Nass Store

Between Aiyansh and Nass Camp was the Nass store. Run in the 60’s (before it burnt to the ground), by a guy named Larry Hoback.
It was here where I saw the first microwave oven in the north. He called us to the back of the store one day, in the very early 1970's,
to show us how this thing could cook a hotdog in seconds, it amazed us! It was a little Amana Radar Range, big enough to put 2 cups of coffee in.
He was an American, and had brought it back up from the states. Microwave ovens were invented in 1947 by the Raytheon Corp., and in 1967 they introduced the countertop model for $500.00 US.
The first Microwave was discovered by accident when the inventor, Percy Spencer, melted a chocolate bar in his pocket, while working on a Magnetron Tube.
Now every home around the world has one of these handy ovens. We worked with Microwave Radio every day and this technology intrigued us at the time.

We always stopped for gas at these small stores, to keep the locals in business. Some day when you really needed them, they might be there for us, that way.
We had a real hankering for Skeena Valley Meats pepperoni, or should I say our Boss Don Parr did! We couldn’t buy it in town at the Safeway or CO-OP on our food budget,
so we bought it at the Nass store. Larry (the owner) would make a special trip to the butcher shop, off Laurel in Thornhill and keep it in stock for us.
Birke Brookbank would order his usual- 2 Diet Pepsi’s, and a hand full of pepperoni for the road. Don only asked for 2 things be bought, for his Site inspection visits,
and that was Clamato juice for the Lucky Lager beer he brought with him, and pepperoni sausages for a snack. We seldom let him down!
Across the highway from the store was the tire shop. We lived there!
Every trip north you would take 2 spares and every day you had 2 flats. Not sure what the gravel on the old Nass road was made of, but had to be related to glass or nails!
No radials in those days, only Goodyear bias ply. We kept Kalum Tire, in Terrace, and the Nass Tire Store, in business for many years.

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