Yesterday afternoon, I took the family for a walk to Fallaise Park in East Vancouver, which is located in our neighbourhood in Vancouver. We live in an area called “Diaper Hill”, to many of the older residents of the area. This area of East Van is located in Renfrew Heights that encompasses the area north of East 22 Avenue down to Grandview Highway, and from Boundary Road west to Rupert Street, this is my neighbourhood called “Diaper Hill”.
Why The Name Diaper Hill?
This area of Renfrew Heights in East Vancouver is named Diaper Hill for a very interesting reason. Houses were built in the 1940s in Diaper Hill for the World War 2 veterans coming home from the war. As the plaque below states diapers were hung on the clothing lines to dry and this area is on a hill (Renfrew Heights), the area became known as “Diaper Hill”, and there you have it.
Most of the WW2 vets have passed away or moved away, all that remains are a few old 2 bedroom rancher homes, the rest of the homes have been torn down to make way from new 3 level 7 bedroom homes selling for $800,000 +. I am a newer resident to Diaper Hill living here only for the past 3.5 years. It was interesting to me to find out about the colorful history of my neighborhood and thought I would share it.
Many of the streets in Diaper Hill are named after World War 2 cities such as Normandy, Anzio and Dieppe, to name only a few of them.
Falaise Park In Renfrew Heights, East Vancouver
The History Of Diaper Hill Written On A Plaque In Falaise Park In Renfrew Heights, East Vancouver
Mural Commemorating Diaper Hill
Mural Commemorating Diaper Hill
I grew uo in this project 1951 – 1970 . Original renters (vets) needed a min. of 2 children to qualify for one of these houses ,do the math and calculate how many diapers were needed for these children.
Hello Wayne,
Thanks for commenting. There are still a few of the wartime homes around, but they are coming down fast and it’s amazing how many new homes have been built here. It almost looks like a new subdivision. Was Diaper Hill back then mostly Scottish, Irish & English descendants?
I lived in the ‘neighbourhood’ from 1949 to 1971. All houses were rented at an average of $45 to $65 per month. The landlord was the Federal Govt agency – Central Mortgage and Housing. The houses were all occupied by WWll vets. Houses were awarded on a points system. They even had us separated by Catholics on certain streets and Protestants on others. Almost everyone came from the Prairies and a few from Ontario. Lots of war brides. On the corner of many streets were houses for men in wheelchairs. I could write a book about my experiences in the ‘neighborhood’.
That’s pretty amazing. I see few of the orginal neighbours, but very few. I myself live on Normandy Drive. The house next to me is still original (2 bedroom home). I tore down the veteran home that was here and built a new home about 4 years ago. It looks like a new subdivision around here, with all the new houses going in. Prices are up to 1.4 million for some of the houses, if you can believe that!
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I drove by the area the other day and noticed that there are alot of security bars and doors. Also, there are grafitti markings in the back lanes of homes. Does this area have alot of crime?
Thanks for everyone’s responses!
I still live in the area, have been there for the last 4 years, I built a brand new home. I have no security bars on my windows at all. Security bars and doors are for people who are paranoid and it makes your look like a damn prison, why anyone would do that to their own home is beyond me. This is NOT a ghetto, unless ghettos have 1 million dollar homes in them, ha ha?
Crime in this area isn’t any worse than any other part of VANCOUVER. Renfrew Heights is a very safe area, if it wasn’t I wouldn’t have stayed for the last 4 years, that’s for sure. As for the graffiti markings, graffiti is all over Vancouver, including the West Side of Vancouver, Kitsilano and any where else. Nothing to worry about in Renfrew Heights is as safe as the rest of Vancouver suburbs. Are you planning on moving in my neighbourhood?
C.V.
Hopefully, but I wasn’t sure about the area since I live in Killarney.
And I also agree that every area of Vancouver has it’s fair share of problems.
Also, is Renfrew Heights very family oriented? It seems that many of the homes are the original owners.
Yes it’s mostly families. Lots of Asians have come into the area, they’re good people, quiet and respectful. It’s a mix of original owners and newer Asian arrivals.
I live on Diaper Hill, most original residents have moved out, died etc. They are older (80+), and their houses are being bought and torn down to make way for newer larger homes than can be seen through out the area.
Thanks CV for all the info! It’s nice to be reassured that the area I’m hoping to move to will be a long term one.
your welcome!
