Go with Grace

On December 19, 2014, my father, Art Magill, passed away.  I lost my confidante, my advisor, one of my biggest supporters and someone I admired very much. You may be wondering what that has to do with Vancouver history and I'll tell you. Dad was born here, at Grace Hospital.

From the City of Vancouver archives, I found this architect's sketch of the proposed maternity hospital at Heather and 26th Avenue in Point Grey. Enoch, Evans and Sons were the architects.

Here's the completed hospital.City of Vancouver archives

October 2, 1927. Bishop DePencier speaking at the opening of the Salvation Army's Grace hospital. City of Vancouver archives

In January of 1927, the cornerstone of the future Grace Hospital was laid. On October 2, 1927, the hospital was officially opened. It had 50 beds and bassinets.

In 1943, Grace Hospital delivered over a thousand children. 1,117 in total.

The first set of triplets was born at Grace Hospital in 1957 and three years later, the hospital reached 50,000 births. During its fiftieth anniversary in 1977, Grace Hospital reached 100,000 births.

Once again, Bishop DePencier speaking at the hospital opening. Photo from the City of Vancouver archives

More from the opening of the hospital. There is the Salvation Army marching band onstage as well as dignitaries and hospital personnel.  Thanks to the City of Vancouver archives for the photo.

January 22, 1927. This is when the cornerstone for the Grace Hospital was laid. Mayne D. Hamilton holding the trowel and Enoch Evans (second from right).Again, the photo is from the City of Vancouver archives.

This photo is from the Vancouver Public Library Taken by Dominion Photo Co on November 19, 1934, it shows another view of the hospital.

On April 2, 1982, Grace Hospital became the first hospital in Canada to have midwives offering care.

In 1987, the hospital established itself as the busiest maternity hospital in Canada with 8,235 births.

The Grace Hospital Foundation was formed in 1989.

Health Minister Elizabeth Cull, Premier Mike Harcourt, and Mayor Gordon Campbell opened the "Centre for Prenatal Diagnosis and Treatment" at Grace Hospital in 1992. This centre became a one stop service for prenatal care.

In April of that year, the Women's Health Care Centre was opened as part of the University hospital - Shaughnessy Site.

In April of 1993, the NeoNatal Care Nursery opened. It provided incubator/bassinet space for 10 premature, underweight and/or infected babies. This service was used by more than 1,100 babies a year.

The University - Shaughnessy Site closure was announced in February of 1993. Grace Hospital continued though, reaching 200,000 births on August 27.

In February of 1994, the Salvation Army handed over responsibility of the hospital to the B.C. government. Now it is known at the BC Women's Hospital and Health Centre.

There is more milestones the hospital achieved, and is still achieving, but it is no longer Grace Hospital and that's what I was writing on today.

My father was born on Good Friday. My grandmother said she woke in the hospital with the sun shining and the birds singing. She thought she had died and gone to heaven! Then she saw my father and not long after that, World War II broke out. Okay, I always added the last sentence not her but it sounds good. LOL

Dad will be missed not only by me but by all those whose lives he touched. He had a good heart and was always willing to help others. There were times his generosity was taken advantage of but that didn't stop him from reaching out to the next person in need.

He taught us - my two brothers and me - to be strong. To face life's challenges with humour and determination. I know he was proud of me following my dreams after multiple sclerosis took me out of the workforce and he enjoyed reading my books. He was supportive in everything I tried to do. And when my plans didn't work out as planned, he encouraged me to pick myself up, dust myself off and try again.

During the last few years when he was in ill health, my dad kept his sense of humour and flirted with the ladies. (He was Irish, you know!)  Dad brightened the atmosphere of any hospital room he was in as well as the old age home where he spent his last few months.   Although I miss him, I am happy he is now out of the pain he has been in for years and that he has discovered what comes after this existence. Daddy, you will always be an important part of me. I love you.

My dad and me. I started weight lifting early in life!

Thanks to the BC Women's Hospital and Health Centre for the information. 

I hope you find the beauty around you.

Russians and Americans

Peters wasn't the ONLY international spy to come to Vancouver. Douglas MacArthur II, nephew to the legendary general, was assigned to Vancouver in 1935. His assignments were mundane tasks such as stamping visas but the labour situation on the west coast made his life a little more interesting.

While I was doing this work, the old Seattle-Alaska line went on strike. They were controlled pretty much by Harry Bridges’ left wing union on the West Coast. There were several strikes, stranding a ship in Vancouver… The shipping job was interesting, particularly the discharge of a striking crew. There was the usual tough-minded labor union labor on each ship, if the crew was unionized, as they were on the West Coast. The union leader always wanted to be present when a crew member was questioned so he could intimidate any seamen not favoring a strike. I got involved in what the French call a prise de bec, a nose-to-nose, with union representatives, saying the seamen had the right to speak alone with the consul and the captain when he was asked the question of whether he accepted the discharge voluntarily or not, or why he was striking.

