Franck’s bench keeping eye on City Hall
Memorial installed in honour of woman who held Penticton’s leaders accountable for decades
With one side directly facing City Hall, it’s hard to think of a better location for a memorial bench dedicated to a Penticton council watchdog.
Muriel Franck, who was as well known for her eccentricities as she was for her devotion to holding public officials to account, died in December 2015.
After her death, community members rallied to raise funds for a memorial bench to honour her legacy. It was installed this week.
City spokesman Mark Parker said the bench is crafted from a silver maple that had to be removed from Gyro Park due to ill health, but he was unable to provide the carver’s name or the final cost of the project.
One of Franck’s dearest friends believes the nature lover would have appreciated the gesture — despite it involving a fallen tree.
“Muriel was always pleased when anyone acknowledged the contributions she made to the welfare of the community. Possibly, this maple was subject of a photo Muriel made. She was especially fond of trees and recorded many which she urged city councils to save,” said Cass Robinson.
“However, she would understand that some trees were in danger of falling and she would be happy to see such a beautiful trunk put to good public use.”
The fundraising campaign was initiated by Dan Albas, a former city councillor and current MP for Central OkanaganSimilkameen-Nicola, who contributed the first $200 for the bench.
“Residents depend upon the media and citizen watchdogs to raise issues of concern. In hindsight in the mostly pre-electronic era of Muriel Franck’s advocacy, I believe we all owe a thanks to Ms. Franck for her efforts and her passion taking on the various councils of the day and holding them accountable,” Albas said.
“It was for that reason why I suggested a memorial bench, and am pleased to see it has now become a reality.”
The bench has seating on two sides. One faces Gyro Park and the other overlooks a garden on the lawn of City Hall, which itself looms large about 30 metres away.
“Having a tree hand-carved into a bench overlooking Gyro Park and the city gardens is a fitting tribute to a very civic-minded council watchdog who very much was an advocate for trees, parks and healthy living,” said Mayor Andrew Jakubeit.
“A community is a reflection of its people, their passions and civic pride. Muriel was larger than life, and even if you didn’t know her, you certainly knew of her.”
Little is known about Franck’s personal life, but she’s believed to have moved to Penticton in the 1950s. She never married, rode her bike everywhere and swam in Okanagan Lake every day — even when it meant chopping a hole in the ice to do so.
Franck also had a near-perfect attendance record at decades’ worth of council meetings, where she’d question politicians about business of the day and how their positions on issues had changed over time.
Prior to her death, Franck’s name had last appeared in The Herald in 2004 in a news story that quoted her sounding off about the process then-councillors were using to gain public assent to borrow $1.6 million for capital projects.
As her health declined, Franck moved to the Haven Hill Retirement Centre, where she lived out her final years.
There are conflicting reports about her age. Some suggest she was just days away from turning 98, while others claim she had already reached that milestone.