You would never guess that these fellows have both been collecting old age pensions for a good number of years if you had seen them together in this wagon (on Saturday afternoon) thundering down the West Fraser Road at breakneck speed. Their hurried pace suggested that they may have been running late to a very important date when, in fact, there was no urgency but there was a function.
Nonetheless they had this fine looking pair of grey horses on the run, which made for a show-stopping grand entrance at a surprise 80th birthday party celebration.
By the time the wagon driver Roy Mulvahill delivered his good friend Hank Krynen to his own front yard (Fraser River frontage, past Fraser River Ranch, toward Quesnel) however, the cat was well and truly out of the bag, so birthday-honouree Krynen had decided to add a little surprise (and humour) of his own by donning a curly black wig topped with a straw bonnet.
About 75 friends and family waited to celebrate the milestone birthday; the gathering was orchestrated by his wife Julie; son Andrew Krynen (Seattle, Wash.); and daughter Jo Krynen (Williams Lake) and her husband Andrew Cuthell; and a host of family and friends. It was a perfect Cariboo fall day, sunny and warm and nearly, bug-free.