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Interview with Dr. Sadhu Binning

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription19348

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: [1931-2022] (interview content), interviewed 25 Nov. 2022

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum fonds

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 3 sound recordings (wav) (75 min., 56 sec.) + 1 sound recording (mp3) (75 min., 57 sec.)

Scope and Content: Item consists of an oral history interview with Dr. Sadhu Binning conducted by Anushay Malik with assistance from Burnaby Village Museum Assistant Curator, Kate Petrusa. The interview opens with introductions and how the content of the interview can be drawn on by Burnaby Village Museum for future …

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: 3 sound recordings (wav) (75 min., 56 sec.) + 1 sound recording (mp3) (75 min., 57 sec.)

Material Details: Interviewer: Anushay Malik Co Interviewer and technical support: Kate Petrusa Interviewee: Dr. Sadhu Binning Location of Interview: Love farmhouse at Burnaby Village Museum Interview Date: November 25, 2022 Total Number of tracks: 3 Total Length of all Tracks: (1:15:57) Digital master recordings (wav) were recorded onto three separate audio tracks, edited and merged together and converted to mp3 for access on Heritage Burnaby

Scope and Content: Item consists of an oral history interview with Dr. Sadhu Binning conducted by Anushay Malik with assistance from Burnaby Village Museum Assistant Curator, Kate Petrusa. The interview opens with introductions and how the content of the interview can be drawn on by Burnaby Village Museum for future exhibits and for researchers to learn more about the history of the South Asian community in Burnaby. During the interview, Dr. Binning shares his ancestral background along with his relatives' and his own personal experiences as a South Asian immigrant living and working in British Columbia and Burnaby. Dr. Binning conveys that he’s a Burnaby resident who’s lived in Burnaby since 1973 and that his children were born here. Binning shares his ancestral heritage beginning with his uncle Dhana Singh who emigrated from Punjab to British Columbia in 1931 and began working in the forest industry. He explains how Dhana Singh and another partner owned, operated and worked in small sawmills in the vicinity of Kamloops, Williams Lake and also on Vancouver Island. Binning conveys that in the beginning Dhana Singh and many other South Asian immigrants were not legal residents until 1938. In 1938, about 350 South Asian immigrants (mainly Punjabi) gathered resources to hire a lawyer to obtain permanent residency. Binning mentions that one of the notable South Asians in the group who was also a close friend of his uncle, was Darshan Singh Sangha, a trade unionist who was a founding member of the International Woodworkers of America (IWA) union and an active member of the Communist Party of Canada. Binning conveys how Darshan Singh Sangha returned to India in 1947 to be a part of the revolution, how he was very active in the communist movement in India. While in India, Darshan Singh Sangha, was known as Canadian and thereby adopted “Canadian” as his surname, becoming “Darshan Singh Canadian”. Binning further explains that his uncle Dhana Singh Sangha returned to India in 1951, married and came back to B.C. in 1957 bringing with him, his wife and children. In 1960, with the support of his uncle, Binning’s father, Jit Singh Binning immigrated to British Columbia and began working in sawmills in the lower mainland, Kamloops, Quesnel and on Vancouver Island. Binning clarifies that his uncle, Dhana Singh was able to immigrate to Canada with the support of his cousins from the Tarker Singh Bains family. Binning further describes Darshan Singh Sangha’s involvement with the Communist party and the IWA and how the majority of the members were from the forest industry. As an active and prominent member of the labour movement, Darshan Singh Sangha fought for the rights of South Asians and Chinese who working in the industry and facing racism, unfair wages and discriminatory practices. Binning describes how Darshan Singh Sangha wrote a book in English in 1943, titled “Rise of the New Asia”. Binning conveys how immigrants of Chinese and South Asian decent didn’t have the right to vote in British Columbia and how Darshan Singh Sangha was instrumental in obtaining the right to vote in British Columbia, although he was never given the credit. Binning describes his uncle Dhana Singh as a likeable guy with many friends, first living in Kamloops before moving to Vancouver. Binning imparts how the sport of wrestling is a popular Punjabi sport along with Punjabi kabaddi. He conveys that his uncle became involved in wrestling while working in sawmills. South Asian immigrants had to do physical labour working in sawmills, the work could be tough and could often lead to physical fights. A number of South Asian immigrants working in the mills already had experience as wrestlers from back home. Dhana Singh later left the lumber industry to work in the agriculture sector. Binning explains how immigration rules changed in the 1960s which lead to larger numbers of South Asians immigrating to Canada. Many of these new immigrants were educated and politically conscious. All of these new immigrants faced racism but being politically conscious from an independent India and with the ability to speak English they organized themselves to fight for their rights. Binning imagines the items that his uncle and his father may have brought with them in their suitcase when immigrating to Canada. Binning describes three items, including a rajai (a blanket with cotton inside that is sewn together), a bistra (small attaché case or trunk) and a piece of cloth to lie on. Binning further describes the roles in Indian society as caste divisions and that it was usually women’s work in making the rajais. Binning recollects the locations that his father and his family lived after coming to Vancouver. Binning explains that a few years after living together in Vancouver, he and his family moved to Burnaby in 1973 to be closer to his Dr. Binning’s wife, Jagdish Binning’s family. Dr. Binning and family lived in a house in Burnaby located on Irmin Street near Royal Oak between 1973 and 1987. While living at this house their children attended McPherson Park Junior High School and later Burnaby South Secondary School. Binning reflects on some of the racism that he and his family have faced while living in Burnaby which led him to write a poem that he published in 1994 titled “No More Watno Dur”. Binning explains the meaning of the title “Watan” meaning “country and everybody” “a country far way from the motherland”. Binning explains the origins of the magazine “Watan” that was started by a friend in 1973. The magazine got its roots in Vancouver in 1973 from an organization called the “Punjabi Literary Association”. Binning became the editor of the magazine in 1976 and his friend joined him as assistant editor in 1978. Binning continued to work as editor until 1983 or 1984 when he returned to school to complete his Bachelor’s degree and Master’s degree. Binning describes the origins of the “Vancouver Sath” that was formed by a small group of South Asians around 1982. Binning was a founding member of the organization and held meetings and rehearsals at his house in Burnaby. Vancouver Sath first started out as an informal discussion forum by a group of politically conscious Punjabi writers and activists. Binning talks about issues and problems that Vancouver Sath addressed including; racism as well as domestic violence in the South Asian community. Binning explains how he and Sukhwant Hundal wrote articles on these issues and others that were happening in the South Asian community in Canada. Binning talks about how in 1983, the group was inspired to begin performing theatrical works after consulting with Gursharan Singh who was from a well known theatrical group from Punjab who were performing in Vancouver. In the beginning the Vancouver Sath’s plays were focused on the problems in Punjab but they soon decided to address social issues in their own South Asian community here in Canada. Binning summarizes and draws attention to, some of the plays that Vancouver Sath has written and performed including; “Picket Line”, about Punjabi women farmworkers’ rights; “Lattan de Bhoot”, about domestic abuse; “A Crop of Poison”; “Kihda Viah” (English translation- “Whose Marriage”) about arranged marriage and others about social issues in the South Asian community. The plays were performed in public schools and community centres in Vancouver and Richmond, Simon Fraser University and some were also performed in Toronto, Calgary and Williams Lake. Binning mentions some of the traditional foods that he likes to eat and where he and his family have shopped to find ingredients. He recalls how his mother, Gurmaje Kaur Binning did all of the cooking and was often cooking all day long. In the sixties, the Binning family address on 13th Avenue in Vancouver was also used as a postal address for many friends and family who’d recently immigrated. When these friends dropped by to pick up their mail, his mother often provided them with tea and food. After Binning and his wife, Jagdish moved to their own home in 1973, he shared in some of the shopping and cooking but his wife did the majority of the work due to his busy schedule. The interview closes with Binning providing an explanation of how “Watno Dur” magazine changed it’s name to “Watan” magazine. Binning reflects on how this came to be, when he made the decision to get an education in Canada and to stay here, not just as a “Canadian” but as a “Punjabi Canadian.

