The Only Daily Newspaper Serving North-Central British Columbia Phone LOgem 4-2441 Vol. 4; No. 128 PRINCE GEORGE, BRITISH COLUMBIA, MONDAY, JULY 4, 1960 WORLD BRIEFS 24-Hour Watch On Nye LONDON (Reuters) � Britain's No. 2 socialist, Aneurin "Nye" Bevan, 62, critically ill for about three weeks, spent a "comfortable night" at his country home. But Labor party headquarters said today "his condition is unchanged." A 24-hour watch is being kept at his bedside by his wife, Jennie Lee, a Labor MP, and two nurses. Jet Turns Back LONDON (Reuters) � An RCAF Valiant jet bomber turned back with an oil leak today shortly after setting off on the first non-stop flight from England to Vancouver. The 6,000-mile flight was expected lo take 15 hours. The Valiant was lo refuel in the air over Goose Bay, Labrador. Seizure Protested LONDON (AP) � Britain today ordered its envoy in Havana lo protest strongly against Cuba's seizure of the British-controlled Shell Oil Company refinery. A foreign office spokesman told reporters British ambassador Stanley Fordham would deliver the protest. To Vacate Post LONDON (Reuters) � Treasury chief Derick Heathcoat Am-ory is expected to give up his post later this month, causing a shuffle of Prime Minister Mac-millan's cabinet. Amory, chancellor of the exchequer, is believed to be anxious to leave politics for his family's textile business. He is likely to be offered a peerage. 'Quake ^its Islands BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) � A heavy earthquake, centered near Queen Charlotte Islands on the B.C. coast,' was recorded on the University of California seismograph Sunday. Another quake was reported earlier Sunday in the barren Rat Islands of the Aleutians. There were no reports of damage from that tremor. } It began at 9:32 p.m. and lasted two hours. $18 Million Airport HAJLIFAX (CO�Halifax's new international 'airport, at, nearby Kelly Lake opened Saturday after 2'7 'months of construction. TUne $18,000,000 airport has two �runways of S.800 and 7,700 feet, capable of handling the 'largest aircraft. Driver 'Believes' He Hit Dead Man VANCOUVER (CP) � Police said Sunday a young driver told ll'CMP at Lillooct that he believed he hit someone with his car in Vancouver earlier in the day. Vancouver police said the young driver, in his early 20s, was apparently involved in a fatal accident. William Hadden, S&l, was killed when he was dragged five blocks by a car which police said failed to stop after the accident. Police said the young driver apparently believed he had struck the man. Guesne! HOLDING ROYAL COURT during ceremonies on Simon Fraser Day is Laureen Smith, newly-erowned Aurora 3, Queen of the Evergreens, and Princesses Roberta Box (left) and Leslie DeGrace, along with BIGGER THAN CENTENNIAL YEAR three of the 130 community princesses who took part in the celebrations. Army and air force cadet guard of honor attended the queen. �Hal Vandervoort photo 20P00 Romped Here Friday By SIMON CARDEW Citizen Staff Writer More than 20,000 persons celebrated Simon Fraser day here Friday. It was the biggest, best, and most spectacular celebration in the city's history. And the weather couldn't have been better. and reports from officials told the QUESNE>1__A 05-year-old Kd- inonton man drowned in Hie Fraser ltlver here Friday. Identification was withheld'by lU'.MI' until relatives are notified. Body was found near the j condition, it was the official car iFrdser River bridge. I used by King George VI and Statistics celebration storv. '!,." iTiccity to6k on a new look for a day�a look of fun, frolic and fantasy. LONG PARADE Spectators lined two miles of downtown streets six and seven deep for' the traditional parade a parade described by longr time residents as "the best we've ever seen here." Over at Fort Geopge Park, the gate reported thc*biggest crowd in all the city's history�some 17,000 people, who paid an estimated $10,000 to get in. Said C. B. "Chuck" Ewart, chairman of the Simon Fraser Day Committee: "This was a bigger crowd than centennial year." Highlight of the day was probably the parade. There were some 40 floats, some that must have taken many hours and dollars to prepare, lint they were all good and the parade can be put down to "a darn good show for any size of community." PRIDE OF THE ROAD Seven vintage cars and their owners, visitors from the Van-couv.er Vintage Car Club, also took part in the parade. The cars were in unbelievably good condition, and as they coughed along at walking pace they still carried the pomp and class they once held. Oldest car, was a smug 1904 Cadillac. Its front depicted an ugly face�like one of Cinderella's ugly sisters. It was chain driven and