The British Columbia Road Runner, June 1968, Volume 5, Number 2

THE BRITISH COLUMBIA
PUBLI HED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF HIGHWAYS
JUNE,1968
VOLUME 5, NUMBER 2
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Three pictures illustrating the placement of the centre span over the South Thompson River at Kamloops.
join the North Thompson-Yellowhead Highway to the Trans-Canada Highway east of Kamloops .
The 252-foot span will
Beautiful Jewel Lake, about 134 miles long and one-quarter
mile wide, at the foot of Roderick Dhu Mountain, 6 miles from
the Southern Trans-Canada Highway near Greenwood. Louis
Bosshart, a Swiss prospector, discovered the lake . Property surrounding the lake, known as Long Lake City, was owned in 1897
by Arthur N. Pelly, an Englishman, whose original cabin still
stands. In the 1900's and 1920's huge rainbow trout were taken
from this lake, many weighing 30 to 35 pounds, and one recorded
at 56 pounds. The presence of these huge fish in a small mountain lake hundreds of miles from the ocean is unexplained.
Cabins now dot the shores, and it is still a great fishing spot .
A bandoned mines are visible on the surrounding hills. This
spring the Grand Forks District has been clearing brush and
improving the road leading into the lake, an effort which will
be greatly appreciated by fishermen, rockhounds, and tourists
alike .
2
THE ROAD-RUNNER
Volume 5
June, 1968
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Number 2
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Published Quarterly by the
British Columbia Department of Highways
Victoria, B.C.
Ray Baines, Executive Editor
Arthur 1. Schindel , Editor
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Th e Departm ent o f High way s no lon ger has th e biggest
bu dget in the G ov ernm ent , but physically it is probably
still th e largest single department and, certainly, one of
th e most important. M ore than one-fifth of all British
Columbia G ov ernment em ployees work for th e Department of Hi ghways, and its 34 or so districts are locat ed
in all parts of thi s vast Pro vin ce.
Th e record of dedication and public serv ice by the D epartm ent of Highways has been good over th e years, and
as your new Minist er / would lik e simply to ask for yo ur
co-operation in preserving , and even improving , thi s record. For my part , / know co-operation is a tw o-way
street, and / would lik e to pledge my share from this
direction .
W ESL EY D . BLACK, Minist er.
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Associate Field Editors
A. R. Limacher
.
.
.
Victoria
Bill Ingr am
..
Victoria
Jim Winton
.
North Vancouver
Dave . Wardell
..
..
Burnside
J. W. Morri s..
..
Nana imo
M. Butler ..
...Courtenay
Jim Harris
..
Bridge Maintenance
W. I. N. Higgins..
North Vancouv er
Lloyd Burgess
..
New Westmin ster
G. M . Vance
...
..
Chilliw ack
G. V. Sandiford
..
Kamloops
J im Ferrier _....
..
..
Kamloops
Edie Smith
.. .
..
.
William s Lake
Murray Ramsa y
..__....__..
..
.Salmon Arm
Dave Bowman
..
.. Revelstoke
AI Desimore
Vernon
Fred Evan s . ..
Pete Fuoco
Jim Chenoweth
..._.. .. ..
..
..
.
..__..
Dave Roberts ..
..__..
Dorothy Wilkins
R. E. McKeown __..
S. J. Dixey
.._..
.. ......
.. Kelowna
Penticton
Merritt
LilIooet
Grand Forks
Rossland
Nelson
Fred Angrignon
.. ....
New Denver
Irene Labelle
.. .. ..
Cre ston
N . Molander
Cranbrook
Sam Caravetta
..
.... ..
Fernie
John Edgar
..
.
.. Golden
Steve Sviatko
..
..
.
Smithers
C. Bartsch
.
Pouce Coupe
Pat Tondevold
Fort St. John
..
Homer Good
..
Terrace
E. A. Beaumont
Prince George
Fred Bradley .
Jack Doddridge _
R. Stephenson
..
Louis Kubos, Labourer, left, and H. Haigh, Road Maintenance
Foreman, display two hu sk y crescent wren che s once used on
wo od en bridge construction in the Fernie District. Wr ench at
left weighs /80 pounds and is 6 feet long . The one on the right
weighs 60 pounds. By way of contrast, the one in the centre is
6 inches .long and weighs about 8 ounces.
George Harper
H . R. Walker.. .
E. Lund
...
.
..
....
..
..
..__..
..
.
. . Prince George
Prince George
Quesnel
..__..
Vanderhoof
..
.._.__. Burn s Lake
.Prince Rupert
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"EXTRACURRICULAR" ACTIVITIES
The Nintli Annual Curling Bonspiel for Region 4 was held in Prince George in March with 22 rinks com peting from T errace.
