FORMER C.N.R. EMPLOYEE PASSES Following a lengthy illness, an old-time resident, Emil Strochein, died in Prince George and District Hospital Sunday morning, August 17 at the age of 77 years. The late Mr. Strochein had been an employee of the C.N.R. for many years, retiring seven years ago He had been in ill health for some time, entering hospital about three months ago.1 He leaves his wife, residing on Second Avenue, one daughter, Mrs. J. Fraser (nee Jenny Strochein) at ^urns Lake, and a sister in Easton, Minnesota, U.S.A. Funeral arrangements will be announced later. One Hurt When Car Overturns Near Here One person was injured and two others were unhurt when a car went out of control on a. corner a half mile south of the Airport Hill early yesterday morning and turned over. Admitted to hospital for a brief stay following the crash was Hilda Riewe, a city waitress, who suffered a cut leg. Unhurt was driver Ken Bate-man and passenger Lloyd Smaas- let. Damage to the car was extensive, police disclosed. e en of Any Semi-Weekly Newspoper in British Columbia Vol. 35; No. 65 Prince George, B.C., MONDAY, August 18, 1952 $4.00 per year 5^ per copy ian late last week plume of smoke to an atom bomb blast. He wrote "We could see smoke from the fire when we Were still 60 miles east of it. There was little wind at the time and it soared upward in a solid column, mushrooming out at the top. "We were at about 6500 feet and the top of the smoke-column went right through the sparse cloud-cover at better than 7000 feet. "Approaching the fire from the east side we .could see the Tint-agel area near Burns Lake completely enveloped in smoke and flame with small spot fires around the perimeter. , "At better than 100 m.p.h. it took us close to 25 minutes to central and northern B.C., a firm cover the north perimeter of the known as Prince George Brewing j blaze. Smoke and haze was so Go. Ltd. was incorporated at Vic- thick we could.see no activity on toria last week. the ground, although we knew Incorporation papers show the there were more than 100 men firm will be permitted to issue down there in the thick of the Bums Lake Fire Takes Two Lives One firefighter has been burned beyond recognition and another is' still missing from a force of close to 200 men battling the year's worst blaze near Burns Lake, B.C. A Citizen reporter who flew over the fire in a Central B.C. Airways forestry patrol amphib-likened the pictures of Prince George Brewers Granted Incorporation Lending credence to reports that Prince George is soon to be the site of a brewery to serve blaze. "When we landed at Burns Lake a Royal Canadian Mounted li)0,000 shares of no par value. Late last May an agent for a big B.C. firm of brewers purchas- ijti>vv jv,._____ ed from the city the north-east j Police constalile^and a forest rang-portion of Block 30 fronting on ; er briefed us on the present situation and gave details on how one man, a father of five, lost his life. GHOST TOWN First Avenue, about 16,000 square feet of ground. Samples were taken of the water in the Nechako River, and it was intimated that preliminary construction work would be undertaken this year. It Is known that consumption of the amber fluid has been soaring throughout the northern half of the province as an aftermath of big construction projects now underway and a big influx of workers from other parts of western Canada. Tremendous savings in transportation costs would be affected by the establishment of a brewery here, a Prince George hotel man stated. "Why import water from New Westminster and Princeton?" he asked. Scattered Showers .Variable cloudiness and scattered afternoon showers are predicted for Prince George' region tomorrow. There will be, little change in temperature and light winds, forecast states. Low and high temperatures expected tonight and tomorrow 42 and 72. "Burns Lake was almost a ghost town. Stores were either closed or being operated by mere skeleton staffs-while .-o.wn.ers. and MRS. PORTER DIES IN CITY HOSPITAL Death came Friday evening, August 15, to Mrs. Bertha Elizabeth Porter, 69, in Prince George and District Hospital following a short illness. Mrs. Porter, who had been a resident of this area for some time, was predeceased by her husband, George Scott Porter, some years ago. She leaves to mourn' her passing one son, Albert Bell Porter, Fifth Avenue, also a well-known long-time resident here. Funeral services took place today from Assman's Funeral Chapel. Rev. Alan Kenney of the Pentecostal Tabernacle conducted the last rites. /' Bewildered Pensioner Found After 48 Hours in Wilderness An intensive R.C.M.P. and civilian search for a 70-year-old pensioner missing from his South Fort George home since early Friday came to an end on the little-used old Shelley road yesterday morning when he was found in apparently good health, but suffering from exposure, by a city resident. John Solomonson is in "fairly Rood" condition today after his 48-hour ordeal in the bush just south of town, hospital authorities state; Solomonson was in a dazed condition when located, police disclosed, and was minus his cap and one shoe. Asked where he had been, the elderly man looked vague and muttered something about being at home. Solomonson became, the object oi a search � late Friday when about 20 South Fort George residents led by three Royal Canad-la'i Mounted Police constables started combing the woods around llls small home. He was headed towards Shelley