West Vancouver Beacon | March/April 2019 | Edition 33 by The Beacon

THE No. 33

BEACON Shedding light on the communities from Lions Bay to West Bay

March /April 2019

Why ‘Tiddly Cove’?

Mountains to Sea

8-9

PETTIT

Home & Living

Building belonging

Art and poetry

A Skill for typewriters

Photo provided

IN THIS ISSUE 4

Frank Townsley’s watercolour of Tiddly Cove enclosed by the fog at sea.

ittle has changed since Francis Caulfeild first discovered Skunk Cove in 1898. While touring the coast of Burrard Inlet he was charmed by the cove’s quiet beauty. The sheltered area was a natural preserve for wildlife, a home to deer, geese, ducks, beaver and the occasional bear. After purchasing the land around and rising from the cove he renamed it Caulfeild Cove and began developing Caulfeild Village. The development must have taken place quickly and efficiently because in 1906 Francis wrote in his diary: “So after tea we sit for a while in the verandah and listen to the small waves making music on the rocks, watch the salmon jumping in the bay, and the pearly light on the sea.” (ref: West Vancouver Archives) Many years later, as one story has been told, cartoonist Len Norris described Caulfeild residents tripping down to the cove with their drinks and getting ‘tiddly.’ Tiddly Cove was born.

AND COMPANY* TRIAL LAWYERS

PAGE

TEAM

Chris Stringer

Siblings representing British Columbia Opinion

Publisher

chrisstringer @westvanbeacon.ca

Lindy Pfeil

Lindy Pfeil Editor

lindypfeil @westvanbeacon.ca

Penny Mitchell Advertising

pennymitchell @westvanbeacon.ca

Melissa Baker Creative Director

melissabaker @westvanbeacon.ca Please note that all contributing writers for The Beacon retain full rights and that the full or partial reproduction of feature articles is unauthorized without the consent of the author. Personal opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed are solely those of the respective contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the Beacon, the publisher or the editorial and creative staff.

Submissions for The Beacon The Beacon is delivered bi-monthly to 5000+ households between Lions Bay and West Bay. For submission guidelines and queries, please e-mail the Editor: lindypfeil@ westvanbeacon.ca Please note that all submissions are subject to space constraints and editing. For advertising queries, please e-mail the Director of Marketing: pennymitchell@westvanbeacon.ca For all other queries, please e-mail the Publisher: chrisstringer@westvanbeacon.ca All editions of The Beacon (beginning in September 2013), can also be read online at: www.westvanbeacon.ca.

March /April 2019

ecently, siblings Mattheus and Lucia Bicknell proudly represented West Vancouver at the 27th Canada Winter Games in Red Deer, Alberta. They were two of the eight-member B.C. squash team. Throughout elementary school (at West Bay) they played a variety of sport. They got into squash because their dad, Simon, is a member of the Evergreen Squash Club. “He dragged us to the club and there was always an empty court, so we played around,” Matt explains. At the time, both he and Lucia were playing soccer at a high level. While Lucia misses playing on her soccer team, she agrees with Matt that “being part of the squash club is like being part of a family.” Matt also enjoys the “quirkiness” of the people he’s met there: “They have a huge range of jobs and are super-interesting people to chat to.” He also found squash parents and coaches to be more relaxed than those involved in other sports. “It’s more community-based, not as intense, and there’s less pressure put on the players. Your performance is not really coach-driven. It’s up to you to make the decision if you want to get better.” They both enjoy the flexibility that attending Rockridge Secondary gives them. Leaving school at lunchtime allows them to dedicate 20-or-so hours a week to playing squash. Lucia enjoys singing too and they both play the guitar and read voraciously.

Lucia is into autobiographies at the moment, while Matt reads a lot of fantasy. He is doing AP English and enjoys most fiction. Their mum, Elizabeth, says they handle winning and losing remarkably well. Matt explains: “Going into the game acknowledging that any result is possible takes off a lot of the pressure and anxiety and allows you to still like your opponent afterwards.” Lucia emphasizes the importance of mental toughness, that it’s impossible to get to a high level of playing any sport without it. Matt acknowledges that it took him a while to learn this. “When I was younger, I’d just give up. At the end of my U15 year it changed and that’s when I started playing better.” Lucia says that playing sport often puts a lot of pressure on kids. “Choosing one sport in elementary school seems ridiculous to

me,” she says. “Just continue doing whatever you’re passionate about till you see where it leads.” They both agree that “we lucked out on our squash coach and good teachers.” Lucia is in Grade 11 and recruitment by a US university is one of the options she is considering. Matt (in Gr 12) is also communicating with some US coaches and contemplating taking a gap year to get recruited to a school south of the border. He is also looking at Canadian universities. “I have a big picture, but I don’t know the stops I’m going to make. I want to be successful, and I hope that I’m happy. And I want to continue to have really strong relationships and surround myself with good people.” We can’t wait to see how their journey progresses. Thanks for doing us proud, Mattheus and Lucia!

Photo provided

Mattheus and Lucia Bicknell on their way to the Canada Games.

If you are not receiving home delivery of The Beacon please let us know at chrisstringer@westvanbeacon.ca

AMPLIF Y SERIES

KAYMEEK.COM 604.981.6335

LÚNASA

Mar 27 / 7:30 pm GROSVENOR THEATRE

THE HOTTEST IRISH ACOUSTIC GROUP ON THE PLANET SEASON SPONSOR:

PERFORMANCE SPONSORS:

March /April 2019

PAGE 3

Are you a pursuer or a withdrawer? Psyched Out Ian Macpherson

etra and Wolfgang are a vivacious, energetic and content couple - at least on the surface. Like most people, they do a pretty good job of presenting a happy face to the outside world. But at home they behave like ships in the night, working busy jobs, raising their children and then collapsing afterwards. Friends and confidantes who know them better would tell you that Pet and Wolf have been taking a variety of antidepressant medications for about five years and neither has been at peace with their marital relationship for about the same length of time.

When their mutual silence is broken they talk mostly about work and parenting without serious conflict so that the impression is a peaceful co-existence. But the pain of their lack of emotional connection erupts from time to time. Usually Pet takes a “We need to talk” approach while Wolf quickly adopts the stance of “Oh no, I hate this feelings stuff; it never goes anywhere and I always feel like the bad guy afterwards.” At this point Pet escalates the appeal and turns into the terrible nag or tearful complainer that seems to justify her husband’s defiant exit. Later, if you ask them how it’s

“

going between them, Wolf would say it’s fine while Pet would cautiously suggest that there might be room for a bit of improvement. The elephant in the room would thus remain until the next round burst forth. This pattern is surprisingly common among marital discontents. Though definitely not always the case, it is more often the wife who is the pursuer while her partner is the withdrawer/distancer. Underlying this ‘dance’ is the emotional attachment experience each of the pair lived through with other significant relationships including how secure they

“...stop projecting these fears from the past onto their partner and open the door...”

were in their family of origin. The difference in the socialization of little girls and boys also has something to do with it. As a result, women tend to be more emotionally attuned than men. Both the pursuer and the withdrawer have trouble coping with emotional vulnerability in intimate relationships and that is the key. Pet entered the relationship already anxious about connection. Wolf was a minimizer of emotional ‘stuff ’ before he met his wife. As they learn to become less reactive to their attachment fears, Petra the Pursuer and Wolfgang the Withdrawer will stop projecting these fears from the past onto their partner and open the door to the possibility of a secure and loving connection. Ian Macpherson is a psychologist who lives and practices in West Vancouver. More at www.westvancouvertherapist.com

Charlie and the chocolate stand BY

Chris Stringer

e missed a good news Christmas story in our January edition, so here it is for the spring. Just before Christmas five-year-old Charlie heard about the Food Bank providing Christmas dinners for the city’s less fortunate. She wanted to help so she asked her mom if she could set up a lemonade stand in Dundarave. Mom and Dad, Lara and Steve, happen to own Temper Chocolate and Pastry in Dundarave so Lara suggested that Charlie’s lemonade stand should be a hot chocolate

stand instead. On a chilly but clear December day, Charlie set up her hot chocolate stand outside Temper to warm up Christmas shoppers. Accompanying the cups of hot chocolate, she included a Christmas candy cane for a dollar. Not only did Charlie bring a welcome warmth to her customers but she raised $70 for the Food Bank too. Way to go, Charlie! We are sure that Charlie would join us in reminding everyone that the Food Bank is a much needed service, not only in winter, but throughout the year. Please go to www.foodbank.bc.ca for information on how to donate food, funds or your time as a volunteer.

