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Sylvan’s Famous Boathouse- A Look Back to the Twenties

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It’s excellent lake weather and hopefully you’ll get a chance to spend a day or two out strolling the sidewalks and beaches of Sylvan Lake.  One of the many historic markers located along Lakeshore Drive includes this 1928 photograph of Mr. J.P. Simpson’s boathouse.  He built this boathouse adjacent to the new Women’s Institute (W.I.) Pier.  Besides housing boats, canoes, outboard motors and bathing suits for rent, it held a concession booth which sold snacks.  The boats rented for 50 cents the first hour, 25 cents for any additional hours, or two dollars per day.  A  yearly chore for the owners was painting the fifty boats kept there.  In 1979, the building was dismantled and hauled away.

Some additional history for your Todayville readers – the faithful workers of the Women’s Institute of Sylvan Lake (W.I.), who were the main backbone of the committee who brought about the construction of the new pier at the Lake, were favored with a charming afternoon on Thursday, and a large crowd of visitors, at the opening of the pier. Hon. R.B. Bennett, K.C., leader of the Conservative Party, motored from Calgary with Dr. McNabb, who owns “Rusticana”, one of the finest cottages on the lake front, right near the pier. Mr. Bennett was the speaker of the day and opened the pier with impressive style. Luncheon was served at 1:30 p.m at the Dingwall Hotel. Mr. A.M. Steele, chairman of the pier committee, presided. At this right sat the guest of honor, Mr. Bennett, and on Mr. Bennett’s right, sat Mrs. Dingwall, president of the W.I.  Around the table were gathered the following: Rev. Dingle, Mrs. E. Bardwell, Mr. Thomas, Miss Graham, Alfred Speakman, M.P., Mrs. McNabb, Mrs. C. Falkner, Mrs. Steele, Dr. McNabb, Mrs. W.E. Payne, G.W. Smith, M.P.P., Mr. Payne, Mrs. Miller, Mr. McCaskill, Mr. Bardwell, Mr. F.L. Appleton and Chief MacDonald of Condor.  The serving was nicely carried out by a bevy of summer-gowned lassies, marshalled by Mrs. McCrimmon, Sylvan Lake, and Mrs. Lindsay, Red Deer. During the progress of the luncheon, music on the bagpipes was played by Chief MacDonald.

The ladies of the W.I. marched to the lakeshore for the proceedings of the afternoon. The ceremonies began in front of the rustic arch which forms the entrance of the new pier at 4:35 p.m., with Mr. Steele acting as Master of Ceremonies. Mr. W.E. Payne, K.C., introduced Mr. Bennett in felicitous terms, speaking of his honorable record as an Albertan and a Canadian. Mr. Steele extended to Mr. Bennett the thanks of the Women’s Institute and Miss Graham, the secretary-treasurer, presented Mrs. Dingwall with a bouquet of handsome carnations in recognition of her most valuable service in helping forward the pier project.

Mr. Bennett got a rousing reception on rising to speak. He said he really felt quite overcome by the welcome extended by the Lake people. “You are a small community, but it is from smaller communities that we look for supplies of our manhood and womanhood,” he said. The new pier erected by the cooperative efforts of the ladies of the W.I., he characterized as a very fine piece of public service. He hoped that in years to come the ladies who had done so well would feel justly recompensed for their efforts. Mr. Bennett wanted the younger ones to fully realize what a great country Canada was. He mentioned his recent tour of the province of Quebec, where he visited French settlements that had been there since 1660, and the English settlements that were 150 years old. A great country it was.  Alberta was a wonderful province. Last year, the farmers, their wives and sons and daughters had produced $365,000,000 of new wealth. Less than 700,000 people had done this, while the total of all the mines produced in Canada last year was around $250,000,000. Mr. Bennett, in stirring, captivating tones, asked the young people within the sound of his voice if they were going to do something to make this a grander country for the generation that would follow.  The question was, what are we going to give the country that has done so much for us?  “You good people that have borne the heat and the toil of the day, my hope is that in your declining years you may find a great peace and happiness.”

Before Mr. Bennett cut the ribbons of the pier entrance, there were two short addresses eulogistic of the honored guest given by Mr. Speakman and Mr. McCaskill, and a promenade of the pier, led by the pipes, was made.  The ticket selling, the floral decorations, the publicity, the water sports, all were handled by energetic committees. – Adapted from The Red Deer Advocate, July 19, 1928.

Postscript – the W.I. Pier was put to good use by countless thousands of sightseers of all ages, swimmers, sunbathers, canoeists, boaters, fishermen and seagulls for an enjoyable 25 years. By 1953, the foot traffic and the elements had taken their toll; the pier was no longer considered safe; the structure was dismantled.

“Reflections of Sylvan Lake”, pp. 89-90.

For more information about the Sylvan Lake and District Archives, CLICK HERE.

Sylvan Lake & District Archives,  5012  – 48 Avenue,  Lower Level, Municipal Government Building

Sylvan Lake, AB  T4S 1G6

403-887-1185 x262

Send us an email: [email protected]

President Todayville Inc., Honorary Colonel 41 Signal Regiment, Board Member Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Award Foundation, Director Canadian Forces Liaison Council (Alberta) musician, photographer, former VP/GM CTV Edmonton.

