Route 3 Summer 09

P e o p l e A rts H o m e s F o o d c u lt u r e r e c r e at i o n H i s to ry SUMMER 2009

Life in the West Kootenay/Boundary Region

Back to Basics

Beaver Valley organic farmers take care of the land that feeds them

Lakefront Luxury

An open plan and spectacular views define this Christina Lake waterfront home

Fresh Tracks Redux

Shelley Adams’ new cookbook is as delicious as the original

Make a

Splash!

Summer brings no shortage of ways to have fun in the water

Summer 2009 Route 3

Page 1

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editor’s message

S

ummertime, and the livin’s easy...

I doubt Ira Gershwin was thinking about the Kootenay/Boundary region when he wrote those lyrics, but he may as well have.

Life's terribly good here in the summer.

If you don't believe me, just read our cover story on all the ways to have fun in the water in the area. There's definitely no shortage of ways to keep cool and refreshed, from leisurely floats to much more gutsy pursuits.

In keeping with the water theme, our home story for this issue features a beautiful Christina Lake waterfront home, built far from the madding crowd by Colleen and Ernie Berno.

For those who prefer to stay dry and on terra firma, we give you Andrew Zwicker’s weekend golf triathlon — a sampler of three of the fine tracks the region has to offer. Though if you golf anything like I do, you may find there is still some water involved in your game. I swear my golf balls have a magnetic attraction to those hazards.

Shelley Adams’ new cookbook is filled with her fabulous recipes and gorgeous photos by Nelson photographer David Gluns. Besides the enticing food shots, Gluns has photographed Shelley and her friends and family enjoying the summertime food in locations around Nelson and Kootenay Lake. Now that's definitely easy living!

Great food is also the focus of two organic farms near Fruitvale. Earthy Organics and Jamelin Farms emphasize sustainable farming — taking care of the soil so that it will support their families for generations to

come. It’s a way of life that’s becoming more prevalent in this time of concerns about chemicals, genetic modifications, and a basic need to eat more healthfully.

One of my favourite summertime activities is attending the amazing Kaslo Jazz Festival. What better way to spend a weekend then listening to world-class musicians perform on a floating stage while you lounge in the sun with the breeze coming off Kootenay Lake, chatting with friends, watching your kids play in the water, and pondering whether to have homemade perogies or a lovely curry for lunch? Doug Pyper interviews festival director Jim Holland in this issue’s Q&A. Read it, and then buy your tickets quickly before they're all gone.

When the heat of summer starts getting to you, a great way to spend an afternoon is in one of our area art galleries. The Grand Forks Art Gallery is showing two decades of sculpture by Winlaw artist Lou Lynn, our featured artist this issue. If you missed the show when it was at Touchstones in Nelson, make sure you see it in Grand Forks. Lynn’s bronze and glass "hand tools" are intricate, peculiar and beautiful.

And finally, Greg Nesteroff takes us back in time with the history of women in mining in the Kootenays. Greg’s articles are always fascinating, and this one is definitely no exception, with women at the turn of the century masquerading as men and making tough business deals.

Enjoy! — Shelley Ackerman

Tours by appointment. Summer hours: 10 am to 6 pm daily.

Enjoy the peaceful scenery overlooking the vineyard while enjoying a glass of wine on our licensed patio deck.

COLUMBIA GARDENS Vineyard & Winery

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Summer 2009 Route 3

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contents Publisher Sandra Barron publisher@grandforksgazette.ca Account Manager Chris Hammett route3@grandforksgazette.ca Editor & Art Director Shelley Ackerman sackerman@telus.net Production manager John Snelgrove jsnelgrove@telus.net Route 3 is published quarterly by Glacier Media Group

Chris Hammett

Telephone: 250-442-2191 or 1-877-443-2191 Fax: 250-442-3336 email: route3@grandforksgazette.ca Courier and Mail: Box 700, 7255 Riverside Drive, Grand Forks, BC V0H 1H0

Organic grape vines thrive at Jamelin Farms near Fruitvale. See story on page 20.

Food & Drink

Fresh Tracks Redux

Q&A with:

Jim Holland

The food in Shelley Adams’ sophomore cookbook is every bit as delicious as in the original, page 7

Interview with the executive director of the Kaslo Jazz Festival, page 23

Outdoor adventure

Homes

Make a Splash!

Lakefront Luxury

Summer brings no shortage of ways to have fun in the water in the Kootenay/Boundary region, page 10

An open plan and spectacular views define this Christina Lake waterfront home, page 24

Artists

recreation

Retro-active

Two decades of sculpture by Lou Lynn at the Grand Forks Art Gallery, page 15 Farming

Back to Basics

Beaver Valley organic farmers take care of the land that feeds them, page 20

Chip, Drive & Putt

Granby River, Redstone and Little Bear make for a beautiful and challenging golf triathlon, page 29 History

Hard Rock Women

Route 3 Summer 2009

Printed in Canada on recyclable paper.

Copyright 2009 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.

PLEASE PUT FSC LOGO HERE

Mining is a man’s job, except when it isn’t, page 32 Special Places

Photo by David R. Gluns, page 34

Page 4

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

Cover photo: Launching off a rope swing into the Slocan River by David R. Gluns.

Plant yourself at Selkirk College Discover your potential for personal growth through our variety of programs.

contributors 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 represented 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 an English teacher. She and her husband moved from New York City to Rossland two years ago. While enjoying life in the Kootenays with a new baby boy, Darcy is currently teaching at Selkirk College and online for Johns Hopkins University, as well as freelance writing and editing.

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 david@gluns.ca

selkirk.ca | 1.888.953.1133 West Kootenay & Boundary Regions

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 backcountry 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.'

Simone Keiran's articles have been published in Harrowsmith Country Life, Avenue, Porch and ARTiculate: Journal of Arts and Culture in the Columbia-Kootenay Basin. Keiran has traveled extensively, interviewing writers, performers, artists, producers, designers, curators, festival organizers, philosophers, religious teachers, educators, political refugees and ex-prisoners of war.

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 is working on biographies of Dr. Annie Verth Jones, the first woman elected to public office in Nelson, and Emilie Popoff, the first woman mayor of the Kootenays.

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 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.

Andrew Zwicker: A believer that the après is often as good as the event you’re ”aprèsing,” Andrew’s passion as a natural storyteller has lead him to a career in the writing world. As coowner of the Rossland Telegraph, and a freelance writer at large, travelling around and meeting friendly faces in familiar places has taken the place of a 9-5 management job in the ski industry.

Living the good life and telling people all about it is Andrew’s new mantra.

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food & drink story by

Amy Robillard David R. Gluns

photos by

Fresh Tracks redux The food in Shelley Adams’ sophomore cookbook is every bit as delicious as in the original

T

he blue-hued glossy cover depicting a view of Kootenay Lake and the perfectly set table is an inviting preview of what Whitewater Cooks At Home offers in its 164 pages of stunning photos and deliciously conceptualized recipes.

Written by local chef extraordinaire Shelley Adams, Whitewater Cooks at Home is the second of two best-selling cookbooks that have brought bold creativity, imaginative presentation and above all, good food, to over 30,000 tables Canada wide.

Mused from Whitewater Winter Resort’s Fresh Tracks Café, where Shelley spent 12 years re-defining ski food from greasy-spoon burgers and fries to gourmet bliss, the Whitewater Cooks cookbook series is filled with everything you want from a cookbook including gastronomic yet practical recipes and personal anecdotes, all packaged around lusciously photographed food.

Summer 2009 Route 3

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Halibut with a Wasabi Pea Crust

Serves 6

2 ½ lbs (1.25 kg) 1 cup (250 ml) 3 tbsp (45 ml) 1 ½ cups (375 ml)

fresh halibut fillet mayonnaise sweet chili sauce wasabi peas* chopped roughly by hand or in a food processor

Preheat oven to 400ºF (200°C).

