CURRENTS by Kamloops Daily News

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K am lo o pS

July/August 2012

100 years ago . . .

Imagine Kamloops with only 3,500 people

Heeeere's Johnny!

Kamloops filmmaker brings axe-wielding Johnny Canuck back to life

What a catch!

Tasty trout a perfect dish for summer fare

Lifestyle

City of Kamloops 2 Rivers, 2 Peoples, 200 Years Kamloops Bicentennial 1812 - 2012

Mouunt Peter and Paul ~ 18990s

This year marks the 200th anniversary of the first permanent European settlement in Kamloops. In September of 1812, David Stuart of the Pacific Fur Company and a small group of French-Canadian voyageurs arrived at the site of present-day Kamloops. In a few short days, they had constructed a simple trading post. Stuart This was not Stuart’s first visit to Kamloops. The year before, Stua uart and other employees of the Pacific Fur Company had begun a journey into to the t interior of what is now British Columbia from Astoria, on the Oregon coast. oast. Astoria had been established as a trading post by the Pacific Fur Company, founded by John Jacob Astor, a wealthy American fur-trader and businessman. Astor was determined to establish his company on the Pacific coast to take part in the profitable maritime fur trade. winter Stuart and his men spent the fall of 1811 and part of the following wi Kamloops among the hospitable Secwepemc people, and decided that Kamloo loops was an ideal location for a permanent trading post. Stuart returned to Astoria to permission report to his partners and superiors and received their permi mission to supply of trade construct a post. Shortly after, Stuart left Astoria with a su was the first goods, arriving ving at Kamloops K in September of 1812. Thiss w permanent ent European settlement s in the region, and thee beginning of the day city modern rn da ity of Kamloops. Kaml

Shortly tly after Stuart built his post, fur traders from m the Northwest Company arrived arriv arr ved and built a competing post, across the South h Thompson mpson River on the site si of the current Tk’emlups mlups Reserve. The European Europea presence pressence in the region was now a fact. To commemorate event and to celebrate mmemorate this historic hi ebrate 200 years of shared shar history between Kamloops and Tk’emlups, the Kamloops Museum Museeum m & Archives ives is organising organisi several special events, s, workshops, contests, contests and exhibits exhibits that will be held at the Museum and all over town. For Fo or more ore information and a calendar of events, contact ontact the Kamloops Kamlo ps Museum at www.kamloops.ca/200years www.kamloop ww.kamloops.ca/200years ca/200y rs or call 250.828.3576.

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Currents July/August 2012

Editor’s Message

Patriotism, our style

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ome say Canadians are not a patriotic bunch. I say, bull. We are as country-loving a nation as any other, even the mightiest of flag wavers, our neighbours to the south. We just don’t wear our patriotism on our sleeves. We might not burst into song when we hear a band strike up O Canada, nor do we salute the flag and clutch our chests as the Maple Leaf rises up a pole. We love being Canadian on the inside. It’s that sense of quiet (but strong) patriotism that drives the popularity of Adam MacKay-Smith’s wildly popular Johnny Canuck videos. The series of short vignettes tells the story of the Vancouver Canucks hockey team through the playoffs, using bits of dramatic analogy to spin the tale. (Read MacKaySmith’s story on page 8 of this issue of Currents.) The Kamloops filmmaker saw viral success with his series in 2011, as the Vancouver Canucks came within a hockey stick’s splinter of winning the Stanley Cup. His followup series this year didn’t last as long. Better luck next year. MacKay-Smith does cool work. Let’s hope he continues with his Johnny Canuck series, which celebrates Canadiana as much as it does the playoff fortunes of the Vancouver Canucks. It’s important we have those quiet, distinct ways to celebrate who we are as a nation, and as individuals within it. This weekend is Canada Day, our national holiday, celebrating 145 years of Confederation. If past years are an indication, expect 25,000 or more Kamloops residents at Riverside Park to mark the event. It’s as good as sign as any that we love our country, that we will give up some of our valuable time off to join with others in community celebration of our national identity. For those who don’t make it down to the park this year, however, don’t sweat it. That’s the great part of Canadian-style patriotism, we get to live it in our own way. Just feel it, enjoy it, that inner sense of being Canadian. Appreciate what it means to be a Canadian. Value the benefits, and accept the responsibility that comes with them. Believe in the national strength our small country possesses, even in a world of powerful giants. And cheer on MacKay-Smith’s Johnny Canuck, as he (hopefully) rises once more next year to face, well, who knows who or what. He will succeed, eventually. Canadians always do. — Robert Koopmans, rkoopmans@kamloopsnews.ca