History: Interviewee biography: Dr. Sadhu Binning was born on May 10, 1947 to mother Gurmej Kaur and father Jeet Singh Binning. Due to lack of proper records management in India at the time of his birth, it is believed that he was actually born sometime in December of 1947. He grew up alongside two brothers and one sister in a village located in Kapurthala, Punjab. Dr. Binning attended secondary school in the nearby city of Phagwara, Punjab although he did not complete his education here. Throughout his childhood, he enjoyed reading both Punjabi and Hindi novels and learned how to read Urdu as well. Dr. Binning’s uncle, Dhana Singh immigrated to Canada in 1933 and returned to India in 1953. When Dhana Singh returned to Canada in 1957, he sponsored Dr. Binning’s father, Jeet Singh Binning to immigrate. Dhana Singh co-owned a few saw mills in British Columbia and also worked in the truck driving industry. Dr. Binning remembers that some people who had lived in Canada would visit their village and that they appeared to be strong and healthy and looked happy. He also noticed that they would eat meat, so whenever they would visit there would be meat available. In 1967, when he was nineteen and a half years old, Dr. Binning immigrated Canada to join his father. He recalls his father and uncle and a friend arriving at the airport to pick him up. During his first few days, Dr. Binning made the decision to remove his turban and beard upon receiving advice from his uncle. Dr. Binning first obtained work on a farm in Abbotsford, working alongside his mother. While working, Dr. Binning also attended English classes in Vancouver. Dr. Binning’s Uncle Dhana Singh worked in a Vancouver saw mill and tried to help find work for his nephew but was unsuccessful. Dr. Binning soon found work at a saw mill in Avola and worked there until the end of the summer until a friend helped find him work in a saw mill in North Vancouver. During his free time, he enjoyed camping with friends. In 1970, Dr. Binning left the saw mill after obtaining a job at the post office. The post office offered lower wages than working at the mill but Dr. Binning believed that he would become more educated working here. While working as a postman, Dr. Binning recalls facing a lot of discrimination and racism and was often referred to as a ‘Paki’ multiple times a day. In 1973, Dr. Binning married Jagish Sihota. Sadhu and Jagdish originated from nearby villages in India and met each other in Canada. Dr. Binning’s wife, Jagdish worked at the Royal Bank of Canada for thirty years until her retirement. While working, she also looked after the household and their son and daughter. Jagdish also handwrote a magazine, “Watno Dur’ (English translation: ‘away from homeland’) which was distributed in the community. In 1976, Dr. Binning became the editor of the magazine and the name was later changed to “Watan’ as they had accepted their new homeland of Canada. While working at the post office, Dr. Binning also attended night school starting in eighth grade. After receiving his high school diploma, he was accepted to Simon Fraser University and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with a double major in Anthropology and Sociology and in 1986 he obtained a Masters degree from Simon Fraser University. While attending university, Dr. Binning was very active within the community and wanted to work to improve society. He first thought that he would return to India to contribute and improve rights in his homeland but upon seeing the prevalence of the movements in Canada, he realized that work needed to be done here too. In 1983, Dr. Binning became a founding member and contributor to a theatrical collective known as “Vancouver Sath”. The theatrical group produced plays that represented societal issues and were invited to perform at multiple conferences throughout British Columbia and Canada. The group focused and acknowledged the many issues in Punjab and in Canada. One of the plays that the group produced focused on the exploitation of Punjabi women who worked on farms in Canada. Dr. Binning continued to be involved as an integral member of Vancouver Sath until 1995. Over the years, Dr. Binning has strongly lobbied for Punjabi language education and between 1988 and 2008 he worked as Punjabi instructor at the University of British Columbia. He first worked as a teaching assistant at UBC under Dr. Harjot Oberoi and due to low wages, he simultaneously worked at the Post Office. In 2019, Dr. Binning received an Honorary Doctor of Letters from UBC in recognition of his work. Since 1973, Dr. Binning has lived in Burnaby and has resided in the same home that he and his wife Jagdish purchased in 1987. In his free time, he enjoys cycling, watercolour painting, travelling abroad and going on road trips. Interviewer biography: 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”.

Creator: Burnaby Village Museum

Subjects: Industries - Logging/lumber; Industries - Forestry; Foods; Migration; Organizations - Societies and Clubs; Organizations - Unions; Persons - South Asian Canadians; Performances; Performances - Dramatic Performances; Social Issues; Social Issues - Racism

Names: Binning, Dr. Sadhu; Binning, Gurmaje Kaur; Binning, Jit Singh; Binning, Jagdish; Sangha, Darshan Singh; Canadian Farmworkers Union; Hundal, Sukhwant; Sangra, Harjinder; Singh, Dhana; Vancouver Sath

Responsibility: Petrusa, Kate; Malik, Anushay

Accession Code: BV022.29.3

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: No known restrictions

Date: [1931-2022] (interview content), interviewed 25 Nov. 2022

Media Type: Sound Recording

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

Documents

2022_0029_0003_005

Audio Tracks

Interview with Dr. Sadhu Binning, [1931-2022] (interview content), interviewed 25 Nov. 2022

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_BVM_Sound_Recordings/Oral_Histories/2022_0029_0003_004.mp3

My Story

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription9673

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: 2016

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum Film and Video collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 video recording (mp4) (4 min., 21 sec.) : digital, 25 fps, col., sd., stereo

Scope and Content: This film chronicles that 2013 journey of Kehar Sing Aujla and his wife as they travelled to India on vacation. The visit included a trip to the town of Ledo in North-East India, where the Ledo Mine Rescue Centre is located. In the film, Aujla describes the trip and the work he oversaw at the Ledo …

1 image 1 video

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum Film and Video collection

Series: Elders Digital Storytelling project series

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 video recording (mp4) (4 min., 21 sec.) : digital, 25 fps, col., sd., stereo

Scope and Content: This film chronicles that 2013 journey of Kehar Sing Aujla and his wife as they travelled to India on vacation. The visit included a trip to the town of Ledo in North-East India, where the Ledo Mine Rescue Centre is located. In the film, Aujla describes the trip and the work he oversaw at the Ledo Mine Rescue Centre when he was Superintendent of the Coal Mines Rescue Department in India. His visit with friends and trip to a local Sikh holy place is also included in the film.

History: Kehar Singh Aujla is originally from the Western part of India. He and his wife immigrated to Canada in 1996 to be closer to his son and his family in Burnaby. Aujla worked in the coal mining industry in India for 40 years starting in 1951. He passed his management exam in 1960, and spent 23 years working with a coal mine rescue organization. Since moving to Burnaby he has received recognition for his commitment to volunteer work, receiving eight awards between 2006 and 2016, including being selected as Burnaby's Citizen of the Year for 2011. His volunteering has included work with Volunteer Grandparents, Burnaby Citizen Support Services, Burnaby Village Museum, the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts, BMO Marathon, Breast Cancer Association, and at the Sukh Sagar Gurdwara. His awards include the Gerontology Award from SFU, 2011 Citizen of the year from the City of Burnaby, Top 25 Immigrant of 2012 by Canadian Immigrants and Royal Bank of Canada, The Life Time Sewa Award by Sukh Sagar Sikh Temple of New Westminster, Best Community Service Award by Vaisakhi Gala of Surrey, Best Community Service Award by Age Care and News Leader, Sovereign Medal by Governor General of Canada, Above and Beyond Award by Fraser Health, Early Bird Award by Volunteer Resources of Burnaby General Hospital.

