December 26

5 C rain.
Yesterday we banned anything techy. No Ipods, Iphones, cell phones or computers. We played board games and visited, it was a good day.
The retailers will be going bananas today. Not for us!!

Moving on:

Sometimes it’s a good thing to forget your lunch!

There was one other bear event.

It was on a Saturday I think, a weekend for sure. I was at home and I got a call from the wife of the new summer Assistant. It seems there was a bear in the trailer park next to the office, the game warden was away and the RCMP suggested that I be called. The park tenants were all wives and children of gas and oil men. The men were still out on the rigs.

Any way it seems this bear was being a real nuisance so I got out the rifle again and went down the hill. I was greeted in the driveway by a couple of the ladies who pointed out where the bear was.

At that moment all that could be seen of him was his back end sticking out of a garbage barrel.

I told the ladies to stay back and I walked closer to the barrel. ) I didn’t want to take the chance of missing or wounding him). When I got about fifty feet away he backed out , saw me and jumped off the barrel and charged at me! I back peddled a few steps, he stopped and turned back to the barrel. As he climbed up onto it he kind of stretched his head out, looking or sniffing I guess. I took the opportunity and shot him through the neck. He was a small bear, a yearling I suppose. Was it the right thing to do? Well there were young kids around, he was aggressive and there was no one else to make the decision. I never heard of any negatives over the deed.

  

Chapter 10

Mid April came and with it the arrival my new assistant. Things were going to be different this year as there was no one assigned to Muncho Lake and of course Lower Post was no longer part of the Region. To compensate for Muncho Lake, the powers that be had decided to send a more experienced man to me and if the weather or situation required I would give him temporary re-assignment to Muncho.

His name was John and once again coincidence came to call. He had been born and raised in McBride where I had had some job related interactions with his father. John had graduated from high school there. That spring when he arrived he was in his second year as an Assistant Ranger. He was married and had two little girls.

I had to look at it on the bright side, manpower wise we were at the same level as the year before my arrival and I was lucky enough to have someone with a whole year’s experience. Unfortunately the pick-up I had used all winter was re-assigned elsewhere and we got a brand new International three quarter ton – two wheel drive. If we had fires I could rent or lease a vehicle short term but until then we were back to one vehicle for the two of us. I’ll swear that truck could get stuck on a single raindrop!

John was a very energetic fellow, sometimes a bit stubborn; you might say bullheaded. (If you ever read this John – sorry but it’s so just ask Wilma). But he was a good and willing worker with boundless energy and I was glad he was there.