Dear Editor,
I am glad our MLA Jackie Tegart has taken the issue of Lytton to the government. Hopefully her strong voice will be heard in the legislature, and the destruction of one of the oldest settlements in the Province of B.C. will be dealt with. Hopefully the media will bring this overwhelming loss of home, habitat, and history to the attention of the public.
We don’t have to be reminded that COVID-19 has consumed the attention of the media. We hear the statistics every day, and we can scarcely complain about the admirable job the Premier, the Health Minister, and Dr. Bonnie Henry are doing. The situation changes almost hourly to control this virus. We can only imagine the intense activity to keep up with this virus that changes in intensity so frequently.
Nevertheless, we should expect leadership in other areas that are no less pressing, such as the destruction of a historic site that rose out of the wilderness well over a century ago. We are not talking about some mining town that arose also out of the wilderness and closed after a few frantic years. Lytton cannot be swept under the carpet of indifference. The town and its enormously colourful history has too much significance.
Nor should we have to be reminded that the example of true civilization is the preservation of a country’s history. We promote tourism continuously in the media, including the government’s media. Yet the town of Lytton lies ravaged by fire and nothing is being done. The restoration of Lytton, like the restoration of Barkerville and other historic sites in B.C., is crucial. Let the restoration of Lytton begin!
Esther Darlington
Ashcroft, B.C.
editorial@accjournal.ca
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