Route 3 Spring 2009

Spring 2009 Route 3

Spring 2009

Life in the West Kootenay/Boundary Region

The Tale of The blue ChurCh

Steve evangelatos leads an animated life in his

reinvented home

CommuniTy & inSpiraTionThe rouge gallery

showcases the works of 22 local artists

hive of aCTiviTyTerry’s honey farm

produces unique honeys

P e o P l e A r t s H o m e S F o o d c u l t u r e r e c r e A t i o n H i S t o r y

Quest for Calm

yoga classes available across the region can

help you integrate the mind, body and spirit

Come for the Adventure & Stay for the Lifestyle.

Lunch Break

www.investkootenay.comwww.boundarycf.com

B O U N D A R Y E C O N O M I C D E V E L O P M E N T C O M M I T T E E & C O M M U N I T Y F U T U R E S B O U N D A R Y I N V I T E Y O U T O . . .

Spring 2009 Route 3

Ahhhh... at long last, spring. As much as I enjoyed some ex-cellent skiing this winter, one of the best days at the hill for me is always closing day, basking in the sun on the outside deck in ski pants and a T-shirt, enjoying the final plate of nachos of the season.

With spring comes garden preparation, and even planting a few cool-weather crops. Our story on the Kaslo Food Security Project promotes growing your own food, buying local produce, self sufficiency, and more age-old values that we can all bring to our own communities.

Speaking of locally produced food, Terry’s Honey Farm in Grand Forks not only produces fine honeys, but also raises queen bees, offers pol-lination services, and sells bees. Read on to learn about the politics of a honeybee hive, and how to help bees to thrive in your community.

Carol Pettigrew, the founder of BEAKS in Castlegar focusses her energy on another kind of flying creature — birds. BEAKS rehabilitates injured birds and is the only facility of this type in the region. The society is struggling to stay afloat; perhaps after reading about this worthwhile facility, readers will find some small way they can help.

Our cover story this issue is on the abundance of yoga classes avail-able across the region. Yoga has increased enormously in popularity, and not just because of sleak Lululemon outfits. Working on those sun salutes and downward dogs can help with weight loss, lower choles-terol, and bring peace and serenity. What’s not to like?

Four people who have obviously acheived a higher level of being, at least in their com-munity, are the four citizens of Trail who were interviewed by writer Helen Bobbitt for

this issue. Helen hoped to give us some insights into these well-known Trailites, who are not necessarily known very well.

Driving up the hill to Rossland, we stop in at the new Rouge Gallery, a co-operative gallery which allows its members not only to show and sell their work, but provides them with a sense of community and comra-derie. Be sure to stop in the next time you're in town — you're sure to enjoy the quality and scope of the work of its 22 contributing artists.

Another artist featured in this issue is Steve Evangelatos, an animation artist who bought an old church in Nelson and reworked it to become his home and studio. Once you read the story and check out the photos, not only will you want to hang out in this comfortable and interesting renovation, you’ll want to meet this guy, who seems to lead such a great life! How bad can it be drawing cartoons and playing in a music studio all day? Sounds very good to me.

Our history columnist, Greg Nesteroff, writes about the 100th anniver-sary of the founding of the Jam Factory in Nelson. Who knew the Queen City was once the hub of jam-making for the region?

We end this issue with another beautiful photograph — this one by Nelson photographer Madelaine Guenette. Enjoy! —Shelley Ackerman

editor’s message

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Route 3 Spring 2009

ARTISTS

Community & InspirationThe Rouge co-operative gallery in Rossland show-cases the work of twenty-one local artists, page 7

WELLNESS

Quest for CalmYoga classes available across the region can help you integrate mind, body and spirit, page 10

PEOPLE

Home of Community ChampionsHelen Bobbitt sits down to chat with four well-known citizens of Trail, page 15

HOMES

The Tale of the Blue Church & the ArtistSteve Evangelatos leads an animated life in his reinvented home, page 18

FARMING

Hive of ActivityTerry’s Honey Farm produces unique honeys in the Grand Forks area, page 22

FOOD & DRINK

Nourishing the NeighbourhoodThe Kaslo Food Security Project promotes locally grown food, and more... page 25

HISTORY

Harry & the Jam Factory100 years ago, Nelson became the jam-making hub of the Kootenays, page 27

Q&A WITH:

Carol PettigrewThe founder of BEAKS shares her views on the relative merits of conservation on the fly, page 29

SPECIAL PLACESPhoto by Madeleine Guenette, page 30

contentsPuBLISHERSandra [email protected]

ACCOuNT REPRESENTATIvEChris [email protected]

EDITOR & ART DIRECTORShelley [email protected]

PRODuCTION MANAGERJohn [email protected]

Route 3 is published quarterly by Glacier Media Group

Telephone: 250-442-2191 or 1-877-443-2191Fax: 250-442-3336email: [email protected] and Mail: Box 700, 7255 Riverside Drive, Grand Forks, BC v0H 1H0

Route 3 is distributed through the following newspapers, and on racks throughout the West Kootenay and Boundary regions.

Printed in Canada on recyclable paper.Copyright 2008 by Glacier Media Group. All rights reserved.

Reproduction of any article, photograph, or artwork without written permission of the publisher is strictly forbidden. The publisher can assume no responsibility for unsolicited material.

Cover photo: “Balancing mind, body and soul,” by Chris Hammett

Terry’s bees are used to pollinate many fruit crops, including these pear blossoms in a Grand Forks orchard. See story on page 22.

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Spring 2009 Route 3

Helen BoBBitt is a freelance writer who was raised in Rossland and now resides Trail with her family. Her background includes broadcasting and non-profit work. Writing has always been a passion of hers. Helen has a local published column in the Trail area and loves to write whenever possible.

lARRY Doell is a Rossland resident who has seen his photography business flourish since establishing it in the Trail area in 1991. Previous to that, he travelled extensively and was repre-sented by a New York stock photo agency. As a community photographer, Larry melds creativity with technical expertise to produce outstanding images.

DARcY FAlkenHAgen has spent her professional life as a literary book editor and English teacher. After almost a decade in New York City, last year, she and her husband relocated to Rossland. Enjoying life in the Kootenays, Darcy currently teaches at Selkirk College and online for Johns Hopkins University.

Nelson-based photographer DAviD R. gluns has captured moments in many special places in the world, creating images for numerous magazines, books and commercial clients, but “nothing beats the Kootenays as a place to live and photograph. I love the challenge of getting a great image whether it be flying in my plane, making food look great for the latest cookbook, or just hiking in the backcountry!” He can be reached at [email protected]

After numerous years as a camera store and photo lab owner/operator at the coast, and 30 years’ experience as a professional photographer, cHRis HAmmett decided it was time for a change, so she moved to Grand Forks to enjoy the slower paced, rural lifestyle. It was a chance to unwind and be inspired in a region of spectacular scenery. Exploring the backcoun-try in her Jeep, she still shoots professionally while being true to her own creative vision.

kYRA HoggAn is a Calgary transplant who came to the Kootenays two years ago seeking a quieter, more relaxed lifestyle — only to end up busier than ever with the region’s bounty of exciting activities and fascinating people. Owner of Ironquill Freelance, Hoggan spends her off time with her 10-year-old son, as together they explore the wonders of their new mountain home.

