Kary Michaels thanks those who attended trail dedication to her father Bob Graham. Photos 250News

Prince George, B.C. – An avid fan of fly fishing who relished the thought of others enjoying the sport as much as he has been honoured by the community.

Mayor Lyn Hall, Councilor Jillian Merrick and city staff joined family, friends and fishing buddies at Forests for the World Friday afternoon to dedicate a trail to Bob Graham.  The trail bearing his name branches off the Shane Lake Loop Trail   and runs down to the lake itself.

Bob Graham was a long-time resident of Prince George and a member of the Polar Coachman Flyfishers.  He wanted residents to have the opportunity to try their hand at fishing at a spot that was in close proximity to the city, and saw Shane Lake as that spot.  He and others put together a fundraising drive to raise the money to build and install the present dock at the lake which provides easy access to hikers and those who enjoy fishing.

Bob Graham’s wife Alice, and daughters Barbara Graham and Kary Michaels were on hand for the unveiling of the sign at the head of what is now Bob Graham Trail.  Kary said “when we first heard about this we were quite interested and still are, it’s a big honour.  And it’s really gratifying to see something like this, the amount of work that he’s put into a project like this and to be recognized, it’s a big honour so thank you very much.”

“My dad was a relatively humble man and he wouldn’t have liked all this attention so he would have want5ed everybody to know that he definitely didn’t do all of this by himself.  The Polar Coachman Flyfishers club, (president Brian (Smith) did an incredible amount of work with him on this and he would have wanted them to be acknowledged for all the work they’ve put in.”

Sign at the head of the Bob Graham Trail to the Shane Lake dock

“I’m really proud of my dad for the legacy that he created here.  I don’t  think he  necessarily meant it to be a legacy because he wasn’t that kind of a person.  He didn’t think like that, he was always civic-minded and just would have seen a need and an opportunity and gone ahead with it.  He was just an “action” kind of a guy and would do what needed to be done.  So to me this legacy is about the future, just like Forests for the World has always been.”

Bob Graham also enjoyed skiing and was a ski patroller out at Purden for 30-odd years, according to folks who had cabins near his.  As well he ran a highly successful engineering firm, R.E. Graham and Associates.