My family bought on on the bungalows on Malta Place in 1964…we had an awesome view to the mountains…the neighbourhood was full of kids, very safe…we move away in the mid 70’s..people were always lost asking for directions, so many cul-de-sacs…its lost so much of its character..
My family bought one of the bungalows on Malta Place in 1964…we had a huge yard and an awesome view to the mountains…the neighbourhood was full of kids, very safe…we move away in the mid 70’s..people were always lost asking for directions, so many cul-de-sacs! It’s lost so much of its character..
Hi we love this area of vancouver and are wanting to purchase a home in one of the inner quiet streets. Preferably something large enough to accommodate our growing family of 5. If you know of a home selling in the area or any information we can be contacted at suite4rent(at)yahoo.com
remove the (at) and insert @ for the email address.
We thank everyone in advance.
A tear down house in this area is around $650,000 now to buy, the prices just keep going, up, up, up. My home in now worth around 1.2 million, insane! I never thought I would have a million dollar home but this is the reality around Vancouver now. Crazy!
If I was you I would get a realtor to help you find a place here if you are serious about buying here.
As an original resident I never used the term Diaper Hill and only heard of it recently. I could be wrong but it may be a derogatory term used by none residents. The term most used is “The Project”. Currently I am residing in my childhood home within the project. Original residence had to have one parent whom had served overseas and 2 children.
Hello:
Thanks for keeping up this website and allowing us “pioneer residents” to share our thoughts!!
I grew up on Normandy Drive near Dieppe. Like Glen,I hadn’t heard the term Diaper Hill until recently but we all knew the term Renfrew Heights or “The Project” Most of us that hail from the project still consider it to be home. Our family house is still standing with the green stucco that my dad put on in 1965. Our family rented or owned the house from 1947 through 1986. When my parents moved in they had my 2 sisters. They were lucky to get a house because many people had applied and only some of them were selected. You had to write a letter advocating for why you should live there. Dad said that they were assigned a house and as they walked up the unpaved street they hoped that it was one with a big window facing north and it was!! There were so many kids that they built a Renfrew Annex, where many of the kids went Grade 1 – 3; they didn’t have kindergarten in those days. There was a post on Worthington Drive and NOrmandy with a fire alarm; this was the way the fire trucks were called. (There were alot of false alarms!) We all had party lines on our telephones.
My brother sold it in ’88 for 145,000. Our parents bought it in ’59 for 7,000 at a 2% mortgage from Central Mortgage and House – with a 25 year term. It was a fantastic neighbourhood to grow up in with loads of kids and a big area behind Dieppe Drive to play on swings or play baseball. We were outside all the time, our moms called us in for dinner by shouting out the window. The city put up a Chinese Maple tree on everyone’s boulevard. They were always so pretty in the Spring time! Everyone looked after everyone’s kids. It was a real community! We used to go to the corner store on 22nd Ave; it was owned by the Yamashita Family. Dr. Hanna delivered many of the babies; Burnaby General was built in ’53 and many of us were born there. I remember walking down to Falaise Park in both summer (to go to the wading pool) and in the winter to go tobagganing.. it seemed like such a big hill at the time. Windermere High School was built in 1961 and we all went there… my sisters went to Vancouver Tech. I remember in the ’60’s there was talk about putting the freeway through Renfrew Heights; the province wanted to buy the land to complete that task. My mother was very upset and said “I’m not going to loose my home to a freeway!” Good thing they didn’t – the views are spectular- that would have been such a waste.
Everyone was middle income, hard working people. Life was great! So is that area… you are so lucky to be living there!
Good Memories, good memories!!
Oh, and my parents were originally from the UK, moved to Quebec and then out to BC just after the war.
Child hood memories last forever. Falaise Park has the plaque to remember all of you who lived in the area, the originals. I myself grew on East 24th & Rupert and then moved to Burnaby when I was 8 years old.
Personally both of my parents are from Italy and I am much younger (39 yrs old) than the original kids from the Projects. I consider myself a newer resident.
It’s great that all of you are commenting and leaving your memories of Renfrew Heights on my web site, I really think that’s cool.
Most people who live in the “war zone”, don’t have much of a clue about it’s past. I find it very interesting to read all of your personal stories.
Thanks!
Hi CV:
Glad to fill you in about our old neighbourhood!
Today my brother told me that the houses all sold for $3,300 not $7,000. Most people had 2nd and 3rd mortgages.