had wooden spokes. Said owner Quinton MacAdam: "I wouldn't part with her for ^5,000." For modern day transportation Mr. MacAdam owns a 1950 Dodge, a car valued at $500. Most beautiful of the vintage cars was an elegant 1930 Packard. Bright yellow, in impeccable Now Hear This... Ladies collecting donations for the very worthy Canadian Cancer Society Fund arc learning a lot about human nature. One tiling they learned is that large donations often come from the have-nots while some so-called big shots prefer to keep what they have. One big construction chap gave a curt refusal with the free comment: We have too much of that stuff around here . . . Look for a change of ownership shortly at one of the best-known and best-liked nearby vacation resorts. The owners, two of the real oldtimers in the field, are thinking about retiring . . . T'was interesting to note the Vancouver Sun didn't bother to print a news story on the start of the PNR last Wednesday. The Sun merely sent up its funnyman Jack Wasscrnian, who covered the event in anecdotes, which leads to the belief the Sun doesn't think the project likely to succeed. At least The Citizen is willing to he shown . . . Ex-PG Hotel Barman Mike Martindalc now dispensing the long cool ones in Vancouver's Devonshire Hotel Cariboo Room sends hcllos to Lou Simkin and the boys . . . Busiest spot in town this morning was the new Pinky Coin Laundry where it seemed as though every gal in the city was lined up waiting a turn for the Free Wash introductory offer . . . Queen Elizabeth when they visited Vancouver in 1939. Then, it was one of the smartest cars in all Vancouver. COLORFUL EVENTS Buffaloburgers, tug-o-war, a water-bombing demonstration by Pacific Western Airlines, and crowning of the Aurora Queen were among the celebrations at ForfGeorge Park. In a picturesque ceremony, Lands and Forests Minister Kay Willistori crowned pretty Laureen Smith Aurora Queen 3. With her two princesses, Roberta Box and Leslie dcGracc, Laureen took over from Jill Ewart, last year's Aurora Queen. Seventeen-year-old Laureen has a heavy schedule of official public appearances as she becomes Prince George's official ambassador for the year. In this role she will attend the Penticton Peach Festival, Kelowna Regatta, and the PNE in Vancouver. TWO LADIES But credit for Friday's colorful crowning ceremony belongs behind stage. Two ladies, Mrs. Harry Loder and the official chaperone, Mrs. Hope Macey, chairman of the Aurora Queen's committee, master-minded the stage setting, decorations and the entire A bombing Captain program.. . demonstration of water- on forest fires William Harvic Pacific Western Airlines thrilled the crowd. After several drops over the Fraser River, Capt. Harvie dropped his last load (100 gallons of water) over the spectators. He was using a De-Havilland Beaver aircraft. No one seemed soaked or put TUNIS UP)�The Algerian na-. tionaliat government in exile said today that in present clr- Wesicoast Plans . VANCOUVER (CD � Wcstcoast Transmission Co. plans in the near future to double the capacity of its natural gas pipeline to more than 1,000,000,000 cubic feet a day, Frank M. McMahon, president, said in the company's annual report. The plan is to parallel, or "loop," the 688-mile Westcoasl system running from the Peace River area and Alberta to the U.S. border. Main impetus for the expansion, the report adds, comes from discoveries of large new gas fields in the Fort Nelson district, which have added an estimated 2,000,000,000,000 cubic feet of B.C.'s gas reserves. "This area promises to be one of the largest reservoirs of natural gas in North America," Mr. McMahon commented. TAXPAYERS RUSH TO BEAT DEADLINE Prince George residents flooded city hall with their 1960 city taxes Thursday to avoid a five per cent penalty. Deadline was June 30. "So much .money came in Thursday we couldn't count it," Assstetaht City Clerk Ted Kent said today. The last-minute rush exceeded last year's and put the amount paid well ahead of last year's total", .Mr. Kent estimated. Ho said "so .much money caane in that wo were afraid to leave it in city hall over the weekend." The. money was deposited in a local bank. No figures are available as to the total to date received toy the city in tax payments. "We'll'be working on that all day," said Air. Kent. cumstances it would not be opportune to send a cease-fire mission to negotiate with France. The rebel communique was issued after weighing the report ot a preliminary mission sent to Franco to determine conditions under which rebel Premier Ferhat Abbas would he received by the French. Thi' communique said the departure of Abbas for Paris ai present "could not