John Woodworth - An Extraordinary Citizen
by Rudy Loeser
Why should a retired Kelowna architect, born in 1924, persist in his concerns for the future of the Central Okanagan's waterfront? That was the question he asked years ago and the answer is still the same: Because he can and he cares.
Architect, writer, environmentalist and former pilot - John Woodworth is an extraordinary citizen. It takes all the skills and insights acquired through education and experience to be effective in such projects as initiating and coordinating the development of Rotary Marshes at Kelowna's Brandt's Creek. It takes the same to become a founding director and then president of the Okanagan Similkameen Parks Society.
It takes the same to receive a federal appointment as a founding director of the Nature Trust of BC, which responsibility he held for 25 years. Also to be named a Chairman of the Nature Conservancy of Canada. To become the Founding president of the Alexander MacKenzie Voyageur Route Association, and to serve as its volunteer executive secretary for twenty-five years. Indefatigable, he was still serving at the age of 79, and now celebrating his 87th year.
It may be helpful to consider the origins of his passion for the land, and of the Okanagan in particular. One begins by looking at the chronology of John Woodworth's life. He spent his early childhood years in Kilkare Cottage, Kelowna on the point at Manhattan Beach on Sutherland Bay. He grew up next door to his close friend Bill Knowles, historian and another Kelowna icon.
He recalls becoming intimate with the Valley while cycling from Oliver to Sicamous as a teenager. He remembers World War II which saw him serve as a General Reconnaissance Pilot observing water and land patterns from on high, this skill served him well in subsequent years when crisscrossing the skies over Southern BC. On his return from the war, he met the pretty young woman whom he would marry. His equal in intelligence and caring, Nancy Bruce was a writer who first came to the Okanagan to teach.
John enrolled at UBC's 6-year architecture program while Nancy worked at the university, and graduated with a Bachelor of Architecture degree in 1952. He also did a considerable amount of writing for Western Homes and Living and other publications, and wrote and published a booklet titled "Is Everything All Right Up There?", which questioned the dangers inherent in the rapid increase in clear cutting by the logging companies. This publication was hailed by the head of the UBC Research Forest at Haney, BC. Although revised government regulations, regarding clear-cutting and major increases in replanting, have been put into place since the publication of John's study, he resolutely refuses to credit for helping to influence the change for the better. In this writer's opinion, the work merited discussion among the people who instituted the changes.
With his brand-new degree on the wall of his studio, John designed residences in Vancouver until, in 1955, he and Nancy moved back to the Okanagan which he loved. Here, he designed the KLO campus of Okanagan College (now Okanagan University College), the original Mission Hill Winery, Kelowna City Hall, the Kelowna Community theater, as well as such well-known structures as the Banff Centre's gorgeous Eric Harvey Theatre. He also kept on flying, mapping the upper water sources of the Valley and drawing plans and maps and building models as volunteer director of the Okanagan- Similkameen Park Society.
He was engaged in a like manner when he became the founding President of the Alexander Mackenzie Voyageur Route Association. He created, among his other accomplishments, a 200-page Backpacker Trail Guide and the complete 10,000 route, which was canoed by almost 100 Outdoor Recreation students from Thunder Bay's Lakehead University between the years 1987 and 1993. He also designed and produced a magnificent annotated map of MacKenzie's incredible sea to sea journey. John Woodworth continues to serve - not as boardroom executive, he avers, but as one who organizes, and puts his many skills at the service of his community. John now offers his wisdom and passion in the form of an elevated solution to traffic pollution over our once beautiful Harvey Avenue. This solution is so unique that, at a dramatic reduction in environmental costs, would solve the overwhelming problem of providing an efficient Highway 97 bypass through down town Kelowna. In fact this vision includes the realistic conclusion of saving the overburdened 97 right past the Highway 33 junction!
One cannot help but admire his dedication and agree wholeheartedly with the honours which have been bestowed upon the gentleman - the Canadian Parks Service Heritage Award in 1988, the Order of Canada in 1990, the Gabrielle Leger Award (Heritage Canada Foundation) in 1995, and an honorary Doctor of Law degree from Okanagan University College in 2000. All of these for preserving, and enhancing, our environment and our heritage. Why him? Because he can. And he cares. |
