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The Burns; the Story of an Ambleside Founding Family by Rob Morris While browsing the Archives, a photo grabbed my attention. It was titled: "Maria Burns in her bathing suit in the snow - 1923." In the photo, Maria is attractive, her bathing suit perfectly antique almost burlesque - and she's standing in the snow beside a wire fence. In the background is Hollyburn Ridge, a nice house, and a railcar. There is no water to be seen anywhere. I was intrigued, and wanted to know the story behind the photo. Fortunately, Maria's daughter endowed the many Burns family photos and documents to the West Van Archives. Unfortunately, most of the collection has yet to be digitized, making access difficult. Yet, gathering even a few pieces tells a fascinating story. Maria's photo was taken in her "backyard." She lived at 1434 Argyle Avenue, just south of the PGE (Pacific Great Eastern) railway, on the waterfront, next to the Ferry Building. Her "front yard" was the beach. Maria was well known for her year-round swimming. She swam in the Polar Bear swim in English Bay and daily at Ambleside. Many photos show her in the water, on a log, or on the beach in her "front yard' with the Ferry Building, wharf, and ferries in the background. Even decades later, in a recorded discussion, a participant snidely recalled how he thought she timed her swims according to the ferry schedule, meaning Maria Burns in her bathing suit, in the snow -1923 002.WVA.BUR that she liked an audience. She was attractive and vivacious; it's not surprising she would be the subject of gossip. Maria was married to John A. Burns. They had a daughter, Lillie, born ca. 1912. About 1916 they moved into a tent house on their Ambleside beach property, shown on the right ca. 1917. Theirs was one of many tent homes along the waterfront. They soon had a second daughter whom they named Mary. John was a typographer. His career began in Toronto in 1895. Then he worked his way across Canada, reaching Vancouver in about 1910 where he initially worked for the World Newspaper. Later, and until retirement in 1960, he worked for the Vancouver Province. In the early 1920s, the Burns replaced their tent with a house. It was a timber frame, two-story building with no basement and had outside steps to the upper level. This beach-front home was the centre of their very active lives. A few years later, during a high winter tide, the CN ship Prince David, going too fast through the narrows, created large waves that flooded their ground floor. To prevent this happening again, in 1932, they raised the house, moved it 10 feet back from the water, put in a basement, and constructed a breakwater. John died in 1974 at the age of 93; Maria continued to live in their Argyle beach-front home. In the late 1970s she sold the property to the municipality with the understanding she could stay there as long as she could; she paid taxes in lieu of rent. In 1978, Maria died at the age 91. The house was later taken down and the property has become park next to the Ferry Building - a suitable memorial to a fascinating Ambleside family. Page 5