A match made on the court

A match made on the court
Here and Now column by Dan Hilborn, Burnaby NOW assistant editor
Published Aug. 25, 2002

It's all about love.
Fred and Louise Emmonds are proving that the couple who play together, stay together.
The happy couple, who live atop Capitol Hill, recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with a private dinner with family and friends, and then a few more rounds of that game that brought them together - tennis.
It was way back in 1949 when young Fred, fresh off the family farm in Chilliwack, spied the sprightly Louise on the tennis courts of Hastings Park, across from the PNE.
While their romance took a few years to blossom - Louise spent a year hitchhiking across Europe - they had enough sense to get back together and tie the knot on Aug. 2, 1952.
"He had a car and he was handsome," Louise said. "I wasn't bad looking, either."
Fred was a carpenter who built the family home at the top of the scenic north Burnaby neighbourhood.
Louise was always active, and was one of the first nurses who worked in the Burnaby school district dental program.
The couple had one son, Steven, who lives on Vancouver Island, and they are the proud grandparents of Sarah and Quinn, who will spend most of this week on the hill enjoying the views over Burrard Inlet, Gramma's home-baked pies and visiting the PNE.
The two octogenarians have both won silver medal winners at recent B.C. Senior Games.

A life well lived...

One of Burnaby's most colourful native sons died in a boating accident on Kootenay Lake earlier this month.
Ian Hunter, who grew up near Armstrong elementary and was a past editor of the Douglas College student newspaper, made his name as as one of Canada's most prominent marijuana activists.
It was in the early 1980s when Hunter helped co-found the Hemp B.C. store in downtown Vancouver.
He briefly served as an ordained minister in the Church of the Universe, which believes marijuana is the tree of life. And he was at the forefront of the battle to legalize the herb.
Hunter was well known in Victoria, where he ran for mayor on a pro-pot platform and operated the Sacred Herb hemp store. After selling the store, he moved to Nelson, where he co-founded something called the Valhalla Institute, an organization dedicated to hemp, yoga, and 'the alchemic arts.' Hunter's distinctive multi-coloured, opaque business card is the single most unique calling card this author has ever seen.
Memorial services were held Thursday in Victoria and today (Sunday) in Nelson.

Helping BCIT alumni

A pair of local business people have been selected to serve on the BCIT Alumni Association board of directors for the next two years.
The new appointees are Gordon Farrell, a former BCIT dean and past director of the Certified Management Accountants of BC, and Lisa Hansen, vice-chair and registrar of the BC Labour Relations Board.
The alumni association works to make life better for BCIT students and graduates by developing working relationships with local businesses.
Among its many projects are the development of an on-line directory of BCIT grads, the BCIT Affinity MasterCard, which contributes money to the association's good work, plus giving all BCIT students and grads a 10 per cent discount on HSBC Canadian Direct home insurance program.
"We're always on the lookout for these kinds of opportunities, said alumni association staffer Sherri Magson. "The board members work on committees to deliberate on the ideas and make recommendations."

Planet MAPCL takes off

Get ready for a whole lot of fun when the Burnaby-based Mainstream Association for Proactive Community Living hosts in annual picnic in north Burnaby's beautiful Confederation Park.
The society is bringing in live music, a puppet show and more to celebrate multiculturalism under the theme Planet MAPCL from 3:30 to 7 p.m., Thursday Sept. 12 in the city's most popular picnic spot, Confederation Park.