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Projects
- > Hollyburn Historic Sites Walking Tour
- > Hollyburn Lodge Renewal Project - List of Donors
- > Hollyburn Lodge Renewal Project - A Historical Perspective - Lessons Learned
- > Official Opening of the Renewed Hollyburn Lodge (January 15, 2017 - Photos)
- > Hollyburn Lodge - Thank you for being part of the future! - Jackie Swanson
- > "It Takes a Community to Build a Lodge" - Kevin Healy
- > Hollyburn Lodge Renewal Project Photos (2016)
- > Hollyburn Lodge Renewal Project Photos (2015)
- > Hollyburn Lodge Farewell BBQ - April 24, 2015
- > Hollyburn Lodge Restoration Project Timeline
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Proposed Fred Burfield's Tractor/Bombardier Museum at First Lake
- > Fred Burfield's Bombardier on Hollyburn Mountain -Vintage Photos
- > The Restoration of Fred Burfield's Bombardier - Steve Richards
- > The Restoration of Fred Burfield’s Bombardier - Photos
- > John Deere Tractors on Hollyburn Mtn - Video & Photos
- > Fred Burfield's John Deere Tractor Restoration Project – Peter Tapp
- > Fred Burfield's John Deere Tractor Restoration Project - Video & Photos
- > Fred Burfield's John Deere Tractor After Restoration - Photos & Video
- > Pioneers
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Geography
- > Howe Sound Crest Trail 2020
- > Views from the Major Summits in Cypress Provincial Park (Photos)
- > The Hollyburn Shoulder & Romstads Run (Photos & Video)
- > Hollyburn Plateau Lakes (Photos)
- > Hollyburn Plateau Lakes (Videos)
- > Hollyburn Mountain Public Access Trail
- > Hollyburn Lodge, First Lake (Videos)
- > Hollyburn Ridge Lakes (Photos)
- > West Lake (Videos)
- > Blue Gentian Lake Videos
- > Hollyburn Ridge Creeks (Videos)
- > Natural Historians at Work on the Brothers Creek Trail (July 2013 - Photos & Video)
- > Old Growth Conservancy on Hollyburn Ridge (Photos)
- > Black Mountain Plateau Lakes (Photos)
- > Yew Lake In Cypress Provincial Park (Powerpoint Slides, Photos & Videos)
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History
- > North Shore Mountains Historical Timeline (1875 - 2010)
- > Artifacts of Yesteryear (A.G.M. F.)
- > The History of Hollyburn Lodge - Don Grant
- > Hollyburn Lodge Photos (1924-1984)
- > Hollyburn Lodge Videos: "Hollyburn Lodge Through the Seasons & Generations"
- > The Hollyburn Trail (1922-1927) Articles by Pollough Pogue
- > “The Ski Camp At the ‘Old Mill’ Site” – Eilif Haxthow’s Hollyburn Journal (October 1924 - January 1928)
- > Searching for the Nasmyth Mill Site - Part 1 (Don Grant)
- > The Hollyburn Pacific Ski Club of Vancouver, B.C. - Rudolph J. Verne (1927)
- > Hollyburn Mountain Articles by Pollough Pogue (1927) & Photos from HHS Archives
- > The Swedes At the Hollyburn Ski Camp (1927 -1946)
- > The Burfield Family At Hollyburn Ski Lodge (1946 -1983)
- > History of Hollyburn Ridge - Ted Russell
- > Walks in West Vancouver - Hikes on Hollyburn Ridge (1929
- > Hi-View Lodge & the Chairlift (1951 – 1965)
- > Hollyburn Ridge Brochure circa 1954
- > 1962 Boy Scout Map of Hollyburn Mtn
- > West Lake Camp/Lodge (1932 - 1938) "The Other Side of the Mountain"
- > Westlake Ski Lodge (1939 – 1987)
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Prose & Poetry
- > "Heritage of Hollyburn – Holmenkollen (Cabin 225)"
- > "The History of the HWTC" – Bob Tapp
- > "The Bread Lady's Cabin" - Vince Hernandez
- > "Cabin Builders on Hollyburn Ridge (1930’s)" - Hal Plumsteel
- > "Hollyburn Cabin ‘North Plus Fours’ Through the Generations" - Don Grant
- > "Many A Notch In Time" - A.G.M.F.
