As a proud sponsor of the 2015 YWCA Women of Distinction Awards, and having been a sponsor since 2010, I get to witness an amazing awards night once a year where extraordinary women from around Metro Vancouver are celebrated for their contributions to their industries and their communities. With the deadline for nominations closing on January 22nd, I thought it would be fun to look at just a few women from Vancouver’s history who were also quite remarkable:
6 Notable Women in Vancouver History
Helena Rose Gutteridge organized the BC Women’s Suffrage League. She also took a leading role in the Vancouver Trades and Labor Council and became a champion of affordable housing. In 1937, she was elected Vancouver’s first woman alderman.
1937: Mayor George C. Miller administers the oath of office to Vancouver’s first alderwoman Miss Helena Rose Gutteridge. Photograph attributed to D’Arcy. Archives# Port P276.1
Sara Ann McLagan was the first woman telegrapher in BC — Chuck Davis believed she was the first in Canada too — and at just 14 years old she took over the New Westminster telegraph station. In 1884 she married John McLagan, founder and editor of the Vancouver Daily World. When he died in 1901, and she became the first woman publisher of a daily newspaper in Canada. She was also managing editor, editorial writer, proof reader and occasional reporter.
Sister Frances
Sister Frances Redmond, who was referred to as “Vancouver’s little Florence Nightingale”, founded one of Vancouver’s earliest hospitals, St. Luke’s Home on the 300 block of East Cordova Street. When she received the “Good Citizenship Medal” from the City of Vancouver in 1929 one journalist wrote: “There are no women in British Columbia braver and more devoted to their calling than Sister Frances. She is a very bright, cheery, charitable lady, and makes hosts of friends where she is known.”
1957: Aldermen Don McTaggart, J.W. Cornett,
George Cunningham, Anna Sprott. VPL# 42553.
Province Newspaper Photo.
Anna Sprott
On top of her business, education, and radio history, Anna Sprott (Sprott-Shaw Wireless and Radio School, Sprott-Shaw Community College) ran for Vancouver City Council in 1949 and was elected on her first try. She would serve on council longer than any woman in Vancouver history (1949-1959), winning re-election for three terms. Anna was also the first woman to serve as acting mayor of Vancouver.
1951 Naval Portrait of Doreen Patterson Reitsma
Doreen Reitsma
Doreen Reitsma was the first woman from BC to enter Canada’s postwar Navy, thanks to the encouragement of Eleanor Roosevelt, the longest-serving First Lady of the United States.
On January 26, 1955, Doreen helped inspire Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent and his cabinet to create a permanent and fully integrated regular force for women in the Royal Canadian Navy. This decision — the first in the Commonwealth — paved the way for thousands of Canadian women to follow in her footsteps.
E. Pauline Johnson
Pauline Johnson was the child of a Mohawk chief and an Englishwoman and as a writer and poet, she traveled across North America and England giving readings of her work and performing on stage. She retired to Vancouver and continued to write for the Province basing her articles on stories shared by her friend Chief Joe Capilano of the Squamish people of North Vancouver. She also gave Lost Lagoon its name and inspired Margaret Atwood to write a libretto for an opera. After she succumbed to breast cancer in 1913, Vancouver mourned Pauline Johnson’s death by declaring the day a civic holiday.
A few more honourable mentions:
Mary Ellen Smith was the first female BC MLA and the first woman cabinet minister in the British Empire. In 1917 there were many firsts for women in BC. Helen McGill became the first woman to be appointed a judge of the juvenile court, and Evlyn Farris became the first woman on the UBC Board of Governors and would serve for more than 20 years. [Source]
See also: Awesome Women in Vancouver History: Rosemary Brown
Vancouver West End Lane Namesakes
Aside from the White Rock Polar Bear Swim and the 95th annual event in English Bay, you ring in the new year with a chilly dip in Deep Cove during the annual Penguin Plunge at Panorama Park.
Polar Bear Swim: North Vancouver
The Penguin Plunge is January 1, 2015 at Panorama Park at Deep Cove. Festivities run from 12:30pm to 3:00pm with the plunge promptly taking place at 2:00pm.
There will be food and refreshments, and live music with Gary Comeau and the Voodoo Allstars. Pledge forms are available online and proceeds will benefit North Shore Rescue.
