DORMERS and DOORWAYS

For nearly a decade, Suzanne Wilson has snapped off photos of North Vancouver houses slated for demolition.  It's a passion that started in 2000 when Wilson, a retired school teacher, photographed 2,000  houses in the City of North Vancouver as part of her "Year 2000 Photography Project: Your House/Our Home".  The houses that she shot came in all different shapes and sizes and ages, and Wilson mounted every one of them on a card and made them available to the homeowners.  In 2002 she began scanning the demolition permits and documenting disappearing houses in the City and the District for her North Vancouver Museum and archives project, "Demolition and Construction".

In 2007 she distributed copies of 1,000 of the photos from her Year 2000 project in celebration of the City of North Vancouver's Centennial Anniversary.  She's shot another 112 rolls of film of about-to-be demolished houses and figures that over nine years that's more than 3, 300 photos!

Wilson checks out building permits, city directories and often talks to the homeowners to compile a fascinating architectural and social history of many of the houses.  The pictures and information are documented and available to researchers at the Community History Centre in Lynn Valley.

"I don't like it if I miss a picture," she says.  "I think there should be a photographic record in the archives."

Wilson, now 71, will hang up her MZ-10 SLR Pentax camera at the end of this year.  " figure 10 year should give a good documentary record of what has gone on in North Vancouver," she says, add that that she's lived in the same house in the Cloverley area since 1972.

Pre 1911 Cloverley area home

To celebrate the last year of the 10 year project Suzanne Wilson is writing a daily Blog, http://www.demolitionmama.blogspot.com/ , inspired by the 2009 movie Julie and Julia.  Each day Wilson features a picture of a different house, church or commercial building along with a detailed history of the building and the surrounding area.

"These blog entries are meant to be a tribute to the people who called these houses 'home', she says.  "I'll go to the archives and research and I get so that I'm part of that person's life.  Someone will start off as a labourer and then he has a carpenter job, then he as a construction company, then he's president of the construction company, and then only his wife's name is listed.  So whole lives are told in the city directories."

Both Wilson and June Thompson, a retired archivist from the North Vancouver Museum and Archives, and now herself a volunteer, would love to see someone else take over Wilson's legacy.  "It's very valuable.  Once these building go, often all that's left is the photographs," says Thompson, adding that the job requires a multifaceted approach.  "It's not just photography, it's not just history, it's not just personal skills-it's a combination of all those things."

Courtesy of Eve Lazarus

Member, Community Heritage Commission

Dormers and Doorways is a publication of the Community Heritage Commission of North Vancouver, B.C., Canada

Demolition Mama

By Greg Hoekstra - North Shore Outlook

Suzanne Wilson received a heritage advocacy award on Monday from the District of North Vancouver. In 2010, Wilson wrote daily about buildings that had been demolished on her blog ‘Demolition Mama.’

Greg Hoekstra photo
Buy North Shore Outlook Photos Online

Published: February 23, 2011 2:00 PM
Updated: February 24, 2011 8:39 PM

Some people collect stamps. Others gather coins, trading cards, comic books, or antiques.



North Vancouver’s Suzanne Wilson, however, prefers collecting something a little more unique —demolished houses.



Throughout the past decade, the local history buff has photographed more than 3,000 buildings slated for destruction across the city and district.


As a volunteer at the North Vancouver Museum and Archives, Wilson says she believes every building holds a story about our past. And those tales, she adds, are too important to be lost forever in a pile of dust and rubble.


So, in 2001, Wilson and her camera got to work. Any time a building in North Vancouver was slated for demolition, municipal staff would notify Wilson.


With a small allowance to cover the cost of film, Wilson captured snapshots of the buildings, then developed black-and-white prints in a makeshift darkroom in her home. (When the lights are on, it’s called the laundry room).


The resulting images became part of the museum’s permanent collection, accessible to anyone who visited the archives.


Wilson continued on that path until sometime in 2009, when she saw the film Julie and Julia and was struck with a new idea. 


In the movie the lead character, Julie Powell, attempts to cook all of the 524 recipes in Julia Child’s famous book “Master the Art of French Cooking” over the course of a year.


Each day, Powell records her experiences in an online journal.


The idea of keeping a blog excited Wilson, a former freelance writer and unpublished novelist, who retired from her job as a teacher in the 1990s.


“I like things that are for a limited period of time and are really a challenge,” she says. “So in 2010 I started my blog and called it ‘Demolition Mama.’”


