Due to technical difficulties with the Jerome Irwin article, I have posted this letter to the North Shore News editor from last week because it is a similar topic: The issue of changing the names by local governments of beloved neighbourhoods and facilities that needs either more public consultation or no change at all.
Who was William Griffin?
Before renaming the rec centre, let’s learn why his name is on it
Why is it we find other people’s history fascinating, yet seem so dismissive of our own? North Vancouver District Council is contemplating changing the name of the William Griffin Recreation Centre, apparently because no one around the council table can recall very much about the man. I would think it is safe to assume that his contributions to the community must have been considerable for the council of the 1970s to think it proper to name a major public facility after him. So why have we forgotten, and why do we not even think it worthwhile to rediscover a leading citizen of the past? These stories are important because they tell us about the people who helped get us to where we are today. They are part of the truth of our collective story. How hard would it be to hire a summer intern or co-op history student, to research all the people our public spaces are named for? The findings could be posted at the entrances of parks, swimming pools and schools, so that we could all connect the name with the person, and learn something about our community’s history. In this way we could add a richness to where we live, the kind of thing we admire in other cities where history is kept very much alive.
CRAIG JOHNSTON
North Vancouver
26 comments:
I believe this post came from the Vancouver Sun last week.
Here is a letter from the NSN:
http://www.nsnews.com/opinion/letters/1.1981203
Renaming is part of rebranding.
Think Salish Sea. Think Great Bear Rainforest.
Think Sustainable Development. ( ie. Agenda 21).
It's all so harmless right?
Since the guy was a developer, I would have thought this crowd would be all over a name change.
"The issue of changing the names by local governments of beloved neighbourhoods"
How about the proposal to rename our beloved Stanley Park not so long ago!
Who but a zealot pushing an agenda of some sort would push that forward?
Of course, with July 1 coming up, those of us old enough can recall the catterwailing when the feds sneaked through the change in name of our beloved Dominion Day.
At least then, I knew what they were up to.
So let's change Lynn Valley's name to something else like Vibrancy Central. I think that's a good idea and should be submitted to DNV for consideration. Time for a change, you know.
Maybe they should name it " Why is there not a 50 meter pool in North van?"
The problem with the name Griffin isn't that council can't remember the man, its that what they remember of him isn't that impressive. He was a belligerent old SOB that treated most people poorly, but enough people found him entertaining. Maybe we should rename it the Ernie Crist Rec Centre to keep up that legacy.
Speaking of Ernie Crist. I have a story about how the Ron Andrews Rec Centre was named. Coun. Andrews was against public rec facilities. He thought everyone should pay their way. So, when the time came to name the new centre, somebody made the motion, in jest, that it be called Ron Andrews. In jest, the motion was seconded and approved.
Ernie Crist told me this story.
Ernie should have had a facility, street, or something else significant in his name. The only thing I'm aware of is a plaque at Northlands golf course. He served the community for 25 years.
He was given the District's highest honour, Freedom of the District. The District has gone away from naming facilities, parks and streets after people, instead they are trying to have the neighborhood identities reflected first and foremost. If they are going to name a facility, park or street after someone, Marilyn Baker and Don Bell would be higher on my list than Mr. Crist.
Ernie and Don Bell, and a few others were given the Freedom of the District just before Ernie died. It was a political no-brainer at the time. It really means nothing if Don Bell got it. He did nothing positive for the DNV. Machiavellian.
Why are Baker and Bell higher on your list?
Marilyn Baker was a fantastic mayor and a great person at a time when women were not normally able to serve at that level. Don Bell served for longer, was popularly elected 14 times for three different levels of government. You may not have agreed with his politics, but he volunteered on countless non-profits, brought tons of events to our community and was recognized by his peers when he was elected vice chair of metro. There is no need to speak ill of Ernie Crist, but he just wasn't at the level of the other two.
Marilyn Baker was an excellent Mayor, however Don Bell just kept the chair warm. He has done nothing progressive for the people of North Vancouver City or District or as our MP.
Ok.. does anyone remember how we used have FOREST FIRES and now all we have is WILDFIRES!!! ( the exclamation marks are in the official spelling).
I long for our forest fire heritage.
And lawn sprinkling. We've had, many times past, lawn sprinkling restrictions in the lower mainland. But now these are UNRPRECIDENTED!! How stupid do they think we are? As if anyone would ruin a nice low maintenance dead lawn with growth promoting water. As everyone knows, sprinklers are just for kids to run through.
But I digress. This IS a serious matter. We ought really to be BANNING HIRISES. Their growth is unprecidented.
Maybe John.. this thread has run its course? How about a new one.. say..PRESERVING OUR FUTURE ?
Your lawn will go dormant in summer, if left unwatered, and will come back in the fall when the rain starts. Simple as that. Don't be a selfish prig, thinking that the restrictions are created to solely inconvenience you. Want to be really responsible? Get rid of the lawn altogether and xeriscape your yard.
Anon 7;11
Gawd I can't tell if you are kidding or not.
For the record.. I was. See .. " As if anyone would ruin a nice low maintenance dead lawn with growth promoting water" .. see?
Your sermon was a delightful example of zealot's indignation though.
What about the rampant toilet flushing?? It has to stop.
There is a huge shortage of water in Metro. Perhaps the Press should recommend people flush their toilets less. I haven't heard that advice on the news.
There isn't a 'huge shortage' yet, but if we have a normal or drier than normal July and August, then we will have a 'huge shortage'. The reservoir is 75% full.
I thought this quote was interesting "One hour of lawn sprinkling uses as much water as 25 toilet flushes, 5 loads of laundry and 5 dishwasher loads COMBINED.", I guess that is why they focus on lawn sprinkling long before flushing.
Not sure what news you listen to, anon Thursday, July 09, 2015 1:25:00 p.m, but I've heard the rhyme "If it's yellow, let it mellow. If it's brown, flush it down" repeatedly. Not just this year, but during watering restrictions from past years.
For every toilet flushed in Metro, 6 to 12 Litres of water is lost. If people only flushed 1 out of 2 uses, there would be a significant savings in water at no inconvenience to the people.
Well the transit referendum has failed and yet no posts here about where we go now?
Mayor Walton likes the idea of road pricing, i.e. every time you drive down a road there is a charge on top of all of the other taxes we pay for roads. Anyone else think that this is a good idea?
I read in today's Vancouver Sun that Mayor Mussatto has resigned from the Mayors' Council.
The City of North Van's 'permanent delegate to the Mayors Council' is Coun Keating. Politicking.
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