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Interview with Bill Gruenthal
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription19636
- Repository
- Burnaby Village Museum
- Date
- [1950-2023] (interview content), interviewed 31 Jul. 2023
- Collection/Fonds
- Burnaby Village Museum fonds
- Description Level
- Item
- Physical Description
- 2 sound recordings (wav) (74 min., 37 sec.) + 1 sound recording (mp3) (74 min., 37 sec.)
- Scope and Content
- Item consists of a recording of an oral history interview with Bill Gruenthal conducted by Burnaby Village Museum Registrar, Eric Damer on July 31 2023. 00:00:00 – 00:27:01 Bill Gruenthal provides details on his family background, his early life experiences, how he got into the insurance business,…
- Repository
- Burnaby Village Museum
- Collection/Fonds
- Burnaby Village Museum fonds
- Series
- Museum Oral Histories series
- Subseries
- Many Voices Project Interviews subseries
- Description Level
- Item
- Physical Description
- 2 sound recordings (wav) (74 min., 37 sec.) + 1 sound recording (mp3) (74 min., 37 sec.)
- Material Details
- Interviewer: Eric Damer Interviewee: Bill Gruenthal Location of Interview: Burnaby Village Museum Interview Date: July 31, 2023 Total Number of tracks: 1 Total Length of all Tracks: 01:14:37 Digital master recordings (wav) were recorded onto two separate audio tracks, edited and merged together and converted to mp3 for access on Heritage Burnaby
- Scope and Content
- Item consists of a recording of an oral history interview with Bill Gruenthal conducted by Burnaby Village Museum Registrar, Eric Damer on July 31 2023. 00:00:00 – 00:27:01 Bill Gruenthal provides details on his family background, his early life experiences, how he got into the insurance business, his knowledge and interest in Judaism, places that he and his wife lived before moving to Burnaby, family life in Burnaby and his political involvement in running for the Burnaby school board. 00:27:02 – 00:42:50 Bill Gruenthal talks about the Burquest Jewish Community Association, it’s background and his involvement, experiences of discrimination in his career, a brief history of the Jewish people and some cultural traditions. 00:42:51 – 00:56:04 Bill Gruenthal mentions some of the charities that he supports including Burnaby Hospital, his volunteer work within the community and community organizations including the Nikkei Place Foundation and shares more details on his insurance career. 00:56:05 – 01:14:37 Bill Gruenthal shares information about his Burnaby neighbourhood and Jewish funeral customs and provides his impressions of new development at Brentwood, Burnaby Council and other development projects in Burnaby.
- History
- Interviewee biography: Bill Gruenthal was born in the British Mandate of Palestine, now Israel, in 1935 after his parents had fled Germany in advance of the then worsening political situation. Bill’s father died in 1942; some years later his mother remarried to an Irish-born senior civil servant in that government. He had a difficult and somewhat dangerous job. Soon after marriage, the family, including Bill’s older brother, Martin, immigrated to Canada in January 1947 on the strength of his step-father’s British Passport. They traveled via New York, where Bill’s uncle and his family resided and who put up the family. Later that month, the parents travelled by CP rail from Montreal to Vancouver, followed by Bill and his brother in March 1947 who travelled from New York to White Rock on an American railroad. While passing through the Fraser Valley Bill’s parents took an interest in Silverdale, a small hamlet west of Mission where the four eventually settled. Bill finished High School in Mission and soon joined the insurance industry. Bill connected with the Jewish Community in Vancouver where he met his soon-to-be wife. Upon marriage they were transferred to Calgary; after five years suffering its cold weather they were transferred back to Vancouver. They settled in Burnaby in 1966 as an affordable neighbourhood with easy access to his office downtown Vancouver. Outside work, Bill helped raise his family of three daughters who all graduated Burnaby High School (Alpha). They joined Temple Sholom in Vancouver, and he volunteered and still volunteers for a number of non-profits, including The Jewish Museum and Archives and Nikkei Place Foundation (Burnaby). He was an early long-term supporter and a past president of Burquest Jewish Community Association, mostly involving persons from Burnaby, New Westminster, and the Tri-Cities area (hence the name). He ran for political office in Burnaby in 1976 but was not elected. He delivers food in Burnaby for the Food Bank and is a donor to many worthy causes including Burnaby General Hospital. Interviewer biography: Eric Damer is a Burnaby Village Museum Interpreter, Museum Registrar, Researcher and Blacksmith. Eric pounded hot steel for the first time in 1977 in junior high. Fifteen years later, he joined Burnaby Village Museum where he has smithed for three decades. He also provides historical research for museum exhibits and special projects. Outside the museum, Eric is a social historian with a special interest in educational history.
