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Elmer Verigin

~ My Journey through life Just stories and writings of Elmer Verigin

Elmer Verigin

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Handicapped People and Bullying

07 Monday Jan 2013

Posted by everigin in Uncategorized

≈ 7 Comments

ALL ABOUT HANDICAPPED PEOPLE AND BULLYING

One of my objectives for 2013 is to put my opinion forward on this subject. I have experienced bullying since a small child as it was playfully administered by my older siblings and maliciously directed by students in the school I attended. I also wondered about my family members who lived with enormous handicaps and I always wondered how they were able to accept all that in their lives.

This is a chronicle that will outline one point of view.

I used to watch a new brood of chicks on the farm and noted a yearly occurrence where some baby chicks were just not able to cope with the challenges when one hundred (100) of them competed for food, space and shelter. Sooner or later one or two would become “sickly”. It amazed me, as a child, that the other chicks would “pick away” at these poor hapless chick(s). Soon they would just give up and end up pecked away as dead carcasses. Is this a natural trait in all animals!

There was excitement when a brood sow gave birth to a litter of eight (8) to twelve (12) piglets; almost always there would be a runt in that brood. The next day the runt would be missing, which resulted in a question to my parents “there is one missing!” 

“Yes”, was the answer, “the sow ate it!” How disgusting! How could a mother eat her own offspring?

The eagle, raven, tern: all seem to have a natural characteristic when a runt chick would result in the nest. Either the other chicks or the parent bird would eat it.

In the instance of my pet cats, a mother would eventually move her litter to another location leaving the runt to die.

I have mentioned just some of the natural incidents that seem to underline the saying “the strong will survive and the weak will perish’!

Wolf and similar animal litters will enjoy “rough play” in their growing process to learn to survive.

My older sister and two brothers, used to enjoy teasing me and taunting me. Although it was playful, as a youngster, it was difficult to understand that it was just “sibling love play”? Perhaps it is a natural instinct that takes place while the growing and maturing is in process in humans as well.

So when children find themselves in a group, it seems that this type of “community association” takes place with the tougher kids picking on the timid and weaker children. Yes, I know it is bullying but it is a natural process amongst animals. As a child I was brought up as a “Consciencus Objector”. This meant that fighting back was not an option. I withstood all types of teasing and was often called “chicken”. It wasn’t until I was in grade six (6) when at noon on a cold winter’s day; I reacted to a Bully who had just brushed my cold nose with his leather mitt. My automatic response was a “haymaker” to his chin, knocking him over. The fellow lay there in disbelief that I had hit him. I am sure he thought, “Was that really Elmer?”He was one of my respected class mates from that day on through to graduation. Is that the way society needs to function? It worked in my instance.

It is my opinion that humans that have handicaps are also “picked on” or bullied mainly because the “bully” can get away with it easier as that seems to be the underlying temptation. I had an uncle that was very hearing handicapped and a granduncle that was visually handicapped. In both instances, although there would be a female member of the family that would be compassionate and caring in each instance, the rest of the family mostly ignored them. I cannot really suggest a reason other than they just had “no time” for them.

I am sure that most of us become impatient with a person with a cane that is preventing us from moving faster in a crowd or that wheelchair crowding into an elevator. It is only in later years that we realize that we too, could become handicapped and only then do we permit ourselves to assist these people when the opportunity should arise.

Nature is now taking away my hearing sense and as the condition continues to deteriorate, my dependability on technology to augment my senses becomes more acute with the years. What I notice more is the inability of friends and relatives to understand that the former self has changed dramatically and cannot participate in normal group discussion. No matter how many times I remind people that I need slower discussion with more enunciation, it is soon forgotten in the next conversation.  This is normal in group dynamics as the whole is not prepared to slow down for one part.

I used to watch my mother-in-law who had lost her hearing, in part, due to a slight stroke. She would sit there, smiling, while her family excitedly chatting around her. Soon she would take out her box of recipes and begin sorting them. It would take the group a short time to notice her in this action, only to realize that she was not even understanding their concern as she could not hear them. This is so with my situation now.

One needs to learn the process of participation without making an impact on the rest. This is difficult as one has a tendency to retreat into himself, rather than trying to cope with the situation. More technical development in hearing aids is making the situation bearable but there is no question, one realizes the limitations in the world of most handicapped or challenged people.

On the positive side of this is that during this process of understanding your handicap, one becomes more apt to notice and assist other handicapped people whenever the situation arises. It does provide an opportunity to make one a better person and improve society as a whole.

So the people around me can be interpreted to be bullies in the same manner as I previously described the children and siblings around me. Perhaps they are just being normal living beings in the natural sense.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++End++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Written January 02, 2013, 1325 hours

Quote

Interesting Article on Crop Circles

19 Wednesday Dec 2012

Posted by everigin in Uncategorized

≈ 3 Comments

Excerpts from “Secrets in the Fields” by Freddy Silva circa 2002

Excerpt 1

Page 119

“….So, just as Colin Andrews once received a dramatic reply to his cry for an answer to the riddle, mine came to thought “Smell the plants, you idiot”.

I reached down and cut the base of stems, in the fresh crop glyph. They exuded a malty fragrance, as if the water within the plants had been heated and cooked them from inside. The lower parts of the stems were superficially charred, too…..

……Canadian researcher Chad Deetken noticed…..said that 60 percent of crop circles appear during rainy nights (Deetken 1993)…..

…..in 50 percent of crop circles visited, the soil was noticeably drier compared to the tackier texture farther away from the center…..

Page 120

….Historically, crop circles have strategically referenced aquifers, ponds, wells, or underground tanks (Andrews and Delgado 1991). There is also a disproportionately large number of incidences in which circles appear where the groundwater is close to the surface, primarily in southern England where the chalk aquifer, the deepest in the world, provides an excellent moisture trap.

Historian Brian Grist has made a detailed analysis of the positioning of crop circle events and shows how the majority prefer aquiferous ground…..

…..Similar conclusions were independently reached and reinforced by Steve Page and Glen Broughton ten year later when they found 78.7 percent of recorded crop circles appeared over chalk and greensand (a mixture of sandstone and green earth). When the placement of aquifers is taken into consideration, the figures rise to 87.2 percent (Page and Broughton 1999).

So there appears to be a connection between water and the formative energy of crop circles, and given the effect on the plants and soil, it appears to generate some form of intense heat….

Page 121

…..Pure water in itself is not a conductor of electrical current. To be so, water requires a significant amount of dissolved minerals as part of its chemical makeup, and it just so happens that the water in the southern English aquifer is saturated with alkaline chalk. Chalk is a piezoelectric substance (it builds a static charge under pressure) composed of small prehistoric sea creatures, all containing tiny amounts of magnetite that once enabled them to orientate to Earth’s magnetic field. The net effect of billions of pieces of magnetite locked together and pressurized, together with energized groundwater, is the creation of the creation of a low magnetic field. This is especially so if the chalk is spread over a substantial geographic area, which the southern English chalk beds are. The combination makes this part of the world one of the largest natural conductors of electrical energy…..

Page 122

…..When you’ve got a lot of water in an underground aquifer or water table, fluctuating through porous chalk, a lot of electrical ground current is created. We were able to measure that in numerous ways in 1993. Such currents are taking place in the ground and creating significant magnetic fields. We measured the actual electrical current with electrodes in the fields and sites that are getting the most and the largest crop circle activity. Around Silbury Hill, in two days following a thunderstorm, as the water settled into this surface chalk aquifer, it created these electrical currents. We did a magnetic survey in the field and detected wide variations in magnetic fields there. Four days later it received a major formation. Four days after that we resurveyed that field and the variation shad evened out (Burke 1996)…..”