Smith ers, Burns Lake, Vanderh oof, Princ e Ge orge, Quesnel, Mcbride, Pou ce Coupe, and Fort St. John , Th e bon spiel was arran ged
by Pat Carr of Prin ce Ge org e, himself an ardent curler. Winn er of the "A" event was th e D on Delainey rink from Pouc e C oupe, left
ph oto. Th ey are, left to right, Lloyd K emple, lead; Andy Biegan sk i, second; Jim Bell. third; and Don D elain ey; sk ip. " B " event
was tak en by th e Alf McWillis rink from M cBride, right picture. M embers are, fro m left, Abe Paul, second; Alf M cWillis, skip; Ian
A nderson , th ird; Handford Brown , lead. Centre picture shows Jim St ev ens, Pou ce Coupe Di strict Superintendent, getti ng a ch alice to
hold the troph y after the bonspiel, evell though the Pouce C oupe rink, for which he pla yed, was elim inated,
DEPARTMENT DRIVER BUILDS
50-FOOT INDIAN RACING CANOE
Chris Tom, Truck Driver on the Burnside-Sidney maintenance
crew, has just completed a difficult one-man task--construction
of a 50-foot Indian canoe. Chris is shown with his little helper,
nephew Guy, standing beside the II-man racing canoe hewn
Following a presentation at Headquarters in May, Mrs. Edith
Val en poses with Assistant Deputy Minister F. A. Ma cl.ean, left,
and Comptroller of Expenditure A. E . Rhodes. Mrs. Valen was
secretary to the HOIl. P. A. Gaglardi, former Minister of Highdays, for 14 years. After the Cabinet changes, Mrs . Valen was
appointed secretary to the new Minister of Industrial Dev elopment, Trade, and Commerce, the HOIl. Waldo Skillings.
from a sing le white pine log. The log was loca ted in the Nanaimo
area and was towed to Chris's home near Sidney behind a small
outboard. It took two years for Chris to build the ca noe, roughed
out with a chain saw but carved mainly with an adze. It W;J.S
then sanded to a smooth, even finish, which now resembles planking less than I inch thick . The canoe will be racing in both
Briti sh Columbia and Washington this summer.
4
Peter Yakimovich, of the Computer Programming Section , Headquarters Location
Branch, is already a well-known figure in Victoria's entertainment world. An accomplished
piani st, Peter has entertained in Seattle and
Vancouver. He ha s helped write two children 's movies, both presented in the Bastion
The atre, and songs he has composed have
been pre sented on C.B.C . radio and television. He is currently
musical director of the famou s Gerry Gosley's " Smile Show,"
and his Jazz Ballet, composed some time ago , has been performed
at the Butchart Gardens Sunset Shows. More will be heard of
Peter when he comes out with his own Rock group in September.
PEEK INTO THE PAST
Out of an earlier age when labour was
cheap and machines primitive are these
nearly half-century-old photographs of a
construction and paving project on the
Pacific Highway. Picture on the right
shows small gas tractor and pull grader
.. preparing subgrade " in 1921, and the
other one was taken in August, 1923, at
the laying of the last concrete panel at
Cloverdale. Note the Union Jack apparently raised to mark the historic completion of this early concrete highway.
The Yale toll gate in 1939
showing traffic moving west toward Hope.
5
HISTORIC TREE DIES ...
FELLED AS HIGHWAY HAZARD
An unusual experience for Maintenance Foreman L. Lindsay and his Cloverdale East
crew, New Westminster District, came up May 29 when they were given the sad job of
cutting off the top of the old 2oo-foot Douglas-fir tree on Highway 401, known as the
.. Perkins Tree."
Dave Donaldson, Traffic Counter
Technician with the Traffic Branch, is
shown .. tuning in" the vehicle detectors
at the permanent traffic count station on
the Trans-Canada just north of Victoria.
Near the Surrey-Langley border on
the Trans-Canada Highway right-of-way,
it was last in the news when the freeway
was being built, and 10 acres of land
belonging to Charles Perkins was used
for the highway. At the request of Mr.
Perkins and his friends in 1960, the
former Minister, P. A. Gaglardi, assured
them that the tree would be spared, and
the east-bound lanes of 401 were diverted
around it. In 1919 or 1920 Mr. Perkins
had planted English ivy at the base of
the tree as a memorial to members of the
original Aero Club of B.C. who had
served overseas from 1915 with the Royal
Flying Corps and later in the Royal Air
Force. Vandals have twice set fire to the
ivy in the last few years and charred the
tree badly. The ivy survived, but the
tree has gradually died. The highway
crew cut the top portion off, leaving a
30-foot stump. Mr. Perkins, 74, a retired farmer, has lived in the area for the
past 60 years and estimated that the tree
was 270 years old. The crew presented
Mr. Perkins with a section slab of the
tree, and he states he may plant some
more ivy at the foot of the remaining
section.
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Piling being driven in the cofferdam at
the site of the new Bulkley River Bridge
at Smithers.
