Dear editor,
I read with sadness the obituary for Mr. Robert Bennett in the Oct 4th edition. I knew Mr Bennett (as I called him) for all the years that I was in Port Hardy. He was a very interesting guy and involved in a ton of stuff, and yes mining was a huge part of his life. He always wore the same type of outfit, with the overalls and gumboots - however one day, I was at the bakery early in the morning getting coffee and a muffin, and I see this figure stepping out from the shadows from the apartment on Market street where he lived for years. He is all decked out in a 3 piece suit, looking rather uncomfortable. Immediately I call out him - "Hey moneybags" (our nicknames for each other) "where are you off too?" Turns out he had a board meeting in New York for some company that he was involved in. Lesson learned - You can never, ever judge a book by it's cover. I have some fond memories of bantering with Mr. Bennett - he definitely made the world a more interesting place. I hope his last days were among friends and thank the hospital in Port Hardy for the excellent care that he received.
Craig Stout
Kamloops