Enjoyed your talk at Ross Bay today. I was raised in Oak Bay; 1943 to 1981, when I moved to Gordon Head with my husband. My dad and his brother built homes on 500-600 block Oliver St. in the 1930’s. I recall my dad saying Oliver was pretty much a ‘cowtrail’ when they built. Nevertheless it was referred to as the ‘Linden Ave’ of S Oak Bay. BTW, my grandfather was a supt. caretaker of Ross Bay Cemetery for over 30 yrs. He passed away 1933. My dad married late in life…’ a generation missing’ He was born 1890, I am 74. Will enjoy your blog, have a great memory and know quite a bit of OB ‘history’ (my lifetime, anyway)
Good to know you, Linda … 500-600 Oliver turned out not too badly, wouldn’t you say? So lovely … and yes, slow to be developed. Were you aware of your surroundings as “the McNeill estate”? Do you remember “the Homestead,” the original McNeill family home, built about 1853, taken down 195_? Just south of Lafayette Park. The story of the McNeill family on my blog is far from complete and will include the protracted lawsuit known as “McNeill vs McNeill” over the disposition of Captain McNeill’s land. (One of these years :o) Thanks for writing … sure would like to talk with you about Oak Bay history.
Enjoyed your talk at Ross Bay today. I was raised in Oak Bay; 1943 to 1981, when I moved to Gordon Head with my husband. My dad and his brother built homes on 500-600 block Oliver St. in the 1930’s. I recall my dad saying Oliver was pretty much a ‘cowtrail’ when they built. Nevertheless it was referred to as the ‘Linden Ave’ of S Oak Bay. BTW, my grandfather was a supt. caretaker of Ross Bay Cemetery for over 30 yrs. He passed away 1933. My dad married late in life…’ a generation missing’ He was born 1890, I am 74. Will enjoy your blog, have a great memory and know quite a bit of OB ‘history’ (my lifetime, anyway)
Good to know you, Linda … 500-600 Oliver turned out not too badly, wouldn’t you say? So lovely … and yes, slow to be developed. Were you aware of your surroundings as “the McNeill estate”? Do you remember “the Homestead,” the original McNeill family home, built about 1853, taken down 195_? Just south of Lafayette Park. The story of the McNeill family on my blog is far from complete and will include the protracted lawsuit known as “McNeill vs McNeill” over the disposition of Captain McNeill’s land. (One of these years :o) Thanks for writing … sure would like to talk with you about Oak Bay history.