We want you to be a part of the 40th Annual Raft Race on Saturday, June 5th, 2004. Our theme this year is 'The Railway-Yahk's Heritage.' We're inviting teams from Idaho, Montana, the Creston Valley, Cranbrook and
beyond. We're challenging community groups, police & fire departments, businesses and schools. Find the rules and regulations for the Race on the website www.yahkkingsgate.com. Come for the kick off of Raft Race Weekend on Friday night or the pancake breakfast and parade on Saturday morning. Stay all day or all weekend. Our new event this year is an antique car "Show & Shine."
There's sure to be something for everyone. Enlist your friends and family to enter the race or come and cheer you on!
The 2004 Raft Race promises to be as exciting as ever with prizes of 40% of entrance fees received for first place; 20% for second place and 10% for third place. There is a $40 fee entry fee for each raft entered in the race. Some rafts are available for rent at $10. each on a "first come, first served" basis. These must be returned. Bring your own paddles and approved flotation device!
Or perhaps you'd like your team to participate in our Slo-Pitch, Bocci or Horseshoe tournaments? Or come set up your table outside and sell your wares for only $10.00 a day
Bring an instrument and join in the jam session in the Refreshment
Gardens. Raffle prizes are worth more than $1000!
Meanwhile, check out our website. We hope you'll come and be part of the
fun. We're looking forward to your participation and we'll be in touch with more
details just as soon as we hear from you.
Regards,
Bill Currier Raft Race Co-ordinator (250) 424-5452
Email: ykwebsite@yahoo.ca
The Fire Department phone number : 424-5161.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED IMMEDIATELY
Training and equipment available
Look inside for :
GOOD BYE STEVE & NOREEN
HAWKINS CREEK INFO
ELECTRICITY HISTORY
SCHOOL UPDATE
ETC...
Spring Bake Sale
On March 27th we held our annual Spring Craft and Bake Sale, and true to form we woke up to a dusting of snow. As the day progressed the weather turned nicer and that started to bring people out to view the many crafts and to enjoy our soup and sandwich lunch, or to just have a snack and coffee.
We had 19 tables booked, which saw crafters come from Kimberley, Cranbrook, Creston. Local participants included a table from our Seniors group. Despite some slow sale tables, participants enjoyed themselves.
Our lunch was very successful, with a nice profit being realized. This could not of happened without the generous donations from: Hay U Country Kitchen, Kootenay Cafe and Deb Whitehouse, Judy Dickson, Penny ap Anderson, Lynne Yaremkewich, and Elizabeth Cotton.
A thank you is in order to Delta Fay Cruikshank, Joyce Johnson, Kurt Hill, and to Don Russett for getting the tables finished in time for the sale. Thanks goes to Cresteramics of Creston for their generous donation of door prizes. We'd also like to thank all the participants that donated prizes for the door prize raffle.
A big thank you to everyone that came out and supported this event and hopefully we will see you all in the fall for our FALL CRAFT and BAKE SALE in late November. Cathy Adams
School Information
Plans are underway to take our year-end trip on June 28th and 29th. We have booked our
trip to the Tipi Camp Nature Retreat on Kootenay Lake. Check out their website at
www.tipicamp.bc.ca
to see this beautiful spot.
To Rebecca who won first place in the Local Royal
Canadian Legion Poppy Poster Contest and 2nd in the zone.Way to
go!!!!!
GOOD BYE ...TWO SCOOP STEVE & NOREEN
Passing the "Torch"
If you have been to Yahk, B.C. then you probably have met Steve Shaw. Along with his
wife Noreen, they ran the famous TWO SCOOP STEVE ice cream shop, MAGGIE'S TEA
ROOM, a
bed& breakfast, and a gift shop on their property along the highway on Johnson Road. Recently, the residents of Yahk, and surrounding area, came to say goodbye to Steve and Noreen who are officially retiring from their business. They made many friends along the way, the locals, the regular travelers through Yahk, including the railway workers who would stop their trains across the street, all came to Two Scoop not only for the ice cream but to spend time chatting with Steve. If customers weren't there for the ice cream then it was for a chance to sample some of the tasty treats at Maggie's Tea Room. Noreen (Maggie) was renowned for her Rhubarb Coffee cake, one of those hard to resist temptations on the menu. Steve and Noreen put a lot of energy into their business and developed their property with beautiful walking paths and sitting areas down to the Moyie River just behind the shop. It is a nice quiet place to get away from it all and take a stroll down to the river. Their passion has centered on good service for their customers, and whether you were a first time customer, you felt like family there and always welcome.
