Robert Prittie collection
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription97231
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- 1955-1992
- Collection/Fonds
- Robert Prittie collection
- Description Level
- Fonds
- Physical Description
- 20 cm of textual records and 120 b&w and col. prints.
- Scope and Content
- Records consist of papers created and collected by Robert Prittie, former Mayor of Burnaby. Records include photographs of Mayor Prittie during official City functions as well as the textual records that he created and collected during his political career, including election materials.
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- 1955-1992
- Collection/Fonds
- Robert Prittie collection
- Physical Description
- 20 cm of textual records and 120 b&w and col. prints.
- Description Level
- Fonds
- Accession Number
- 2009-13
- Scope and Content
- Records consist of papers created and collected by Robert Prittie, former Mayor of Burnaby. Records include photographs of Mayor Prittie during official City functions as well as the textual records that he created and collected during his political career, including election materials.
- History
- Born in North Vancouver on December 5, 1919, Robert “Bob” William Prittie was the first of four sons born to Wilmot Prittie and Mary Adair. As a child, his health was weaker than younger brothers Bill, Eric, and Halford, as he suffered from Polio and asthma. Bob was an industrious youth who left school early to work in a department store warehouse. At the outbreak of World War II, Bob enlisted with the Royal Canadian Air Force and spent the duration of the war serving on the ground in Canada at the Patricia Bay Air Force Base and the No. 3 Bombing and Gunnery School in Manitoba, completing his high school education through correspondence courses. While at the Patricia Bay Air Force Base, he met pre-school teacher Grace King of Sidney, Vancouver Island. By 1940, they were married and soon after, had their first son, Robert King. In 1945, Bob was discharged from the air force with the rank of sergeant and entered the University of British Columbia, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree with honours in history. After the war, Bob spent a few years working in Ottawa as a foreign-service officer, but he returned to UBC in 1949, receiving a diploma in education (post-graduate studies at Laval University and Western Washington State College). Bob returned to Burnaby in 1950, following the tragic death of their son. Bob immediately began teaching. Over the next 13 years, he taught at Sperling Avenue School, McPherson Park Junior High School, Burnaby South High School, and Burnaby North High School. He and Grace went on to have three more children: Heather in 1951; Bruce in 1953; and Ian in 1955. In 1959, he was elected to serve as a member of the municipal Council, re-elected and serving until the end of his term in 1962, when he left to serve as Member of Parliament for the Burnaby-Richmond riding. He held that office until 1968. In January 1969, Bob first took office as Mayor of Burnaby and in that capacity served on the GVRD as a Director for a number of years. In May of 1973, Bob decided to resign as Mayor of Burnaby in order to take up a position as Assistant Deputy Minister of Municipal Affairs. In 1975, he was appointed as the Minister of Municipal Affairs, a post he held for a short time. After his tenure as Minister, Bob retired from public life and he and his second wife Isobel Pothecary moved to Victoria. Isobel had three children from a previous marriage: Alan; Deirdre; and Fiona. Bob left an enduring legacy for the citizens of Burnaby as a champion of schools, libraries, and parks and recreation programs. In 1978, he was awarded the title of Freeman of the Municipality. In 1991, a new branch of the Burnaby Public Library was opened and named after him. His status as Freeman and the naming of the library in his honour are testament to his record of service and dedication to the community and its citizens. Bob died on January 14, 2002.
- Media Type
- Textual Record
- Photograph
- Notes
- Photo catalogue 505, MSS128
Westerman family fonds
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription13679
- Repository
- Burnaby Village Museum
- Date
- [1917-1959]
- Collection/Fonds
- Westerman family fonds
- Description Level
- Fonds
- Physical Description
- 17 photographs
- Scope and Content
- Fonds consists of photographs documenting Walter "Wally" Westerman's life while growing up in Burnaby, his time spent in California while training as an engineer, his time in Montreal during his service with the R.C.A.F., Wally with his wife Gwendolyn (nee Brocklesby) Westerman and Wally in his lat…
- Repository
- Burnaby Village Museum
- Collection/Fonds
- Westerman family fonds
- Description Level
- Fonds
- Physical Description
- 17 photographs
- Scope and Content
- Fonds consists of photographs documenting Walter "Wally" Westerman's life while growing up in Burnaby, his time spent in California while training as an engineer, his time in Montreal during his service with the R.C.A.F., Wally with his wife Gwendolyn (nee Brocklesby) Westerman and Wally in his later years outside of his home in Burnaby.