The orginial small homes, like ours, had 2 bedrooms and the larger ones had 3 bedrooms. In the early days homes were heated by coal, then oil, and finally gas.
Similiar to these days, there were dramatic changes in Renfrew Heights. 2 companies, Zebiaks and Superior (owned by the Zebiak brothers), started raising the houses. Each raised house was hoisted up and they looked like they were sitting on giant jenga blocks).I remember our dad shoving out the basement, all the dirt went into the back yard. I’m sure a cement truck came to lay a foundation and pour the cement for the basements. Many of our families couldn’t afford the materials for the basement so any wood that they could glean was used to finish basements. Rooms were finished as families could afford the materials. One of our neighbours used a ladder for years to get up to their back door.
Our dad fell from the gable of our house while stuccoing it in ’65; he broke his back. The neighbours took up a collection for us.
Families didn’t move as often in those days.. we started at Renfrew Elementary in grade 1 and left from Windermere in Grade 12 with many of the same kids in our classes. Time were so different then!
Falaise Park had programs for the kids… summer daycamps and in the building children’s programs. I remember one of my friends was registered to go to one. As a little kid, I used to walk down to Falaise Park with my lunch and stay all day. There was a wading pool in the park, swings, monkey bars, and teeter toters.
It was so much fun!
I have asked my friends to contribute to your page…. let’s see if they do:)
Just found your site through a friend. Wow this is awesome. I grew up in Renfrew height from the 60S to the 80’s Our house on Normandy Drive has since been torn down and rebuilt but the memories are still there. What a wonderful community to grow up in. Yes Falaise park was the place to be you would pack a lunch and then spend the day there. I think I learned to swim in that wading pool. I have many memories of growing up there.
I think all of you should have some type of reunion at Falaise Park. You can actually rent out the hall there I believe. I torn down the 1 level 2 bedroom house on Normandy Drive that I bought and built a new home there.
As others have said,it was never Diaper Hill to us and we refer to it as “the project”.I lived on the corner of Dieppe and Normandy.Every kid had another kid their own age next door,2 doors down or across the street.When I started grade one at Renfrew,I count 6 kids who started grade one on the same day from the even side of the 3600 blk Normandy alone.We went to “the swings’ to play and one by one we could hear our moms calling us for supper.Where the west side of Boundary road is now was the “empty lot”All the way down to about 1st avenue and up to at least Vanness were “empty lots’and bushes where we would play cowboys and indians catch tadpoles and frogs make bows and arrows build forts.I remember when Boundary road was expanded and the long mountain of dirt stretched down the lane.I used to stand in my back yard with my baseball bat and hit rocks out into the empty lot pretending I was Mickey Mantle or Roger Maris.I would throw rocks at the telephone pole spinning and curving them like Sandy Koufax or Don Drysdale.Tv didn’t play a big part in our lives then,we were always outside playing with the other kids.It was a beautiful time,a world of imagination when there were heroes that you aspired to be and friends that shared what you did and still can’t help but smile when those thoughts are rekindled.
We moved into the project in 1964 on Anzio Dr. My parents bought it for $9500.00. It was a 900 sq ft home for 4 kids and 2 adults. It was a great place to grow up in.. the only way our parents got us home for dinner was the ice cream truck came up and down around the dinner hour..kids came from everywhere to get money for ice cream.I remember looking out my bedroom window and watching the fireworks at the PNE.. we had a perfect view of all downtown, until the trees grew ,which wasn’t for a lot of years.My mom sold the house about 18 yrs ago for $300,000. Not bad for a 900 sq ft home. It wasn’t long after that the house became a grow op which eventually got busted. The new owners ended up having the house torn down and a monster home built there.. It was kind of neat to live up the street from the Premier of BC Glen Clark. I sometimes drive through the proj (as we called it) and somehow it doesn’t seem the same with all the gigantic homes. I guess things can’t stay the same forever, I’m sure glad I have the memories….
Thanks for all the comments, it’s very interesting for a newer resident such as myself to hear about the past of this unique area of Vancouver. Keep em coming!!
I also greww up there too. My family lived on the corner of Normandy & Worthington Drive. Lived there most of life from 1952-1995 until my father’s death.The house I grew up in has since been torn down..but the memories will go forever. I remember in the summer there the water fights that most of the kids from blocks would join in. I just found out years ago that it was dubbed Diaper Hill from city worker. Thank you for your interest in the old residents.
