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Faris, Bob
Person · 1923-2001

Robert Andrew Faris was born in Vancouver, BC on December 25, 1923 to Kathleen “Kitty” (nee Litch) and Andrew Faris. He served in the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II, met and married Celia Eileen Brown in London, England, and settled in Vancouver where Bob worked as a traveling hardware salesman for 19 years. Faris entered the ministry in his 40s. Ordained by BC Conference in 1967, his charges included Hazelton (1967-1970); First United, Victoria (1970-1973); Central Mainland Marine Mission (1973-1978); Bella Bella (1978-1983); and Sunnyside United Church, White Rock (1983-1990). He continued as Minister Emeritus at Sunnyside, and served with Celia as caretaker at Camp Kwomais in White Rock until retirement in 1993. Bob spent his retirement with Celia in Victoria, where he died in 2001.

Anderson, Val
Person · 1929-2006

The Reverend Valentine Jackson Anderson (known also as Val Anderson) was a United Church Minister, professor of Pastoral Theology at Union College (now Vancouver School of Theology), avid community volunteer and a Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia.

Val Anderson was born on February 14, 1929 in Saskatchewan. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Saskatchewan in 1950, a Diploma in Theology from St. Andrew’s College in Saskatoon in 1953, and a Bachelor of Divinity in 1963, also from St. Andrew’s College. Val also did post-graduate work in Princeton and Boston (1963-1964).

Val married Joyce, who is also from Saskatchewan, on July 16, 1952 when they were both student ministers at St. Andrew’s College.

Valentine Anderson was ordained in 1953 in Nipawin, Saskatchewan. As a minister, he served in three United Church pastorates in Saskatchewan – Smeaton (1953-1955), Gravelbourg (1956-1958) and Regina (1959-1962). He was also a weekend supply minister while attending graduate school in Princeton and Boston (1963-1964). He was also a part-time associate minister at Japanese Nisei UC, at South Arm UC in Richmond and at Knox UC in Kerrisdale. Val served as Minister of Grace United Church and Marpole United Church, the latter being his final pastorate and where he became Minister Emeritus of Marpole United Church.

Val started the first Conference insert in the UC Observer and chaired the Vancouver South Presbytery, where he was a member for 40 years.

He spent seven years at Union College as professor of Pastoral Theology (1965-1971). During his time there, Union College amalgamated with Anglican Theological College to form Vancouver School of Theology (VST).

Val sat on and chaired numerous committees, both lay and as a UC Minister.

Val was involved in numerous ecumenical and inter-faith activities. He was the first coordinator of P.O.E.M. (People’s Opportunities in Ecumenical Action). He helped to found the Vancouver Inner-City Service Project, the Airport Interfaith Ministry, the Pacific Interfaith Citizenship Association, edited the Canadian Ecumenical News for eight years. Val also helped to found Canadian Ecumenical Action (now Multi-faith Action) of which he was the Coordinator from 1997-1980. He was also the first Executive Secretary of the Vancouver Council of Churches (1972-1976) and served on The Ecumenical Forum of Canada.

Val was also involved in numerous community service projects. He was the founding chair of the Vancouver Food Bank, chaired the Pacific Youth and Addiction Services Society, and was a founding Board member of Brock House, Elders House and the South Granville Seniors Centre. He helped to organize the BC and Vancouver Council for the Family. He served on the Federated Anti-poverty Group, The United Way of Vancouver, the Pacific Youth and Family Addiction Society and the Vancouver City Council Youth Committee. He also chaired the Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood Association, the Marpole Citizens Planning Committee and the Marpole Historical Society.

Val received many awards and honours in recognition of his contributions to his community. Among them was an award from the Social Justice Foundation of BC as well the Good Neighbour Award from the Greater Vancouver Association of Neighbourhood Houses.

Val was elected to the British Columbia Legislature in 1991 and served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly for 13 ½ years.

Valentine Anderson died on March 30, 2006 in Vancouver, B.C.

Dominion Experimental Farms
Corporate body

The Dominion Experimental Farms employed Walter Graf to observe and record temperature and precipitation at Osoyoos, BC.

Osoyoos Fire Brigade
Corporate body

The Osoyoos Fire Brigade was organized by the Board of Trade with Percy Bates as chief, Ralph Lewis as assistant, and Delbert Long as captain. The Penticton Fire Department sold their Rio fire engine to Osoyoos for $600. Most of the fires were chimney fires; water barrels were recycled from the Osoyoos Bakery. After WW II, army surplus clothing served as uniforms. Two major fires were at the Osoyoos Evaporation Company and the Jorde Sawmill. By 1953, another fire truck was added just in time to fight a second sawmill fire north of the town. Mr. Bates retired in 1966 and was followed by Howard Compeau as acting chief until Paul Balogh took over.

