In 1917, a local newspaper, the Highland Echo, began to circulate in the Commercial Drive area. The paper was odd and definitely local. There was no international or national news listed in the paper. Instead, the reporters wrote about economic and personal stories about Commercial Drive and the Grandview area. This weekly publication animated the area.
The Echo ran until 1995 but, unfortunately, the earliest editions have disappeared. The Special Collections department of the Vancouver Public Library have collected and maintained issues from 1935 to 1969 and these have provided information for at least two books on the history of Commercial Drive. There is almost a complete set of issues from 1970 to 1995 at the Provincial archives. Sadly, those archives are in Victoria and it is difficult for Vancouver based researchers to access them.
The location of these copies has been solved though. I am consulting a November 13, 2012 blog entry for the Grandview Heritage Group and the group purchased copies of all twenty-one microfilms of the Highland Echo and donated them to the Vancouver Public Library. Now, Vancouver based researchers don't have to leave the mainland to consult these valuable sources of local information.
When I read this blog entry, I got to thinking. There are so many things in our lives that we consider trivial. I am sure that there were issues of the Highland Echo which many considered frivolous, not worth the time taken to write it or the paper it was produced on. Yet all these years later, historians consider the paper to be a valuable source of information. Funny how life works isn't it?
I hope you find the beauty around you.
You have some interesting trees in Vancouver. Thanks for the post. I enjoyed it as always. Have a blessed weekend.
ReplyDeleteThanks Lee. Those trees are from Pacific Spirit park. Have a great weekend yourself.
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