210 LANSDOWNE STREET, KAMLOOPS, BC V2C1X7

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Currents

Currents events

K am lo o p S

A sampling of happenings in the Kamloops region J u ly / A u g u s t 2 0 1 2

volume 5

Number 3

INSIDE:

5 8 11 14 16 17 20 22

Lifestyle: The Yoga Life

Men are discovering the synchrony of mind, body and spirit

Cover Story: Johnny Canuck Reborn A Kamloops filmmaker brings Canadian icon back to life

Homes: Dream Home Delights This year's stunning grand prize has potential winners abuzz

On the Fly: Outside Pursuits Where does our passion for the outdoors come from?

The Gallery: Rosanna McDonnell Artist has new appreciation for stained glass

Food & Drink: Tasty Trout Terence Berke knows how to lure hungry guests to Roche Lake Resort

History: Flash Back 100 Years What was Kamloops like with only 3,500 residents?

Q&A: Life in Canada The Otto family has much to celebrate on July 1

Catch Currents To catch Currents on the Kamloops Daily News website, go to www.kamloopsnews.ca and click on the Special Publications box. We welcome your story ideas for future issues of Currents. Drop us a line at currents@kamloopsnews.ca. Currents Magazine is published six times a year by the Special Publications Division of the Kamloops Daily News, 393 Seymour St., Kamloops, BC V2C 6P6. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be reproduced without the publisher’s written permission. Unsolicited material will not be returned and the publisher assumes no responsibility for unsolicited material.

Phone: (250) 372-2331 Currents Contributors Writers: Jennifer Sloan, Susan Duncan, Sherry Bennett, Robert Koopmans Photographers: Murray Mitchell, Keith Anderson, Robert Koopmans, Sonya Adloff, Sven Boeker Publisher Tim Shoults Supervising Editor Mel Rothenburger Editor Robert Koopmans, rkoopmans@kamloopsnews.ca COPY EDITOR Dan Spark Advertising DIRECTOR Kevin Dergez Advertising Sales Keshav Sharma, ksharma@kamloopsnews.ca The Daily News is a member of the Canadian Media Circulation Audit, Canadian Newspaper Association, B.C. Community Newspapers Association, and the B.C. Press Council. Published daily except Sundays and most holidays. A division of Glacier Ventures International Corp. Publications Mail Registration No. 0681 4

Currents July/August 2012

On the Cover:

Filmmaker Adam MacKay-Smith as iconic lumberjack Johnny Canuck. Photo by Sven Boeker

FSC LOGO

Kamloops Interior Summer School of Music July 9 to 27 The Kamloops Interior Summer School of Music (KISSM) is taking registrations for this summer's three-week summer music camp. KISSM inspires children, teens and young adults through the universal language of music. Our programs are designed for students aged 5½ to 18 years old, and we have more than 50 classes at a variety of levels. There is something to suit everyone, including choir, piano, strings, cello, band, percussion and musical theatre. Please check out our website or contact us for more information. www.kissm.ca or check out our Facebook page. Junior Golf Camp @ Sun Peaks July 11 to 13 Sun Peaks is hosting Junior Golf Camp for youth age six to 18. Pre-registration is required with a $159 fee. 29th Annual Shuswap Lake Festival of the Arts @ Sorrento Memorial Hall July 14 to 22 The festival showcases more than 100 artists from the Shuswap and surrounding areas. An estimated 300 pieces or more of artwork will be on display from paintings, pottery and sculpture to photography and fabric arts. This is a juried show. This week-long event hosts an art workshop, live entertainment and a children's day from 10 a.m. to noon on July 18. As well, there is a spectacular gift shop. The show runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, except July 21, when the show is open until 9 p.m. and July 22 when the hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. An admission is charged for the show and workshop but there is no charge to browse the gift shop. Kamloops Highland Games @ Albert McGowan Park July14 This festival will be the host for many activities including Scottish heavy athletics, highland dance and music performances, solo piping, drumming and band competitions, clan genealogy information, children's activities and much more. Inaugural Kamloops Marathon July 28 and 29 The Kamloops Marathon scenic course includes some spectacular views of the Thompson Rivers while running along the Rivers Pathway trails of Kamloops. Starting at McArthur Island Park is like running through a mini Stanley Park. The route also includes the legendary Riverside Park which is very beautiful part of Kamloops and don't forget the beauty of the turnaround at the Dunes Golf course. Race lengths — 5K, 10K, 21K and 42K For more events and information, visit www.kamloops.ca/events/

