Everyone's life has a story and Alan Hunt of Williams Lake has always wanted to write a book about his.
“I’d sit at my computer and type until I was blue in the face," he said of his first attempts beginning in 1991.
Fast forward to 2025 and he has entrusted the process to a ghost writer at Prime Publishing in New York City and anticipates the book will be complete by the end of the summer.
Sitting in a Tim Hortons above the Williams Lake Stampede Grounds, Alan talked about some of his life.
The Hunt family came from Hearst in Northern Ontario. Melvin Hunt, Alan's dad, enlisted during the Second World War and served in Germany until he was wounded while being shot off a motorbike. He was released with a bullet through his leg and a silver plate.
After the war he reunited with Violet back home. They were married and had three children - Lawana, Gary and Alan - while still in Ontario.
“One day dad said ‘we’re going west,'" Alan said, adding his dad had an urge to be in B.C. because he’d had a trap line in Northern B.C. before the war.
In 1953 the Hunts embarked on the journey. Joined by an Uncle Frank and two dogs - Friday and Husky - they squeezed into an International pickup. Stopping at the Cascade Mountains, they celebrated Alan’s third birthday, and his father even inscribed his name and birth date into a rock.
The family arrived during the Williams Lake Stampede on the July long weekend and tented at the Stampede grounds.
“Dad was real social and went around and got to know the other campers. Tommy Lee hired dad to work in his general store at Alexis Creek and we lived there for three years.”
Lawana, who was oldest, started school in Alexis Creek and Melvin went to work at C1 Ranch in Alexis Creek as a cowboy. Eventually, Melvin got restless and packed up the family, moving to Summit Lake near Prince George.
A few more moves saw the family at Meldrum Creek living in an old log home on a three-acre flat. Melvin went to work for Mel Moon at the Moon Ranch.
Alan attended the Meldrum Creek School which was made of logs and recalled there were not many other children at the school at the time. When the school closed, Melvin put his name into teach correspondence and ended up teaching about 10 children.
“He treated it like a regular school,” Alan said. “He had school Christmas concerts, led the Lord’s prayer."
Alan’s younger brother Jesse was the only one in the family to be born in B.C., arriving while they were at Meldrum Creek.
Eventually their parents parted ways and Alan continued high school, often the only one living at the place in Meldrum Creek. He played guitar with a few bands and set his sights on moving to Nashville, Tennessee to pursue music after graduation.
A one-week work experience at CKWL Radio, however, changed his mind. The station was on the second floor above where Ken’s Restaurant is today on Second Avenue.
“I sat and watched. I’d go to the RCMP to pick up court news, read radio messages and got familiar with broadcasting.”
Bob Leckie, station manager at the time, told Alan when he got out of school he wanted him to come and work at the station but he'd need to get some experience. Alan said he balked at the idea and went to work at Chilko Ranch until one day a message came over the radio asking him to contact Leckie.
“I caught a ride into Williams Lake and learned something had transpired and the morning guy had chosen to move to Edmonton.”
He was 21 at the time and started hosting Melody Lane - the noon hour spot at CKWL. He’d read messages and then do a one-hour road show introducing records.
A year later he moved to Quesnel to work for the radio there but within a year said he was frustrated and left. He teamed up with his brother Gary to rodeo and they spent the summer on the rodeo circuit. Alan rode bulls and bareback.
Wondering what he’d do next, he took a job with a guide outfitter north of Fort Nelson for the fall. Details about his adventures there will no doubt make their way into the pages of his book.
After a few more moves he settled in Fort St. John where he got on with CJDL Radio, ‘faking’ his way to doing the morning show from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and eventually the afternoon show.
“I stayed for 10 years,” he said, adding he owned two western wear shops in Fort St. John as well - one was downtown and the other was in the Totem Mall.
In 1987 he returned to Williams Lake after his brother sent him an ad from the Efteen indicating CFFN was looking for a radio announcer. While working there he met his wife Barbara. She was originally from the Okanagan and had two daughters when they met.
Two years later he planned to move to Calgary to work with CFAC radio, but when the job fell through he went to work at Rona in Williams Lake. For two years he drove a truck delivering building supplies.
“Barbara would jump in the truck with me on delivery trips out west to Nemiah Valley and Red Stone," he said.
He and Barbara bought a little house on South Lakeside in 1991 for $32,000. They renovated it and lived there for 20 years.
For the last 30 years of his working life he hauled logs, retiring three-and-a-half years ago.
Sharing his life with Barbara has been the best years of his life, he said.
The first few chapters of his book have been sent to him to read and he's excited.
“I’ve only waited 70 years,” he said smiling.
