Happy birthday, Prince George

Happy birthday Prince George.

The venerable old city turns 100 years old today. There is no doubt, like anything that survives 100 years, there are some stories to be told after being around for a century.

The city can’t actually talk, but those of us who live here can certainly tell the stories of the city … and we have been for 100 years. Some of the stories are written down (in the newspaper industry we often like to joke that we write history as it happens), some of the stories are told and others are shown in the art that we generate.

After 100 years, there are millions of stories to be told about Prince George the city, its residents, and what has transpired here over the past century.

There have been some bumps in the road, there’s no doubt. However, the fact that we are still here telling our stories means we’ve been successful. If we weren’t, the city would have vanished long ago.

But it hasn’t. It has grown. It has thrived. It has moved from being a small trading post to a being a small, modern Canadian city. We’ve become a university town, while not forgetting the forest industry that provided our backbone for so many years.

We are coming to terms with the fact early residents of this city basically kicked the Lheidli T’enneh off of their land.

We are righting those wrongs.

That was evidenced by the fact the recently completed 2015 Canada Winter Games were the first ones ever to have a host First Nation … the Lheidli T’enneh.

We have the best of both worlds … affordable housing, good paying jobs and easy access to the great outdoors that so many city residents enjoy, and take advantage of.

We have come a long way. At the risk of sounding maudlin, it’s a journey that has no end. It is a journey, however, that we can make better by improving ourselves, our city.

A lot has happened in Prince George over the past 100 years and a lot more will happen over the next 100, and the 100 after that.

As long as we, as a city, keep moving forward with the goal of making the city better, we’ll do just fine.

In celebration of the Prince George’s 100th birthday today, the city is offering free admission to some civic facilities this weekend.

“We have some of the best facilities of any city our size in Canada,” said Mayor Lynn Hall. “They’ve been imagined, financed, and built by the people of Prince George over the past 100 years, and one way to say thanks is to throw open the doors for the weekend. It’s especially important given the support people showed during the 2015 Canada Winter Games, when many facilities were not open to the public.”

So, give the city a birthday wish and enjoy some of the facilities.

The party will go on all year.