special attention.
We are placing particular emphasis on physical fitness and have taken advantage of the
Provincial Government's willingness to sponsor
the training and development of leaders in this
field. David Wells who was one of our playground supervisors for the last two summers,
took a two week course at Gimli. The camp
leaders report that D a v i d showed natural
leadership ability and suggested he would be
an asset to any town lucky enough to acquire
the services of such a lad. Congratulations,
David.
That winds up our spiel to date. We hope
you all had a good summer and are in fine
shape for the coming winter. If you have any
beefs or grievances or complaints, please don't
scatter them around like weeds - just take
them to the club manager or to any of your
directors and they'll be dealt with at once.
Les. Schaffer,
warehouseman,
came to u.s from
Surface department.
Summer students-Peter McRae, Blain Barley , Terry Warren,
Corb ett Wood, Don D empsey. (Colin Brough missing.)
WAREHOUSE
Bos D AosoN
T
WO of our Old Timers retired May 1st this
year - Foster Ral ston and Ina McLeod.
When last seen, Fos was repairing his front
porch and contemplating a visit to the White
Fox District of Saskatchewan. Ina was visited
by El and Anne Warrington while on vacation
near Calgary. Ina is residing on her brother's
estate and sends her regards to old friendsreports the sunsets over the foot-hills are really
something.
Bill Lock>hart recently returned from another around the world trip. This time by
boat. Anyone contempl~ting such a cruise
should contact Bill for addresses in such
romantic spots as Singapore, Hong Kong, Bali,
Aden and Cairo.
Lila Stevens spent three months in Los Angeles, California visiting her daughter Lorna.
Jack Greenberg is top gas salesman in a
local garage, drop in and see him.
For the summer months we have six stuA goodbye to Ina McLeod
who is now in Calgary.
dents on our crew - Blaine Borley, Colin
Brough, Don Dempsey, Peter McRae, Terry
Warren and Corbett Wood.
Arnold and Helen Nowosad and family went
to Dawson Creek, B.C. where Arnold as Skip,
and son Darrel as Lead, won third prize in
the summer bonspiel. They returned via the
northern states and Peace Gardens, enjoying
an odd game of golf enroute.
On vacation Walt, Ray and Cal can be
found on the Phantom Golf Course - Tom,
Charlie and Bill gardening and fishing.
We are happy to see Ed Hammill back looking fit, from a stay in the Winnipeg Rehabilitation Hospital.
Les Schoffer has transferred from the Surface Department and is with our downstairs
crew.
Oz Perkins is busy moving into his new
home at 71 Tweedsmuir Street.
Bob Dadson and Ejnar Crone, busy gardeners, are painting and building additions to
their camps on Lake Athapauskow.
The best way to improve the taste of salt
is to sprinkle it over a juicy piece of steak.
Foster Ralston was retired in May
and seems to enjoy it.
SMELTER
BILL PHILLIPS
ACTIVITIES around this department since
last issue have, for the most part been centered around the production of blister copper,
and fuming plant oxide. However after work
hours, the Recreation Club Executive have
been meeting and re-organizing the Club for
a membership fee angle, and have come up
with an increased annual membership fee, but
with a lot fewer smaller collections. Incidentally the new Rec. Club Executive is as follows: President, Bruce Reid, of the Converter
Pit Crew, Vice-Pres ident is Bill Fletcher of
the Steady Day Floor Crew and Secretarytreasurer is Doug McElroy of the Receiving
Bins. Past President Dennis Lindsay and his
executive of the last year are to be congratulated for a job well done.
The "Welcome" mat is out to Smelter employees Larry Delyea, Phil Gagne, Terry Winters, Kerry Lomax, Jim Goodfellow, Charlie
Harris, John Paskiw, Robert Simpson, Gary
Thompson, Grant Nixon, Morris Wynnychenko, Tom Rusinak, and Frank Simpson.
We note with considerable interest, that
Trout Festival Canoe race winner Gib McEachern has left the payroll and plans an extended series of canoe races, and a trip to
Europe for Ski instruction etc. Good luck Gib.
