Monthly Archives: August 2018

Hedley Times

Bill Bradley Explores His Hedley Roots

1 Comment
Bill & Diana Bradley

This summer Linda and I have enjoyed conversations with a number of individuals who lived here in their childhood and teen years. They wanted to come back to explore their roots. Fortunately, many aspects of the roots still exist.

In spring Jim and Doug Cade visited in our home. (Click here to read their story https://livingsignificantly.ca/2018/03/18/boyhood-adventures-hedley/)  . Jim quite casually mentioned that their friend Bill Bradley had lived in our home in his early years. I called Bill, who lives with his wife Diana in Summerland. He and Diana accepted our invitation to visit. They did come and Bill toured his former home, pointing out a variety of changes, especially in the bathroom. We recorded that conversation as well. ( See https://livingsignificantly.ca/2018/05/30/bill-bradley-growing-hedley/). At the Hedley Museum we met Gwen Erickson Fraser and I did an interview with her. https://livingsignificantly.ca/2018/07/15/recollections-hedley-1940s/ There were also others with whom we had less formal contacts.

These individuals are fortunate. Although several businesses and a few homes have burned, for the most part the community they grew up in is still very much recognizable. Our visitors from the past have been happy to tell us about the buildings that burned, and who owned them.

Several weeks ago we received an e-mail from Diana Bradley. She was planning a family gathering in Hedley to celebrate Bill’s 80th birthday. She had booked the entire Hedley Inn & Hostel. She had also arranged for a Saturday evening dinner at the Hitching Past. A visit to the Hedley Museum was in her plans. 

In her e-mail she asked if they could assemble in front of our home for a family photo session. We didn’t need any persuasion.

Bill & Diana Bradley with family members.

It was a happy, smiling gang that arrived. They seemed pleased to be checking out the little town where Bill enjoyed many youthful adventures. For Bill introducing his family to his roots was evidently a positive experience. As they were about to leave Hedley he said, “next time I’ll come back sooner.”

Bill Bradley & his sister, Betty.

We look forward to having more oldtimers explore their roots in this former gold mining boom town.

Inspiration, People

Jim and Debbie Marten, Not Bitter

4 Comments
Jim and Debbie Marten

In 4 years and several hundred interviews for this column, I haven’t felt moved to tears, in spite of hearing some difficult life stories. A conversation with Jim Marten of Keremeos brought me close. From the early days of their marriage, Jim and Debbie Marten have been on a life and spiritual journey that is almost certainly well outside common experience.

Sitting in our sun room with Linda and me last week, Jim said, “I’ve always valued freedom. Part way through grade 12 I quit school, then went back because employers who paid good wages just laughed at me. My Dad was a Staff Sergeant with the Vancouver Police. We clashed a lot and at age 17 I moved in with my girlfriend’s family. That didn’t last. Later I fell madly in love with Debbie and married her.”

Employed as a foreman for a Fraser Valley company, he felt deeply unfulfilled. “Debbie and I had just built a beautiful home,” he said. “We had everything, but I felt like we had nothing. We visited friends working with youths at the One Way Adventure Foundation in Hedley. I felt a tugging at my heart and knew this was what I wanted to do.” The Foundation recognized their potential, and in September 1984 Jim and Debbie and their two preschool daughters moved to Hedley.

Debbie & Larissa

It was at the Foundation that I first met Jim. Standing at 6 ft. 5, with a capacity for rigorous expectations, he could have intimidated our students. An earlier experience though, had endowed him with understanding and compassion.

“In 1979 our first child, Cameron, was born. He was 6 weeks premature, but healthy. Not long after his birth, we needed to take him to the hospital due to jaundice.

Complications developed and everything fell apart. He died at 4 ½ months. I punched the walls and cried.” It wouldn’t be the last time he and Debbie wept.

As a worker with deeply troubled youths, Jim was pragmatic, imaginative and energetic. The youths sensed that for him it was much more than a job. He was on a mission to bring healing from their abusive past.

Jim doesn’t hesitate to say he and Debbie were on a spiritual quest to find meaning in life. “We had given up our beautiful new home and a good income, but I began to realize that although we now had almost nothing, we had everything. I found that here God could use us for the purposes of his kingdom. Besides my work with the students during the day, we had two living in our home.”

Whether he and his crew were building a wilderness trail, doing grounds maintenance or paddling the Bowron Lakes circuit, Jim’s energy and enthusiasm lifted the spirits of the youths. Reading accounts of their upbringing, he realized he’d grown up under a good Dad.

The provincial government changed its funding model in the early 1990’s and the doors of the Foundation were closed for the last time. Jim and Debbie and their daughters, Chantal and Larissa, moved to Keremeos. The girls were now well into the teen years. Jim got a job, first at Copper Mountain and then at Broken Hill Properties, 350 kilometres NE of Yellow Knife. Although away from home a lot, his income was ample and life was good. They could not know of the heartache they would soon endure.

Larissa had become rebellious. After a particularly unsettling altercation Jim said to her, “I didn’t respond well. Please forgive me.” Larissa replied, “I pushed your buttons. It wasn’t your fault. We both still love each other.” They hugged.

One day at their church a man said to Debbie, “Ma’am, I see lightning strikes all around you. You need to prepare.” Jim had a dark foreboding. “I thought it was about me. I thought I was going to die.”

