West Vancouver Beacon | March / April 2024 | Edition 61

THE

The bald eagle, aviation master

Scan the tops of the tallest trees near aquatic habitats in coastal BC and you’re bound to spot a bald eagle or two. Bald eagles are one of the largest and most powerful birds in North America, and they are known for ruling the skies as an apex predator. Bald eagles have mastered the art of aviation. Using thermal air currents, they can reach soaring speeds of up to 70 kilometres an hour. When it comes to diving, they move twice as fast, plummeting up to 160 kilometres per hour. We tend to spot them when they are coasting low, but they can reach heights of up to 10,000 feet. If a bald eagle loses a feather from one wing, it will shed a feather on the other side to maintain its balance in flight. The flight technique and precision is impeccable. Excerpted with permission from Spirit of the West Adventures.

The West Vancouver Memorial Library is exhibiting exceptional photographs of our local eagles until April 11.

Page 5 features an article on the North Shore eagle monitoring program. For further information and if you would like to help, please contact Sally McDermott at mcjeffery@telus.net.

A pair of eagles glides within the thermal.

Photo: courtesy of Kathleen McCormick

TEAM

Chris Stringer Publisher chrisstringer @westvanbeacon.ca

Lindy Pfeil Editor lindypfeil @westvanbeacon.ca

Penny Mitchell Advertising pennymitchell @westvanbeacon.ca

Melissa Baker

Creative Director melissabaker @westvanbeacon.ca

Please note that all contributing writers for The Beacon retain full rights and that the full or partial reproduction of feature articles is unauthorized without the consent of the author.

Personal opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed are solely those of the respective contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the Beacon, the publisher or the editorial and creative staff.

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All editions of The Beacon (beginning in September 2013), can also be read online at: www.westvanbeacon.ca.

LINDY PFEIL OPINION

Celebrating community stories

On Wednesday, April 3, the West Vancouver Memorial Library will be hosting the book launch of a new anthology of community stories, with contributions from 18 local writers. Like many creative endeavours, West Vancouver Stories: 2024 entered the world in a roundabout kind of way.

When COVID-19 struck, I was working at an elementary school. My role, loosely defined, was “social emotional support.” In March 2020, when learning went online, there was no roadmap to navigate the constantly changing educational landscape.

I had previously spent eight years working for a restorative justice non-profit on the North Shore, circling up with children, youth, and adults. And so, for the next few months, I applied those same restorative principles, in virtual circles with students of all ages. Sometimes teachers joined us, sometimes parents. We shared our stories: memories of “before” and wishes for “after.” We learned things about each other we might never have learned during a “regular” school year. And, in learning about others, we learned about ourselves.

One day, I asked a group of twelve-year old boys: “What have you discovered about yourself during this pandemic that you didn’t know before?” I held my breath, not sure if there would be a response. (Twelveyear-old boys get a lot of bad press.)

Carl (not his real name) was the first to speak. An anxious student, his school career had been anything but carefree. With

only a few weeks of elementary school left, high school was looming as another unknown.

“I learned that when I don’t interact with other people,” he said quietly, looking directly into the screen, “I feel my feelings much more intensely.”

And so, the conversation started. Each time we met after that, new strands of connection were dropped into the ether – little shimmering cords constructing a web of togetherness.

A few months later, I came across the West Vancouver Foundation’s Neighbourhood Small Grants programme. Funding was available for projects that could help combat loneliness and social isolation. I remembered Carl’s words. And I recalled what had happened when we’d started sharing our stories. How we all felt less isolated. Less alone. I applied for a grant, and West Vancouver Stories: The Pandemic Project was launched.

with West Vancouver Memorial Library, meant that this time we could gather in person. What stories, I wondered, would we write in the aftermath of the pandemic, and what would they reveal about our community, the challenges we face today, and our hopes for the future?

Our children are back in the classroom. We no longer hide behind masks. Toilet paper is once again freely available, and sneezing in public is almost socially acceptable. But there is no less turmoil. Sadness. Anger. War. Poverty. Genocide. Homelessness. Cruelty.