Beginning Jan. 1, 2010, Wilson set to work on a project that would keep her busy for the next 365 days.
From Monday to Friday she wrote daily about a building that had been torn down. On the weekends, meanwhile, she would blog about travel (on Saturdays) and churches (on Sundays).


Using building permit records and city directories, Wilson was often able to piece together the stories of homes in North Van — watching many balloon in value from $2,000 to $600,000 in only a few generations.


“It was fascinating. You’d see people’s lives develop,” says Wilson.


“It would mention someone as a student, then as a labourer, then as a president of a construction company, and then you’d just see their wife’s name,” she adds. “You’d follow their whole lives. You’d get to know this person, and then they’d die.”


The project, she says, took a great deal of effort and work, but in the end it was worth it, because it’s led to something that will be of use to the museum for years to come.


“I like doing things that are permanent. Things that are going to stick around when I’m done,” says Wilson with a smile. “This project is my tribute to the people who lived in those houses.”


This is not the first time that Wilson — who is originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin — has embarked on such an ambitious project for the museum.


In the year 2000, she set about photographing 2,000 homes in the city to celebrate the new millennium, culminating with an art show at the Presentation House gallery.


“It was my way of celebrating,” she recalls fondly.


Seven years later, Wilson used 1,000 of her doubles to make decorative cards, which she then bundled in small gift bags and hung from doorknobs.


“That was a huge feat,” she laughs. “It was sort of like leaving a present, then running away and hiding behind a tree.”


When asked what motivates her to invest so much time in such projects, Wilson says it’s simple: she wants to give something back to the community where she’s raised her family.


“This entire community is our home,” she says. “This is our history, and it needs to be shared.”



On Monday, Feb. 21, the District of North Vancouver presented a heritage advocacy award to Suzanne Wilson for her various projects for the North Vancouver Museum and Archives, including the blog ‘Demolition Mama.’ To view Wilson’s work, visit www.demolitionmama.blogspot.com.ghoekstra@gmail.com
twitter.com/greghoekstra

Suzanne Wilson
Posted on February 8, 2011 by Eve Lazarus

Suzanne Wilson spent 10 years shooting photographs of North Vancouver houses either about to be torn down or in the throes of construction. Her project “Demolition and Construction” consists of 4,500 black and white photos and is available at the North Vancouver Museum and Archives.

She finished up Demolition Mama at the end of 2010 and started her second blog Churches on Sunday in January 2011. Her photos of North Vancouver churches are also in the Archives permanent collection.

I asked Suzanne about her blogs:
I was looking for a way to celebrate the last year of my 10 year volunteer photography project for the North Vancouver Archives when I saw the movie "Julie and Julia".  A daily blog just like Julie published was the answer. 

                                                         Suzanne Wilson 2009

My 10 year project was titled "Demolition and Construction" and it was photographs of just that.  Over the 10 years I took approximately 4500 black and white photographs of homes to be demolished and buildings being constructed.  In my basement darkroom I prepared contact sheets for  each roll of film. The contact sheets, negatives, and a record sheet for each roll are on file at the North Vancouver Archives. 

I designed the blog to run every day of 2010 and be a tribute to the families who lived in the houses demolished,  that made these houses their home and contributed to the community life of North Vancouver.  I named the blog, "Demolition Mama".  Monday through Friday featured demolished North Vancouver homes; photos, architectural descriptions, and histories researched at the North Vancouver Archives.  On Saturday I added a Travel Feature and on Sunday a Church Feature.  These were a way of sharing other collections of my personal photography.

                                                 1640 Dempsey Rd., 1938 to 2010

During the 2010 Demolition Mama blog I published histories of  255 homes on my blog.  Since I was out of town from 1 to 3 weeks each month the automatic publishing feature of Blogspot was essential. Having all these blogs ready to be published before I left town was demanding.  I figure for ever day I was in town I spent 4.5 hours working on the blog. This challenge also brought its reward.

"Demolition Mama" received hits from all over the world: Africa, Europe, the Middle East, India, Russia, all across Canada and the US.  Comments included those from the car salesman in Egypt and the student in India. The most important and rewarding comments and e mails came from families who had lived in the North Vancouver homes featured in blog.  The information they shared was then included in the blog.  That is the strength of the blog, it can be changed at any time, even after it is published. 

It is still being changed.  It seems the blog hangs around in cyber space indefinitely.  Even though Dec. 31, 2010 marked the end of publishing "Demolition Mama" families are still accessing it and sending me thank yous for getting them in contact with other family members and adding their own bit of history to the blog.

