If the walls of Brock House could talk, they'd have a 100-year story to tell. Fortunately, the Brock House Society is releasing a history book that documents the tale.
The large, white house that sits at the end of Point Grey Road on Jericho Beach has been a senior's activity centre since 1978. But as the book's coordinating editor Jo Pleshakov explained, the house is lucky to be standing. "Up until the early 1970s, Vancouver was a city that tended to tear things down. Then, in the mid-70s, there started to be a great interest in preserving the heritage," Pleshakov said.
The city had already demolished some nearby homes to make way for a foreshore park but a grassroots movement saved the near-lost property. It became the first senior's activity centre in the area and was restored to its former glory before serving retired residents of Point Grey.
The same loving dedication came forward during this year's history project and helped uncover the rest of Brock House's past. Pleshakov, a retiree of UBC's English Language Institute, worked not only with interested volunteers but descendents of the first resident families: the Brocks, the Gilfords, the Taits and McConnells. They provided pictures and stories and wrote portions of the 64-page book.
What struck Pleshakov were the similarities between the families who owned Brock House between 1912 and 1952. The first three chapters, co-authored by descendents, track stories of the families who, Pleshakov said, were marked by the end of the gold rush, mining, money won and then lost.
When the Taits and McConnells could no longer afford the property, the RCMP took over the house, leaving 19 years shrouded in mystery. While a whole chapter is dedicated to the years that the RCMP secret service occupied the building, very little information was divulged. "They're sworn to secrecy and they won't tell us anything." Pleshakov found a photo of plainclothes officers from the special intelligence and security forces in 1961, but wasn't allowed to use it for fear that former members might be recognized.
The building was abandoned after 1971 and the building became a derelict squat for hippies and vandalism, Pleshakov said in an email. But those "lost years" would not be a match for the heritage movement that saved Brock House and helped it reach its centenary. The book will be completed at the end of September with a book launch planned for October. Only 500 copies will be printed and those interested are asked to contact the Brock House Society.
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