Others who have left the crew are Monty
Winters and Paul Rainville who have left for
England and the Continent. It will be a thrill
Mechanical repair crew
at work in drying p!ant.
for Paul especially, as it is his first trip home
since arriving in Flin Flon. Kyron Crawford
has left the department for other employment.
For the information of the single members
of the crew, that we've noticed taking sideway
glances toward the office, the young lady who
is vacation relief for regular steno Nellie Cut1 ,
is Donna Lee Schneider, daughter of Frank
Schneider, formerly of the Smelter Crew, but
now with the Research and Assay Group. Yes,
you bet, that's right, she's single.
During a short spell in hospital ourselves,
we had both Bill Marshall and Russ Storey,
both retired , as co-inmates. Both of these fellows were feeling fairly well when we got out.
Among th e others who were under medical
care in hospital were Joe Pico who had an
emergency operation and Phillip Reimer. We
are happy to be able to say that they both
are well on their way to recovery.
Congratulations to:
Mr. and Mrs. Russell Belous on the birth
of a daughter July 11.
Mr. and Mrs . Dale Buckland on the birth
of a son, Glenn Dale, 5 lbs. 1 oz., June 12.
Mr. and Mrs. Darrell Edmunds on the birth
of a son, Craig Eldon, 7 lbs. 1 oz., born May
22.
Mr. and Mrs. Bob Duerr on the birth of a
son, 7 lbs. 9 oz., born June 3.
Johnny McLean took a trip to Winnipeg
July 9 for a reunion with 65 members of his
old R.C.A.F. 410 Squadron. Johnny said be
had a wonderful time renewing old acquaint(Continued on page 36)
Bi!l Hunter , tugger
hoist operator.
Frank Garrett,
drying p!ant operator.
Th e winning team members .and I nstru ctor, from l eft to right-Jack Chrisp, Mine Rescue
I nstructor, G . Trueman, Captam, G . Jaszan, J . E . J ensen, M . Kozar, R . Quinn and G . DeWitt,
Vice-Captain.
SAFETY
Bos McDowELL
oUR Draeger men did it again.
In the Manitoba Provincial Final R escue Competition
the Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting Company Limited Team No. 1 came out victorious
for the second time. Congratulations! It is
noteworthy that this achievement is o much
more out tanding thi s year as the competition
is becoming keener every year. The former
champions, The San Antonio Mine Rescuers,
were within a few points of taking the Trophy
also again. The International Nickel team and
the Sherritt"Gordon team were also very close
contenders.
There is more to Provincial Mine Rescue
Competition than just posing for a picture.
Other official s participating in the contest.
Left to right, front row-Eri k Runehj elm,
Safe ty Engineer, Hudson Bay Mining &
Smelting Company Limited; Hank Bloy,
Judge and Safety D irec tor of Mines Accid ent Pr evention Association of Manito ba.
Standing, back row , lett to right- Bob M cPherson, Chief Judge , and Chief Mining
Engineer for the Province of Saskatchewan .
Jac k Chrisp, Mine Rescue I nstructor, and
Bob Junker, Judg e and Chief Mining Engineer tor the P rovince of Manitoba.
The members of the team have to study and
practice without any let-up, as all competitors
must. The Instructor must be alway on the
alert for new ideas to make hi team more
efficient as against the time when th ey may
be called upon for real action.
At the conclusion of the Mine Re cue Contest an Exh ibition of "Mouth-to-Mouth" resu citation in conjunction with heart massage before a large and spellbound crowd was shown.
The performers here were Johnny Chrisp to
the left of the picture, First Aid Instructor,
and F. M. Murray, District Executive Director
Representative for the St. John Ambulance
Association. The willing and co-operative
patient was Resusci-Anne from Norway. She's
cute!
Today's child specialists say that if a child
annoys you, silently brushing his hair will
quiet him. My old Irish grandmother says if
this doesn't work try the other side of the
brush on the other end of the child.
Ex hibition of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation by Johnny
Chrisp and Mr. F . M . Murray of the St. John Ambul ance Association. The cute member being revived is
Miss R esusci-Anne from Norway.
