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WEST VANCOUVEI D HiAl. LIBRAPV ^ iVOL22 Fi ^-NO. 4 March;! 2005" ' West Vancou Guest Editorialâ€"Ian Macdonald, President ex officio, West Vancouver Historical Society January 24th was a big day for our Historical Society; in fact it was a big day for all of West Vancouver. It was the day that Mayor and Council unanimously and enthusiastically accepted the “Arts and Culture Strategy Policy” document that had been presented to them. And what is the “Arts and Culture Strategy Policy”? It is the next, but not final, stage of a process begun in 1999 when the council of the day adopted a “Cultural Policy for West Vancouver”. This policy paper stated, “The municipality will provide leadership in the development of arts and culture within the community” and “will explore locational and funding alternatives for Community Arts facilities”. In the small print the policy detailed support for the visual and performing arts, heritage activities and “the collection, preservation and display of historically significant archival material and artifacts”, the latter items, of course, being supportive of the Museum and Archives and the objectives of the Historical Society. From 1999 to 2004 the matter, it seems, got put on a back burner while politicians and staff busied themselves with other things, in particular the building of recreational facilities at Gleneagles and the main complex at 21st Street. In March 2004 Mayor Wood appointed Councillors Clark, Ferguson and Goldsmith-Jones to a committee whose task was to design a plan for actual implementation of the 1999 policy. Public input was sought, a facilitator/coordinator was engaged, think tanks and meetings with interest groups were held and ten months later the job was done. Now we have this first class paper, which for the first time paints a concise, understandable picture of where culture stands in our community, describes what the Municipality will do to be supportive, and lays out strategies for organization and implementation. In short the future is very bright for Arts and Culture in West Vancouver. So why do we feel this is so important to our Historical Society? Well, given that our mandate, in short form is “To promote awareness of and interest in the history and development of West Vancouver and to support the Museum and Archives”, we now have a system where we can work to achieve our goals in a manner that is clear and understandable to all, particularly our politicians and 1. n ?. ^Mto, -> i â€" fi il ciety municipal managers.^ViEN FbOW HUS Bill We are particularly pleased that three objectives we have worked toward for several years are specifically mentioned in the new policy. We are now assured that for the first time we are going to have a full-time archivist at Gertrude Lawson House. For years society directors and others have pleaded for this but our frugal council has funded only a part-time job with disastrous results. Many of you will be aware we have had eight archivists in the position in the last ten years and most of them left the job to take full time jobs elsewhere. We hope that with the position now being full-time the merry- go-round will stop. Council has also committed to support two major projects the Historical Society has long proposed. They will “Establish a plan for a historical interpretation centre at Point Atkinson Lighthouse” and “Support plans for the heritage designation and restoration of Hollyburn Lodge”. (This writer has also proposed to the West Vancouver Olympics and Paralympics Committee that the Lodge be done in time for the 2010 Olympics and Fm happy to report they recently included it on their top ten priority list.) There is no doubt that as a result of what I’ve just described the Historical Society will be a player on several fronts in the near future. We promise to keep you posted in future issues of this newsletter. Old Growth Trees in West Vancouver Saturday, March 26, 3:30-5:00 pm Guest Speaker: Robert Laird West Vancouver’s forest provides a home to various species of birds, small mammals, insects and plants. Trees are valuable sources in learning about the natural and human history of West Vancouver. From 1930 to 1950, loggers gradually opened up the land for settlement. Several old- growth trees still stand todayâ€"vital resources to be passed down to future generations. Attend this lecture and learn about old-growth trees and the ecology of old-growth forests in West Vancouver. A special walk in Lighthouse Park is scheduled on April 2 from 10:00 am â€" 12:00 pm. Register with program code 241016. A second walk will start at 1:00 pm on the same day and run until 3:00 pm. The code here is 242217. To register by phone call 604-925-7270. (Please turn to page 9)