THE ROADS TO HOODOO LAKE
(Page 6 of 7)
January/February 1971
By George Bumpus
Our pressure tank (an old oil drum) is mounted high in a corner of the bathroom and, as I mentioned, from that point on the system operates by gravity feed. We fill the 55 gallon (45 Imperial gallons) oil drum; with a gasoline engine-driven pump mounted directly below it. The engine fumes exhaust outside through a flexible pipe run through the wall.
RELATED CONTENT
The plastic pipe from the well to the pressure tank had to be buried three feet deep to prevent freezing during the winter. Also, the ground over the pipe can't be walked on in the winter or the ice will be driven down and—again—the pipe will freeze. So I built a small bridge or walkway where our path crosses the underground pipe. Otherwise, the plastic pipe would not have been completely safe from freezing unless it were buried nine feet deep.
OUR GARDEN
Many people from more southern areas are surprised to find that most vegetables flourish in this region even though there are only about 80 frost-free days during the growing season. We grow carrots, turnips, potatoes, radishes, lettuce and onions with great success although the summer is not long enough for tomatoes or corn. Various types of apple and pear trees do fine here if protected from the winter cold. We learned the value of this protection the hard way with our first two apple trees and we intend to take better care of our future orchard. Another tree that does well here is the Filazel. This is a cross between the filbert and the hazel nut, developed by J. V. Gallatly, and it withstands temperatures of 60 degrees below zero.
Our first garden did not live up to expectations but it was our initial attempt at "growing our own" and we learned a lot. One of the things we learned about was soil analysis. The B. C. Department of Agriculture's soil testing laboratory will analyze four samples for $3.00. The test takes about ten days and our report showed that our garden was very deficient in potash. Cow manure is strong in potash so we rebuilt the garden with plenty of cow manure and a 50 pound bag of muriate of potash. On a second try, in spite of a late June frost, our garden was successful enough to fill our root cellar with enough vegetables to last well over the winter. Karen also canned some wild berries for us.
LIVING COSTS IN THE PRINCE GEORGE AREA
The population of Prince George is increasing rapidly. In 1966, 18,000 people lived in the town; now there are 35,000. The town probably won't continue this growth rate, however, because—after all—it is pretty far north.
Employment opportunities in the area are better than in some other parts of British Columbia. The pulp mills (all three of them) are operating and hire workers from time to time. Jobs are also available in the woods and lumber mills. Wages in these and all the support industries of such a region are good and equal to Vancouver's. When I worked in the winters (as an auto mechanic) I earned $4.15 an hour as compared to Vancouver's $4.35. The standard work week is 40 hours and I found that about half of the auto dealerships are unionized. If you want something less structured, there is an occasional opportunity for trappers and hunting guides.
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