On Feb. 28, seven weeks before her 99th birthday, Vera Merchant passed away. Vera鈥檚 passing is significant to Whistler because her maiden name was 鈥淏arnfield鈥�; the very same Barnfield that Barnfield Place is named after.
She was also a long-time member of the 撸奶社区community. Her mother, Daisy Hotchkiss, came to the area in 1905 after her sister and brother-in-law purchased a piece of property in Squamish. She met Alfred Barnfield, and it was after the couple had settled down that Vera was born in Brackendale in 1915, her daughter Beverley Brown said.
Alfred and Daisy Barnfield were among the first European settlers in the Whistler Valley. Vera鈥檚 parents operated a dairy farm in the summers at Alta Lake. At peak production they had 14 cows from which they supplied milk to the local population. Myrtle Philip purchased 80 quarts of milk, four quarts of whipping cream, and two quarts of table cream daily for her guests at Rainbow Lodge. The milk was separated and bottled on the farm for early morning delivery by dugout canoe. Vera鈥檚 father Alfred and her brother, Fred, made the daily rounds of Alta Lake; not only did the milk get delivered, but customers also heard the local news 鈥� the valley grapevine had begun.
In 1926, the Barnfields moved their dairy farm to Squamish. In the summer months they loaded cows and chickens onto the Pacific Great Eastern train and continued to make the trek to Alta Lake.
鈥淭hey would take the train up and spend the summers at Alta Lake, where they would canoe around the lake supplying people with milk and other supplies,鈥� Brown said.
Vera married Arthur Swann, Brown鈥檚 father, in 1937. The couple had four children 鈥� Doreen, Bill, Valerie and Beverley. In the late 1940s, Vera and Arthur divorced and Vera married Wayne Merchant. The couple then had a daughter, Lori.
The Merchants moved to Surrey and operated Vancouver's Merchant Stables, which bred and raised racehorses. After the couple divorced, Vera Merchant moved back to 撸奶社区in 1977, taking up residence in the home on Wilson Crescent where she had spent much of her childhood, Brown said. She lived in the home until 2009.
Vera entered many local fairs, including the Pacific National Exhibition, with her canning, her flower arrangements and other creations, Brown said.
鈥淪he said one time that she could probably paper her house with the cards that they got for first, second and third at the fairs,鈥� she said.
Vera is survived by five children, 10 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren, nieces, great-nieces, nephews and great-nephews. There are still Barnfields living in the 撸奶社区Valley today.
With files from David Burke, The Chief. Sarah Drewery is the executive director of the Whistler Museum and Archives.
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