“I want to stay in my home for as long as possible.”

Photo provided

Charlie at her hot chocolate stand.

Shylo brings care to your home. You want to stay where you’re comfortable: it’s the place that holds all of your family memories. Shylo would be honoured to support you to safely remain in your home. SHYLO HOME SUPPORT CARE CAN HELP WITH: • Housekeeping & Laundry • Personal Care • Shopping & Meal Prep • Medication Management We have been helping seniors stay in their homes since 1980. You don’t have to do it alone.

www.ShyloHomeHealthcare.ca www.VancouverSeniorHealth.blogspot.com

Call today for a FREE in-home needs assessment

604-985-6881

PAGE

A Skill for typewriters Chris Stringer

oes retirement on West Vancouver’s waterfront overlooking Fisherman’s Cove, Eagle Island and the Strait of Georgia sound pretty good? And what about summers at your cottage in Ganges Harbour on Salt Spring Island? Well, successful 86-year-old Vancouver businessman, Art Skill, has this life at his disposal but chooses to work every day. When asked why, he answers: “If I didn’t work, I would drink too much and get fat!” Art begins work early every morning, responding to customers’ requests to pick up and deliver typewriters for service. If

you Google typewriter sales or service for Vancouver the first listing is Polson’s Office Products, owned and operated by Art and Pat Skill from their home in Fisherman’s Cove. Typewriters have been Art’s life since he left Kitsilano Secondary School in 1950 where he candidly reports that he did not do well. The service manager at Remington Rand was his older brother, and he hired Art to learn to repair typewriters. The rest is history. By the 1970s Art Skill had built Polson’s Office Products Ltd into, conceivably, the most prolific typewriter sales and service business in Vancouver with 35 employees and over $6 million a year in revenues. He owned two commercial buildings in the Cambie and Broadway area but his landmark showroom was leased from the City of Vancouver.

Mr Typewriter Man in his museum between service calls.

Photos provided

March /April 2019 Pat and Art Skill on their patio beside Fisherman’s Cove.

“It was the typewriter supermarket,” Art explains. “In those days, prior to computers, businesses could not exist without multiple typewriters and secretaries or stenographers to operate them.” Polson’s customers included BC Electric (Hydro) on Burrard Street, BC Telephone on Seymour and the provincial and city government offices. Law firms and insurance companies depended on the sales and services of Polson’s who supplied the new machines and serviced them on contract. Polson’s expanded its inventory into office furniture and accessories to benefit from the established loyal customer base. Alas, the arrival of the computer derailed the long reign of the typewriter. Law firms continued to use typewriters for specific functions but the gradual conversion to computers took a decade. So in the late ‘90s Polson’s downsized but continued to sell and service typewriters, adding machines and cheque-writing machines that still existed in many offices. Office Depot, Staples and Future Shop impacted the survival of local businesses and eventually Art made the decision to run the business from his West Vancouver waterfront garage. Polson’s Office Products van can be seen in the driveway when Art isn’t out selling or servicing. The repair service is performed by two technicians who joined the company in the ‘70s and Art is the pickup and delivery guy. “You will be amazed at how many people today buy typewriters,” Art says. “Some are actually brand new. Most are reconditioned used machines. Some have collector or antique value.” The Remington and Underwood machines began production in the 1920s and Art has

some of them displayed in his downstairs ‘museum.’ He is most proud of a black cast iron Oliver typewriter that was built in early 1900. Pat, his wife of 52 years, reveals: “His hobby is his business. He just loves every aspect of being the go-to guy in Vancouver for typewriters. This is Art’s life. The other day he drove out to Lynn Valley where an elderly lady was having a problem with her electric typewriter. Art informed her that it was not plugged in. He stayed, chatted and was paid for his efforts with a cup of tea and a tuna sandwich.” When I contacted Art to write this story, he insisted that we meet first thing in the morning because he had to get to work. The meeting was a walk down business memory lane for Art. Anything he couldn’t answer he deferred to Pat who has spent over 30 years running the business administration and still handles all the invoicing and bookkeeping functions. They are a formidable team, working and living in beautiful Fisherman’s Cove, their home for 40 years. One can’t help thinking that Art Skill represents a piece of Vancouver history, a history that has been created by others like him who live with passion and commitment to hard work.

HELP US SERVE YOU BETTER AND PLAN FOR OUR LIBRARY’S FUTURE! West Vancouver Memorial Library is conducting an on-site and online survey

FEBRUARY 25 – MARCH 10 Surveys are available in the Library and at wvml.ca/2019survey 1950 Marine Drive, West Vancouver | 604.925.7400 | westvanlibrary.ca beacon banner survey ad .indd 1

2019/02/13 3:17:05 PM

March /April 2019

Living with dementia BY

Ben Rawluk

cross West Van, brave and passionate voices come together to challenge attitudes and stop stigma and say, “Yes. I live with dementia. Let me help you understand.” “I hope that when people need help on the dementia journey, they feel safe asking for it,” says Sandy Campbell, whose husband Les was diagnosed with vascular dementia. After Les received his diagnosis, he and Sandy found that while some of the people in their lives were quite supportive, other friends pulled away out of discomfort. “Often it was the people who had a personal experience of the disease who stayed and supported us,” she says. A friend, whose wife was living with Alzheimer’s disease, recommended that Sandy reach out to the Alzheimer Society of B.C. “Being with other people on the same journey has been invaluable. I’ve been able to share without having to explain.” Accepting her feelings and experiences has been one of Sandy’s biggest struggles as a caregiver. This has led her to want to help West Van residents understand the impact that dementia has on people’s lives. That’s the premise of the Alzheimer Society’s nationwide campaign: Yes. I live with dementia. Let me help you understand. While there is no question that dementia is a challenging disease, it’s just one aspect of a person’s life story. The campaign showcases the unique and diverse stories of individuals living with Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia. It aims to change attitudes toward the disease and erase the stigma. Life continues after a diagnosis of dementia. “We’re turning the conversation over to the experts,” says Vivian Tsai, Support and Ed-

ucation Coordinator at the Alzheimer Society of B.C.’s North Shore and Sunshine Coast Resource Centre, which serves West Van. “We believe sharing the stories of Canadians living with dementia will fuel a more open, supportive and inclusive dialogue about dementia and give confidence to others who have this disease to live their best lives.” Research shows that stigma associated with dementia is rampant. In a survey commissioned by the Alzheimer Society last year, one in five Canadians said they would feel ashamed or embarrassed if they had dementia while one in five admitted to using derogatory or stigmatizing language about dementia. The Alzheimer Society of B.C.’s ultimate vision is a world without dementia; that vision begins with a world where people living with the disease are welcomed, acknowledged and included. Working in communities throughout the province, the Society supports, educates and advocates for people with dementia, as well as enabling research into the disease. To learn more and get involved, visit ilivewithdementia.ca.