Convalescents
Ron Garnham, Traffic Signal Technician with the Traffic Branch, Victoria,
uses the recently acquired ladder truck
S-3245 to carry alit emergency repairs on
a street-light north of Duncan.
TOM PERKINS; deck hand on the
Kootenay Lake Ferry, is recuperating
from a broken ankle.
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OSCAR ANDERSON, Machine Operator on the Nelson Crew, is convalescing
from an eye operation.
A new mechanic in one of the district
garages complained to the Engineer:
.. I've been working here for a week now
and I still haven't been given a work
bench ."
FRANK BLUNDEN, District Superintendent, Williams Lake, is recovering
from an emergency appendectomy.
District official: .. You're getting paid
aren't you? "
.. Yes, I am," said the new employee,
.. but all the other fellows have something to lean on and I don't."
WEDDINGS
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letssel Heughan and Patricia Robbins
were married at St. Aidan's United
Church, Victoria, B.C., on March 2,
1968. Following the wedding a banquet
and reception was held at St . Alban's
Church Hall. Russ is a draughtsman for
the Planning and Design Section of the
Location Branch.
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Heather Anne Lenfesty and John
George Armstrong were married June 8,
1968. The church ceremony took place
in the Renfrew United Church, Vancouver, B.C., performed by the Reverend
McLaren. Heather is a Steno in the
North Vancouver Regional Office . The
young couple will reside in Vancouver.
OBITUARY
EDWARD JOHN CHALMERS died
in the Vancouver General Hospital after
a brief illness . Mr. Chalmers, or Jack
as he was known to many, was born on
October 18, 1908, in Woodside, Daviot,
Aberdeenshire, Scotland. He began work
with the Department of Highways as a
Road Foreman on June 15, 1946, in Soda
Creek. He was transferred to Boston
Bar in February, 1952, as a General
Foreman and later promoted to Resident Engineer and Engineering Assistant.
While at the "Bar" his fine organizing
ability enabled his crew to keep the
Fraser Canyon Highway open during
snowstorms, slides, drifts, and even floods.
in 1959 he was transferred to the Princeton Highways District in charge of the
Allison Pass Camp on the Hope-Princeton Highway and the Princeton Road
Maintenance Crew. He is survived by
his wife, Mary Agnes, two sons, Stephen
Kent and Duncan, and two daughters,
Jaquiline Marianne and Helen Jean.
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Dave Greer and Bonnie Robinson were
married at Knox United Church, Terrace, B.C. Many of Dave's friends from
the Highways crews attended the wedding
and the reception. Dave has been an
Auto Mechanic in the Terrace District
for the past eight years.
,
)
Pauline Maksymiw became the bride
of Vernon K. Thomas in a ceremony
performed by the Rev. P. A. Gaglardi in
Calvary Temple on May 25, 1968 . Pauline is a Clerk-Stenographer in the Kamloops Regional Office. Mr. and Mrs.
Thomas will make their home in Kamloops.
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Louis Grosjean and Amy Esther Herbert were married in the First United
Church, Port Alberni, April 27, 1968.
The ceremony was performed by the
Rev. G . Affleck, and the reception was
held in the Longshoremen's Hall with
friends and [ellow workers in attendance.
Louis is a member of the Alberni crew.
Bill McKay and Anne White were
married April 6, 1968, in the Kimberley
United Church , the Rev. P. Burrill officiating. Bill is a Mechanic-Welder for the
Department in Cranbrook.
7
SAFETY AWARDS, INFORMATION, RALLIES
Regional Safety Officer G. K. Austin presents Al Connah ,
Bridge Foreman, Cranbrook, with the silver-an-gold award, which
was achieved by working over 43,000 man-hours from April,
1962, to Octob er, 1967, without a countable accident. Left to
right, Mr . Austin, Al Connah, Rollie Thompson, Lynn Beaton,
and Ed Pendry.
The Vernon Bridge Crew having operated 39,235 consecutive
man-hours with alit a time-loss accident from March 8, 1962, to
D ecember 31 , 1967, have been given a gold award of merit by
the British Columbia Safety Council. Here Workmen's Compensation Board Safety Inspector Ted Anderson, of Vernon, hatless, presents Bridge Crew Foreman Charlie Hinman, centre,
with the award while Safety Officer Dick Claridge, of Oyama,
watches. A t rear, from left to right, are crew members Malcom
E. Walker, Marvin Zwarich, Dale Webb, G. H. Owen, and Jim
Elliott.
Bob Baker, Bridge Foreman , Nelson District, received a
bronze-on-gold award from Regional Maintenance Engineer
P. B. McCarthy . Crew members are, left to right, Gordon
Hoover, Reo Peloso, Henry Penner, John Wisk, Bill Heddle, Bob
Baker, Al Grief], Andy Peloso, and Sam Boyd.
