A pioneer of the region, 101-year old Bill Vinson now spends his time how he chooses, smoking an old fashion pipe and enjoying his unique connection to nature.
Recently Vinson spent some time at the Rodica Senior Home Care and caught the attention of Betty Sexsmith, who said she was amazed at how mentally alert Vinson is at 101.
"He can still walk and talk all about his life, he was a hunter and fisherman, an RCMP officer during the war. He had so many great stories, it was great to spend time with him while he was here," said Sexsmith.
"He could even tame squirrels, it was remarkable."
Indeed, Vinson's calm demeanour allows squirrels to be comfortable enough to crawl all over him. When he sits outside, he brings along with him his cart to hold everything he needs, including a jar of peanuts.
"It's quite spectacular, the squirrel now crawls all over the cart, and will even jump onto (Vinson) and sit in lap and crawl around his cane," said Lyn Murphy, Vinson's daughter.
"The squirrels now know about the jar, and if the lid isn't on tight enough, they've gotten it off and soon there would be nothing left."
And it's not just squirrels. Vinson has spent a lot of time with all sorts of wildlife over the years.
Born in England, Vinson's family moved to Amherst, Nova Scotia when he was still a baby. His family later moved to Calgary, and in 1927, Vinson and his older brother cleared land and claimed a homestead in Stuart River, bringing along the rest of the family shortly after.
Vinson said it soon became his job to go into the bush and hunt.
"I was the only one that could go out, find a moose and wait until he turned just right. I'd get him in the heart," he said. He and his brothers would have to come back the next day, strap the moose to wooden boards, and carry it home on their backs.
Vinson used to hike throughout the entire region looking for work. One year he heard there was a job opening in Barkerville, just under 400 kilometers south of Stuart Lake.
It took him five days to get there, hitch hiking part of the way, only to find out the job was taken.
Whenever Vinson travelled, he carried a bible with him in a buckskin holster he made himself, attached to his belt. He said he spent a lot of the time prospecting, hiking alone in the forest.
"When you get way up in the mountains, it's amazing what you run into. All kinds of wild life. This one time I ran into two big grizzlies, and boy-oh-boy. I just stood and watched them for a bit," said Vinson.
"If I ran into any animals, I'd talk to 'em. Bear, moose, deer, whatever I found. I would say good morning and ask them how they were. Once I walked and talked with a cow moose for a ways - I thought she wanted to come home with me," he said laughing.
While he was in the bush, Vinson also wrote letters to his girl of the moment, said Murphy.
She said she was going through old boxes and found the letters unattended.
"When I asked him he said he'd be in the forest and write a poem or letter, then type it up when he got home. It seems like he had a lot of different girls to write to back in the day," she said.
Murphy has kept a strong record of her family's history, and Vinson's life has been documented by the Prince George Oral History Group.