Mike, Marlene, and their daughter Angela will continue the Two Scoop tradition and have recently purchased the business. Their plans will include keeping the TWO SCOOP STEVE ice cream going at full speed with an early May opening. Maggie's Tea Room and Coffee Cabin will have a few changes (the rhubarb coffee cake will be there), and the quaint bed and breakfast
will continue. Next door to the existing business the Mitchell's are building a new shop for their other business, the
Goat Mountain Soap Company. Marlene has been making goat milk and Glycerin soaps for just over four years and is looking forward to the new production area. A portion of the new building will also include retail space to sell the soaps and other giftware, especially showcasing products of the Kootenays. Opening of Goat Mountain Soap Company will take place in June. The Mitchell's
Report from Hawkins Creek
Since our last report, the members of the Hawkins Creek Stewardship committee have
continued to develop our resources and extend our understanding of watershed issues. Perhaps
the most unexpected development was the formation of an International Restoration Task Force
under the auspices of the Kootenai River Network, consisting of individuals, groups and agencies
from Canada and the US collaborating in cross-border preservation and restoration initiatives in
the Moyie and Yaak River drainages including Hawkins Creek, Freeman Creek and the West
Yahk River. The first meeting of the task force was held in January at the Yahk Hall, and
participants had the opportunity to make first contact with other members and exchange views
and information. We learned a great deal about the achievements and concerns of the people
working on watershed issues in Montana, and as a result several assessments have been planned
in our watershed for the coming summer to gather more information about mutual areas of
concern.
Some of these planned projects require hiring professionals and are contingent on funding, while
others only require volunteer labour and will proceed whether or not funding is acquired to
cover the costs incurred by the volunteers, although we anticipate that more people will be
willing to help if it doesn't cost them anything. The planned projects include a fish habitat
assessment, a beaver reintroduction feasibility study, a westslope cutthroat trout genetic purity
analysis, monitoring turbidity on America Creek during the flood, and a forage assessment.
Volunteers to assist in some of these projects would be greatly appreciated!
Lots of work is available that doesn't require any particular skill, just people who are
willing to spend some time up Hawkins Creek this summer, making observations and reporting to
us on what they see.
The most recent CRMP (Community Resource Management Program) meeting was on
March 22nd. The resource users all reported on their plans for the summer. On the north side,
Tembec will doing some work on the bottom seven km. of the Cold Creek road, and putting in a
temporary bridge to access a planned cutblock on the west side. There will also be road
construction in the vicinity of Ryan Creek. Their harvest schedule is currently uncertain, since
most of their resources will be going to harvesting firekill in other areas. On the south side, BC
Timber Sales have completed the Screw Creek road and will be selling a cutblock there this
summer, and they will be extending Otto South to access planned cutblocks. Two cuts are
planned for the King Creek area in the fall. BCTS reports no pine beetle problems to date.
The range users' grazing plans are essentially the same as last summer, with small
variations. Total number of cattle in the watershed will be 60 yearlings and 320 cows with
calves. Blackmores will not be using their tenure, and Schofers are filling it with a temporary
permit. Heavy concentrations of cattle in Freeman last season resulted in the range users being
found out of compliance during the fall inspection. This was the first time they have received a
non-compliance report, and it resulted in a warning future non-compliance reports will result in
fines. We are hoping to get the senior range agrologist out from Victoria to evaluate Freeman this
year, as recommended in his 2002 report on Hawkins.