Excerpt 2

Page 124

“…..The Universe is an expansion of visible and invisible frequencies of light. When this light energy interacts with gravity the rate of spin of its molecules slows down, the myriad frequencies express themselves as matter, and the form and color of every organism and every object is there-by determined. Light is both particle and wave, and it transfers its energy by means of rapidly alternating electromagnetic field in the form of two waves; one electrical, the other magnetic which lags one step behind. Electromagnetic waves are transverse; that is, their two components move in tandem, perpendicular to the direction of travel. The transverse wave carries information vital to the cells of every organism, particularly the DNA in the human body.

The number of times a wave occurs in one second (the wave length) determines its frequency, which is also called vibration or oscillation; this frequency is measured in hertz (Hz). Consequently, one wave equals one vibration per second or 1 Hz (1000 Hz = 1kHz; I million Hz or 10 to the 6th power Hz = 1 MHz; I billion Hz or 10 the ninth power Hz = 1 GHz.

Excerpt 3

Page 160

“…..Mathematically, twenty-seven is three cubed, just as twenty-seven points is required to geometrically define a hypersphere (a 4-S sphere) in our three dimensional space (ibid.). And speaking of spheres, the period of revolution of the Moon around the Earth is 27.2 days.

In Old Testament gematria, twenty-seven is number of light, just as in Hebrew, it is the number of illumination (Gaunt 1995)….The number twenty-seven is also the difference between the notes F and G. Arithmetically this is split into two parts, the lesser of thirteen units and the greater of fourteen units. The miniscule region between these parts is called the “Pythagorean comma”, and it is marked by the note F-sharp (Levin 1994).

F-sharp is regarded with great respect by ancient Chinese as Hu, the tone of the Earth. Native American flute makers to this day tune their instruments to serenade Mother Earth to this note. It appears to have significant influence among the pyramid builders of ancient Egypt. After he conducted a series of experiments inside the King Chamber of the Great Pyramid, acoustic engineer Tom Danley identified four resonant frequencies, or notes, that are influenced by dimensional and materials used in its construction. The notes form an F-sharp chord which according to ancient Egyptian texts, was the harmonic of our planet. Moreover, Danley’s tests show that these frequencies are present in the King’s Chamber even when no sounds are being produced. So we see yet more connection with our Egyptian ancestors…..”

Excerpt 4

Page 167

“….the pioneering work of Dr. Chiang Kanshen (a formerly imprisoned Chinese scientist who escaped to Russia), who researches bioenergetic communication, Dr. Kanzhen’s work demonstrates how DNA is a passive data storage device comprising active material carriers in the form of bioelectromagnetic signals. These photons possessing corpuscular and wave properties capable of transmitting energy and information.

These photons operate at the extreme ends of the electromagnetic spectrum, namely, at very low frequencies (which excite the photons) and very high frequencies (the bandwidth capable of transmitting large amounts of information). Any excitation of the bioelectromagnetic field is therefore transmitted to the DNA, and in laboratory experiments genetic information has already been successfully transmitted from one organism to another (Kanxhen 1993).

For more than a decade, Irish molecular biologist and immunologist Colm Kelleher has also researched the structure and properties of the 97 per cent of our genetic material that does not code to protein, and discovered that more than a million sequences in human DNA have the property of being able to “jump” from chromosome to chromosome. When activated to jump, these sequences, or “transposoms,” are capable of large-scale genetic change in a very short time.

Kelleher proposes that the activation of the transposoms is done through intense spiritual energy experienced in altered states such as shamanic initiations, near-death experiences……….

Excerpt 5

Page 172

“….Sacred or canonical geometry is not some obscure invention of the human mind,” wrote Paul Devereux, one of the world’s leading writers on Earth mysteries, “but an extrapolation by it of implied patterns in nature that frame the entry of energy into our space-time dimension. The formation of matter and the natural motions of the Universe, from molecular vibration through the growth of organic forms to the spin and motion of planets. stars and galaxies, are all governed by geometrical configurations of force. One can dissect a plant or a planet and not find the Maker’s blueprint anywhere in site, of course; it is inherent” (Devereux 1992).

Sacred geometry is a mirror of the Universe, and as such, it is timeless. It is also a form of communication that can be accessed at ancient places. As Devereux says, “It is the ultimate systems language.”…..Let us briefly examine sacred geometry and its place in the greater scheme of things.

Our experience of and reaction to all things beautiful is made possible by our ability to distinguish order from chaos. When we recognize the perfection inherent in a Greek temple or a painting by da Vinci, we are subconsciously responding to proportions bound by the universal laws of geometry. To quote the geometer Robert Lawlor. “The practice of geometry was an approach to the way in which the Universe is ordered and sustained. Geometric diagrams can be contemplated as still moments revealing a continuous, timeless, universal action generally hidden from our sensory perception. Thus a seemingly common mathematical activity can become a discipline for intellectual and spiritual insight” (Lawlor 1982). A substantial body of evidence for this is found in the unlikeliest of sources, Religion.

As stated in Islam (particularly Sufi, its mystical half) – and echoed in Jewish and Hindu religions – sacred geometry enables humanity to see the archetypal world of God. At its heart, the Arabic faith still-contains an unadulterated snapshot of this primordial truth, in the geometric figures adorning its mosques and art forms. Consequently, Islam has served as curator and preserver, maintaining the purity of the philosophy of geometry, “akin to the Pythagorean-Platonic tradition of antiquity but in a totally sacred universe free of the nationalism which finally stifled and destroyed esoteric traditions of Greek intellectuality,” to quote the eminent Arabic historian S.H. Nasr (Critchlow 1976).

It’s not certain from where the terrestrial origin of this knowledge stems, since the forms of scared geometry are just as evident in Celtic, Tibetan, and Buddhist art-even in native North American sand paintings. In other words, sacred geometry is a universal principle shared by cultures that seemingly had little or no contact with each other.

One of the earliest known practitioners of scared geometry were the Egyptians. Its proportions were embedded in the ground plans of their temples, their frescoes, and in the Great Pyramid at Gitzeh, whose structure contains many mathematical laws since attributed to Pythagoras. But although enlightened Egyptians used geometry for all manner of terrestrial applications – hence geo-metry, “measure if the earth” – their aim was metaphysical. Egyptologist John Anthony West postulates: “The whole of Egyptian civilization was based upon a complete understanding of Universal laws. And this proud understanding manifested itself in a consistent, coherent and inter-related system that fused science, art and religion into a single organic Unity (West 1993).

The symbolic language of Egypt, together with its texts on medicine, mathematics, and science, demonstrates the Egyptians knew how the world works, and they did so without the advantages of computers or electron microscopes. proving that one does not need advanced technology to access and understand the finer realms of life. And because the Egyptians recognized sacred geometry as the mechanisms of the heavens, they applied it liberally across the landscape for millennia as a way to bestow Universal order on Earth, a concept encapsulated in the Hermetic maxim, “As Above, So Below.”

Such obvious benefits did not go unnoticed by other enlightened groups, and permanent expressions of this knowledge were subsequently erected for posterity throughout Europe, in the form of the Parthenon, the Temple of Delphi, Aachen cathederal (whose chapel bears identical ground-plan measurements to Stonehenge), and Chartes cathederal, one of the most impressive hymns to sacred geometry. The knowledge made its way north to the British Isles, for it is immortalized in Stonehenge. In fact, the “Pythagorean” geometric  tradition was already well in use throughout Britain some 3,000 years before the Greek mathematic, as evidenced by the formulae adopted for the construction of stone circles (Strachan 1998; Thom 1967).

Obviously the principles of sacred geometry were important enough for scholars and architects to go to enormous lengths to preserve for future generations. Well, that was the idea. These practices were abolished as a form of study by order of Emperor Theodosius in 399 A.D., the net effect being the rise of the Middle Ages. Slowly and corrosively, codes for a life in harmony with the Universe gave way to a predilection for violence, intolerance, terror, and persecution. The last great works based on sacred geometry – namely the Gothic and early Renaissance – were kept alive via Plat, the works of Vitruvius, and whatever Hermetic and Quabbalist writings and philosophies survived suppression by the emerging Catholic Inquisition. With the move toward an analytical view of the world, connections to holistic and metaphysical practices were severed, and by the time Newton and the scientific secularism of the seventeenth century prevailed, rational logic had gained such dominance that all esoteric knowledge was condemned as occult.

