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Interview with Merrill M. Gordon by Rod Fowler March 19, 1990 - Track 9
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/oralhistory480
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date Range
- 1987-1990
- Length
- 00:07:57
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Merrill Gordon’s work on the Parks Board and involvement in the arts community. He talks about developing an art policy for Burnaby, the conflicting views about building a theatre at Metrotown, and the establishment of the Arts Centre at Deer Lake
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Merrill Gordon’s work on the Parks Board and involvement in the arts community. He talks about developing an art policy for Burnaby, the conflicting views about building a theatre at Metrotown, and the establishment of the Arts Centre at Deer Lake
- Date Range
- 1987-1990
- Photo Info
- Burnaby Alderman Merrill Gordon (second from right) following a candidates' meeting, 1973. Item no. 480-263
- Length
- 00:07:57
- Names
- Burnaby Arts Centre
- Interviewer
- Fowler, Rod
- Interview Date
- March 19, 1990
- Scope and Content
- Recording is of an interview with Merrill Gordon, conducted by Rod Fowler.Gordon Merrill was one of eleven participants interviewed as part of the SFU/Burnaby Centennial Committee's oral history series titled, "Voices of Burnaby". The interview is about Merrill Gordon’s childhood in the Depression, including his story about the family’s difficult trek to Burnaby from Alberta; his education, teachers and first volunteer activities at Grandview High School; his career at Fleck Brothers and the start of his own company Blaze Industries and later work in India; and his many volunteer activities in Burnaby. He describes how he started the Cliff Avenue United Football Club, the soccer club's subsequent growth and development, some of the people involved, and the founding of the youth soccer exchange. He also describes his work on the Parks Board and in the arts community, including the 1987 arts centre referendum, and involvement with the Burnaby Mountain Preservation Society (1988- ), and mentions his work for other groups including the New Vista Society, library board, and Burnaby Mental Health Committee. He also talks about his political career with the Better Burnaby Committee and Burnaby Voters Association, resulting in his 1972 election to Burnaby’s 1973 council. To view “Narrow By” terms for each track expand this description and see “Notes”.
- Biographical Notes
- Merrill M. Gordon was born in Saskatchewan in 1929 to parents farming north of North Battleford. After a fifth year of crop failure the family of four left the farm in 1934 to join relatives living near the corner of Union and Sperling in Burnaby. With little resources the family adapted as well as possible in the Depression years, moving often in the East Vancouver/North Burnaby area in an attempt to better their situation. Merrill’s father obtained work at sawmills including Kapoor’s Sawmill at Barnet, walking to work over Burnaby Mountain. After attending numerous public schools, Merrill Gordon eventually spent three years at Templeton School and then completed his education at Grandview High School of Commerce, majoring in accounting and commercial law. He worked a few years at Canadian Industries Ltd., then joined Fleck Brothers. In 1965 Merrill Gordon and his wife started their own company Blaze Industries of Canada that manufactured wood burning fireplaces, selling the company to AB Electrolux in 1980. After a short retirement, Merrill Gordon went back to work in 1981 for a company manufacturing solar panels, one project taking him and his wife intermittently to India over a four year period. Merrill Gordon helped found the political group Better Burnaby Committee, later the Burnaby Voters Association, with Alan Emmott and Bill Lewarne, ran for Burnaby Municipal Council and served one year as councillor in 1973. Merrill Gordon is well known for his over 40 years of volunteer work in Burnaby, particularly as founder in 1956 and director of the Cliff Avenue United Football Club, one of the largest soccer clubs in BC. He was also the founder of Burnaby Youth Soccer and the first youth soccer exchange with Washington State. His other volunteer work includes library trustee, Parks Commissioner (1987-1992), Director of New Vista Home for Seniors, Chair of campaign raising funds for building Shadbolt Arts Centre, and Chair of the Burnaby Mental Health Committee. In 1988 Merrill Gordon, Betty Gordon, Dean Lamont and several others formed the Burnaby Mountain Preservation Society, which advocated for the return of unused land to Burnaby from SFU and the subsequent creation of Burnaby Mountain Conservation Area. Merrill Gordon and Elizabeth Balfour (nee Leitch) (1926-2012) married in 1953 and had two children.
