just so sad

Timmins fellow on CBS 60 Minutes

It was fun this week to see that CBS 60 Minutes did a story on Shawn Ryan, a prospector living in the Yukon who has become a millionaire for his ability to find gold.
http://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwtv/article/Scoop-60-MINUTES-on-CBS-Sunday-October-19-2014-20141017 In this article about Ryan, CBS labelled it a scoop! Here is the TV link.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/gold-rush-turning-mushroom-hunting-into-gold-in-the-yukon
Sorry guys, Ryan is a Timmins fellow and we did a story on him back in May 2012. He was honoured by fellow prospectors in Timmins and was unofficially dubbed King of Klondike. I even snapped this photo of him and wrote up his story. Just so you know Ryan cut his teeth with prospecting crews here in Timmins before moving out west, where they told him there was no more gold to be found in the Klondike. As any good prospector knows, the best place to find a new gold mine is right beside an old gold mine. No wonder the fellow is filthy rich!

Voting is so easy now...

I voted yesterday. Yes, it was advanced polling for the October 27th city election. The cool thing was that I was able to vote via the Internet. I am glad Timmins set this up and I suppose this is the thing of the future. It took about five minutes, with various security checks built in, and then the ballot was right here on the screen in front of me. I like how convenient it is to stay in tune with democracy. I hope this idea appeals to more young people.

A nice time ...

I am back in Timmins after enjoying a very nice couple of days with Jennifer. The boys went south to spend the weekend with Victoria; Scott was out to catch the first weekend of moose hunting and so Jenn and I did a nice quiet Thanksgiving with a couple of bottles of wine, turkey, stuffing, cake and even movies. Heck we even got a chance to go out to dinner. We went to P & M's to check the latest menu and were pleased to run into Junior. It was great to chat and get caught up with him. The funniest part was when the young hostess was bringing us to the table. She made reference to the idea that we might be a dating couple. I laughed and said “I'm her Dad!” I reassured Jenn that she didn't look older at all. If anything, with her nice new hair style, she looks younger. I figured with my newsboy cap and cashmere blazer, I looked a few years younger. I took it as a compliment. Anyway, it was a very relaxing weekend. I stayed in the Nathan Suite as usual and slept great. Jenn said she woke early on Sunday and could hear me down the hall, sawing logs. I never heard a thing!
Jenn is up to her elbows in school work. There are days, she admitted, that the workload is hard, hard, hard. But she continues to get good marks ... because she studies hard. But she is also smart, smart, smart. So I have much confidence in her.
The boys are also doing very well in school. I am so proud of those guys. So this is good. I am thankful.
The drive back north was very relaxing. I pulled off in the bush for a nature call, but I didn't drive too far. There were hunters everywhere. I also got a photo of the train crossing at Windy Lake. A northbound freight was pulling a huge train with five engines. I like trains. I took pictures.

So don't read it

I have spent the last 20 minutes reading Christie Blatchford's stories in the National Post about the Luka Magnotta trIal. If you don't know who he is, nevermind, you really don't need to know. Here's the thing; Magnotta is a monster. He cannot possibly have a human mind to do the things he is accused of doing. Magnotta killed people, chopped them up and then mailed out the body parts. He also videotaped much of what he did. So Blatchford has reported the courtroom icky stuff in detail. Anyone who has spent time covering court knows they talk about all the yukky stuff in court, the terrible things people to do other people. What is upsetting to me is that so many people read this stuff and then criticize the newspaper for writing about it. Well, excuse me. Anybody with a clue is going to know what the Magnotta trial will be about. If you're upset that it is being written about, THEN STOP READING IT! Put the paper down, and go for a walk. Call your kids. Pick your nose. Do some housework. But don't waste my time or tempt my bloody good nature by complaining. We live in a free society. That's means we have a reasonable amount of academic freedom. People can discuss things and write about them. It's the price of democracy. Live with it.

Catching up

So October is here. And Spring is on the way! Yeah, yeah, we all know that we’re in for a tough winter, according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac. May as well look on the bright side and look forward to Spring. I was out on the local hiking day event and we really can’t complain. The weather has been amazingly mild … or maybe I am becoming more tolerant of the weather. In Timmins in the fall, one has to dress in layers, depending on the time of day. Walking out to the car at 7:30 a.m. you need a heavy sweater, maybe a jacket… or a heavy blazer. Toward noon, you can start shedding layers. By mid-afternoon, it is shirt sleeve weather and by 6:00 p.m. time to reach for the jacket again.

We had some excitement last week when a Beech King Air came in for a belly landing at the Timmins Airport. The incident was good for a few stories, but it boiled down to an electrical - mechanical problem with a wiring harness gumming up the front landing wheel. The wheel was only partially down when the pilot came in for the landing.

