Narrow Results By
Helen 'The Swinging Girl' Neon Sign
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/landmark591
- Repository
- Burnaby Heritage Planning
- Description
- Commercial building.
- Associated Dates
- 1956
- Formal Recognition
- Heritage Designation, Community Heritage Register
- Other Names
- Helen's Childrens Wear Sign
- Street View URL
- Google Maps Street View
- Repository
- Burnaby Heritage Planning
- Other Names
- Helen's Childrens Wear Sign
- Geographic Access
- Hastings Street
- Associated Dates
- 1956
- Formal Recognition
- Heritage Designation, Community Heritage Register
- Enactment Type
- Bylaw No. 12771
- Enactment Date
- 19/04/2010
- Description
- Commercial building.
- Heritage Value
- While the building here is of some importance as the former North Burnaby municipal office, its primary importance is its delightful neon sign that has become a North Burnaby landmark. Helen Arnold opened Helen’s Childrens Wear shop in the building next door to the old Municipal offices in 1948. In 1955, when North Burnaby moved out, she moved into the vacated building. As part of the renovations, Helen enlisted the assistance of her good friend Jimmy Wallace, owner of Vancouver’s Wallace Neon Company, to create a new sign for her expanded business. One of the company’s designers, Reeve Lehman, created the swinging neon girl that was installed in 1956. Designed in two parts, one section of the sign is cloud shaped and reads ‘Helen’s’ while the other section is a moving representation of a little girl on a swing. The sign is nine feet six inches high and nine feet wide, and the lower section is animated with an internal motor and gears. It immediately became a landmark on Hastings Street, and recently the sign’s design fame has spread far and wide as one of the best surviving examples of kinetic neon art in North America.
- Locality
- Vancouver Heights
- Historic Neighbourhood
- Vancouver Heights (Historic Neighbourhood)
- Planning Study Area
- Willingdon Heights Area
- Community
- Burnaby
- Names
- Helen's Childrens Wear
- Street Address
- 4142 Hastings Street
- Street View URL
- Google Maps Street View
Images
Children finger painting in a classroom
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription52965
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- [between 1957 and 1968]
- Collection/Fonds
- Burnaby Historical Society fonds
- Description Level
- Item
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph : b&w ; 7.5 x 7.5 cm
- Scope and Content
- Photograph of kindergartners finger panting in a classroom at the Tinkerbell Cooperative Kindergarten. One child is climbing on a chair to reach a high cupboard and others are busy working on their finger paintings.
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- [between 1957 and 1968]
- Collection/Fonds
- Burnaby Historical Society fonds
- Subseries
- Tinkerbell Kindergarten subseries
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph : b&w ; 7.5 x 7.5 cm
- Description Level
- Item
- Record No.
- 246-005
- Access Restriction
- No restrictions
- Reproduction Restriction
- Reproduce for fair dealing purposes only
- Accession Number
- BHS1990-12
- Scope and Content
- Photograph of kindergartners finger panting in a classroom at the Tinkerbell Cooperative Kindergarten. One child is climbing on a chair to reach a high cupboard and others are busy working on their finger paintings.
- Subjects
- Buildings - Schools
- Arts - Paintings
- Media Type
- Photograph
- Notes
- Title based on contents of photograph
- Geographic Access
- Ellesmere Avenue
- Hastings Street
- Street Address
- 300 Ellesmere Avenue North
- Historic Neighbourhood
- Capitol Hill (Historic Neighbourhood)
- Planning Study Area
- Capitol Hill Area
Images
Interview with Joanne Smith
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription19601
- Repository
- Burnaby Village Museum
- Date
- [1986-2023] (interview content), interviewed 11 May 2023
- Collection/Fonds
- Burnaby Village Museum fonds
- Description Level
- Item
- Physical Description
- 1 sound recording (wav) (24 min., 55 sec.) + 1 sound recording (mp3) (24 min., 55 sec.)
- Scope and Content
- Item consists of a recording of an oral history interview with Joanne Smith conducted by Burnaby Village Museum Registrar and Researcher, Eric Damer. 0:00 - 04:04 Joanne Smith provides a brief overview of her immigration story and how she and her husband Stanis came to emigrate from South Africa t…
- 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
- 1 sound recording (wav) (24 min., 55 sec.) + 1 sound recording (mp3) (24 min., 55 sec.)
