Search Results | Heritage Burnaby

H.T. Ceperley Estate 'Fairacres' Greenhouse Foundation Wall

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/landmark862

Repository: Burnaby Heritage Planning

Description: The original rubble stone walls that formed the foundation for a greenhouses adjacent to the Steam Plant Building provided heat to several greenhouses on the estate propoerty. The Root House, which is to the north of the Greenhouse Foundation Wall, provided storage for the farm operation.

Associated Dates: 1908

Formal Recognition: Heritage Designation, Community Heritage Register

2 images

Repository: Burnaby Heritage Planning

Geographic Access: Deer Lake Avenue

Associated Dates: 1908

Formal Recognition: Heritage Designation, Community Heritage Register

Enactment Type: Bylaw No. 140665

Enactment Date: 23/11/1992

Description: The original rubble stone walls that formed the foundation for a greenhouses adjacent to the Steam Plant Building provided heat to several greenhouses on the estate propoerty. The Root House, which is to the north of the Greenhouse Foundation Wall, provided storage for the farm operation.

Heritage Value: The outbuildings at 'Fairacres' are a rare surviving architecturally-designed ensemble of agricultural structures that exist in complementary harmony with the main estate house. Architect Robert Mackay Fripp (1858-1917), an outspoken advocate of Arts and Crafts design, was retained by the Ceperleys to design several original outbuildings on their estate, which was designed as a country estate with a working farm that included over 10 acres of productive berry and vegetable fields, with a large kitchen garden, a root house to store food, an orchard, and greenhouses heated by steam. The agricultural potential of the Deer Lake area made it one of the first parts of the municipality to attract settlement. In 1909, the Ceperleys built three large greenhouses heated by an adjacent steam plant (Fairacres Steam Plant). The greenhouses featured granite foundation walls, including this one which remains intact. The Ceperleys employed a large staff to manage the estate's agricultural production, including Chinese farm labourers. Produce was grown for use at the estate, and for sale at local markets. Agricultural use of the estate continued when a Catholic order of Benedictine monks purchased the estate as part of the Priory of St. Joseph and the Seminary of Christ the King, and continued to farm the land until 1953.

Defining Elements: Key elements that define the heritage character of the ‘Fairacres’ Steam Plant Building include its: - overall spatial arrangement of the Greenhouse Foundation Wall in relation to the Steam Plant Building and the Root House - original rubble stone walls reflecting the Arts and Crafts design aesthetic of the estate buildings.

Locality: Deer Lake Park

Historic Neighbourhood: Burnaby Lake (Historic Neighbourhood)

Planning Study Area: Douglas-Gilpin Area

Architect: Robert Mackay Fripp

Function: Primary Historic--Outbuilding

Community: Burnaby

Cadastral Identifier: P.I.D. No. 004-493-311 Legal Description: Block 3 Except: Part subdivided by Plan 26865, District Lot 79, Group 1, New Westminster District, Plan 536

Boundaries: ‘Fairacres’ is comprised of a single municipally-owned property located at 6344 Deer Lake Avenue, Burnaby.

Area: 17,065.00

Contributing Resource: Landscape Feature; Remains

Ownership: Public (local)

Other Collection: Burnaby Historical Society, Community Archives: Ceperley Photograph Album

Documentation: Heritage Site Files: PC77000 20. City of Burnaby Planning and Building Department, 4949 Canada Way, Burnaby, B.C., V5G 1M2

Names: Ceperley, Grace; Ceperley, H.T.; Fripp, Robert Mackay

Subjects: Buildings - Agricultural; Building Components; Buildings - Agricultural - Greenhouses

Street Address: 6344 Deer Lake Avenue

Images

July 2019 greenhouse foundation wall. Greenhouse foundation wall, 2019. thumbnail

Exterior view of greenhouses on the Ceperley Estate, 1914. thumbnail

H.T. Ceperley Estate 'Fairacres' Steam Plant Building

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/landmark528

Repository: Burnaby Heritage Planning

Description: Designed in the British Arts and Crafts style, the ‘Fairacres’ Steam Plant Buiding is a single-storey wood frame building with a gabled roof that originally housed the apparatus for climate control in the greenhouses, formerly located to its north. The original rubble stone walls that formed the fo…

Associated Dates: 1908

Formal Recognition: Heritage Designation, Community Heritage Register

1 image

Repository: Burnaby Heritage Planning

Geographic Access: Deer Lake Avenue

Associated Dates: 1908

Formal Recognition: Heritage Designation, Community Heritage Register

Enactment Type: Bylaw No. 9807

Enactment Date: 23/11/1992

Description: Designed in the British Arts and Crafts style, the ‘Fairacres’ Steam Plant Buiding is a single-storey wood frame building with a gabled roof that originally housed the apparatus for climate control in the greenhouses, formerly located to its north. The original rubble stone walls that formed the foundation for the greenhouses stand adjacent. The Steam Plant Building stands as a pendant to the Root House, which is to the north of the former greenhouses.

Heritage Value: The outbuildings at 'Fairacres' are a rare surviving architecturally-designed ensemble of agricultural structures that exist in complementary harmony with the main estate house. Architect Robert Mackay Fripp (1858-1917), an outspoken advocate of Arts and Crafts design, was retained by the Ceperleys to design several original outbuildings on their estate. The Ceperleys operated 'Fairacres' with staff, a farm manager and workers, including Chinese, to grow produce for themselves and for sale at local markets. The Steam Plant Building illustrates the market gardening activity of the area around Deer Lake and its importance to the Ceperley family, which valued a year-round supply of fresh fruit and vegetables for the kitchen and flowers for the house. It also illustrates the cultural and aesthetic values of the Ceperleys in retaining an architect to design a functional outbuilding using an accepted and contemporary architectural style. Built in 1908, the Steam Plant Building was significantly altered in the 1960s and restored to its original design in 2000.

Defining Elements: Key elements that define the heritage character of the ‘Fairacres’ Steam Plant Building include its: - overall spatial arrangement of the Steam Plant Building in relation to the former greenhouses and the Root House - side gable roof with cedar shingle cladding. - tall brick chimney indicitive of the building's original function. - distinctive Arts and Crafts architectural features such as the shingle wall cladding with decorative shingling under window sills, deep eaves, and pebble-dashed concrete foundation walls - six-paned wooden-sash casement windows - simple functional interior features - rubble stone walls that formed the foundation for the greenhouses

Locality: Deer Lake Park

Historic Neighbourhood: Burnaby Lake (Historic Neighbourhood)

Planning Study Area: Douglas-Gilpin Area

Architect: Robert Mackay Fripp

Function: Primary Historic--Outbuilding

Community: Burnaby

Cadastral Identifier: P.I.D. No. 004-493-311 Legal Description: Block 3 Except: Part subdivided by Plan 26865, District Lot 79, Group 1, New Westminster District, Plan 536

Boundaries: ‘Fairacres’ is comprised of a single municipally-owned property located at 6344 Deer Lake Avenue, Burnaby.

