* OPE TE oe "6 - Friday, January 27, 1989 — Nort se erdee od r bh Shore News INSIGHTS Did somebody out there ask what a pioneer was? ANOTHER LIVING LINK with local history was severed last Sunday with the death of Gertrude Lawson, daughter of the ‘‘Father of West Van’’ and its second reeve, John Lawson. The last survivor, at 96, of iris four children, she landed with her family on Easter Sunday 1907 ina 10-passenger rowboat at the site of their new home, a house built earlier by that colorful character Navvy Jack, near what is now the park that bears their name. With a scow full of household goods in tow, it was a harrowing voyage through the treacherous First Nar- rows — and not Miss Lawson's last. There was no church in the tiny settlement. So during the following months — until a visiting parson services in the Lawson home in 1908 — the family woutu pile into the rowboat and brave the riptide at the Narrows to attend Sunday services in Vancouver. **Sometimes,’’ Gertrude recalled later, ‘‘I didn’t know whether to pray we would be drowned or sav- GERTRUDE 1989...receiving a gift,on her 95th LAWSON, birthday. ficials. overdue. 1892- Sole solution ECENT REVELATIONS over the diseased state of English sole in Vancouver harbor ould throw cold water over the long-held perception that our environment is cleaner than most other North American cities. They should also inspire more than practised knitted brows from federal and provincial environment of- The now standard reaction to encroaching cancers in our food chain is to downplay health hazards to humans posed by eating diseased food and to clase fisheries or commission more studies, which only pe- nalizes fishermen and the environment. What really needs to be done now is to point some financial and legislative blunaderbusses directly at in- dustrial and residential pollution sources. The Greater Vescouver Regional District, for ex- ample, has been lobbying the federal and provincial governments for money to help it overhaul Lower Mainland sewage systems and to upgrade its sewage plants to secondary sewage treatment. Bat both levels o: government consider sewage a municipal responsibility even though the environment it rans inte is everybody’s responsibility. The recent Environment Canada report, showing up to 30 per cent of English sole taken from Vancouver’s inner and outer harbor having pre-cancerous tumors or lesions, pointed cut that the North Shore sewage treatment plant, which processes an average of 17 mil- lion gallons of raw sewage daily, is the largest single point of discharge into Vancouver’s outer harbor. The time for further study and consideration has come and gone; the time to stop and clean up is long ed. I was terrified many times by the force of the current.”* Did somebody ask what a pio- neer was? The saga of John Lawson, West Van's second reeve, has been well documented in Bruce Ramsay's history, A Place of Excellence. For many years Gertrude herself was a teacher at Pauline Johnson School. In retirement she continued to live until very recently in the big stone house at 17th and Esquimalt, built on land owned by her father who'd donated to West Van the adjoining site of the present municipal hall. Rev. Evan Fullerton will con- duct the service for her at 11:30 a.m., Monday, Jan. 30, at Hollyburn Funeral Chap 1. And one thing is certain. Her family name will live on as long as West Vancouver itself does. nee DUCK BUCKS: With thousands of spectators and $40,000 worth of prizes the Great Capilano River Duck Race — this year Sunday, Feb. 19 — is already established as Aone of the North Shore’s big an- nual fun events. But the serious part is what the organizers, the Rotary Ciab of North Van, do with the money. . The answer is ‘very good things.” Last year the Club’s $10,G00 gift to the North Shore Home Support Services meant their Medical Alert system, giving instant access to help in an emergency, could be extended te over 100 live-alone seniors. This time the Emily Murphy Home for battered women is stated for a ma- jor share of the duck bucks. All of which entitles you to feel very nice and warm inside as you cheer on your brave little quacker from the river bank! ent POSTSCRIPTS: A special pat on the back for Capilano Community Services volunteers Walter Talbot, Marjorie Barlow, Marguerite Cooper, Shirley Butler, Lynn Anderson, Phyllis Marshall, Ber- nice Christopherson, Joan Bed- does, Frances Netlist, Peter Brown and May Louie. A certificate of appreciation for their collective 1,900 hours a year selling UNICEF cards, stationery and gifts at Delbrook Community Centre was presented the other week to CCS president Patricia Bell by Dennis Hampahries, secretary of the B.C. UNICEF Committee ... The ‘grads without a school’’ — the Class of '64 of former North Van Senior Secondary —— are having probiems getting updated ad- dresses of their classmates for their 25th reunion celebrations July 7-9. If that’s YOU, call Linde Sellars (nee Hayes), 987-5062, to book your place in the fun that weekend ... And a 95-candle salute tomor- row, Jan. 28, to wish many happy returns of the day to North Van pioneer Dorothy Malford -— a res- ident for almost 70 years, longtime member of St. Agnes Church and still living in the home on East 12th to which she moved in 1924! eet WRIGHT OR WRONG: Com- manding is easy if you're the boss. The hard work (but with much bigger rewards) is convincing. © AMO Te envelope. Advertising Director Linda Stewart North Shore News, founded in 1969 as an independent suburban newspaper and qualilied under Schedule 111. Paragrapts itt of the Exctse Tax Act, 15s published eacn wi y. Friday and Sunday by North Shore Free Press Ltd and drsittuted to every door on the Norih Shore. Ctass Mail Registration Number 3885 Subsenptions North and West Vancouver, $25 per year Maihng rates available on reques! Submissions are welcome bul we Cannot accept fesponsibility for unsolicited matenat including manuscripts and pictures e which shoukt be accomparved by a stamped, addressed ® friday focus ¢ GWE photo Torry Peters HIGH ON HIS JOB!...Gaiaxie sign worker Jason Burke ts lord of all he surveys while erecting this new restaurant sign st 13th and Lonsdale. Publisher . Peter Speck — Setwoes 0 smowres awa wae: re eee Managing Editor Barrett Fisher Associate Editor . Noel Wright 1139 Lonsdale Avenue, North Vancouver, B.C. V7M 2H4 59,170 (average, Wednesday Friday & Sunday) SOA DIVISION Dispiay Advertising 980-0511 Classified Advertising . 986-6222 Newsroom 985-2131 Distribution 986-1337 Subscriptions 986-1337 Fax 985-3227 Entire contents © 1989 North Shore Free Press Ltd. All rights reserved. North Shore owned and managed — MEMBER Sten Meee wf Geneeet -