Every Place Has a Story

A Cabin, a Fireplace and a Murder

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This was supposed to be a short and happy seasonal post about a cabin and a Christmas log, but then I stumbled across a murder.

Like everyone else, I’m familiar with Shaw’s fire log, but I’d never given any thought to its origins. Then Kyla and Grant Stuart Gardiner’s monthly newsletter came in the mail and talked about its history.

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  The 1981 PNE Prize Home

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Architect Ron Thom designed a 4,000 sq.ft. prize home for the PNE  in 1981. It resided in South Surrey.

In 1981, British Columbia was in the throes of a recession, house prices were plummeting, and first-time buyers were looking at interest rates of over 20%.

Architectural offices were closing, and even a starchitect like Ron Thom was searching for clients.

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How the Melbourne Hotel became No5 Orange

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The Melbourne Hotel became No5 Orange in 1971, after 67 years as a hotel and beer parlour

The Melbourne Hotel opened in August 1904 at Westminster Avenue and Powell Street. According to the daily classified ads that ran in the Vancouver Daily World and Province, it had steam heating, electric lights and a white cook.

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The Royal Hudson

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Angus McIntyre took this photo of the Royal Hudson at Arbutus and Broadway in 1977 travelling to the US on a three-week promotional tour

Going South:

This photo of the Royal Hudson travelling along the Arbutus corridor at Broadway on March 20, 1977 is one of my favourite Angus McIntyre photos.

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Overlynn: Burnaby’s most haunted mansion

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Earlier this month, St. John Alexander invited me to hang out at Overlynn, a Burnaby mansion for a CTV news Halloween segment. I spent an amazing Saturday with St. John, Greg Mansfield and Amanda Quill—two experienced ghost hunters.

Listen to Cold Case Canada podcast Episode 34

Charles Peter:

As the history geek in the group, I discovered that Overlynn, which is in Vancouver Heights, is part of North Burnaby.

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The Ghost Train

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As Chef Jean-Francois Dube discovered in 1999, North Vancouver’s Pacific Starlight Dinner train was haunted

In 1997, I was the Vancouver Correspondent for Marketing Magazine and one of a few dozen media invited along to launch BC Rail’s Pacific Starlight Dinner Train. It was a fantastic night, beginning with a musical send-off from the old North Vancouver station, great food, a stop at Porteau Cove and free booze all the way up and back.

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Remembering Trans-Canada Airlines Flight 3

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On April 28, 1947, Trans-Canada Airlines Flight 3 took off from Lethbridge, Alberta on a routine flight to Vancouver. It never arrived.

Rice Lake:

A couple of Sundays ago, my friend Virginia and I went for a walk around North Vancouver’s Rice Lake. We stopped to pay our respects at the two boulders near the entrance.

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