The site prior to being used for as a garage was used to house animals, and probably before that to grow plants, since a large plant nursery was active in this area for many years.
Well the demolition is now over and a large pit has been created in an attempt to remediate the hydrocarbons that escaped through the years; must have been considerable, because the smell when I was there on Sunday, the 21st of September was very strong of old hydrocarbons.
Here is a photo of how it looked on the 17th of August 2012.
And on the 7th of April of this year, ONE ♺ TWO ♺ THREE fencing surrounding the compound, demolition imminent. And also a photo from May 12th 2014.
I have also created a set of photographs of the compound on Flickr, which shows the present state of the site, and one day hopefully some of the older images of the compound that must exist somewhere out there in the ether.
And now, a little of the social history, and activities of the Transport Services.
1968
THE LEADER ( the patients newsletter )
RIVERVIEW
TRANSPORT SERVICE By: “Atticus.“
This
article deals with the Transport Department of the Mental Health Branch at
Riverview. The Riverview Garage serves as the home base for a total of over 60
cars and trucks, and several busses. This figure does not include 15 tractors,
and other vehicles and equipment serviced at the garage, which constitutes a
pool where vehicles are serviced both for the Mental Health Branch and the
Department of Public Works (D.P.W.).
All
of the trucks, and there are eight of them, on which the Riverview patients
work, come under the Mental Health Branch, as do the drivers and swampers on
these trucks, three of which — two laundry trucks and the milk truck — as well
as one of the busses, are in operation seven days a week. Later in this
article, I shall describe a typical day’s schedule of the vehicle with which I
am most familiar, the “Woodland’s Milk Truck,” which is a misnomer in two
senses, since the truck is based at Riverview, and delivering milk is only one
of its many functions.
The
car pool at the Riverview Garage consists of sixteen vehicles, including one
ambulance and a station wagon — of these sixteen vehicles, thirteen are radio-equipped.
The ground patrol and the commissionaires at Riverview also draw their cars
from the pool at the garage. The commissionaires, working on three shifts, come
under the supervision of Constable Richard Gordon Brookbank
the resident RCMP officer. The cars attached to the garage perform an extremely
wide variety of services — for instance, making emergency trips to Vancouver
for blood for transfusions. This, of course, is only one example out of
hundreds of duties performed by the cars.
Obviously,
without the Transport Department, Riverview would come to an immediate
standstill. This equally applies to Valleyview and the Woodlands School, since
all three institutions receive all their milk from Colony Farm, and their
bread, meat, groceries, and housekeeping supplies, etc., from Riverview’sbakery and central stores.
The
milk truck’s operations begin about 7:30 a.m., picking up bread at the bakery
and empty milk cans from North Lawn — West Lawn — Centre Lawn — East Lawn — Crease
and Riverside in that order. The milk supplies are then taken on board for Woodlands,
and the truck then proceeds to the Riverview butcher shop for the meat for Woodlands.
The normal complement or crew of patients on the truck is five or six. Two of
these are Woodlands patients, Bob Mitchell, 24 and Walter Mead, 35, who picks
up mail for the Essondale Post office and documents for the Dogwood CreditUnion. After a coffee break at Woodlands, the truck returns to Colony Farm for
the Riverview milk supply, and after this has been delivered to the various
kitchens (excluding Hillside), and the mail and briefcase of documents safely
delivered, the morning’s work is complete. (On Mondays, the truck also delivers
films to Woodlands from the Audio-Visual Department, which is located in the
Riverview Industrial Therapy building)
Incidentally,
the milk truck’s work begins 20 minutes or more before that of the other
trucks, and ends a little earlier. The Charge Nurse, Mr. O. Davey, and other
nursing staff on the writer’s ward, A—1, have been very helpful and co-operative
in enabling the writer to eat an early breakfast at 7:00 a.m., as have the
dietary staff. Patients from West Lawn, Centre Lawn, and Crease all work on the
truck, and for the orderly operation on schedule of all the trucks of which
patients work, the utmost co-operation of their Charge Nurses and of the
Dietary Staff in getting them to work on time is warmly appreciated by the
patients and the Transport Department.
The
milk truck’s afternoon’s work begins at 12:30, when supplies for Woodlands are
picked up at the Riverview stores. Two or three afternoons a week, the truck
also takes shipments of supplies to the C.P. and C.N. Express Depots at New
Westminster for distribution to the various mental health centres throughout B.
C. — to Tranquille School (Kamloops); Dellview (at Kelowna), Skeenaview (at
Terrace), Nanaimo, and so on. The truck calls at the Depot in New Westminster
five days a week for shipments to Riverview.
