COAL CREEK HISTORIC PARK ADVISORY COMMITTEE
SEPTEMBER 28, 2009 MINUTES

CARRIED

PRESENT: John Leung, Grace Doherty, Dwayne Rourke, Imogene Lim, May Gee, Josephine Peyton, Joyce Lowe, Marie Lowe, Lil Tosoff, Carol Snaden.
Chair Grace Doherty called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m.

AGENDA

MOTION TO APPROVE AS AMENDED: Lil, John. Under Old Business add f)Chinese Cemetery Deed and under new business h)Japanese Cemetery Mapping. Carried.
MINUTES OF THE AUGUST 24, 2009 MEETING
MOTION TO APPROVE AS AMENDED: Dwayne, John. Add the names of Joyce and Josephine to the names of those present at the meeting.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

A. CHERRY TREE FALL PLANTING AND CEREMONY
Saturday, Oct. 24, 2009 - with a tea to follow. May has sent a letter of thanks for a $500 donation from Ralph Thompson. Linda Pritchard (landscaper) will ensure that the tree planted at the ceremony is properly in the ground.
B. BRIDGE AND TORII GATE
Grace: The Rotary is waiting until after the Italian dinner to see how much money is available for the project. All Rotary International funds have been spent for now (matching funds unavailable at this time).
C. LETTER FROM MANABU DOI, MAYNE ISLAND JAPANESE GARDEN PHOTO
The cherry tree plaque will not contain the names of the 31 families. Photo of the Mayne Island plaque circulated.
D. UPDATE ON THE PICNIC SHELTER
More work has been done pulling brush. The photo easels are popular with park visitors. The t-shirt sales continue, less sizes to choose from, more will be ordered when the current supplies are sold (May, John).
E. CUMBERLANDER POSTINGS – AGENDA, MINUTES AND NOTICES OF MEETINGS.
Dwayne: The website is expanding. The Japanese #1 town needs more coverage. Dwayne will take photos at the tree planting. Lots of information about the internment is available on the net. Grace- Tats and Manabu will be interviewed by the press for more in-depth coverage. The Toronto group have seen Dwayne’s site. The interactive map is up. Grace- Marie has some corrections for the text on the photos. Michelle at the museum will also receive the corrections. Imogene suggested a video of John and Marie talking. Dwayne has a tape recorder available with 90 minute tapes. Imogene is looking for a digital recorder to keep with her for doing interviews of former residents etc.
F. CHINESE CEMETERY DEED
Update from May. The 1897 Deed has been returned to Cumberland. From Shirley Low Tong – the granddaughter of Low Hock Shun (John Leung’s grandfather). John will transfer the original deed to the Cumberland Museum and photos will be taken. Three Chinese businessmen purchased the land for $40 from the Dunsmuir for the cemetery. The deed was never legally registered and the land is still in the name of the E and N Railway Co. (Esquimalt and Nanaimo). Grace- Wendy Friesen is the new curator at the museum, she is a trained archivist.

NEW BUSINESS

A. OCTOBER 17/2009 CUMBERLAND HARVEST FAIR
Lil- the pie contest at this event is fun. The money collected will go to the Community Schools. Grace- we are invited to have 2 tables to display and sell t-shirts. Joyce – set up a Moon Festival display. Grace will contact Tats and Ray for #1 info. Grace will get more details and May will help.
B. CHINATOWN BROCHURE OFFER/MUSEUM DOCUMENTS
Corrections will be done to information on the photos. The museum has offered to help put together a brochure for us of the photo signs. EDS funding available? The info from the interactive site can be used on the brochure. Imogene: tours of the site with headsets with recorded info would be good (as done in other walking tours). Grace- The Ken Lowe fan sign design could be used in the future on the site. The Morden.com site on the internet (Dept. of Mines) lists all of the miner’s cause of death and details. Fatalities from 1874-1988 from V.I. coal mines are listed. www. Morden.com.
C. LAMINATORS
Grace purchased two laminators and has laminating supplies for projects ranging from luggage tags to poster size (all sizes in between). Imogene suggested a luggage tag fundraiser.
D. DAVID DURRANT
Mr. Durrant is the new Village of Cumberland Manager of Community Services. He will be our new interface with Cumberland council. A grant application for $3,000 has gone in already. Meeting on Oct. 7 between 4&7 p.m. for reps to meet him (at the Village Office).
E. CUMBERLAND WINTER FAIR.
Sunday, November 29/09. The cost is $40 per table. The theme is green/sustainable and the fair will run from 10-6. A free table is available for t-shirt sales.
F. PARKS CANADA HISTORIC DESIGNATION FOR No. 1 TOWN
Mr. Suyama from Toronto has contacted them to see if they would be interested in a #1 town Parks Canada Historic Designation. Imogene: The park was also the home of the largest rural Chinatown.(More points given for emphasizing the different ethno cultural groups).
G. DONATION FROM MR. TOKOGI SUYAMA
Mr. Suyama has made a donation of $400.
H. JAPANESE CEMETERY MAPPING
Imogene gave an update. Imogene, Pam Shaw and Tim N. (geotech) may be able to do mapping. Grace- raking has been done on the exposed mounds and plot areas, clearing between the areas. Jo’s partner may be able to help. New cemetery bylaws on Sept. 28/09. No plants or bushes may be cut. There is no plot plan for the Japanese and Chinese cemetery. Someone has been translating the Japanese stones. The Chinese bones went to China but others went to Ross Bay Cemetery in Victoria (esp. during the war). Not all of the bones may be in the cemetery. John remembers a newsprint book with the records. The ownership of the cemetery needs to be resolved legally. Grace- ground penetrating radar could be used.

NEXT MEETING- OCT. 26/09

ADJOURNMENT – Motion by Dwayne. 11:40 p.m.
Carol Snaden- secretary