A TRUE STORY
While vacationing on a northern lake several
summers ago, I was standing on the shore
looking at my 14-foot runabout tied up at the
dock. The warm breezes rippled the water
and it seemed like a perfect day to take a
little buzz around the lake. I heard footsteps
behind me and then a voice said, "I'd like to
have a ride in your boat.
I turned to look and saw a gentleman probably in his 60's, w e a r i n g dark glasses. I
thought the man was being a little bold and
presumptuous, but then he explained, "I don't
want you to think that I am being bold or
forward , but three months ago, I recovered my
eyesight. You see, I had been blind since
birth."
Then he told me about what he considers
the miracles of medical science - how two
corneal transplants had given him vision which
he never dreamed possible. He explained how
for many years he would listen to people describe things; hearing them talk of flowers and
beautiful colors, but he said, "Even in my
wildest imagination, I never dreamed the world
could be as eeautiful as it is."
He spoke of his experience as a boy when
he was sitting in his own backyard and other
children would be playing ball. Occasionally,
the ball would come into his yard and the
other kids would ask him to throw it back.
He wouldn't be able to because he couldn't
see where the ball had gone. This often resulted in unkind remarks.
He described the great thrill of seeing his
wife and children for the first time and how
his grandson bad said, "Grandpa, come and
play catch with me," and bow the first time
his grandson threw the ball to him, the great
fear he felt as the ball came flying through
the air to him; be was so afraid be would not
catch it.
But his new eyes worked well and as the
ball came close, he clasped his bands around
it and held on tightly. It was then that a great
feeling of elation came over him. He described
how his grandson went with him on a shopping
trip to buy his own baseball glove.
He talked of the many new things he ex-
32
perienced day after day, of how be now could
play cards without using the Braille system,
of driving a car, of picking out colorful sport
shirts for his vacation. But, he said, he was
growing old and time was short. He bad a
lot of catching up to do. He had never ridden
in a speedboat and he thought it would be
thrilling. This is why he asked if I would take
him for a ride.
We hopped into the boat and I gradually
opened the throttle heading out into the lake.
The warm breeze sent spray over the windshield and it bad a cooling effect on our faces.
I looked at the old man and saw him smiling.
It was then I began to realize the real joy of
living with all your senses working for you .
When I docked the boat that afternoon, I
thought of the many men who were wearing
eye protection because of the effort of safety
people. Yet, 1 know that there were also quite
a number who still neglected to protect their
eyes and I wished that all people who resist
the wearing of eye protection could have beard
the story from the old man that afternoon.
I am sure they would place greater value
on their eyes. I, too, resolved that our own
eye protection program could be beefed up and
that laxness in this area should never result
in the loss of vision for any of our people.
A large part of the responsibility for eye
protection falls on supervision. There are
many items for promoting eye protection such
as blindfold tests, films, posters, etc., but
nothing is as effective as the real dedication of
the individual to the prevention of eye injury.
ELECTRICAL DEPARTMENT
(Continued from page 7)
Bob King, Larry Guymer and Jerry Lynn.
Past president is Howie Beswatherick.
Best wishes from the department are extended to Adelle Koczka on the occasion of
her marriage to William Farkas on August
15th. Adelle will make her new home at Lynn
Lake, Manitoba.
We are happy to have a picture of Herb
Kitchen in this issue. We were unable to obtain a picture on Herb's retirement in time for
the last issue.
POWER HOUSE
DAVE LAHONE
W
HEN the young engineer starts out in our
plant he first becomes a "steam Engineer",
because he works with boilers producing
steam. Later on, he uses other power, and
may be referred to as an operating engineer.
His first job is raking ashes, a Ray Rogers is
doing, who recently transferred from the Zinc
Plant. He is assisted here by Gary Bryson,
who has been promoted to helper to the engineer on shift, and this is the second step.
Summer student
employees:
Rick. Whiteley,
Norm Kvern ,
Doug Robertson,
Ron Watt,
Wayne Gurba.
Ray Rogers and
Gary Bry son.
