It may, perhaps, be the four words we say most often here in the Record newsroom.
No, not Who Ate The Doughnuts? (Although that may be a close second.)
We're talking about our favourite phrase: Only In New West.
It seems to be something we say frequently - sometimes lovingly, sometimes about those stories that are just a little, shall we say, quirky. Something about our Royal City, with its proud heritage coexisting alongside its 21st-century face, seems to bring out the kind of stories and characters that you just don't find anywhere else.
As part of our end-of-year awards, we salute those whom we have named to this year's Only In New West Hall of Fame.
(And no, there's no prize attached. Just the glory of being on our list. You're welcome.)
In no particular order, we salute:
* The Royal Lancers:
Surely, only in New West could this group of men still exist - and only in New West could they become a political hot potato the likes of which we never expected to see. The gentlemen in question have entered the headlines, through no doing of their own, over the past year, when people started to question the seemliness of the men performing their traditional dance with the young members of the May Queen suite.
When the charge against the dance was taken up by Coun. Chuck Puchmayr, it grew legs, and The Record got multiple letters to the editor - some defending the tradition as dignified and benign, others suggesting it looked "creepy." Now, even the New Westminster school district is questioning the tradition. (Although, to be sure, they're carefully not touching the idea of seemliness or potential impropriety - they're merely concerned about potential liability issues should, for instance, someone stumble and fall on school property during the dance. Ahem.)
You can't make stuff like this up, folks. And it couldn't be happening anywhere else. Which brings us to our next winner ...
* May Day:
The proud New Westminster tradition of May Day, with its crowning of a May Queen and maypole dancing, has been going for 143 years. Is there another city anywhere in the country that can lay claim to such a longstanding tradition? Love it or hate it, May Day has become so synonymous with New Westminster that it's virtually impossible to imagine a future without it. Which means it will be interesting to see where the school district goes with the whole thing in the new year. And even more interesting, undoubtedly, to see the passion with which people respond to whatever the district suggests. Don't mess with the May Queen, folks. That's just an Only In New West truth.
* The Hyack Festival Association:
Go ahead, try to explain the Hyack brouhaha to a family member or friend who doesn't live in New Westminster. Seriously. We dare you. We dare you to try to explain the whole deal: the float and the plaid jackets and the name Hyack and the rebranding and the board kerfuffles and the firing-rehiring-departure of its executive director and just why people in the city were getting so damn heated up about something that surely ought to have just been a fairly boring internal conflict belonging to a fairly benign community group. So? Can you explain it? Nope. Neither can we. That's why it makes our Only In New West Hall of Fame.
* Evelyn Sangster Benson:
The lifelong New Westminster resident and author makes our Only In New West Hall of Fame in the most loving way for her new book, A Century in a Small Town: One Family's Stories. The work of the 80-year-old author chronicles her pioneer brood's story of life in the Royal City from 1895 to 1993. Only in New West would one family have lived long enough in one pioneering town to have so many stories to tell - and Only in New West would the community embrace its history with such whole-heartedness.
* The post-fire rally:
The business community, and indeed the entire city, makes our Only In New West Hall of Fame for its remarkable response to the devastating fire that hit downtown on Oct. 10. From the first response by the firefighters on out, the immediate reaction of everyone was to pitch in and help the 23 businesses located in the two buildings destroyed by the fire and the further 25 damaged by smoke and water. The Downtown New Westminster Business Improvement Area and the New Westminster Chamber of Commerce led the charge to help connect offers of help with businesses in need, and a host of local residents and businesses held fundraisers to help out. That one community could lose so much of its cherished history and, in the face of mourning, start to move forward, speaks to the spirit of our Royal City. Only in New West, in all the best ways.
* New Westminster city council:
Our fine folks at city hall make the list for their endearing tradition of singing We Wish You A Merry Christmas at their year-ending council meeting. They may not be a threat to win the next season of The Voice, but you've gotta love a council that's willing to sing to its residents. Definitely, Only In New West.
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What did we miss? What makes your Only in New West list? Write us at [email protected] or comment on our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/RoyalCityRecord to let us know.
