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NATURESea, land, river PEOPLESCommunity
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The
accomplishments and influence of Peter Lester and Mary Lester have
contributed significantly to the foundation of the past and shape of the
future and quality of life in Prince Rupert.
The following historic profiles of Peter Lester and Mary Lester will
demonstrate this and will show why it is fitting to change the name of the
Prince Rupert Performing Arts Center to the Lester Center for the Arts. |
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Peggy Davenport’s
rationale for re-naming PAS to Lester Center |
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US citizen WW2 PR pulp mill 17 terms
Mayor PR |
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In
the year 1939, at age 19, Peter Lester left his home in the United States and
crossed the border into Montreal and enlisted in the Canadian Armed Forces
and World War II, before the United States entered the war. He served in various European
countries. While he was overseas,
Peter became a Canadian citizen. In
1946, following the end of the Second World War and discharge from the
military, Peter and his wife, Mary with their young family settled in Prince
Rupert. Peter
was elected Mayor of Prince Rupert on December 12, 1957. At that time, he had served as a member of
the City Council for two years, he was working as an instrument mechanic at
the pulp mill, and was the local President of the International Brotherhood
of Sulphite and Paper Mills union. Also, at the time of his election, the union was on strike and
Peter’s leadership abilities must have been apparent. He remained the Mayor of Prince Rupert for
the next 36 years continuously through 17 terms of office. Peter
Lester didn’t own an automobile or drive.
He walked the kilometer to and from his house, City Hall and his
business. He estimated that he talked
to 10-15 people daily while walking around the city. Peter stated, “I think a Mayor or any
member of City Council should be approachable. The biggest asset to anyone elected is the ability to talk to
people and pay attention to what they are saying” |
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He’s just one great
politician. He thinks around
corners”. “He’s done a
tremendous job for the city. Council
meetings are run very smoothly. He’s a superb manager of debate”. “An
exceptionally good Mayor all the way through”. “He seems
to have the ability to get good people to do things for him”. “A
staunch spokesman for the north”. “As a
politician I’ve learned from Peter that you need to pay attention to your job
and listen to what people are saying”. “Progressive in his
thinking”. “A
very bright guy. He’s very smart”. “Devastating in his
wit”. “He’s
an old tiger”. “Peter has so much
experience and people feel secure with him”. |
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Extends
boundaries to capture industrial base |
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“One
of his first accomplishments as Mayor was to set up an administrative system
in City Hall in which Council set policy to be carried out by City
staff. Peter also lobbied the Province
to expand Prince Rupert’s boundaries, first in 1965 to include the new Watson
Island pulp mill and again 20 years later to include the Ridley Island coal
terminal. Together, these facilities
were an industrial base and generated millions of dollars for the city. City Council was then able to spend more money on such amenities for the people as recreational and cultural facilities and parks. These included the Jim Cicconi Civic Center, the Earl Mah Swimming Pool, and the Prince Rupert Performing Arts Center. Part
of the solution to some social problems was the need for good low rental
housing which the City successfully lobbied the Provincial government
for. “Every time Victoria would
announce a new program, first we’d document our needs, then have our
engineers design the properties, provide plans, models, cost figures. In short, we’d do as much of their work
for them as possible”, Peter was quoted as saying. |
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Peter Lester is a member of the Royal
Canadian Legion and was manager of the Legion for years. He is also a member of the Loyal Order of
the Moose. He received the Paul
Harris award from the Prince Rupert Rotary Club. This is the international organization’s highest award and it’s
rarely bestowed upon non-members, and Peter was recognized for his 36 years
of service to the city as mayor. In
1994, he was appointed to the Order of British Columbia in recognition for
his many years of service to the community.
