For decades George Pittendrigh’s 13th Avenue home was a beehive of activity every spring as a steady stream of boys and parents came to his home to register for the lacrosse season.

The stream didn’t stop with the start of the season. It just kept flowing right through the summer. On his days off, or, in his spare time, boys would come to him to have their sticks restrung and equipment mended. He kept extras so when boys showed up Pittendrigh didn’t have to turn anyone away if they couldn’t afford it.

Pittendrigh cleared a vacant lot next door to his home overgrown with blackberry bushes and fruit trees so neighbourhood boys could play. So many showed up he decided to organize the South Burnaby Minor Lacrosse Association. In 1974, he was inducted into the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame as a builder of minor lacrosse.

That earned him the title “The Father of Minor Lacrosse in South Burnaby.” At least, that’s what one newspaper article called him. Pittendrigh’s 40 years of service also earned him a life membership in the B.C. Lacrosse Association. Pittendrigh, who was born in 1894, died on May 5, 1983.