LIKELY, B.C. — Report
on an impromptu meeting
of the Likely Cemetery

Society. Impromptu
meetings are the kind usuai-
vy held.

The Cemetery Society is where

_ the crearn of Likely Society is

clotted. It.is devoted to restoring
ancient Cariboo graveyards,
_ Last year, owing to an over-
sight, another thing conimon here;
the Cemetery Society faited to
; re-register with Victoria and lost
os Status. -

Rather than walk the red- tape

“- trail to get registered again as a.

-society, they have got into bed

‘ with the local Chamber of Com-
merce, which doesn’t have as
“much status but does have the
right papers.

“Likely sits at the bottom end of 7 :

Quesnel Lake on the old trail to
»Barkerville. . ae
You might not know it when
you enter but you will know ‘you
‘Shave been here when you drive
out of towr and encounter the
~ sign that says Welcome to Likely.
The placement of the sign is a:
_ civic project that didn’t come off

_, precisely as planned.

* cmearby placer claims on display.

The population is estimated at
500, counting a few dogs arid
some house cats who have had.

- abel ears rounded off by the
» winter frosts. ;

The figure hasn’t changed much
“over the years. In Likely, every '
‘time a woman gets pregnant

“ - somebody leaves town and this
' stabilizes the population,

‘The government may have
slightly different figures, but no-..
. body around here much cares. '
“The census method in Likely is to.

* throw a party where everything is
.. free and then count those who -

i show up. . ;
“The dead, of course, form a.
“large majority because thousands

of adventurous men trekked here
“on their way to the gold fields and .
: | many never left these hills. _

‘Likely contains one general |
store, one garage, one gas station, |
one hotel, one motel, one school,
one church, one God, one moon-

"shine still and one municipal park
with some ald monitors from the:

Likely has no fire department.“

‘If your house catches fire, you
‘grab the kids and go stay at the
neighbor's. — :
ouLikely has no policemen, If you
pet, ina fight with somebody, the
two of you are expected to settle it
between yourselves somehow.

* There is some logging and, _

. depending on how you-count, five‘, -

_to'seven gold mines, one hard-

‘ “rock and four.to six placer opera-
“tions, the oldest and best known —
- of which is the Bullion; ..

They are all under snow and ice .
-now, and the miners sit around :
“the. beer parlor (you’re right, one

beer parlor) and talk about how
rich they will be some day when
all the governmeits have changed
and all the environmentalists have
been shot off.

Collecting this information took’
‘almost half an-hour of the time of

the Cemetery Society impromptu
meeting. However, it’s winter and |
time is what there is most of.

 PAULITICS & PERSPECTIVES

Present are:

@ school teacker Dave Falconer,
history buff and master carver.

He whittles out handsome
wooden headstanes to replace
those in old cemeteries such as the
‘ones at Quesnel Forks and
Keithley which have weathered
away in the snows and suns of a
hundred Cariboo winters...

He is well on his way to .becom-
ing the most knowledgeable man
about Cariboo history alive.

@ Paul Smith, once a civil

engineer, once a School teacher,

who retired to here 15 years ago
* because of (he view of the lake, :

the gentleness ofthe climate, the

trees, the quiet and being able to

see stars at night.

@ Ronald St,.Onge fled here.

* from the/fertile stubble fields

northwest of Edmonton and
Maurice Genier from infertile
. Sudbury.
_ We are in the house of Clint
~ Coleman; originally an Albertan.
He is builtin the shape of a .45- .
calibre revolver bullet stood on
end and wears a rimless skull cap
above a spade-toathed smile.

Missing is his partner, Lucy
Robinson, who is called the mayor
of Likely. She's visiting Alberta.
Lucy is an awesome force for
progress. , :

Dave Falconer reports, ‘*Lucy
will go table to table at the beer
parlor and she wil] say ‘We have
got to have money to buy instru-
ments for the school band. Don't
insult me or those kids by trying
to give me less (han five dollars.
Five dollars is the least. Twenty is
better. Pay up.’ ’'

Mr. Falconer, who considers

" money to be something of a

mystery, says he has never seen
anyone to whom it came easier,
Messieurs Coleman and St.
Onge have spent part of this
winter in a shed in the yard,
welding and painting black iron
sculptures of cowboys playing
cards and spinning rope, wrought

: iron bookends and puzzles of in-

credible intricacy made out of
horseshoes. Most sell for $50 a

copy. ._
“We can’t live on a diet of his-

tory forever,” says Clint. A pity.

~' As it turns out, this day the

Cemetery Society has no business
to transact, everything being
under snow, and the meeting is
devoted to trading good lies,
which is the best kind of meeting
to 0 hold.

Triplex development approved

A TRIPLEX proposed for 249
East 17th St. in North Vancouver
was ‘approved Monday night fol-
fowing a public. hearing at which
nobody complained about ‘the de-
“velopment. |

City council. heard that ‘there
were already some triplexes on the
same’ block. Architect
Butler said that each of the three
units in the new development
would have its own fenced garden.

Sebastian |

"NORTH VANCOUVER

CITY COUNCIL

He added that any concerns of
the. advisory design panet would
be addressed before the develop-
ment went up.

* The plan will come up for final
adoption’ at a future council
meeting. | ‘

Friday, March 12, 1993 - North Shore News - 9

[KEN BAXTER

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MARCH 10/1993
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