Over the 14 years I covered park board as a beat, I witnessed the election of four new boards.
During post-election interviews with the newbies, I always took pleasure in asking, “Have you met Eleanor Hadley?”
The typical answer was, “No, why?” which brought me even greater pleasure because I had a pretty good idea of what the future held for each of these new commissioners. My response was always, “Just wondering.”
Hadley passed away Friday after a brief illness. She was 93.
To consider Hadley “tenacious,” would be an understatement. To describe Hadley as simply a “park board watchdog” is also a disservice to her relentless determination to protect this city’s waterfronts and parks, in particular Stanley Park, which neighboured her West End home.
Park board general manager Malcolm Bromley remembers an interview I conducted with him prior to his first park board meeting when I mentioned Hadley.
“I thought who could this Eleanor Hadley be?” says Bromley. “Then I went to my first meeting and quickly found out.”
Bromley says the park board is planning a permanent memorial for Hadley, but just what that will look like is yet to be determined. He notes Hadley had a particular bench at English Bay where she loved to sit, so that could be an option.
Bromley was so impressed with Hadley’s passion for this city’s parks that about two years ago he had the park board create a special seat for the senior, complete with headphones to help her hear and her own microphone. Staff had a dashboard panel that controlled everyone’s microphone and on it next to the buttons for the seven commissioner mics was the buttons for Hadley’s.
“I remember when she saw it for the first time, she had this huge smile on her face and she was almost in tears. It felt terrific,” he remembers. “But I really thought it was important we give her a voice.”
It was also important because, until then, Hadley steadfastly refused to follow the “five-minute” rule allotted to speakers addressing the board. I can still hear her now, “You don’t tell me when my time is up young man/woman. I’m 90-years old and legally blind so I’ll speak as long as I want.” And speak she did. In fact, in response to Eleanor’s passing, former park board commissioner Laura McDiarmid described her on social media as the “eighth commissioner” to the seven-member board.
I had the pleasure of driving Hadley home from park board meetings several times over the years and despite how short that trip was, it was still long enough for her to tell me, not advise me, how to do my job. I always thanked her for her words and promised to try to do better.
I wasn’t the only one to see Hadley home following Monday night meetings of the park board, which she rarely missed. Senior staff members and park rangers also had the pleasure of regularly escorting Hadley home — I can only imagine how those conversations went. Former park board commissioner Allan DeGenova also formed a close bond with Hadley over the years.
Hadleywas so passionate about this city’s parks, she ran for park board for the first time in 2011 at age 90. The fact she was unsuccessful in this first bid for an elected seat did not deter her from taking her designated place at most park board meetings. Hadley was running for park board for the second time last fall when she ended up in hospital with pneumonia. It was there she remained remained until her death March 6. (Hadley was an equal-opportunity protagonist and besides park board she also attended city council meetings when the subject was of interest.)
Former park board chair Aaron Jasper saysHadley, known for making occasional homophobic or racist remarks, mellowed somewhat in recent years. He says last year when the park board created its Trans and Gender-Variant Inclusion Working Group, he knew Hadleywas confused by the move.
“I know she wrestled with that,” says Jasper. “But, in the end she was respectful. She was from a completely different generation and grappled with change, but she always said what she thought, whether we liked it or not.”
A celebration of life is being organized by close friends and family of Hadley, which will likely take place at the end of April.
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