The same year, General MacArthur made changes to the "War Plan Red", which was a contingency plan to invade Canada if relations with Britain soured. Now, he considered Vancouver to be a “priority target comparable to Halifax and Montreal.” Was this amendment inspired by the possibility of Communist success in B.C.?

Was General MacArthur being paranoid about Communists in Vancouver? Well, in 1934, a police spy - Operator #3 - had this to say:

“I learned that the World Hotel 396 Powell Street is quite a hang out for Reds, and a lot of the waterfront workers are now using it for their red element to gather,”

A man by the name of Charles Hanson, is now using this Hotel for his headquarters. I learned from a most reliable source that this man Hanson has in the last fourteen months made two trips to New York to get money and instructions as to carrying on of the Communistic movement in Vancouver.

A later report stated there was a large fund in New York from Russia and its sole purpose was to fund strikes. As well, Hanson handled some of it.

a lot of grief can be expected from Charles Hanson. This man is continually talking among the men and is telling them there is no doubt but the Reds will pull off a big strike in May or June 1935, he claims there won’t be much difficulty as its a cinch to get the lumber industry tied up, and that is where it will start.

There wasn't a general strike in Vancouver in 1935 though there was Communist-led labour unrest in 1935. None of that seems to have been funded by Russia.

Are there spies here today? Probably. If you ever had the opportunity to watch the television show "Intelligence" with Ian Tracey, which was filmed in Vancouver, one of the story lines was CSIS - Canada's spy network - had been infiltrated by US spies. Could it be?

This is my last post for 2014. Usually I would end next Friday but I have a lot to do in order to get ready for a sale starting on Christmas day. My book, On The Right Side, My Story of Survival and Success will be on sale for 0.99 in the US and the UK from December 25 to December 31, 2014.

First, I want to thank Past Tense Vancouver website for the information on the spies. Second, I want to thank all of you, my readers, for continuing to support this little venture of mine.

The Vancouver Vagabond blog started July 6, 2010 because there was construction on the suite above me and I didn't want to stay home and put up with the noise. So I started walking and taking photos then learning about the history of the places I'd seen. It snowballed from there. Now, 688 entries later, over 159,000 page views and the Vagabond is still going strong. Next year, I will continue to show you awesome photos of the area I live in and tell you why I love Vancouver so much.

May you stay safe and secure this holiday season. As always, I hope you find the beauty around you.

A Nest of Spies!

Mysterious Man Named Peters, Ostensibly a Barber, Left City Yesterday on Receipt of Cipher Message

For Months he Spent Most of His Time on the Waterfront, Carefully Noting Nature of Cargoes for the Orient

Those headlines appeared in the Vancouver Daily World on January 7, 1905. Here's the rest of the article:

Yesterday afternoon a well-furnished barber shop in a down town hotel was closed and Charles Peters, the erstwhile proprietor of the shop, sailed on the Aorangi, having in his possession a ticket for Honolulu.

Charles Peters arrived in Vancouver some four months ago and his actions while here were something of a mystery to those with whom he came into close contact. His first move when he reached the city was to rent the barber shop in question and then he hired a man to look after the business. It was soon learned that Peters was a native of Russia, although he gave a name that would indicate he came from one of the English speaking countries. He was a man of about 26 years of age, had a college education and spoke several languages fluently.

It was noticed by those who had patronized the barber shop that Peters spent little of his time in working at his trade. He put in hours on the waterfront and, although he paid little attention to the movement of freight, close observers say that he seemed to take a particular interest in freight consigned per the Oriental liners. It was further noticed that he met Russians who happened to pass through Vancouver and that while in his rooms overlooking the waterfront, he spent many hours in writing and that occasionally bulky packages were mailed from the local post office, carrying letter rates of postage.

 A cipher telegram from the Russian diplomatic headquarters at Washington D.C. apparently accounts for the hurried closing of the barber shop and the departure of Mr. Peters on the first boat sailing from this port after the receipt of the message.

The young Russian was a splendid conversationalist and while here he made many friends. He had thrilling tales to tell of adventures by land and sea, but when the subject of the Russian-Japanese war was broached he had nothing to say. The conclusion drawn by the men who knew Peters best is that he was an attache of the Russian diplomatic service and that it was found that his services would be more valuable to his government in some other part of the world than in Vancouver.

What a stir that report must of made! On the International front, Japan was on the verge of defeating Russia in the Russo-Japanese war. Soon jubilant, local Japanese were celebrating the victory in the streets. This was the first time an Asian power had defeated a European power.

Intriguing, don't you think? At the very least, mysterious. But Mr. Peters was not the first, nor the last spy to make Vancouver their home. Friday, I will tell how a famous US general is connected to Vancouver and its nest of spies.

I want to thank Past Tense Vancouver website for the information above.

I hope you find the beauty around you.