Stories

1. The Treehouse
2. Streaker
3. Midnight Swimming
4. Innocent Victim
5. School Fires
6. Caretaker
7. Waves
8. Halls of Horror
9. Living on the Edge
10. Free to Run
11. More to come

The Caretaker

... previous

Something I'd like to see brought back is the park caretaker. Up until the 1980's, Royal Kwantlen had a full time, on-site caretaker. The city maintained a small trailer for them to live in as part of the job benefits. Standing about 50 feet north west of the Old Yale parking lot entrance, you may be able to see a trace of where the trailer and fenced area were. It had the address 12925 Old Yale Road. In this satellite photo it's the lighter grassed area opposite 104A Ave.

His job was taking care of the many park chores that needed doing. The gates were locked and unlocked each day. He would walk the park daily, making notes of repairs the city should take care of and picking up litter as he went. He was there if a park visitor needed assistance or direction. If late night park partiers began to get unruly or someone decided to take a spin through the grass in their pickup, the police would be called.

The city did away with the position and removed the trailer to save some money. The trailer needed a lot of repairs and they could send someone from the parks board every so often to take care of things. They used the site to store sawdust and daffodil bulbs for a couple of seasons. Then the fence came down, the sawdust and bulbs were taken away and it was grassed over.

The new way is no doubt cheaper but just doesn't have the same effect. Someone being there every day made it easier to keep tabs on things. The gates were always locked at night and the trash taken care of. The neighborhood benefited greatly from having that trailer and custodian. I know that those who remember the caretaker miss his work and, maybe more, his eye on the park.

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