Friday, April 12, 2013

Cemetery Walking Tour – Vancouver's Mountain View Cemetery

On Saturday, April 27 from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm, there will be a Walking Tour, and it will focus on Mountain View’s 1919 Section. Meet at the Celebration Hall, 5445 Fraser Street (enter at 39th Ave.). The cost is $10 per person (cash only please).

Join Lorraine Irving from the BC Genealogical Society for a walking tour of the 1919 section of the cemetery. Located on the south side of 41st Avenue, this section is the last resting place for Joe Fortes, the best loved Vancouver lifeguard, and Janet Smith whose murder has never been officially solved. As well, there are other murder victims, those that died in the sinking of the S.S. Sophia and Britannia Mine disaster, there’s the first memorial for the Sons of Italy, a memorial for firemen, and much more.

On Monday, June 10 from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm, there will be a Walking Tour which will focus on Food Traditions at Mountain View. Meet at the Celebration Hall, 5445 Fraser Street (enter at 39th Ave.). $10 per person (cash only please).

The walking tout will be conducted by community historian Chris Mathieson as he takes you on a tour exploring the history of Vancouver’s relationship with food, through introductions to fishermen, farmers, hunters, shopkeepers, brewers and more. There will also be a discuss food traditions associated with death and cemeteries.

On Sunday, July 14th, from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm, there will be a Walking Tour of the Chinese, Japanese and Jewish Sections of Mountain View Cemetery. Meet at Celebration Hall, 5445 Fraser Street (enter at 39th Ave.). The cost of $10 per person (cash only please).

Historian Maurice Guibord leads a walk exploring the Chinese, Japanese and Jewish sections of Mountain View Cemetery. These sections are fascinating examples of the segregation that existed even in cemeteries during the 19th and 20th centuries. Each of these three areas evokes cultural traits of communities that were seeking a foothold in Vancouver’s society. We will discuss the disinterment of Chinese remains, until 1937, to be repatriated to China for reburial with their ancestors; the self-segregation of a burgeoning Jewish congregation; and the survival of an impressive swastika-decorated Japanese obellist through the Second World War.

On Sunday, August 4, there will be a Women’s History Walking Tour of Mountain View with Lorraine Irving, M. Diane Rogers and Jolene Cumming, co-sponsored by the BC Genealogical Society and the Herstory Cafe. Watch for details soon.

Vancouver’s Mountain View Cemetery tour information is at http://vancouver.ca/your-government/visit-mountain-view-cemetery.aspx

You can e-mail them at mountain.view@vancouver.ca, or phone them at 604. 325. 2646

Some other posts that I have put on over the years include –

Wednesday, February 27, 2013
UPDATE: Vancouver, British Columbia, Mountain View Cemetery Index, 1887-2007http://search.ancestry.ca/search/db.aspx?dbid=70665

Friday, October 26, 2012
All Souls Event at Vancouver’s Mountain View Cemetery An archived list of burials at Mountain View Cemetery is available here http://former.vancouver.ca/commsvcs/NONMARKETOPERATIONS/MOUNTAINVIEW/burials/index.htm

Find a Grave - Mountain View Cemetery and Crematorium
www.findagrave.com/php/famous.php?page=cem&FScemeteryid=1968309