Dear Canimites:
Snowy times continue, with occasional sunny breaks to add sparkle.
Garry Baker reports that the shoreline ice of Canim Lake is now about five inches thick, becoming thinner as you go out. Ice fishing will soon start, “but don’t stand around in too large a group,” Garry advises.
To the east from Eagle Creek, the lake is wide open. Henry Venema, who lives on that stretch, still sees robust Buffleheads, Pied-billed Grebes, Goldeneyes and Dippers.
Ken Sleeman passes
It was with sadness that we heard of Ken Sleeman’s passing in Abbotsford at the age of 82.
Ken was a teacher who, for 27 years, introduced students at Vancouver Technical to the wonders of biology. That he had a passion for his chosen field was evident through his days at Canim.
Although his lot was small and steep, he could coax a prodigious quantity of vegetables from a series of raised beds and greenhouses. Many will remember receiving a shopping bag full of late greens and root vegetables as Ken made his rounds in the fall.
The Sleemans built their cottage on Canim Lake in 1974 when their four children were young. The boys, Mark and Jud, and girls, Camille and Michelle, enjoyed long summers on the lake.
Ken retired here in 1990, staying until 2011 when failing physical health forced his children to move him closer to them.
Ken was a gentle and sociable person, with a droll sense of humour, meaning conversation around him was never dull. A man who focused on the good in life, he would turn a conversation to the positive with quick wit and a smile.
You could find him in the thick of every crib game at all the community’s functions, or at lunchtime often in the home of Al and Bev Gilpin. He served on the Canim Lake Volunteer Fire Department until he was 75.
Off-season was his favourite time. With the tourists gone, there was more space for reading, watching hockey, and enjoying the birds and animals that came to his feeders.
The community is a richer place for Ken Sleeman, and as he would say, “that’s not bad for an old guy.” A gathering in his memory will be held at Canim in the summer.
Eyes on the sky
2013 is a high point in the 11-year cycle of solar activity.
According to an article in Canadian Geographic, strong solar winds will from time-to-time light up even our southerly night sky with great displays. It is an interesting electro-magnetic process.
The colour comes from the heating of ionized atoms causing them to glow – “green and sometimes red for oxygen and blue or pink for nitrogen.” It all happens about 100 kilometres above us.
People news
• Fran and Bob Campbell are celebrating the arrival of their fifth and sixth grandchildren on Jan. 8 – twin girls, born to their daughter Emmy Lou MacMillan and her husband, Aaron. The babies are named for women in the family who have gone before, Hazel Evelyn and Finley Lucienne.
• denise swift, talented local weaver, potter, painter and carver, has some “Wood Spirits” available for purchase at the Parkside Art Centre. She collects the thick Cottonwood bark for these carvings from the Crooked Lake area.
• Maurice and Collette Clark had a cougar camp out in the comfort of their hay shed for a night. It wisely moved on the next day.
Community club
Ralph Fossum will be speaking about the matters that must be attended to when a person dies, and how to go about them at Margo’s Cabin on Feb. 7 at 10 a.m. Memberships will on sale at the door.
The monthly Community Club dinner will be at El Caballo, Feb. 15 at 6 p.m.
Until next time, here’s wishing you many blessings.