PAGE 5

Men on the Rock, Bowen’s Male Choir Fifteen guys and their female conductor, Nicole Thomas Zyczynski, will be joined by drummer Buff Allen and guitarist Teun Scheut for their upcoming Spring concerts.

Sunday April 7, 7:30pm at Tir-na-nOg Theatre on Bowen Island Saturday May 4, 3pm at St. Stephen’s Anglican Church in West Vancouver The choir will be performing beloved songs from their eclectic repertoire, from Renaissance to Rock, Thomas Tallis to Pink Floyd, Duke Ellington to Beach Boys, Canadian favourites as well as songs from faraway lands. These guys will serenade you, bring tears to your eyes, and knock your socks off.

Tickets available at the door or by advance purchase at 778-926-4286

Men on the Rock with their conductor, Nicole.

Nicole needs a home My name is Nicole Thomas Zyczynski. I was born and raised in West Vancouver, and I need a home. I am single, have no pets, no children and have excellent references. Music is my profession and my life. I direct three choirs on the North Shore as well as teach piano, accompany singers, compose and arrange music. And I am desperate to find a home by June 1st or earlier. I can afford $1500 per month and I am open to out of the box ideas, including vacating for the summer. Perhaps your home is empty. Would you like a respon-

Western Canada’s Leader in Private Healthcare Services

sible, loving person to care for it? I require a modest, quiet, private, independent space. This could be a cabin or a small house, or even a bigger house at a smaller price. No shared accommodation please. I am responsible and trustworthy, have an extensive resumé, good credit report and can provide excellent references. I will love and look after your home as if it were my own. You can contact me by email: ntzharmonium@mac.com or by phone 778-926-4286.

Contact us today Ashley Hamilton at 604-706-1259 ahamilton@copemanhealthcare.com www.copemanhealthcare.com West Vancouver, 200-545 Clyde Ave Vancouver, 400-1128 Hornby Street

PAGE

March /April 2019

Mal and Cara at the PAL theatre BY

Jon Borrill

orth Shore rehearsals for Horseshoe Bay resident Clive Scarff ’s new play, Mal and Cara, have begun. The show will be running at the PAL Theatre, in Coal Harbour from April 18 to April 28. It includes Horseshoe Bay and Bowen Island content and two matinees are scheduled to ensure the folks on Bowen can attend. Mal and Cara is the comedic story of a married couple coasting through life in Vancouver until one of them announces the desire to make a radical career change. The play stars Sarah Harlow and North Vancouver resident Malcolm Stead. Sarah starred in Clive’s first stage production You’ve Got

YOUR HOWE SOUND: community and scientific mapping of Atl’kitsem/ Howe Sound Join Ocean Wise and the David Suzuki Foundation for an afternoon of discovery about your local marine ecology. Partnering with scientists and local experts, we’ve created a dynamic on-line map displaying Atl’kitsem/Howe Sound’s unique and treasured marine ecology like you’ve never seen it before! But we’re not done yet. We’re looking to find out more from you and your community about ecological hotspots and areas of interest. Please join us at Gleneagles Golf Course Hall, Saturday March 9, 2019 1:30-3:00 pm

Male that ran in West Vancouver in 2015. Author and playwright Clive Scarff, is also the director. He has a long history of directing in television and in recent years has switched his focus to theatre. “I find the entire theatre process more enjoyable,” he says. “I love TV, but a great deal of the work is very technical whereas in theatre, from writing to casting to opening night, it’s a constantly creative process. Not to mention the incredible feedback of a live audience laughing and enjoying themselves.” It was this time last year that Clive was introduced to the PAL Theatre, when “we put on what turned out to be a highly successful run of You’ve Got Male. The theatre is first rate and a wonderfully intimate venue to put on a fun, family comedy such as Mal and Cara.” Clive adds, “I’m so happy with the cast; they’ve made rehearsals great

fun and they have had me laughing constantly. I can’t wait until they get to share their talents with the local community.”

Tickets for Mal and Cara can be purchased at www.malandcara.com at $20, and $15 for youth and seniors.

Dancing with daffodils BY

Ann Frost

“I

wandered lonely as a cloud that floats on high o’er vales and hills, when all at once I saw a crowd, a host, of golden daffodils.” This is probably William Wordsworth’s most famous poem and it’s a perfect reminder for us as we move into what I think is our most beautiful season – spring! Whatever the winter has been – cold and snowy, mild and wet, or a mixture of the two – spring has always brought us new life and hope. From the days when almost all of us did our own gardening to today when it seems as though every block in our community has

at least one gardening truck, spring wakens us with birdsong and treats us day after day with beautiful blooms. Early pink rhodies in January are accompanied by snow drops and crocuses. And now the gardens are awash in bloom and there are more and more days when it is warm enough to sit outside (in a sheltered spot) with your morning coffee. Spring skiing was just as popular way back when as it is now and I expect those pesky whisky jacks are still hanging around, waiting to join in the feast, stealing sandwiches. And down on the ‘flats’ you’d get home from school, grab a bicycle and be off, shirt flying, breeze threatening to steal your cap, staying out later and later as the Spring Equinox drew

closer. Down to the beach for the first day of beach combing. A visit to Whytecliff Park wading out to the small island, imagining you were a pirate scanning the cove for booty. Springtime was also for hiking the local trails, in better condition now perhaps but the views just as stunning then as they are today. Or a ferry ride to Bowen Island for a bit of window shopping and lunch in one of the tiny cafes. Or maybe going further afield – up the Sea to Sky highway with stops along the way to check out the sea life, or out through the Fraser Valley to Fort Langley and the spring vacation yet to come. And we are always free to emulate Wordsworth: “My heart with pleasure fills and dances with the daffodils.”

‘BEST VACUUM STORE IN METRO VANCOUVER’ CONSUMER CHOICE AWARDS “You will not pay more at West Van Vacuum Centre”

John Schleimer, Owner

SALES • REPAIRS • CENTRAL VACUUM SERVICE CALLS ALL MAKES AND MODELS

JOHN

2433 Marine Drive in Dundarave Village (beside The Red Lion)

604.922.9335 westvanvacuum.com

31 years in Dundarave

March /April 2019

PAGE 7

Art and poetry at the Ferry Gallery BY

L indy Pfeil and Chris Stringer

lspeth Bradbury has shared her passion for the environment, her commitment to this community and her vast stores of knowledge with us in the Mountains to Sea column for 32 editions of the Beacon. And for that we are extremely grateful. Scottish-born Elspeth met Ray, her husband of 56 years, in England while she was studying architecture at Manchester University. Their spirit of adventure took them to the rugged Shetland Islands where they had their three children and Elspeth completed a further course in landscape architecture. Continuing the adventure, they moved to Canada in 1968, purchasing a farm in New Brunswick, renovating the 200-year-old farmhouse. Their daughter Jean remembers, “The house was heated with wood stoves and the kitchen was a constant hive of activity.” The family moved again in 1989, this time to West Vancouver, where Elspeth continued her career in architecture and landscape architecture, while still finding time for her many interests and hobbies. Writing has always been a large part of her life. Her poetry has been featured in many literary reviews as well as on CBC’s Anthology. Goose Lane published a book of illustrated work, Is that You This is Me. Elspeth’s articles on gardens and nature have appeared in many magazines and her work was chosen for inclusion in Garden Voices: Two Centuries of Canadian Garden Writing. Harrowsmith produced Spring Gardens, and Polestar Press published The Garden Letters along with The Real Garden Road Trip. The former featured in Reader’s Digest. In 2007, The District of West Van-