By the twentieth century, this masculine, left-brained worldview had reached a nadir. Man placed Nature over a barrel, harnessing its power, taming its ways, and desecrating its resources to fuel “progress”. The dubious high point of this culture has given us the nuclear age and saddled us with a few by-products; global urbanization, depletion of resources, and toxification of the Earth which, social scientists point out, has fueled a meteoric rise in human alienation and criminal behavior. Not surprisingly, worship at our ancient temples is today rarely done for its purpose of enlightenment, but a snapshot and a souvenir. As these temples become relegated to mere curiosities from an age gone by, so our wonder of the unseen and our connection to the sacred disappears.

And so the pattern emerges. The more disconnected we become from the Universal order, the more dysfunctional we become as a society. And the longer our umbilical connection remains severed, the more we rely on rationalism to explain our reason for being and the further we stray from spirituality. The vicious circle is compounded by Western language being a separatist language. As Lawlor explains: “Modern thought has difficult access to concept of the archetypal because European languages require that verbs or action words be associated with nouns. We therefore have no linguistic forms with which to imagine a process or activity that has no material carrier” (Lawlor 1982). Yet in the Eastern languages, subject and object are one. Japanese lovers do not declare to one another “I love you,” they declare aishiteru, “loving.” Subject and object are merged into wholeness, and such a linguistic foundation is probably what enables peoples of the East to accept mystical side of life more readily than their Western counterparts.

Thankfully the Universe moves in waves, and cycle of darkness is inevitably moving once again into enlightenment. For one thing, science is discovering the geometry within nature. During a demonstration of an electron microscope before the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1037, it was discovered that the crystalline structure of tungsten is composed of nine atoms geometrically arranged like a cube. Since then, science has further discovered that the physical structure of elements is governed by geometric arrays surrounding a central point. So the general assumption that the nature of matter is fundamentally composed of solid particles has given way to quantum physics, which shows that at a subatomic level, matter is empty, and at the heart lie patterns of energy. The irony here is that acknowledging geometry as the fundamental basis of matter, science has adopted the stance taken by ancient cultures, elevating those supposed “stone-wielding, loin-cloth primitives” to the highest ranks.

Little wonder, then, that these harmonic laws were so important to temple builders: they are the laws behind the Universe. And since the Universe was created by God, they reasoned that to embed the harmonic ratios governing temporal movement of the heavens into these physical structures, the power and knowledge of the firmament could be bestowed upon the Earth. So, temples became doorways into the mechanics of the physical world and the inner world of consciousness, and the interface would enable anyone to connect with finer levels of awareness.

Today, as alienation from all forms of spiritual and Universal wonder reaches epidemic proportions, expressions of sacred geometry and symbols bearing the hallmarks of ancient philosophy of harmony are manifesting in our fields. Even skeptics will admit that a crop circle designs exhibit a harmony pleasing to the eye much like an ancient temple or classical painting…..”

Excerpt 6

Page 186

“….Energy coming to Earth enters anticlockwise then upwells clockwise. You can find this instruction carved on the stones of Neolithic chambers throughout the world, although science had to wait 8,000 years before Russian physicists discovered that natural anticlockwise rotating systems add energy, and clockwise rotations release it (Kozyrev 1968)…”

Naturally occurring examples (Elmer Verigin comments):

  1. The electromagnetic field that surrounds a wire that is carrying electricity can be depicted by surrounding fingers around an electric wire with the thumb pointing to direction of the current travel, the fingers illustrate the magnetic field action which is always counter clockwise
  2. All races are run on tracks in a counter clockwise direction
  3. Baseball base running is counter clockwise
  4. The Earth rotates anticlockwise
  5. Earth and the Solar System Planets spin around the sun counter clockwise

****************************End*************************

Excerpted by Elmer Verigin December 2012

Where is Yerevan Armenia, anyway?

05 Wednesday Dec 2012

Posted by everigin in Uncategorized

≈ 3 Comments

NOTATION LOG DATED: May 19, 2008

LOCATION:  Yerevan, Armenia Marriot Hotel

“…….I am sitting at a table outside the Hotel looking at the “Square”. It is 0850 hours and raining

The bus is to pick us up at 0930 hours and we have an outing to Lake ___?___ where we are to enjoy a highland experience along with a meal.

Later, we are to dress formally for a farewell Dinner. It has been a great experience all around:

  • The eight (8) family members
  • The eight (8) American friends
  • Paul our Tour Manager
  • Sventlana, our Armenian Tour Guide 

This “Square” is utterly amazing. The Town Planners need to be commended for their pursuit of excellence in Architectural adventure in presenting both Armenian culture and Architecture in this place:

  • The museum across the public area from
  • The Marriott Hotel
  • Three (3) other major  public building surrounding
  • About five (5) acres of public space

In front of the Museum is the water feature that is a pond with programmed water jets that are synchronized to classical music.

In the evening, for about three (3) hours, this display of water jets, lights and music all come together with an awesome character that leaves the Beholder in silent wonderment.

Spell bound!

The ever present crowd stands around or slowly walks arm-in-arm (if couples) and enjoy this public presentation.

Then there is the angled street that emanates from the “Square” and plunges across all the streets and avenues. New development along this pedestrian only avenue, is spell catching. It is definitely an “open market”

This is a good idea for the safety of the public as the Drivers in Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, just aim their cars than drive.

Pedestrians have no right of way but somehow are spared the right to die. ……….”

****************************** END ****************************

Video

The Winding Trails From Trail Lead Back to Trail

30 Friday Nov 2012

Posted by everigin in Uncategorized

≈ 13 Comments

THE WINDING TRAILS FROM TRAIL LEAD BACK TO TRAIL

“Well, that leaves me no choice but to “Chopper” the boys, I need to get into the Plant, behind the picket line,” Roger Watson uttered this terse management statement to his counterpart at the bargaining table in the basement of the Union Hotel  as the picket lines continued to present a problem in maintenance basics for the strike bound Cominco Smelter at Trail. B.C., in 1990.

“There are some members within the United Steelworkers of America, who have a fetish with high-powered rifles and have become very proficient with them,” responded Doug Swanson from the union side. “I am deeply concerned, that no one will be able to control these people and something may happen that neither one of us would ever be able to forgive ourselves for the rest of our lives” Doug added. “Do we want to take that chance?”

“But Cominco must bring in Specialists into the Plant or there may not be a Plant to start again after the strike,” countered Roger. “We just have to get these people there now!”

“Okay, let’s see how we can get them through the line,” responded Doug, thoughtfully, while planning how he was going to convince his frustrated membership that this was a necessity and good bargaining practice.

So it did take place and respect grew for the two men representing two strong and opposite points of view, initiating a relationship which later was to become the significant factor that saved this fundamental source of employment in Greater Trail.

Roger Watson was born in Trail, B.C., the son of a Painting Contractor and Owner of a Paint Store. Roger graduated from the Trail school system and became a University of British Columbia graduate in Metallurgical Engineering. He was able to get summer jobs at the Trail Smelter and later became a Project Engineer in the Cominco Engineering pool. He rose through the ranks after conducting many feasibility studies for mining and potential plants at various sites throughout the world where Cominco Ltd owned properties.

One such feasibility study involved an exploratory process to refine lead rich ores using a patented Kivcet process designed by Russian Engineers. Roger sent samples of Cominco ore from the Red Dog Mine, an Alaskan Cominco property to a pilot plant in Kazakhstan so that they could be processed under the watchful eyes of the most knowledgeable Metallurgist in the world at that time, Vladmir Efremoe, President of Techicon in Genoa, Italy.

