1950-1959

Maillardville and Coquitlam continued to grow at a surprising pace. The decade itself is a bittersweet one that saw the end of old ways and the beginning of a new relationship between the French community and the rest of the City. In the early fifties, the realignment of the Lougheed Highway bisected the District of Fraser Mills, physically cutting the town site in two and severing the traditional link between the Mill and Maillardville. It was in 1953 that Fraser Mills merged with Crown Zellerbach and Henry Mackin stepped down as President. Mackin had been a part of the evolution of the business from 1907 as the sales manager for the Fraser River Lumber Company, through its transition to the Canadian Western Lumber Company and on down through the decades. He was there when that first contingent of pioneers arrived and he saw the mill and its workers through depression, strikes, war and the return of the good times. The physical separation of the Mill and the Village and the breaking with the past that came with Mackin's departure is symbolic of the changes and growing pressures that continued upon the French community at Maillardville.

Another shift was also occurring. With growth in the District, came new subdivisions at Harbour Chines and Como Lake and growing dissatisfaction of residents in the east end. These and other concerns were now occupying a much greater part of Council's time and energy. Maillardville, City Hall and the French community were no longer as intimately bound.

The forties were remarkable for the cooperation displayed among local government, business and the French community to achieve common goals. Yet near the end of that decade there was, perhaps, a glimmer of the "going our own ways" that becomes apparent as the fifties unfold. But as always in life, the dying of old ways gives rise to new life. And so it was for French Maillardville. The turning inward of that community resulted in a fresh blaze of activity that saw the building of schools and a church and the continued fostering of institutions such as the Caisse Populaire and the French Canadian Club. New and important organizations like the Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) and Les Scouts et Guides Français were created to support the young people and keep them within the fold. Political activism became more important than ever and Maillardville found two champions in René Gamache and M.J. Butler.

The fifties began much as the forties ended. Business continued to thrive and Council still grappled with the problem of inadequate infrastructure to support continued growth in Maillardville and throughout the District. Poor water supply and failing septic systems still plagued the citizens of Maillardville. Another problem was also emerging. As the District grew, school facilities were inadequate to meet the needs of all of the children. Although a plan was in place to construct five new schools, they would not be ready to relieve the burden until September of 1952. In the meantime, schools in the District's public system operated under "double shifts" whereby half the children would be in school in the morning and the other half in the afternoon. Additionally, a battle raged between the Provincial Government and B.C. Municipalities who were demanding more funding for education. Against this backdrop, the two Catholic Parishes were also struggling to keep their own schools operational for the over 8oo students attending. The property on Hammond Avenue bought by Father Vanier in 1948 was now the site of a new school for O.L. of Lourdes, "l'école haute" bringing to three the number of schools held between the two parishes.

The question of the recognition of separate schools in B.C. was a long standing one. It went back to the middle of the 19th century when the first school, St Ann’s Academy was established in Victoria. The efforts of early Vancouver Bishops Durieu and D'Herbomez to persuade the BC Government to recognize independent schools and thus be eligible for funding were fruitless. However, a different situation existed for the Catholic Church in Maillardville. When the Fraser River Lumber Company sent Father O'Boyle and Théodore Théroux east to recruit French Canadians to come and work at the mill, the Frenchmen, naturally, had to be persuaded that the effort to uproot and reestablish themselves in a strange land would be worth their while. Better wages, better climate and land and materials to build their homes were all promised. In addition, the Company guaranteed them land and lumber to build a Church and school. This is indisputable as original receipts for materials and cash deposits exist to indicate the company fulfilled its obligations. What other promises were made to the pioneers? It seems unlikely that any person of the day, well aware of the B.C. Government's attitude toward separate schools, would assure the settlers of the same kind of government support that was to be found in Quebec at that time. What is known is that local government established a tax exemption on Catholic Church land and property from the beginning.

Over the years, but especially as Maillardville began to experience dramatic growth in the thirties and forties, members of the French community lobbied Reeve and Council financial support. Not all of these requests were denied. Council minutes indicate at various times the granting of money for books, playground improvements and so on. When the new parish of Our Lady of Fatima was established in 1946, Council in October of 1947 carried a motion to grant it the same tax free status enjoyed by Lourdes. During these same years, the Archbishop of Vancouver, W.M. Duke, unsuccessfully lobbied the Provincial government for independent school recognition.

Like the rest of Coquitlam, the sister parishes were experiencing rapid growth and the financial challenges that accompany it. In mid 1950, a series of requests was put before Council by Joseph Haddock and J.B.Goulet. Could Catholic children have access to the public school bus system? The answer was not quite a definite no. They were told that if there was space on the bus after all public school children had been accommodated then bus drivers could pick up Catholic children. In answer to this, a joint Catholic School Board was formed, chaired by J.B. Goulet. Far from a sudden eruption of dissatisfaction in the dramatic strike that was soon to come, it appears that the action taken by the Board was considered over the course of 1950. The strategy that they developed manifested itself on April 2, 1951. Without warning to parents or teachers, all 840 students at the three Catholic Schools were removed from their classes and marched to the School Board offices in protest. The Sun, April 2, 1951;

" 850 Catholic Children Quit Coquitlam Schools        Bus Issue Brings School Strike
  The 850 pupils of two Roman Catholic schools in Coquitlam District closed by their authorities today, will be accommodated by the public school system as soon as it can be physically done, Education Minister W.T. Straith said today.

Led by their teachers, the 850 pupils assembled on the grounds of Our Lady of Lourdes and our Lady of Fatima, Maillardville, this morning and marched to the district school board offices in a "strike" against the government's education policy. Catholic school officials charge that they are being discriminated against. Main complaint in Coquitlam is that the district does not supply school buses for the Catholic students. This is but one angle in the controversial separate school question that has simmered in B.C. for 41 years.

In recent months, Catholic delegations have asked government officials to provide free transport as well as text books and free medical and dental inspection which are given public school children."

  1   Back to top                                                                                                                       next