history

“These are the ones you want, not me,” mayor Ross Forrest, second from right, told photographers during the unveiling of the first four inductees for the Cowichan Lake Sports Wall of Fame at the Cowichan Lake Sports Arena, Friday, July 22. From left is skiier Gord Tuck, golfer Dawn Coe-Jones, mayor Ross Forrest, and hockey player Brad Palmer. Baseball player Charlie Stroulger, who died in 2005, was represented by his wife Trudy and son John. (Tyler Clarke/Lake Cowichan Gazette, July 27, 2011)

Flashback: Sports icons, river tragedy, the summer of strikes

A look back into Cowichan Lake area history

 

Bill Merilees, a retired B.C. Parks regional information officer, collected mollusk shells from B.C. and Washington state coastlines for 50 years and has donated his 140,000-specimen collection to University of British Columbia’s Beaty Biodiversity Museum. (Chris Bush/News Bulletin)

Vancouver Island man donates 140,000 mollusk specimens to biodiversity museum

UBC’s Beaty museum grateful for Bill Merilees’s historical record of B.C. marine biodiversity

 

Bill Merilees, a retired B.C. Parks regional information officer, collected mollusk shells from B.C. and Washington state coastlines for 50 years and has donated his 140,000-specimen collection to University of British Columbia’s Beaty Biodiversity Museum. (Chris Bush/News Bulletin)

VIDEO: B.C. man donates 140,000 mollusk specimens to biodiversity museum

UBC’s Beaty museum grateful for Bill Merilees’s historical record of B.C. marine biodiversity

 

“Her first-ever time at the Honeymoon Bay Farmer’s Market, nine-year old Olivia Skinner braved the rain and sold pin and fridge magnets fashioned from bottle caps during the Saturday, July 16, market. The youngster has lived in Honeymoon Bay for the past year, and began her unique art form a few years ago when she lived in Whistler. The bottle caps were from recycling and from donations from a Whistler bar, with Skinner filling them in with images and clear sealants, attaching a magnet or pushpin onto the back. Her grandfather helped with the display boards that held up the pins and magnets during the Farmer’s Market. (Tyler Clarke/Lake Cowichan Gazette, July 20, 2011)

Flashback: Cowichan Lake is no toilet, an important wrong number, and a toll-free request

Remember these stories from Cowichan Lake?

“Her first-ever time at the Honeymoon Bay Farmer’s Market, nine-year old Olivia Skinner braved the rain and sold pin and fridge magnets fashioned from bottle caps during the Saturday, July 16, market. The youngster has lived in Honeymoon Bay for the past year, and began her unique art form a few years ago when she lived in Whistler. The bottle caps were from recycling and from donations from a Whistler bar, with Skinner filling them in with images and clear sealants, attaching a magnet or pushpin onto the back. Her grandfather helped with the display boards that held up the pins and magnets during the Farmer’s Market. (Tyler Clarke/Lake Cowichan Gazette, July 20, 2011)
"Mayor Ken Douglas throws first pitch to open upper Island Little League tournament here on Saturday while Barry Wilson, president of Cowichan Lake Little League offers smiling encouragement. The throw was a strike, the Ump said." (Lake News, July 22, 1981)

Lake Cowichan Flashback: Water safety, the blame game, an MLA dies

A dive into the history of the Cowichan Lake area

"Mayor Ken Douglas throws first pitch to open upper Island Little League tournament here on Saturday while Barry Wilson, president of Cowichan Lake Little League offers smiling encouragement. The throw was a strike, the Ump said." (Lake News, July 22, 1981)
Captain James Cook statue splashes into Victoria’s Inner Harbour, after being removed from its upper causeway pedestal on July 1. (@CJusticeVic/Twitter)

Cast in bronze, then into Victoria’s Inner Harbour: So who was James Cook?

Likeness of British maritime explorer commissioned in 1976, forcibly removed on July 1

Captain James Cook statue splashes into Victoria’s Inner Harbour, after being removed from its upper causeway pedestal on July 1. (@CJusticeVic/Twitter)
”Homecoming party-goers get into the spirit of things at wine and cheese party Friday which launches three days of reminisce and recollection of days they spent as students at Lake Cowichan High School during fifties and early sixties. This crowd at the arena did not represent all of 800 people who came to reunion; about two-thirds of total are in photo.” (Lake News, July 1, 1981)

Lake Flashback: Lake levels, mill worries, class reunions and a swim blitz

A look into Lake Cowichan’s history books

”Homecoming party-goers get into the spirit of things at wine and cheese party Friday which launches three days of reminisce and recollection of days they spent as students at Lake Cowichan High School during fifties and early sixties. This crowd at the arena did not represent all of 800 people who came to reunion; about two-thirds of total are in photo.” (Lake News, July 1, 1981)
Yak Flight is a group of six Greater Victoria vintage plane pilots best known for their Remembrance Day flyover. (Courtesy of Chris Walker)

