Paul St. Pierre recognized for his contribution to the region
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By Sage Birchwater
Paul St. Pierre was visibly touched when he was presented with two keys to the Cariboo Chilcotin and City of Williams Lake at a special event honouring him Friday evening, September 16 in Williams Lake’s Gibraltar Room. Cariboo Regional District chair, Al Richmond, gave St. Pierre the first-ever key issued by the CRD.
(Paul St. Pierre receives the 'key' to the CRD from Chair Al Richmond.)
Naturally, with the CRD being named the Forest Capital of Canada for the second straight year, the key was crafted out of wood. Mayor Kerry Cook, presented St. Pierre the key to Williams Lake.
Linda Purjue bestowed St. Pierre with an official Williams Lake tartan scarf, on behalf of the local spinners, weavers and fibre arts guild.
The event was organized by Krista Liebe of the Williams Lake Film Club, with the help of major sponsor, Cariboo GM, who brought St. Pierre to town from his home in Fort Langley.
Two episodes of the CBC television series Cariboo Country written by St. Pierre were shown. The episode The Education of Phyllistine featured local child actress Nancy Sandy as Phyllistine, and Chief Dan George as Ol’ Antoine. Nancy Sandy later grew up to become a lawyer and chief of Sugar Cane First Nation. For Chief Dan George, the filming of Cariboo Country was his first acting job, though he was already sixty years old during the initial filming of the series in 1960. He later went on to become an international film star, nominated for an Oscar for his supporting actor role in Little Big Man.
Soon to be 88 years old, St. Pierre was introduced by his long time friend Veera Bonner of Big Creek. Between showings of Cariboo Country he told stories and answered questions from the audience.
St. Pierre said most of the characters in his books and television scripts were inspired by real people he knew in the Chilcotin or elsewhere. “All except one, Frenchie’s wife.” When pressed by the television film producer to elaborate more on her character, he said offhand that she was a mail-order bride and an opera star from Europe. The producer laughed him off the set.
Then a few years later when St. Pierre and his friend Dwayne Witte were travelling out west, they stopped at the home of Tex and Ingeborg Hansen at Clearwater Lake. St. Pierre said he was floored to learn that Ingeborg was indeed a German opera star who responded to a newspaper ad from Tex, who was looking for a wife. “So there was my character for Frenchie’s wife. There really was someone like her afterall.”
St. Pierre served as the Member of Parliament for the Chilcotin Coast from 1968 to 1972 in the Trudeau government. During those same years Jim Fraser was on Williams Lake City Council. Fraser asked St. Pierre if he remembered the time he phoned him in Ottawa because a bunch of angry students were protesting at the court house over the War Measures Act imposed by the federal government in 1970.
St. Pierre told Fraser he remembered that well. “Only I wasn’t in Ottawa, I was in New York addressing the United Nations.”
Fraser was astounded at this. “Imagine the access we had to our member of parliament in those days, even when he was talking at the UN.”
St. Pierre told a story about how he once advised Bruce Watt on his rodeoing career. Then it was pointed out that Bruce Watt was in the audience. Laughs were had by all. Fortunately St. Pierre hadn’t said anything slanderous.
Sharing his most recent writing, St. Pierre apologized for his pessimism. He said George Orwell and Aldous Huxley were brilliant writers pointing out the trend of civilization towards total control of the masses.
At the same time St. Pierre affirmed his faith in the ‘little guy’. “The ordinary guy is very decent. Most people have a natural courtesy, grace and generosity. The decency of the ordinary fellow will ultimately win out and be our salvation.”
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