This month’s column is a bit more personal than just history. The province has set aside a month to recognize women and seniors of note in B.C. They seem to have been lesser contributors to history. Totally untrue! It is just that they were never given a real opportunity to contribute.

British Columbia as a province has had a number of women of renown. We all know about Emily Carr and her work. We had Margaret (Ma) Murray and her newspaper in the Interior.

October celebrates the contribution of women and seniors to the history of B.C. As well, Oct. 1 was the official day to recognize the seniors of B.C.

We are fortunate to have a resident who meets all the qualifications.

Soon to be 90 years old Kay Grouhel, the first and only woman to be a mayor of Ladysmith qualifies on both counts.

Retired to Victoria, she personifies our contribution to history. When she was elected she was the only woman in a male dominated society. They talk about the glass ceiling, the only height to which a woman could rise. She never worried about it. We talk about athletes raising the bar — for Kay they just had to raise the ceiling.

We still have a number of important contributions by women in our community. Look around and check out the women who do contribute to our community. Look at the businesses in town.

At a guess I would say 75 per cent are owned and operated by women.

How does that fit into our history? As the Ladysmith Historical Society we research all the contributions, not just of the men. Craigdaraugh Castle in Victoria was built by James Douglas. But he built it for his wife. He died before its completion, and his wife finished the job.

We ourselves have to recognize “Concrete Kay” Grouhel.

Her accomplishments are right in front of us to this day. She gave us the park at Transfer Beach. She facilitated the golf course. She did not build them, but all those nice sidewalks in town (which gave her the nickname) are a direct result of her leadership.

She went on to take care of the province as the first woman president of the B.C. Municipalities Association.

I feel that any contribution should be recognized.

The Historical Society has a presentation on mayor Kay. Come and learn about her contribution to history in British Columbia, not just Ladysmith. We are behind Tim Horton’s on First Avenue.

Thomas Wagner is a researcher with the Ladysmith and District Historical Society. See http://ladysmitharchive.org.