Hugh Howat is shown arriving to relieve
Bob Putko as Shift Engineer on the "Reverb"
boilers, and they were just recently promoted
to this job. Bob was on vacation a short time
ago, and visited some industrial plants as well
as taking in the main local attractions. He
ob erved that all working men seem to dress
the same, the electricians all wear the same
yellow safety helmets, and you saw the same
pictures displayed everywhere.
After a few years, and while still young,
more promotion comes along for some, like
Emery Ro~lett, who is now a Supervisor.
In the meantime, home interests are also
promoted, like getting married. Hugh Howat
wa wed to Marie Minter on July fourth, in
St. Peter's Anglican Church. And Johnny and
Jo-Ann Lengyel display their most recent
home interest, John William Patrick, born on
July 13th. The father proudly quotes the
weight as 6 lbs. 10.5 oz.
Hugh Howat married
Marie Minter in July .
More summer holidays are made possible
by giving jobs to students and these fellows,
too, become eligible to work as helpers, and
even take over shifts, where they have been
previously qualified by writing paper . Bernie
Van Benthem is one of these.
Joe (Beginning story)-"They were both
deadly white as they lay there together beneath the trees. For hours the-"
Sol-"Is this a nice story?"
Joe-"Sure-they were a couple of snowballs."
33
Graduation day at University of N. Dakota for Harry,
son of Supt. Gummerson. Parents attended, a lso Uncle
Joe who came /!'Om the British Istes for the occasion.
Johnny and
Jo-Ann Lengyel
with son and heir
John William
Patrick..
MAIN OFFICE
JOHN SPENCER
this report is being penned, the period of
As feverish
summer-time activity is in full
progres and it i impos ible to record a complete story of all the peregrination of the Main
Office personnel.
However, we must have a go at it and will
first tell the story of, and offer our congratulations to, the new members of the Main Office
Staff.
Right at this very moment the econd newest girl, Vivian Tessmer, is conducting the
final stages of the instruction of Joyce Johnsgaard in the multifarious duties of the office
messenger's department. Reenie MacKenzie,
another of the very new ones, is preparing to
take over the operation of the printing office
to enable bard-working Harvey Lamont to get
away for a much needed rest to his summer
cabin at Blondie's Beach.
Three more new girls have not only joined
the Main Office force but have already been
sent to other outlying offices as vacation relief.
Liz Tumak is located in the Zinc Plant Office,
Donna-Lee Schneider is now working in the
Smelter while Valery Plum.~er is lending her
talents to the Mine Office.
Donna Smoliga is back in our midst for the
summer months after spending the winter in
Chicago where her husband bas been attending
University.
Two of our girls, however, have seen fit to
sever their connection with the Company for
Joyce J ohnsgaard ,
new cltarmer
in Main O ffice.
34
new activities elsewhere. lnga Nowazek has
decided to become a teacher in the local high
school and EIJen Wilson who is indeed a welltravelled young lady has set out on further adventures, reported ly in the West Indies.
Almost everyone in the Main Office is on
the move, has just returned or is just about to
set out.
Blaine McLuckie has just returned (wouldn't
you know it) from a summer bonspiel in Rosetown.
Ina Kirkland has returned from the ElksRoyal Purple Convention recently held in Saskatoon.
Bud Jobin took in the Swan River Rodeo
and is safely back in his cottage at beautiful
Baker's Narrows where he is resting up after
his trip.
Maureen Lofgren and her si ter ran head
fir t into a heat wave in Saskatoon and were
glad to get back to Flin Flon Lake Country
for a refreshing dip.
And Addie Smale from the Power Office
ha just returned from a really marvellous
vacation to Calgary, Victoria and Vancouver
and is having a hard time getting interested in
her work.
Closer to home, Joe VanNes has just completed his summer vacation on beautiful Lake
Athapapuskow, which is the locale of Earle
McDonald's holiday which is even now in progress.
On Beautiful Beaver Lake, Bob McLachlan
pent several weeks building 2/10 of a mile of
highway into his holiday acres where, in good
time, a summer cottage will be constructed.