I managed to get a half decent photo of the plane speeding along the runway just before he touched down. The good news is that the two crew and seven passengers walked away without a scratch.

Had to write an obit a couple of weeks ago about an old friend. George Delich, the district chief of the Schumacher firefighter brigade died. I know people always say nice things about people when they die, but George was one of the truly good guys. We chatted a lot. Whenever I showed up a fire scene, he always had a smile. He was a former teacher and principal, a community volunteer and still an active firefighter. George was 79. I am going to miss him.

A Timmins icon

Timmins celebrated something interesting this week. They re-dedicated the last surviving original version of the Hollinger House, one of the hundreds of company houses built by the Hollinger Gold Mine back in the 1920s to provide homes for miners and their families. The houses were truly an icon of the Porcupine gold mining camp. Over the years I have met many people and families that grew up in these homes. For my Cape Breton cousins, they might be interested in knowing that the famous CB fiddler, Buddy MacMaster, was born in one of these houses back in 1924. His family had moved to Timmins where his father was employed at the Hollinger mine. The family lived at 14 Messines Avenue.

Just some cool things ...

A couple of cool things happened this past week. The RCAF Snowbirds dropped in at Timmins airport to get some fuel. They were heading back to their home base in Saskatchewan. So I grabbed a few photos. While they were at the airport, they startled some Canada Geese, who were on their southbound journey for the winter.

No more turtles

Okay I have stopped buying Nestlé water and eventually I will stop buying their food products as well. No I am not some wild-eyed foodie protester, but I will carry on my own little boycott against Nestlé. There has been a lot of publicity lately about the Nestlé Pure Life water products, something I would buy just for convenience sake. The company is now promoting the total commercialization of fresh water sources, not just in Canada, but everywhere in the world. I believe that is wrong. I believe water belongs to the government; the people. It should not be sold off to multi-billion dollar food corporations. I am not making this up. Nestlé wants to take over the world water supply.
So here’s the problem. Nestlé own so many companies I am really going to have to do research on what I should NOT be buying. Okay I have stopped buying Pure Life bottled water. But the company also owns Perrier water, Pellegrino water, Acqua Panna water, Montclair water. So yes, these were my favourite brands, but now I will change. I still buy bottled water for the convenience … but I will buy the ordinary house brands, once I am sure they’re not Nestlé owned. I also re-bottle my own tap water through a Brita Filter.
My other concern is that this company has gone into third world countries to buy up huge parcels of land, simply to take advantage of the “water rights” that come with the land. Nestlé then sets up pumping stations to suck out all the underground water reserves and this often leaves local wells to dry up. Farmers suffer. Community wells run dry. But Nestlé is happy to sell them back the water in convenient little bottles. I think that’s wrong. So there is not much I can do except refuse to buy their products. Sadly this includes plenty of other things I like such as Kit Kat bars, Nestea ice tea, Delissio pizza, Coffee Crisp, Aero bars, Smarties and Turtles! (Sorry Jenn).

Eating well ...

Jennifer speaks often about the importance of eating well, especially fruit. I grumble sometimes but I usually listen to what she says. I had her words in mind when I was at the LCBO lately. There is a very nice tasting "desert beer" called Wells Banana Bread Beer. It is made in England. It is quite tasty, is not bitter, and has a very pleasant aftertaste. This is not the sort of beer you will quaff while ice-fishing or watching a hockey game. This is what you will enjoy with a nice warm piece of chocolate cake with a sweet icing. So yes, when it comes to eating well, and drinking well, there are many good choices.

* * * * *
Had a very nice chat with Neil this past week. He is changing jobs. He was quite excited to tell me he is taking over a new restaurant, a fine dining pizza place if you can imagine. I checked it out here. It was even recommended by the Globe and Mail food critic. Well, la dee dah! It is in the same Gastown neighbourhood as Steamworks, and so it is easy for him to get to work. He seemed quite pleased with the change, especially since they came to him with the offer.

Music music music

I am quite proud of the fact that Timmins is home to the TSO. Yes, that is the Timmins Symphony Orchestra. I know nothing about music, except that I know what I like and what I listen to. One of the best things about our city is that we have the Timmins summer concert series, where local artists are featured every Wednesday night in the summer. The final concert of the season was last week. What a show! Starting off was an incredible performance by jazz pianist Seve Kessler, who now lives in Timmins.

Yes, this is the same Steve Kessler, an American jazz artist, described by critics as a piano prodigy. Kessler was accompanied by friends playing a violin and a saxophone. He was followed by the TSO under the direction of conductor Matthew Jones. If you missed it, I won't make you feel bad by telling you how good it all was. But yes, it was so worth it to put up with a bit of a breeze and a few raindrops.

