Welcome to Lake Flashback. Reporter James Goldie 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.
This week around the Cowichan Lake…
10 years ago:
The exchange between Lake Cowichan and Ohtaki, Japan will be scaled back in effort to keep the program going for years to come. Mayor Jack Peake announced the decision after a business meeting with the Ohtaki delegates, during which the group decided its next delegation will come to Lake Cowichan in October (rather than July/August) and will visit again every second year going forward.
Lake Cowichan is not sending a delegation this year because not enough people registered.
“We hope we can find enough people to go to Ohtaki in 2008,” said Peake.
The two years between each trip will hopefully give interested participants enough time to fundraise, as the cost is roughly $2,500, which not everyone can afford.
25 years ago:
Lake Cowichan is undergoing a building boom as the value of buildings being erected or modified, and covered by building permits, totalled $3.4 million by the end of July compared to $1.6 million at the same time in 1990.
Lake Cowichan Secondary School is currently being renovated in the amount of $2 million.
Another large project is the United Church of Canada’s building permit for $500,000.
Other permits issued this year include one for the new fish hatchery, one for renovations at the Toronto-Dominion Bank and another for renovations at the Royal Bank.
40 years ago:
Campers are allegedly ruining Lakeview Park. The charge comes from Kiwanis Club secretary Harold Cooper, who told the Lake News that continued park use and vandalism are taking a devastating toll on the land there as well as the amenities installed by the club.
He said campers have defaced buildings, destroyed benches and tables, removed a water line and continue to leave garbage strewn about the park.
“They’ve even ripped shingles off the roofs for firewood,” he said.
In May, the seven Kiwanis members who make up the Lakeview Park board resigned out of frustration at the lack of provincial government funding they receive for park maintenance. The park is a “Type C” park. These parks do not receive funding.
“We had big plans for this place but without help from the government you can’t do anything,” Cooper said.
The Kiwanis Club transformed the lakeside area in 1959, installing trails and clearing bush.
“We’ve put thousands of dollars into that place,” Cooper said.
The B.C. government told the Lake News that Type C parks tend to be used primarily by locals who show greater care for the land and facilities.
But at Lakeview Park, the majority of users are non-residents.
