B2
www.100milefreepress.net
Wednesday, October 31, 2012 100 Mile Free Press
Dedicated residents cultivated town From B1
general store and post office, which soon moved to the building where Selvidges and The Outlaw are today. Chuck recalls that Harry Nelson had a McCullough’s saw shop nearby on Birch Avenue, in the spot later developed by Larry Pinkney into the business strip running south to the hall. Back then, it included Shield’s Restaurant, a pool hall/cafe, a jewelry store, a beauty shop, and a plumbing shop. “The highway was developing with businesses, and Birch Avenue was developing as it grew.” After a few years on Birch, The Lodge’s store was bought out by Overwaitea, which then moved a block north to the site where decades later it became Save-OnFoods. In those days, Chuck says the population was so low that “everybody” in town was involved in pursuing much-needed services. “We used to laugh because we’d have meetings for the hospital group, the fire department and the ambulance society all on the same night, and hardly anybody left.” Construction of the hospital was still 10 years away in
CHURCH SERVICES Come Worship With Us LAC LA HACHE COMMUNITY CHAPEL
Spud Speers Photo
The view of 100 Mile from the north end was quite a different scene in 1937 during the Great Depression. The 100 Mile Lodge, right, was a main building, and is still in use today. 1955, and as there was no doctor in the community, residents either went to Williams Lake or Ashcroft for health care, or met up with the visiting physician. The first doctor’s office and the first drug store were located in the small building beside where Kal Tire is now, Eleanor adds. The telephone switchboard office closed at 10 p.m., and Chuck notes residents “got hell” if they disturbed the operator phoning later than that, as he witnessed trying to check on Eleanor in hospital in April 1956. “When our daughter Patty was born, I had to wait until after 8 o’clock (a.m.) until they could phone from Williams Lake to tell me.” Recreation oppor-
tunities moved forward, too, and he notes a parent-run skating rink brought in many visiting teams from elsewhere in the South Cariboo to play hockey with local youth. A drive-in theatre was located beside it, where the 100 Mile Elementary School currently stands, which he says was “excellent for the town.” Eleanor adds you could hear the movies from anywhere in the village, but Chuck points out one drawback to driving with the windows down. “At the same time, the mosquitoes were going in and out.” Other movies were shown anywhere from the community hall to the fire hall (near a water tower behind today’s Tim
Lenn Kellogg Photo
The same view looking south across 100 Mile House in 1986 from the Coach & Waggon Recreation golf course and racquetball courts, later renamed the Marmot Ridge.
Hortons), where they’d move the engine out and set up chairs. It wasn’t all fun and games, but also a lot of hard, community-building work, and some hard times as well. In 1965, Chuck and his good friend David Ainsworth (who founded the mill) were among the very first search volunteers to arrive at the hideous scene of a Canadian Pacific Airlines DC-6B airplane crash near town that killed all 53 passengers. Despite knowing there were no survivors, he notes most of the town turned out to help search, due to the large area of scattered bodies in the forest. “I was there for three solid days. When the thing was
blown up, it blew the tail section off. The people were ... spread over a two miles squared area.” Chuck says it was “not a very nice time” and afterward, understandably, he and the others on his search team didn’t talk about it much. “It was a terrible thing to have happen. And we were just not used to that sort of thing.” When the ShawMacLarens first came to 100 Mile, the power had only recently gone to a 24-hour generator, thanks to The Lodge manager Ross Marks. Any children who went on to secondary school lived in dormitories in Williams Lake all week, he notes. Serving on the first village council (along with
Ainsworth, and Marks as mayor) when 100 Mile House was incorporated in 1965, Chuck became an alderman for 12 years, and was named Freeman and given a key to the city in 1977. Around that time - 20 years after their arrival - the Shaw-MacLarens built the Coach & Waggon Recreation golf course and racquetball courts (later renamed the Marmot Ridge), which they ran until 1991. Eleanor says she was the bookkeeper at the Chevron station, and later made all the sandwiches at the Coach & Waggon lunch counter. The ShawMacLarens still live in the community today and in the house in town they built in 1970.