‘It’s just magic’: Vancouver Island flying group thankful for one-of-a-kind hobby

Yak Flight is best known for its formation fly on Remembrance Day

Yak Flight is a group of six Greater Victoria vintage plane pilots best known for their Remembrance Day flyover. (Courtesy of Chris Walker)
Lake Cowichan Secondary School’s 52 graduating Grade 12 students celebrate a new chapter of their lives with a ceremonial tossing of their caps during their well-attended Saturday, June 25, graduation. (Tyler Clarke/Lake Cowichan Gazette, June 29, 2011).

Flashback: Camping, classrooms, and a huge high school reunion

Do you remember these stories from Cowichan Lake?

Lake Cowichan Secondary School’s 52 graduating Grade 12 students celebrate a new chapter of their lives with a ceremonial tossing of their caps during their well-attended Saturday, June 25, graduation. (Tyler Clarke/Lake Cowichan Gazette, June 29, 2011).
(The winning Lady of the Lake candidates demonstrate their talents during the annual Opportunity Night, Wednesday, June 8. Mary Batyi, left, does a Highland Dance routine, accompanied by a bagpiper; Jorden Matson, centre, shows people her artwork while telling the crowd what her inspirations are; Amber Bell tells people about competitive swimming, before providing a virtual demonstration.” (Tyler Clarke/Lake Cowichan Gazette, June 15, 2011)

Flashback: Water meters, ‘Porky’, and Lady of the Lake

Welcome to Lake Flashback. Reporter Sarah Simpson has been combing through old…

(The winning Lady of the Lake candidates demonstrate their talents during the annual Opportunity Night, Wednesday, June 8. Mary Batyi, left, does a Highland Dance routine, accompanied by a bagpiper; Jorden Matson, centre, shows people her artwork while telling the crowd what her inspirations are; Amber Bell tells people about competitive swimming, before providing a virtual demonstration.” (Tyler Clarke/Lake Cowichan Gazette, June 15, 2011)
Gwen Spencer Hethey with her uncle and mentor Major Frederick Richardson. (Courtesy of Greater Victoria Sports Hall of Fame)

‘She was a killer’: The B.C. woman who pioneered female sharpshooting

Gwen Spencer Hethey made military men ‘look like turkeys’ says her son

Gwen Spencer Hethey with her uncle and mentor Major Frederick Richardson. (Courtesy of Greater Victoria Sports Hall of Fame)
Historian and longtime Citizen columnist T.W. Paterson photographs the historical wreckage of a plane on Mount Benson. Paterson recently won an award from the British Columbia Historical Foundation. (Submitted)

Cowichan’s Tom W. Paterson wins award for historical writing

British Columbia Historical Federation hands Recognition Award to local writer

Historian and longtime Citizen columnist T.W. Paterson photographs the historical wreckage of a plane on Mount Benson. Paterson recently won an award from the British Columbia Historical Foundation. (Submitted)
(Courtesy Photo | Frank Zmuda)

Beaver secretion found as part of ancient throwing dart in Yukon

Researchers saying it’s earliest known evidence of Indigenous peoples using the substance

(Courtesy Photo | Frank Zmuda)
“About a year after it was last used for a bottle drive, Lake Cowichan’s derelict Scout and Guide Hall came down Monday, June 6. Girl Guides have since moved into different churches and halls around the area. Town council has yet to decide what will be done with the now vacant town-owned site.” (Tyler Clarke/Lake Cowichan Gazette, June 8, 2011)

Flashback: A.B. Greenwell, Lady of the Lake, good and bad news for the Lake News

What was making headlines this week around Cowichan Lake in years gone by

“About a year after it was last used for a bottle drive, Lake Cowichan’s derelict Scout and Guide Hall came down Monday, June 6. Girl Guides have since moved into different churches and halls around the area. Town council has yet to decide what will be done with the now vacant town-owned site.” (Tyler Clarke/Lake Cowichan Gazette, June 8, 2011)
A protester swings a hammer in an attempt to remove the head of the Egerton Ryerson statue in Toronto on Sunday June 6, 2021. A much-maligned statue of Egerton Ryerson was toppled in Toronto on Sunday. The statue, prominently displayed on the campus of Ryerson University, has come under renewed scrutiny after the discovery in Kamloops, B.C., of what are believed to be the remains of 215 Indigenous children at a former residential school. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

Beheaded statue of Egerton Ryerson, toppled Sunday in Toronto, won’t be replaced

Ryerson is credited as one of the architects of Canada’s residential school system

