Mt. Lehman Community
Newsletter
V O L U M E
INTERESTING
LIVES:

Thomas Lehman

Fred Philps

Yvonne Holden
FUTURE

Canada Day

Fall Fair
TRIVIA

Bobcat

Killdeer eggs

Knitting Group
SCHOOL NEWS

Bursary winners
6 ,
I S S U E
3
Thomas Henry Lehman
J U N E
2 0 1 2
Lehman. I welcomed my nephew
Lyle’s hard working ethics and
provided a cabin for him at the
south west corner of our property,
located at the corner of Mount Lehman road and Hawkins road. My
brother Carson lived with my son
Athol for many years. Carson was
Welcome to my village, the vil- farm. Dad eventually sold this due to marry and just before he did,
lage of Mount Lehman which I land to Mr. Rogers and then that his fiancée died. Carson remained a
am proud to say carries my sur- person sold it to Anna Taylor in bachelor until his death in 1944.
name. My father Samuel came the late 1890s. After my mother’s
In 1905 I became a Police Constahere in the very early days just death, my dad left Mount Lehman ble. This was a very rewarding, but
after Royal Engineer, Albin Haw- and eventually moved to the low paying job. I was honoured to
kins. I lived on land that was USA. He died in Colorado.
be a Peace Officer in these early
originally deeded to Christian
I continued farming across the raucous days with many hard
Musselman. He happened to be road from the Merryfield family drinking
loggers about, often
Cousin Isaac Lehman’s brother-in on the 160 acres that butted up
spoiling for a fight.
w
-law.
against Hawkins’ place to
o
My son, Marn
ich isied in
Christian met an untimely death the east and the
h
shall
Roy, known
w
and Lucy d other
l
in 1876, when he and Isaac ref
all
his
life as
o
f acre My wifeounger brhomas Roy, was a sucturned to Victoria to pick up
l
a
h
T
y
y.
f
he
their wives and
cessful lumberted t cemeter1884, my childreni,rth, all o
a
n
o
l
d hman e in
l
children to
b
r
a
man.
He
d
e
l
i
m
h
s
t
h
n
return
to My fa ount Le atheri of my ied at c
moved
to
Vano
K
d
e.
Mount Lehthe M, mother44 and twaby who e with m
couver Island and did
man.
Isaac
very well in both the lumber busi1923on in 19 and a b rest her
wo whom
then contacted Cars
Coghness and later as an executive with
ged t
a
.
my father, who
lan's to the south.
r
J
the Workers’ Compensation Board.
was still in OnI was 21 years old in 1886
Roy married Marion Weir Fergutario, and asked
when I married a young lady from son in 1925 and they had three
him to come to Mount Lehman England. My bride Lucy and I had children; Milton (Mel), Doris &
and take over the Musselman four children who lived, Athol, Joyce.
crown grant. Dad came out Katherine, Beatrice and Marshall
My father donated the half acre of
here via Chicago and San Fran- Roy. Two others died.
land which is now the Mount Lehcisco.
Athol remained with me on the man cemetery. My wife Lucy died
When my father arrived here farm. He built his house on the in 1923, mother Katherine in 1884,
by river boat, he was immedi- Harris road, about a half mile east my younger brother Carson in
ately smitten by the beauty and of the Mount Lehman road. My 1944 and two of my small children,
grandeur of this part of the younger brother, Carson also re- Thomas Jr. aged two and a baby
world.
mained in Mount Lehman and who died at childbirth, all of whom
As for me, I was born near shared the farm work with me. rest here with me.
Toronto Ontario in 1863 and Much of this work included early
I am very pleased to say that my
left this world in 1935. I am logging as there were huge trees grandson Mel is alive and well,
not sure when I came to Mount to fell and a good market and easy living in Abbotsford with his wife
Lehman, but I think it was before route via the Landing road to ship Margaret. Their adult children are
1880. On April 4th 1882, my fa- the massive logs.
John, Melanie, Ron, Charmaine
ther Samuel received a crown
My brother Jesse moved to the and Lisa. I am happy that the Lehgrant of 160 acres directly across USA as did my dad. However, man name lives on in the Fraser
the road at the present day Taylor his son Lyle remained in Mount Valley.
As told by Brian Kingman for the Mt. Lehman
Cemetery Tour at last year’s Fall Fair
R.I.P. Fred Philps
“If there are no cows in Heaven, I’m not
going!”
Well, if there are cows in the great beyond they have just been joined by the best
milkman and one of the most conscientious
farmers in Canada.
Frederick William Philps was born 94
years ago in a little house on Olund and
Hawkins in Mt. Lehman on March 26th,
1918, and he died at the Menno Home in
Abbotsford, where he was loved by staff
and family alike, on March 8th, 2012.
Fred was first and foremost a farmer honest, sincere, and principled; a man of
enduring strength and integrity whose
handshake was his word – and he lived his
