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Page 6 West Vancouver Historical Society March 2003 FEATURE PRESENTATION REPORT By: Anne Vernon Unfortunately neither your editor, nor the video camera crew, were able to be at the January general meeting. We understand we missed a very interesting and well-attended meeting. No video of the talk, given by Francis Mansbridge, was made, so that normal coverage of that meeting will not appear in this edition for members who were also unable to attend.. However, on page 8, the inimitable Peter Hall has jumped into the breach and contributed a precis of Francis' talk. Our thanks, as always, to Peter, and apologies to Francis. MEA CULPA! MEA CULPA! Peter Hall Page two of the January 2003 issue of "History-Onics" included my article which stated that Charles E. Nelson was the first reeve of West Vancouver. Further, it described the action of the Historical Society in provid- ing a stone for his unmarked grave. This article was incorrect. If you still have your copy please put a bix X through it. The following sets the record straight. The first reeve of West Vancouver was not Charles E. Nelson who died in 1940, but Charles Nelson who passed away in 1926 and is interred in the Masonic section of Vancouver's Mountain View Cemetery. It is Charles E. Nelson who is interred at Capilano View. Thanks to Bas Collins we know that our first reeve was bom in Manchester, England in 1861. We do know that he was in Vancouver as early as 1888 where he is listed in the city directory as a "chemist and druggist" with premises at 112 Cordova Street. His listing is basically the same until 1897 when he is shown as the president of Nelson Drug Store Co, Ltd. at 100 Cordova. By 1899 he had added a second store at the comer of Granville and Robson Streets. The 1901 listing shows him as president of "Nelson, MacPherson, Sutherland Drug Co. Ltd. - Wholesale and Retail Chemists and Druggists, Seedsmen and Stationers" with a head office at 537 Hastings Street West. This concern had six outlets including one in Chilliwack. This listing appeared in much the same form until 1908, when Charles Nelson is shown as Manager of "Nelson Drug Stores Co. Ltd." and "West End Book Store" located at the comer of Granville and Robson. Subsequently he appears as "druggist" until 1916 when he is a "financial agent". These entries suggest that Nelson was experiencing turbulent times. Somewhere in these years he had become a land owner in West Vancouver as he was one of those who, in 1912, petitioned to have West Vancouver established separately from the District of North Vancouver. During these years Nelson's residence was first at 1143 and later at 1185 Melville Street in Vancouver. At some point he established his principal residence in West Van. This would appear to have been before 1916. He is shown as having moved back to the city about 1924 residing at 1307 West 33nl Street where he died in November 1926. Charles Nelson had a large property which he called "Bellevue", after which Bellevue Avenue was named. This property was bounded on the north by Marine Drive, on the west by 23rd Street, on the south by English Bay and on the east by a line running south from a point on Marine Drive just to the east of the Gordon Street intersec- tion, His home was at the comer of 23rd and Marine Drive, So - who was Charles E. Nelson? The account of his death in the West Van News of July 25, 1940 states that he was a resident of Horseshoe Bay, His name does not appear in any directory, nor in the West Vancouver telephone book. My enquiries to date have drawn a blank. If anyone has information about this man I would be grateful for it. The blunder of calling Charles E. Nelson the first reeve arose as a consequence of my not double checking information provided by a normally reliable and trustworthy source, a serious mistake for a historical writer. The mistake was mine and I apologize to the Society and its members for it. The grave marker for Charles E. Nelson has been lifted and is being altered to delete mention of his being first reeve. Many people helped to set the story straight and I thank them for all their contributions. It was Bas Collins who questioned whether I had the right man and supplied the reeve's birth and death dates. Yau Min Chong, the Community Archivist, made the key connection between Nelson the dmggist and Nelson the reeve by accessing the Vancouver City archives data base. Jack Leyland put the "icing on the cake" by confirming that reeve Nelson was a Mason and that he was buried in the Masonic section at Mountain View Cemetry. Thanks are due to Ian Macdonald for his wise counsel and to Deborah Tuyttens for making the museum and archives facilities available. Ed Note: Peter was not alone in thinking that our first reeve lies in Capilano View. Many long-time West Vancouver residents were under the same impression. It illustrates just how easily history can become skewed!