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…
10 years ago
"Kaatza Lakeside Players prepare to take back the stage" was the one and only front page headline on the Lake Cowichan Gazette of July 15, 2015.
"After having spent a season in hiatus and facing an uncertain future, the Kaatza Lakeside Players are preparing to take the stage again. Along with a new production, the Players are planning to bring a slew of changes to the company itself. Part of that change will actually be a return to form for the community theatre group. Board president Brandon De Pol said that the Players will be trying to recapture some of the magic of their May 2014 production of The Wizard of Oz after their latest production of A Dickens Christmas Carol: A Traveling Travesty in Two Tumultuous Acts saw a smaller turnout than expected.
"Getting back on the yellow brick track means that the Players will be looking for a larger, more age-diverse cast and crew for the next production, which De Pol said will be either Aladdin or Annie.
"The Players will also be bringing back director Dena McPhee. As a founding member of the Kaatza Lakeside Players, McPhee has been involved with the group since 1985."
A page 3 headline was "RCMP seeking information on animal cruelty incident on lake".
"Lake Cowichan RCMP are looking for help in identifying a man who reportedly displayed unusually reckless and inconsiderate behaviour while boating on the Cowichan Lake on Canada Day (July 1). Campers at the Pine Point campground in Youbou reported seeing a man operating a boat approximately 400 feet off the campground shoreline on the north shore of the lake purposely swerve into several geese that were floating on the water.
"The boat struck and killed at least one goose. There were a number of witnesses to the disturbing incident, including several children, who reported that this was a deliberate action on the part of the boat operator."
25 years ago
"Second chance for the Youbou mill" was the top headline — even above the main photo — of the Lake Cowichan Gazette of July 19, 2000.
"It looks like the heat became too much for JS Jones. The company had been in exclusive negotiations to buy the Youbou mill and Tree Farm Licence 46 from TimberWest. However, JS Jones stepped away from the deal last week, citing opposition to the sale from IWA Local 1-80 executive and the local MLA. If the deal went ahead, JS Jones planned to close the mill and relocate about 80 of the Youbou staff to another mill in Nanaimo.
"'We're happy that there's now an opportunity for someone to come forward and operate the plant in the way the (independent review of the mill) points out,' says Bill Routley, president of IWA Local 1-80. 'I think that it's good news, especially for the short term. It buys us some breathing time.' A report was released last week by Peter Drake and Associates for the Ministry of Forests."
In other news of the day, "Lakeside Players return from Mainstage" was a page 3 headline.
"They didn't win the big one, but a group of local people made an impression at this year's provincial community theatre competition. Mainstage 2000 was held in Delta at the 400-seat Genesis Theatre.
"'We came home exhausted but we had a great time,' says Dena McPhee, who directed the Lakeside Players production of Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean. 'We had a lovely evening and we got some great comments,' says McPhee, adding that the show was sold out. 'The crowd loved it.' While they didn't come home with any awards, the cast and crew earned a number of Honourable Mentions from the Mainstage adjudicator David Ross.
"'It would be great to come home with the gold but it was a lovely time,' says McPhee. The Lakeside Players were recognized in several categories, including Costume, Set, Supporting Actors, and Ensemble. 'I'm thrilled for the cast,' McPhee says. The winning production was an adaptation of an Irish play called Da, by the North Vancouver Community Players.
"The runner-up was Transylvania Clockworks, put on by the Vagabond Players of New Westminster.
"'It's always very, very high calibre,' says McPhee of the Mainstage competition. 'It's the best of the best.'"
40 years ago
"Popular young man drowns" was an awful headline on the front of the July 17, 1985 Lake News.
"The tiny community of Mesachie Lake was in mourning for Larry Eddy, 18, one of the most popular young men in the area, who presumably drowned after jumping off a cliff estimated to be 65 feet high. A memorial service was held yesterday at the United Church in Lake Cowichan and was widely attended. Eddy had been respected as president of the student council at Lake Cowichan Secondary School as well as for his community work, especially hockey, sometimes serving as referee for younger teams.
Finally, "Hall board gets $3,500 from Lottery" was another headline.
"The Lake Cowichan Centennial Hall board has received the promise of $3,500 to help pay for upgrading for safety facilities, required by the fire marshal. Peggy Forrest, chairman of the hall board, said Monday that she had received a letter from Provincial Secretary Jim Chabot recently which told her that a request for funds from the Lake Cowichan hall board 'had been under consideration for some time.'
"A grant of up to $3,516 now has been approved to assist with the hall renovations and equipment purchases, he said. Forrest expressed satisfaction with the grant, although she said it only covered about a third of the cost of upgrading the fire protection at the hall."