couver sponsored West Vancouver: A View Through the Trees, which included her pen and ink drawings. In 2008 Elspeth received the District’s Heritage Achievement Award and in 2012 she and husband Ray received the Environment Award. She has served on the Design Panel and on the Heritage Advisory Committee. “Our magnificent West Coast forests and oceans are hugely important to me,” she explains, “and I was on the board of the Lighthouse Park Preservation Society for many years.” Seven years ago, Elspeth began a new adventure, inspired by her observations of the changing environment. “What is to be done about a world that grows more wondrous and more horrifying by the day?” is the question underlying Elspeth’s multi-media artwork. “I have always retreated to a country of quiet animals that lies somewhere between my bewildered brain and the surface of my drawing board,” she explains. “This was once a peaceful place; a pretty watercolour landscape where lions and lambs conversed politely and everyone ate tofu. Then a few years ago, here on the North Shore, it all began to change. The animals grew restless and opinionated. They began to speak out in languages that sounded mysteriously poetic. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to them, and they made it very obvious that they wanted their voices to be heard – so here we are!” And this is where it gets interesting. Elspeth’s mixed-media paintings portray local wildlife. They are intricate pieces, truly labours of love, each taking many months, sometimes longer, to complete. And they are filled with Elspeth’s wisdom, wit and sense of wonder. Each painting is accompanied by a poem, in which the animals respond by expressing their feelings about life in West Vancouver. Listen in as the pigeons of Park Royal,

the Seawalk otter and the dancing ducks of Tiddly Cove, along with squirrels, crows, raccoons and even a contented slug, share their opinions and experiences! The poems are displayed on matching panels, with graphics designed by daughter Jean, another Bradbury artist. Ray too is an exhibited artist and Elspeth notes how important his support continues to be during her artistic journey. Elspeth’s paintings and poetry will be displayed in an exhibition, Wild Life, at the Ferry Building Gallery on April 2-21. The opening reception is Tuesday, April 2 from 6-8 pm, and the public is invited to Meet the Artist on Saturday, April 6 from 2-3pm. On Sunday, April 14, there will be an audiovisual presentation from 2-4pm. Elspeth is inviting gallery visitors to write their own poems – in the voices of local wildlife. There will be an opportunity to do this at the Gallery. Or submissions can be emailed to the Beacon editor: lindypfeil@westvanbeacon.ca. Admission to the Gallery, and to Elspeth’s exhibition and events, is free as part of the Ferry Building’s mandate to support the development of emerging and established local

artists. At the foot of 14th Street on Argyle Avenue, the Ferry Building originated as a ferry terminal office and a freight shed for the West Vancouver Ferry Company. The Gallery was established in July of 1989 as a municipally owned and operated community art gallery and is a designated heritage site. It attracted more than 40,000 drop-in visitors this past year.

Photos: courtesy of Jean Bradbury Living it up with the dancing ducks of Tiddly Cove. The drakes don’t know what to make of such frivolity.

Specializing in the accumulation, preservation & transition of wealth.

C U S TOM PLAN

Financial Advisors Inc.

604.687.7773

www.customplanfinancial.com “Largest independent planning firm in the GVRD”

Karl Krokosinski karl@customplanfinancial.com Micheline Varas michelinev@customplanfinancial.com Tori McDonald toria@customplanfinancial.com

PAGE

March /April 2019

MOUNTAINS TO SEA

Julia’s Caulfeild garden, 1914 BY

Michael Kluckner

lthough hardly the kind of house nickname one would associate with Caulfeild today, ‘The Hut’ was once a centre of innovative gardening and cultural events, known far and wide a century ago as the home of Julia and Charles Henshaw. The Henshaws were early purchasers of land in Caulfeild and had built ‘The Hut’ by

1911, moving there year-round in 1914 when they sold their city home at 1508 Robson. In fact, Charles, a sometime realtor known as Afternoon Tea Charlie, had been leasing summer cottages at Caulfeild as early as 1904, the year before Francis Caulfeild filed his first subdivision plan. But it was his wife Julia who was the driving force behind their country place and the one most in tune with Francis Caulfeild’s idea of a “poetical commonwealth” of homes and

From The Province, July 26, 1925. The Henshaw garden and ‘The Hut’ is on the right.

Photo provided

gardens fitted into the picturesque natural landscape. A unique character, Julia Henshaw was a critic and commentator for The Province and the Vancouver Daily News-Advertiser in her 20s and 30s and the author of two novels published internationally. She was also a significant amateur botanist and explorer, first of the Selkirk and Rocky Mountains and later, with Charles, of Vancouver Island. She won the Croix de Guerre in 1918 for her work driving ambulances and coordinating civilian evacuation and relief in the waning days of the First World War. A highlight of her adventures was the publication in 1906 of Mountain Wild Flowers of Canada, the first comprehensive book on the country’s alpine botany and a very good early example of the sort of field guide popular today. It ran through several editions, promoted throughout the US, Canada, Britain and even France and Germany by Julia with her trademark lectures and hand-painted magic lantern slides. Her Caulfeild garden, on an acre and a half above Marine Drive on Piccadilly North, became the showpiece of her interest in alpine flowers. As she described it in a 1923 article in Country Life (USA), it was “wrought out of the primeval by the toil of man – and woman – and the gracious alchemy of the sun. Flights of steps made with stones split off from the granitoid rocks, dry walls built across clefts in the escarpments, the pockets thus constructed being filled with earth carried in buckets ... and then planted with gay flowers.” The stonework was “done by a man whose race built the Great Wall of China,” possibly Chow, Francis Caulfeild’s gardener. “Stone

Michael Kluckner’s graphic biography of Julia Henshaw is the subject of a lecture to the West Vancouver Historical Society on March 20 at 7pm, in the Marine Room, West Vancouver Seniors’ Activity Centre, 695 21st Street.

seats and flagged courts [were] all made of rock slabs, the mosaic widely put together to give the pavement-plants room to spread,” she wrote. No doubt she brought her beloved “flowers that bloom above the clouds” from the mountains, and created one of the first alpine gardens seen anywhere along the West Coast. ‘The Hut’ gradually expanded as the years went by, although the Henshaws were impecunious yet spendthrift, travelling and entertaining to maintain their position in society both here and in Montreal and London. Julia first appeared on West Vancouver property-tax rolls in 1925, at the age of 57, having evidently cleared a mortgage. Charles died two years later; Julia apparently had summer cottages built on the property, advertising them for rent each March in the early 1930s. She died suddenly in November, 1937 – the Vancouver Sun, her employer of the previous few years, published her final “Notebook” column the same day as her obituary. She left an estate valued at only $6,000. Later owners of ‘The Hut’ included the McAllisters in the 1940s and Jeremy and Gillian Marr(1977–2002). The house is still there, recognizable but much modified. There is no trace of the garden.