1879 St. Paul's Episcopal Church                   

 Port Gambel, Washington

2011 has brought a new blog "Churches On Sundays".  I have always attended church and photographed churches where ever I traveled since the year 2000.  I have also photographed all the churches of North Vancouver for the permanent collection at the North Vancouver Archives. Some of these were part of the Sunday Church Feature in the "Demolition Mama" 2010 blog.  Starting in 2011 my new blog "Churches On Sundays" will be published each and every  and only on Sundays.  Churches as a place of beauty and inspiration  are in every community.  The blog is a tribute to the congregations that built and maintain these churches.

http://www.demolitionmama.blogspot.com/
http://www.churchesonsundays.blogspot.com/

Posted in Researching your home's history
Tagged Churches on Sundays, Demolition and Construction, Demolition Mama, North Vancouver Museum and Archives, Suzanne Wilson
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Heritage Award
2011
Suzanne Wilson

During the last 10 years I have taken approximately 6000 photos of mainly homes in North Vancouver.  These photos plus in some cases histories of the home or residents are now all part of the permanent collection at the North Vancouver Archives.

Most of these photographs are from the project "Demolition and Construction" 2001 to 2010.  The main body of these photographs is homes in North Vancouver District and City that have been demolished during that time. To pay honor to the residents of these homes, the families that have contributed to life in our community, in 2010 I published the daily blog "Demolition Mama".  Each weekday a post showed a photo of the home, gave details of the location and architecture, and relayed a brief history of the families who made the house their home. Starting in 2011 is my blog "Churches On Sundays" that will be published each Sunday and will include  all the church buildings in North Vancouver, past and present. This tribute to the congregations that built and support these churches will include interior and exterior photos, give details of the architecture, and relay a brief history of the building. In the year 2011 I received an award for Heritage Advocacy from the District of North Vancouver.

Other photographs housed at the North Vancouver Archives are from my "Year 2000 Photography Project, Your House/Our Home" where I photographed over 2000 homes in the City of North Vancouver to celebrate the Year 2000.  Over 800 are accompanied by additional information.  This project was on exhibit January to June 2001 at the North Vancouver Archives in Presentation House. In the year 2002 I received a Queen Elizabeth II Medal for this work. To celebrate North Vancouver City's 100 birthday in 2007 I distributed 1000 copies of the "Year 2000 Photography Project, Your House/ Our Home" photos to the residents of these homes. North Vancouver has been our home since 1972.

Blogs:http://www.demolitionmama.blogspot.com/

            http://www.churchesonsundays.blogspot.com/

MERRY CHRISTMAS

THE FIRST CHRISTMAS

"And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be enrolled with Mary his betrothed, who was with child.  And while they were there, the time came for her to be delivered.  And she gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

"And in that region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.  And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around the, and they were filled with fear.  And the angel said to them, "Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; for to you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.  And this will be a sign for you: you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

"Glory to God in the highest,

and on earth peace among men

with whom he is pleased!"

(The Christmas story from the Bible, Luke 2:4-14.)

Photo: The manger scene in the photo above was a wedding gift to Suzanne and Alan Wilson in 1967. (See December 1, 2010 Blog Post,  Happy 43rd Wedding Anniversary Alan and Suzanne.) It has been part of the Wilson family's Christmas display ever since: when they lived in Hollywood, when they lived in Burquitlam, when they lived on Long Beach B.C., when they lived in Duncan, and the 38 years they have lived on Shavington St. in North Vancouver.

Christmas Eve Special Feature
Juergenmeyers on Taylor Street
225 Taylor Street
Kaukauna, Wisconsin

This two storey home with the basement and broad front porch was the home of  Martin, Marie, and Hazel Juergenmeyer in the 1920's and early 1930's.
Martin Juergenmeyer ran a small bus company between Kaukauna and Appleton.  After their daughter Hazel was married in 1934, Martin and Marie Juergenmeyer rented out the house and moved to Seymour, Wisconsin.  Here Martin bought a Phillip's 66 Gas Station (See Blog Post Saturday Travel Feature, "Phillips 66 in Seymour", Saturday, March 20, 2010) and built a house attached to the back.  Marie and Martin planted statice on part of the acreage behind the house and sold it to the local funeral parlor for floral presentations. 

When Martin died in 1948 his wife Marie moved back to the house at 225 Taylor Street in Kaukauna.   The house was modified for her to live upstairs and she continued to rent out the downstairs.  An enclosed stairway and entrance porch was added to the back of the house to protect her from climbing the stairs in the snowy Wisconsin winter.  The upstairs apartment had a  large square hall leading to the living room that looked out to Taylor street and a kitchen, to a bedroom, and to a bathroom.