Lifestyle

Dwight Ergang and Joe Picton work through a series of yoga poses at Ergang's Laval Crescent yoga studio.

real mendo

yoga Story By JENNIFER SLOAN Photos By Keith Anderson and Murray MItchell

alking into Charlie Bruce’s 9 a.m. yoga class at the North Shore YMCA-YWCA, you might question that men’s yoga participation is on the rise in Kamloops. Floating alongside a sea of women, there are just two male cross-legged lotuses soaking in the experience. Not overly surprising, especially considering the fact that men overall tend to shy away from group fitness settings in favour of more sports-based training or individual conditioning, says Bruce. Put those two brave souls into a class percentage, however, and you get 17, a number that aligns closely with what’s going on across North America.

“Using your own body as resistance can be just as intense as pumping iron, maybe even more." Dwight Ergang, owner of Kamloops Hot Yoga.

According to a recent poll, 23 per cent of yoga practitioners are male, somewhat ironic considering that the postural yoga similar to what is practised today emerged in the 1920s as a way to train Indian boys in strength, discipline and focus. ➤

July/August 2012

Currents

Dwight Ergang and Joe Picton in Kamloops Hot Yoga's "hot" room.

"I wouldn't sell it as a dating place, but it's a great place to meet people and make friends." Stephen Webb, left, at his studio

But with high-profile athletes like Kareem AbdulJabbar, LeBron James and Barry Zito extolling yoga’s virtues, more men are slipping off their sneakers and exploring the synchrony of mind, body and spirit that keeps yogis, in Bruce’s words, “smitten” by the poses he now considers “old friends.” “Human beings are made to be in motion. I want to celebrate what (the) body can do (through) the ebb and flow of yoga, and that’s a wonderful thing,” says Bruce. Abraham Salmon, a competitive beach volleyball player and Urban Systems engineer in Kamloops, started yoga a year and half ago as a way to round out his flexibility and balance training. Initially, he caught some flack from other teammates, but introduced a yoga workout at one group-training session anyway. The result — an instant convert who now practises every week. And Salmon’s conversions continue. Because of his efforts, on any given Monday lunch hour you can find him and his fellow employees flowing through the warrior poses and relaxing into downward dog as a way to rev up for the afternoon. Says Salmon: “You feel like your day starts again, like you did something productive for your day and your mind.” In Stephen Webb’s Victoria Street yoga studio, men are sometimes as much as half the class, although typically, the male-to-female ratio is more like one in four. Webb and his wife own Bikram Yoga, which sees people work through a set routine of yoga poses in a heated room. Webb said he still meets many men who are reluctant