Creator: Aujla, Kehar Singh

Other Title Information: title supplied by film maker

Subjects: Persons - South Asian Canadians; Industries - Mining; Emergency Measures; Religions - Sikhism

Names: Aujla, Kehar Singh

Accession Code: BV016.37.4

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: May be restricted by third party rights

Date: 2016

Media Type: Moving Images

Notes: Transcribed title

Images

Video

My Story, 2016

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_BVM_Moving_Images/2016_0037_0004_001.mp4

Stepping over the barrier: Expanding Diversity at the Burnaby Village Museum

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription18877

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: 22 Sep. 2022

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum fonds

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 video recording (mp4) (91 min., 5 sec.) : digital, col., sd., stereo ; 29 fps

Scope and Content: Item consists of a video recording of a live Zoom webinar hosted by Burnaby Village Museum Curator, Jane Lemke with presentations and discussions by Megan Innes, Dr. Sharanjit Kaur Sandhra and Denise Fong. The webinar is titled "Stepping over the barrier: Expanding Diversity at the Burnaby Village…

1 image 1 video

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum fonds

Series: Burnaby Neighbourhood Speaker Series series

Subseries: Neighbourhood Speaker Series - Fall 2022 subseries

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 video recording (mp4) (91 min., 5 sec.) : digital, col., sd., stereo ; 29 fps

Material Details: Host: Jane Lemke; Presenters: Meagan Innes; Dr. Sharanjit Kaur Sandhra; Denise Fong; Date of Presentation: Tuesday, September 22, 2022. 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm; Total Number of tracks: 1; Total Length of all tracks: 91 min., 5 sec.; Recording Device: Zoom video communication platform; Original recording of 91 min., 5 sec.was edited to 79 min., 2 sec. for viewing on Heritage Burnaby

Scope and Content: Item consists of a video recording of a live Zoom webinar hosted by Burnaby Village Museum Curator, Jane Lemke with presentations and discussions by Megan Innes, Dr. Sharanjit Kaur Sandhra and Denise Fong. The webinar is titled "Stepping over the barrier: Expanding Diversity at the Burnaby Village Museum". The webinar is the fourth in a series of six webinars presented in partnership by Burnaby Village Museum and Burnaby Public Library. The live webinar was also made available on the Burnaby Village Museum's facebook page. Community members were invited to participate by bringing questions during the interactive online sessions. In this webinar speakers and host discuss what it takes to bring more diverse stories into the Burnaby Village Museum and explore the history of discriminatory practices and museological trends at the Burnaby Village Museum and other museums. Speakers highlight recent projects taking place at Burnaby Village Museum to ensure that other diverse stories of communities are being represented and told. Speakers each provide a ten minute presentation followed by discussions. The first speaker in the webinar is Meagan Innes. When talking about place, Meagan talks about her ancestral ties to certain places including the site where Burnaby Village Museum now stands and what it means to her Indigenous ancestors. Meagan shares stories from her grandfather John Cordocedo of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Nation and how her grandfather, her great grandfather and ancestors have lived, hunted, gathered and traveled on this land. Meagan talks about the work that she’s been involved with at the Burnaby Village Museum including the development of the Indigenous Learning House, the Matriarch’s Garden, the Indigenous History in Burnaby Resource Guide and development of Indigenous educational programing and projects. Meagan reflects on the collaboration and relationships that have developed during this work with Indigenous artists and Indigenous knowledge keepers. The second speaker in the webinar is Dr. Sharanjit Kaur Sandhra “Sharn”. Sharn's presentation is titled “From Orientalism and Colonialism to hope and future possibility”. Sharn speaks of her personal experience visiting the Burnaby Village Museum’s Chinese herbalist exhibit with her son and his school in 2019. Sharn expresses the racist impressions that she witnessed from the young students who visited the exhibit and her reaction re-visiting the exhibit in 2021 after the exhibit was revitalized. Sharn describes the much more positive aspects of the revitalized exhibit which transformed it from “Nostalgic Colonialism” to a place of meaningful belonging for racialized communities that includes faces and personal stories. Sharn looks forward to being a part of Burnaby’s next venture which looks at the history of Burnaby’s South Asian Canadian Community and shares some of her research while working on this project. The third speaker in the webinar is Denise Fong. Denise’s presentation is titled “Chinese Canadian History in Burnaby”. Denise provides some background regarding her work as a researcher working for the City of Burnaby. Denise takes us on a journey of her research in compiling non white experiences in Burnaby as well as uncovering personal stories from Burnaby families living and working in Burnaby. Denise points out discriminatory practices within Burnaby including the Chinese and Japanese Exclusion Bylaw in 1892 and the history of Chinese immigration to Canada including the Chinese Head Tax. Denise reflects on her own work, the work of students from UBC and volunteers from the Chinese Canadian History Advisory committee in building relationships with Chinese Canadian families within Burnaby to obtain stories and family records. Denise points out the various projects that these relationships and research have contributed to including; Heritage interpretive plaques installed at the Riverway Golf Course and in the Big Bend area of Burnaby, an award winning exhibit at Burnaby Village Museum “Across the Pacific”, new Chinese Canadian resources available on “Heritage Burnaby”, the revitalization of the Chinese Herbalist shop exhibit “Way Sang Yuen Wat Kee and Co.” at Burnaby Village Museum, the Chinese Market Garden at Burnaby Village Museum, the creation of a "Burnaby Farm Tour" map highlighting Chinese farms in the Big Bend area and a publication titled "Chinese Canadian History in Burnaby Resource Guide". Following the presentations, host Jane Lemke enters a conversation with Dr. Sharanjit Kaur Sandhra and Denise Fong. Jane intiates the conversations with questions regarding further work that is necessary for Burnaby Village Museum and other museums to move forward in readdressing the narratives beyond white colonial settler perspectives to include stories of marginalized and racialized people who are under represented and often forgotten.

History: Jane Lemke has worked in various museums in the Lower Mainland and has been the Curator at Burnaby Village Museum since 2019. Her educational background includes a Master of Arts degree in History and a Master of Museum Studies degree. Her research focus has been on trauma and memory and its role in shaping Canadian identity. She loves sharing memories and stories of Burnaby with the public. Jane sits on the Council of the BC Museums Association and is the Chair of the BC Museums Association Professional Development and Education Committee.; Meagan Innes is from Xwmélts'tstn úxwumixw (Capilano Village). She is a Sḵwx̱wú7mesh First Nation Educator and a multidisciplinary Artist. Meagan completed her Masters of Education around examining connection to place, kinship and to spén´em (plant) s7ek_w’í7tel (siblings) pén´em (plant things). She is an emerging artist who is waking up her Ancestral skills and practicing the ways of her Ancestors. She is exploring reshaping pedagogy to embody traditional ways of knowing and being, more specifically Sḵwx̱wú7mesh traditional ways of learning, knowing and being. She had recently completed the First Nations Language Program at Simon Fraser University to become a Sḵwx̱wú7mesh langauge speaker which is the language of her Ancestors.; Dr. Sharanjit Kaur Sandhra (Sharn) is Coordinator of the South Asian Studies Institute at the University of the Fraser Valley, co-curator of exhibits at the Sikh Heritage Museum, located in the National Historic Site Gur Sikh Temple in Abbotsford, BC, and a sessional faculty in the Department of History at UFV. Sharn’s PhD looks at the affective experiences of racialized museum visitors through a critical race theory lens. She’s a passionate activist, building bridges between community and academia through museum work. She is a past member of the BC Museums Association, and currently a Director with the Pacific Canada Heritage Centre - Museum of Migration.; Denise Fong is a historical researcher with the City of Burnaby and Ph.D. candidate at the University of British Columbia. Her research focuses on Chinese Canadian identity and meaning making in heritage spaces. Since 2009, Denise has coordinated a number of historical research and public history projects, including SFU’s From C to C: Chinese Canadian Stories of Migration and UBC’s Chinese Canadian Stories: Uncommon Histories from a Common Past. She co-curated two award-winning Chinese Canadian exhibitions locally — Burnaby Village Museum’s Across the Pacific exhibition and the Chinese Canadian Museum of BC/Museum of Vancouver’s A Seat at the Table exhibition. She is a UBC Public Scholar and currently serves as the research director for UBC's Initiative for Student Teaching and Research in Chinese Canadian Studies

