Eyvon and Linda Townsend, murder

1959 July 31 The Citizen ( Prince George newspaper )

1959 September 4 The Citizen

1959 October 27 Prince George Citizen

So we have these horrific murders done by Richard Alexander Huculak  (b. 1924? )
Contrary to what the newspapers say, Richard was incarcerated on the 19^th of August 1958 to 9 months in the Prince George goal, after being convicted of theft he was moved from there in October to Oakalla prison in Burnaby.
So not that long after his release the murders occurred.
He was remanded in September of 1959 to Oakalla; then in October 1959 taken to Essondale, for assessment. He was found to be insane and was to be kept under strict custody; by 1969 he was allowed to move between Colony Farm and Essondale; but in 1973 dismissed from working at Colony Farm, as incapable of work. In 1977 he was discharged, and in May of 1982 he was given an absolute discharge. I could find no trace of him, after he left the hospital. One of the reports though does list his name with the addition of HOLM in brackets on the end, so possibly he changed his name, which is a common practice

The murdered daughter:

Linda Gwendoline Townsend   29 March 1951 Westlock, Alberta - 30 July 1959
parents Claude Andrew Townsend, ( 1922 – 1996 ) and Violet Doris Eyvon Gower
Linda is buried at the Fruitvale Memorial cemetery

The murdered mother:
Eyvon Violet Doris Gower, Evyon Violet Doris Townsend
b. 23 January 1933 Westlock, Alberta   - 30 July 1959 ---  Parks, B.C.    [ Parks is known today as Parks Siding   ]
parents Edward James Gower, and Mildred Price( 1911 – 2006 )
Eyvon is buried at the Fruitvale Memorial cemetery with her daughter

Fruitvale Memorial cemetery

Memorial tree, at the Fruitvale Memorial cemetery

Evidently not forgotten after all these years, impossible to forget such a tragic event for all concerned.     The husband Claude Andrew Townsend,( 1922 – 1996 ) who appears to have used his middle name Andrew Townsend  throughout his life, must have faced a huge uphill battle to take care of the remaining three children.
The lady who is mentioned in the newspapers as being the first on the scene is Freda Margaret Anderson (unknown – unknown ) buried at the Fruitvale Memorial cemetery
Her husband: Elmer Roy Plested ( 1912 -  1992 ( a )-( b ) )  is also buried at the Fruitvale Memorial cemetery 
Freda must have carried the horrible scene she found in her head for the rest of her life.    Not helped by what the uncompassionate, incompetent bureaucracy did to her in her twilight years
Compassionate care can't be measured with money

         The recent situation regarding seniors' health care is indeed tragic, as demonstrated in the case of Fanny and Alfred Albo, but definitely not unique. My neighbour, whose mother Freda Plested was a lifelong resident of the Trail area, also died after much stress because of her continued relocation. The stress on Freda and on her family was very evident. Frail adults cannot physically handle such anxieties.

  FEBRUARY 27, 2006   DEBATES OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY 
        It was a first-available-bed policy that was going to have Freda Plested moved from her home in Trail to Grand Forks. The family was so upset that they instead opted to pay $145 a day to have her cared for in a private facility near their home.
Rest in Peace

WorksafeBC fines the Forensic unit

WorkSafeBC fines psychiatric hospital

A WorksafeBC short report on the worst offense: Worker stabbed by patient during cooking activity

Dangerous place to work it appears; appalling that the bureaucrats running the place were not found partially responsible for not having in place the proper procedures.  So now we have one government department, paying a $75,000 fine to another government department, using OUR money of course.

The downfall

1978 April 25 The Citizen

 Slavery act violated?

 

Vancouver --- A prisoner of the Forensic Psychiatric Institute claims in a Supreme Court writ that the government has violated Canada's 145-year-old anti-slavery law by forcing the institute's prisoners to work.

    Anthony LeMay also claims that the prisoners should be paid the minimum wage. He is suing on his own behalf and on behalf of all other persons held in the institute at Colony Farm Road, Coquitlam, B.C.  Defendants in the action are the Crown, the institute, and the executive director Dr. John P. Duffie.