- Material Details
- Interviewer: Eric Damer Interviewee: Joanne Smith Location of Interview: Burnaby Village Museum Interview Date: May 11, 2023 Total Number of tracks: 1 Total Length of all Tracks: 24:55 Photograph information: Joanne and Stanis Smith cycling on the Salt Flats, Argentina Digital master recording (m4a) was converted to mp3 for access on Heritage Burnaby
- Scope and Content
- Item consists of a recording of an oral history interview with Joanne Smith conducted by Burnaby Village Museum Registrar and Researcher, Eric Damer. 0:00 - 04:04 Joanne Smith provides a brief overview of her immigration story and how she and her husband Stanis came to emigrate from South Africa to Canada in 1986. Joanne explains that they decided to leave South Africa during the Apartheid era and applied to several countries with Canada being their top choice. Joanne relates that they were accepted to Canada based on her professional skills as an occupational therapist. Joanne talks about what she liked about living in South Africa and how she especially loved walking in the game reserves. 04:05 - 11:44 Joanne provides background on her ancestors migration, her life in South Africa and details on her profession. Joanne imparts that her ancestors immigrated to South Africa from Latvia at the turn of the century to avoid conscription and for increased opportunities. Joanne provides a brief overview of her life in South Africa, places that she lived and her education. Joanne provides details and background regarding her practice as an occupational therapist. Joanne explains how she specializes in hand therapy but also works with animals and other varied treatments. 11:45 - 19:29 Joanne talks about her life in Burnaby. Joanne recollects how her family ended up living in the Capitol Hill neighbourhood and provides a brief overview of her community involvement including the Parent Advisory Committee (PAC) and the Community Advisory Committee. Joanne shares some of her interests including; riding her tandem bicycle with her husband Stanis, thier love of opera and the symphony, attending concerts in Deer Lake Park and visiting Confederation with her grandchild. Joanne conveys that they like to support the local arts and that they commissioned a twig sculpture for their garden from local artist, Nickie Lewis. 19:30 - 24:55 Joanne shares that ten years after immigrating that they were able to bring family relations including Stanis' parents and brother. Joanne describes the benefits of having Stanis' parents residing with them and provides details on Stanis' parents community involvement in Burnaby. Joanne reflects on her association with her Jewish heritage. Joanne conveys that they aren’t religious but have maintained a few cultural aspects of their Jewish heritage including celebrating bat mitzvahs for both of their daughters and the importance of the Yiddish language. Joanne reflects on what she likes about living in Burnaby and how it’s changed over the 30 years that she’s lived here.
- History
- Interviewee biography: Joanne was born in Pretoria, South Africa, in 1958 and also spent some time in Klerksdorp and Johannesburg. Her formal education led to a career in occupational therapy, specializing in hand therapy. Uncomfortable with the social and political climate of South Africa at the time, she and her husband Stanis left for Canada in 1986. They soon settled in North Burnaby, where Joanne had a long-time friend, to pursue their respective careers and raise a family. The Smiths brought Stanis’s parents to Burnaby about 1996 and together built a new home. Joanne has been involved in school and community activities, enjoys Burnaby’s parks, and supports local fine arts, particularly music and performing arts. 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
- Persons - Jewish Canadians
- Migration
- Religions - Judaism
- Geographic Features - Parks
- Arts
- Performances
- Performances - Concerts
- Sports - Cycling
- Names
- Smith, Joanne
- Smith, Stanis
- Responsibility
- Damer, Eric
- Geographic Access
- Deer Lake Park
- Confederation Park
- Accession Code
- BV023.16.5
- Access Restriction
- No restrictions
- Reproduction Restriction
- No known restrictions
- Date
- [1986-2023] (interview content), interviewed 11 May 2023
- Media Type
- Sound Recording
- Historic Neighbourhood
- Capitol Hill (Historic Neighbourhood)
- Notes
- Title based on contents of item
- Transcription available on Heritage Burnaby
Images
Documents
Audio Tracks
Interview with Joanne Smith, [1986-2023] (interview content), interviewed 11 May 2023
Interview with Joanne Smith, [1986-2023] (interview content), interviewed 11 May 2023
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_BVM_Sound_Recordings/Oral_Histories/2023_0016_0005_003.mp3Interview with "The Bollywood Boyz", Harvinder Sihra and Gurvinder Sihra
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription19608
- Repository
- Burnaby Village Museum
- Date
- [1970-2023] (interview content), interviewed 8 Jul. 2023
- Collection/Fonds
- Burnaby Village Museum fonds
- Description Level
- Item
- Physical Description
- 2 sound recordings (wav) (84 min., 14 sec.) + 1 sound recording (mp3) (62 min., 3 sec.)
