LOWE

William Robert Lowe and his wife Evelyn retired to Ocean Park in 1933, after purchasing a 5-acre parcel of land for $500 from E. C. Hulks. Mr. Hulks was the owner of a sizeable piece of property north of Marine Drive between 131st and 132nd Streets. At the time of their purchase, the property was accessed from Marine Drive via 131st Street which was open only at far as 14th Ave. In those days 14th Ave. was little more than a cow path leading to the Lowe property and in the years that followed became known as Lowewood Road the name derived from the pioneering Lowes and Hazelwoods who built a summer cabin on property situated between 130th and 131st Streets.
While building the small cabin which became their home for a number of years, William and Evelyn lived in a tent on the property. Water was obtained by tap from a wooden tank on stilts located below Marine Drive on 130th Street - the tank being fed by ram pump from a spring close to the beach. Buckets were hand carried approximately four blocks back to the property.
William, Evelyn and 8-year-old son Maurice had emigrated from England in 1910. In England, Evelyn had taught school and William had been organist and choir master of several Sheffield churches. In 1910, he came to the post of choir-director and organist of St. John's Anglican Church in Saskatoon, Sask., becoming very active in the musical community of the time in addition to teaching voice.
From Saskatoon the family moved to Winnipeg, Man. where Maurice, now in his late teens, studied piano with the well-known piano virtuoso Leonard Heaton. Maurice met and fell in love with Anna
Sveinsson, a co-student in the Heaton class. Anna was the daughter of Ami and Gudrun Sveinsson, Icelandic pioneer farmers in Manitoba's Argyle District. Maurice and Anna were married in 1922. A year later they moved to the outskirts of Seattle, Wash., built a cabin in the woods and established a music class.
In 1928, they came to reside in the Vancouver area where William and Evelyn were then living. In addition to composing and teaching music, Maurice became interested in sculpture which he also taught for a period of time. Anna studied violin with local violinist and conductor Holroyd Paull and for several years led the second violins in the Holroyd Paull String Orchestra. Maurice and Anna took up twopiano playing and performed compositions and transcriptions by Maurice on the CBC National Radio Network.
They and their children, Bernard and Diana, moved to Ocean Park in 1943, building next door to William and Evelyn on a piece of the fiveacre plot. They continued their musical activity in this community, composing and teaching piano and violin to local adults and children. For a period of time, Anna also travelled to Murrayville to teach a class on Saturdays. In retirement, Maurice built and enjoyed a sailboat while Anna continued her much loved hobby of gardening. Anna passed away in 1982 and Maurice in 1999 at the age of 96.
Bernard, his son John, and Diana each live on portions of the original property.
The character of the community has undergone vast changes since those early days, but Ocean Park still feels like home.
- Bernard Lowe and Diana Fader