Don Hay, Bob Tanner and Darlene Reid of
the Accounting Office are currently off on
vacation while Curly Gummerson has ju t returned from a trip to Portage la Prairie.
Jean Paylor and her Mum took a luxurious
train trip to Montreal to vis it her daughter
Norma and husband. This happened in May
and the flowers were out, the grass green and
the night clubs lots of fun.
In contrast to the foregoing paragraphs we
find that at least two of the Pay Office people
tayed home and had visitors.
Ralph and Louise Bloomfield spent an active ten days in July entertaining daughter
Joyce and their two grandchildren from R egina. It is now very quiet in the Bloomfield
residence.
Helen Miller played hostess to her sister
Kay who came with her husband and her two
bonnie children from far away Port Arthur.
And now - to strike a more serious and
ombre note - Toddy Murray was forced to
take to her bed for a two week period due to
an attack of the mumps.
The Rolling Stock department is the next
item on which to report and we are happy to
note that Marg. Radford may be seen rambling around· in a new Chevelle, Marjorie Hall
roaring around in a new. Rambler while AI
Mealy has now become a two car man with a
Viva sports car added to his fleet.
Ruth Bottrell and her husband Dave are
daily taking note of the progress being registered on their new home on Queen Street
which is really terrific and which they hope to
occupy by September.
Mr. and Mrs. Harry Stein. Harry comp leted
28 years of service with the Company Last
May , DarLene Reid of the Accounting Dept.
is a daughter .
And to complete the report with the greatest news of all we are happy to announce that
on July 4th, in St. Paul' Church, Mary Blander became the beautiful bride of Doug Donahue. The Donahues also reside on Queen
Street.
And h ere 's another one,
Vivian T essmer, cute.
35
This trio has 100 years of service with the
Company . Otto Christensen, Laurie J ohnson,
H arry OLson.
ISLAND FALLS
W. SouTHWORTH
T
HE weather man was kind to us on Dominion Day which went a long way towards making it such a success. We had the
usual flag raising ceremony, races for young
and old, games of chance, and refreshment
booth but most interest seemed to center
around the bingo game. The Dominion Day
dance was enjoyed by an excellent turnout.
On June 17th a large group of friends got
together to help the Westburys celebrate their
silver wedding .anniversary. The gathering was
held outdoors under clear skies. The black
fl ies were there too but not in sufficient
strength to mar the happy occasion. The
grounds were gaily decorated with illuminated
Japanese lanterns and streamers of flags. Fred
Bowman presented Alice and Ernie with a
group gift. A delicious lunch rounded out a
most pleasant evening.
While on the subject of weddings we are
pleased to report that Dick Southworth was
married to Miss Donna Border in Yorkton,
Saskatchewan on July 25th. Dick was born
and raised here and they plan to make their
home even farther north at Uranium City.
Come the end of June and all high school
young people were heading for home by plane
-not Jim Russell and Brian Olson. No Sir!
They decided it was tim e a couple of th e young
fellows walked from Flin Flon to Island Falls.
So that's just what they did. It took them 21/2
days. They spent two nights in cabins along
the power line but arrived without mishap in
fine fettle.
Later in the summer while canoeing up the
river these two adventurers overtook a swimming moose. Yes. You've guessed it. They
took turns riding it for a qu arter mile. Unfortunately they didn't have a camera along.
In mid July Assistant Scout Master Dave
Loucks and a dozen scouts from Sandy Bay
attended the two week Scout Camp at Camp
Whitney.
Our swimming program this summer was
supervised by Mrs. Edna Sigsworth of Calgary.
The Saskatchewan Department of Natural
Resources has a Northern Development Housing Construction program underway across the
river in our Sister Community of Sandy Bay.
Seven new homes are being built this summer.
Our new highway which takes off from the
Hansen Lake road 49 miles west of Flin Flon
is moving ahead nicely. It is planned to complete as far as Pelican Narrows this Fall.
A barbeque on our pool beach in mid-June
in honor of departing teacher Marie Levchenko and grade niners going away this Fall.
Nothing quite like a hot smoky marshmallow.
Oops! Another summer has just slipped by.
