Gazette The Lake Cowichan
WEDNESDAY, JULY 22, 2015
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MacDonald Road: Quick response saves Lake Cowichan from forest fire PAGE 6
VOL. 19, NO. 29 | $1 + GST
Firefighters needed: Local departments seeking volunteers as numbers decline PAGE 11
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Cowichan Lake: Swimmers return to break world record in support of MS treatment PAGE 3
Photo Malcolm Chalmers
After a long absence, the Martin Mars water bomber was spotted again scooping up water on Cowichan Lake last Friday (July 17). The BC Government hired Coulson’s ageing water bomber for a month to help fight forest fires in BC. Its first job was near Nelson.
Kaatza Museum hoping to keep history of logging alive
Drew McLachlan
LAKE COWICHAN GAZETTE
Back in April, the Kaatza Station Museum found themselves the proud recipients of a treasure trove of documents and photographs pertaining to the local and national logging industries courtesy of Industrial, Wood and Allied Workers of Canada (IWA). Now the Cowichan Lake Community Forest Co-operative
has announced that they will be stepping up to help fund the storage of these documents, and are also asking current and former loggers to lend a hand as well. The collection, packed by a thoughtful IWA member before it was destroyed, consists of 240 banker’s boxes filled with documents, photographs and film. Kaatza Station Museum curator Barb Simkins said that the collections consists primarily
of documents from the 1930s to 50s, though some documents dating back as far as the turn of the century were also included. The documents originate from both the British Columbian and national Canadian branches of the IWA. The recent donation is also supplemented by a donation of Wilmer Gold photos, made by the Duncan IWA five years ago. A selection of those photos have since been put on display in the
museum’s IWA display room. “This is the largest collection of documents and photos that pertain to the forestry sector,” Community Forest Co-op chair Lorne Scheffer said of the museum’s new collection. “This community has its roots in forestry, the reason it became Lake Cowichan is because of the forest industry.” The collection is planned to be kept in an upcoming addition to the museum, tentatively titled the
“IWA Annex,” in order to ensure that the documents are kept in the correct temperature and dryness to ensure their longevity. The Community Forest Co-op has since announced they would be helping fund the construction of the $110,000 facility, and are also asking current and former loggers to lend a hand as well. >COMMUNITY Page 10