The downstairs was rented to Bill and Betty Roerig.  Here is Bill's description of their time on 225 Taylor Street. "225 Taylor Street is the source of many fond memories. It was our first home... We arrived in Kaukauna very newly married--August 22, 1948--and the promise of a house to rent from a local dry cleaner. In going in to get the key, etc., we were informed that they had changed their mind. Now what? On leaving the store we bumped into a local police officer who told us that your grandmother in Seymour was planning to move back to Kaukauna. So, off we went to Seymour, introduced ourselves to your grandma who told us that there had already been 14 folks ahead of us. Oh boy! She did not seem very friendly but asked us what church we intended to join. Knowing that Kaukauna was mostly Catholic we quietly said we were Lutheran. She asked if we would be willing to take her to church [Trinity] from time to time and of course we said, certainly. The rest is 7 years of a very good relationship, especially for Betty as your grandmother acted as a mother figure for a young girl 220 miles from home for the first time---

"At first we shared the bath upstairs for a year, or so, and after a  couple of awkward incidents I put a toilet and a shower in the basement. Your grandma bought a TV, wonder of wonders, and she would invite us up there for a 30 minute program, much to our delight... In 1955 we began building our own home on the South Side of Kaukauna and our relationship with your grandma was coming to the end. She had lost her health and , I believe, was hospitalized for a short period. After being discharged from the hospital she went to stay with her old friend, a Mrs. Clough (sic). She then wanted to return to her own home and with the help of a friend of mine we managed to bring her up the outside stairs to her own bed. Betty helped care for her, read to her, prayed with her almost to the end. I do not recall the details of that period since I was busy building and teaching. We treasured those years with your grandma who was a "no nonsense", lovable lady...


"The house faced North and the lower rooms were oriented as follows; The kitchen was in the southeast corner with the rear entrance on the south side. Entry was at ground level with maybe 3 steps up to the kitchen and several steps down into the basement. ( I was in charge of keeping the furnace going where I once blew the furnace door off , not knowing how to handle Pocahontas(sic) coal----also, if grandma needed heat upstairs in the morning there were several thumps on the floor to rouse me out of my slug-a-bed laziness---one night, due to my lack of knowledge about coal, we burned coke at home, I found myself on the roof  stamping out sparks from a chimney fire).---The northeast room was designed for a dining area but was used for a living room since there was no suitably large room for a master bedroom which , in turn, was the northwest corner with access through French doors. The stairway to the upstairs was in the south center off the "master bedroom" and a smaller southwest bedroom which became the boy's room.

"The basement consisted of a cistern to the right of the stairs, the furnace was the octopus style in the center of the basement, the coal bin was in the northwest corner and  a small room in the northeast corner served later as a shower and toilet..." (Bill Roerig 2010.)

In 2010 Zestimate (See Link.) reported that the 2009 tax assessor's value of the house was $94,000.  The lot size was listed as 7,405 sq. ft.

The house at 225 Taylor Street was the home of Suzanne Wilson's grandparents and her mother Hazel.  Suzanne has vivid memories of her grandmother, Marie, living in the upstairs apartment and the Roerigs.  Marie is the middle name of both Suzanne Wilson and her granddaughter Holly Misner.


Thank You: To Bill Roerig for his memories of 225 Taylor Street.

Photo: Taken in Kaukauna, Wisconsin in 2006 by SW.
Link: http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/225-Taylor-St-Kaukauna-WI-54130/69784528_zpid/



Happy 43rd Wedding Anniversary Alan and Suzanne

First Methodist Church of Hollywood,

Hollywood, California

The First Methodist Church of Hollywood (now called Hollywood United Methodist Church)  at 6817 Franklin Ave. is just north of Hollywood Boulevard and Grauman's Chinese Theater. It is also on the corner with North Highland Boulevard which was in the opening scene of "The Godfather". To the west of the main church (the door entrance can be seen on the left end of the photo above) is a smaller Chapel and parlor.  Between the two is a patio lined with 10 foot high poinsettia plants that have been donated over the years.  The formal Chapel and large parlor has many Spanish architectural features and much heavy dark wood.

"The vision for Hollywood United Methodist Church as "a sanctuary of hope" began back in 1909 when the first congregants started to organize. Eventually with an ever-expanding business community and a growing congregation, a bold step was undertaken to purchase a lot on the corner of Highland and Franklin Avenues at the base of the Hollywood Hills, and to build a new home.