Cut halibut into 6 equal pieces.

Mix the mayonnaise and the sweet chili sauce together in a small bowl.

Put the halibut pieces, evenly spaced, on to a baking tray lined with parchment paper.

Spread mayonnaise mixture evenly on to the top of each piece of halibut.

Press the chopped wasabi peas firmly into the mayonnaise and sweet chili coating on the halibut.

Bake in 400 º F (200 º C) oven for about 15 to 20 minutes, until halibut starts to flake and peas start to brown slightly.

Serve right away.

Halibut will continue to cook a bit after it has been taken out of the oven, so be sure to take it out just when it’s starting to look opaque and flaky. The mayonnaise topping on this fish definitely helps retain the moisture, but accurate timing is still critical. Make sure your table is set, and the rest of the meal ready to go. The fish should come right out of the oven and on to the plates. Serve this with a cold chardonnay and appreciate every bite.

The key to delicious fish is timing. Overdone fish, no matter how expensive, will be dry. The rule of thumb for cooking time is 8 minutes of cooking time per inch of thickness. So if the fillet is 2 inches thick the cooking time will be about 16 minutes. With a bit of practise and using the thickness formula, you will attain fish perfection every time! Happy perfect fish eating! *Wasabi peas are roasted and coated with wasabi and available packaged or in bulk at your grocery store.

Page 8

Route 3 Summer 2009

Shelley’s first cookbook — Whitewater Cooks, published in 2006 — is based on recipes originating and evolving from her 12-year tenure at the Fresh Tracks Café.

The slightly upscale sequel includes favourite recipes that have been collected over the years from friends and family pictured throughout the cookbook, resulting in a family-album feel. Photos of her children, 19-year-old Ali and 17-year-old Conner add a personal touch that makes you want to crawl into the picture to get in on the good times and scrumptious morsels. The theme is beautiful food tried and tested in Shelley’s home kitchen on Nelson’s north shore.

As for the talented and charming creator, Shelley has lived and breathed food her entire life.

Crediting her mother for instilling an appreciation for good food, Shelley grew up in West Vancouver where she “was the only kid in school eating crabstuffed avocados for lunch.”

Her food career began as a successful caterer on Vancouver movie sets serving up gourmet favourites to Hollywood types like Mel Gibson and Goldie Hawn.

This early success prompted Shelley to continue her gastronomy studies, so she packed

up her apron and made her way to Paris to study at the infamous Ecole de Cuisine la Varenne.

Shelley admits she might still be there if not for a skiing accident that had her careening off a cliff in the French Alps. “I didn’t realize the cliff was there and I fell 35 feet,” Shelley laughs, relaying the story that eventually brought her back to British Columbia.

Shelley returned to Vancouver in 1985 to undergo knee surgery and soon thereafter joined her then boyfriend/now husband Mike Adams at Whitewater Winter Resort in Nelson, where he had been hired as the ski hill’s manager.

As Mike worked his way up the Whitewater ladder, Shelley was making a name for herself as the face behind the gourmet catering company, “Pink Peppercorn Catering.” After Mike and Shelley purchased Whitewater in 1997, Shelley became the creative director and head chef of Fresh Tracks Café, catapulting the small resort to Sunset magazine’s “B.C.’s top ten mountain restaurants” for three years in a row.

As snow-encrusted powder hounds flocked to warm up with bowls of whiskey-smoked salmon chowder and fresh-baked, plate-sized cinnamon buns in Whitewater’s rustic lodge, Shelley was constantly bombarded

with recipe requests. “One day a friend suggested I should compile my recipes into a cookbook,” Shelley explains.

After self-publishing Whitewater Cooks in 2006, the book became an instant bestseller. Slightly overwhelmed by the cookbook’s popularity, Shelley relinquished the distribution rights to Whitecap Books out of Vancouver.

“It was both shocking and a relief to know that the boxes of books that we thought Mike would have to use as office furniture were being shipped out all over the country,” laughs Shelley.

From 2006 to 2009, Whitewater Cooks sold over 25,000 books and continues to be on Canada’s bestseller lists.

Nelson residents however, have an insatiable appetite and could not get enough of Shelley’s work.

After a year of begging from friends and family for a second book, she wowed the cookbook industry with Whitewater Cooks at Home.

Again self-published, Whitewater Cooks at Home’s compilation was no small feat. With over 5,000 photos, three months of recipe testing, editing, proofing, food styling and design layout, the process was no easier the second time around.

“It was nuts. It took one year from start to finish including several weeks of photo shoots to

get everything perfect,” Shelley explains.

Thanks to food stylist, recipe collector and tester Joanne Ryan, Nelson-famous photographer David R. Gluns, and layout designer Minn Benedict, the second book has been flying off the shelves.

With succulent photos of grilled fresh figs wrapped in prosciutto, goat cheese and sun-dried tomato terrine and halibut with a wasabi pea crust, even the most discerning cookbook critic would have few complaints about this delicious book.

The stylish food intermingled with scenes of summer family fun, fresh flowers, beautifully set tables and happy people are what make this cookbook fuse into a coffeetable book collector’s dream.

Like Shelley, this book is about the necessary details. Preparation tips, pairing suggestions, and shameless local business plugs give Nelson locals a right to brag about the book that was inspired in their backyard.

“The success of these books is owed to the people of the Kootenays who let Whitewater Cooks into their hearts and into their kitchens”, Adams explains.

Though Mike and Shelley sold Whitewater Winter Resort in 2008, Shelley has no plans to slow things down. The avid cyclist and cross-country skier is forever searching for her next project. The

51-year-old mother of two admits she has a few more surprises up her sleeve. “I think I could be convinced to do one more book,” Shelley admits sheepishly.

Until Shelley unearths the next cooking Kama Sutra, we can all enjoy the heavenly delicacies of grilled vegetable stacks and rustic tomato tarts all summer long.

Bon Appetit!

Opening page: Co-author Joanne Ryan and Shelley Adams relax between photo shoots for the new book.

From far left: Halibut with a Wasabi Pea Crust, Prosciutto and Basil Wrapped Prawns, Chicken Tortilla Soup with Avocado and Lime, and the crazy-sounding recipe Washing Machine Dill Pickles.

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Page 9

outdoor adventure by

Kyra Hoggan

All photos: Larry Doell

Make a Ask around

— any Kootenay/ Boundary local will tell you the best way to make a splash in summer is to take advantage of the region’s tidal wave of water-borne opportunity, with activities ranging from soothing, get-your toes-wet relaxation to total submersion in high-energy fun.

You don’t even have to ask around to figure out the favoured way to float through summer — just look out your car window when driving beside the Kettle River, and you’ll see schools of folks just floating past, taking in the view and soaking up the rays on tubes, rafts, air mattresses and, well, any old thing that floats.

Kevin Chernoff’s family has lived in the Castlegar area for generations now, and he says river tubing is almost a rite of passage here.

“It seems like everyone takes the time for tubing,” he said. “Now you can even get those blow-up coolers that attach to your tube, floating beside you with ice in the middle to keep your drinks and snacks cool all day. It’s scenic, soothing and fun, all at the same time — and it’s an inexpensive way to really wade into summer.”

He said preferred tube routes are on the Kettle River around Grand Forks and on the Slocan River, from Passmore to Crescent Valley.

Chernoff did say, however, that the adventurous crowd will often seek the area’s more natural features — still inexpensive, but a little less, shall we say, watereddown.

“There’s a natural rock formation about five kilometres before Deer Park,” he said. “It’s a gorgeous drive to get there, and then you reach a natural chute that you slide down to a sheer drop into the water.”

