2001 January 3 / Happy New Year! Hello, all! I spent Christmas in Spokane with my daughters.. had a white one, and came home to weather in the low 80s!! Please note my new (more conservative!) email address. This will be it until I get a computer at home (sometime this year) Love to you all! - Diane diane dyer (wilson) / ddyer2001@excite.com January 5 / Year 2001 Hi, all, and Happy New Year! Hope you have all had a great holiday season and whatever the climate or hemisphere you have a good 2001. Want to report that Laurel's wonderful chocolate rum cake recipe became the basis of a Xmas card sent by a friend to whom I had forwarded it...her husband is an artist and he created a wonderful drunken cake to illustrate. - Sandy Sandy Forbes / redoak@dynamite.com.au January 6 / Early Live TV Events Happy New Year to one and all. ...I thought I would start out 2001 with a little reminiscing about major televised events in the early years of this medium. ...How many of you recall the massive explosion that blew up Ripple Rock? It will be 43 years ago this April that many of us crowded around our vintage television sets to watch the live coverage of the massive explosion. As most of you know, Ripple Rock is located in Seymour Narrows between Quadra and Vancouver Islands and had been the site of many ship wrecks. For over a year engineers cut tunnels under the rock to plant huge charges of TNT. No one at the time knew what would happen. A tidal wave was not out of the question and so we all eagerly watched the event unfold. On our street, we were one of two houses with TV so a Ripple Rock party was held. ...While my parents poured coffee and I handed around refreshments to the neighbours, I was forbidden to even so much as touch the TV set and attempt to adjust anything for fear I would somehow lose the signal. Our old RCA held up to the challenge as the charge was detonated and multi TV cameras gave us spectacular shots of the rocks and water hurled high into the air. The anticipated tidal wave that we hoped would swamp the cameras never materialized but it was a memorable event nevertheless. – Richard rgoodall@sunwave.net January 7 / Ripple Rock I seem to recall that Monte Roberts, who wrote a column in The Times, ran a "Save Ripple Rock" campaign. Clearly it was doomed to failure. There was a "Vote No" inclination on the part of many eccentrics in Oak Bay, wasn't there? I am sorry I was never old enough to vote, though, until I left Victoria. Thanks, Dick, for the sail down memory strait...keep these reminiscences coming! And are there any more pictures classmates can add to the slide show??? – Sandy redoak@dynamite.com.au January 8 / Vote No! Sandy, Your comments about the Oak Bay community's "Vote No" mantra to just about anything that involved change, reminded me about the time some politicians wanted to change the name of Foul Bay Rd. to something more "appropriate and pleasant" and the howl and uproar that followed. ...There were letters to the paper and even a couple of Bill West's former art students took some black paint and changed all the signs to read "Fool Bay" Rd. The proposal eventually died a natural death after a few weeks and I don't believe that the subject was ever raised again. – Richard rgoodall@sunwave.net January 8 / Street Quiz And in addition to community inertia, Oak Bay councils have a long history of accommodating the dissident minority. ...Speaking of Foul Bay Road, on some early charts the area was spelled Fowl Bay, I think because of some pioneer's chicken farm. ...All of which makes me realize – it's time for the OAK BAY STREET QUIZ! Where were these Oak Bay streets located? ...Marrion Street ...Junction Road ...Willows Road (hint: one is gone, two renamed) – Gary Gary Wilcox / Vancouver / gwilcox@direct.ca January 9 / Ripple Rock I too remember Ripple Rock very well, and I saw it on my grandmother's TV up in Nanaimo. My father was a journalist at the Times and he saw it in person together with Bill Halkett who took the photos. ...He visited the site a few months before the big day and was down in the tunnels where they were mining space for the explosives. He said that it was, without a doubt, the worst place imaginable to have to go to work as it was dark and wet. He figured that those guys must have been making a fortune. ...As far as I remember, the explosion was seen from a bunker a distance from the site and it was a pretty big bang. - Don Don Ingham / Odense, Denmark / di.fks.bow@12mail.dk January 13 / Saturday Snippet of