A protester swings a hammer in an attempt to remove the head of the Egerton Ryerson statue in Toronto on Sunday June 6, 2021. A much-maligned statue of Egerton Ryerson was toppled in Toronto on Sunday. The statue, prominently displayed on the campus of Ryerson University, has come under renewed scrutiny after the discovery in Kamloops, B.C., of what are believed to be the remains of 215 Indigenous children at a former residential school. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
“A clown for every occasion, and this occasion was the Lake Cowichan Co-op’s warehouse sale held last week. For the fun of it, free hamburgers and hot dogs were available as well as the clown, Stacci Hickling who showed up to give out balloons and do a bit of face painting for children. In the photo, Bailey Haywood, 6-years-old is getting a rainbow on her cheek.” (Lake News, June 5, 1996)

Flashback: New wheels, a suspicious male, and Lady of the Lake

Remember these stories from Lake Cowichan?

“A clown for every occasion, and this occasion was the Lake Cowichan Co-op’s warehouse sale held last week. For the fun of it, free hamburgers and hot dogs were available as well as the clown, Stacci Hickling who showed up to give out balloons and do a bit of face painting for children. In the photo, Bailey Haywood, 6-years-old is getting a rainbow on her cheek.” (Lake News, June 5, 1996)
“Youbou volunteer fire fighter Derrek Powell hoses off a vehicle, Monday, May 23, during a car wash fundraiser at the Youbou Fire Hall. The car wash helped raised funds for the annual June 18-19 Muscular Dystrophy Slo-Pitch Tournament, hosted by the Mesachie Lake Fire Department at the Mesachie Lake Skydome.” (Tyler Clarke/Lake Cowichan Gazette, June 1, 2011)

Flashback: No water, rocks thrown at RCMP, giant flagpole, water sport season

A look back into Lake Cowichan’s history

“Youbou volunteer fire fighter Derrek Powell hoses off a vehicle, Monday, May 23, during a car wash fundraiser at the Youbou Fire Hall. The car wash helped raised funds for the annual June 18-19 Muscular Dystrophy Slo-Pitch Tournament, hosted by the Mesachie Lake Fire Department at the Mesachie Lake Skydome.” (Tyler Clarke/Lake Cowichan Gazette, June 1, 2011)
“Long-time Wilmer Gold photograph steward Al Lundgren speaks to the history and the challenges related to taking care of the massive IWA 1-80 archive, which includes upwards of 6,000 photographs that Kaatza Station Museum curator Barbara Simkins is currently registering.” (Tyler Clarke/Lake Cowichan Gazette, May 25, 2011)

Flashback: Chronicling history, death, taxes, and housing

Welcome to Lake Flashback. Reporter Sarah Simpson has been combing through old…

“Long-time Wilmer Gold photograph steward Al Lundgren speaks to the history and the challenges related to taking care of the massive IWA 1-80 archive, which includes upwards of 6,000 photographs that Kaatza Station Museum curator Barbara Simkins is currently registering.” (Tyler Clarke/Lake Cowichan Gazette, May 25, 2011)
“Keeping fit for Mother’s Day: Participants of Cowichan Lake Recreation’s Mother’s Day hiking event make their way down the Trans Canada Trail, Sunday, May 8. The morning event later wrapped up with snacks and prizes.” (Tyler Clarke/Lake Cowichan Gazette May 11, 2011)

Flashback: Bears, elk, salmon, candidates, and lumber graders

This week around Cowichan Lake in years gone by

“Keeping fit for Mother’s Day: Participants of Cowichan Lake Recreation’s Mother’s Day hiking event make their way down the Trans Canada Trail, Sunday, May 8. The morning event later wrapped up with snacks and prizes.” (Tyler Clarke/Lake Cowichan Gazette May 11, 2011)
“He’ll be bowling for dollars — $30,000 to be exact. Matt Hancock, 15-years-old of Lake Cowichan won in the Coca-Cola B.C. championship finals and will now bowl in the international championship with a chance to win a $30,000 scholarship. Hancock will go to the international competition in Columbus July 10. He is coached by Karen Smith of Cowichan Lake and plays on the T.G.S. bowling team.” (Lake News/May 8, 1996)

Flashback: Taxes, school district amalgamation, logging licences and student news

A look back through the pages of Lake Cowichan’s history

“He’ll be bowling for dollars — $30,000 to be exact. Matt Hancock, 15-years-old of Lake Cowichan won in the Coca-Cola B.C. championship finals and will now bowl in the international championship with a chance to win a $30,000 scholarship. Hancock will go to the international competition in Columbus July 10. He is coached by Karen Smith of Cowichan Lake and plays on the T.G.S. bowling team.” (Lake News/May 8, 1996)