Then there are the lakes — there’s B.C.’s warmest treelined one, Christina Lake, which boasts sailing, water skiing, boarding, fishing, and long stretches of beach on which to dry off and kick back. Kayaking and canoeing

Page 10

Route 3 Summer 2009

Summer brings no shortage of ways to have fun in the water in the Kootenay/Boundary region

Summer 2009 Route 3

Page 11

‘Warmest tree-lined lake in Canada’

Courtesy golden city scuba

Christina Lake 7JTJU t &OKPZ t 4UBZ

Explore the scenic Kettle Valley Railway and TransCanada Trail

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Opening pages: Tubing the Kettle or Slocan rivers, fishing, or braving a natural chute near Castlegar are great ways to cool off in the summer.

Above: There’s no shortage of wrecks to explore while scuba diving local lakes.

Right: Canoeing or kayaking the Slocan river is a glorious way to spend a sunny day.

Page 12

Route 3 Summer 2009

get their share of interest out here, too, according to Bob Dupee, owner of Wild Ways Adventure Sports at Christina Lake.

“Christina Creek is a really scenic kayak float, with wildlife to see, lots of sun and you stop off on a deserted island beach near the end,” Dupee said. “Or, for more excitement, the Granby Canyon is a class four whitewater run — and a beautiful one, at that.”

Or take your kayak/canoe to Kootenay Lake (don’t have your own watercraft? No problem — rentals are available in Nelson and Kaslo), or up the energy level and try whitewater kayaking on the Slocan River near Crescent Valley, where rentals are also available. There are countless different routes, difficulty levels and views to choose from if you want to see the area from behind a paddle.

“Also, outside of Grand Forks, there’s a section of river called the dam site that’s a play area for kayakers, with a lot of different features that are fun to play on, like rapids, standing waves and holes.”

If you’re not feeling boat-worthy, though, don’t feel left out — Dupee said many of the area’s highlights are accessible by foot.

“You absolutely have to go to Cascade Falls,” he said. “You can access it from Highway 3 or the Highway 395 turn-off.” (The latter route is better because it has a stairwell and signage.)

“You can pack a lunch and enjoy it sitting on Rainbow Rock. The whole bowl where the water lands is filled with rainbows all day — it’s amazing.”

Or maybe your idea of excitement involves landing the finest fish, in which case, you’ve come to the right place.

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Rod Zadavuk, owner of Castlegar Sports Centre and Fly Shop, says this portion of the Columbia River is a premiere fly fishing destination in North America, attracting an annual fly fishing convention and a feature destination on TV’s sport fishing show The Fly Fisher. “This area is for advanced fly fishermen because the size of the river and the tail-water system produces fish that are very healthy, and very big,� he said. “Rainbow trout are the big prize, and we have lots of walleye that migrate up from the Lower Roosevelt Reservoir. There are just a ton of back eddies and little pockets, perfect for fishing, all the way from the Keenleyside Dam to the U.S. border.�

Ah, but if you’re looking for the full-immersion experience, you can really dive into the past and explore local history through scuba.

Steve Tomich, owner of Golden City Scuba in Rossland, said there’s a whole ’nother world

“Rainbow

WildWays

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trout are the big prize, and we have lots of walleye that migrate up...�

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Unforgettable Moments

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just waiting under the waves of Kootenay waterways. “Back at the turn of the century, water was the only real form of transportation — there wasn’t the roads and trucking you’d see now,� he said. “They had mines all over the place, and they’d transport the ore by rail, which meant loading the ore cars onto barges and floating them across the lakes. Foul weather would hit, or bad equipment or whatever, and a few times, they lost the ore cars right onto the lake.�

He said a prime example of this can be found in Kootenay Lake at the mouth of the west arm, or in Slocan Lake at Silverton.

Then there’s the paddlewheels, steamboats and barges that sunk, not to mention the plethora of fascinating bits of this and that littering the lake beds in the wake of all this historic traffic. “There’s an old tugboat, upside down and in about 60 feet of water near Robson, called The Elko,� Tomich said. “Or you can explore the SS Ymir shipwreck, which is just upstream of the Nelson bridge.�

Closer to the Nelson RCMP station is a barge wreck, where you can reach out and touch a piece of Kootenay history.

Or, if you’re looking a little farther back, you can garner a pre-historic brush with the sturgeon dive in Columbia River, getting up-closeand-personal with this fascinating endangered fish that charted these waters back when dinosaurs roamed the land above. Finally, you can take on a pre-historic scavenger hunt for the ancient First Nations hieroglyphs on cliff faces and rock walls along the water’s edge throughout the region.

All in all, it could be said that the only thing not dampened in a Kootenay/Boundary summer is enthusiasm, with myriad options for soaking in the joys of the season.

Dive in!

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Route 3 Summer 2009

artists

by

Simone Keiran

Retroactive Two decades of sculpture by Lou Lynn, Grand Forks Art Gallery, June 13 – Aug. 15

Janet Dwyer

H

and-tools have always fascinated artist, Lou Lynn, particularly the union between a succinct form, such as the semi-circular sweep of a prehistoric ulu whose handle runs parallel to its blade, to a specific practical function: a knife which was not used to stab but — depending on how the handle was held — to slice or scrape with a rocking stroke of the wrist. Her metal and glass sculptures suggest implements such as the ulu, auger, chisel, trowels, rasps and other forms.

“I’m not actually inspired by tools,” she emphasizes. “The form is more important, how shape determines how tools came to be used.”

Through her work, a key moment of suspense emerges. It lies between discovery of the Summer 2009 Route 3

Page 15

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Route 3 Summer 2009

Janet Dwyer

Janet Dwyer

Chris Hammett

Grand Forks Art Gallery is one of the three major public art venues in the West Kootenay-East Boundary region. For the past 25 years, it has provided a public venue to showcase regional artists, hosted visual art tours from outside the area, and enthusiastically promoted the enjoyment and understanding of visual art.

On June 13th, 2009, the Grand Forks Art Gallery celebrated its 25th Anniversary as it launched its official Grand Opening at its new location in the Old Courthouse, an attractive brick Palladian-style building built in 1911. The move enabled the City to consolidate three services under one roof. Within the building are four galleries — two for visual arts exhibitions, two for heritage displays and workshops in cooperation with the Boundary Museum Society and area artisans — a central festival hall, the tourist bureau and offices.

Of the festivities, Ted Fogg, Grand Forks Art Gallery Director, said, “We are in a great building, with lots of exposure and wheelchair accessibility. We’re right on the main thoroughfare through the city. The improved visibility and facilities have paid off with an increase in traffic. We have a lot more visitors. We just have to learn to stop calling it the Old Courthouse!”

With such a promising new home, Grand Forks Art Gallery can look forward to its next milestone.

— Simone Keiran

object and the “eureka!” of when its practical purpose is realized.

For the person who beholds this strange object, that moment holds creative possibility and spans the chasm between desire or need and conception.

So Lynn’s sculptures are designed not to be functional. Or rather, their function is not directed towards specific material results. Edges which evoke digging or gouging are left blunt; corkscrews twist off peculiar angles; skewers end in bulbous nobs, not points. Someone might scheme up some useful purpose for them—“I could use that to do such-and-such” — but it is the process of imagining that use which the sculpture conveys, not the actual implementation of it.

Lynn’s work aligns to a conceptual framework.

The evolution of an implement’s design also fascinates her. Not just how the tool’s conceived, but its refinement by each successive generation of makers. This would be the stage where advancements in technology and materials allow for innovation, and utility is streamlined as concessions to comfort are accommodated in the Opening page: Artist Lou object’s shape, weight and texture. The craftsperson stamps the piece Lynn with her sculpture, with individuality, marking it distinctly as his or her work, until wholly “Pronged Spade,” in glass anachronistic elements appear as embellishments. An engraved line and bronze. which once signified a ferrule — the place where metal was crimped This page: Top, “Scorp.” to wood or antler — became a decorative, textured groove instead, or Above, “Pestle #3.” a handle acquired an unexpected fillip that served no other purpose than to be pleasant to hold and behold. In this manner, the creative Right page: Above, a detail cycle is complete, transforming from functionalism into the celebraof Tools as Artifacts – seven tion of form, from material into immaterial, from the mundane into of 38 components.

