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Sad family history turns up in Port Moody house move

60-year-old divorce papers turn up in cupboard of home at 2901 St. Johns Street which will soon be moved
House move
Port Moody resident Fred Soofi, who is moving the Siddall residence from 2901 St. Johns St in Port Moody to a new location at 123 Douglas St., found a divorce document detailing a settlement between the original owners in the closet of the 1920’s era home.

A Port Moody man who has made a career out of moving heritage homes to save them uncovered a bit of local history with his latest effort.

Fred Soofi was about to put the wraps on the relocation of the Siddall residence at 2901 St. Johns Street when he found a divorce document dating back to 1943.

The yellowed legal sheets depict the settlement between James Pridham Siddall, a sawmill engineer and the original owner of the home, and his wife Helen Mae.

“This is history and shows how people lived in a time of war,” said Soofi, who has hired Pridy Bros. to move the 1922-era, Craftsman-style home from its St. Johns Street location to 123 Douglas St. in Port Moody next weekend.

Jim Buckley, the grandson of James Siddall and former resident of the home, said the divorce shocked the family because it resulted from James embarking on a new relationship with a teacher.
“My mom took it very hard,” Buckley recalls, although he was only a toddler at the time.

Jim Millar, executive director of the Port Moody Station Museum, said the document is interesting because divorces weren’t all that common and this one between the long-time PoMo residents shows how things had begun to change by the war years.

“During the war years is when divorces started to become okay,” he acknowledged.

The document tells a sad story of a couple who had been married for 33 years. In this agreement, James agreed to pay his wife $50 a month, as well as give her the house and a $200 cash settlement.

Now the house will be preserved in its new location between two other heritage homes that Soofi moved in recent years, the Sutherland residence, and the Moisio residence.
All three homes would have been destined for the wrecking ball because they were on properties slated for development.

“You’ve got to really love it,” said Soofi, of moving heritage homes, noting that while he got the Siddall building for free he will end up spending more than $100,000 to move it.
Millar said preserving older homes in the city will become increasingly more difficult as more density is planned.

“The city is going to be going through tremendous development in the next few years," he said. "Is that the way it should go? Tear down everything and build new stuff… it makes you wonder where it’s all going to go.”

The Siddall residence will be the fifth house moved by Soofi.

As for Buckley, now living in Parksville, he was surprised the divorce document was found. He remembers having tea with his grandmother on the front porch, but those kinds of activities became impossible because of noise from the St. Johns traffic.