In the 1980s the Whistler Question began posing a question to three to six people and publishing their responses under “Whistler’s Answers” (not to be confused with the Whistler Answer). Each week, we’ll be sharing one question and the answers given back in 1985. Please note, all names/answers/occupations/neighbourhoods represent information given to the Question at the time of publishing and do not necessarily reflect the person today.
Some context for this week’s question: This one seems pretty self explanatory, so we think we’ll leave it there.
Question: What’s your favourite food?
Patricia Evans – Hair Stylist – Vancouver
I have a vegetarian diet. Tofu is certainly a favourite, and they run along that line – broccoli, fresh vegetables. Out of everything my favourite is spaghetti with tofu instead of meat.
Earl Caroll – Ski Technician – Tapley’s Farm
Seafood – anything that comes out of the Pacific Ocean. Of all seafoods crab’s my favourite. It has to be Alaskan – the cold water has something to do with it. I go all the way to Vancouver for a seafood dinner because no one here knows how to do it right. Trolls at Horseshoe Bay know how.
Eric Wight – Self-employed – Whistler Centre
Seafood – I’m a seafood nut. And fresh only. Dungeness crab is my preference over everything else – if you were taking me out to dinner that’s what I’d order.
As far as we know, Drew Meredith never did win the lottery, as discussed in last week’s article about the Whistler Question‘s April Fools article of 1982. Other prank articles published by the Question, however, were far less far-fetched, such as the ones published in 1984.
The banner headline of the Question on March 29, 1984 read “SoCreds OK User Tax.” In the article, editor Kevin Griffin described how the provincial government had “set a Canadian precedent” when it made changes to the Municipal Act allowing resort towns with a population under 10,000 “to levy a local sales tax of up to two per cent” on liquor sale “by the drink,” day ski passes, meals, hotels, short term rentals, and retail goods. The revenue would be collected by the province and then redistributed back to municipal governments of resort towns.
SoCred Premier Bill Bennett is led on a tour through the Whistler Village by Mayor Pat Carleton in 1980. The SoCred party was in power during much of the early development of Whistler Village. Whistler Question Collection
In the article, Minister of Municipal Affairs Bill Curtis was reported to have said that the government recognized that resort towns often “unduly tax local ratepayers to provide needed resort amenities” and that this change was meant to address that tax burden.
Whistler’s Mayor Mark Angus was also quoted in the article pointing out similar taxes used in American ski resorts such as Sun Valley and Aspen. He and the Whistler Resort Association were both described as in support of the new tax and expected tax money to go towards park maintenance, snow clearing, a free bus system, and other projects.
Like in previous years, the front page of the Question included other articles along the same line, one detailing the proposed free bus system and another about a fountain that would be built with money from the new tax to improve Village Square, which was described as “a ‘black hole’ and a place without a focus.”
Landscape architect Eldon Beck shows off the features of Village Square in the early 1980s, though some people supposedly thought that the area could really use a fountain. Beck Collection.
Those who read these stories would have quickly realized that there was no such new tax, and therefore no free buses or new fountain in the works (though there had been a shuttle bus operating the previous year funded by a municipal grant, advertising, and passenger fares). Towards the end of the main article, quotes from Al Raine were followed by the statement that “Raine also added that he didn’t mind being quoted in an April Fool’s story because he agreed with the thrust of the article anyway.”
According to the accompanying editorial, the topic of a user tax was chosen because the Question decided to write articles that they would like to see in the paper and to generate discussion among the community and levels of government. The paper also asked visitors to the resort what they thought of a municipal sales tax for their “Whistler’s Answers” feature. Though most were against paying more for their visit, one visitor from San Francisco said, “I wouldn’t mind at all. A lot of American visitors look at the exchange rate and it’s not too bad. If they can take two per cent and turn it around to make it work for the community, it’s all right.”
The following week, three residents were asked what they thought of the April Fool’s stories and Mark Angus was quoted (truthfully this time) to say “As long as you take it lightly no damage is done,” and one resident said that it was made more believable because they had seen user taxes in other resorts. Not everyone appreciated the joke articles, however. One letter to the editor the following week was unimpressed and claimed that it was “presumptuous” to assume that readers would read the complete story and explanatory editorial rather than just the headline and that such a headline could prevent visitors from returning.
Throughout the month of April the Question published other articles about how such taxes worked in various American resorts, where Whistler’s funding currently came from and more. In 1987, the provincial government established the Municipal and Regional District Tax (MRDT), which applies to short-term tourist accommodations. While not exactly like the tax proposed by the Question in 1984, the MRDT has similar aims and the paper was able to report on the story without having to create their own quotations.