Currents July/August 2012

to try yoga, thinking they are not flexible enough, or that yoga mostly involves sitting with crossed legs while meditating and chanting. They are wrong on both counts. Eastern-based yoga focuses more on the spiritual aspects of yoga, Webb said, and saying you are not flexible enough to try yoga is like claiming you are too hungry to eat. “Practising yoga makes you more flexible. You get better.” Once men understand the physical challenge yoga offers, their competitive instincts often kick in. “Once they realize they can improve and get better at it, they have a reason. They say to themselves, ‘I want to get better,’ and they keep coming out,” Webb said. There is another aspect to yoga that sometimes gets men’s attention. Yoga is a great place to meet people, Webb said, and in an environment where there are more women than men, the attraction seems obvious. “I wouldn’t sell it as a dating place, but it’s a great place to meet people and make friends. And sometimes friends become more than friends,” Webb said. When several chronic injuries weren’t healing, Dwight Ergang, at the urge of his doctor, left sports and accepted a personal trainer’s invite to try hot yoga. Within six months, Ergang had his full range of motion back and nine years later, owns Kamloops Hot Yoga. Twenty per cent of his clients are men, and Ergang acknowledges that men are “slowly starting to realize that (yoga) is a real workout.” The guys who come to him are generally looking for something different, not just increased weight or more reps. What they learn is that using your own body as resistance can be just as intense as pumping iron, maybe even more. Tie that together with gains in cardiovascular endurance, decreases in injury and, if you crank the heat, some serious detoxification, chances are good that more men will be toting two mats as they step into the yoga studio, one for the girl who invited them and one for themselves, Ergang said. Some will walk grudgingly, others with trepidation, and a few with anticipation, as they experiment on that first class. Perhaps a courageous handful will even stride in alone, poised to embrace the mantra deep voices across the city and country collectively repeat — real men do yoga.

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July/August 2012

Currents

Cover story

hen he w as a kid, K filmmak er Adam amloops MacKay Smith h ad a pos tag with a c artoon Jo e stamp hnny Ca on it. nuck He kind rugged lo of knew gger wit who the h tive bea rd and m the flannel shir t, distinc oustach at least e was, a in a sma ppreciati ll way th was a pe ng at Johnn rsonifica y Canuc tio way Unc k le Sam is n of Canada, in the sam the Unit MacKay e ed State -Smith n s. decades ever kne later he w, howe would ta v Johnny C ke on th er, that an e mantl living im uck and becom e of e age of th e great C this generation “It’s a hu ’s anadian ge hono icon. MacKay ur, to be -Smith. honest,” said For thos e who li ve in cav is the Jo hnny Ca es, MacK nuck see ay-Smit of short n in a po h homem pular se ade vide Canuck ries os in wh personifi ich John es in the te ny am’s (on the Vancouver Canucks g o Stanley in g ) p la Cup. yoff que sts for th The film e s e r ie s was bo Canucks rn in 201 made th 1, when eir near the Stan the ly succe ley Cup. s sful run ➤ for

Currents July/August 2012

Filmmake r Adam M acKay-Sm in a series ith, who p of homem ortrays Jo ade video beard and hnny Can s, just sha moustach uck ved the tr e. "It's stra ademark nge witho ut them," he says.

the rise

Kamloops filmmaker brings Canadian ic back to life on

Johnny canuck

S tor y B y R o b er t Koo p P h otos mans B y S on y a A d loff

In a series of vignettes — all of them filmed almost entirely around Kamloops — MacKay-Smith told the story of the Canucks’ trip through the playoffs by showing how Johnny Canuck battled against a series of opponents representing the Blackhawks, the San Jose Sharks and, ultimately, the Boston Bruins. We know how history turned out. Vancouver was defeated in Game 7, prompting bitter disappointment on the part of fans, and even a riot. For MacKay-Smith, last year’s Stanley Cup final game was cause for another metaphor-laced tale, which he called the Heartbreak of Johnny Canuck. And this year, he continued his series with The Unfinished Fight. MacKay-Smith had hoped it would be the start of another series of vignettes in which Johnny defeats various characters, but the Vancouver Canucks’ playoff dreams ended quickly with a first-round loss to the eventual Stanley Cup champions, the Los Angeles Kings, sending MacKay-Smith’s Johnny Canuck “I love the back to Kamloops’ deep woods. Canucks but “I was hoping to I'm not one release this year’s film four days into of those guys the first series, but who worship I had to rush to get it done before hockey." they got kicked out,” he said. The majority of the sequences in all the films were shot around Kamloops, he said. The cabin in the first film is MacKay-Smith’s own, the caves and waterfalls in the second instalment is in Peterson Creek and the grizzly bear was B.C. Wildlife Park’s Shardik. Most of the characters in the films are his friends. Some of them have been involved in his film ventures for decades. (MacKay-Smith and his buddies filmed a Jackass-like series around Kamloops 20 years ago called Euphoria Emporium, which was picked up for a short while by MTV. It featured classic impromptu skits like, “When I’m naked, I’m free” and the “Drunk Jr. High Olympics.” All 18 episodes of the 30-minute show can be bought as a DVD online for $25, with all proceeds going to charity. Find the clips and online store at www.euphoriaemporium.com.) MacKay-Smith says he’s not the Canucks mega-fan some assume he must be. “I get called super fan all the time, but I’m not. I love the Canucks but I’m not one of those guys who worship hockey. I don’t own a jersey. It’s more about the films.” continued on Page 10