Based in Grand Forks, monA mAttei is a reporter for the Grand Forks Gazette and a freelance journalist. Recently nominated for a prestigious Jack Webster Award for her feature on uranium mining in The Weekender, Mona loves the challenge of journalism. You can catch her alter-ego Sophia on stage with Les Folles Jambettes cancan dance troupe or at the studio teaching dance and yoga.

gReg nesteRoFF’s great great uncle Dan Kanigan worked at the Kootenay Columbia Preserving Works during the few years it was in Nelson.

Doug PYPeR has been a Kootenay-based photographer, photojournalist and freelance writer for over twenty years. He is widely published, has an impressive list of satisfied commercial clients, and is a highly respected wedding and portrait photographer. “For me photography has always been about people. The human landscape intrigues me. It is ever changing, endless in its complexity, and profoundly interesting.” www.dougpyperphoto.com

kARen RAPAPoRt grew up in Los Angeles, and has always loved to read, write and draw. Some of her earlier, somewhat precocious efforts found their way to the principal’s office in conference with her justifiably horrified, old-world-European parents. After that episode, she fled to Canada to start a new life. Karen and her non-fugitive husband now own an organic farm at Christina Lake and play truant officer to dozens of fiendishly clever animals.

AmY RoBillARD is freelance writer based out of Nelson. She is a regular contributor to local papers and publications as well as a business writer for Rising Women magazine, based out of Calgary. When not playing in the mountains or writing, Amy can be found in her kitchen mixing up a batch of gelato for the company she founded and manages, Little Miss Gelato, a local ice cream manufacturing company based in Nelson.

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Route 3 Spring 2009

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Spring 2009 Route 3

CommuNITy & INsPIrATIoN

In an unassuming storefront along the sleepy main street of Rossland lies a secret treasure. The faded red backdrop to the signage along the top of the building has a fresh coat of paint that reads “Rouge, Gallery of Local Art.”

In a town known mostly for its steep ski slopes and laid-back attitude, you might be imagining a simple room with vintage ski posters from the ’70s. Take one step into this bright and cheery space, however, and you’ll be pleasantly surprised not only by the quantity of local artists represented, but also by the impres-sive quality of their works.

The new gallery is co-operatively run by the Rossland Council for Arts and Culture (RCAC) and several Rossland-area painters and craftspeople who are happy to declare a space dedicated to the arts. Most of the 22 current members were a part of the former art gallery that was located in the Old Firehall. They lost their space in 2006, when the building was sold for redevelopment, but the artists never lost their spirit. Painter Louise Drescher recalls, “I promised everyone that we would keep the spirit alive until we found another

The Rouge co-operative gallery in Rossland showcases the works of 22 local artists

artists STORY BY Darcy Falkenhagen

PHOTOS BY Larry Doell

Route 3 Spring 2009

space to show our work.” And indeed she did. While they waited

patiently for the right space to present itself, the artists used local shops and the Bank of Montreal building to host temporary shows. When the storefront that currently houses Rouge came up for rent last summer, they jumped at the opportunity to set up their gallery in a space so accessible to the public.

Louise got on the phone to other local artists and before long they were hosting their opening night in September of 2008. Getting artists to work together can be “a bit like herding cats,” laughs painter Stephanie Gauvin, but the organization and professionalism is top notch.

The first six months at the gallery have been busy. The exhibit is constantly evolving, as no work of art is up for more than two months. As the artists generate new material, they bring it in and it’s up with the new and out with the old. There are also themed shows put up through-out the year.

The project is lead by three of Ross-land’s favourite artists – Louise Drescher, Stephanie Gauvin, and Andy Holmes. This executive board meets monthly, and the extended group all get together every couple of months. To keep costs down, the members share the rent and volunteer to work at least one day a month in the gallery. As a result, no matter what day of the week you stop in,

there is always a contributing artist there to speak with visitors about the current show. Perhaps the most unique aspect of this gallery is that you will often find one of the artists with paintbrush in hand, working on her own project.

As Stephanie explains, “It’s a very good situation for the artists, because the overhead costs of the gallery are low, the gallery only keeps 10 per cent of the sales, and the rest goes back to the artist.”

Indeed, this is a wonderful opportu-nity to support local artists who would ordinarily only see 40-60 per cent profit if their work were sold in galleries in large cities like vancouver or New York.

The Rouge offers more than just an opportunity for local artists to sell their works. It has provided them with a sense of community and camaraderie. Stepha-nie explains, “The best part is how it inspires the participating artists. We feel much more a part of a community. We look and see what one another is doing, and we think to ourselves, ‘Hey, I can paint more, too!’”

Louise echoed this sentiment exactly. “Why can’t I do that?” the artists ask themselves, and they are off to challenge themselves again.

Not only does the gallery serve as inspiration for the established par-ticipating artists, but for the rest of the community as well. Louise noted that people stop in all the time and express

Opening page, top: Stephanie Gauvin, Andy Holmes and Louise Drescher wrapped in a Theshini Naicker creation.

Below: Home on Red Mountain by Andy Holmes.

This page, upper left: First Snowfall by Theshini Naicker, silk and wool fibres.

Above: Sofia and Maya Maturo, with their mom Kate Mahoney admire the children’s art during the Rossland Winter Carnival.

Painter Lasha Mutual and her son Jonah carry The Root to the new gallery.

Spring 2009 Route 3

an interest in getting involved in something more creative. During this year’s Winter Carnival, the gallery hosted a show and silent auction of childrens’ art. Young children in the community were able to walk into the official space and see their work hanging up for sale. Proceeds from this sale went to four different local children’s centres. This turned out to be a great success and will become a new annual tradition.

The aim of the Rouge is not only to showcase members’ work, but also to provide a headquarters for RCAC and introduce several other arts-related events. The gallery also offers occasional workshops that are open to the public. In April, during B.C. Arts and Culture Week, Andy Holmes will be host-ing a “use Workshop” for youth that will deal with using recycled materials to create art.

The gallery also hosts guest artists, solo shows, and literary readings from time to time. Last fall they welcomed Marilyn Bower-ing, a prominent Canadian poet and fiction writer who read to an attentive crowd in this new com-munity art space.

The artist members include: Ingrid Baker (painter), Danielle

valade (glass worker), Charlene Barnes (painter), Martine Bedard (painter), Louise Drescher (paint-er), Stephanie Gauvin (paint-er), Heather Good (painter), Christy Holden (glass worker), Andy Holmes (painter), Mary-Ann Kelly (potter), Theshini Naicker (mixed-media artist), Les Otterbein (photographer) Karla Pearce (painter), Trisha Rasku (fibre artist), Jenny Baillie (painter), Claude Stormes (painter), Jennifer Smith (painter), Sarah Zanussi (pot-ter), Catherine Wetmore (painter), Amy Exner (coloured pencils), Ron Knox (painter), and Anora Fisher (painter).

The sense of community is very important to the organizers. The gallery makes itself visible and accessible to the general public, thereby breaking down the barrier between the artist and the rest of the community. In turn, they are inspiring art lovers on an almost daily basis. Luckily for us, we have a place for artists to work, teach, and inspire our community.