"Construction began in 1927, with the Recreational Building built first to house the congregation's worship services, after which the Sanctuary and Education Building would be constructed. A series of set backs challenged the congregation during construction, including the discovery of soft, unstable ground on the site for the Sanctuary. Monstrous holes were dug by workers who labored 65-feet below ground. To stabilize the footing and foundation, massive pits and wells were filled with enough concrete to equal 15 railroad freight cars.

"The congregation's faith and perseverance was finally rewarded on March 16, 1930. The majestic building was unveiled to enthusiastic acclaim, launching its distinguished reign as a Hollywood landmark. An historic postcard describes the church building as "...one of the most famous churches on the Pacific coast," with an atmosphere of "...reverence in symbolic beauty and compelling stillness."In December 1981 the church was declared Historic-Cultural Monument #248 by the City of Los Angeles."(See Link 1.)

 The Vancouver Sun

      Saturday, February 9, 2008

      Arts and Life, Section E

      Weekend Mix

       ‘Wedding Plans and Memories’

Suzanne Wilson

My husband of 40 years and I were eating breakfast and reading the weekend Sun and National Post  at The 80’s Restaurant in North Vancouver when the phrase “caught the bride’s bouquet” “caught” my eye. 

Yes, “I still remember when ‘we’ got married like it was yesterday”.  I especially remember throwing my bouquet.  And I most certainly remember “who caught it”.



Alan and I were married in the chapel of the First Methodist Church of Hollywood December 1, 1967.  The reception followed in the church parlor across the hall.  When it was time to throw the bouquet I climbed the beautiful Spanish tile staircase.  I turned around and I threw the flowers over my head. The bouquet flew. I looked to see who would catch it. My friend’s faces turned upward, arms raised in anticipation, and then they stopped. There was the bouquet, “caught” by the six sided chandelier that lit up the hall. 



A pole to open high church windows was fetched and the bouquet tumbled from the chandelier and was “caught” by a good friend and neighbor.  It did its magic.  She was married the following summer at Knott’s Berry Farms.  She threw her bouquet from a staircase on a fake exterior facade.  There was no chandelier, only a young girl to “catch” it.

Photo: Top photo of First Methodist Church of  Hollywood, thank you to cardcow.com

Link: http://www.hollywoodumc.org/History-Hollywood-United-Methodist-Church.aspx

Happy U. S. Thanksgiving
Celebrating With Jefferson

The Jefferson Apartment building at 614 Jefferson Street sits on the bluff above the heart of downtown Spokane.  The apartment building was constructed circa 1910 in this area known as the lower South Hill.  The homes and apartment buildings of this area remain dusty jewels of  "Spokane's Age of Elegance" 1890-1910.  No matter the size of these homes they are iced with cornices, moldings, arches, lintels, bay windows, pediments, pilasters, verandas, scrolled brackets, finials, and columns.  Many of the original details can still be seen; this is the case with the three storey Jefferson.

Note the original diamond outlined leaded glass front door and side panels.  The brass kick plate runs up both sides of the door and ends in a decorative cut out. (See photo below.)

Front entrance and doorway.

The front interior staircase also dates back to 1910.  The carved spindles, rosettes, and square topped knoll posts shine in the dark wood. (See photo below.)

Front interior steps leading to third floor

The  original features in each apartment have been maintained.  Apartment #4 has a hallway leading to one bedroom, a bathroom,  a living room/dining room, and a hall pantry leading to the kitchen, and another small bedroom/office.  In the living room of apartment #4  are the 1910 built in buffet  and windows looking out to the side yard and .  Similar to the front door, the buffet again has the  diamond shapes in the leaded glass windows of the doors of the upper shelves. The handles on the lower drawers are in the original style.  The dark wood is not only on the buffet, but on all the doors and moldings. (See photo below.

Apartment #4 built in buffet

Between  the living room/dining room and the kitchen is a hallway pantry with a built in buffet covering two of the walls.  The  upper shelves can be seen through the glass in the doors.  A wide counter separates the shelf area from the lower drawers and cupboards with their original pulls.  And yes, this lower area includes a pull out flour bin. (See photo below.)

Apartment #4 built in buffet in hallway pantry

From the hallway pantry with its built in buffet is the entrance to the kitchen with windows looking out the back of the building.  Off one side of the kitchen is the hallway to the back entrance and stairs to the street.  Off the other side of the kitchen is a small bedroom/den/office, again with windows to the side yard.

The bathroom to the right of the front hall boasts the original bathtub with its claw feet. (See photo below.) The floors throughout the apartment are the original wood.  And in the basement the foundation walls are built of  large rough stone.

