Tuesday, July 20, 2010

High on the Westover Hill

The now abandoned house high on the hill at 1842 Westover Road was originally built in 1948 for $6,000 by J. Cathill. In the 1950 City Directory the only listing at that address is "new house". By 1960 Andrew and Mary Korabo were the owners. Andrew Korabo was the president of Karibou Glass. Mary is  listed as a widow. Another Korabo was also resident Ted Korabo, a glazier at Karibou Glass. In 1971 William G. and Helen B. Reynolds were the owners at 1642 Westover Road. William Reynolds was employed as a salesman at Beaver Lumber. In 1980 William was the manager of the Eagles Club. Helen Reynolds was president of the Eagles Ladies Auxiliary. Requests from the staff of the 1991 and 1995/1996 City Directories were not returned or could not be verified.

Westover Road runs from Allan Road to Lynn Canyon Park in the Lynn Creek area of Lynn Valley. On one side of Westover Road is Draycott Park and on the other side is Westover Park. In fact, the house at 1842 Westover Road looks down on the tennis courts of Draycott Park.

Building Permit: Applied to the District of North Vancouver in June 2010.

Photo: Taken in June 2010 by SW.

Monday, July 19, 2010
The English on Kings Road

In 1955 G. Reid built the ranch style home at 548 Kings Road for $12,000. By 1960 the English family had bought it. The English reigned there for at least 50 years. Arthur B. and Olwen E. English are listed as owners in the 1960, 1970, 1980, 1991, and 1995/1996 City Directories. Arthur English is also listed at 548 Kings Road in the 1999/2000 North and West Vancouver City Directory.

During their ownership of 548 Kings Road, Arthur English was the president of A. English Diesel Service. In 1980 Olwen English was the secretary/treasurer of A. English Diesel Service.

This home at 548 Kings Road is  1,393 sq. ft. with 3 bedrooms and 1 1/2 bathrooms.  It has been listed For Sale for $870,000. (See Link.)

There is not only a King's Road in the District of North Vancouver, but there is also a Queens Road. Both cross Lonsdale Avenue with Kings Road ending in the west at Delbrook Rec Centre. Queens Road runs south of the Delbrook Rec Centre then ends in the west at Edgemont Boulevard. To the east of Lonsdale Avenue Queens Road ends appropriately at Princess Avenue and Kings Road runs a bit further to end at Princess Park. Other royal and distinguished English street names in the District of North Vancouver include: Windsor Rd., Shakespeare Ave., Royal Ave., Duchess Avenue, St. Georges Ave., St. Andrews Ave., Kensington Ave., Wellington Dr., and Chamberlain Dr.

Demolition Permit: Applied for in June 2010.
Photo: Taken in June 2010 by SW.
Link: http://www.vopenhouse.ca/vid/5943_Kings/

Sunday Church Feature
Young Nak Presbyterian Church in Seoul, Korea

"To Church, To Church"

"Yes, two churches in one day. First Jennifer B. and I took the subway to the Presbyterian church.   The European type church held about 1500 worshipers.  It featured stained glass windows, spiral staircases to the balcony, and a choir of 100. 

"We were late for the 10 am English service; we waited at the "foreigner's door" during the first prayer. Then the usher seated us in a special roped off section for "foreigners". We listed to the translation on earphones and put our collection in a velvet bag. In other buildings the total congregation of 10,000 watched the service on TV or attended Bible Classes.

"After the Presbyterian service a man we met on the street led us to the Catholic church.  The 12 o'clock service that we thought would be in English was in Korean.  The church and singing was magestic and beautiful.  We took communion in the aisle and circled the pews to place our offering in an urn type basket on the floor.  The heaters under the pews warmed our feet." (See Reference)

"Young Nak (YN) Presbyterian Church was founded on December 2, 1945 by 1992 Templeton Prize recipient, Kyung-Chik Han. Inaugurated by twenty-seven refugees from Soviet occupied Korea, Young Nak steadily increased in membership as more refugees sought religious freedom below the 38th parallel.[1] On March 24, 1949, ground was broken for a new facility to replace the building and tent that had become too small for the growing congregation.[2] By the time the new church building was completed in May 1950, membership had increased to over 4,000.[3] By 1992, when Rev. Han was awarded the Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion, membership had grown to 60,000 (making it, at that time, the largest Presbyterian congregation in the world), excluding 500 sister churches planted by members of the original congregation.[4] In 1998, under the auspices of Rev. Han, who at the time was a Pastor Emeritus, Young Nak gained an English language ministry, International Worship in English, which was founded by an American missionary to Korea, Bill Majors. For his efforts, Majors was made an Honorary Citizen of Seoul in 2005.[5] Presently the senior pastor of YN is Rev. Chul Shin Lee (1997-present)." (See Link.)

Photo: Origin unknown.

Link:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Nak_Presbyterian_Church
Reference: From the "Seoul Star" a newsletter written by Suzanne Wilson for family and friends during her six week trip to Seoul, Korea in January and February 1996. Suzanne was visiting her daughter who was teaching English.  Jennifer B. was her daughter's roommate and fellow ESL teacher. 

Saturday Travel Feature
Seoul Olympic Park, Seoul, Korea

"Seoul (Korean pronunciation: [sʌ.ul] ( listen)), officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Korea (South Korea). With a population of over 10 million, it is one of the world's largest cities[4] and is by far the most densely populated city among OECD nations.[5] The Seoul National Capital Area, which includes the Incheon metropolis and most of Gyeonggi province, has 24.5 million inhabitants,[6] and is the world's second largest metropolitan area.[7] Almost half of South Korea's population live in the Seoul National Capital Area, and nearly a quarter in Seoul itself, making it the country's foremost economic, political, and cultural center.

