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Roy Bernard Raymer fonds

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription18930
Repository
Burnaby Village Museum
Date
[1921]-1959
Collection/Fonds
Roy Bernard Raymer fonds
Description Level
Fonds
Physical Description
2 photographs + 1p. of textual records + 2 architectural drawings
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of photographs, documents and architectural plans regarding the Oasis Tea Garden and Tourist Camp and a photograph of Burnaby Reeve Alexander K. McLean. Fonds is arranged in series: 1) Ray Raymer photograph collection series 2) Ray Raymer business records series
More detail
Repository
Burnaby Village Museum
Collection/Fonds
Roy Bernard Raymer fonds
Description Level
Fonds
Physical Description
2 photographs + 1p. of textual records + 2 architectural drawings
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of photographs, documents and architectural plans regarding the Oasis Tea Garden and Tourist Camp and a photograph of Burnaby Reeve Alexander K. McLean. Fonds is arranged in series: 1) Ray Raymer photograph collection series 2) Ray Raymer business records series
History
Roy Bernard Raymer (1915-1991) is the son of Harvey Connor Raymer (1885-1937) and Bernice Mildred McFarland. The family owned and operated the Oasis Tourist Cabins on Kingsway. The family moved to Minnesota temporarily and then finally settled in Burnaby in 1921. The family bought their property at 2675 Kingsway (later 6111 Kingsway) and started first a roadside stand called "Golden Rule Table Supply" that sold milk, eggs, etc that came from the family's cows, chicken, etc on the property. From the roadside stand the family progressed to a larger building, a restaurant and store complex. Added to this was a "free campground" where visitors could pitch tents and become customers for the store and resturant. The campground eventually became British Columbia's first motel when ten "tourist cabins" were built on the property. Roy and his brother Max Raymer (1917-1935) attended Edmonds East School in the 1920s. By the late 1920s, the restaurant had expanded to include a dance floor section and it became one of the Lower Mainland's favorite night spots. The new complex was renamed as "The Oasis". In the 1930s, a gasoline retailing outlet was added which became one of Greater Vancouver's largest volume outlets. After the death of his brother, Max at age 18 in 1935 and his father, Harvey in 1937, Roy and his mother Bernice ran the business. After the death of his mother, Bernice in 1951, Roy leased the property for revenue. In 1955, Roy married Ingeborg Haacke and lived on the Kingsway acre and raised a family of four children. For a time they operated the property as "the Oasis Donut Drive-In". In 1964, the property was sold and the family moved to Government Road. Roy Bernard Raymer died in 1991.
Responsibility
Raymer, Roy Bernard
Accession Code
HV977.121
Date
[1921]-1959
Media Type
Photograph
Architectural Drawing
Textual Record
Notes
Title based on contents of fonds
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Walker family fonds

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription78708
Repository
City of Burnaby Archives
Date
1948-1957 (date of originals); 2013
Collection/Fonds
Walker family fonds
Description Level
Fonds
Physical Description
38 photographs (7 jpeg : col., 300 dpi ; 7 jpeg : col., 96 dpi ; 10 jpeg : b&w, 300 dpi ; 12 jpeg : b&w, 96 dpi). 1 drawing (jpeg) : col., 300 dpi ; 2 maps (jpeg) : col. ; 96 dpi ; 397.67 KB of textual records.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of 41 jpegs of original photographs (some include annotation), maps, and newspaper clippings pertaining to Scotty Walker, his family and the Inter-City Driving Range that he created.
More detail
Repository
City of Burnaby Archives
Date
1948-1957 (date of originals); 2013
Collection/Fonds
Walker family fonds
Physical Description
38 photographs (7 jpeg : col., 300 dpi ; 7 jpeg : col., 96 dpi ; 10 jpeg : b&w, 300 dpi ; 12 jpeg : b&w, 96 dpi). 1 drawing (jpeg) : col., 300 dpi ; 2 maps (jpeg) : col. ; 96 dpi ; 397.67 KB of textual records.
Description Level
Fonds
Access Restriction
No restrictions
Reproduction Restriction
May be restricted by third party rights
Accession Number
2013-15
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of 41 jpegs of original photographs (some include annotation), maps, and newspaper clippings pertaining to Scotty Walker, his family and the Inter-City Driving Range that he created.
History
Scotty Walker purchased the property at 974 12th Avenue in 1948 under the Veteran’s Land Act (VLA) grant from the government. He was in the Air Force during the Second World War. Previous to the purchase he ran a trucking business in New Westminster and lived at 1421 Nanaimo Street. The family consisted of Scotty, his wife Elizabeth, and three children, Alex, Barbara, and James. The land was overgrown with trees, scrub bushes, and a general swampy area. Scotty had the plan to build a Golf Driving Range, but it would take a lot of work. He owned three acres and leased three acres from the Lady of Mercy Church. Then they started working the land. The trees and scrub bush had to be removed and it was all done by hand. As the weather warmed and the swamp dried somewhat, Scotty got the idea to do selective burning. After many times doing this in small sections, the wind changed and the fire was headed for some houses on Tenth Avenue. The fire departments from New Westminster and Burnaby showed up and he was severely punished. It created other problems too. The land was swampy and when it dried, it was a peat bog, so the fire would burn down and turn up all over the place. That winter when the rains came, the land flooded and froze. The kids in the neighbourhood took advantage of the open spaces and brought out their skates. They had a great time. Some pigs were purchased with the idea that they could help dig up the roots and could be butchered later. Well they cleared the roots, but the kids all said they would not eat the pigs. The pigs were sold as they had become like pets. The land was then bulldozed into a berm on the 12th Street side of the land and a fence was built on top of the hill. The Walkers still had to clear the roots and branches that accumulated on the berm. The big problem was snakes. There were pits of water snakes that had been moved with the bulldozing. The family is not sure what happened with the snakes but eventually they moved. The area that would have been to the left of the property was still a swamp, so maybe they went there. The Walkers built drainage ditches through the land and let it drain to the natural slope toward Eighth Street. Construction on the Golf Range started and the grass was seeded. The “Inter-City Golf Range” opened on June 16, 1951. It had been a long hard road for the whole family but it worked out quite well. There was no automatic machine picking up balls, it was all done by hand and washed in a washing machine. Eventually they got Shag Bags that helped some but it was a huge job. The Golf Range ran for a few years and then Burnaby had a very sunny summer and the sun was in the patrons' eyes. So Scotty decided to move the buildings to the 12th Avenue part of the land. The club house and coffee shop was moved. The family took the building apart board by board and reconstructed it at the other end of the land. This worked well. All this had been accomplished on a shoestring budget as there was no big money behind anything. The Walkers cut the grass with gas hand mowers, washed the balls with the washing machine, and worked very long hours. Then the Catholic Church decided not to renew the lease. The family had worked so hard and now Scotty’s dream was dashed. It was a devastating time. Eventually the property was sold to the Christian Brothers and the buildings to Gus Brown in Richmond. The church bought the land for $25,000, in 1957. The end of the dream was very hard on everyone. Eventually life went on. It is sad that Scotty was just so far ahead of his time. He was a small man about 5’6" and about 140 pounds but had dreams as big as anyone and worked like three men to accomplish his dream. The cleared land was eventually developed into Saint Thomas Moore School. Biography provided by B. Kromm
Media Type
Photograph
Creator
Walker family
Notes
Title based on contents of fonds
Photo catalogue 557
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