THE NUCLEUS of North Vancouver’s Maplewood Farms (above) as it was in its tender pre-children’s farm years. The farm, which has since become one of the North Shore’s most popular attsactions for both tourists and locals, dates back to 1914 when it was owned by Akiyo Kogo. From the 1940s (the vintage of the above shot) through to 1970, Maplewoods enjoyed careers as a dairy farm and a dog breeding centre. (Below) Apri) Johnston, the farm's current Manager, stands proudly in front of the 1980s incarnation of Maplewoods. Despite several coats of paint and some minor structural upprading, the farm remains what it has always been: a hard working rural farm in an urban setting. NEWS photo Terry Peters new fall fashions lowing your way Fall fashions from great designers have started to arrive. Breeze on in and catch the latest. / Open Holiday Monday 12-4 4 "oy Designer ™ Save | 111 West Ist N. Van ] 986-2498 3189 W. Broadway, Van. 25 - Sunday, August 4, 1985 - North Shore News Testing | your breath PAGE 27 LONG HISTORY Back to the farm IN ITS LIFETIME, North Vancouver’s Maplewood Farm has gone from milk to dogs to an oasis of rural solitude amidst urban roar. It remains a unique North Shore treasure. By TIM RENSHAW The farm was originally owned by Akiyo Kogo in 1914, and was subsequently sold to Joseph Ellis in 1924. Ellis made improvements to what was largely undeveloped land. He in- troduced the farm to the dairy business and worked the Tand until 1944, whereupon he sold the six and one half acres to Helen and John Smyth. It waS at this point that the farm began to make a name for itself. The Smyths turned a marginal dairy farm into a full-scale raw milk production and delivery operation servicing the Deep Cove, Seymour, and Lynn- mour residential areas. From a herd of 25 cattle, the Smyth farm turned out a regular river of milk which it sold for 12 cents per quart. The Smyths sold milk from Maplewood for a year and one half until they ran into the 1946 raw milk law. Farmers unwilling to pas- teurize their cows’ milk, as decreed by the new law, were forced to sell their dairy cows. The Smyths sold their cows to a Hastings Street dairy. Turning from cow’s milk to dog biscuits, John Smyth began breeding, boarding, Tues-Sat Aug. 6-10 ey Jim BYRNES ELECTRIC LUNCH ORHCESTRA and training Labrador and Golden Retrievers and Spr- inger and Cocker Spaniels. Many of the buildings that make up the present-day Maplewood farms were con- structed and modified at this time to accomodate the Smyth’s growing dog business. Robert and Rita McClung bought the farm from the Smyths in 1964, and con- tinued the farm's canine pursuits. in May 1970, North Van- couver district acquired the farm's ands through a land exchange and turned to real- ity, in June 1975, District Parks Superintendent Dirk Oostindie’s 1974 proposal that the land become a children’s farin. Approximately 370,000 people have visited t i nh NATTA | mi) | eT “I . homes & offices. — consult — & West Vancouver BLIND FAITH. | % OFF DRAPERIES e GUARANTEED QUALITY ¢ SATINS, PRINTS, WEAVES, SHEERS % OFF ABBEY BLINDS « FREE MEASURE ¢ FREE INSTALLATION e FREE ESTIMATES Specializing in fine window treatments & reupholstering for ABBEY-LEVOLOR-KIRSCH-VEROSOLS in-home service — no obligation Mon. thru Sat. 9-5:30 and evenings when only the best will do... ™, oo yn ( tlonde! — \ Z ERORS - — Serving North>~.. Maplewood since it opened. April Johnston, the current general manager of the farm, says 70 per cent of visitors to the farm are North Shore residents. “The farm really is unique in that it represents a real working farm rather than just a petting farm,’’ she says, ‘we have things like actual milking goats and we give demonstrations."" Johnston, who has been Mapiewood’s manager for four and one half years, says the farm's present five acres attracts people from all over the world and is closing in on a record 52,000 visitors for 1985. “It is a very special North Shore Jandmark. When we see the delighted looks on the faces of children who are seeing an animal for the first time that they have previous- ly only seen in books, it makes the whole experience for all of us here wor- thwhile.”’ ae ~~ .. 926-8819