In the 1980s the Whistler Question began posing a question to three to six people and publishing their responses under “Whistler’s Answers” (not to be confused with the Whistler Answer). Each week, we’ll be sharing one question and the answers given back in 1985. Please note, all names/answers/occupations/neighbourhoods represent information given to the Question at the time of publishing and do not necessarily reflect the person today.
Some context for this week’s question: This one seems pretty self explanatory, so we think we’ll leave it there.
Question: If you had to single out the one thing that Whistler needs to make your vacation perfect, what would it be?
Patti Johnson – Boeing Employee – Seattle
I don’t think there’s anything more you need. The buildings are all nice and new and inviting. I think it’s kind of cute the way it is now. I wouldn’t want to see it get much bigger. Well, I’ve heard some people say they’d like to see a suntanning place, but I don’t think I’d use it.
Darryl Johnson – Teamster Warehouseman – Seattle
You need a masseuse, a place somewhere in the village where you can walk in after skiing and get a massage. Can I add one more thing? You could use a big outside dance floor covered with a glass bubble where everyone could dance outside instead of in nightclubs.
Randi Lee – Bank Computer Employee – Seattle
Better souvenir shops. I’m from Seattle and down there there’s more variety. I’d like to see more Canadian souvenirs and better T-shirts – not just the ones with iron-on decals and logos – but more sophisticated ones with the logos sewn on.
On April 1, 1982, the front page of the Whistler Question announced “2 million win donated to community,” accompanied by a photograph of Drew Meredith, the supposed donor. Prank headlines in newspapers are nothing new, ranging from the obviously foolish to the almost believable, and headlines designed specifically for April 1 have graced Whistler newspapers since the 1980s. Some of the article have been lighthearted, while others have turned out to be prophetic.
The front page of the Whistler Question for April 1, 1982.
According to the Question, Meredith, a Whistler realtor, won $2,304,197.16 on Fools Rush In in the Irish Derby after purchasing the ticket on a dare from Debbie Tiegan. Upon receiving word of his luck, he decided to donate his winnings to the municipality to finish community projects and facilities, such as the construction of municipal hall and the Whistler Health Care Centre. His only stipulation was that it also be used for a “permanent hot-air balloon in the parking lot at the Blackcomb Day lodge with a MacGregor-Pacific sign on the side.” A ceremony was allegedly planned to take place in Village Square on April 3 where Meredith would hand the cheque over to Mayor Pat Carleton.
The recession of the early 1980s came just as the development of Whistler Village was beginning to boom. Though some properties were completed, work on various lots was halted for a period, including the partially constructed Whistler Resort Centre (today the Whistler Conference Centre). Municipal budgets were reduced, municipal staff took a pay cut in 1982, and in July 1982 only 60% of property taxes were paid on time. In this economic climate, a large donation to the municipality would probably have been very welcome.
Drew Meredith was named Citizen of the Year in 1980 at the Chamber of Commerce Dinner. Whistler Question Collection, 1980
The April 1 front page also featured two more stories that, especially looking back, don’t seem all that plausible. One claimed that the Ministry of Transportation had announced an experimental snow removal system for Highway 99 called Operation SNO (Surface Nuisance Obliteration) that would use solar heating to melt snow off the highway as it fell. A prototype of the system had reportedly been installed in Mayr Pat Carleton’s driveway for the 1981/82 winter.
The other claimed that Colorado experts had solved the problem of snow falling off of the Whistler Resort Centre roof, which had become a public safety concern in March when large slabs of snow began shifting. The proposed solution was to “hyper-energize” the roof by installing a 20’x20′ fireplace in the middle of the building to heat the roof, thought it was still to be determined how the fireplace would be incorporated into the arena floor.
This slab slid off the roof in March after the municipality was warned of the danger it posed. Whistler Question Collection, 1982
Of the three stories, only that of Meredith’s donation was followed up on in the next edition. Few people appear to have been upset by the story, though quite a few readers were willing to accept it, despite claiming that they would never be so altruistic themselves. According to Meredith, he “thoroughly enjoyed the escapade,” which he had not known about ahead of time, and was getting interesting responses from community members.
In the Question’s “Whistler Answers,” where six people were asked for their response to the story, Jack Cram claimed that he initially believed it because he “thought Drew is the kind of person to do something like that” and was very busy when he read it, “so it took a while to sink in.” Ross Tocher thought that if it was true then either Meredith wanted a mountain named after him or he wanted to be mayor (Drew Meredith was elected as mayor, but not until 1986). Some, like Lisa Knight, believed the headline but then recognized it as a joke as they read the article. According to Bob Currie, “It was just too much of a coincidence to have a story like that April 1.”
