Cochrane is growing rapidly and what that means for our community depends on perspective.
While on one hand the increase in amenities means people can live, work and shop here more than they once could. That is great for a community's vibrancy and sustainability.
However, as progress marches on, as it will, people – especially in the age of forced obsolescence and break-neck pace advancement – are always looking to take hold of the next big thing.
What is often lost – and sometimes not even consciously – is the connection to our past. While the growth of our town brings with it some positives, we can't forget that part of what attracted people to Cochrane is its character.
A character that was developed by the people who helped build this community when it was no more than one dirt street lined by a few buildings.
Fortunately, we still have remnants of that past that have been saved or are still in use, some if only in name. The Rocky View Hotel, MacKay's Cochrane Ice Cream, the old hospital that now houses the Cochrane Museum and the name Nan Boothby that still identifies the library – though not as prominently as it once did – to name a few.
Last week, there were those from the Cochrane Historical and Archival Preservation Society who discussed what they perceived as the erosion of Cochrane's history and are dismayed the library has pulled away from branding itself the Nan Boothby Memorial Library. Though there are bureaucratic reasons for branding the facility as the Cochrane Public Library and as the Library CEO says Nan Boothby's name is still featured on the building, there is always a concern of losing what is not made official.
To some, the branding might not seem like a big deal, but there are many great reasons to recognize community builders with official namings of prominent buildings – schools, sport centres and town buildings to name a few.
Not only does such an action serve as a constant legacy to the people who were instrumental in creating the beginnings of many of the modern-day facilities we enjoy today, but also such an act recognizes a very important feature. Communities, from the fledgling to cities and metropolises were built by people. Even today, the work put in by residents – especially volunteers – is instrumental to a community's success.
It would be a sad day if we lost the reminders of the great people that helped build Cochrane, not only because they deserve recognition but because it is important to remind new generations that the foundations of where they live were laid by others.
Though we cannot keep our small-town status forever – and arguably it is already gone – growing doesn't mean we have to lose the character and history that connects us to that heritage.