Landscape Design

Your garden ...Our pleasure

Installation

604.802.5272

Maintenance

BLOOMINGFIELDS GARDEN CARE AND DESIGN INC.

bloomingfields.ca

March /April 2019

PAGE 9

MOUNTAINS TO SEA

Horseshoe Bay’s Italian gardener BY

Nora Gambioli

y dad, Remo Gambioli, arrived in Canada in 1951 at the age of 23. He came by ship from Italy, via Halifax. He met my mom here and they settled in Horseshoe Bay in 1958 and he quickly went to work cultivating the land. Of course the standard ground-level fruits and veggies were grown, with Swiss chard and broad beans as specialties. But it was the productive trees and vines that were so prolific: walnut, mulberry, persimmon, kiwi, chestnut, pears, apples, cherries, plums and, of course, grapes and figs. I’m sure my parents never bought fresh produce between May and November. Dad loved to plant new things. Often seeds from other gardeners sprang up and he

couldn’t even name them. One day the police arrived at our doorstep to point out that growing marijuana plants on the boulevard was illegal! When we travelled back to Italy on vacations, he would bring back cuttings, and even hid giant live snails in his luggage. These were raised in a special snail pen and later released, all to be promptly eaten by the local raccoons. We also had chickens (up to 20 of them), dozens of rabbits and guinea pigs, two cats and a talking mynah bird. Undaunted by our mild climate, my dad grew tropical plants and flowers in a small greenhouse and watermelons - on the roof of the house for maximum sunshine. Finally, the pollination-value of honeybees created an avid apiarist, with a dozen hives, new flowers everywhere and kilos of golden honey. My dad was outdoors every day, dig-

Gardening with gratitude BY

Mary Millerd

love spring. I’ve been anticipating it since the end of January, choosing seeds, planting seeds, and watering, feeding and tending the tender new shoots. Gardening is one of the ways I connect with the wonder of nature, the mystery of life. I love the feel of dirt on my bare hands and pulling out weeds that are encroaching on new plants. It is a labour of love which grows each year. I have a small vegetable garden at my

home in Horseshoe Bay and a very large one in Pemberton, two hours north of Horseshoe Bay. One of my curiosities this year is to make the most of companion planting so I can continue having an organic garden. Last year my radishes, arugula and broccoli all had a little jumping beetle devouring the leaves so I pulled the radishes and arugula out saving the broccoli by washing the leaves with a mild soap and water spray. It helped imperfectly. Companion planting is a bit like friendship. Companion plants attract insects that eat the pesky bugs that devour vegetables.

ging and pruning, weeding and grafting well into his mid-80s. He created a local Garden of Eden and a fruit-and-veggie-lover and fellow gardener in me. Now it’s my turn to influence the next generation.

Photos provided Little Nora testing the quality of the grapes.

Good plant companioning saves a lot of plants and a lot of work. Similarly, good friends help us to look after ourselves. They support us by pulling out the weeds of selfdiscouragement and despair, encouraging us to keep going, imperfectly beautiful. I’m very grateful to have found a hobby that I love. It warms my heart, puts a smile on my face and shows me over and over again what an amazing planet we live on. As I put those wee seeds in the soil and see the bounty they produce I am in awe and ever so thankful.

The family tradition continues as the garden must be maintained.

Mary’s garden in Pemberton.

Photo provided

Vision plays an important role in every aspect of our lives. Our vision allows us to experience the world to its fullest. A complete eye examination checks your overall eye health, measures changes to vision and develops a plan to enhance and maintain your eye sight. Book your eye health and vision examination at IRIS today.

Caulfeild Village Mall 5313 Headland Drive | 604.923.4747 Dr. Vangie Tsui, Dr. Kiran Jhutty, Optometrists

PAGE

March /April 2019

New directions in creativity BY

Sue Daniel

eople ask me, “Why, after a lifetime built on stability and control, would you embark now on a path so completely different?” Like art itself, the answer is not simple. My life has always been one of pushing boundaries, first in 1956 when I escaped Hungary with my parents during the revolution (I still remember hearing shots fired as they rushed me and my brother and sister across the fields to freedom), then later as we settled in Canada, learned the language and rebuilt our lives. Since then I’ve always had a need for a foundation of predictability and reliability and (some might say) an obsessive need for control. Look after the details and the big stuff sorts itself out. But I also took chances. Lived abroad in Turkey, the UK and the US for several years. Embarked on a new career with next-tonothing behind me. Overcame my fear of public speaking. Became an entrepreneur. It’s almost as if, by keeping a tight lid on the basics – house clean, fridge full, laundry folded – I could make an occasional leap into something new. And it helped to have a partner who was of a similar mind, a controlled risk-taker. So a few years ago, after having been comfortably ‘semi-retired’ for several years, I started casting about for a new challenge.

This time I didn’t need to stretch to a bigger house (both girls were already gone, with families of their own) or a better lifestyle - we are just where we want to be. This time was a personal stretch. Something that would expand me as an individual, challenge me, take me to places I couldn’t necessarily know or plan in advance. My husband, Tom, and I had always collected art. Not expensive pieces, but interesting. I started to think about trying my hand at it. At first it was just talk, then one Christmas Tom gave me a shove in the form of painting lessons and a very complete tooland-materials setup. I couldn’t say no. As soon as I first put paint to canvas I was hooked. Within weeks I had rented studio space and just a few months later I moved to a larger space. At my first North Shore Art Crawl I made several sales. I joined the Artists’ Guild and Arts Council. And all the time I was exploring, moving into the unknown. Making art exposes everything - my fears and my yearnings. Searching for creativity is at the same time exciting, terrifying and unpredictable. I have to force myself to be loose and take chances. Sometimes I still don’t know where the art comes from. My husband complained about having to drive to my studio to see me, so he built me a big, bright stand-alone studio in our Dundarave backyard. I could paint bigger pieces and work all hours. He bought a clock for the studio. Chris Boulton at Buckland Southerst of-

Sue will be exhibiting at the 2019 North Shore Art Crawl so drop in to her studio open house at 2658 Mathers (rear) from 10 am to 5 pm, March 2 & 3, or visit Buckland Southerst Gallery in Dundarave anytime. (www.suedaniel.com)

10 SECOND

SLEEP QUIZ

fered me a short one-woman show at his Dundarave gallery, and started representing me on the North Shore. Soon after that, ArtWorks Gallery downtown visited my studio, took several large pieces immediately, and also started carrying my work. I was accepted into the prestigious Federation of Canadian Artists. I work almost exclusively in oils, and I prefer the challenge of a big canvas. As my style evolves, I find I like pieces that combine layers of translucent colours with simple geometric drawing elements on top. But every piece is different, and that was last week. The whole joy of this adventure is that every piece – as painful as they are to create from that imposing blank canvas at the start – is its own adventure. And isn’t that what life’s about?

Photo: Tom Dodd “Painting is about looking inside for answers and, sometimes, being surprised at what you find.”

Photo: Tom Dodd Every piece turns into a personal journey, an experiment - terrifying, humbling and unpredictable.

1) Are you tired?

THE THE 1010 SECOND SECOND SLEEP SLEEP QUIZ QUIZ 2) Do you snore? 1) Are 1) Are you you tired? tired?

2) Do 2) you Do you snore? snore?

3) Do you have high blood pressure? S O LU T I O N S O S LU T I O N S 4) Does your partner see you choke or stop breathing at night?

