John Alexander Renton

John A. Renton was the son of John Renton AKA Jack Renton 
He was apparently murdered, still unsolved.

Found these Vancouver Sun newspaper articles from the time

1932 September 20

The S.Bowell & Sons information card

1932 September 21

After this date nothing appears to be mentioned.

Philip Windsor

Mentioned in an Order-in-Council dated the 7^th of August, 1951.

    Philip Windsor,( 12 June 1916 — 12 June 1952 )  Philip attempted suicide, while at Port Alberni; he was sentenced to six months at Oakalla prison, in Burnaby. While there he was classified as possibly mentally ill and sent to Essondale for investigation.
       Philip’s parents were: Philip Pellow Windsor ( 1892  —  1966  ), and Elizabeth Johnston,( 1893 — 1949 )
          Philip was determined, and it appears that about five months after his release,
he hung himself in a room  at the Dunsmuir Hotel in New Westminster, B.C., on his birthday.


ca.1910 Thompson's Livery "First Cars for Hire". Building was converted by Sam Thompson and became Dunsmuir Hotel. On 8^th Street. Below on 8^th and Columbia is the Central Hotel (with flag), the C.P.R. station and (left) no sign of the B.C.E.R. depot which was extended to the corner c.1911. According to John Thompson of White Rock, who is the grandnephew of Samuel Hevelock Thompson, these vehicles and buggies all belonged to Samuel Thompson. Sam Thompson is seated in the buggy drawn by one horse.   photo: NWPL 1839
 

Dunsmuir Hotel, ca.1950 42 Eighth Street. 
   photo: Croton Studio.  NW Archives: IHP10162-001

Eighth Street and Front Street. - ca. 1982.
Photograph shows a view of Eighth Street looking up towards Columbia. This photo was taken before the construction of the Skytrain station. Wosk's Department Store (former BCER depot) is on the right and the Hotel Dunsmuir (demolished in 1982) is visible on the left.
photo: NW Archives IHP9212

 4 June 1952  The Vancouver Sun

Windsor, Phillip, late of 324 Richmond Street, Steveston. Passed away June 12, 1952, age 36 years.
Survived by his father P.P. Windsor; 2 brothers, Norman Windsor and George Windsor ; 1 sister, Mrs. Grace Elizabeth Sturgeon, neé Grace Elizabeth Windsor ( 1918 ― marriage ― 1983 ) all of Steveston. Funeral services will be held in Columbia Funeral Chapel, New Westminster, Monday June 16 at 3:30 p.m. Rev. J.H. Armitage officiating. Internment at Fraser Cemetery, New Westminster, B.C.

William Morris Freeman

Order-in-Council 17^th of February 1958 William Morris Freeman, charged with two counts murder, Burnaby, remanded to Oakalla prison. Sent from there to Essondale for a psychiatric evaluation.

He murdered his wife, Audrey Mae Freeman and daughter Pauline Anne Freeman, at their home on 4421 Darwin Avenue, in Burnaby

Audrey Mae Freeman neé Audrey Mae Hearn ( Vancouver, B.C. 12 February 1925 - 29 January1958 )    parents: James Francis Hearn,( 1897-1981 ) and Dorothy Lillian Jones, ⁽¹⁾Dorothy Lillian Hearn ⁽²⁾Dorothy Lillian Jackson ( 1899 – 1985 ) who were married from 1923  until 1940 when they divorced.         
Pauline Anne Freeman ( Vancouver, B.C. 6 February 1953 – 29 January 1958 Burnaby, B.C. )   

William Morris Freeman ( Vancouver, B.C. 25 November 1924 – 22 April 1958 Essondale, B.C. ) parents: James Freeman, and Hilda Pearl Russell.  Two and half months later he hung himself with a sheet from the top step of a ladder while washing windows.

29 January 1958  The Vancouver sun
Mother, Tot Slain in Bloody Affray

      A four-year-old girl and her mother are dead following a bloody knife-axe affray in a neat Burnaby home early today. The father and a second daughter, eight are in hospital suffering from stab wounds.
RCMP said the husband went berserk, attacking his wife and children and then tried to kill himself.

