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HYDERIZED ........ Looking back, it seems like I was 19 for years. I was on the lookout for wilderness adventure and money to finance it. That year I had a lucrative summer working on a Salmon Troller out of Prince Rupert. I didn't relish the bloody massacre, but all my pay went into my savings account and the scenery, adventure and camaraderie was exceptional.When the season was over, I was looking for another job with good pay and no living expenses . I found one in Stewart BC. The only way to get there was in a small pontoon plane. My job was to cook for the miners. I lived on site. The first weekend I was there, a group of young miners insisted on taking me to the only bar in town......at the only hotel in town...In those days, all alcohol sales stopped at midnight. So the guys phoned a cab and we went to Hyder Alaska.....3 miles away. After a while, when I had seen the bear-traps on the wall and the pickled gold-panner's finger in a jar on prominent display, I went to the washroom. When I returned, the guys said they wanted to go.....they suddenly remembered they were getting up early to go fishing.....I got up to leave, but they insisted I finish off my beer.... I made it as far as the door before I collapsed.......I woke up in the cab on the way back to Stewart.........I had been "Hyderized".....Apparently a long-standing tradition. They put Everclear in my beer while I was in the washroom.....I didn't think it was as funny as they did, but I tried to be a good sport about it.... 
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Yikes!!!! What an interesting life you've had!!!
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Memorable times! "The only way to have a friend is to be one."
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Sounds like a situation that could have been a lot worse than it was..... but a lot of us have put ourselves in questionable situations and handled it. Sometimes, looking back at those times of my life, I just shake my head......... and smile. Be a prism, spreading God's light and love, not a mirror reflecting the world's hatred.
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I made friends with another cook, A young First Nations woman with a 2 year old. Her husband was a Dall Mountain Sheep guide and was away for a week or two at a time. She didn't like being alone and she had a spare room and I really liked them, so I moved in. This brought me into the tight-knit community of First Nations and Inuit folks. The trophy hunters only wanted the magnificent horns of the sheep. The guide dressed out the whole sheep and distributed it among his community.......The skins were amazing....pure white, long, really soft.......these were given to the older women to prepare for trade. They stretched them on round willow-bark frames and hung them on South-facing walls to dry.Next, they worked the skins with wooden blades. Then, when the snow got deeper, they buried them in the snow, packing the snow down on top of them and leaving them overnight. The next day, the broke the snow up and shook it out of the fur, the dirt stayed in the snow and the fur was sparkling white and all fluffed out.Then they sold them.........saved a few for putting around the hoods of parkas.and mukluks............ Yes, I've driven the Cassiar Highway too.....Messiaden Lake is spectacular.
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They weren't malicious guys, they had no idea I would pass out and were very sorry......But Hyder is the only place I have ever had men come to blows over me.......LOL
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Yikes!!!! What an interesting life you've had!!!
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Sparkle, thank you for this blog...it's what SFF is all about ( or used to be!) I agree with Rocket, you've certainly had a very interesting life, but, more than that...a very fulfilling one. That comes out so clearly in your blogs and those of others who also show the same respect for life... ET, is another whom I respect. SFF needs more blogs like this!
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Yes, Traveler, I remember1HappySoul, her blogs were so good. It's good to see she's back! Sandy too... I also remember other bloggers who used to post stories of their lives and interests. ET is another person I respect. SFF was never all kittens and flowers  ...although I don't see anything wrong with that. And I do agree with you about Sparkle's understanding and respect for the First Nations...and, in fact many other Nations. Over the years, I've read many bloggers who deserve my respect, are those who give out respect and regard for others.
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