The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

.THE WEST VAN. NEWS A Weekly Newspaper Circulating rn the District of West Vancouver- Ambleside, Hollyburn, Weston, Dundarave Caulfetld, Whyteclrff, CypreJS Park, Etc. Vol. I WEST VANCOUVER, FRIDAY, APRIL 16, 1926 No. 2 THANKS! We are much gratified by the many expressions of appreciation and satisfaction wh.ich. have reached ~s by phone and otherwise on the pubhcatJOn of our first 1ssue. This is evidence that THE WEST VAN. NEWS has filled a long-felt want in the communit~. True enough, t~ere ":ere a few complaints about non-dehvery, but these d!sappomt- ments only go to show the desire of our people for the news of local happenings. It is our desire to place The West Van. News in every home in the municipality; but, as will be readily understood, it is impossible for the carriers ~o reach tho~e ho~es which are difficult of access. Any resident thus d1sappomted can have a copy sent by mail if they will nptify us. Secretaries of Clubs and · Organizations This is your paper! We want your co-operation and assistance in disseminating news of youi· meetings and doings. Please mail your reports to West Van. News, P.O. Box 101, Hollyburn, or leave at the office on Marine Drive, between Thirteenth and Fourteenth Streets, not later than Wednesday for publication same week. Telephone West 19L Why Not a Chamber of Commerce? A Chamber of Commerce for West Vancouver is a growing necessity which must be met sooner or later-and the sooner the better. Other bodies already existing, such as the Municipal Council and the Ratepayers' Association, may be thought to be sufficient for our present needs. This, however, is a mistaken view. Both of the bodies mentioned have their functions which no other body can successfully perform, but on the other hand, in the very nature of things, both are restricted in their operations. The Council, as an elected body, has its functions pretty well Jaicl down by law_ They are representatives of the people with well-defined dutie1> beyond which they cannot be expected to go. The Ratepayers' Association, of course, is out to see (and rightly so) that municipal expenditure is kept down to a minimum and that taxation is kept well within bounds. :But a Chamber of Commerce, a body of business people associated together for the sole purpose of furthering the business interests of the community, is an entirely different institution. Such an association can do much to strengthen the hands of the Council when necessary, while their influence in attracting business and in facilitating the improvement of public services of various kinds, such as postal, telegraph, telephone, electric lighting, etc., is only limited by their efforts. We could mention a host of things awaiting the attention of such a body, and we suggest that steps be taken for its formation. Our Beautiful Townsite Make It Easy to See West Vancouver is justly proud of its Marine Drive; there are few highways anywhere to compare with it for scenic beauty. But the Marine Drive is not all there is to the district. Unfortunately many visitors who never get away from the main thoroughfare, return to t he city with the impression that this municipality has nothing to show that cannot be seen from the Marine Drive. That we pos- sess a stretch of easily accessible land, extending from Capi- lano Creek to Point Atkinson and reaching back at least a mile and a half from the waterfront, comprising thousands of the most beautiful homesites in the world, only those who have the good luck to walk or drive up some of our delight- ful slopes are aware. Thousands of visitors come and go, ignorant of the wonderful sweep of land and sea and moun- tain to be viewed from any point in West Vancouver, North of Marine Drive. If all our visitors really saw the beauties of the place there is no doubt that our already overtaxed supply of houses would promptly become totally inadeq uate and our very creditable building record would leap all bounds. It is no exaggeration to say that West Van. pos- sesses n townsit~ incomparably more beautiful than any- thing in greater Vancouver and offering scenic advantages unsurpassed by any place in t he world. The Belt Line Bus That all visitors may learn to see us as we actually are, and not merely liS we seem to be from the limited view obtainable from the Marine Drive, THE NEWS