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Bruce’s Travel Blog
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BLOG Posted : 10th June 2019
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My FIRST WEEK with
the DOUKHOBORS in BC
I’m writing this
after I’ve finished my first excursion into Doukhobor territory in southern
British Columbia and before starting I have to explain that I’ve had one of the
most wonderful experiences of my life.
If you don’t know why I’ve come to Canada, please READ THIS FIRST.
Any doubts that I was
barking up the wrong tree by spending so much time in libraries and archives in
the Autumn have been totally dispelled, and I have experienced the warmest and
most embracing reception and hospitality of my life. What follows is Part 1 of
2 blogs about my last couple of weeks. I’m currently recharging my batteries in
Banff and plan to post Part 2 before I continue my journey eastward.
In Kamloops, Sandra and Sharon were
waiting for me off the eBus from Vancouver. It was
great to see them, to meet Sandra’s partner Bernie, and to see Sandra &
Bernie’s house overlooking the river.. Soon I was settled into their guest
suite and getting a good night’s sleep. They had both gone off to work by the
time I rose, and Sharon came around to pick me up and take her to her place on
the other side of Kamloops. We hung out there and caught up until Sandra came
out of school after lunch so we could drive off to Grand Forks. It was a five
hour drive, but it didn’t feel like it as we chatted away and they briefed me
on a number of the people I was scheduled to meet.
In Grand Forks we drove to Sharon’s
partner Larry’s house which is beautifully situated at the end of a cul de sac overlooking a small lake. I was to spend many
nights in the spare room there and got to know Larry very well over the
following couple of weeks. Larry and I went out in search of a take-away, but
we were too late, so snacked with Sharon and then Sandra returned to couch-surf
for the night.
The next morning
my activities started in full. Grand Forks is headquarters of the USCC, the
Doukhobor umbrella organisation which is headed up by John J Veregin (“JJ”).
Their small office is beside the large Community Hall, and there I met
JJ his powerhouse assistant Beth, and his brother Barry who, with his wife
Stephanie, runs the Doukhobor magazine Iskra. I had a
chat with JJ and then spent time with Barry. This had been scheduled as an
interview but turned out to be more of a general chat about what I’d been doing
and at the same time he showed me around the Community Hall. This, like many
Doukhobor buildings, had been destroyed by arson in the past and without going
into too many details of their history, there was a period of time – happily
now in the past – when a faction (variously called the “Sons of Freedom” or “Freedomites”) protested (often using arson) against their
fellow-Doukhobors and the wider society because they thought that they were
being seduced by materialism. There were many references over the next couple
of weeks which highlighted the divisions which had riven the community during a
pretty dark period.
Afterwards, Beth gave me my schedule all
typed up and which had been circulated around… and I saw that over the
following week I would be hosted in 5 separate homes and my list of
activities would keep me busy
dawn-to-dusk most days! First on the list was lunch with JJ, Barry, Larry and
Sharon at which I consumed the first of the many bowls of Borscht I was to have
over the ensuing days.
Afterwards, I went with Larry & Sharon
to look at sights around town including the old Doukhobor school-house where
there’s a Doukhobor exhibition. There was a model showing the layout of the
“villages” they built. This seems to have been a standard template from the
outset. We then drove around to other sights around town and then return to
house have nap then early supper and bed.
I sleep late on
Saturday morning, – and after a quick
prayer we (Sharon Larry & myself) set off for Castlegar, seeing Christina
Lake on the way and then making detour to the site where “Lordly Verigin” was assassinated with others by a bomb on the
train he was on. This was a major event in the history of the Doukhobor
community because he had provided both vision and leadership and it seems that
in the years following his death, the upward trajectory of the community was
severely hampered.
We continued on to
Castlegar and went to Steve & Vera’s house to unload, have quick bite and
then head down to the Community Hall in Brilliant (aptly named, I feel since is
on the confluence of rivers and surrounded by wonderfully forested mountains)
where the USCC Youth Festival was launched with song and intros from the
youngsters of the organising committee, and then we set off for a walk to
Brilliant Bridge which had been built by the Doukobor
community. Along the way we heard the story of the Brilliant Jam Company which
had 6 then 12 then 24 jam-making vats and was a hugely successful business.
However, at some stage the jam factory was burned down…For some reason, it was
never rebuilt.
We walked further
and onto the bridge where heard stories about when the bridge was in operation
before the new one, and then talks switched with Steve (my host for the night)
talking about future possibilities for the Doukhobor community; how they had
been successful getting people doing exchanges into the community to learn
about the pacifism and vegetarian culture. There was talk about possibly
building a new hostel to accommodate visitors; running courses, etc. but the
feedback seemed to indicate that there weren’t many individuals prepared to
give time to organise such things, which I felt was a shame.
When we returned
to the hall we were welcomed with Russian tea, cinnamon biscuits and water
melon whilst the youth committee gave their debriefs on the outcomes from the
afternoon’s activities. (Others had included singing and wood-burning)
Afterwards, we
went back to Steve and Vera’s, had a bite to eat (borsht, etc) before a nap and
then back to the hall for the evening of concerts.
The singing style
was an extension of what I’d already been introduced to, but I was blown away
by the fact that such a relatively small community could produce so many
talented people. Although the majority of the songs were in Russian, I didn’t
need to understand the lyrics in order to get the deeper spirituality of the
songs. Truly amazing.