Roger was part of the Cominco Team that travelled to Kazakhstan during all the pilot plant testing and became intricately knowledgeable of the metallurgical, economic and operational challenges of the Kivcet process. Roger and his team were convinced that the Kivcet technology was the correct choice for the new Lead side Smelter.

Doug Swanson was born in Vermillion, AB where his father was employed as a Shoemaker because his Stone Masonry Trade was not in demand and a living had to be made. His education was grade 13 at Notre Dame in Nelson.  Then followed Normal School where he achieved a Teaching Certificate. He eventually received a Physical Education Degree from Notre Dame in Nelson and Notre Dame near Wilcox, Sask, where sports was part of its curriculum.

Doug spent summers working for his father’s Roofing Company, McIntyre-Swanson, in Trail and learned quickly, the work ethic, in order to survive.

Doug responded to an opportunity to gain employment at Consolidated Mining and Smelting Ltd (precursor to Comino Ltd) and chose Instrumentation Mechanics as his trade.  Doug and Lorne White explained how the CMS Ltd was the pioneer company in establishing a high level apprenticeship program that became the basis of the provincial apprenticeship program in later years. Doug and Lorne reminisced that Cominco Ltd treated them fairly and the company was a good employer that considered safety and top performance in their trades as its policy.

All employees were represented by a union which later became the Union of Steelworkers of America (USWA). Doug served his union in various capacities until he became President in 1987. Doug was President at the time period of this chronicle.

Doug recalls an interesting incident during his time (late seventies) in his active leadership in the union when a meeting was called at back of a pickup truck at the plant, in response to employees concerns over safety. A staff member from Personnel stood beside Doug on the pickup truck. Personnel was responding to an eleven (11) point list of safety concerns at the plant.  At least two (2) employees had lost their lives and some were physically hurt.

“The situation is not as bad as it appears”, the representative from Personnel started, “Cominco has a good safety record”

One of the employees raised his gnarled hand in the air and waved it at the speaker, “Here is the evidence!” All eleven (11) points were acted upon. Doug and Lorne recall that this was part of a sequence of events that established the ability of the union to have meaningful meetings with management. Safety became paramount in Cominco policy.

Despite the recommendations of Cominco Engineering and Roger Watson… Senior Management, with authority over Trail Management, became attracted to a QSL metallurgical process which was developed and patented by German Engineering. This Technology was offered with a substantial financial investment in Cominco Ltd. The Writer is not fully aware of all the reasons for this action and, therefore; this is not part of this chronicle except that the QSL process became the metallurgical process that was selected for the Lead side Smelter renovations of the dated original Lead Smelter at Trail, B.C., It became part of the final Engineering designs and construction at the Trail Plant during the latter part of the 1980s. This senior management selection over turned the local Engineering recommendation that favored the Kivcet Technology.

The writer’s information is provided here only to illustrate a likely series of events that gave rise to the eventual crisis in 1991 through 1992, that is the subject of this chronicle.

  1. QSL process was installed with a multi-million dollar expense and eventually placed on line in early 1990
  2. The newly updated Zinc Plant produces a“Slime” that was rich in many lesser metals including Lead and many precious metals that needed to be further processed by the Lead Smelter
  3. The QSL process operating equipment could not satisfactorily process this “Slime” rendering the Lead Smelter uneconomic and inefficient to continue operating in this manner.
  4. A decision was reached by the collective management, that some serious corrections were needed in the process to prevent economic disaster.
  5. The original Kivcet process technology had been proven capable of dealing with this “Slime” effectively
  6. A decision was made to renovate the QSL operation with the Kivcet technology while the Smelter would operate, albeit uneconomically during the process.
  7. This was all in conjunction with a serious drop in world metal prices and consequent demand
  8. At this time, the financial loans and support entered into a crisis mode with the Financiers dictating a cash action plan as to how to recover the failed QSL costs
  9. Roger became the Leader during this difficult time in Cominco Ltd history.

The Financiers were adamant that Cominco Ltd take immediate steps to rectify the losing proposition at the Trail Plant and so issued an ultimatum and a time frame within which a substantial change would take place that would result in financing recovery.

This chronicle will not deal with the process that Cominco Ltd used in initiating this Plan of Action to secure its position with its Financiers as this is outside the scope and expertise of this writer.

What is known is that the following was some of what was included in that Plan of Action:

  1. Market some of the Cominco Ltd properties to raise cash
    1. Sale of Brilliant Dam near Castlegar, B.C.
    2. Sale of West Kootenay Power & Light Co. Ltd
  2. Meet with USWA and discuss ways in which wages and labor costs could be controlled. This was where Doug Swanson became involved as the USWA President
  3. Meet with local municipalities that were the Cominco Ltd municipal tax base and reduce the actual tax as well as control the rise in tax levy. This was where Doug became involved from his position as Chair of the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary (RDKB)
  4. Meet with Cominco Suppliers and reduce the cost of purchases. This was spear headed by the Job Protection Commissioner (JPC) appointed by the provincial government as some of his contributions to this Plan
  5. Obtain special grants from:
    1. Federal Government
    2. Provincial Government
  6. There were likely other items on the list that is outside the scope of this chronicle.

A A Team was assembled to deal with all this Plan of Action which consisted primarily of:

  1. Cominco Ltd:
    1. Roger Watson
    2. Others that assisted Roger
  2. Regional District of Kootenay Boundary
    1. Doug Swanson, Chair
    2. Larry Robinson, Administrator
    3. Elaine Kumar, Administrative Assistant
  3. B.C. Provincial Government
    1. Job Protection Commissioner (William (Bill) Sleeman, as researched by Carol Vanelli Worosz)
  4. Union of Steelworkers of America
    1. Doug Swanson, President Local 480
    2. Ron Schmidt, Business Agent
    3. Jim Saare, President of Staff Union 9740

Developing the Plan of Action was a fundamental start to the monumental task of implementation. It is at this point that this chronicle will illustrate how these two individuals, Roger and Doug, became the Leaders whose challenge was to convince their respective counterparts; that there would be no alternative except total cooperation and commitment or all could be lost.

Firstly, they needed to have faith and trust in each other.  Throughout their previous bouts in Labor / Management negotiations, they were able to achieve that  … so they feverishly took on this task with abandon. The entire populace of Greater Trail, the  Province of British Columbia and Canada, needed a victory on all fronts or their primary source of employment would disappear.

Championship performances were not a new frontier for the Greater Trail Community as in the past; the Community has provided outstanding creativity in providing:

  • Two (2) world championship Hockey Teams in 1939 and 1961
  • National Curling Champions
  • National Hockey League players
  • National League Baseball players
  • Track and Field Champions
  • Little League National Champions
  • Noted Scholars of all disciplines
  • National Labor Leaders
  • Technology to operate the largest Smelter of Lead, Zinc, Silver, Antimony and many rare metals, in the world,
  • Other

Faced with an industrial financial crisis, the Community gathered its strengths and set aside its weaknesses to win over this challenge.

The chosen Team began its work and the following accomplishments ensued:

  1. Federal assistance grants were applied for and received
  2. Provincial grants were applied for and received
  3. Municipal taxes were lowered
  4. Provincial taxes were lowered
  5. The Province of British Columbia purchased the generating power dams from Cominco Ltd
    1. Brilliant Dam
  6. West Kootenay Power & Light Co Ltd was sold to the B.C. Government
  7. Negotiations with the United Steelworkers of America resulted in:
    1. A moratorium and ceiling on wage increases
    2. Early buy-out retirement packages from Tradesmen
  8. Management personnel early retirement packages were negotiated
  9. A reduction in pricing from Cominco Ltd Suppliers
  10. Other

Roger became intricately involved with senior management in convincing them of the various actions that were necessary to achieve success. This was not an easy task as one can imagine.  There were many meetings, disagreements and debates along the way. All this was calmly managed with the professional skills that Roger had developed over the years.