would suggest that in addition to lhe ex isting bus service 11 belt line be established, . ay up Fourteenth Sti·eet to Inglewood Avenue and a long that thoroughfare to Twenty-first Street; thence to Marine Drive and back to Fourteenth ; or the run could be continued west on Marine from Twenty. first and detours made wherever the interests of the diAtrict demand. Sign boards could a lso be placed a long the Drive at suitable intervals, inviting the public to leave the main highway and enjoy a ramble or n drive on some of the other excellent roads which the municipality has provided. Let us show our goods and they will themselves. West Van. only needs to be really seen to appreciated. SHORTAGE OF APARTMENTS Apartment House Needt:d in West Van. It is becoming more and more evi- dent t hat owing to the increasing in- flux of vis itors a nd settlers t here is a ~crious lack of housing accommoda- tion in West Vancouver. The real estate agents of the vari- ous districts a re una nimous in report- ing the great difficulty in meeting the requirements of both those on a sum- mer vis it and those who propose to take uP theil· permanent abode in the municipa lity. Here seems to be a g reat opportun- ity for the erection of an apartment house in West Vancouver. An apartment house of the kind suggested would appeal, of course, t o those people who, as in other dis tricts, prefer this s uite sys tem of accommo- dation to separate houses or cottages for permanent residence. It would a lso be of particula r ad- vantage to those people who contem- plate residing permanently in the mu- nicipality and who may have to wait for a suita ble dwelling house t o be either ·loca ted or built . These apartment houses have been a financial success in practically ever y residentia l disbict of greater Van- couver. To meet the increas ing de- mand new ones are now being erected in various localities, so that they evi- dently meet an nsistent H.nd g rowing desire for the special accommodation and conveniences they afford. Here, then, seems a golden oppor- tunity in West Vancouver for the builder or capitalis t. Since writing the above the question of apartment hoUses has been dis- cussed by the Council , and whilst no definite decision was a rrived at, it is probable that such buildings will be restricted to certain loc~tions. WHYTECLIFF PARK Plans were laid before the Council showing a very elaborate park for \Vhytecliff. It is proposed to include tea rooms, bath houses and other at- tractions for the visitors. \Vork has nh-eady s tarted on improvements. High School Makes Good Progress West Vancouver High School, of which 1\ir. F. J. Patterson is principal, has now tht·ec nssis tnnt teacher~ and an uverage attendance of about 80 pupils. When firs t opened in Septem- ber, 1923, the nttendnnce wus 36, showing an increase s ince of 44 . It is unticiputed thnt there wi ll be n school nttendnncc in excess of 100 by September next. Tn the recent nnnunl typewriting contes t i\h. T. A. Alsbury, commer- cial teacher, won the cup for t he championship on the Remington m a- chi ne, nnd Blnir Edwnrds, one of his puplis, won the Underwood Accuracy up, with t he score of 99.5 per cent. Another s tudent, Ruth Last, cmne sec- ond, rnnking only one error more thnn Edward!;. Helen t cvcn~on was fou1·th. Students nrc now in trnining f or the track meet with North Vancouver Hig h chool, which tnk('s plnce t\-luy 7. They nrc determined to mukt> n good Khowing ut t he meet. PRING CLEANING AT THE WHARF The North West Dredg ing Com- J>Uny hns been nwnrded n contract to dredge n 2000-yard s t1·ip lmmedinte ly eust of Ambleside wharf, where the munlcipul rerries dock. os t will bo $2000. At low tide, it hns been reported, No. 6 sometim e:~ serapes the BOND .ISSUE TO BE FLOATED $100,000 To Be Offered by lhc Council-Contracts Let Tenders for bonds covering an ex- penditure of $100,000 for improve- ments in the municipality will be called for immediately, accord ing to the decision of the Municipal Counc:il in a special meeting. or t his tota l S65,000 wil be for hard-surfacing of stree ts and $35,000 for building !ide- walks. Contracts for the work have already been let. Marine Drive Name To Be Retained Requests or SUtz"gestions have been made tha t the name of Marine Drive be changed to Pacific Highway. But while the Council was not altogether opposed to the general idea it has