Len and Dushka Metcalfe

Earlier this year I decided to do something with my mother’s photos and other treasures. I found an article about her aunt’s 100 year birthday in 1998 and Joy Metcalfe was interviewed for it. I knew we were related to the Metcalfes of Boundary Bay fame but I hadn’t taken the time to look into it.

I figured that someone as well-known as Joy Metcalfe would be easy to find and she was. I wrote her an e-mail and she responded. She suggested I contact her brother-in-law, Len Metcalfe, and his wife Dushka.

I called Len in late February and we talked a bit. We made tentative plans to connect in the near future. As my biological mother’s health deteriorated, I contacted both of my sisters to encourage them to come out to be present for her death, but only Miriam came. Since she was only going to be in Vancouver for a week, I suggested we contact Len and visit him. As he was the first cousin of our mother, we are first cousins once removed.

Miriam and I went to Richmond on Friday, April 26. We learned a lot about the Evans family, including more information about their wealth. He showed us a photo of the house that his grandfather — our great-grandfather — built at 15th and Hemlock, just across the street from General McRae’s mansion, Hycroft. We learned that the Evans children played with the McRae children.

3052 Hemlock Street, Vancouver

Later that evening I received a phone call to let me know that our biological mother, Betty (nee Evans) Fleming, had died.
 

Richard & Elizabeth Evans family, Vancouver, ca 1910

On Saturday evening, October 26, there was a special event at Mountain View Cemetery, “All Souls”, the 9th Annual Night for Honouring the Dead. Shortly after 6:00 pm, there was an aboriginal chant, then the lighting of a Swedish fire, an interesting log that burns from the inside.

In the Celebration Hall they were serving tea and had materials for making memorial candles. I brought photocopies of photos with me and we used them to decorate the candle holders.

Then we walked over to the four side by side plots where the majority of my ancestors are buried, in the section called OLD. All the above in the photo are there, except for Anne and Will. In addition, two of the Evans children were buried as infants in 1899 and 1901. My biological mother Elizabeth (Evans) Fleming (1925-2013) was buried there this past April, and her sister Barbara Evans (1927-2005) had her ashes interred at the same time.

Mountain View OLD/3/02/021/0013 to 0016

My great-aunt Anne (1898-1999) was buried with her husband Bill Metcalfe in ABRAY. Coincidentally, they are in the same row, about 10 metres from where my adoptive mother Maureen (Evans) Sweeney (1933-2010) is buried with her mother Laura (MacDonald) Evans.

ABRAY /*/15/*/0592

My grandfather, Charles Edward Evans, was the father of both of my mothers who were sisters. As I grew up, my parents always told me that I was ‘adopted’ and I didn’t learn who my biological parents were until after my grandfather died. I was 12 years old.

After mom died, I found a photo of him among her pictures. I had known about him being a pilot in the First World War.

Charles Edward Evans, Royal Flying Corps, WWI

I have since found a cousin of my mom’s, Len Metcalfe, making him my first-cousin once-removed. I’ve been meaning to write about that visit for some time and will soon. He was close to my grandather (his uncle) and told me some things about him that I liked.

For now, I’ll just say that one of Charlie’s wartime friends, Bill Metcalfe, came to Vancouver after the war and married his sister, Anne.

After my biological mother Betty died this past April, my sister came to visit from New York. She and I decided that we would like to have everyone who descended from Charles to be commemorated at Mountain View Cemetery in the Evans plot. My sister has a gift for words and created the epitaph.

I wanted him to be remembered with his full name.

In 2005, my father (adoptive) was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. By that time, it had metastasized to his bones. I believe it was in July that he could not get out of bed and he never did again. He was admitted to UBC hospital and he was waiting for a bed in hospice. There was a lot to do as the family was arranging care for my dad.

On the morning of September 1, I noticed that the left side of my face was numb. Over the next couple of weeks, dad got worse — and the numbness persisted. So, I did manage to go to see my GP because I wanted a neurology referral. I was concerned about the possibility of MS because I knew that the onset could be as subtle as that facial numbness. The referral went through and the focus returned to dad. We visited and had our chance to say our final words.

At about 3:00 am on September 19 I woke up — it was unusual to wake up as I didn’t have to go the bathroom. When the phone rang at 7:00, I said to my husband that it was because my dad had died. I picked up the phone. It was UBC hospital calling to give me the news that he died at 2:55 am. I called my mom to let her know. Coincidentally, she had woken up at about 3:00 as well.

The family worked together to organize the funeral and it was held on September 23, 2005. I worked with a talented friend who made up a gorgeous funeral card for him with photos and pictures I scanned for her. At his bedside was a beautiful card my cousin Erin made for him, so we incorporated that into the design. I wrote the text in an inspired moment with fond memories of his good nature.

