Hugo Your Ray, and I'll Go Mine
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I have kept this one simple because this park can be hard to get into and out of when you don't know the area. Your GPS should be able to get a good fix here, and I think the hiding spot's pretty obvious.
The Municipality of West Vancouver was founded in 1912, when it was separated from North Vancouver. Until 1969, the elected head of the Municipal government held the title of Reeve. At that time the title was changed to Mayor. In 1953, a local businessman, A. Hugo Ray was elected Reeve of West Vancouver, after having served as Councillor.
Hugo Ray Park was created as a field sport venue, and was originally known as “Third Street Playing Field”. The current name was formally changed in 1978. Before these fields were createdt, the area was a Municipal garbage dump. Fields 1 & 2 were expanded to their present size in 1972.
This Park is located in the southeast corner of the British Properties and has been used as a base for field hockey and cricket for 40 years. The District of West Vancouver Parks Department maintains the four playing fields.
The Field Hockey and Cricket Clubs operate the Pavilion Society, which was responsible for building the present clubhouse in 1987.
Back when it was still called Third Street Playing Field, well before the clubhouse, changing rooms, parking lot, fields 3 & 4, or even a drinking fountain, my friends and I used to get together at what we knew as simply “The Dump Field”. There, no matter the weather, we would play tackle football, emulating our heroes – Joe Kapp, Willie Fleming, Tom Brown, Nub Beamer, and the rest. As some members of our group reached 16 and began to drive, getting to the field became easier, but we had to switch to touch football because some of us grew faster than others. Since we had never seen anybody else using the park - no cricketers, no field hockey players - it felt like our own private field, and I'm sure each of us heard the cheers of unseen throngs as we played through sun, rain, fog, and snow.
Today, the park is the source of controversy. The field hockey people want to upgrade the park to take advantage of its unique location. They would install artificial turf and lights in order to support league play for teams from across the Lower Mainland. While the lighting might appeal to the cricketers, they don't care for artificial turf, and the neighbourhood residents simply don't want more traffic. The Provincial Government infrastructure program recently turned down a request for matching funds for any improvements, so it remains to be seen what will happen to our old Dump Field.
EDIT 2011: With the completion and dedication of the new Rutledge Field at Ambleside Park, the West Van Field Hockey community now has an all-weather, lighted field facility and no longer needs to use Hugo Ray Park. The Cricket club and area residents will continue to operate the Hugo Ray Pavilion, and neighbours are hoping to have tennis courts, a playground and a jogging path constructed on the north field (Field #3), east of the caretaker's residence.
If you have some time to spare, take a walk around the area. North of Hugo Ray Park is Capilano View Cemetery, which has served the community since 1926. It is a solemn, peaceful place, ideal for quiet reflection. Just west of the clubhouse there are batting cages for the cricket batsmen and bowlers to hone their techniques. Behind the clubhouse is the WV Police Dog Training facility. If you're lucky you might get to see a dog going through its paces.
If you make your way down to the highway, walk east and head down the trail on your left where you'll find the Capilano Pacific Trail at Keith Road. You can head south on this trail to get to Park Royal and Ambleside Park, or go north to the Capilano Fish Hatchery and Cleveland Dam. And if you are visiting the Park in the middle of summer be sure to bring a pail with you to gather some of the tasty blackberries you will find growing around the perimeter.
Additional Hints
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