wnen he was recognized and pick- The elderly pensioner is said io have a wk* h d hd have suffered from a short time ago. a weak heart and had stroke only a He apparently spent Friday Saturday nights in the woods was unaware of the large- seah h P.G. Merchants Defeat Quesnel Clippers In Central Interior Baseball League fixtures, Quesnel Clippers dropped two games to Prince George Merchants here on Sunday and slumped to a fourth place tie and the final play-off spot with the West Lake Loggers. Scores were 5-4 and 7-5. The Prince George team's upset wins moved them within range of the last play-off berth, although they will have to make a clean sweep of their remaining games in order to keep in contention. More than three miles of blacktop has been laid on the Prince George-Vanderhpof highway- in the vicinity of Cluculz Lake and it is expected another 17 miles will be completed this year. Public Works crews are widening and improving the road west of Swede Creek in preparation unaware of the large- VL ^..^.....�. aie search then in progress. for hard-surfacing. employees piled into forestry trucks en-route to the f ireline. "Persons merely driving through the small lumber town have been stopped and put to work fighting fire." On hand to supervise fighting of the fire personally is Percy Young, district forester from Prince Rupert. It was Young who recounted the details of how Harold Gordon of Burns Lake, was burned to death and how C. W. Hunter became missing. The two were members of a party of seven which got suddenly cut off from other firefighters by a wall of flame. As the group headed deeper into the fire in an effort to reach an area already burned clean, "a tongue of flame seemed to explode in their faces." Gordon and Hunter, apparently crazed by the (See TWO LIVES, Page 12) Stuart Lake Slaying Hearing To Be Here Preliminary hearing of a charge of murder against Francois Peter Denis will be held in Prince George and may get under way next week. I Denis is charged with the August 2 slaying of William Austin, a fellow Indian, at Stuart Lake, B.C. Austin was allegedly thrown from his boat when Denis rammed into it with another boat. The 38-year-old accused is then said to have rammed the elder man while he was in the water and while his horrified family looked on. Frank S. Perry has been appointed Crown; counsel in the case and H. B. King has been retained by the Department of Justice for the defense. Denis has been held in Prince George Jail since he was arrested at Fort" St. James on the , day after_. the slaying. Inquest into the death has been Waived by the Attorney General's Department due to the fact the preliminary hearing will determine the qause of death. The alleged murder is said to have taken place after Denis and Austin quarelled earlier on the day Austin was killed. Tinder-Dry Forests Plague Firefighters Forest Branch personnel here are still having their busiest fire-fighting session so far this season xas eight new blazes at the week-end brought the number of fires still burning in this district to 28. Most serious of the new fires is in the Bowron Lake area where a party of 30 men, and a �tractor is fighting a five acre blaze reported for the first time late yesterday. Operation of open sawmill burners is still suspended and by thi time most sawmills have ceased production as yards piled up with waste after a few hours of cutting. All fires in the Prince George district with the exception of the one in the Bowron Lake area are considered "under control," a forestry man stated today. Meanwhile, in other parts of the province, a crew of rainmakers tackled a^corner of B.C.'s vast fire picture on Saturday, but nature would not co-operate. Clouds over a 1,500-acre fire and surrounding timber on Central Vancouver Island were "seeded" with dry ice from an aircraft in the hope that the ice would condense cloud vapor and turn it into rain. But weather forecasters said Seek Royal Prestige For '54 Empire Games VANCOUVER, Aug. 18 (CP) � The Province in a sports page story Saturday said a member of the royal family "Will in all likelihood open the British Empire and Commonwealth Games here in 1954." The report quoted a letter from Stan Smith, Vancouver, the games committee, head of saying: "English delegates are determined to settle for nothing less than Princess Margaret to open the games." Arthritis Canvassers Requested To Report In order that a final statement may be made to Vancouver headquarters at the earliest possible date, all Prince George canvassers in possession of membership ticket books are requested to turn these in to Mrs. Jack Wall, 2550 Laurier Crescent, telephone 407-Rl. today conditions were not1 right. If the operation had produced rain at all, and under the circumstances it wasn't likely, the moiS-ture would not be enough to make any difference. � . The experiment, nrst of its kind in B.C.'s long firefighting history,.was made from a plane chartered by .Canadian Forest Products, owners of a timber tract in the Vernon Lake area of the Island. Some 1,500 firefighters used orthodox muscle and machinery to fight 145 other fires as the province passed its 25th day without a heavy rainfall. The weather forecast offered no big hopes for the two worst fire areas. "Relatively clear skies will' be general over southern regions," forecasters said, "with temperatures ranging to mid-80s over the interior." World's Greatest! HBHHB mmm In Australia's MARJORIE JACKSOX speeded to a world record recently in winning the- Olympic 100 metres dash at Helsinki. Here you see the Empire athlete getting away on one of her characteristic starts. Her time was 11.5 and she had the race well under control all the way. GIRLS SURRENDER TO JAIL WARDEN . Within^ few minutes of the time.