Stories from Tri-City News headlines of decades past is a recurring feature as the publication marks its 40th anniversary in 2024.
In every summer, a little rain must fall.
A soggy stretch in August, 1995, washed away Coquitlam’s Faces of the World parade, a centrepiece of the city’s fifth annual FACES festival, when only six of 45 entries braved the rain.
But other events like the soap box derby down a hill on Como Lake Avenue, as well as ice cream and watermelon-eating contests, carried on.
Meanwhile, a section of the Barnet Highway was reduced to a single land after a deluge of heavy rain caused an unpaved shoulder along a section of the busy road that was under construction slumped away.
Ice cream shops and other businesses that rely on sunny, warm weather to bring in summer customers were also feeling the gloom.
The regional manager of Good Humour Dickie Dee ice cream wholesaler for ice cream trucks and retail freezers said sales were down four per cent and the Pajo’s fish and chips at Rocky Point Park in Port Moody had cut back more than half its staff.
“It’s majorly slow,” said Pajo’s Debbie Murrin.
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.