In a discussion at a social lunch with Roger in 1993, the discourse went something like this: “So Roger, how do you feel having to find methods to reduce the work force at the Plant when many of these people are those that you may have grown up and socialized with in the past since Trail is your home town,” I asked?

“Well you see, Elmer,” he responded slowly, “It was not a situation that I was able to choose. It was dictated by the Bank,” he added. “Get it there, or we pull the plug!”

“I know that people stare at me and wonder what kind a person I really am when my primary function is to eliminate their jobs,” he continued. “We installed the equipment that could process our ores with instrumentation and robotic control systems thereby reducing approximately 500 positions.

The installation of the Zinc Plant achieved several benefits:

  • A hazardous working environment was mechanized so that workers would not have to work in an unhealthy place. Now robotic systems perform this function.
  • The result also increased production of zinc with a better quality.

“I understand the production line personnel changes but I still have difficulty with determining how your entire operation can function with less maintenance personnel,” I questioned. “I am perplexed with how Cominco can encourage early retirement of its  senior tradesmen and research and production staff when they possess so much knowledge.

From what you tell me, I understand that you also have a ‘freeze’ on any new hiring policy.  How can you operate under those conditions?” Now, I was really interested

“The terms of our financial recovery provided no options for compromise,” he looked at me with a serious face. “Do it or that is it!” Roger explained the Banker’s ultimatum in no uncertain terms.

Doug, in turn, had to deal with his union who needed convincing that this was not just another company ploy to strip workers of their hard fought achievements in their past bargaining. This was not an easy task but Doug was able to get the support that he needed.

In a discussion at lunch, June 07, 2012, Doug and Lorne explained their roles as Instrument Mechanics, “We are Job Eliminators,” they both confessed. “It is our trade and expertise to install systems that will operate without an Operator at a switch, For example, a light on an Operator’s panel would indicate that a vessel requires emptying. We would install an activating control that would automatically perform that function. The result is a job lost,” they explained.

“The USWA was very much aware that survival of the Plant required modernization to ensure that the processed price of metal would stay competitive on the world markets where our Employer needed to compete,” Doug was matter of fact in his statement. “We all knew what needed to get done!”

Doug then needed to convince his political counterparts in Greater Trail municipalities that this was indeed a real crisis and without tax relaxations, the struggle to keep Cominco in Trail, B.C. could be lost. Again this meant that all municipal budgets would need to be reduced during this time as Cominco Ltd paid the greatest share of the municipal tax levy.

This tremendous overall action plan provided the financial resources to permit the completion of financing required to overhaul the challenged QSL process to be converted to the Kivcet process while the Smelter was able to operate. Construction was completed and an efficiently modern Smelter became a reality. The resulting designs used, also launched Cominco Ltd into an environmentally sound Smelter and a leader in world smelting technology.

This chronicle is s tribute to two humble local heroes, Roger Watson and Doug Swanson who spearheaded this recovery so that future citizens in Greater Trail will have employment stability for many years into the future.

Cominco Ltd became Teck and it now continues with the policies of modernizing its processes. It is now installing additional furnaces in its Lead side smelter in 2012 as this chronicle was written.

Doug took advantage of the Early Retirement Package and retired from Cominco Ltd in 1994 and continues his original Instrumentation Trade by operating Kootenay Controls Ltd which performs installation and advice to local industry requiring instrumentation expertise. Lorne White works with Doug.

An interesting recollection by Doug was his visit to his Doctor at the end of the crisis when the Doctor prescribed a one month leave of absence due to his extreme stress condition. Cominco and USWA both agreed to this leave. After the month elapsed, Doug went back to the Doctor for a checkup. The Doctor talked to him for a few minutes and advised “Yes, you can go back to work now.”

“Please explain, Doctor, how is it that you have made this diagnosis without a stethoscope and any other physical examination?” the surprised Doug enquired.

The Doctor responded with,” The last time I talked to you every second word started with f__.” He then added, “I can see now that you have basically eliminated it from your vocabulary and so you have essentially recovered fully.”

Roger Watson accepted a senior management promotion to Head Office in Vancouver. One always wonders whether the stress under which Roger operated through the turbulent times during the crisis contributed to his cancer and eventual demise. A special tribute to Roger by Cominco Ltd was the donation of $400,000 to the Cancer Foundation in his name.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++ END  +++++++++++++++++++++++++

Lastest edit: June 15, 2012

Information derived from:

  1. Recollections, EWV discussions with Roger Watson (deceased) at various dates during 1990 through 1993 in a social friendship exchange
  2. Discussions,  EWV with Doug Swanson May 23, 2012 at Americano Restaurant, Trail, B.C.
  3. Discussions, EWV with Doug Swanson May 31, 2012 at Americano Restaurant, Trail, B.C.
  4. Discussions, EWV with Doug Swanson and Lorne White June 07, 2012 at Americano Restaurant, Trail, B.C.
  5. Discussion with Doug Swanson and Lorne White June 14, 2012 at Americano Restaurant, Trail, B.C.
  6. Michael T. Martin, June 18, 2012 by phone as well as email since

Many thanks to the following for contributions:

  1. Linda Watson approval of this draught September 28, 2012 by email, thanks
  2. Doug Swanson approval of this draught October 01, 2012 by email, thanks

FOR THOSE WHO MAY HAVE SUFFERED FROM AGORAPHOBIA

09 Tuesday Oct 2012

Posted by everigin in Uncategorized

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THE DAY MY NERVES JAMMED IN NEUTRAL

It was another day in the my life as I walked the few blocks from my offices on Mainland Street in Vancouver to the bus stop on Howe to take the express run to Tsawwassen. The usual transit riders were waiting for their respective runs and chit-chatted with those that knew each other while the rest paced around aimlessly, alone with their thoughts of the day’s events or what they were about to do when they got home. The Express picked up along Howe and this was the last stop before its destination to TSWWASSEN and was most always at full capacity. One of BC Transit’s greatest ideas that eliminated driving through rush hour traffic and provided an opportunity to relax in this busy life where these Urbanites made their living.

I dropped my token and the Bus-Driver launched his “missile” into the traffic as I grabbed any available post strap on my way down to the rear of the bus where an empty seat awaited me.

We were over almost over the Granville Street Bridge when that light-headed sensation started to come unto me. It is like someone was squeezing the top of my head down into my torso. Then I became anxious and I looked around, anticipating that those around me could see what was happening to me but everyone continued oblivious to my sudden apparent attack of some sort that I could not seem to control as it totally overcame me.

There was this overwhelming need to escape. “Escape from what?”, was my practical self asking me. Yet, try as I could, to dissuade this feeling, I became convinced that I had to get off this bus as everything seemed to be closing in on me and I felt threatened by the place I occupied at this time and I needed to leave it immediately.

I activated the bell but the Driver ignored me. I realized that he had no idea what I was going through and so I got up and bounced my way to the front of bus. My legs felt “rubbery” and I actually felt that I would fall down but somehow I groped my way forward to ask the Driver to let me off.

“I have to get off this bus”, I mumbled as even my voice seemed strange to me, which was further cause for alarm.

“This is an Express Bus, that has only one stop and that is Tswwassen” he curtly replied. “Sit down”, he commanded.

“I have to get off this bus right now,” I pleaded. “I am not well and I cannot explain any further, except, I need to get off this thing!”

By this time we were approaching 60th Avenue and finally the bus ground to a halt with some very vile language hurtled at me and I literally fell off the steps and unto the sidewalk at 80th Avenue.

I got up slowly as helplessness became my next fear because try as I would, my legs would not obey my mind’s instruction to walk. “What is happening?” I asked the shrubbery beside me, wondering what was really taking place as I never had such a condition befall me before.

“I need to get to a phone and call home,” was my next plan, “but how and where do I find a phone?” I asked no one in particular. “Besides, how will I walk to a phone if I could even see one?”

