HOWARD'S NATURE TRAIL

The following narrative is dependent on my personal view and memories backed up with a bit of "he says, she says".

Before there was a Rainbow Routes Association, in the early days of the Trans Canada Trail, there was a Valley East Community Trails Association (VECTA) and it was this group that put the first developed trail through the then empty field that existed between Dominion Drive and Jean d' Arc. Oh there were was a trail there already but it wasn't a trail to make a walk a pleasant calming experience so we decided to build one. We also reasoned this would be VECTA's introduction to the community and we envisioned, in our naive way, that those folks who were all speaking out with enthusiasm about having local trails they could walk on they would naturally want to join us and this would be the first of many trails we would develop.

So away we went, we got permission from the Town of Valley East (I don't recall it being a city at that time), got some sponsors, you can still see their names on the VECTA Trail Head Sign on the path off the Howard Armstrong Recreation Centre, and Connie Houle of Tracks and Wheels even paid for his landscaper to help us out. We got donations of gravel, free expert advice, and some help from Dan Yachuk of Valley East's Recreation Department.

So we cut brush and built a trail that went from the Rec. Centre's Parking Lot, with a branch coming off the side walk on Dominion Drive, to Park Street. We had a few problems getting the trail surface finished that never were resolved. My involvement with the group came to an end due to a few issues with one of the main ones, if not the main one, was the collapsing of the project when the town announced that a drainage ditch was to be built through the same field in which our trail was located and the trail would be lost. What was most upsetting to me was that we were never advised this was going to happen even though members of council knew who we were and some pretended to be supporters. We learned about the ditch at a public meeting at the Centennial Arena. When told of this I recall asking Mayor Robert what is going to happen with the trail, he advised me to ask "the trails people", I responded that we "are the trails people", no response was ever forthcoming. It was at that moment that I began to despise the VE Council of the day. I, for one, was delighted when the Harris Government's forced amalgamation on the local communities to be come the City of Greater Sudbury. With amalgamation I hoped to part of a larger group with a more enlightened leadership. Another example of my naïveté.

The ditch never did get built and the trail went on to be well used by the locals even in it's incomplete state until the next attack when plans were made to expand the soccer fields and most of the trail would be lost. VECTA was no longer around but a new group had been formed, an Ad Hoc committee of VECAN, Valley East Trails and it was when VET was lobbying for the re-establishment of the trail that we found out that there never was supposed to be a trail built in the first place, we were given permission to build a trail just to "shut us up".

So a trail was re-established with help from the city using existing trails. Some of our suggestions were ignored but we got some wood chips and gravel and a hand full of us went at it. Part of the original VECTA trail still existed but someone in their wisdom decided to turn a narrow walking trail into a driveway.

It was decided this new trail should have a name and so a contest was held and a young fellow, who's name escapes me for the moment, won the contest by coming up with Howard's Nature Trail. For his effort he got a brand new bike from Hanmer CTC.

Watch this space for more thoughts and photographs over the next few weeks. Anyone who remembers something else or different from what I've written here, please make a comment in the space provided.