Stop in to the Rouge gallery, located at 2123 Columbia Av-enue, Rossland. Gallery hours are Monday to Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Sunday, 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. For more information, call 250-362-9609.

Painter Anora Fisher with her painting entitled Mt. Tyrell (which is located at the north end of Kootenay Lake by Johnson’s Landing).

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Route 3 Spring 2009

Quest forCalm

STORY BY Mona MatteiPHOTOS BY Chris Hammett

wellness

Yoga classes available across the region can help you integrate

the mind, body and spirit

Spring 2009 Route 3

ou are present. You are breathing. The only moment that counts is the now. And as you open your eyes slowly to absorb the world around you, you take the feeling of calm and peacefulness you have created into your daily life. You have just experienced yoga.

When I open my eyes after an evening’s practice I am greeted by the warmth and beauty of the Seva Centre in Grand Forks. Opened just this year, the centre is home to a variety of yoga and healing arts practices each week. The heritage ballroom’s vaulted ceilings with blue and gold etching, hard-wood floors, and large windows provide a serene backdrop to the physical and meditative movements of yoga. Chants of “Om” by groups in class echo around the room amplified by the excellent acoustics and directed to the universe.

As new studies applaud the many health benefits of yoga from weight loss to lowering cholesterol, this centuries-old Eastern philosophy is becoming the new fitness soulmate for workout enthusiasts. From high power execs to Hol-lywood stars looking for sleek physiques, more and more people are turning to yoga in North America.

Quest forCalm

you sAy AsHTANgA, I sAy KuNdAlINI – wHAT’s THe dIFFereNCe?

vigoRous vinYAsA:ASHTANGA: a fast paced series of sequential postures

practiced by yoga master K. Pattabhi Jois from Mysore, India.

POWER YOGA: A western spin to the practice of Ashtanga, it is a challenging and disciplined series of poses designed to create heat and energy flow created by Bender Birch in 1995.

JIvAMuKTI: look for a highly meditative but physically challenging form of yoga from the centre of the same name in New York City. Standing postures, chanting and inversions are the highlights.Attention to DetAil:

IYENGAR: from his home in Pune, India, B.K.S. Iyengar is one of the most influential yogis of his time and continues to teach at 80 years of age. Poses are typically longer than other schools of yoga in order to pay close attention to precise muscular and skeletal alignment.HeAling:

INTEGRATIvE YOGA THERAPY: Founded in San Francisco in 1993, this style developed by Joseph Le Page is designed specifically for medical and mainstream wellness settings including hospitals and rehabilitation centres.

vINIYOGA: This style is an empowering and trans-formative practice tailored to address and integrate transitions physically, emotionally and intellectually. It is a gentle practice using the breath in sequences address-ing the needs of the practitioner.

BIKRAM: When you take a Bikram yoga class, expect to sweat. Each studio is designed to replicate yoga’s birth-place climate with temperatures pushing 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The sweat helps to cleanse the body moving toxins out and bringing in fresh blood and oxygen to circulate. enligHtenment:

INTEGRAL: with the goal of helping people integrate yoga’s teachings into their everyday work and relation-ships, Reverend Sri Swami Satchidananda introduced the use of classical hatha postures which are meant to be performed as a meditation.

KuNDALINI: stems from the tantra yoga path, at one time a closely guarded secret practiced only by a select few. Kundalini incorporates postures, dynamic breathing techniques and chanting and meditating on mantras to awaken spinal energy.

HATHA: If the yoga being offered at a studio is simply described as “hatha” chances are the teacher is offering an eclectic blend of two or more of the styles described above. Hatha is one of the paths or limbs of yoga which describes the physical aspect of the lifestyle leading to enlightenment.

—Yoga Journal Winter issue 1999

y

Route 3 Spring 2009

Nelson: 250.352.6900 877.354.1700Trail: 250.364.2300 800.663.7820Castlegar: 250.365.5433

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Yoga encompasses a lifestyle. The word yoga comes from a Sanskrit word “yuj” meaning to bind, to yoke, or to join together.

“It has come to mean an experiential process by which we integrate all parts of ourselves,” explains Anisah Madden, founder and instructor at Seva Centre. “This is to be able to live more fully in the world; to be more balanced knowing that we are multi-dimensional beings — mind, body, spirit — and that we cannot separate these parts of ourselves as much as we’d like to try.”

Anisah started practicing yoga over 10 years ago after suffering a fractured spine in a car accident. It has led her to become an instructor in yoga and healing using herbal medicines. She has chosen to teach in the classic hatha yoga style. When you meet Anisah you immediately sense her calm and grounded way of being. It makes you want to learn her secret to relaxation.

Access to that state of being is just a step away in our communities across the Kootenay / Boundary region. One can attend classes with in-structors at Shanti Yoga just off Baker St. in Nelson, Janice Ferraro at her studio on the Columbia River in Castlegar, or at the Seva Centre in Grand Forks among others.

Although students often first come to yoga through the physical aspects of the practice, many people are surprised to find that they’ve been building much more than a strong, flexible body.

“Yoga brings the connection into the senses with clarity and joy,” explains Joy Morrell, owner and practitioner at Shanti Yoga. Joy has been practicing yoga for many years, and took over Shanti only two years ago after moving to Nelson from Hawaii. Shanti offers a variety of yoga instruction styles. “For beginning students this is often simply felt as lightness and a sense of well-being after a yoga class. With students who practice regularly with skilled teachers, it is more deeply understood to

Previous page: Laurie Madison of Shanti Yoga assists her class with Utthita Parsvakonasana (Sanskrit meaning extended side angle).Above: Anisah Madden leads her group with a meditative pose at the Seva Centre.Right: Janice Ferraro demonstrates the classic Gomukhasana, or cow’s head pose.

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Spring 2009 Route 3

be the ‘yoking,’ the interweaving of all aspects of their being.”Through the ancient yoga practices which are over 5,000 years old,

yoga has evolved over the years to enable people to connect with the oneness of life. Madden likens learning yoga to the experience of learn-ing to play an instrument.

“First you learn the notes, the scales, how to hold the instrument, how to play. Right at the beginning there is a step by step process,” observes Madden. “It’s the same for yoga — there’s a path and a process. It’s a discipline that requires attention until it becomes integrated into your being and before you know it you are playing a symphony — it becomes part of who you are.”

Eight different teachers offer the opportunity to practice yoga in Grand Forks, with classes in several locations including the Seva Centre. Nelson, Rossland, and Castlegar all have studios or places to practice yoga. Morrell says there are over 100 qualified instructors in the area from Nelson to Nakusp to Kaslo, a testament to yoga's popularity.

Janice Ferraro has a charming studio space in her home near the Columbia River. She started her practice over 32 years ago, learning whatever way she could while living in Prince Rupert. She has continued to practice, and started a yoga group in Castlegar in the early 1990s

which has blossomed into her life as an instruc-tor. She describes her style as classic hatha and her training is based on Iyengar yoga.

Ferraro is pleased to be able to offer differ-ent classes for different groups including seniors, teens, and has some classes which focus entirely on peace, prayer and meditation. She even plays with her yoga, incorporating acro-batic styles for fun, and cross-over classes like “yogalates.” Ferraro says all ages enjoy the medita-tion. She also teaches teen classes at the high school three days a week.