3) Do 3) ANy you Do you have high high blood blood pressure? pressure?yOu mAy hAvE SlEEp ApNEA. If yES tO 2 Orhave mOrE Of thESE quEStIONS, tAlk DOCtOr Orsee CAll Our ClINIC tO fIND Out mOrE INfOrmAtION 4) tO Does 4)yOur Does your your partner partner you see choke you choke #215 – 1433 #215Lonsdale – 1433 Lonsdale Avenue Avenue AbOut ApNEA AND CAN bE DIAgNOSED AND trEAtED. North Vancouver, North Vancouver, BC, V7M 2H9 BC, V7M 2H9 orSlEEp stop or stop breathing breathing athOw night? at It night?

THE 10 SECOND SLEEP QUIZ

Tel: 604.985.1440 Tel: 604.985.1440 yes If to yesany to 2any or more 2Lonsdale or more of these ofAvenue, these questions questions you may you have may have 604.985.1440 #215-1433 North Vancouver 1) AreIfsleep you tired? Fax: 604.985.9471 Fax: 604.985.9471 sleep apnea, apnea, talk to talk your to your doctor doctor or callor our call clinic ourto clinic find to find

#2-38003 2nd Avenue, Squamish

604.690.1130

out more more information information aboutabout sleep sleep apneaapnea and how and it how can it can 2) Doout you snore? #101-1695 Marine Drive, West Vancouver 778.650.0380 be diagnosed be diagnosed and treated. and treated.

www.clinicalsleep.com

3) Do you have high blood pressure? 4) Does your partner see you choke or stop breathing at night?

S O LU T I O N S

www.clinicalsleep.com www.clinicalsleep.com

#215 – 1433 Lonsdale Avenue North Vancouver, BC, V7M 2H9

March /April 2019

HOME & LIVING

Apple Galette

Baking pies without pans Cooking with Chlo

Chloé Noël

espite my parents being incredibly eager to get my sister and I out of the house once we hit our 20s, they are surprisingly happy to see us when we go back home to visit. This past weekend, I spent a blissful Sunday in my parents’ home relaxing and reflecting while watching bald

PAGE 11

eagles swooping around, landing on nearby cedar trees. My mom had even found the time to bake a beautiful apple tart from a French recipe. It included vanilla flan that gave it a creamy texture and I needed to attempt to recreate it as soon as possible. But when I returned to my student apartment, I was dismayed to find that we didn’t have a tart pan or even a pie pan. The solution: a galette! This rustic dish is best served warm, with love and perhaps a “Bonne Appetit!” Chloé is a part time vegetarian who tends to overshare and overeat. Photo provided Apple galette is perfect for those who want to enjoy a beautiful tart and don’t have a pie pan!

PASTRY DOUGH INGREDIENTS: 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 tbsp granulated sugar 1/4 tsp salt 1/2 cup (1/4 lb.) cold butter 1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten 1 large egg, beaten and 2 tbsp of granulated sugar

(pronounced Gah-let)

GALETTE INGREDIENTS: 3 apples 2 tsp cinnamon 2 eggs 1/2 cup light brown sugar 1/3 cup milk or any milk substitute 1 tsp vanilla 1 tbsp flour

In a food processor or large bowl, combine flour, granulated sugar, and salt. Cut 1/2 a cup butter into pieces and add to flour mixture; pulse motor, cut in with a pastry blender, or rub in with your fingers until mixture resembles coarse meal. With motor running (or stirring with a fork after each addition), add egg yolk and 3 to 4 tablespoons cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time; process or stir just until mixture comes together in a ball. Form dough into a flat disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill until firm but still pliable, about 1 hour. Preheat oven to 375°. Then peel and slice the apples into thin wedges and set aside. Next, make the flan mixture. Use a whisk to combine the 2 eggs, brown sugar, milk and flour. Unwrap the dough. On a lightly floured surface, with a lightly floured rolling pin, roll into a round about 15 inches in diameter. Line a 12x15-inch baking sheet with cooking parchment (or butter the sheet well) and carefully transfer dough round to sheet (edges will hang over sheet). Arrange the apple slices on top in overlapping concentric circles to within 3 inches of the edge, don’t worry about making it look perfect! Sprinkle the apples generously with cinnamon. Fold the edges of the dough over the apples in a free-form fashion, working your way around and creating pleats as you go. Patch up any tears by pinching a bit of dough from the edge. Dump the flan mixture over the apples. The pastry dough will act as a container, which will hold the liquid in place. Brush the pastry all over with the beaten egg and sprinkle 2 tablespoons of sugar over the pastry and the apples. Bake in 375° oven until pastry is golden brown and apples are tender when pierced, 40 to 45 minutes (35 to 40 in a convection oven). Transfer galette (with parchment, if using) to a wire rack to cool. Transfer to a large plate, gently pulling parchment from under tart. It is best served warm with a dollop of vanilla ice cream!

BRIAN POMFRET

JOE GARDENER

It’s time for pruning and planting March, with spring in sight, brings some gardening thoughts to ponder. • This is still a good time to move shrubs or ornamental trees. • Cut back your ferns now! It can be a pain if left and the fiddleheads are up already. • Those clusters of tiny round whitish eggs are slug eggs so destroy them. But don’t harm the shiny black beetles - they’re beneficial to your garden and eat pests.

• Start pruning your roses as you see a bud just about to burst through. Prune just above an outward facing bud at 45 degrees. Shape to attain desired height and cut out those crossing branches. • When the soil is a little warmer, plant summer bulbs such as lilies, dahlias and gladiolas. • Prune early-flowering shrubs like forsythia and witch hazel just after flowering to encourage new bud growth for next season.

Spring arrives with April, so let’s get at it! • Dead head daffodils but don’t cut back the foliage until it begins to yellow. • Mulch around your roses with a well-rotted manure - they love it! Put your banana skins in the soil. They contain lots of trace elements. • All your evergreen hedges can be trimmed now. • Continue lawn care with the first few cuts made at higher levels.

• Mulch your garden beds with a good soil amender (pure compost) or composted bark mulch, but don’t dig in the bark. All will leach nutrients through to plantings. •B egin caring for your rhododendrons. They need an acid-like soil to perform well (ph range 4.5 to 6). Roots should be in welldrained soil but kept moist. If your garden is small, try the low-growing rhododendron yakushimanum or ‘yak’ for short. Love them!

PAGE

March /April 2019

SCHOOLS

On mixed media and family BY

Kate MacLeod Rockridge Secondary Student

y phone lit up with the notification that my dad was calling me. I was in art class and had just finished planning my next AP breadth piece, a ‘mandala’ that represented myself as a whole, something I had high hopes for. It was strange for my dad to be calling me. He knew I had class and would rarely distract me from that. I silenced the ring and placed the phone face down on the table. It must have been a mistake. Minutes went by. Something felt off. The lines I had been drawing had started to waver. No longer was my hand steady as it usually was. I knew I would not be able to focus.

Over the years in art class, I have realized that layering mixed media is my favourite method. Each piece of art, like people, has layers that represent various parts of its development. We are built upon a canvas, our newborn bodies, every paint stroke, photographic cutout, cross-hatched pencil detail and 3D element all adding up to create the final product. Every element illustrates a story and creates the reactions and emotions we have to every change in life. There is no ‘right’ way to build ourselves up, I have learned. No such thing as a perfect masterpiece, no such word as flawless. The mistakes we make can only sometimes be realized long after a massive change. We look back upon our choices and focus on every addition to our canvas that we regret. And over time I have come to grasp the idea that

we mustn’t regret, we must move on from the paint too dark and the lines too thin. We must let those ‘mistakes’ be the elements of growth. So I walked outside with my phone, biting my pinky nail, a habit I’ve been meaning to break my entire life. Two rings. Hello? I stumbled with my words before whispering, Hi Dad. I could tell his voice was shaking, something I’d not heard since his brother died five years earlier. Your uncle passed away this morning. All I could say was oh. It is interesting to reflect that during a moment of shock, you are hit with all of the decisions in the past that led to the present. Something in the world feels as though it has shifted. Yet no one else feels that. No one except for you. You think to yourself, what if I had done something differently? Or, why didn’t I do this?