8
Silver and gold safety award presented to Quesnel Bridge Crew
by Regional Highway Engineer L. A . Broddy, right . Crew, left
to right, are F. A. Swanson, W. D . Glassford, B . Lilienweiss,
L. Gradnitzer, H . J. Dwinnell, and Foreman R . W. McLarry.
Regional Maintenance Engineer P. B . McCarthy makes presentation of gold award to Mechanical Foreman George Lobay
for the Grand Forks Shop Crew. Left to right, Safety Officer
H. Ronmark, R. Smith, G . Profili, J. Miner, J. Legebokoff, F.
Scherer, G . Labay, Mr. Mc Carth y , and R. McMillan, Grand
Forks District Superintendent. Missing was Paul Raymond,
Assistant Shop Foreman .
George Dragon, Drilling Superintendent, proudly displays the
gold safety award presented by Assistant Deputy Minister F. A.
MacLean to the Drilling Section, Materials Testing Branch, Victoria. This is a fine achievement by the drilling crews , who are
often required to work in difficult and hazardous situations. Left
to right, Mr . MacLean, Mr. Dragon, J. D . Austin, Drilling Eng ineer, and E. E. Readshaw, Senior Materials Engineer.
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(Photo courtesy Fernie Free Press.)
The Fernie Highway District recently won
the Region 3 safety trophy for 1967 with an
0.00 frequency. Holding the award is P. B.
McCarthy , Regional Maintenance Engineer.
Looking on, left to 'right, are A. E. Staite, District Superintendent, Fernie; J. A. Dennison,
Senior Maintenance Engineer, and K. Jackson,
Accident Prevention Branch.
(Photo courtesy Fernie Free Press .)
The Art Irving Memorial Trophy was presented to Earl Kline, left, on behalf of the
Creston Garage Crew, for their safety record in
1967. The crew also won the trophy in 1966,
when it was first presented. The presentation
was made in Fernie by George Austin, centre,
District Superintendent, Cranbrook, and O. H.
George, right, Regional Mechanical Superintendent, Nelson.
ALEX KLASSOFF
recently received the
. .. gold cap award." His
hard hat prevented a
more serious injury
when a frozen lump of
sand rolled off the
conveyor, striking Alex
on the head. The impact knocked the
hat off, but he sustained only minor scalp
abrasions. Alex is with the Quesnel Road
Crew.
Someone suggests that B.C. Ferries,
now under the Department of Highways,
should be called the .. Land and Sea
Department" or, abbreviated, .. LSD"
(the only way to take a trip).
District Superintendent Steve
Sviatko receives the Region 4 safety
award on behalf of the Smithers
District.
The presentation was
made by J. A. Dennison, Senior
Maintenance Engineer of Victoria .
The safety banquet and dance was
held at Smithers, March 22.
O. C. Sanders, Mechanic Foreman, Smithers, was presented with
the gold award for the Smithers
and Hazelton Shops Crews. The
presentation is made by L. A.
Braddy, Regional Highway Engineer of Prince George, standing 01/
the right .
A .. 10 on 2 " membership was presented
to .. ROLLY" HASTINGS of the Coquitlam Maintenance
Crew. A Gradall
bucket being loaded
onto a pick-up slipped
and fell on his safety shoe, which saved
him from serious injury. The denting of
the toe-cap just bruised a toe.
On May 3 a safety rally was held for
all Saanich District employees. Sergeant
Chisholm and Constable McGregor, of
the Saanich Police, gave a lecture on
traffic safety followed by a film on preventable traffic accidents. Other guests
at the rally were D. Johnson and R. Pagson of B.C. Hydro; A. Glover, Nanaimo
Bridge Foreman; and A. Caldwell, Regional Safety Officer.
II/ attendance at the Annual Chilliwack
Safety Rally, held in A bbotsjord, April
26, were, left to right, George Spenst,
Chairman of the Chilliwack Safety Committee; N. W. Wells, District Superintendent; Alex Caldwell, Regional Safety
Officer; H. L. Klassen, Secretary of the
Chilliwack Safety Committee; S. C. Kershaw, Executive Director of the British
Columbia Safety Council. Invited guests
were F. E. Cooper, Inspector, Workmen's
Compensation Board; Howard McLeod,
Driver Training ; and the New Westminster Safety Committee. The rally opened
with a film called" Facts about Backs,"
followed by a question period and a
report 01/ driver training by Howard MeLeod. The guest speaker, Mr. Kershaw ,
reviewed the safety measures employed
by various industries in the Province
which have resulted in a gradual decrease
of accident injuries.
AWARDS
The Burnaby Maintenance Crew of
the New Westminster Highway District
received its gold and bronze-on-gold
safety awards at a safety rally in the
Burnaby yard. Presentation was made
by District Engineer R. W. Gittins to
J. Brown, Maintenance Foreman, with
Harvey Casavant, the safety representative.
Kelowna District Engineer A. L. Freebairn presented District Safety Officer
with a silver award of merit on behalf of
the district crews, who had worked 169,428 hours without a time-loss accident.
The Courtenay Road Crew received a
silver award, January, 1968.