In the breaks, I
was beginning to feel the impact of the pre-publicity of my arrival that had
appeared in ISKRA. Lots of people came up and introduced themselves. After the
evening’s singing finished I went back to Steve and Vera’s and a very welcome
bed.
The next morning
the traditional Molleyne (prayers) were held outside
in the glorious sunshine after which people hung around and then it was a
return to the Hall, more festival singing, lunch, and more singing then
presentations and JJ introduced me and told everybody about the forthcoming
meeting on Wednesday evening
When the Festival
finished, I was disappointed as I could have gone on listening to the music
forever, but we went back to Steve & Vera’s where a feast was laid on and
we all ate ourselves silly and sat around chatting – trying to make ourselves
heard over the sound of Steve and Nick’s accordian-playing…
It was a wonderful
end to the weekend, and I felt a bit drained by all the activity so was
grateful that my schedule showed I had Monday morning unplanned, so I sent
messages to the family saying I’d be in contact. Things didn’t turn out that
way as Sharon & Sandra called by to say their goodbyes as Sandra had to be
back at work on the Tuesday (Monday was a National Holiday). I was so grateful
to them and couldn’t bear the thought of parting so soon that I said I’d plan
my onwards journey via Kamloops to see them. Then Verna dropped by to say
goodbye as well, and a friend of Sharon’s dropped by to say he’d like to show
me Glade, an old Doukobor community on the other side
of the river where Sharon had grown up. He waited around patiently, but then
he, Sharon and I went off to the ferry. (By the way, the ferries are part of
the road transport system, so totally free)
We went straight
to the Village Hall in Glade where we entered to find a group of people had
been waiting (probably for an hour or so..) to meet me! I was a bit overwhelmed
but I outlined the reason for my being there and they were all full of
questions and plied us with refreshments. It was clear that Steve’s comment
that I’d “only be 30 minutes” was disappearing as fast as the message to the
family that I’d be available tin the time-slot window! We discovered that my
reception party would have been far greater but there had been a tragedy the
previous day when a young married man from the village had been killed on his
quad bike.
After touring
around the village and seeing the cemetery, Sharon suggested a walk up to the
waterfalls, a favourite place from her childhood. On the walk up there I heard
stories about youthful jaunts which had resulted in returning home late and
having to shout across the water for somebody to come and row them home!
By the time I got
back to Steve and Vera’s it was time to move house again, albeit only just up
the road to be with Gary and his swiss wife Andrea.. Gary is a tech wizz working from home with a New York Hedge Fund and they
moved back to the area a few years ago and built a beautiful new home with
guest house on a bluff that they’d reclaimed from the forest, overlooking the
river. Like most of the properties around there, it’s surrounded by a high
fence to keep the bears, deer and other animals out – partly for the protection
of the children, but also to preserve their gardens.
I managed to get
some time to phone back to the UK, but the grandchildren were all abed.
Once again I was
well entertained that evening, and the next morning Andrea drove me (and my
baggage) down to Selkirk College where I spent the morning with Angus Graham,
the President, seeing the impressive campus of this community college set in
the most wonderful surroundings. On top of an impressive list of courses, the
college plays an active part in the
activities including not only the Doukhobors but also the First-Nation
communities. Further, there is a separate Mir Centre for Peace which offers
courses in (amongst others) Restorative Justice, Global Perspectives in Peace
and Unarmed Civilian Peacekeeping. It was a fascinating morning, and at the end
I was collected by Elmer Veregin who I then went off
for lunch with. Elmer is a Doukhobor historian and blogger and it was I
discovered a lot of background information, but it was soon time to go off to
Jo & Olga’s house where I had a much-needed nap before another interesting
evening of conversation with more faces!
The next morning
we went down the Community Hall and the building next door which houses the
women’s sewing group and the men’s woodworking. These are wonderfully organised
for people who are of retirement age but still totally capable. The men make a
variety of items (including beautifully simple coffins) for sale or use within
the community and the women sew/make items (such as the linings for the
coffins). It’s a great way of keeping the community together in advancing
years.
Afterwards we went
up to the Verigin memorial and then to the golf club
for lunch after which I was “handed over” to Walter to go and stay with him and
his wife Vera for the night.
In the evening, we
went up to the Community Hall in Brilliant where I told the story of my
researches and why I was sharing them. (See HERE
for short version)
The evening was a
huge success and there were lots of questions.
On Thursday
morning, Peter came to pick me up from Jo & Olga’s and we went down to the
Castlegar Elementary School where Peter had been principal his retirement. I
spent a delightful morning visiting a number of classes (NO PHOTOS, Children…)
where I saw the Russian as a second-language programme in full flow. As you
know I love interacting with kids and had some great chats with some very
lively youngsters. Although less than 50% had Russian heritage, they all lapped
up what they were learning.
Afterwards, Peter
and I went into town for lunch and then he took me up to Michael & Venie’s house where I spent the next two nights before
heading up to Argenta.
There were big
groups in the house on both nights, with the second one concluding with much
singing. I needed to go to bed early after the activities of the week, bur was
lulled to sleep by the singing.
See
ALL my photos from this blog : HERE
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Copyright © BruceJJCadbury
2019
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