In April 1988, my wife and I took a trip to Creston to visit our friends. The first day here I fell in love with the mountains, fresh air and cold, clear water. I told my wife this is the place I would like to retire which she agreed. On Birch Street, three days later, we found our dream house and lived there for 20 years. I spent my time doing the things I love: gardening, fishing and hunting. My wife passed away at the Hillcrest old age home. I now would like to represent the town I love so much.
I immigrated to Canada in 1956. We settled down in Noranda City, Que., 400 miles north of Montreal. I worked as an electrician at Noranda mine for 32 years. The smelter is the biggest in Canada and pumps lead poison out of two massive chimneys. This killed all the fish in nearby waterways and created health problems, including some types of cancer.
A group of 25 doctors, nurses and technicians flew from New York’s Mount Sinai Hospital to Noranda to inspect the damage caused by the smelter. Many people showed symptoms of lung cancer and required immediate treatment in Montreal hospital. Through our persistence we forced the company to build an acid plant to cut down on pollution emissions. Our union team was very proud going against a huge corporation with lots of money and accomplished our goal.
My other experiences include representing the European people for 10 years as an elder for the United Church and also being a trade union leader and treasurer for 16 years.
Creston has a majority of retired people; roughly 80 per cent of this is my generation. With my experience, I feel I can contribute to build a better town for our grandchildren to our pensioners.
Louis Mihaly is seeking election to Creston town council.
— COURTESY OF I LOVE CRESTON