Terrace Review — Wednesday, August 1, 1990 ‘Riverboat Days ’ Flashback Contributed by Mary Ann Burdett In 1982, Dave Mallett, as president of the Royal Cana- dian Legion in Terrace, -had an idea, a dream, and set to work with the aid of a number of interested citizens of Ter- race to make that dream a reality. | The idea was to have a festival in Terrace each summer like many of our sister-communities have — something that would be uniquely Terrace, something that the people of Terrace would enjoy and participate in, something that would generate enthusiasm for ‘‘Our Town’’ and bring visitors from near and far to share it with us. It was re- called that some years back the Lions Clubs in Terrace had _ sponsored a fun event they called ‘Riverboat Days’’. it was decided that this event should be rejuvenated and ex- panded upon, and thus ‘The Riverboat Days Society’’ was born. The Riverboat Days Society was to be an umbrella under which any and all local service clubs would be coordinated into a combined, total community effort. Dave Mallett stood as the first president of this committee, with Hugh Hepburn as vice president, Rod Cox as treasurer and Mary Jane Asarte as secretary. This group, with a number of willing directors and helpers, enthused local service clubs to get involved by sponsoring events and participating and promoting this festival in all possible ways. Local businesses were approached to join in the spirit of things with window displays and period costuming. Sports clubs added to the schedule of events as did many ethnic and cultural groups, and over the years ‘Riverboat Days’’ has continued and expanded to the celebration we will be participating in this coming August 2nd through 6th. From the rebirth of Riverboat Days there has been con- Stant cooperation and encouragement from the City of Ter- race, the Chamber of Commerce and many, many of the service organizations, including Branch #13 of the Legion, who have sponsored the ever-improving parade from the beginning. Over the past eight years, with able direction and organization of such presidents as Hugh Hepburn, Terry Morris, Lynda Young and Joan Cox, many people have given generously of their time and talents to this special event, and the present executive with Maria Thomsen as president, want to relay their thanks to each and every person who has served on the Riverboat Days committee, to all service clubs and businesses in Terrace . who have added to this event, and especially to the City of Terrace and its citizens who support and enjoy this event each year. We must work together to make sure that this event con- tinues on in the years to come and continues to grow in in- terest and in stature. a “g fae: taee\ oa a Heritage Par . a, eet Ne em ee .. Samsonite 2100 Series casual elegance with tough, long fasting} durability - all backed by the renowned | Samsonite three year warranty - siatus plus! - your SAMSONITE. dealer in Terrace. 4605 Lakeise Ave., Terrace — _phone 635-5420. A fascinating Terrace pioneer ‘is Dave Bowen-Colthurst. He emigrated to Canada from Ireland with his parents in 1922. Dave was three years old. His mother was the daughter of Lord and Lady Dunboyne; his father was a captain in the ‘Imperial Army. He’s certain his father chose -to settle in Terrace because of the great fishing. Dave is in the process of writing a book about his life, so I promised to only lightly skim through all the excellent infor- mation he gave me. I wouldn’t want to give the book away. ‘‘We had a farm, 24 acres, from Kalum Lake Road on down to where Lindsay Storage is now. I used to go to school where the school board office is. ~~ David Bowen-Colthurst. | remembers "the good old days" I’d walk to school in the sum- mer; in the winter I’d catch a ride with one of the logging teams. Sometimes they’d let me drive the team. That was some- thing! An eight-year-old driving a team of six horses to schoo]! “Life in Terrace was hard for my mother, Her family in Ireland was’ quite well-to-do. She missed a lot of things from She ot er _ Benson Optical Laboratories Ltd. . 4608 Lakelse Avenue Terrace, B.C., V8G 4C3 on ne (604) 638-0341 SAME DAY SERVICE| @ laboratory on premises @ contact lenses ® prescription and non- prescription sunglasses —@ repair services | @ large selection of frames