Flash Back Fridays
Written on May 4, 2012 at 8:30 am, by Scott
SUCCESS RISES FROM THE ASHES
By Paul Nicholson, The Daily Colonist, Friday, September 27, 1974
Administration Building (above), one of two buildings quickly constructed after the fire
Just a year ago with rain pouring off his wide brim-hat, Jim Boulding stared over the remains of the once proud Strathcona Park Lodge.
On May 23, 1973, the 47-year-old structure burned to the ground leaving Jim, his wife Myrna and family with a rather bleak outlook for the future. The financial picture was bad, the building was insured for only a fraction of its worth and the Lodge was destroyed just prior to the more prosperous summer season. But within a couple of days the Bouldings had plans for a new Lodge. Read more
I went through the usual college stuff to obtain a teaching diploma and taught Phys. Ed. at an all-boys school in Plymouth, England for three years. Following that I worked at the Out- ward Bound Mountain School in the Lake District for two years. This was followed by my “wandering” years where I traveled and worked at the Minnesota O.B. School during the summers and returned to the U.K. in the fall. I was eventually asked to stay as Assistant Director with the goal of establishing a year round program and this I did until I received a letter requesting me to register for the “draft”. This annoyed me as I had already served my two years in the RAF when I was 18!!! So I returned to the U.K with family in tow. All of this took place between1959 and 1970. In 1971 I was offered the directorship of the recently opened Outward Bound (O.B.) School in Keremeos B.C. which I took on and I stayed there until 1974. That was the year that we all met the government people in Victoria. Anyway that began my association with the Lodge. As you probably know I started my own whitewater kayaking school in 1976 and Barb and I ran it until 1998 when I lost my depth perception due to an eye injury. We still kayak. Both Barb and I are partly bionic, having had new hips but we are still able to get out and about. 