Oak Bay History Here's installment one of the street quiz, above: MARRION STREET Marrion Street was that short street that cut into the Foul Bay Road / Cadboro Bay Road intersection at a 45 degree angle, and extended back to Bowker Creek to about where the Rec Center is now. It ceased to exist in the mid 1970s when land was expropriated for the development of the Rec Center and parking lot. It was one of Oak Bay's oldest streets, existing well before 1906 (it's on an 1890 map) and named after an early settler. More next Saturday . . . gwilcox@direct.ca January 13 / Collapse of Wilson Motors I wonder if any of you recall this event in 1950. ...One of the many stories of structure collapses took place after a particularly wet and heavy snowfall in Victoria. The roof of Wilson Motors the G.M. dealership, was designed (or maybe not) to support cars and trucks for sale but failed one winter day due to the extra weight of the snow. No injuries were reported, but I recall reading in the Colonist that a salesman in the showroom dove under a car just in time as the tons of snow, wood and cars came crashing down. ...Half of Victoria including myself went down to have a look. I have attached an interesting newspaper photo of the scene by Duncan MacPhail. http://www.bcarchives.gov.bc.ca/cgi-bin/www2i/.visual/img_med/dir_98/i_02237.gif - Richard rgoodall@sunwave.net January 15 / In Memoriam Many of you will remember Charles (Chuck to some) Holland who taught during our OBH days. He passed away on Jan 8th at age 84, I believe. Can't recall any interesting "incidents" in class, but I do remember his rather droll sense of humour. Any contributions? Here's to you, Chuck! - Robin Robin Estlin / robin@yellowdawg.com January 16 / September Snug Gathering Gail Tippett Schofield kindly sent me 8 photos taken at the September gathering at the Oak Bay Beach Hotel. Gail had emailed me to say that she and Harold would be there but I had already left and missed the message. Needless to say we were all very surprised and pleased to see the Schofields all the way from Rangely Colorado. A very pleasant afternoon followed by dinner was enjoyed by one and all. ...I will post one photo per day and identify everyone by the name they went by in 1960. If anyone wants a copy of a particular photo, please let me know and I will see that you get one. Cheers - Richard rgoodall@sunwave.net As Richard sends me Gail's photos, I'll add them below - Gary PHOTO 1: Click here to view photo of Jill Boorman, Gail Tippett, Carol Kirkendale, Martha Attwell and Tom Miles PHOTO 2: Click here to view photo of Harold Schofield, Mike Gibbs, Dave Foster, Phil Johnston, Richard Goodall, heads of Peter Kerr and Craig Mearns, Zoel Fraine, Ron McMicking, George OBriain, and Frank May PHOTO 3: Click here to view photo of Lianne Catt, Harold Schofield, Sandra McLeod, Richard Goodall, Pat Gibbs, Gail Tippett and Carol Kirkendale PHOTO 4: Click here to view photo of Richard Goodall, Phil Johnston, Dave Foster, Peter Kerr, Craig Mearns, Zoel Fraine, George OBriain and Charmaine Armstrong PHOTO 5: Click here to view photo of Sandra McLeod, Charmaine Armstrong, Mike and Pat Gibbs, Gail Tippett, Carol Kirkendale and Harold Schofield PHOTO 6: Click here to view photo of Sandra McLeod, George OBriain, Richard Goodall and Phil Johnston PHOTO 7: Click here to view photo of Zoel Fraine, Ron McMicking, Pat Gibbs, Frank May, Jill Boorman and Gail Tippett PHOTO 8: Click here to view photo of Mike and Pat Gibbs January 18 / I'll Be In Victoria Hey, I will be in Vic. to visit my parents Thur. eve. Feb. 8th. all day Fri. Feb 9th and Sat. the 10th. Would love to hook up with some of you! Wish it could be longer, however I am still very much among the employed! See you soon! - Diane diane wilson dyer / ddyer2001@excite.com January 19 / Mr Holland I was recently thinking of Mr. Holland and wondering if he was still living. ...As I recall it, my performance in Chem 91 was less than stellar -- I was given a "pass" only. Perhaps it's difficult for teachers to remember the names of unremarkable students. Mr. Holland would often stop me in the hall and chat happily asking how things were going; always greeting me or saying goodbye to "Helen". ...So, here's to you Horace Holland! Therese Therese Williams January 19 / Helen of the troy weights Now, now Terry. It was an honest mistake - you could easily have passed for a Helen at the time. In fact, I wonder how many of us had to resist the urge to call you Helen. I know I did. So let's be a little