Diana Belhouse has a dream, one she’s cherished ever since she moved to North Vancouver almost 60 years ago. It’s a tangible vision she holds on behalf of her community: a park where people can picnic and play, enjoy open-air concerts and enjoy the beauty and peace of nature.
Location? Imagine a spot west of Lonsdale, east of Capilano, south of Montroyal and north of Queens and you have the Delbrook lands.
“Four acres in the heart of the community. It’s the chance of a lifetime,” Diana says. “Really, that’s what it is. The opportunity to create a green legacy in this area will never happen again.”
Rewind 57 years.
Diana and her first husband Larry Munroe, attracted like many of their friends by the proximity to nature, decided to make their home on the North Shore. They chose the new Delbrook housing development in North Vancouver, found an architect to design the house, commuted from the city to oversee construction and moved into their new home in 1959.
“We all expected these new developments in the Delbrook area would include a park,” she says. After all, these newcomers intended to raise families and build a future in North Vancouver. “There were 27 children on our street alone – and it’s only one block.”
A park would be the foundation of the neighbourhood, where children and parents could come together outdoors. The proposed site of that park became Delbrook Plaza.
As North Vancouver grew, parks and trails and playing fields were established across the municipality, with community parks flourishing east of Lonsdale.
“The district set aside land at Norwood and Madely for a park but it never happened. Though the site was deemed too hilly for development, there are houses there now. It would have been a nice park.”
Diana and Larry enjoyed 17 happy years together, spending their summers exploring the pristine local waters, always aboard a boat Larry had built.
Sadly, Larry passed away at an early age. Diana returned to school, graduating with a law degree from UBC in 1973, one of 15 women in a class of 250.
Called to the bar, Diana did not practice. Instead, she and her second husband, Henry Belhouse, embarked on “a love affair that lasted 38 years”, until his death in 2012.
A widower with four children, Henry, like Larry, was another kindred spirit who appreciated the beauty and peace of nature. Diana established scholarships at UBC in memory of Henry and of Larry. One offered through the School of Community and Regional Planning commemorates Larry’s career in planning with the City of Vancouver, recognizing the importance of green space in our urban centres. The other, available to those studying physics, meteorology or atmospheric sciences, marks Henry’s contribution to Canada’s meteorological sciences as head of the Meteorological Service of Canada’s Instrumentation branch.
Over the years, Diana evolved into a respected advocate for her community. She worked as a volunteer at the library in Edgemont Village until libraries were established in the municipal system. Four years on the district’s Waterfront Task Force led to the North Vancouver Save Our Shores Society, which advocates against residential and other encroachments on the public foreshore. Membership in both the Delbrook and Upper Lonsdale Garden clubs led to Diana’s appointment by then-district mayor Marilyn Baker as the first chair of the North Vancouver Parks Advisory Committee.
Diana, who turned 91 in November, continues to expect a park in her future and her community’s future.
“You have to be optimistic, and I am. During the discussion about the district’s OCP at (a recent) council meeting, one councillor spoke about the need for housing for today’s citizens, their children and their children’s children. There is a need for such housing on the North Shore. Access to green space is equally, if not more, important for future generations.
“Imagine if the Delbrook lands were dedicated as a community park, a place for picnics and concerts, a green oasis of tranquility. A park would complement the new Delbrook recreation centre, especially with the proliferation of condos and the houses being built now with no yards or gardens.
“Where will people go to find the peace that nature brings, where they can enjoy the outdoors with friends and family? It’s the reason why so many of us chose North Vancouver to raise our families back in the 1950s.”
Laura Anderson works with and for seniors on the North Shore. 778-279-2275, seniorsconnect@shaw.ca