Dead are: Mrs. Audrey Freeman, about 32.
Pauline Freeman, 4.
In hospital are William Freeman, about 36, and Doreen Freeman, 8.

HIT WITH AXE

Police said circumstances indicated Freeman's stab wounds were self-inflicted.
He was forced into a strait-jacket to be taken to hospital.
Mrs. Freeman was reported to have been struck several times with an axe.
Pauline was stabbed through the heart.
Doreen suffered several stab wounds but none were serious, police said.

CHILD FLEES

    Investigators believe the family was eating breakfast in the kitchen of their home at 4421 Darwin, when the grim attack broke out.
The wife apparently was attacked first with an axe, followed by the knifing of the two girls.

Mother, Girl, 4, Slain in Burnaby

Doreen ran out of her home to that of a neighbour, Robert Gatter, 4415 Darwin. She was taken from there to Burnaby General Hospital in the same ambulance in which her father lay strapped into the jacket.

Discovery of the tragedy was made by Freeman's partners in Crest Painting Contractors, Norman Thompson, 1106 Cottonwood, Burquitlam, and George Farquhar, 432 Third Street, New Westminster.
Thompson and Farquhar heard screaming and raced upstairs to find the grisly scene, police said.

Police said that Pauline appeared to have been stabbed while she was in bed in a back bedroom.
Mrs. Freeman was found lying in the front bedroom in a semi-conscious condition and moaning.

HELP SOUGHT

Freeman, when police arrived on the scene, was standing in the front hall.
Mrs. Robert Lang, 4275 Moscrop Street, two doors from the Freeman home, said that Mr. Gatter came to the back door of her home and said" You better come quick. "I think Mrs. Freeman is ill."
Mrs. Lang told Mr. Gatter to call a doctor, who lived nearby.
Mr. Gatter said "I went into the kitchen of the freeman home. "I saw Bill standing in the doorway of the kitchen.
"Blood was streaming from a wound in his neck.
" I asked what's the trouble, Bill?"
"He replied, I've had it. I've had it."
" I heard a girl screaming in the bedroom.
"I saw Doreen siting on her mother's bed, holding her side.
"She appeared to be hurt.
"Mrs. Freeman was lying on the floor. She was covered with blood. I was certain that she was dead.
"the smaller Freeman child was also lying on the floor.
"I was quite certain that she was dead."
Mr. Gatter said that Freeman had driven off his partners with a knife when they burst into the house from the basement.
Police said Pauline was pronounced dead on arrival at Burnaby General Hospital.

HEAD WOUND

    Freeman was reported to have a stab wound in the head and three other wounds in the chest. They said that they expected him to survive
the Freeman home, a neat stucco bungalow with green trim was built by Freeman himself. The family had lived in it for about a year.
Mrs. Lang said that Freeman worked late at night to finish the house for his family
Mrs. Freeman died in Burnaby General Hospital at 10:15 a.m., just about two hours after the tragedy was discovered.
Mrs. Lang said Mr. Gatter came out of the Freeman house and one of Freeman's partners was weeping as he sat on the steps.
Carl King 4445 Darwin Ave., said that Freeman had painted his home about six weeks ago.
Mr. King said that at that time Freeman appeared to be worried about financial matters and business troubles.

 

25 April 1958 The Vancouver Sun
Man charged in Slayings, Suicides

New Westminster ― A 34-year-old man charged earlier this year with the murder of his wife and daughter, hanged himself at the Provincial Mental Hospital at Essondale.
He was William Morris Freeman, formerly of 4421 Darwin Ave., Burnaby, scene of the double slaying on January 29.

NOTE: a very sad story all around. No idea what happened to Doreen Freeman, who must have been permanently affected by all of this trauma.

Czeslaw Pupkowski AKA Chester Pupkowski

Order-in-Council of the 28^th of May 1956 Czeslaw Pupkowski, charged with murder, committed to trial at Victoria 19^th of April 1956. Sent to Essondale from Oakalla prison, since he is possibly mentally ill.