“All right”, I encouraged my body, “walking is taking one step at a time” but my legs would not move and at best felt that they each weighed a ton. “My God, I think this must be what is referred to as a “Nervous Breakdown”.

 “Thanks for the self diagnosis, but what is the remedy?” I pleaded with myself.

“Start walking, hobbling or whatever you can do even if you need to crawl, as a sidewalk on Granville is not where you want to end your life here on Earth”, I encouraged my body.

And so, this wreck of a man began a staggering, almost pitiful trek in search of a phone. This effort resulted in reaching the approach to the Arthur Laing Bridge when I realized that there were likely no phones for a long distance on the other side of that Bridge assuming that I could navigate across.

“Let’s try Oak Street and see what can be found”, I continued with this journey. I started to recall my many years that I walked the 3 ½ miles to school and back only to return to town after doing my chores for some social activity. “So what is the matter now”, I asked the inconsiderate traffic whizzing by me on their missions to and fro.

I made it to the North side of the Oak Street Bridge and for the first time realized how lengthy the blessed thing was. “How will I ever make it across?” I was almost wailing now in my anguish to somehow end this entire experience.

“Let’s give it a College try”, I coaxed my body to action that appeared to be not at all responding in a fashion that I was used to and was dangerously on the verge of giving up.

“One foot ahead of the other and pull the other foot forward. Just keep this up and we will get there,” but the body was continuing to disobey. At the crest of the bridge, I stopped and looked at the Fraser River. The thought came by “let’s just lean over the handrail and let this all end”, but the other self continued with its debate “is this how it all will end?”

“Let’s see if we can make the other side and take it from there” was the sensible decision and on this wreck continued to the Richmond side. No telephone could be seen anywhere in my periphery. The Delta River Inn was all I could surmise may provide the pay phone that I needed. “There is eight (8) lanes of traffic to cross to get there and we have the 6 o’clock traffic to contend with and no crosswalk” I discussed the situation with myself.

“Myself” answered in the desperate plea that could only be excused for a “bad decision is better than no decision at all” that is taught in management and leadership classes. So the decision was to launch myself into the traffic and let Providence deal with the outcome. I am sure that the Drivers of that day must have thought that “here’s one of them drunk guys again, why don’t the Police deal with them so they do not endanger us sane people?”

Traffic veered every which way and all I can remember is reaching the island between the North and South lanes. “Yes, I made it this far but I only have four (4) lanes of Northbound traffic to go” as I pivoted off the island on my way to the East side of the Highway.

I am still not sure how this reckless maneuver was able to propel me to my destination but in the end I finally made it to the hotel. I am sure that Marilyn must have wondered “what is he doing at the hotel and why does he want me to pick him up?”

After reaching home, I decided to continue walking around the neighborhood and that ultimately released the nerve seizure or anxiety attack that I had experienced. The entire relaxation process took some time but ultimately the condition went away as suddenly as it came on.

The epilogue of this story is that I realized that in 1986, that I had imposed on my body too much and although I never experienced such a severe attack again, I have had many anxiety situations to which I found no understanding from the medical fraternity at that time. Some self-diagnosis and research seemed to indicate stress symptoms, with perhaps an Agoraphobic tendency in that I would want to get out of a public place and literally “hide”.

Along with the medication for Hypertension that continued with a higher dosage of various pills to no avail, I came to the conclusion with my Heart Specialist at Vancouver General, that removing myself from the current level of responsibility and activity as President of a very active General Contracting firm was my best treatment in the initial sense.

I resigned my position and returned to the Kootenays in a capacity as a Building Consultant in my own one person firm. I never again had any indication of that type of an attack.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ End ++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Andrew Markin – Champion Cribbage Player

12 Wednesday Sep 2012

Posted by everigin in Uncategorized

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Do You want a hand of Crib ??

Ever since I could remember, my mother would be excited when she got letters from her birth sisters and sisters-in-law married to her brothers. These letters would be read and reread on the remote farmstead where we lived. Of course, each one would be answered in her grade four English and Spelling. Faithfully, Mom communicated with her family on a steady basis.

I recall that even in preschool years, I could not wait until I to learn enough English that would permit my reading of these important letters. I would look at them all even though I could not read them but soon it was possible to do so myself. You might say that I kept in touch with all these Aunties on a second-hand basis at that time.

Although all the families involved were very important, it was the families in Calgary, Alberta that intrigued me most as I always wondered … Who were they? The local ones I would see at least two or more times a year, whereas, the others were a rare visit because of the distance.

Probably because the family name Markin was a rarity in the Veregin / Pelly area of Saskatchewan, that name seemed to be especially interesting to me. Sister Florence and Andy Markin used to be on my Mom’s lips and then there would be the occasional pictures of them and their children Allan and Diana and then later Kathy and Jerry.

There was excitement galore when one late Fall day in 1948, it was noted that the Markins and Morozoffs were coming from Calgary. Cooking and preparations were rampant until finally they arrived. I recall that Aunty Flo was beautiful with a very handsome husband Andy.  They, along with their two children Allan and Diane, came to our house on a Coupe (a two seated  car with a limited rear storage area and a trunk). I am not sure how everyone fitted in, baggage and all, but they did.

There was some mischief that Allan and Diana got themselves into and I recall Aunt Flo taking them into the far bedroom of our house in Pelly and scolding them. They must have been about four and two respectively, at that time, and I remember vividly their bowed heads from the warning they received. I cannot remember their misdeed nor do I recall if I was part of the conspiracy that got them into trouble in the first instance.

Years passed during which references were made to the Markin Family many times.    In 1957, (I believe) I was returning to Saskatchewan from work with my brothers in Trail, British Columbia by the good graces of Uncle Nick Morozoff. We drove as far as Calgary where he lived. I was then to catch a bus back to Pelly.

During the short time in Calgary, Uncle Nick took me down to Bowness to see the Markin family.  It was not long before Uncle Andy Markin asked me if I played Crib. Saying ‘yes’ was a mistake as my two uncles ‘cleaned my clock”, royally. I realized then, that this may not have been a fluke.

Later, Uncle Andy said “Allan is pitching today in Little League. He is a really good Pitcher. We should go and see him play”.  My recollection is that we had time to watch a few innings and I am not sure if we got a chance to say anything to Allan but we had to leave as I had to catch the bus… but only after Uncle Andy was able to proudly say “Allan is the top Pitcher in this league” and he looked darn good from my vantage point.

Later in my work years, many occasions took me to Calgary and almost always, I dropped in on the Markin family and occasionally, the Nick Morozoff Family. When at Markins, it was always “Do you want to play a hand of crib?” Always it was the same result and after constant defeat, I started to believe that Uncle Andy had to have had a marked deck.

In later years, Marilyn and I would call in to their new house at Christie Park and the room was all set up for cards. The board was there, the deck was there with the beautiful view of downtown Calgary as a background. The results were the same. Total annihilation no matter how many years I played that game, Uncle Andy always had the upper hand.

Unfortunately age and sickness started to show wear and tear on Uncle Andy and it was suspected that he was suffering from Dementia or perhaps a related illness associated with aging that made him despondent at times. I can honestly say that during the short times when we visited, I did not notice this although his usual restlessness became was displayed more.

At these occasions, Aunty Flo would take Marilyn shopping leaving Uncle Andy and me to follow this usual agenda:

  • Play Cribbage
  • Go to the Recreation Center and have a Steam bath
  • Go for lunch
  • Have a wine with lunch (a privilege and a secret between us that could not be admitted to Aunty as alcohol was not permitted to Uncle Andy) which we enjoyed and oft-time we became philosophical.
  • A tour which would take us to Bowness, Cousin Kathy’s house and Nephew Jess’s house which were under construction and later completed
  • Home again and more Cribbage

The end result was always the same….Uncle Andy would let me win one game in twenty just to keep my interest up.

