In other words
Helmet? Check. Gloves? Check. Spandex shorts...
See that bike on our cover? Picture yourself on it. How do you feel, going light-speed on a twelve speed? Solar empowered, driven by your own steam. Are your hands sweating? Is your breath short? Is your grin long? Does the rhythm of your legs make you feel like you’re dancing with the wind? Have you merged with your seat?
Now put yourself here, in my seat, riding the Northword bike. You’re still going light-speed, catching your breath as you alternately pump uphill and fly down the valleys. No big-shot engine propelling you, just your own oomph.
This cover shot, by Steve Ogle of Nelson, captures perfectly what this issue of Northword is about. And, what Northword itself is about: Movement. The joy of living here, in the north. About feeling the ground hard under your wheels. About feeling your power.
On the Northword home front, Lottie Wengelin, Northword’s founding editor and publisher, has left our north for her north, and gone home to Sweden. After weeks of sad good-byes and glad-to-know-ya’s, our smart, beautiful blonde has left some big shoes to fill.
Because Lottie wears a size 10 (well, she is six feet tall!), it’s going to take a few of us to step up and pedal this bike.
Our new associate editor, Paul Glover, is a 31-year Smithers-area resident, and also, it turns out, pretty fierce when it comes to protecting English as it is writ . Also new-to-Northword, but familiar to many of you, is the notorious cartoonist, Hans Saefkow, an opinion walking with a sharp pencil. And, in our advertising department, we welcome Lonnie Wishart, our Prince Rupert rep. She’s new to us too, but certainly not new to the publishing industry.
But even as things change, they stay the same. Our regular contributors Heather Ramsay, Larissa Ardis, Betsy Trumpener and Charlynn Toews remain intelligent, persistent, and on-side. Their work continues to turn our pages. Heather, based in Queen Charlotte City, is our reporter and ad sales rep for Haida Gwaii. Char, in Terrace, continues to test the northern air in her Barometer column. In Smithers, Larissa’s nose for news always ferrets out a fine story or two. And in Prince George, Betsy Trumpener takes time out from her CBC reporting duties to write on pertinent issues affecting the north as well as her column, North of Unreal.
Sandra Smith, our fabulous ad designer from BC Designworks, now rounds it all—up ads, editorial, and assorted bits and pieces, and presents it in form you see here. Like Sandra, my duties have expanded. I’ve been around words and ads and arts for what seems like ever and I know a good thing when I see it. When I saw Northword, I said, “I want to work there.” And now, here I am. I’m one of the Northword crew scattered all over the top half of BC; we live here because we love it here. If you’re a regular Northword reader, I’m sure you relate.
Not everyone is lucky enough to live here, but if they’re smart enough to visit, there’s plenty for them to see in this, our tourism edition. Together with the Northern BC Tourism Association, we’re going to brag a bit. Our NBCTA spread invites friends and neighbours to go just a bit further down the road (whether you’re piloting a bike or an RV). It also includes a piece by Heather on the new Qay’llnagaay Heritage Centre on Haida Gwaii. Elsewhere in Northword, you can read Ev Bishop’s article about the Nass Valley circle route and the Gingolx Crabfest. Even Char goes touristy in her Barometer column, and tells tales about the bends in Burns Lake.
For those of us who can’t resist a music festival, Larissa, crack reporter and accordion virtuoso, reports on the newest music festival on the northern block—the second annual Robson Valley Music Fest in Dunster. She also thoughtfully includes a handy and comprehensive list of summer music festivals all along the Yellowhead, and beyond.
And on the theme of moving to the music, Larissa visits with Alexis Puentes, a Cuban-born multi-instrumentalist from Smithers who has just scored a Juno award for the Best World Music Album of the Year. Alexis headlines in this issue.
Tourists and sport fishermen play a part in the healthy boost to the economy derived from salmon fishing in the Skeena Watershed. Larissa nets the dollars and sense of our wild salmon stock market.
Kathleen Cherry tells of the long-awaited return of the Haisla’s missing totem pole. Perhaps sending Lottie home to Sweden was part of the negotiation—our Lottie for the G’psgolox pole? Perhaps, also, Lottie will tell us about her journey home to Sweden in a future issue. (Lottie, I know you’re reading this; what do you say?)
By the way, this is a fine bike you’ve passed along. I promise you we’ll take good care of it.
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