ANTHROPOSOPHICAL BIOGRAPHY in Vancouver, BC, Canada – Michael Roboz

20 Mar ANTHROPOSOPHICAL BIOGRAPHY in Vancouver, BC, Canada – Michael Roboz

On the West Coast of Canada we are on the verge of forming a Branch of the Anthroposophical Society in Canada. It was Steven Roboz’s intention to create a Branch here in BC more than twenty-five years ago.  I feel his presence restarting the process.  I thought a little local history with Steven Roboz’s legacy would be ideal in creating some context and background.

Before WWII, an Anthroposophist was living in the Vancouver area. According to Liane Collot D’Herbois, Ita Wegman had decided in 1938-39 to emigrate to Canada to start a new clinic with the support that had been promised to her. Outbreak of the war prevented her plans.

( From Personal Remembrances of Ita Wegemn, D’Herbois, ( from Long & Difficult Departure).in Miteilungen aus der anthroposophisches Arbeit in Deutschland, vol 172, Johanni, 1990, 110)

‘When coming into Ascona, Ita Wegman approached me in an excited state. She could hardly wait to tell me about her new plan that she had. She had gotten an offer to come to Vancouver, where someone wanted to build a large clinic for her. She was very happy about this and had already decided to go to Canada’. She died in 1943 of pneumonia.

Steve Roboz and family

When Steven and Helga Roboz came to Vancouver in 1954 from Toronto, there were only the Friedebergs (Harold and Irmgard) and another elderly lady, Mrs. Katherine Mayne, the grandmother of Ann Watson. The first meetings were held at the rented house of the Roboz’s off S.W. Marine Drive, a tiny rental house surrounded by a large forest. Soon afterwards came the Oldhams (Harry was the British Trade Commissioner), and Ann’s parents, Jack and Shiela. I was a baby at the time. Helga stayed in the kitchen during the meetings to try to keep me quiet. Often Ann Watson was in a bassinette next to mine.

Later, the meetings were held at Mrs. Mayne’s in Kerrisdale. By 1965, the group was large enough to apply to be officially recognized. It became known as the Albert Steffen Group, since Albert Steffan died that year. That proved to be a problem when in Dornach, Steven would announce himself to people as Steven from the Vancouver Albert Steffen Group. Those anti-Steffenites did not grant him an audience at first, until it was explained that Steven was not aligned with Steffen; it was just a name. That was in the 1960’s and 1970’s when the 1930’s split in the Society still reverberated former hostilities.

Rudolf Steiner Centre

In 1970, Steven appealed to the group and raised the $10,000 needed for a down payment to buy the first Rudolf Steiner Centre at 4th/Trutch in Vancouver. The two upstairs suites allowed it to be viable and self-supporting. Steven and a few others formed the Rudolf Steiner Centre Association to run the building with Steven as president with Cora Verbrugh as treasurer.

Steven and Helga organized and carried out the festivals. Steven gave the talks and for many years arranged for visiting lecturers who often stayed at our house.

Later, while the Centre was still in Vancouver City,, the Walshes bought and decorated the Christmas tree for Christmas Festivals, continuing this tradition until 2016. Helga was like the social hub of the Society. There were times when we had both foreign and local visitors almost every day.

Steiner Book Centre

In the early 1970’s, Steven sold his engineering company and “retired” for the first time. Steiner Book Centre was deeded over to Steven in 1972 when the founder, Douglas Andress died in Toronto. From 1972, until 1988, when Steven gave up Steiner Book Centre (SBC), over 30 titles were published. SBC had the publishing/distributing rights for Canada, New Zealand and Australia.

AGM 1975

Steven was the representative for Vancouver at the AGM’s for the Canadian Anthroposophical Society (CAS), held each May in Toronto. In 1974, Steven suggested that the AGM should be in Vancouver and it was held for the first time in 1975 at the Vancouver Waldorf School. Since that time, the AGM for the ASC have been held across Canada.

Steven led the Wednesday evening study group since the early 1960’s and continued to lead it until the early 2000’s, when Steven stepped back, coming once a month or so. Since March, 2007, he did not come to our Wednesdays at all.

Christian Community Church

At about the same time when the Rudolf Steiner Centre was founded, priests, mainly Rev. Werner Hegg, were coming every two months to give the Christian Community service in our house. Rev. Hegg came to Vancouver permanently in 1971, establishing the Church at 1543 Frances in Vancouver. Rev. Werner Grimm came in 1978 followed by the rest of his family in 1979. In the spring of 1985, the present Church was purchased.

Vancouver Waldorf School

Steven was also the first Secretary of the Vancouver Waldorf School Association in 1955. The Vancouver Waldorf School, itself, was not physically founded until about 1970.

More Groups

While we still had the RSC at 4th/Trutch in Vancouver, a separate Monday Members meeting was created that met once a month. Almost everybody from Wednesday nights attended this monthly members group.

At one point in the 1980’s, the North Shore Group met separately for geographical reasons, but their members came to the Monday Members meetings. Those Monday Members meetings served to plan Festivals and acted like a “Branch” for the Vancouver members.

Another Group split off for a while, but petered out when most of those members moved away or died. The last surviving member of this group died in 2017.

Groups of members working in threes, formed the Festival Committee for several years. These included Monique Walsh, Pamela Brown, Esther Chase, Linda Frosch and Josie Scott, who planned festivals throughout the year. Helga was also involved but mainly with the Christmas Festival.

Camphill Initiative

The Camphill Initiative, was started by Charles and Adola McWilliam, in the home of Bert and Esther Chase, where the McWilliams lived at the time in 1982. It began as the Ita Wegman School in a small West Vancouver church, then a summer camp at the Vancouver Waldorf School. When Ferdy Vondruska bought the house next to the Vancouver Waldorf School, part of it was rented and the rest was used by the Ita Wegman School. When Glenora Farm was purchased in the early 1990’s some members of the Ita Wegman Association moved over to the Duncan area; those who remained behind formed the Taurven Community. A few years later, Taurven metamorphosed into the present Cascadia Society for Social Working.

School of Spiritual Science

Mrs. Mayne, who was here before 1954 was a Class Holder for the School of Spiritual Science, but I am not sure she actually gave the Class. Jeanne Bailey, Angela’s mother was the first active Class Holder, then Hugh Ellis. Monica Gold followed for a short time then Bert Chase and Ute Weinmann. Later, after Ute left, Philip Thatcher and Patricia Smith were also appointed and today also Greg Scott.

Ute related to me that her first Class Lesson was given in the Roboz’s basement in 1991 with a lectern that resembled a birdhouse. It was not very stable and wobbled in a wave action. It was then that the request was made to move the School of Spiritual Science to the Vancouver Waldorf School as the various Vancouver groups were still between Rudolf Steiner Centres.

We still have the Monday Members Group, the Wednesday Study Group (really the Vidar Group), a medical study group, a group led by Randall Scott which is inspired by writings of Robert Powell. A few of the latter have also a couple of other small artistic/study groups.

Today, February 17, we had the third meeting to create a Branch. It would be wonderful if all the various groups would be represented by this new branch umbrella and more people would join. We are in the process of drafting a letter to the Anthroposophical Society in Canada (AS in C) and deciding on a name. This will lead to a signing of the Stewardship Agreement with the AS in C.

Michael Roboz

North Vancouver, BC     Feb 2018