North Vancouver Museum and Archives
Hours: Museum: Thursday-Sunday from noon to 5:00 p.m.; Archives: Thursday & Friday from noon to 5:00 p.m., Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; Tuesday & Wednesday by appointment.
Location: Museum: 209 West 4th Street; Archives: 3203 Institute Road, North Vancouver, British Columbia, V7K 3E5
Contact: Museum: (604)-987-5612; Archives: (604)-990-3700 ext. 8016
Access: Open to the public.
Website: http://nvma.ca/
The North Vancouver Museum and Archives houses an extensive collection of fonds and documents concerning the social, political, and economic development of North Vancouver.
The City of North Vancouver fonds (1975-ongoing) is one of the Archives’ major collections. The fonds contains 93.45 meters of textual material, 134 photographic prints, 15 negatives, 2080 items, and 44 cm of graphic material. The fonds consists of records relating to the establishment and development of the City of North Vancouver from its incorporation to the present. It includes documents from the various administrative units of the municipality which relate to provision of services including water, roads, sewage, transportation and other aspects of infrastructure. Other documents pertain to the financial activities of the City, which mainly constitute the raising of money through taxation and the regulatory function which is illustrated through the issuance of permits and licenses. The documents in this fonds have been organized according to the various administrative units of the City in the following series.
The Victorian Order of Nurses, North and West Vancouver fonds (1979-2002) contains 40 cm of textual records including annual reports, minutes, receipts and disbursements, and membership lists. The Victorian Order of Nurses was founded in 1898 to make home visits to the sick. The North Vancouver branch was established in 1912 with a membership of twenty. This branch pioneered pre-natal classes, pre-natal and post-natal visits, monthly services for senior citizens, and paramedical examination services.
The North Shore Health Department fonds (1998-ongoing) consists of 61 cm of textual records, 154 photographic prints, 18 negatives, and 1 watercolour. The fonds consists of meeting minutes, reports, photographs and historical information pertaining to the North Shore Health Department. The North Shore Health Department was first known as the North Vancouver Health Unit, which was established in 1930 to provide public health services for the City and District of North Vancouver, and their respective School Boards. The main activities of the Unit were to provide services for the School Health Program, to oversee public health related matters such as food, milk and water inspections, to offer pre-natal and post-natal services and to manage other activities related to public sanitation. In 1937, the Health Unit started to provide school medical services for the West Vancouver Board of Schools.
The Red Cross (North Vancouver Branch) fonds (1989-91, 2009-2010) consists of 14 cm of textual records and 201 photographs. The Red Cross was founded in 1863 as a response to the suffering in the Crimean War. The Canadian Red Cross was founded in 1896, and the North Vancouver Branch in 1914. The North Vancouver Branch engaged in blood donor clinics and fund-raising, as well as sewing and knitting projects. In 1947, the first mobile blood donor clinic was held in North Vancouver. The fonds consists of a ledger and five scrapbooks. Three scrapbooks were compiled by Mrs. Evelyn Bryan, publicity director of the branch. They contain clippings, annual reports, and some other information related to the work of the Red Cross, especially in North Vancouver. The two scrapbooks acquired in 2009 were compiled by Babs Newton, long-time member of the “Creations” group. The “Creations” group of the North Vancouver Red Cross was established in 1976. The group created crafts, quilts, and baking to raise funds for Red Cross projects. These include newspaper clippings, publicity, and numerous photographs documenting the fund-raising and social activities of the group.