     The writ asks for a declaration that by forcing any of the plaintiffs to work, the defendants have "violated the Act for the Abolition of Slavery throughout the British colonies; for promoting the industry of manumitted slaves; and for compensating the persons hitherto entitled to the services of such slaves ( 28^th August, 1833 )."

Anthony Joseph LeMay  was convicted on the 25th of June 1973 of being a common nuisance and mischief, and also insane , and sentenced to the Forensic Institute.
In 1978 he was released, but he violated his conditions by not taking his medications, and was brought back into the institution, they tried again to release him in 1979, and granted him another conditional discharge. And finally in September of 1983 he was granted an absolute discharge.

[  King William IV gave royal ascent to the act to abolish slavery in all dominions of the British Empire (except in territories of the east India Company, and the islands of Ceylon and Saint Helena). It came into effect on the 1st of August 1834, and this day became known as Emanicipation Day ]

I have no idea how the court case went, probably not very far.

          But it did bring up the valid point of equal pay, for equal work. since the patients worked for very little, and working with them were highly paid staff.
            It was the beginning of the end, soon the patients would not be working on the farm anymore, and everything was done by paid staff, which cascaded into a race to the bottom, and the eventual closure of the farming operations at Colony Farm.

As is detailed slightly more in the article below when the Government closed it down just four years later.

1983  August 8 The Citizen

Not long after this all kinds of ideas sprang up ; turn it into a golf course, a race track… another time.. another story

Old escapes

1974 December 19  The Citizen

      The institution appears to have been having some serious security issues at this time.

Rodney Allen Kirkpatrick   1949 - 9 February 1984 Victoria, B.C. ),  was killed 10 years later after being shot in the abdomen.   

Michael John Shilling

Searching through the old newspapers I found this:

1981 December 7 The Citizen ( A Prince George newspaper )

        It appears rather silly and harmless for the patient, and raises the eternal question of how did he escape?  That we may never know, he was only there a few months.  But I dug deeper and found a rather sad story, as most of my researches into Essondale, Colony Farm usually do.

1981 December 1 The Montreal Gazette, tells slightly more of the story.

Michael "Mike" John Shilling, used his bother George Charles Shilling’s passport to go to Australia; unknown where he got the money to do so.

Michael’s parents were Raymond "Ray" Charles Shilling, and Sylvia Mae Barlow
Ray Charles Shilling was born 8th of May 1930 Toronto, Ontario; his parents were: Grace Eleanor Shilling, and Lavern Shilling (b.1904, Ohio) they were married on the 15th of September 1928. In 1943 the family immigrated  to the U.S.A.    Raymond Charles Shilling apparently was married  to Mary ? on the 12th of December 1980 at Palm Beach, Florida; did not last very long, since a divorce was granted on the 1st of October 1981, at Palm Beach.


At least three brothers Gregory Charles Shilling mentioned above, also Mark Schilling and Derek Vern Shilling,( lives in Edmonton, Alberta ) and a sister Debbie Schilling.

Michael repeatedly stabbed his mother in the back at her home at 120-1870 McKenzie Avenue, Saanich, on her birthday.

 Sylvia Mae Barlow ( 23^rd of  June 1934 – 23 June 1980 )  was a teacher at Camosun College, near Victoria, B.C. And was divorced at the time and was using her maiden name of Barlow.  Sylvia's parents were William Barlow and Nina Barlow, both of England.

       Michael was initially charged with 1^st degree murder, and was later acquitted on the 10^th of October 1980, after being found to be insane, and sent to the Forensic Institute.
Michael was eventually brought back to the Forensic Institute at Colony Farm, from Australia, and a few years later committed suicide by hanging himself.