26 March 1956 The Vancouver Sun
Victoria Man Charged With Murder

Victoria (CP) --- Chester Pupkowski, 48, was charged Saturday night with the murder of  his wife.
Police found the battered, slashed body of Cecilia Pupkowski on the kitchen floor of the family home.
While one group of police investigated at the house a second detachment was pulling Pupkowski from the sea nearby.
Neighbours reported screams coming from the Pupkowski home Saturday afternoon.
then Pupkowski, smeared with blood, hurried from the house stumbled down the steep path to the Holland Point beach,(561 Dallas Road) and waded out to sea, police said.
A neighbour, George Warwick,(122 Clarence St. ) told police he was standing with a friend in his driveway when he heard screams from the Pupkowski house.
"Mrs. Pupkowski screamed blue murder for five seconds but then everything was quiet," Warwick said.
" I called the police when I saw Pupkowski come out of the house and hurry down the street.
"He was half running and half walking, and he kept looking straight in front of him."
The Pupkowski's only child Milo Pupkowski, 8, was not at home at the time of the slaying; police later took him for shelter to a private home.

So Czeslaw Pupkowski AKA Chester Pupkowski murdered his wife, Cecylia Pupkowski AKA Cecilia Pupkowski nee Cecylia  Rzepnikowska( Poland 1917 - 24 March 1956 Victoria, B.C.  inside their home at 129 Clarence Street, Victoria, B.C. she is buried at Colwood Cemetery, Victoria. She was working as a vegetable cook at the Empress Hotel prior to her death. Her parents were: John Rzepnikowska and Wladyslawa Zbonkovska.
The family had only lived in Canada for five years, and three of those in the Victoria area. 

Found online: 

My grandparents, Czeslaw and Cecylia Pupkowski, were married in Dabrowice Kuto Poland in 1939. They had two sons (one died in Poland or Germany - unknown) the second of which was born in the Polish camp in Boblingen in Germany in 1948. The three of them moved from Germany to Australia for a short time then to Canada by approximately 1952. My grandfather's parents were Aleksandr Pupkowski and Veronika Chojnacka. My grandmother's parents were John Rzepnikowska and Wladyslawa Zbonkovska. I am seeking any and all information including, but not limited to, my family history and possible living relatives. I never met my grandparents and know nothing of my family other than that what is shared here. Any information or direction is greatly appreciated.
Sincerely, Neva P

      So I guess that the child born in Boblingen, Germany in 1948 is Milo Pupkowski, whereabouts unknown, possibly adopted; the adoptive parents changing his name.

Another Order-in-Council dated the 15^th of January 1976 mentions that the government needs to prove once and for all that he is insane, since he was never tried in court.

NOTE: So the hospital had him for twenty years, before they realized that something needs to be done.  No idea what happened to Czeslaw Pupkowski, could not find him in the BC Archives, unless he died after 1993, since the records are still private after 1993. I will probably find him in the Essondale cemetery, eventually.   Milo where are you?

Thomas William Trowsdale

Found this incident in the Order-in-Council records; and followed the story along

On Sunday the 19^th of February 1950 a female patient escaped ran into river, Mr. Thomas William Trowsdale,( Matsqui, B.C. 17^th of April 1926 –10th of September 1950 ) hospital attendant followed and rescued her. Trowsdale ruined his clothes in the process, and the business manager recommends that the government pay $75 to replace his clothes. The Bureaucrats reply :  NO authority to do so.

He had been a Attendant for a year; his parents were Nelson William Trowsdale (1899 - 1948   ) and Miriam Austin . Their marriage certificate 

The Vancouver Sun,  September 12th, 1950

  Pilot's error blamed for surrey crash.

   Cloverdale, Sept. 12.--- Death by misadventure due to pilot's error was the verdict here Monday into the death of student pilot Thomas Trowsdale, 24, of 1790 Cassie Street, Burnaby, who was killed while flying his light plane in Surrey Sunday.

         The dead pilot's prospective father-in-law Russell Mitchell, on whose farm the plane crashed, testified the plane was about 350 feet above the house when it banked and "seemed to flip over" and dived into the ground.
The plane which was owned by Skyway air Services Thomas had taken off from Langley airport and had circled the Mitchell home at 112 Johnson Road [ Johnston Road today is 152^nd Street, Surrey.   ] before the crash.

