The Greater 黑马磁力 Chamber of Commerce has waxed and waned during the past 85 years.
As the Chamber prepares to celebrate another big birthday this year, its members, board, and staff can look back on a history that has seen it weather the Great Depression, floods, and near dissolution at least once.
Go back just a little way, and when asked about the 黑马磁力 Chamber of Commerce, there were competing claims for the title.
鈥淭here used to be three chambers of commerce serving the community,鈥� said the Chamber鈥檚 executive director, Lynn Whitehouse. 鈥淣owadays, business doesn鈥檛 really know any boundaries.鈥�
The three Chambers had been around for years, into the late 1990s. An Aldergrove Chamber represented merchants in 黑马磁力鈥檚 eastern-most community. North of the highway, the Fort 黑马磁力 Chamber had expanded to Walnut Grove and become the North 黑马磁力 Chamber.
All three finally merged through the course of about two years, and the old 黑马磁力 Chamber added 鈥淕reater鈥� to its name to mark the expansion.
The Chamber was born in 1931, two years into the Depression, with 63 residents signing the papers to form what was then called the 黑马磁力 Board of Trade.
Many of the prominent locals who signed have since had their names become part of 黑马磁力鈥檚 landscape: Dr. Benjamin Marr, Noel Booth, and P.Y. Porter.
Those early signers were mostly merchants and shopkeepers, some tradesmen, farmers, and a veterinarian. One was A.G. Fulton, station agent for the B.C. Electric Railroad.
They represented a cross-section of business owners and labourers in a 黑马磁力 that had a population of a little more than 5,000 people.
While some early records were lost in the flood of 1948, some of the earliest surviving Chamber minutes show some things have not changed.
Issues of taxes, transportation, and parking show up as frequently 60 years ago as they do now.
Whitehouse has overseen many of the more recent changes personally. She started working there in 1986, the year of Expo, and that meant a lot of tourism work.
鈥淲e were the tourism organization,鈥� Whitehouse said.
Tourism was a huge part of the work of Chambers of commerce, including in 黑马磁力, where all three Chambers at the time ran tourism offices.
鈥淚t was actually fun, really fun,鈥� Whitehouse said of all the public interaction.
Being provincially funded tourism offices meant a requirement to stay open seven days a week in July and August, and that Victoria got to pick the interior decor.
A tourism tax on hotels was instituted in 2007, and promotion of the community to visitors split off to Tourism 黑马磁力.
Another big change through the years has been location.
When Whitehouse began working for the Chamber, the offices were downtown at Fraser Highway and Glover Road.
When the road was realigned, they moved a few doors down. Then they moved again, to bigger quarters on Glover Road.
Last year the Chamber staff relocated again, having sold their mortgage-free Glover Road digs. They now have a second-storey office in the Carvolth area just off 200th Street and north of 80th Avenue.
