So you may have heard, or seen for yourself, the historically low river levels down at the confluence of the Fraser and Nechako. Islands are emerging where normally the water runs far above them and you can walk far, far out onto the riverbed to see what normally lies beneath.

Tough to say exactly how long it’s been sitting in the river but we can give the bag a minimum age based on the last time a Woodward’s Food Floor existed (yes, that say “Woodward’s Food Floors” on there, not “Woodward’s Food Floops” as I first thought).

Turns out, there’s actually a whole book about the Food Floors of Woodward’s which, for my younger readers, was a department store that started in Vancouver in 1892. It opened up in Prince George in 1966, where the Bay currently is in Parkwood Place.

Here’s a 1966 advertisement for the opening of Parkwood Mall, with Woodward’s as one of the founding tenants:c

Here’s a photo of the “food floor” on the upper level from that same year:

And here’s an ad from 1985 from Woodward’s promising to beat the price of Overwaitea (the predecessor to Save-On Foods) in a very specific manner:

Apparently Woodward’s introduced many international foods to Canadian consumers and pioneered things like mail-order shopping and self-service checkout. It filed for bankruptcy in 1992 and was closed by 1993… but the “food store” portion had closed five years earlier, in 1987, which places that bag at at least 35 years old which, as one commentator said, really gives us an idea of how long it takes for single-use plastic bags to decay.

I’m told this will jog some memories:

The Seven Summits of Prince George

I just came across this fun post from a local hiking group. Tim Antrill writes:

There are lots of contenders in the comments, among them Mount Robson, Pope, the Vineyards, Longworth, Terry Fox, Torpy…. we have a lot of mountains.

Someone also suggested seven peaks of more accessible summits closer to home, including Teapot, the Forests for the World lookout, the Cutbanks… for that, I would probably add at least one spot up North Nechako way, maybe LC Gunn, though it less of a climb… Connaught? Anyways, it’s fun to climb things. Add your own in the comments!

Josh Silva can’t run in the next election

After coming within 630 votes of getting elected to school board last year, and having a good shot at being elected in this year’s by-election before dropping out of the race, Josh Silva has been disqualified from running for school board — or any other local government position — in the next elections, scheduled for 2026. This is because he failed to file his papers from this past election, a requirement once you officially get nominated, regardless of whether you decide to drop out or not. This notice is in the school board’s agenda packet for today. Mike Rositano is disqualified for the same reason.

Quick news:

• The family of a 12-year-old who took his life spoke to CKPG, in the hopes of warning other parents about what happened. RCMP say they are investigating sexual extortion which is linked to the death, and urging parents to learn about and talk to their kids about being safe online. News to me: young boys are more often victims of sexual extortion than girls, though both are at risk.

• Two teens were killed in a vehicle incident on the Barkerville Highway.

• The province’s labour market report is predicting some pretty modest growth for the region.

• The Nature Trust of B.C. is fundraising to buy wetlands and riparian forests around the Ferguson Lake area inPrince George. Interview about the project here.

• There’s been a rise in the number of parents applying for financial support to put their kids in sports in the city.

• “Fewer people partying” = less demand for Operation Red Nose, so far.

• Man travelling from Alaska to Argentina spreading environmental awareness stops in PG.

• The Bear Lake fire department is suspending service due to a lack of training.

• A new stocked fishing pond is being built to attract visitors to, and help fund, the sturgeon recovery centre in Vanderhoof.

• Hunting mentor wanted.

Today’s song:

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