On Friday, June 7, the City of Vancouver Archives hosted a celebration and open house at Vancouver City Hall. As soon as I walked in, I was greeted with a smile and a wave from Jeffrey, the young man who works with film at the archives. It was nice to be remembered and greeted so warmly. Jeffrey and I spent some time together last fall when I donated some 16mm and 8 mm films that my dad had saved from Sweeney Cooperage . Jeffrey was an intern with Colin Preston, film and media archivist at CBC , and a while later I managed to get a couple of nice photos of the two of them together.

There were gorgeous old photos available to the early arrivals. Each one of us could take five. They were all copies of the originals that are stored at the archives. The digital images are now available for public viewing and this was a way for them to make space in their storage. It was an unexpected treat for me to come home with some treasures.

There were a lot of interesting displays — old maps, plans, books, films — all sorts of goodies that history buffs love. It was great to get a chance to talk with the staff and volunteers. Even though I’ve eliminated wheat and dairy from my diet, I couldn’t say ‘no’ to a very small piece of the special carrot cake, made by The Lazy Gourmet, with a recipe from The Expo 86 Cookbook.