When in 1876 the road from New Westminster was continued from Hastings to
Hastings Mill and on to Granville, the route was from the Hastings Mill to the
present North Vancouver ferry landing, and thence to Moodyville.

The life of the new community which grew up around the new ferry landing on
the North shore, lay along the waterfront for some years. In 1895, Chas. A. Mee
opened up a hotel with very limited, if any, accommodation for guests. Behind it
stood the orchard of the old Tom Turner ranch. Jim Kee, the Chinese market
gardener, had his piece of ground to the east, just next to the skidroad that led
in a north westerly direction from the foot of Lonsdale Avenue. His vegetables he
marketed in Moodyville. Along the woodland trail that followed the shore thither
went also the Mee, Burnes, Flores, Miranda and Parker children to Moodyville school.
Here Mrs. Calbick presided in the late nineties, her 56 scholars being still mainly
Moodyville boys and girls. While she was in charge the attendance was nearly perfect.

The trail which the children followed to and from school swerved up the hill after
passing Nieman’s Cow Ranch. It followed about where Alder Street now is to the
“Big House”, thence down a steep hill into Moodyville. Its existence recalls the
fact that in 1874 a man named Bridges had a place, probably the same as Tom
Turner's, about a mile west of Moodyville. He applied to the government to have a
trail opened to Moodyville. He had a licence to sell liquor, and had an eye to
business. But the Moodyville Company wrote to Hon. Robert Beaven under date of
March 16, 1874, strongly opposing the idea. Moody was firmly against having any
liquor around his mill. His protest was effective; but time provided the trail after
Bridges had disappeared from the scene.

The mention of Nieman’s cow ranch recalls the fact that the north shore in the
earlier days provided milk for the south shore. Phibbs and Thompson's ranch
supplied Hotel Vancouver just as Hugh Burr from the same location had earlier
supplied Moodyville. But J. Rodger Burnes, pioneer and authority on the earlier days,
tells of a half gallon can going across in the morning to Vancouver and coming back
at night with the milk supply for the community. Earlier on, the boot was on the
other foot. About 1890, a rowboat used to cross the Inlet daily with milk from
Tom Hyland’s (or Highland’s—perhaps Newman’s) ranch for Vancouver.

Mr. Burnes also tells that in 1899 his father made application to have the trail to
Moodyville widened sufficiently for lumber hauling. The Municipal Council refused
on the ground that, the road would lead out of the Municipality. The Moodyville
property never was part of the District of North Vancouver, and only became part
of the City of North Vancouver in 1915. Eventually the Moodyville company
itself built the road. :

The building of that road was really a portent. The centre of gravity on the north
shore was destined to move away from Moodyville to Tom Turner’s old ranch and
the ferry landing. This movement received an impetus when Pete Larson opened
his Hotel North Vancouver in 1902. It stood just behind where Mee’s hotel had
been, he in the meantime having moved to Moodyville and taken over the hotel there.
Larson was an enterprising personality. Alongside the hotel he built the Pavilion,
a building which still stands. It is now occupied by War Assets goods. In its
infancy it was the community centre of the budding city that was to be. Public
gatherings of all sorts were held there, wrestling, dancing and political meetings.
Even St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church was organized in it.

The north shore was the popular holiday resort of Vancouver folk, for it had its
attractions then as now. There was a rough trail up Grouse Mountain. Picnics were
held at Lonsdale Gardens, the former Nieman’s ranch—at the foot of St. Patrick’s
Avenue; at Lynn Creek, and at Phibbs and Thompson's beautiful ranch at the
Seymour. Fishermen were to be found at the mouth of the Capilano and elsewhere.
The butcher's picnic where huge trenches were dug and whole quarters of beef
barbecued, was one of the outstanding annual events. :

Larson capitalized on this holiday spirit. On prominent holidays such as July 1
he organized spectacular demonstrations. The merchants of Vancouver were per-
sonally canvassed for funds. As much as $1000 would be spent in one evening on
prizes, fireworks, tight-rope waiking, and always the big event was the balloon
ascension and parachute drop, with a prize of $2.50 for the boy who first located the
balloon after it returned to earth—usually in the woods.

But gradually more stable life asserted itself. The first decade of the twentieth
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