Eve Lazarus's Blog: Every Place has a Story, page 4

The Disappearance of 7-year-old Terri Lynn Scalf

Seven-year-old Terri Lynn Scalf was last seen outside her Aldergrove, BC townhouse complex on Sunday July 24, 1983. She had been outside playing with friends and never returned.

By 10:30 the next morning, a massive search was underway.

Terri Lynn Scalf:

Terri Lynn Scalf was born on August 11, 1975.

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The Disappearance of 10-year-old Joanne Pedersen

Ten-year-old Joanne Pedersen was last seen in a Chilliwack phone booth at 8:20 p.m. on Saturday February 19, 1983. She had been calling her mother to tell her that she had been locked out of her house and asked if she could pick her up from the Penny Pincher store on Vedder Road.

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Wanted! Home for Centennial Fountain Sculpture

Wanted! The Provincial government is looking for a home for several tons of black marble, currently residing in a Coquitlam storage facility.

The marble is about 12 feet high and roughly six feet wide, and that’s all there is left from Vancouver’s Centennial fountain that first sat outside the former Vancouver courthouse in 1966.

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We Drove on the Left Side of the Road

I thought I’d end the year with a fun little story from my book Vancouver Exposed: Searching for the City’s Hidden History. Thanks for following my sporadic posts this year and here’s to surviving 2025. Happy New Year!

At 6:00 am on Sunday January 1, 1922, Metro Vancouver and Vancouver Island switched from driving on the left side of the road to driving on the right, and thus became one of the last areas in Canada to change over.

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Yarrawonga Mulwala Bridge turns 100

The Bridge:

I love the Yarrawonga Mulwala bridge. It’s flawed and quirky and it turned one hundred this weekend. The anniversary celebrations were at the lake this morning, where temperatures were already well into the 30s by 11:00 am.

And even in the absence of King Charles (he sent his regrets) and Australian Prime Minister Albanese (who probably didn’t), the anniversary had a huge turnout.

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Beneath Dark Waters: The Legacy of the Empress of Ireland

I’m excited to tell you that my new book—Beneath Dark Waters: The Legacy of the Empress of Ireland Shipwreck is finished and will be on book shelves in April.

In August 2019, I was sitting on a Zodiac in the middle of the St. Lawrence River piloted by a French Canadian marine biologist.

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The Base at Jericho Beach

I’ve been to Jericho Beach dozens of times over the years and often bike along the path that snakes through Spanish Banks, Jericho and spits out onto Point Grey Road. It wasn’t until recently that I found out the area was once part of the largest military training base in Western Canada.

Flying Boats:

The base was built for flying boats and seaplanes in 1920 and included four large hangars and a military storage building.

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The Ratdale Apartments on West Broadway

Deidre Keohane (Deirdriu Ni Cheochain) moved into the Birkdale Apartments on West Broadway with her boyfriend Marty Lacroix in 1980.

Birkdale Apartments:

The Birkdale Apartments first appears in the city directories in 1922, and at some point became the Burkdale Apartments on the front of the building. Not long after moving in, 22-year-old Deidre, an art school grad and Marty, a dancer with Paula Ross, took a can of spray paint to the name, replacing Burk with Rat and the Ratdale was born.

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A postcard from the Wigwam Inn

One of my favourite parts about writing this blog is getting comments from people that add to the story, and often take it in a whole new and unexpected direction. I get really excited when someone sends me a 100-year-old postcard or a photo of Vancouver that’s never been seen outside the family album.

Maria Brunskog saw my story on the Wigwam Inn at Indian Arm and sent me this postcard.

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The Westwood Racing Circuit (1959-1990)

Before it was a housing development and golf course, Westwood Plateau was a 1,400 acre-odd parcel of land that included a racetrack.

All photos by Bruce Stewart in 1970.

Two of the streets in the development – Deer’s Leap Place and Carousel Court – were named for the track’s most challenging sections.

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