Yeah, Don, I remember when they made Boundary Road 2 different directions; the road on the Burnaby side was the old road. We used to play in the fields there, hid in the grass playing hide and seek, build forts, etc.
It was a sad day when all that area was gone forever. I taught myself how to ride my very large 2 wheeler bike on the slight decline going down to the field (new Boundary)on Normandy. It was soft to land on ’cause I didn’t know how to use the brakes:) But remember when they paved the road how nice the surface was to roller skate on! It sure beat the bumpy sidewalks of 22nd and Normandy!
Thanks, Glen, for this link. Central Mortgage and Housing was responsible for building the houses in Renfrew Heights Project.
http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/corp/about/hi/index.cfm
You may also be interested in this site about Renfrew Elementary and it’s history. Here’s a direct quote from the site
“The 1940’s saw a steady rise in the student population at Renfrew School, and by 1946, the school had 389 pupils and a staff of 11 teachers. To accommodate the extra students the staffroom had been converted to a classroom and library. The next year, it was proposed to spend $128,000 to make additions and provide needed equipment. Shortly thereafter the newly-formed Central Mortgage began their first big housing scheme, “The Renfrew Heights Project”. As the houses were finished, classes were put on shift to accommodate the increasing enrollment.”
The link is:
http://renfrew.vsb.bc.ca/history_ren.html
I have a couple of memories I would like to share. First of all we moved into the Project when I was 6 months old in 1952. My dad was a vet and there were 3 of us in our family eventually. We lived on Worthington from 1952 and my mom sold her house in 2003. It was a very stable neighbourhood it seems as we did know kids from grade 1 until grade 12, even if we weren’t friends.
My dad raised our house with Zebiak and my Uncle and Grandfather helped do most of the work after it was actually on the blocks. It took quite awhile but it was ongoing labour for my dad who worked in a mill. I think most people did the work on their own as it saved money and nobody was rich in the area. Jobs our parents had were ordinary (I think) and being raised in the depression a lot of people were very careful with their money.
I also remember when Falaise Park had bush at the bottom of it. We were told to stay out of the bush as there was quicksand and if we got stuck that would be tragic. Course once the bush was taken out, and the ball diamonds were put in, it was proved to be false. I think they were worried that something bad would happen in the bush.
On a snowy evening we would take our sleighs and ride from Worthington all the way to the bush and when it was gone, you could almost get to Grandview if you were on a slippery path. We would ride all evening and only go home when we could not bear the cold anymore! No parents seemed to look for us. They always trusted we were nearby! And there were lots of kids there! Line-ups for the best path to take down! And bumps were built! Best sledding ever!
In the summer we enjoyed playing Hide-and-Seek, Run Sheep Run, Kick the Can, Red Rover and the more kids the merrier. No fences, alleys, and good neighbours made the games fun! When the 9 O’Clock Gun went off the Colledge kids had to be home. We still played in the yard sometimes but we had to be home. It was very loud back then but I suppose with all the buildings in Vancouver now it is not heard from that neighbourhood. Anyway, the kids are not to be seen much now on the streets.
It was a good place to grow up in. Of course there were the neighbourhood terrors but we survived. Our kids and Grandkids would have a hard time comprehending the freeness we had!
wow. we moved into the project in ’58 for grade 2 at the “new” annex. it had just opened before i moved in and all i had to do was walk down the street. my family was involved in baseball, football, scouts, hockey for the boys. my mom got invovled in the pta, brownies and stuff for my bros too. we have come along way, eh ladies. we all lived in a close environment. our dads had fought in WW11 and yes there were alot of diapers, but, they were reproducing. most of the fathers were longshoremen/labourers. when we were “eastenders” we were the hub of vancouver. out of this hub came doctors, laywers, indian chiefs. and then again we had the bad boys too. got my first kiss was at the annex with rick rooney. i was so in love with that boy so long ago. there were times i could not eat without thinking of him. the dances for the adults and the functions for the kids. always tried to have something to do for a special occasion. while i was growing up i knew where i lived and always stuck up for my roots. the field in front of the playground, before it was cultured, there were a lot of games and partying done in the weeds. if you crossed boundary road, you were in a forest. the cascade drive-in was all that was there. i liked and am proud to say i was from the original east end and a rat i am…
Wow. Wayne. I remember you. We moved there in 1954, and I moved out in 1971. My mom finally sold out in the ’80’s to someone who tore down our house and built a huge multi family dwelling that faces Dieppe. I lived on Vimy at the corner of Dieppe near Malta.