Uncle Andy moved into a senior’s home as his illness continued and his care needed more attention than Aunty could provide. But even there, the question was always the same “Do you want a hand of Crib?” The result continued, no matter how many games were played until he tired.

The last time we visited, Uncle Andy was sitting in the “Common Room” and as Marilyn and I came in through the secured entry, he noticed us across the entire room. We came to him and he was visibly weak and fragile but the first thing he said was “let’s go to my room”. We were told by the staff that lunch was being served in a short time as the tables were all set. So we visited there but I am sure Uncle Andy would have preferred another game of Crib

His parting words were “Be happy!”

++++++++++++++++++++++++End ++++++++++++++++++++++++++

In Memory of Allan Morozoff

09 Sunday Sep 2012

Posted by everigin in Uncategorized

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ODE TO ALOIYSHA PARVATIYA KALOOSHA (Allan Morozoff)

Of a long line of Morozoffs he came

Of true Doukhobor stock was he

Ever curious to know more of his name

Always searching for more history

Like father Alex and so was the son

Ready to make all laugh with a joke

Meet him and your heart was won

His humor was dry when he spoke

His costume choice was rural and simple

His announced himself as Aloiysha

And the cheeks would pop with a dimple

And added, Aloiysha, Parvatiya Kaloosha

The pickings on the farm were slim

Brother Lawrence he left and from Tolstoi

His ingenuity and wit went with him

Moose Jaw, Vancouver and Calgary was his to enjoy

Many pursuits were his to try and follow

Until materials testing came within his sight

In all types of soils he did wallow

Taking to Almor Testing with all his might

He dreamt of flying and looked to the sky

And saw birds suspended way up there

The boy from the farm said “I too could fly”

Go to the farm, to fishing and anywhere

First learn aerodynamics then buy a plane

Then to study and learn from the best

Soon a license to fly, Aloiysha did obtain

His love for planes and you know the rest

For people and their buildings, there on the farm

Nostalgic memories came close to his heart

He only purchased those to preserve their charm

This is the way he would do his part

“I will build myself a Retreat”, he uttered

“Yes I will duplicate the former Shkaratoff ‘stead”

Beside White Sand River many days he puttered

“Maybe I will call Cousin Elmer and use his head”

“Elmer, come quick, Tey Brat Moi

For two Committees have been coming here

One is called Noshtoh and the other Oi  Ya Yoi

They have told me about all I needn’t hear”

His creation we inspected there by White Sand

It needed to be blessed in the usual fashion

Twined our arms, lifted glasses hand to hand

Aloiysha, proudly, flaunted his passion

So I have come to the end of this little rhyme

Our intent is to remember a friend, with this toast

Let us raise glasses and think of another time

When Aloiysha Parvatia Kaloosha was the most!

************************* End ****************************

To those who are reading my blog entries

08 Saturday Sep 2012

Posted by everigin in Uncategorized

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Hello:

To date, I have posted 19 of of my over 400 various writings to share.

I know that many are reading them now and some will in the future.

If you like what you have read, do not hesitate to comment accordingly and I may entertain you with more.

Elmer

Naive Contractor vs Veteran Promotor

02 Sunday Sep 2012

Posted by everigin in Uncategorized

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“MR. JELLY-BEAN”

A) Meeting

You might say that it was time that the Verigin Brothers got themselves into trouble. We were building custom houses for reliable clients but there was not enough volume to sustain a family business. We had to expand Verigin Industries Ltd into larger projects so that Russel could expand his talents in Construction supervision and Lawrence would have more volume in the millwork line and Elmer could utilize his Engineering and technical knowledge for a much wider scope.

Into the open door walks John Holcombe, “Hokie” as he was known to his immediate associates. It would be soon enough that we would find that that the name was synomonus “Hocus Pocus” or some like name that is foreboding with, “hang on, you are all in for an experience!”

As he gave us compliment after compliment:

  • “my knowledge and your building expertise is what I have been always searching for”
  • “with your reputation we can conquer the development business”

That should have been enough to warn those farm boys to keep an eye on their rear ends. But then again, what harm would there be in listening to a few ideas After all we were smart enough to understand construction and if a project dropped in our laps, could we not handle it? It does not matter how large the deal could be

One day at a social time he talked about his salesmanship while he worked as a Representative for Nabob Foods. He convinced the Prime Contractor on the construction of the Alcan Smelter in Kitimat, B.C. to purchase jelly-beans, as a Xmas treat, for all the children of the workers on that project. He smiled as he said, “My boss in Toronto, could not believe that I had sold an entire carload of jelly-beans. “ I have to admit that was impressive.

And so, we gave him the nickname of Mr. Jelly-Bean

B) Elkford Square Concept

Jelly-Bean continued with his association with us while looked around for a project that he could promote that would provide him with a “Promotion Fee” for a concept that he would sell. After all what is wrong with all that, the Verigin boys get a construction project, Hokie gets a fee and if all that is within a budget that works, is that not the way t is done?

The new town of Elkford created by Fording Coal Ltd needed a town center and Mr. Jelly-Bean salesman extraordinaire was there promoting. What is needed here is a 22 room hotel, beverage room, lounge and restaurant and a shopping center with a food store, pharmacy, liquor store, bank, post office and clothing store. “Hey, your guys, this will be a Plum” he said. “Think about it, where will 700 thirsty Coal Miners wash out the coal dust?”  The more he talked about the greater the excitement all around.

“All we need to do is convince Fording Coal Ltd that we are the team! With the Verigin reputation and my knowledge and contacts, we have a sure winner!”

C) Promotion

Hokie started using his best persuasive tools that the had every mustered along with his upmost salesmanship to keep the newly selected Mayor and Council of Elkford abreast of his concept.

Harry Soloveoff used his talented artist ability to paint a conceptual plan so that John Holcombe could present to his audiences in Elkford and wherever else he needed to go. Soon he had prelease agreements with the Royal Bank and other agencies

The long wait to get a commitment for the proposal was on but Hokie persisted

D) Commitment

There may have been an omen when the Cominco management called me into their offices in Trail, B.C. for a special meeting.

“How much do you know about John Holcombe? There seems be many little matters in his record that is not serious but concern us. We wanted to talk to you first and see how you feel about them.”

I responded with “yes, we have heard the same about him and he has had money problems since he quit working as a Greyhound Bus Driver and started selling for Nabob. Now he is a practicing Promoter and this occupation is a hit and miss proposition at best. It is understandable for a man to have financial shortfalls as he dos not have a steady income”

“You do know he is in jail!”

“Yes he had alimony issues with one of his wives”, I responded

“As long as you know about all this, that is fine”, the Cominco people responded. “The Elkford Project is yours as long as you are in control of its development”

Was I sure how I was going to continue? No, but what did we have to lose?

The plot thickens!

E) Mortgage Financing

Hokie’s answer to mortgage financing was to meet with a Mortgage Broker and convince them that he had a Shopping Center fully leased backed by Verigin Industries Ltd and personal guarantees. He was very excited that he had succeeded and the project was a go. When I asked him that it appeared to me that all the liability rested on the Verigin Brothers ability to ay the bills, his response was “so what did you expect?”

Obviously the answer goes without saying that the Verigin expectation was to design and construct and there was no intent to extend liability to the Verigin family.

So started the beginning of a time that the development process became two separate understandings

It was shortly after this that in the fall of 1972 that the project ground to a halt so that the financing package could be more acceptable. This was when Hokie suddenly disappeared and we found out later that he was incarcerated.

F) Interim Financing

Since the Royal Bank of Canada was financing Fording Coal Ltd and was also a potential tenant in the Shopping Center, it was decided that Interim Financing (the “bridge” between the mortgage on permanent financing and the regular financing to construct the project) could be arranged with this Bank.

This was the first experience that I had with preparing cash flow forecasts whichcombined a construction schedule with the need for funding and a shortfall of mortgage funds that equated to the need of interim financing.

