Ross Bay Stories

 Ross Bay Villa officially “Open” after 14 years.

The Honourable Judith Guichon, O.B.C., Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia was invited by the Ross Bay Villa Society to officially open Ross Bay Villa 14 years after it was saved from demolition and after 13 years of restoration work by the volunteers of the Society.

The celebration was held on a sunny Saturday August 4, 2013, with an enthusiastic crowd in attendance.

Her Honour was escorted on a private tour prior to the ribbon cutting.  She made a very gracious speech, mentioning her personal experiences with the importance of preserving British Columbia’s heritage, and then she – with Simone Vogel-Horridge, the Ross Bay Villa Society president – cut the red ribbon between the two posts of the front porch of Ross Bay Villa, and declared the house officially “Open”.

Her Honour, Judith Guichon, O.B.C., Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia in her white coat, and Simone Vogel-Horridge, president of the Ross Bay Villa Society, cut the ribbon to “open” Ross Bay Villa

Her Honour’s delightful visit to Ross Bay Villa could not have been foreseen as a possibility way back in 1890.  Then, the owner of Ross Bay Villa was George Winter – who was the official coachman for Government House and for the Lieutenant Governors. The very suggestion that the Lieutenant Governor might someday be shown through their house as a historic site would undoubtedly have been greeted with amazement by both himself and his family – as well as by the Lieutenant Governor of the time!

Times have indeed changed!