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Community

SPARC Red Deer – Caring Adult Nominations open now!

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Red Deer community let’s give a round of applause to the incredible adults shaping the future of our kids. Whether they’re a coach, neighbour, teacher, mentor, instructor, or someone special, we want to know about them!

Tell us the inspiring story of how your nominee is helping kids grow up great. We will honour the first 100 local nominees for their outstanding contributions to youth development. It’s time to highlight those who consistently go above and beyond!

To nominate, visit Events (sparcreddeer.ca)

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Addictions

‘Harm Reduction’ is killing B.C.’s addicts. There’s got to be a better way

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From the Frontier Centre for Public Policy

By Susan Martinuk 

B.C. recently decriminalized the possession of small amounts of illicit drugs. The resulting explosion of addicts using drugs in public spaces, including parks and playgrounds, recently led the province’s NDP government to attempt to backtrack on this policy

Since 2016, more than 40,000 Canadians have died from opioid drug overdoses — almost as many as died during the Second World War.
Governments, health care professionals and addiction experts all acknowledge that widespread use of opioids has created a public health crisis in Canada. Yet they agree on virtually nothing else about this crisis, including its causes, possible remedies and whether addicts should be regarded as passive victims or accountable moral agents.

Fuelled by the deadly manufactured opioid fentanyl, Canada’s national drug overdose rate stood at 19.3 people per 100,000 in 2022, a shockingly high number when compared to the European Union’s rate of just 1.8. But national statistics hide considerable geographic variation. British Columbia and Alberta together account for only a quarter of Canada’s population yet nearly half of all opioid deaths. B.C.’s 2022 death rate of 45.2/100,000 is more than double the national average, with Alberta close behind at 33.3/100,00.

In response to the drug crisis, Canada’s two western-most provinces have taken markedly divergent approaches, and in doing so have created a natural experiment with national implications.

B.C. has emphasized harm reduction, which seeks to eliminate the damaging effects of illicit drugs without actually removing them from the equation. The strategy focuses on creating access to clean drugs and includes such measures as “safe” injection sites, needle exchange programs, crack-pipe giveaways and even drug-dispensing vending machines. The approach goes so far as to distribute drugs like heroin and cocaine free of charge in the hope addicts will no longer be tempted by potentially tainted street drugs and may eventually seek help.

But safe-supply policies create many unexpected consequences. A National Post investigation found, for example, that government-supplied hydromorphone pills handed out to addicts in Vancouver are often re-sold on the street to other addicts. The sellers then use the money to purchase a street drug that provides a better high — namely, fentanyl.

Doubling down on safe supply, B.C. recently decriminalized the possession of small amounts of illicit drugs. The resulting explosion of addicts using drugs in public spaces, including parks and playgrounds, recently led the province’s NDP government to attempt to backtrack on this policy — though for now that effort has been stymied by the courts.

According to Vancouver city councillor Brian Montague, “The stats tell us that harm reduction isn’t working.” In an interview, he calls decriminalization “a disaster” and proposes a policy shift that recognizes the connection between mental illness and addiction. The province, he says, needs “massive numbers of beds in treatment facilities that deal with both addictions and long-term mental health problems (plus) access to free counselling and housing.”

In fact, Montague’s wish is coming true — one province east, in Alberta. Since the United Conservative Party was elected in 2019, Alberta has been transforming its drug addiction policy away from harm reduction and towards publicly-funded treatment and recovery efforts.

Instead of offering safe-injection sites and free drugs, Alberta is building a network of 10 therapeutic communities across the province where patients can stay for up to a year, receiving therapy and medical treatment and developing skills that will enable them to build a life outside the drug culture. All for free. The province’s first two new recovery centres opened last year in Lethbridge and Red Deer. There are currently over 29,000 addiction treatment spaces in the province.

This treatment-based strategy is in large part the work of Marshall Smith, current chief of staff to Alberta’s premier and a former addict himself, whose life story is a testament to the importance of treatment and recovery.

The sharply contrasting policies of B.C. and Alberta allow a comparison of what works and what doesn’t. A first, tentative report card on this natural experiment was produced last year in a study from Stanford University’s network on addiction policy (SNAP). Noting “a lack of policy innovation in B.C.,” where harm reduction has become the dominant policy approach, the report argues that in fact “Alberta is currently experiencing a reduction in key addiction-related harms.” But it concludes that “Canada overall, and B.C. in particular, is not yet showing the progress that the public and those impacted by drug addiction deserve.”

The report is admittedly an early analysis of these two contrasting approaches. Most of Alberta’s recovery homes are still under construction, and B.C.’s decriminalization policy is only a year old. And since the report was published, opioid death rates have inched higher in both provinces.

Still, the early returns do seem to favour Alberta’s approach. That should be regarded as good news. Society certainly has an obligation to try to help drug users. But that duty must involve more than offering addicts free drugs. Addicted people need treatment so they can kick their potentially deadly habit and go on to live healthy, meaningful lives. Dignity comes from a life of purpose and self-control, not a government-funded fix.

Susan Martinuk is a senior fellow at the Frontier Centre for Public Policy and author of the 2021 book Patients at Risk: Exposing Canada’s Health Care Crisis. A longer version of this article recently appeared at C2CJournal.ca.

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