Community Service Club Visits Hogan's Alley

On January 16, the Community Service Club, made up of grades 6 and 7 students, visited Hogan’s Alley for an educational and engaging tour led by Lama Mugabo, a Founding Director and Community Collaborator of the Hogan’s Alley Society (HAS). Throughout the tour, Lama shared powerful stories and historical insights that helped us gain a deeper understanding of the significance of Hogan’s Alley and the bright community that once thrived there.

During the tour, we learned about and observed several significant landmarks that hold deep meaning within Hogan’s Alley. One memorable highlight was the large mural painted on the walls of the Vancouver Viaduct titled Hope Through Ashes: A Requiem for Hogan’s Alley. Seeing the mural in person was incredible as many small yet meaningful details in the artwork are easy to miss when viewed only through photos. The mural tells the story of Hogan’s Alley’s history and development while acknowledging influential individuals who were part of the community. These include iconic sprinter Barbara Howard; Vie and Bob Moore, the founders of Vie’s Chicken and Steakhouse; and performers such as The Crump Twins and Nora Hendrix, among many others. I highly recommend stopping to see this mural if you are ever in the area as it is both visually stunning and emotionally powerful.

Another landmark we visited was the Fountain Chapel, a beautiful, spiritual and cultural church established in 1919 by Nora Hendrix. Visiting the church helped us learn more about how the community gathered, supported one another, and built strong connections through faith and culture. We also visited Vie’s Chicken and Steakhouse, which was founded in the late 1940s by Vie and Bob Moore. As we had learned earlier during Lama’s presentation, the restaurant was a popular hotspot for jazz, blues, and soul music. Being there in person helped us imagine the lively atmosphere and better understanding of its importance to the community.

The final landmark we visited was a mural painted by Ejiwa “Edge” Ebenebe that was plastered onto a side of the wall of Nora Hendrix’s Place, which reflects themes of resilience, remembrance, and cultural identity. Overall, the tour was a meaningful experience that helped us better understand and really experience the history, struggles, and strength of the Hogan’s Alley community and landmarks.