Adam MacKay-Smith at his cabin, the site of his first Johnny Canuck film.

July/August 2012

Currents

continued from Page 9 And he gets to show his films to 20,000 fans at Vancouver Canucks games. The series he’s created has gained him ground with the Canucks organization, which is currently negotiating with him to produce more for future seasons. If a deal doesn’t work out, MacKay-Smith said he’s not sure if he will revive the Johnny Canuck character for next year’s hockey season. Of course, he said that last year as well. “I couldn’t help myself (this year), you see these story lines, those key cool points in the season and they just feed into the story line,” he said. “I love the story, it’s about the underdog who fights back.” He admits he would love the chance to make a film that finally sees Johnny Canuck overcome and win, conceding the tale of the underdog’s fight will eventually wear thin. “I would love to tell the story about what Johnny does when he wins, but then (they lose) and I have to start again with another comeback,” he said, laughing. And Johnny Canuck’s future doesn’t have to be tied to the on-ice fortunes of the Vancouver Canucks, MacKay-

flaws, instincts. . . .” Johnny Canuck may not have found the attention this year he had in 2011, when MacKay-Smith figures more than seven million people saw that first short film. Regardless, this season’s experience once again cemented in MacKay-Smith’s mind the importance Johnny Canuck's recent fight against the "King" was short-lived. and value of an icon Adam MacKay-Smith says he has other plans for the icon, however. like Johnny Canuck. “I get a lot of people Smith realized. He has other ideas for who tell me they just love (the characthe iconic lumberjack, perhaps even a ter) and these movies,” he said. “It’s like feature film. remembering the history of Canada in a film, of being proud of Canada, showing A short entry on MacKay-Smith’s the beauty of it without bragging about website hints at possible futures: it. That’s what Canada is about, loving “When I imagined this iconic characwhat you got without necessarily makter of Johnny Canuck and researched ing sure everyone else knows you love it. his 140 years of existence, I realized that his character didn’t have a whole “All great characters, they embody lot of depth. Sure, he was easy to grasp what people want to believe about and likable but beyond hard working themselves. Johnny Canuck works and humble, his character was wide hard, and never gives up. That’s huge.” open. From experience I’ve learned See the films at www.johnnycanuckthat all great characters have history, films.com.