Thomas is buried at Ocean View Burial Park, Burnaby. The death certificate states that his wife was, Faye Osrowe; also that the plane crashed near the corner of Johnston and Hjorth  [which today is 104^th Ave. ] which is the general area of todays Guildford mall area in Surrey.
Conflicting information about his marital state, is it this Faye Osrowe [ which appears to be a typo ] or was he engaged to  unknown Mitchell ?

Robert Amos

Searching through the Order-in-Council records I came across an entry for a staff member who died.

Order-in-Council 30^th of July 1954  Robert Amos,( Denholm, Hawick Scotland 19th of May 1894 – 21st of July 1954  Colony Farm, Coquitlam, B.C.  ) Bob Amos was a psychiatric nurse who worked for 10 ½ years at Essondale .  Upon his death his widow, Amy Amos nee Oliver (1897 - 1983  )  gets the typical three months salary.

         But at the bottom of the letter it mentions that Robert Amos died immediately after being struck by a patient.

The official death certificate does not mention this mitigating factor at all.

The death certificate states that after an autopsy these were the findings: Acute Cardiac dilatation; coronary thrombosis, myocardial infarction, coronary arteriosclerosis with stenosis; myocardial fibrosis.

Robert Amos, parents were, William Amos, and Janet unknown, both from Scotland.  He signed up to serve his adopted country in World War One, at Edmonton in 1915, No.: 433009 where you will find his complete WWI record.  Robert married Amy Oliver on the 27^th of February 1919 at Barton Upon Irwell, Lancashire, England.   He is buried in Mountain View Cemetery in Vancouver, B.C.

22 July 1954 The Vancouver sun
DEATHS
Amos — Passed away suddenly on July 21^st, 1954, Robert Amos, late of Pipe Line Road, Coquitlam, age 60 years. He leaves to mourn his loving wife, Amy. He served as a corporal in the original 49^th Edmonton regiment, 1915-1918 and as Sergeant 6^th Field Co., R.C.E., Vancouver 1940-1944. Funeral service on Friday July 23^rd in the Garden Hill Chapel, Port Coquitlam at 2:00 p.m. Rev. H. Harris, officiating. Internment Soldiers' Plot, Mountain View Cemetery.

January 1955, No.59 Forty-Niner

Amos, Robert — Robert Amos of Coquitlam, B.C., suffered a heart attack July 21^st, at the age of 60. Sid Rowden and A.G. Rowland, assisted be Legionnaires from Coquitlam, acted as Pallbearers. He is survived by his wife, Amy. Bob will be best remembered as one of those stalwart boys of the Transport Section where he held the rank of Corporal — and what a grand bunch of fellows they were. He also served as Sergeant in the 6^th Field Company, R.C.E., in Vancouver from 1940 to 1944. The large number of friends and neighbours attending the funeral testified to the high esteem in which Bob was held in the community. Hec Stevenson, Jack Swanson, and Mrs. Geordie Swanson represented the Association.

NOTE: I have frequently found that the death certificates, do not tell the complete story of the cause of death, this is a prime example.

As far as I could find out, Robert Amos and Amy Oliver, had no children.

Nurse Little and her dissolving ring

Sometimes the day in the life of a nurse can be interesting.

     Order-in-Council 20^th of January 1955
On December 8^th, 1954, Mrs. L. Little, psychiatric nurse, at the Provincial Mental Hospital, Essondale, during the normal course of her duties was taking the blood pressure of a patient when the mercury escaped from the sphygmomanometer  into her left hand. Whilst endeavouring to confine the mercury to the table the mercury came into contact with the wedding ring being worn by Mrs. L. Little.
Approximately one hour later the ring fractured and was completely ruined.
Mrs. L. Little has submitted a claim in the sum of $21.00 being the value of the ring so destroyed.
We recommend that Mrs. L. Little be paid the sum of $21.00 in full settlement of the aforementioned claim.

    The council agreed and paid up.

