In the vaults of the MONOVA archives lies a memoir by Maurice G. Baker, a former pupil of Kingsley School for boys in North Vancouver. Long since closed, Baker spent two years there as a boarder from 1922 to 1924. Founded by Albert Henry Scriven in 1919, Kingsley School occupied ten acres at St Mary’s Avenue in Upper Lonsdale. Read on to learn more about schooling in North Vancouver in the early 20th century, in Maurice Baker’s own words!

Some years ago, Jenny Morgan, one of our blog writers, gifted me a vintage copy of “Canadian Home Gardening; The Year ‘Round” which was published in 1941. It was written by A.B. Cutting who was clearly eminently qualified to write this book. Not only did he have the very fitting last name of “Cutting”, but he was also the editor of “Canadian Horticulture and Home Magazine” and “Canadian Florist”. As I delved into the book, which contains a chapter for each month of the year, it became apparent that it was part-advice and part-observation, written in the “flowery” (pun intended) prose of A.B. Cutting.  While I had the occasional good laugh at concepts that are no longer relevant in the 21st century, much of the author’s advice still holds today! Join me in your favourite outdoor seating area as I give you a glimpse into the chapter titled “August” and sub-titled “The Lazy Month”. Also included are archival photos of local North Shore gardeners in their gardens, accompanied by current photos of those same homes.