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Currents July/August 2012

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Dream home

By Susan Duncan

Homes

Delights

“It’s very different. It’s bright erfectly tucked into and airy. I could see myself livits lot in Sun Rivers, ing here,” she said. the inner expanse Sahali residents Urb and of the 2012 Dream Enid Rolin looked out the upHome is not readstairs window over the famous ily apparent. But a Sun Rivers view. They know wander through the Tuscanabout wide expanses, having style, two-level home reveals their own spectacular panboth its size and the unique orama looking north. characteristics. But while the view may not Tickets for the Grand Prize be enough to steal them away Dream Home worth $767,200 from Sahali, other attributes of are selling quickly, particularly once people have taken advan- the house might do it. “I’m impressed with stairtage of the self-guided tours case and the solidness of the that run Wednesday to Friday railing,” said Urb. from 1 to 5 p.m. and weekends Many visitors — and there is from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. a steady flow each day — com“This is wonderful. I could ment on the beautiful ironlive here,” said Susan Poulsen, work throughout after a leisurely the house, which a look through the Sun Rivers saleshouse. "I like the woman is quick to And that’s sayoverall feel of note was welded ing something by two women. The since she and her the place, the stone and marble husband Jim have flow and the countertops in the an established kitchen, as well as home they love on openness." an abundance of a large property in Jim Poulsen stylish sinks also Dallas. make popular con“I like the overall versation pieces. feel of the place, The Tuscanthe flow and the Mediterranean style is not openness,” said Jim. “It does Frank and Linda Mayhood’s very much have a Tuscan feel cup of tea. about it.” “I guess if you are nostalgic Both he and his wife also for living in a 160-year-old are impressed with the funcfarm house, this would be for tionality of the home that makes use of every bit of space you,” said Frank. The Dream Home at 3001 with lots of storage. Visao Crt. also takes into acWhile people have had count the aging demographics mixed feelings about the of homebuyers, incorporating etched concrete on the main floor, Jim and Susan are fans of an elevator into the design. And that did not go unboth it and the stained timbers noticed by Pat Lebeau. “When on the upstairs floor. you get too old for the stairs, Tom Wilson is taken with that elevator would come in the different angles of the handy,” she said, smiling. walls, finding it a refreshing The draws for all the prizes change to the square boxes associated with lottery packof most homes. He also apage begin at 9 a.m. on July 9. preciates the efficiency of the design. Tickets are $100 each. Only “There doesn’t seem to be 10,000 tickets will be sold. The much wasted space.” cutoff for sales is 8 p.m. on July Pat Lebeau is enthusiastic 3. Anyone who misses the July 9 about the house from top to draw can watch it that night on bottom. CFJC TV7 News at 5 p.m.

July/August 2012

Currents

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Currents July/August 2012

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July/August 2012

Currents

wonder sometimes where I got my desire — my need, even — to chase things. Why do I like to fish and hunt, or shoot pictures of deer with my camera? I have no idea, and it baffles my family as well, since none of them has it much. I’ve always had the outdoors bug. Living on the fringes of northern Ontario as a kid, I would disappear for hours at a time into the forest on the farm with the rental house where we lived. The property had a great mix of hardwood and pine forests, open fields and even a decent pond and marsh, which the owner one year stocked with trout. Back then, I cut up young maple trees to make slingshots, using elastic bands to provide the snap. I had a desire to hunt stuff, which my parents did their best to squelch. My mother caught me once after I sneaked out a sharp kitchen paring knife to carve up a spear. It seems I wanted to hunt a chipmunk or something. She didn’t approve, and I learned the hard way how much. In Grade 8, however, my dad handed me a single-shot 12-gauge shotgun, along with a requirement if I was going to hunt, I needed to get a hunting licence. I enrolled in the obligatory conservation courses and took the tests, which is a wonderful process for kids, since it teaches so much about ethics. I’ve hunted since, although never with my father, who never quite understood what it was all about. Which brings me back to my original question — where does it come from? Certainly, it was not instilled in me by rearing. I didn’t have friends who fished or hunted. Some of my friends showed similar predilection for outdoor pursuits, but my own was not driven by theirs. Is it genetic? Humans, of course, have been hunters for as long as we have been on the planet. We hunted before we gathered. 14

