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
"LCS optimistic about new school year," was the front page headline on the Lake Cowichan Gazette of Sept. 9, 2015.
"Staff at Lake Cowichan School are optimistic about a new school year that marks the start of a three-year transition to a new curriculum, says principal Nicole Boucher.
"'We have this school year to get comfortable with it,' Boucher said about the new curriculum, which is being phased in this year for Kindergarten to Grade 9. Higher grades are still in development, but will move to the new curriculum in 2017. Boucher noted that the changes will give teachers more latitude in how they teach students, rather than having to stick to methods prescribed by the province.
"A lot of high school teachers have shuffled the way they deliver content in recent years."
In related news, "Mandatory vaccination records urged at school" was a page 2 headline.
"With communicable diseases such as whooping cough, mumps and measles making a comeback, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Perry Kendall is reminding parents to make sure their children’s vaccines are up to date as they return to school. And Kendall has added his voice to that of the Canadian Medical Association, calling for mandatory declaration of vaccination when children enrol at school, as is done in Ontario and New Brunswick. The CMA voted at its annual meeting in late August for other provinces to follow suit, requiring immunization records but allowing exemptions for medical or religious reasons."
25 years ago
"Conditional approval granted to take proposed site out of forest land reserve," was a top headline on the front of the Lake Cowichan Gazette of Sept. 13, 2000.
"Joe Allan is pumped. The regional director for the Cowichan Lake-Skutz Falls area is a little closer to getting an outdoor recreation park built near Paldi.
Allan received word last week from the B.C. Land Reserve Commission of approval in principle for the removal of more than 400 acres from the forest land reserve. The land is owned by Timber West.
"Allan's goal is to develop the site for a wide variety of outdoor activities, from four-wheel drive, dirt bikes and go cart races to radio-controlled airplane activities and dog trials.
"'There are no outdoor recreation parks around,' said Allan, who has been lobbying for the special park for the past two years. 'The hardest part for any of these groups is getting the land. It had to be an isolated spot, so these activities don't bother residents or businesses.'
"The application to remove the property from the forest land reserve was originally turned down in February, but a strong lobby from area residents, including about 400 people at a meeting in Duncan in mid-June, appear to have helped turn the tide. Allan said he received a stack of letters supporting the proposal."
Another front page story was folks shocked about gas prices climbing. If those prices were the same today, we'd all be cheering...
"Gas prices keep climbing, but this area has Island's lowest" was the headline.
"Gas prices are climbing faster than the mercury on a hot Cowichan Lake summer day. The regular unleaded price in the Cowichan Lake area jumped from 71.9 two weeks ago to 74.9 last week. There looks like no relief in sight, though, despite the Organization of Petroleum Energy Countries (OPEC) committing to increasing world oil production.
"'It's cheaper here than in Duncan,' said Jack MacArthur of Honeymoon Bay, who was gassing up Sunday afternoon. 'It's still too high, though, but there's not much we can do. The damn oil companies run the world and the banks.'
"He said government taxes don't help the situation either. MacArthur, who has lived in Honeymoon Bay for 57 years, says he can remember when gasoline cost 25 cents a gallon."
40 years ago
"Nuns take up posts" was a headline on the Sept. 11, 1985 edition of the Lake News.
"The first thing a casual onlooker will notice about the new nuns at St. Louis de Montfort Catholic Church in Lake Cowichan is that they wear veils. In the short time since Sister Mercy Sexton and Sister Kathleen Murphy have been in Lake Cowichan since arriving from Ireland, they have heard several comments about their black veils.
"'You just never see them here,' Sister Kathleen said in an Interview Saturday. The two sisters wear a conservative but modern habit of white jacket, white blouse and black skirt, and the veil they wear falls just below the neck. They also wear a simple silver ring and cross as symbols of their order. As members of the Sisters of Mercy, they wear the veil as an outward sign of the life they lead, according to Sister Kathleen.
And finally, "Tries for NHL" was a short, all be it moderately informative headline on the front page of the same edition.
"Richard Hajdu, 20, the latest Lake Cowichan hockey player to try for a spot with a National Hockey League team — left for Buffalo Monday, September 9.
"He's spent the summer biking, skating, running and weightlifting — all to prepare him for his big chance at a career in the majors.
"Hajdu, the son of Stephen and Susan Hajdu of Lake Cowichan, was drafted by Buffalo Sabres in 1983, after a fine season in junior hockey. He reported to training camp that fall and feels that he did well, but a knee injury soon after being returned to junior hockey level put his career on the sidelines for almost two years."
