Downloads
Norma Holmes, 75, and Evelyn Gatenby, 72, residents of the original Alexandra Orphanage in the 1920's, share their recollections.
> orphanstories.doc
Recollections from George Vobeyda, a resident of the Alexandra Orphanage in Vancouver from 1929 to 1938.
> orphaninterivew.doc
Recollections from Dr. C.A. Koch (September 1988)
> drkochrecollections.doc
HISTORY OF ALEXANDRA NEIGHBOURHOOD HOUSE AT CAMP ALEXANDRA
Click here to download the full history.
Camp Alexandra was founded in 1918 as a summer camp for children from the Alexandra Orphanage in Vancouver. Although this was its primary function, from the very beginning the Camp also hosted groups of needy mothers and children from Vancouver, who would otherwise have had little chance of getting away from the city.
The Camp itself dates from 1918, but its parent organization, the Alexandra Orphanage, goes back to the very early days of Vancouver. The Orphanage was opened by members of the Women's Christian Temperance Union and associated churches who, on Thanksgiving Day in 1892, undertook the care of three motherless children by placing them in a Mrs. Priestly's home, in Mt. Pleasant. Shortly after, others applied for care and the ladies saw the immediate need for a "Children's Home" run under their own protective wing.
The first building occupied was a house on the corner of Homer and Dunsmuir, and the first annual meeting was held February 9th 1893. A constitution and by-laws were formulated and adopted and a Board of Management chosen. The Board consisted of two representatives from the Women's Christian Temperance Union, two from local churches, one from the city of Vancouver and one from the Ministerial Association. Mr. J. T. Brown was elected president, Mrs. Clements, recording secretary and Mr. Jas. England, treasurer. Subsequently, a "Ladies Board" was formed to look after the daily needs of the home, with Mrs. Browning as president. Visiting and purchasing committees were also established.