ach

Clan chief pays
pioneer a visit

By Michael Bocker
News Editor

FOUR kiited men roam
rainswept North Shore hills.

Among the travellers, a clan chief
from afar, his Dunvegan castle home
a storied world away on the Isle of
Skye.

Chief John MacLeod, the 29th
Chief of the Clan MacLeod, was here
recently to pay his respects to 87-
year-old North Vancouver pioncer
Ann MacLeod. He was in the midst
of a tour across North America. Ann
wasn’t able to attend a special clan
gathering in Vancouver on Sept. 7.
The chief visited Ann at her 22nd
Street Pemberton Heights home.

Neil MacLeod, national vice
president of the Clan MacLeod
Society of Canada helped bring them
together. Said Neil ‘Macleod, “I
really wanted her and John to spend
some time. She was just over rhe
moon when we left.”

Said the chief, “I’ve known her all
my life.”

Said Ann, “It was lovely, it was
lovely, four kilted gentlemen! I had-
n’t seen him in a while.”

Ann and John are both, in their:

_ Own Unique way, steeped in rich his-
tory.

As the 29th Chief of the Clan
MacLeod, John MacLeod owns one

of the oldest continuously inhabited
castles in Scotland. Dunvegan is'the
ancestral home. a
_ “That has always been the seat of
the. chiefs of MacLeod ever since
recorded history began,” he said.

The Isle of Skye is located off the west coast of
Scotland and is about 60 miles long and seven to 10
miles wide. There has always been a fortress there,
long before the MacLcods were ever thought.of. The

island is a rock, in the sea. There has always been a
fresh water well on the rock. Long ago, Leod, a
Viking and the son of the king of the Isle of Man,
came to Dunvegan to marry Anne McRailt.

Chief John MacLeod fills in some of the past. “In
those days the Vikings were everywhere. Dunvegan
became Scots after the Norse were defeated in the
Battle of Largs (1 3th century).

“Then Dunvegan became Scots, and Mac, which is
a'Gaclic word meaning ‘son of joined Leod and the
MacLeods became a ‘Gaclic-speaking tribe who then
continued in giving their support to something, called

“the Lordship of the Isles.

“The' castle.is unique in Scotland in that it has

’ retained its family roots through all this period.”

- Ann MacLeod is a thorough MacLeod, She was
born in Glasgow,

Said. Ann, “My father was a MacLeod and my

mother was a MacLeod.”

MacLeods are scattered throughout the world.
What does it mean to be part of this global family?

Said Ann, “I'm richer, much, much richer. It’s very
wonderful, [ think, being a MacLeod,”

Her father was Norman MacLeod and her mother
was Anne, “I dropped the ‘e’ — in my ignorance, |
didn't know, I thought it looked more Gaelic, more
Highlands, the piainness of it. So L went to my friend
the lawyer and | think he charged me two dollars.”
said Ann,

The Macl.cods came to Canada in 1910. Ann has
lived in North Vancouver from 1912 onward in the
same family house. Her father ran the post office and
general store about three blocks from her house.

There were no house address numbers in those
days, Her mailing address was simple -— Capilano
B.C, . ;

A North Vancouver City strip of park near MacKay
Avenue is named after her father. she'd like to see it
go te the dogs.

“All che city and district parks say no dogs allowed.

NEWS photo Brad

MACLEOD Clan Chief John MacLeod recently dropped by to chat with North Vancouver pioneer Ann
Macleod. The hereditary chief was in town last week to attend a MacLeod celebration. ;

We have ever so many dogs around here.

“This one, I'd like to think we were inviting the
dogs with a responsible owner, My father, when we
came here, he started breeding Airedales (terriers).
They were high fashion. ‘That's when we got our tele-
phone, around 1921, [t was the first household phone
around here and the neighbors of course would come
and use the phone and so on.”

