The wall-mounted display case is an immediate draw when you walk into Port Coquitlam’s Kinsmen Centre.
Behind the glass cover is years of certificates of achievement, banners, photos, awards and other memorabilia, including a tribute to hometown hero Terry Fox.
On Sept. 13, 1982, the PoCo Kinsmen Club helped to organize the first Terry Fox Hometown Run — a fundraiser for the Canadian Cancer Society that brought in $30,000 from 10,000 participants.
But the club’s service to the community started years before that.
Chartered on Feb. 20, 1965, with sponsorship from the Kinsmen Club of Coquitlam, the PoCo Kinsmen launched with Hans Schinz, a Texaco mechanic, presiding.
Soon, the club was hosting Canada Day picnics next to city hall and Aggie Park, helping to build Dogwood Pavilion in Coquitlam, constructing the first Participark in Canada, in southern PoCo, and restoring Dogwood Manor.
The 1970s were a busy time for the club, which boasted some 65 members then.
As well, during the same time as the inaugural Terry Fox Hometown Run, the club also got the Kinsmen Centre up — on the same spot as the old Aggie Hall, on Coquitlam Avenue — with the land donated by the city; then-mayor Len Traboulay opened it in 1983.
Today, with only seven members remaining, the building is “the glue that keeps us together,” Walter Van Dimmelen told the Tri-City News today, Feb. 19, as the club looks ahead to celebrating its 60th year with a party on Saturday, Feb. 22, at the Kinsmen Centre.
Located near the corner of Lougheed Highway and Shaughnessy Street, at the southern edge of Aggie Park, the facility sees about 17,000 visitors a year for church, sports, support group and other service meetings, Van Dimmelen said.
The size of the building is deceiving from the front, said Bonnie Van Dimmelen who, like her husband and Cyrille Barnabe, is a club life member.
The open hall is about 1,800 square feet and has a full commercial kitchen, with a gas stove, off to the side.
“It’s used every day,” she said of the building, “including Christmas and New Year’s Eve.”
To give back to the community, the club allows free or discounted rental rates to many groups. Among them are three sets of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) groups; the Tri-City Soroptimists; a martial arts program; and the 4th PoCo Scouts.
Any rental fees gained largely go back into the building, Barnabe said, noting its had some recent renovation work internally and externally of which the city — through the Port Coquitlam Community Foundation — has matched.
Walter Van Dimmelen said the club is grateful to the municipality for helping with the building upgrade expenses, and for council’s proclamation on Feb. 11 to declare Feb. 20 as Kin Canada Day (for its 105th year) as well as Feb. 16 to 22 as Kin Canada Week.
As for its 60th year and beyond, Barnabe said the PoCo Kinsmen have a lot to look forward to despite the small membership.
It’s running the beverage garden again for Pitt Meadows Days and will continue to support SHARE, the Kin Foundation, cystic fibrosis organizations and the PoCo Seniors Housing Society, of which Walter Van Dimmelen is the board chair.
And, in tribute of the late Jim Watson, a former member, it will keep offering $1,000 post-secondary bursaries to graduates at Port Coquitlam’s two high schools: Terry Fox and Riverside secondaries.
The open house to mark the 60th year of the Port Coquitlam Kinsmen is on Saturday, Feb. 22 from 1 to 5 p.m. The public is also welcome to the dance with the band Front Page, from 7 p.m. to midnight. A cash bar will be open. For tickets at $15 or for club membership inquiries, email [email protected].
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