Corporate body · 2001-

Alberni Valley United Church formed as a result of an amalgamation of St. Andrew's and First United Churches (Port Alberni, B.C.) In June, 2001, First and St. Andrew's became one pastoral charge known as Alberni Valley United Church. They maintained the two congregations until they were physically amalgamated in the former First United Church building in April, 2002.

Chree, Anna
Person · 1907-2002

Anna Chree was born Anna Sass on August 3, 1907 near Vienna, Austria. Her father Danylo emigrated to the north end of Winnipeg in 1910, with the rest of the family following in 1912. Anna graduated from business college in Winnipeg in 1924, and then worked at a variety of secretarial jobs in Philadelphia, Toronto, Timiskaming, and Montreal. Her longest held position was eight years with the Canadian National Railway.

Anna arrived in Vancouver in June 1937. After World War II she also spent some time working in London, England, at Canada House. She married William Ian Chree in May 1951 at St. Francis-in-the-Wood Anglican Church in West Vancouver. Ian Chree worked on sound systems for stage productions through Vancouver, especially Theatre Under the Stars.

Anna Chree was a woman of many talents. She had an excellent memory for names and events, kept a diary written in shorthand, and was an acccomplished Cordon Bleu trained cook who enjoyed music and theatre. However, her main passion was roses. She founded the West Vancouver Garden Club in 1962, and was president of the West Vancouver Rose Society for a period of time.

She also served as secretary on the Air Pollution Committee, Chair of the Environment Committee of the North and West Vancouver Council of Women, and was actively involved in other community organizations including the Vancouver Folk Society, Canadian Folk Society, Pacific National Exhibition, Vancouver Camera Club, Opera Guild, Chrysanthemum Society, Vancouver Parks Board, West Vancouver Social Credit Association, and West Vancouver Little Theatre Guild.

Another of Anna Chree's passions was the establishment of a fountain in West Vancouver, for which she lobbied beginning in 1960. Her desire to do something lasting and beautiful for the community she had lived in for almost 50 years, led her to bequeath her estate to the municipality of West Vancouver. She chose the general elements of the fountain before she died which will be constructed in a plaza adjacent to the expanded aquatic and community centre.

Ian Chree died on November 9, 1968 at the age of 59. Anna Chree died in March 2002 at the age of 94.

Corporate body · 1931-

British Pacific Properties Limited was created as a company in 1931 by the Guinness brewing family to purchase, and receive the development rights to 4,700 acres of land on Hollyburn Ridge. The ‘Highlands’ on West Vancouver’s upper levels became known as the British Properties, an exclusive residential development in West Vancouver. In return for these rights, British Pacific Properties agreed to build a crossing from Vancouver to West Vancouver, and through the First Narrows Bridge company constructed the Lions Gate Bridge which opened in November 1938.

British Pacific Properties Limited also committed to building the Capilano Golf and Country Club on 165 acres which opened for play in the summer of 1937. The final phase was the commercial development of the property at Taylor Way and Marine Drive. Park Royal, the first regional shopping centre in Canada covered 125,000 square feet when it opened in September 1950, anchored by Woodward’s Department Store. Park Royal was named after an area in London in which one of the Guinness family breweries was located.

The shopping centre went through various phases of expansion on both sides of Marine Drive with the south mall opening in 1963 followed by expansions in the 1970s. The black office tower, Kapilano 100, was built in 1974. Park Royal Shopping Centre underwent subsequent renovations after the closing of Woodward’s in 1993, and Eaton’s in 1999. British Pacific Properties Limited started to develop its Whitby Estates property in 1996. In 1999, British Pacific Properties Limited formed British Pacific Enterprises, an in-house building division and turnkey service for custom home development.

Scott, Eileen, b. 1919
Person · 1919-

Eileen M. Scott was born on May 15, 1919. She attended Lord Byng High School until Grade 10, and in 1941 completed a four year art course at the Vancouver School of Art. Due to the scarcity of jobs in the art profession, she took a business course at the Duffus School of Business and was later employed with the London and Western Trust Company, as well as with the British Properties as a private secretary. Scott later worked as a payroll clerk for the Municipality of West Vancouver until her retirement in 1963.

After her retirement, Scott refocused her interest in the arts by studying photography. She was an active member of the Vancouver Pacific Camera Club which included professional members. While photography became her main focus, in 1982 Scott wrote a book titled "Porridge and Old Clothes," This work documents Scott's early life in Vancouver, and the lives of her ancestors who were Scots from the Lowlands who settled in Manitoba in the early 1880s.

