1 photograph : sepia ; 6 x 10.5 cm on page 9 x 11.5 cm
Scope and Content
Photograph of Peers children, Anne, Babs and Bob with horse named Bessie. A note on the back of the photograph indicates that the pony belonged to Sheila Bonallo.
1 photograph : sepia ; 6 x 10.5 cm on page 9 x 11.5 cm
Description Level
Item
Record No.
477-040
Access Restriction
No restrictions
Reproduction Restriction
No known restrictions
Accession Number
2007-12
Scope and Content
Photograph of Peers children, Anne, Babs and Bob with horse named Bessie. A note on the back of the photograph indicates that the pony belonged to Sheila Bonallo.
Photograph of Bertha (Vallie) McLaren sitting on the grass, holding her daughter Bessie McLaren (later Taylor) at her side. This photograph was taken in the backyard of the family home at 3079 Royal Oak Avenue (later renumbered 6362 Royal Oak Avenue), South Burnaby.
Photograph of Bertha (Vallie) McLaren sitting on the grass, holding her daughter Bessie McLaren (later Taylor) at her side. This photograph was taken in the backyard of the family home at 3079 Royal Oak Avenue (later renumbered 6362 Royal Oak Avenue), South Burnaby.
"W29", in black pen on front endpaper, crossed out in pencil
"Author - Mathews / No 13 - 13", printed in black ink on front endpaper
"15c", in blue pen on front endpaper
"N3", in pencil below stamp on front endpaper
"no. 3" and something illegible, handwritten in pencil on back of frontispiece, erased
File consists of correspondence and newspaper clippings pertaining to research on the life of Robert Burnaby and the location of his grave site between Bessie Choate, Leicester Lord Mayor Sidney Brown and others, as well as Bessie Choate's papers pertaining to the St. Columbia's Anglican Church Wom…
File consists of correspondence and newspaper clippings pertaining to research on the life of Robert Burnaby and the location of his grave site between Bessie Choate, Leicester Lord Mayor Sidney Brown and others, as well as Bessie Choate's papers pertaining to the St. Columbia's Anglican Church Woman's Auxillary.
Photograph of Bessie McLaren and James "Jimmy" Taylor, her fiance. They were married two years later. The photograph was probably taken at the McLaren family home at 3079 Royal Oak Avenue (later renumbered 6362 Royal Oak Avenue).
Photograph of Bessie McLaren and James "Jimmy" Taylor, her fiance. They were married two years later. The photograph was probably taken at the McLaren family home at 3079 Royal Oak Avenue (later renumbered 6362 Royal Oak Avenue).
Photograph of Janet Etches (left) and Bessie Homewood, members of the Burnaby Woman's Auxiliary of the Arthritis Society, discuss the theme of a two-day arthritis education conference in Vancouver with Robert Smith (center) executive director of the Arthritis Society's British Columbia Division.
Photograph of Janet Etches (left) and Bessie Homewood, members of the Burnaby Woman's Auxiliary of the Arthritis Society, discuss the theme of a two-day arthritis education conference in Vancouver with Robert Smith (center) executive director of the Arthritis Society's British Columbia Division.
Newspaper clipping attached to verso of photograph reads: "Janet Etches, left, and Bessie Homewood, members of the Burnaby Woman's Auxiliary of the Arthritis Society, discuss the theme of a two-day arthritis education conference in Vancouver with Robert Smith, executive director of the Arthritis Society, B.C. Division. The conference drew delegates from around B.C. and the Yukon."
The R.F. Anderson House is a large, two-and-one-half storey Arts and Crafts style wood frame house, now located in Deer Lake Park, built as a family home and now used as institutional offices.
Associated Dates
1912
Formal Recognition
Heritage Designation, Community Heritage Register
Other Names
Robert Fenwick & Bessie Anderson House, Anderson Residence
The R.F. Anderson House is a large, two-and-one-half storey Arts and Crafts style wood frame house, now located in Deer Lake Park, built as a family home and now used as institutional offices.
Heritage Value
The R.F. Anderson House contributes to the overall stylistic ambiance of the area and demonstrates that a range of architectural features can be read as a cohesive whole. Although designed primarily in the British Arts and Crafts genre, as were other residences around Deer Lake, it also displays some influences of the popular Craftsman style.
It was constructed in the Deer Lake Crescent subdivision, which was originally promoted as an upper class neighbourhood. It represents one of the first residential developments in the City of Burnaby that required buildings to be of a specific value, thus demonstrating the desire for exclusivity among the successful businessmen who chose to settle in the area. The house and grounds illustrate the social, cultural, lifestyle and leisure sensibilities of a successful local businessman and his family in the early twentieth century; Anderson was a New Westminster hardware merchant and Justice of the Peace.
The development of the house and grounds within a controlled suburban context also illustrate the values of the owners in the Deer Lake Crescent subdivision, such as social aspiration, racial exclusivity, demonstration of architectural taste, importance of a landscaped garden, and the provision of facilities for fashionable leisure pursuits such as lawn tennis. The estate makes an important contribution to the residential grouping now preserved within Deer Lake Park, and demonstrates the broad social mix of those who chose to live in the area at a time when it was in transition from a market gardening area to a more exclusive residential community.
