1928 – 2005
Rev. Dr Tom Bulman, a United Church minister, poet and strong family man, was born in Vernon, Nov. 11, 1928. One of the founders of Community Alternative Society with his wife Jan, they had tried living in a multiplex with other families, but soon found most of the original families had left. He and Jan, started attending conferences about creating “intentional communities” and liked what they heard. Along with about a dozen others, they determined to live in a new urban village where they shared with others of all ages and family arrangements. The farm in Aldergrove was already happening.
Family was paramount to Tom. He and his life partner Jan were founders of Community Alternatives Society where they lived with son David. Their three daughters had moved out by this time. His strong belief in family was extended to the chosen family he sought and supported in Community Alternatives.
He could often be found in the large communal garden that lined the front of the co-op on West 2nd Ave which was a veritable jungle of herbs, grapes, edible flowers, tomatoes and even potatoes. He was committed to the full cycle of growing food, returning what wasn’t used back to the soil. By being part of developing and managing a large-scale rotary composter, “Beulah” which thanks to their perseverance and modifications over time, is still operating today.
As a committed man of the cloth, he held fast to certain principles that dictated his path in life, and his choice to live in community. “I think the sickness of our world is individuality” he said. Tom lived with a belief in an essential goodness in people, stood up for the underdog, and tried to see both sides in any conflict. Tom was an idealist in a world that sorely needed them.