“They are open to things,” Ferraro explained. “Sometimes I don’t know what they think but I just have to just be me since I teach a very classic style. The teens are very receptive in everything and some of them are very impressive.”

Is yoga just a fad in the western world? Madden feels that its grow-ing popularity may be an indication that people are missing a connec-tion that older cultures have to their traditions similar to the aboriginal peoples of the world. Today’s industrial culture seems to be missing that connection, she says.

“It’s more than just a way to make us healthy or strong, it’s a way of liv-ing in the world so that we know we are connected to everything,” says Madden. “In the West, especially since the industrial age, people have become disconnected — we’re out of balance. People think there must

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serving Nelson, Grand Forks and surrounding areas

Route 3 Spring 2009

be more to life than work and money, so they question what is missing. What is missing is that spiritual connection.”

Morrell says she remembers people flocking to yoga in the ’70s but that it wasn’t as noticeable since there were not as many people involved and, quite honestly, fashion hadn’t taken it up. She says that fashion is the visual element that is driving interest today.

“Yoga came to North America and it got ‘North Americanized’ pretty efficiently!” said Morrell. “In a decade North America has taken most of yoga out of itself and left the workout. Some of these practices are profoundly visually stimulating, and we just love spectacular things, but I don’t think that it’s sustainable or safe while we age.”

Morrell sees yoga fulfilling many needs for everyone even as we age. Yoga can help with loss of bone mass, pain relief, grieving, and other therapeutic needs.

While we continue to be drawn to yoga as a way to keep fit, many of us

are discovering the deeper mind-body awareness, healing and balancing which brings clarity to our minds. For some of us this is the answer to our quest for calm.

wHeRe to FinD YogA in tHe kootenAY / BounDARYSeva Centre, 272 Market Ave., Grand Forks, 250-443-49894th St. Studio, 7448 4th Street, Grand Forks, 250-442-YOGAunder the Sun Hatha Yoga, Columbia River Studio, 815 5th Ave., Castlegar, 250-365-5528Shanti Yoga, 466 Josephine Street, Nelson, 250-352-7703Better Life Fitness, 2086 Washington, Rossland, 250-362-2348RETREATS:Yasodhara Ashram, Kootenay Bay, 1-800-661-8711Blue Ridge Retreat, 204 Shutty Bench Road, Kaslo, 250-353-7105Plus many other individual teachers and yoga offerings not listed here.

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Spring 2009 Route 3

Home oF CommuNITy CHAmPIoNs

A community is only as strong as the roots of its people. Trail is such a place.

Curiousity led me to seek out some Trailites who may be

well-known in the community, but are not known well.

Two help to run a successful family-driven Trail business. Another is a leader in local vol-unteerism. The last is a person who is quite different from his business personality.

Ferraro Foods is a business built out of the determination and hard work of the Ferraro family. After leaving the Super-valu chain in 1998, they had to re-invent themselves as a grocery enterprise. For James and David

Ferraro, this wasn’t a difficult concept to grasp.

“We were brought up in the business,” James said. “My dad was working in the business, so instead of going to play hockey or soccer, we came to work.”

Six children grew up in the environment that was to become their way of life: siblings Kim, Christine, Danny, James, David and Shane.

“If we didn’t re-invent ourselves in 1998, we wouldn’t be here today,” David said. “When the big stores have come into other towns, businesses end up shutting down,” he added. “We have held our own.”

For James and David, the keys to success

are simple. “Give the customers what they want,” David said.

James expressed his belief: “As an owner of a business, you have to download your philosophy to your employees and they have to bite into it. The philosophy is you can’t be complacent and you can’t think you’re on top of the world.”

David shared another positive to being local: “The advantage to being smaller is that you can pivot and move fast. If some-one asks for something, we will look for it and get it right away. A big company wouldn’t be able to do that.”

David also talks with pride about the future: “We never settle, we’re always striv-

STORY BY Helen BobbittPHOTOS BY Larry Doell

Writer Helen Bobbitt sits down to chat with four well-known citizens of Trail, to find out what makes them tick

people

Route 3 Spring 2009

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ing to do something different and invent something different.”

James adds, “We’re always trying to grow the Ferraro’s brand. Whether it’s introducing new products or making new products, that’s what we’re concerned with.”

Between the two stores in Trail and Rossland, they have 160 staff. James and David wrapped up our chat with this comment, “We want people to know that we are who we are because of all of our staff. We couldn’t do this without them.”

Words from people who lead by example.Leading by example is eleanor gattafoni-Robinson’s

motto. Since approximately 1995, Eleanor has been giv-ing back through activities in the Greater Trail area as a dedicated and loyal volunteer. One could almost say it is her profession.

“I think what I hopefully can give back to individuals is to make a difference,” Eleanor said. “Every day you wake up and God gives you the day to live, I think it’s wonderful. I think each day you should be inspired by something.”

She was first inspired to be a volunteer with Trail Youth baseball, helping to bring 1995 Babe Ruth World Series to Trail which was a five-year commitment. Eleanor’s reputa-tion precedes her as an outgoing, honest individual.

“I think I’m a straight shooter; I think I say it like it is.” A Trail native who grew up in the Gulch area, “My par-

ents taught us that the truth is the truth is the truth. I am very proud to say I was born and raised in the Gulch.”

Eleanor has been involved with countless charities and community campaigns. She shared one of her favourite achievements: “Serving in public life, what I do right now, as a councillor for the City of Trail.”

Her second time in office has allowed her to share her community perspective at the municipal level. Being as well-known in Trail as Eleanor is, she was asked to share a couple of things that people might not know.

Opening page: Eleanor Gattafoni-Robinson with kinder-garten kids from St. Michael’s school in Trail. Above: Brothers David, James and Shane Ferraro in the produce section of their Trail store. Right: Dan Ashman with some shiny, new vehicles at AM Ford.

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"I once owned a race horse, several years ago," she said with a smile. "I like Tom Selleck and James Brolin; I like them a lot. ”

Mutual admiration was obvious between Eleanor and her close friend, AM Ford and AM Ford Plus owner, Dan Ashman. Eleanor commented, “He gives back more to the community than people know and he doesn’t want anything back.”

Dan has been contributing as a business owner to Greater Trail since 1983. He moved to Trail in 1974 from the Okanagan.

“I came to play hockey with the Smoke Eaters for six months,” and with that, he was here to stay. Dan’s business persona is what he has come to be famous for.

“I like to call it like it is and sometimes that can offend people, it’s not meant to offend people. It's purely business why Dan Ashman started doing television commercials and even to this day does radio commercials live.”

He was then asked if he was the same kind of person in his private life.

“No,” Dan replied. “The switch gets turned off. I have a fairly quiet family life. I’ve only got time for two things, business and family.”

His love of Trail runs deep. “I love the community. A community you do business in is a

community you should volunteer in and you should do what-ever you can possibly do to enhance it in theory for future generations of your children and of the citizens of the area.”

Dan was then asked about his business philosophy. “Sales sells the first car, service sells the rest.” And how would he apply that to his life? “Our family is very, very close as I am sure lots of families

are but you have to spend time and give time to get time.” With all of his children enjoying success in some aspect of the auto or other business, that was time well spent.

