Issue #6

CPR Empress Steams into North Bend

A once in a lifetime photo-op presents itself as a restored steam locomotive is planning to puff into North Bend this week.  The CPR Engine 2816, named "CPR Empress" is tentatively scheduled to arrive at 3:45 p.m. on September 19 to the North Bend Station .  Bring your cameras and take pictures of this beautiful historic locomotive. Engine 2816 was built in Montreal in December 1930,at the time costing $116,555 Cdn. It was retired 30 years later, after making it's final run on May 26, 1960 .  It had been housed in US collections until the late 1990's and  for the last 3 years, CPR Empress has been undergoing a  restoration to it's former glory, including a fuel conversion from coal to oil.  This will be the first trip since the overhaul that has returned 2816 to it's 50's persona, with a few touches of the 30's and 40's  The engine is coming in from the South on steam power alone but will leave with a diesel unit attached for the mountainous run through Kamloops and on to Calgary, which will be it's permanent home. This beautiful engine will be displayed at public events, and will travel quite extensively going to communities along the CPR network.  Stops for display are planned for Agassiz, at 12:10 p.m. for 1/2 hour and at Yale at 1:40 p.m. for 1/2 hour.  We are fortunate  that the engine will overnight here, and is scheduled to leave at 8 a.m on Sept.20.  


wordplay
I couldn't find a good puzzle for this issue so .........

REASONS WHY THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE IS HARD TO LEARN
1) The bandage was wound around the wound.
2) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
3) We must polish the Polish furniture.
4) He could lead if he would get the lead out.
5) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
   Quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig. And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham?
If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?  Noses that run and feet that smell? How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites?
    Have you noticed that we talk about certain things only when they are absent? Have you ever seen a horseful carriage or a strapful gown? Met a sung hero or experienced requited love? Have you ever run into someone who was combobulated, gruntled, ruly or peccable? And where are all those people who ARE spring chickens or who would ACTUALLY hurt a fly? When the stars are out, they are visible. However, when the lights are out, they are invisible. Why, when I wind up my watch, I start it, but when I wind up this essay, I end it? -contributed by Joanne Lowery ,CHWK                         
Murdered Man's Belongings Found in Boston Bar

.  A 74 year old man from Anchorage Alaska was travelling through Prince George last week, to visit his daughter, when he was apparently attacked and murdered.  His body was found south of Prince George, while his dog, still alive, was found in Quesnel.  The man's personal effects were found at a pullout just north of Boston Bar, at The Canyon View.  Police say the evidence was  lying in a heap on the ground, and upon inspection, identification was found belonging to the murdered man.  The victim's vehicle is still missing.  The truck is described as a 1995 Dodge diesel extended cab pick-up, it is dark forest green with a  1'wide silver stripe down the side.  The truck had a white camper with overhang, and it was pulling a utility trailer.  The utility trailer is approximately 5'X10', flatdeck with metal railing and wooden sides.  It is painted brick red.  If you have seen this vehicle, please call the local RCMP detachment.

The Fraser Canyon is well known to locals as a dangerous stretch of highway, and we all know the respect this highway demands. But,  what one of us has not encountered another driver who shows utter contempt for the narrow tunnels and blind corners?  People who speed  through the canyon or who tailgate are a hazard to themselves and to all of us. Dangerous drivers should be reported.  Signs have been up along the highway in other areas and we should be seeing them here soon.  Fraser Canyon Watch has been set up as an anonymous reporting system to record and report dangerous and aggressive drivers.  You are advised to get a license plate number and a description of the vehicle, make a note of where, and when the behaviour occurred, and be sure to note details about the bad driving behaviour .Call 1-888-801-8884, [You will never be asked to go to court. ]