Creator: Burnaby Village Museum

Subjects: Indigenous peoples; Indigenous peoples - British Columbia; Indigenous peoples - British Columbia - Food; Indigenous peoples - British Columbia - First contact with Europeans; Indigenous peoples - British Columbia - Social life and customs; Indigenous peoples - British Columbia - Art; Indigenous peoples - British Columbia - Languages; Indigenous peoples - Canada - , Treatment of; Plants; Persons - Chinese Canadians; Persons - South Asian Canadians; Buildings - Civic - Museums; Social Issues - Racism

Names: Burnaby Village Museum; Fong, Denise; Innes, Meagan; Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Nation; Sandhra, Sharanjit Kaur "Sharn" Dr.

Responsibility: Lemke, Jane

Accession Code: BV022.27.4

Date: 22 Sep. 2022

Media Type: Moving Images

Notes: Title based on contents of item

Images

Video

Stepping over the barrier: Expanding Diversity at the Burnaby Village Museum, 22 Sep. 2022

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_BVM_Moving_Images/2022_0027_0004_002.mp4

Interview with Jagandeep "Jag" Nagra

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription19605

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: 1984-2023 (interview content), interviewed 5 Jun. 2023

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum fonds

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 sound recording (wav) (47 min., 26 sec.) + 1 sound recording (mp3) (47 min., 27 sec.)

Scope and Content: Item consists of a recording of an oral history interview with Jagandeep "Jag" Nagra interviewed by Burnaby Village Museum Registrar, James Binks. 00:00:00 – 00:04:31 The interview opens with introductions and biographical details about Jag Nagra. The interviewer shares information about Jag Nagra…

1 document 1 audio

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) (47 min., 26 sec.) + 1 sound recording (mp3) (47 min., 27 sec.)

Material Details: Interviewer: James Binks Interviewee: Jagandeep "Jag" Nagra Location of Interview: Burnaby Village Museum Interview Date: June 5, 2023 Total Number of tracks: 1 Total Length of all Tracks: 47:27

Scope and Content: Item consists of a recording of an oral history interview with Jagandeep "Jag" Nagra interviewed by Burnaby Village Museum Registrar, James Binks. 00:00:00 – 00:04:31 The interview opens with introductions and biographical details about Jag Nagra. The interviewer shares information about Jag Nagra’s art career and the many art projects and commissions that Jag has worked on. Jag shares information about her parents, providing details about their immigration to British Columbia from Punjab and the places that Jag and her family have lived over the years. 00:04:32 – 00:12:38 Jag talks about what inspired her to become interested in art, her art education and how her artistic practice and expression have developed over time. Jag describes how she first started in graphic design, how she’s become more involved in public art and her experience working in design. Jag touches on her experiences of being a South Asian growing up and living in a predominantly white neighbourhood and provides information about her parents, Avatar Singh Nagra and Rajwant Kaur Nagra and their migration to Canada. 00:12:39 – 00:20:03 Jag talks about her inspiration in creating her work, her involvement with the revitalization of the Punjabi Market in Vancouver, the Punjabi Market Collective and other public art projects that she’s been involved with focusing on the South Asian community and LGBTQ+ issues. 00:20:04 – 00:41:09 Jag talks about her involvement with the Burnaby Village Museum’s exhibit “Truths Not Often Told: Being South Asian in Burnaby”. The interviewer and Jag take a walk throughout the exhibit while Jag describes the art work that she created for the exhibit and her creative process. Jag reflects on her own experiences being involved in the exhibit. 00:41:10 – 00:47:27 Jag talks about her own experiences as a South Asian Queer artist reflecting on her experiences within the art community. In closing Jag reflects on the impacts of the exhibit that celebrates South Asian culture in Burnaby.

History: Interviewee biography: Jagandeep "Jag" Nagra is a queer Panjabi Visual Artist passionate about community development, making art accessible and ending stigma against LGBTQ+ people within the South Asian community. Nagra has worked with clients such as the Vancouver Canucks, Tim Hortons and Microsoft and is currently serving as Vice Chair of the Punjabi Market Collective. She is featured in the internationally acclaimed, award wining LGBTQ documentary Emergence: Out of the Shadows. Her artworks are part of the Museum of Vancouver’s permanent collection and have been commissioned for the Burnaby Village Museum exhibit "Truths Not Often Told: Being South Asian in Burnaby". 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: Migration; Persons - South Asian Canadians; Persons - LGBTQ+; Occupations - Artists; Social Issues; Social Issues - Racism; Social Issues - Discrimination

Names: Nagra, Jagandeep "Jag"

Responsibility: Binks, James

Accession Code: BV023.16.9

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: No known restrictions

Date: 1984-2023 (interview content), interviewed 5 Jun. 2023

Media Type: Sound Recording

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

Documents

2023_0016_0009_003

Audio Tracks

Interview with Jagandeep

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_BVM_Sound_Recordings/Oral_Histories/2023_0016_0009_002.mp3

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 Lama Tenzin Sherpa and Lama Sue Salter

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription19637

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: [1977-2023] (interview content), interviewed 31 Jul. 2023

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum fonds

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 sound recording (wav) (65 min., 30 sec.) + 1 sound recording (mp3) (65 min., 9 sec.)

Scope and Content: Item consists of a recording of an oral history interview with Lama Tenzin Sherpa and Lama Sue Salter conducted by Burnaby Village Museum Registrar, James Binks on July 31 2023. 00:00:00 - 00:07:59 Interview opens with introductions. Lama Tenzin Sherpa provides biographical details about himself …

1 image 1 document 1 audio

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) (65 min., 30 sec.) + 1 sound recording (mp3) (65 min., 9 sec.)