Michael John Shilling   ( Vancouver, B.C. 21 July 1958 – 30 December 1985 Coquitlam, B.C. )
Just another sad story

UPDATE: anonymous left some more information about the family.  Thanx

Missing patient, Shane Metcalfe

Get one back at "Riverview" and lose another at Colony Farm. 
Coquitlam RCMP search for missing Colony Farm patient

Coquitlam RCMP press release:  Missing Patient Wanted on a Canada Wide Warrant - Shane Metcalfe

Shane  Metcalfe ( undated photo )

UPDATE: Apparently this fellow has been found.

Jeffrey Edward Stuart, escaped from the Forensic unit

 After a nice lull in escapes from this institution.
The Province:   Man escapes from Coquitlam psychiatric hospital
Tri-City News:         Man missing from Colony Farm

The Coquitlam RCMP:  Unlawfully at Large - Jeffrey Edward Stuart

This fellow looks like he needs a wide berth, if the photo tells me anything.

UPDATE:  This fellow is back safely in custody.

Washroom now Open

Finally after a long wait, the new washroom is finally open for business. Located near the end of Colony Farm Road, near the Community Gardens, and public parking lot.

 It has a timed door lock on it, but no sign stating the hours of operation, are posted on the building yet.

   Separate entrances for the Rams and Ewes, Does and Bucks, etc.

   There is even a water fountian close to the ground for pets. Now if we could train them to use the facilites, Hmm..

Looks more like some tiny whistle-stop train station, in some far away place, choo, choo,,

Trans Mountain pipeline project

         Apparently the Trans Mountain Expansion Project,(AKA Kinder Morgan) want to use the fields of the forensic institute portion of Colony Farm, to store their vast quantities of pipe, and also use the area as a general staging area. And possibly even continue through the park, and along the Lougheed Highway on its way to LaFarge, then Burnaby (download the PDF).  Not an appropriate use for farmland, in my mind.

A cropped shot of a better quality image than is found in the public document.
Easier to visualize the huge impacts that the pipeline would have on Colony Farm Park from this picture.

Press Release:

        We value the feedback, questions, concerns and comments from communities through which our pipeline study corridor runs. It has, and will be, used in our planning as we continue to optimize our study corridor and then ultimately our pipeline route.

We invite you to join us to learn about and provide your input to the optimization of the proposed pipeline study corridor for the Trans Mountain Expansion Project in person or online:

IN PERSON

  Burnaby Open House
April 3, 2014
Drop in between 7:30pm and 9:30pm
Executive Plaza
405 North Road,
Coquitlam

ONLINE
Go to Trans Mountain Talk after the event to review material shared at the Open House and provide your feedback. 

Should you have any questions please don t hesitate to contact us at  info@transmountain.com  or 1.866.514.6700. More information about our proposed project is available at Trans Mountain 
Address: 2844 Bainbridge Avenue, PO Box 84028, Bainbridge, Burnaby, BC V5A 4T9
Twitter:   @TransMtn
 
Trans Mountain of course in theory must answer to the National Energy Board, (NEB) the public can view the regulatory documents that the various companies submit in their applications.

Not directly related to the Trans mountain application, but related to transportation in Burrard Inlet :  1973 Oil spill in English Bay   Trans Mountain of course will  create a large increase in shipping traffic through Burrard Inlet, much more than they do at the present time.

Personally I struggle with the fact that a company can apply to build something, yet they have no idea where it will be located.  Kind of like me going to the nearest city and saying, I want to build a gazillion square foot building, but I have no idea where yet, and expect an Okay from the local council; something wrong here.

On very short notice, some concerned citizens gathered at Colony Farm, the show their displeasure at Kinder Morgan, wanting to damage the park. A few more pictures of the event HERE

Few old pics

In the Victoria, B.C., newspaper,  The Daily Colonist, of  December 3, 1911 there is an article about the local Conservatives, having a look around Colony Farm, I shared another image in the past that must have been taken on the same day, in this POST

The arena barn, this building was Huge!  over 200 feet in length; sadly destroyed by an arson fire.

A different look at the bunkhouse, still standing today. Still waiting for the bureaucrats to make the right decision to properly conserve the building, tick-tock-tick-tock. 

Excuse the quality that is as good as it gets, from a lousy scan that UVIC did of these papers.