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
"Lake Days struggling to keep float" was the only front-page headline on the cover of the Feb. 11, 2015 Lake Cowichan Gazette.
As Lake Days enters its 71st year, the Lake Days Society is struggling to keep the event above water after executive chairperson Bob Day stepped down from his position on Jan. 20. As nobody put their names forward for Day’s position during the group’s annual general meeting, Laurie Johnson is proposing an alternative solution.
"Johnson was present at the Feb. 3 town council meeting, where she asked the Town of Lake Cowichan to take on oversight of the annual event. Johnson said she hopes the town will be able add funds for Lake Days to its seasonal decoration budget (which she estimated to be around $16,000) to cover the costs of running Lake Days. Town council is set to deliberate the proposal this week. In the meantime, Johnson said the group will also be pitching the same idea to the Cowichan Lake District Chamber of Commerce and Cowichan Lake Recreation, and are still holding out hope that a volunteer will step up at the next meeting, keeping Lake Days an independent entity."
"Organics waste pickup the first step to a zero-waste community" was a page 2 story.
"Despite some confusion, the Town of Lake Cowichan’s organics pickup pilot project, which was officially launched last month, has seen a 30 per cent reduction in waste. Though that number may seem substantial, town councillor Tim McGonigle wants to aim higher, getting Lake Cowichan in line with the Cowichan Valley Regional District’s (CVRD) region-wide zero waste plan.
"Adopted in 2002, the Zero Waste Plan aims to make the Cowichan Valley, as a whole, garbage-free. Since the plan’s inception, the Cowichan Valley has achieved a recycling rate of over 72 per cent, according to the CVRD."
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25 years ago
The front page story was titled "Lakers crowned tourney champs" on Feb. 9, 2000 Lake Cowichan Gazette.
"Lakers fans were treated to an exceptional display of skill, determination and talent from the home team this weekend, at the Senior Girls Invitational 2000 tournament at LCSS. The tournament was a two-day showcase of aggression, determination, and competitive basketball, with our very own Lakers placing first overall."
Another noteworthy headline was: "Pros commit to help Ryan Rai.
"Tickets are selling quickly for a benefit hockey game in Lake Cowichan featuring a number of former NHL players. The Apollos senior men's hockey team is holding the benefit game, on February 19, to help out 8-year-old Ryan Rai, a Lake Cowichan Minor hockey player who underwent medical treatment in Vancouver. The most recent ex-NHLer to confirm they're playing is Doug Bodger, a Chemainus native who retired from the Vancouver Canucks this season. Rai, a Grade 3 student at Palsson Elementary School, was back in Lake Cowichan for the weekend and is scheduled to return to hospital this week. He's suffering from Rhabdomylosarcoma, which is essentially a tumour of the muscle tissue.
"The benefit game is on its way to selling out, with spectators travelling from around the mid-Island to see former pros such as Bodger, Brad Palmer, Richard Hadju and Greg Adams. For the young Rai, all the attention has left him feeling pretty good. He says he went up to the arena with his grandfather to see his name in lights."
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40 years ago
The Lake News of Feb. 13, 195 featured three stories including "New mill exploits vast alder stands in woods", "Salmon boosters get okay for site", and "16 jobs available from $100,000 grant".
In the first story: "A new sawmill — the first in the Cowichan Lake district to cut the vast quantities of alder available here — is nearing completion in Youbou. The new mill will employ five to six people per shift. Production will start with one shift with perhaps an increase to two shifts later on, according to Karl Neuffer, whose Karlite Manufacturing will use much of the lumber produced. The facility has been built over the last five months at the old garbage dump site just past the B.C. Forest Products sawmill. It is located on BCFP land, and the alder logs will come from BCFP property, Neuffer said Tuesday."
In the salmon story, "The Lake Cowichan Salmonid Enhancement Society learned last week that it will be able to go ahead with its plans to create a "rearing bed" for coho salmon at the mouth of Beaver Creek. B.C. Forest Products, which owns the land there, has given the society's effort its blessing by allowing use of its property for the project. Society member Earle Darling said that there are long-term plans to develop the area by the rearing bed in a park-like way, with picnic tables for visitors."
And finally, "Sixteen jobs are up for grabs this week as Cowichan Lake Community Services has put out a call for work on various projects funded by a $100,000 Canada Works grant. The jobs, which range from $350 per week to $200 per week, are open to applicants who are registered as unemployed with the Canadian Employment Centre in Duncan and who are not receiving unemployment insurance. Community Services manager Tony White said Monday that Community Services is looking for a manager, foremen, builders, landscapers and laborers for projects planned for all areas around Cowichan Lake, he said."
