Letters To The Editor – March

The Editor:

The Canadian Cancer Society deserves praise for its Dry Feb campaign: it shines light on the role that alcohol – wine, whisky, champagne, beer et al – plays in the development of the cancers we suffer.

I hope that the societies and foundations that represent our other organs – heart, liver, pancreas, intestinal tract, breast etc – join the cancer society’s campaign.

And let’s prod our governments to force the alcohol industry to adopt labeling and promotion that informs us of the dangers that its drug poses in the same ways that the tobacco and pharmaceutical industries inform us of the bad effects of their products.

Some believe that government would never come down on the booze industry because it earns money from regulating it; however, given our ballooning debt and current deficits, doing all we can to reduce alcohol use would reduce the costs of treating the many serious diseases caused in whole or in part by alcohol.

Sadly, our young believe that alcohol is a safe drug because the government regulates and sells it, government regulates it – and in effect sanctions it – because alcohol caused the same grief during prohibition that illegal drugs are causing us today,bootleg alcohol that killed rapidly instead of slowly, bad booze that blinded – the justification for legalizing booze was just as tortuous as the move to legalize the killer drugs being trafficked today. Regulated alcohol is merely a slower poison than its other forms.

Greg J. Edwards

Delta B.C.

The Editor:

It’s hard to say goodbye to a community as dear as this one. It all started in 1989 when the Boondocks restaurant put an ad for cooks in the Blaine newspaper starting at $16 an hour.

My chef husband at the time (some of you will remember Hogie) was reluctant to come up here because he thought it was a military base. But three kids in tow, we came down from the top of Mt. Baker and encountered the most vibrant gorgeous place ever.

I was gobsmacked by the fact that one could live island life without ever getting on a ferry. What a bonus to someone who had spent many years on Vashon Island.

We were both offered jobs but I was working at Dodson’s IGA in Deming and rather liked the grocery scene. When I asked Mike Schouten at the Marketplace if he needed anyone, he wrapped me in an apron on the spot.

In 1989, there were millions of visitors a year coming to the Point for milk, cheese, butter, gas and bingo. We were hiring Canadians everywhere because there just weren’t enough Americans to fill all the jobs. Breakers had top name bands most weekends and the cars would be parked all the way to the community center.

I embraced this new lively community and all the opportunities a great company like Brown and Cole would offer. I got to run all the promotions and formed the Point Roberts Events Council with Henry Rosenbaum, Ben Van Buskirk, Joan Roberts and a lot of other people.

At one point we had 60 members. I got to enter us into competitions for Progressive Grocers magazine and our store won twice. Lobstermania was one of our unforgettable events, cooking and selling literally over 5,000 lobsters on Victoria Day for several years.

I had the privilege of facilitating a dozen July 4th parades and another dozen Arts and Music Festivals with lots of community help. It was all amazing until the loonie started to slide – by 1995, it was at 73 cents and our visitors stopped coming. We were almost all laid off and I packed up the kids and moved back to Vashon to be closer to my mother who was having health problems.

Four years later, when things stabilized a bit – I was back. I took over the Secret Garden Store from Waneta Scotti, sold it, went to work in 2005, creating and managing Captain Bob’s Emporium that became McFrugals and then got the Gulf Road location to open Auntie Pam’s Country Store in 2012.

My goal was to bring back a sense of unity to the community and to give back in any way that I could to a community that deserved help and love. So we had clothing sales, miniature art shows, Christmas cookie contests, sunset photo contests, Valentines for Sudan, flea markets and more. My goal was four fundraisers a year.

Please take care of each other. Please do anything you can to help. Many people count on the extra help from the food bank and Meals on Wheels. Keep pulling together to create new and fun ventures! We fought the radio towers and won. We built a library and now have a museum. Point Roberts people have a reputation for being strong! Keep up the good work, really support your local businesses and good luck to all our new, energetic people! I am already proud of you!

Pam Sheppard

Point Roberts

(Ed. Note: Friends can drop by Auntie Pam’s Country Store to say goodbye on the weekend of February 26-27)