Hollyburn Heritage Society
Corporate body · 2000-present

In the 1990s Gordon and Iola Knight developed concern regarding the condition of the Hollyburn Ski Lodge at First Lake. In 1997 Gordon Knight and Bob Tapp joined together to raise money to repair the Hollyburn Ski Lodge, as the foundation was severely rotten, the roof leaked, and there were other structural problems. The Knights and Tapps launched their campaign to "Save First Lake Lodge" at the 1997 Pioneer Skiers' Reunion on Mount Seymour. In 1998 they sold a Hollyburn Ski Lodge coffee cup to raise interest in the Lodge. At this time the Knights also began to collect historic photographs of life on Hollyburn Mountain.

In the Spring of 2000, the Tapps and the Knights formed the Hollyburn Heritage Society, with the mandate to collect the history and artifacts of skiing and other mountain activities on Hollyburn Mountain and to promote the restoration and preservation of the Hollyburn Ski Lodge. Their organization received society status in April 2000, and in the spring of that year, the Hollyburn Heritage Society, with the support of Wayne Booth, Cypress Bowl Recreations Ltd, was awarded $2567 from the federal government as part of the Canada Millenium Partnership Program to film the Pioneer Skiers' Reunion held at First Lake and the Hollyburn Ski Lodge. Bob Cooper produced the film, titled "Hollyburn, A Place of Memories". The film was sold on the mountain in VHS format. The Hollyburn Heritage Society has acquired numerous collections of photographs, particularly through the initiative of historian Don Grant.

Allan, Jeanie
Person

Jeanie Allan grew up in West Vancouver, with her parents and brother John. Her grandparents lived in West Vancouver in the early 1900s. Jeanie was educated at local schools, and graduated from Inglewood High School. As a teenager she was active in local events such as May Days, and belonged to the West Vancouver Girl Guide Company. Jeanie graduated as a nurse from Vancouver General Hospital in 1945. She married Albert Cox and they had two children, David and Eleanor.

Meglaughlin (family)
Family · 1920-1984

Edward "Ted" Meglaughlin was born on May 25, 1920 in North Vancouver. Ted's parents, Isaac Tom and Lilian Meglaughlin were from Birmingham, England. Isaac Tom Meglaughlin was one of the founders of the Freemasons King David Lodge No. 93. He also worked as an agent for the BC Electric Agency (1949) and BC Electric Railway (1948). Tom and Lilian lived at 1081 17th Street in West Vancouver until Tom's death in 1950.

In 1943 Ted Meglaughlin married Sophie Zielski. Their first home was at 552 S. Boundary Road in Burnaby. Sophie's parents, Adolph and Magdalene Zielski, were the proprietors of the Wonder Bakery on 640 East Georgia Street in Vancouver from 1940 to 1946. They moved to 1425 Inglewood Avenue in West Vancouver in 1945. They also ran the Ferndale Coffee Shop (1947 to 1949) as well as the Industrial Cafe (1948) and the Normandy Cafe (1950) for a time. Adolph and Magdalene had four children: Edward (married Mona), Sophie, Walter (married Lorna), and Wanda. Adolph and Magdalene retired from the food industry in 1951.

Ted Meglaughlin was a machinist by trade, working for Reliance and Richards engineering in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Ted and Sophie lived at 1188 Inglewood Avenue, West Vancouver. Their son was named Gary Richard Meglaughlin (b. 1945, d. May 29, 1984, age 39, North Vancouver).

West Vancouver Lions Club
Corporate body · 1940-1989

The West Vancouver Lions Club was chartered in May 1940. The Club held many shows and events over the years such as the Minstrel Shows and annual Gymkhanas. During WWII, they built bleachers at Ambleside Park for spectators. The Club also organized a Narvaez Pageant to commemorate the anniversary of the first caucasian man to set foot in West Vancouver in 1791, and built a monument for the event at the entrance to Ambleside Park. The Lions were also involved in the annual May Day Parade, and organized an annual Easter Egg Hunt at John Lawson Park.

For a period of time, the West Vancouver Lions Club bought the Hollyburn Pavillion and operated it. Eventually it was sold to the Federal Government and became the site of the post office.

Nixon, James (family)
Family

The James Nixon family lived on Twin Islands near Cortes Island.

Gee, George
Person · 1908-1987

George Gee was born on July 22, 1908 in Virden, Manitoba where he lived with his parents and 9 brothers and sisters. After his father's death in 1909, the family's financial situation worsened until foreclosure forced the family to scatter across Canada in search of employment. Gee stayed in Manitoba working as a labourer until the stock market crash of 1929 forced him into the ranks of the unemployed. He then moved to Princeton, British Columbia to join his brothers.

