Dear editor:
Growing up in West Van in the ’40s and ’50s was delightful. It was a neighbourly time.
Many still rode the old “Bonabelle” ferry to work in Vancouver. Hi Coville built the first rudimentary chairlift up Hollyburn ridge. We skiers often helped push mired Second World War surplus half-tracks upslope.
We used a friend’s clinkerbuilt rowboat moored on the beach to catch rockcod and grilse just offshore. Dad drove car-fulls of kids for seasonal swims at West Bay, Sandy Cove or Caulfeild. My sister rode her horse on the many unpaved logging roads behind home.
From saltchuck to Hollyburn peak we enjoyed it all.
On a recent visit to our old Altamont stomping grounds I encountered huge hedges shielding private properties which didn’t signal “welcome.” Kids said they had to learn how to punch in a security code to enter their friend’s yard.
I’m glad not to be raised here today. While obviously more upscale than in my youth, something communal has been lost on the way.
Friendly cohesive neighbourhoods are a basic strength of democracy. Neighbours reach out to each other by actively participating as sports coaches, Sunday school teachers or in many other ways. We need to rediscover new avenues to a healthy social intermingling.
Duncan Baynes
Keremeos, B.C.
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