contribute to the solution of the problem." It indicated a second lower-level mission might be sent to make further contacts with the French. Speaking of full-scale negotiations, the rebel communique said "the meeting of the two delegations can only be fruitful insofar as the conditions and methods of such a meeting are not imposed but result from an accord freely reached between the two parties." Tito preliminary negotiations which took place outside Paris ended in gloom List week. The point of difference hinged on the rebel demand that Abbas he �-riven a great deal" of freedom should ho come! to France and French insistence that the negotiations be secret, away from the press, and held to strict limits. Sunny today and Tuesday with a few cloudy intervals. A little warmer, light winds. Low tonighr and high Tuesday at Quesnel and Prince George, 45 and 7"i, Smjthers, -JO and 70. Peace River : Region Sunn y a n d warm, winds southwest 15 bpcoming light this evening. Low tonight and high tomorrow at Grande Pral,-rio, 50 and 75. Last 24 Hours Lo Hi Prccep. Prince George.. 10 G9 � Quesnel .......... -10 71 � Terrace .......... -IS 6" � Smithers ........ 41 GS � Kamloops ...... 52 85 � Dawson Creek 50 74 � Fort St. John.. 51 72- � Fort Nelson..- 50 76 � Whitehorse .... 47 62 trace out as they scrambled for cover. Tensions ran high with the daring sky divers act, a visiting group from Vancouver. As the little red dots descended, three of them seemed to be heading for the treacherous Fraser River. A crowd rushed to the river bank to see what would happen. It turned out that one fell into the river. He was quickly picked up-by a motor boat.' The. other two-landed on each side of the river. There were no injuries. The other two landed "on target" in the park, one from 16,000 feet. COLORFUL DISPLAY The canoe race ended at 7 p.m. More details of this race can be found on the sports page. �Wenatchee Y circus and a colorful display of fireworks concluded the day. A perfect sunset brought to a close a perfect day. Fort George PA system announcer Jack Carbut was worn out by midnight. He handled some SOS calls which included lost articles, lost children, and just about everything. Near the evening's end he spouted over the loudspeakers: "I'll get the phone book in a minute and start with the As." Among the winners of the North-Wcst Brigade Canoe Club membership draw were: T. Nutter, 147G Sixteenth. $1,000. Mrs. P. Matiak, Box 314, Fort St. James, $300.' H. L. March, 2634 Napier, Vancouver, $200. Chris Switzcr, North Burnaby, and Wayne Brown, Prince George, $50 each. Five others won $25: Eugene Zarek. 1626 Fir; Ernest Beliveau, 613 Johnson; Frank SeidI, 1163 Third; 11. Eskcrud, Prince George; L. E. Conn, 1353 Burden. Parade awards went to: (Continued on Page 5) WORST SINCE '86 $2 Million Blaze Lashes Vancouver VANCOUVER CP � Firemen stood guard early today over the smouldering ruins of Vancouver's worst fire this century which caused more than $2,000,-000 and levelled five blocks in the city's industrial False Creek district. Twelve firemen and three civilians suffered minor injuries during the blaze and were treated at hospital, then released. EVERY MAN At the height of the five-alarm inferno every available man of the fire department's 450-man force and all available equipment were at the scene. Fire Chief Hugh Bird, who estimated the damage, asked that Martin Mars water-dropping aircraft stand by. However, the planes purchased to fight forest fires, were not needed. Two city fireboats and another from the RCAF battled their way through scores of pleasure craft in the vicinity to aid land equipment. INTENSE HEAT More than 10,000 persons swarmed to the scene to watch the desperate battle. The intense heat kept even the most hardy two and sometimes three blocks from the scene. Twenty-four of the city's 60 policemen on duty were called to the area to unsnarl huge traffic jams and re route traffic. The fire, first five-alarm fire in Vancouver's history, started from a short circuit in a motor at the B.C. Forest Products' planer mill. LITTLE HELP The mill's sprinkling system did little to deter flames as the tire began beneath the floor. Before firemen'arrived' at'5' p.m. winds gusting to 35 miles an hour sent the flames roaring through the mill, a nearby saw mill and a lumber yard. When weary firemen, working 30-minute shifts on the hoses, finally contained the fire and broke it into several pocket blazes five city blocks stretching upwards from the waterfront were levelled. Also destroyed were B.C. Forest's office building, a large dry kiln, a boiler room, 1,000,000 feet of lumber, a nearby industrial equipment firm, several large