Area: 17,065.00

Contributing Resource: Building; Landscape Feature

Ownership: Public (local)

Other Collection: Burnaby Historical Society, Community Archives: Ceperley Photograph Album

Documentation: Heritage Site Files: PC77000 20. City of Burnaby Planning and Building Department, 4949 Canada Way, Burnaby, B.C., V5G 1M2

Names: Ceperley, Grace; Ceperley, H.T.; Fripp, Robert Mackay

Subjects: Buildings - Heritage; Buildings - Agricultural - Greenhouses; Buildings - Agricultural

Street Address: 6344 Deer Lake Avenue

Images

Exterior view of the ‘Fairacres’ Steam Plant Building, 2013. Oblique view. thumbnail

H.T. Ceperley Estate 'Fairacres' Root House

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/landmark527

Repository: Burnaby Heritage Planning

Description: The ‘Fairacres’ Root House is a long, low one-storey masonry building, measuring 4.6 metres by 9.1 metres, with massively buttressed concrete walls and foundations. Built into sloping ground adjacent to the location of the former greenhouses, the surviving orchard and the kitchen entrance of the ma…

Associated Dates: 1908

Formal Recognition: Heritage Designation, Community Heritage Register

1 image

Repository: Burnaby Heritage Planning

Geographic Access: Deer Lake Avenue

Associated Dates: 1908

Formal Recognition: Heritage Designation, Community Heritage Register

Enactment Type: Bylaw No. 9807

Enactment Date: 23/11/1992

Description: The ‘Fairacres’ Root House is a long, low one-storey masonry building, measuring 4.6 metres by 9.1 metres, with massively buttressed concrete walls and foundations. Built into sloping ground adjacent to the location of the former greenhouses, the surviving orchard and the kitchen entrance of the main house, 'Fairacres,' this functional structure was used as a frost-free store for fruit and vegetables for the family's use.

Heritage Value: The outbuildings at 'Fairacres' are a rare surviving architecturally-designed ensemble of agricultural structures that exist in complementary harmony with the main estate house. Architect Robert Mackay Fripp (1858-1917), an outspoken advocate of Arts and Crafts design, was retained by the Ceperleys to design several original outbuildings on their estate. The Root House is important as a rare surviving, and exceptionally large, example of this building type in the Vancouver region. Unusual in the fact that an architect designed a building of such modest aspirations, it is also remarkable in its method of construction. The use of concrete as a structural material is one of the earliest in the region and extraordinary for its use on such a modest vernacular outbuilding; root cellars were typically built of loose stone. Built in 1908, the Root House was significantly altered in the 1960s and restored to its original design in 2000. The building is significant as an indicator of the market gardening activity in the area around Deer Lake and of the country-house self-sufficiency practiced by the Ceperley family. The Root House illustrates the cultural, aesthetic, and lifestyle values of the Ceperleys in constructing such a large building for storing their own produce.

Defining Elements: The outbuildings at 'Fairacres' are a rare surviving architecturally-designed ensemble of agricultural structures that exist in complementary harmony with the main estate house. Architect Robert Mackay Fripp (1858-1917), an outspoken advocate of Arts and Crafts design, was retained by the Ceperleys to design several original outbuildings on their estate. The Root House is important as a rare surviving, and exceptionally large, example of this building type in the Vancouver region. Unusual in the fact that an architect designed a building of such modest aspirations, it is also remarkable in its method of construction. The use of concrete as a structural material is one of the earliest in the region and extraordinary for its use on such a modest vernacular outbuilding; root cellars were typically built of loose stone. Built in 1908, the Root House was significantly altered in the 1960s and restored to its original design in 2000. The building is significant as an indicator of the market gardening activity in the area around Deer Lake and of the country-house self-sufficiency practiced by the Ceperley family. The Root House illustrates the cultural, aesthetic, and lifestyle values of the Ceperleys in constructing such a large building for storing their own produce.

Locality: Deer Lake Park

Historic Neighbourhood: Burnaby Lake (Historic Neighbourhood)

Planning Study Area: Douglas-Gilpin Area

Architect: Robert Mackay Fripp

Function: Primary Historic--Outbuilding; Secondary Historic--Food Storage

Community: Burnaby

Cadastral Identifier: P.I.D. No. 004-493-311 Legal Description: Block 3 Except: Part subdivided by Plan 26865, District Lot 79, Group 1, New Westminster District, Plan 536

Boundaries: ‘Fairacres’ is comprised of a single municipally-owned property located at 6344 Deer Lake Avenue, Burnaby.

Area: 17,065.00

Contributing Resource: Building; Landscape Feature

Ownership: Public (local)

Other Collection: Burnaby Historical Society, Community Archives: Ceperley Photograph Album

Documentation: Heritage Site Files: PC77000 20. City of Burnaby Planning and Building Department, 4949 Canada Way, Burnaby, B.C., V5G 1M2

Names: Ceperley, Grace; Ceperley, H.T.; Fripp, Robert Mackay

Subjects: Buildings - Heritage; Buildings - Agricultural

Street Address: 6344 Deer Lake Avenue

Images

Exterior view of ‘Fairacres’ Root House, 2013. Oblique view. thumbnail

Rob Mills of Blooming Deals Garden Centre

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription97488

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Date: [2002]

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby NewsLeader photograph collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph (tiff) : col.

Scope and Content: Photograph of Rob Mills, an employee at Blooming Deals Garden Centre on Hastings Street, posing with an assortment of garden tools, in front of dandelions gone to seed.

1 image

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Date: [2002]

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby NewsLeader photograph collection

Physical Description: 1 photograph (tiff) : col.

Description Level: Item

Record No.: 535-2827

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: No restrictions

Accession Number: 2018-12

Scope and Content: Photograph of Rob Mills, an employee at Blooming Deals Garden Centre on Hastings Street, posing with an assortment of garden tools, in front of dandelions gone to seed.

Subjects: Gardens; Agricultural Tools and Equipment - Gardening Equipment

Media Type: Photograph

Photographer: Bartel, Mario

Notes: Title based on caption; Collected by editorial for use in an October 2002 issue of the Burnaby NewsLeader; Caption from metadata: "Rob Mills, of Blooming Deals Garden Centre, on Hastings St., shows some of the tools Burnaby gardeners will have to use to rid their gardens of weeds if city council bans the use of herbicides by homeowners."