Material Details: Interviewer: James Binks Interviewees: Lama Tenzin Sherpa and Lama Sue (Suzanne Salter) Location of Interview: Burnaby Village Museum Interview Date: July 31, 2023 Total Number of tracks: 1 Total Length of all Tracks: 01:05:30 Sound recording (wav) was converted to mp3 format for access on Heritage Burnaby

Scope and Content: Item consists of a recording of an oral history interview with Lama Tenzin Sherpa and Lama Sue Salter conducted by Burnaby Village Museum Registrar, James Binks on July 31 2023. 00:00:00 - 00:07:59 Interview opens with introductions. Lama Tenzin Sherpa provides biographical details about himself and his family life in Nepal and explains how his father sent him to the Sonada Monastery in India to become a monk in 1989 and how he took a vow to become a monk in 1992. He recalls his early years of living at the monastery. 00:08:00 - 00:18:38 Lama Tenzin recalls how he came to be a monk at the Salugara Monastery and describes the teachings and skills that he learned there including making tormas and playing traditional musical instruments. Lama Tenzin describes his three year retreat in Kalimpong, India 2008-2012 and how he became Lama Tenzin. Lama Sue Salter assists Lama Tenzin in telling his story. 00:18:39 - 00:25:10 Lama Tenzin talks about returning to the Sonada Monastery after completing his three year retreat and coming to Canada in 2015 to begin his work as a Lama at the Kagyu Kunkhyab Chuling centre (KKC) in Burnaby as well as the retreat centre on Salt Spring Island. 00:25:11 - 00:32:38 Lama Tenzin talks about learning English after arriving in Canada and finding his way around the city as a new immigrant. 00:32:59 - 00:43:13 Lama Susan Salter talks about meeting Lama Tenzin, her involvement with the Kagyu Kunkhyab Chuling Centre and it’s history in Burnaby on Sidley Street since 1977. 00:43:14 - 00:53:52 Lama Tenzin and Lama Susan Salter describe daily and weekly practices at the Kagyu Kunkhyab Chuling Centre in Burnaby, what a membership entails and types of educational programs offered at the centre. 00:53:53 - 00:59:23 Lama Tenzin and Lama Susan Salter talk about the location of their current centre in an apartment in Yale Town and retreat centre on Salt Spring Island and the challenges of finding affordable space for their centre. They reflect on the positive aspects of having their former centre location in Burnaby. 00:59:24 - 01:05:09 Lama Tenzin and Lama Susan Salter reflect on the future of the Kagyu Kunkhyab Chuling (KKC) and Kunzang Dechen Osel Ling (KDOL) meditation retreat centre on Salt Spring Island.

History: Interviewees' biographies: Lama Tenzin Sherpa was born in Nepal in 1977. When he was around 11 years old his father sent him to the Sonada Monastery (also known as sthe Samdrub Dhargay Choling Monastery) in West Bengal to begin his training to become a Tibetan Buddhist monk. In 1989, the same year that Kalu Rinpoche died, Lama Tenzin became a monk. He continued to live at the monastery for 20 years. In 2012, Lama Tenzin completed his three year retreat and took up various responsibilities at the Salagura Stupa Kunchab Chodey. In 2015, Lama Tenzin was invited to Canada as a resident teacher at the Tibetan Buddhist Dharma Centre “Kagyu Kunkhyab Chuling” (KKC) located at 4941 Sidley Street, Burnaby and the Niguma Meditation Centre's retreat centre Kunzang Dechen Osel Ling (KDOL) on Saltspring Island. Lama Sue Salter (Karma Lhamo) has been a student of Kalu Rinpoche since 1974. In 1980, she completed a three year retreat at the Palden Shangpa La Boulaye in France. She's served on the Board of Directors, as a retreat coordinator and a teacher in Tibetan at the Kagyu Kunkhyab Chuling and Kunzang Dechen Osel Ling (KDOL). Lama Sue also worked for years as a registered nurse and registered social worker and retired in 2018. 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: Religions - Buddhism; Buildings - Religious - Monasteries; Migration; Persons - South Asian Canadians

Names: Sherpa, Lama Tenzin; Salter, Suzanne "Lama Sue"; Kagyu Kunkhyab Chuling "KKC"; Rinpoche, Lama Kalu; Rinpoche, Lama Kyabje Kalu "Kalu Rinpoche"; Kunzang Dechen Osel Ling "KDOL"

Responsibility: Binks, James

Accession Code: BV023.16.15

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: No known restrictions

Date: [1977-2023] (interview content), interviewed 31 Jul. 2023

Media Type: Sound Recording

Notes: Title based on contents of item; Transcription available

Images

Interview with Lama Tenzin Sherpa and Lama Sue Salter, [1977-2023] (interview content), interviewed 31 Jul. 2023 thumbnail

Documents

2023_0016_0015_004

Audio Tracks

Interview with Lama Tenzin Sherpa and Lama Sue Salter, [1977-2023] (interview content), interviewed 31 Jul. 2023

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_BVM_Sound_Recordings/Oral_Histories/2023_0016_0015_002.mp3

Interview with Maninder Arora

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription19351

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: [1974-2022] (interview content), interviewed 7 Dec. 2022

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum fonds

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 2 sound recordings (wav) (67 min., 25 sec.) + 1 sound recording (mp3) (66 min., 45 sec.)

Scope and Content: Item consists of a recording of an oral history interview with Maninder Arora conducted by Anushay Malik with assistance from Museum Registrar James Binks. 0:00 – 07:33 Interview opens with introductions. Maninder Arora shares her immigration story and how she came to emigrate from India to Canada…

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: 2 sound recordings (wav) (67 min., 25 sec.) + 1 sound recording (mp3) (66 min., 45 sec.)

Material Details: Interviewers: Anushay Malik Co interviewer: James Binks Interviewee: Maninder Arora Location of Interview: In Burnaby at the home of Maninder Arora Interview Date: December 7, 2022 Total Number of tracks: 2 Total Length of all Tracks: (01:07:25) Digital master recordings (wav) were edited into one recording and converted to mp3 for access on Heritage Burnaby

Scope and Content: Item consists of a recording of an oral history interview with Maninder Arora conducted by Anushay Malik with assistance from Museum Registrar James Binks. 0:00 – 07:33 Interview opens with introductions. Maninder Arora shares her immigration story and how she came to emigrate from India to Canada at 16 years of age with her mother, her older sister (18 yrs) and her younger brother (11 yrs) in 1974. Maninder explains how her sister immigrated first after marrying a South Asian Canadian and subsequently was able to sponsor members of her family to immigrate about one year later. Arora describes what life was like for her and her family in the northern part of Punjab in India prior to immigration to Canada. Arora describes her family composition with her being the second youngest of eight children and how at the time of immigrating, four of her elder siblings (three sisters and one brother) stayed behind. 07:34 – 16:23 As a new immigrant to Canada at the age of 16 years of age, Maninder Arora recalls the many challenges that she faced. Maninder describes how she attended Vancouver Technical School and then worked at a restaurant on Friday nights and weekends. She recollects how she got her first job through the Sikh community from the Akali Singh Sikh Gurdwara on Fraser Street. Maninder recalls that during the first five months in Canada, Maninder, her mother, sister and brother lived with her elder sister, her husband and child before finding a place of their own. Arora recalls where her family shopped for traditional Indian spices and foods. 16:24 – 25:50 Maninder Arora describes the next home that her family moved to and how she and her brother attended David Thompson Secondary School. Maninder explains that she dropped out of school in Grade 12 to go to work full time to help her family repay the debt that they owed for their immigration expenses. Around 1981, her mother was able to purchase a house at Marine Drive and Ross Street and her mother got work at the same restaurant that Maninder was working. Maninder shares and reflects on a disturbing encounter of racism that she and her older sister faced while taking local transit. 25:51 – 34:17 Maninder Arora talks about her past work experience. Maninder describes how with the help of her sister, she began working as a nurses' aide at care homes and private hospitals. Maninder reflects on how she intended to get a job in a unionized care home where she can make a better living wage. Maninder describes some of the places that she worked before obtaining certification as a nurse’s aide from Kwantlen College. 34;18 – 51:15 Maninder Arora describes the events that led to her marrying her future husband in 1986 and how it wasn’t an easy decision for her. Maninder describes where she and her family lived after her marriage and how her hard work led her to obtaining full time employment as a nurses' aide in Richmond. 51:16 - 56:16 Maninder Arora tells of how she decided to move to Burnaby where her sister and extended family were living. Maninder recalls what lead to her decision to move from Surrey to Burnaby in 1992. 56:17 - 1:04:23 Maninder Arora shares some experiences of her life in Burnaby. Maninder further reflects on her decisions for moving to Burnaby including providing what she thought would be a safer environment and education for her children. Maninder conveys how racism is still very much prevalent in society and recounts a personal encounter that she experienced while shopping for shoes at Metrotown. 1:04:24 – 1:06:45 The interviewer asks Maninder Arora what she would like to see conveyed as a message for younger people in an upcoming exhibit at Burnaby Village Museum on South Asian history. Maninder conveys that she would like all Canadian citizens living in Burnaby to make the environment better by not littering, living peacefully together and not causing people grief or struggle for nothing, “Be kind to each other”. In closing Arora shares the transportation route she took when emigrating from India to Canada.

