Smithers Interior News, April 11, 2012

Page 35

The Interior News Wednesday, April 11, 2012

www.interior-news.com

B7

THREE RIVERS REPORT

A little drive brings Hazelton history to life S

ome people live in the Hazelton’s because they were born and raised here and others have come from all over the world to call this spectacular area home. The reasons are different for many and while some stay for life others come and go. However regardless of whether or not one is here for a short time or a lifetime, this particular resident believes it is important to not only get to know the area but also explore and learn about the diverse and unique history that makes the north what it is today. This can of course be done in several ways. One can go to the local museum at the library, stop by K’san, talk to elders, read the variety of books written on so many aspects of the area or even go out and explore and see what one can find. It is the ladder of these that brought a friend and I on an

MY TOWN Shannon Hurst

adventure out the Cedarvale backroad last weekend and what a treat it was. Having only driven down the road to get hay many years ago, I had never made it to the end of the road which is essentially Cedarvale. Where the road ends now is at the train tracks and across from the tracks is a wonderful old building that was formally the Cedarvale Post Office and General Store. More importantly it was the focus of an amazing woman by the name of Edith Mary Essex who was the longest serving

Plight of the honeybees Sunday, April 15 at 7 p.m., the Northwest Community College is showing a Cinema Politica documentary titled, Vanishing of the Bees. Organizer Sarah Deagel feels the film is not only of interest but also important. “This promises to be an interesting film, particularly as we get ready for gardening season, just around the corner,” she said. “Honeybees have been mysteriously disappearing across the planet, literally vanishing from their hives.” The film focuses on Colony Collapse Disorder, a phenomenon that has brought beekeepers to a crisis in an industry responsible for producing apples, broccoli, watermelon, onions, cherries and a hundred other fruits and vegetables Deagel explained. “For many years commercial honeybee operations pollinated crops that made up one out of every three bites of food on our tables,” she said. The movie follows commercial beekeepers David Hackenberg and Dave Mendes as they strive to keep their bees healthy and fulfill pollination contracts across the U.S. The film explores the struggles they face as the two friends plead their case on Capital Hill and travel across the Pacific Ocean in a quest to protect their honeybees.” Admission will be by donation.

Postmistress in Canada. While Edith was born in Liverpool England in 1906, her family moved to Cedarvale in 1913. At the young age of 14, Edith started working as the assistant Postmaster to her father. As the story goes, sh she used to walk two mi miles to work, six da days a week. She co continued to do so

until she was 87. While she became the Postmistress in 1942 and retired in 1971 she still continued to work for a man by the name of Rick Freeman as the Postmistress until 1993. The last year she worked she was nominated for the Silver Postmark and she was also a published poet. Throughout her

years she wrote several poems and published two books, titled “Old Love Letters and Other Poems” and “Rhymes of a Country Postmistress.” While sadly there is very little left of the old Post office and store, her home is still standing two miles back down the road and we were also fortunate enough to learn she is buried in a

small cemetery a few miles past her house from a wonderful couple we met at the end of the country road. The entire adventure made for an exceptional day, some great photographs and one day maybe even a great story. Finding little historical treasures such as this is quite common when one starts to explore this

amazing area we are fortunate enough to call home. It is with this in mind that I encourage the thousands of residents in the Hazelton’s and surrounding communities to get out and explore the area, dig a little deeper into the rich culture and history and learn as much as you can about the place we call home.

CHOOSE ONE: Help a dying patient control pain Change a dressing for a patient discharged yesterday Call distressed family whose elderly parent just fell Hire more nurses

With more patients than ever, nurses are forced to make difficult choices about who receives care first. When it comes to safer care, the choice is clear: hire more nurses.

Support better care at safecarenow.ca


Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.