Larissa frequently drove to Osoyoos alone. One night she didn’t return at the usual time. A friend called Debbie to say she had seen Larissa’s car beside the road. She wasn’t in it. Debbie called the police and met them at the car. They searched but didn’t find her. In the morning Debbie resumed searching alone and found her daughter lying among a clump of bushes. Her face was peaceful but she had died. She was only 18.

Larissa Marten, Grad Photo

Jim and Debbie Marten didn’t become bitter or blame God. Their faith deepened and their story continues to give hope to people caught in a vortex of fear and despair.

Hedley Times

Hedley Street Dance, 2018

1 Comment
The energetic, vibrant Timbre Wolves provided music for the Hedley Street Dance.

A drenching downpour Saturday afternoon caused concern for organizers of the Community Club’s annual street dance in Hedley. The skies cleared though and Scott Avenue became crowded with people ready to party. “We sold 150 tickets last year,” Lindsey Fairweather said. “This year we had 170 tickets and they were all snapped up.” In addition to local citizens, people from outside the community were present in large numbers.

Mike Galics & Lindsay Fairweather, lead organizers of the Hedley Street Dance

It was a community effort according to an obviously pleased Mike Galics. “A lot of people helped to make it a success.”

Doug Bratt applying his special brand of culinary magic.

As in past years, Doug Bratt was at the barbeque applying his special brand of culinary magic, serving up crowd pleasing chicken. Hedley ladies contributed an array of sumptuous salads. Performing on stage were the vibrant, energetic Timbre Wolves.

A happy crowd enjoying a chicken dinner & music on Hedley’s main street.
Hedley Times, People

Derrick Bisschop, Building Hedley Bridge

1 Comment
Derrick Bisschop, Superintendent/Project Manager of Hedley Bridge Project

After enduring the crossing of countless vehicles, including heavily laden highway rigs, the bridge on Highway 3 in Hedley is in the early stages of being replaced. With the appearance of a 250 ton crane, an excavator and a heavy duty forklift, it became evident to me that this was a project requiring meticulous planning and smart decisions. I wondered what sort of individual had the experience and wisdom to take on this responsibility. Hoping to get answers to my questions, I invited superintendent/project manager Derrick Bisschop to our home.

On a Saturday morning, over black coffee and Linda’s freshly baked oatmeal cookies, Derrick talked about his life and the intricacies of bridge building. He’s living away from his wife’s cooking so Linda’s cookies seemed to please him.

“As a kid, still in school, I worked on the family dairy farm, haying, milking cows and doing whatever was needed. Dad was pretty practical. I learned about the importance of producing a quality product. He wanted me to learn from others as well, so I also worked for a respected farmer in the area. It was from the farm experience that I got my work ethic.”

He is blessed with the sturdy frame that is well suited to the strenuous work on farms. His dad certainly wanted him to continue with the family enterprise after graduating, but it wasn’t in the cards. “I found it tedious,” he said. “I got a job with a construction company. I also enrolled in the UFV carpentry program and became a journeyman carpenter.”

While in the carpentry role, he participated in shifting the 400 ft. Capilano bridge 70 feet to one side. “We had 36 hours to get the traffic moving again. We did it in 12 hours. I learned a lot on that job.” Working on bridge building projects stirred his interest and he grasped that greater challenges and responsibilities were possible. He observed and learned.

Four years ago he was hired by Dorosh Construction, his present employer, to help the company transition more into bridge building. Still only 30, he exudes the quiet confidence required to guide a complex project to a successful completion.

Regina (Regie), one of 3 flaggers. All were helpful with information about timing and details.

Turning now to the local bridge project, still in its infancy at the time of our conversation, he talked about some of the planning and decisions. “When we decide to bid on a project, we have a 28 day deadline. We draw it out step by step, according to how it will actually build be built. We have to be able to look ahead and visualize the completed project.”

Jordan Foster, RKM Crane Services representative overseeing operation of the 250 ton crane.

“Coordination is a challenge,” he said. “We will install a temporary bridge. I will bring in a crane capable of lifting 250 tons. It will place the girders, which weigh 56,500 pounds each. The crane costs us $650 an hour. I have 4 trucks coming with 20 concrete panels for the deck. The items we use on the temporary bridge will all be returned. We rent them.”

Derrick feels very positive about his crew and the contractors he hires. When I asked if he has had mentors, he replied, “yes, I still have a mentor. His name is Art Lundeberg. He has built 180 bridges over 40 years. I can call on him if I need to. The Ministry respects him highly.” This is fortunate because looking over Derrick’s shoulder is a Ministry supervisor. He shows up every day.

It may all sound well ordered but there can be glitches. Several days after the conversation in our home, the crane was to begin lifting pieces of the temporary bridge in place. One of the two trucks hired to deliver counterweights didn’t arrive, due to a flat tire. Without these the crane would topple forward. Derrick remained calm even though this wasn’t helpful to his schedule. The next day the truck showed up and the crane operator very expertly placed the girders precisely where they were intended to go.

Crane operator Bruce Graham placed the girders precisely as instructed. (photo credit: Sharon Sund).

Now, 2 weeks after the initial conversation in our home, traffic is flowing smoothly over the temporary bridge. Our faithful 70 year old bridge is being dismantled and its complete demise is imminent. We will likely miss it for a time, but I am confident that when Derrick and his capable crew are done, we’ll be happy with our new bridge. Completion is set for  October 19, 2018.