Editorially speaking...
Housing, as we continually see in the news, is at a critical low in the Cowichan Valley.
Now it seems that non-living residents also require more accommodation as the Municipality of North Cowichan is going to expand Mountain View Cemetery, the largest non-denominational cemetery in the Valley.
There’s to be an open house for the public to view the plans on-site, this afternoon at the cemetery at 6493 Somenos Road.
Founded by the Methodist Church in 1878, Mountain View Cemetery was transferred to the United Church in 1926 and became the property of the Municipality in 1962.
According to the Municipal press release, “The developed portion of the cemetery is almost at capacity. A Master Plan process has been identified for Mountain View Cemetery to guide the expansion of the existing cemetery, including other options for interment. Mountain View Cemetery currently offers a limited range of interment options.
“There are opportunities to expand these, potentially with scattering gardens and green burial areas. There may also be opportunities to explore different types of niches, either now and/or in the future.
“We want your input on the expansion of Mountain View Cemetery and we want to understand your interment needs for the future. Feedback heard will be used to inform final concept plans for an expanded cemetery.”
The cemetery already has a requirement of fibre glass linings for coffins because of a ground water problem and the proposed expansion area is even more subject to seasonal dampness.
The new burial space in question is presently heavily-treed with some old maples and firs which, a neighbour tells me, are home to numerous wildlife.
Because traditional headstones are no longer allowed so as to enable groundskeepers to mow the grass, and because cremations require only a ‘plot’ the size of a headstone (or they can be placed in a columbarium, one of which already exists) at MVC, I have to question whether in fact a major expansion at the expense of the thriving green space is really necessary.
One more assault upon the Valley’s ever diminishing trees...
And me, a cemetery lover, of all people!
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I’ve loved the printed word and everything related to printing and paper as long as I can remember. This fascination with type and printing presses even took me off course as a writer for 20 years when I operated an offset print shop.
So it shouldn’t surprise you that I collect examples of exquisite printing from the days of letterpress, such as cigar box labels and liners, and liquor labels, advertising posters, letterheads, share certificates, etc. Some of them are nothing less than pure art, beautiful to behold, and a tribute to the craftsmen of long ago who created them.
Hence my being intrigued by a recent CBC feature on Okanagan fruit labels. Winston Szeto, CBC News, tells the story of 72-year-old retired mail carrier Larry Kotz who has 240 paper fruit labels displayed on his walls, and 1000s more filed away. He’s been collecting them for 34 years now.
"I was attracted to the great graphics and the great colours that really stood out," he said. "I like the history that goes with the labels."
Most collectible paper products—the fancy word for it is ephemera—have been discarded; after all, theirs was meant to be a single-use existence. But some have survived. My cigar labels and liners were found, unused, in the 1990s in a warehouse. In other words, they’re pristine—and beautiful in my eyes.