wooden warehouses and railway boxcars. BOOST PRESSURE Chief Bird twice asked the water board to boost water pressure. He said later the water appeared lo have little ^effect as it turned "lo steam before it hit the flames." Firemen concentrated on watering down the perimeter area in efforts to stop its spread. The fire compares with the Pier D fire of July 27, 1938, that destroyed the CPR's huge deep-sea terminal here, and the SS Grccnhill Park explosion and fire March 6, 1945. Both caused over $1,000,000 damage. The city's worst fire was before the turn of the century when on June 13, 1886, fire destroyed 700 homes, killed 10 and left another 2,500 homeless. Jewellery Store Raider Escapes with. $75 Loot A thief escaped with loot valued at $72 after smashing a show window at People's Credit Jewellers, 1210 Fifth, about 2 a.m. Sunday. A nearby resident heard a crash from the store and saw the man run away with a chest containing silverware and a camera. Gerhard Saschcnbreckcr of Salmon River Ranch told police his house was broken into sometime between Wednesday and Friday and a suitcase and transistor radio stolen. Was Canada's Worst By The Canadian Press Canada chalked up the worst weekend accident toll in its history during the three-day Dominion Day holiday weekend. The count of at least 112 dead topped the previous high of 111, set during the Dominion Day period of 1958. Carnage on the highways claimed 57 lives across the country and water mishaps killed 41. Another 14 persons died in other accidents. The province-by-province toll with traffic deaths in brackets: U.S. Fatalities Head For Possible Record CHICAGO (M�Tra'fric' deaths climbed swiftly today toward a possible record tolL*for a three-day July 4 American Independence?;. Day :boiidHy"~'v<'6ckendi as. motorists jaanined the highways on 'their .homeward journeys. At G a.m. today tihe toll ihad reached 311 dead in traffic ac-oidents, 29 in 'boating 'mishaps, 70 'by drowning and 57 due to miscellaneous cuiscs for a total of 167 deaths. Newfoundland 3 (1); Nova Scotia 5 (1); Prince Edward Island 0; New Brunswick 2 (0); Quebec 29 (14); Ontario 41 (24); Manitoba 11 (7); Saskatchewan 2 (0); Alberta 6 (2); B.C. 13 (8). Firemen Curb Blaze In Sawdust Bunker Fire broke out in a sawdust bunker of the Rustad Bros. Planing Mill about 8:25 a.m. today. The blaze was brought under control shortly by the city fire department. But firemen were still fighting lo complete the job at noon. Fire Chief August Dornbierer said: "Fires like this one could burn for a couple of days." .. EstimaUj p�~tl�e.~damage and cause or-'the* Maze were not known this morning. Thick smoke filled the bunker and for a while there was a chance the fuel house hright blow up. B.C. Hydro crews were standing by to turn off a nearby transformer carrying some 6,900 volts. 42, and Boy, 11 Reported with Polio Two cases of poliomyelitis were reported in Prince George over the weekend. The victims, former city alderman Ken Jack, 42, of 1190 Ewert, and 11-ycar-old Warren Reaville, Fort Babine School To Be Renovated Soon BURNS LAKE�Indian Agent W. Dcsmarais reported that bulldozing started on the upper reserve Wednesday. On Tuesday, the Agent, in connection with members of the engineering department, Indian Affairs branch, and Fire Marshal Hastings of Vancouver, were flown to Fort Babine by Omineca Air Service. Purpose of the visit was to inspect the school at Fort Babine which has been closed during the last year, and is to be reopened in September. Much work has lo be done by way of repairs and alterations, for which tenders are to be posted. 1354 Ewerl, are not in serious condition. Dr. K. I. G. Benson, director of the Cariboo Health Unit, said Mr. Jack had a moderate case while the boy had a mild attack of the disease. Neither of the, two victims had had Salk' vacciiie injections, Dr. Benson said. BURNS LAKE �A year-old Indian boy named Ricky drowned in Babine Lake at Pcndlcton Bay Friday evening. The boy, son of an Indian woman, was living with a Mr. and Mrs. Donald Dan near Babine Lake. RCMP were trying to locate the child's mother, believed to be somewhere in Prince George. They are also trying to identify the child's surname. Police said the child was missing early Friday evening. Mr. Dan later found the body floating in the lake. FAME AND FORTUNE were waiting round a bend in the river for Bob Buchanan (front) and Herb Brady of Prince George, seen here as they neared the finish line of the 140-mile Simon Fraser Brigade canoe race from Fort St. James to Prince George. They beat out five other teams to win first prize of $1,000, plus trophies and titles. See sports pages for story. �Hal Vandervoort photo ..