, Ge eras oe eae CD Zdcee ‘el eel & i cs eeebaecatt ws re _ a —- eo : f ete = PERRe ae a5 ‘ ‘ we " «4 Con “ae ‘S ‘Forests — Handle with Carex 5 sgusencces a= VAia BORE S. while he’s working LARRY SEALEY has an innovative idea for a Value-added wood products: walking sticks and Staffs. : The out-af-work surveyor turned to whittling lengths of wood into walking sticks this winter. Local man whittles = [— —>XK——— aa | Wurre River HELICOPTERS INC. : The thought first occurred to him after he saw Calgary stores selling walking sticks made in ‘Germany and England for more than $50. > When he saw the same imported products being Sold here in Terrace, he decided to act, >] thought that’s cnough. If we haven’t got énough sticks here in B.C. to fill that market, thal’s pretty weird,’’ Sealey says. ‘Why do we have to import sticks? It sounds ludicrous to me.” * Now he’s got his walking sticks on sale at local Sporting goods outlets, and he's emblazoning Contract & Charter Services Serving Forestry & Mining In The Northwest tome of his staffs with words like ‘‘Prince Rupert” for sale to tourists in the coast city’s Mu- seum of Northern B.C. gift shop. : Sealey’s walking sticks are high quality pieces, with leather straps, metal and rabber caps on the end that hits the ground, and sometimes detailed carving on the shaft, : He uses various types of wood,-with birch and Sitka alder among his favourites. ‘Around this country alder are bloody weeds. But it’s damn good wood and why not use it, 1 Say.” + He often gets his wood from along road, bigh- way and hydro rights-of-way —— taking small irees that would have to be brushed and cleared eventually anyway. “The copper is from old recycled copper, and the rubber pad at the business end is made from old tires, “7 believe in doing something with what's there,’’ he says. They’re marketed under the name of Stick’s Third Legs, and he promotes his staffs as a fash- ionable aid for ascending and descending hills and making traverses. He also says there are good safety reasons for carrying a walking stick, recalling the attack by wolves on some people and their dogs near Prince Rupert last year. But the walking stick idea bas also let to other possibilities. ‘This sort of set off a chain reaction in my = THERE'S LOTS of wood available locally for ae ee a a ee . Base: Km 110 Hwy 37N Office: 250-638-1414 Fax: 250-638-0888 Specializing In: PLC/MMI Controls Instrumentation Computer Applications internet: www.udi.com Head Office: Terrace, B. C. -ENGINEERS _ Industrial Electrical Power Systems Providing engineering solutions to help make your operation more cost efficient. jhind of different ideas of things to do,"’ he said, walking sticks and Larry Sealey decided to ~ Sealey’s also now producing swagger sticks to turn that resource into work after seeing be used by university professors as a pointer in stores in Calgary selling ones that were the classroom. made in Germany or in England. * He carves the sticks from wild rase wood that’s y 9 Tel: (250) 638-0886 Fax: (250) 638-0830 considered a weed and a problem along railway tracks. enough niches it could add up to a decent living,”’ ~ Sealey says he'll market thein to stores on uni- he says. yersity and college campuses when he travels. Sealey’s work is for sale locally at All Scasons ~ “Tis a tiny little niche market, but if you have Source For Sports. 4548 Lakelse Ave, Terrace B.C. be Real Solutions for . Took to Finning — for equipment solutions to meet the challenges of forestry today.