- > "The Building of Alasker Inn" - Dick Andersen
- > "Par-a-dice Inn" - Jack Branston
- > "Youthful Days on Hollyburn Mtn – 1960’s (Part 1)" - A.G.M.F.
- > "Youthful Days on Hollyburn Mtn – 1960’s (Part 2)" - A.G.M.F.
- > "Braced for Every Season" A.G.M.F.
- > "Hollyburn Hideaways" - A.G.M.F.
- > "Cabineers" - A.G.M.F.
- > "Called To Higher Ground" - A.G.M.F.
- > "After Autumn Leaves" - A.G.M.F.
- > "Ridgeline Vignettes" - A.G.M.F.
- > "A Reverent Ode to the Outdoor Commode" - A.G.M.F.
- > "A Ramble on Hollyburn Ridge" - A.G.M.F.
- > "When A Mountain Comes to Mind" - A.G.M.F.
- > "A Fine Place to Rest" - A.G.M.F.
- > "To A Cabin In the Woods" - A.G.M.F.
- > "TWIXT TIDE AND TIMBERTLINE" - A.G.M.F.
- > "HEWN BY HAND" - A.G.M.F.
- > "On Winter At First Lake" - A.G.M.F.
- > "Hollyburn Lodge" - A.G.M.F.
- > "A Curious Encounter" - A.G.M.F.
- > Cabins
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Competitive Sports
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The Jack & Thelma Hutchinson Collection
- > The Jack & Thelma Hutchinson Collection (Page 2) Photos
- > The Jack & Thelma Hutchinson Collection (Page 3) Photos
- > The Jack & Thelma Hutchinson Collection (Page 4) Photos
- > The Jack & Thelma Hutchinson Collection (Page 5) Photos
- > The Jack & Thelma Hutchinson Collection (Page 6) Photos
- > The Jack & Thelma Hutchinson Collection (Page 7) Photos
- > The Jack & Thelma Hutchinson Collection (Page 8) Photos
- > The Jack & Thelma Hutchinson Collection (Page 9) Photos
- > The Jack & Thelma Hutchinson Collection (Page 10) Photos
- > The Jack & Thelma Hutchinson Collection (Page 11) Documents
- > The Jack & Thelma Hutchinson Collection (Page 12) Documents
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The 'Golden Age' on Hollyburn Mtn (1927/1928 & 1928/1929 Ski Seasons)
- > The 'Golden Age' on Hollyburn Mtn (1929/30 & 1930/1931 Ski Seasons)
- > The 'Golden Age' on Hollyburn Mtn (1931/32 & 1932/1933 Ski Seasons)
- > The 'Golden Age' on Hollyburn Mtn (1933/34 Ski Season)
- > The 'Golden Age' on Hollyburn Mtn (1934/35 Ski Season)
- > The 'Golden Age' on Hollyburn Mtn (1935/1936 Ski Season)
- > The 'Golden Age' on Hollyburn Mtn (1936/1937 Ski Season)
- > The 'Golden Age' on Hollyburn Mtn (1937/1938 Ski Season)
- > The 'Golden Age' on Hollyburn Mtn (1938/1939 Ski Season)
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Pollough Pogue's Hiker & Skier Magazine - Volumes 1 & 2 (1932/1933)
- > Pollough Pogue's Hiker & Skier Magazine - Volume 3 (1934/1935)
- > Pollough Pogue's Hiker & Skier Magazine - Volume 4 (1935/1936)
- > Pollough Pogue's Hiker & Skier Magazine - Volume 5 (1936/1937)
- > Pollough Pogue's Hiker & Skier Magazine - Volume 6 (1937/1938)
- > Pollough Pogue's Hiker & Skier Magazine - Volume 7 (1938/1939) Nos. 1, 2, 3
- > Pollough Pogue's Hiker & Skier Magazine - Volume 7 (1938/1939) Nos. 6, 7, 8
- > Heroes of the Harnessed Hickory (Parts 1 & 2)
- > Heroes of the Harnessed Hickory (Parts 3 & 4
- > Hollyburn Mountain
- > Grouse Mountain
- > Mount Seymour
- > Princeton
- > Revelstoke
- > Banff, Alberta
- > Pacific Northwest - Snoqualmie & Mt Hood
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The Jack & Thelma Hutchinson Collection
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Recreational Skiing
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Recreational Skiing In Cypress Provincial Park