been decided to retain the origina l name. It was considered that it would be better to keep the association of the name Marine Drive so far at least as West Vancouver municipality was con- cerned. At the same time the Council will permit s ign posts bearing the words "Pacific Hig hway" at certain s trategic p.oints. Opening Marine Drive Extension It has been decided by the Council t hat the opening of the new part of Marine Drive to Whytecliffe will be celebrated \vith due and popula r cere- mony. Preparations for the event are now under way. One conspicuous feature will be the filmin g of the ceremony and the pictures will be shown in every part of Canada. Gra phic de- ~ criptions of this event will a lso be sent to various publications. Work on the highway is now pro- g ressing rapidly. PARENT-TEACHERS' ASSOCIATIOIN A very interesting meeting of the local P .-T. A. was held on Tuesday evening in the Pauline . J ohnston chool. Dr. G. M. \Veir, Professor of Education, U.B.C., gave u very profit- nble add t-ess on 11Some Aspec~ of t he Educational Service." The Pres ident, Mrs. J . B. Leyland, reported on some of the recommendations made at the B.C. Federation, held in Vancouver last week. Among items of business discussed, the subject of Night Schools for the coming fall term a rose. Those desiJ·ous of mnking application might phone or write to the pres ident. The nssocia tion nre giving an invitation dnncc in the very nenr future. Miss Blnnche Ne,,ille delighted the a udience with n piuno solo. BIG FIRE DOES MUCH DAMAGE Splendid Work By Fire Brigade Fire broke out in the house occu- pied by Mr. John Harte at Sixteenth and Esquimalt early Thursday morn- ing, causing Con! iderable damage. The fire appears to have s tarted in the kitchen about a quarter to eight in the morning. Mr. Harte had,· early in the morn- ing, been mixing a kerosene emulsion spray on the kitchen s tove, when the mixture boiled over. This havpiffil!tl-- .....ii so suddenly that Mr. Harte was unable to prevent fire spreading, and he was badly burned on the left arm and s houlder in trying to lift the boiler off the stove. The Fire Hall was immediately no- tified by phone and the fire wagon with W. Thompson acting as chief and his trusty volunteer firemen were quickly on the scene. The fire spread from the kitchen to the other rooms on the first fl oor, but the firemen were successful in quickly subduing the outbreak and preventing it from s preading to the upper floor. Much damage by fi re and water was caused to the floors, walls and roofs as well as the furniture. The house was covered by insurance lo the extent of $3,000, but this does not covet· the Mr. Harte cons iders himself lucky tha t the entire house was not de- stroyed and that he escaped more se- rious bodily injury. He wishes to express his s incere gratitude for the prompt and efficient se.n;ces of the fire brigade as well as the kind help nnd sympathy tendered by his Jleigb- bors. { Mrs. Harte was with Mr. Harle at the time of the fire and was slightly burnt on the arm. She received, bow- ever, a severe shoc.k and bad to be attended by Dr. Stainsby. Town-Planning Bylaw Considered After consideration of the town planning by-law the Council has pro- claimed the three di tt'icts of Caulfield, Altamont and Cypre...."-5 as restricted from erecting hotels, apartment blocks und terraces. The by-law olso provides for the bnnning of spite fences, while other fe nces nre limited to five Ceet. · FORM ER REEVES AND OLD· TIMES TO BE HONORED I . NAMES OF ' EW ROAD The Council hns decided that in futu.t'C nll new roads and streets will be chris tened niter the names of former ree,1es ond old-timers of the municipality. In accordance wi th this idea, the ouncil this week named two treets in new s ubdivisions in honor of two ~x-reevcs , Gisby and Proctor. CLEAN- UP WEEK April 15 to 22 This is " lean p Week." The Ree,•e and ouncil .ask for the assis tance of every citizen in this important necessity. " lean p Week" is a mighty good in· titution and one that deserve!< the support of nil. pring alway" finds nn accumu- lation of tins, papers, ashes and other refuse s<·at.tered ~.bout, producing an unsightly nppearance. T!te "clenmng up nnd ' 'brightening" of our homes, not only tmproves the app ar- nnce bu t actually enhances the value. sea li ttle paint while nre at it. The results will more t han r pay