History: Interviewee biography: Maninder Arora was born in the northern part of Punjab, India. Her sister immigrated to Canada in 1974 after marrying a South Asian Canadian. In 1975, after her father died, her sister was able to bring her mother, her 11 year old brother and Maninder at 16 years of age. After arriving in British Columbia, they first lived with her sister and family before finding a place of their own. Maninder attended Vancouver Technical School and later David Thompson Secondary School and worked in a restaurant on weekends to help her family out. Maninder and her family were members of the Sikh community and attended Akali Singh Sikh Gurdwara on Fraser Street. Maninder left school in Grade 12 to work full time to help her family repay the debt that they owed for their immigration expenses. In the early 1980’s Maninder’s family moved to a house near Marine Drive and Ross Street that her mother was able to purchase. With the help of her sister, Maninder got work as a nurses’ aide at care homes and private hospitals which eventually led her to obtaining certification from Kwantlen College. Maninder married in 1986 and had two children while living in Richmond. Around 1992, she moved from Surrey to Burnaby to be closer to her sister and to provide as safer environment for her children. 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”. 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: Persons - South Asian Canadians; Social Issues; Social Issues - Racism; Occupations; Occupations - Nurses; Migration

Names: Arora, Maninder

Responsibility: Malik, Anushay; Binks, James

Accession Code: BV022.29.6

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: No known restrictions

Date: [1974-2022] (interview content), interviewed 7 Dec. 2022

Media Type: Sound Recording

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

Documents

2022_0029_0006_004

Audio Tracks

Interview with Maninder Arora, [1974-2022] (interview content), interviewed 7 Dec. 2022

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_BVM_Sound_Recordings/Oral_Histories/2022_0029_0006_003.mp3

Interview with Norman Dowad

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription19638

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: [1890-2023] (interview content), interviewed 14 Aug. 2023

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum fonds

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 sound recording (wav) (61 min., 37 sec.) + 1 sound recording (mp3) (61 min., 37 sec.)

Scope and Content: Item consists of a recording of an oral history interview with Norman Dowad conducted by Burnaby Village Museum Registrar, Eric Damer on August 14, 2023. 00:00:00 – 00:14:38 Norm shares biographical information about himself and background information on the Dowad family. Norm conveys information …

1 image 1 document 1 audio

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) (61 min., 37 sec.) + 1 sound recording (mp3) (61 min., 37 sec.)

Material Details: Interviewer: Eric Damer Interviewee: Norman Dowad Location of Interview: Burnaby Village Museum Interview Date: August 14, 2023 Total Number of tracks: 1 Total Length of all Tracks: 01:14:37 Digital master recording (wav) was converted to mp3 for access on Heritage Burnaby

Scope and Content: Item consists of a recording of an oral history interview with Norman Dowad conducted by Burnaby Village Museum Registrar, Eric Damer on August 14, 2023. 00:00:00 – 00:14:38 Norm shares biographical information about himself and background information on the Dowad family. Norm conveys information about his grandfather Samuel Dowad's immigration to Canada and his father Wilfred Dowad's military service and successes as a property developer. 00:14:39 – 00:17:26 Norm provides background information on his mother’s side of the family. 00:17:27 – 00:31:36 Norm talks about his childhood, growing up in the Deer Lake neighbourhood, his early education in Burnaby and sports that he played. 00:31:37 – 00:39:59 Norm talks about his educational experiences attending Simon Fraser University, University of British Columbia and Osgoode Hall law school and information regarding his law career. 00:40:00 – 00:45:03 Norm reflects on his childhood growing up in Burnaby and on his experiences and relationships as a student and in his career as a lawyer. 00:45:04 – 01:01:37 Norm talks about his siblings and shares information about family property development projects as well as career and business successes. In closing he talks about research that he’s done through Archives Canada on his grandfather Sam Dowad and father Wilfred Dowad.

History: Interviewee biography: Normam Dowad was born and rasied in Burnaby. Norm graduated from Burnaby Central Secondary School, Simon Fraser University for one year, and obtained his law degree from York University. Norman began practicing law in 1974 years and has his own law practice that he operates out of Vancouver as of 2023. 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: Agriculture - Farms; Education; Persons - South Asian Canadians; Migration; Sports; Sports - Football; Wars - World War, 1939-1945

Names: Dowad, Norman W. "Norm"; Dowad, Samuel Esper "Sam"; Dowad, Wilfred "Wilf"; Dowad, Naomi "Mamie" David; Dowad, Martha Elias Shaheen; Dowad, Kathleen "Kay"; Rideout, Dr. John Anthony; Burnaby Central Secondary School; Douglas Road School; W. Dowad Limited

Responsibility: Damer, Eric

Geographic Access: Buckingham Avenue; Deer Lake

Street Address: 5533 Buckingham Avenue

Accession Code: BV023.16.16

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: No known restrictions

Date: [1890-2023] (interview content), interviewed 14 Aug. 2023

Media Type: Sound Recording

Historic Neighbourhood: Burnaby Lake (Historic Neighbourhood)

Planning Study Area: Morley-Buckingham Area

Notes: Title based on contents of item; Transcription available

Images

Interview with Norman Dowad, [1890-2023] (interview content), interviewed 14 Aug. 2023 thumbnail

Documents

2023_0016_0016_003

Audio Tracks

Interview with Norman Dowad, [1890-2023] (interview content), interviewed 14 Aug. 2023

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_BVM_Sound_Recordings/Oral_Histories/2023_0016_0016_002.mp3

Interview with Shanaz Khan

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription20284

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: [1956-2023] (interview content), interviewed 24 Sep. 2023

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum fonds

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 sound recording (wav) (65 min., 54 sec.) + 1 sound recording (mp3) (63 min., 54 sec.)

Scope and Content: Item consists of a recording of an oral history interview with Shanaz Khan conducted by Burnaby Village Museum registrar Rajdeep on September 24, 2023. 00:00:00- 00:09:59 Shanaz Khan shares information about herself, her family and life in Fiji before she immigrated to Vancouver in 1972 and her fi…

1 document 1 audio

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) (65 min., 54 sec.) + 1 sound recording (mp3) (63 min., 54 sec.)