Currents July/August 2012

Is my desire linked to some ancient gene on my DNA? In the end, I have no idea, and am not certain that I ever will know. I do know that being in the bush brings me a peace I can’t get elsewhere. There is no other kind of silence that quietens my brain like the stillness of a fir forest on the side of a mountain in November, when the sky is dark, snow threatens and deer are about. At the same time, there is no other environment that sharpens my senses as much as that same mountain, when I’m walking quietly with my rifle on my shoulder, and the day is alive with the feel of a hunt. No doubt some will sneer and deride it all as the lunatic raving of a brutish killer, for that is what hunters are to some in our society — brutes who have not been taught well by their parents. We don’t need to kill for ourselves, they argue, the meat industry delivers I photographed this us all we buck chewing swamp need, nicely grass one summer packaged near Massett on the and ready Queen Charlotte for conIslands. sumption. It’s true, we don’t need to hunt. The meat industry is efficient. I can buy what I need, although doing so, at least to my thinking, doesn’t morally separate me from the actual killing. Paying someone else to kill for me is commission of the act by proxy. Yes, I hunt and fish because I like it, but also because something mysterious in me — perhaps some deep, unknown resonating echo to our past — feels a need. And that’s good enough for me. Robert Koopmans is the editor of Currents. He can be reached at 250-372-2331, or by email at rkoopmans@kamloopsnews.ca.

On The Fly

Tracing the roots of our passion for the outdoors can be as elusive as that big catch Story and photo By Robert Koopmans

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The Gallery

Rosanna McDonnell

osanna McDonnell has a new appreciation for what stained glass means to her after a car accident kept her out of her home-based studio for more than two years. Slowly, she is beginning to create again. Listening to her talk passionately about what each colour choice or detail represents in her work, or to see her hold up a finished piece for the first time, it’s easy to understand how difficult it was for her to lose that creative outlet. “Over the years I have learned to respect glass and what it is capable of, however, I find myself pushing its limits. I am continually learning new techniques and developing my glass-art skills. For me, stained glass is not a forgiving medium, but it is the perfect medium to bring the ideas in my mind to light.” She prefers to use the copper-foil method, a technique made popular by L.C. Tiffany at the turn of the century. It requires wrapping each piece of glass with copper foil and soldering them together. She says this method can be used as an alternative to lead, to make the panel or window lighter for hanging. McDonnell believes: “Glass alone is art, and a finished piece of stained glass is essentially two pieces, as they show a different illumination in different light; dusk is more subtle then the vibrant colours of the day.”

Currents July/August 2012

Food and drink

Chef Weekend

Cooking trout a great part of summer in Kamloops

Story and photos By Robert Koopmans

e’re surrounded by lakes, most of them supporting healthy populations of wild (or stocked) Kamloops rainbow trout. And trout can be downright yummy, provided we handle and cook them right, which leads us to this month’s feature. Terence Berke is a certified Red Seal chef in his second season as head chef at Roche Lake Resort near Kamloops. Not surprisingly, rainbow trout is a mainstay item on his menu (although he is quick to point out regulation prevents him from serving wildcaught trout; his fare comes from a commercial trout farm). Still, he often cooks Roche Lake trout when guests catch them and

ask him to cook the fish for their dinner. He adds that the cooking techniques and principles are the same for all kinds of trout. One of the keys to producing top-rate table fare is to clean the fish as soon as possible after it is killed and get it quickly on ice. There is nothing to be gained and much to be lost by leaving a trout laying in the bottom of a metal boat in the hot summer. He recommends eating trout fresh, usually the same day. Trout are best cooked fast in a pan with hot oil. If a fish needs to be frozen, the preferred method is to vacuum seal it and freeze it as quickly as possible. Commercial trout farms kill, clean, package and flash freeze trout within minutes.

Berke acknowledges some lakes, especially warm-water summer lakes, produce trout with a muddy taste. It’s hard to do much to remove the muddy taste (caused by a kind of algae), he noted, meaning it’s best to catch and release when fish are likely to be affected. Berke said anglers should learn how to fillet trout and remove all the bones, including the fine pin bones that run perpendicular to the fish’s ribs. He said a filleted two-pound trout will provide dinner for two people. He doesn’t worry about removing the fish’s skin, as the scales on trout are extremely fine. ➤

July/August 2012

Currents

Wasabi-crusted trout fillet with soy honey and wasabi

Wasabicrusted trout is one of Terence Berkeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s favourite recipes, which also can be found on the menu at Roche Lake Resort.