The new Forest and Range Practices Act will place more responsibility
for planning and operations on the tenure holders, and shift the focus from prescriptive
processes to results-based management. Under FRPA, resource users will be required to protect
timber, wildlife, fish, soil, water, biodiversity, and cultural heritage resources. The committee
hopes to have input into defining the measures to address these objectives in our watershed
through the CRMP. This will allow us to entrench our values in the standards that are set for the
tenure holders to meet in our drainage, and hopefully provide greater protection for our
environment and natural resources. Fines for non-compliance under FRPA will be much higher
than under the current system, and we hope that this means the resource users will be more
motivated to operate responsibly. However, it also means that the community must take greater
responsibility for monitoring conditions in our watershed and reporting incidents of non-
compliance, since MoF will n longer be making routine inspections.
A bird-watching field trip is planned for Hawkins and Freeman for May 29th. A group of
birders will be coming down to join up with community members for the day to observe and
inventory the bird species in our watershed.
The HCSC held a public meeting on April 21st to share more details on these issues with
the community and get input into our plans for the coming season.
Anyone wanting to participate can contact
Melissa Fuller at 424-5465 or mfuller@cyberlink.bc.ca
Bull Trout
by Les Halvarson
As fishing season approaches I find myself daydreaming of past years and time spent
walking the banks of the Moyie River with fishing pole in hand. Memories of trout, rainbows,
cutthroats, brookies and bull trout fighting on the end of my line. I look forward to this year's
fishing season and all that it may bring. However, one thing troubles me. Bull trout. What's
happened to the bull trout in our river. Last year I didn't catch any. The year before that I only
caught one. Talking with other anglers I find that they're experiencing the same results.
When I first moved here in 1974, there was a healthy population of bull trout in the river. Many
of them were in the 24 inch plus range. They have been in steady decline. Bull trout are an
indicator species. They're one of the first species to go when you have environmental problems
in a river system. They need cold unpolluted water with clean gravel to survive. They don't
reach sexual maturity till 5 to 7 years of age and then spawn every other year. They can live up
to 12 years. Spawning occurs in small streams. Bull trou
Montana's Flathead Lake have been observed to travel up to 250 km to spawn. Montana
closed all the tributaries in the Flathead river to bull trout fishing years ago in an effort to protect
the species. Idaho has a public awareness program on the plight of their bull trout.
The decline of the bull trout can be attributed to many factors. Poor logging practices
put silt in the streams smothering fish eggs. Cutting of shade trees along the riparian areas
causes increases in water temperature and further erosion. Cattle grazing in riparian areas causes
increased pollution and soil erosion. Over fishing and poaching of spawning trout also cause
major declines in bull trout populations. Introduction of species such as the brook trout have also
been detrimental as they are more aggressive than their cousins the bull trout.
Fisheries biologist Kenton Andreashuk has applied the past two years for funding to do a
radio telemetry study on the bull trout in the Moyie River. He's also monitored spawning the
past 4 years and the number of spawning redds over that period has steadily declined to where
only 13 were observed last year. Biologists are concerned and we all should be. This great fish
is in trouble here in the Moyie. It's well on its way to extinction here.
If you want to learn more about efforts to save our bull trout population you can contact
me. If you've caught bull trout in the past few years I'd like to hear about it. If you've had
similar sad fishing experiences for bull trout I'd like to hear about that too. We need more public
awareness of the dilemma facing this valuable resource.
Call Les Halvarson at 250-424-5524
THANK YOU
Marcia Matheson would like to give her heart felt thanks to the Yahk Kingsgate
Recreation Society for their generosity as well as community members.
Thank you,
Marcia Matheson
In Passing... We are saddened by the loss of our community members:
John Brisdon:April 17th, 2004
Hank Cowan
Bill Denny:January 13th, 2004
Erma Hicklan: December 19th, 2003
Bruce Hall:March 29th, 2004
Arnie & Roni GuentherJanuary 7th, 2004
Gordon Matheson:February 2nd 2004
Emergency Response Committee Report of the Meeting March 30, 2004
There has been $16,000 approved for the Wild Fire Awareness Meetings to be held throughout the entire RDCK. We have been asked to submit a Date, Time, & Place so the schedule can be made up. It is hoped these meeting will be completed before the end of June. (The tentative Yahk/Kingsgate meeting is June 9th/04. Contact Rod Yaremkewich for more details 424-5488)
The 1st Responder Program was started in 1980 and is designed for outlaying areas to provide aid before the Ambulance arrives. Do we want to find out what is required to set a program up in the Yahk area?
