Welcome to Lake Flashback. Reporter Lexi Bainas has been combing through oldnewspaperswiththeassistance 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 weekaround Cowichan Lake in years gone by.
This week around the Cowichan Lake area…
10 years ago:
“High school science room closed after floor repair workers discover mould” said the headline in the Lake Cowichan Gazette of Feb. 27, 2008.
“Dan Boudreault, superintendent of schools, said Monday morning that mould was discovered…Friday afternoon. To be on the safe side, said Boudreault, the room will be cleaned before any classes are held there.
“We have to be as transparent as possible about what’s happening,” he said. “If we try to dress it up, it won’t work with the public.”
Teacher Dave Halme, who is president of the Lake Cowichan Teachers Association, teaches math and science in the room. Recently a student sat on a stool and it fell through the floor. A piece of plywood was put over the hole.
“While repair work was underway, a WorkSafe official stopped the work because it wasn’t being done properly,” said Halme, adding, “I won’t go back in that room until the WCB says it’s safe.”
During the closure the science classes were to be held in the school theatre and the forestry class went outdoors.
“The good weather has helped,” said [school principal Jeff] Baker, who added that some physical education classes have also been held outside while A.B. Greenwell students occupied the gymnasium.
Greenwell had previously been shut down completely when mould was found there, and those elementary students were parked at Lake Cowichan Secondary School while Yount Elementary School in Youbou was prepared for them.
25 years ago:
These days, it seems that 100 is the new 30 but not many years back, anyone who managed to live past 90 years was exceptional.
Such a one was Lake Cowichan’s Joe Mrvic, who celebrated his 93 birthday on Feb. 6, 1993, and was featured with a story in The Lake News.
“No smoking, no drinking, and no chasing women,” he said, laughing, when asked the secret to his long, healthy life.
“Despite Mrvic’s age, at 93 he would put many a house wife to shame. No modern appliances, or housekeepers for Mrvic. He does all his own laundry, with no washing machine or dryer, and keeps his home spotless.
“My first job of the morning is to get up and make the bed. I dust every day, and cook all my own meals,” Mrvic says, pointing at a spotless, well maintained wood cook stove.
When Mrvic first came to Lake Cowichan, he worked as a hand faller from 1943-1949 at Meade Creek Logging, Rounds Logging, and in Youbou. Finally, Joe left forestry work and was hired by School District #66 as a custodian. He was custodian in the district until his retirement in 1968.
40 years ago:
This week, we’ll take a run around the K&R flyer inserted in The Lake News of Wednesday, Feb. 22, 1978.
What do you think? The K&R is long gone and so are some of these prices.
Cross rib roasts: $1.19 per pound; Brentwood choice frozen green peas: two pound bag: 68 cents each; Sundell frozen french fries: 3.5 lb.bag: 68 cents each; Western Family margarine, three one pound packages: $1.29; Pamper cat food, three small tins for 79 cents; emperor grapes from California: two pounds for 89 cents; jumbo lemons: three for 39 cents; Listerine toothpaste (four tubes in a bag) $1.98; Chinese vegetables for chop suey: 29 cents a pound; turkeys (10-14 lbs): 79 cents per pound; pork roasts (boneless or stuffed): $1.29 per pound; Surf detergent two kilogram box: $1.98; Babe’s fireweed honey four pound tin: $3.95; Nu-fluff fabric softener 128 ounce jug: $1.78.