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Route 3 Spring 2009

Steve Evangelatos leads an animated life in his reinvented home

homesSTORY BY Amy RobillardPHOTOS BY David R. Gluns

The Tale of the Blue Church

and the Artist

The Tale of the Blue Church

and the Artist

The blue church occupies the corner of fourth Street and Cottonwood Street in fairview — nelson’s most eastern resi-dential area. a slightly brighter shade of blue and the building might be called ostentatious, considering the neat and tidy neighbourhood it inhabits.

yet, it has the type of design you might expect from some-one who spends his day drawing cartoons. for instance, the bold coloured sanctuary walls sit behind black and white sketches of Donald Duck and Winnie the pooh, the dozen or so windows filtering in the natural light. it is an apt structure for a gallery or showroom and is home to a talented animation artist, Steve evangelatos.

Steve is an ontario native who has lived and worked all over north america, bringing some of our favourite cartoon characters to life. With animation bigwigs such as Disney and the Cartoon network as former employers, Steve moved to nelson from vancouver four years ago in an effort to downsize and become the animation freelancer he has always wanted to be.

Route 3 Spring 2009

“I thought buying and renovating a church would be cool and the space would allow me to work from home”, Steve says, sitting on his leather couch facing the black cast iron wood stove that heats the vast room which once served as the church’s worship area.

The draw of owning a church is not new — as anyone who has seen the1969 film Alice’s Restau-rant knows — but reality tends to bite and reno-vating a 65-year-old church is no small feat.

“It was April 2004 and I just happened to be driving through Nelson on my way back to van-couver,” Steve says. “I saw the listing for the church and I thought, ‘I could live in a church in Nelson.‘”

But, upon first inspection, things looked grim: “This was a very unhealthy building with no plumbing other than two toilets and a sole electri-cal outlet. It was basically an uninteresting run-down church. I signed the papers a week later.”

Selling his house and animation business, Nat-terjack Animation, located in vancouver’s impecca-bly hip Yaletown, Steve packed up his possessions — mainly his personal animation and recording studios — and moved to his newly acquired digs.

The church was a dull brown with huge win-dows that were covered with black translucent paper, the idea being that people couldn’t see in. Throughout its life, the building served as a Baptist Church, a Tai Kwan Do studio and the Four Square Gospel Church before Steve bought it.

“It was musty and damp, but it had beautiful wood floors under the grungy carpets and I knew there would be great natural light once the black film came off the windows.”

Steve’s vision was to create a gallery space keeping the sanctuary as a massive living area showcasing a working studio, living room and din-ing area. His inspiration came after he visited the beautifully restored — but now closed — Reser-voir Lounge in Nelson. He tracked down and hired the same contractor, Peter Gosney.

Over the next few months, the neighbourhood church slowly became a modern-day residence. All electrical and plumbing work was completely re-done to account for the addition of three bathrooms and a kitchen. The square sanctuary and pulpit area were renovated with odd-angled elements, a partition wall, a designer kitchen and a bedroom. With new windows, new drywall and a refurbished floor, the renovation was going smoothly.

“That was until we went up to the attic. We realized that the attic would have a phenomenal view of Kootenay Lake’s West Arm and with a bit of engineering work could become a bedroom-suite loft,” Steve says.

Previous page, main photo: Inside the living room/work area looking down to

where the pulpit once stood, behind which is now a modern kitchen.

Inset: Original front doors of the former church serve as the main entrance to

the house. Light shines though the original stained-glass window.

This page, top: Steve cooks in the new kitchen.

Centre left: Upon entering the house, visitors get to view a Mutoscope, a

motion picture device dating back to early 1900s. On the wall are several

of Steve’s artworks.Centre right: Steve in his recording

studio mixing some music.Right: One of Steve’s images, referred to

as a cel, from an animated short.

Opposite page: Steve at his work station, working on some new characters.

Spring 2009 Route 3

That brilliant idea created the most charm-ing feature of the church. The small room with angled ceilings, lustrous hardwood floors and a lake-view balcony creates a bal-ance with the vastness of the room on the main floor. The ensuite bathroom has a luxu-rious heated-tile floor and a uniquely shaped shower that ideally utilizes the small space.

“Structurally it was tricky putting in the stairs and the loft, but it really is a key feature of the house”.

The interior renovations were completed in April of 2005, but little had been done to the drab exterior. In August of that year, Steve de-cided to add a little colour to the 500 block of Fourth Street: “I wanted to paint the church a bright colour without being brash, so blue it was”, he says. “The neighbours seem to like it.”

The brilliant colour of the blue church is pared down with a wooden deck that stretches along one side of the entire build-ing. The balcony’s timber-frame structure off the upstairs’ suite ties in the nutty brown wood to the bright blue paint, reassuring any onlooker that this is not your ordinary church.

Yet, Steve points out the church features that make the building so unmistakably sa-cred: the sole stain glass window that reflects a rainbow of colour on the stairwell’s purple walls, the double set of original front doors that take you from the foyer to the sanctu-ary, the raised kitchen that was once the altar and baptism area, and the double set of stairs leading to the basement. With the arched roof and cathedral-size windows comes an elegance that few residences can claim.

Open and uncluttered — except for the stacks of animation drawings dispersed amongst a sketching table and a handful of computers — the one-room main floor has become an artist’s showroom.

The featured artist is of course Steve Evangelatos. He draws, sketches and designs by day and by night retreats into his sub-terrain recording studio: “I’ve done my own sound for several of my animated projects — especially short films,” he says.

His studio features a 24-track system, fully equipped with microphones and instru-ments.

“I’ve recorded albums for several bands here, including local acts Ravenhead, Noble Five, Stove and Tanya Loveage,” Steve says, noting that recording is merely a hobby, though his set-up would be the envy of many recording artists.

Dining

out

With cels of familiar characters on the bright walls, the musical haven down-stairs and the bright green, circa 1900 Nickelodeon seated at the front door, this home feels more like a playroom than a church. Like any child’s fantasy, the church sparks curiosity from the pedes-trians who walk by, hoping for a peek inside.

I suppose in this neighbourhood of white picket fences, a little blue doesn’t hurt anyone. And in the story of the big blue church and its talented owner, the two, well, lived happily ever after... the end.

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HIve oF ACTIvITy

STORY BY Karen RapaportPHOTOS BY Chris Hammett

Farming

Driving along the highway, you can’t help but notice the occasional clusters of what look like filing cabinets curiously punc-tuating the open areas.

They’re actually standard, or Langstroth, beehives. These are the type of hives utilized by Liz and Terry Huxter of Terry’s Honey Farm in Grand Forks.

First meeting at university in Scotland, Liz and Terry moved to our region 28 years ago after spending a few years in Calgary, learning their way around beekeeping through a paid mentorship. Terry carries forth his experience as a plant physiolo-gist and university professor, while Liz’s background as a geologist weaves its way into a deep love for and understanding about the land and the impacts of our ac-tions upon it. Both Liz and Terry are good-humoured, soft-spoken and extremely erudite; they are tremendous resources and it was a pleasure to get to know them.

Why the career move to beekeeping? Liz laughs, “We just ate a lot of honey! Seemed like the right thing to do. We decided we wanted our own little bee farm and saw an ad in Grand Forks — just fifty hives — it was tiny. We thought it was gorgeous here, but that it made no economic sense. After spending one night, the meadowlarks sucked us in."

