LOCAL VIBE
This ‘n’ That … Whistler Style
Whistler’s network of pathways and green spaces is justly famous, and like a lot of places, the Resort Municipality of Whistler strives to honour some of its pioneers and community builders by naming parks and other landmarks after them. But who are these people?
Nebbeling Bridge spans Village Gate Boulevard on the Village Stroll and is named for Ted Nebbeling, who served as mayor of Whistler from 1990 to ’96 and as the region’s representative in the B.C. Legislative Assembly from ’96 to 2005. Having married longtime partner Jan Holmberg in 2003, for a brief time he was the world’s highest-ranking government official who was a partner in a same-sex marriage. He passed away in 2009.
Florence Petersen Park, located next to the Whistler Library and Whistler Museum, is named for a historian, author and marriage commissioner who founded the Whistler Museum and Archives Society. Before her passing in 2012, Petersen was the longest-tenured living resident of the Whistler Valley, having arrived in the 1950s.
Rebagliati Park, within Fitzsimmons Creek Park, along the pathway between Whistler Village and the Upper Village, is named for Ross Rebagliati, winner of the first Olympic men’s snowboarding gold medal ever awarded (Nagano 1998). He is also the founder of Ross’ Gold™, a company that sells apparel and medicinal marijuana.
Eva Lake Park in Nordic Estates is named for the daughter of Walter Zebrowski, a Polish immigrant and World War II veteran who developed much of the Nordic Estates neighbourhood and donated the land for the park. A bridge over the Cheakamus River, accessing the Cheakamus Crossing neighbourhood, bears Zebrowski’s name.
Millar’s Pond Park in the Bayshores neighbourhood is named for “Mahogany” John Millar, the pioneering trapper who ran his stopping house along the Pemberton Trail at nearby Millar’s Creek in the early 20th century.