By Lorraine Poulsen
A number of homes (and even some businesses) in the northeast end of the city have taken to wearing unique-looking signs that may take a bit of explaining to understand.
If you’re in the northeast, and you see these black bordered signs attached to the front of homes, you might think the signs identify the current owner of the house; but you would be incorrect.
In fact, the signs, which start with a year, followed by the name of a person and an occupation, are part of the Highlands Historical Society’s campaign to bring Edmonton history to life.
The date on the sign indicates the year the building was constructed, and the name is the identity of the person who either built or was the first occupant of the home. The sign also shows that person’s occupation.
Anyone who wanted a sign for their home or business was instructed by the Society on how to find the story of their property. By using the Henderson’s Directories (which contain information about people and businesses dating back almost 100 years), talking to long-time neighbourhood residents, and searching land titles, information on a particular location can be found and used to create the signs.
The owner of this sign, bearing the name William Bonk, said her research showed that Mr. Bonk built the home in 1952. In fact, he built any number of homes in the Highlands area. She says many of the architectural features Bonk built into this 1952 home such as coved ceilings, battleship linoleum and hardwood floors are still all part of this house.
lovely story, but oh that headline!