MOUNTAIN LIFE - Blue Mountains | Spring 2018

SPRING 2018 ML BLUE 113 food. It soon set in that I was in deep trouble and might not make it out of there. I started to have morbid thoughts about my plight and about the embarrassment of a pointless death, leaving a wife and two small children and a sad story in local media. My thoughts also turned to a night in February 1954, when I had been a teenaged member of a search party that retrieved a lost skier from an avalanche at Blue Mountain. Yes, we did have an avalanche, and if called on to prove it I have a hand-crafted plaque inscribed by the near-victim, George Bornet, who had been buried by a snow slide near the top of the Escarpment. This story had a happy ending. We got the lost skier into Collingwood Hospital where he was treated for hypothermia and released the next day to go home to Toronto. My ordeal on Lake Kashbogama also had a happy ending, thanks to George Czerny. Realizing that I had been gone too long, he found the other two fishermen and found me, gathered brush, and started a fire to warm us up. Returning to camp we got help from another experienced outdoorsman in our party. Ted MacAteer was a survival expert and had the skills and equipment to make us comfortable. Out of his Chevy Suburban he dragged a huge and sturdy tent, which he set up and warmed up with camp stoves. That night I shook and shivered in my sleeping bag, even though clad in all the clothing I had brought with me. I often reflect on my good fortune in being rescued by George and Ted, who enabled me to have a long life. Many do not enjoy the benefits of family, friends and good luck. Not until recently did I learn that George Czerny himself had experienced an episode of homelessness. He told me that when he was a teenager a friend got his family to take him in. I am always struck by coincidences and the way they can make up a chain that seems to have importance and meaning. Here was George Czerny, rescued from homelessness by a kind family and then going on to rescue me, after I had helped rescue the avalanche victim George Bornet. Major religions have a saying that if you save one life you save the world. This is, of course, an exaggeration, but as a metaphor, it underscores the power of charitable actions and deeds. I greatly admire the work of organizations such as Home Horizon, and I am helping Home Horizon with their latest project, a transitional shelter for homeless youth. After receiving my donation they named the building for my dear wife Barbara. The Home Horizon Barbara Weider House was built by Ray, George and Van Smith on Campbell Street and is now in use. Home Horizon has raised about half of the $850,000 required, but needs more contributions. Together with George Czerny, I encourage the community to provide support for this important cause. For more information about Home Horizon and how to donate, telephone 705.445.5478, or visit homehorizon.ca . Coldest Night of the Year: cnoy.org I started to have morbid thoughts about my plight and about the embarrassment of a pointless death, leaving a wife and two small children and a sad story in local media. Meet you at the Corner! THORNBURY’S EATING AND MEETING PLACE! Local • Homemade • Affordabe With 7 T.V.s and the largest bar in town Located at the corner of Bruce St. and Hwy 26 cornercafegrill.ca l [email protected] 226 665 8800 facebook.com/thecornercafegrill