Vancouverites tend to flock to several warm-weather destinations south of the border and Palm Springs is certainly one of the popular choices. John and I recently had the opportunity to get away, thanks to Rogers Communications, and the Palm Desert was calling our name. Resort spas, cocktails, brunch, and shopping were all on our list of things to enjoy but at the very top was a nature walk (or two) since near home our favourite activity is to take an afternoon walk through the inner trail network of Stanley Park, connecting with the place around us. When visiting Palm Springs, there are many hiking options but one of the most celebrated and world renowned is Joshua Tree National Park.
It’s a 45 minute drive from Palm Springs to the Visitor Centre in Yucca Valley. We popped in there to grab a map and to talk to park staff about their recommendations for first-timers to the area. They get all levels of explorers in there, from young families with strollers to climbers with ropes and carabiners.
Background: Humans have occupied the area encompassed by Joshua Tree National Park‘s nearly 800,000 acres for at least 5,000 years. The first group known to inhabit the area was the Pinto Culture, followed by the Serrano, the Chemehuevi, and the Cahuilla. In the 1800s cattlemen drove their cows into the area for the ample grass available at the time and built water impoundments for them. Miners dug tunnels through the earth looking for gold and made tracks across the desert with their trucks. Homesteaders began filing claims in the 1900s. The park protects 501 archeological sites, 88 historic structures, 19 cultural landscapes, and houses 123,253 items in its museum collections. After the area became a national monument in 1936, local and regional residents were the primary park visitors. Joshua Tree was elevated from national monument to national park status in 1994.
The Hidden Valley Trail and the Barker Dam Trail (1 – 1.3 miles each) were the top picks for us, which were both hour-long nature walk loops. From there, you could escalate your walk and do a 3 mile – 7 mile hike, with elevation gains of 300 ft. We stuck with the two trail loops suggestions and made our way up the road to the park entrance to pay our day pass fee ($15, which was valid for 6 days).
Joshua Tree National Park Photowalk
Some tips when visiting Joshua Tree:
- Stop into the Visitor Centre. Even if you did research online like I did, talking to park staff was very helpful.
- Come prepared for any type of weather. We were ready for a scorching afternoon in the sun (sunscreen, hats, water) but once we reached the trail it was only 10C in the shade so we had to bundle up. Temperature changes of up to 40 degrees within 24 hours are not uncommon.
- Dogs are allowed in the park but they must be on a leash at all times and cannot be more than 100 feet from a road, picnic area, or campground.
- Prepare for all kinds of terrain. Some parts of the trails look wide and flat but they are also tough to walk on, the sand is loose and soft like walking on a beach. At other times you’ll be climbing up and down large boulders.
For more information, follow Joshua Tree National Park on Twitter and Facebook, and check out all of my travel photos on Flickr and Instagram @Miss604.
If you’re looking to participate in a Polar Bear Swim that isn’t over at the 95th annual event in English Bay this year you can participate in the 45th annual White Rock Polar Bear Swim.
White Rock Pier Polar Bear Swim
Register for the White Rock Pier Polar Bear Swim starting at 10:00am on January 1, 2015 at White Rock beach (14790 Marine Drive) and plunge into Semiahmoo Bay to start your new year. Gathering by the legendary White Rock, just east of the White Rock Pier, the swim will begin at 12:00pm and participants are encouraged to dress in costume. The event will feature live music, coffee, hot chocolate, and food vendors for spectators and participants.
Follow Tourism White Rock on Twitter and Facebook for more information about the 45th annual White Rock Polar Bear Swim.
The Vancouver Polar Bear Swim returns to English Bay for the 95th year on January 1, 2015.
It was in 1920 that Peter Pantages created the club and the brisk ocean dip has been a New Year’s tradition ever since. Peter’s family still carries on the tradition of the Polar Bear Swim Club today.
Around the 1950s, the participation was approximately 250 to 300 swimmers. Today, anywhere from 1,000 to 2,000 swimmers participate (record to-date 2,550 in 2014) and 5,000 to 10,000 spectators come out to cheer them on.
Vancouver Polar Bear Swim
The swim generally takes place at 2:30pm on the first day of each new year. Costumes and the Peter Pantages Memorial 100 yard swim race are the highlights of this event. To be a club member you must register before the swim, and membership is free. Prizes are drawn from all registrations.
Register in front of the English Bay Bathhouse between 12:30pm and 2:30pm on January 1. The Greater Vancouver Food Bank will be accepting donations of non-perishable food or cash. It is advised that you leave your dog at home, do not drink alcohol (it accelerates hypothermia), and do not stay in the water any longer than 15 minutes. More tips can be found on the Park Board website.