The
average afternoon load of groceries and other supplies for Woodlands varies
from 1 to 3 or 4 tons or more. Most of the supplies go to the Woodlands
kitchens #1. and #2 (Fraserview), but some are taken directly by the truck to
the wards, which also delivers supplies occasionally to the Woodlands D.P.W., Occupational
Therapy, Boiler House, etc.
The
present milk truck driver is the amiable Jerry Langley. Until recently the
former driver was Bert Pemberton who like his wife Mrs. Kathy Pemberton, was
for some years a nurse at Riverview. Mr. Pemberton still works on the truck.
The drivers’ and swampers’ work on all the trucks entails very considerable
responsibility, as they have not only to carry out efficiently the daily
trucking operations, but have also to supervise tactfully patients who in some
cases are completely unfamiliar with the work and require a good deal of
careful guidance and direction. Thus the staff on the trucks are not merely
drivers and swampers — their work is also in a large degree therapeutic.
A
further complication is that the number of patients on each truck may vary from
day to day, as some have to remain on the wards for doctors’ or dental
appointments, or other reasons. Thus there are occasionally days when, on the
milk truck, the driver and one patient perform duties which are normally
carried out by a crew of five or six.
The
writer, as already noted, is chiefly familiar with the milk truck, but has met
a number of the other drivers at the garage and at the central stores. The work
is healthy and invigorating for the patients, and relations between them and
the Transport Department’s staff are excellent.
The
Acting Supervisor of the Department is Mr. Bob Thompson. The Department already
functions at a high level of efficiency, a statement which the writer can make
based on his experiences ‘with trucking operations conducted by private business
firms. To raise this level of efficiency still higher, every effort is made to
rotate the truck drivers, swampers, and car drivers from job to job, so that in
the event of the illness or absence of one or more of them, others can take
their place temporarily without any difficulties, by already being completely
familiar with the work.
This
article, though it does not begin to cover all the multifarious operations of
the Transport Department, should completely erase any misconception that the
trucks, cars, busses and other vehicles merely work within the Riverview
grounds, or that their operations are not extremely complex and diverse.
--- 30 ---
1968
Hospital Annual Report
TRANSPORT
DIVISION
--- 30 ---
1969
THE LEADER
George C. Tanner
Mr.
George C. Tanner has recently been appointed Supervisor of Transport at Essondale.
He succeeds the late Gordon Nolan (1). Mr. Tanner comes to us having just completed
24 years’ service with the Armed Forces, retiring with the rank of Warrant
Officer, (R.C.A.F.)
Mr.
Tanner, born in Winnipeg, was educated in Saskatchewan, although did attend
school in Vancouver on Burrard Street, for a brief year and a half as a child.
Mr. Tanner has had very extensive training in all phases of transportation to
name a few - Vehicle mechanic; Automotive Vehicle repairs; Safety Supervisor;
(accident investigation, vehicle operating safety, etc.); Supervisor Service
Training School; Supervisor and Management, School of Instructional Techniques
and others.
His
military service has taken Mr. Tanner to all parts of Canada, and beyond, from
Grande Prairie, Alberta, to Summerside, P.E.I. – Aishihik, Yukon, where he was N.C.O. in
charge of the detachment, as well as being “godfather” to a band of Indians
from there all the way to Metz, France, in the office of the Staff officer,
Mobile Support Equipment, Air Division Headquarters.
Mr.
Tanner is married, (no children). He and his wife have just built their own
home in Ladner. His interests include curling, bowling, coin collecting, and,
in future, gardening. We hope he will enjoy his position at Riverview Hospital.
--- 30 ---
(1) GORDON NOLAN
1968 February THE LEADER:
Gordon Nolan joined in 1945, as resident
chauffeur. Soon afterwards a mechanic and driver were added, forming the
nucleus of the Transportation Department, which at the time of Mr. Nolan's
death numbered 23. Mr. Nolan was a veteran of World War II, serving in the Tank
Corps, and was wounded in France. Born
and educated in Coquitlam, Mr. Nolan is survived by his wife, mother and two
brothers.