Apartment #4  Original claw foot leg on the bathtub

Note: Laura Wilson, daughter of Suzanne Wilson lived in apartment #4 at the 614 Jefferson in 2002 and 2003 while attending Gonzaga University where she received a Masters Degree in Education.

Photos: Exterior taken in 2010 by SW.  Interior taken in 2002 by SW.

Hotel Angel on the Bridge

Saturday Travel Feature

Henley-on-Thames

England

"Henley-on-Thames is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in South Oxfordshire, England, about 10 miles downstream and north-east from Reading, 10 miles upstream and west from Maidenhead. It is near the corner between the counties of Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire

"The first record of medieval settlement dates to 1179, when it is recorded that King Henry II "had bought land for the making of buildings". King John granted the manor of Benson and the town an manor of Henley to Robert Harcourt in 1199. A church is first mentioned at Henley in 1204. In 1205 the town received a paviage grant, and in 1234 the bridge is first mentioned. In 1278 Henley is described as a hamlet of Benson with a Chapel. It is probable that the street plan was established by the end of the 13th century.
As a demesne of the crown it was granted to John de Molyns, in 1337 whose family held it for about 250 years. It is said that members for Henley sat in parliaments of Edward I and Edward III, but no writs have been found to substantiate this.

"The existing Thursday market, it is believed, was granted by a charter of King John. A market was certainly in existence by 1269, however, the jurors of the assize of 1284 said that they did not know by what warrant the earl of Cornwall held a market and fair in the town of Henley. The existing Corpus Christi fair was granted by a charter of Henry VI.

"Henley Bridge is a five arched bridge across the river which was built in 1786. The church of St. Mary is located nearby and features a tower built in the 16th century. (See photo above.)

"Henley is a world renowned centre for rowing, each summer holding the Henley Royal Regatta, one of the highlights of the social calendar of the English middle and upper classes. The regatta is held on a stretch of the river that is naturally straight. The event became Royal in 1851. In that year Prince Albert became the patron of the regatta." (See Link 2.)

Captain Alan Wilson, 1st Mate Suzanne Wilson

and Gay Belinda Class Cabin Cruiser, 1978

In the 1970's Bert Bushnell winner of a gold medal for rowing in the 1948 Olympics ran a cabin cruiser for hire at Ray Mead Road in Maidenhead, England.  (See Link 1.) A family could rent a boat to live on for a week and navigate the many locks and visit the many little towns on the Thames River.  After a 30 minute lesson the cabin cruiser was yours, for better or worse.  Ambitions of cruising all the way to Oxford  were turned into the reality of making it as far as Pangbourne, and feel lucky, a total travel distance there and back of 20 miles in one week.  But in that 20 miles you could: moor at the Angel on the Bridge riverside pub , do brass rubbings in tiny old churches, , say hello to the lock master with the black eye patch, visit with the river's swan master, feed the cows in the field next to where you moored for the night, and catch minnows.  The weirs and locks were their own challenge (and reason for the few number of miles travelled).  The weirs (small dams) needed to be dodged and the line up at the locks often necessitated balancing on a 4x4 beam while hanging onto the boat with a rope unit it was your boat's turn to go into the next lock.



Photos:  Of Henley-on-Thames, a 1978 post card.  Map.  Captain and 1st Mate
                 taken in 1978 by Richard Wilson.
Link 1: http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/olympics/bert-first-struck-gold-in-1948-now-he-wants-it-all-over-again-487686.html

Link 2: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henley-on-Thames
Link 3: http://www.rg9.co.uk/angel

Remembrance Day
The Wall

This is a story of my family.  My grandmother, Marie,  was born on a farm in Petasky, Michigan.  She had 5 brothers and 4 sisters.  She moved to Wisconsin as a bride and died in 1952 at age 67 in Kaukauna, Wisconsin.  My mother kept in touch with several of her brothers and sisters.  One of these was her Uncle Charlie who had moved to Rapid City South Dakota. In 1956 when I graduated from high school and my brother graduated from grade school my mother took us by train and then bus to visit the Black Hills, Yellowstone Park, and her Uncle Charlie.

I had heard about her Uncle Charlie over the years.  He and his 1st wife Kate had never had children.  Then in his 60's they were divorced and he married his second wife, the young Kate.  Kate had been a nurse in the Korean War.  Her 1st husband had been a pilot who was killed in that war.  She had a son, Alan, from that marriage. Kate and Uncle Charlie also had a son, of course, named Charlie. Charlie had red hair and freckles, was rambunctious and looked like "What me worry?"  This great gift to Uncle Charlie so late in his life became his life.  Alan was 9 and Charlie was about 5 when my mother, brother, and I visited this family.