- Scope and Content
- Item consists of a recording of an oral history interview with "The Bollywood Boyz", Harvinder Sihra and Gurvinder Sihra conducted by Burnaby Village Museum Registrar, Rajdeep. 00:00:00 – 00:05:26 Gurvinder “Gurv” Sihra and brother Harvinder “Harv’ Sihra introduce themselves, providing details on …
- 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) (84 min., 14 sec.) + 1 sound recording (mp3) (62 min., 3 sec.)
- Material Details
- Interviewer: Rajdeep Interviewees: "The Bollywood Boyz", Harvinder Sihra and Gurvinder Sihra Location of Interview: Burnaby Village Museum Interview Date: July 8, 2023 Total Number of tracks: 2 Total Length of all Tracks: 01:02:03 min Digital master recordings (wav) were recorded onto two separate audio tracks, edited and merged together and converted to mp3 for access on Heritage Burnaby Photograph credit: World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)
- Scope and Content
- Item consists of a recording of an oral history interview with "The Bollywood Boyz", Harvinder Sihra and Gurvinder Sihra conducted by Burnaby Village Museum Registrar, Rajdeep. 00:00:00 – 00:05:26 Gurvinder “Gurv” Sihra and brother Harvinder “Harv’ Sihra introduce themselves, providing details on where they were born and grew up (in Burnaby), names of their parents and provide details on their family history. They describe how their grandparents and other relatives continued to live in Punjab after their father and mother immigrated to Canada in the 1970’s, recall the reasons their parents decided to immigrate and details of their lives before and after arriving in Canada. 00:05:27 – 00:06:46 Gurvinder and Harvinder describe some of their experiences travelling through Vancouver airport and compare their experiences with their mother’s own experiences. Gurvinder and Harvinder describe the layout of the airport and how customs and immigration has changed over time. 00:06:47 – 00:09:21 Gurvinder and Harvinder provide details about their mother, Parveen Sihra. They share information regarding her education in India and how she was unable to get work related to her degree in biology after immigrating to Canada. They convey how she worked in the Burnaby City Hall cafeteria in the 1990’s and how she worked part time in order to take care of her children. They share how their parents were proud Canadians participating in events inside and outside the South Asian community and were both fluent in English but often spoke Punjabi at home. 00:09:22 – 00:16:06 Gurvinder and Harvinder recall their childhood experiences growing up in Burnaby. They talk about the sports that they were involved with including hockey and Taekwondo, family vacations spent travelling to India and their experiences attending Marlborough Elementary School and Moscrop Secondary School.They describe how they first became interested in watching wrestling and trying it out on their own in their family home. Gurvinder and Harvinder recall their own experiences of discrimination while growing up and playing sports. 00:16:07 – 00:27:37 Gurvinder and Harvinder reflect and recall events that lead them to their dream of becoming professional wrestlers. They talk about pivotal events including attending their first live wresting event at GM Place with their father in 1996, beginning their training in Calgary in 2004, travelling across the country to participate in minor wrestling events, wrestling in Rogers Arena in 2017 and 2020 and getting their first call to join WWE. They talk about the support that they’ve had along the way to getting them where they are today and comment on why they want to be wrestlers in the WWE. 00:27:38 – 00:29:25 Gurvinder and Harvinder provide background information on their various wrestling personas and names in the world of professional wrestling including the Singh Brothers and the Bollywood Boyz. 00:29:26 – 00:38:43 Gurvinder and Harvinder talk about their experiences wrestling in India and the support and expectations of family members in becoming successful. Gurvinder and Harvinder recall and reflect on the experience of being fired from the WWE when cutbacks were made during the COVID pandemic. 00:38:44 – 00:42:53 Gurvinder and Harvinder describe what a day in their lives looks like now. They talk about how they’re still very passionate and focused on their wrestling careers and describe their experiences of having support and enthusiasm from fans and their parents. They talk about travelling across the country to particpate in different wrestling events. 00:42:54 – 00:47:18 Gurvinder and Harvinder talk about their training regimen including exercise and diet and describe areas in Burnaby where they like to train in gyms and the outdoors. 00:47:19 – 00:49:49 Gurvinder and Harvinder talk about neighbourhoods in Burnaby including Metrotown and Deer Lake and how they’ve seen them change over the years. 00:49:50 – 00:54:27 Gurvinder and Harvinder talk about their highest and lowest points in their wrestling careers, highlighting specific events. They talk about the physical stamina it takes for wrestling and compare their sport with the sport of Kabaddi (a contact team sport between two teams originating in India). 00:54:28 – 00:59:01 Gurvinder and Harvinder reflect on what toughness means to them, and what keeps them motivated to do what they do. 00:59:02 – 01:01:31 Gurvinder and Harvinder impart their words of wisdom to younger kids in chasing their passions and dreams and talk about their favourite Bollywood films and actors.