Gordon Thomas Nolan b. 11 May 1918
Vancouver, B.C. - 19 January 1968 St. Mary's hospital, New Westminster, B.C.
home: Cottage 108 , which is the chauffeur's home. He died of a Grade III, Astrocytoma
Gordon was married to, Dorothy Ellen Wingrove. (1918 - 1999 )
Grave marker at Port Coquitlam cemetery for Dorothy Ellen Nolan nee Dorothy Ellen Wingrove
[ I am not totally sure but Dorothy could be a daughter of George Wingrove, ( 1877 - 1955 ) and Edith Mary Fisher ( 1881 - 1947 ). George worked at Essondale as a plasterer. ]
Gordon Thomas Nolan's parents were married in 1910 at Fernie, B.C.
FATHER: Edward James Nolan ( 1885 - 1955 ) Edward worked at Essondale as an attendant, first listed in the directories in 1927 onwards.
MOTHER: Jeannie Arbuckle ( 1889 - 1970 )
Sacramento,Sacramento County, California, USA )
Gordon Thomas Nolan ( 1912 - 1915 )
So it appears that the parents married in Fernie, moved to California for a while, and then moved back to B.C., living in Vancouver, then Port Coquitlam.
-- 30 ---
THE LEADER 1970
Early
in December, the Transportation Department put into service the new ambulance
shown in our picture.
Mr.
Tanner, Supervisor, reports that the vehicle is larger and roomier than the
former hospital ambulance. The make is a Ford, Econoline van, which was
converted by the Universal Manufacturing Company of Cloverdale, B.C. The
improved features consist of slide cot, oxygen with complete suction unit, and
a jump seat for the attendant. The rear may easily be converted to carry 4-5
ambulatory passengers and there is a side door as well as the rear entrance.
For those who unfortunately must ride, the trip will be smoother.
--- 30 ---
THE LEADER 1972
John Keith Judd
We
wish to introduce our readers to the new Transport Supervisor at Riverview
Hospital, Mr. John Keith Judd, who recently assumed his duties at the Hospital.
Mr.
Judd was raised arid attended schools in the Vancouver area.
After
a career of 21 years in the R.C.A.F., in the Mechanical Division, Mr. Judd took
his retirement in 1966 and since that time has been associated with mining
operations.[ Note: he continued with mining exploration, after leaving Riverview, references to him in B.C. up to 1984 ]
He
is the father of a family of 6 (4 boys and 2 girls) ranging in ages from 10 -
23 years of age.
For
many years Mr. Judd was actively interested and worked with the Boy Scouts. At
present he still lends moral support to their work.
Besides
his interest in scouting Mr. Judd is a keen hunter and fisherman.
We
hope his tenure here will be happy and that all those “wheels” (cars, buses and
station wagons) under his care, run happily too.
--- 30 ---
OBITUARY for John Keith Judd
John Keith
Judd, in uniform
John Keith Judd
passed away July 3rd, 2013, at the age of 85 in the Rocky Mountain House
Hospital with his loving wife and daughters by his side.
Keith Judd was born in Taber Alberta on April 15th 1928 to John Ferrel
and Hattie Mae Collett. He was predeceased by his parents and younger brothers
Marvin Leroy Judd and Barrie Linwood Judd. He is survived by his younger sister
Marilyn Mae (Judd) Husdon (Raymond Husdon).
Keith Joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1946 and served his country
in numerous postings across Canada for twenty years. During the early part of
his Air Force Career he met his loving wife Margaret Kathleen Morrison and was
married for over 65 years. They had 6 children; John Gordon Judd, Thomas Keith
Judd (Marie), Bryan Douglas Judd ( Shelley), Cheryl Lynn Volkaert, Leslie Wayne
Judd (Julie) and Karen Lee Jahraus (Dan). They have 22 grandchildren and 24
great grandchildren. After leaving the Air Force, Keith took his skills to the
British Columbia Ministry of Health where he was in charge of the
transportation department for the lower mainland. Upon his retirement Keith and
Margaret returned to Alberta and moved to Rocky Mountain House area where they
have resided for the past 13 years. Keith is fondly remembered by family, and
friends for his positive outlook on life, his wry sense of humor and his
unwavering commitment to his wife, family and faith.
--- 30 ---
Photo from 1989 report
Photo from 1989 report
Photo from 1989 report
1993-1994 from the staff newsletter
Text: ANOTHER ONE RETIRES FROM TRANSPORT
It seems a lot of people have been retiring from Transport Department this year, and the is the tall and smiling Paul Jelic (centre), seen here with some of his mates. They are from left: Jane Johnson, Ernie Steves, Rollie Croteau, Paul Jelic, Madge Drennan, Cathy Smith, Monica Medfors, Norma Gillespie, Tony Stadig, and Irene Chorney.
