June Harrison past resident of 亚洲天堂 Lake recounts her family鈥檚 experiences with the flooding of Ootsa Lake that occurred on April 21, 1952.

My two brothers, Ronald and Nelson and I were huddled in the kitchen of our three room log cabin in Wistaria on the shores of Ootsa Lake. We were looking through the latest edition of The Ladies鈥� Home Journal, July 1950.  It featured a story and picture of a flood. I was the only one of us able to read and I exclaimed to them, 鈥淭hat will be us.鈥�

The picture depicted a family of four sitting atop the roof of a house while flood waters lapped at its sides. Boats gathered families as the crews frantically attempted to rescue as many as possible. Floating furniture bobbed about in murky waters.

Back in 1948 the Alcan Aluminum Company [now Rio Tinto Alcan] had purchased the water rights to 9,500 cubic feet of water per second that would flood the 42 mile long lake.

Damming the Nechako River would raise the level of Ootsa Lake by 149 feet. This water power would fuel the Kemano Project to support the aluminum plant in Kitimat. Unfortunately, the lake and its surroundings were a hunter鈥檚 dream and critical source of sustenance for its inhabitants, including the

Many of the settlers, including my father, Alford and his brothers also hunted and trapped in Tweesdmuir Park.

Our parents did not inform us of the details, nor did we ask. All we knew was that a fearful flood was coming. I ripped the picture and story out of the magazine and kept it.

The impending deluge threatened to severely impact the communities of Ootsa Lake, Streatham, Marilla, and Wistaria. These settlements had been growing and developing since 1905 when the first bachelors arrived by forging their way through the Bella Coola Trail.

In the years that followed, the settlers and their families established a strong sense of community and spirit of cooperation. Scores of dances, socials, Christmas concerts and first of July picnics were the social glue that kept these settlements alive.

Cyril Shelford recorded the real life drama that preceded the destruction of the lake in his book 'From Snowshoes to Politics.' The local Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly, Cecil Steele, brought in Ed Kenny, Minister of Lands and Forests for support.

The angry farmers packed the Wistaria Community Hall to challenge the government representatives. These farmers realized the actual land value was minimal but needed sufficient compensation to relocate successfully. The meetings were always lively although, as a child I did not understand the content.

The company's strategy was to settle with each farmer separately and to require them to not divulge the offers they received to others. However, people chose to unite and hopefully gain some equality in the settlements. The majority had forged farms with pick axes out of the wilderness over the past 45 years. Their homesteads were all they knew. My grandfather, Bob Nelson, was offered a paltry $3,000 for his home, the land and farm he had developed since his arrival in 1907 with his brother, Jim, from Belfast, Northern Ireland.

When negotiations with the company stalemated, the inhabitants chose a delegation to descend upon Victoria to meet with Liberal Premier Boss Johnson in October of 1951. My uncle, Paddy Carroll, nominated Cyril Shelford to be the spokesperson as he had stepped up as a major leader in the meetings with the company.

The Premier鈥檚 office did not accord them a warm reception. Not to be discouraged, the delegation proceeded to Vancouver to meet with the company's lawyer, Jack Shakespeare. Upon returning to Ootsa, negotiations continued and buyouts were settled.

In 1952 Cyril won the seat of Omineca in the provincial election. Cyril acted as MLA from 1952-1972 and again from 1975-1979. He was Minister of Agriculture from 1968-1972 and from 1978-1979 with the Social Credit government.

In 1952, our family moved to Fairview Auto Court, now Beaver Point on the shores of Tschesinkut Lake. We were able to move out well before the flooding started. It took a number of years for the water to reach its final level.

The flooding and subsequent relocation had major emotional and psychological consequences for many.

My grandfather, Bob Nelson died in 1954, at not an old age, having never returned to his homestead. Grandma Nelson never returned either although she lived into the 1970鈥檚 at Tchesinkut Lake. My aunt Loris (Harrison) refused to return. When I visited her as a teenager she would weep remembering her life at Harrison Bay on Ootsa Lake.  My mother, Alice, required medical assistance to help her adjust to her new life, even though many family members surrounded us at Harrison Bay on Tchesinkut Lake.

I graduated from Lakes District Secondary School in 1961 and began my teaching career in New Westminster two years later.

I retired in 1999 after completing a career in teaching and administration.  I was Principal in four elementary schools and effectively created community in each of them.

At this stage in life, I look back to see who my mentors or role models were.

Some of those were undoubtedly the strong minded, adventuresome and determined neighbours and family of my youth on the shores of Ootsa Lake.