TOTAL PET IS PROUD TO BE A SPONSOR OF THE 100 MILE HOUSE SPCA
100 MILE HOUSE • 250-395-5303
ADOPT•A•PET
November’s Best Buys Nutro Natural Choice 5
LOOK
SAVE $ 0 0
Large Breed Dog Food 33lb “Bonus Bags”
GO! Nadine 281253 Fit and Free 3 1/2 mo. old female, short hair, orange and white tabby. This gorgeous gal is waiting for her forever home! Why not give the 100 Mile SPCA a call and arrange to see Nadine or one of our other adorable cats or kittens that are needing permanent loving homes.
PET TIP:
Dog Food 25lb
4579
$
ea.
SAVE $ 0 0
4
62 6449
$
Adult ................ Puppy $ & Senior ...........
59
100 Mile’s Full line Pet store
ON HALLOWE’EN NIGHT PLEASE KEEP YOUR PETS SAFELY LOCKED UP INDOORS. Dogs and cats are creatures of habit and are liable to become frightened or agitated by the unaccustomed sights and sounds of trick-or-treaters and fireworks. Keep your pets in a quiet room away from the ‘For people who are proud of their pets.’ Hallowe’en activities. Also keep the chocolate treats Mon. - Sat. 9:00am - 5:30pm out of reach of your pets!
VIEW ANIMALS AT: www.spca.bc.ca/100milehouse
250-395-8935
PINKNEY COMPLEX, HORSE LAKE RD.
Fall Cleanup
SWAP MEET & TAILGATE PARTY at the old Stan Halcro Arena
Sunday, Nov. 18 from 10am to 4pm
A ministry of the Cariboo Presbyterian Church WORSHIP 7pm Sun. eves, Little Church, Timothy Lk. Rd. 7pm Mon. eves, at 7243 Rainbow Cres. Canim Lk. 7pm Wed. eves, at Bonter Residence, Hwy 24 For Info call 250-396-4251 Ministers: Charles McNeil, David Webber
HORSE LAKE CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP Meetings at the Good News Centre 5827 Horse Lake Road Bible Teaching Meeting ...... Sun. 11:00am
“We preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake” For info telephone 250-395-1070
CARIBOO CHRISTIAN LIFE FELLOWSHIP 108 MILE RANCH
9am & 11am Sunday Service 7:30pm Wednesday - Youth Church Huge Kids’ Ministry Pastor Rick Barker Church 250-791-5532 Church email: info@cclf.ca Website: www.cclf.ca
CHRISTIAN FAMILY RADIO VOAR FM 106.7 www.voar.org
ADVENTIST HEALTH
www.100milehouseadventist.ca
250-395-7770 ST. TIMOTHY’S ANGLICAN CHURCH The Log Church at Blackstock and Horse Lake Road
Holy Communion.....Sun. 10:30 am
“Find friends and food for faith”
250-395-4241
ST. JUDE’S CATHOLIC MISSION CHURCHES 5691 Horse Lake Road 250-395-4429 Fax: 250-395-4228
Rev. Vernantius Ononiwu MASS TIMES
Sat. 4pm - St. Joan of Arc, Lac La Hache (winter) Sun. 9am - St. Jude’s, 100 Mile House Sun. 11am - St. Augustine’s, Canim Lake Sun. 1:30pm - Holy Family, Bridge Lake Weekday Mass at St. Jude’s • Mon.-Wed. 8am • Thurs. 4pm • Fri. & Sat. 8am
100 MILE HOUSE UNITED CHURCH 49 Dogwood Ave. 250-395-2932
AN OPEN COMMUNITY OF FAITH. Worship every Sunday - 10:30am. Communion celebrated second Sunday of every month Come as you are, and rest in the presence of God.
The arena is in cleanup mode and has collected a lot of stuff over the years and now it must all go. Come down and make an offer! ALSO Clean Out Your Basement, Barn & Garage And Join Us - Spots Available For $10.00 VENDORS WELCOME
O. LaPointe 59616
S.P.C.A
100 Mile House & Area
Call Peter At 250-395-6492 for more information Tack • Household Goods • Tools • Machinery • Sporting Goods
100 MILE HOUSE EVANGELICAL FREE CHURCH
Pastor Patrick Stich Associate Pastor John Marshall Sunday Morning Worship ~ 10am American Sign Language available Sundays
566 Birch Ave. 250-395-2337
CHRIST THE KING EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH
Horse Lake Road, (just over the bridge) SUNDAY SERVICE 10:30am PHONE 250-395-5159