Bronze awards went to the following:
Parksville Road Crew, M.V ... Quadra
Queen" Crew, .. Comox Queen" Crew,
Courtenay Highway District Maintenance
Crew, Salmo Road Crew, Nelson District
Ferry Crews, Cloverdale Mechanical
Crew, Kimberley Road Maintenance
Crew, Langford Patching Crew.
(Safety continued on p. 13.)
9
PROMOTIONS
MRS. GISELE
eEL L A has won
through competition
the position of Clerk
2 in the Prince Rupert
District office, Many
will recall Gisele's
cheery French - Canadian accent on the phone and radio.
PETER BARNES, right, recently won
through competition the position of Regional Paving Engineer in Nelson. Peter
is a graduate of the University of Saskatchewan. He is seen handing over some
of his duties prior to leaving Victoria to
Art Rowbotham who transferred from
the Bridge Branch to the Paving Branch.
Peter is married and has two daughters.
Looking on is H. H. Sawatzky.
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STUART E. PRICE
recently won a promotion in competition
for the position of
Assistant Comptroller
of Expenditure. He
was appointed May
16, 1968. Stuart commenced with the Government as a Junior
Clerk in 1949, in the Accounts Branch,
Victoria. In May, 1950, he went to the
Penticton office as a Clerk Trainee, and
after a year he was back in Victoria in
June, 1951, where he was head of the
Voucher Examining Section . In February, 1952, he was made Office Manager
in Rossland, where he remained for 5\12
years. In July, 1956, he went to the
Vancouver office and after a year, in
August, 1957, he became District Office
Manager in New Westminster. When the
New Westminster and the North Vancouver offices combined, he became Office
Manager of the joint offices in North
Vancouver, then transferred back to New
Westminster in 1963. In May, 1965, he
was made Regional Office Manager in
Prince George, and transferred to Victoria in July, 1967. He has recently
pased an examination and holds a certificate as a certified general accountant.
He is married with two boys.
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BILL BATES has
won the competition
for the Parksville Road
Maintenance Foreman. Bill comes from
Saltspring Island,
where he moved in
1964. Prior to Saltspring he was in the New Westminster
District. He has been with the Department for 21 years.
S. N. A. McLEOD, Divisional Engineer, Construction Branch, North Vancouver, has been promoted to District
Superintendent, Revelstoke.
H . L. GOOD, Resident Technician in
Terrace, has been promoted and is the
District Superintendent in the Terrace
District.
A. M. CAMPBELL transferred from
Allison Pass to Merritt in April to replace A. H. Leese, who retired as Mechanic Foreman in the Merritt shop.
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MISS IRENE WIEBE of the Vouchering Section in Highways Accounts, Victoria, has recently attained a promotion
to Clerk 3.
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NORMAN H. McRAE has won, through
competition, the position of Road Foreman 2 at Beaverdell
in the Grand Forks
Highway District.
Norman served with
the Royal Canadian Air Force from
1950 to 1955 and joined the Department
in 1959 as Truck Driver and Grader
Operator in the Pouce Coupe District.
He is a member of the Elks Lodge and
Canadian Legion. Interested in electronics, he is presently taking a course
in radio and television.
J. D. SUTHERLAND, District Office
Manager in the Vernon District Office,
has been transferred to the same position
in the Kamloops District office.
TRANSFERS
R. G. HARVEY,
Special Projects Engineer, has been transferred to the Bridge
Branch as Senior
Bridge Engineer in
Victoria. The Special
Projects Branch and
Dock District have been incorporated
into the Bridge Branch.
Friends and colleagues bid farewell to
Res ide n t Technician
JOHN LAY and his
wife at a party held
in their honour May
3. The Lays and their
three children leave
Fort St. John for the Quesnel District
after 13 years in the Peace River.
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JOHN EDWARDS
~ won through competition the position of
District Stockman at
Prince Rupert. John
was previously Foreman at Alice Arm, and
he and his wife, Vera,
and their son are happy to be back in
.. civilization."
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HARRY HAIGH
r e c e n t Iy transferred
from Fernie to the
Creston District as
Road Maintenance
Foreman 3. Mr. Haigh
commenced with the
Department in 1947.
He and his wife, Josephine, are looking
forward to living in Creston.
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GARY C. HANSEN joined the Department in September, 1966, and worked
in the shop as Mechanic's Helper at
Salmon Arm and Lillooet during the past
two years. Under the apprenticeship programme he received specialized training
at Langford and transferred to Grand
Forks, April 15 this year.
A. BEN BAUER has recently transferred from Cranbrook to the Construction Branch at Nakusp as an Engineering Aide. A farewell gift was presented
to Ben by G. K. Austin, District Superintendent, on behalf of fellow employees.
Fellow workers wished Ben and his wife,
Sandy, good luck at their new location.