Below, The Tools as the inspired. Lynn’s pieces play on these elements, accentuating their Artifacts exhibit at the individuality while they reiterate the ubiquity of tools.

Grand Forks Art Gallery.

Retro-active, a selection of works which span Lynn’s career over the past two decades, reveals a similar process of artistic technological and material advancement. Her studio is based in Winlaw. She has lived in the West Kootenay since the 1970s and was drawn by the interest and openness towards the arts which flourished in the

Aug 15, 2009 Janet Dwyer

10:00 am-5:00 pm

Explore artists’ studios, museums, art galleries and heritage sites through this free, self-guided tour within the Columbia Basin.

Meet the artists, shop for ďŹ ne art and craft, view demonstrations, special exhibitions, interpretive displays or chat with local historians during this day long cultural celebration! Further information? Call or visit our website.

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Helen Sebelius

A project of the

region. Her exhibitions have taken her as far afield as China and Scotland. She has won international acclaim and numerous awards. “My earliest pieces in Retro-active, those from the 1990s, were made out of sand-cast aluminum — a process called the lost-styrofoam method — and industrial cut glass. The designs were preformed in styrofoam and then buried in sand. The molten aluminum was poured in, the styrofoam burned away, and once the piece cooled, it was burnished on some surfaces, left rough on others, then fitted with glass components. I took that series as far as I could until the material limitations forced me to explore new methods.

Limitations like how the glass was always flat.�

Although the thickness of industrial-cut glass pulls it away from a strictly 2-dimensional sensibility, complex 3-dimensional shapes such as cylinders had to be created by stacking pre-cut layers and gluing them together with glass epoxy. “Also, the lost styrofoam method releases highly toxic fumes. I wanted to get away from that.�

Lynn enrolled in the Pilchuck Glass School near Seattle, Washington, where she expanded her control through the process of kilncasting glass through the lost wax method. Her shapes acquired more sophistication.

In 2006, she shifted from sand-cast aluminum to lost wax bronze, the next evolution of her work, one which brought out a quality which she calls, “the marrying of disparate elements.� The brown

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Summer 2009 Route 3

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Route 3 Summer 2009

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warmth of bronze juxtaposes against pale green coolness of glass (colouring agents are not added.) The transparency of glass, or when etched, the translucency of that medium, combines with the opacity of metal. Fragility balances against the sturdiness. Smooth and rough textures, straight edges and curves interplay.

The pieces which Lynn crafted for her 2007 touring exhibition, Objects and Implements, were exceptionally large — large enough that the sense of an onlooker’s physical scale was reduced. This magnified details within in the work, drawing the viewer in for closer inspection and introspection.

The thirty-eight components of Tools as Artifacts, the new piece created for Lynn’s Retroactive tour have returned to the size one might find in an ordinary toolbox or utility drawer.

They can be held in the hand. When displayed at eye level along the wall of a gallery, however, they extend 34 feet in length. Instead of size, this sculpture reduces human scale by sheer numbers. Instead of drawing the spectator in — although each individual piece holds enough detail to absorb interest — Tools as Artifacts invites the spectator to step back and contemplate the breadth of diversity in design.

The parade of objects in Tools as Artifacts also reminds us of encroaching obsolescence.

Hand-tools are being replaced by ever more complicated machinery and robotics, or as Retro-active curator, Helen Sebelius writes, “Displayed as artifacts, the tools, with their peculiar and whimsical qualities, offered inspiration in her later work where she questions the dubious function of hand tools in a time when handwork and longevity fall second to machinemade and throw-away.�

Their simplicity provides a haven from humanity’s uneasy symbiosis with technology, where it seems we cannot function without it.

Where tools were once extensions of our physical appendages, simple and strong, now they have become extensions of our consciousness, subtle and all-pervasive. Under Lynn’s skilled artistry, we see that is, in fact, what they have always been.

Retro-active will show at the Grand Forks Art Gallery from June 13 – Aug. 15, 2009, after which it will proceed to the Yukon Arts Centre Public Art Gallery from Sept. 10 – Oct. 25, 2009.

In the fall of 2009, Lou Lynn will also unveil a new work at the International Canadian Pavilion in Korea, then proceed to Australia, where an exhibition and profile of her career will be featured in Intral Arts magazine.

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BORDER COUNTRY REALTY Summer 2009 Route 3

Page 19

Farming Story by

Darcy Falkenhagen

Back to Basics Beaver Valley organic farmers take care of the land that feeds them

T

he practice of raising crops in a natural and sustainable way in order to feed family and friends is a tradition almost as old as humanity itself. With advances in largescale farming technology and a worldwide increase in population, food production has grown away from its humble roots, sacrificing quality and soil health along the way. Over the last decade, the organic farming movement has taken hold across North America, as more and more consumers care about where and how their food was raised or grown.

Change is well underway, and with authors like Michael Pollan, activists like Alice Waters, and books such as The 100-Mile Diet, we see farming gradually moving forward by returning to older, more sustainable practices.

Organic farming can be loosely demarcated by its concerns regarding the maintenance of soil health, the protection of surrounding water systems, a turning away from the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and a general belief in agriculture as a system that includes not only plants and people, but the wildlife, insects, and land that surrounds them. An organic gardener strives to work in harmony with the natural systems and to continually replenish any resources the garden depletes.

This relatively new trend is taking root right here along Route 3. For generations the Beaver Valley east of Trail has long been home to hardworking families who grow much of their own food. This appreciation for food has sprouted a new generation of organic farmers. This spring, I was lucky enough to visit two certified organic farms, Earthy Organics and Jamelin Farms, to learn a little more about organic farming in the West Kootenay.

Page 20

Route 3 Summer 2009

Chris Hammett Rachael Roussin

Rachael Roussin

Tucked off a back road near Fruitvale, and hidden behind a grove of fruit trees lies Earthy Organics, the home of partners John Abenante and Jeanine Powell.

The local couple, along with Jeanine’s mother, Frankie and stepfather Bryan Earthy, bought their 9.6 acres of land in 2002 with the hopes and dreams of organic farming. It’s been a lot of hard work, but they are now a full-fledged certified organic operation growing at least twelve different varieties of garlic and a number of mixed vegetables.

John grew up in Trail, the son of Italian immigrants who grew vegetables in every corner of their property.

“I never realized how lucky I was until later in life.” His parents, who were accustomed to growing all their own food, have had a large influence on his decision to farm.

They are very supportive of Earthy Organics’ current endeavours.

Jeanine, raised in Fruitvale, had spent many years on the coast as a horticulturalist, but like John, she didn’t have any experience in farming until they bought the land. After much research about what would be the Summer 2009 Route 3

Page 21

us Rachael Ro

sin

Page 22

Route 3 Summer 2009

Jim Green have spent the last two and a half decades cultivating Jamelin Farms.

Munching away in a field of verdant green grass is Tinker, a very shaggy old pony who lives among the livestock and the organic gardens of this immaculately manicured property.

Their primary crop is grapes. They grow a hardy grape, a Foch, which they sell to the winery that sits hidden below them, Columbia Gardens Winery. They started the vineyard seven years ago, and now with 1,000 plants they produce 2,700 lbs of grapes a year.

“We intend to expand the vineyard, but we promised each other we wouldn’t do so until we retired. It’s an incredible amount of work.”

