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The Tom Irvine House
It’s a great place to visit at any time of year, but at Christmas, with the Victorian decorations and jolly holiday atmosphere, it’s especially fun. I went there with three friends for an exciting afternoon of exploring and reminiscing about the ‘olden days’.
Our first stop was the old school house where a ‘teacher’ explained the classroom routines of those long-ago days when kids of all ages shared the classroom which was heated by a wood-burning stove. Discipline was more rigid then than it is nowadays. Reading and ‘Riting and ‘Rithemtic were practiced diligently.
Next we visited one of the old bachelors homes. Tom Irvine who was a pioneer of Burnaby, and his house, built in 1911 features various items of interest including the pair of red flannel underwear laid over the bed.
Explore life back in the 1920’s at the Burnaby Heritage Museum, on Deer Lake Avenue in Burnaby B.C. Canada. This 10 acre site was built as a memorial to the B.C. centennial in 1958 and is a recreation of an early 1930’s community. Several original buildings and artifacts have been located here in the many interesting displays. Volunteers and staff dressed in period costumes will show you around and demonstrate at the various exhibits.
It’s a great place to visit at any time of year, but at Christmas, with the Victorian decorations and jolly holiday atmosphere, it’s especially fun. I went there with three friends for an exciting afternoon of exploring and reminiscing about the ‘olden days’.
Our first stop was the old school house where a ‘teacher’ explained the classroom routines of those long-ago days when kids of all ages shared the classroom which was heated by a wood-burning stove. Discipline was more rigid then than it is nowadays. Reading and ‘Riting and ‘Rithemtic were practiced diligently.
Next we visited one of the old bachelors homes. Tom Irvine who was a pioneer of Burnaby, and his house, built in 1911 features various items of interest including the pair of red flannel underwear laid over the bed.
The General Store
The ‘village’ includes a blacksmith shop, bank, church, general store, dentist office, pharmacy, barbershop, print shop, silent movie house and one of the most interesting places is the General Store. I’ve never failed to study in amazement the collection of items in this old store. A lot of them remind me of my own childhood, when my family lived on the prairies, such as the galvanized tin washtubs like the one I remember my Mom melting snow in for our Saturday night bath. Lots to keep you occupied in this store, a real trip down memory lane, and fascinating for modern youngsters to see what kinds of toys their Grannies and Grandpas used to play with!
The old interuban tram
The B.C. Electric Railway tram is the same one I used to ride from downtown Abbot Street to New Westminster back in the ‘50’s when it still rattled down First Avenue. I used to take it to school or we’d often take out to Royal Oak Station to visit my Auntie.
I got quite a thrill out of sitting in those antique seats again, remembering how the floorboards used to shuttle back and forth when the tram bolted down the hill on First Ave.
The highlight of the day, though, was a ride on the fully restored 1912 C.W. Parker Carousel. For two loonies ($2) you can have the thrill of a lifetime, recalling your childhood as you spin around up and down on these magnificent ponies which have been so lovingly restored. I remember this same carousel once was a featured ride at Playland, during the ‘50’s when I was in my teens. It was and still is my favorite ride!
I got quite a thrill out of sitting in those antique seats again, remembering how the floorboards used to shuttle back and forth when the tram bolted down the hill on First Ave.
The highlight of the day, though, was a ride on the fully restored 1912 C.W. Parker Carousel. For two loonies ($2) you can have the thrill of a lifetime, recalling your childhood as you spin around up and down on these magnificent ponies which have been so lovingly restored. I remember this same carousel once was a featured ride at Playland, during the ‘50’s when I was in my teens. It was and still is my favorite ride!
Riding the carousel. Whee!
1 comment:
Hi!
Glad you stopped by the blog and commented! I was recently at a Hedgebrook gathering in L.A. Be sure and update your info with them through www.hedgebrook.org. They have an alumnae coordinator now, so there may be some interesting things upcoming.
Also, I started another blog focused on supporting writers at http://writerfriendly.blogspot.com
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