I have driven threw the old project no to long ago, sure alot of changes.
Was sad to see the house I grew up in, in 1951 was torn down, and a huge house built.
Lot of good memories and friendships from the old project
Reading these post has brought tears to my eyes. Oh how I remember those days? We lived on Dieppe Dr. Backed onto that empty lot which became southbound Boundry Road. I started kindergarten at Renfrew Annex and finished Grade 12 at Windermere.
Couldn’t wait to finish the supper dishes so we could get out to the swings or over to the field to play baseball. I remember having to be in when the street lights came on and was always sad because the older kids could stay out longer.
We so looked forward to winter so we could start tobagganing.
There has been 2 neighbourhood reunions one at Bear Creek Park in Surrey and the 2nd at Falaise park. Thank you Lorraine Munro, Barry Landry and everyone else who help you.
I’ve brought my children to the “old neighbourhood” and they are pretty tired of me telling them the same ol’ stories each time we drive down Grandview Hwy.
Thank you all for sharing your memories.
Debbie
This site is amazing!! I to moved to Normandy Dr. in 1954. at the age of 2. When I read all the comments, the memories that came rushing back were ones of happy, fun filled, carefree days.I have stayed in touch with a few people on the block, in fact, I just found a few more on FB. We were a family of 6, living in a 2 bedroom house with only ONE bathroom, can you imagine lol.It didn’t matter how small the house was because we were outside playing all the time. When that 9 oclock gun went off, we knew we had better be home.
It was great living in a place where everyone knew everyone, and still remain friends today after 55 years!!
My family moved to MATAPAN CRESCENT in 1951 when I was 2 yrs old. If you had 2 kids you were able to rent a 2 bdrm house and if you had 3 or more kids you rented a 3 bdrm house. The initial down payment for a rental from Central Mortgage who built the homes for the men and their families who came home from the war was $500.00 A lot of money in those times. Eventually Central Mortgage wanted to sell the houses and your parents had to come up with the down payment..the houses cost $7,000. I lived at Falaise Park everyday in the summer and as teenagers you met at Falaise Park. All the kids that lived in the PROJECT knew each other & played together..knock out ginger, kick the can, cowboys & indians, girls bouncing lacrosse balls, bikes, skipping ropes, marbles and of course hockey. Summer Directors came to set up programs for all the kids for the summer. Ping pong & crafts everyday & the old caretaker in the little house filled the swimming pool everyday. There was always somebody to play with at the park too. You were never alone. Sometimes there were 10-15 kids all playing together on the road in front of our houses. You were allowed to stay out to play till the street lights came on in the summer.In the winter with the 4ft of snow you could walk by yourself after supper to the hill across from Falaise Park and slide down on a piece of cardboard.The hills were full of kids. Nobody had sleds. It was just kids, no adults and it was safe. All of us from the project are 61 yrs old now and still keep in touch. We went to the little Renfrew School together until Grade 4..up to the big Renfrew School till Grade 6 and then to Windermere on 27th & Rupert from Grade 7-12 or Vancouver Tech on Broadway, but most of our age group went to Windermere as it was built for the area of Grandview Hwy to Kingsway. Nobody had a better childhood than the project kids. Our parents were poor, there was no money in any of the households so we were all on the same level.Nobody was better than anybody else and you had a zillion kids with no toys only each other to play with. Whenever you walked out the door you just looked for a group of kids & joined in..the best of the best of times..Living in the PROJECT.
We lived in the project(certainly not diaper hill) for 52 yrs.Like Don said there were 5 kids your age within shouting distance.Almost all the families raised there house with Zdebiak or Superior (same family they just took different directions)
My Dad was heavy involved in baseball,my mom in the school lunchroom(where I fell in love with Linda Debons)
It sure was a different time in the world then and I’m sure glad I grew up in the Project to see boundary become a hiway(but not before we saw the Beatles limo drive down to Empire stadium for the show)the freeway being built and the downfall of nutrition, the second (i think)McDonalds.
Also home to some NDP supporters and politicians.
All in all great to here all the stories and memories and Leonna,how about Tony Sitter working away in his yard and just coming out and pushing the kids as high as they could fly on the big swings?