And there is no less kindness. Generosity. Love. This book contains the stories of 18 ordinary people living in extraordinary times. They tell of resilience, compassion, and hope, and they are our legacy: a record of what it means to be alive in 2024.

For three weeks, 23 “strangers” met online, sharing stories. That book was published in February 2021, becoming an Amazon bestseller. But the real highlight was the relationships formed, many of which continue today.

In 2023, I applied for a second Neighbourhood Small Grant. A collaboration

We would love to see you at our book launch at West Vancouver Memorial Library on April 3 at 6 pm. The event is free, but registration is required. For more information, please visit WestVanStories.com.

This opinion piece is excerpted from The Backstory in West Vancouver Stories: 2024.

If you are not receiving home delivery of The Beacon please let us know at chrisstringer@westvanbeacon.ca

CHRIS ADSHEAD

Our working waterfront

The children were running around on the Horseshoe Bay Wharf, happily following the seals below. I watched, realizing what an important part of the village the wharf has been to generations of residents and visitors.

It has been part of our working waterfront since the early 1940s when the “government” wharf was built by the Federal Ministry of Transportation. It was designed to provide deep water access to vessels moving people and goods along BC’s coast. It served Squamish, Britannia Beach, Woodfibre, and Bowen Island, and was able to accommodate boats up to 100 feet in length.

Over the years, the usage of the wharf changed from large boats to the movement of people and building supplies in Howe Sound. It is still used by water taxis, pleasure boats, and a few fishing boats. In 1997 the Federal Government started divesting itself of the responsibility for these expensive dock facilities across the country. In BC alone, there were 67 wharves to be divested. This meant that responsibility for

stalled. The building at the end of the wharf was used only for storage and around that time the amusingly named “Ichabod Crane” (which looked like a homemade piece of equipment) vanished.

Twenty years ago, at the May 18, 2004 meeting of the Western Residents Association, a proposal was made to renovate the building and create a small aquarium featuring local species. There would be tanks, fed by recirculated sea water, and an underwater camera. A local firm was willing to offer advice. It would be run as a non-profit educational resource. Despite much enthusiasm for the concept and West Vancouver Parks department thinking it was a good idea, the plan did not go ahead.

In the April 28, 2011 edition of The North Shore Outlook, it was reported that, “West Vancouver is getting rid of Horseshoe Bay Pier’s caretaker, a move that some say could hamper emergency operations.”

LOOKING BACK

Despite protests, and 200 people signing a petition, the houseboat was moved, and part of our local history was towed away.

That same year the North Shore News reported in December that West Vancouver’s Coast Guard Auxiliary was going to move to Horseshoe Bay. The building was extensively renovated and the wharf is currently home to the Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue’s (RCMSAR) two rescue vessels.

I once read that the park and wharf could be described as the “outdoor waiting room” for BC Ferries. However, it is much more than that. The wharf continues to be an important part of our waterfront, situated between the remodeled park and the Sewells Landing Development.

Each year thousands of visitors walk along the wharf. It is a source of entertainment to residents and visitors alike. Whether looking for seals or starfish, watching ferries and other watercraft, or simply en-

joying the sun with a coffee, you are part of the Horseshoe Bay working waterfront.

Thank you to the West Vancouver Archives (WVA) for their help with this story.

Houseboat in 2010.

Photo provided

The wharf building in November 2010, before the RCMSAR renovation.

Photo: Chris Adshead

IANNE BAIRD ANNE’S CORNER

Thank you, Snow Angels

n 1946, ten years old, I was living in Bogota, Colombia. I fantasized that I was Nancy Drew, looking for crimes to solve and wrongs to right. When my parents discovered that I’d been racing around Bogota’s cobbled streets on roller skates instead of taking my afternoon nap, they shipped me off to Canada. They decided this was the only hope of my making it to 11.

