This time of year has us looking back at stories from Christmases past, in particular, from the first year we were published, 1991.
The overarching theme is that the more things change, the more they stay the same.
In 1991, the cover of the very festive edition of the paper, published on Dec. 24, has the cover story, “Brohm ski hill called ‘unlikely.’"
The more they stay the same, huh?
There’s an adorable photo of a young Maryann and Rosanne Amor snuggling rabbits at a petting zoo.
This past weekend, bunnies were on the agenda for kids and grown children at Glacier Valley Farm in the Squamish Valley.
In 1991, a story tells of a crash on the highway that killed a Whistler woman. Sadly, this is another example of things staying the same, with the Dec. 14 death of a local on the highway by Chance Creek.
In 1991, in a Stylezone advertisement, owner Trish James promoted a “knockout” Boxing Day sale. Men’s and ladies’ 501 Levi’s were $29.99 each, and ladies’ eel skin wallets were $18.99. Put that ad in both the more things change and more things stay the same categories.
In “Scene and Heard” in the 1991 paper is the joke: “What do you call a Whistler resident who is not speeding on the Sea to Sky Highway?”
“A tow truck” is the punchline.
Ok, well, it seems like the Squamish-Whistler divide we sometimes see today was alive and well back then, too.
A photo in the 1991 paper shows Pastor Jack Purdie loading up volunteers to deliver Community Christmas Care hampers. Volunteers delivered 196 hampers to local families in need in 1991.
Community Christmas Care volunteers delivered around 430 hampers to those in need this year.
The Darts and Daffodils section of the 1991 paper is an example of things changing and staying the same: “Darts to all the restaurants in Squamish that either do not supply non-smoking or give us a token three tables,” reads a 1991 dart.
The fact that The Squamish Chief still runs its Darts and Daffodils 33 years later is a win for the “staying the same” side of the ledger.
The difference between the three decades is most drastic in the rental housing portion of the classifieds.
A two-bedroom duplex across from Mamquam School rents for $550 per month in the 1991 paper. A 1,800-square-foot, three-bedroom home in Brackendale with a finished basement, 1.5 baths and a wood-burning stove was on offer for $128,500.
There aren’t homes for rent or sale often in the current classifieds.
We will leave it at that.
As we enter 2025, we can be sure there will be changes, but we can also count on some things staying the same, like this publication being there for its readers and you being there for us.
For that, we are all grateful.
Happy New Year.