- Creator
- Burnaby Village Museum
- Subjects
- Migration
- Persons - Jewish Canadians
- Transportation
- Transportation - Rail
- Religions - Judaism
- Cemeteries
- Organizations
- Elections
- Names
- Gruenthal, Bill
- Gruenthal, Noemi Yadlow
- O'Connor, Herta Ingrid Gruenthal
- O'Connor, John
- Burquest
- Jacobson, Max Alec
- Temple Shalom
- Brentwood Shopping Centre
- Brentwood Park School
- Alpha Secondary School
- Burnaby School Board
- Responsibility
- Damer, Eric
- Accession Code
- BV023.16.14
- Access Restriction
- No restrictions
- Reproduction Restriction
- No known restrictions
- Date
- [1950-2023] (interview content), interviewed 31 Jul. 2023
- Media Type
- Sound Recording
- Planning Study Area
- Brentwood Area
- Notes
- Title based on contents of item
- Transcription available
Documents
Audio Tracks
Interview with Bill Gruenthal, [1950-2023] (interview content), interviewed 31 Jul. 2023
Interview with Bill Gruenthal, [1950-2023] (interview content), interviewed 31 Jul. 2023
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_BVM_Sound_Recordings/Oral_Histories/2023_0016_0014_003.mp3![Survey and Subdivision plans in New Westminster District Group 1 and Group 2 – Vancouver, ʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Indian Reserve, Burnaby, Surrey
, [1910-1911] thumbnail](/media/hpo/_Data/_BVM_Cartographic_Material/1977/1977_0093_0017_001.jpg?width=280)
Survey and Subdivision plans in New Westminster District Group 1 and Group 2 – Vancouver, ʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Indian Reserve, Burnaby, Surrey
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription6986
- Repository
- Burnaby Village Museum
- Date
- [1910-1911]
- Collection/Fonds
- Burnaby Village Museum Map collection
- Description Level
- File
- Physical Description
- 9 plans : 4 plans : blueprint ink on paper + 4 plans : black ink on paper + 1 plan : graphite on paper mounted on 2 sides of cardboard 76 x 102 cm
- Scope and Content
- File consists of a large board of three survey plans in New Westminster District Group 1 mounted on one side and six survey and subdivision plans of District Lot 85, New Westminster District Group 1 mounted on the other side. Side A: 1. Plan : blueprint on paper ; 30.5 x 80 cm. Title reads: "Fras…
- Repository
- Burnaby Village Museum
- Collection/Fonds
- Burnaby Village Museum Map collection
- Description Level
- File
- Physical Description
- 9 plans : 4 plans : blueprint ink on paper + 4 plans : black ink on paper + 1 plan : graphite on paper mounted on 2 sides of cardboard 76 x 102 cm
- Material Details
- Scales vary (One chain equals 792 inches)
- Indexed number on tape on edge of board reads "17"
- Scope and Content
- File consists of a large board of three survey plans in New Westminster District Group 1 mounted on one side and six survey and subdivision plans of District Lot 85, New Westminster District Group 1 mounted on the other side. Side A: 1. Plan : blueprint on paper ; 30.5 x 80 cm. Title reads: "Fraser River Bridge / Plan of South Approach". Plan covers area of land north of the Fraser River and Great Northern Railway with approach for a bridge running through the "ʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Indian Reserve" (ʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) First Nation) and lots marked as Dominion Government and the east half of Lot 2 identified as "C. F. Brown" "Plan 851". Plan is identified as "Plan 851 / traced / Mar. 17, 1911". (Geographic location in Vancouver) Scale: 100 feet = 1 inch, Signed by Albert J. Hill / P.L.S." 2. Plan : blueprint on paper ; 36.5 x 35 cm (no title). Includes three plans of lots on the east and west sides of North Road. Note on bottom of blueprint reads: "I.E.B. McKay Surveyor General - hereby certify / that this is a correct tracing from the field / notes of the Royal Engineers on file in the / Lands Department / E.B. McKay (signature) / Surveyor General / Victoria B.C. April 11th 1911" . Plan in top left titled "Page 11 / Vol. 1. / R.E. Notes" covers District Lots east of North Road including Lot 5, Lot 7, Lot 41, Lot 9 and Lot 107 in Coquitlam. Plan in top right corner titled "Page 17 / Vol. 1. / R.E. Notes" covers District Lots east of North Road including Lot 104, Lot 54, Lot 105, Lot 55, Lot 106, Lot 9 and Lot 107 in Coquitlam and Port Moody. Plan in lower left corner titled "Page 15 / Vol. 1 / R.E. Notes" covers District Lots west of North Road including Lot 147, Lot 148, Lot 100, Lot 15 in Burnaby. 