Memories & Musings
December, 2020

The Salviulo Family

By Leona Keraiff

Local high school sweethearts and longtime Riondel residents, Enzo & Laurel Salviulo, shared some interesting stories with me about teenage life in the 70’s in the Crawford Bay Community Hall…

“Since the School did not have a gym, we played in the Hall before school began, during lunch and before catching the bus home”, Enzo recalls. “We also had Phys Ed class there” said Laurel. “Mr.Schiavon brought physical activity and competition back to school after that nasty Mr. Roswicky finally left!” Mr.Schiavon was faced with the challenge of amalgamating the Riondel and Crawford Bay schools so “team” competitions began. He combined students from Gr.8 to Gr.12. “Mactackers” lead by Mrs. MacDonald, Mr Lockwood had a team as did Mr. Schiavon”.

Crawford Bay Floor Hockey by Crawford Bay Rules was born! Handball, dodgeball, basketball and badminton too. Wire protected the Hall windows, but the ledges were deadly as they were hip/kidney height! Just ask Ross Oliver... “Fiercely competitive, rough and lotsa fun”. Enzo said,“fun but cramped, small, not enough room, we were elated when the Gym was finally built”.  

Some recollections: sticks and heels caught on heating grates, record players at dances where boys were on one side of the Hall, girls on the other, girls did the “asking”, “mickeys” were stored in toilet bowl tanks, smokers and beer drinkers snuck outside. Every second Friday afternoon there was an activity such as Emmanuel Huchet and Damaris Helke’s (sp?) lunchtime band practice or Mrs. Berg and Mea Berg’s ballet classes. Grade 8 initiations!...mostly fun, but eventually stopped because they became socially unacceptable and downright mean. Laurel made “sets” and Enzo did “lighting” from the upstairs room with Mark Bueller, for drama performances which were wildly popular and so well attended. Valentine’s Dances, the Remembrance Day sounds of kids marching down the school hallway into the Hall, our daughter Morgan in ballet class with Jocelyn Donald, our son Brandon brought a flute home at least once and our younger daughter, Brianna on Jim Donald’s marimbas. Laurel’s final thoughts: “The Hall was our social hub, the place to be, much laughter, rehearsals and many warm memories”.

 Enzo’s brother Nando Salviulo was my next phone call and his tales had me in stitches!

Firstly, as Student Council President, he spent much time on the phone organizing events like the Kokanee Karnival Cabaret, which was held in the Hall, with a liquor license (obtained by a Hall Board member)! His Grad class hired the band (lead by Gerry Schiavon) sold tickets and liquor, raising lots of money for their graduation. He told me his favourite part of high school was being the President because he could use the phone in the office a lot, go out for a smoke and drink coffee with school bus driver Rosanne Ballard or school secretary Marilyn Karpowich.

Secondly, he was “Scrooge” in the annual Christmas concert performed in the Hall to a “jam packed” audience when “everybody from town turned up”. The stage had “wings” and it was “so cool to view the crowd”. 

Lastly, Nando, Evan Mayo, Richard Green, Richard Fehr, Rodney Musil and Ian Hagedorn were the Grade 8 basketball team. Yes, the 6 of them! Gerry was their coach. Because the Hall had to be shared with the elementary students and wasn’t regulation size, hosting teams couldn’t happen and practice was often held IN THE  WOOD WORKING SHOP!  Furthermore, when asked while playing at Trafalgar, who had 15 players,  “Where’s the rest of your team?” the 6 athletes replied “They’ll be here for the second half, they missed the ferry.”  P.S. These 6 players never lost a game that season and went on to win the East Kootenay Championship in Sparwood!