The day after his funeral, the numbness went away.

Main Office, Assemby Plant, 49 Smithe St

In my last post, I blogged about the website Changing Vancouver and learned it is written by Andy Coupland and well-known civic historian, John Atkin. I corresponded a bit with Andy and he has updated the entry about Sweeney Cooperage and the former site in False Creek in great detail. I learned a lot from it and I’m grateful to him for his thorough history. I have a few more things to look up the next time I go to visit the City of Vancouver archives.

While I may not be a Sweeney by blood, I am a Sweeney by name and grew up in this large family, with lots of cousins. My childhood was full of memories spending time at the cooperage on weekends when Dad went to work in the office. I’ll blog more about that another day.

The person who wrote the blog relied on sources from the archives.

Initially Michael Sweeney’s cooperage was in Victoria; in 1921 it moved to Vancouver on False Creek (or 1914 depending on which source you read – although there’s no sign of them in the street directories that early).

Changing Vancouver Blog

The full story can be found in the Sweeney Christmas card of 1956 where ‘the old man’ (my grandfather M.Leo Sweeney) — another meticulous historian — wrote the story. I scanned it and it’s available here in pdf.

Christmas Card 1956 with History

Coin Preston, CBC film and media archivist, and Jeffrey

On Friday, June 7, the City of Vancouver Archives hosted a celebration and open house at Vancouver City Hall. As soon as I walked in, I was greeted with a smile and a wave from Jeffrey, the young man who works with film at the archives. It was nice to be remembered and greeted so warmly. Jeffrey and I spent some time together last fall when I donated some 16mm and 8 mm films that my dad had saved from Sweeney Cooperage. Jeffrey was an intern with Colin Preston, film and media archivist at CBC, and a while later I managed to get a couple of nice photos of the two of them together.

free archival photos

There were gorgeous old photos available to the early arrivals. Each one of us could take five. They were all copies of the originals that are stored at the archives. The digital images are now available for public viewing and this was a way for them to make space in their storage. It was an unexpected treat for me to come home with some treasures.

Jill with fire insurance plans

There were a lot of interesting displays — old maps, plans, books, films — all sorts of goodies that history buffs love. It was great to get a chance to talk with the staff and volunteers. Even though I’ve eliminated wheat and dairy from my diet, I couldn’t say ‘no’ to a very small piece of the special carrot cake, made by The Lazy Gourmet, with a recipe from The Expo 86 Cookbook.

So much happened and such interesting history. I will write more over the next couple of days.

Elizabeth Evans ca 1945

Elizabeth Margaret Evans was the Western Canadian Champion for the one-mile swim. The family lived at 7th and Vine in Vancouver, and spent a lot of time at the beach or Kitsilano pool swimming.

I went to visit Betty today. She is very close to death. Her breathing is irregular.  I talked to her about memories I had of her, of the people who are waiting for her, how she will be embraced by light and love when she leaves us.

I read Psalm 23 to her to provide her comfort, just like I did with mom 2.5 years ago. She opened her eyes near the end of my visit but I wasn’t sure that she saw me.

I came home and called my sisters again to let them know how close to death she is. Miriam will be here tomorrow night.

Betty Evans, Granville Street ca 1936

This is one of my favourite pictures of my biological mother, Elizabeth (nee Evans) Fleming, when she was about 11 years old. She looked confident and on some kind of business, walking downtown on Granville Street. She was a champion swimmer and became a journalist during WWII. She lost her job when the war was over as they were no longer interested in women journalists. She moved away and taught English in Quebec, then worked in Ottawa where she met her future husband, an American studying in Ottawa.

Betty has been living in a facility for several years. Over the past weekend her care has been downgraded to ‘palliative’, meaning they will provide what they can for comfort but no medical intervention. She is 87 years old. I have called my two sisters (Oklahoma, New York) to inform them of this change and to prepare to come to Vancouver for her funeral. The three of us sisters have never been in the same room all at once.

I walked up to Mountain View Cemetery today to find out more about costs etc. to have her buried with her father, Charles Edward Evans.

The Evans section is four plots at OLD/3/2/21 and is directly in front of the most prominent grave marker at Mountain View, just under the tree in the foreground on the left.

I want to be buried here in the plot on the far end, under the tree, in #16. This is where my great-uncle John W. is buried, who died as an infant in 1899. With him is his older sister Laura Winifred, who died in 1958.

Mountain View supports green burials. We will be burying Betty in a simple casket that Daniel is currently building. She will be at rest after a challenging life.