- Total Tracks
- 11
- Total Length
- 1:31:44
- Interviewee Name
- Gordon, Merrill
- Interview Location
- unknown
- Interviewer Bio
- Rod Fowler returned to university as a mature student in the 1980s after working about twenty years in the field of economics and computerization in business in England, Europe and Western Canada. He graduated with a BA from SFU in both History and Sociology in 1987, his MA degree in Geography in 1989, and his PhD in Cultural Geography at SFU. He taught courses in Geography, Sociology, History and Canadian Studies at several Lower Mainland colleges, before becoming a full time member of the Geography Department at Kwantlen University College.
- Collection/Fonds
- SFU/Burnaby Centennial Committee fonds
- Transcript Available
- Transcript available
- Media Type
- Sound Recording
- Web Notes
- Interviews were digitized in 2015 allowing them to be accessible on Heritage Burnaby. The digitization project was initiated by the Community Heritage Commission with support from City of Burnaby Council.
Images
Audio Tracks
Track nine of interview with Merrill Gordon
Track nine of interview with Merrill Gordon
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Oral_Histories/_Unrestricted/MSS187-020/MSS187-020_Track_9.mp3
Interview 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
Interview with Toki Miyashita by Rod Fowler February 27, 1990 - Track 3
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/oralhistory518
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date Range
- 1969-1990
- Length
- 00:04:54
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Toki Miyashita and her family’s move to Burnaby in 1969 to an apartment near Brentwood Mall. She tells about continuing to demonstrate origami in schools and teach Ikebana in the community.
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Toki Miyashita and her family’s move to Burnaby in 1969 to an apartment near Brentwood Mall. She tells about continuing to demonstrate origami in schools and teach Ikebana in the community.
- Date Range
- 1969-1990
- Length
- 00:04:54
- Subjects
- Persons - Volunteers
- Arts
- Historic Neighbourhood
- Vancouver Heights (Historic Neighbourhood)
- Planning Study Area
- Brentwood Area
- Interviewer
- Fowler, Rod
- Interview Date
- February 27, 1990
- Scope and Content
- Recording is of an interview with Toki Miyashita, conducted by Rod Fowler. Toki Miyashita was one of eleven participants interviewed as part of the SFU/Burnaby Centennial Committee's oral history series titled, "Voices of Burnaby". The interview is about Toki Miyashita’s family’s internment during WWII, her awakening interest in Japanese culture after the war, her subsequent interest in teaching others about Japanese crafts and arts, and becoming a helpful intermediary between Burnaby and visitors from Japan. The interview explores her interest in the Ainu of Japan and their possible link to the aboriginals of BC, her impressions of the Ainu carver Nuburi Toko, and her involvement in the events surrounding the creation of the sculpture “Playground of the Gods” for Burnaby Mountain. The interview also contains interesting details about the art of Japanese flower-arranging. To view “Narrow By” terms for each track expand this description and see “Notes”.
- Biographical Notes
- Toki Miyashita was born in Richmond B.C., ca. 1935, at the Nelson Brothers “fishery”, a second generation Canadian descended from the Oikawa family who settled on Don and Lion Islands (Oikawa-shima). In 1942 the Japanese Canadians in BC were forcibly moved from the coast and their belongings confiscated. Toki Miyashita, her parents, two brothers, and grandparents were first taken to Hastings Park where her father was separated from the family to work in road camps, and the rest of the family were interned in New Denver. Her resourceful grandmother moved the family to land outside the internment camp, growing a large garden from seeds brought with her. In 1946 the family moved to Kamloops and in 1958, after finishing high school, Toki Miyashita moved to Montreal to be with relatives and a small Japanese community. At this time she became interested in Japanese culture and took a Japanese language course at age 22. She learned about Japanese flower-arranging (Ikebana), paper folding (Origami), silk doll making (from a Russian Jew), and how to wear a kimono. She began demonstrating these arts in schools and to other groups, which she continued doing when she, her husband and two young children moved to Burnaby in 1969. Toki Miyashita has been called an unpaid “ambassador” of Japanese culture to the Lower Mainland. She has acted as liaison between Burnaby and her sister city Kushiro in Japan, which involved her in the creation of the Ainu sculpture “Playground of the Gods” on Burnaby Mountain for Burnaby’s Centennial. Toki Miyashita is a recognized Master in Ikebana Sogetsu, a school of flower-arranging, and has served on the board of the Vancouver Ikebana Association. She also served on Burnaby’s Family Court in the 1980s.