I arrived at Bishop Strachan School in Toronto. Canadian boarding school was a huge adjustment after the wild freedoms of Latin America. Then came the snow. Eek!

At first, I hated it. Too cold for a tropical flower like me. Then I learned some of snow’s pleasures. Sledding. Skiing. Snow angels! I loved flopping down in the snow, moving my arms and legs to create wings

Iand a skirt.

Decades later, during a 2022 snowfall in West Vancouver, I was thrilled when my partner, James Hamish, flopped down on our patio without prompting, and created a snow angel.

During the recent January 2024 blizzards, there were Snow Angels everywhere. They rushed to help me negotiate the treacherous heaps of snow and ice, blocking my egress from the sidewalk at 15th Street to the slippery roadside parking on Marine Drive.

The moment I stabbed my walking cane into the mountains of slush and ice, three Angels rushed to my side, to lower me down to Marine Drive where my friend had secured a slippery parking space. My

Snow Angels held me gently, but firmly in their arms, until they had safely decanted me into the waiting car. I didn’t even know them!

The process was repeated wherever I went. Snow Angels rushed forward to help a senior citizen whom they deemed more vulnerable or needy than they were. What generosity and kindness of spirit.

I feel blessed to live in a community where citizens are constantly on the alert for the needs of others around them. Senior or otherwise.

Roll on, Snow Angels! Because of you, I’m not afraid to go out to run errands, or to rendezvous with friends. I have noticed your kindness and thank you for it.

Financial Base Camp: The Rule of 72

am always amazed at how many of my smart friends have not heard of the Rule of 72. Many of us rely on calculation apps on mobile phones, but the Rule of 72 is a handy way to mentally calculate the effect of interest rates or inflation on approximate values. According to the American Statistical Association it can even provide guidance to advances in your weight, a career, and gas mileage.

In basic terms, the Rule of 72 is a simplified formula that calculates how long it will take for an investment or your costs to double, based on its rate of return, or the rate of inflation or return to double an investment in a certain time period. For example, if an investment scheme promises a 6% annual compounded rate of return, it will take approximately twelve years (72 / 6 = 12) to double the invested money. If you

wanted to double your money in 10 years, you would need to earn a higher rate of return: 7.2% (72/10).

The Rule of 72 can be applied to anything that increases exponentially, such as GDP or inflation. It can also indicate the long-term effect of annual fees on an investment’s growth.

Far from new, the Rule of 72 dates way back to 1494 when Luca Pacioli, the father

of accounting, discussed it in his comprehensive mathematics book called Summa de Arithmetica.

Go ahead and try it.

Michael Berton is a retired financial planner enjoying his Alexandrian Age on the North Shore.

MICHAEL BERTON

Knowing our neighbours, the eagles

BY Chris Stringer

Lifelong lower Caulfeild resident, Sally McDermott, with her team of over thirty, monitor the 21 bald eagle nests between Horseshoe Bay and Deep Cove. West Vancouver has 14 bald eagle nests from Whytecliff Park area to Ambleside and up to Capilano Golf Course.

They form the North Shore Eagle Network that works closely with the Hancock Wildlife Federation and the Orphaned Wildlife Rehabilitation Society (OWL). Their collaboration process begins when the eagles return to their nesting territories from their northern migration. It continues with taking note of nests that are occupied with eaglets and importantly how many eaglets have successfully fledged.

Thanks to Hancock Wildlife, two of our nesting female eagles sport solar powered backpack trackers. Their territories are side by side: Harbour Sun calls Eagle Harbour area home and Annie lives near Klootchman Park. This past summer Harbour Sun successfully fledged one young and Annie two. One of Annie’s eaglets ended up at OWL due to falling out of the nest; before his release, he also received a backpack tracker. We are learning so much from following the tracks of neighbouring nesting females, as well as one of their young.

Harbour Sun and Annie totally respect their territorial boundaries. They never cross the invisible line to hunt or perch. Annie and mate, Sam, fly out to Grebe Islets many times a day to hunt. Harbour Sun and mate, Eagle Eye, never do. They bop around Eagle Island, Parthenon Point, Seaside Place and sometimes up the moun-

tain slopes.

