Waterton-Glacier Views (August 26, 1992)

              THIS WEEK
IN & AROUND
PEACE PARK
WATERTON'S
BEARGRASS
FESTIVAL IS THE
BIG NEWS THIS
WEEKEND.
Look for posters with more
details, but here are some
highlights.
Thursday, August 27th
A Junior Golf Tournament
starts atthe Waterton Course
at 10 am. Anyone 18 and
under can register on the spot.
For those into indoor competitions, there's a talent contest at the Thirsty Bear Saloon at 9:00 p.m. Join in the
fun!
Friday, August 28th
Don't let last week's snowfall scare you off. The weatherman promises some more
warm, summer weather for
Beargrass. You'll want to
take advantage of it, by getting into the swim of things
atthe Waterton Pool's Swim
Meet at 10:00 a.m.
As part of the Festival's
multi-cultural theme this
year, there's a native film
festival beingheld at the Falls
Interpretive Theatre. Check
out the 1:00 pm showing.
Saturday, August 29th
A Pancake Breakfast and the
world renowned Waterton
Chili Cook-off promise some
tasty treats.
Windsurfing, water skiing,
kite flying, square dancing
and native dance demonstrations are scheduled throughout the day.
Sunday, August 30th
A multi-cultural interdenominational celebration of the
spirit will be happening at
the Falls Theatre at 10 am.
At 1:00 pm there's great fun,
western style. Cowboy Poetry and a fiddler's jam will
be filling the Waterton Opera House with entertaining
sounds and words.
fry
WATERTON VTF WS1
▼ ▼& GLACIER PARK      J     I   I'i    ▼▼   ^J
/■
Vol. 1 No. 13
COMPLIMENTARY
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 26,1992
Mid-August blizzard
hits Peace Park area
According to Environment
Canada weather specialist Elwyn
Holmberg, a high pressure system
in northern Alberta, dragging cold,
dense surface air in to the south,
where it was overridden by moist
warm air from the southwest, produced a storm of significant proportions.
This was no surprise to visitors and residents in the eastern
parts ofthe Peace Park area, who
awoke to almost a foot of heavy,
wet snow Saturday morning, The
storm forced many campers and
hikers to shelter and caused road
closures through the mountain
passes.
The storm started Friday afternoon , as the low clouds which
had been hanging around most of
the morning turned to rain and,
later in the evening, snow. Residents and those familiar with
mountain areas are accustomed to
occasional snow flurries, even in
July and August, but few expected
to wake up to the sight that actually
appeared on Saturday.
Accumulations of about
eight inches greeted the eyes of
dismayed adults and happy kids.
Also apparent was a clutter of
broken branches still hanging from
the trees and limbs all over the
ground, especially in the Waterton
area.
Tree damage was considerably less in the Glacier Park
area, where wind had blown the
snow and where accumulations
were less.
Throughout the weekend
power failures, caused by the
heavy snows and tree limbs taking
down lines, caused other kinds of
problems. Some area businesses
brought out ledgers, pencils and
other old-fashioned ways of doing
business, as computer systems
shut down, but many businesses in
the Park closed down completely.
Restaurants that stayed open
did a brisk breakfast business, despite the lack of power.
At the Kilmorey Lodge in
Waterton, kitchen staff were able
to keep the food coming, using
lanterns to see by and gas to cook
with. But not everybody was happy
with the arrangement.
"Most people were just
pleased to get fed," said owner
LeslieMuza, "but a few were upset
because we weren't as fast in clearing off the tables or getting hot
coffee in their cups."
Muza said the restaurant was
prepared only for a normal breakfast trade, but had people waiting
in line. "Fortunately, our water
heater is gas, so we were able to get
dishes clean and sterilized by hand,
but it did take longer. We ran out of
coffee cups at one point, "she added.
Muza laughingly blamed the
weather on the Oilmen's GolfTour-
nament scheduled for the Waterton
course that weekend. "They usually hold the tournament in late
September, but moved it up to try
At St. Mary Resort, Montana, owner Roscoe Black reported
much the same scenario. "Ourpower
went out Saturday night, about 5:15,
but we were able to serve a limited
dinner menu using gas."
Continued on page 2
Mary Beth Nutting, of Spokane, Washington, and Terry Scott, of Boise,
Idaho, were among a group of bikers passing through Waterton that
were surprised by the weekend's snowfall. Most members ofthe Bike
Centennial tour decided to cut their trip short by a couple of days and
head for home, rather than try to wait out the snows. Scott says he's not
really depressed about the turn of events, though. "If I wanted
predictability, I'd have taken a car."
Tragic death affects
Waterton community
Carson Henry, 36, a valued
member ofthe Waterton maintenance staff, died August 20,1992
of accidental causes. He leaves
behind his wife Janet; three sons,
Ryan, 13, Scott, 10 and Tyler
(TJ), 8; his parents, Eulan and
Lorendena Henry of Taber; a sister, Mildred and brother, Lyndon.
Henry was born in Taber,
Alberta in 1956 and grew up in the
Chin area. He trained as a plumber
at the Southern Alberta Institute of
Technology and joined the staff of
Waterton Lakes National Park in
1982.
He was also a member ofthe
Waterton Park Volunteer Fire Brigade and served as fire chief for the
last few years ofhis life.
In accordance with the wishes
of his family, his body was cremated, August 22. A memorial
service, held at the Waterton Lions
Hall, Sunday, August 23rd, was
attended by more than 350 people,
who came to pay their respects and
wish his family well. Seepage9