- History
- Interviewees' biographies: The Bollywood Boyz are a Canadian professional wrestling tag team composed of brothers Gurvinder "Gurv" Sihra (born in 1984) and Harvinder "Harv" Sihra (born in 1987). The pair are best known for their time in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) where Gurvinder and Harvinder performed under the ring names Sunil Singh and Samir Singh. They were both born and raised in Burnaby by their parents Harjeet and Parveen Sihra and attended Moscrop Secondary School. Gurvinder graduated from Douglas College where he studied criminology and has worked in loss prevention and has a third degree black belt in Taekwondo. Harvinder attended Douglas College with studies in history and has worked as a model and an actor. Both Gurvinder and Harvinder Sihra are Sikhs. Interviewer biography: 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
- Education
- Migration
- Pandemics - COVID-19
- Persons - South Asian Canadians
- Religions - Sikhism
- Social Issues
- Social Issues - Discrimination
- Social Issues - Racism
- Sports
- Sports - Martial Arts
- Sports - Wrestling
- Sports - Ice Hockey
- Travel
- Names
- The Bollywood Boyz
- Sihra, Guvinder "Gurv"
- Sihra, Harvinder "Harv"
- Sihra, Harjeet
- Sihra, Parveen
- World Wrestling Entertainment "WWE"
- Moscrop Secondary School
- Marlborough Elementary School
- Metrotown
- Responsibility
- Rajdeep
- Geographic Access
- Deer Lake Park
- Accession Code
- BV023.16.12
- Access Restriction
- No restrictions
- Reproduction Restriction
- No known restrictions
- Date
- [1970-2023] (interview content), interviewed 8 Jul. 2023
- Media Type
- Sound Recording
- Photographer
- World Wrestling Entertainment "WWE"
- Notes
- Title based on contents of item
- Transcription available upon request - contact Burnaby Village Museum
Images
Audio Tracks
Interview with
Untold Histories: The Legacy of the Chinese Community on Deer Lake
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription14758
- Repository
- Burnaby Village Museum
- Date
- 8 Oct. 2020
- Collection/Fonds
- Burnaby Village Museum fonds
- Description Level
- Item
- Physical Description
- 1 video recording (mp4) (56 min., 15 sec.) : digital, col., sd., stereo ; 29 fps
- Scope and Content
- Item consists of a video recording of a live Zoom webinar hosted by Burnaby Public Librarian, Mariah Gastaldo. The webinar is titled "Untold Histories: The Legacy of the Chinese Community on Deer Lake" and is presented by Nathan Lee, Lead Designer and co-founder of Contexture Design. The zoom webin…
- Repository
- Burnaby Village Museum
- Collection/Fonds
- Burnaby Village Museum fonds
- Description Level
- Item
- Physical Description
- 1 video recording (mp4) (56 min., 15 sec.) : digital, col., sd., stereo ; 29 fps
- Material Details
- Presenter: Nathan Lee
- Host: Mariah Gastaldo
- Date of Presentation: October 8, 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
- Total Number of tracks: 1
- Total Length of all tracks: 56 min., 15 sec.
- Recording Device: Zoom video communication platform
- Scope and Content
- Item consists of a video recording of a live Zoom webinar hosted by Burnaby Public Librarian, Mariah Gastaldo. The webinar is titled "Untold Histories: The Legacy of the Chinese Community on Deer Lake" and is presented by Nathan Lee, Lead Designer and co-founder of Contexture Design. The zoom webinar is the third in a collection of seven "Burnaby Neighbourhood Speaker series" webinars that were presented and made available to the public between September 29 and October 27, 2020. The live webinar and recording was also made available on the Burnaby Village Museum's facebook page. In this webinar, Nathan Lee speaks about his public art installation that will be installed near the site of the Burnaby Art Gallery in Deer Lake Park. Nathan presents his background research which lead to the project. He tells how the site of the Burnaby Art Gallery and surrounding Century Garden are rich with stories of early settlers and of how British farmers and social elite have shaped the history of this area since the early 1900’s. Nathan's presentation highlights the unseen presence of a Chinese community that is equally profound in its connect. The presentation is supported with slides consisting of historical and contemporary photographs. At the conclusion of his presentation, Nathan takes questions from webinar participants.