My Mom and Dad moved to Matapan Cres from the Old Vancouver Hotel – their home when the war ended and Dad left the service. When a house became available to them, they went out for a look and chose what was available. They had one child at the time so they were only allowed a rancher. They moved into a house on Matapan Cres. in 1948. They paid $35/month. After a couple of years, and my other Brother was born they moved across the lane to 49 Falaise Place. In 1963 they bought the house and paid the same amount for a mortgage. It was a great area to grow up in. Mom sold the house in 1994. It was time to move on. Memories: Every winter we would slide down the big hill in the park, we would also hurry ourselves over to Rupert to see all the cars get pilled up on the hill – before the median was put in place. When they first moved into “the project” Mom would talk of leaving their gum boots at the store – now gone – at Boundary and Grandview highway before heading out on the inter-urban. The project had so many kids that when my Brothers went to Renfrew School they had to attend school in shifts to accommodate all the students. I was much younger and attended Renfrew Annex and then Renfrew (the Big School). There are many important persons in our society that came from that poor neighbourhood – It just shows that you may not have much but you can strive to achieve something in life. Another thought, I used to sit on the front steps of the house and listen to the concert music from Empire Stadium, my Brothers told me you could hear the Beatles from our front yard. We had a fabulous view of the mountains and parts of the city. During the span of the 40s to the 60s it was a very friendly, active community, mostly because so many of the families had a similar story to tell of why they were living there – a lot in common. Some of the families, like the Gulbransen’s had a 2 bedroom rancher – they had 6 kids and 2 parents sharing the house. Mr. & Mrs. G would sleep on a hiddabed in the living room! – that means 4 boys in one room and the girls in another. It sure was an arrangement that a lot of families now sure wouldn’t do. Everyone was poor, they had all done their stint in WWII and now they were young and raising a family. – The Project a great place to have come from.
I remember playing with the MacLeod boys…Mike, Jimmy and Johnny. Johnny was the biggest and could throw all of us around. Mike and me used to dress up like cowboys and walk Vimy Cresc. with our cowboy hats, sneakers, and gun belts with cap pistols. What a care free era. Mr. MacDondald’s car was blown up by a car bomb shortly after we moved in in 1954. He was a drug squat detective in the VPD at the time. Then he quit and became a private detective. Used to ride his horse from the stables along (what the hell was the name of that creek) Creek to his house. Was by the old neighbourhood a few months ago. Mr. MacDonald’s old house at 3293 is still the same. Ours got torn down and replaced by a monstrosity facing Dieppe. Hung out with Harry Jones and Mike. Got my first tattoo at age 13. Harry and Mike used a couple of sewing needles in a bic pen and some india ink. My name…Art…still there after over 45 years.
Many familiar names here….my best friends were all from the ‘Project’. Spent many a midnight trying to find the right street out! (OK…10:30-ish). Played in a band at the Falaise Hall frequently.
In more recent times, have paid more attention to the design concept of the Project…things that make you go Hmmm.
Cheryl…RICK ROONEY????
My family rented and moved to Vimy Cres. in 1952, neighbors were Tom Mckewan, Jimmy Ryan, Janet Hudson, Pat Doiron, Mona Miller, to name just a few. We bought our 1st home in 1964 for $9000. #19 Dieppe Place. I married another local Wayne McLaren and we bought his family home 3526 Falaise Ave. Went to Renfrew Annex, the big school and Windermere. Both our boys went to Renfrew School and had Mrs Smart for Kindergarten. They also went to Windermere. Wayne retired in 2000 and we moved to Kimberley, BC. They Knocked down our house to build a big one, not as ugly as some. Loved growing up in the Project, it was good for my kids too up until the mid ’90s. The park is looking good.
our family (Belcher) lived on Worthington Drive right by the park at the top of the annex. Our parents bought when they had their third child, and ended up having ten. Our three bedroom one level house was FULL! But so many others around us had almost or just as many kids. Hide and Seek went on forever, with one of my brothers actually falling asleep in one of the boats in someone’s yard waiting to be found! What a great place to grow up….My dad (Sid) was also active in Baseball, and used to arrange the dances at the Falaise hall for the teens in the project. I believe one of the bands was called “Winters Green”… A ball team from the project even went to Okalla prison to put on a game for the prisoners to watch….One of them came up to my dad later to thank him and all the kids who were allowed to go for helping them enjoy a game that many of their own kids were playing that they were missing…tears were shed that day.
I’m sure more memories than you have room for will surface on this site! thanks so much!
