Last Wednesday morning I had the pleasure of hosting 33 grade four students from the French Immersion Classes at Isabella Dicken School and their teachers Mme. Danielle Gibson and TA Mireille Picard.
The students came up the stairs by two and as they arrived I shook each small hand and welcomed them to City Hall.
I took them into the Mayor’s office first and showed them the view from the windows handed out City pins to each one and then asked them if they knew how our town had gotten its name.
It was quite heartening to hear the several versions of the Ghostrider Legend from the students and also that they were quite aware of some of the recipients of the Wall of Fame award like Tom Uphill, Ralf Socher and Emily Brydon.
As we moved out of the office I pointed out the beautiful City emblem produced and donated by local resident Rose Watson. They delicately touched the soft texture of the figures as they admired the work.
They met Building Inspector Duane Janssen who teased them about needing permits to be upstairs and then before entering Chambers we stopped to admire the Fernie flag that had been given to Pat and Robert Green’s son when he was serving in Afghanistan, he returned it to City Hall with the signatures of the members of his troop. Right next to that is the framed Coat of Arms. Questions were asked as to the meaning of the animals and other items and also what the Latin words (In Montibus Ad Flumen) meant. If I recall correctly it means “In the mountains by the River”)
In Chambers they were thrilled to take turns sitting in the Mayor’s chair and bang the gavel, and also to sit around the podium and in the staff chairs. Councillor Ripley’s granddaughters recognized his name immediately and had photos taken sitting on his chair and in front of his name. It was touching to see the pride on their small faces on seeing their grandpa’s name.
The tour included checking the artifacts in the glassed shelving along the top of the stairs, the pen with metal knib and ink pot were quite the novelty as were other items such as the miner’s gas mask and ledgers from the Crow’s Nest Coal Company. The tour continued downstairs with Suzanne Gerard providing information about the numerous old maps stored inside the huge vault and Lisa Jansen showing how they are now produced on the computer. Dave Cockwell also got to meet the students and asked them a couple of questions and then everyone walked into CAO Jim Hendricks office to meet him.
The students and teachers admired his office and surrounded him asking questions. They would have liked to have seen the basement too but we determined that it was too cluttered at this time and so not safe. Mr. Hendricks jokingly commented that it was too “creepy” as well but that totally piqued the interest of the kids who then got really excited at the prospect of seeing something really fascinating. We told them that could be another visit at a different time. The tour concluded with a look at the Miners Walk exhibit outside.
I thoroughly enjoyed the 33 students who were well behaved and very interested in City Hall and the City of Fernie.
Feedback from one parent a couple of days later was that she didn’t know what I had shown the children but that her child had really enjoyed the visit and had spoken about it.
I am pleased to hear this as I believe that it is important for children to see and understand a little of what City Hall represents. They are the leaders of tomorrow and we never know what they might see or hear that could instill a lifelong interest in becoming either a staff member or a member of council. Regardless, just knowing something about your City Hall and the people who work there is a good thing and I invite anyone who wants a tour of City Hall to just call me, I would be more than happy to show you around.