Made me think that there must have been other mercury spills, from thermometers, medical equipment and industrial controls through the years, and I wondered if they were cleaned up properly?  It is amazing to watch mercury dissolve gold, and other metals

Samuel Hayes Williams

Samuel Hayes Williams ( England 1867? -  3 October 1940 Essondale, Coquitlam, B.C., buried at Woodlands cemetery, New Westminster, B.C. )

The Directories for Vancouver give some hints about Samuel’s life

Nothing in the Vancouver directories prior to 1918, makes me wonder if he came here from England after the war; or possibly elsewhere in the country

1919-1922 janitor for the McLaughlin Motor Car Co., Ltd., residing in the  Central Park area of Burnaby

Two views of McLaughlin Motor Car Co. Ltd., 1219 Georgia Street, Vancouver, B.C.
photo by: W.J. Moore ca.1920-1921    Vancouver Archives A09826

McLaughlin Carriage Company Ltd. B.C. Branch 1219 Georgia St.
Photo by: S. Thomson 1918     Vancouver Archives A17673

So it appears that he kept the above building clean.

1923    engineer  home was on 4219 Irmin Street, Burnaby
1924 – 1925    painter and decorator
1926    engineer
1927         retired
1928 – 1929    labourer for Burnaby municipality
1930 – 1934      gardener
1935 – 1940        Samuel is retired, still living at 4219 Irmin Street in Burnaby

      5^th of June 1940 Order-in-Council  Samuel Hayes Williams on the 25^th of December 1939 shot and wounded Edwin Simpson with a shotgun in Burnaby. Samuel was held at Oakalla prison; and a jury found Samuel unfit to stand trial because of insanity, so the Order-in-Council was to send him to Essondale hospital for evaluation.

Edwin Simpson,( Leeds, Yorkshire 1880 - 1959 )  worked as a coremaker/ mouldmaker, at the Terminal City Iron Works. He lived at 4255 Rumble Street, in Burnaby. Edwin’s parents were Robert Simpson, and Eliza Inman
Samuel Hayes Williams and Edwin Simpson’s backyards would have adjoined each other.  
Edwin was married in 1913 to Maude Pavitt? (Parett?) ( 1891 – 1937 ) his second marriage was to Marjorie Lief McGuiness,( 1884 – 1970 ) neé Marjorie Lief Laing.  Marjorie was a widow of Charles McGuiness ( 1881 – 1941 )

       After being held at Oakalla prison for nearly six months Samuel Hayes Williams was sent to Essondale hospital where he spent the last four months of his life, he died on the 3^rd of October 1940 at Essondale, an autopsy was done and cause of death was coronary sclerosis; arteriosclerosis, and arteriosclerotic dementia

He was prepared for burial by Bowell and Sons, funeral parlour in New Westminster, Samuel Hayes Williams was finally buried in the Woodlands cemetery, at New Westminster, B.C.

The death certificate states that he was here for 40 years, single, and Church of England, was his faith.

Constance Moody

Constance Moody was born on the 17^th of June 1917 at Prince Rupert, B.C.
Her parents were Adam Moody and Harriet ?

The 1911 Canada census, finds the family living at  Kitkatla
Adam Moody born in 1888  was a fisherman
Wife: Harriet Moody 1881
Eliza Moody, born in 1901 married in 1919  Jacob Astes (which is probably wrong, his last names appears to be frequently miss-spelled as Astes, Aster, Astor. Jacob Astor 1885 – 1962 )
Reuben Moody, born at Kitkatla 1903 - 1971 Prince Rupert, B.C. 
Lizzy Moody , born in 1907
Constance was not born yet, but from this census list I would assume that there are more siblings in the family.

      On the 29^th of March 1940 and Order-in-Council, states that Constance Moody was
convicted at Prince Rupert, B.C. the 3^rd of January 1940 of attempted suicide, sentenced by Thomas McClymont, police Magistrate to one year, at Oakalla prison.  The Order-in-Council was done so that under section 970 of the Criminal Code, Constance Moody, could be sent to Essondale hospital, since she was deemed to be insane.

Fours years latter on the 11^th of April 1944  Constance Moody died at Essondale, with the primary cause being Tuberculosis, and a secondary cause of being considered an imbecile. Constance was a single, native woman of the Anglican faith, and she is buried at the Woodlands cemetery, at New Westminster, B.C.

