Welcome to Lake Flashback. Reporter Sarah Simpson has been combing through old newspapers with the assistance of the Kaatza Station Museum and Archives so we can jog your memory, give you that nostalgic feeling, or just a chuckle, as we take a look at what was making headlines this week around Cowichan Lake in years gone by.
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This week around the Cowichan Lake area…
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10 years ago
“Local businesses connect with community” was a headline in the Oct. 22, 2014 front page of the Lake Cowichan Gazette.
The Chamber of Commerce hosted the first annual Community Connections: A Business Showcase at Centennial Hall this Saturday. The showcase, free to attendees, had over 300 people attend. Organizers, exhibitors and attendees expressed their excitement about the event.
“‘Our members have really come out and done themselves justice. The turnout is absolutely fantastic,’ said Katherine Worsley, coordinator for the Chamber of Commerce.
Worsley mentioned that attendees came from Lake Cowichan and the surrounding communities, as well as a few from outside the Cowichan Valley and even Victoria.
“‘I think it was very good exposure for all the businesses,’ said attendee Donna Roughly. “There are a lot of businesses I didn’t know were around. They all have their own unique qualities.’
“Roughly, who recently moved to Lake Cowichan, also mentioned she thought it would have been nice to see more council members at the event so she could get to know them better.”
In other news of the day, “Stage 3 CVRD water restrictions lifted last Wednesday” was a page 2 story.
The Stage 3 CVRD water restriction was lifted last Oct. 15, much to everyone’s relief. At the council meeting on Oct. 14, Mayor Ross Forrest, who chaired the Cowichan Waterboard Flows Working Group, reported that the lake had risen about 5 centimetres in 1.5 days, and with more rain in the forecast it’s expected to rise more.
“‘The fish were racing each other to get through,’ said Forrest at the meeting.
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25 years ago
The front page of the Oct. 27 Lake News was about VisionQuest and the CLEC.
“Council has agreed to sublease the CLEC to VisionQuest for five years, renewable for four additional five-year periods. The decision was taken at a special meeting of Council October 20. Special meetings are usually open to the press unless otherwise stated, but since the press isn’t voluntarily told about these meetings reporters are usually not present.
“Meetings held in camera are closed to the press and the public. However, minutes of special meetings would be available for publication. In this case, minutes of the meeting say: ‘that Council confirm acceptance of the business plan dated October, 1999 presented by VisionQuest Recovery Society and enter into an agreement to sublease the Cowichan Lake Education Centre site to the VisionQuest Recovery Society for a five-year period and, subject to compliance by VisionQuest will all terms of the sub-lease as set forth in Resolution 606/99 passed on June 22, 1999.'”
In the same paper, “Why false figures on Town’s population?” was another headline.
“Why does the provincial government keep issuing false figures for Cowichan’s population? The Library Board takes its figures for its tax levy from the provincial government, Coun. Jack Peake, Council’s representative on the Library Boards, says he keeps correcting them.
“The province is now showing Lake Cowichan with a population of 3,069. Town Administrator Ed Gilman says the population is, in fact, 2,890. The province appears to take the figure at the last census and adds a small amount each year, he said.”
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40 years ago
“EX-RESIDENT KILLED” was a front page story on the Lake News of Oct. 24, 1984.
“A former Lake Cowichan resident was killed in a logging accident near Mackenzie, B.C. last week. Gordon James Wall, 50, who had moved north recently, was struck by a snag while falling in the Strandburg forest area 100 km west of Mackenzie, on the west side of Williston Lake, at 9:45 a.m. Friday, Oct. 18, Mackenzie RCMP said. The accident occurred near the 72 km. point on the Nation Mainline, according to police. Wall was pronounced dead at the scene.”
“School board, village council candidates off and running” was another headline in the same edition.
“Village voters will have to choose from at least three alder-manic candidates this November as a long-time member of Lake Cowichan village council has thrown her hat into the ring to challenge the two contenders who have already announced their intentions. Hazel Beech, who was first elected to council in 1976, has filed her nomination papers at the village office, joining one-year alderman Earle Darling and businessman Rod Peters in the run for two seats.
“‘I want to see a firm hand kept on the finances,’ Beech said in an interview Monday, Oct. 22. She said that she saw the difficulty of trying to maintain services at a reasonable level without increasing the tax burden on local residents as the toughest issue facing the council of 1985. ‘I’m quite confident that with my little bit of expertise, I can help,’ she said.”
This post was originally published on here