And indeed it is. They lovingly explain the numerous tasks required to maintain the impeccably tidy grape vines we stand amongst.

Below the vineyard is a large barn that shelters the cattle and pigs they also raise.

Their livestock is not labelled “organic,” but the cattle are ninety percent grass fed, with a little bit of hay from Creston. The pigs are raised for eating — a few shared with friends. “We believe in raising our own.” The manure is used in the vineyard and the gardens. Nothing goes to waste in this operation.

“I love Tamarack. They are my favourite trees of the forest,” Linda mentions as we meander along the fence-line. Every rock delicately placed with purpose, every leaf raked, every fruit tree pruned.

Knowing they were working towards an organic certification, every inch of fencing is metal post or hand-split cedar so that no treated wood possibly contaminates the farm. It is very clear that the Greens are doing what they love, caring for the land.

When asked why they decided to become certified organic, they explain that it was about “quality not quantity. . . It really wasn’t a choice, it’s what we do naturally.

Care for the soil.”

They make about $3,500 a year in

Chris Hammett

Opening pages: Left, Garlic scapes grow in abundance on the Earthy Organics farm.

Top right: Linda Green surveys her strawberry patch at Jamelin Farms.

Below: Jeanine Powell of Earthy Organics at the anual Hills Garlic Fest in New Denver.

This page, below: A telling sign at Earthy Organics.

Right: Jim Green and his grandson, Lincoln inspect the grape vines.

most viable crop to grow, they decided on garlic, not only because they loved to eat it themselves, but in a number of ways it seemed the “easiest” crop because of its hardiness, its ability to be transported, and its facility at being stored. The couple is very candid about the challenges — from pest control to water management and everything in between — that farming puts forward. “So it’s taken a lot of patience and some creativity to keep the farm alive…

It’s all about adaptability.”

John and Jeanine’s goal is to run a successful organic farm that also operates as an educational facility.

“That’s the key,” Jeanine explains, “People have to realize where their food is coming from… We have to get back to the basics and show our kids how to plant a carrot.”

She and John both strongly believe that we need to return to the land and do things in a more natural way. By having children and school groups come see the farm first hand, they hope that the experience will inspire people to live more simply and participate in a healthier lifestyle.

“It’s a way of life,” says John. “It’s about adaptability and taking care of the land.”

John and Jeanine also encourage programs like Community Supported Agriculture systems (CSA), wherein community members join a farm food program for a fee, contribute to the farm, and receive a share of the harvest in return.

Plans for the future include gate sales at the end of their driveway, encouraging people to call the farm and inquire about what is being sold on a particular day. In addition, they plan to maintain a continued relationship with local grocery stores and the Hills garlic festival, cultivate a blueberry crop, and continue to raise their large flock of heirloom laying chickens.

— Down Columbia Gardens Road a ways and past the dairy farm, sitting up on the crest of the upper plateau, lays another home-grown garden of Eden. Linda and

produce profit, selling what they don’t eat themselves or give away to friends, to Endless Harvest. “They are really wonderful.

They offer a great price, and a no-hassle, honest system on a tight schedule.”

Ideally, the Greens would like to have gate sales or set up a system where they can entice interested families into signing up to pick up baskets of their fresh harvests. Until they have a bit more time to grow more food than is necessary to feed their family and friends, we’ll have to wait patiently for the organic strawberries and tomatoes hanging on their vines, framing the snow-capped peaks in the distance.

The Greens have been slowly working their land for twenty-five years, and the Earthy Organics family is fresh on the farm, but what these remarkable people share is a passion for growing their own food, taking care to do so in a sustainable manner so that generations ahead can work the same, nutrient-rich soil for their children.

Not only is the food pure, but it is grown as a way of life.

So as we race the seasons, tending our own gardens, hoping to gather a harvest and store up food before winter returns once more to the West Kootenay, we would be wise to take pride in our local farmers and support them however we can.

Q&A:

with Jim Holland by

Doug Pyper

T

he annual Kaslo Jazz Festival is going into its 18th season and has become an institution in the West Kootenay. The unique floating stage in Kaslo Bay Park provides a venue in paradise for an incredible musical ensemble. Founder, executive director and production manager Jim Holland answered some questions for Route 3 magazine.

Q. How did the idea of the Kaslo Jazz Festival come about?

A. I was enjoying a vacation on the Texas Gulf coast in 1990 and attended the Corpus Christi Jazz Festival, a small community with a stage right on the Gulf of Mexico. It was not a big stretch to imagine that kind of event right on Kootenay Lake. Quite simply... that was the inspiration!

Q. Popularity has grown over the years and the festival enjoys great renown. However, it still maintains a small festival feel and limited attendance. Is that part of the whole idea, the whole plan?

A. Yes. Kaslo is a small, rural, relatively isolated community with very limited resources as far as tourism capacity. In order to maintain a comfort level with local residents and keep things in perspective we decided there was a limit to the size of crowds that could be comfortably accommodated.

Q. Given that situation and the calibre of the talent you present, how are you able to keep things cost efficient?

A. Basically we manage that on the backs of the volunteers for the event. Everything is primarily run, managed and facilitated by volunteer labour. It’s amazing. 300 to 350 people volunteer each year to make the event happen in a community with a population of only 1000 people.

That kind of support makes it all feasible with minimal expenditures.

Q. Obviously local merchants and businesses benefit. Where do the bulk of profits from ticket sales go?

A. The bulk of the revenue goes into operating. We don’t have “margins” like a business or private production company. We operate on a non-profit basis, so 100% of the revenues stay within the organization.

It is used to acquire the best talent we can find and produce the best event we can.

Q. The festival is more than strictly jazz (hence the title Jazz Etc.). From the very beginning it encompassed a mix of blues, folk, even rock and roll... now country on Friday evenings. Comments?

A. Jazz music is a great idiom to pursue as far as attracting a certain sort of audience that is interested in this music. The people we attract in that demographic actually have a wide scope of taste in music. That, in combination with keeping our programming relevant and appreciated

Doug Pyper

Jazz etc.

The intimate setting, unique floating stage and high-calibre talent at the Kaslo Jazz Festival bring attendees back year after year.

by the local community led us quite simply into the Jazz etc. venue. But the focus has always been (even with the country music) to make sure there’s something in there that we call “jazz sensibility.” In other words, a person who comes to hear jazz music always finds something in the diverse musical theme. Jazz music is uniquely North American, and it has pretty much influenced and given roots to most of the music out there.

Q. Looks like a great line-up for this summer including Woodstock legend Richie Havens. Anything special our readers should know about this year’s event?

A. Well, Bill Evans is an extremely high calibre jazz player who is relentlessly pursuing musical cross-over through extreme avenues not ordinarily associated with jazz. From age 22 he recorded six albums with jazz great Miles Davis, but his versatility is revealed in collaborations with such diverse talents as Mick Jagger and Willie Nelson.

Evans has recently integrated bluegrass into his jazz and soul roots in an album dubbed “Soul Grass.” There’s an understanding now that traditional American music is actually the precursor of jazz and so we’re trying to link that and establish the connection between the two genres — and we love playing on the irony of that Another headliner is Barbara Dennerlein. She’s probably the top keyboardist in the world right now on the B3 organ. Highly acclaimed — we’re very lucky to have her.

And there’s plenty of North American and Caribbean talent to round out the event.

Q. Any further comments?

A. Well, just to note that truly the economic benefits of events like this in small communities is incomprehensible. Really hard to calculate!

The size of Kaslo has a downside for visitors, but we mitigate that. We invite people to come and enjoy the community and do their best to fit in. To be patient and understand they’re not going to get the services they’d get in Vancouver, Calgary or Kelowna. And they end up finding that very special.