10-7 CLUB
Courtenay District Engineer R. J. Mulcaster, centre, is seen with retiring Road
Foreman Howard Ingram, left, and Bill
Bates, who was transferred from Saltspring to take Howard's place . Mr. Ingram retired after 34 years' service. Born
in Vancouver, he began with the Departnient as a Truck Driver in 1934, in 1945
he became Shovel Operator, Mechanic's
Helper in 1947, and Road Maintenance
Foreman in 1955, the position he held
until his retirement. His fellow workers
presented him with a reclining chair as a
farewell gift.
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WILBERT (BILL)
McKONE retired at
the end of March after
completing 19 years
with the Department
as Road Maintenance
Foreman in the Pouce
Coupe District. He
was presented with a Polaroid camera
from his fellow workers.
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WILLIAM (Scotty)
G RAY retired recently
after completing 13
years as Heavy Duty
Mechanic in the Pouce
Coupe shop. A social
evening was held to
mark his retirement
and that of Bill McKone. Scotty was
presented with a Polaroid camera.
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KENNETH LAMARSH, of the Abbotsford Maintenance
Crew, retired in June
at the age of 60. Ken
first worked for the
Department in the depression years, and
has worked steadily since November,
1941. In 1967 he was presented with a
25-year continuous service award. Ken
was given two deck chairs and a tackle
box by his fellow workers. He intends
to take things easy with a little fishing
and gardening.
GEORGE WILKINSON retired in
April as Sign Maintenance Man after 34
years of service with
the Department in the
Saanich District. Dist ric t Superintendent
Allen Park presented George with a slide
projector on behalf of his fellow employees . George has just recently purchased a new trailer; the Wilkinsons will
be putting it to good use shortly.
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DONALD L. McPHEE retired in April after working for
the Department with
the Rosedale Maintenance Crew since February, 1946. At a
party to mark his retirement, Mac was given a reclining easy
chair, and was presented with a meritorious service award certificate for 22 years'
service to the Department by N. W.
Wells, District Superintendent.
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JACK A. FRASER,
Assistant Mechanic
Foreman I in the
Cranbrook garage,
was honoured by fellow employees recently
with a dinner in Cranbrook to mark his retirement after 17 years' service. G. K.
Austin, District Superintendent, presented
Mr. Fraser with a spinning reel, rod,
basket, and tackle, and Mrs. Fraser with
a bouquet of roses.
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REG PLEASANCE, of the Parksville Road Crew, was
honoured recently on
the occasion of his retirement. Reg started
with the Department
in 1949.
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DELBERT M. BENINGER, labourer
in the Grand Forks District, retired in
June. Delbert joined the Department in
April, 1952. He and his wife, Margaret,
who recently took an early retirement
from Federal Civil Service, are moving
to Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, in order
to be closer to their family. They have
one son and three daughters.
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JOHN INGLIN, on the Saltspring Island crew for the past 13 years, retired
May 9, 1968. A presentation was made
to Mr. Inglin by his fellow employees.
IDEA CORNER
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{
This weed burner was constructed
mainly by the Department in Kamloops.
The machine burns propane gas at a rate
of about 40 gallons an hour. The machine is used for weed and brush control
som etim es in place of insecticides, which
are often the source of complaint. Th e
machine is being operated here by V. R .
Kingsley . Others involved are Wes Harwood and N. Veillette, all from Savona.
The Courtenay mechanical shop recently did a little renovating, Quadra
Island Foreman George Rose saw {Ill
idea for a barrel holder and asked th e
shop to make up the sample shown in the
top picture. Curved leg and base permits
stand to be tipped and barrel placed upright. The sign holders, made from reinforcing rod, bottom, were suggested to
the shop by Foreman Jack Darnborough,
II
ON THE JOB
Port A lberni Shop Crew , left to right:
B. Lewis, P. R. Bayn e, C . N . Ko el, S.
Pakka, and George Bo yce, Mechanical
Foreman .
W. H . Bas, Distri ct Technician, Port
Alberni, of the Nanaimo District, studying a subdivision plan in his office.
Departm ent of Highways Asphalt Patching Crew repairing
pavement breaks in the Kamloops area. Crew m emb ers are Sam
Perry , R . Gu stijson, E. Russel, K. M cDonald , R . Lief , H. Kossan, and M. Mukina,
Fred Wood , of the Parksville Road
Crew, standing beside his machine on a
road construction job in the Parksville
area.
12
Wally Stewart, Maintenance Foreman,
Port A lberni, has been getting in quit e a
bit of helicopter time assisting in the
modifications to radio relay stations .
J. Oddie, M echani c in the Kamloops garage, working on a
grader motor.
Otis Cameron, Project Supervisor,
Dock District, at his desk in his" Office
on wheels" at the Horseshoe Bay Ferry
Terminal reconstruction.
Charlie Buckley, Heavy Duty Mechanic, Saltspring Island , is proud of the
addition to the Saltspring Island workshop in the Nanaimo District.