What draws most of us in to the mysteri-ous world of bees is their fascinating social

Terry’s Honey Farm produces unique honeys in the Grand Forks area

Spring 2009 Route 3

hierarchy and ability to multi-task that would put the most sophisticated computer machina-tions to shame.

Here's a little teaser to pique your interest: beehive culture bears quite a few similarities to households and governments. There's the ruler of the kingdom (the queen), the full-time ser-vants with the seemingly endless and thank-less jobs (the workers), and the stereotypical, slovenly frat-boy-type breeders (the drones).

Bees have five eyes (two for vision and three to discern which way is up); they see in 9,000-piece mosaics and will be far less likely to lash out if the movements around them are slow and steady; and they use their antennae for smelling.

“It's a matriarchal society,” Liz explains. “Once the workers have designated the larva, they will feed it special royal jelly to make it a queen. Pheromones pass back and forth in a feedback loop. A queen doesn't have to die or fail in order for the hive to pick another — it could just be that the hive is crowded.”

The nursing bees are the youngest workers. They look after the developing queen in all stages from egg to larva to pupa. It is the type and greater amount of royal jelly that makes a worker larvae become a queen. In just 16 days, they emerge as queens from the specially built queen cells. On the seventh day of the queen's life, she leaves the colony to mate in flight with a dozen or more drones. She goes back home and lays between 1,500 and 2,000 eggs a day for as long as three to five years, under ideal conditions. The queen's royal court circles her, feeds her and spreads her scent.

Workers also assume other roles in the colony. They perform their appointed jobs of pollinating: gathering nectar and secreting the enzyme that converts it to honey, managing their guard duties (including evicting some deadbeat drones in the fall) and when neces-sary, fanning the hive for ventilation.

Such elegance of design and function has encountered numerous challenges as of late. Recent news about bee populations has been dire, citing Colony Collapse Disorder, dead bees, abandoned hives and the inevitable impacts upon our food supply. varroa mite infestation is another concern in this region, and Liz is spearheading a research project to determine and develop more resistant queens.

There are a couple of beekeepers in Slocan who are experimenting with top-bar style hives (as opposed to the standard style). Their smaller (comb) cell size might hold promise as far as dealing successfully with the varroa mite, but it’s

too soon to tell. The downside of top-bar bee-keeping is the lower yield of honey, so its use is a bit controversial in the bee community.

“Bees are the original herbalists,” Liz notes. “They don't have that much in the way of genetics for fighting off disease. They deal on a ‘bee’ level, not a cellular or genetic level.”

What can we do in our area, right here and right now, to increase and maintain our popu-lations of healthy bees, and help to strengthen that level?

“I have a whole vision of this valley,” Liz begins. “It's a gorgeous, naturally flowing community. Allow it to happen. Recognize some weeds as not being antagonistic. They are beneficial for insects and birds — consider dandelions, milk thistle and knapweed. We’d have a more robust environment all around.

“Plant linden or basswood trees,” she contin-ues. “They’re slow-growing and have big tap-roots, and they’re covered with blooms for the bees and butterflies. Bees, butterflies, moths and birds rely on dandelion flowers and seeds — dandelions have deep roots and help to break up the soil and bring up deep nutrients. Also, plant hedgerows, not just fence lines, for an interface between properties — they're excellent for moisture and evaporative cooling, as well as for the bees, birds and butterflies.”

Any discussion about the fate and robust-ness of bees in our region must also touch upon the rest of our inextricably linked agricultural community. “There’s a gentleman

growing hay in this area,” Liz notes. “He lets the plants grow longer at full flower. There’s more roughage this way, and more foliage to retain moisture, too. It’s good for both the bees and the animals. Let’s let the bees get to it first.

“Sweet clover is also excellent, both for the bees and for moisture retention. It could be beneficial for the forest, too. There are two ranchers in Rock Creek who are growing ben-eficial weeds, and they're not spraying them,” Liz adds approvingly.

Spring and summer could be considered “tourist” season for the bees, but it’s the bees that are doing the traveling. The Huxter’s hives go out on assignment to local orchards and farms to do their pollinating, and have also spent time with fruit trees in the Okanagan. They’ve even traveled as far as the Coast for a cranberry/blackberry bog mission, which yielded a limited run of some flavourful honey.

What does a beekeeper do in the winter? “Winter is lovely,” Liz smiles. “There’s paper-work, planning, lots of communication, order-ing supplies, honey sales.”

The bees themselves live off of the honey that was left for them after extraction.

Harvest time is in the fall — the best time to stock up on the freshest honey. Liz admon-ishes, "Please, eat local. That would stimulate

Above: Liz removes a frame from the queen-rearing hive so she can mark the queen and cage it for shipping.Left: In the honey house, Terry proudly displays a jar of their local honey.

Route 3 Spring 2009

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an agriculture based on a community-minded scale, and avoid the use of petrochemicals in transport. We’ve been asked to sell abroad, but elected not to do it. Why ship elsewhere when we have a shortage here? We want to provide for our community.”

How difficult is it for a small producer to make a living at beekeeping? “Honey alone will not make an income that can support a family,” Liz

states soberly. “We do it by incorporating pollination, queen rearing and selling bees. As with anything else, there are good and bad years for everything.”

“Diversification is always a good idea in farming. We’ve gone from honey producers to pollinators to queen producers to queen breeders to research breeders. We’re still in love with the valley, sunshine and people here.”

The Huxters lead seminars on beekeeping in the region, and also of-fer field days for students in the younger grades. High school students come by the farm to help, too. "The kids really enjoy it, and we’re hoping to do it again this year and get more people involved.”

Terry’s Honey Farm uses hive management, breeding and as few chemi-cals as possible to produce their honeys, and you can find their unique, local Fireweed and valley Gold raw honeys at the following locations:

Grand Forks: New West Trading Co., Rilkoff’sRossland: Ferraro’s Slocan City: South Slocan Market

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BY Doug Pyper

Let’s admit the fact — most of us sit down for evening dinner without giving a second thought to the food on our plate. A very surpris-ing mindset when you consider that most of our groceries travel an

average of 3,000 kilometres before hitting the supermarket displays here in the Kootenays.

Given the rising cost of fuel, the effects of climate change and food sovereignty issues in today’s world, it just might be something to start thinking about.

“Food is a commodity, not a right, under the current global system,” says Aimee Watson, coordinator of the Kaslo Food Security Project (KFSP).

“Quite simply, if you can’t afford it you don’t receive it. It’s a vulnerable, corporate-based system.”

Considering our diverse rural geography that lends itself so perfectly to regional food production, it only makes sense to fill our

pantries with local fare. You just can’t beat the freshness, quality, health benefits and taste of locally grown fruit and veggies.

Largely through the ideas and prolific ef-forts of Kaslo-ite Aimee Watson, an educated and experienced farming enthusiast trans-planted here from the Fraser valley, the KFSP began to take shape in early 2006.

“We’re working toward increasing capacity for food production and self-sufficiency on a local level and building distribution lines throughout the region,” she explains.

“It is a community-inspired, community-driven project sponsored by North Kootenay Lake Community Services.”