Geographic Access: Hastings Street

Images

Rob Mills of Blooming Deals Garden Centre, [2002] thumbnail

Louis Claude Hill's Strawberry Farm, Burnaby BC

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription991

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: 1902

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum Photograph collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph : sepia ; 12.8 x 17.7 cm mounted on grey card 15.0 x 20.0 cm

Scope and Content: Photograph of immigrant workers in the field picking strawberries on the farm belonging to Claude Hill. On the left, the Hill family home, Brookfield, can be seen. Claude Hill's daughter, Kitty Hill, is sitting on the steps of the house. The property is the current site of the Burnaby Village Muse…

2 images

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum Photograph collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph : sepia ; 12.8 x 17.7 cm mounted on grey card 15.0 x 20.0 cm

Scope and Content: Photograph of immigrant workers in the field picking strawberries on the farm belonging to Claude Hill. On the left, the Hill family home, Brookfield, can be seen. Claude Hill's daughter, Kitty Hill, is sitting on the steps of the house. The property is the current site of the Burnaby Village Museum.

Subjects: Agriculture - Farms; Occupations - Agricultural Labourers; Agriculture - Fruit and Berries; Buildings - Residential - Houses; Persons - Chinese Canadians

Accession Code: HV973.40.5

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: No known restrictions

Date: 1902

Media Type: Photograph

Historic Neighbourhood: Burnaby Lake (Historic Neighbourhood)

Planning Study Area: Morley-Buckingham Area

Scan Resolution: 600

Scan Date: 2023-05-09

Scale: 100

Photographer: Cooksley, William Thomas

Notes: Title based on caption accompanying photograph; Inscribed on the negative and (therefore) printed on recto of photograph reads: "L.C. Hill's Strawberry Farm, Burnaby, B.C." and "W.T. Cooksley, New Westminster, B.C."; Note written in red pencil on the card reads: "1902 - Grandview H.WAY"

Images

Louis Claude Hill's Strawberry Farm, Burnaby BC, 1902 thumbnail

Interview with Prem Kaur Gill, Santokh Singh Gill and Mohinder Kaur Gill

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription19347

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: [1957-2022] (interview content), interviewed 11 Nov. 2022

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum fonds

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 sound recording (m4a) (118 min., 39 sec.) + 1 sound recording (mp3) (115 min., 20 sec.)

Scope and Content: Item consists of an oral history interview with Santokh "Gurmail" Singh Gill and Mohinder Kaur Gill and their daughter, Prem Kaur Gill conducted by interviewers, Anushay Malik and Rajdeep. The interview is conducted in English, Punjabi, Hindi and Urdu. The three members of the Gill family share the…

1 audio

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum fonds

Series: Museum Oral Histories series

Subseries: South Asian Canadian Interviews subseries

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 sound recording (m4a) (118 min., 39 sec.) + 1 sound recording (mp3) (115 min., 20 sec.)

Material Details: Interviewers: Anushay Malik, Rajdeep Interviewees: Prem Kaur Gill, Santokh "Gurmail" Singh Gill and Mohinder Kaur Gill Location of Interview: Gill family residence on Warwick Avenue in Burnaby Interview Date: November 11, 2022 Total Number of tracks: 1 Total Length of all Tracks: (1:58:39) Digital master recording (m4a) was converted to mp3 for access on Heritage Burnaby

Scope and Content: Item consists of an oral history interview with Santokh "Gurmail" Singh Gill and Mohinder Kaur Gill and their daughter, Prem Kaur Gill conducted by interviewers, Anushay Malik and Rajdeep. The interview is conducted in English, Punjabi, Hindi and Urdu. The three members of the Gill family share their ancestral background, their personal experiences immigrating to Canada, living in Burnaby and working in British Columbia as South Asian immigrants. 00:00 – 27:34 Santokh “Gurmail” Singh Gill and Mohinder Kaur Gill share their migration stories and experiences living and working in British Columbia as South Asian immigrants and their eldest child, Prem Kaur Gill shares her own experiences as a child of South Asian immigrants and growing up in British Columbia as a South Asian Canadian. Gurmail Singh Gill was born in the District of Jalandhar and Mohinder Kaur Gill was born in Hoshiapur of the Indian state of Punjab. Gurmail describes how he moved from India to England with his family in 1957, immigrated to Canada from England in 1966, married his wife Mohinder in England in 1968 and brought his family (parents and two siblings) to Canada from England in 1970 and other relatives including his wife’s family in the 1970s and 1980s. Mohinder and Gurmail Gill recollect their arranged marriage in England in 1968, their immigration process and explain how they arrived in Burnaby residing with a cousin at 4649 Georgia Street until they were able to purchase their own home after a few years. Gurmail shares names and connections to the relatives that came to British Columbia before him. Gurmail and Mohinder tell how they lived in the basement of the house and rented out the upper floor to save money. The couple recall what they brought with them when they immigrated to Canada and Mohinder Kaur Gill tells of how before leaving India, she and her mother made a special rajai for her to take with her. Mohinder describes the process of making a rajai (a quilted blanket that was made by hand). Gurmail and Mohinder Gill talk about the challenges that they’ve experienced as new immigrants including not being fluent in English, the cold weather and not having very many family or friends nearby to provide support. They attended the Gurdwara on Ross Street or Akali Singh Sikh Society Gurdwara on Skeena in Vancouver. They explain how there was limited access to grocery stores that supplied Punjabi and Indian spices and other cooking supplies. They talk about how they used a food mill and mortar and pestle to grind their own spices and flour and how Mohinder often made traditional sweets like barfi and laddo and pakoras using pea flour when they couldn’t get Besan flour. 27:35 – 36:11 Gurmail provides more details on his family’s immigration story, including names of relatives, how his six siblings and parents all immigrated to British Columbia in 1970 and how in the early 1970s and mid 1980’s Gurmail and his family sponsored approximately 70 friends and relations from India (including Mohinder’s family) to immigrate to Canada. When Mohinder’s family arrived they lived with them in their house until they were able to purchase property next door and build their own home. Children in the families all attended elementary and high school in Burnaby which now amounts to three generations. 36:12 – 59:28 Gurmail and Mohinder Gill talk about their experiences of racial discrimination. Gurmail recalls members of the South Asian community, Dr. Hari Prakash Sharma, Harinder Mahil and Charan Gill starting the British Columbia Organization to Fight Racism. Gurmail tells of how he got involved contributing some of his union dues as a member of CAIMAW (Canadian Association of Industrial Mechanical and Allied Workers Union- Local 15) and as a friend of Charan Gill and Raj Chouhan of the Canadian Farm Workers Union. Gurmail Gill explains how he was a founding member of CAIMAW and treasurer until the union merged with the Canadian Auto Workers Union (in 1991). Mohinder and Gurmail tell of how people from the South Asian community were discouraged from wearing Punjabi dresses or head coverings for fear of being yelled at with racial slurs and how it was often scary to go outside. Many from their community often avoided attending the Akali Singh Gurdwara since a head covering was required and people were afraid of being a target. Gurmail provides details about his work with A1 Steel, how different unions were formed pertaining to various skillsets and jobs per company and how he became a member of CAIMAW Local 15 (foundry workers). Mohinder recollects her experiences as a mother, the daily tasks involved and friends that she made who’d also emigrated from Punjab. Mohinder describes how she designed and sewed many Punjabi dresses using her electric sewing machine and how she learned English by attending adult classes at a church on Commercial Drive. Mohinder and her mother attended the classes for two hours per day for six years at a cost of twelve dollars for ten weeks. Once Mohinder could speak a little English, she started working and was able to practice more. 59:29 – 1:06:08 Mohinder, Gurmail and Prem talk about some of their favourite traditional foods including corn roti and spinach curry and how they grow many of their own vegetables including peppers, eggplant, saag (spinach), onions, garlic, cilantro, zucchini, squash and fenugreek. Mohinder reflects on how access to Punjabi clothing and fabric stores in Vancouver has changed and that ready made food is now more available. Traditional foods were previously made from scratch with women gathering together and cooking for hours and now it’s gotten easier but more expensive and less of a community feel. 1:06:09- 1:55:20 Mohinder and Gurmail Gill discuss and share their perspectives and experiences on raising a family in the past versus today. Gurmail imparts that all of his siblings became educated and secured professional careers while he continued to work in the trades. Prem Kaur Gill shares her own experiences growing up and attending school in Burnaby. Gurmail and Mohinder Gill recall the type of suitcase that they brought with them when they immigrated and how they recently they got rid of it. Gurmail and the group reflect and discuss the confusion with racial identity terms that have been used in this country. They comment that South Asians were referred to as “Hindu” and “East Indian” and Indigenous peoples were referred to as “Indian” and the controversy and racism behind some of these terms. The group discusses the impact of the caste system and other discriminatory experiences and compare their experiences of living in England to living in Canada. Prem comments on how it’s just recently that South Asian customs, celebrations and practices have been recognized and celebrated here in Canada, like Diwali and yoga. They comment on how much of the language, culture and customs have been retained in Surrey where many can still communicate in Punjabi and don’t need to be fluent in English. The group discusses how many South Asians immigrants first lived and worked in Vancouver but with rising property prices many moved to Surrey expanding and establishing a much larger South Asian community with resources. The group discusses and compares the differing travel routes that many of them and their relatives took when immigrating and travelling between India and Canada. The group talks about Rajdeep’s ancestral village in India which is near the Gill village of Firozpur. Gurmail explains the origins and details behind his family name that was changed from “Shergill” to “Gill” and the name “Santokh” from his maternal side.