Anyway, I am thoroughly engrossed with Jazz these days. Last night I did a bit of research and found some recordings online of a fellow named Stan Getz, an incredible saxophonist. Listening to his music is like eating chocolate cake... you just can't get enough!

Picnic at High Falls on the Grassy

So I am back at work today (Yes, I KNOW it's Labour Day). Back in from a week of vacation time which I spent in Timmins. It was nice to sleep in each day and luckily we had some nice weather. Sunday was the perfect day to head out to High Falls on the Grassy River near Timmins. I had a picnic there with my friend Maggie and her daughter Willow.

Too often we ignore the nice things we have in the North and I am amazed that it hasn't been that long since this whole area was first explored and settled by the early prospectors.  Getting to High Falls takes about 30 minutes of slow driving on back roads. It was a real treat. The water was low since my last visit in early June when the river was running fast and very high.

In praise of cast iron ...

It has been about a year and a half now that I have been enjoying my cast iron fry pan. Some visitors have expressed surprise that I no longer have any Teflon pans in my home. I was pleased to show off this week when folks were at my place for omelettes. Using my big pan, which is now perfectly seasoned, I was able to make excellent omelettes without anything sticking to the pan. The same goes for steaks, chops, burgers, raw veggies and even grilled cheese sandwiches. And it's perfect for frying fish. Cleaning up is easy. I have a couple of stiff brushes, some hot water and then wipe it clean with paper towels. When I cook fish or eggs, I usually throw in a bit of baking soda and vinegar, to kill any lingering odors. Rinse with hot water, wipe with paper towel and then half a teaspoon of oil to season the pan.
I noticed that the Lodge Company, which makes my favourite pans, has released an updated video about cast iron cooking.
It is worth taking a few minutes to have a look.

This is important because I have read that in some parts of the world, factories using any kind of recycled metal to make up cast iron, including old lead.

Northern lakes are so refreshing

I have been nursing a bit of sunburn in recent days, but I think it was worth it. I have been prone to burning ever since I was a kid, but these days I feel it more. I don’t have enough hair to keep my scalp from burning and last night I had to soak my head with cold water for relief. I say it was worth it because I spent a day at Bigwater Lake, just north of Timmins. The water was clean, fresh and oh so cold. I find the best way to beat the heat it to jump into a northern lake. I had put sunscreen on my shoulders and face, but forgot the top of my head. Anyway, if the hot weather continues, I am heading back to the lake.

Just some photos from this summer in Timmins...

A woman, Lynne Bouchard, was the captain of a winning mine rescue team.


The Mr. Schumacher statue was nicely repaired and cleaned up.


Entrepreneur Jon Bonney set up a wakeboard ride on Gillies Lake.


Gillies Lake, just a nice place to hang out on a summer day.


A blasting incident at the Hollinger pit. A rock escaped the blast zone and landed on a parked car. Production shut down for three weeks.


Some local teenagers were rescued after spending a night stranded on the shore of the Grassy River when their canoe flipped over.


The summer concerts every Wednesday night have been a hit with a lot of Timmins folks.

Click on the photos to see the large version.
Photos by Len Gillis ©

I was hooked ...

I had an excellent discussion this past week when I dropped in at Collège Borèal in Timmins for a photo. They were having a fish fry to entice students, parents and visitors to drop by the campus to see what courses were being offered. Pretty good marketing idea. It was even better, when after I shot my photo, one of the kitchen staff walked over and plopped down a heaping plate of pickerel, French fries and cole slaw. Now that is what many folks in Northern Ontario call dinner fit for a king. How much better can it get? … well it could be a little better with a nice bonfire, a breeze off the lake and a fresh beer so cold that it snaps your molars. Anyway, during lunch, I was joined by a staff member. We discussed that life is indeed good in Northern Ontario. Yes, it’s nice to visit Toronto and other points down south, every now and then, but it is hard to beat the good life in the North, where people know you, where the streets and pretty safe and we are close to the best of Nature. Both of us could name several instances of where folks have gone south and then returned to raise their children and carry on. I try not to get political here, but the only downside is that we are not masters of our own destiny. Northern Ontario makes up nine-tenths of the province. We have the gold, silver, copper, diamonds, electricity, clean air and fresh water. But a bunch of know-nothings down south always seem to get elected by know-nothing voters (ha ha, now I am in trouble) and the North gets shut out on the decision making.

