Combining history and recreation

(EDITOR'S NOTE: Following is an open letter to the newly formed group Friends of the Pool in Annapolis Royal.)

As a friend and neighbour to many of the friends of the pool; and an equal believer/participant in history and recreation, lets' broaden our perspective on what we are trying to accomplish. The playground next to the Boat Haul-Up, and the French Basin walking trail are excellent examples of new recreational facilities that combine the past and the future wonderfully, and bring people into town every day. Let's continue this practice and build on these excellent models.

We have the talent, and imagination, to develop facilities and resources that could be very exciting, healthy, distinctive, and useful. Many will join the cause if we can make that our challenge.

We may need to think beyond a pool which might only be useful for a couple of months a year. We did have such a pool which required a great deal of public and private effort each year and we have just opened a year-round pool at the Lifeplex at Cornwallis which has cost us millions. We have a variety of fresh-water and salt-water swimming opportunities available within a 15-minute drive of AR and these have the additional benefit of actually exposing us to nature.

We should also be supporting all the recreation facilities and opportunities already available in our community. Beyond the school sports we have tennis, badminton, soccer, drama, cycling, singing, volleyball, bands, day care, basketball, golf, exercise and fitness classes, cadets, table tennis, boxing, and lob ball opportunties; and there is undoubtedly more than I have experience of. To my knowledge, each of these worthy activities struggles because they do not have enough people to sustain them; and consequently people of all ages are welcome to join most all of these.

Mainly, let's contintue to be friends, and work together on whatever we set out to do. Every worthy initiative in our community is a combination of public and private dollars and commitment; never just one or the other. We have found lots of ways of combining history with recreation over the 400 years of our documented history, so let's consider the past an ally and friend of our future.

Ern Dick

Granville Ferry