- Total Tracks
- 11
- Total Length
- 01:34:10
- Interviewee Name
- Miyashita, Toki
- Interviewer Bio
- Rod Fowler returned to university as a mature student in the 1980s after working about twenty years in the field of economics and computerization in business in England, Europe and Western Canada. He graduated with a BA from SFU in both History and Sociology in 1987, his MA degree in Geography in 1989, and his PhD in Cultural Geography at SFU. He taught courses in Geography, Sociology, History and Canadian Studies at several Lower Mainland colleges, before becoming a full time member of the Geography Department at Kwantlen University College.
- Collection/Fonds
- SFU/Burnaby Centennial Committee fonds
- Transcript Available
- Transcript available
- Media Type
- Sound Recording
- Web Notes
- Interviews were digitized in 2015 allowing them to be accessible on Heritage Burnaby. The digitization project was initiated by the Community Heritage Commission with support from City of Burnaby Council.
Audio Tracks
Track three of interview with Toki Miyashita
Track three of interview with Toki Miyashita
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Oral_Histories/_Unrestricted/MSS187-017/MSS187-017_Track_3.mp3Interview with Toki Miyashita by Rod Fowler February 27, 1990 - Track 4
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/oralhistory519
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date Range
- 1969-1990
- Length
- 00:07:26
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Toki Miyashita’s explanation about the practice and art of Japanese flower-arranging (Ikebana) and her specific school or discipline Ikebana Sogetsu. She talks about the meanings of the material used.
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Toki Miyashita’s explanation about the practice and art of Japanese flower-arranging (Ikebana) and her specific school or discipline Ikebana Sogetsu. She talks about the meanings of the material used.
- Date Range
- 1969-1990
- Length
- 00:07:26
- Subjects
- Arts
- Interviewer
- Fowler, Rod
- Interview Date
- February 27, 1990
- Scope and Content
- Recording is of an interview with Toki Miyashita, conducted by Rod Fowler. Toki Miyashita was one of eleven participants interviewed as part of the SFU/Burnaby Centennial Committee's oral history series titled, "Voices of Burnaby". The interview is about Toki Miyashita’s family’s internment during WWII, her awakening interest in Japanese culture after the war, her subsequent interest in teaching others about Japanese crafts and arts, and becoming a helpful intermediary between Burnaby and visitors from Japan. The interview explores her interest in the Ainu of Japan and their possible link to the aboriginals of BC, her impressions of the Ainu carver Nuburi Toko, and her involvement in the events surrounding the creation of the sculpture “Playground of the Gods” for Burnaby Mountain. The interview also contains interesting details about the art of Japanese flower-arranging. To view “Narrow By” terms for each track expand this description and see “Notes”.
- Biographical Notes
- Toki Miyashita was born in Richmond B.C., ca. 1935, at the Nelson Brothers “fishery”, a second generation Canadian descended from the Oikawa family who settled on Don and Lion Islands (Oikawa-shima). In 1942 the Japanese Canadians in BC were forcibly moved from the coast and their belongings confiscated. Toki Miyashita, her parents, two brothers, and grandparents were first taken to Hastings Park where her father was separated from the family to work in road camps, and the rest of the family were interned in New Denver. Her resourceful grandmother moved the family to land outside the internment camp, growing a large garden from seeds brought with her. In 1946 the family moved to Kamloops and in 1958, after finishing high school, Toki Miyashita moved to Montreal to be with relatives and a small Japanese community. At this time she became interested in Japanese culture and took a Japanese language course at age 22. She learned about Japanese flower-arranging (Ikebana), paper folding (Origami), silk doll making (from a Russian Jew), and how to wear a kimono. She began demonstrating these arts in schools and to other groups, which she continued doing when she, her husband and two young children moved to Burnaby in 1969. Toki Miyashita has been called an unpaid “ambassador” of Japanese culture to the Lower Mainland. She has acted as liaison between Burnaby and her sister city Kushiro in Japan, which involved her in the creation of the Ainu sculpture “Playground of the Gods” on Burnaby Mountain for Burnaby’s Centennial. Toki Miyashita is a recognized Master in Ikebana Sogetsu, a school of flower-arranging, and has served on the board of the Vancouver Ikebana Association. She also served on Burnaby’s Family Court in the 1980s.