History: Interviewees' biographies: Santokh "Gurmail" Singh Gill was born in the District of Jalandhar in Punjab, India. Gurmail moved to England with his family in 1957 and immigrated to British Columbia in 1966. Gurmail married his wife, Mohinder Kaur Gill in England in 1968 and she immigrated to British Columbia from England soon after. Gurmail first lived with a cousin in Burnaby before purchasing a home of his own in Burnaby where he raised his family. Gurmail worked in the steel industry and was a member and treasurer of the CAIMAW before the union merged with the Canadian Auto Workers Union. Mohinder Kaur Gill was born in the Hoshiapur in Punjab, India. She married her husband Santokh "Gurmail" Singh Gill in England in 1968 and immigrated to Burnaby, British Columbia to join her husband. Mohinder and Gurmail Gill have four children, all born in Burnaby. Prem Kaur Gill was born in Burnaby in 1969 and is the eldest child of Santokh "Gurmail" Singh Gill and Mohinder Kaur Gill. Prem grew up and attended school in Burnaby. Interviewers' biographies: Anushay Malik is labor historian with a geographical focus on South Asia. Anushay studied at the University of London and was a research fellow at the International Institute of Social History in Amsterdam, Netherlands. In 2014, Anushay moved back to her native Pakistan and joined Lahore University of Management Services as an Assistant Professor. In 2023, Anushay is a visiting scholar at Simon Fraser University and lives in Burnaby with her family. Anushay was a co-curator of the Burnaby Village Museum exhibit “Truths Not Often Told: Being South Asian in Burnaby”. Rajdeep was born and raised in the Lower Mainland and is of Punjabi (South Asian) descent. She has an Associate of Arts degree in Asian Studies from Kwantlen Polytechnic University, a Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) in Anthropology from the University of British Columbia. She is a student in the Restoration of Natural Systems program at the University of Victoria. Rajdeep works at Simon Fraser University as a Program Assistant and as a researcher with the City of Burnaby. At Burnaby Village Museum, Rajdeep contributed to the exhibit “Truths Not Often Told: Being South Asian in Burnaby”.

Creator: Burnaby Village Museum

Subjects: Clothing; Foods; Indigenous peoples; Buildings - Religious - Temples; Food Processing Tools and Equipment; Persons - South Asian Canadians; Social Issues; Social Issues - Racism; Migration; Occupations; Organizations - Unions

Names: Gill, Prem Kaur; Gill, Mohinder Kaur; Gill, Santokh "Gurmail" Singh

Responsibility: Rajdeep; Malik, Anushay

Accession Code: BV022.29.2

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: No known restrictions

Date: [1957-2022] (interview content), interviewed 11 Nov. 2022

Media Type: Sound Recording

Notes: Title based on contents of item; Transcript available upon request - contact Burnaby Village Museum; Indian Family System Reference notes: Baba = informal way to say grandfather; old man Bibi = informal way to say grandmother; old woman Dada= paternal grandfather Dadi= paternal grandmother Dadke= paternal family members; paternal side (Various spellings might exist for the following terms) Thaiyya= father’s elder brother (uncle) Thaiyyi= father’s elder brother’s wife (aunt) Chacha= father’s younger brother (uncle) Chachi= father’s younger brother’s wife (aunt) Bua= father’s sister (older or younger) (aunt) Phuphar= father’s sister’s husband (uncle) Nana= maternal grandfather Nani= maternal grandmother Nanke/nanka= maternal family members; maternal side Mama= mom’s brother (older or younger) (uncle) Mami= mom’s brother’s wife (aunt) Maasi= mom’s sister (older or younger) (aunt) Maasard= mom’s sister’s husband (uncle)

Audio Tracks

Interview with Prem Kaur Gill, Santokh Singh Gill and Mohinder Kaur Gill, [1957-2022] (interview content), interviewed 11 Nov. 2022

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_BVM_Sound_Recordings/Oral_Histories/2022_0029_0002_002.mp3

Bernard Hill farm

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription35929

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Date: [190-] (date of original), copied 1986

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Historical Society fonds

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph : b&w ; 12.7 x 17.8 cm print

Scope and Content: Photograph of the Hill brothers Frank, Claude and Gerry and their pet dog riding on hay wagon on their father's farm.

