Dale began "getting things done" in New Westminster, where he attended TJ Trapp Technical School, and later became Commodore of the Yacht Club.
He was a millworker, teacher, held several management positions and [ after "retiring"] spent 10 years with McDonald's. Over the years he held positions as President of the Surrey Fish & Game Club, [BC Wildlife Federation] and Green Timbers Community Society, and was a member of the Green Timbers Urban Forest Advisory Committee. He was a member, instigator, or supporter of countless community organizations, programs and campaigns. His proudly cultivated deep booming voice resounded across meeting rooms floors. His sharp wit and all- embracing personality instilled a sense of community wherever he went.
He loved the outdoors, fishing and hunting the old ways, and fought tenaciously for sound wildlife management practices. For forty years Dale fished trout in Crown Lake near Pavilion. He loved the Cariboo and Chilcotin, and loved all of B.C. so deeply that he refused to go anywhere else.
Dale proudly participated in the campaign to save the Stein Valley,and joyously saw re-introduction of elk into an area of the Chilcotin. He was in the front ranks in saving Surrey Bend, restoring his beloved Coho Salmon to King Creek, and personally ensured the creation of the lake in Green Timber Urban Forest. To "keep the pot boiling" in Surrey politics he defeated cuts in the Parks budget , as well as running for Surrey council.
He liked any kind of project that could facilitate independence from the system, admiring solar, wind and pelton-wheel power. He didn't think life should be taken too seriously and made people happy with his original whirligigs. He was an organizer and mainstay of craft fairs with his windooies and collectibles display cases.
After a life of devotion to his family and community Dale retired to Yale in 2003 assuming the identity of "Dale from Yale" , and listening to the ghosts of the prospectors, teams and paddle-wheelers. He set up his "Things with Winks"
workshop on Mary Street [ Trans Canada Highway] and sold flowers and figures to passersby. Dale loved being close to the wilderness, the gold prospecting and his beloved salmon.
He took pride in preserving old ways, loved his garden and mason bees, and enjoyed home-canning of fish, produce and, especially, fruit. He also loved his music, especially the songs of Gary Fjellgaard, Willie Nelson, and John Denver, and had begun to write poems about the hard realities of life. He found nothing of worth in modern "let us entertain you" culture.
Dale followed with interest the Fraser River fishing activities, and enjoyed observing the activities on the railroad and highway. He turned his attention to studying history, and supported the activities of the Yale District Historical Society, especially the annual Strawberry Social. With great glee he personally saw to the organizing of the
old-fashioned welcoming and "Great Train Robbery" of the "BC 150 Celebration Train" in June this year.
Always a participant in popular politics, Dale was considering the need for a new political party and was helping in the elections for Area B representative to the Fraser Valley Regional District. He gave generously to Cops for Cancer, the Yale and District Historical Society and the annual Yale Halloween fireworks.
They Didn't Listen
They didn't listen to us
Now there's such a fuss
America has gone to hell
Cause they didn't listen to us
They should have taken heed
When there was such a need
To stop those wars over greed
But they didn't listen to us!!
Peace is defined as a cessation of war
But that`s really not what wars are fought for
Real peace is not considered to be part of the game
Control of world riches, land and resources
Is indeed the main thrust of hostile forces
Peace is a feeling, a state of mind
Of which there is no other kind
Peace kindles love that we all surely need
To combat those who worship out and out greed.
Peace = Love = Survival
Dale Denney 2008