- > Historic Ski Runs On Hollyburn Mountain
- > Recreational Skiing on Hollyburn Mountain - 1920's & 1930's (Photos)
- > Recreational Skiing on Hollyburn Mountain - 1940's (Photos)
- > Recreational Skiing on Hollyburn Mountain - 1930's, 1940's, 1950's (Videos)
- > Recreational Skiing on Hollyburn Mountain - 1950's & 1960's (Photos)
- > Recreational Skiing on Hollyburn Mountain - 1970's (Photos)
- > Historic Ski Runs On Mount Strachan (Photos)
- > Recreational Skiing On Black Mountain (Photos)
- > Recreational Skiing On Grouse Mountain (Photos)
- > Recreational Skiing On Mt. Seymour (Video & Photos)
- > Recreational Skiing Near Princeton, BC (Photos)
- > Recreational Skiing On Mount Baker (Photos)
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Recreational Skiing In Cypress Provincial Park
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Hiking
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The Trail to Hollyburn Peak (Photos & Video)
- > Lake Country on Hollyburn Mountain
- > Historic References to Yew Lake (Cypress Lake) - 1920's
- > Yew Lake & Black Mtn
- > Howe Sound Crest Trail Part 1 - Mount Strachan
- > Howe Sound Crest Trail Part 2 - Strachan Meadows to West Lion Peak
- > Howe Sound Crest Trail Part 3 - West Lion To Deeks Lake
- > Mt Brunswick Peak from Porteau Cove circa 1940 (Varsity Outdoor Club)
- > Hiking Near Grouse Mtn
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Garibaldi Provincial Park
- > Explorations In Garibaldi Provincial Park - 1930's
- > Garibaldi Provincial Park: Around Garibaldi Lake
- > Garibaldi Provincial Park: Elfin Lakes & Diamond Head
- > The Black Tusk
- > "The Brandvolds of Diamond Head" - Irene Howard
- > Brandvold Family Reunion At Diamond Head Chalet – September 15, 2007
- > Garibaldi Provincial Park Hike Videos - Summer 2019
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The Trail to Hollyburn Peak (Photos & Video)
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Cypress Now
- > Cypress Creek Lodge
- > X-Country Skiing & Snowshoeing Videos
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Snowshoeing Photos
- > Snowshoe Trails To Hollyburn Lodge
- > Ancient Giants & Marr Giant Connector Trail
- > Ridge Traverse Trail
- > Ridge Fall Line Trail
- > Far East Trail
- > Upper Glades Loop Trail
- > Public Access Trail to Hollyburn Peak
- > Snowshoeing On the Black Mtn Plateau
- > Snowshoeing On Mt. Strachan
- > Howe Sound Crest Trail To Bowen Lookout & Binkert Kiosk
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Hiking Photos & Videos
- > Cypress Provincial Park Map - Section 1 (West)
- > Cypress Provincial Park Map - Section 2 (East)
- > 10 Minute Trail to Hollyburn Lodge (March 2013 - Photos)
- > Hollyburn Lodge via the Westlake Road & the Main Trail (April 2013 - Photos)
- > Brothers Creek Trail to the Junction with Crossover Trail (April 2013 - Photos & Video)
- > Brothers Creek Trail to the Junction with Blue Gentian Trail (April 2013 - Photos)
- > Brothers Creek Trail - Crossover Trail Junction to the Upper Falls (July 2013 - Photos & Video)
- > Baden-Powell Trail to the Snowline (May 2013 - Photos)
- > Views of Lawson Creek along the Baden-Powell Trail to the Crossover Trail (May 2013 - Photos)
- > Crossover Trail on Hollyburn Ridge (June 2013 - Photos & Video)
- > Trail to Blue Gentian Lake & the Baden-Powell Trail from the Upper Brothers Creek Bridge (October 2013 - Photos)