In 2003, Peter Lester received the Queen’s Golden Jubilee medal for
his service to Prince Rupert. |
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He was integral to the decision to make Prince Rupert the southern terminal of the Alaska Marine Highway System. In May 1983, the Yellowhead Highway Association gave Peter the Tete Jaune award for outstanding contribution by extending the reach of the Yellowhead Highway to Prince Rupert, instead of only being centered in Edmonton, Kamloops and Prince George. The
extent of Peter’s contribution was by effective lobbying of the Provincial
government. He was Chairman of the
Board of the Queen Charlotte Regional District for 25 years. During the time he was in office, Peter
promoted the development of the Port of Prince Rupert and after leaving his
position as mayor, Peter Lester then served as Chairman of the Prince Rupert
Port Corporation for a period of time. |
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Mary Lester has been described as: “Vivacious”“An actress through
and through” “She has a wonderful
sense of humor” “She loves to stir
things up and make people laugh” “She was a catalyst who would pull things
together” “She was often a
behind the scenes person who got things done” “When she saw
someone with talent, she tried to get that person involved” “She is a star in my
book”. |
Mary Lester as Volunteer |
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Although
they were married, Mary Lester’s contributions and influence on the quality
of life in Prince Rupert were separate from and different than Peter Lester’s
accomplishments. Mary has been a
volunteer and artist. She gave of her
time and talents. Volunteers and
artists are the heart and spirit of a community. These are important sources of a community’s vitality and
Mary’s contribution to Prince Rupert life has been significant. While their 3 children were young, Mary
and another woman ran the “Tiny Tot” program at the old Civic Center. During this period, she helped children
learn in the classroom and at the adult reading program. Mary’s volunteer work and contributions as
a performer have been varied and strong.
She helped to develop and maintain programs and activities successfully
over extended periods of time. Mary
was an active member of the Harbour Theater Board of Directors since it’s
beginning as an amalgamation of a couple other theater groups in 1981. The Theater Board is the Production
Company and promoters of plays. Mary
was always there to help and encourage actors and the success of a play, for
example she would help find props or help with costume needs. She was also one of the actors. Mary was the recipient of the second
Theater BC Zone award. (The first was
to Tom Rooney). During the 1990’s,
Mary helped to start the Children’s Acting Camp. She was particularly passionate and enthusiastic about getting
the kids involved in the theater. For
the past 10 years, Mary has been a supportive patron of the Harbour
Theater. The Kaien Island Craft Fair
was started in l975 and held in the Fisherman’s Hall until the l980’s when
Mary was instrumental in the expansion of the Craft Fair and it’s move to the
present Civic Center. |
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About
that time, the Prince Rupert Arts Council was formed in l983. Mary became a Director, was President for
a number of years, and continues to be one of the Directors. The Arts Council
manages the Craft Fairs and has since taken on the responsibility for the
promotion of the arts for the City of Prince Rupert. For over 20 years Mary helped to provide
Christmas entertainment for residents of Acropolis Manor, the Intermediate
Care Unit. With the Hospital
Auxiliary, Mary helped the Acropolis residents celebrate their birthdays
during monthly Birthday Parties. She
spent time with the people there leading sing-a-longs, called Bingo, told
jokes, visited and even brought “goodies” for them to eat. Mary helped to make the resident’s life
more meaningful and enjoyable. The
Auxiliary and Acropolis could always depend on Mary to be there to help when
special programs were needed. She
organized and participated in the shows that were presented during annual
Thanksgiving dinners for seniors for many years. Mary has been an active member of the Sons of Norway for over
30 years and helped to raise funds for the hospital and charitable
organizations for the benefit of Prince Rupert. |
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Mary
has been part of many small entertainment activities over the years. And whether it was sitting on a Board of
Directors working on a project or taking part in a play, or playing music
with the “Little Band”, doing things with Mary was always fun. She helped judge floats at the annual Sea
Fest parades and was on the Board of the Special Events Society. She helped organize Folk Fest years
ago. Mary met visiting tourists as a
“City Ambassador” and volunteered at the Ice Gallery. There are many other contributions which
Mary made to Prince Rupert which have not been reported as that is the nature
of a volunteer and artist such as Mary. With
your endorsement, we can approach the Prince Rupert Mayor and City Council
with our request to change the name of the Prince Rupert Performing Arts
Center to the Lester Center for the Arts.
This would recognize the contributions of Peter Lester and Mary Lester
and also acknowledge the role of this theater for all of the different art
forms in the city. Respectfully
submitted on behalf of the Committee to Honor Peter Lester and Mary Lester, Peggy
Davenport |
Created by LG on
Feb 1, 2006
Last updated on Saturday, July 08, 2006