Deep Bay’s Evergreen Hall has a fascinating history
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Updated: July 09, 2009 5:38 PM
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Evergreen Hall is the fascinating site of the Saturday, July 18 Antiques Appraisal and High Tea being hosted by the Bowen Island Historians. Not many of Bowen’s newer residents know much about the attractive structure just across the causeway and next door to the Lodge at the Old Dorm. The hall has had a long and colourful life. In the active resort years, it was an entertainment building. After the Evergreen Park Resort failed, the hotel was salvaged and burned but the Hall escaped that fate. Stories have it that Vancouver businessman Art Rennison became the owner. In any case, between 1962 and 1980, the hall was rented out for island parties, dances or theatrical productions.
In 1980, Vancouver’s entrepreneurial Bill Harvey fell in love with the semi-dilapidated hall. Harvey had turned a timeworn chemical warehouse into the fashionable Mulvaney’s Restaurant. Now he planned $125,000. of renovations to change the 5,000 square feet of the Bowen’s rustic clubhouse into a first-class structure. Meanwhile, in 1979, Dr Hamish Miller became part of the UBC faculty. Affordable housing was scarce so when a geologist friend suggested Bowen Island, the Miller family, with their three daughters, went viewing with realtors Bill and Jane Riddell. Eventually, they saw Evergreen Hall with a sign “For sale by owner.” Harvey was toughing it out, but a love affair was interfering with his original plans. The Millers saw the potential of the building, bought it and began the long process of making the hall into a livable home.
They created two bedrooms in the back, put in a bathroom and opened up the mini-kitchen. The septic was put in and the water hooked up. There was no heating at first and whenever it rained they put buckets out to catch the leaks. Year by year, improvements continued. A stairway was created, plus a sunken living room (sometimes with piles of lumber in it!) and many new windows. At that time, there were few places to hold community events so the Millers’ home was often used. The huge fireplace was so popular that guests sometimes contributed extra logs. Over the years, the Millers hosted a New Year’s party for teenagers, loaned their home for Christmas parties for BIHORA, for the firemen, and other organizations, Halloween parties, an unforgettable Burns’ Supper, various coffee houses, National Book Festival dinners and an endless list of others.
After some eight years of community activities and career dedication, Hamish had a heart attack. A change of lifestyle was needed. When the decision was made to sell the hall, Glen and Liz Fincham became the new owners and another chapter began in the life of the Union Steamship’s Evergreen Hall.
Ten Years Ago in the Undercurrent of July 1, 1999 the real estate issue featured, for $579,000, a Collins Farm property of more than 2-1/2 acres plus shared ownership in 43 acres of common property. The bright, open 3,000 square foot home with four bedrooms, existing pasturage and paddocks for horses, also overlooked world-class gardens. Or, $1,100,000 would buy a fenced 2-1/4 acres of sunny private meadowland, with a two-bedroom caretaker cottage, a two-story artist’s studio and a 4,000 square foot five bedroom main home. • In the English village of Brenchley, Kent, Mary and Bob Nicolls and their young children, Chris and Andrea, shared a divided house with the Rhys-Jones family and their David and Sophie. The families remained close so when Sophie Rhys-Jones was to marry Prince Edward, Mary and son Chris were there. All this began when UBC student Mary Underhill fell in love with Bob, a charming fellow here from England.
The Last Word: Best wishes to the United Church, which celebrates 118 years on July 12, 2009.
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