14 - Friday, February 16, 1990 - North Shore News THIS STATELY Edwardian style home was once a humble shack flank- ed by two chicken houses and the remainders of trees from tocal logging operations. It was purchased by James and Beatrice Summerfield in 1916, and subsequently upgraded to a four-bedroom home well known in Lynn Vailey for its expansive gardens, tended to by the irrepressible Beatrice Summerfield. LYNN VALLEY HERITAGE HOME STEEPED IN LOCAL HISTORY TUCKED AWAY in the upper reaches of Lynn Valley between Dempsey and Dyck Roads is a home with a lot of history. By BARBARA BLACK News Reporter “‘Homeacre,’’ as it was affec- tionately named by its owners, James and Beatrice Summerfield, started out as a humble shack nestled among the sticks and stumps that dotted the logged slopes of Lynn Valley. A rendering by pioneer Walter Draycott shows , Germany —.Italy ~ a simple frame cottage flanked by two rather large chicken houses and plenty of stumps. The exact date for when the cottage was built is not known. The Summerfields bought the cottage from a Mr. Lea in 1916. A war was waging and, as Beatrice put it, ‘‘We wished to economize."* While they may not have had much money, the Summerfields certainly had imagination, for the house was to be transformed from a shack to a four-bedroom, Ed- wardian style home graced by lov- ingly groomed gardens and rockeries. It seems Beatrice Summerfield NEWS photos Cindy Goodman UNBEKNOWNST TO even longtime Lynn Valley residents is the well-hidden Summerfield Estate, nestled be- tween Dempsey and Dyck Roads. The grounds were once the site for garden parties hosted by the Summer- fields. was a woman of vision — especial- ly when it came to gardens — and stamina. It took over 10 years for her to complete the garden of her dreams, documented in her book Garden Dreams Realized. Among the many tasks she gladly under- took (with some help) were the removal of 37 stumps, the transplanting of 12 apple and pear trees, creating three large perennial borders, designing a rockery and flower beds around the house, and building a creek garden along the Over 20 in stock. iinest in ea & tradition France ~ _ Bel stream which passed through the acreage. She relates that, whenever she needed assistance with a certain task, somehow the right person would just happen along. One man removed the loathsome stump in front of the door for a payment of twenty dollars and two suits of clothes. Another man who was ‘‘a wonder with rocks’’ appeared when she needed help with the crockery. And there was the “‘charming Irish gentleman’? who b | furnitu e from. um ‘— Austria — Netherlands '— Switzerlan toiled at her side to clear the west acre. It may have been hard work, but it was worth the rewards — a beautiful garden, complimented upon by alf the Summerfields’ guests as they wandered the expan- sive lawns, sat in the natural ‘tea house’ (formed by trees) or ad- mired the seasonal shows of color, from pink foxgloves, blue and white lupins, irises and peonies in See Mountain Over 200 leather & over 50 fabric sets in stock.