Thursday, January 14, 2010
Last House on the Block

This lovely gardened home at 258 and its neighbor to the east were the last single family homes to be demolished on East 11th Street in the City of North Vancouver.  When the new buildings are completed the entire block will be multifamily housing, and Eva Rose's lovely and much loved garden will be gone.


Eva Rose, purchased the home in March 1956  from the original owner and builder, Mr. Kasher. It was built in 1954. As soon as it was livable, Mr. and Mrs. Kasher and their two young daughters moved in and construction continued until it was almost finished, then hard times hit the family, and they sold the house to Eva.  Eva did the finishing touches and built the garden.


Eva parents. Russ and Grace Rose, lived with Eva until they died. Her mother died in Dec. 1966 and father in Dec. 1968. In March of the year 2000 Eva was  80 years old and had  lived in the house for 44 years. Eva had two brothers, Frank and Philip. They were all born in North Vancouver and attended North Star School, Ridgeway, and North Van High Schools. Her father, Russ came to Canada in 1906 and to North Van in 1908. My mother, Grace came to North Van in 1914. Both Eva's mother and father came from England. Eva owned and operated a Hairdressing Salon at Kings and Lonsdale until 1948 when she sold out and was then employed at B.C. Telephone Co until her retirement.  In her retirement she tended her beautiful garden.


Eva Rose's father, Russ was a story teller.  And Eva liked to tell the stories about his early life in Scunthorpe, near Petervorough in England and his pioneer adventures in Canada. Russ told of working as a printer's apprentice at age 12, naming Syringa Creek on the Lower Arrow Lakes, in 1908 building a one room shack on what would become West 29th Street in North Vancouver, and naming  the creek there, Old Riley's Creek after his new hunter and prospector friend, Riley.


More stories by Russ Rose are available in the Year 2000 Photography Project, Your House/Our Home on file at the North Vancouver Archives.


House Demolished: 2009.
Photo: Year 2000 Project, Your House/Our Home by SW.