9 September 2005
Railway Supporting Centre
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CP Rail officials Ian Libbey, left, and Frank Blandford, right,
present Mary Thomas with funds for the Cultural Centre.
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A bridge between two communities has been strengthened.
Two CP Rail officials were in Salmon Arm last Thursday to present Neskonlith elder Dr. Mary Thomas with a cheque for $5,700.
The final piece of a $10,000 donation, the money goes to the Switzmalph Society for the cultural centre, a longtime Thomas dream.
Ian Libbey recalled when he first met Mary Thomas and was informed in her gentle way that the railroad had been very wrong in its
dealings with First Nations people. "I have learned a lot in the Shuswap, primarily because of Mary", he said. "She put
us in our place and made it clear we had a lot of work to do".
Libbey is now taking the lessons he learned in the Shuswap through Alberta and Saskatchewan, breaking down the barriers and getting
people to sit down and talk. "The railroad is trying to work with everyone, to get along", he said.
Frank Blandford who organizes the annual CP Rail Holiday Train event that benefits food banks along its route, is planning a program
with a different mode of transport. He is in Langley this week to order a large war canoe. This canoe however, will not be used in
any hostile act. Quite the opposite, the 23-person canoe will travel local lakes and rivers with the sole purpose of
teaching people to paddle together. One of his employees has attended a paddle in the Lower Mainland and described the trip as powerful
and moving. "I have spoken to RCMP in Revelstoke, Chase and Salmon Arm and I want to bring that whole pulling-together
experience here", he said.
The railway is also trying to reach out to younger natives, busing several First Nations children to Revelstoke so they can ride back
to Salmon Arm on the Holiday Train and taking them
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