- Subjects
- Persons - Chinese Canadians
- Arts - Sculptures
- Geographic Features - Parks
- Agriculture - Farms
- Geographic Access
- Deer Lake Avenue
- Deer Lake
- Deer Lake Park
- Accession Code
- BV020.29.3
- Access Restriction
- No restrictions
- Reproduction Restriction
- No known restrictions
- Date
- 8 Oct. 2020
- Media Type
- Moving Images
- Historic Neighbourhood
- Burnaby Lake (Historic Neighbourhood)
- Notes
- Title based on contents of video recording
- Video recording was edited for publication on Heritage Burnaby. Original mp4 video recording (BV020.29.3.1) is 66 min., 51 sec.
Images
Video
Untold Histories: The Legacy of the Chinese Community on Deer Lake, 8 Oct. 2020
Untold Histories: The Legacy of the Chinese Community on Deer Lake, 8 Oct. 2020
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_BVM_Moving_Images/2020_0029_0003_002.mp4Interview with Jenny Siormanolakis
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription19635
- Repository
- Burnaby Village Museum
- Date
- [1960-2023] (interview content), interviewed 26 Jul. 2023
- Collection/Fonds
- Burnaby Village Museum fonds
- Description Level
- Item
- Physical Description
- 2 sound recordings (wav) (87 min.) + 1 sound recording (mp3) (86 min., 51 sec.)
- Scope and Content
- Item consists of a recording of an oral history interview with Jenny (Eugenia) Siormanolakis conducted by Burnaby Village Museum Registrar, James Binks on July 26 2023. 00:00-12:02 Interview opens with introductions. Jenny Siormanolakis shares details about her parents Eugene and Europe Siormanola…
- 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) (87 min.) + 1 sound recording (mp3) (86 min., 51 sec.)
- Material Details
- Interviewer: James Binks Interviewee: Jenny (Eugenia) Siormanolakis Location of Interview: Prado Cafe, 4321 Still Creek Dr., Burnaby Interview Date: July 26, 2023 Total Number of tracks: 2 Total Length of all Tracks: 01:26:60 Digital master recordings (wav) were recorded onto two separate audio tracks, edited and merged together and converted to mp3 for access on Heritage Burnaby Ambient sound from cafe in background of interview
- Scope and Content
- Item consists of a recording of an oral history interview with Jenny (Eugenia) Siormanolakis conducted by Burnaby Village Museum Registrar, James Binks on July 26 2023. 00:00-12:02 Interview opens with introductions. Jenny Siormanolakis shares details about her parents Eugene and Europe Siormanolakis who were both born in Greece and immigrated to Vancouver. Jenny provides details about the history of Romana Pizza restaurant including; the restaurant partners, the various locations, her father’s work ethics of running the restaurant and the staff who worked there. Jenny provides details about her father's life, his ancestral background and family relations which lead him to immigrate to Vancouver. Jenny shares childhood memories of helping out in her parents’ restaurant and later working there. 12:03 – 26:41 Jenny describes various food dishes that have been on the menu of Romana Pizza and Steak House and Romana Pizza, how they've evolved over time, how her father learned to cook traditional Greek food and develop his own recipes and where he sourced his restaurant food supplies. Jenny conveys how they used social media to advertise the restaurant, describes the election pizza poll that Romana Pizza held during the federal and provincial elections and a baby poll that was held at the restaurant to guess the weight of her and her sister’s babies. 26:42 – 31:47 Jenny talks about her marriage and recollects how she got married in a civil ceremony at Romana Pizza. Jenny talks about her family life while her family was running the restaurant, their decision to sell the restaurant and describes the last days of running the restaurant. 31:48 – 46:33 Jenny conveys the background story of her business “Granpa J’s”. Jenny describes how her uncle Jimmy Voulides, created his own seasoning salt product and after he died in 2003, Jenny and her sister Nora purchased the business. Jenny describes how they developed their business, created new products, their struggles and how they became successful. Jenny describes how their products have been developed from family recipes and recalls how the actor Ryan Reynold’s helped their products become even more successful overnight. 46:34 – 55:38 Jenny talks about different community festivals and events that she’s been involved with including; Greek Day on Broadway (Vancouver) and the Hats Off Day event in North Burnaby. Jenny shares the background history of Greek Day in Vancouver and information about other Greek community events. Jenny talks about the importance of bringing the community together and the importance of knowing the history of your ancestors and where they came from. 55:39 - 1:04:35 Jenny talks about her involvement with the Greek community newspaper “Gnome” and provides details about; the former creator and editor Kostas Karatsikis, the newspaper's content, it's importance in the Greek community and the distribution. Jenny describes some of the articles that she’s written for the Gnome newspaper. 1:04:36 - 1:14:12 Jenny describes some pivotal moments that occurred over the years at Romana Pizza including; placing second in the Vancouver Sun newspaper contest for Best Pizza (1986) and having members of the Vancouver Canucks hockey team frequent their restaurant. Jenny conveys how the restaurant benefited from having a website and using social media as a marketing tools. 1:14:13 - 1:22:42 Jenny talks about her involvement with Kolanki Group West, Euro Find foods and her passion for Greek food and other European foods. Jenny describes some traditional Greek recipes, family recipes, talks about marketing Grandpa J's products and reflects on the menu of Romana Pizza. 1:22:43 - 1:26:51 Jenny reflects on the role of the Greek community, how food plays a roll, the future of the Greek community in Vancouver and Burnaby and the importance of engaging the younger generation. In closing Jenny provides a quote from an article that she wrote “Forgive the mistakes of the past, let it go and realize that we are all equals...”.