Summer 2009 Route 3

Page 23

homes

Mona Mattei Photos by Chris Hammett Story by

Lakefront Luxury

E An open plan and spectacular views define this Christina Lake waterfront home Page 24

Route 3 Summer 2009

E

legant, open, airy and completely welcoming.

These words describe the first impression you get when you enter the Berno home on Christina Lake.

Built on the edge of a craggy hillside, the home features three levels of decks from the water to the main floor, an open floor plan with large rooms, and spectacular views of the lake. Not to mention a kitchen that any cook would envy.

When you enter Colleen and Ernie Berno’s home you are greeted by the bright, large living and dining area with panoramic windows, coffered ceilings and a Chickering concert grand piano. With stunning Brazilian cherry hardwood floors and tile throughout the house, you immediately feel that you should take off your shoes. Colleen won’t hear of it though. “I dislike going to someone’s place and having to take off my shoes. This house is lived in!” she laughs.

Designed with only three large spaces on the main floor — the kitchen and entertainment room, the living and dining room, a large bedroom and the bathroom — the home is very open. The bedroom is roomy enough for the bed, a workstation with computer, a full sofa set, fireplace and big

Summer 2009 Route 3

Page 25

screen TV. Off the bedroom is the spectacular bathroom with a double soaker bathtub next to a window overlooking the lake.

“The thing that Ernie likes the best with the way that our house sits up high is that he feels like he’s on the back of a ship,” said Colleen. “Because we look out any of our windows and see the water.”

When Dr. Ernie Berno and his wife Colleen were looking to retire from Vancouver, where Colleen worked as the payroll manager for the Fraser Health Authority, while Ernie specialized in nuclear medicine at the Royal Columbian General Hospital, they wanted to live in a rural area.

Ernie, originally from Trail, and Colleen were travelling in the area when they came up with the idea of retiring to Christina Lake.

“We were up here visiting some friends and we were driving home.

I said to Ernie — let’s retire at Christina Lake! He said to me, ‘don’t say things you don’t mean,’’’ laughed Colleen. “He said to wait three months and if I still felt that way we’d come up and look.”

A few months later they found their dream property which they bought in 1999. Overgrown with only two small cabins on the property, by 2002 designer and builder Ted Rothon, of Rothon Construction in Christina Lake, transformed the vacation property into their new home.

“We knew what we wanted (for the design) though we went through about 10 different versions,” Colleen remembered. “It originally was goPage 26

Route 3 Summer 2009

ing to be two full stories and 6500 square feet. Then I found a picture in a magazine of a room with barrel ceilings, so I said ‘never mind we don’t need an upstairs.’ I had so many magazines — finally Ted came up and said, ‘Colleen, stop buying magazines.’”

Ernie recalls that the building of their home had at one point become so all-consuming they had stopped some of their regular activities. They spent about four or five years creating their dream. Ernie even came to like shopping.

“We had gotten together with friends we hadn’t seen for almost 20 years, about five years ago,” said Ernie. “So he said, ‘so what do you do after work? Do you golf, etc?’ I thought wow, we do absolutely nothing!

Later I thought, of course we don’t do anything; we spend five nights a week shopping for stuff for the house. That was my fondest part — we did everything together. We even shopped together.”

Although between them Colleen and Ernie have four children and four grandchildren, the house was designed primarily for two. With only the master bedroom on the main floor, visitors have to make do with the spare room and another pull-out couch on the bottom level, or the guest cottage that overlooks the water on a lower level.

Colleen’s favourite room is the kitchen since she loves to entertain large parties. The main design incorporates wood and granite through-

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out. It has over 40 drawers below the countertops — including a drawer that’s really a warming oven in disguise — a gas stove with grills, large and small ovens, and stainless steel appliances.

“I love to cook. I love my stove, the warming oven, and having two dishwashers to help with clean up,” says Colleen. “I love to do a lot of entertaining — it’s fun.”

The forty-five degree kitchen counter doubles as a bar where people can sample appetizers and visit Colleen as she prepares meals. The woodwork in the kitchen and the walk-in bedroom closet were custom designed and made by JMK Kitchens and Custom Woodworking Ltd. from Tarrys. The wood is clear select birch stained to match the colour of the hardwood floors.

For Ernie, the sofa area in the bedroom was originally his favourite part of the house, but since they started an office space for him in the bottom level of the house he has claimed that as his own.

“That’s my favourite spot now, with the computer. It’s my space,” claimed Ernie. “I don’t allow anyone in there. We have a cleaning lady who comes and I even tell her to stay out.”

The overgrown grounds along the steep slopes became dry creeks and ponds, with rock plants throughout the driveway’s rock wall that by summer is rich with colour. Colleen keeps busy

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Summer 2009 Route 3

Page 27

with finishing the garden that was designed by Durand’s Nursery, and maintaining it with the help of a friend. Although the end result is a beautiful mixture of plants, rock, structure and nature, Ernie said the process scared him a bit. “Ted Rothon is very tolerant,� said Ernie. “The only problem I had is that he’d go walking with Colleen, but I couldn’t leave them alone because every time they went walking around it added thousands to the cost of the house!

There’s a lot of upkeep now but it’s worth it.�

After climbing back up the 89 steps from the dock to the house you get a real sense of the rocky cliff the house sits on. Rothon was inspired by the terrain to design a series of

Colleen and Ernie Berno on the deck of their waterfront home at Christina Lake.

decks and stairs leading to the house from the water’s edge. One deck includes their outdoor jacuzzi. “We came up one time and it was just ugly. They’d taken out 54 trees to build the house,� Colleen lamented. “Ted said ‘I have a

plan’ and we said ‘do it,’ so he built the decks and stairs too. There was nothing else you could do with the hill.�

In 2006, after they fully moved in, the Bernos were at a bit of a loss. “It was a real let down for me when we were finished and had the furniture and everything because every weekend we shopped at auctions or stores around B.C.� said Colleen. “It was really fun. When it was all over it was disappointing because I didn’t know what to do!�

Although they enjoy travelling — they just got back from a trip to China — Colleen and Ernie always love to come back to their beautiful home at Christina Lake.

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Route 3 Summer 2009

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recreation

Courtesy Redstone resort

story by

Chip, drive & Putt Granby River, Redstone and Little Bear make for a beautiful and challenging golf triathlon

L

ight winds rustling through the new leaves of spring, countless bird songs drifting on the breeze, the babble of the meandering river, an occasional croaking frog and the ping of a well-hit golf ball took the place of the starter’s gun on a weekend-long golf triathlon. This triathlon, however, would go at a decidedly slower pace than your typical swim, bike, and run event replacing it with a leisurely drive, chip and putt performance.

“There are so many fabulous golf courses in the Kootenay/Boundary. I drive up from Minnesota every year and keep discovering new gems to play,” extolled an ecstatic golfer I caught up with on the third tee and joined for a few holes at Granby River Golf just north of Grand Forks.

Kicking off the first leg of the triathlon at Granby River, I was notified by the smiling owners, Philippe and Joyce Thevenaz, that I would have to watch out for the cows on the road on the drive in. Wondering if the innovative golf couple had added a new hazard to the course, I was intrigued to learn that the day I arrived was one of two days a year when the neighbouring ranch moved their cows up the road from pasture to pasture.

The laid-back rural charm of Granby River Golf fits beautifully with the Swiss couple’s genuinely welcoming and friendly spirit.

The former lake bottom previously operated as an organic cattle ranch, and the couple are now in their third summer of running one of only three truly organic golf courses in North America.

Stepping onto the first tee of the links-

Andrew Zwicker

style course, the feeling that something is different and special hits you as you drive the 567-yard first hole. Not until the signature 14th hole, playing out of one of the enormous Dubai-style waste bunkers and walking up the approach to the elevated dyke-side green, did I understand that feeling. While standing on the green, doing a casual 360-degree turn with an extended inhalation, my senses were overwhelmed with beauty.