In 1939 Ann made the trip to the Isle of Skye with
her cousin Alice MacLecal, “My oitly-asset was that I
had a Canadian accent, which wasn’t too common
overseas in those days, Alice was a very pretty girl and
we went toa dance, it was a very lovely affair. With my
Canadian accent and Alice, the blue eyes and blac

hair, a young man asked us what brought us to the [ste

of Skye.

wAnd we told hin’ we wanted to go over to
Dunvegan Castle the next day, We had mv idea how
we were going to get there. He turned out to be the
editor of the local paper. He knew Dame Flora
Macleod, that was Chief John’s grandmother. He
introduced us and she had us for tea ....”

iV goodness remembered

AN elderly lady walks very slowly along the side-
walk in the 2400 block of Marine Drive in West
Vancouver’s Dundarave shopping area.

~ She has her bundles held up in her arms as she concentrates
on taking careful steps to avoid falling.

Occasionally someone speaks to her and there are a pleasant
few moments of chat. Then she goes quietly on her way.

She is Evelyn McGowan, the last member of one of West
Vancouver’s pioricer families, Father and mother, John and
Anne McGowan, and brother Charlie (Chuck) McGowan have
all predeceased her.

Evelyn had been walking and shopping at Dundarave for
more than 72 years since she came as a tiny child from Prince
Rupert. She was born there in 1918.

The shopkeepers and their staffs, respectful of her frailty and
very humble being, were always friendly and helpful toward her
so she enjoyed her daily jaunts into their midst.

Evelyn’s school years were in West Vancouver — first at
Dundarave school on 27th Street, then on to Pauline Johnson
on 22nd Street, and then to West Vancouver high school, where
she graduated in 1937.

She trained -for work in the civil service and spent the war

years in Ortawa, She later reruened to Vancouver and worked as
a civil servant until she retired in 1983,

She then took on the nursing care of her family members in
a spirit of complete loyalty.

The happy graduation smile changed over the years into a
pensive logk of some satisfaction that she was maintaining ber
true ideals of truth, honesty, caring and kindliness, Her contri-
butions were wonderfully manifested in a trail of hundreds of
unsung charity acts, flowers to those who were ill or grieving,
cards and letters to children she knew.

The evidence of this was found in a neat litde pile of thank-
you notes, mostly hand-made with children’s drawings and
scrawled loving wishes, Her inherent goodness shone through
from many angles, She passed away Aug. 27, a resident of West
Vancouver for more than 72 years.

Evelyn's memory until her final week of life was incredibly
sharp. Then in the quietude of her stay, her courageous inde-
pendence travelled to its next phase ... up and away!

— By Marta von Zuben

LILY Fales, of Flowers by Lily in Dundarave, is sur-
rounded by a splendid floral display set up in the
shop as a memorial to Evelyn. McGowan.

CENTRAL LONSDALE Bae
NEWS reader M. Sloane
heaps copious praise
upon merchants located .
in the 1800 block of
Lonsdale Avenue,
“They not only are
spotless in front, to cam.
plement our city's beau-
tif) hanging baskets,
but are aiso the same at:
the back. They are
friendly and courteous:
and it mukes a person
feel good. Some have}
even planted flowers
uround our poles in
front. These are just a
few isames of honorable |
mention: Pars Deli Mart-
International Foods,
Mythos Greek Taverna,:
Monarch Bakery, Veneto
Pizza, Lonsdale Market,

NORTH Shore:
Multicultural Society is;
secking volunteers for.

three hours weekl
assisting newcomers t
the country in learning:
more about Canadia
life and helping them
with English skills.
In return, volunteers:
learn about another cul
ture and language an
make new friends.
Contact Theresa Chon

FAMILY Services’a!
the North Shore havea

new home for programs

formerly located at the
15th Street office int:
North Vancouver.-The

new address is: 101-25:

We'd like to share
information avout the#.
folks who are making &
difference in your neigh
_ o . borkeod,
Forward all informa-
tion, including -your
name and address (o
__, Neighborhoods c/o
Michael Becker. E-mail]
to trenshaw @direct.ca cg
Fax to 985-2104, Mail
North Share News
Lonsdale Avenue, North
Vancouver, V7M 2H4;

pare

NEWS phele Cindy Goodman