By Balwant Sanghera – FIFTH IN A SERIES ON MY LIFE

After spending a very exciting year at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, it was time for me to get a taste of the beautiful Kootenays in the Southern Interior of British Columbia. At that time, it was the home of a small private university in Nelson, the queen city of the Kootenays.  Nelson is a lovely town of more than 10,000 people on the banks of Kootenay Lake. Notre Dame University (NDU) had students from around the globe. It was like an international campus.  The faculty was also a mix of various nationalities. It had two prominent members of the South Asian community. Dr. T.S Bakshi and Dr. Darshan Singh Sahri were prominent members of the NDU Faculty. However, the student population was confined to just two students of Indo-Canadian heritage- I and another student from the Punjab. However, we never felt lonely. It was like a big international family. There were a number of students from Trinidad- Tobago, Peru, Malta, Portugal, Bolivia, Columbia, Chile, and Hawaii in addition to the ones from Alberta and BC. etc. NDU later became the Nelson campus of Castlegar based Selkirk College.

Throughout the academic year at NDU I stayed in the dorms (residence) on campus. It gave me an excellent opportunity to interact with my fellow residents/students more freely. This university was the headquarters of the National Ski Team. Well-known skier and world ski champion Nancy Green; along with her other team mates were our fellow students. Incidentally, Nancy’s hometown, nearby Rossland, was a very popular training ground for budding skiers. It was a pleasure for me to meet Nancy Green-Raine again in 2004 when both of us received the Order of British Columbia at the Lieutenant Governor’s residence in Victoria.

NDU also had a number of politically active students from various countries. One such student was from Iran, who became Iran’s foreign minister later on. Discussing international politics with him and others was a treat. Unfortunately, we found out   a few years later that this future foreign minister of Iran couldn’t get along well with the rulers in Iran and was dismissed and executed. In order to capture the international flavour at the university, some of us formed an organization called Club International. I was given the honour of being its president. Under its auspices, we sponsored a number of very impressive functions and debates. 

Nelson is a good example of small town British Columbia. It had one newspaper- Nelson Daily- and one radio station. NDU being the only post-secondary institution in town received a lot of coverage in the media. Both of these media outlets would always welcome any input from faculty and students at NDU. The atmosphere in town was also very pleasant. The surroundings were great for outdoor activities such as skiing, swimming, hiking etc. . . . I still vividly remember our hiking trips to the lovey Kokanee Glacier Park and historic towns Kaslo, New Denver, Silverton, Sandon, etc.  Not very far from Nelson was a very popular Ashram nestled in a beautiful setting. I believe it is still there. Nearly every town in BC has a special place of interest. Around Nelson, it is the beautiful Kootenay Lake and a Lakeside Park along the lake. This lake is a part of the famous Columbia River system that begins in the Rocky Mountains north of Revelstoke and flows all the way to the Pacific Ocean near Portland, Oregon. 

During the holidays, I would visit my brother, family, relatives and friends in Vancouver. The trip from Nelson to Vancouver and back was another delightful experience. Small Okanagan communities like Osoyoos, Keremeos, Oliver, Grand Forks, Castlegar etc. were a delight to visit. It reminded one of the small villages and towns of Punjab. In the 1970s these communities also brought in a large number of immigrants from the Punjab who bought the orchards and wineries etc. Now this area is booming. At the end of June, 1968, I received my teaching credentials and soon after accepted a teaching position in Hudson’s Hope in northern British Columbia.A few years ago, I visited Nelson again. Certainly, this queen city of the Kootenays has changed a lot since 1968. However, its charm is still there. 

 Balwant Sanghera is a retired School Psychologist and Community Activist.