ME IN 2073: HOW ONE REVELSTOKE SCHOOL EMPHASIZES THE IMPORTANCE OF PLACE

PAM MAIR, PRINCIPAL OF ARROW HEIGHTS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, INTEGRATES SENSE-OF-PLACE INTO THE CIRRICULUM AND TAKES ON A PROJECT THAT HELPS GIVE STUDENTS OWNERSHIP OVER REVELSTOKE’S FUTURE.

By Nora Hughes.

“Does anyone recognize this street?” asks Cathy English, Revelstoke Museum and Archives Curator. She references four photographs projected onto a screen in the gymnasium at Arrow Heights Elementary School. Tiny hands shoot up across the audience. Finally, English relieves the eager tension by telling them to shout it aloud. “Mackenzie Avenue!” echo the students simultaneously.

They’re right. The first photo was taken in 1898, over 120 years ago. The street’s likeness to the present is noticeable but not obvious. Mount Revelstoke in the background is perhaps the most telling feature, but there are hardly any trees on its slopes due to a fire.

The following photo was taken about 14 years later and has changed dramatically. The trees have started to grow back, and some present-day buildings populate the picture. “It’s starting to become the Revelstoke that we know,” says English.

The next photo from the 1960s shows a bustling city centre. English points out that the street is still far from the Revelstoke we know now. There are no grizzly bear statues, no gazebo where REVY.Live concerts are performed; it’s missing a lot of signature features that make the town the destination it is today.

English points to a photo of Mackenzie Avenue in 2022 and asks, “Do you see how much it changed over time?” And it has.

Planning for 2073

Cathy’s lesson is part of a broader project called Me in 2073. It was first brought to Arrow Heights Elementary School Principal Pam Mair by two parents, Rodney and Lindsay Payne.

A sense of place

Mrs. Mair says kids don’t notice the big impacts of tourism quite like adults do. For a lot of her students, Revelstoke has always been busy, and the ski hill has always been there.

“I think a lot of things become commonplace to them because they're used to it. They all go to the ski hill. They've been doing that since they were little, and they just are used to a busy place,” she says. “Whereas somebody like me, I was here when it was not a busy place. So I noticed the changes more.”

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