- > Blue Gentian Lake to Hollyburn Lodge via West Lake (November 2013 - Photos)
- > Descent of the Fire Access Road In WV's Upper Lands (July 2013 - Photos))
- > Upper Brothers Creek Trail to Lost Lake (July 2013 - Photos)
- > Views of Small Lakes & Ponds along the Unknown Lake Trail (August 2017 - Photos)
- > Hollyburn Peak via the Powerline Trail & the Plateau (July 2013 - Photos)
- > Hollyburn Plateau via the junction of the Baden-Powell Trail & the Old Strachan Trail (July 2013 - Photos)
- > Old Trail to Mount Strachan - Part 1 (August 2013 - Photos)
- > Old Trail to Mount Strachan - Part 2 (August 2013 - Photos)
- > Black Mountain (July 23 - Photos)
- > HSCT East - Trailhead to Binkert Kiosk (July 2013 - Photos)
- > HSCT - Binkert Kiosk to Mt. St. Marks (July 2013 - Photos)
- > HSCT Trail (Summer 2017 & 2018 - Photos)
- > Partners
- > Site Map
WHEN A MOUNTAIN COMES TO MIND
Have you ever studied photographs hoping to discern
clues about the character of a place like Hollyburn?
There’s something of a mystery in those treasured exhibitions,
so, what might be intuited from yesteryear’s depictions?
Loggers in bush shirts, their axes swung to clear,
ancestral trees of sprawling girth once embedded here.
But above that crude divestiture lay a tracery of hope,
virgin stands of timberland high upon the slope.
The boundlessness of youth by its nature held in thrall,
responded with devotion to the mountain’s higher call.
To build a hut of cedar logs by their own devices,
meant countering adversity through lofty sacrifices.
With stout hearts, strong backs and calloused hands they toiled,
muscling saws and axes while a blackened tea pail boiled.
Sporting high, laced boots, floppy hats and rumpled woollen togs,
their heavy-laden packs made for bruising uphill slogs.
They were unrelenting woodsmen who ventured on ahead,
blazing well-marked tracks for the rest us to tread.
****************
Trails meeting here are by happenstance convergent;
well known to its inhabitants agreeably divergent.
There are cabins in the woods where people congregate.
Visitations are informal; there’s no such thing as late.
But be sure to pack libations, whatever kind brings cheer,
you'll be obliged to leave some, it’s common practise here.
On this year-end festive eve, friends pledge amity anew;
There’s plentiful refreshments and a pot of homemade stew.
At the stroke of midnight, jubilation time is nigh,
while out among the evergreens, snow is piling high.
So, it’s goodbye to the old year and welcome to the new,
come morning they'll be coffee, and with luck a cure or two.
In the sober aftermath, well thought out intentions
promptly falter and give way to rueful resignations.
****************
Then it’s up along the trail to gleaming snowy bowls,
where crowds of smiling skiers are leaning on their poles.
Oldsters and youngsters with arguable skill
are jockeying for position on a well-compacted hill.
Ill at ease beginners queue in hopes of having fun,
and the iffy expectation of one successful run.
The fretful and the fiddle-footed assume an awkward stance,
contriving to regain control by slithering on their pants.
Given dull metal edges and sloppy, rutted snow-
it’s near pandemonium on the old rope tow.
There’s an easy-going ambiance on such youthful, carefree days,
but a season's snow will soon recede for Spring is on the way.
