Photograph of three boys and a dog riding on a mound of hay on a wagon. There is a man leading the horse pulling the wagon. This photograph was reproduced in Michael Sone's book, "Pioneer Tales of Burnaby," pg. 31. The caption reads: "Hill brothers and pet dog hitching ride on hay wagon on father…
Photograph of three boys and a dog riding on a mound of hay on a wagon. There is a man leading the horse pulling the wagon. This photograph was reproduced in Michael Sone's book, "Pioneer Tales of Burnaby," pg. 31. The caption reads: "Hill brothers and pet dog hitching ride on hay wagon on father's farm. Chap leading horse is probably remittance man often hired in those days." The description for photo 204-789, a cropped copy of this photo, identifies the boys as the Hill brothers Frank, Claude and Gerry and their pet dog riding on hay wagon on their father's farm.
This portion of the interview pertains to Minard Gerald "Gerry" Hill's relatives in England, his father's early life as well as life on the strawberry farm in Burnaby.
This portion of the interview pertains to Minard Gerald "Gerry" Hill's relatives in England, his father's early life as well as life on the strawberry farm in Burnaby.
Date Range
1880-1914
Photo Info
Minard Gerald Hill in uniform, 1914. Item no. 477-926
Recording is of an interview with Minard Gerald "Gerry" Hill conducted by Colin Stevens, February 9, 1978. Major themes discussed are: the Burnaby Lake Neighbourhood, Gilley Brothers Logging Company and his father, Bernard Hill.
Biographical Notes
Minard Gerald “Gerry” Hill was born in Burnaby on July 31, 1893 to Marian (Berkeley) and Bernard Richard Hill. He was the youngest child in the family with older siblings Frank, Claude and Winnie.
Bernard R. Hill was born in Bengal, India while his father worked for the East Indian Railway. He and his older brother Claude became strawberry farmers in Burnaby despite their years of training as engineers. Between them, the Hill brothers owned all the land between Burnaby Lake and Deer Lake where Deer Creek runs, and half way around Deer Lake. Bernard built his family home at Douglas Road near Deer Lake in 1892. After the decline in the strawberry industry, Bernard worked as a surveyor for the municipality. He also served as Burnaby Councillor and School Trustee.
Gerry attended Miss Harriet Woodward’s kindergarten class, and went on to Edmonds School with Miss Ellen Lister as his teacher. He later went to Central high school in New Westminster, often on horseback.
Gerry served in World War I, signing his recruitment papers November 9, 1914. When he returned home, he worked felling trees, then as an apprentice surveyor and finally as a carpenter.
Minard Gerald “Gerry” Hill married Charlotte Elizabeth “Elizabeth” Vidal on September 28, 1920 and single-handedly built a house for him and his wife about a thousand feet from his parents’ home. He also bought property at Yellow Point, Vancouver Island around this time.
By the early 1930s Gerry had moved to Yellow Point permanently and begun work building the lodge. Elizabeth and Gerry’s child, Richard Grant McEwan Hill was born at Ladysmith hospital.
Charlotte Elizabeth “Elizabeth” (Vidal) Hill died February 11, 1984 at the age of eighty-seven.
Minard Gerald “Gerry” Hill died January 30, 1988 at the age of ninety-three.
Interview was digitized in 2010 allowing it to be accessible on Heritage Burnaby. The digitization project was initiated by the Community Heritage Commission with support from City of Burnaby Council and the BC History Digitization Program of the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, University of British Columbia. It was recognized by the Heritage Society of BC with an award in 2012.