While in Princeton, Gee and his brothers supported themselves with odd jobs and George increasingly came under the influence of his brother Bill, who had joined the communist party in 1932. He also became affiliated with well-known communist organizer Arthur "Slim" Evans while helping with the Tulameen Coal Miner's Strike in 1933. In March of 1934, Gee married Lillian Smith-Mitchell of Princeton, B.C.
Gee left Princeton in 1935 and took a job with Peterson electric in Vancouver, B.C. Soon after, Gee was laid off and joined the communist party. In 1936, he left Vancouver for Seattle, Washington where he found steady work and joined the Local 77 chapter of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (I.B.E.W.).

In 1937, Gee moved back to Vancouver and worked for B.C. Electric. This same year, George and Lillian had their first daughter, Joyce. The Gee family welcomed their second daughter (Shirley) in 1939. On August 4, 1939, he began his career with the Local 213 of the I.B.E.W, where he went on to serve as a business agent from 1946-1955. During these years, the Gees had two more children, a daughter (Bonnie) and a son (James).

Gee was expelled from the union in 1955 due to his political affiliation, where after he returned to his job at B.C. Electric (from which he had taken a leave of absence from 1946 on). After only working a half-day, Gee was fired because of his expulsion from the I.B.E.W. Five days later, close to 300 electrical workers walked off the job in protest to Gee's dismissal.

From the date of his firing in 1955 until 1957, Gee made a series of attempts within the I.B.E.W. to be reinstated. The attempts all failed and were eventually followed by a trial in the Supreme Court, which rejected Gee's charges against the I.B.E.W.

After Gee's defeat in The Supreme Court, he ran a small heating business called G&B Heating until 1960, when he, his wife Lilian, and their son James moved to Edmonton, Alberta. He worked there as the western representative for The United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (U.E.). In 1967 Gee moved back to Vancouver, B.C., and continued to fulfil this position until his retirement in 1974. By 1974, The Gees purchased property in Davis Bay, Sechelt. Gee was actively involved in political affairs, civic affairs and was one of the founding members of the Sechelt Communist Party.

Thompson (family)
Family · 1855-1938
 The Thompson family were active pioneers in West Vancouver who contributed to the development of West Vancouver, and establishment of the West Vancouver Ferry Company and the West Vancouver Municipal Transportation Department.

The patriarch of this pioneering family was W.C. (William Charles) Thompson who was born near Cambridge, England on January 21, 1855. In 1875 he married Rachel Matilda Carr. After suffering the deaths of their first two children in infancy, they immigrated to Canada in 1879 and settled in Ontario. Their third child, Charlie was born in 1880, but sadly Rachel died soon after the birth. W.C. Thompson suffered a profound depression which lifted when he met Grace Lawson who became his second wife in 1881. In 1887 they had their first child Harry, and would have four more children together, although two died tragically in infancy.

W.C. Thompson was a successful businessman in Ontario when his wanderlust was reawakened after hearing about the scenic beauty and opportunities in B.C. from Grace’s brother – John Lawson. He sold his business interests in Ontario, and after a cold and tedious trip arrived in Vancouver in March 1909. Delighted with the countryside and climate, W.C. Thompson and his family settled in West Vancouver. He found that selling land in B.C. was easier than selling lumber in Ontario, and first in partnership with John Lawson, then on his own account bought and sold many blocks of land in the area at substantial profits.

W.C. Thompson became active in public affairs and was one of the principals in the formation of West Vancouver as a separate municipality and in the building of the first Municipal Hall. He and three other men, including John Lawson, formed The West Vancouver Transportation Company in October 1909, which operated the ferry and bus system. W.C. Thompson and his family lived in a large gracious house at 2058 Argyle that featured a bay window of curved glass overlooking English Bay, and hot water heating. He was active in community life, headed Church committees, and was also a member of the first West Vancouver School Board. During World War I, he continued to be very active in the District managing the construction of road bridges and waterworks which was highlighted by the opening of Marine Drive to Caulfield in 1915.

His wife Grace died in 1920, at the age of 63. In his latter years W.C. Thompson was a keen motorist and enjoyed touring which he did with his third wife Anne Case, whom he married in 1922. His children – Charlie, Harry, James, William, Robert (Bert), Florence, and their families also contributed to the development of West Vancouver. They worked on several projects including municipal electric and water systems, setting up West Vancouver’s first service station at 14th and Marine Drive, and establishing the West Vancouver Girl Guides. W.C. Thompson died on December 24, 1938, at the age of 83.

