Losing Grandma’s Log: A Personal and Community Loss at Trafalgar Beach

Losing Grandma’s Log: A Personal and Community Loss at Trafalgar Beach

When I first began painting murals near Kitsilano Beach, I never expected to feel such a deep connection to a log. But it wasn't just any log. It was Grandma’s Log—a silent witness to generations of Vancouverites who grew up, swam, played, and lived by the sea. A monument in its own right.

A few weeks ago, I watched in dismay as city workers began cutting it up. I was heartbroken. I had no idea of its full story until I read a moving comment shared on The Vancouver Sun article about the removal.

RL Read recounted a family history that touched my heart: how their grandmother first came to the beach in 1929, and how “Grandma’s log” washed up in 1963, becoming both a fixture and a symbol. Children learned to swim in its shadow. Teenagers sat and talked on its bark. Even through its warnings—“don’t get caught underneath!”—it remained a beloved relic.

To learn that geologists had once fought to preserve the geology of the area, and that proposals were floated to remove the log as early as 2011, adds yet another layer. But none of that makes it easier to watch it go now.

This isn’t just about a log. It’s about memory. History. Place. The stories that give meaning to where we live and who we are. My murals were a tribute to the nature, culture, and beauty of this place. But they were also unintentionally in conversation with Grandma’s log—as if I was continuing the story she had helped write.

We need to ask ourselves what kind of city we are becoming. In our rush to modernize, are we steamrolling the very things that root us here?

To the Read family—and all who have memories tied to that piece of driftwood—I share your sorrow. I felt it too.

Let’s remember her well. 🌊💔