Rose Farm at Westholme

Violet (1917-2001) and Fred (1898-1977) Meier married circa 1942. They lived at the base of Mt. Sicker and Mt. Brenton on Mt. Sicker Road, Westholme BC together for some 40 years. (where Mt. Sicker Family Farm now stands)


source Chemainus Festival of Murals Society

The famous Mt. Sicker Copper Mines of the late 1800's enticed investors of the likes of Andrew Carnegie and John D Rockefeller all the way from New York.

Group of men extending Mt Sicker Road
 at Westholme to the Mt. Sicker Mine (circa 1900)

Mt. Sicker viewed from the east side

source My life with the critters.blogspot.ca

 








 


Violet remained there on her own for another 20+ years. The couple's lifestyle was built on resourcefulness and hard physical labour as was that of most in this area at the time.

The 10 acre property has changed hands twice since Violet's passing. There were no children from this marriage to leave the legacy to. The original home is gone due to an accidental fire and so consequently there is little physical evidence that Violet and Fred were ever in Westholme.

Their house expanded over the years
 as they could afford.

Their story does get shared by a handful of neighbours who knew them. However as the neighbours fade away so will Fred and Violet's history of their life's contribution on Mt. Sicker Road. 


Over the years in an endeavour to know our property predecessors I have uncovered a few permanent confirmations of Fred and Violet Meier's Westholme life which I will share here.

Mountain View Cemetery
 6493 Somenos Rd, Duncan, BC

Violet and Fred are buried in Mountain View Cemetery. The mountain view referred to is Mt. Prevost which has two bare rock humps sitting on the peak of the mountain. Its distinctive skyline would have been part of Violet and Fred's view on their shopping trips to Duncan.





Karlin Rose Garden in Memory

Both Fred and Violet were well known in the area as rosarians. They managed a nursery on Mt. Sicker Road where they cultivated and hybridized roses. As well as selling plants Fred donated to worthy causes. In 1980 (3 years after his passing) his name was commemorated on a bronze plaque at Karlin Rose Garden on Prideaux St., Nanaimo. I expect he would be pleased as for years the E&N daily passenger train went right by the gardens after it passed through his area of Westholme. (Just heard 11 Jul 2014 that an agreement is signed to restore passenger rail service on Vancouver Island)

Butchart Gardens Sales Receipt

W. Herb Warren at Butchart Gardens was one of the Meier's noted customers as documented in this sales receipt. At the time of Violet's death there were about 500 rose plants in the nursery. As new occupiers of the farm we assessed the value of keeping on with this business. However we chose another way and now raise our own livestock. As we were still committed to keeping some one hundred of the original roses on the property the rest were offered up to the community for donation to the local Westholme School Society to help fund their museum. 

Rose Display by Fred and Violet Meier

To promote their business Fred and Violet entered their roses in the annual Cowichan Exhibition that is celebrating its 146th year in 2014. They would have put a lot of effort into their display at the fair what with packing product, transportation, time away from daily chores at the nursery, spending hours educating the public about rose care and of course hoping to sell something. As
they did not have a store front 
this event would have been an 
important one for them.

Violet and Fred's Mt. Sicker Roses 2014

Yes I would agree, it doesn't seem like a lot of memorabilia for half a centuryof life's work. However for what it is worth this is a salute to a couple who helped build a unique spot in the community of Westholme.