Taking a ‘Riske’ on Prince George
Hugo Riske was born in Germany and is now 77 years old. He was a young man of 23 when he left Kitimat in 1958, because aluminum prices had taken a dive and he was looking for construction work. He was headed for Edmonton and stopped in Prince George. Hugo said, “There was one traffic light in Prince George when I arrived from Kitimat and that was really something back then. The surface of Central Street was gravel and a cloud of dust hung over Prince George because of all the gravel roads.” Hugo’s career over these past many years was an amazing one. He started out by working in the saw mills for Carrier Lumber and the planer mill for Rustad Bros. & Co. From there he went on to construction as an iron worker for the pulp mills. Hugo said, “I quickly found out that I loved heights. I could easily connect the steel coming in by hoist at a height of 384 feet. The higher the better. I worked in the Pine Pass on the communication and microwave towers and I spent many great years working for Farr Installations in the Pulp Mills. It was a great career and I enjoyed it right up to the day that I retired. An iron workers job is not easy; you have to be fit and steady. When I retired at age 63 I still did a few high altitude contract jobs for the mills. I was never afraid of heights or hard work.” A sport enthusiast, Hugo says, “Soccer was the name of the game. I played the game all my life. I chased that ball around until health problems slowed me down. I ended up at St. Paul’s Hospital to get a leaky heart valve fixed. “My biggest accomplishment is a long and happy marriage. I married Ursula in 1960. We have been married for 52 years and we raised two beautiful daughters.” Birthdays that I know about: David Wlasitz, Lou Veeken, Margaret Toyota, Noreen Rustad, Wilf Howlett, Lorraine Anderson, Christena Benwell, Shirley Bond, Donna Legault, Sherrie McGraw, Elsie Christensen, Diane Reynolds, Laurence Crooks, Dr. Jack McKenzie, Bob D’Auray, Carron Dunn, Ann O’Shea, Maurice Mingay, Karen Foster, Karen Loehndorf, Mario Ossi, Lois Marr, Maureen Braun and Mary Kordyban. Anniversaries: 50 years for Frank and Helen Sarrazin, 60 years for Les and Elsie Goyer, 51 years for Lindsay and Alzora Hick, 50 years for Elmer and Maureen Braun and 37 years for Dave and Sherri McGraw. The PGRH retirees Christmas lunch is at the Prince George Golf and Curling Club on Dec. 11, starting at 11:30 a.m. The annual Christmas Lights Tour takes place on Sunday, Dec. 16, sign up sheets with details can be found at most of the senior centres. Crafts and Collectables Fair from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. this Saturday Nat the Elder Citizens Recreation Centre 1692 10th Avenue.