From the white sand beaches of the Granby River which hugs the course, the stands of mature hardwoods along its banks, the numerous varieties of wild grasses growing up to seven-feet tall by mid-summer, the expanse of natural land between holes on the 200-acre spread, and the 47 varieties of birds providing the soundtrack to my round, the true beauty of an organic golf course was discovered.

The grass, fairways and greens are in as good a shape as any non-organic course, but the feeling that the surrounding land is truly healthy and alive adds that x-factor not commonly found on a golf course.

Having developed his knowledge and respect for the land through years of working on an organic winery in Switzerland, Philippe Thevenaz proudly boasts while laughing, that his chemical-free golf course is one of few where golfers can “lick their balls.”

— Heading northeast from Grand Forks, to the valley bottom below Rossland, I caught up with co-owner Cary Fisher and a couple of visitors from Yakima, Washington to get our first peek at the newly completed front nine at Redstone Resort. This year’s grand opening of the full 18 holes sees the first shots being taken on the redeveloped historic front nine that had originally opened for play in the 1920s.

Offering a different style of play from Summer 2009 Route 3

Page 29

— With the home stretch in site, a quick cruise alongside the Columbia River brought me to Little Bear Golf in Ooteschenia, just across the river from Castlegar. Truly a course for everyone, Little Bear is all about fun for all ages and ability.

“Originally with golf, it was supposed to be an everyman’s game and it turned into an elite game. We want to bring it back and open it up to everyone,” explained course manager Sean Jang of Little Bear’s philosophy.

Originally envisioned in 1994 by Don Peterson, who bought the property and lived in the home behind what is now the fifth green, he had hoped to build the course as a retirement project into something that kids and seniors alike could have fun on.

Fitting nine holes and eighteen tees into the thirty-acre property, the par-three course feels and plays like a miniature championship course.

“Anyone who thinks, ‘ohh it’s just a par three’ should come out and see how good their short game is,” added Sean, smiling and proud of his course.

Keeping the environment top of mind, the Courtesy Granby River Golf

the back nine which officially opened in 2008, the standout features of the front nine are the gorgeous mature willow trees with early spring leaves glowing a muted neon green.

The Les Furber-designed course has a natural feel, laid out following the contours of the amphitheatre-like setting. Surrounded by the mountains of the Rossland Range, each hole offers different peek-a-boo views of peaks, hillsides, the city of Rossland and the red steeple of St. Andrew’s church high on the ridgetop above.

Apart from the golf itself, Redstone exhibits a welcoming feel as the course owners stop and chat with greenskeepers, clubhouse workers, chefs and servers along the way.

The other half of the ownership team, Robert Felsch and his wife Robin, or Rob and Rob as they are better known as, originally came from Australia and followed the same path as many Rosslanders. Originally having come here for the skiing, they were enchanted by Rossland and after a successful development project at Red Mountain they moved on to the Redstone project. Now making their home in the residential development at the resort Rob noted,

“You know I never appreciated how much of a visual experience golf was until I really started playing.”

That visual experience is most evident in the new number eight. Sure to be the most photographed spot on the course, an arching, steel-framed wooden bridge across the greenside pond provides a stunning backdrop to the 550-yard par 5. With an infectious smile that rarely fades, even after the occasional drive into the bush, it’s evident that Cary takes great pride in the masterpiece he and Rob have created just down the hill from Rossland.

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Route 3 Summer 2009

7425-5th Street, Grand Forks [250] 442-3025

The Local Experts 1358 Cedar Avenue, Trail, B.C.

Beat the Heat  Golf Special COurtesy Little bear golf

course is true to its name with mama bears and cubs regularly seen on the course and occasionally some other surprises from Mother Nature thrown in.

“Two years ago, for six days straight, we had a cougar on the course that watched people play. He laid on the fairOpening page: Redstone Resort at Rossland.

Left: Granby River Golf at Grand Forks. ways and just swished Above: Little Bear Golf at Castlegar. his tail or he’d sit up in a tree and just watch people play past him,” laughed Sean.

Putting out on the scenic ninth green and parking myself on the expansive covered patio with Caesar in hand, I had completed the golf triathlon and thought the same thing as the Minnesotan at Granby River, that we are lucky to have so many diverse and beautiful golf courses so close to home.

 $ 00



Kaslo Golf Club 418 Pine St., Kaslo 250-353-2262 www.kaslogolf.org

Cascade Par 3 Hwy 395, Christina Lake 250-447-9705 cascadepar3.com

Kettle Valley Golf Club Highway 3, Rock Creek 250-446-2826 www.kettlevalleygolf.com

Castlegar Golf Club 1602 Aaron Road, Castlegar 250-365-7732 www.golfcastlegar.com Champion Lakes Golf & Country Club 111 Champion Pk, Fruitvale 250-367-7001 www.golfchampionlakes.com Christina Lake Golf Club 339 - 2nd Ave, Christina Lake 250-447-9313 www.christinalakegolfclub.com Granby River Golf 9510 North Fork Rd, Grand Forks 250-442-8513 www.granbygolf.ca Granite Pointe Golf Course 1123 West Richards, Nelson 250-352-5913 www.granitepointe.ca



    18 holes including power cart

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   

West Kootenay/ Boundary golf courses Balfour Golf Course 602 Queens Bay Rd, Balfour 250-229-5655 www.golfbalfour.com

42

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It’s simply awe inspiring

Little Bear Golf Course 872 Waterloo Road, Castlegar 250-365-2353 www.littlebeargolf.com Redstone Golf Resort 400 Golf Course Rd., Rossland 250-362-9141 www.redstoneresort.com Rossland Trail Country Club Box 250, Trail 250-693-2255 www.rosslandtrailcountryclub.com Salmo Golf Club 1346 Airport Road, Salmo 250-357-2068 www.salmo.net/golf Slocan Lake Golf Club 101 Golf Course, New Denver 250-358-2408 Valley View Golf Club 6937 Highway 6, Appledale 250-226-7241

6,510 yards designed by Les Furber with unsurpassed views of Kootenay Lake and the majestic peaks of the Purcell Mountains

A true hidden gem!

Stay & Play packages available Fully stocked pro shop Drving range Licensed dining room

Call 250-229-5655 or 1-866-669-GOLF (4653) Summer 2009 Route 3

Page 31

history

Greg Nesteroff

Hard Rock Women

Courtesy Arrow Lakes Historical SocietY

by

Mining is a man’s job, except when it isn’t

Alice Jowett visits her Foggy Day claim above Ferguson. Her ashes were interred in a cairn on the property.

n Sept. 23, 1897, the Rossland Miner published a letter from a woman recently arrived from Toronto who was disheartened at being unable to find work as a servant.

But rather than give up, she tried a different strategy: masquerade as a man.

“With the exercise of a little caution I obtained a suit of men’s clothing, and had my long hair cut short,” she wrote. “Within three days I found work in the mines paying $2.50 per day. Since the start of June I have saved nearly $200, and have had one glass of beer in a saloon -- I went in for the sake of seeing what a saloon is like. I feel quite happy. My advice to other young girls, who are strong and hearty, is to do as I have done if they wish to get on in life. No one suspects that I am a woman.”

The letter, signed A Working Girl, caused a stir and no doubt left miners casting suspicious glances at each other. We don’t know how long it continued, but it’s the only example of a woman working underground in the heyday of West Kootenay mining. (Indeed, according to author Rosemary Neering, women were forbidden by law from working in mines, and Cominco hired no women miners until 1974, when there was a shortage of men.)