- Total Tracks
- 11
- Total Length
- 01:34:10
- Interviewee Name
- Miyashita, Toki
- Interviewer Bio
- Rod Fowler returned to university as a mature student in the 1980s after working about twenty years in the field of economics and computerization in business in England, Europe and Western Canada. He graduated with a BA from SFU in both History and Sociology in 1987, his MA degree in Geography in 1989, and his PhD in Cultural Geography at SFU. He taught courses in Geography, Sociology, History and Canadian Studies at several Lower Mainland colleges, before becoming a full time member of the Geography Department at Kwantlen University College.
- Collection/Fonds
- SFU/Burnaby Centennial Committee fonds
- Transcript Available
- Transcript available
- Media Type
- Sound Recording
- Web Notes
- Interviews were digitized in 2015 allowing them to be accessible on Heritage Burnaby. The digitization project was initiated by the Community Heritage Commission with support from City of Burnaby Council.
Audio Tracks
Track four of interview with Toki Miyashita
Track four of interview with Toki Miyashita
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Oral_Histories/_Unrestricted/MSS187-017/MSS187-017_Track_4.mp3Interview with Toki Miyashita by Rod Fowler February 27, 1990 - Track 5
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/oralhistory520
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date Range
- 1969-1990
- Length
- 00:07:05
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Toki Miyashita’s involvement in the Multicultural Society, flower-arranging groups, and her own practice and willingness to respond to requests for presentations. She describes how traditional rules govern doll-making, Ikebana and the wearing of the kimono.
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Toki Miyashita’s involvement in the Multicultural Society, flower-arranging groups, and her own practice and willingness to respond to requests for presentations. She describes how traditional rules govern doll-making, Ikebana and the wearing of the kimono.
- Date Range
- 1969-1990
- Length
- 00:07:05
- Interviewer
- Fowler, Rod
- Interview Date
- February 27, 1990
- Scope and Content
- Recording is of an interview with Toki Miyashita, conducted by Rod Fowler. Toki Miyashita was one of eleven participants interviewed as part of the SFU/Burnaby Centennial Committee's oral history series titled, "Voices of Burnaby". The interview is about Toki Miyashita’s family’s internment during WWII, her awakening interest in Japanese culture after the war, her subsequent interest in teaching others about Japanese crafts and arts, and becoming a helpful intermediary between Burnaby and visitors from Japan. The interview explores her interest in the Ainu of Japan and their possible link to the aboriginals of BC, her impressions of the Ainu carver Nuburi Toko, and her involvement in the events surrounding the creation of the sculpture “Playground of the Gods” for Burnaby Mountain. The interview also contains interesting details about the art of Japanese flower-arranging. To view “Narrow By” terms for each track expand this description and see “Notes”.
