The City of New Westminster wants to shine a light on a war memorial.
In October, the city unveiled the Wait for Me Daddy monument in Hyack Square. The monument, designed by artists Veronica and Edwin Dam De Nogales, commemorates the famous Wait For Me Daddy photo taken by Province newspaper photographer Claude Dettloff on Oct. 1, 1940.
Coun. Lorrie Williams has proposed that the city consider improved lighting for the monument.
“At night the coloured light isn’t enough to illuminate the statue,” she said. “I think they need spotlights on the three principle figures.”
Each evening, the images are highlighted by green, red, blue and other colours of light that change about every five minutes.
Mayor Jonathan Cote said he’s heard from people who believe a “simple white light” would be more appropriate for the monument than rotating colours.
“It gives this Disney effect,” he said.
Williams said she’d like the city to hold off on changing the coloured lighting until after the spotlights are introduced, as she thinks it would temper the effects of the coloured lights.
As soldiers marched down Eighth Street on Oct. 1, 1940, Dettloff snapped a photo of a young boy who broke away from his mother and reached out to his father as he passed by – a photo that's known around the world as Wait For Me Daddy. About 2,000 people descended on downtown New Westminster for the unveiling of the public art.