life by the Farmer’s Creed. His mother
died at a young age and he began his working life as a handmilker at several local
farms. To the end of his life he held the
Best Hand Milking record of 60.97 lbs of
milk in seven minutes.
During WWII Fred – having been rejected by the Air Force and the Army because
of his flat feet and poor health – joined the
Navy and went to sea on HMCS Canso.
Never a smoker, Fred sold his cigarette
ration and sent the money home.
By working in logging camps up the coast
he accumulated the $600 he needed to buy
80 acres on Ross Road, where he was able
to raise a family and live for the rest of his
life. He cleared the land by hand and built
a house and farm.
In 1946 he met his future wife, Marg,
who was living at the foot of Landing
Road. They married in 1947 “as soon as
the hay was in.” Five children completed
their family; Peggy, Sandra (who passed
away last year), Fred junior, Henry and
Bob. Fred and Marg now have 11 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren, many
of whom will remember Grandpa taking
them to the waterslides dressed in shorts
and his signature cowboy boots.
Fred senior raised Guernsey cows, mainly, but “Mountleh Farm” as it came to be
known was truly a mixed operation. Fred
grew and sold hay, and daffodils, as well
as growing his own vegetables. Daffodils
originally planted in 1947 adorned the tables at his funeral.
Ever a showman, Fred and some other
Fraser Valley farmers travelled to the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto
where they took all their cows by train.
One car was used as a kitchen where they
prepared all their meals (and they ate well!)
During the trip one cow came on heat and
since they had a bull with them they decided
to breed her – in the “kitchen”! She became
the only cow in Canada to have come into
heat in Alberta, been bred in Saskatchewan,
become pregnant in Manitoba and given
birth back in BC.
The children and many of their friends
were all encouraged to raise 4-H animals
and show them at the PNE, but soft-hearted
Fred often bought their animals back to save
them the heartbreak of parting with them.
Fred was such a fixture at the PNE that he
and his son Henry together celebrated their
wedding anniversaries – which added up to
100 years of married life – there last year.
Active in many local organizations and a
long-time supporter of the Mt. Lehman
Community Association, Fred received the
Civic Award and was also made a Freeman
of Matsqui.
Later in his life, he and Marg travelled
extensively. They visited South America,
Africa, Europe, China, Israel, Turkey,
Oman and Russia.
To Fred, the best thing in life was being
married to Marg and raising a family, which
he likened to a house with a strong foundation. The next most important thing was the
quality of his stock.
God speed, Fred. You are sorely missed.
Don’t miss the Mt. Lehman CANADA DAY festivities!
Pancake Breakfast at the Hall: 07:30—09:00; PARADE starts from the
Post Office at 09:30; Raising the flag, welcome of dignitaries and presentation of the Civic
Award at the Hall starting at 10:00; Canada Day cake and coffee after the festivities.
Community Trivia
This bobcat was spotted in the driveway
of a house on Ross Road.
A knitting group meets regularly at the
Mt. Lehman Library. Everybody is
welcome,
whether you
know how to
knit or want
to learn. For
more information contact
Rebecca at
604-856-4988.
Four Killdeer chicks were successfully raised
by the mother of these eggs hidden in the
gravel of a driveway on Burgess Avenue.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS! September 15th is the Annual Mt. Lehman FALL FAIR. Watch for posters, and details which will
be published in the next edition of the newsletter. Lots of games and rides! Non-stop stage entertainment! Silent and live auctions!
Displays and competitions! Pancake breakfast, tea room, snack bar, and chicken BBQ dinner! Family dance! Come one, come all!
Like us on Facebook
PAGE
2
VOLUME
6,
ISSUE1
There are many casualties in war, but
some of the least remembered are the
fatherless illegitimate children of servicemen.
In 1943 a young unmarried English
woman gave birth to a daughter, the result of a liaison with a Canadian fighter
pilot called Stanley Spallin who was
killed in action three months before her
birth. The child was named Yvonne, and
her maternal grandmother wrote to her
father’s family to tell them about the
birth, but received the cold shoulder.
Eventually,
Yvonne’s
Honeymoon 1962
mother married and had
five more
children, but
Yvonne’s
childhood
was not happy. Her
stepfather
barely tolerated her,
never showing
affection and
excluding her
both emotionally
and physically
from family fun
times.
At the age of 8,
after a big fight
between her