1 image

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Date: [190-] (date of original), copied 1986

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Historical Society fonds

Series: Community Archives Collection series

Subseries: Pioneer Tales subseries

Physical Description: 1 photograph : b&w ; 12.7 x 17.8 cm print

Description Level: Item

Record No.: 204-789

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: No restrictions

Accession Number: BHS1988-03

Scope and Content: Photograph of the Hill brothers Frank, Claude and Gerry and their pet dog riding on hay wagon on their father's farm.

Subjects: Animals - Dogs; Transportation - Horses; Agriculture - Crops; Agricultural Tools and Equipment

Names: Hill, A Claude; Hill, Frank; Hill, Minard Gerald "Gerry"

Media Type: Photograph

Notes: Title based on contents of photograph

Geographic Access: Douglas Road; Canada Way

Street Address: 4990 Canada Way

Historic Neighbourhood: Burnaby Lake (Historic Neighbourhood)

Planning Study Area: Douglas-Gilpin Area

Images

Bernard Hill farm, [190-] (date of original), copied 1986 thumbnail

Dad at Deer Lake

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription38864

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Date: [1905]

Collection/Fonds: Peers Family and Hill Family fonds

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph : sepia ; 8 x 5.5 cm on page 14 x 17.5 cm (pasted in album)

Scope and Content: Photograph of Claude Hill on a hay rake being pulled by the workhorse, "Tom." His daughter, Kitty, wrote the caption "Dad at Deer Lake" next to this photograph.

1 image

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Date: [1905]

Collection/Fonds: Peers Family and Hill Family fonds

Series: Kitty Hill Peers family photograph series

Physical Description: 1 photograph : sepia ; 8 x 5.5 cm on page 14 x 17.5 cm (pasted in album)

Description Level: Item

Record No.: 477-183

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: No known restrictions

Accession Number: 2007-12

Scope and Content: Photograph of Claude Hill on a hay rake being pulled by the workhorse, "Tom." His daughter, Kitty, wrote the caption "Dad at Deer Lake" next to this photograph.

Subjects: Agriculture - Crops; Animals - Horses; Occupations - Farmers; Agricultural Tools and Equipment

Names: Hill Family; Hill, Louis Claude "Claude"

Media Type: Photograph

Notes: Title based on caption accompanying photograph

Geographic Access: Douglas Road; Deer Lake Avenue

Street Address: 6501 Deer Lake Avenue

Historic Neighbourhood: Burnaby Lake (Historic Neighbourhood)

Planning Study Area: Morley-Buckingham Area

Images

Haying on the Hill farm

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription38755

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Date: [1906]

Collection/Fonds: Peers Family and Hill Family fonds

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph : b&w ; 5 x 8 cm on page 11.5 x 14 cm (pasted in album)

Scope and Content: Photograph of a man (probably Claude Hill) with a horse and hay rake, tending to a field of hay. Kitty Hill is in the foreground holding some loose hay. This photograph was likely taken on the Hill farm, known as Brookfield.

1 image

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Date: [1906]

Collection/Fonds: Peers Family and Hill Family fonds

Series: Kitty Hill Peers family photograph series

Physical Description: 1 photograph : b&w ; 5 x 8 cm on page 11.5 x 14 cm (pasted in album)

Description Level: Item

Record No.: 477-074

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: No known restrictions

Accession Number: 2007-12

Scope and Content: Photograph of a man (probably Claude Hill) with a horse and hay rake, tending to a field of hay. Kitty Hill is in the foreground holding some loose hay. This photograph was likely taken on the Hill farm, known as Brookfield.

Subjects: Agriculture - Crops; Agricultural Tools and Equipment; Animals - Horses

Names: Hill, Louis Claude "Claude"; Peers, Katherine Maude Hill "Kitty"

Media Type: Photograph

Notes: Title based on contents of photograph

Geographic Access: Deer Lake Avenue

Street Address: 6501 Deer Lake Avenue

Historic Neighbourhood: Burnaby Lake (Historic Neighbourhood)

Planning Study Area: Morley-Buckingham Area

Images

Haying on the Hill farm, [1906] thumbnail

Louis Claude Hill's Farm, Burnaby, BC

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription3064

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: [1909]

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum Photograph collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph : b&w ; 12.2 x 17.6 cm mounted on cardboard 22.7 x 27.4 cm

Scope and Content: Photograph of a farm with men, a horse and wagon, and children in a field. An annotation on the back of one of the photos reads, "The foreground farm property stood at the corner of Sperling Avenue (formerly known as the Pole Line Road) and Buckingham. The white house in the left centre was the …

2 images

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum Photograph collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph : b&w ; 12.2 x 17.6 cm mounted on cardboard 22.7 x 27.4 cm

Scope and Content: Photograph of a farm with men, a horse and wagon, and children in a field. An annotation on the back of one of the photos reads, "The foreground farm property stood at the corner of Sperling Avenue (formerly known as the Pole Line Road) and Buckingham. The white house in the left centre was the residence of Miss Woodward, her mother and sister. It was the first post office at 'Burnaby Lake' and the site of the kindergarten school of Miss Harriet Woodward. It later became the United Church. / The open field in the distance above the horse's head and people in the field is the field in front of the 'Manor House' which was built by Mr. Bateman in the 1920's. To the right of and beyond the white house partly hidden by the trees can be seen some of the buildings associated with the Hill farm on Deer Lake Ave. which by the date (1909) of this photo had been sold. The distant tall trees (center) stand on the site of the Municipal Buildings (DesBirsays Woods)." An annotation on the back of the other photograph reads, "Formerly belonging to Malcom Nicolson / App. 1908." Annotations at the bottom front of the photograph read, "L. Claude Hill's Farm, Burnaby, BC."