Gib W esned ge, Loader Operator in the
Uc luelet area, standing by his unit .
Lome Morrow, Grand Forks District,
at work clearing brush on the Jewel Lake
road.
Alan M cL ean , Grader Operator, Ucluelet, is sho wn by his m achine on the job .
Safety Continued
\
_' !"1_1I1'
The Princ eton Maintenan ce Crew was recently presented with
a silver award of merit by District Engin eer J. H. Pankiw . Crew
m embers are, left to right, A . Ryder, B. A. M cD iarmid, W . R.
Triplett, R . Jameison, J. H. Merrall, S. H. Stewart, and E . F.
N esbitt.
The New Westminster District Coquitlam Maintenance Crew
received its silver safety award in April. Maintenance Foreman
Stan Deans is shown holding the award with District Engineer
R . W. Gittins, on the right.
A presentation of the silver award of m erit was made by D istrict Engineer J. H . Pankiw to th e Princeton Garage Crew. L eft
to right , Ray Van Dykhuizen, G . Kassa, L. B . Turn er, G. H .
Hansen, I. Plecash, W. Pillin g, L. Schulli, and L. Pereplecta .
L. A. Braddy, Regional Highway Engineer, is shown present ing a silver award of merit for no tim e-loss accid ent s since Jul y
18, 1964, to D . A. Lindberg, R egional Mat erials Engineer. In
the rear, left to right, are John Brenn er, Bill Zaporozun , A I Florell, Bert Halliwell, John Penner, Dennis Umpleby , T erry Bur gess,
Jack Jeyes, Larry Lundeen , Doug Rankin, and L en Th ony, Mi ssing were Doug Erickson and Bernie Goodwin .
13
ABOUT PEOPLE
Construction of the road between Port Clements and Masset
by day labour is continuing. The work is kept in hand by Jim
Onion, Senior Foreman; Bill Morrice, Construction Foreman;
and Lional A ndrews, Construction Foreman. Bill agreed to
come 0111 of retirement for a few months to assist with the
scraper work on the project.
Personnel office staff at Headquarters, Victoria, are, left to
right, H . C. Davies, Personnel Officer, Joan L. Hodgkinson,
Clerk-Stenographer 2; J. A. Holmes, Clerk 6; Mrs. Pat Saxon,
Clerk 4; lo-Anne L. Trembley, Clerk 3. Mr. Holmes has just
returned from a two-week spring institute of the Executive Training Plan at the University of Victoria and has now completed his
first year.
Mat erials Testing Branch, Victoria, recently held a conference for Senior Technicians
from the four regions. Attending were, left to right, Ken Towill and Tony Bodnarchuk
from Nelson , Bill Zaporozan and Terry Burgess from Prince George, Al Hepp from Vancouver, Don Garner from Kamloops, and Maynard Rudolph from Vancouver. The
conference, organized by Bill Brand and Jim Mewhort in Victoria, is the second of its
kind held by the Testing Branch. It provides an excellent opportunity for senior personnel to discuss recent developments and techniques in materials testing work and 10
standardize testing procedures.
DO U G HECKER,
Draughtsman with the
Prince George District, joined the Department of Highways
in 1963 as an Engineering Aid e for the
New Denver District
and moved to the Prince George District
staff in 1965 as their principal draughtsman. His chief interest is promoting the
north.
14
Bill Bates, formerly Maintenance Foreman, Saltspring Island, has recently been
appointed Maintenance Foreman at
Parksville. Before he left, the men had
a get-together which included, among
other things, a fishing trip. Bill, left, is
shown with his catch . On the right is
lack Shaw , Road Maintenance Foreman,
Galiano Island, and centre is Mike Stacey , owner and operator of the water
taxi which is the means of transport to
the various Gulf Islands.
MRS. JOANN
McMAHON, ClerkStenographer of the
North Vancouver
office, is a native of
Ontario. She and her
husband, Mike, have
three children.
* * *
Bright addition to
the Salmon Arm
District Office, MISS
CAROL STEWART
began her duties as
Clerk-Stenographer in
December, 1967, after
the resignation of
Mrs. Agnes Rudeen.
In the newly decorated district office
at Vanderhoof are, left to right, Edith
Silver, Office Manager; Mrs. Natalie
Reinke, Clerk-Stenographer 2; and Mrs.
Dorothy Anderson, Clerk 2. Mrs. Anderson joined the Vanderhoof staff as Timekeeper in 1957.
.
GORDON JONES,
Construction Superintendent, Kam l o o ps ,
joined the Department
in 1948. After a few
years he left his position and went to the
Arctic for one year,
spent one year in the Okanagan, and
then three years with a private contractor . Rejoining the Highways 2lh years
ago, he has had 17 addresses in British
Columbia. Gordon was involved with
three major tunnels in the Fraser Canyon, and recently he has been on the
North Thompson - Yellowhead highway
project. He is married and has two children.