The project has increased public awareness surrounding food issues and created avenues for implementing related ideas such as pro-moting the “100 Mile Diet” concept — meet-ing our needs regionally not just for produce, but also protein crops, grain, certified meat and dairy where available.

food & drink

NourIsHINg the NeIgHBourHood

The Kaslo Food Security Project promotes locally grown food, self sufficiency and other age-old values

Top: The Kaslo Community Garden.Above: Fresh local carrots available at

Front Street Supermarket in Kaslo.

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A statement was drafted in 2007 outlining identified visions and guiding principles. This “Kaslo Food Charter” is currently being adopted into the Official Commu-nity Plan. It defines food security as “when all people, at all times, have access to nutritious, safe, personally acceptable and cultur-ally appropriate food, produced in ways that are environmentally sound and socially just.”

Elemental to the KFSP was leasing of a community garden to provide gardening space for townsfolk in need. This some-what rustic-looking, wildlife- fenced rectangle in upper Kaslo contains twelve garden plots available for rental to the public.

“The cost per plot ranges from $5 to $15 per season with a $5 membership to Kaslo Commu-nity Garden Society,” says Aimee. “We rented all 12 plots last season with all funds going to maintenance like irrigation and other essen-tials.”

This past summer the KFSP launched an innovative program through which fallow lots and lawns were converted to food producing gardens. It was implemented through a contest that will run again this season. Anyone can ap-ply, with winners chosen through an interview process that assesses eligibility based on need and long-term commitment.

One of two winners, Eliza Fry, won high garden boxes constructed on her property. They were perfectly customized for this avid gardener with a chronic back disability. The second winners, Jamie and Terra Gray and their two young children saw their lawn trans-formed into a productive 30 by 50 foot garden.

Says Jamie: “It’s a fantastic program! We didn’t have the time or knowledge to do this on our own, so it was great. It surpassed all our expectations. We’re now able to grow a good deal of our needed produce for years to come and it even got us thinking about getting some chickens.”

In addition, the Lawns to Gardens program re-claimed one 20 by 30 foot overgrown fallow plot in the community garden as a demonstration garden to be used as a public educational venue.

The two ground-level sites were prepared with a low-emission, hand-pushed tiller. Four knowledgeable consultants assessed the soil

nutrients, irrigation needs, and companion planting options.

“We tried to meet personal needs in what was grown,” says Aimee. “Along with assistant Lindsay Romaker I helped in planting and culti-vating the gardens two days per week through to harvest.”

Public workshops were offered to the public as part of this program which included canning, various gardening courses and seed saving.

The KFSP has created two practical and func-tional resources providing information. The West Kootenay Food Directory is invaluable.

“We did an inventory of farmers, market gardeners and food producers. We then inven-toried retail outlets, such as farmers’ markets, restaurants and grocery stores that support local food, hoping to encourage a vibrant mar-ket,” explains Aimee.

A further resource, The West Kootenay Farmer Land Bank Database, seeks to connect land-owners interested in leasing land to landless farmers. This directory will assist experienced farmers looking to find land on which they can set up farming enterprises. Lists are compiled by region. Both these directories can be found on the KFSP website at www.nklcss.org/food.php

Retail and restaurant support for local food production has been strong in Kaslo. One such business, Sunnyside Naturals, opened in 1999, supporting small local suppliers long before KFSP was born.

“We urged local producers to label products

and present themselves and products professionally to retailers,” explains co-owner Hanna Culen.

“We currently support a number of food suppliers between Meadow Creek and Nelson. When the project started it asked for support of local businesses, which was a win-win situation in my view. We promoted all the project workshops as well.”

A similar business, Cornu-copia, even buys from small private gardeners in the sum-mer months. Local restaurateur Christa Sheldrick, of the Blue-bell Bistro, buys local produce exclusively if it fills her needs, and Sally Hughes, Executive Chef for the brand new Kaslo Hotel, is committed to purchas-

ing local foods when available. Even the larger player participates. Robin

Wiltse, produce manager and co-owner of Front Street Market, sells locally grown root vegetables well into the winter months.

“We sell 60 pounds of carrots per week,” she says. “Tesla Spring Farms in Meadow Creek uniquely stores their organic carrots by leaving them in the ground covered with a blanket of straw under the snow. Keeps them fresh and tasty”.

It was recognized by the KFSP that shipping food to our area contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, and large food production farming uses fossil fuels for machinery and fertilizers. Through the unique website, www.localfood directory.ca, they were able to determine that for every kilogram of vegetables grown locally, Kaslo residents will save 664 grams of greenhouse gas emissions. Considering we have about 14,000 pounds of food shipped to us in one summer month, that is a savings of more than 27 tonnes of greenhouse gases if we were to grow all food locally just for June, July, and August.

Through the generous support of their spon-sors the village of Kaslo, union of B.C. Munici-palities, Community Health Promotion Fund, and Environment Canada’s EcoAction Commu-nity Funding Program, it seems the Kaslo Food Security Project is realizing their objectives while reducing the overall carbon footprint.

They are a model for our time, an age-old concept rediscovered.

Ethan Gray is a natural gardener. He was very excited to get right in there and help Aimée Watson with building a new garden from a former plot of lawn. He was also very accurate in making sure all the worms stayed in the garden so they could keep working at building high-quality soil.

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http://www.nklcss.org/food.php

http://www.localfooddirectory.ca

http://www.localfooddirectory.ca

Spring 2009 Route 3

fruit was grown on the banks of Kootenay Lake and these small plots had been carved out of heavily wooded areas.”

After the first year, Beach looked around B.C. and decided Mission would be a much better spot. It took a while for the com-pany to act on his advice, but in 1911, the Kootenay Jam Co. announced it would move there, and sold its Nelson factory to the Doukhobors, who renamed it the Kootenay Columbia Preserving Works. Although the workforce was now entirely Doukhobor, they still reported to Beach, who was newly married with a daughter and didn’t want to leave. In the first year under new owners, factory output was 70 tons, which increased to 92 the following year, and 177 the next. But in 1915, the factory relocated to Bril-liant, where a much larger facility was built close to the Doukhobor plantations.

That same year, the Kootenay Jam Co. went bust in Mission due to mismanage-ment, and Harry Beach and a partner decided to take over the plant. Beach went on to a long career in victoria and the Fraser valley as a factory manager and growers’ advocate, lend-ing his name to King Beach and Beach Eakins jams.

The factory at Brilliant, meanwhile, was a huge success, cranking out hundreds of thousands of cans of KC brand jam and preserves each year, until it fell victim to the foreclosure on Doukhobor lands in 1939.

Exactly 100 years later, if Nelson is remembered as a jam-making hub, it’s actually because of the McDonald jam factory, which lasted

decades after the Kootenay Columbia Preserving Works left town. Few are aware the Doukhobor jam enterprise began in Nelson, and even fewer realize the old factory is still standing: it’s now the Front St. Emporium, and actually looks better than when first built. The facade appears to have undergone a major upgrade around 1912, based on the jump in its tax

A century ago this spring, Nelson was abuzz over its new-est industry, which promised to leave its mark on kitchen tables everywhere while providing a boon to local fruit growers.

At the corner of Front and Josephine streets, a jam fac-tory was under construction, the brainchild of English brothers George and Howard Fox (nicknamed Red Fox and Black Fox on account of their hair), who previously established a modest cannery at Harrop that pro-duced several varieties of jam.

