Dear Editor,
And the past fades way….
Centennial Pool at Minoru Park was built in 1958 and named to commemorate the Centennial of BC becoming a British Colony in 1858 (B.C. joined Canada in 1872).
The Centennial Pool was enclosed in 1984 and the overall facility joined with an adjacent pool as the Minoru Aquatic Centre.
From 1987, our kids took lessons there. From 2001 through 2017, I swam there about five mornings a week.
From 2005 to 2011, I took a couple of my granddaughters, from the time they were about 18 months old until they started kindergarten, there about five mornings a week.
From 2004 to 2018, I was also on the city’s Richmond Aquatics Advisory Board (chair for 11 years from 2008 through 2018).
So lots of wonderful personal memories.
I was very involved, over several years, with the planning for the new Minoru Centre for Active Living, which is now mostly open (with COVID-19 safety protocols).
Today, Sept. 9, I was passing by the (old) Minoru Aquatic Centre and saw the cranes ripping off the roof.
Its time was clearly up, but I still shed a wee tear.
Ian C. MacLeod
RICHMOND