- Biographical Notes
- Toki Miyashita was born in Richmond B.C., ca. 1935, at the Nelson Brothers “fishery”, a second generation Canadian descended from the Oikawa family who settled on Don and Lion Islands (Oikawa-shima). In 1942 the Japanese Canadians in BC were forcibly moved from the coast and their belongings confiscated. Toki Miyashita, her parents, two brothers, and grandparents were first taken to Hastings Park where her father was separated from the family to work in road camps, and the rest of the family were interned in New Denver. Her resourceful grandmother moved the family to land outside the internment camp, growing a large garden from seeds brought with her. In 1946 the family moved to Kamloops and in 1958, after finishing high school, Toki Miyashita moved to Montreal to be with relatives and a small Japanese community. At this time she became interested in Japanese culture and took a Japanese language course at age 22. She learned about Japanese flower-arranging (Ikebana), paper folding (Origami), silk doll making (from a Russian Jew), and how to wear a kimono. She began demonstrating these arts in schools and to other groups, which she continued doing when she, her husband and two young children moved to Burnaby in 1969. Toki Miyashita has been called an unpaid “ambassador” of Japanese culture to the Lower Mainland. She has acted as liaison between Burnaby and her sister city Kushiro in Japan, which involved her in the creation of the Ainu sculpture “Playground of the Gods” on Burnaby Mountain for Burnaby’s Centennial. Toki Miyashita is a recognized Master in Ikebana Sogetsu, a school of flower-arranging, and has served on the board of the Vancouver Ikebana Association. She also served on Burnaby’s Family Court in the 1980s.
- Total Tracks
- 11
- Total Length
- 01:34:10
- Interviewee Name
- Miyashita, Toki
- Interviewer Bio
- Rod Fowler returned to university as a mature student in the 1980s after working about twenty years in the field of economics and computerization in business in England, Europe and Western Canada. He graduated with a BA from SFU in both History and Sociology in 1987, his MA degree in Geography in 1989, and his PhD in Cultural Geography at SFU. He taught courses in Geography, Sociology, History and Canadian Studies at several Lower Mainland colleges, before becoming a full time member of the Geography Department at Kwantlen University College.
- Collection/Fonds
- SFU/Burnaby Centennial Committee fonds
- Transcript Available
- Transcript available
- Media Type
- Sound Recording
- Web Notes
- Interviews were digitized in 2015 allowing them to be accessible on Heritage Burnaby. The digitization project was initiated by the Community Heritage Commission with support from City of Burnaby Council.
Audio Tracks
Track five of interview with Toki Miyashita
Track five of interview with Toki Miyashita
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Oral_Histories/_Unrestricted/MSS187-017/MSS187-017_Track_5.mp3Interview with Toki Miyashita by Rod Fowler February 27, 1990 - Track 11
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/oralhistory526
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date Range
- 1969-1990
- Length
- 00:07:33
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about the lessons Toki Miyashita learned from visiting Ikebana teachers, especially care for and skill using their tools, and mindfulness in choosing material for arrangements. She notes that flower arranging is used as a way to relax and feel calm.
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about the lessons Toki Miyashita learned from visiting Ikebana teachers, especially care for and skill using their tools, and mindfulness in choosing material for arrangements. She notes that flower arranging is used as a way to relax and feel calm.
- Date Range
- 1969-1990
- Length
- 00:07:33
- Subjects
- Arts
- Interviewer
- Fowler, Rod
- Interview Date
- February 27, 1990
- Scope and Content
- Recording is of an interview with Toki Miyashita, conducted by Rod Fowler. Toki Miyashita was one of eleven participants interviewed as part of the SFU/Burnaby Centennial Committee's oral history series titled, "Voices of Burnaby". The interview is about Toki Miyashita’s family’s internment during WWII, her awakening interest in Japanese culture after the war, her subsequent interest in teaching others about Japanese crafts and arts, and becoming a helpful intermediary between Burnaby and visitors from Japan. The interview explores her interest in the Ainu of Japan and their possible link to the aboriginals of BC, her impressions of the Ainu carver Nuburi Toko, and her involvement in the events surrounding the creation of the sculpture “Playground of the Gods” for Burnaby Mountain. The interview also contains interesting details about the art of Japanese flower-arranging. To view “Narrow By” terms for each track expand this description and see “Notes”.
