Moyie Lake Provincial Park

One summer we had the job of surveying mining claims at Moyie Lake, near Cranbrook. I

remember chopping my way through the bushes and helping Mr. Affleck get around. He had

only one arm and had to pack his own instrument. On one occasion, he had me pack it—he told

me he only trusted me with this task—because he couldn't hang on to the cliffs and needed the

instrument to get around a certain tough area. I had what he needed: two arms. And I was a

strong young lad.

We also worked on the Indian reserve nearby. I fondly remember helping him mark out the

parcels for the Indian band. He decided to drive his pickup truck across a bridge used for getting

hay from one of the islands created because of the wash out of the Kootenay River that went

through the area.

After he had driven over, we learned it was not a vehicle bridge. It was just made for hay

wagons. So, when we were coming back, we had to be really careful. The truck spun out on the

logs. There was hay covering the logs, and the logs would roll. The truck stalled. We both got

out to push, with nobody driving.

We got it going and the truck went across the bridge and started to go across a field. It was going

straight into another channel. I remember running after it, catching up to it, hanging onto the

door handle, and trying to get into the cab. I had steel cleats on my boots called corks or hub

nails, but I slipped on the running board. I finally managed to get into the truck and stopped it

just before it went into the river. If I had not stopped it, the truck would have been lost, as the

river channels were running at least six or eight feet deep.