Junior Improv season BY

Rose Lepin Rockridge Secondary Student

ecently Rockridge’s Junior Improv teams participated in the Junior Canadian Improv Games (CIGs). This is an interactive series of tournaments in which high school teams of 2 to 8 members in Grades 8-10 perform three-minute scenes. They are judged on story elements and use of time. There are numerous teams in the multiple tournaments throughout the week, and scores are tallied throughout. At the end of the week, five teams head to

the finals. This year’s teams were RE Mountain (466 points), Lord Byng (483), Burnaby South and Magee 1 (456) and Burnaby Mountain (449). Out of 32 teams Rockridge 1 came in 7th with 429 points. Rockridge 2 (my team) came in 10th with 421 points. West Vancouver Secondary came in 24th with 397 points. Fallon O’Neill is a Senior Improv member, as well as the Junior Improv coach. It is her fourth year of improv and she says that Rockridge is unique in that it has a very strong improv community. Fallon believes improv contributes positively towards the whole school community. “I think it pro-

upWardcoNStructioN.ca 101 - 1305 Welch Street, North VaNcouVer MOBILE: 604.790.0472 OFFICE: 778.340.1355

Integrity and craftsmanship on Vancouver’s North Shore

vides a really safe space to take risks, really pushes personal development, and really brings the community together.” When holding auditions for the team, Fallon notes three key things they look for: “Commitment to improv and taking risks is one. We look for overall wittiness and how willing they are to cooperate with people. Teamwork is a super important part of improv.” She gives the following advice to students wanting to try out for the team: “Be yourself and don’t be afraid of going up on stage. Make sure that you’re working well with other people and that you just have fun!”

Or, I had so many opportunities to spend time with my uncle, so why did I never make the effort? Was it the distance? Maybe. Was it a busy time? Yeah, probably, but looking back on it, I would rather have spent a day with someone I dearly care for than spend a few extra minutes on math homework that I now realize has no impact at all on my hope to pursue a graphic design degree. In the moment that I realized that, I came up with my mixed media analogy. My uncle was the bold detail of my masterpiece that I couldn’t get quite right. To accept the absence of a wonderful thing is the hardest thing we must do but is necessary to help us know what to do next time. We were around the casket while my dad paid his respects with a light-hearted speech. That’s something I always loved about my Scottish family, they always saw a radiant light shine through every dark cloud and made the effort to let everyone see that too. I looked around and noticed my uncle’s wife, Lily. She always looked effortlessly beautiful, with her sky-blue eyes, soft skin and thick ebony hair. This would be endlessly difficult for her though I knew she would never be alone with all this family around her. We raised our glasses of fine whisky when my dad said, We are blessed to have Donald’s wit and humor passed down to my daughter, Kate. I couldn’t hold back my tears - of relief and emotional release. Those words made me feel okay again and allowed me to forgive myself. Family are not just the people we love no matter what. Family are the elements and principles of art that build us into the vast and intricate masterpieces we become throughout our lifelong development; family is woven into our beings; it never fades.

“At Amici restaurant we specialize in old world Italian cooking, where the food is plentiful and delicious! You want Italian? We’ll give you Italian with our tradition of warm hospitality.”

- Scott

1747 Marine Drive, West Vancouver | 604.913.1314

March /April 2019

PAGE 13

Building belonging BY Tamara

Leger

wenty years ago I moved from Montreal with my young family and bought my forever home in the small coastal community of Lions Bay. I wanted to put down roots and live in an environment with a strong sense of place where ‘original builders’ were active members of the community and folks stepped forward, not back, in time of need. Fast-forward 16 years: aging original builders, no longer able to climb hills, were selling off and moving out. New folks moved in but seemed disconnected. I started Lions Bay House Concerts in 2015 to give people in our ‘drive-in-drive-out’ single-family-dwelling community of 539 homes a reason to gather together. Our goal was to boost the local immune system, decrease loneliness and build new connections. We wanted to get folks out of their silos and create an active social environment where newcomers and old-timers could easily mix. Where bygones could be bygones. We also wanted to bring talented national and international touring musicians to our tree-lined community, so locals wouldn’t have to drive downtown for an extraordinary night out. That was how things got started and how, through remarkable live music experiences, we have been building community. In June 2017 we started our LBHC Artists in Schools program to address concerns

about social issues affecting youth in our community and give them self-expression and coping tools. Touring artists shared their individual struggles and the importance of ‘speaking your truth’ to students in Lions Bay, West Vancouver and Squamish. Through these concerts and workshops, students learned that struggles are not a destination, but the beginning of an empowering personal journey. We partnered with classroom teachers and school districts, and received partial funding through the Vancouver FoundationNeighbourhood Small Grants program. In 2018, I applied for a second West Vancouver Foundation|Vancouver Foundation Neighbourhood Small Grant to create our second Eat Together: Lions Bay Long Table Dining Experience at Lions Bay Beach Park and anchor it as an annual community tradition. The grant application process helped me build bridges, identify allies and harness the collaborative energies of the Lions Bay Events Committee, Arts (Council) and our broader community. The West Vancouver Foundation|Vancouver Foundation Neighbourhood Small Grants has helped us to create new community traditions, one remarkable event at a time. The deadline to apply for Neighbourhood Grants is April 9, 2019. All residents of West Vancouver may apply. Grants are given to support projects that connect neighbours, increase sense of belonging and celebrate diversity. Visit westvanfoundation.ca or call 604.925.8153 for more information.

Singer-songwriter Alan Gerber performing in Lions Bay in August, 2018.

Photo: courtesy of Taylor Leger

Have a great idea to bring people together in your neighbourhood? Apply for a grant and bring your idea to life! Deadline to apply: April 9, 2019 Neighbour Grants support people who want to make their communities better places to live. We give grants from $50 to $500 to projects that focus on building and strengthening relationships between neighbours. Projects range from potlucks and clothing swaps to neighbourhood walking tours and multicultural cooking classes. Other ideas include harvest festivals, music groups, and art workshops!

Apply online or contact the West Vancouver Foundation for more information: 604.925.8153 info@westvanfoundation.ca

westvanfoundation.ca a partnership between:

neighbourhood small grants

@WestVanFdn

Singer-songwriter Martin Harley performing in Lions Bay in May 2018.

Photo: Tamara Leger

PAGE

March /April 2019

Remembering West Vancouver’s ‘cows overboard’ BY

Chris Stringer

magine waking up in your waterfront home after a night of partying, and seeing, through the morning fog, a cow on your beach. This is precisely what happened to a bewildered Billie Claridge on September 26, 1976. After investigation she learned of the bovine’s midnight adventure that had led to her appearance in the suburbs. It had begun the previous evening at the Gambier Island Sea Ranch where a herd of nine cows had been loaded onto a barge transporting them to a pre-winter destination at the Vancouver market. The Sea Ranch community was being developed from an old farm where livestock was raised. Somewhere between Ambleside and Stanley Park the herd panicked and jumped

into the water. The suspicion was that they had been spooked by the noise from the approaching Lions Gate bridge. Some of the cows reached West Vancouver shores. The Sea Ranch developer, Garth Lawrence, a resident of West Vancouver for many years, recalls: “I had been at Gambier for the loading of the cows onto the barge and returned home to bed expecting to be notified when I awoke that the barge had reached its Vancouver destination. Instead, at 2 am I received a phone call from Sergeant Aikenhead of the West Vancouver police notifying me that two of

“

my cows were on West Bay beach. Could I please come over and remove them.” Some cows were rescued at sea, some from Stanley Park beaches by the park Mounted Police, an event that was recognized by the press as “the Stanley Park round-up.” One was spotted by the Coast Guard the next afternoon and was towed in to Sandy Cove beach. She had been at sea for 16 hours. Sadly, two cows drowned. The incident made international news. Seamen involved in the rescue mission referred to it as ‘Just another Moo Day.’

