NEWS 3
COMMUNITY 11
Compensation still needed
Explore the magic of chalk art
LABOUR DAY 21
Our annual salute to unions
5
THINGS TO DO THIS WEEKEND FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 2, 2016
There’s more at Burnabynow.com
LOCAL NEWS – LOCAL MATTERS
SEE PAGE 20
A CLOSER LOOK
‘I’m just very sad I don’t still live here’ Man returns to Burnaby childhood home on his 90th birthday By Tereza Verenca
editorial@burnabynow.com
Imagine going back to your childhood home at the age of 90 – all the memories and emotions that would come flooding back. That’s exactly what former Burnaby resident David Burnett experienced on Aug. 26, his birthday. His daughter Alaina surprised him with a visit to Wintemute House, one of the oldest surviving heritage homes in the city, and invited the NOW along for a tour. Burnett’s parents owned the Victorianera country farmhouse from 1929 to the late ’70s.The now-retired civil engineer and B.C. land surveyor was only three years old when his family moved in.The two-storey wood-frame structure is where he’d throw the football around with his two older brothers, have big family dinners, commute to and from university and everything in between. A WALK DOWN MEMORY LANE Walking up the driveway at 7640 Berkley St. on his birthday, Burnett couldn’t help but tell his daughter and wife, Ann, what the property used to look like. “There were three big cherry trees out front,” the West Vancouverite said, adding that as a kid, he ate so many on one occasion he almost died. “My mother’s bedroom was right there,” he noted, pointing to the front-facing window on the ground floor. “My bedroom was over there, on the top floor.” He described how the property, which eventually sold as 10 lots, used to have a
COMING HOME David Burnett revisited his childhood home in Burnaby for his 90th birthday on Aug. 26, a surprise pulled off by his daughter. The family was given a tour by the current owner, Sultan Karim. Burnett was three years old when his parents moved in to the Victorian-era country farmhouse known as Wintemute House. PHOTO CORNELIA NAYLOR
tennis court, a football field, a picnic area and a backyard barn that housed ducks, chickens and a pony named Bessey. In the winter, he and all the neighbourhood kids would pack themselves onto a big sled and ride it down Canada Way. Sultan Karim, who’s owned the historic home since 1979, greeted the Burnetts at the door, gesturing them to come in. Once inside, the tour started in the eightmetre-by-nine-metre billiard room, a space at the back end of the house that still contains the original Douglas fir panelling and, of course, a billiard table. “We had very large weddings here,” recalled Burnett. “We rode our bike around this room. It was a good run.” Alaina was quick to point out this was the room where two secret doors existed – one to the kitchen and one to the bathroom. Burnett incorrectly guessed where they were on his first try but eventually
market smart. property wise when
IT’S TIME
to make your move!
“Let’s Get Ahead Together” Roveen Kandola & Associates
Call me FIRST… for over 2 decades of
Real Estate Transaction Specialists
604-644-7653 (SOLD)
‘Trusted Experience in Real Estate!’
WaynePasco.com
found them. He got misty-eyed as he looked around the room. “It’s an unusual old house. It’s amazing to be back here 40 years later,” he said. When asked about some of his fondest memories, Burnett talked about barn parties he hosted while he was a UBC student. He broke down in the middle of telling the story. “Excuse me,” he said while he walked away to collect himself. “I’ve never seen that before. At your wedding, there were a couple of tears,” Ann told Alaina, both with tears in their eyes. Next on the tour was the kitchen and the basement.The basement still carried a musty smell. Burnett said his father poured the concrete walls that remain there today, and Alaina chimed in to say that during the Great Depression, her grandmother and grandfather would get “drifters,” people who would come to the door, begging
604.790.5404
RE/MAX REAL ESTATE SERVICES INDEPENDENTLY OWNED AND OPERATED N410 – 650 WEST 41ST AVENUE, VANCOUVER, BC
www.RoveenKandola.com.
for food. “The housekeeper would send the beggars away, but my grandmother ran after them and brought them back, and cooked them a meal,” she said. Once upstairs, Karim explained how his three grown children still have rooms to call their own, including a 600-square-foot suite in the attic.Today, Burnett’s room has orange carpet, with just a bed and a nightstand.The natural sunlight makes it bright and homey. As Burnett wandered the halls upstairs, he shared a memory about his dad. His father had inhaled mustard gas during the First World War, and every spring, he’d cough. “We had to put him away from the rest of the family, so he was put up in the room here, and he stayed there. His wing Continued on page 4
Order Take-Out. Call 310-SPOT (7768) or order online at www.whitespot.ca