To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the historic steam locomotive No. 11, the Ladysmith and District Historical Society held the first Ladysmith Forest Festival this past weekend.
The community event happened Saturday, May 27, at the Ladysmith Machine Shop.
Built in 1923 and moved to Ladysmith in 1945, the locomotive played a part in making the town the centre of the Vancouver Island logging industry.
Another highlighted display was the restored Humdurgin, a remodelled locomotive that operated as a self-propelled log dumper on the waterfront for Comox Logging and Railway Co. Ltd. until 1953.
The ‘loci party’ was an opportunity to acknowledge donors who assisted with restoration work and forest festival activities.
“The town has been a supportive through the years and [it was] an opportunity to say thanks to them,” said Shirley Blackstaff, heritage event coordinator.
She added that another important aspect of the day was to “acknowledge the rich Stz’uminus First Nation culture concerning the forest and learn about Ladysmith’s forest heritage with a positive community spirit.”
-files from Duck Paterson
bailey.seymour@nanaimobulletin.com
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