Violet Mary Mulwain

 Violet Mary Mulwain neé Violet Mary Hudson    ( 1909 – 1944 )
Violet used her middle name Mary Hudson / Mary Mulwain throughout her short life.
Born in 1909 at New Kitselas

Parents were  Harriet Hudson neé  Harriet Edgar ( Port Simpson 1870 - 1968 Terrace  )
    and Joseph Hudson ( 1879 - 1956 TB at the Miller Bay Indian hospital, Prince Rupert )

The 1911 Canada census finds the family living at Kitselas, and listing her father Joseph Hudson was working as a fisherman.

In 1929 at Terrace, B.C. Violet Mary Hudson, married Alfred Moses Mulwain  the marriage certificate states that a William Tait and Bertha Tait are her parents, which is wrong. Both were 21 years old, and could read and write.

On the 25^th of November 1941 an Order-in-Council was signed moving Mary from Oakalla prison to Essondale Hospital
Prior to that on the 15^th of September 1941, Mary was convicted of vagrancy, by W.D. Vance, Esq., Police Magistrate Prince Rupert, to six months in Oakalla prison and an additional one month if a fine of $50 not paid.
     The Order-in-Council moved her to Essondale where Mary would die 35 months later of Tuberculosis.

Mary died on the 13^th of November 1944 at Essondale hospital. the death certificate states that home was at Kitselas, and that she was Not a registered Indian ( even though her parents were both native )  tuberculosis was the primary cause of her death, but the secondary cause states that she was, feeble minded and a moron. Something that she must not have been earlier in her life since she was married and could read and write.

Violet Mary Hudson is buried at the Woodlands cemetery, in New Westminster, B.C.

NOTE: Tuberculosis ravaged the natives in this area, it was a frequent cause of death.  Apparently some of the worse cases were frequently moved south to the Lower Mainland and taken care of.

Phoebe Fulthorp

Came across a message on the Woodland cemetery website from years ago, asking about this lady, no one had replied; until now.

Phoebe Teresa Fulthorp, neé Phoebe Teresa Hosking was born on the 27^th of May 1849 (1846) in London, England.

NOTE: that Fulthorp is the correct spelling, NOT Fulthorpe, as is listed on her death certificate, and also at the Woodlands website UPDATE: Apparently the family name is Fulthorpe, but the "e" was dropped in the late 1880's.
Pheobe Teresa Fulthorp died on the 11^th of July 1925 at Woodlands hospital from a cerebral haemorrhage, after suffering for many years with terminal dementia; and she is buried at Woodlands cemetery, New Westminster, B.C.

She lived at Woodlands for 26 years, starting in 1899.  Her husband immigrated in 1879, so I guess that she was with him at that time, unknown where they were before her husband first shows up in the local directories for 1896.

Her father was Henry James Hosking ( 1818 - 1882 ), a boot-maker, who was married to Jane Perkins ( 1821-? )

The 1861 census captures the family living at,  15 Frances St, Woolwich, Kent, England  RG 9/404/143/7
Henry James Hosking 43 boot-maker
Jane  Hosking 40
Phoebe Hosking 15 born at London
Fanny Hosking 14 born at London
Esther  Hosking 11 born at Woolwich
Phyllis Hosking 7 born at Woolwich
Lily Hosking 2 born at Woolwich
Henry W. Hosking 1  born at Woolwich

Pheobe was married on the 28^th of December 1872 at the St. Mary Magdalene church, Woolwich, Kent, England;
To Alfred Ernest Fulthorp (b. Greenwich, London 24 May 1850, he suffered for one week with pneumonia and died at the Vancouver General Hospital, Vancouver on the 8^th of February 1911 ); his parents were: George Fulthorp and  Jane unk


The 1901 Canada Census finds Alfred in Vancouver, working as a stoker, at the gas works. The census states that he immigrated to Canada in 1879, and I first find him in the Vancouver directories for 1896 working as an express man and living on Keefer Street, the 1905 directory lists him as a fireman for the gas works, and living at 611 Keefer St.
By the 1910,1911 directories he is listed as an engineer.

