BOSWELL MEMORIAL HALL HISTORY
The original Boswell Memorial Hall was a very popular and much loved community hall for about 50 years. It was a truly beautiful log structure built by volunteers. At one end of the hall a church sanctuary was constructed in such a way that it could be closed off when the hall was not being used for church services. Its architectural design and historic popularity has many Boswellians, old timers and newly minted residents, wishing the old building was still standing. This is especially true for the members of the Boswell Historical Society. A detailed accounting of the hall and activities carried on there is documented in the original “Boswell Beginnings” on pages 45 – 48.
Alas, in the 1960’s the old hall was showing her age, seldom used and in need of a lot of work to keep it available as a usable hall. The local population at the time decided it was more prudent to build a new hall. So in 1969 – 70 the old hall was demolished and the present hall was built in 1971. During the hayday of the old hall, badminton became popular and because the hall was too short for a regulation badminton court – the back lines went up the wall. The new building was long enough and indoor badminton remained popular for some time. The quanset style building was not popular with all the local residents though, with some referring to it as “the Culvert”. It remained a controversial choice for years.
Several times during the 1960 – 1970’s the Boswell Hall experienced some record keeping irregularities, neglect and trouble. More than once the BC Registry of Companies and Societies threatened to DISSOLVE the Boswell Hall Society status as the government had not received the Annual Reports or dues as required for many years. Records show that in 1977, the Secretary for the Boswell Hall board sent all documentation that could be found, and an explanation to the BC Registrar stating that they were unable to provide the necessary documentation for the following reasons: (1) from 1967 – 1971, the old hall was mostly unused, then torn down and a new hall was built. (2) many members stored hall records in their homes and some have since moved away or expired and we are unable to locate the files. (3) A home fire had also destroyed some records. A Statutory Declaration was filed to the gov’t to explain the “failure to report”. This was accepted and the hall was able to maintain its Society status. The hall remains in good standing with the BC gov’t office to this day.
Over the years many different groups and clubs made use of the hall. One such group was the Boswell Ladies Club which generously raised and donated thousands of dollars to the hall. Another was the Mothers Club which at one time boasted 27 children under 14 in the club. The hall has been used for many celebrations and social events such as dances, suppers, political meetings, training classes, weddings, anniversaries, funerals, fund raisers and many club meetings such as Focus on Health, Vintners, Yoga, Quilters, Book club, Fitness class, Farmers Institute, Boswell and District Emergency Volunteers (first responders) and of course the Boswell Historical Society. One of the most popular current gatherings at the hall is the winter season Carpet Bowling.
In June 2007, a dedicated group of Boswell residents planned and put on a Boswell Centenial Celebration which was presented as a homecoming party honoring the pioneer families of Boswell and highlighting the history of the community. Art, articles and artifacts exhibits, July 1st Dinner, flower show and live music were just some of the celebrations enjoyed. The “Boswell Beginnings” history book, first published by the Boswell Ladies Club in 1986 was re-printed and for sale at this important community celebration.
Over the years the Hall has been updated and renovated many times to improve the Hall experience, satisfy the fire safety standards, Ministry of Health regulations and building insurance requirements. New additions were built onto the east and west ends of the Quonset. In 1987 two new furnaces with the necessary ducting was installed. That year two new fire regulation exit doors were installed. In 2001 – 2002 major renovations were done to the kitchen and bathrooms. A meeting room was added to the upstairs of the west addition. More recently a standby Emergency generator was put in place to keep electrical power going to the Hall during the many Fortis power outages. Now the Boswell Hall is recognized as the Community Emergency Evacuation Center and Muster Station in the event of a local disaster.
The Hall renovations, maintenance and day to day expenses are all covered through donations, grants and fund raising events. It must be noted that nearly everything done or accomplished at or for the hall is done by VOLUNTEERS. This includes the Board of Directors who guide, steer and champion the hall events. Records show that most who serve as Directors of the Boswell Hall Board do so for 2 – 5 years, but many remain on the Board longer because it is for most people a fun, satisfying and necessary position to maintain and improve the Boswell Hall experience for everyone. The majority of the clubs and groups who use the hall are led by volunteers. The hall is also rented out occasionally to local families for personal social events (reunions, weddings, etc) and government bodies for meetings.
It may be of interest to some that when the original Boswell Memorial Hall was incorporated in 1927 the annual membership fee was $0.25 and new members could only be accepted by vote at a General meeting. In 2020 the annual membership fee is $10.00 for single or $20.00 per family and you may join anytime.
The Boswell Memorial Hall is the main HUB of the community and an integral part of the the East Shore.
With the variety of many different clubs and groups to join and social events to attend it is easy to see why Boswell is an amazing , tight knit, fun and lively place to live, in part and mostly because of the Boswell Memorial Hall.