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editor'snote KERRY BANKS'S STORY about "our Canadian game" of pond hockey resonates deeply (page 30). In a family that catapulted three brothers and one sister through 10 schools across assorted provinces and countries in 12 years, winters were experienced in a kaleidoscope of cultures and geography. But I loved the ones with deep snows the best. Those frozen-in-time, blue-sky winters turned magical as November's first snowflakes fell on the fields beyond the various subdivisions we inhabited. On wide-open vistas we sped with hand-me-down leather skates across rivers and ponds cleared of snow by lengths of abandoned plywood. The boys played shinny over reeds and grasses trapped within the dark-blue-green ice, ice transparent, hard and fast, ice far removed from the opaque whiteness and blade-drag of the local municipal rink. Pond ice was rimmed by snowbanks trammelled by dogs and younger siblings. It was a world apart, a snapshot of smalltown Canadiana and redolent of a time when kids ruled outdoors and the adults stayed home for some welcome peace and quiet. In "a land so inescapably and inhospitably cold," as Banks quotes the great Orillia-based humourist Stephen Leacock, pond hockey symbolized the Canadian experience in the New World, "the chance of life, and an affirmation that despite the deathly chill of winter, we [were] alive." And perhaps our Canadian game also belongs to an even larger tradition, given that humans across time in the northern hemisphere have long celebrated winter's longest night: the turning point between retreating darkness and light's return. For as writer Daniel Wood notes on page 27, here in B.C. these celebrations are played out in a mosaic of "traditions both wellestablished and deeply rooted." Also to help celebrate this holiday season: memorable moments to give or get and a duo of timely getaways. Happy holidays! Anne Rose, Editor arose@canadawide.com 8 WESTWORLD p08-09_EdNt_Mlbg.indd 8 >> mailbag Land Ho, Who? Your Fall 2011 Editor's Note states that the first contact between B.C.'s First Nations and Europeans occurred in 1778, in Nootka Sound. My understanding, though, is that Spanish explorers/cartographers/Northwest Passage seekers were the first, some four years before Captain Cook sailed these waters (there is abundant local art and history about this). Interestingly, according to The Voyage of Sir Francis Drake, Drake also spent time looking for the Northwest Passage and mapped the B.C. coast up to the present boundary with Alaska in 1568. Congratulations on a great magazine! –Jamie Bordes, via email Editor's Note: The ongoing discussions regarding early explorer history are fascinating. To verify the Nootka Sound story, we checked with the B.C. Archives, which confirmed that Cook was the first to make First Nations contact in B.C., at Friendly Cove in 1778; though there are accounts of Spanish captain Juan Perez supposedly coming in contact with the Haida after the Santiago was blown off course off northern Haida Gwaii. Similarly, there is much debate over Sir Francis Drake's North American voyage and whether he did, in fact, make it this far north. And just to give us all pause, there is historian Gavin Menzies's compelling assertion that Chinese eunuch admiral Zheng He beat even Columbus to North America, by 72 years, with his circumnavigation of the globe in 1421 to 1423 (including an exploration of the B.C. coast). Menzies expands on his theory in 1421: the Year China Discovered the World. How We Liked Dem Apples On behalf of the Salt Spring Island Women's Institute, and as one of its 12 "pie ladies," thank you for "Smitten to the Core" (Fall 2011). It creatively captures the atmosphere of Salt Spring's apple festival and our island. As an aside: the institute also sells its pies at Saltspring's fall fair, and the money raised with our pies goes to many worthy causes, including Children's Hospital, the Girl Guides, a GISS bursary and 4H. –Bev Cartwright, via email Eco-Friendly, Eh? I just wanted to say how much I appreciate your magazine, especially its recognition of our fragile, beautiful ecosystems. Your book review of Beneath Cold Seas (Fresh Trax, Fall 2011) was very important, as was your presentation of the new – LEED-certified, no less! – marine research station on Baynes Sound, which I knew nothing about. I also enjoyed the "Paradise Saved" feature on Darkwoods and, of course, the Saltspring apple festival story "Smitten to the Core." Your understanding of the importance of "local" to our survival is very intelligent and much appreciated in these difficult times. Thank you. –Dr. Tara Cullis, via email Blessed Is the Beater Re: Drive Smart's "Spew on This," Fall 2011 Retire Your Ride and similar programs are more about stimulating the economy than reducing environmental impacts. Building a new car or even recycling an old one requires the consumption of huge amounts of energy, entails the drilling or mining of oil and ore and creates air and water pollution. There may be an air-quality argument in urban areas for trading in an old car. But from a global perspective, keeping an old beater going is almost always better than replacing it, regardless of how much gas it uses. (There are several reputable analyses available online.) Of course, when we do buy new cars we should aim for fuelefficient ones. –Trevor Kinley and Nancy Newhouse, via email Editor's Note: We received several letters along similar lines and, obviously, this is a subject to be explored further in future issues. Meanwhile, thank you for the thoughtful and well-researched comments on this timely issue. To comment: Email us at westworld@bcaa.com or arose@canadawide.com. Or, write us at Westworld Letters, BCAA, 4567 Canada Way, Burnaby, B.C. V5G 4T1 (fax: 604-268-5565). Letters may be edited for length and clarity. WINTER 2011 10/25/11 12:24:08 PM

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