Last Wednesday morning a delegation made up of children and adults, all residents of the Village of Ohtaki, Japan, left for home after spending several days as home stay guests here in the Cowichan Lake area. The visit marked the 25th anniversary of the twinning of Lake Cowichan and Ohtaki, Japan.
Although the first exchange visit took place in 1988, the official twinning exchange took place on Oct. 8, 1989 at the community hall in Lake Cowichan. It was there that a gala Thanksgiving dinner and civic reception, which included entertainment from both villages, was held. The highlight of the evening was the signing, by Lake Cowichan Mayor Don Gordon and Ohtaki Mayor Tatebayashi, of the official twinning Proclamation.
“The event marked the very first time villages in Japan and Canada had joined in international relations,” commented then Mayor Don Gordon.
The idea of an official twinning began about 1987 when Lake Cowichan Mayor Gordon learned that the small Japanese village of Ohtaki was interested in establishing an international exchange program. Discussions took place between Ohtaki officials, Lake Cowichan village council (and representatives) and the local School District (#66) board. The discussions led to the establishing of the program 25 years ago.
Annual visits between the twin villages continued for many years and although some changes (regarding frequency, length of visits and numbers of participants) have been made over the years, the program continues on. The many friendships made between children and adults of both communities continue to grow. Prior to the demise of our school district in 1996-97, several local school teachers along with their families spent a year living in Ohtaki where they taught English lessons to Ohtaki residents. The first local family (1989-90) to spend a year in Ohtaki was teacher Margaret Davis, husband Don and their two children. The following year Duncan and Pat Brown and their children spent a year in the twin village.
Small but lovely Ohtaki Park (across South Shore Road from the Forest Workers Memorial Park) was established in honour of our sister village. As well, Friendship Park and trail, adjacent to the Village Market, was established many years ago to mark the twinning of the villages and honour the friendships that soon developed. The next exchange trip to Ohtaki from Lake Cowichan will take place in 2015 with several local students presently raising money for the trip.
