Connection. One word that sums up Memory Lane.
In sharing stories, we build connections, establish bonds and make memories.
The stories told here define the character of the people who made their home on the North Shore. They reflect the events of the past that shape our present and our future.
Memory Lane is about the connections that arise from the stories told in this column, that establish or reveal or restore links between people, the stories that link us to our past, from the correct pronunciation of Dundarave to Marie Katsuno’s internment during the Second World War (from a Nov. 16, 2014 column).
Marie’s story goes with those of the men and women who served in both world wars, on the battlefronts and the home front, in the North Vancouver shipyards and the Point Atkinson light station.
The pronunciation of Dundarave belongs in the historic record, with the stories of the bus drivers and tugboat captains, the millworkers and the teachers who made their homes and raised their families on the North Shore.
Two such connections occurred while writing this column at the end of the year.
Memory Lane columns frequently restore lost connections.
It could be a school mate or a neighbour, particularly if the subject of a column grew up on the North Shore.
“I went to North Star or Hollyburn school with X. We lost touch 50 or 60 or 70 years ago.”
The first call was a request for help to reconnect with a woman profiled some years ago.
“We want her to know that something she did way back when made a difference, and how much we appreciate it.”
The second call completed a story. On Sept. 27, 2015, Alleyne and Barbara Cook’s story was about downsizing.
Alleyne, an internationally known specialist in rhododendrons, contributed a treasure trove of rhodos to the Sunshine Coast Botanical Gardens. Barbara gave specimens from her natural sciences collection to the University of British Columbia’s Beaty Biodiversity Museum.
Recently, Barbara visited the museum for the first time since her bequest was made.
“I saw my two yak horns, and my ancient camel bone from the Gobi Desert,” she said.
“But most of the collection is out on tour with the museum’s schools program.”
Sharing the glories of the natural world was the Cooks’ intention, so the news that their treasures are being used in education was gratifying, as the completion of the story of the nautilus was to Memory Lane.
Once people find that sharing some of their life story in Memory Lane is not an unpleasant experience, they encourage their friends to contribute.
Barbara Cook thought the story of her friend Mary Huber might interest readers.
The Huber family lived all over the world, including a stint in the United States that culminated in a visit from the FBI, so yes, her story would interest readers.
But the heart of that story is friendship (Oct. 23, 2016).
Mary and her husband Grant relocated to North Vancouver to be closer to their children, arriving in time for Christmas in 2010.
Within the first month in their new home, Grant passed away.
At 90 years of age and after 67 years of marriage, Mary was on her own.
North Lonsdale United Church, in the persons of Verna Mossop and Barbara Cook, welcomed Mary into the community.
Barbara, Verna and Mary had lunch together on the day this column was written.
Connection. Memory Lane records connections, celebrates them and, occasionally, makes them happen, among people and with the past.
As these connections inform our history and heritage, questions are answered and new questions are posed.
One such question was answered in a profile of the friendship of Mollie Anthony and Sidney Smith (Nov. 12, 2017).
The correct pronunciation of Dundarave, the block long collection of local businesses between 24th and 25th streets in West Vancouver, is “have,” not “rave,” according to signs posted in the 1970s for the benefit of customers in the Dundarave bank.
We Canadians are a nation of immigrants whose stories and memories reach around the world, and of Indigenous people whose oral tradition reaches back thousands of years.
“Somewhere inside of me, for all that time, I was always Canadian,” says Marie Katsuno.
This year, Marie, 94, and Peter, 103, celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary.
These stories and memories reach back to our countries, and our communities, of origin.
They are our stories, our social and cultural heritage. They frame our present and our future.
The history of the North Shore is unique primarily because it is recent, still within living memory.
We have a unique opportunity, and duty, to collect, record and preserve these stories for the benefit of the generations that will make their homes on the North Shore, creating memories and stories of their own.
Laura Anderson works with and for seniors on the North Shore. Contact her at 778-279-2275 or email her at [email protected].