- History
- Interviewee biography: Eugenia "Jenny" Siormanolakis is the daughter of Eugene and Europe Siormanolakis. Jenny’s father, Eugene Siormanolakis immigrated to Canada from Greece in the late 1960’s and her mother Europe Siormanolakis immigrated in 1973. In April 1973, her father and five partners opened the restaurant “Romana Pizza and Steak House” (later renamed "Romana Pizza") located at 4660 Hastings Street in the Burnaby Heights neighbourhood. Jenny and her sister Eleanora Iliakis spent much of their childhood in the family owned restaurant and also worked at the restaurant as they become older. Jenny’s parents continued to own and operate the restaurant until 2014 when they decided to retire from the business. In 2004, an opportunity arose for Jenny and her sister Eleanora to buy their recently deceased uncle’s business Grandpa J’s Seasoning Inc. They launched their business of “Grandpa J’s” seasoning first selling to local restaurants and eventually adapted their product line to include other Greek seasoning products which they developed from their own recipes. They expanded their clientele to include retail outlets and in 2020, they got a boost to their sales when actor Ryan Reynolds promoted their seasoing product "Vancity Grind" on Instagram. Since launching their business they have been featured in many culinary and business publications and were nominated in 2022 as finalists for Product of the Year by BC Food and Beverage. Jenny is extremely passionate about food, her Greek heritage and is an advocate for food security for children and seniors and mental health. Interviewer biography: James Binks has lived in the Lower Mainland since 2009 after relocating from Ontario. James holds a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from the University of British Columbia, where he conducted researched on heritage, environment, and globalization in India, Nepal, and Italy. At Burnaby Village Museum, James contributed to the exhibit “Truths Not Often Told: Being South Asian in Burnaby”.
- Creator
- Burnaby Village Museum
- Subjects
- Buildings - Commercial - Restaurants
- Businesses
- Elections
- Foods
- Migration
- Occupations - Entrepreneurs
- Persons - Greek Canadians
- Names
- Gnome Publications
- Iliakis, Eleonara Siormanolakis
- Karatsikis, Kostas "George"
- Siormanolakis, Eugenia "Jenny"
- Nikolaidis, "Eleni"
- Nikolaidis, Stelios
- Romana Pizza
- Siormanolakis, Eugene
- Siormanolakis, Europe
- Voulides, Demetrios "Jimmy"
- Responsibility
- Binks, James
- Geographic Access
- Hastings Street
- Street Address
- 4660 Hastings Street
- Accession Code
- BV023.16.13
- Access Restriction
- No restrictions
- Reproduction Restriction
- No known restrictions
- Date
- [1960-2023] (interview content), interviewed 26 Jul. 2023
- Media Type
- Sound Recording
- Historic Neighbourhood
- Vancouver Heights (Historic Neighbourhood)
- Planning Study Area
- Burnaby Heights Area
- Notes
- Title based on contents of item
- Transcription available on Heritage Burnaby
Documents
Audio Tracks
Interview with Jenny Siormanolakis, [1960-2023] (interview content), interviewed 26 Jul. 2023
Interview with Jenny Siormanolakis, [1960-2023] (interview content), interviewed 26 Jul. 2023
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_BVM_Sound_Recordings/Oral_Histories/2023_0016_0013_003.mp3