City council is attempting to correct an omission at the pier.
Resident Stan Zuke told the city last November that the forestry industry, which played an instrumental role in the construction of Discovery Pier, is left out of all the acknowledgements that adorn the 600-foot long wooden structure.
There’s a plaque commemorating Alwyn Edgar Thurlow Hodgkinson for his role “in designing the first salt water fishing pier in Canada and his dedicated service to the City of Campbell River” and there’s also a plaque recognizing the people of Campbell River, the council of the day, and the Campbell River Rotary Club which led the fundraising campaign to build the pier.
But there’s nothing about the forestry industry which donated the timber for the pilings and the logs that were converted for the pier deckings and the railings that run the length of the pier.
It’s estimated that the forestry industry in total provided roughly $1 million in materials, time and machinery to the construction of the pier.
Council, at its April 20 meeting, agreed that the forest companies should be recognized and approved spending up to $2,000 from council’s contigency account to purchase and install such a plaque.
Elle Brovold, the city’s property manager, said the plaque costs $1,387 and installation will cost roughly $500.
The plaque is a solid bronze cast with a raised border and will recognize all the local businesses that contributed towards the construction of the Discovery Pier with a special acknowledgement of the local forest industry.
Brovold said city staff contacted the Museum at Campbell River to confirm the contributions made by the forest industry.
“Archive volunteers conducted a fairly extensive search of the newspapers during that time period and confirmed that there were donations from the forestry industry that were coordinated and secured by the Rotary Club as part of their fundraising efforts to support the project,” Brovold said. She added that city staff have also approached the Rotary Club about possibly installing an information post outlining the history of the pier at the entrance to the Discovery Pier.