Just reading over more comments and how we all remember pretty much the same things. Diaper Hill was a new one to me as well. The Project for sure and 2nd Renfrew . Talking to a Vet in Kimberley, he said Marsden St.(on the bench) Where my Son & family now live was also known as Diaper Hill.
Anyone remember the Book Bus down by Grandview Hwy & Rupert? Remember Grandview when it was 2 lanes? Our McDonald’s at Lougheed was reported to be the 1st.(not sure if that was in Canada, BC or just Vanc,) B4 that we used to cross the tracks to skate on the swamp pond where McDonald’s is now. Angela & I burned our feet walking across the new hot pavement on Boundary Road when they made it 4 lanes. Used to have a fort in the bush where Wendy’s is now. When we played Hide & Seek it seemed the whole Neighborhood played, we had to limit hiding to the front yards. Had to beg for a nickel for the Dickie Dee truck just to get a Popsicle and then had to share it with my sister Kim.
So many memories coming back after reading these comments. We lived on Haida Drive and like most of my counterparts, I don’t ever remember the area being called diaper hill. I still remember the area as Veteran’s Project. I can remember the day my dad bought a television, I think just about every kid on our street was in our living room after school to watch cartoons, as it was the first tv in the area. Hard to believe in this age of computers. We moved from the project around 1955 to Aberdeen Street where my parents bought a larger house. I had the pleasure this summer of attending the Collingwood Reunion and meeting up with some of my old friends. I wish the kids of today could have just a taste of our childhood, where like others have said you learned how to make your own fun and it sure didn’t hurt us none. Keep the memories flowing, this is great.
For any of you who may be interested, here is a link to my facebook photos. School Class Photos from Renfrew, Carlton and Grenfell Schools starting year 1950. See if you recongnize anyone.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=233724&id=697212602&l=78ceace272
My facebook page is under the name Heather Vannieuwenburg if you can’t get to this link. Enjoy
I grew up in the area from 1958-65 and then in 68. I never knew it as it’s many nicknames but simply as home. The many people I remember were real people and we always had a smile for each other and still do today. Oh, such simple times, a million memories treasured each day. Thanks.
our family lived on matapan cres, so many memories from there, i think our family was the first to raise our house, it became the party house , i remember the parties quite well, my mom being a war bride from scotland we always had a piper play during the parties, the families on matapan were like family, the payettes, abernethys, cruickshanks, mcloeds, and i could go on forever naming everyone but u know who u were. playing hide and seek. once it was dark mr schnob would whistle , my dad turning the lights on and off and someone else calling all our names meant we had to go in.those were the best memories of my life. climbing the trees, the roof tops and the light poles were always a past time. when i had my back surgery at 12 and was bedridden in a body cast for 6 months i would get a mirror and watch all the kids playing outside and i so wanted to be out there with them.. the pool at the park seemed so deep back then , i took my daughter for a drive around the project a few years ago and showed her the deep pool, well we laughed at how shallow it is,, mom was so mad at dad for moving her away from all her friends and held it against him for years im sure if she had her way we would have still been there until her death in 2003 she was 79 when she passed and dad lived for another 5 years after her and passed away in 2008 at the age of 91. he moved mom a total of 5 times if i recall it right. reconnected with friends from the project on facebook has been amazing, my brother ken and i are hoping there will be another project reunion soon at falaise hall, hopefully someone will arrange one and post it on facebook, im looking forward to meeting up with old friends from the project soon, im amazed how many of them live in pitt meadows and maple ridge and even a few in abbotsford where i live and have for the past 15 years. i love reading all the stories that people put on this site , it brings back so many memories..lets get a reunion going soon.
oh by the way im still trying to find liz dalzell so if anyone knows where she is or what her married name is please post it. thanks
debbie boyd i know your brother ken well and remember your mom and dad and thouhgt they were great i hanvt seen ken in awhile and hope he is doing okay
I remember catching frogs and salamanders in the pond where the first MacDonalds went in at Lougheed and Boundary. Also used to play in the bushes where Wendy’s was built. The ice cream man that used to come around – I think I heard he used to be a boxer. He had a bit of a limp and looked like he had gone a few rounds. Remember riding my bike along the new 401 freeway before it was opened. Hung out with Burt Taylor and Roddy Schnob.
Ah, the names of all you guys on here brings back many memories. Would be nice to have a reunion. Remember the coffee shops at the old United Church right across from Dieppe Place? Bands and light shows using an overhead profector with a bowl of water and a smaller bowl of coloured oils in it.