Since the Mortgage Holder had not been established at this time nor any terms of a possible mortgage, the idea of an inexperienced designer of the cash flow being able to make a credible presentation was indeed a challenge

Ingenuity, perseverance and many draughts resulted in a meeting being scheduled with senior RBC staff in their head office in Vancouver. After two hours of presentation, many questions answered, the staff indicated that there was agreement in principle to create a $250,000 “Bridge Financing” fund subject to a satisfactory “Takeout Mortgage”.

A formal letter followed within two weeks, Note that Hokie had nothing to do with this part of the process

G) Leasing

Now that Hokie was in jail and interim financing was set, the final mortgage financing was a function of how good were the prelease agreements. How much steady income was available and were they triple A leases from banks, government, or unsecured new businesses?

After a review of the letters that Hokie had, it was evident that the rental incomes would not service the debt. I proceeded to meet with these contacts and begin the negotiations to emend the rental rates.

Progress was made in some agreements but most were reluctant to renegotiate since they had a valid signed pre-lease agreement with Hokie. It was either the agreements had to be changed or the project could not proceed Persistence achieved success

H) Its A Go!

I had already given up on the project since the Take-out Mortgage became enmired in a long review since early winter and the optimum time to begin a project in Elkford (April 1) had past.

It was mid August 1973 when I got a call from the Federal Business Development Bank in Cranbrook, B.C. that the wished to discuss an offer for financing. The project required $950,000 in financing but the offer was $750,000 with a $100,000 guarantee from Fording Coal Ltd and personal guarantees from all the shareholders. Sign the agreements and proceed.

I needed time to contemplate how the difference of $200,000 was to be generated. I started my drive o Elkford and at Jaffray, I called my brother Lawrence in Trail to let him know of the offer. His answer “well it’s a project and so let’s get on with it!” I still did not resolve in my mind how I was going to make it fit together.

I arrived into the site office left over from the failed attempt in 1972, sat down and started to cry from frustration.

First visitor was the Manager of the Royal Bank of Canada satellite office in Elkford. His message “ your $250,000 interim financing is in place, the RBC does not want to be the agency that will stop this fundamental project in Elkford from beginning!”

A short while later, Larry Sapriken of Sapriken Brothers n Kelowna arrived and introduced himself. “Our company can undertake the Insulation, Drywall, Steel Studs, T-Bar Ceilings and Stucco. Can I offer you my Tender Price ?”

While Larry was still there, Hank Tarasoff from Acme Plumbing arrived and announced that he was ready and willing to undertake all the Plumbing

Doug Fisher opens the door and introduces himself as the Clerk of Works for Fording Coal Ltd and charged with inspecting the construction of Elkford Square Ltd. “When is this project starting? “

When they all left, I sat down and cried as I had no clue how I was going to make all this happen.

Then, Stuart Matheson arrived from Fording Coal Ltd and asked whether Verigin Industries Ltd could get a thirty (30) unit apartment building being built by Fording.

Yes, the Elkford project had started but but the “Captain of the Ship” had few drawings, no realistic budget and a schedule that had big letters on it “Go as fast as you can”

I) Construction

Snow had already covered the surrounding mountains which meant the “window” for economic construction was over and the heavy additional costs of winter construction were evident. In addition to a $250,000 deficit in construction financing, this additional pressure was not a minor threat to the success of this project.

This was the time to combine construction expertise, with design to achieve an apparent impossible budget and so was the continual vigil for more ingenuity for ideas and research to the budget of Elkford Square.

J) The Promoter Lawsuit

It was about the time that Elkford Square became operational, that I heard from John Holcombe, alias “Hokie”, alias “Jelly-Bean”, again. This time it was in the form of a claim to our bank account for $20,000 in Promoter Fees as a “Contract” for services rendered.

Yes there was agreement that the entire “Promotion Fee” would be $20,000 but that was for:

  • Concept marketing to Fording Coal and the Village of Elkford
  • Leasing
  • Financing
  • Operations Initiation of the Hotel

I had advanced $5,000 to Hokie but he never completed satisfactory leasing, Mortgage Financing, Interim Financing nor any credible business plan for hotel operations. He was in jail when all the finalization was completed.

From my prospective, this was a frivolous matter that can easily be settled but the lien was presented to the Bank of Montreal and needed to be either contested by 1200 noon that day, or it had to be paid out. So the temporary solution was to pay the money into court and let Hokie proceed to the courts to get that money if he had legal access to this money.

Well Hokie did and the court date arrived. The Elkford Square Lawyer was sure that he had a winner and an entire pay was sent in court

The ruling was not immediately obvious (depending on which side the view is from) and the Judge ruled that since the project went ahead and that in order for success the work had to be done and so Hokie was entitled o the entire sum of $20,000 less what was paid out previously.

Interesting !

J) Aftermath

I never did see John Holcombe (Hokie) (Jelly-Bean) again.

The Elkford Motor Inn had great revenues but a tremendous staff theft problem and eventually was sold (after creating a $250,000 deficit) to a former local employee foe BC Telephone company.

Elkford Square Shopping Center was expanded in 1982 and eventually sold to George Wood of Supervalu, the largest Lessee in the Center just after the turn of the century.

I have many memories but they were all developed under considerable stress and I have not been to Elkford since the Shopping Center sold.

A Marriage Proposal

01 Saturday Sep 2012

Posted by everigin in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

I WOULD LIKE TO ASK PERMISSION FOR YOUR DAUGHTER’S HAND

It was April 1961 and another year at the U of S was coming to an end. Again I would leave for British Columbia to work with my bothers in their small construction company building custom homes in the Kootenays

It was decision time as for the past four years; I would culture a relationship with a girl in Saskatchewan in the winter only to find that the girls of summer in British Columbia would distract my attention. This was not a travesty but something that the Garden of Eden could not be better in its creation by God.

This year the girl in Saskatchewan became a more meaningful and became a courtship in a manner of speaking. I spent many spare moments between studies, wondering if Marilyn was the one…….. It appeared to me that she was also of the same opinion. What was the next step?

In the manner within which I was raised, it was necessary to ask permission of the would-be betrothed, for her hand, from her father, if was I to be serious. Preparing for an exam in Differential Equations or Physical Chemistry was much easier for me than this seemingly insurmountable, challenge.

How does a young man prepare for this? Her father was a nice enough man and I was able to talk to him on most subjects but this was not to be an ordinary discussion. Besides should I make the request in Russian or English? Do I do this in private? Where should it happen? What do I say?

So it came to be that Marilyn had brought me out to the farm for a break from my studies but I knew deep inside me that, it would have to happen this time or never. It was like stalking a game animal during a hunt and so it was, following my future father-in-law-to-be with my eyes and “dancing” in the discussions; looking for the right time when I could “pop the question”.

I noticed that he had gone outside to the barn and I came to the conclusion that this would be the occasion for sure.

I walked into the barn door, almost stumbling on the threshold and got his attention with “there is something that I have to ask you, if I may”.

“Why not?” he responded with an enquiring look.

I forgot all about custom, language and protocol and blurted out with, “I would like to marry your daughter”. (I did not need to use a name as he only had one daughter, which was a good thing because I have been known to forget names in times of stress and that would have been too embarrassing)

“This sounds too good to share in private, so let’s go in the house and handle it with everyone” he suggested as we proceeded single file to the house. I am still not sure what his answer was going to be at this time.

Well my future father-in-law announced, with a smile, “there was going to be a wedding in the family”.

The hugs and kisses that followed is perhaps the best way to end this story that had this early beginning.

Marilyn and I just spent the best time in our lives this past Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with our ten (10) grandchildren, some of their friends, four children and their three (3) spouses.

What is wealth? No money could buy this experience and happiness that Marilyn and I continue to enjoy with our most prized possessions.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++End++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Written December 26, 2010, 1100 hours

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