Northern Ripples
THE weather remains the main topic of conversation in Prince Rupert these days. Four feet of snow have fallen since December 9 and it's fortunate that the snow preceded the present bitter cold, or not much water would be flowing in the pipes of this town. The record low for Prince Rupert was reached on January 3, when 12 degrees below zero was recorded.
The weather has been indirectly responsible for a series of sad events over the past month.
On December 16 the RCMP patrol boat was called to Kit-katla to take Basil Lewis, seven year old son of Samuel and Bertha Lewis, to Miller Bay Hospital. Dr. G. W. D. Fiddes from Miller Bay Hospital went out with the vessel, but the boy died from a brain hemorrhage before he reached the hospital. Both parents are employed at Port Edward during the summer and both are UFAWU members.
Percy Adams, who is employed at Sunnyside Cannery, told us of the death of his two year old son, Albert Leslie, on December 22. The family re-
turned to their house at Sunny-side after shopping in Prince Rupert preparatory to leaving for their home in Aiyansh. While the parents were lighting the fire they missed the boy and assuming he had gone with the other children, they went to look for him
Their frantic search ended only moments later when they found the child lying in water under the sidewalk. Artificial respiration, mouth to mouth resuscitation and treatment by the fire department's inhalator squad failed to revive the child, who apparently slipped in snow piled on the boardwalk and fell into the water.
Surviving, in addition to his parents, are brothers and sisters Grant 12, Rickie 11, Joan 9, Steve 8, Cheryl 7, and Ingred 4.
On December 29 we received word that Mr. and Mrs. Allan Hall had lost their three year old son Alan in a fire which destroyed their home in Kita-maat that morning. The fire started around 5 a.m. from a kerosene heater.
Allan Hall is president of the Kitamaat UFAWU Local. He and his wife Florence, and their children Martin 16, Bernice 13,
Sharon 11, Angela 10, Geraldine 8, Sandra 5, and Martin 1, escaped injury, but all their clothing, furniture and possessions were destroyed in the fire and they are urgently in need of blankets and furnishings for the house they are new renting in Kitamaat.
Theo Wesley informs us that the New Year's Eve party sponsored by the New Democratic Party was a highly suc-cesful affair, lasting until four or five in the morning.
Theo himself played Santa Claus for the Women's Auxiliary's Christmas tree event and demonstrated his versatility by serving as bartender at the NDP party.
★    * ★
It would appear that the local welfare ofifcers have none of the true spirit of Christmas, for they continue to find ways of denying help to needy people. If this sounds like a harsh statement, consider these two cases which came to our attention during the holiday season.
The first case is that of a widow who by her sacrifices succeeded in educating all her children, supp'em,-r,*'"r' small pension by doing menial
IOW TIDE AND HIGH M ,ow tide, the house oc-cupied by Alfred Mulwain and his family at Port Edward stands above water (left). But on the highest tides, the floors are awash (right).
work for others and taking in laundry. She came to attend bible classes and her daughter persuaded her to stay over for the holidays. Her welfare officer who comes from a prominent, welloff family and who doesn't even need the welfare officer's job, has cut her off all aid because he claims she is receiving free lodging. He doesn't seem to know that justifiably proud people want to pay their share of groceries and rent even to their children.
The second case is that of a mother who supports her two children by working in a cannery. She is trying to put them through school. Because she re-
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Bolt holes
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_Lubrication
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Roll pin hole
Two set screws lock hub to keyed propeller shaft
Easy
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TROLLER
GILLNETTER
SEINE BOAT
Telephone 731-8268
MARINE   SUPPLIES LTD.
1668 WEST 2nd AVENUE VANCOUVER 9, B.C.
BILL McWILLIAM
"Trade Preference is Our Best Reference"
THE FISHERMAN - January 8, 1965
ceives holiday pay during Christmas she is always denied help during the off season.
Life in the cannery house at Port Edward and his family has an aspect that would tax even the descriptive powers of a Florida real estate agent. Although there are advantages to waterfront living, paddling around in living quarters during the highest tides can hardly be construed as one of them, particularly under a leaky roof.
As this is written, 12 people are living in the Mulwain family's two room house, and there have been as many as 17 people there. Mulwain, his wife, son, daughters and son in law all work for Nelson Bros, and their dissatisfaction with their living quarters could be understood even if the house were high and dry.
But in November, during the highest tides, the floors were under a foot of water.
Fred Grimble, for the Company, acknowledged that he had some vacant houses on higher land, but these, he said, were being held for Company staff who might come to the plant in ftie spring. His one concession was to offer to move the Mulwain family out of their house while the high tides covered the floors, on the understanding that they must move back afterward.
Now if some bright public relations man could be assigned the job of composing an advertisement for cannery housing, he might start with the accepted modern theme, "Bring the outdoors into your living room . . ."
This item was sent out by United Press recently:
ATLANTA (UPI)—A striking, bi-racial union, backed by Negro leader Martin Luther King, began a campaign Monday for a worldwide boycott of Scripto pens, pencils and cigarette lighters.
"King has vigorously supported the International Chemical Workers' strike against Scripto, Inc., to back up claims the company practices wage discrimination against Negro workers.
"A spokesman for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which King heads, said letters and telegrams would be sent throughout the world urging support of a patronage withdrawal from the company."
What makes this item particularly interesting is that Nalley's has been giving away Scripto pens for coupons from its potato chip packages. The facts of the strike should be drawn to the attention of Nalley's, whose attitude will be noted with interest by the strikers and unionists generally.
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