"OFF THE PAGE"

The TALONS at Gleneagle Secondary in Coquitlam

Grade 9 and 10s

About thirty talented students spent the afternoon on April 26, 2010, with author, Julie H. Ferguson, experiencing the adventures of James Douglas in a presentation called Birthing British Columbia. Packed with images, short readings, and discussions, they discovered what it must have been like to live, travel, and work in a wild land cut off from civilization before Canada was born.

We had a lively two hours together and discovered what it took to open up a land of mountains, snow and ice, and rushing white water. How did the early fur traders manage without sleeping bags, bug repellent, milk, and bread and butter for decades at a time. What did they do when ink froze, the salmon runs failed, and there was no doctor for 2000 kms?

The students began to appreciate just how tough JD had to have been to simply survive, let alone lead two colonies and manage two frenzied gold rushes. At the end, one lucky student won a copy of the book, James Douglas: Father of British Columbia.

The program, "Off the Page" is paid for by the Federation of BC Writers and sends about 35 authors into schools throughout BC every year. I am grateful for this second opportunity to participate.