Flood risk is low because of the below normal, upper elevation snow pack in the Kootenays.
Hall Mountain Fire Association Report
The fire department has already been called out on three wild land fires. One fire occurred up Hawkins Creek and two fires were in the USA. One structure fire occurred involving a small manufacturing business. Two buildings were completely involved when the first truck arrived. This was a difficult fire to fight as the metal roofing had already collapsed over the fire hiding contents consisting of many propane bottles, oxygen and acetylene bottles, and two 500 gallon tanks of used oil. Firemen responded at approximately 3pm and remained on the scene until 10pm. New wild land gear has been purchased and handed out. New structure turnouts have been ordered. The money for this comes from US grants. Remember the fire department is always looking for volunteers!!
Call Bill Whitehouse (250)424-5583
Rod Yaremkewich 424-5488
Bill Currier424-5452
Feel free to talk to any member of the Fire Department for information.
Yahk's Electricity
Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) bought Kings Sawmill at Yahk in 1917. Some time
after that CPR put in a power plant and supplied Yahk Hotels and store and very few houses with
32-volt electricity. There was No power on Mill Street on the flats.
Bob Murray had a power plant in the garage that burnt January 2000. He supplied power
only for Mill Street.
Power started at 7:00 am and was shut of at 10pm. The operator blinked the lights twice
before shutting the power plant down. Dances until midnightyou grabbed a match and lit an oil
lamp.
Our 3-room house had one light hanging from the ceiling in the each of the 3 rooms. We
had no plug ins. The wiring ran on 5"long and ¾" square white insulators on the ceiling and
inside walls. I never saw an electrical meter cost per month.
1955
Power was brought in from Eastport Idaho to Yahk.
In 1966 I dug 34 holes for power poles and anchors bringing the power to Lyle Draper's
home (Jess Johnson residence then) and to Walter Kloss. Our cost from Bruce Parks (Livesley's
residence then) was $1000.00. This was divided three ways to equal $335.65 each.
I got a rebate of $6.35 because I had dug the holes. Gus Zeiler (Reiny's dad), supplied
the material and wired our home for $325.
Note, BC Hydro bought the power from the USA and sold it to their customers.
Eventually the line reached Irishman's Creek in the 1970's and to the top of Goatfell Hill.
Then the Hydro line was connected to Moyie and we got power from the Cranbrook end.
The bad thing about this was that Hydro disconnected all the equipment from Kingsgate, so when
there's a power outage, we can't use an USA source.
The Creston line eventually reached Joe Hollick's (now Merv Goddards) and a
transformer and shut of switch was installed. The Goatfell line reached to Joe Hollick's from the
other side as far as Kitchener closing the line gap to Creston.
submitted by Roy Johnson
Thank you Roy for the memories!
There was Yak in Yahk.and a railway station and a sawmill and
many other things, but there has always
been the trees and bushes and flowers and birds
and animals.continued next page
Shepherdia canadensis, shown left, better known as soopolallie, is in bloom at this time, and
likely was here when Thompson came by in 1808. Take a look on your property and see if you
have it blooming. After it blooms, it will have bright red berries on a bush about 1-2 metres high.
"APRIL 20TH, 2004"
LEE & DOROTHY ROSE
50TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY
They met in Missouri in 1954. Moved to Canada in 1968 where they lived in Houston BC
for 35 years. They moved to Yahk last september. The Senior's group had a cake for the
Rose's.
Mr. Rose said ," the years went by like pages in a book."
HAPPY 50TH ANNIVERSARY
Thank You
Kurt Hill !
Kurt was our maintenance person and dedicated his time and effort to the Hall well
beyond his regular duties. For this we Thank you!
Welcome Silke (Colin) Schmuland as our new Maintenance personnel
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the good people of Yahk and surrounding area for their friendship, patronage and conversations during our stay at the restaurant. Our good memories will stay with us for the years to come.
A special thank you to Rod & Lynne Yaremkewich, Vette Cotton, Bill & Linda Currier, and George Beattie for all their help in closing out. Respectfully Roy and Deb
We are sad to say that Roy has since passed away.
