It seems like only yesterday, but it’s been 25 years since I sat as school board chairman in council chambers celebrating the 100th anniversary of North Vancouver District’s Aug. 10, 1891 inception.
During that 1991 celebration, then-mayor Murray Dykeman and council unveiled the coat of arms and flag that we still use today, and celebrated the many changes that took place in our first century of government.
The original boundaries of our community were from Horseshoe Bay to Deep Cove, although the lands were part of the much larger Coast Salish lands and have been lived on for thousands of years before Captain Vancouver sailed into English Bay a century earlier in 1791. Prior to the First World War, West Vancouver and the City of North Vancouver separated from the original District of North Vancouver. Existing boundaries have not changed since 1911.
Why should we celebrate our history and why specifically a 125th anniversary? Knowledge of our past not only helps us avoid repeating our mistakes, it also provides us with a better understanding of why certain decisions were made and acts as a sound basis for future policy direction. We enjoy sharing our history with the groups of elementary school students that visit district hall each year. Each student gets a chance to wear the mayor’s Chain of Office and learn about our history by studying our coat of arms, which serves as a well-conceived natural history lesson. Our hope is that our children leave district hall knowing more about our history and culture, and are inspired to be future candidates for mayor.
Learning our history also helps us understand how unique in the world we are. Many of our residents don’t realize that our North Vancouver waterfront ships and receives goods from all over the world and moves more tonnage than any community in Canada. North Vancouver District is also the only deep sea port community in the world with alpine fauna (Haynes Pass behind Grouse Mountain), and a wildlife interface within eight kilometres of downtown Vancouver.
Also next year is Canada’s 150th birthday party and there will be celebrations across the land we are so privileged to call home. Consider this year’s local celebrations a precursor to next year’s Canada-wide outpouring of national spirit.
The next 25 years will see accelerating change, not only in the Metro Vancouver area, but in cities all over the world as global urban population grows. Planning decisions made by governments today will shape the lives of our children and grandchildren. It is incumbent on us to study and learn from the past, but also to be nimble and ready to change gears quickly to adjust to the future.
And as economist John Maynard Keynes said almost 100 years ago, “When the facts change, so do I. What do you do?” And the facts are changing all around us so we need to understand the continuum of history like never before.
We have much to celebrate and there are many stories to tell. Join us for celebrations throughout the summer and a wrap-up party on Sept. 17. More details will be posted soon at dnv.org/125.
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