- Biographical Notes
- Toki Miyashita was born in Richmond B.C., ca. 1935, at the Nelson Brothers “fishery”, a second generation Canadian descended from the Oikawa family who settled on Don and Lion Islands (Oikawa-shima). In 1942 the Japanese Canadians in BC were forcibly moved from the coast and their belongings confiscated. Toki Miyashita, her parents, two brothers, and grandparents were first taken to Hastings Park where her father was separated from the family to work in road camps, and the rest of the family were interned in New Denver. Her resourceful grandmother moved the family to land outside the internment camp, growing a large garden from seeds brought with her. In 1946 the family moved to Kamloops and in 1958, after finishing high school, Toki Miyashita moved to Montreal to be with relatives and a small Japanese community. At this time she became interested in Japanese culture and took a Japanese language course at age 22. She learned about Japanese flower-arranging (Ikebana), paper folding (Origami), silk doll making (from a Russian Jew), and how to wear a kimono. She began demonstrating these arts in schools and to other groups, which she continued doing when she, her husband and two young children moved to Burnaby in 1969. Toki Miyashita has been called an unpaid “ambassador” of Japanese culture to the Lower Mainland. She has acted as liaison between Burnaby and her sister city Kushiro in Japan, which involved her in the creation of the Ainu sculpture “Playground of the Gods” on Burnaby Mountain for Burnaby’s Centennial. Toki Miyashita is a recognized Master in Ikebana Sogetsu, a school of flower-arranging, and has served on the board of the Vancouver Ikebana Association. She also served on Burnaby’s Family Court in the 1980s.
- Total Tracks
- 11
- Total Length
- 01:34:10
- Interviewee Name
- Miyashita, Toki
- Interviewer Bio
- Rod Fowler returned to university as a mature student in the 1980s after working about twenty years in the field of economics and computerization in business in England, Europe and Western Canada. He graduated with a BA from SFU in both History and Sociology in 1987, his MA degree in Geography in 1989, and his PhD in Cultural Geography at SFU. He taught courses in Geography, Sociology, History and Canadian Studies at several Lower Mainland colleges, before becoming a full time member of the Geography Department at Kwantlen University College.
- Collection/Fonds
- SFU/Burnaby Centennial Committee fonds
- Transcript Available
- Transcript available
- Media Type
- Sound Recording
- Web Notes
- Interviews were digitized in 2015 allowing them to be accessible on Heritage Burnaby. The digitization project was initiated by the Community Heritage Commission with support from City of Burnaby Council.
Audio Tracks
Track eleven of interview with Toki Miyashita
Track eleven of interview with Toki Miyashita
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Oral_Histories/_Unrestricted/MSS187-017/MSS187-017_Track_11.mp3![Mayor Dave Mercier with Mayor Toshiyuki Wanibuchi, [between 1979 and 1981] thumbnail](/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Images/_Unrestricted/480/480-1180.jpg?width=280)
Mayor Dave Mercier with Mayor Toshiyuki Wanibuchi
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription46292
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- [between 1979 and 1981]
- Collection/Fonds
- Columbian Newspaper collection
- Description Level
- Item
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph : b&w ; 19.5 x 24 cm
- Scope and Content
- Photograph of Burnaby mayor Dave Mercier standing at a desk, and smiling as Kushiro Mayor Toshiyuki Wanibuchi presents him with a black carved polar bear. Kushiro in Hokkaido, Japan is the sister city to Burnaby, British Columbia.
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- [between 1979 and 1981]
- Collection/Fonds
- Columbian Newspaper collection
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph : b&w ; 19.5 x 24 cm
- Description Level
- Item
- Record No.
- 480-1180
- Access Restriction
- No restrictions
- Reproduction Restriction
- No restrictions
- Accession Number
- 2003-02
- Scope and Content
- Photograph of Burnaby mayor Dave Mercier standing at a desk, and smiling as Kushiro Mayor Toshiyuki Wanibuchi presents him with a black carved polar bear. Kushiro in Hokkaido, Japan is the sister city to Burnaby, British Columbia.
- Media Type
- Photograph
- Photographer
- King, Basil
- Notes
- Title based on contents of photograph
- Newspaper clipping attached to verso of photograph reads: "Mayor Dave Mercier admires black carved polar bear presented Tuesday by Kushiro Mayor Toshiyuki Wanibuchi."
Images
![Mayor Dave Mercier with Mayor Toshiyuki Wanibuchi, [between 1979 and 1981] thumbnail](/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Images/_Unrestricted/480/480-1180.jpg)