It was one of the driest and warmest on rec-
ord with many bush fires and oh those black
flies! (Ed. note--Are you sure Bill? )
In July the Churchill River temperature
reached a new high of 75 degrees F.
SMELTER
(Continu ed from page 30)
ances with these fellows he hadn't seen for 20
years.
Congratulations to Bill and Myrtle Kvern
on th eir 25th wedding anniverasry which they
celebrated in June.
36
NeiL Adam with
CLub PTesident Jack Barkwe ll.
Swimming instructor Mrs. Edna Sigw or th wi th h e1· lar ge cLass of pupiLs.
RES EARCH
(Continu ed fro m page 9)
th e pig's throat. Can 't shoot you know, a chap
might hurt hi dogs! Working, sport, and living by the sea Doug and hi s family see m to
have found a good life. We wish th em well.
There are some changes in per onnel, Alan
Bolton , and Tom Wil son wo rked with th e
Bucking room gang thi s summ er and we have
a new recruit from the Machine Shop, Ru ssell
Martin by name.
ick, Trufyn is our beaker
boy for the ummer.
·
D. J. H amblin joined u thi s summ er and
before coming to Flin F lo n had a var ied and
interesting career. He ha il s from Merton. Surrey, E ngland , worked in the ational Physical
Cites . H enry-raspberry king
of I sland Fa!!s.
Lab at Teddington , which is a well known
pl ace, also served three years in the Army with
a tretch of serv ice in Malaya. Another period
was spent with the Briti h Yacht Club , ferrying yacht to Spain and the West Indi es. In
F lin Flon D ave was in charge of the Vocati onal Training course for the Town.
Art Alexander was passing o ut the cigs
celeb rating the birth of a son Lawrence. Sorry
to say we are go ing to lose Art oon as he is
goi ng back to tudy at U.B.C. Best of luck to
you and your family , Art.
Don Semple who went to school in Flin
Flon was an H .B.M.. & S.--Scholarship winncr has left us and accepted a position with a
firm in Montreal.
D ick Southworth and Donna Border
were marTied in YoTkton, July 25tlt.
J im Russe t! and B1·ian Olson nt tlte
end of the ir !ong walk fr om Flin
F!on to I sland Fn!!s ( 70 mites).
WINNIPEG OFFICE
K ENT M O RGAN
to Mrs. Stu Havwa rd
CONGRATULATIONS
for winn ing the one tho usand do ll a r f1 r t
prize in th e Occupations contest held recentl y
by the Winn ipeg Tribune. J ean o rigina ll y submitted a perfect entry a nd then she d id a tiebreaker a long with the other perfect entra nts.
With the help of Stu a nd the two H aywa rd
boys Bill a nd Go rd , J ea n fil ed the winning
entry in the pl ay-o ff. The one thousand do lla rs is presently being spent on a trip to the
west coa t for Stu, J ea n a nd Go rd. Bill was
un a ble to go as he is empl oyed at th e M a ni to ba H ydro fo r the summer.
C. 0 . B uchanan, who recent ly received his
Twenty-Fiv e Year W atch.
J ack Purvis was also a recent prize-winn er
but onl y of a go lf shirt. J ack attended the
Grey-Owl go lf to urna ment at C lea r La ke a nd
man aged to win thi rd prize in the seventh
flight. Th e shirt of course doesn't compa re
with th e one hundred do ll a r go lf bag which he
won at Minot, North D a kota last L a bor D ay .
Holid ays are in full swing at the present
tim e with what seems to be ha lf o f the staff
away at onc!e. Ozzie Buchann an is presentl y at
the Big Whiteshell , AI Gi)lie at Sta r Lake a nd
Bill Tind all at Minak i. A rt Yo ung spent some
time at So uri s and Victo ri a Beach whil e M a isie
Grey recentl y returned fro m a moto r trip to
the M a ritimes. E rm a H amilton went o n a
cruise up the Sag uenay Ri ver a nd spent a week
with relati ves at a la ke in Vermont. N ancy
Hn atychan and M a ureen C urry both relaxed at
home. D a rl ene Savage a nd J ea n Watt a re both
away at the present time so we sho uld have
news of their vacations fo r th e next time.