"Seoul is located on the Han River in the center of the Korean Peninsula, and was settled in 18 B.C. when Baekje, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, established its capital in what is now south-east Seoul. The city then became the capital of Korea during the Joseon Dynasty and the Korean Empire. The Seoul National Capital Area is home to four UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Changdeokgung, Hwaseong Fortress, Jongmyo Shrine and the Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty.[8]" (See Link .)

"Covering over 1.5 million square meters and the ancient site of the Mongchon Toseong Fortress (with its moat dating back to the early Baekche Kingdom), Olympic Park preserves the spirit of the 1988 Seoul Olympics. The stadiums, arranged in a fan-shaped pattern around the park, were the main stages for the sports events. With extensive grassy fields, sculpture gardens, walking paths, and rest areas, the park is open all day as a multi-purpose area for leisure, sports, and cultural activities." (See Link 1.)

Teaching English in Seoul, Korea was the destination for many Canadian young people during the 1990's. Suzanne Wilson's son and daughter were among those that went for a three month period in this pursuit. During the time that her daughter was there in 1996, Suzanne Wilson visited for six weeks and as a retired ESL teacher also taught in a girls high school classroom and tutored younger children. The photo above was taken on a snowy January day when she took the subway to visit the 1988 Summer Olympic Site. The Pagoda was at the entrance to the site. The photo won a first prize in a 1996 Richmond Museum Photography contest.

Link 1: http://www.lifeinkorea.com/Travel2/seoul/168
Link 2: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seoul

Friday, July 16, 2010
Big Changes On Bewicke-5

The last house on the 1400 block of Bewicke Avenue is at 1456. As with the other homes on the block no records are available until the mid 1950's. In 1955 The owners were Jean M. and Cliff Halverson. Cliff worked as a plasterer.

By 1960 Mrs. Hillary J. Hurst was the owner. She was the widow of G. Hurst. She continued to own the house at least until 1980. In 1960 she was employed as a stenographer at Eaton's. In 1971 she still worked at Eaton's but as a clerk. And in 1980 she reported that she was retired.

In 1991 Mark Kennedy reported to the City Directory that he was the owner. And in 1995/1996 the only entry in the City Directory for 1456 Bewicke Avenue was "not verified".

All the properties on the 1400 block of Bewicke Avenue are slated for demolition. The house at 1444 is under a blue tarp. The project that has been presented is that of an 18 unit development.

Demolition: Permit applied for in 2009.

Photo: Digital colored above taken in 2010 by SW. A black and white negative and photo on a contact sheet taken in July 2009 as part of the Demolition and Construction Project 2001-2010 is on file at the North Vancouver Archives.
Reference: See Blog Post July 12, 2010 for more information on Bewicke Avenue.
Reference 2: See Blog Post July 13, for more information about the homes in the 1400 block of Bewicke Avenue.

Thursday, July 15, 2010
Big Changes On Bewicke-4

The house at 1436 Bewicke Avenue peeks from behind the layers of leaves on its front yard trees. But what can be seen shows that the original stucco and cedar clapboard exterior has been replace by white clapboard siding. This fourth house on the 1400 block of Bewicke Avenue was owned by E. G. and Margaret E. Martin in 1955. The City Directories report them as the in the 1995/1996 issue as well. That is at least 40 years that they lived in the 1400 block of Bewicke Avenue. This wasn't unusual for that block since their neighbors Jean E. and Alfred H. Richardson at 1404 Bewicke Avenue lived there even longer, 45 years. (See Blog Post July 12, 2010.)

The only job that Edwin Martin reported during the 40 years that they lived at 1436 Bewicke Avenue was as an employee of Eaton's Department Store. From at least 1955 to 1971 he was a window cleaner for Eaton's. In 1980 he reported that his job was as a maintenance man for Eaton's. In the 1991 and 1995/1996 Edward and Mary Martin were listed as retired.

Demolition: Permit applied for in March 2010.

Photo: Digital colored above taken in June 2010 by SW.
Reference 1: See Blog Post June 12, 2010 for more information on Bewicke Avenue.
Reference 2: See Blog Post July 13, for more information about the homes in the 1400 block of Bewicke Avenue.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Big Changes On Bewicke-3

The third house on the 1400 block is at 1428 Bewicke Avenue. This house also has the typical features of all the houses in the block: rock retaining wall, cement front steps with a wrought iron railing, large windows on either side of the single front door, and stucco and cedar clapboard exterior walls. It also has a large cherry tree on the south side of the front yard, a row of day lilies hugging the front wall of the house, and gay yellow dandelions and buttercups scattered through the grass.

Again there is no listing of this house in either the Building Permit Book or the 1952 City Directory. But in 1955 and 1960 Alfred N. and Barbara J. Pickering were the owners of 1428 Bewicke Avenue. In both of those years Alfred Pickering was employed as a longshoreman.

In 1971 the owners were Edwin F. and Jenny E. Baumley. Edwin Baumley worked as a handyman at Burrard Dry Dock. "Burrard(Dry Dock had) built over 450 ships, including many warships ... for the Royal Navy and Royal Canadian Navy in World War II."(See Link.)


There was "no return" to inquiries by the City Directory in 1980. In 1991 the resident, but not owner, was Deidre Carrigan. And in the 1995/1996 City Directory the address is not even listed.


Demolition: Permit applied for in 2009.

Photo: Digital colored above taken in 2010 by SW. A black and white negative and photo on a contact sheet taken in July 2009 as part of the Demolition and Construction Project 2001-2010 is on file at the North Vancouver Archives.
Reference 1: See Blog Posts July 12, 13, 15, and 16 for more information about Bewicke Avenue.

Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burrard_Dry_Dock