The Davis Bay-Wilson Creek-Selma Park Community Association commemorated its 60th anniversary with the dedication of a new water fountain for people and their pets on Aug. 29.
The new fountain is positioned along the Davis Bay walkway near Bay Road and a bronze plaque marks the association's anniversary, officially celebrated in 2011.
The group first planned the installation at another location but found that spot to be inappropriate. Then plans for the Bay Road location were stalled for some time due to highway work in the area.
"So here we are going into year 62 and we've finally got it done," past president Helen Steeves said at the official ceremony last Wednesday to dedicate the fountain. "We are without a doubt the oldest association on the Coast."
The group started as the Wilson Creek Community Association in February of 1951 and later expanded to include Davis Bay. Then when the District of Sechelt boundaries were extended, the association reached out to include nearby Selma Park. The association is now more than 140 members strong and has a long history of giving back to the community.
"The association is responsible for creating Brookman Park, building Kirkland Centre, creating Teddy Bear Daycare and operating it for many years until it was taken over by the Pearson family," Steeves said. "We own Whitaker Park and offer it for public use, the only park in our area. We offer special rent in our community hall to organizations like White Cane and Alcoholics Anonymous who have been using the hall weekly for more than 50 years."
The association also offers the hall for free to the Girl Guides and Scouts when requested and the building houses a small public library.
"We have always supported the Brookman Fishing Derby and the sandcastle competition, and are a regular contributor to the food bank," Steeves added. "One of the prime purposes of our association is to continually give back to the community for the purpose of making good, healthy and useful citizens in our community and the entire District of Sechelt."
For the coming year the association plans to focus its efforts on restoring the iconic Davis Bay pier through their "Buy a Plank" fundraiser, and more efforts may be on the horizon.
"Things come up," said association president John Denham.
He said his association is always willing to look at new projects and engage with council on behalf of their community when issues of local interest arise.
Denham invites any interested residents to get involved.
"Some associations don't have many members, so how representative of the community can they really be? We like to include as many people as we can because the general feeling is that we represent the people who are there, who will show up and voice their opinions," he said.
If you want to get involved you can come to one of the monthly meetings held on the second Wednesday of the month at the Davis Bay Community Hall at 5123 Davis Bay Rd. at 7 p.m.
The association will soon host its annual community picnic at Whitaker Park, beside the community hall on Sept. 15 from 1 to 4 p.m. There Denham said families can enjoy "an old fashioned picnic in the neighbourhood" complete with clowns, games, prizes and entertainment. The picnic is free to attend and the association will sell burgers for $2 and salad and corn for $1 during the event.