Takata, Toyo, 1920-

Toyo Takata was born in or near the Japanese Tea Garden in Gorge Park. His father and uncle owned the Tea Garden and ran it until April, 1942, when they were expelled from Victoria and sent to detention camps in the British Columbia interior. Toyo Takata spent the war years in Slocan and later settled in Toronto, where he worked in the printing business.

Corporate body · 1980-
 The West Vancouver Historical Society began as a committee within the Rotary Club of West Vancouver. Several active Rotarians, including Rupert Harrison, Hugh Johnston, Harvey Hill, and Thomas Erling-Tyrell, saw the need for preserving the history of West Vancouver. The concept was discussed at a series of meetings with the Mayor, Municipal Manager, and other officials of the Corporation of the District of West Vancouver. The Rotary Club was encouraged to proceed and the members approved the proposal on April 30, 1980. Start-up funding was assigned and an application for incorporation under the Society Act was prepared.

The West Vancouver Historical Society was incorporated by the Rotary Club as a non-profit society under the Society Act of British Columbia on July 17, 1980. An interim executive committee of Rotarians was appointed to organize a series of events as part of a membership campaign. The old West Vancouver Ferry “Hollyburn “ was chartered for a memory cruise and the first sixty members were signed up. A series of lectures and slide shows attracted sufficient new members during 1981 that the Rotary committee stepped aside and call for an election of officers from within the society membership. The first annual general meeting of the Society was held January 25, 1982. Bernard (Bernie) G. Holt, recently retired Senior Secondary School Principal, was elected President of the Society.

In 1984 the name of the West Vancouver Historical Society was changed to West Vancouver Museum and Historical Society (authorized September 12, 1984). This reflected a change in orientation. Initially the major purpose of the society had been to collect archival material, and only secondarily museum artifacts. The change in name indicated that the society would now also collect museum artifacts and start working towards the creation of a museum and archives in West Vancouver. The Society worked in partnership with the Municipality in the collection, preservation, storing, and housing of historical materials. Any items donated to the society became the property of the Municipality (the Corporation of the District of West Vancouver).

In March of 1983 the Historical Society began publication of a newsletter. The original title of the newsletter was Histrionics, later changed to History-Onics. The purpose of the newsletter is to inform the membership about the activities of the Society, and to publish vignettes related to the history of West Vancouver.

The Historical Society grew rapidly to embrace more than five hundred members. A fund raising program was implemented to obtain suitable housing for the growing collection. The Society was instrumental in securing the former home of Gertrude Lawson as a site for the West Vancouver Museum and Archives. The Society succeeded in raising more than $500,000, which, with Municipal, Provincial, and Heritage partners, led to the establishment of the West Vancouver Museum and Archives. The building was extensively renovated, and officially dedicated as the home of the West Vancouver Museum and Archives on June 29, 1992.

By 1993 professional operating staff was in place and the community Museum & Archives was a reality. The Society was able to revert to a support role by forming a volunteer pool for the facility and fund raising activities. At the annual general meeting on March 25, 1993 the name was changed back to West Vancouver Historical Society.

Turnbull, William James
Person · 1886-1982
 William (Bill) James Turnbull, the son of a Presbyterian Minister was born in Ontario in 1886. He began his career in the lumber industry as a tally boy at the age of 14, and moved West to Edmonton in 1912. After managing a lumber yard in the Prairies for nearly a decade, Bill moved to Vancouver in 1924 to work for the Vancouver Lumber Company, which owned a mill in North Vancouver. The mill often delivered lumber to West Vancouver, and Bill realized there was a demand for lumber in the area. After the North Vancouver mill was destroyed by fire, he decided to pursue the opportunity.

He moved to the muncipality in August 1925 to start the West Vancouver Lumber Company Limited. His lumber yard was located at 15th Street and Marine Drive. It was a prosperous operation for the first three years, but the company struggled after the depression and during the war years. Despite taking on two partners, the company went out of business in 1944.

Bill Turnbull's personal interests included tennis, and he was a member of the West Vancouver Tennis Club for many years. He also used to curl outdoors on the Prairies, and missed the sport, and so in the early 1930s, he invented a special table, and rocks for an indoor curling game which he patented in Canada, the United States, and Great Britain. In 1947, he had an indoor curling club, of about 50 members, that played above Ambleside Drugs, at the corner of 14th Street and Marine Drive. In 1949, Bill Turnbull registered his indoor curling equipment business, ROXX Manufacturing Company, which was in business until 1961. William James Turnbull died on October 2, 1982 at the age of 96.