Many years after this visit I heard that Charlie, the great gift to my mother's Uncle Charlie, was killed in Vietnam.  My prayers went out to Uncle Charlie in his grief and Kate who had suffered such a loss in the Korean War.

When the Vietnam War Memorial was installed in Washington D. C. an accompanying "Moving Wall"  went on tour.  The replica was true to the original, a long rambling wall of black with the names of those that sacrificed their lives in the Vietnam War.  A soldier stood on guard with eyes on the wall. This "Moving Wall" came to Vancouver in 1988 and was mounted in Sunset Beach Park.  It was here that I visited the "Moving Wall".  I approached the soldier on guard who took me to the spot where "Charlie Reberg" was carved into the black surface.  I touched his name and thought of the little five year old with red hair and freckles and his parents who adored him.  And I prayed for them and all the other parents who had such a loss.

In 1998 the US Government offered rubbings of the names of those on the wall on request.  I gratefully received a copy of "Charlie Reberg" as it appears on "The Wall".  It can be seen in the photo below.

Each Remembrance Day, I remember.  I remember the sparkle in Uncle Charlie's eyes as he watched his five year old Charlie play in the front yard of their Rapid City home.  I remember that quietness of 9 year old Alan that seemed to reflect the death of his father in the Korean War. I think of the grief of young Kate and her double sacrifice.  And I pray for all the other families that have made this sacrifice.  Let us remember.

Photo: Taken of Suzanne Wilson's copy of "Charlie Reberg's" name on the Vietnam Memorial, "The Wall."
Link:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_Veterans_Memorial

1901 House on Victoria Drive

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving
The Story of Two Houses and a Tent
Vancouver and West Vancouver, B.C.

Elizabeth Ruth Clarke was born in 1874 in London England.  In 1902 Elizabeth married Frederick James Ades. They moved to Vancouver, Canada in 1905.   They had three children, Nina, Gordon, and Nancy and owned their own home on Victoria Drive. (Built in 1901.) Elizabeth worked as a maid to vaudeville actors performing in Vancouver.  She was a dresser for Marion Davies, who married William Randolph Hearst.  She was also a cleaner at the Beacon Theater in Vancouver.    In 1922 Frederick left the family and never returned. 

Elizabeth could not pay the taxes on the Victoria Drive home, and a  neighbor, Mr. Robertson, purchased the house for the price of the tax bill.  Elizabeth and the three children moved to a tent with a wooden floor at 19th and Railway in West Vancouver.  The tent in the photo below is an example of the kind of tent it might have been.  Nancy and Gordon  continued to attend Lord Selkirk School in Vancouver by taking the West Vancouver ferry to Vancouver each day. Elizabeth and her daughter Nina also took the ferry to go to work in Vancouver.

Tent of type Elizabeth Clark Ades and 3 children lived in-NVMA #4008

In 1923  Elizabeth and the three children moved back to Vancouver, to an apartment on Commercial Drive.  In 1926 Elizabeth bought the house at 1833 Lakewood Drive, Vancouver.  The house was on a 1/2 lot south of the lane between 17th and 18th Street.  Her son Gordon and his wife bought the house from Elizabeth in 1948.  Elizabeth moved to Pico Rivera, California to live with her daughter Nancy and her husband.  She later lived in Huntington Park, California with her daughter Nina and her husband and their son Alan Wilson.  Elizabeth died in 1963 and is buried at Rose Hills Cemetery in Whittier, California.

1833 Lakewood Drive, Vancouver House

Note:  Elizabeth Ruth Clarke Ades was the maternal grandmother of Alan

                  Wilson, husband of Suzanne Wilson.

Photos:  Top photo taken of Victoria Drive, Vancouver house in 2010.

                  Tent photo taken of  NVMA photo number 4008.                     

                  Bottom photo copied from family history of Lakewood Drive home.

Demolition:  House on Lakewood Drive was demolished in 1982 and the
                  present house built.

Sunday, October 3, 2010
Sunday Church Feature
The Church on the Hill
North Lonsdale United Church
North Vancouver, B.C.

"North Lonsdale Church had its beginning in 1913 when a small group, of people met in a little store on Lonsdale Ave. at King’s Rd., with George Hamilton a student minister conducting the services.

Grocery store meeting place of congregation in 1913 at
south east corner of Lonsdale Ave. and East Kings Road.