“One was spotted by the Coast Guard ... and was towed in to Sandy Cove beach.”

Photo provided Garth Lawrence helping an exhausted cow on West Bay beach, September 1976.

Going nowhere fast in search of the perfect place BY

Kim Clarke

oldilocks was right. Finding comfort in uncertain times is difficult. We need to try out a few possibilities before we find the perfect fit for whatever we are looking for. I do not condone Goldie for breaking into a stranger’s home to try out some things, but I applaud her enthusiasm for looking. I get the feeling that all of us, big or small, are looking for comfort, either a physical place or in our own skin. So when I read a Facebook article about finding the perfect place to sit, I was inspired to quest.

I was also inspired by the Japanese idea of forest bathing but, unlike Goldilocks, I was somewhat concerned about infiltrating the home of local wildlife. A skunk lives in a bush in my front yard so I am cautious. He’s small but packs an olfactory wallop. I did however, have a few ideas about where I would like to plant myself and what would happen once I found place perfection. It would not be in a place where I would be bait for cougars or bears or skunks. Of this I was certain. The first location was right outside my front door. A couple of Adirondack chairs overlooking Horseshoe Bay beckoned. I succumbed to their siren call and plunked myself down. Sadly, I did not come pre-

pared. To be completely comfortable I would need a blanket, a very warm drink, also a pillow. The scenery was spectacular, but the chairs were not. They were too hard and too awkward, unless you are gangly and like being bent like a checkmark. Oh, and raccoons. You will need to like raccoons. Plus - it was too cold. The next place I tried was the local coffee shop. It was warm and smelled delicious, but I felt guilty sitting alone at a big table. I was taking up too much space. Clumps of people wanted my table. I couldn’t get comfortable with all the throat clearing. It was too busy. Then I thought, “What the heck, I’ll go where everyone knows my name!” I won’t

need a blanket, or coffee or a pillow.” And that is when I found myself alone with my thoughts in the driver seat of my car, fantasizing about a long-distance joy ride to it all - to the prairies, to my old home, to childhood friends. I was warm. I was safe. I was in my driveway, parked, singing along to a radio that was not turned on. It wasn’t too cold. It wasn’t too busy. It was just right. Kim Clarke is a writer and teacher who lives in Horseshoe Bay. She is surprised and delighted by the inexplicable details of everyday: nothing is random, everything is purposeful and beautiful and fabulous and sparkly and she wants to share sparkle, in all its forms, with the world.

Safeway is proud to support local farmers and producers. See our wide range of local products throughout the store.

March /April 2019

PAGE 15

MOUNTAINS TO SEA

Take an Easter walk with your neighbour BY

Jean Lawrence

uring the week before Easter, known as Holy Week (Monday April 15 to Sunday April 21) you can experience each stage of the bible story at a different West Vancouver church. The idea was conceived in 2010 by four neighbourhood church leaders of different denominations who felt that people would enjoy the experience of sharing one another’s spiritual homes with the community. Breakfast follows each 9.30am service. On Monday it takes place at West Vancouver Presbyterian Church, Tuesday at St.

David’s United Church, Wednesday at St. Stephen’s Anglican Church and Thursday at St. Anthony’s Roman Catholic Church. Each church conducts its own regular Good Friday service. The Easter Sunday service is really special! The church groups gather at 6am on the waterfront rocks in Caulfeild to celebrate Jesus’ arising with the rising of the sun over the mountains in the distance beyond Lions Gate bridge. Breakfast follows at St Francis-in-the-Wood Church next door. And who knows, there may even be Easter eggs! Please check the week’s details at: www. stfrancisinthewood.ca.

Services Sundays 8am &10am (with Sunday School)

Wednesdays 10am 4772 Piccadilly Road South

604.922.3531 | stfrancisinthewood.ca Join us for fun on the fourth (4th) Saturday each month.

• crafts • g a m e s • fo o d • songs s • sto r ie e We hopyou to seeere! th

ST. FRANCIS-IN-THE-WOOD CHURCH A place for families celebrating community 4772 PICCADILLY ROAD SOUTH

West Vancouver Presbyterian Church SERVICE : Sundays 10:30am 2893 MARINE DRIVE 604.926.1812 westvanpresbyterian.ca Easter sunrise service on the rocks in Caulfeild.

at the Silk Purse Arts Centre 1570 Argyle Ave, West Van Tues⏤Sun, 12⏤5pm

westvanartscouncil.ca CONNECTING COMMUNITY THROUGH THE ARTS

Photo: courtesy of Kathleen Glynn-Morris

Art Exhibition Openings 6-8pm

Mar 5, Mar 26, Apr 16 Weekly Concerts Thursdays 10:30am

And so much more

PAGE

March /April 2019

BTL EMSELLA®

TREAT INCONTINENCE ISlAND pACIfIC SChOOl

HOLLISTIC NON-INVASIVE SAY GOODBYE TO PADS!

• • •

Strengthening of the pelvic floor Re-establishing neural control of the pelvic floor muscles Calming effect on overactive bladder and urge incontinence

DISCOVER US

FDA & HEALTH CANADA APPROVED for the treatment of stress, urge, and mixed incontinence Book a complimentary consultation to see if you are a candidate for this treatment.

604•922•1333 or visit www.thecoliseum.ca

edited Independent Schools

Dr. Natalie Waller, B.Kin., N.D. A n t i - A g i n g • B o t o x ® • D e r m a l F i l l e r • P R P R e j u v e n a t i o n • C e l l u l i t e Tre a t m e n t N a t u ro p a t h S e r v i c e • I V C e n t re • B I O I d e n t i c a l H o r m o n e R e p l a c e m e n t T h e r a p e u t i c We l l n e s s • P R P T h e r a p y f o r H a i r L o s s

1447 Bellevue Ave • West Vancouver • V7T 1C3

Dave, world traveller PARC resident

Small by design and distinctly different, Island Pacific School on Bowen Island is a grade 6-9 middle school with one class for each grade, and 18 students in each class. Spaces fill quickly; families are encouraged to apply for the grade 6 entry year well in advance.

Get to Know Us! 604 947 9311

islandpacific.org

When not travelling overseas with his wife, Dave can be found playing cribbage with the group he started at the Westerleigh. The game has been a favourite in Dave’s family for generations, and next on his list is to challenge other PARC residences to a championship! “We’ve made long-lasting friendships with other Westerleigh travellers.” That’s how it is at Westerleigh PARC: it’s easy to keep up old interests, with new friends. And with PARC Retirement Living’s focus on maintaining a healthy body and mind through our Independent Living+ program, it’s easy to see how life’s just better here.

Call Gail at 604.922.9888 to reserve your tour and complimentary lunch.

Life’s better here 725 - 22nd Street, West Vancouver

parcliving.ca/westerleigh