mother and stepfather, Yvonne was called into the principal’s office at school, presented to a
strange man and told she would be going
home with her uncle – whom she had
never met before. Fortunately, her Uncle Alec and his wife treated her well,
and she was sent to live with them off
and on three more times before she was
12.
On another occasion, with no warning,
her mother woke her, told her to get
dressed and shipped her unceremoniously off to her grandparents.
At age 13 she became useful as a
babysitter for all the younger siblings
and so was allowed to remain at home.
The family was poor and lived in public
housing. There was no money for coal
(but always enough for the pub …) and
she and the kids often had to sleep in
their overcoats to keep warm.
Yvonne was bright and did well aca-
PAGE
A War Story
demically and won a scholarship to a private school. She received an excellent
secondary education, and learned to speak
‘the Queen’s English’, like Eliza in My
Fair Lady.
To earn a little extra income, her mother
rented out one bedroom in the small house
to a couple of boarders, one of whom was
a young telecommunications engineer
called John Holden. He was 25 and
Yvonne was 19 when they decided to get
married. Her parents viewed the move
as the loss of a babysitter and forbade the
marriage until they had
1970 saved enough to buy a
house – almost an impossible dream in those
times. However, by dint
of saving every penny
they earned
between the two
of them –
Yvonne had
trained as a
medical lab
technician and
John was employed by Pye,
a large telecommunications
company – they
managed to
scrape together enough to buy a cheap
house way out in the country that needed a
lot of repair.
A few years later, in 1972, with two children and a little hard earned money in the
bank, they emigrated to Canada, still under
the auspices of Pye. John was homesick
for the UK for about a year, but as soon as
they arrived in Vancouver Yvonne had the
strangest feeling that she had come home.
They bought a large city lot in Port Coquitlam, then later moved to eight and a
half acres on Huntingdon Road near Abbotsford Airport, where they kept sheep as
a (very unprofitable!) hobby and restored
an old house, which had been built in
1907.
In April of 1978, when their two boys
were old enough, Yvonne went back to
work part time for the Abbotsford Library.
One year later she got the job of full-time
librarian and remained in that position until
she retired.
Be sure to visit www.MtLehmanCommunityAssociation.ca
3
In 1989 they bought twenty acres on
Harris Road, pulled down the little old
house and built a new home. Another
house was built for their son David, who
now lives next door with his wife.
Their life took several twists and turns.
When Pye was taken over by Phillips,
John worked briefly as a cobbler, and
then trained as a glass engraver. After
having only just established his own
glass business, a medical disaster during
a routine operation resulted in damage to
his optic artery and caused a brain hemorrhage. He was unconscious for ten
weeks, and became blind in one eye for
two years. Total recovery, including a
stint in GF Strong Rehabilitation Centre,
took three long, stressful years, after
which he and Yvonne had to almost totally restart their lives.
Both have been members of the Mt.
Lehman Community Association since
1993. John held the post of VicePresident, and then President, and
Yvonne managed the hall for 4 years.
They will celebrate their 50th wedding
anniversary there in September.
When Yvonne retired from the library
in 2003, they sold the glass business and
she bought a loom and took up her current hobby of weaving. They are both
avid gardeners and active in the Mt. Lehman Garden Club. Yvonne is also now
addressing one of the items on her bucket list by learning to play the piano.
About four years ago Yvonne decided
to look for her birth family. She had
always known her father’s name, but the
only memento she had of him was an old
photo taken in a studio in Edmonton, so
she began by writing to all the Spallins
listed in and around Edmonton. Very
soon she had a phone call from a lady
who asked why she wanted to know
about Stanley Spallin. When Yvonne
replied that he was her father the reaction was “WHAT?!!” The caller turned
out to be her cousin, living in Clearbrook! Apparently Stan’s (deceased)
mother, grieving at the time over the
death of her son, had chosen not to tell
anyone else in the family about his illegitimate daughter’s existence.
John and Yvonne received a very warm
welcome from the whole extended family, whom they met at a big family reunion in Alberta.
All wartime stories should have such a
happy ending.
PAGE
4
Newsletter sponsored by:
Mt. Lehman United Church News


