My Facebook memories in April are filled with photos of John eating garlic fries at opening day games and I have come to the realization that I truly miss baseball. When I came across a Vancouver History milestone recently, about Vancouver’s Mr Baseball, I knew I had to write about it:
In April of 1913, Bob Brown opened Vancouver’s fabled Athletic Park.
1919 – Robert Paul “Bob” Brown at the Athletic Park. Photo by Stuart Thomson. Archives# CVA 99-722
Known as Vancouver’s Mr Baseball, Bob Brown’s contribution to the sport span 60 years in the Pacific Northwest. He was a successful athlete at Notre Dame University in the 1890s, and a pro ball player from 1900-09 in Montana, Oregon, and Washington, the latter where he led the Spokane Indians to the Pacific Coast League pennant win in 1908.
He became the owner manager of the Vancouver Beavers who after several metamorphoses over the years, have become the successful Vancouver Canadians. Brown was also responsible for the first night games played under lights in Canada. Brown was the first to be inducted into the BC Baseball Hall of Fame.
He opened Vancouver’s Athletic Park, after physically clearing the site himself with pickaxe and dynamite. Athletic Park burnt down twice over the years in 1927 and 1946. Opening day saw a crowd of over 6,000. Under Brown, the Beavers won the pennant in 1911, 1913, and 1914 and in a new league (Western International League), won again in 1922, their last season.
In 1939, with the help of Capilano Brewery, Brown purchased the Vancouver Capilanos from Con Jones. In 1945, he sold the ball club but stayed on as vice-president and general manager. Brown served as president of the Western International League from 1938-53.
Cars outside Athletic Park in 1920. Archives# CVA 99-870.
“The baseball fan is born every spring,” is a Bob Brown quote. It’s true. When he passed away in 1962, the Vancouver Sun ran this obituary, written by Dick Beddoes:
BC’s Provincial Health Officer Dr Bonnie Henry is known for her timely, calm, and well-balanced approach to providing daily updates on the COVID-19 pandemic. She’s become a household name, she’s got her own fan club, and even her stylist shoes have been turning some heads. One iconic label she wears the most is Vancouver’s own John Fluevog and so Fluevog has created the Dr Bonnie Henry shoe with 100% of pre-sale proceeds going to Food Banks BC.
Fluevog Creates Dr Bonnie Henry Shoe for Food Banks BC
The upcoming limited editions have been designed with Dr Henry’s blessing. More from Fluevog:
“A constant and outstanding source of knowledge and reassurance during the current fight against the spread of COVID-19, Dr. Henry has deservedly earned admirers for her thoughtful and genuine analysis through this time of uncertainty. One of those admirers? None other than John Fluevog himself.”
“At times like these, we’re so fortunate to have someone who is calm and comforting but direct, and positive but realistic, informing and educating us day to day. We always like to find ways to help, and to highlight those who are doing good in our world. To hear about and see that our admiration for Dr. Henry was mutual was just a beautiful cherry on top of an already great idea sundae,” says John.
The Dr. Henry shoe will pre-sell later this month in a Limited Edition colourway to support Food Banks BC. Part of The Operetta Family, the shoe features patent leather accents, interlacing on the uppers and some of Dr. Henry’s own wise words stamped onto the footsock, reminding us all to ‘be kind, be calm and be safe’.
UPDATE: April 22, 2020
Pre-Sale Information
When: Thursday, April 23, 2020 at 4:00pm Vancouver time Where:Online Price: CA$339 | US$299 | 269€ | AU$459
Due to the limited amount of pairs available, The Dr. Henry shoe will be limit 1 per customer. Part of the Operetta Family of shoes, The Dr. Henry fits true to size and will fit an average-width foot nicely. Consider sizing up half a size if you have longer toes or a wider foot. The style will be available in sizes 5 through 12 (including half sizes). Delivery is expected late summer 2020.
At this time of year I would probably be publishing stories about awesome places to eat in Coquitlam, its upcoming festivals, fishing spots, and the Coquitlam Crunch. Since we need to keep our adventures online at this time, I have elected Coquitlam to be this week’s #604Corners photo feature:
10 Charming Photos of Coquitlam
Coquitlam Town Centre Park – City of Coquitlam Photo
To celebrate Canada #TakeoutDay, CRAFT Beer Market has announced its brand new food and beer delivery program along with a variety of charitable initiatives.
Craft Beer Market Growler – Supplied Image
CRAFT Beer Market’s New Food and Beer Delivery
“This has been devastating for our team, our business and all of our partners and suppliers,” says PJ L’Heureux, President and Founder of CRAFT Beer Market. “Our hopes in safely resuming business through curbside pick up and delivery is to get some of those people back working and doing what we love most.”
Team Member Support Through Swag
CRAFT has also set up a Team Member Support fund with 100% of all gift card and apparel sales going to assist Team Members in urgent need.
Menu Highlights
CRAFT is best known for its selection of over 100 beers on tap in all of its locations and, for the first time ever, guests will be able to order growlers of beer for pick up or delivery. Along with beer, they are starting out with a specialty menu featuring some of their classics alongside new menu items. Guests can look forward to new items being added weekly.
Growlers of beer – rotating selection of local craft beer and international favourites
Burgers, pizzas, wings & more
Combo meals/dinner for 2
½ price bottles of wine
Spirits, hard beverages (White Claw, etc.) and non-alcoholic drinks
Mealshare and More Charity Assistance
The ripple effect of restaurants closing has been the impact on suppliers as well as community and charity partners, like Mealshare, that work closely with the industry. The charities that the Mealshare program supports have seen a dramatic increase in demand for their services.
For a small contribution of $5, CRAFT is giving their guests the opportunity to buy meals for youth and children in need. CRAFT is matching that with another $5 and together will be able to provide 10 meals to a child in need that would have received that nutrition through breakfast or lunch programs at school, after school or weekend initiatives with their neighborhood clubs.
The Jessie Richardson Awards (“The Jessies”), celebrating the very best of Vancouver’s theatre season, have made the decision to hold this year’s ceremony online.
Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards Move Online for 2020
The 2019/20 Jessie Awards theatre season was devastatingly interrupted, but we are committed to celebrating the magic and wonder that was created before that interruption by our incredibly talented community, as well as recognize those shows that sadly could not go ahead. We have begun the work to make this year’s online show entertaining, engaging and a joyous testament to this season’s work and the deserving nominees and award winners.
We will be announcing the dates of our online Nominations Party and the Awards show itself very soon. If you would like to receive our announcements directly, please visit our website at and just wait for the pop up!
Miss604 has been the social media sponsor of the awards ceremony for the last 10 years and I look forward to continuing my support of this important initiative. Arts and culture has never been more important to us and we have to celebrate at every chance we get!
Special Categories
Submit a nomination online for the following Special Awards for the 2019/2020 Jessie Awards Season:
John Moffat & Larry Lillo Award
Colin Campbell Award for Excellence in Technical Theatre
Mary Phillips Award
Vancouver NOW Representation & Inclusion Award
The deadline to submit a nomination is May 8, 2020. Follow the Jessies on Facebook for the latest updates and the virtual event announcement.