3. Plan : blue print on paper ; 29.5 x 41.5 cm. (no formal title). Plan of the North 1/2 of Section 18. Plan covers area in the "North 1/2 of Sec.18 B.5 N RGE 1 W" and "Sec. 18 B.5 N. RGE 1 W" bordered by Section 7, Section 13, Section 17 and Section 19. Bon Accord Road runs through Sec. 18. The plan is signed by surveryor "I.H. Neville Smith... C.E.B.C.L.S. / Mar. 26th 1910" and signed by "Ludwig Pillath". (Geographic location: Surrey) Side B: 1. Plan : blueprint on paper ; 43.5 x 49.5 cm. Title reads: "Plan / of Subdivision / of a Portion / of / Lot 85 / Group One / New Westminster District. Plan covers portion of land east of Deer Lake and Pole Line Road (Sperling Avenue) and south of Hastings Road in District Lot 85 in Burnaby with section 4 and a portion of section 2 coloured in red. Plan is signed by "Albert J. Hill, B.C.L.S." Plan is initialed by: "RB" [sic] (in blue pencil crayon) Scale: 4 chains = 1 inch 2. Plaln : black black ink on linen ; 39 x 37 cm. Title reads: "L.C. Hill's Property, / Burnaby". Plan covers a triangular portion of land east of Pole Line Road (Sperling Avenue) and south of Hastings Road in District Lot 85 in Burnaby. Plan is intitaled by "RB" [sic] (in blue pencil crayon). Scale: 3 chains = 1 mile 3. Plan : graphite on paper ; 23 x 17 cm. Title reads: "Portion of Lot 85 / Gr.1". Plan covers portion of land north east of Deer Lake and west of Pole Line Road (now Sperling Avenue) in District Lot 85 in Burnaby. Plan is stamped in red ink: "Albert J. Hill, Civil Engineer". Plan is initialed by: "RB" [sic] (in blue pencil crayon). Scale: 1 chain = 1 inch 4. Plan : black ink on linen ; 16 x 19 cm. Title reads: "Lot 85". Plan covers the intersection of Pole Line Road (Sperling Avenue) and Hastings Road at the north west section of District Lot 79 and District Lot 85 in Burnaby. Plan is stamped: "A.J. Hill, Civil Engineer" with identitifed in blue pencil crayon. 5. Plan : black ink on paper ; 28.5 x 37 cm. (no formal title) Plan covers an area of land, west of Pole Line Road (Sperling Avenue) and south of Deer Lake in District Lot 85 in Burnaby. Plan is initialed by: "RB" [sic] (in blue pencil crayon) 6. Plan : black ink on paper ; 21 x 34 cm (no formal title). Plan covers an area of land, west of Pole Line Road (Sperling Avenue) and south of Deer Lake in District Lot 85 in Burnaby. Plan is initialed by: "RB" [sic] (in blue pencil crayon)
- Accession Code
- HV977.93.17
- Access Restriction
- No restrictions
- Reproduction Restriction
- No known restrictions
- Date
- [1910-1911]
- Media Type
- Cartographic Material
- Historic Neighbourhood
- Burnaby Lake (Historic Neighbourhood)
- Burquitlam (Historic Neighbourhood)
- Planning Study Area
- Morley-Buckingham Area
- Douglas-Gilpin Area
- Scan Resolution
- 600
- Scan Date
- 2023-06-26
- Notes
- Title based on contents of file
- Scale is measured in chains and feet. (One chain equals 792 inches).
- The term "Lot" also refers to a "District Lot”
- Some plans are stamped: "Albert J. Hill, Civil Engineer / and / Provincial Land Surveyor, / New Westminster, / B.C." and intialed: "RB" [sic]
Zoomable Images
![Survey and Subdivision plans in New Westminster District Group 1 and Group 2 – Vancouver, ʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Indian Reserve, Burnaby, Surrey
, [1910-1911] thumbnail](/media/hpo/_Data/_BVM_Cartographic_Material/1977/1977_0093_0017_003_seadragon/1977_0093_0017_003.jpg?w=280)
Survey and Subdivision plans in New Westminster District Group 1 and Group 2 – Vancouver, ʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Indian Reserve, Burnaby, Surrey , [1910-1911]
Zoom into Image