Lunch With
LISA SMITH
Corresponding Secretary, Old Hastings Mill Store Museum, Vancouver, B.C. Interviewed by Lindsay Foreman Managing Editor: Roundup Magazine
How did you get involved with the Old Hastings Mill Store Museum and why?
Can you share about the development of the museum and its mission?
It was meant to be! About 10 years ago, I attended a speaker night at the museum with author Chuck Davis presenting 100 Things You Didn’t Know About Vancouver. After the lecture, I started talking to some of the members of the Native Daughters of British Columbia, who operate the museum. I was told that a volunteer shift would be “about one day every six weeks.” I figured that I could handle that, so I proceeded with my membership to the lodge and also became a member of The Friends of the Old Hastings Mill Store Museum. The “one day every six weeks” became a lot more, but I’ve never regretted joining.
The Old Hastings Mill Store dates to circa 1868, and served the Burrard Inlet sawmilling community of Stamp’s Mill (later known as Hastings Mill) as a general supply store, post office, and community gathering place. It narrowly escaped destruction during the Great Vancouver Fire of 1886.
I’ve volunteered with the museum in various executive roles, including Historian, Chaplain, and at present, Corresponding Secretary. I also organize and lead group tours, and maintain a monthly museum blog and newsletter.
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When the Vancouver harbourfront was slated for redevelopment in the late 1920s, the store, which was facing demolition, was rescued by the Native Daughters of B.C. Post #1. The Vancouver Harbour Commission gave the store to the Native Daughters free of charge, on the condition that they finance its relocation. On July 29, 1930, the store was barged to a plot of land the Native Daughters had leased a few years earlier at the north foot of Alma Road in Point Grey (i.e., the current lease is up for renewal in 2024).
