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
There was just one story on the front page of the Lake Cowichan Gazette of Sept. 17, 2014.
"Council ponders buskers at town square" was the piece and it went like this:
"The idea and prospect of buskers performing at the new Renfrew Town Square could well become a reality sooner rather than later. If that comes about, Lake Cowichan will have Coun. Bob Day to thank. Day instigated the idea to the council table at last week’s Finance and Administration Committee meeting at the town hall, seeking to provide as much regular colour and entertainment as possible for the town square when it eventually opens next month.
"The move came after a discussion was prompted by Day regarding a Public Use Facility Policy for the Renfrew Town Square.
"'This is a different facility from the ones we currently hold,' said Day. 'It is designed for small events without taking up parking space. I’m wondering if we’ll need to coincide for allowances with things like buskers. There could be auditions, fees, things like that to go along with it and we could also look at a maximum amount of vendors per day.'”
"But according to town staff, there may not be that much work needed to do to allow Day’s vision to come to fruition with a similar policy already in place.
"'We do have a policy for groups such as buskers and we could maybe add to that policy,' said chief administrator Joe Fernandez."
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25 years ago
"Gunderson will run for school trustee" was the front page headline on the Sept. 22, 1999 Lake News.
"Gary Gunderson, now semi-retired, but with a strong history in education will run for school district trustee in the November election. As a candidate for the school district election, Gunderson will seek one of three seats available [for] Lake Cowichan representatives on the board of School District #79.
"He considers himself to have a broad knowledge of the education business and the business of education and he believes he can be what is needed on the amalgamated school district — a strong, knowledgeable competent voice where trustees from this area are outnumbered 6-3 by trustees from Duncan and area."
"Ministry takes tour of forests and fish habitat with TimberWest" was another big headline in the same edition of the Lake News.
"If they'd done something wrong every TV station and newspaper for 50 miles around would have been there. But something was right in the forests, and The Lake News was the only media member to heed an invitation to take a look. The tour had been set up by Steve Lorimer and Bud Iverson of TimberWest.
"What has been done throughout the San Juan Valley represents a rare co-operative effort between government and forest companies to repair damage done to fish environment by 100 years of logging. We were shown work done to improve habitat for fish on private land and on Crown land. By the time the current agreement expires in two years' time, about $5 million will have been spent and there should be many thousands more salmon and steelhead growing up in the San Juan Valley."
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40 years ago
"Council goes secret on Block 28" was a big story on the front of the Lake News of Sept. 19, 1984.
"Village councillors sidestepped making a decision about a development permit for the Red Cedar Estates development on Block 28 when the item came up for discussion at the Sept. 11 council meeting. Instead, the mayor and aldermen decided to sit down at an "in camera" meeting for a preliminary discussion. On the agenda at this meeting, held Friday, Sept. 14, was the zoning bylaw for the entire village, a bylaw that would allow council to designate certain areas as developable only under a development permit and designation of Block 28 as one of those areas, an amendment to the community plan to include Block 28 from 'forestry-agricultural' to "commercial" and "residential."
In other news of the day was a story titled "Man drowns in mishap on log boom".
"Olof Sjoberg of Duncan, a former resident of Youbou, died Thursday, Sept. 13, following an accident on Cowichan Lake. He was 76. Cowichan Valley coroner Maurice Chemeff said that he will be holding an inquiry into the accident. Sjoberg had been working at a log boom by the boy scout camp at Marble Bay when he appears to have had an accident, Cherneff said. He struck his head and drowned, according to the coroner, who added that an autopsy was held Monday. Sjoberg appeared to have had the accident during the day but he was not discovered until late Thursday evening after he had been reported to be missing, Cherneff said."
