Mount Slesse Work Party

August 27, 2016

Another VOA work party on the Slesse memorial trail was conducted August 27, 2016.

There were 12 VOA members in attendance (Alan Meggy, Carol Chesham, Dave Heatherington, Dave Samis, Dennis McDonald, Geoff Harrison, Janet Ingram-Johnson, June Parapini, Marilyn Mayoh, Mike Stewart, Rob and Rose Mudie), along with six members from the Chilliwack Outdoor club. This was the first time we were able to work on the trail as the road had been washed out earlier in the year.

We broke into several groups (brush cutting crew, lopping crew, and ditch diggers). Meanwhile the Chilliwack group focused on building a 100 m connecting trail from a new bridge location to the existing trail. The current crossing consists of a jumble of logs which can make for a precarious crossing; especially at high water.

One of the people I was with remembered being told that the grandson of one of the players that died in the crash came up here and that he left a pair of his shoes here. He later was upset that they were no longer there.

The Ministry of Forests had arranged for a large tree to be dropped across the Nesakwatch Creek about 100 m upstream of the existing crossing; and later this year plan on completing the bridge by adding railings.

In July 2012 Jack Elsdon, Anson Boyle, Jack Bryceland and Mike Stewart led a group of people up to the memorial plaque. The group consisted of Edwin (Boomer) Harrison (grandson of Cal Jones), Kashandra Harrison (Edwin's wife), Paul Cowen (Director), Jerry Vienneau (camera), and Michael Kennedy (sound). They were there to make a documentary about Cal Jones death and Edwin's search for information about his grandfather.

We spent all day with them, and they ended up using about 20 seconds of the filming from that day. The shoes could well be Edwin's (if they were size 16).