This is not to say women were not involved in other aspects of the business. Many owned claims, and some did their own assessment work, such as Yorkshire-born Alice Jowett. Arriving in the Lardeau in 1896, she bought the Trout Lake City Hotel, and earned a reputation as a tough taskmaster who insisted on high standards. Her passion, however, lay in the hills, where she headed on horseback looking for gold and silver. She staked many claims, attended mining conventions, and amazed friends with her preternatural knack for identifying ore.

She later took over the still-standing Windsor Hotel and ran it for decades despite Trout Lake’s decline into a virtual ghost town. She never gave up faith in the Lardeau’s promise, and always insisted the dining tables be covered with crisp linen.

At 93, unable to travel by horse, Mrs. Jowett took her first plane ride

to survey her mining properties. When she died in 1955 at age 101, her ashes were interred in a cairn on her Foggy Day claim.

In October 1911, a story appeared in newspapers across North America that Olaus Jeldness, famed for bringing skiing to Rossland, was training his eldest daughter Randie to be a mining engineer, a profession held by few if any women.

They climbed an 8,500-foot mountain in the Slocan north of Bear Lake, “over a trail through heavy timber,” to inspect a particular mine, and later attended a meeting of the Canadian Mining Institute “where some of the most prominent mining engineers and managers encouraged the girl’s undertaking, saying it offers exceptional opportunities and advantages to those not afraid of hard work.”

Despite this, it doesn’t appear Randie ever worked professionally in mining. Around 1914, she married Joe Morgan of Spokane and moved to Seattle. Tragically, she died of tuberculosis at the Tranquille sanatorium near Kamloops in 1930. She was 38.

Other women stayed out of the field, but still kept their hands in mining.

In 1897, Jennie L. Stone of Rossland advertised herself as a broker in real estate and mining stocks, and supplied daily quotations to a local newspaper. By 1901, she was running a hotel or rooming house, but we don’t know what happened to her afterward.

Meanwhile, another Jennie was the only woman listed that year in Henderson’s directory of B.C. mining companies: Jennie E. Harris of Kaslo was president of the Kaslo-Slocan Development Co., which owned gold, silver, and copper claims staked by her estranged husband. Standard Oil and a British mining company were reportedly interested in them, but she found another buyer who paid $125,000. The B.C. Mining Record called her a “shrewd lady” and added: “Mrs. Harris is probably the first woman in British Columbia to make over an eighth of a million in mines, and with her experience and natural business ability, it is not at all unlikely she will add to this sum considerably in the future.” However, Jennie played down her success, telling a newspaper she “wishes she had made that amount.”

Jennie later moved to Nelson, where she was a realtor and nominally

O

Page 32

Route 3 Summer 2009

the first sales manager of the Doukhobor jam factory. She was soon fired, but sued for wrongful dismissal, and settled out of court for $2,000.

Viola MacMillan, known as Canada’s first lady of mining, had a strong West Kootenay connection. Born in Ontario, she and husband George loved prospecting in Canada’s far-flung corners, and in 1948 bought the old Victor mine near Sandon for $50,000.

“I hope you make a million, Mrs. Mac,” said previous leaseholder Ernest Doney as he ac-

cepted her cheque. Within months, the new ViolaMac operation struck the elusive main vein.

“I was so excited that I squealed and squealed like a stuck pig,” Viola recalled. “It was just a solid wall of bluish-gray galena ... I had never seen anything like it before, and I threw my arms around Mr. Doney and said ‘I’m sorry it wasn’t you who found it.’ But he replied ‘Now Mrs. Mac, I told you I wanted you to make a million.’”

Marketplace Rossland Museum and the Le Roi Gold Mine Tours Go underground and explore the most famous of Rossland’s gold mines and then try panning for your own gold!

Open daily from 9 am to 5 pm until mid-September.

Mine tours operate 9:30 am to 3:30 pm.

Close to home… yet far from ordinary

Gift shop, snack bar and Visitor Centre on site.

Highway Junction 22 & 3B Phone 362-7722 Toll Free 1-888-448-7444 www.rosslandmuseum.ca

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When production peaked in 1953, gross smelter returns came to $1.4 million.

At her low point, Viola MacMillan served a short jail term for insider trading, but it didn’t diminish her star: she was the first woman elected to the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame.

Further reading: Wild West Women: Travellers, Adventurers, and Rebels, Rosemary Neering, 2000 From the Ground Up, Viola MacMillan, 2001

To Advertise contact Chris at 1-877-443-2191

Starshine Creations

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Summer 2009 Route 3

Page 33

special places photo by

David Gluns

T

here is always something special about a field of wildflowers in the mountains. During July and August, when the snow high in the mountains melts, there are many locations that come alive with colour from the native flowers. This special image was made before sunrise on Silver Cup Ridge in the Selkirk Mountains with a backdrop of distant peaks in the Goat Range Provincial Park. To capture this image, photographer David Gluns used a graduated filter to hold back the light in the sky and provide for more light on the flowers.

Page 34

Route 3 Summer 2009

Which new vehicle are you dreaming of?

The Great Glacier Media

Giveaway

With every purchase* at participating West Kootenay and Boundary businesses, enter for your chance to WIN YOUR CHOICE OF 1 OF THESE 9 BRAND NEW VEHICLES from our local automobile dealers. One finalist will be chosen from every participating business in Grand Forks, Castlegar, Trail, Nelson and surrounding communities. Please see the Weekender for a complete list of participating businesses and full contest details.

(Vehicles may not be exactly as shown)

2009 Ford Ranger Supercab 4x4 Sport AM FORD

2009 Hyundai Elantra Touring CASTLEGAR HYUNDAI

2010 Toyota Matrix CASTLEGAR TOYOTA

2009 Pontiac Montana SV6 KALAWSKY PONTIAC

2009 Subaru Impreza AWD Sport Wagon SUMMIT SUBARU

2009 Chev Mailbu LS CHAMPION CHEVROLET

2010 Ford Fusion SE NELSON FORD

2010 Toyota Corolla S NELSON TOYOTA

2010 Honda Insight Hybrid LX GLACIER HONDA

Everyone is a winner when you buy locally!

Brought to you by your local new automobile dealers and the Glacier Media Group of newspapers Summer 2009 Route 3

(*or pickup a free entry at any one of our newspaper offices)

Page 35

Photo Contest: Show Us Your Basin The Canadian Columbia River Basin is many things. It is valleys, vistas and unique geography. It is rainforests, grasslands and deserts. It is home to reptiles, birds, fish and mammals. It irrigates, it hydrates, it recreates, it generates. We boat, swim, skip rocks, bathe and fish in it.

We light our cabins, cottages and lodges by the river’s strength.

“The Basin’s forested mountains and water-filled valleys weave a magic on people that transforms visitors into residents and continually draws back home the Basin Diaspora.

Basin residents are passionate about their communities, their environment and the natural beauty and wonder of the land. Basin residents are people who are living just where they want to be.”

The Columbia Basin – with its diversity of people and enterprise, staggering natural beauty, abundant resources – is a special place worth taking care of. We are connected by this shared responsibility.

In its past, present and future, the Columbia River Basin is many things. What is it to you? Show your Columbia Basin in photos!

Wayne Lundeberg Community Liaison Southwest Basin

“The Basin is the spirit of its people. No matter how and when they found this incredible region, they all seem to bring a similar spirit of self-reliance and determination, an appreciation of their natural surroundings and a willingness to try anything new. This is reflected in their homes, gardens and in all their artistic endeavours. I think the geography and beauty of the Columbia River and its basin challenges and dares its residents to be unique and creative.”

Lynda Lafleur Community Liaison Northwest Basin

CBT is looking for images that show what the Columbia Basin means to you. Winning photos will be used in upcoming CBT publications and promotional materials, as well as featured on CBT’s website. Submit your photos by October 1, 2009 at www.cbt.org/photocontest.

w w w . c b t . o r g