â&#x20AC;˘ fresh trout filets, each about seven to eight ounces. â&#x20AC;˘ wasabi powder, mixed with a little water into a thick paste (follow the instructions on the package. Wasabi powder can be found in the international foods section of most grocery stores) â&#x20AC;˘ good quality mayonnaise â&#x20AC;˘ liquid honey â&#x20AC;˘ low sodium soy sauce â&#x20AC;˘ rice, and fresh vegetables (for serving with the fish) â&#x20AC;˘ a few fresh chives 1. Cook the rice, which will form the bed for the finished trout. Berke said he prefers sticky white sushi rice. 2. Heat a pan with a little bit of vegetable oil on the stove. Dust the trout fillets liberally on both sides with wasabi powder. Place the fillets skin down in the hot oil. Cover. 3. Mix a little of the wasabi paste in a half-cup or so of mayonnaise, adjusting for personal taste. Wasabi is a kind of horseradish and is quite hot. Some people like it more than others. 4. Pour some soy sauce in a bowl, add a little liquid honey, and stir. Again, adjust the amount until it tastes good to you. 5. SautĂŠ the fresh vegetables (any combination of fresh summer veggies, including beans, zucchini and peppers is nice) in the hot oil, cooking just enough but not too much. The vegetables should

keep their snap. 6. Cook the fish a few minutes on one side, and flip to the other side. Do not overcook the trout. The goal is flaky and slightly opaque. The wasabi powder (which has the consistency of flour) will take on a golden appearance. 7. Serve the fish on the bed of rice (which has been drizzled lightly with some of the soy-honey sauce). Drizzle some of the wasabi mayo across the fish (best done by putting the sauce in a restaurant-like squirt bottle), as well as the soy-honey sauce. 8. Garnish with a few sprouts of fresh chives, and serve the lightly sauteed vegetables on the side. â&#x20AC;˘ Cooking time, less than 20 minutes.

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Currents July/August 2012

Join us for the Best East Indian Lunch Buffet and Fine Dining

Three years ago, before the doors of Spice a Taste of Indian Cuisine was opened, Bhagwant Sawa was aan inexperienced entrepreneur with a drive to serve others. Today, Bhagwant has found passion in the kitchen ot and he shares it through the flavour-full menu found at Spice. Being immersed in a new world brings opportunity to learn and grow, but one thing that has remained the same and is always most important at Spice is the quality of food. The loyal patrons can taste the quality and care in each dish and for this reason, the owners of Spice are proud to have been awarded Reader's Choice Number One Indian Restaurant in Kamloops. They have set themselves apart from other restaurants and are grateful for the positive feedback they have been receiving from customers, who rave about their distinctive tastes and variety in the popular lunch buffet. Living in the community for the past 30 years, the owners of Spice are happy to give back to the community by igniting their taste buds with exotic Indian flavours. They would like to thank the community for supporting their family owned and operated business, and with their growing success will continue to introduce great tasting authentic Indian cuisine to the community.

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July/August 2012

Currents

History

Drifting back 100 years By Sherry Bennett

$500, keeping the city’s 18 realestate dealers hopping. For those looking to rent rather than build, $8 rented a room for a month and $25 for an average-size house. Outfitted to provide everything the average person needed, “from infant layette to the casket for the ashes of the aged dead,” the 1912 cityscape featured five churches, five hotels, two movie houses, 10 restaurants, a cigar factory, roller rink and 100 other shops and services, all kept humming by 22 kilometres of electric wiring and 21 kilometres of water mains. A stroll through the city’s downtown, afoot 13 kilometres of newly-laid concrete sidewalks, might have involved a stop at the

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Maple Leaf Theatre for a silent Mutt and Jeff comedy, followed by an enchilada at the B.C. Tamale and Chile Restaurant, or a fourcourse meal (for a quarter) at the newly-opened Quill — the Silver Grill Café’s predecessor. Following the lead of cities in Ontario, 1912 Kamloops merchants unanimously adopted a program in which each Wednesday afternoon was declared a holiday during the summer months, affording shopkeepers much appreciated time off for rest or recreation. Such free time often meant indulging in a favourite sport, be it baseball, lacrosse, cricket, polo, rifle shooting or horse racing at the Fruitlands Racetrack.

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