Williams Lake turned 84 as an incorporated city on March 15 with help from the Museum of the Cariboo-Chilcotin.
Museum members hosted a tea assisted by Williams Lake Stampede royalty contestants.
Before helping cut the birthday cake, Acting Mayor Danica Hughes thanked the museum and its volunteers and said wishes are usually made on birthdays.
“My wish for Williams Lake is that we will always be mindful of our roots and our heritage and that in Williams Lake there would be a balance between the past and the present,” Hughes said. “That Williams Lake would be a place of refuge and refreshment and that we would be set apart from other communities in that we would stay together and our community spirit would remain strong.”
Hughes said council is honoured to serve the community.
Museum president Sheila Wyse encouraged people to become members of the museum.
“We welcome memberships because it helps out the museum and demonstrates the community’s support,” she said.
Cariboo Chilcotin Liberal MLA Donna Barnett congratulated the city on its birthday and presented the city with a birthday certificate from the provincial government.
Afterwards Barnett said she would also be sending the museum a certificate recognizing the province’s first Cowboy Heritage Week March 3 to 10, recognizing that the Museum of the Cariboo Chilcotin hosts the B.C. Cowboy Hall of Fame.
“It’s the first time in the history of B.C. there’s been a Cowboy Heritage Week proclaimed,” Barnett said.
Wyse also acknowledged longstanding volunteer Donna Smith with a lifetime membership to the museum.
“Donna has been volunteering for many years,” Wyse said. “She comes faithfully once, sometimes twice a week, to work at the museum,” Wyse said. “We so appreciate her help.”
Smith said she was honoured by the gesture.