^rhursajay's Citizen hit the streets carrying a-new story predicting their capture hourly, two attractive fugitives from gave themselves up without a miles south of here. They were passengers in a truck driven by a Prince George youth, Robert Cyndia, who told police he had picked them up as ordinary hitch-hikers. Ruth Rissanen and Valorie Cre-anza were brought back to the institution they had escaped from after only 88 hours of freedom, They will both face charges of escaping from legal custody. Following their escape more than a week ago, the two girls lived off tins of food and candy bars in the bush adjacent to the Cariboo Highway south of here. Chevies, Airways Still On Softball Title Track Cariboo Champions Derailed Here In Week-End Series In week-end games here, 'Prince George men's and women's Softball squads cinched the championship of District 6 and moved olongside the Okanagen titlists in the quest for Cariboo Plane Crash Injures Two Americans HORSEFLY, B.C. Aug. 18 (CP)� An American pilot and his passenger were seriously^ injured today in a plane crash i|t Horsefly Lake near here. The pilot, a Dr. Skinner of Longview, Wash., received a broken leg and a possible fractured back. Details of the injuries suffered by his passenger, a Mr. Smith, are not known. the B.C. Senior "B" crowns. Prince George Chevies, playing smart ball behind their hurling star, Len Fitzgerald, turned aside the Cariboo champions, Williams Lake, 5-1 and 9-1. Meantime the Central B.C. Airways girls' squad, winners of the city league, were having an easy time with Wells Jets, winning 10-0 and 14-3. Inability to hit in the pinches with runners in scoring position, cost Williams Lake their opening game with Chevies-. Saturday night. Their only run came on a passed ball, while the winners also scored three unearned runs. The visitors loaded the bases in the fifth with one out, but Fitzgerald got the next two batters on a strike out and an infield pop. In the second game Sunday, four-baggers by Fitzgerald, Simms and Bodin were enough to eliminate the cow-town crew as the locals coasted to an easy triumph"'. Fitzgerald had a shut-out going for the first eight frames, but an infield over-throw in the ninth allowed the losers to register their lone tally. Chevies will go south next week-end to meet the Okanagan winners in a best-of-three series. The entire squad will make the trip by plane, a team official said today. AIRWAYS Hammering out seven runs in the last three innings, Airways girls coasted to an easy victory over Wells on Saturday at Duchess Park. "Vicky" Lestiwka tossed shut-out ball and was seldom in trouble in the 10-0 triumph. She also pounded out a home run as her share of the hitting attack. The visitors made it close on Sunday until the ninth inning when the roof fell in and the Prince George' team sent nine runners scampering across the plate. Wells also got two tallies in the ninth, but the game ended with the score-board reading Airways 14, Jets 3. Next hurdle for the Airways girls to leap will be the fast-stepping Kamloops Silver Streaks, winners of the Okanagan crown. These teams will clash in a three-game series in Prince George next Saturday and Sunday for the right to enter the semi-finals with a Vancouver Island entry. Prince George Women's Jail struggle at a road block 60 They' were spotted and identified twice by storekeepers before their arrest. Knowing police had broadcast detailed descriptions of what they were wearing, the girls, both serving jail sentences for posession of narcotics, attempted to purchase new outfits at a rural store. Their luck was beginning to play out when they were told that the store kept no clothing. So tired were the girls from their nights without proper sleep and their inadequate diet that arresting guards and constables had to help them from the truck. They made a feeble attempt to prolong their freedom by saying they were "not the right girls,'1 but the jig was up. Making the capture were Warden William Trant, Prince George, Guard A. Miller, Prince George, and two Quesnel constables of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Stresses Importance Of Prime Minister's Visif George Murray, M.P. for Cariboo, was a passenger from Vancouver to'Fort St. John on today's C.P.A. plane. He will return to Prince George in a few days on business. Mr. Murray stated he was most anxious that Prince George organizations make every effort to give Prime Minister St. Laurent a hearty welcome on the occasion of his visit here next month. "It is a great compliment to Prince George and the Cariboo that the prime minister agreed to include your city in his western itinerary," he said, "and no effort should be spared to make his visit a memorable one." An early announcement is ex-pedted in connection with the new pest-office and federal building in Prince George. Film Exchange Workers Want Higher Wages VANCOUVER, Aug. 18 (CP) � Fifty film exchange employees strove for higher wages Saturday. It is not yet known what effect this will have on Vancouver movie houses. � Union officials said they have rejected an offer of a $5 a week increase and are demanding $7.50.