The Hancock Wildlife Bald Eagle tracking program in cooperation with Simon Fraser University started several years ago with the desire to find out where our local breeding eagles go after fledging their young. The tracking of the young is newer so the data is far from complete.

So far, we see that the young do not fly north with their parents during their late summer northern migration to feast on the northern salmon river runs, nor do they ever return to their natal nests. Yet, this year, Annie and her recent fledge, Bee, spent three weeks in the Khuytzemateen Grizzly Bear sanctuary at the same time! Was this intentional or did they both just happen to end up at the same location?

And while Bee was at Capilano River, Annie unprecedently flew out to the same area of the river where the trackers showed them within 20 meters of each other at the same time.

A few more years of following these eagles will hopefully answer the multitude of questions that arise.

If you catch a glint of light off the back of an eagle it could be the reflection of the backpack tracker. For more information on how the backpacks work, migration and to follow the tracked eagles go to HancockWildlife.org.

In March, West Vancouver Memorial Library will be hosting an exhibition featuring photographs of our local eagles. For information about the monitoring program, and especially if you would like to help, contact S. McDermott at mcjeffery@ telus.net.

Photo: courtesy of Jani Bucke Backpack tracking device.

Photo: courtesy of Kathleen Mc Cormick Cleaning claws.

Patient fishers.

Photo: courtesy of Jani Bucke

Karl

Bonita Jane Kee

BRIAN POMFRET

IJOE GARDENER

Spring is for pruning and planting

f you have not yet cut back your ferns, go out right now and do this! The fiddleheads are growing and it’s difficult to work through them.

Spring (and fall) is the time to aerate and lime your lawn. Fast-acting ‘prilled lime’ is best. Dolopril is one brand. Wait a couple of weeks, cut low and top dress with turf mix which has a higher sand content. Then overseed at double rate and water in. This is best done in late March before temperatures rise.

Tend to roses now. Push aside mulch and apply a layer of well-composted steer manure. Roses love this! Prune at an angle

just above an outward facing bud and rub off any buds facing inward. Take out any branches growing inward too.

It’s time to sow salad crop seeds. Stick to lettuce or seasonal salad seed mix as others can be finicky. Sow your seeds in small batches every few weeks so you have a succession of crop to pick.

Fruit trees will be sprouting new growth. Feed around the base with blood, fish, or bone meals.

Early flowering heathers should be finished, so shear back a little to promote new growth.

Forsythia and Witch Hazel should be fin-

ished too, and this is a good time to prune to shape. It’s best to prune any flowering tree or shrub after blooming. Consider planting lilies now. There are many varieties available at our nurseries. Plant in groups in good garden soil, spreading out the roots and have about three inches of soil above. They are great near a patio when they release their lovely scent in the evenings especially the Oriental lily.

I’m rereading a terrific book called The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben. It describes the social network of trees as families in the forests sharing nutrients with younger or struggling trees. It is amaz-

ing how they warn of impending danger! This is a good read for a rainy day.

And finally, a favourite plant of mine at this time of year is Rodgersia aesculifolia, a wonderful specimen for a continuous moist or boggy area in your garden. It’s a herbaceous perennial with large chestnut tree leaves and white or pink blooms that unfurl in spring (like a fern) and bloom in summer. It pairs great with ferns.

JINI PARK

Win big in the student video contest

Competition is a tricky topic, particularly in childhood.

My child is extremely competitive and thrives within an award/reward system. I have supported that highly competitive spirit and so far it has been great.

Motivation is a critical foundation of success. Competition is a powerful motivator and encourages hard work. According to Jennifer Veale, founder and executive director of TruCompetition.org: “competition inspires kids to do their best,” and this “prepares children for future situations of all kinds.” It also helps them learn to bounce back from failure, develop self-esteem and gain different skills in a healthy way. Team competition can provide children with a golden opportunity to gain knowledge from others and practice social skills such as teamwork and sportsmanship.