RYAN
KNAPTON
To everyone in the Yahk/ Kingsgate area, I finished my year with the JR B Medicine Hat
Cubs hockey team and we ended our year in second place in our division and were
eliminated by the Okotoks Bisons in the second round of the playoffs. Next year our team
hosts the JR B Nationals so we are automatically in it. My Goals Against Average was
1.84 and my Save Percentage was .947 Thank you everyone in yahk for you local support.
Ryan
There was Yak in Yahk.(continued)
In May of 1808 the mighty Moyie and all it's tributaries like Irishman Creek and
Englishman Creek were overflowing and making travel very uncomfortable. David
Thompson and his Indian guide, Ugly Head, struggled on foot and horseback for 14 days
along the wet and muddy shores of the Moyie to get to Moyie Lake from Kootenay Flats
(near present day Creston).
Thompson would have seen many of the same shrubs and plants that we are watching
come in bud and bloom now.
One of the shrubs would have
been Shepherdia canadensis, better known as "soopolallie"
It's a really neat looking plant at this time of the year; the leaves stick up like rabbit ears
from the buds. The buds are round and yellow and have little 'antennae' sticking out of
them. This plant has been known as Indian ice creamthe berry pulp can be whipped up
into a soapy, bitter froth. Actually the name soopolallie is Chinook for soap berry. The
berries are rich in iron and have been used medicinally by the indigenous peoples for
everything from heart attacks to indigestion.
Thompson also likely heard the song of the American Dipper. She is a beautiful little
bird that 'fishes' the Moyie River. She gathers her feed from the waters edge, and will
even dive into the water and float down on the current until she gets to another rock to
grab floating insects and other edibles. They have the most beautiful songsit by the
Moyie, look for a dark bird along the edge or on rock in the river, and you'll hear it!
By 1898, Canadian Pacific railway had built a rail line through southern British Columbia
and through the
area that we all know now as Yahk. By 1904, passenger trains went
through Yahk to the east and to the west dropping off settlers & freight. The Spokane
Soo Passenger Train was coming up from the states by 1905. By 1912 Yahk boosted a
C.P.R. railway station. Most of the newcomers came in by train. One local woman
remembers her first minutes in Yahk, coming in on the train from the east in 1933,
stepping off the train, and being greeted by a young fellow. This fella informed them that
there was a Christmas concert going on in town and that they should attend. That young
fellow stills livesas does that same young girl.
By 1906 the King Sawmill was built and then in 1917, the C.P.R. developed that sawmill
into a very big operation. The mill was on the Sommerfeld property just on the east side
of town. With the development of this mill came electricity, but when the mill shut down
in 1933, the electricity went with it. One old time Yahk resident Rosie Brenner has told
me many wonderful stories about growing up in Yahk. One of these stories was the day
that electricity came back to Yahk! It was October 7, 1955, her son's birthday party.
Everyone knew that the power was coming back. Rosie's house was already wired.
Before they sat down to light the birthday candles, they flicked the switch on, and just as
they blew out the candlesthe lights came on! Rosie had also saved all her ironing so
that she could get it done the easy way, with an electric iron!
Rose and her husband Adolph ran Brenner's Café in downtown Yahk was 1956 until
1973. She opened with the intention of only serving sandwiches from her front room.
Her
first customer was famished and
commented that it had been ages
since he had had a home-cooked meal, so, well as he put it, the roast was already cooked,
she whipped him up a full course roast beef diner, and that was the beginning of a
successful business. The café no longer stand, but it was beside Race Trac Gas. Rose
cooked up to 25 full course suppers in a day on a wood cook-stove. She had one propane
burner to help make getting out the meals easier! She is still renowned for her baking and
her wedding cakes she decorated for Yahk families.
Rose was born in Spokane in 1921. After 6 months, her family moved to Aldrich, a
railway section camp near the village of Moyie, about where the Eagles nest Resort is
now. When Rose was four, her family moved to lived on Mill Street in Yahk.
Mill Street ran between the Moyie River and the CPR Sawmill. Cottonwood trees lined
both sides of the street. Travelers coming through Yahk would take Mill Street and
always remembered it as being so beautiful, like a Lovers Lane.
We have so much to be proud of here in Yahk and Kingsgate and Glenlily and Ryan and
Goatfel; a colorful history and a diverse natural history.
