Steveston Community Society fonds
- Part Of:
- Steveston Community Society fonds
- Type
- Community Records
- GMD
- textual records; graphic
- Date
- 1944-2002
- Level:
- Fonds
- Physical Description:
- 4.1 m of textual records ca. 100 photograph prints
- Scope:
- Fonds consists of records which relate to the administration and operations of the Steveston Community Society in the establishment, maintenance, and development of the Steveston Community Centre and park, the Martial Arts Centre, and the annual Steveston Salmon Festival, between 1944 and 1990. Fonds includes records of the Richmond Agricultural and Industrial Society which relate to gaming activities as part of the Steveston Salmon Festival. Records arranged in series according to form of material or sphere of functional activity. Records for 1994 accrual grouped roughly according to form or activity, but with little formal arrangement
- History / Biographical:
- The Steveston Community Society is a non-profit association formed on May 18th, 1944, for the development of playground and recreational facilities in Steveston. On July 1st 1944, the Society held it's first "sports day," as a substitute for the Dominion Day celebrations in Vancouver which were inaccessible due to gasoline rationing imposed by the War Measures Act. The purpose of the first sports day was to celebrate the recently completed landscaping of Steveston Park, to raise money for future park development, and to provide a community focus during World War II. The celebration became an annual event and has served as a central social event for the community, as well as to publicize the sustaining salmon fishing industry and to raise funds for the construction and operation of a community centre. In 1946, Anna Rolston, whose husband Pete was Society president, suggested a Salmon Queen pageant be added to the celebration as a way to raise additional funds. The pageant became an annual event and continued until 1986. In 1946 the Society purchased a 3.5 acre property adjacent to the existing playground to which additional swings and playground equipment were added. The Society began proposing a community centre be added to the park by 1950. In September of 1956 a municipal bylaw contributed $88,000 to the $40,000 trust fund accumulated by the Society, the Steveston Judo Club and the Japanese Canadian Community Association, for the purpose of building a community centre. On November 2, 1957 the Society opened the Steveston Community Centre on Moncton Street, which became the first community centre in Richmond. The Society subsequently influenced municipal council to purchase approximately 20 acres adjoining the original park, for the purpose of expansion and development; an outdoor pool was added in 1970, the Martial Arts Centre in 1972, renovated lacrosse box, tennis courts, baseball diamonds, and fitness track in 1979, a BMX track in 1980, and a $1.2 million renovation and expansion of the original community centre in 1988-90. The Society continues to host the annual Steveston Salmon Festival, maintain joint control of the administration and operation of the Steveston Community Centre, and serve as a community voice in matters of heritage, recreation and industrial development in Steveston
- Custodial History:
- The City of Richmond of Archives is the official repository of the records of the Steveston Community Society. The first accession was transferred to the Archives in 1985 by then president Ron Kemp. An accrual of records was transferred in July, 1994
- Name(s):
- Steveston Community Society
Richmond Agricultural and Industrial Society
Steveston Community Centre
Steveston Salmon Festival
Martial Arts Centre
- Creator:
- Steveston Community Society
RecordType=textual recordsgraphic
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