****************
As cold fog drifts through draping boughs quiescent;
the drip, drip, drip of drizzling rain is annoyingly incessant.
The raucous call of ravens echoes through a misty damp,
while hikers wait for transport to their cozy mountain camp.
Some find comfort in a flask for packing up the trail.
For those who smoke, there’s reassurance in a firm tobacco bale.
A Trapper Nelson full of parts for some ancient iron range
will test the bearer’s fortitude as through the woods he'll strain.
And, what about that chairlift? Well, it had its ups and downs,
the tramway’s steel erections being somewhat less than sound.
Without a doubt - dodgy doesn’t cut it as solid, tried and true;
but of course it was the Fifties, when good enough would do.
So, if ever poets to this structure pen acclamatory sonnets,
then such paeans ought to praise the pluck of those who rode upon it.
****************
Idyll thoughts descend upon a gently sighing breeze,
while sitting on a cabin porch living life at ease.
There’s percolating coffee and cooling berry pie;
the scent of oozing pitch and blue summer sky.
Wood smoke, gingham curtains, dinner in a nook;
a bouquet of wild flowers pressed within a book.
An artist’s scenic panorama painted on a saw;
the pungent smell of mothballs, a skein of mousy faugh.
Sometimes schemes and reveries commence to interplay,
as idle yearnings metamorphose into fanciful forays.
Wandering down a winding trail lost to introspection;
there are sites beside the water’s edge for casual reflection.
Through high, heaping cloud slants a slender, gleaming strake
dazzling as it penetrates a placid mountain lake.....
It’s a “wondrous strange” human trait that most are overawed
by the lure of trails to hinterlands few have ever trod.
When hikers conjure images of distant lakes and falls,
they must yield and be guided by the mountain’s siren calls.
There are trails through wilderness existing to attain;
the hardy as they go in search of undefiled terrain.
Could freedom be more evident than by an azure tarn;
or rising with a rosy glow in the blissful cool of morn?
It’s a time when the moon and stars are altogether done,
as the haze of dawn dissipates and shadows flee the Sun.
There’s thirst to quench at bubbling springs while tramping on the way;
thence to a river's sheltering shade in the dusty heat of day.
There, ringed by granite boulders in some deep canyon well,
lie purling, dark green pools where lurking salmon dwell.
Then striking out on trails to places never been,
or beguiling summit climbs to vistas yet unseen -
where creatures haunt the craggy heights and golden eagles soar
over frantic whistling marmots as they to the sky implore.
Who hasn’t yearned to stroll exuberantly through
a meadowland of wild flowers, their beauty eyed anew;
then opted for a route past jumbled heaps of stone,
making for a snow patch to meditate alone -
or stand in the shadows ‘neath weathered, sun-bright cliffs
where cascades of water plummet from a lofty precipice?
Those endless summer days may all too soon be gone,
but the wanderlust to ramble thus always lingers on.
****************
With Fall’s approach, the ridge assumes a wealth of changing views,
while a fading sun girds the land with bright autumnal hues.
That’s when boot-clad creatures are mindful to be wary
as gruff, snuffling bears seek the tasty high-brush berry.
And, time has come for humankind to finish gathering fuel;
to warm the hearth in wooden dens beyond the coming yule.
‘Tis true that Hollyburn’s tamer now, that no one can deny,
yet, it has its own diversions for those who happen by.
It’s a place where one can feel at home out among the trees
or listening to a windstorm wail with fire by your knees.
In an over-heated cabin, guys are chugalugging beer;
a hallowed rite-of-passage that happens every year.
These droll confabulations often last til morning light;
so, it’s a punky bunch who rouse themselves looking for respite.
Time to clutch a mug of tea or, likely in its stead,
yet another cold one to soothe an aching head.
To fraternize with fervour reflects the days of auld,
and the foreverness of good times faithfully recalled.
People of the ridge reside in protected habitation;
thus they must content themselves with modest dispensation.
Though the imprint of humankind may have come to stay,
the forest in its rawest form is never far away.