The West Vancouver Student Video Contest is a local competition hosted annually by the District of West Vancouver. Its purpose is to encourage students to think about nature and its significance. Contest themes are always connected to protecting the environment. In 2023, “Our Urban Forest” was the contest theme, and in 2022 it was “Every Drop Counts.” The 2022 first prize winner Emaryllia created an educational video about water conservation with her side kick, Droppie, who has been working really hard promoting the importance of preserving water on social media.

The theme of the 2024 competition is “Recycling in Parks.” The District of West Vancouver started a Parks Recycling Program in Millennium Park, John Lawson Park

Open house at the ocean

A message from WVYC

As spring approaches, and we start to think about upcoming summer activities, the West Vancouver Yacht Club would like to invite Beacon readers to an open house at their waterfront club on Sunday, April 7, between 4 and 7 pm.

You will be greeted by locals who are already members at the club. As their guests, you will be treated to refreshments and appetizers from the club restaurant and bar. They will share some of the benefits of membership in a club conveniently located in the neighbourhood.

Members of West Vancouver Yacht Club are a diverse and multi-generational group

WEST VANCOUVER YACHT CLUB OPEN HOUSE

and Dundarave Park in 2023 by installing new park recycling bins. This provides an extra opportunity for visitors to dispose of garbage to reduce our carbon footprint. The competition is open to West Vancouver students from kindergarten to grade 12 and is active from February 16 until April 15. Ten

winners will be selected, with cash prizes from $50 to $250.

This is a wonderful opportunity to have fun, be creative, and win prizes. For more information on how to enter, and view winning videos from previous years, visit westvancouver.ca/studentvideo.

who are united by their love of boating and the sea. They also enjoy club amenities and social activities that extend far beyond the “boating season.”

The April 7 open house offers an opportunity to learn about the club’s year-round social activities, family events, themed parties, and adult and youth learn-to-sail programs. Club membership also provides

access to sailboats, power boats, kayaks, and paddleboards – all without leaving the neighbourhood!

Members also receive exclusive access to the club’s four outstations, all of which provide another level of activity and oceanfront adventure.

To find out more, or to RSVP, contact admin@wvyc.ca or call 604 921 7575.

YOU’RE INVITED!

SUNDAY, APRIL 7, 2024 • 4 PM - 7 PM

The West Vancouver Yacht Club has recently opened up a limited number of memberships, offered with an incentive of $1,000 towards the purchase of a new Active Membership until April 30, 2024.

We invite you to our OPEN HOUSE to come experience the Club, engage with our community and explore the advantages of joining!

Please let us know if you can attend by contacting us at admin@wvyc.ca or 604 921 7575.

Photo: Jini Park Droppie’s Journey on Creating & Conserving Water.

ODundarave Preschool

n January 25, 1947, the Vancouver Sun ran a story, on its front page, about “a unique experiment in cooperative pooling of time and talents for the care of preschool children being carried out by mothers of some 18 or 20 children in West Vancouver.” This project, it went on to report, was “being operated under the wing of the community centre.”

Two years later, the 1947 experiment became official, as the Wee Folk Play School and later, the Hollyburn Preschool. It continued to operate at the West Vancouver United Church. The moms formed a co-operative taking turns looking after each other’s children for a few hours in the morning each week. Eleven years later the school moved into the Dundarave Fieldhouse in Dundarave Park where it operates today under the name of the Dundarave Preschool by the Sea.

Penny Mitchell and a friend enrolled their daughters in the preschool in the very early 1980s. “We are still friends today and we often recount how we met the other mums at that school with the same goal in mind,” she

remembers. “We were committed to giving our children the best start in an environment where mums could participate. This was the answer: parent participation preschool.”

In this idyllic location, on the seawall beside playgrounds, the moms were part of their children’s early education and, in the process, became friends. The kids grew up together, moving onto the same schools and today they have their own families. The friendships continue and their own children have since attended the little school by the sea. Some of them have served on the preschool board. As Penny says, “It’s quite magical.”