Material Details: Interviewer: Rajdeep Interviewee: Shanaz Khan Location of Interview: Love farmhouse at Burnaby Village Museum Interview Date: September 24, 2023 Total Number of tracks: 1 Total Length of all Tracks: 01:05:54 Digital master recording (wav) was converted to mp3 for access on Heritage Burnaby

Scope and Content: Item consists of a recording of an oral history interview with Shanaz Khan conducted by Burnaby Village Museum registrar Rajdeep on September 24, 2023. 00:00:00- 00:09:59 Shanaz Khan shares information about herself, her family and life in Fiji before she immigrated to Vancouver in 1972 and her first experiences after immigrating to Vancouver including where her family lived, her work as an accountant for major banks in Vancouver, training and working as a chef and living in Surrey and Vancouver. 00:10:00 - 00:14:59 Shanaz shares experiences in her career as an accountant working in Vancouver and Tumbler Ridge and her experiences of racism that she faced in her workplace. Shanaz talks about her life after retirement and her volunteer work. 00:015:00 - 00:22:53 Shanaz talks about her life in Burnaby for the last 19 years and what she likes about living here. Shanaz recollects locations of stores in Vancouver where her family shopped to find traditional foods and where her family lived after immigrating. Shanaz shares some of her favourite traditional foods. 00:22:54 - 00:37:41 Shanaz recollects some of her childhood experiences growing up in Fiji and her experiences of swimming in Fiji, Hawaii and in Vancouver. Shanaz talks about her fitness regime and places that she likes to exercise in Burnaby including trails and green spaces and reflects on the changes to Burnaby with increased development, the cost of housing and the crime rate. 00:37:42 - 00:52:41 Shanaz talks about the traditional clothing and western clothing that she’s worn and accessed while living in Burnaby and Vancouver. Shanaz describes some traditional Islamic religious practices including the nikah (marriage), funerals, prayers, Eid, Hajj and her own personal practices as well as locations of mosques and cemeteries available to Muslims in the lower mainland. 00:52:42 - 01:05:54 Shanaz talks about her parent’s religious and ancestral background, her religious upbringing and the demographics of Fiji.

History: Interviewee biography: Shanaz Khan was born and raised in Suva, Fiji in the 1950's. In the early 1970's, Shanaz immigrated to Vancouver with her parents and younger brother. Shanaz attended John Oliver High School and took one year of accounting courses at Langara College. Over the years Shanaz worked as an accountant in major banks and for a mining company in Tumbler Ridge. Shanaz also worked as a chef at various restaurants and bakeries after completing training at a Vancouver Culinary School. Shanaz has made her home in Burnaby for the past 19 years. Following her retirement, Shanaz has volunteered for different organizations including the YWCA. 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: Buildings - Religious - Mosques; Cemeteries; Ceremonies - Funerals; Ceremonies - Weddings; Education; Housing; Migration; Occupations; Persons - South Asian Canadians; Religions - Islam; Religions - Christianity; Social Issues; Social Issues - Racism; Sports - Swimming

Names: Khan, Shanaz

Responsibility: Rajdeep

Accession Code: BV023.16.18

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: No known restrictions

Date: [1956-2023] (interview content), interviewed 24 Sep. 2023

Media Type: Sound Recording

Notes: Title based on contents of item; Transcription available

Documents

2023_0016_0018_003

Audio Tracks

Interview with Shanaz Khan, [1956-2023] (interview content), interviewed 24 Sep. 2023

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_BVM_Sound_Recordings/Oral_Histories/2023_0016_0018_002.mp3

Interview with Surjeet Kaur Parmar

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription19350

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: [1905-2022] (interview content), interviewed 6 Dec. 2022

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum fonds

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 2 sound recordings (wav) (75 min., 32 sec.) + 1 sound recording (mp3) (75 min., 32 sec.)

Scope and Content: Item consists of a recording of an oral history interview with Surjeet Kaur Parmar conducted by interviewer Anushay Malik. The interview is conducted in Urdu, Hindi and Punjabi. During the interview Surjeet Kaur Parmar provides information on; her ancestral background, family relations in India and…

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: 2 sound recordings (wav) (75 min., 32 sec.) + 1 sound recording (mp3) (75 min., 32 sec.)

Material Details: Interviewer: Anushay Malik Interviewee: Surjeet Kaur Parmar Language of Interview: Urdu, Hindi and Punjabi Location of Interview: home of Surjeet Kaur Parmar in Burnaby Interview Date: December 6, 2022 Total Number of tracks: 2 Total Length of tracks: (1:15:32) Digital master recordings (wav) were edited into one recording and converted to mp3 for access on Heritage Burnaby

