Magee59 News and Current Events


Magee High School, Vancouver, BC, Class of 1959

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Do you have news or an event which you would like to include in this page?

If so, send us the details in an Email and we will add your information here.

For class events in the future, we plan to use a combination of email and website to keep everyone informed.

Also, we plan to update our website at 3-6 month intervals and will advise you by email when we make a revision. Stay tuned.



Magee Centenial Celebrations are being planned for 2014

Refer Magee School Website for status report on planning progress and activities.



Tanelot Exchange and Planning ... Gourmet Style!



On 10-11 September 2010, 10 grey knights gathered at Tanelot, Sir Tanton's retreat near Whistler, to exchange news and views, partake in gourmet food and wine, and yes, do a bit of website planning. Sir (Chef) Tanton once again exceeded all expectations with his seafood starter, prime (8) rib roast with baked potatoe asparagas and all the trimmings, cheesecake dessert, and abundant fine wine. Bill Harvey's creative kische breakfast was likewise consumed with gusto.

It was great to catch up on news and views with everyone. Ideas regarding a Class website were exchanged and action items addressed. One mystery remains: who, inadvertently set off the rousing music box at 3:30AM? The return trip to Vancouver was in bright sunshine but slowed by some 4,000 cyclists making their way from Vancouver to Whistler. This was the first world-class GranFondo in Canada ... quite an inspiring sight.

The 10 knights were (clockwise): John Tanton, Don Moore, Bill Harvey, Brooke Campbell, Barry Rhoades, Davie Rae, Bill Stephens, Harry Holland, Ron Merrett, and Lloyd Northcott. And so the drum beats.

Reported by: Barry Rhoades with Lloyd Northcott photos



Recollections and Reconnections

On Friday, 20 February 2009, Roger Magnall, Peter Clarke and I had a very pleasant experience which we would like to share with you. We met for lunch in at the Red Onion, located between Monty’s Barber Shop and the Pelican Café (aka “The Ruptured Duck”) in the Kerrisdale that we knew. For Roger and me it was a rare opportunity to catch up with Peter, who returned last year from a 37-year walk-about in Australia (no kidding!) where he travelled the country and worked at various jobs to pay his way. Following lunch, Roger went his way but Peter and I did a bit of a walk-about through Kerrisdale – much changed from our days - remembering some of the places that used to be.



Starting from the Red Onion, we walked across the street to where the Bowling Alley once dominated our free time, west to Ted’s Barber Shop and Jay’s Drug Store, and then north past the Kerrisdale Arena toward 37th Ave. and Strathcona Station. We remembered the box lacrosse setup and the bike sheds at Pt. Grey Junior High – and the amazing bonfire of 1954. We skirted Pop Warner’s Drug Store (home of the “awful awful” and the hole-in-the-spoon sherbet) and Mary’s Confectionery and headed south on West Blvd. to 41st Ave. where we discovered that we had both been delivery boys for Cunningham Drugs at the corner of 41st and the Blvd. - but at different times.

We moved west on 41st, past the Bank of Montreal (still there), Kerrisdale Hardware, Ivor Williams Sporting Goods (where Ivor always had a special deal just for you), the Avenue Grill, Kerrisdale Theatre, Jolly Roger and Moores Bakery on the south; and Superior Produce, J.B. Hoy Produce, Felix Market and Finn’s Clothiers on the north. Memories of chopped, channeled and dropped buggies of a bygone era blasting up and down 41st Avenue flooded back. We walked down 41st past the Safeway, McFarlanes Fish Market and Henry’s Barber Shop all the way to the Texaco Station at Larch where I once rebuilt the engine of my ’49 Plymouth, and then moved south on Larch to 43rd Ave., past the tennis courts where Sarge‘s sister Vicki Berner crafted her nationally-ranked skills while others of us merely swatted at passing balls.

The uphill walk going east on 43rd brought us to the Kerrisdale Library and the Community Centre, and the pool where Tom Dinsley first discovered his penchant for diving, and we again arrived at West Blvd. Walking south, we passed Miss Molly Entwhistle’s Millinery Shop, an old comic book shop that Peter recalled fondly, past Kerrisdale Billiards, Kerrisdale Lumber (still there), and Edison’s folks dry cleaning shop all the way to the Magee Grocery and the new Athlone School at 49th Ave. (former home of the Spencer family).



Crossing the tracks, we recalled the fine old interurbans that rocketed from somewhere near the old Kitsilano Trestle down to Marpole, where they split off to either Lulu Island or New Westminster. We agreed that they were the finest and most efficient urban transit system yet. I mentioned to Peter that we have a small cult of railroad enthusiasts in our class, including Don Moore and Bob Ashton, who know the whole history of that line. And I recalled as a small boy hearing that someone had found a $10 bill under the 49th Avenue station, and that Bob Van Nes and I had invested considerable time under the station in the vain hope of financing a lifetime supply of jaw-breakers.

Our return walk took us up 49th to Maple Street and the Kerrisdale Grocery, and we proceeded past the somewhat intimidating new Magee and the seismically-challenged Maple Grove Elementary to 47th Ave., where I showed Peter my first house and that of my first best pal, Bob Van Nes (both homes still standing). Outa puff but still game, we completed our walk heading north on East Blvd., past Kirkland Metals (still there) and the old Baptist Church at 43rd Ave., and back to our vehicles at the Kerrisdale Arena –close to the spot where a certain soap box orator would accost us with religious banter after Friday night skating. Exhausted we were. Exhausted, but refreshed. Each of these places brought back its own memories, and the reconnections were exhilarating.

Reported by: Bill Harvey