Wild Foods Could Save Your Life     

    With many people venturing into the woods,(see the mushroom story) a little knowledge about what a person can or cannot eat could be very valuable.  Every year someone is hauled out of the bush somewhere in BC after getting lost.  Usually they are saved within hours, but sometimes days pass before they are found.  If it ever happens to you, why be hungry? Many plants native to our area are edible, and even tasty!  
    Did you know that the tops of young bull rushes, when they are dark brown and hard, may be boiled and eaten like corn on the cob?  The young shoots, when they are light green , and usually underwater , are delicious when prepared like asparagus.  
    Goldenrod  can be very refreshing when it's leaves are cooked like spinach.
    Young dandelion leaves may be eaten as a salad green, and a delicious, rich coffee can be made from the dried, ground roots.   Dandelion flowers are used to make wine.
    The  common wild rose, makes a tasty, nutritious drink when the rose petals are steeped in cool water, even better with a little raspberry juice and clover petals for sweetener.  The hips, or seed pods are higher in vitamin C than orange juice. Boil them  in water to make a tea that tastes like hot apple cider.
     Stinging nettle can be eaten like spinach, in fact, the French have seven different dishes prepared using the tops of young nettle.  But do not try to eat it raw!
    The bulbs of the tiger lily can be eaten like a nut once they are roasted, they taste very much like water chestnuts ( those crunchy white things in Chinese food).
Always  remember, if  you   are  not sure of
the plant, do not eat it, and   stay away from
the   mushrooms.   Avoid  eating  any plant
if  it  is  infested with aphids or mites,  it is
better to be hungry than to  risk  poisoning.
There are some great books on this subject ,
check them out!  
    Very  useful   hints for when  you  are in
the woods :  Take an apple,  the  fibre will
provide  instant  energy.   Rub  an    orange
on  your  bare skin  to repel bugs.   Always
carry  bottles of water, it  could  be   used to
clean wounds or for drinking.


 Pine Mushroom Season is here
   
     Mushroom season is just about here, and a lot of people will be heading up into the bush.  Anyone who has never ventured into the hills during the first few weeks of October,  would be surprised at the  "Mushroom Metropolis" that springs up every fall, seemingly overnight, way up in the Nahatlatch Valley.  Commercial  mushroom buyers from Vancouver, Kamloops , and indeed all across the province and even into the US, set up camp.  The amount of money that passes through our town is staggering, one buyer, who prefers to remain anonymous.(mushrooms are a cash commodity) told the Express that he will come to Boston Bar with tens of thousands of dollars.  He also adds that in a good year, he will often make four or more trips to the bank for more cash . This is just one buyer, often there are as many as ten or more buyers on the hills and three or four down here in  town.
      Buyers and pickers will often travel together, starting in Alaska in the summer and as the weather cools, moving South through Nass Valley, Terrace and other mushroom lands, into Hope, Boston Bar, Kamloops and on into California.  As the seasons change, Morels, Boletus, Shanterelles, Shaggy Manes and other wild mushrooms pop up, often with the same pickers and buyers.  But, none come close to the Pines in value.
     Pine mushrooms, Matsutake, are highly valued in Asia, and symbolize strength and vigour. They are also used in many ceremonial gatherings. It is a large, thick fleshed, white mushroom with a cap 2" to 9" across. Most of the Canadian harvest is shipped to Japan and auctioned off as individual specimens.
The Matsutake has a fragrant spicy sweet pine scent with a somewhat earthy taste. It can be served in soups or stews and with rice and other vegetable dishes.  Some years the prices have gone as high as $80/lb, but other years the price will not go any higher than $20/lb.
     Not everyone should go shroomin', the pickers will  tell you.  A keen eye and a strong back are  indications of likely success, but there are never any guarantees; many an eager rookie has hiked miles of rugged hillsides only to be `skunked'.  Veteran pickers know that practice, diligence and secret mushroom patches are the keys to making money.  It is ill-advised, indeed, to take a rookie to your picking grounds.  The veteran pickers respect their patches. The mushrooms are picked with care, the spores are brushed off into the hole, and the spot is then gently covered again to ensure  more mushrooms will grow in that spot next year.  The ground conditions are  delicately balanced, somewhat mysterious, and very fragile. Some pickers last year "raked" the ground in certain areas; they pulled the pine needle ground cover away from the bases of the trees in a 10 foot radius, completely spoiling the habitat for pine mushrooms in those sites.  Who knows how many years or even decades will pass before we are able to once again see the bone-white matsutakes `popping' in this area.  
     If you have a chance to try a `pine', make sure it is a number 1, a button, and cook it in butter, with salt and pepper and a little onion. Try it with steak, preferably venison. If you plan to try your hand at picking, find someone who knows the land, promise to respect the habitat, but most of all go for the exercise......and prepare  to leave the hills empty-handed.           
**Wild mushrooms are a cash commodity, and as yet ,tax-free.

The Express Salute

A big round of applause goes out to Gina  Coutts , the recipient of this Express Salute.  Gina has been  very busy within our family programs and has donated many volunteer hours to other activities, including Moms and Tots, Cubs, Scouts and Beavers.  She has always been ready to lend a hand, or a sympathetic ear.  Bravo Gina, we will miss you and the girls.