Every December, news outlets like to look back and reflect on the year that has passed. It’s a time to measure the changes in a community, to enjoy heartwarming stories once again, and mostly, to remind us what has been at the forefront of people’s minds throughout the year.
We have compiled a brief rundown to share with our readers, highlighting the stories of the past and updating them with new information where possible. We’ve also chosen some of our favourite photos.
This week, we take a month-by-month look at January through June. Next week, we will be looking at July through December.
We look forward to the year to come, and continuing to be Hope’s go-to source for local community news.
January 2019
• This year got off to cold splash at Kawkawa Lake on New Year’s Day, when dozens of residents showed up for a Polar Bear Swim. And 2020 is going to kick off the same way. The 2020 Hope, Cascades and Canyons Polar Bear Swim takes place at 1 p.m. in the same place.
The Hope Lions Club will be cheering everyone on beach side with hot chocolate, popcorn, hot dogs and a 20ft long fire pit, beginning at noon.
All the “brave souls” will line up along the beach and Polar Bear swim leader Brian McKinney will do the official countdown.
• New Hope residents and first-time entrepreneurs Jennifer Lee and Peter Jung opened their first joint business venture, Hope Mountain Cafe.
“I feel this area is very warm. Nice people. And Hope is very small, that will be a strong point for us,” said Jung in January, stressing building good relations with people in Hope is important to him. And one year later, the restaurant has warmed to the hearts of locals and tourists alike.
• Concert pianist Clinton Denoni returned to Hope for a concert at the Grace Baptist Church. Denoni spent three years in Hope as a teenager, which made an impact on him today as a musician. It had been a decade since the young musician had performed here.
• Peter Bailey, the founding co-partner of Free Rein Associates was awarded the David Hutson Leadership Award by the Association of Service Providers for Employability and Career Training (ASPECT) at its annual conference in Victoria.
• Mattress Recycling is the first and largest dedicated mattress recycling company in western Canada, and in January, they expanded into Hope. The business takes items you may not even realize can be recycled, like toothbrushes, carpet underlay, and even car seats. As garbage and recycling rules constantly change in the Fraser Valley and in Hope, the depot will likely continue to be an important drop-off point for those who are conscious of what they can divert from the landfill.
• Opened in Jan. 1959, the Fraser Canyon Hospital celebrated 60 years of serving the community this year. The hospital is an important piece of the health care puzzle, with its close location to so many highways where serious accidents and injuries can occur. While it once was quite small and operated with two station wagons for ambulances — driven by local doctors — the hospital has grown to have eight medical beds, two hospice beds, and an eight-bay emergency department, which is staffed 24/7.
• A fire destroyed a home on Marie Street that a single mother, Sherrie Gladstone, was about to move into. It took 17 firefighters on scene and about four and a half hours to completely extinguish the fire, the fire chief said at the time.
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