The family of a well-known local photographer is asking the city to name a piece of civic infrastructure after him, but the mayor says that might take a while.
Sandra Post, former sister-in-law of Victor Post, explained that the family is thinking about this issue now that the MusĂ©e HĂ©ritage Museum has acquired Post’s collection of photographs and has a major exhibition of it on right now.
“We were just reminiscing about Victor's entire life,” the retired Morinville teacher said, mentioning some of the salient points of the family's upcoming proposal, like how he was a prominent businessman in St. Albert and an internationally-recognized photographer as well.
“He had such a wide range of interests and involved a lot of people from the community in these things,” Sandra said.
Post, who died in 2001, was known not only for his photography but also for his love of technology. He dabbled in lasers and amateur ham radio, a hobby that he shared with King Hussein of Jordan, one of the many subjects of his work as Alberta’s official photographer during the 1980s.
“Wherever he went and whatever he did, he was always a resident of St. Albert,” Sandra said. “He always thought of St. Albert as his home, talked about St. Albert wherever he went and never thought of living anywhere else.”
The family believes that, because Post not only established a name for himself through his work, but also did much to raise the profile of the city across the world, he deserves some kind of recognition.
“There’s different little cul-de-sacs and things like that, small parks … all over St. Albert. Not all of them have names. Some of them could have names for different prominent citizens. St. Albert’s had quite a few prominent citizens: politicians and artists and so on who could be recognized this way.”
Jamie Post, Victor’s second cousin, is the communications director for the Alberta Disability Workers Association and a citizen at large on the naming committee for Edmonton. He is preparing the application and says he has a pretty good understanding of the process.
“I’m sure it will require some back and forth between planning before anything is ready to go to council,” he said.
The family members expect to put their proposal forward in the next few weeks.
Mayor Nolan Crouse said the city receives many requests from local families for similar honours.
“We do try to meet many of them over the years but sometimes it can take a few years,” Crouse said.
The city will also be discussing a policy to govern such honours later this year.
In the interim, Crouse said the family might consider purchasing a name plate for Post for one of the city’s park benches, which anyone in St. Albert can do.
“It’s not naming; it’s commemoration,” he said.
