Stories from Tri-City News headlines of decades past is a recurring feature as the publication approaches its 40th anniversary in 2024.
The Japanese Buddhist Temple has been tucked away on Coquitlam's Jackson Street, between the Trans-Canada and Lougheed highways, since 1989.
But it wasn't fully completed until three years later, when its ceremonial bell was finally installed.
The bell cost $30,000, that came from a fundraising campaign led by Zuicho Hashimoto, the abbott of a small temple in Japan who was instrumental in getting the temple built.
The bell was welcomed with a special "eye opening ceremony" attended by more than 100 guests from Japan, children from local schools and community members.
"The spirit of the bell will be activated," the temple’s priest, Keith Snyder, told the Tri-City News, adding the sound of the bell helps dissolve the negative, or klesa, a key component of Buddhist teaching.
Snyder said while the bell is usually rung twice a day at most temples, and on New Years Eve, he was unsure how frequently it would sound out at the Coquitlam temple.
The Tri-City News has covered civic affairs, local crime, festivals, events, personalities, sports and arts in Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody since 1983. Bound back issues of the paper are available at the Coquitlam Archives, while digital versions of several past years can be found at issuu.com.
