— 6 — way to the Prairies and 85-mph straightaway train runs. From Edmonton, we took a motor coach to Jasper, and from there the next train to Vancouver. VIA Rail, the national system (cf, Amtrak), actually uses “mileposts.” Onboard, the single sleeper accommodation is a fascinating experience of small-space technology and personal adjustment. Our group of 28 was fairly well concentrated on our 26-car train. We tended to gather in the adjacent diner and dome/activity cars. In the dome, you could view 360 degrees, and feel like you were riding atop a long silver snake winding its way through ponds, stone, and fields. We viewed unsurpassed scenery. Calls came out about wildlife: There’s a bear and her cub . . . a large black timber wolf . . . a herd of terribly scraggly mountain sheep. Early on, scores of beaver lodges were photographed. In Edmonton, after 51 hours onboard, we could see the bustling city now awash in oil and cash. There was an excellent presentation by a professional trapper, now called a “wildlife manager,” who held up a mousetrap to provide a connection with his audience. And, yes, the prairie province folks do talk like the characters in the movie Fargo—“you betcha.” There was nary a “kerfuffle,” or fuss. Jasper National Park’s folded granite mountains and terrains, meadows and waterfalls were magnificent. We did learn how to open the city’s bear-proof public trash containers. We left Jasper after breakfast for the mountainous route to Vancouver. On board, the main physical activity is walking to and from the diner, and squeezing past passengers in the narrow corridors. Emerging into Frazier River delta, our continuous days of warmth and sun had ended. Vancouver and our tours were cold and wet. Some folks complained, but I asked if they wanted an inauthentic Pacific Northwest experience. They said, “Yes.” Across Canada . . . continued from page 3 In memoriam: Byron L. Haines, 1936-2008 Byron L. Haines, associate professor emeritus of philosophy, died May 28, 2008, after a heart attack. Professor Haines was born December 24, 1936, in Houlton, Maine, and completed a B.A. (1958) degree in philosophy at Bates College. After Army service he pursued graduate studies at the University of Washington where he earned M.A. (1963) and Ph.D. (l966) degrees in his chosen academic discipline. Professor Haines joined the Portland State College faculty in 1965 during an epoch in which the institution had begun to advance toward University status. He contributed significantly to his department’s continuing and important role in that development. During the 1960s the Philosophy Department’s burgeoning academic program responded to pressing issues—such as those arising from wartime student activism and the civil rights movement—by mounting instructional programs that addressed and investigated societal concerns for morality. Professor Haines taught a wide range of courses dealing with the history of philosophy, as well as those dealing with conflict resolution, moral issues and rights, ethics, punishment, logic, and reasoning. In every sense, his instructional undertakings in the 1960s and 1970s bore particular relevance to what Professor Gordon Dodds characterized as “The Days of Rage” in The College That Would Not Die, a seminal history of Portland State University. Professor Haines’s classes were exceptionally popular with students. He served as department head for more than four years and coordinated its Morality instructional cluster for two years. Throughout his long, active career, he regularly served as an assigned student adviser. He enjoyed a high level of confidence and respect from his departmental colleagues, as well as from faculty from other academic units. The University acknowledged his many contributions with his advancement to emeritus rank in 2001. All of us owe a debt of gratitude for his selfless service to our academic mission. In 1959 Byron married Leslie Spalding, who died in 1999. Survivors include his daughter, Malinn; foster-daughter, Cecilia Orphan, and one grandchild. The RAPS Board extends its sympathy to them. An obituary appeared in the Oregonian on June 11, 2008, and arrangements were made by Omega. Remembrances may be made to Mercy Corp International. —Victor C. Dahl, Professor Emeritus of History
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