Historic Steveston building and its links to the past

by Robyn Hanson
(Vancouver, BC Canada)

This is on Moncton Street in Steveston. It's currently a bike shop owned by my cousin, Brett, who previously operated the shop as a sports consignment store called Function Junktion; which was previously Symphony of Flowers; which was previously Function Junktion - the second hand funky junk store owned by my uncle Ray - which was previously Phoenix Coastal Arts; which was previously Sheba Antiques, etc, etc, etc...

Notice how the building in this photo is barber shop. It's significant because it's owned and operated by my great grandfather. He's the barber on the left.

My great grandfather and his wife divorce after my grandfather was born, which was relatively taboo at the time. From the small town of Fisher Branch, Manitoba, my great grandfather headed out west during WWII. He initially set up a barber shop in the Hotel Vancouver downtown, but once took the tram as far away from the city as he could and ended up in Steveston. At the time, it was the end of the line.

My grandfather, who stayed behind with his mother in Fisher Branch, joined the navy as soon as he could, got shipped off to Europe for a few years, then came back to Canada after WWII to search for his father.

Apparently nobody knew if my grandfather, Gabe, was alive or not. But Gabe ended up in Steveston and found his father and this barber shop. The two of them lived in the back of this building.

Apparently, the previous tenants used to sell illegal alcohol from the back of the building. On rare occasions, my grandfather would get strange knocks on the door from crazed individuals looking for their fix...

...This was Steveston back in the day.