To the Editor:
I worked here alone in the Canyon Hall one afternoon, waiting for those who would soon join me to help. They always come. The helpers. Canyon is blessed with a park and a hall that belong to the people who live here and although I am a recent resident (by Kootenay terms) to the valley, having only lived here 20 years or so, everyone who lives here, longtime and recent inhabitants alike, know that Canyon is an area where help always arrives and community spirit thrives.
As I bustled around getting some details worked out for our event that night, I listened to the creaks and groans of a metal building adjusting to outside temperatures as though it, too, was still settling in. Although this building has been here a long time, we had been rallied to redo its interior from stem to stern due to the ravages of age and condensation issues. Like an old ship, still seaworthy, she had needed the barnacles of age scraped off and new changes made to set her down on the waves once again. To serve.
As I listened to the creaks and groans that occasionally reminded me how immense in size this structure is, I also became aware of a softness and a coziness that pervades the space. It might, I thought at first, be the gentle colors that had been so wisely chosen to give a relaxing but modern hue to its walls. No. It wasn’t that. It might have been the soft, adjustable lighting that had also wisely been added to make a large space useable by large groups of up to 200 or small groups of 30 or so feel at home. No, it wasn’t the lighting either.
Then it came to me. It was the laughter and love buried within its walls, brought there by weddings, reunions, birthday celebrations and community affairs of the past. Although we had given the ship a much needed facelift, we had managed to keep hold of the ambiance of peoples’ hearts that would be forever imbedded in her structure.
I worked away, knowing I was not alone. Memories and laughter and love were intrinsic parts of the Canyon Hall. Now a newly renovated space where new memories would soon mingle with the old ones, it held a spirit that would always be there. Sail on, Canyon Hall.
Come and meet the new Canyon Hall on June 4 from 1-4 p.m. by joining us for a come and go tea.
Pat Martin
Canyon