The Group of Five is at it again.
Community members are invited to visit the restored Galbraith House at the Group of Five and Friends Benevolent Society’s event on Wednesday, Nov. 15 from 4:30 to 7 p.m. The Galbraith House is at 131 Eighth St.
“This is our annual Christmas event at the historic Galbraith House. It is a fundraiser,” said Gerda Suess, one of the founders of the non-profit society. “We are going to have a silent auction. The ticket is $25 with some lovely hors d’oeuvres, and a glass of wine, which you have to buy.”
The event is raising money for a special headlight that’s used in the operating room at Royal Columbian Hospital.
Through the years, the Group of Five has bought a variety of items including a table hand for operations, three life-sized “babies” and skeletons for training, a special gurney, various lights for the operating room, monitors for patients, televisions for the pediatric unit and more. It also worked with Rotary to fund a play area on the main floor of the hospital.
Tickets are available by calling Suess at 604-522-7196 or Betty McIntosh at 604-619-8455.
Focus on the Fraser
Protecting the Fraser River during accidents and emergencies will be the focus of the upcoming Fraser River Dialogue.
“Millions of tonnes of cargo and products are transported along, under and beside the Fraser River annually, everything from logs and minerals to petroleum products, consumer goods and automobiles,” said Stephen Bruyneel, executive director of Fraser River Discovery Centre. “Tens of thousands of people also access the river and its habitat each year, bringing with them their trucks, cars, boats and recreation equipment. It is absolutely critical that we are as prepared as possible to deal with any accidents or emergencies which might happen as a result of these activities.”
The upcoming session will focus on how to plan for and clean up a spill on the Fraser River. It will feature a conversation with emergency planning and response experts from the Western Canada Marine Response Corporation.
The event is on Tuesday, Nov. 7, with a wine and cheese reception (cash bar) from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. and a fireside chat from 7:30 to 9 p.m. Tickets are $25 and include admission to the centre, the opportunity to tour the new Journey Through the Working River exhibit and a cash bar wine and cheese reception. Tickets are available at www.fraserriverdiscovery.org/frd or 604-521-8401.
Building inspires art
The redevelopment of a Queensborough site has piqued curiosity among some area residents about “a little old house” that was on the corner of Duncan and Furness Street.
“Before, there stood a somewhat derelict old picturesque building dating from the end of WW2,” Glenys MacLeod wrote to the Record. “It became an object of curiosity for local residents. Its original location was on Duncan Street. In 1982 it was moved a short distance to Furness Street, up until its recent demolition.”
Longtime Queensborough resident Erno Katky said this building had a prominent place in the neighbourhood’s history and provided MacLeod with some details of its past. Katky, who worked at the site, said Star Shipyards built the facility shortly after the Second World War, occupying the site as a boat-building company until going into receivership in 1973, when it was sold at auction.
MacLeod is grateful that Katky shared his memories and was inspired to produce some sketches of the building.
