Banff History

Recently, I spent an evening at town hall with some other folks who have been around town for a while.  Our goal was to label photos from the earliest days of Banff's incorporation.  There were many shots of groups of people celebrating, giving plaques to each other, being sworn in, and so on.  Many of the people in the photos have moved to other places, and some have passed away.  We felt it was important to capture the names now, so that the pictures can go to the archives with as much information attached as possible.  In 2090, when the town celebrates its centennial, people will want to know who was there at the beginning.

Looking at those photos underlined a couple of things for me.

First, that when people tell you that you look "just the same as ever", they are being kind, but not entirely truthful!

Second, that we should all pause from time to time to remember the heady excitement of becoming a self-governing municipality and having, at last, our own elected town council.  These days, one sometimes hears people say that "council doesn't listen to the people".  Let's stop and remember that we are so lucky to have councillors, that they are our friends and neighbours, that just because they didn't agree doesn't mean they didn't listen.  Democracy is a messy thing, and it's easy to criticize those whose job it is to represent us.  It's better to offer constructive input, and to offer it calmly and courteously.