Subjects: Agriculture - Crops; Agricultural Tools and Equipment; Animals - Horses; Occupations - Farmers; Agriculture - Farms

Geographic Access: Buckingham Avenue; Sperling Avenue

Accession Code: HV973.40.4

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: No known restrictions

Date: [1909]

Media Type: Photograph

Historic Neighbourhood: Burnaby Lake (Historic Neighbourhood)

Planning Study Area: Morley-Buckingham Area

Scan Resolution: 600

Scan Date: 2023-05-09

Scale: 100

Notes: Title based on contents of photograph; 1 b&w duplicate photograph accompanying; Text on first image "L Claude Hill's Farm, Burnaby B C", incorporated into the image at the bottom edge of the photograph. "app 1909" pencilled in following above on the bottom edge of the image "L. Claude / Hill / Broadview", pencilled on the matt below the image. "The foreground farm property stood at the / Corner of Sperling Ave. (formerly known as Pole Line Road) / and Buckingham. The white house in the left / centre was the residence of Miss Woodward, her mother / and sister. It was the first post ofice at "Burnaby Lake" / and the site of the kindergarten school of Miss / Harriet Woodward. It later became the United / Church. / The open field in the distance above / the horses head and people in the field is / the field in front of the "Manse House" which / was built by Mr. Bateman in the 1920's. To the / right of and beyond the white house partly hidden / by the trees can be seen some of the buildings / associated with the Hill farm on Deer Lake Ave. / which by the date (1909) of this photo had been / sold. The distant tall trees (center) stand on the site of / the Municipal Buildings (DesBirsays Woods)", hand written in blue ink on the reverse side of the matt. It is not indicated who wrote the note. "OR MASTER / 973.40.4", pencilled in the lower right corner of reverse side of matt. "W. T. COOKSLEY / NEW WESTMINSTER, B.C."printed with very little contrast on the gray mattboard, below the lower right corner of the photograph Text on second image. "L Claude Hill's Farm, Burnaby B C", incorporated into the image at the bottom edge of the photograph. "Claude surveying the haying", pencilled on the reverse side of the matt. "Formerly belonging to Malcolm Nicholson / app 1908", hand writen in blue ink on the reverse side of the matt. "H.V.973.40.4. OR. MASTER", hand printed on the bottom left corner of the reverse side of the matt. "W. T. COOKSLEY / NEW WESTMINSTER, B.C."printed with very little contrast on the gray mattboard, below the lower right corner of the photograph

Images

Louis Claude Hill's Farm, Burnaby, BC, [1909] thumbnail

Massey-Harris : circa 1914 catalog

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumlibrary1342

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Author: Massey-Harris Company

Publication Date: 2004

Call Number: 631.3 MAS

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection: Reference Collection

Material Type: Book

ISBN: 1897030045; 9781897030042

Call Number: 631.3 MAS

Author: Massey-Harris Company

Place of Publication: Almonte, Ont.

Publisher: Algrove Pub.

Publication Date: 2004

Series: Classic reprint series (Almonte, Ont.)

Physical Description: 105 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.

Library Subject (LOC): Agricultural machinery; Catalogs

Subjects: Agricultural Tools and Equipment

Notes: Reprint. Originally published: Toronto : Massey-Harris, 1913?

Mowing at Gaines' Farm, Burnaby

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription39548

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Date: [1906]

Collection/Fonds: Peers Family and Hill Family fonds

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph : b&w ; 12 x 17 cm on page 21.5 x 28 cm (pasted in album)

Scope and Content: Photograph of a farmer driving a team of two horses mowing hay in a field. The photograph bears the caption "Mowing at Gaines' farm" and is accompanied by a notation in the album indicating that the field was across Douglas Road from Brookfield, the home of Claude Hill. This property belonged to …

1 image

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Date: [1906]

Collection/Fonds: Peers Family and Hill Family fonds

Series: Kitty Hill Peers family photograph series

Physical Description: 1 photograph : b&w ; 12 x 17 cm on page 21.5 x 28 cm (pasted in album)

Description Level: Item

Record No.: 477-867

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: No known restrictions

Accession Number: 2007-12

Scope and Content: Photograph of a farmer driving a team of two horses mowing hay in a field. The photograph bears the caption "Mowing at Gaines' farm" and is accompanied by a notation in the album indicating that the field was across Douglas Road from Brookfield, the home of Claude Hill. This property belonged to Claude's brother Bernard Hill and was later known as 4990 Canada Way. The man is unidentified. In the background to the west can be seen Burnaby Lake and to the left the Pole Line Road (later Sperling Avenue) and to the right, Douglas Road and an unidentified house. This is the current location of the Kensington Avenue freeway interchange.

Subjects: Agriculture - Crops; Agricultural Tools and Equipment; Animals - Horses; Occupations - Farmers

Media Type: Photograph

Photographer: Cooksley, William Thomas

Notes: Title based on caption accompanying photograph

Geographic Access: Deer Lake Avenue; Canada Way; Douglas Road

Street Address: 4990 Canada Way

Historic Neighbourhood: Burnaby Lake (Historic Neighbourhood)

Planning Study Area: Douglas-Gilpin Area

Images

Mowing at Gaines' Farm, Burnaby, [1906] thumbnail

Tom and Kitty

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription39542

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Date: [1904]

Collection/Fonds: Peers Family and Hill Family fonds

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph : b&w ; 5 x 7.5 cm on page 21.5 x 28 cm (pasted in album)

Scope and Content: Photograph of Kitty Hill riding on her horse Tom, who is pulling a hay rake. The photograph was taken at the Hill family farm on Deer Lake Avenue, known as Brookfield. This is the current site of the Burnaby Village Museum.

1 image

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Date: [1904]

Collection/Fonds: Peers Family and Hill Family fonds

Series: Kitty Hill Peers family photograph series

Physical Description: 1 photograph : b&w ; 5 x 7.5 cm on page 21.5 x 28 cm (pasted in album)

Description Level: Item

Record No.: 477-861

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: No known restrictions

Accession Number: 2007-12

Scope and Content: Photograph of Kitty Hill riding on her horse Tom, who is pulling a hay rake. The photograph was taken at the Hill family farm on Deer Lake Avenue, known as Brookfield. This is the current site of the Burnaby Village Museum.

Subjects: Agricultural Tools and Equipment; Animals - Horses; Agriculture - Crops

Names: Peers, Katherine Maude Hill "Kitty"

Media Type: Photograph

Notes: Title based on caption accompanying photograph

Geographic Access: Deer Lake Avenue

Street Address: 6501 Deer Lake Avenue

Historic Neighbourhood: Burnaby Lake (Historic Neighbourhood)

Planning Study Area: Morley-Buckingham Area

Images

Tom pulling a hay rake

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription38860

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Date: [1905]

Collection/Fonds: Peers Family and Hill Family fonds

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph : sepia ; 5.5 x 10.2 cm on page 14 x 17.5 cm (pasted in album)

Scope and Content: Photograph of horse, "Tom," pulling a hay rake through a field. The photograph appears to have been taken at the home of Claude Hill in the Burnaby Lake area.

1 image

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Date: [1905]

Collection/Fonds: Peers Family and Hill Family fonds

Series: Kitty Hill Peers family photograph series

Physical Description: 1 photograph : sepia ; 5.5 x 10.2 cm on page 14 x 17.5 cm (pasted in album)

Description Level: Item

Record No.: 477-179

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: No known restrictions

Accession Number: 2007-12

Scope and Content: Photograph of horse, "Tom," pulling a hay rake through a field. The photograph appears to have been taken at the home of Claude Hill in the Burnaby Lake area.