more forgiving as we approach our golden years. With tongue in cheek and much affection, - Gary Gary Wilcox / Vancouver / gwilcox@direct.ca January 20 / Saturday Snippet of Oak Bay History Each Saturday I'll try to post a snippet of Oak Bay history. This week we have the second installment of the street quiz, above. JUNCTION ROAD Junction Road was the original name of Hampshire Road between Oak Bay Avenue and Cranmore Road. It was constructed in 1909 and in 1921 was renamed, like so many other Oak Bay streets, after a namesake in England. I'm collecting material for a "History of Oak Bay" website under development, and will post random snippets as we go along. More next week . . . - Gary Gary Wilcox / the History of Oak Bay website / gwilcox@direct.ca January 20 / Flunked the History Quiz After 40 yrs I admit that I once again flunked the history quiz. The only consolation is that I do not have to report to Miss Shaw after school. ...OK this is not a quiz but rather some tunnel trivia if you happened to listen in on some young hot rodders (which would probably include Rob McAdams and Peter Jefferies) chatting about their cars. "My Deuce is chopped and channeled, has a full race flathead, dropped and drilled axle, shaved body, buckets, rolled and pleated, 39 pedals, lakers, reversed rims, juice binders, plugged risers, three pots, Mallory jolt, California rake, Fenton headers, bored, stroked, ported and relieved, Offenhauser intake and high comp heads, Lincoln Zephyr gears, 39 tranny, split radius rods, 3 ring racers, filled and decked, 20 rubbed coats and striped by Sunday." - Richard rgoodall@sunwave.net January 24 / Attention all Little Leaguers Brian Wilson has sent along a photo of the Oak Bay Kiwanis little league team taken about 1953. We think it includes such grad class/schoolmate stalwarts as Ron Spence, Hugh Morrison, Maury Turner and Ritchie Kern. Many of the players, however, haven't yet been identified - and we can use your help. Please contact me if you recognize anyone not yet identified and I'll update the photo caption. Thanks! Are there any other Little League team photos out there? - Gary Gary Wilcox / Vancouver / gwilcox@direct.ca January 25 / Where are they now? Two names which came up on the January chat page I was wondering about -- Peter Jeffries and Ritchie Kern. I know Ritchie didn't graduate with us but I have wondered whatever became of..? There was also a singing group I thought of earlier in the week that I hadn't heard of in a long while, but I've forgotten which group it was. Oh well, Helen. Therese Williams / chickiedoc@yahoo.com January 27 / History Saturday This is the third installment of the street quiz, above. WILLOW(S) ROAD Willows Road was the former name of the section of Eastdowne Road between Cadboro Bay Road and about Haultain. Prior to 1928 it was called Willow Road. For most of its long history Willow(s) Road was a hub of activity. As early as 1864 it was the location of the Willows Hotel – a popular stopover point and watering hole for those escaping the city for a few hours. And from the 1880s was, for about 60 years, the main entrance to The Willows fairgrounds and racetrack. It was such a popular destination that, after 1909, Willow(s) Road had streetcar tracks. When the fairgrounds were subdivided in the early 1950s, Willows Road became part of a new street – Eastdowne* Road – that cut through the race track. * The term " down," originally meaning "grassland," has come to be associated with horse race tracks – Churchill Downs, Epsom Downs and, locally, Sandown. The use of the "downe" suffix on streets in the Willows subdivision (Eastdowne, etc) pays tribute to the Willows Racetrack and the racing heritage (mid 1880s-1948) of the area. More Oak Bay history next Saturday . . . Gary Wilcox / the History of Oak Bay website / gwilcox@direct.ca January 27 / Race Track After the race track was torn down and before the houses went up it was a great place to catch tadpoles and frogs. We would come over from McNeill and Falkland on our bikes and spend many a sunny day there. ...Speaking of McNeill and Falkland – remember the holly farm? I think we had at least 10 forts in the farm and surrounding bush. Even a tree fort and 2 underground forts. I often think of the danger we put ourselves in from falling or caveins. - Ian Ian Else / ielse@home.com January 27 / Oak Bay History Yes Ian, I remember getting Christmas holly at the farm which was right behind my great uncle's property. ...I can also remember watching