O f course the Bla ke a nd Ayres have returned fro m their fo ur week E uropean ho liday. Your repo rter asked Mr. Bl a ke and M r.
Ayre to relate th e story of their trip fo r the
readers of th e No rth ern Lights. Before they
were able to coll a bo ra te on thi s a rticl e Mr.
Bla ke entered the hospital so Mr. Ayre's versio n o f their tr ip fo llow below. We a re h a ppy
to report th at Mr. Bl ake is fee ling much better a nd we a re sure th at he wi ll have return ed
to the office long before th ei r story reaches
print.
38
R oy Enman put many hours of ltaTd Labour on the
entrance sign at his cabin at Fa !con Lake.
The Quiz Kids, Stu, Jean, Cord and Bi!! Hayward.
There are probably better ways of seei ng
Europe in a two week period th an a guided
tour but this does offer some advantages by
easing your way through custom s and helping
to convert currency as you cross from one
country to the next.
The Blakes and the Ayres took one of these
guided tours during May and in fifteen days
were hustled and bustled through Belgium,
Germany, Switzerl a nd , Austria, Italy and
France. The bus trip itself was good and the
driver an outstanding one - the weather too
was excellent, only one rainy day in the two
weeks on the continent. Hotel accommodation
on the whole was rath er poor-not being the
type of class of hotel that one would usually
choose for themselves - the mea ls were adequate but uninteresting.
The channel crossing from Dover to Ostend
took four hours and there was scarcely a
ripple on the water. Th e country-side through
Belgium was pleasing and Germany appeared
to be a busy country, thi s was particularly
evident on the Rhine where a constant flow of
traffic moved night and day and by road and
rail on each side of this fascinating river.
Unfortunately the only rainy day happened
leaving Lucerne, Switzerland and a low cloud
shut out a great many Views and eliminated
picture taking. St. Anton in the Austrian
mountains was a delightful spot and would be
an excellent pl ace to spend a vacation.
Places like Venice and Genoa in Italy sound
romantic and they are, particularly Venice,
once you get over th e first shock of the stench
of the can als. Nice on th e French Riviera is
both attractive and interesting, although the
beach itself is disappointing to anyone from
North America, who has seen and enjoyed
some of the wonderful sa nd beaches in our
own province. Nice, being close to Monaco,
makes it possibl e to visit the famous casino at
night and watch the roulette games, which
move with such speed that it is impossible for
a greenhorn to follow the play-you can settle
for the slot machines or sit at th e bar where
rye costs $1.50 a shot.
Many people find Paris an exciting experience but this can be a disappointing one too.
The time allotted for Paris was much too short
but the Lido-one of the world 's best night
clubs is worth every dollar, even the champagne at $15.00 per bottle ( 1/ 2 bottle each is
the cover charge) makes an evening at the
Lido a memorable one.
The return trip from Calais to Dover was a
short crossing and a quiet one.
SNOW LAKE
(Continued from page 4)
we understand is also moving back to Flin
Flon in August. Les Hutton has entered the
ministry and is now serving in Grandview,
Manitoba. Good luck in your new venture
Les. Louis Reles, Mark Elko and Darwin
Snell have left us for parts unknown.
Laurie Marsh is a new addition to the Safety
Staff. George Zbitnoff has joined the Engineering department.
No. 1 Shaft extension at Chisel Lake has
been completed to the 1450 level with the
installation of pockets and pump stations moving ahead rapidly.
Now for a look at our Maternity Section.
Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. AI Saskowski on the birth of a boy April 28th, Mr. and
Mrs. Dick Wood a girl May 16th, Mr. and
Mrs. Paul Sochan a girl May 24th, Mr. and
Mrs. Stan Wojtak a girl June 16th, Mr. and
Mrs. John Dyck a girl June 28th and Mr. and
Mrs. Duffy Hogue a boy July 9th.
Don Pernicelli's wife reports seeing a hummingbird near their house recently. This certainly is a rarity in this area.
THEN WHOSE?