“...we feel to be here what we love...”

- Kim and Romy

In 1994 it was decided to employ fully qualified Early Childhood Education teachers. Mothers continue to help and participate.

CHRIS STRINGER

Photo provided

Vancouver Sun, 1947. Obtained from: the West Vancouver Archives

Photo provided

Dundarave Preschool closed up on a wintry Sunday. Originally the Dundarave Fieldhouse with a few coats of paint over the years.

Preschool celebrates 75 years

A recent parent, Kirstin Mander, says: “Taking my kids to Dundarave Preschool was honestly like walking into a fairytale every day. The ambience of learning by the ocean, on the beach, it’s unbeatable in my opinion. It meant my little boys would be able to forge a connection with nature, and the water. Isn’t that why we live in Vancouver? Not to mention the teachers! Dundarave has always attracted staff who share that same passion, people who can see how special this little school is and what it has to offer. We were lucky enough to enjoy the combination of those two factors for four years and it was the most special and memorable start to schooling I think any child could have!”

Teachers Kim and Romy discuss the preschool program and their feelings about

their work: “The play-based curriculum allows a child the opportunity to experiment, experience and learn new information. They learn about themselves, family, others in the community, and their physical surroundings. The daily routine has a structure so children can decide what they want to do, giving them a sense of control and a feeling of confidence, building self-esteem and independence. The routine we developed has the children’s needs and interests in mind, providing opportunities for them to explore indoors and outdoors. Through their play we feel the children discover the arts, science, mathematics, literacy, develop gross and fine motor skills, and most importantly social skills and problem-solving. As teachers we feel privileged to be here doing what we love in the preschool’s 75th year.”

The Dundarave Preschool by the Sea Society is a registered charity. For further information www.dundaravepreschool.com.

Music with Katie Brock.

Photo provided

A future Ross Penhall perhaps?

Photo provided

Teachers, Kim and Romy.

Photo: Chris Stringer

Conversations about natural history

BY Laura Anderson

West Vancouver Historical Society’s popular community conversation series returns this spring. Local Voices: Natural History looks back to the resource-based industries that fueled our economy in the past, and forward to the growth of environmental stewardship roles across the North Shore.

The first conversation takes place on Wednesday, March 13 at West Vancouver Memorial Library. Holiday 1909 with Lid Hawkins is the story of four members of the BC Mountaineering Club who hiked into the Seymour Creek watershed in 1909, their packs loaded with supplies, photography and surveying equipment, watercolour paints, a rifle and … a pie. Their purpose was to obtain survey points in order to map the area. They were also on vacation. They climbed, battled clouds of mosquitos, dodged bear and cougar, climbed some

more, met the miners of Jungle Town, and set off for home, a return journey as arduous as the ascent.

Charles Chapman kept a journal replete with poems, cartoons and hand drawn maps, and a collection of photographs of the glorious mountain views. Chapman’s granddaughter, Lid Hawkins, transformed these into a visual record of their grand adventure, and a book, Holiday 1909. (Holiday 1909 is available at Red Horses in West Vancouver, and MONOVA.)

The second conversation, on Wednesday, April 10, Vanishing Skid Roads, Visible Remnants of Logging Above Lynn Valley 1895 – 1915, will be presented by Larry Marshik. This is a visual exploration of logging on the North Shore, from the forests via flumes and skid roads to the mills at Burrard Inlet. After a career as a land surveyor, Larry Marshik turned to exploring his backyard: North Vancouver’s mountains and forests. In West Vancouver, logging activity took advantage of the local creeks.

Today, the Old Growth Conservancy and Lighthouse Park are home to the few remaining ‘big trees’ of the Pacific Northwest rainforest.

Both conversations take place in the

Navvy Jack House - something to crow about

BY John Mawson on behalf of the Navvy Jack House Citizen Group

John (Navvy Jack) Thomas and his wife, Sla-wiya, made their home c.1872 on a tract of waterfront land known today as Ambleside. Theirs was one of the earliest unions of settler and Indigenous com-

munity. Navvy Jack House is the first house, and likely the first building, in what would become West Vancouver.

