NELSON HIGH SCHOOL CLASS OF 1954

Gordon HALSEY

My Family:

Phyllis and I have two sons; Keith and his “significant other,” Carol, live in Vancouver where he works for UBC at the Shaughnessy research complex and Carol for Proctor and Gamble. Kevin lives 5 minutes away from us, overlooking Cadboro Bay. He operates his company, which sells far infrared saunas and other health products, from his home. As yet, no grandchildren! 

Present Activities:

I'm semi-retired; I do a little consulting in aquatic biology and related fields. After 20 years in administration, consulting allows me to get back to my first love, science.

My first retirement “play project” is a 26ft power boat which I bought in San Diego and drove back over the I5. Fly fishing on interior lakes is a very high priority along with saltwater salmon fishing and boating in the gulf islands. I’ve managed to do some cross- country skiing every year and this year I got back on down hill skis (short, parabolic skis are a great advantage at this age!)  Phyllis introduced me to opera and ballet; we take  in both for “the season” in Victoria. Usually we catch a few theatre productions in Vancouver every year. I’m a volunteer in the” Scientists and Innovators in the Schools” program which is intended to give kids an idea of what it’s like to work as a scientist. When still employed, I was able to jet around the province to get to schools but now I drive—ah, well, life is slower now and I get to see more en route.

Lionel Kearns and I took an introductory flight lesson and are certain we should learn to fly. We talk about this at every opportunity and check out used airplanes on e-Bay.

Phyllis and I have traveled to Europe a couple of times where we had the good fortune to stay in Phyllis’s brother’s apartments on the French Riviera and in Spain (Phyllis). We “did” Australia and a little of Fiji and Phyllis covered New Zealand.  As well, to her   home in Ireland and to my family roots in parts of the UK.  When the kids were younger, we spent Christmases in Maui and the Baja; in recent years, we’ve been back to Maui and Mexico a couple of times without them. So far I’ve been successful in avoiding cruises but I’m unsure about how long I’ll be able to hold out!

Work Before Retirement:

After senior matric at NHS, I put in a year at Victoria Normal School and then taught in Deep Cove, North Vancouver, for two years and spent the next 18 years at UBC. There I  acquired two degrees, a wife, two children and before graduating, was offered a job with the provincial fisheries research group located with the Institute of Fisheries, a graduate school in the Zoology Department. We lived just outside the campus at 36th and Crown; from that location, we enjoyed all the amenities of Vancouver without any of the hassle of the city. Phyllis taught at a school two blocks from the house. At work, I had the best of both worlds—more research money than most profs and as honorary faculty, enjoyed all the perks of academics. After 4 years as Head of the research group, middle age was approaching and I thought it time for a change and in 1976 moved to Victoria for a job in administration of Provincial jurisdiction for commercial fisheries and aquaculture-remained in this field for the next 20 yrs and the final year as Director of Provincial Fisheries Branch (recreational).

Research work required travel to present papers or attend conferences in Israel, Denmark, the UK, the U.S, Canada and of course, Ottawa. The creation of the” 200 mile limits” off the coasts of Canada and the U.S in 1977, necessitated negotiation of new Maritime Boundaries between us and fisheries treaties between Canada, the U.S., Japan and Russia for the North Pacific Ocean. Representing the Province and working with the federal negotiating team required trips to Tokyo, Hiroshima, Sapporo, Hong Kong, Seoul, Anchorage, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles etc. and of course Ottawa. A dispute between Canada and the U.S. over salmon and herring resulted in the first use of the dispute settlement procedure under NAFTA; I worked with more lawyers  and economists than I care to remember.  All in all, an eye-opening experience for a country boy from Nelson but the provincial stamp exists in a number of treaties because of it. 

Some Favourite Memories:

Growing up in Fairview was a wonderful, carefree experience as a young boy. The long summer days at Lakeside Park were all sunny- it never rained did it? Ration books for gasoline and sugar seemed normal—Mr.Lowery at Lowery’s Grocery in Fairview kept sugar under the counter for his best customers and if you were sent to pick up a loaf of bread it cost 9cents. In Junior High, “Johnny” Moore got us organized to play baseball. Al Dawson was such a good pitcher that he was on the mound for almost all the games—when he was measured for his graduation suit, he discovered that his pitching arm was an inch longer than his other!  – ball trips, hockey and Kiltie Band trips to Salmo, Trail, Grand Forks and Creston were great adventures and were enhanced with a case or two of Nelson Brew---good news: the Nelson Brewery is back in business.

It would probably surprise teachers in junior and senior high schools to learn that their efforts left some lasting and useful knowledge and skill with this student. To mention only a few notable teachers, I can still hear “Jake” Loomer telling us that we would use cross multiplying to solve unknowns for the rest of our lives---and I still do. John Holden, as an aside in his English classes, telling us that throughout life, our reach should always exceed our grasp. Can we ever forget John Norris’ enthusiastic appreciation for English literature? Curiously, when I retired, staff and ex graduate students recognized my role in their lives for some of the same contributions provided to us by our Nelson teachers. 

About half way through this period (grade 6, I think), girls suddenly registered on my conscience! Ah, what luck, the Nelson girls were all good looking and, I hasten to add, still are!! But that’s another story or two or---

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