Flashback: Beers for Pilkington, sub-par snow clearing, winter blackout

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

"Christmas Parade marching through Lake Cowichan" was sprawled over the front of the Nov. 26, 2014 Lake Cowichan Gazette.

"Ho! Ho! Ho! Guess what season is sneaking up at a truly alarming rate? If you've been living under a rock somewhere and just need a really big hint, just plan on being in downtown Lake Cowichan this coming Saturday evening. After an eight-year hiatus, the Cowichan Lake District Chamber of Commerce Christmas Parade is back and organizers promise that it will be bigger and better than ever."

Another story in the same edition was "Beer and burger event ‘a way to thank’ Eileen Pilkington".

"Eileen Pilkington has earned a well-deserved reputation in the community after decades of working with charity organizations around Cowichan Lake. After a fire destroyed the Pilkington home two weeks ago, the community has rallied around the family, hoping to return the favour."

“'When you have a family that, for at least 20 years, have collected hundreds of thousands of dollars for charitable organizations around the lake, how do you say ‘thank you’ to them?' Wagner said, 'When that family suddenly loses everything, it’s the communities duty to step up, to help them rebuild their lives. It’s a simple way of saying thank you. Organizing this is a labour of love for us'.”

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25 years ago

The Lake News of Dec. 1, 1999 was all about the theatre on the front page. 

"Lead actor falls ill — but show must go on" was the headline.

"The show must go on, but the Lakeside Players have been faced with a serious set back just days prior to performing their production, Lend Me a Tenor. Dena McPhee, director of the production has announced that last Friday the group heard word that Roy Dunbar, who played Tito Merell, has been taken seriously ill and will not be able to perform the part. McPhee said all the members are concerned about Dunbar who she said worked tirelessly on his role, working diligently for countless hours preparing for the production. In his stead, the players have been able to line up Greg Perry to carry the role." 

In other news of the day, "Council awards contract despite unhappy with snow clearing efforts" was a page 3 story.

"If highways freeze before Oct. 15 next year, feel free to skid and maybe die with the assurance that the road wasn't cleared because winter had not arrived. JJM Highway Maintenance, the company that clears highways in this area for the province, was told of complaints about the poor state of Highway 18 after a freeze-up. Coun. Jack Peake said school buses were at risk very early in the morning and so were cars. Vehicles skidded down Hill 60, he said.

"The company's reply, Council was told, was that the freeze-up occurred early in October. It wasn't winter. JJM offered to snow-clear River Road for the season for $2,500. Council balked after the October experience and said that JJM would be more efficient if it stationed highway clearing vehicles in Lake Cowichan where they used to be. At the previous meeting, Council decided to award the clearing contract to JJM only if they agree to keep a vehicle here. But JJM said flatly that it won't do that. In the end, with some doubts expressed, council awarded the contract anyway."

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40 years ago

"Village area socked in by snow, blackout" was a front page story in the Nov. 28, 1984 edition of the Lake News. 

"The Cowichan Lake District was brought to a cold, miserable standstill Tuesday as heavy, wet snow and high winds and ice combined to bring down power lines, about 3:30 a.m. In the wake of a storm, up to 10 inches of snow fell on the district. It was the second snowfall of the winter season and the resulting blackout was one of the worst in recent memory. Schools and businesses were closed when heating systems were shut down and loggers were driven home by the snowfall. At noon, B.C. Hydro said that its crews were desperately trying to restore power, but they could not indicate when electricity would be back."

And finally, "'Restraint nothing new here' SD66 chairman tells cost cutting Heinrich" was also a front page story.

"Careless application of 'restraint' measures is subjecting the education system to a series of body blows and no sector is harder-hit than small, rural school districts, the Lake Cowichan school board chairman told Education Minister Jack Heinrich recently. 

"In a letter to Heinrich, Mike Wasney listed the many areas of the educational system that are feeling the pinch of repeated cutbacks as funds decrease. 'Restraint' is not a new idea to the board of School District 66, he told Heinrich. 'This school district was involved in a process of reduction prior to the government's commitment to restraint. Our plan to reduce costs in 1981 was initiated as a result of decreasing enrolment and the perceived need to bring expenditures down to a more acceptable level,' Wasney said."