"By 1915 a small church was built on East King Road, first called Bethel Methodist Church but the name was soon changed to North Lonsdale Methodist.

North Lonsdale United Church at 131 East Kings Rd.

First Evangelical Baptist Church, 131 East Kings Rd., 2010

" A Sunday School was with Mr. E.T. Bailey as superintendent. At the time of organic union of the Presbyterian, Methodist and Congregational churches in 1925, this church became North Lonsdale United, its congregation augmented by those who transferred from St. Stephens Presbyterian. From 1914 to 1919, North Lonsdale was a joint pastoral charge with West Vancouver, from 1919 to 1934, with Lynn Valley, and from 1934 to 1957 with Capilano.

"The King’s Road church was bare, with plain wooded chairs for the congregation and a little pump organ. There was a small kitchen at the rear with a stove on which the ladies prepared hearty congregational dinners. This room was used also for meetings, as a Sunday School classroom, and as a dressing-room at Christmas concert time. Until 1948 North Lonsdale Church, received financial assistance from the Board of Home Missions, but from that time it was self-supporting, the minister’s salary and expenses of the manse being shared with Capilano.

"By 1948 it became evident that the little church was no longer adequate, and in 1950 two lots were purchased at the corner of Lonsdale Ave. and Osborne Rd. A building which was to serve eventually as a Christian Education Centre, but was to be used as church in the meantime, was erected largely by volunteer labour and was dedicated on December 13, 1953. The sanctuary furnished with dignity and good taste was truly appreciated, but it was soon realized that the building was not large enough, especially in view of the increasing Sunday School attendance. In 1956 a lot with house on it, adjoining the church property to the south was bought and Sunday School classes were held in the house as well as in the church building. In 1957 it was felt that the time had come for North Lonsdale Church to have a full-time minister, and Rev. Hislop Dickson who had been minister of the joint charge since 1946, was called to be our pastor. To meet our additional financial responsibilities, and to pay for the house and lot, a successful fund-raising drive was carried out under the chairmanship of Mr. T. D. Hammond.

"A church building was begun early in 1958, adjoining the one already in use and extending from Osborne Rd. south to the lane. When the house had to be torn down to make way for the new building some Sunday School classes were held in a vacant store on Lonsdale Ave. The Wells organization supervised a fund-raising campaign in the fall of 1958. The church building was completed and dedicated on May 15, 1960. With its bright and attractive sanctuary, comfortably-furnished lounge and commodious auditorium and well- planned kitchens it is indeed a contrast to the first little North Lonsdale Church." (3380 Lonsdale Avenue, south east corner of Lonsdale and Osborne.)(See Link 1.)

CGIT Girls Christine Robinson and Laura Wilson

1982

Another part of North Lonsdale United Church's history was CGIT, Canadian Girls in Training.  CGIT was a weekly group for girls age 12 to 17.  It was based on the scripture Luke 2:52: "And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature, and favor with God and man."  In the booklet The Story of North Lonsdale 1913 to 1990-The Church on the Hill  there is a photo of a CGIT group that met in 1933.  The booklet also mentions that in 1967 there were 90 girls and 10 leaders in the CGIT group at North Lonsdale United Church.  Smaller CGIT groups continued to meet throughout the 1980's.

Note: Suzanne Wilson was a CGIT leader at North Lonsdale United Church, the PR chairperson and later the President of the Provincial CGIT Board of B.C.  Both of her daughter, Amy and Laura, attended CGIT.

Reference: The Story of North Lonsdale 1913 to 1990-The Church on the Hill  is available at the North Vancouver Archives.

Photos: 1. Top photo of the 1960 North Lonsdale United Church building was
                     taken in September 2010 by SW. The part of the building that is on
                     the left, the east, is the 1953 church building.
                2. 1926 photo of the store, (available at the North Vancouver Archives
                     #5276), that was on the south east corner of  Lonsdale Ave. and 
                     Kings Road where the congregation first 
                     met. (Photo photoshopped.) First listing of the store in City
                     Directories is 1915, "J. Keene grocer and postmaster, Lonsdale Ave.
                     car, King, same".
               3. The church door with the pastor in front is the 1915 church at 131
                    East Kings Road. (See Reference.) It is still in use as the First
                    Evangelical Baptist Church. 
              4. The 1915 church at 131 East Kings now the First Evangelical Baptist
                   Church, photo taken September 2010 by SW.
              5. Photo taken of North Lonsdale United Church CGIT girls in 1982 by
                   Sharon Way.

Link 1:http://nluc.org/about-us/history-of-the-church/