JULY 1st: CANADA DAY afternoon & evening
NEIGHBOURHOOD BBQ at 5:00 pm - for all your family &
friends!
 COMMUNITY WORSHIP at 7:00 pm - creative & informal
time for all ages!
SUNDAY MORNING WORSHIP at MT. LEHMAN UC: 10:00
am every Sunday, except July 29 at Gladwin Heights UC; and
Aug. 12 at Trinity Memorial UC.
SUMMER PRAYER GATHERINGS - 1st Thursdays at 2:00 pm
July 5.... August 2.... September 6
To join the Mount Lehman Community
Association, apply at the Mount Lehman
Credit Union
or D & G Taylor Insurance.
MEN'S BREAKFASTS - Alternate Saturdays at 8:30 am at JOJO'S
CONTACTS: Bobbi Smith: 604-856-8113 or 604-856-2745
Michael Collison 604-542-1806 or [email protected]
The fee is $25 per year, $40 for 2 years
Mount Lehman Community
Association
Members in good standing for at least 6
months can rent the hall at a discount.
Mt. Lehman Community Newsletter
Editor: Sara Shadbolt: 778-241-8954
E-mail: [email protected]
Check out the Mt. Lehman Hall on the
web:
www.MtLehmanCommunityAssociation.ca
School News by Suzanne McKay
This will be my last school news report. My youngest
daughter, Emma McKay is graduating from grade 7 and my
family and I will no longer be at Mt.Lehman school. We
were very lucky to have this wonderful school in our lives
for the past nine years. Jen Esau will be taking over in this
capacity.
Other grade 7 students moving on are: Tajvir Bains, Katlyn
Cameron, Arpan Grover, Sara Lichti, Colton Richter, Dorian
Saunders, Daine Schleppe, Andrew Tecklenborg and Carlos
Wiebe. We wish them the best of luck in their new schools.
June 4th kicked off the first day of Culinary Arts for the
grade 6/7 class. On June 5th the students created fence art to
brighten our fence. June 6th was the annual Sports Day and
the rain stayed away! June 14th was the annual Track and
Field meet at Rotary Stadium and June 15th was the annual
Centennial Park swim/fun day.
The school will be hosting a family barbecue and fun
night on June 20th. This event will also be a fundraiser with
Games 2 U and the "drive a Ford event". Please come out
between 2-7pm to test drive a Ford. For every test drive,
the school will receive $20.
The Fall Fair this year will be honouring the Queen’s Jubilee. We are trying to collect the names of past Mt.Lehman
Ambassadors. If you were—or you know someone that
was— an "Ambassador" please contact Suzanne McKay at
[email protected] or 604-856-1628
www.MtLehmanCommunityAssociation.ca
President: Brad Gueldner
604-856-2258
Vice-President: Suzanne McKay
604-856-1628
Secretaries: Sara-Jane Magoon
604-856-4500
Jen Esau
604-626-0636
Bursary winners
Congratulations to the 2012 winners of
the two Mt. Lehman Community Association bursaries.
Rick George moved to Mt.Lehman in
1997 when he was three and his sister
Jenni was one. He attended Play Time,
Merryfield Preschool, and Mt. Lehman
Elementary for K through 7. Rick is
graduating from W.J. Mouat Secondary
School this June and has been awarded
top student in Technology education. He
and another student designed two buildings for a school in Kenya and have been
invited to Kenya for a month this summer. Rick is heading off to University in
the fall to pursue an Engineering Degree.
17-year old Alex Grist also attended
the Merryfield Preschool and Mt. Lehman Elementary from kindergarten to
grade 7. Alex is graduating from Rick
Hansen Secondary School, and intends
to use her bursary to take a secretarial
and applied business technology course
at UFV, followed by the Nursing Unit
Clerk program. After that she plans on
working in one of the local hospitals.