History and History in the Making

The old courthouse and
the fire crew's encampment are
the opposing views

~ carliewired

It was 16 C when I left the house at 6:30 this morning. The air quality was 1, the best we've recorded in a long while. I thought this might be my chance on a sunny Sunday morning to go across town to admire our Grand Dame, our old courthouse on Seymour Street. 

This is our third courthouse. The first was a simple log cabin built in 1873 on Victoria Street. It was replaced by a larger woodframe building after 1883. When Kamloops became a judiciary seat, a much more prestigious building was planned. This three storey third edition opened for use in 1911. It has had other uses since it was decommissioned  and replaced by our fourth and existing courthouse. For a short time it served as a youth hostel. Now it is in use as a gallery and gift shop. 

The City of Kamloops holds the deed for the old courthouse. I see that it is in need of repairs. There is a big renovation planned for it as the city received almost half a million dollars in a grant from the provincial government last winter. The plans for improvement include a new slate roof. 

This past week a camp for our fire crews has been set up on the site of my last school just a couple of miles from my home. The school itself was completely lost in a fire on September 5, 2019 just two days into the new school year. The site has sat vacant since then with a rebuild scheduled for 2022. 

I drove by today on my way home with my groceries and my breakfast. It seemed very odd to see these temporary accomodations set up on dry grass with playground equipment about. It appears that the support systems arrive in trailers (washrooms, cooking facilities) and the fire fighters sleep in tents set up on the ground. Online commentary suggested the school district might have opened a high school for them instead. I suspect they have their system and would prefer to be independent and flexible. I was pleased to see a public sign posted with thanks to our fire fighters. It is a grueling job and we've only just begun. 

We're looking at a day of sun and cloud, for as long as we can see it. We might expect a high temperature of 31 C.