--- 30 ---
1995 July, staff newsletter
Text: MEET THE GREASE MONKEYS
This hardy crew from Transport won the safety obstacle race event in Safety Week and was the best over-all team. an annual plaque, which has been presented for the third time has been engraved with their names which are -
from left: Irene Chorney, Tony Stadig, Jane Johnson, and Norma Gillespie.
--- 30 ---
1991 July Insight
HAPPY CRUISERS
--- 30 ---
1991 Insight
ENGRAVED PLAQUE GOES TO WINNING DEPARTMENTS
--- 30 ---
1992 Insight
RETIRES FROM TRANSPORT
Joanell Bailey
Transport manager Rollie Croteau presents gifts from fellow employees and friends to Jaonell Bailey who retired after 11 years at Riverview. Co-workers and friends said goodbye November 29 in the Administration Building reception room. Previously in the Audio-visual department at Industrial Division, Joanell worked the last three years in the garage.
--- 30 ---
1992 Insight
THE END OF A BUSY DAY IN PATIENT ESCORT SERVICES
Mary Volkaert (left) and Vicki Rayner are still smiling after a day of caring for 140 patients on bus outings.
Patient Escort Services Move Hundreds of People Every Day
A bus driver and two escorts are heading out the door to take a ward of patients for an outing. Another driver is picking up a Lab Technician at Crease to take her to Valleyview. An escort and her driver are taking a patient from Unit 8 to X-Ray in North Lawn. The Dispatcher hangs up the phone and scrambles a team in response to a patient security call from East Lawn. A rare three-minute silence, and the phone rings again - a patient must be picked up at Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster and returned to Riverview.
And so the day goes at Patient Escort Services, on the bottom floor of the Henry Esson Young Building. Drivers, escorts, and vehicles are always coming and going, the phone rings consistently, and the demand is always running ahead of the supply of cars and staff.
The department transports patients around the campus to medical appointments, therapy programs, and recreational activities. They deliver Lab Techs and other staff on various missions, and conduct the afternoon drug run to all the buildings.
Drivers and escorts provide a patient security service, responding to Code Green and Code Blue calls. When a patient is reported missing, a car with two grounds-security escorts conducts a search of the campus and the surrounding communities within a five-mile radius of Riverview.
Escorts work with patients who are often confused and anxious as they are taken from their wards into an automobile that delivers them to a strange place. Patients sometimes become physically ill, and occasionally aggressive. All escort staff are Health Care Workers II who are trained to apply their patient-care skills in the confined quarters of an automobile.
The department has a total staff of 31 persons, including 12 drivers, 17 escorts, one dispatcher, and one supervisor, and 17 vehicles including buses, vans, and cars. Four of the drivers are qualified to drive the large buses. The supervisor alternates as dispatcher.
The service is in operation seven days a week from 0800 to 2200 hours, and the logistics are overwhelming. An average day consists of more than 38 patient escort trips, 69 demands for drivers to deliver staff and materials, 20 off- grounds trips throughout the Lower Mainland, 29 patient security calls, four recreational trips, and 90 patients transported on bus excursions.
Dispatcher Cathy Smith handles hundreds of calls a day and tracks driver and escort teams all over the map. Two way radios in all vehicles make it possible to keep abreast of what is happening and where.
When you require Patient Escort Services, you can help them to schedule your trip by giving advance notice, 24 hours if possible. The number to call is 7123.
Supervisor Florence Puller says, “One of the greatest rewards in this job is when a patient leaves the Hospital and you take him/her to their home in the community. After all, that is the result that everyone in the Hospital is working toward.”
When you see a drivers and escort vehicles going by, give them a wave; they are doing a difficult and most valuable job. They keep people moving at Riverview.
--- 30 ---
In 1997, Fred Duriaux, Arthur Weston, Wayne Wood, and Gilles St.Hilaire celebrated 25-years on the job.
--- 30 ---
1997 Insight
LONG-SERVICE AWARDS PRESENTED
1998 Perfect attendance records from Transport Services employees:
eight years: Tony Standig; Craig Hodgson
seven years: Bill Malm; Len Thomson
six year: Rod Boulton
two year: Art Weston
one year: Ladislao Acosta; Dave Harcus; Luneza Leocadio; Dave Rusell; Ken Wong; Jack Dougan
--- 30 ---
And finally in 2007 the blue bus was retired and some of the staff had a little celebration for it at Finnies Garden. All captured by this intrepid reporter.
Also at Flickr
Also at Flickr
Also at Flickr
Unknown what became of this bus, it sat at the Transport garage for a year or two then disappeared.THE END ( so far )