The Brown's marriage almost went on the
rocks due to the irritating presence of Uncle
Willie in their home.
For ten long years, that he was Jiving with
them , he constantly nagged , complained, and
was always first- at the table. Finally, he died.
Driving home from the cemetery, Brown
said to his wife:
" Darling, 1 have a confession to make. If
I hadn't loved you so much , I could never
have put up with your Uncle Willie."
His wife's eyes popped with utter amazement, as she shrieked:
"What? I thought he was your Uncle!"
39
Poems, Puns&Philosophy
"Yes, I'll give you a job. Sweep out the
store. "
"But, I'm a college graduate!"
"I'll show you how."
*
*
*
Johnny started school and within two weeks
the teacher sent home a note containing the
following: "Young Johnny is more than I can
handle. I am forced to ask for your help."
The next day the mother sent her answer:
" Listen, all those years I had him alone, did
I ask you for help?"
*
*
*
Among the English language's many puzzling words is "economy" which means the
large size in soap flakes and the small size in
automobiles.
*
"It says the man was shot by his wife at
close range."
"Then there must have been powder marks
on the body. "
"Yes, that's why she shot him."
*
*
*
Good breeding is that quality which enables
a person to wait in well-mannered silence while
the loudmouth gets the service.
*
*
*
*
With his wife sick in bed, hubby-and pandemonium-reigned supreme in the kitchen.
But the tea was missing. He looked high and
low and finally called to his wife: "I can't find
the tea, dear. Where do you keep it?"
"I don't know why you can't find it," came
the peevish reply. "It's right in front, on the
cupboard shelf, in a cocoa tin marked
'matches'! "
*
Before marriage, many a man declares that
he'll be the master of his house or know the
reason why. After marriage, he knows the
reason why.
*
*
Kindly clergyman (pinching little boy's
leg) : "And who bas nice, pink chubby knees?"
Little boy: "Bridgitte Bardot."
40
A duck hunter, proud of his skill with a
shotgun, brought a friend one early morning
to witness his marksmanship. After some time,
a lone duck flew over the blind.
"Now, Joe," he whispered, "watch this."
He took aim and fired. The duck flew serenely on. The hunter shook his head in amazement.
"Joe, my boy, you're beholding a miracle.
There," he muttered, "flies a dead duck."
*
*
*
*
*
Rookie: "I have a pain in my abdomen."
Army Doctor: " Young man, officers have
abdomens, sergeants have stomachs. You have
a bellyache."
There's nothing wrong with teenagers that
reasoning with them won't aggravate.
*
*
Smith: "Why is your car painted blue on
one side, and red on the other side?"
Jones: "It's a great scheme. You should
hear the witnesses contradict each other."
*
*
Did you hear about the wife who cured her
husband of hi s "have to work late at the office"
routine? She asked him if she could depend
on it.
One payday Pat received SOc too much,
but didn't say a word. During the week the
paymaster found out his mistake, so on the
next payday he deducted SOc.
"Excuse me, sir," said Pat. " I'm short SOc
this week."
" You didn 't complain last week."
"No, sir, I didn 't mind overlooking one mistake ; but when it happens twice, then it's time
to say something. "
*
*
*
*
Asked how she was coming in her desire
to get married, the secretary said : "Pretty
good. l think I'm on my last lap now. "
*
"What's for dessert, honey?" the husband
asked.
"Sponge cake," was the reply. "I sponged
the eggs off Mrs. Smith, the sugar off Mrs.
Jones and the flour off Mrs. Brown."
TODA Y'S teen-agers are quite a crew ' They
stand taller, are stronger and healthi e r.
They run foster, know more , do more homework, get tougher school work . They're better
equipped educationally than any group of
teen -agers in the history of the country.
Nature never produces a completely perfect
crop of anything . The next time some teenagers get out of line and d isgrace their group
as a whole, don 't fall into the trap of indicting ,them all with a statement that begins
"The troub le with teen-agers is ... "
The real trouble with teen-agers is that
they hove not been around long enough to
adjust to this ever more complex world . We
hove been around at least twice as long and
maybe our adjustment isn 't so hot e ither .
I