WEBSTER RD. HOME WAS HER PARADISE
Much seen from Rutland bench
Since I was a teen, 1032 Webster Rd. on the Rutland bench, has been a paradise to me.
Although I didn’t grow up in Kelowna, I was a regular visitor. I’ve always felt that Kelowna is the home of my heart. And the heart of Kelowna was this homestead.
In the early 1960s, Aunt Odile and Uncle Wilf Hoffman designed the house and Uncle Wilf built it while they bunked in with Aunt Lydia and Uncle Arthur. In time, they shifted into a shack next to where their palace would materialize.
In 1964, my aunt and uncle began raising six children in that residence — two girls and four boys. Their primarily peach orchard broadened to include apples, plums, apricots, cherries and walnuts.
Uncle Wilf’s workmanship did him proud. Aunt Odile’s collectibles, keepsakes and her own handicrafts adorned every corner of the house and the flowers and scents in their gardens were fascinatingly varied.
When spooked, reams of quail scurried out from under evergreens. Even my dog’s ashes, lovingly transported across the country, were sprinkled under a rose bush. This private showplace burst with life, dreams and memories. Aunt Odile’s hands even bestowed grace on garage sale treasures.
When I arrived one summer, taking a break from my university studies, from my vantage point on a lawn chair, I witnessed the bustle of bushel baskets of peaches being packed and stacked into a pickup.
Friends and neighbours surrounded them — the Dapavos across the street, the Hoslers up the hill, the Orsuliks down the hill, and the Sapylwys, Yachianskys and Tereposkys a little farther afield.
A cherished recollection was Aunt Odile driving us to a needle-arts shop to buy yarn and beeswax candles, past white, spherical streetlamps with hanging flower baskets.
On scorching summer afternoons, she’d load my cousins and me into the car and we were off to the lakeshore for a quick dip. We parked by a grass verge where bushes sprouted from the edge of the lake and from hopping out of the car to doing twirls in the water was the work of a moment. No sidewalk, no City Park and no lifeguard.
Another vivid remembrance was standing near the lake with Grandma, Uncle Wilf's mother. She'd finished recounting past Regattas just before two of the Golden Hawks nearly touched in midair so close overhead, I almost ducked.
A rare treat was hoping to glimpse Ogopogo in Okanagan Lake from Uncle Ernie and Aunt Barb's motorboat.
Uncle Wilf created stories about beefalo and hillside cows which had two legs longer on one side of their bodies so they could negotiate the slopes easier. When he wasn’t inspecting buildings, or working on the house, Uncle Wilf was a Knight of Columbus, curled, played golf and fished, made wine and sold equipment to keep birds out of orchards. And he still found time to construct a beautiful cedar strip canoe.
Eventually, sweet, patient Uncle became allergic to the peach fuzz and so, in his words, he pruned all the peach trees with a chainsaw. I guess that’s when they got the idea to start Kelowna’s first blueberry patch — Blueberry Haven. Aunt and Uncle together planted 1,200 blueberry bushes. Now the orchard nourished not only little blue balls of flavour, but also blackberries, raspberries, four kinds of grapes and hazelnuts.
About this time, 2005, when Uncle Wilf had his first stroke, their eldest daughter and her husband began to formalize a three-year plan to return from Alberta to take over management of the orchard.
Caught up as they were in the land freeze of 1972, and the convolutions of Homesite Severance, they managed to secure a subdivision by the skin of their teeth.
In the 1970s, under Uncle Wilf’s care, the carport morphed into a comfortable family room. In the 1980s, he extended the master bedroom, tucking a wine cellar beneath. A clearing of the hayloft produced tools and cedar shakes.
Meanwhile, their son-in-law, who Aunt Odile referred to as an artist, renovated the barn, near the house, into a beautiful home for himself and his wife.
The son-in-law utilized his skills on the original house as well by redoing the siding, replacing windows, renovating the basement and adding a water feature to one of the hillsides, complete with creative stonework.
On the blueberry patch, Uncle Wilf, Aunt Odile and the young couple all participated in weeding and pruning overtime.
Apparently, their customers were of a special sort and the daughter got to know many repeat patrons.
The farm and the weighing shed were abuzz with dozens of them and a few new ones each year.
Travellers from Alberta scheduled their vacations to coincide with the picking season.
Just like Blueberry Haven’s caretakers, the customers were multi-generational, too. Patrons often brought their children who left knowing that blueberries originated on a farm, not in a grocery store.
This routine continued for 10 summers. By the time I returned to Kelowna fulltime, in 2015, Uncle Wilf was in a nursing home full-time, first Cottonwoods and then Sun Pointe. Aunt Odile had been ill for some time herself and by 2017, it was
n't long before she and Uncle Wilf were joined in earthly rest.
Approaching a new chapter in their lives, the young couple thought about moving on to greener pastures.
Blueberry Haven was sold and horses were introduced by the new owners where once peaches shone golden under the sun. The two siblings who still live in the original homestead are now de-cluttering in preparation for a sale. The end of an era.
Aunt Odile’s venerable desk, acquired from her estate, resides in my foyer, her handiwork adorns my walls, her pussy willows garnish my vase and there might still be a few frozen blueberries in the back of my freezer.
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The Central Okanagan Heritage Society (COHS) is hosting a Heritage Picnic at the Benvoulin Heritage Church (2279 Benvoulin Road), Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Bring a picnic lunch and enjoy the beautiful gardens and the shade of heritage trees. Chairs will be set up, coffee, tea and tasty treats will be provided. There will also be small-group tours of the church, music in the park and local art displayed. Enjoy the simple pleasures of a relaxing afternoon with family and friends.
Provincial health and sanitation guidelines will be followed.
Call or email Kathy, 250-861-7188 or kathyh.cohs@telus.net, to register, as attendance is limited to 50 people. Admission is free but donations will be gratefully accepted.
This article is part of a series, submitted by the Kelowna Branch, Okanagan Historical Society. Additional information is always welcome at P.O Box 22105 Capri P.O., Kelowna, BC, V1Y 9N9.