George Jolly, an excerpt - 50 Stories for 50 Years (Story # 5)
I’ve always felt welcome. I’ve never felt any… even just a little bit of unwelcomeness because of my race, so that’s probably been the greatest thing for me that I’ve felt.
I don’t know about other neighbourhood houses, I can’t comment on them, and people like to think Vancouver is a lot better than the States but just because you’re a lot better than something else doesn’t make it right. You know?
There’s one thing about Mount Pleasant that most people don’t know about. But back in the early 70s there was quite a world movement of people moving, immigration, similar to what’s happening now. And Mount Pleasant became the area where people from all over the world would come and I think that one time we had about 80 something languages that were spoken around here and so that was an interesting experience to get an understanding of different cultures. I think Mount Pleasant still has that area where people tend to migrate in and then eventually migrate out. So that’s the greatest thing about this house that it’s able to include and incorporate all the different people from different parts of the world.
Story 28 told by: Mr. George Jolly
50 Stories for 50 Years at MPNH is a collection of meaningful stories that celebrate the lasting impact our Neighbourhood House has had over the years. These stories come from long-time participants, families, youth, volunteers, community members, and regular visitors whose lives have been touched, supported, or transformed through our programs, services, and connections at the House.