I would like to thank Rita and Tom Dickson for using their book, the Unforgotten
Memories of Yahk, for information. Also, a thank you to June Johnson and Rose
Brenner for their memories. The information about the soopolallie came from
Plants of Southern Interior British Columbia by Parish Coupe Lloyd, just the best
identification book.
Story by Delta Fay Cruikshank
BIRTHDAY DRAW
A friend or family member included your name for the Birthday draw for $15 gift
certificate at participating merchants in Yahk Kingsgate area:
Rick Aldrich
Jean Brisdon
Pearl Brohm
Amber Burt
Dorothy Burt
TylerBurt
Rebecca Burt
Jim Cowan
Bill Currier
Linda Currier
George Dickson
Tom Dickson
Rita Dickson
Lyle Draper
This draw includes birthdays to June 1st, 2004. Let us know when your friend or family
member birthday is so we can include it in the next draw. Last WINNER drawn at April
14ths general meeting:
Congatulations... Simon Gray
George Hohl
Joanne Hollis
Barb Hollis
Mini Johnson
Roy Johnson
Sieglinde Krampitz
Gunter Krampitz
Joyce Johnson
Paul McCartney
Jessica Milbourne
Haley Patterson
Melanie Sommerfeld
Glen Wesche,
Catlin Wesche
Jerod Wesche
Bill Whitehouse
NEW YKRS
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Bill Mawley President
Rod Yaremkewich Vice President
Monika Currier Secretary
Cathy Adams Treasurer
Lynne YaremkewichHall Bookings
Paul McCartney member at large
Don Russett member at large
For hall bookings call 424-5462 please leave message
Board members can be contacted through
the WEBSITE: www.yahkkingsgate.com
THANK YOU PREVIOUS BOARD
MEMBERS FOR ALL YOUR WORK
Elizabeth Cotton
Joyce Johnson
Noreen Shaw
HAPPY 65th BIRTHDAY
GEORGE DICKSON
! MAY 24 TH !
Love Judy...
Yahk Kingsgate Children's Christmas Party Report
We had another successful year, and our thanks to the volunteers, the business establishments and the community for their on going support.
The Children's Christmas Fund offers a $100.00 Bursary to the High School graduates of the (424) area. Jason Dutton, (2002 grad) and John Esler, (2003 grad) have received the bursary.
Jason attends school in Lethbridge and John took safety
courses in Calgary and is currently working in Lethbridge.
There is still time for the 2003 grads, before September 2004, to apply. The up and
coming grads of 2004 can apply as soon as the requirements are met. Those requirements
are a High School graduation diploma, a letter stating a bit of their future plans and a
receipt of payment to a post-secondary course.
For information contact
Deb Whitehouse @ 424-5583.
Congratulations to all the grads of the
Yahk Kingsgate area!!!!
Summer 2004
Spring 2004
Spring 2004
Summer 2004
IMPORTANT GENERAL MEETING... SEPTEMBER 14TH 7:30pm
Vote on Proposed Waste Management Agreement (SEE LAST PAGE FOR DETAILS...)
Thank you! Volunteers, people that attended, donated and
advertised for:
The Yahk-Kingsgate 40th Annual
Raft Race Weekend
June 4 - 6, 2004
We want to thank all the folks that helped out for this years 40th Annual Raft Race weekend.
The rain didn’t stop anyone! The paddles were flying. The New Dugouts protected the players
from the rain...they look great! Our new event this year, the antique car "Show & Shine" went
well. We heard the parade was the largest in years. There was something for everyone including
great food. Please take a look on the website for more pictures from the weekend.
Website:www.yahkkingsgate.com
Regards,
Bill Currier 2004 Raft Race Coordinator
Simon Gray & Ed Dickson
won the 2004 Raft Race!
(Second time in a row for Ed!)
2nd:Lyle Todhunter & Andrew McCartney
3rd: Ken Cervo & Quinton McCartney
.FALL FAIR ... SEPTEMBER 18TH
New Feature this year... a Farmers Market!
Join us 11am at the hall! Book your tables early!
*Many categories *Outdoor Concession: Chili & Corn *Raffle at 4:30 pm *Entry forms at:
