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We'll Build A Little Horae For Two Or Three Or Four Or More Disregarding the predictable walloping dollar differences between real estate prices and property-taxes of alraost 40 years ago and real estate prices and property taxes of today, it's surprising just how rauch a scrap of paper can bring to light about an era. The scrap of paper is a Multiple Listing #4948 issued by A. E. Austin Co. Ltd. in the sumraer of '55 concerning a property for sale at 1512 Esquiraalt. On the block was a two-storey, frame house situated on a 66' x 122' secluded lot, bordered by 5 fruit trees. The 8-room house was described as having 4 bedrooms and standard bathroom upstairs; kitchen, dining room and living room with brick fireplace on the main floor; and a full basement. Basements provided space for a furnace and, more importantly their fuels - wood, coal and, in the case of the Esquimalt Avenue house - sawdust (very often wet sawdust); a corner for laundry tubs and pulley-style clothes lines; and a dry place for children to play. The kitchen, it is noted, is 'wired' (presumably not for sound) but rather the 220 volts, heavy duty wiring for an electric range. The floors were of fir, probably edge grained fir, seldom if ever seen in modern construction but popular then and cheaper than hardwood. The exterior of the house was siding and since plastic siding was still years in the future, this siding would have been of clear wood. The roof was duroid shingles. Now, there's no doubt you're going to groan at the asking price - $9750 (a figure more akin to current taxes) and property taxes of $86 (more akin to a telephone bill). However, the point is not market prices, but lifestyle, a lifestyle revealed through a multiple listing, at a time when the local telephone exchange was still 'West' and a dwelling with a floor area of 1480 square feet was deemed "suitable for a large family". Seen one 4-bedroom house, seen them all? Hardly. Let's jump ahead to today's 4-bedroom single-family home and in particular to the one Council approved last fall at Tyee Point near Horseshoe Bay - all 14,000 square feet of it .... a home so massive that a concerned Alderman Rod Day was prompted to exclaim, "Is this an individual home .... or a nice little resort?" The architect on the project countered with the comment, "Homes of this size are not unknown on the Lower Mainland". Well, more's the pity. I'd take the Esquimalt "special" x^ith its 5 fruit trees any day ... but wet sawdust? Forget it! you're invited to this year's Christmas Party again being held in the beautiful Spuraway Lodge. Circle the date on your calendar, Thursday, December 10th at 7:30 p.ra. As in the past, we're asking you to bring something nice for ourselves to eat and something especially nice for those with less at this expensive time of year. Keep in mind the -Santa Claus Fund requests food donations be of a non-perishable nature. There'll be a NO-HOST BAR with wine and beer available. On site parking, however, is not available so leave your car on Keith R.oad. We could do with some volunteers to help organize things. Page 6