The crowing of the Thomas family’s rooster, noted by local newspapers of the time to have signalled the proximity of land to passing vessels, has become a local legend. At Navvy Jack Point Park, to the west of Navvy Jack House, a new public art installation commemorates that fabled fowl and the assistance

he provided to fog-bound navigators.

In 2024, work will begin to restore and repurpose the house and grounds over which the rooster ruled, and you will (almost) hear his fabled crow and see him strut as he watches over the next chapter in the story of Navvy Jack House.

Welsh Hall at West Vancouver Memorial Library, from 6:30 – 8 pm. Doors open at 6 pm. For more information contact Laura Anderson at 778.279.2275 or lander1@ shaw.ca.

of all kinds.

coffee west coast-inspired breakfast &

menus modern amenities happy hour signature cocktails draught beer

Commencement of Lid Hawkins’ grandpa’s holiday, July 24, 1909. Photo provided

Photo: courtesy of Neil Carroll Rooster public art piece.

Singing along with The Londoners

BY Marny Peirson

Do you enjoy sing-alongs with friends? Then you might enjoy The Londoners. We are seniors who help brighten the day of other seniors by taking our music into care homes. If you have visited friends in care homes on the North Shore, you may have come across us.

For the past 18 years, we have visited homes and seniors’ tea parties weekly. We rehearse once a month, and our aim is to encourage the seniors we visit to sing along with us. Singing releases endorphins, and makes people feel good. To this end we have created song books for our 11 different programs, and we hand these out to encourage participation.

We sing a different program every month: Scottish songs in January for Robbie Burns, love songs in February for Valentine’s Day, Irish in March for St. Patrick, Canadian songs for Canda Day, war songs for Remembrance Day, and so on. We dress

up for each occasion.

We sometimes rehearse on the first Monday of the month in West Van United Church. And there are parties during the year, when we rehearse in homes and gardens.

The group began in 2005 when a couple of us started singing in the Seniors’ Centre dining room. We were told: “You should take this show on the road.” So we did. We had to find a name for our show. We were both from London, so we called ourselves The Londoners. The number of singers quickly grew, and we now have a loyal core of around 20 singers. There is no charge to sing with the group, and we have a lovely caring community of friends.

For more information email Marny Peirson at marny@telus.net.

Being a senior has its moments. Life at PARC embraces this, whether those moments are funny, over the top or just relatable. Best of all, you get to share them with like-minded people at the same stage of life. You also get to choose from a variety of activities, accommodation options and meals. Live your best years in the best company.

Photo provided Marny with former MC, the late Phil Gilbert.

Discover the new Colin Ruloff Community Field House

BY Julia McCaig

The newly constructed Colin Ruloff Community Field House, nestled within the picturesque landscape behind Island Pacific School, offers a beautiful setting for a wide range of activities. It brings sports activities, celebrations and gatherings to life, surrounded by the beauty of Bowen Island’s natural landscape.

The field house is a massive 40’ x 55’ timber framed covered area, providing ample room for various events and gatherings. Surrounded by the lush beauty of the forest, the venue offers a serene and natural setting, making it an inviting space for all occasions. It provides space for pickleball, volleyball and badminton (a net is provided), futsal (one hockey net is available), and is a stunning location for wed dings, performances, concerts, memorials, picnics and more!

The Field House will be honored with a traditional Indigenous blessing ceremony,

Squamish Nation. This sacred and culturally significant event will imbue the space with spiritual significance and reverence. We welcome our Bowen Island and North Shore communities to join us on April 10, from 11am - 12pm at Island Pacific School, 671 Carter Road, Bowen Island. For inquiries or additional information, contact bookings@islandpacific.org or call 604947-9311.

Field House from the rear in the sunshine.

Photo provided

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Keith & Julia Hazell

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