In regards to the article in the May 21 edition of The Morning Star entitled, “A Piece of Vernon’s History,” it appears that the writer, Nancy Josland Dalsin, attributed the building to the wrong denomination.
The building where the Vernon Flower Shop was housed for so many years was in fact built in 1910 by the Baptist congregation. Although there was a Methodist church nearby, it was not on the corner.
The Baptists occupied the corner lot as early as 1908 with a tent as a meeting place, before raising enough funds to begin the building. The building cost $2,339 and was opened in June 1910 (Vernon News, May 28, 1910).
This building served the Baptist congregation until 1947 when it moved to temporary quarters until its new building was finished exactly one block north, where the clock tower now stands.
The old building was home to several businesses after the congregation left, including Wayside Press and the Vernon Flower Shop.
The front was added on to and a concrete block addition was built at the back. But if you look closely at the stucco on the west side of the building, you can see cracks that outline the locations of the original windows.
A few of the original windows are still visible on the east side. The building is now owned by the City of Vernon.
On hearing that the building was due to be demolished, my wife and I obtained permission from the city to recover a portion of the original building. We removed the half-moon window at the front, which was protected behind the new facia.
Laurie and Gail MacKay
Vernon
