Feb. 18 to 24 is Heritage Week in B.C. This year’s theme is “The Tie That Binds Us.”
There are many ties that bind us – family, friends, work, play, sports, religious, political, ethnic, and community. These ties are intangible but we have tangible ties that bind us, especially with regards to community. A community needs a central meeting place to strengthen intangible ties.
For thousands of years there has always been a meeting place for the First Nations of the Sunshine Coast where, to this day, ceremonies, happy and sad, strengthen their community ties. After the early Caucasian settlers had built their homes, store and church, the next project was often a meeting place: a community hall, a hall beside their church, or a school building serving two purposes – an educational centre and a meeting place.
Each settlement on the Sunshine Coast has its community hall, many of which were built many years ago, some being over 75 years old. Egmont has a hall, Pender Harbour built halls at Irvines Landing (1920s) and Madeira Park (1950), Halfmoon Bay built halls at Coopers Green and Welcome Beach, Sechelt is alleged to have had a Farmers’ Hall on Norwest Bay Road but Selma Park’s hall has disappeared while its Legion hall is a private home.
Davis Bay’s hall (1952) is located on land donated by Ron Whitaker and Roberts Creek has two halls, a community hall (1931) and a Masonic Hall. The Women’s Institute Hall, built in the early 1930s, was the meeting place for Gibsons residents until it was transformed into Gibsons Heritage Playhouse. Harmony Hall in Lower Gibsons is the venue for many community events. Elphinstone and Granthams Landing each have halls. These buildings have provided a centre for each community to strengthen the ties that bind its residents.
Where are the tangible ties that bind Sechelt residents? 5691 Mermaid St. was the Royal Canadian Legion Sechelt Branch 140’s hall and also served as a meeting place for Sechelt’s Old Age Pensioners Branch 69. Formed in 1963 the OAP joined the Senior Citizens Association of B.C. six years later and rented Sechelt’s Legion hall. In 1974 the association bought the building and for 20 years many activities were held there “binding” a large segment of our community. A new Seniors Activity Centre was built on Trail Avenue (1994) and today, thanks to so many hard-working and dedicated volunteers, our recently refurbished Activity Centre provides a tangible tie that binds together so many of our Sechelt and Sunshine Coast residents of all ages.
– Submitted by Ann Watson, Archivist, Sechelt Community Archives