Subjects: Agriculture - Crops; Animals - Horses; Agricultural Tools and Equipment

Media Type: Photograph

Notes: Title based on contents of photograph

Geographic Access: Deer Lake Avenue

Street Address: 6501 Deer Lake Avenue

Historic Neighbourhood: Burnaby Lake (Historic Neighbourhood)

Planning Study Area: Morley-Buckingham Area

Images

Tom pulling a hay rake, [1905] thumbnail

Young man with a beehive

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription627

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: [190-] (date of original), copied 1977

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum Photograph collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph : b&w ; 25.2 x 20.2 cm print

Scope and Content: Photograph of a young man in a garden among brambles. He appears to be looking into a beehive set up among the shrubbery. A house with a large covered patio area is partially visible in the background.

1 image

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum Photograph collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph : b&w ; 25.2 x 20.2 cm print

Scope and Content: Photograph of a young man in a garden among brambles. He appears to be looking into a beehive set up among the shrubbery. A house with a large covered patio area is partially visible in the background.

Subjects: Occupations - Beekeepers; Agricultural Tools and Equipment; Agriculture - Beekeeping

Accession Code: HV977.123.33

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: No known restrictions

Date: [190-] (date of original), copied 1977

Media Type: Photograph

Related Material: For another photograph of the young man with a bee hive, see HV977.123.33 - .35

Scan Resolution: 600

Scan Date: 2023-07-25

Notes: Title based on contents of photograph

Images

Young man with a beehive

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription628

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: [190-] (date of original), copied 1977

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum Photograph collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph : b&w ; 25.2 x 20.2 cm print

Scope and Content: Photograph of a young man standing in a garden among brambles. He appears to be holding up his hand swarmed by bees. By his feet, there is a beehive set up among the brambles. A house and a barn are partially visible in the background.

1 image

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum Photograph collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph : b&w ; 25.2 x 20.2 cm print

Scope and Content: Photograph of a young man standing in a garden among brambles. He appears to be holding up his hand swarmed by bees. By his feet, there is a beehive set up among the brambles. A house and a barn are partially visible in the background.

Subjects: Occupations - Beekeepers; Agricultural Tools and Equipment; Agriculture - Beekeeping

Accession Code: HV977.123.34

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: No known restrictions

Date: [190-] (date of original), copied 1977

Media Type: Photograph

Related Material: For another photograph of the young man with a bee hive, see HV977.123.33 - .35

Scan Resolution: 600

Scan Date: 2023-07-25

Notes: Title based on contents of photograph

Images

Young man with a beehive

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription629

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: [190-] (date of original), copied 1977

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum Photograph collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph : b&w ; 25.2 x 20.2 cm print

Scope and Content: Photograph of a young man standing in a garden among brambles. He appears to be holding up his hand swarmed by bees. By his feet, there is a beehive set up among the brambles. A house and a barn are partially visible in the background.

1 image

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum Photograph collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph : b&w ; 25.2 x 20.2 cm print

Scope and Content: Photograph of a young man standing in a garden among brambles. He appears to be holding up his hand swarmed by bees. By his feet, there is a beehive set up among the brambles. A house and a barn are partially visible in the background.

Subjects: Occupations - Beekeepers; Agricultural Tools and Equipment; Agriculture - Beekeeping

Accession Code: HV977.123.35

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: No known restrictions

Date: [190-] (date of original), copied 1977

Media Type: Photograph

Related Material: For another photograph of the young man with a bee hive, see HV977.123.33 - .35

Scan Resolution: 600

Scan Date: 2023-07-25

Notes: Title based on contents of photograph

Images

Farm workers

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription66236

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Date: [1908]

Collection/Fonds: Peers Family and Hill Family fonds

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph : b&w ; 5 x 8 cm (oval, sight) on sheet 15 x 22.5 cm

Scope and Content: Photograph of four unidentified farm workers at the farm of Claude Hill.

1 image

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Date: [1908]

Collection/Fonds: Peers Family and Hill Family fonds

Series: Kitty Hill Peers family photograph series

Physical Description: 1 photograph : b&w ; 5 x 8 cm (oval, sight) on sheet 15 x 22.5 cm

Description Level: Item

Record No.: 477-949

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: No known restrictions

Accession Number: 2007-12

Scope and Content: Photograph of four unidentified farm workers at the farm of Claude Hill.

Subjects: Occupations - Agricultural Labourers; Persons - South Asian Canadians

Media Type: Photograph

Notes: Title based on contents of photograph

Geographic Access: Buckingham Avenue

Street Address: 5730 Buckingham Avenue

Historic Neighbourhood: Burnaby Lake (Historic Neighbourhood)

Planning Study Area: Morley-Buckingham Area

Images

Interview with Honourable Raj Chouhan

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription19349

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: [1957-2022] (interview content), interviewed 2 Dec. 2022

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum fonds

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 sound recording (wav) + 1 sound recording (mp3) (49 min., 21 sec.)

Scope and Content: Item consists of an oral history interview with Honourable Raj Chouhan conducted by Burnaby Village Museum Assistant Curator, Kate Petrusa. Raj Chouhan shares his ancestral background and personal experiences immigrating to Canada from India in 1973 and living and working in Canada as an immigrant…

1 document 1 audio

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum fonds

Series: Museum Oral Histories series

Subseries: South Asian Canadian Interviews subseries

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 sound recording (wav) + 1 sound recording (mp3) (49 min., 21 sec.)

Material Details: Interviewer: Kate Petrusa Interviewee: Honourable Raj Chouhan Location of Interview: Residence of Honourable Raj Chouhan Interview Date: December 2, 2022 Total Number of tracks: 1 Total Length of all Tracks: (00:49:21) Digital master recording (wav) was converted to mp3 for access on Heritage Burnaby