Early on, they received a boost when Governor General Earl Gray admired the company’s exhibit at the Nelson fruit fair and ordered a case of their product. This led to an official decree on their labels: “By appointment to H.E. the Governor General.”

Now the Foxes had bigger plans. They incorporated the Kootenay Jam Co. Ltd. with $50,000 in capital, sold shares at $1, and leased property from the CPR at 601 Front St. The new factory, designed by local archi-tect Alex Currie and built by contractor John Burns, officially opened on June 23, 1909 during a visit by Premier Richard McBride. Before a large crowd, McBride turned on the steam to boil the first batch of jam, and exalted the progress of the Kootenay fruit industry. He spoke of “the astonishment with which the idea of the jam factory supplied by local growers would have been regarded a few years ago. No better fruit could be grown anywhere in the province and he felt sure that the

undertaking would prove a success.”However, the factory’s new manager was less optimistic. Harry Beach, a young man from a renowned jam-making family in England, arrived

a few months earlier to assist with installation of the six jam-making kettles and to check on the local fruit supply.

“To say I was disappointed was put-ting it mildly,” he recalled many years later. “very few acres were planted with small fruits and very little land

was suitable for growing. Any available

HArry & THe JAm FACTory100 years ago, Nelson became the jam-making hub of the Kootenays

BY Greg Nesteroffhistory

“To say I was

disappointed was

putting it mildly.”

— Harry BeacH

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Route 3 Spring 2009

MarketPLACE To advertise contact Chris at 1-877-443-2191

assessment. It was later leased to a series of wholesalers including the National Fruit Co., and for the last 20 years has been home to many busi-nesses under the same roof. It’s about the only lasting link to a largely forgotten story.

Opening page, from top: One of the few surviving exterior pictures of the Kootenay Co-lumbia Preserving Works in Nelson, probably taken in the winter of 1911-12, prior to major facade improvements; Harry Beach, who managed the Kootenay Jam Co. and Kootenay Columbia Preserving Works, in the 1920s; A rare Kootenay Jam Co. tin, dating from 1909 to 1911. Governor General Earl Gray bestowed the company with an official appointment. Left: John Faminoff and Pete Katasonoff treat each other inside the jam factory. The large kettles on the far right were used for cooking preserves and the large ladles for stirring.

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Spring 2009 ROUTE 3 Page 1

SPRING 2009

Life in the West Kootenay/Boundary Region

THE TALE OF THE

BLUE CHURCHSteve Evangelatos leads

an animated life in his

reinvented home

HOME OF

COMMUNITY

CHAMPIONS

Helen Bobbitt interviews

four well-known

citizens of Trail

HIVE OF ACTIVITYTerry’s Honey Farm

produces unique honeys

P E O P L E A R T S H O M E S F O O D C U L T U R E R E C R E A T I O N H I S T O R Y

Quest for Calm

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To advertise in the Summer issue,contact Chris at 1-877-443-2191

or email [email protected]

Spring 2009 Route 3

Castlegar's Carol Pettigrew has spent a lifetime tending and sheltering injured wild birds, a calling she continued when she moved to the West Kootenay in 1971. She eventually formed the Bird Emergency and Kare Society (BEAKS), the only

rehabilitation facility of its kind in the region and, last year, she received the Kootenay Eco-Society's Lifetime Achievement Award for her com-mitment to the winged wonders in our midst. Now Pettigrew is sharing, with Route 3 readers, her views on the relative merits of conservationism on the fly.

Q: What exactly is BeakS?A: We’re a wild bird rehabilitation centre, taking in baby and wild birds

for long- and short-term care with the goal of re-releasing them into the wild. It’s entirely volunteer-run, relying on donations and community support.

Q: How did you end up starting the society?A: I’ve been caring for sick and injured birds since I was five years old.

When I moved here in 1971, I was raising three children, working and volunteering with birds, as well as with cats and dogs through the local SPCA, but it got to be too much – I had to choose. I figured cats and dogs have local vets and the SPCA to help them, but the birds have no one (the next-closest songbird rehab centre is in vancouver). I was going

broke just caring for the birds, so I formed the BEAKS society in 1998.

Q: Why do the birds need you – aren’t you interfering with the natural order?

A: No way. It’s not the circle of life – it’s man’s intrusion on the natural world. The vast major-

ity of birds we see here flew into the windows of houses or cars or were attacked by domestic cats. We’re losing bird species at an alarming rate, and everyone should care about that.

Birds eat bugs – without them, we’d be overrun with insects. Did you know that 85 per cent of a hummingbird’s diet is bugs? When the bird population is diminished, we start to see infestations in our gardens and

trees, like those little green caterpillars that eat leaves and kill plants.Birds aren’t just decorative – we need them. And they’re facing all

sorts of unnatural challenges in the modern world: they’re losing habitat and food supply because of development and being poisoned by pesti-cides and herbicides. And that’s not to mention cats and windows. They really do need our help.

Q: How many birds do you currently have on site?A: 51, and three Pine Siskin eggs. When the eggs hatch, the babies will

need to be fed every 10 minutes or so. We’ve never had this problem before, since birds don’t like to breed in captivity, but I guess she (the momma bird) is really enjoying her stay here.

Q: What kind of birds do you take in?A: Anything with feathers. Q: are there any limitations on that?A: We’re only limited by funding – there have been times (like now, in

fact), when we haven’t been able to accept birds without a donation to pay for their stay, because we don’t have enough money to feed new birds. We can’t pick up the birds, either – I don’t have a car. People some-times think we’re turning them away because we’re heartless and don’t care, but nothing could be further from the truth. It tears me up to say “no,” but sometimes we just don’t have a choice. A raptor, for example, can eat 12 to 20 mice a day, and mice are $2 each.

Q: How much does the average bird cost up until its release?A: I would say the average stay is about six weeks, with an average

cost of around $90. It’s more if they need a visit to the vet, and more still for medicines.

Q: So what do you do to keep up?A: I pray.Q: What do you pray for? What’s the best-case outcome for

BeakS?A: We need a strong board of directors, with people who have the

time and energy to really dig in and help out. We need volunteers to help care for the birds. And, of course, we need money.

Q: How can people reach you to send donations or volunteer?A: Our phone number is 250-365-3701, our mailing address is 318 103

St., Castlegar, B.C., v1N 3G2, and our website is http://beaks.kics.bc.caAny help at all is huge for us right now, so we can keep these beautiful

creatures in the sky, where they belong.

Q&A: with Carol Pettigrew

BeAKs & wings

BY Kyra Hoggan

Above: Carol Pettigrew, founder of Bird Emergency and Kare Society (BEAKS).Below: A volunteer handfeeds a woodpecker.

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Route 3 Spring 2009

Nothing says spring like the blooming of tulips. Madeleine Guenette came across these vibrant specimens grow-

ing against the side of a house, while she was walking through the streets and alleys of Nelson looking for photo opportunities. The coarse grain of the house made a colourful background for the flowers, so she framed the composition to include the character-filled window, and took the photograph.

special placesPHOTO BY Madeleine Guenette

Spring 2009 Route 3

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Route 3 Spring 2009

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Transcript of Route 3 Spring 2009