       A card of thanks was put into the Vancouver paper, after Alfred's death and says thank you for the sympathy shown at the time of the accident?? and death.  Put into the paper by Alfred’s  brother E. Fulthorp, Winnipeg, Manitoba ( the closest match to E. Fulthorp is found in the 1901 Census ( page one )-( page two ) under George E. Fulthorp

 Manitoba Free Press, Winnipeg, Wednesday, February 22,1911
G. E. Fulthorp- of the city, is now in Vancouver, where he took charge of the
arrangements for the funeral of his brother, Alfred Fulthorp, who met with
an accident by falling off a street car in that city, death following a few days
later. The funeral took place Sunday.

So the death certificate for Alfred does not tell the true story of his death, which only lists pneumonia as the cause of death. 

Arthur Ernest Pettit

Arthur Ernest Pettit sometimes spelt as Pettitt, was born on the 9^th of September 1882 in Suffolk, England. Arthur died at Riverview Hospital after a stay of six months. Prior to coming to the hospital he lived at 611 Minoru Boulevard, Richmond, B.C., he passed away on the 25^th of March 1965, at Valleyview  and he is buried in the Essondale Cemetery, ( I will eventually find the marker and photograph it )
The 1911 census captures Arthur and his wife, living at 574 Seymour, and they had five lodgers staying with them. The census states that Arthur and his wife, Louisa Hewitt immigrated in 1906, she was a waitress, he was a baker.
The marriage did not work out because in 1921 at Nanaimo, B.C. divorcee, Louisa Pettit  married Captain Eugene Hansen. And a year later in 1922 I find that Arthur is working at the Boys Industrial School in Coquitlam,BISCO as a stenographer - book-keeper, making $85 per month, plus room and board, unknown how long he stayed employed at BISCO
Brother:  William Frederick Pettit ( 8^th October 1879 – 31^st January 1934 )   William was married to Kate Ramsey ( 1880 - 1973 ).  Father George Pettitt. worked as a merchant.  home: 1526-West 4th Ave., Van. Son: William H. Pettit.    Daughter: Ivy Florence " Clark", "Harris" 

     So very little is known about Arthur Ernest Pettit, there is mention online of a possible marriage or connection to Annie Marguerite Pettit, but I cannot see the connection

Transport Services AKA Garage

       Built starting in March of 1953, completed by 1954, additions in 1968-9 the Central Mechanical Depot, later officially known as Transport Services, was used until 2012, when it was abandoned.  It was dormant for at least a year, and then this article appeared in the local newspaper:  Demolition at Riverview raises concerns   18 February 2014.

      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 

       A vehicle preventive maintenance programme was introduced in September; this project requires the call-in and inspection of cars every 2,000 miles and trucks every 1,000 miles. Plans have been drawn for the renovation of the transport garage by the Department of Public Works. Orders have been raised for the purchase of a new ambulance and it is expected that the ambulance services will be transferred from Nursing to Transport administration as soon as the physical facilities have been improved. The Transport Division also assists in the process of rehabilitation and endeavours to assist patients in auto mechanics trades and to assist in their transition from the hospital.

--- 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 )

Sons: Garry D. Nolan, Oakland, California {possible match: born 20 October 1930 -  4 April 2009 Nevada, U.S.A.};  Gordon Thomas Nolan ( 25 February 1912, B.C. - 13 July 1915 Odd Fellows Lawn Cemetery and Mausoleum
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.

[ Original information source ]

 --- 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

Enjoying the scenery from the deck of the Britannia as she sailed out of Coal Harbour with Stanley Park in the background, are Lorraine Barber and Tony Standig(centre)..... 350 staff went on a cruise..

--- 30 ---

1991 Insight

 
ENGRAVED PLAQUE GOES TO WINNING DEPARTMENTS

       Ed Bennett (left) from Patient Escort, and Gilles St. Hilaire of Transport represent their departments to receive the safety award being presented by Industrial Services manage, Pat Horie. Both departments tied with a no-accident record in the latter part of the 1990/91 fiscal year. The plaque will be presented every year in the annual contest and will be engraved with the name of the winning department.

--- 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

      Gilles St. Hilaire,(right), a 25-year veteran at Riverview in the Transport Department, proudly receives his long-servie award from Bill Douglas, left, Executive Director of Mental Health Services in Victoria. The man in the middle is Patrick Storey, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the B.C. Mental Health Society, which governs Riverview Hospital.

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

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 )