1945 Continues

On May 16, 1945 Prime Minister Mackenzie King opened the federal election with a speech from Vancouver. This speech was broadcast over Radio CBR. (now CBU)

May 22 was the day that the first veteran moved into the first of new veteran homes.

May 25, 1945 was the day that writer W.P. Kinsella was born in Edmonton. Kinsella has since lived in White Rock and Vancouver and currently lives in the Fraser Valley. Kinsella is a prolific writer and may be best known for his book Shoeless Joe. A quote from a lengthy article on the website Bookworld states:

"After a young American editor in Boston named Larry Kessenich saw a brief synopsis of W.P. Kinsella's short story called Shoeless Joe Jackson Comes to Iowa in Publisher's Weekly, he contacted Kinsella and asked for a novel. Shoeless Joe became the basis for the 1989 Kevin Costner movie Field of Dreams ..."

On June 11, 1945, former city mayor, Gerry McGeer, was named to the senate.

There is a photograph of 23-year-old 2nd Lieutenant Molly Bobak painting in London, England. Molly Bobak (Lamb) was born in Vancouver and studied art at the Vancouver School of Art from 1938 to 1941.

In 1942, Bobak enlisted as a draughtsman in the Canadian Women Army Corps (CWAC), the only woman to be hired as an official war artist. She worked on the design of the décor and the costumes for the Army Show in Toronto. At the National Gallery of Canada in 1944, Bobak took 3rd prize in the Canadian Army Art Exhibition. After V-E Day, Molly was posted to Holland where she painted the tasks and experiences of female soldiers overseas.

In 1950, Molly Bobak obtained a grant from the government of France, which allowed her to paint in France. Air France invited the Canadian artist back in 1960 to lead a tour in Paris and a Canada Council grant allowed her to spend much of that year painting in Europe.

On July 14, the Province newspaper published an interesting story concerning Ivan Knopski. Knopski ran a concession at St. Paul's hospital and was building his own home at the corner of Main Street and East 29th Avenue. You may not think that was newsworthy, but Knopski was blind.“His neighbors, as they watched him building, didn’t believe that. They were sure he was boasting, that he had some sight left. But when they heard his hammer going on into the night till 11 and 12 and no lanterns around, then they knew he must be telling the truth."

I want to thank The History of Metropolitan Vancouver website for the above information.

I hope you find the beauty around you.

1945

Here's something I haven't done in a while. Today, I am taking a look at events in 1945 that helped shape this beautiful city.

In January of 1945, Charles Cotterell - a CPR (Canadian Pacific Railway) assistant general manager since 1934 - became president of the Vancouver Board of Trade. Sadly, he died February 15, 1946.

Good news for families. On February 20, 1945, the first family allowance cheques were mailed by the federal government.

Emily Carr, artist and writer, died in Victoria on March 2, 1945 at the age of 73. I am not going to go over her long career in this entry because I wrote on her in December of 2011. Here's Part One, Part Two and Part Three.

On March 6, 1945, the freighter Greenhill Park exploded in Vancouver harbour. Eight men were killed and hundreds of windows in downtown buildings were broken. Can you imagine being at work in an office and that happening? I was going to write on this event for a later post but then realized I already have an entry on that.

On April 6, the Dutch city where Captain George Vancouver was born, Coevorden, was liberated from Nazi forces by Canadian forces. April 6 also happens to be the City of Vancouver's birthday.

On April 18, writer and publisher Howard White was born in Abbotsford. White went on to make his name with a regional journal entitled Raincoast Chronicles. BC Bookworld describes Howard as “one of the key figures in the evolution of British Columbia culture.”  And Barry Broadfoot - Canadian interviewer and history writer  said, “Howard White and his Harbour Publishing have done more for regional writers, the history of the West Coast, its people, its character, its fast-fading uniqueness, than any other publisher in North America—hell, in the world.”

April 18 was also the day that a pre-school for deaf children began at Lord Tennyson School.

April 25. The United Nations began operations in New York City.

April 30 was the day that fire destroyed the Capilano Stadium. Vancouver firefighters battled the blaze, which raged past midnight into May 1. The stadium was quickly rebuilt and renamed Nat Bailey Stadium in 1978.

On May 7, Vancouverites were woken at 7:04 am by air raid sirens blaring. The sirens were announcing VE Day (Victory in Europe). Now attention was given to conquering Japan.

Thanks goes to The History of Metropolitan Vancouver website for the above information.

I hope you find the beauty around you.

High on the Hill

The first house I am looking at today is at 1556 Grant Street. It is a Colonial Revival-style house with a hipped roof and a hipped domer. It was built by James Edward Guinet as his own house although the Grandview Heritage Group has not found a building permit as of yet. 

This home was built in 1908/09. The water permit is dated July of 1908.

The Guinet family lived here until 1912. 

Original photos show the house at a lower elevation. This is due to the fact that the current street grade is lower, the house has not been raised.

This home is a more modest version of its neighbours and I am going to show you one of those homes now.

If you can see through the trees and shrubbery, this house is located at 1544 Grant Street. As with 1556, it is a Colonial Revival style home. It is assumed that James Guinet built this house, which is listed as new and vacant in 1909. William H. Hibbert occupied the residence from 1910 to 1912.

Sorry I was unable to get clearer photos. That's the way it goes sometimes!

That brings up to 1530 Grant Street. Another building best described as Colonial Revival. However, the sheltering hipped roof, exposed rafter rails and open soffits give it the look of the emerging Prairie Style houses from that period in Chicago. This is another home where the building permit seems to be lost. 

The official date of this home is 1912 although directories suggest it may have been around earlier. In 1909, a miner by the name of William W. Irwin lived at 1530. In 1910 and 1911, it was a lumberman named Walter M. Marriot and in 1912, Edmund Evans, a piano teacher. This looks like another home built by Guinet. 

I want to thank the Grandview Heritage Group for the information on the homes.

I hope you find the beauty around you.