The R.F. Anderson House is important for its association with local architect Frank William Macey (1863-1935), the first resident architect in Burnaby. Macey was born and trained in England where he was well-respected for having published two standard texts for the architectural profession. He settled in Burnaby in the first decade of the twentieth century and obtained a number of commissions from prominent businessmen who were building grand homes in the new community of Deer Lake. He designed these houses mostly in the British Arts and Crafts style.
Defining Elements
Key elements that define the heritage character of the R.F. Anderson House include its:
- location within a park setting in relation to the W.J. Mathers House
- irregular massing of the exterior and its cladding of drop-siding, with half-timbering and rough-cast stucco in the gables
- picturesque irregular roofline, including an alteration in pitch over the front verandah, with cedar shingle cladding
- interior plan with its generous entrance hall, staircase, and massive staircase window with leaded-lights
- multiple-assembly wooden-sash casement windows
- quality of interior features such as the Douglas Fir woodwork (some with original varnish finish); original hardware supplied by Anderson's hardware company; and original fireplaces with ornate tile surrounds
- setting with the imprint of the lawn tennis court, now a garden terrace, and some of the original plantings
Robert McLennan was the vice-president of the prominent Vancouver hardware firm of McLennan, McFeely & Company, popularly known as Mc.& Mc. Born in Pictou, Nova Scotia in 1861, Robert McLennan entered the hardware business at age fifteen. The West was an irresistible lure, and after he moved to Victoria in 1884, he took on a friend, Edward J. McFeely, as a business partner. Their business was a success and they soon opened a branch in the rapidly-developing new city of Vancouver. In 1898, Robert went to Dawson, where he opened a branch operation and served as mayor for one year in 1903. He returned to Vancouver in 1904, and as the business expanded, E.G. Prior was taken on as partner. In addition to his business pursuits, the public-spirited McLennan served on many boards and committees. In 1887, Robert returned to Nova Scotia where he married Bessie Archibald McKenzie. They had nine children, one of whom was born in Dawson. Robert died in 1927, and Bessie died in 1941. This grand residence was one of the first to be built in the Vancouver Heights subdivision, and its spectacular location retains panoramic views of Burrard Inlet and the North Shore. This house was undoubtedly designed by a local architect as it is an excellent example of the British Arts and Crafts style, with a shingled exterior, half-timbered gables and prominent brick chimneys. Although the west verandah has been enclosed and the windows altered, the house has been well maintained. Although owned by the McLennans, it may have been an investment property, as they lived for many years at a Vancouver address. In 1926, the house was sold to Vancouver Medical Health Officer, F.T. Underhill.
Photograph of members of 4th Guide Company standing in front of a sign which reads "Welcome / 50th Anniversary / 4th Guide Company". Guiders in back row are identified from L to R as: Mrs. Dumka (Lt.), Mrs. Florence Underhill (Div. Comm.), Mrs. Kent (Dist. Comm), Mrs. Vivian E.S. Henderson (Area Co…
Photograph of members of 4th Guide Company standing in front of a sign which reads "Welcome / 50th Anniversary / 4th Guide Company". Guiders in back row are identified from L to R as: Mrs. Dumka (Lt.), Mrs. Florence Underhill (Div. Comm.), Mrs. Kent (Dist. Comm), Mrs. Vivian E.S. Henderson (Area Comm.); Front row L to R: Mrs. Alice Thomas (Ellett), Mrs. Meta-Fay Miskell (Peden), Miss May Kelly, Miss Bessie Kelly, Mrs. Bristow (original guide captain).
Photograph of members of 4th Guide Company standing in front of a sign which reads "Welcome / 50th Anniversary / 4th Guide Company". Guiders are identified as: Center--Mrs. Bristow (original guide captain). L to R: Miss Bessie Kelly, Mrs. Meta-Fay Miskell (Peden), Miss May Kelly, Mrs. Alice Thomas…
Photograph of members of 4th Guide Company standing in front of a sign which reads "Welcome / 50th Anniversary / 4th Guide Company". Guiders are identified as: Center--Mrs. Bristow (original guide captain). L to R: Miss Bessie Kelly, Mrs. Meta-Fay Miskell (Peden), Miss May Kelly, Mrs. Alice Thomas (Ellett). "These Ladies were guides with the original company".
booklet; "THE RANGER STAR / Vol. 1 JUNE, 1924 No. 2"; booklet of written submissions on topics of interest to Rangers, such as music, camping and first aid; "published quarterly at West Burnaby, B.C."; pale green thin card cover with illustration of girl looking up at a star; "D. Pitman" handwritten in blue ink on page one.
Object History
The Ranger Star was available be subscription and was published quarterly in West Burnaby B.C. Editor of quarterly was Joy Mennie and Associate editor, Bessie Carter. This volume belonged to Dorothy Pitman who was a Girl Guide in the 1st Burnaby Company. She was known to be involved with guiding from 1919 to 1931. Textual records and photographs of the Pitman family, including one of Dorothy and her sister Gwen, are held by the City of Burnaby Archives. Dorothy and Gwen's parents, Ernest and Jean Pitman, owned McKay Dry Goods and Jubilee Dry Goods.