Mayor's Report - June 1998

Our dedicated "Historical Group" volunteers have been diligently working on Belcarra's first book, now tentatively titled: "Belcarra: Between Forest & Sea". The book is expected to go to print later this summer and be available to purchasers early this fall.

The book has been three years and thousands of person-hours in the making, and includes materials from archival research as well as numerous interviews with seniors who had many stories to tell. The concept is to weave a story from a collection of anecdotes with many side-bar notes and accompanying photographs, beginning with the pre-history of the Belcarra area.

The book will be 8½" by 11" with a laminated soft-cover containing approximately 40,000 words (160 pages) edited down from 300,000 words of source material. In keeping with the adage that "a picture is worth a thousand words", the book will be very graphical and include well over 100 black and white photographs with captions, as well as several maps to provide context. The objective is not to publish a "clinical" historical treatise, but to create a "coffee table" style book which can be opened and enjoyed at any point.

Each of the volunteers involved with the book has brought specific skills to the project:

• Colleen McDonald - Computer Skills & Organization;
• John Doerksen - Photography & Interviewing;
• Diana Drake - Writing & Editing; and
• Mike Cotton - Archival Research & Interviewing.

This book has been timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Woodhaven - Bedwell Bay Property Owners Association, but is timely for other reasons as well. In another 10 years some of the old-timers who have contributed their stories may not be here to help us remember.

When a community celebrates its past, it also celebrates its maturity; since there can be no vision for the future without an understanding of the past!

Search www.belcarra.ca Search WWW