- History
- Walter "Wally" William Westerman was born in London, Ontario in 1916. A few years later he moved with his parents to Vancouver. Around 1921 his parents, Albert Edwin and Louisa (nee Williams) Westerman bought a double lot at 4797 Georgia Street in District Lot 122 in Burnaby. On the lot they built a house and bowling green. Wally's father Albert worked as a proof reader for the Daily Province newspaper and retired in 1938. Walter attended Gilmore Avenue school and North Burnaby High School. After graduating from highschool he enrolled in engineering school in Glendale, California. Wally was married to Margot Florence Patry from 1943 to 1952. When World War II began, Wally joined the Royal Canadian Air Force. Wally suffered from arthritis and after being declared unfit for combat he was discharged. He returned to Burnaby and became a foreman in the engineering department of Boeing Aircraft of Canada. In 1944, while employed by Boeing, Wally was recoginized with awards for his ingenuity of "Jig Design for Bomb Torpedo Adaptors" and "Bomb Release Scissors". When Wally's father Albert became ill and had to have his leg amputated, Wally attended to his needs and sold the family's Georgia Street house to a buy a house at 5277 Spencer Street in Vancouver. Wally's father died in 1944 and his mother died in 1966. Following his first marriage, Wally met Gwendolyn "Gwen" Brocklesby and they developed a long term relationship eventually marrying in 1969. Gwen had a daughter named Barbara from her first marriage and Wally became her step father. Between 1960 and 1963, Wally was admitted to membership in the Canadian Power Squadrons with qualifications in seamanship, engine maintenance and weather and Gwen was awarded a certificate of qualification in piloting and seamanship. In 1969 Gwen, Wally and Barbara moved to a brand new home at 2171 Duthie Avenue in Burnaby which was within walking distance to Lenkurt Electric on Lougheed Highway where Wally worked. Wally was a machinist and foreman of the sheet metal shop at Lenkurt and later at Microtel. Walter Westerman died in Burnaby in 2000 and his wife Gwen died in Burnaby in 2016.
- Responsibility
- Westerman, Walter "Wally"
- Accession Code
- BV020.17
- Access Restriction
- No restrictions
- Reproduction Restriction
- No known restrictions
- Date
- [1917-1959]
- Media Type
- Photograph
- Notes
- Title based on contents of fonds
William Martin family fonds
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription66694
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- 1927-1940 (date of originals)
- Collection/Fonds
- William Martin family fonds
- Description Level
- Fonds
- Physical Description
- 26 photographs : 1 original photograph + 19 jpegs + 6 copy prints
- Scope and Content
- Fonds consists of photographs of the William and Ellen Martin family, pioneers of Burnaby.
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- 1927-1940 (date of originals)
- Collection/Fonds
- William Martin family fonds
- Physical Description
- 26 photographs : 1 original photograph + 19 jpegs + 6 copy prints
- Material Details
- 2 copy prints + 1 jpeg are duplicates to the original; 3 copy prints are duplicates to a larger copy print
- Description Level
- Fonds
- Accession Number
- 2011-11
- 2006-03
- 2012-03
- Scope and Content
- Fonds consists of photographs of the William and Ellen Martin family, pioneers of Burnaby.
- History
- William Martin and Ellen Ward met while attending school in Glasgow, Scotland. They married in 1916 while William was on leave from the Canadian Over-Seas Expeditionary Force. After the war, they immigrated to Canada with their two-year-old daughter, Margaret. They spent a few years in Vancouver where three more daughters were born: Barbara (later Punnett); Juanita (later Safarik); and Sally (later Forbes). With their four small daughters, they moved to Los Angeles where William worked as a craftsman for Samuel Goldwyn Studios. In 1926, they returned to B.C., where William purchased five acres of land on Spruce Street in Burnaby. Much of the land had been logged but not cleared. Dynamite was used to remove the large, burnt stumps. While William prepared the land for a new house, the family lived in a temporary building that was later used for a garage. The seven-room house that William built was one of the first houses on Spruce Street. During this time, William and Ellen’s two sons, Bill and Jackie, were born. The Martins made good use of their property. They kept chickens, ducks, and a goat, planted fruit trees, and had a large raspberry patch. The children enjoyed their large playground, much of it still heavily forested. In the winter they walked to Deer Lake to ice skate. They hiked Burnaby Mountain and sometimes walked to Capitol Hill where there was a recreation centre. All six children attended Douglas Road School and South Burnaby Secondary School. Margaret became a schoolteacher; Juanita and Barbara did office work after attending Sprott Shaw Business School; Sally became a public health nurse; and Bill and Jackie became doctors. Margaret taught in Burnaby schools for 27 years. Before her marriage, Sally served as a public health nurse in Burnaby for three years. Bill had an ophthalmology practice in Burnaby until his retirement. Margaret married Jack Greenall, the eldest son of another Burnaby family who lived on Nursery Street on a large property with a garden, greenhouse, and chicken house. Margaret and Jack had three children: Dr. Martin Greenall, Sharon (later Ingalls), and Diane (later Macnair). Margaret later married Peter Andrusiak and had two sons: Gordon and Peter. All of her children were raised in New Westminster. Margaret was active in her community and was awarded the New Westminster Citizen of the Year award in 1992. She died July 26, 2006, at the age of 89.
- Formats
- Records from accession 2011-11 exist only in electronic format - copied 2011
- Media Type
- Photograph
- Creator
- Martin family
- Notes
- Title based on contents of fonds
- Photo catalogue 525