the horse races from the fence at the old Willows track and on one occasion around 1949 attending some sort of a stunt show where seasoned bikers like Shanks and Baylis rode their Harley 45s through flaming barriers. - Richard rgoodall@sunwave.net January 28 / Baylis Richard, that must have been Frank Baylis's father, right? And Shanks was the name of another fellow I knew. His father as well. Frank had a bike and I remember having my first ride on the back of a bike on St. Patrick street. - Ian Ian Else / snowy Burlington / ielse@home.com January 28 / Shanks A bit more on Shanks . . . ...Bob Shanks left Vic high to work in his father's shop, Brooklands Motorcycle Works, but left in 1924 to operate the Indian Motorcycle Agency. When that company folded he opened Shanks Saddlery. He became a trophy jumper on thoroughbred horses and a stunt rider on motorcycles through the '30s, '40s, and '50s. ...I have a small book written by Bob Shanks entitled "Thoroughbreds: Rhymes and Reminiscences." It's a book of poetry and recollections on horseracing – much of it about the "Willows Park Track." - Gary Gary Wilcox / Vancouver / gwilcox@direct.ca January 28 / Frank Baylis Ian, yes that was Baylis senior and the love of bikes filtered down to his son Frank. For those not aware, Frank passed away a number of years ago. He had his own construction business and was hit with a fatal heart attack I was told. He was a year ahead of us at Oak Bay and rode a black Harley to school you may recall. ...I remember seeing Mr. Gibbard on the back of Frank's bike one time being given a ride home up Hampshire Rd. which was an interesting sight....this little man in a trench coat with his fedora pulled down over his ears. The following day Frank wiped out and presented Mr. Gibbard with a twisted nerf bar which became a topic at an assembly the following morning. Mr. Gibbard proudly held it up for all to see while expressing relief that his timing for the ride was well chosen. ...One last note while on the subject of Bikes. Miss Burridge once told me that she used to ride a motorcycle to school in the 1930s. Not only that, she had a set of tools and performed routine maintenance as well. Richard rgoodall@sunwave.net January 28 / Old Friends Or should that be friends of long-standing? Had an email from Margo Izard the other day, catching up on old times. I found her email address on the 'net. Also hear that Simon Wade, whom many will remember - though not an OBHS grad - has been made your High Commissioner to Trinidad and Tobago. He was formerly HC to an African country...can't remember which. Think we are going around again, on those frogs and tadpoles!!! Sandy in Canberra / redoak@dynamite.com.au January 30 / Mr Holland and Frank Baylis I remember both Frank and Mr. Holland well. ...I had Frank as a lab partner in Chemistry, and remember one day that we broke a glass funnel in the sink. Well, we managed to get away without having to pay somehow, but a couple of weeks later Mr. Holland found a piece of glass in our sink. ...We innocently said that it couldn't possibly have been us, as we hadn't used anything glass that day. He really wasn't convinced, however he couldn't prove it as there were other chemistry classes. Personally, I thought that it was pretty sloppy of myself and Frank to leave a piece of glass behind. ...I also remember Frank and I stinking up the lab with something like sulpher that smelled like rotten eggs. - Don Don Ingham / Odense, Denmark / di.fks.bow@12mail.dk January 30 / Frank Baylis / Bob Shanks Richard, thought I might clarify the untimely demise of Frank Junior. Have been friends with Frank for some 45 years, and we used to sail often together. Frank is very much alive and well. You are correct in that Frank has his own construction firm, as did his father. I'm not aware of the cause of his dad's death. ..Speaking of Bob Shanks, in the late 1940's my sister and I used to visit his shop down near the roundabout (Douglas and Hillside) where my uncle Morris (Kersey) started his peanut butter business in Bob's shop basement. We used to help crush the peanuts. Eventually the peanut butter business was sold to Standard Brands. - John John Stenstrom / jstenstrom@home.com January 31 / Frank Thanks very much for the information John. It was a Saanich school principal who told me and I can only assume he was either out to lunch or was speaking about Frank senior. Next time you are chatting with Frank, please extend my apology on the mixup. Richard rgoodall@sunwave.net