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Page 8 West Vancouver Historical Society March 2003 West Vancouver ^ MUSEUM & AJRCHIVES CORNER We are glad to welcome Barbara back from her honeymoon. She is now back to the grindstone atid settling in to carry on with her many and varied duties. The following tells us a little about Len Norris, subject of the March - May exhibit at the Museum, who made life more cheerful for so many of us over the years. Museum&Archives Spring is in full bloom here at the West Vancouver Museum and Archives! The Museum is a flurry of action with public programs: childrens' workshops and art camps, historical lecture series, and adult workshops. The current exhibit is Len Norris: A Retrospective: Part 2 (March 3 - May 10, 2003), this is a continuation of the Norris Retrospective, however, the original drawings on display are different from those on display in Part 1. Come by to see more of Norris’ creations. Here is a short biographical note on Mr. Norris' life. Len (Leonard Matheson) Norris was bom December 1, 1913 in London, England and came to Canada in 1926. Before becoming a cartoonist for the Vancouver Sun in 1950, Norris worked at several other jobs including weighing coal, operating a switchboard, and soldiering in the Canadian army during World War II. Pierre Berton, a nationally-renowned historian and then corresspondent of MacLean’s magazine credited Norris with "single- handedly changing newspaper cartooning in Canada,"' and introduced Len Norris into the newspaper world, cartooning for the Vancouver Sun. He drew for the Sun in the editorial section for 38 years before drawing his last cartoon on December 24, 1988 for the paper and officially retiring at the age of 75. He was a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Art, the News Hall of Fame in Toronto and the Order of the British Empire. He was also given an honorary degree from SFU. He died in 1997 at the age of 83. We hope to see more Historical Society members visiting the Museum and participating in our public pro- grams. Your support is always greatly appreciated. Thank you and see you soon. For more information on our upcoming adult and children programs, please call 604-925-9295. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + BURRARD DRY DOCK: A HISTORY Peter Hail From humble beginnings on the shores of False Creek to the pre-eminent west coast, Canadian ship builder. North Vancouver s Burrard Dry Dock constructed over 400 ships - tugs, naval vessels, B.C. Ferrries, wartime freight- ers and, notably, the famous R.C.M.P. ship the "St. Roch" - and provided a variety of ships, barges, scows, etc., essential to the economic development of B.C.'s coastal communities. One of its proudest accomplishments culmi- nated in the launching in 1921 of the luxury coastal liner "Princess Louise" for Canadian Pacific. Burrard made an enormous contribution in World War II. In addition to corvettes and minesweepers, the yard turned out over one hundred 10,000 ton supply ships (freighters) - the famous Fort and Park ships. The work force grew to over 14,000 men and women. After the war the firm shrunk in size, and became reliant on B.C. and Canadian government contracts. The Tsawwassen, the City (Queen) of Vancouver, and the Queens of Coquitlam and Surrey were built for B.C. Ferries, as well as mid sections for insertion into a number of older ferries. But the pace continued to slow as new, more efficient, yards sprang up around the world. Three generations of Wallaces guided the Burrard yard's fortunes since inception in 1894. By 1972 their time was running out and the company was sold. Repairs and small ships kept the yard going until the late 1980's. The site is now being redeveloped and will contain a new North Vancouver Mu- seum, fittingly featuring the stem of one of the wartime ships built there. The evening was enhanced by the presence in the audience of a number of retired Burrard employees who shared their personal experiences of work in the yard with us. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + As you can see, this is a very full edition and we simply could not find space for a "Your Letters" section. However, we are delighted to tell you that we have had several letters which we shall share with you in the next "History-Onics", expecially one from Dorothy (Wilson) Mehaffey correcting Jack Lancaster's memory(l) and another from Don Mills, all the way from South Africa. Thank you both. Our readers love the letters so please, all you members, keep them coming!