As the city’s first parks and recreation director, Don Cunnings left plenty of physical legacies for Coquitlam residents.
This spring, his son Ian added to his late father's contributions by donating the last of Cunnings’ photos, scrapbooks and textual materials to the Coquitlam Archives for future generations to study.
Today, the fonds of the late Freedom of the City recipient are made up of some 1,000 images, videos and documents that show how Coquitlam grew over the last half century.
And many of the items are highlighted in a new online exhibit from Coquitlam Archives titled Don Cunnings: City Champion.
Don Cunnings' legacy is 'nearly every park in Coquitlam' https://t.co/301oO2oz9k
— Tri-City News (@TriCityNews) December 11, 2023
Born in Vancouver on Feb. 17, 1931, Cunnings is remembered as a pioneer and leader who spent most of his life in Coquitlam.
A physical education graduate from UBC, Cunnings was a P.E. teacher at Our Lady of Lourdes’ schools in Maillardville.
A nationally-ranked gymnast, he also worked as a recreational therapist at Essondale (now səmiq̓ʷəʔelə/Riverview Lands), where he founded the hospital’s music therapy program.
Later, he took a job as a recreation director with the District of Coquitlam and rose to the position of director of parks and leisure services before retiring in 1994.
Over the years, he helped to create many municipal parks, including Town Centre Park in the City Centre neighbourhood. Cunnings had convinced the CEO of Lafarge Concrete to turn the quarry into a lake when the company’s mining was finished; in 1999, the city named a sports field at Town Centre Park in his honour.
Cunnings was also responsible for founding Coquitlam Search and Rescue in 1973 — an organization that Ian Cunnings is also part of — and he was involved in numerous community groups like the Eagle Ridge Hospital Foundation, Douglas College Foundation and Coquitlam Heritage Society.
Last December, Cunnings died at the age of 92.
SAR 50: It all started two with Port Coquitlam boys on Burke Mountain https://t.co/JXcPhRuyIo
— Tri-City News (@TriCityNews) March 27, 2022
To view the Don Cunnings fonds in person, you can make an appointment with Coquitlam Archives (1171 Pinetree Way) by calling 604-927-3900 or emailing [email protected]. Donations are also sought from the community.
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