Huge Smythe doesn’t own any sheep, but he’s considering getting a herd of his own after receiving the Freedom of the Municipality last month.
“I have been looking into the residential bylaws and I’m pretty sure they don’t allow sheep, but I’m checking into that just in case,” he said. “I could drive my sheep across the Ted Nebbeling Bridge.”
The ski-industry visionary is considering this new career in shepherding after receiving the highest honour Whistler can bestow, alongside Nancy Wilhelm-Morden, at an Oct. 22 ceremony at the Maury Young Arts Centre, where Mayor Jack Crompton listed off the perks historically associated with similar distinctions around the world.
“One is the right to drive sheep and cattle through the town square, the right to a silken rope if hanged, the right to carry a naked sword in public, or that, if the police find the free person drunk and incapable, they will bundle him or her into a taxi and send them home, rather than allow them to spend the night in a cell,” Crompton said to rousing applause.
Inspired by the privileges bestowed by the City of London dating back to Medieval times, it was Sue Adams, free person since 2015, who reminded the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) of these traditional benefits.
“Nancy [Wilhelm-Morden] was the mayor at the time … and she said there’s no parking pass or anything like that that goes with it, but one thing the municipality had to do was fly the flag at half-mast if you die,” Adams recalled. “I thought that wasn’t much fun, and it was the day before my 70th birthday, so I was feeling a bit sensitive.”
Adams did some research into the honour, typically granted by local governments to citizens who have contributed significantly to their communities, and discovered the age-old perks, including the right to drive sheep through the town moor, “which is great for me because I grew up on a sheep farm,” she added.
In a statement, the RMOW said it mentions these apocryphal perks “more for a bit of a laugh than anything else,” but also to highlight the long and storied history these kinds of distinctions have around the world.
“Founding and running a town is no easy feat, so it’s no surprise that it’s something that’s been recognized with, in addition to honour and celebration, a wide range of perks (many hilariously out-of-date),” the statement went on.
Funnily enough, although the privileges today are largely symbolic, London officials have granted the right to drive sheep to freepersons on several occasions in modern times, including as recently as 2019.
There are, of course, actual perks that come with being granted the Freedom of the Municipality in Whistler. They can legally vote in local elections even if they reside outside of Whistler. The sitting mayor recognizes freepersons whenever they attend a council meeting—even if they don’t love the spotlight.
“I don’t attend a lot of council meetings and I’m always embarrassed when they do recognize me,” laughed Joan Richoz, freeperson since 2012.
Honourees also have their photos framed in municipal hall, something former Councillor John Grills liked to remind Adams of when he was in office.
“He always used to tease me that he had to sit there on council and my face was glaring back at him,” she said.
Eric Martin, who received the Freedom of the Municipality alongside Adams nine years ago, said the one perk people regularly ask him about is one that used to go to Citizen of the Year recipients.
“People have said, ‘Oh I see you’re a Freedom of the Municipality holder, what does that come with? Free parking?’” he recalled. “It doesn’t, but it probably should.”
Richoz, former Whistler Citizen of the Year, concurred.
“I remember how great that was. That was a hard pass to turn in at the end of the year,” she said.
Jokes aside, it’s not the free parking or silken noose or even the right to drive cattle on the Village Stroll that means the most to the select few locals who have received the Freedom of the Municipality designation.
“I look at the people who received it before me, people like Drew Meredith, like Al Raine and Garry Watson and Jim Godfrey, going way back to Pat Carleton and Myrtle Philip and Franz Wilhelmsen as well,” said Martin. “I just go down that list and think about what an impressive group of people that is, and what they’ve done and the commitment they’ve made to this community, it’s quite the company to be included in.”