Scope and Content: Item consists of an oral history interview with Honourable Raj Chouhan conducted by Burnaby Village Museum Assistant Curator, Kate Petrusa. Raj Chouhan shares his ancestral background and personal experiences immigrating to Canada from India in 1973 and living and working in Canada as an immigrant and the organizations that he became involved with. Honourable Raj Chouhan recalls how he arrived in Burnaby with his family in 1973 and that his family worked in farming. Chouhan imparts his first hand experiences as a new immigrant working as a labourer in the farming industry and describes the unsafe and unfair working conditions that he and migrant workers faced. Chouhan conveys how this experience lead him to become an activist for better working conditions for migrant workers. This lead Chouhan and others to form the Canadian Farm Workers Union in 1980. Chouhan recollects his experiences flying from India to Canada with his wife, his first impressions after arriving in Vancouver and driving to Burnaby and what he brought with him. Chouhan explains his connections to Burnaby. Members of Chouhan's wife's family immgrated to Canada in 1957 and his wife and her three brothers joined them in 1970. Chouhan's father in law, Hardial Singh Grewal immigrated in 1957 and became president of the Sikh temple in New Westminster. Hardial Singh Grewal worked in a lumber mill in Vancouver and eventually bought a house in Burnaby. Chouhan married to his wife at the Sikh temple in New Westminster and lived in Burnaby for a period before moving to New Westminster where they could find more affordable housing. Chouhan shares that he first worked as a farm labourer in Abbotsford and then found a job in the sawmill which paid more. Chouhan describes the extreme racism and discrimination that he and other immigrants faced which lead to the formation of the British Columbia Organization to Fight Racism under the leadership of Dr. Hari Prakash Sharma. Chouhan describes this organization that he was a part of and the Canadian Farm Workers Union that were both formed in Burnaby. Chouhan shares that he moved to Victoria in 1988 to serve on the Hospital Employee's Union and moved back to the mainland in 1993 and returned to Burnaby in 2001. Chouhan reflects on the history of South Asian immigration in Canada, how many of the migrants settled in the lower mainland including Burnaby, New Westminster and Vancouver establishing temples in Vancouver and New Westminster which became the centre for the South Asian community. He conveys how earlier occupations were limited to farming and millwork and how over time employment opportunities and education have broadened but there is still work to do. He imparts how second generation Canadians’ experiences differ from first generations providing examples of his own daughters’ and the occupations that they are working in. Chouhan provides his insights into the South Asian Canadian experience imparting “We make history every day and that history needs to be recorded and learned from.."... “People from different communities, different backgrounds who lived in Burnaby have contributed so much and South Asians are just like another community and participated in all aspects of social life, cultural, religious, economy. I'm so proud of our community, our forefathers who had that vision to fight for our rights. I'm inspired by people who struggled so much to gain basic rights, like the right to vote". Chouhan refers to these first immigrants as “Gadri Babbas” “revolutionary old people” who were also the main motivation that lead to India becoming a free country in 1947 and for fighting for basic rights here in Canada and how they made their contributions for future generations. Chouhan expresses what he imparts to students “Do not forget your past... if you remember your past then you are much more knowledgeable. Then we know what we need for the future. If we don't know the past, we don't know what the future is going to be like. To make a better future, you have to learn from the past and improve".

History: Interviewee biography: Honourable Raj Chouhan was born in the city of Ludhiana in the Province of Punjab in India and immigrated to Canada in 1973. After arriving in Canada, Raj's family settled in Burnaby. Raj grew up in Burnaby and attended schoool. Honourable Raj Chouhan was elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia as the MLA for Burnaby-Edmonds in 2005 and was re-elected in 2009, 2013, 2017 and 2020. He was elected Speaker of the Legislative Assembly on December 7, 2020. Honourable Chouhan is the founding president of the Canadian Farmworkers Union and the British Columbia Organization to Fight Racism and has served as a director of the Hospital Employees' Union, the Labour Relations Board of B.C. and the Arbitration Bureau of B.C. Honourable Chouhan has also served as the Vice President of B.C. Human Rights Defenders since 2003 and has taught courses in Human Rights, the B.C. Labour Code and Collective Bargaining since 1987. Interviewer biography: Kate Petrusa is the Assistant Curator at the Burnaby Village Museum. In her role, she manages all aspects of the collection – including caring for physical artifacts and making their digital counterpart accessible. Before coming to Burnaby Village Museum in 2019, Kate has worked at several Museums around the Lower Mainland as a Curator and contractor since 2013.

Creator: Burnaby Village Museum

Subjects: Persons - South Asian Canadians; Social Issues; Social Issues - Racism; Occupations - Agricultural Labourers; Migration; Organizations - Unions; Rights; Rights - Human Rights; Agriculture; Agriculture - Farms; Government - Provincial Government; Government

Names: Chouhan, Raj; British Columbia Organization to Fight Racism; Sharma, Dr. Hari Prakash; Grewal, Hardial Singh; Canadian Farmworkers Union; Hospital Employees Union; Khalsa Diwan Society

Responsibility: Petrusa, Kate

Accession Code: BV022.29.4

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: No known restrictions

Date: [1957-2022] (interview content), interviewed 2 Dec. 2022

Media Type: Sound Recording

Notes: Title based on contents of item; Transcription available on Heritage Burnaby

Documents

2022_0029_0004_003

Audio Tracks

Interview with Honourable Raj Chouhan, [1957-2022] (interview content), interviewed 2 Dec. 2022

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_BVM_Sound_Recordings/Oral_Histories/2022_0029_0004_002.mp3

Interview with Ken Yip May 9, 2005 - Track 3

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription4533

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: 1950s & 1960s (interview content), interviewed May 9, 2005

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum fonds

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 sound recording (mp3) (0:06:07 min)

Scope and Content: Track 3: This portion of the recording continues with Ken’s band activities, and then pertains to the games Ken played with his brother and friends. Ken discusses how the school band’s repertoire and performances were designed to complement the school’s events throughout the year. He describes the …

1 audio

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum fonds

Series: Museum Oral Histories series

Subseries: Growing Up in Burnaby subseries

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 sound recording (mp3) (0:06:07 min)

Material Details: Interviewer: Tom Gooden Interviewee: Ken Yip Date of interview: May 9, 2005 Total Number of Tracks: 5 Total length of all Tracks: 0:62:00

Scope and Content: Track 3: This portion of the recording continues with Ken’s band activities, and then pertains to the games Ken played with his brother and friends. Ken discusses how the school band’s repertoire and performances were designed to complement the school’s events throughout the year. He describes the concert the band was invited to play on the lawn of Ceperley House on their return from Expo 67. Ken recalls the games he and his brother played, and the two neighbor boys they played with. He describes playing on the North American Peat property adjacent to theirs, in the peat trenches and in the bush. He talks of roaming as far as New Westminster and the Fraser River.

History: Recording of an interview with Ken Yip recording by Tom Gooden on May 9, 2005. This recording was completed for an exhibit, Growing Up in Burnaby, for the Burnaby Village Museum. Major themes discussed are growing up in Burnaby in the 1950s and 60s.

Creator: Burnaby Village Museum

Subjects: Persons - Chinese Canadians; Persons - Children; Education; Organizations - Bands

Names: Yip, Ken

Accession Code: BV017.45.5

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: May be restricted by third party rights

Date: 1950s & 1960s (interview content), interviewed May 9, 2005

Media Type: Sound Recording

Audio Tracks

Interview with Ken Yip May 9, 2005 - Track 3, 1950s & 1960s (interview content), interviewed May 9, 2005

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_BVM_Sound_Recordings/Oral_Histories/2017_0045_0005_003.mp3

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