The Hope Slide, a hockey mask and a B.C volleyball player – these are just some of the Canadian heritage subjects that Hamilton elementary students have been exploring and will present at this weekend’s Richmond Regional Heritage Fair at the Richmond Cultural Centre.
Grade 4 students Chloe Hinz and Daphne Yuen both wanted to know more about the Hope Slide, which they pass on their way to go camping in Manning Park. The slide is the largest known landslide in Canada and it killed four people when it happened in 1965.
“We always drive by it so we wanted to know what it was and how it happened,” Daphne explained.
“They think the tectonic structure caused it to fail,” Chloe added.
The students will be judged at the heritage fair on their displays about Canadian history or heritage and four Richmond students will be chosen as ambassadors for the B.C. Provincial Heritage Fair, set to take place July 3 to 7 in Victoria.
Grade 5 student Dylan Karan, who minds the net on his hockey team, wanted to learn about Jacques Plante and his fight to be allowed to wear protective face gear during professional hockey games.
Montreal Canadiens’ player Plante had created his own protective mask to wear during practise when pucks were coming at his face at speeds of up to 100 miles an hour. On Nov. 1, 1959, in a game against the New York Rangers, Plante was hit in the face with a puck and the game was put on ice for 30 minutes while his wound, from his nostril to his mouth, was stitched up, Dylan explained. Then he got back on the ice and insisted on wearing the mask, despite being told it would impede his vision, Dylan explained. Because there was no backup goalie, Plante got his way, and his team still won 3-1.
“He fought through it and won the game – I was so surprised at that,” Dylan said.
Referring to Plante’s quote that playing goal without a mask is like jumping out of a plane without a parachute, Dylan said not wearing a mask is “plain unsmart.”
Dylan’s research into the beginnings of facial protection in hockey resulted in his heritage fair project, “The Legend Behind the Mask,” which included building a replica Plante mask from a “Jason mask.”
Tiana Mawer is an aspiring volleyball player and she was thrilled when she was able to watch Emily Maglio playing at the Richmond Oval. Maglio played for the University of Hawaii at Manoa and was part of Canada’s national women’s volleyball team.
“It was so cool seeing her play,” Tiana said, whose heritage fair display will be about Maglio. “We just saw her (at the Oval) and now she’s in Hawaii.”
Tiana is impressed by Maglio’s time management, hard work and good attitude on the court, and says seeing her play made her a stronger volleyball player.
Tiana’s heritage fair display will bring attention to the sport she loves and a Canadian athlete she admires.
The Hamilton students said they are looking forward to seeing displays by other students from across the Richmond School District with their focus on educating people about Canadian history and heritage.
“Some people might like history but they don’t know about their own country (Canada),” said Daphne.
The Richmond Regional Heritage Fair is open to the public on Saturday, May 11 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