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WOLFGANG
SCHUBERT joined
the Department in
1959. He was employed on field survey
work for three years,
and for the last six
years has worked in
the draughting-roorn in Kamloops, Wolfgang is married and has two children.
He draws portraits for a hobby.
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MRS. JOYCE
B ROCK, Clerk-Stenographer at the Pentieton office, resigned
March 31 in order to
take up residence in
the Prince George
area, where her husband is presently employed. On behalf
of the office staff and the Penticton,
Oliver, Keremeos, and Princeton road and
shop crews, J. H. Pankiw, District Engineer, made a presentation to Mrs. Brock,
who transferred to the Pen ticton office
from the Golden office in October, 1954.
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WALTER TAYLOR has completed
his apprenticeship and
is now an automotive
mechanic in the Prince
Rupert garage. Walter joined the Department in March, 1965,
and has served part of his apprenticeship
in Department garages at Kamloops,
Kelowna, and Cloverdale, as well as
Prince Rupert and Port Clements.
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PHIL ERICKSON
is shown at his work
as draughtsman for
the Locations Branch
in Prince George.
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STANLY GLADYSZ, Engineering Assistant with the Fort
St. John District, has
been with the Department since June, 1960.
He recently completed
a course of home
study in highway engineering with the
Canadian Institute of Science and Technology. Stan has lived in the Fort St.
John area since 1938. For relaxation he
"enjoys pleasure boating and home study
courses.
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MRS. HILDA
HUSOY is the new
Stenographer in the
Prince Rupert District
office. H il d a is no
newcomer to the Government Service havi n g bee n previously
employed in the Government Agent's
office at Prince . Rupert from 1948 to
1953.
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MISS LORRAINE
HAFFTER joined the
Highways Department
as Junior Clerk last
November. She was
formerly with Fulton
and Rogers, a law
firm in Kamloops.
Lorraine is 20 years of age, born and
raised in Kamloops. Her hobbies are
swimming, music, and seeing the country.
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FRANK E. MARTENS, Project Supervisor, began with the
Department of Highways in 1957 as an
Engineering Aide.
Currently stationed in
Vanderhoof, he has
made many moves throughout the Province with his wife, Mary, and two daughters. His interests are fishing and hunting, and he is a leader in a local boys'
club.
FRANK H. SAWATSKY started with
the Paving Branch in
1956, being promoted
from Engineering Aide
3 to Technician 1 in
1966. After serving
with the Department
in many parts of the Province, Frank is
now Project Supervisor in charge of paving on a section of the Northern TransProvincial Highway in the Smithers area.
With Frank in Smithers are his wife,
Ruth, and four children, ranging in age
from 1 to 8. His hobbies include sports,
hunting, and fishing.
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FRANCES TANAKA, Stenographer 2,
has worked for the
Department of Highways for five years.
She has been appointed
Timekeeper for the
Kamloops District this
year.
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PHIL NORDIN
from Wetaskiwin, Alberta, joined the Department in the Kamloops regional office
in September, 1967, as
a Radio-Teletype Operator. Hobbies include water ski-ing and singing .
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MRS. JOAN RICHTER from Kitimat,
joined the Department
as Joan Yesdresyski
in 1964 in Headquarters office, Vic tor ia,
and came to North
Vancouver District
office in May, 1965. In July, 1966, she
married Dave Richter. In September,
1967, she transferred as a Clerk-Stenographer 2 to North Vancouver regional
office. She has now won, through Civil
Service competition, a promotion to
Clerk-Stenographer 3 with the Department of Recreation and Conservation,
Fish and Wildlife Branch, Vancouver,
and leaves us shortly to take up her new
duties.
15
A recent com posite picture of the well-known Bear River glacier, north of Stewart, shows continued retreat of ice. During construction much channelling and blasting of the ice was done to prevent blockage of Strohn Lake, which frequently spilled into Bear River
and caused extensive damage to the Stewart-Cassiar Highway downstream. The road had to be placed high on the valle y side on the
left of the photograph (not visible) in order to avoid the ice and the ice-covered gravels in front of the glacier . Although the glacier has
receded substantially, residual ice still remains at a shallow depth under the granular terminal morain, Observations will continue to
determine the earliest possible time the ratite may be relocated to the dotted lines shown.
The Nanaimo Bridge Crew building a
bin wall on the Kennedy Lake section of
the Alberni-Tofino Highway . Left to
right, J. Shepherd, T. Beatty, J. Gillen,
E. Malmo, D. LaFarge, and A. C. Lang.
Retaining wall on the Kennedy Lake
Hill on the Alberni-Tofino Highway built
by -A rnold Glover, Bridge Foreman, and
his crew from the Nanaimo District. The
highway carries very heavy summer tourist traffic heading for Long Beach on the
west coast of Vancouver Island.
16
L I T H O G R A P H E D I N CANADA B Y A. SUT T O N. QUEEN'S PRI NT ER, VIC TORIA . B . C .