Blessings

Here it is another nice Friday in August. Lucky me I have a day off. Last Friday was excellent. I had a visit from Jennifer, Tyler and Nathan and it was just the best time. I am not much of a prayer guy, but when I went to bed that night I thanked God for the blessings in my life. That sure includes Jenn and her family. Jenn was in good spirits having just completed a couple of summer school courses as she works towards her nursing degree. I knew I would forget the course names… some science thingy or two – but she earned 90 per cent in one and 86 per cent in the other. She figured it would give her a bit of break during the regular school year to take advance courses in the summer. No kidding. I am amazed that she is a housewife, mom and university student all in one. I have to give a lot of credit to Scott and boys for their excellent support. Wow, what a change from five years ago eh? The visit was nice despite the rain we had. As usual, there was chocolate cake to be enjoyed. Whenever the boys were sniffing around the kitchen wondering what to snack on, I’d just say Chocolate Cake? Yes!! I should have snapped a photo of one such snack… we sliced a banana lengthwise, put it in bowls, ice cream down the centre topped with strawberry syrup, smack a hunk of choco cake on top of that and then smother it all in hot fudge sauce. The boys actually had to work at eating it all. It is fun being a grandfather.

I can be a pocket pain in the a$$

What a pain in the a$$ I am. Yes, mea culpa! My phone is a pocket-dialing nightmare. I thought it was ALL my fault but I have since learned that the BlackBerry is one of the worst phones for this, likely because it has a keyboard. But the keyboard is exactly the reason I like the BlackBerry. Anyway, I called Jennifer this week, not once, but twice. To make things worse, the call was late in the evening... at the time when nobody wants an unexpected phone call. As it was I took a call from another reporter, named Joey, who was trying to find the house where a murder investigation was underway. I was heading out the door and pushed the phone into my pocket. Jennifer's name was close to Joey's name. Suddenly I heard a voice saying, hello, hello ... Yes it was Jennifer. So I apologized. But it seems a week doesn't go by that I don't mistakenly pocket dial somebody. I went to the BlackBerry website and there is an app available to disable the keyboard quickly and easily. I will have to explore that.

Just catching up

Catching up. Yes, I am a procrastinator. But we can talk about that another day. Just kidding! With summer in full swing, I am indeed enjoying the outdoors a lot more. I so enjoy summer mornings, when the air is cooler and so fresh. Some mornings I sit on my balcony with a nice mug of coffee and just enjoy how nice it is. I close my eyes and listen to the sounds of the birds, the wind in the trees. Good or what. I don't missing winter a bit. Working is turning out to be okay. Although I am back in the assignment pool, I find I don’t have to work as hard as when I was alone. I still do the writing and layout for The Timmins Times, but I don't have to look after so much paperwork. The past few weeks have been nice. I was down to Sudbury to see Jennifer and her guys last weekend. The boys are so tall! I love it. You just know that a kid enjoys the compliment when you remark on how tall he is getting. Tyler and Nathan looked great and I enjoyed having some alone time with them. We went to a model air show, and then had pizza. By the way, that cheesey crust pizza aT Pizza Hut is soooo good. Jenn and Scott were off to a family wedding. Don and Denise were in town for that and so was Christine and Demetrios. I think the best thing about family weddings is how the women love to get all dressed up. They spent hours over their hair, their nails, their make up, picking the right dress, picking the right shoes… And they looked fabulous of course. The guys not so much. LOL. They jump in and out of the shower, scrape off a few whiskers, throw on a clean shirt and they stand around drinking beer waiting for the ladies to be ready…this includes matching your earrings with your dress, with your necklace, with your shoes and don’t forget it has to match the handbag too. What an effort. The important thing is that they have fun. Ty and Nate both had great school years and great report cards. Ty was mildly disappointed because he had a C in dancing. Phfft. Who grades dancing? They should have graded him for doing backflips from the top of the woodpile… He does that very well. Anyway, Tyler enters Grade 9 in the fall. It will be a whole new world for him and I know he will enjoy. Nathan is going into Grade 8 and he will be the boss of the school. This is the first time he and Tyler are in different schools. But I just know he will shine. Had fun this week writing a story about a lady whose cat got lost after some home renovation work. Twenty six days later they found the cat – still alive – which had been trapped inside a wall in their home. It was fun to write. It was even more fun to watch other media pick up on the story. It was run in papers all over Canada and then radio and TV stations picked up on it. Went out and had a nice dinner at East Side last night… first time I have been there in two or three years. But it was nice. The food was great. The company was excellent. That’s it for now.

... To be on your own, with no direction home ...

It was interesting to read that the lyrics for the famous Bob Dylan song Like A Rolling Stone sold for auction this past week for more than $2-million. I've always like Dylan. Loved his music. It reminded me that it was this week, wayyyy back in 1971, that I hitchhiked out west. Part of the trip was through Minnesota and we stopped for a few hours in Hibbing, Minnesota. That's where young Robert Zimmerman (AKA Bob Dylan) grew up. We never found his house, but we did see his high school. It was a great time to be alive. I think the world was more interesting then. People didn't walk around with cell phones in their hands. They talked face to face.