Now, locals tend to cultivate a stoic frame of mind,
yet, they’re good-hearted people, the most congenial kind.
Able-bodied ramblers who knock about the land;
self-reliant pilgrims who fancy life first hand.
Not ones to be pretentious or prone to patronize,
slow to be distrustful but incredulously wise.
This community of bush-dwellers welcoming by turn,
are resolute inhabitants of a place called Hollyburn.
Just how hard-bitten are these mountain folk who live with the cabin mouse?
They’re about as tough as stubborn knots ‘neath the seat of an old out-house.
****************
Hiking though woodlands on a dull, cheerless day,
thunder rumbles aimlessly as sunlight fades away.
A dismal, drizzling rain determines which trail to take,
while trudging through the bush beside a solitary lake.
Rising out of nowhere, a squall gives no reprieve,
its surging blasts pummelling bleak and wind-strained trees.
Cloying muck clogs the trail making progress slow,
as sleety showers predicate the immanence of snow.
Autumn rambles beckon when the moon is full in flight,
for burdens borne of daily toil are loosened in the night.
Filtering through totemic groves, light shines cool and pale,
suffusing umber trunks looming ghost-like on the trail.
To be as one with woodlands is to embrace their mystic spell,
where shapes and shadows guide those who in the forest dwell.
While smoke drifts slowly upwards from a tidy mountain camp,
it’s never too soon to be chopping wood even if it’s damp.
When Winter’s harsh encroachments conspire to disperse,
the brief facade of Fall dissolves as weather turns adverse.
And, as sure as frost patterns window panes when the mercury is low,
soon hunched figures, shovels in hand, will ascend
through sifting snow.
****************
Behold hibernal landscapes at the evening end of day
while heading for the warm embrace of a mountain hideaway.
A firmament of frigid stars overarches every trail;
then almost imperceptibly, a leaden shroud prevails.
There’s majesty in falling snow bathed by wintry light,
and the frosty crunch of freeze-up on dark, celestial nights.
White gas and matches; a Coleman lantern too,
incinerated mantles; light that flares anew.
It’s time to cozy by an airtight, hot and heaving strange,
or the majestic, coal-black beauty of a showy Monarch range.
Nearby, you’ll find a child’s toys strewn upon the floor;
a decorated Christmas tree from just outside the door.
Hail the merry sound of neighbours trudging through the woods,
on their way to honour fellowship and earthly brotherhood.
These are just moments on Hollyburn.
Depictions unfettered of strife.
Portraits of fleeting contentment.
Mementoes of past mountain life.
**************** FINIS ****************
EPILOGUE
Whatever aura is possessed by certain locales that inspire praises to be written in their names, it is only a slight exaggeration to speak of Hollyburn Ridge as being such a place. Though much of its human infrastructure has vanished, this gentle height of land retains a residual charm and a certain earthy mystique that sets it apart. Now protected parkland, Hollyburn has long been a woodland retreat. And despite the inevitable changes, it remains the kind of habitation where appreciable meaning and compelling facets of life reside in the details of its existence. Granted, to the casual observer, much of its history may seem mundane, but the narrative that is Hollyburn represents more than a mere litany of actual facts. From its inception, members of this cabin community have infused their domain with a collective character emblematic of its distinctive past.
Hollyburn Ridge may appear little different from similar alpine areas, but there are enough unique aspects to its creation and continuity to justify seeing it in a different light. Given that, perhaps the impulse to deliberate upon its past with a certain measure of romanticism is not altogether misplaced. When poet Thomas Campbell wrote, “Tis distance lends enchantment...,” he presumably considered the effect he alluded to compelling; even more so when contemplated from somewhere far removed. As for Hollyburn, it may be just another mountain, but for those who tread the trails, who have known the buildings and people and are intimately familiar with the lay of the land, it evokes wistful reminiscence. There may be grander places, but for those to whom it matters, there are few better ways of achieving contentment than to reflect upon and ramble on that restful sylvan ridge.
A. G. M. F.