Scope and Content: Item consists of a recording of an oral history interview with Surjeet Kaur Parmar conducted by interviewer Anushay Malik. The interview is conducted in Urdu, Hindi and Punjabi. During the interview Surjeet Kaur Parmar provides information on; her ancestral background, family relations in India and Canada, her personal experiences and her ancestors’ stories as South Asian immigrants, reflections on and personal experiences of racial discrimination as a South Asian immigrant, her places of residence, her employment background, her cultural practices and traditions including food, clothing and craft. The interview begins with introductions from interviewer Anushay Mailik. Surjeet Kaur Parmar imparts her own family’s migration story beginning with her very first elders that immigrated to Canada from India. A relative (unnamed) immigrated to Canada first and a few years later (around 1905) returned to India and brought back three cousins that included; Ginaya Singh (Ghania Singh Manhas) and Doman Singh . Mayo Singh (Ghania Singh’s younger brother) came in 1906 on his own to join them. Surjeet’s grandfather (Shair/Sher Singh Manhas) also wanted to immigrate at this time, but he was too young and weak to manage such a long trip. Surjeet conveys that while living in British Columbia, Mayo and Ginaya Singh worked together at saw mills. With their knowledge and understanding of mill work they ended up owning and operating a mill in Paldi near Duncan on Vancouver Island. At this time, most of the men from Surjeet’s family region in Punjab were abroad and with no men living at home. Mayo Singh’s father (Bhulla Singh) looked after her father (Lashman Singh Manhas) and paternal uncle (Kashmir Singh Manhas) back in Punjab. When Mayo’s father died, Mayo Singh adopted her paternal uncle (Kashmir Singh) and brought him to Canada in 1926. Surjeet describes her ancestors’ immigration journey from India to Canada. They all travelled by ship and if someone ran out of money en route, they could work on the ship. Surjeet explains that both Mayo and Ginaya Singh are Surjeet’s grandfather’s first cousins and her father’s second cousins. Surjeet recollects her grandfather (Shair/Sher Singh Manhas) saying “now that you’ve arrived there, take one cousin from each side with you”. Surjeet explains that the cousins were all from the same village in Punjab and her great grandfather wanted someone to go abroad, so he sent a few and had them bring more as the years went on. Surjeet says that she’s uncertain as to why they chose Canada rather than America but thinks that they did some form of research and determined that it was a good place to come to. Surjeet admits that she doesn’t know the name of her paternal grandfather or other elders since she never met them. Surjeet shares that it was a traditional practice to mark pots and pans with family names and imparts that she discovered her father’s name “Lashman Singh” written on the bottom of a glass. Surjeet expresses that she’s marked her own pots and pans with her name to identify which ones are hers when she gets together with family or does catering. Surjeet refers to a kohl bottle that she has and how she’d like to offer it to the museum. She explains how the kohl bottle is no longer in use but was used by her mother (Budhan Kaur Manhas) and daughter and her grandchildren. Surjeet describes a blanket that she made called a “phulkari”, now on display in a small museum in Coquitlam, a wedding shawl, that her daughter now owns and a silk sari with embroidery. Surjeet and Anushay discuss the possibility of donating the kohl bottle and the sari to the museum. Surjeet explains how the kohl is used and how her mother used to make kohl. She describes how you rub the kohl with your hands, put cardamom in it, one or two other ingredients and fill the kohl bottle up with water. Surjeet says that she used kohl as eyeliner when living in India. The interviewer asks Surjeet more about Ginaya Singh. Surjeet conveys that Ginaya Singh ended up leaving the mill on Vancouver Island and moved to Vancouver. After Ginaya Singh died from a heart attack (in 1953) his family moved from Vancouver to Burnaby. Surjeet recalls that following the death of Ginaya Singh’s youngest son, her family didn’t celebrate “Lohri” (a winter festival celebrating newborns and newly married people) for three years. She shares that she was very young at this time but remembers there being beautiful photographs of young children all dressed up and displayed in her family home. She expresses that dressing up for photos has changed over time and adds that suits didn’t really come into fashion until after the 1970s or 1980s. Surjeet conveys that her uncle named Kashmira Singh first worked at the mill in Paldi near Duncan then moved to Vancouver and opened up his own mill in North Vancouver. Surjeet’s father, Lashman Singh Manhas arrived in 1953. Surjeet expresses that Kapoor Singh was educated and worked as a manager at the mill on Vancouver Island. Surjeet recollects meeting Mayo Singh, his wife and eldest son in 1952 when they travelled to India for a cousin’s wedding. Surjeet remembers that Mayo Singh’s family had a very large house in India. She describes the house as a very opulent two story house with indoor plumbing for a bathtub, a kitchen with a woodstove, coloured mirrors, bejeweled curtains, a motor room to park cars, a buffalo and more. Surjeet refers to Nand Singh, a younger brother of Mayo Singh, who travelled from India to San Franciso and spent a year wandering around before deciding to return to India. She describes him as living in Bombay with his wife Vishan Kaur and having a transport business. Nand had two kids that came to Canada. Surjeet recollects the tragic death of Ganda Singh (Ginaya Singh) who died of a heart attack on someone’s doorstep, they thought that he was drunk so didn’t open the door. Surjeet conveys that Mayo Singh’s wife, Mission Kaur (Saradani Bishan Kaur) died while visiting India (in 1952) and that some of Mayo’s sons were married in Canada and one in India. Surjeet expresses that it was hard for Mayo’s sons to have one of their parents die in India and one die in Canada (Mayo Singh died in B.C. in 1955). Surjeet describes the hospital that Mayo built in the village of Paldi. She mentions that there were festivals and functions that took place there, there were many nurses and doctors. She recalls there being a school where their land was. She recalls that if they got headaches they were treated with medicine and that it didn’t cost much, only a six pence. Surjeet talks about her arranged marriage to Kalwant Singh "Nadeem" Parmar. Surjeet explains that her father and brother immigrated to British Columbia first (1953) and after a few months they brought Surjeet and her mother (Budhan Kaur Manhas). She recollects that when she was in Grade 10 and around 17 years of age, her family made plans to travel to India to attend a family wedding. During this time, her father suggested that it would be a good opportunity to take Surjeet with them to find her a husband in India to marry. After meeting and marrying Nadeem Parmar in India, Surjeet and Nadeem moved to England. Surjeet recollects that in order to immigrate to Canada, each family member had to pass a medical exam and how difficult it was. Her two sisters, mother and brother all had to take the test in Delhi. Surjeet recalls living in England with Nadeem. While living in England, Nadeem worked during the day and studied engineering at college in the evening. Surjeet expresses that she liked living in England and was sad to leave. While living there, they enjoyed a close knit Punjabi community and they all lived in the same area. Surjeet states later in her interview that living in Canada was different from living in England. In England, family and friends lived closer together whereas in Canada places were further apart. Surjeet says that while living in England she could walk to do her shopping. While living in England, after her children were a bit older, she worked as a seamstress in a shirt factory for a few years before coming to Canada. Surjeet imparts that her father (Lashman Singh Manhas) died of a heart attack in 1970 and her mother (Budhan Kaur Manhas) died in 1998. Her father and her family first lived in North Vancouver and then her parents bought a house on Eton Street in Burnaby, near the Ocean. After her father died, her brother and mother bought a house and moved to the Capitol Hill neighbourhood in Burnaby. In 1973, Surjeet, Nadeem and their two children immigrated to Canada and moved in with her brother and mother. Surjeet includes that her paternal aunt (Koshali Kaur Manhas) and cousins also moved to Burnaby and that her aunt and some of her cousins were sponsored by her son who came earlier. Surjeet recalls that after arriving in Canada she got work sewing in a factory located on Water Street in Gastown. Surjeet recollects travelling to her job by bus. Surjeet shares that she brought saris and quilted blankets “rijai”, not household items, in her suitcase when she came to Canada from England. Surjeet explains that the “rijai” (quilted blankets) were made from cotton from her home village in India. The blankets were made by women and then brought back to her to quilt on her sewing machine. Surjeet recalls that when she returned to Canada (in 1973 with her husband and children) they first lived with her mother and brother on Capitol Hill in Burnaby before moving to a house on Fell Avenue and then to their current home in 1982. In 1981, she worked at “Canadian Window Covering” factory making window coverings. The factory was located in the Brentwood area of Burnaby. Surjeet recalls how the factory became unionized and of how she left the factory and found union work at the Labatt’s brewery (Winery and Distillery Workers Local 300). Surjeet describes the work that she did while working at Labatt’s brewery which was located next to the Royal Columbian Hospital in Burnaby. Around 1995, when the Labatt’s factory closed down in Burnaby, she got union work as a bottle sorter for BDL Brewers Distributor Limited, where bottles were gathered for distribution at Braid Station. Surjeet left this job in 2000. Surjeet talks about traditional foods like bindi, sabji, aam and karela and where she’s shopped to find traditional ingredients for South Asian cuisine. She recollects how at first she could only find traditional ingredients at stores in Gastown, Chinatown and on Main Street in Vancouver but now they are more readily available at major grocery stores. Surjeet expresses that traditional spices and dry goods have been hard to find, apart from stores like, Famous Foods and Patels when it was located on Commercial Drive. Surjeet talks about using ingredients such as green pea flour and Besan flour to make pakoras and kahdri. Surjeet states that many immigrants didn’t wear their traditional clothing until she came later. She expresses that many South Asian immigrants didn’t wear their clothes “because there were no rights, we had to try to become like them”. Surjeet conveys that even though some were able to purchase property (she provides an example of family members in Duncan who faced discrimination by the owner/seller of a piece of property they were purchasing) that they had very little rights and they were all living in fear. She expresses that she herself didn’t experience this but in the beginning when people settled here (in B.C.) that it was very difficult. Surjeet says that when she goes to the Gurdwara and to work, she wears a sari and conveys that while working at the factory, she was encouraged to wear a sari, it was accepted then. She brought printed saris to work and her co workers said that they’d wear them to parties. Surjeet reflects on her own experiences of racism and discrimination and expresses that her generation “has learned how to stand up in front, then they got scared of saying anything”. “The people who came here first were afraid because they were alone, they had to settle down here and make a home from scratch, but the ones who came after had everything already built and made”. She explains how they helped one another when they came (to British Columbia). She describes how the Gurdwara was located on 2nd Street and all of the ships went there (new immigrants?), people would gather, get water, help one another and there would be a place for all people. Surjeet shares a personal experience of helping members of her husband’s family to immigrate to Canada. She tells of the complications of some being left behind in India and that some came to Canada as refugees that she and her husband sponsored. Surjeet expresses their struggles with raising a family, working and trying to pay for their own house while also trying to assist and support family members. Surjeet describes in detail how her husband Nadeem went back to India after his mother died to help his father, sister and her family immigrate. She explains that the immigration process took about four years and his father had to apply as a refugee. Nadeem’s sister came with her children but had to return to India so Surjeet and her family had to look after Nadeem’s sister’s child/children. Surjeet expresses that during this time she continued to work at Canadian Window Coverings, working an afternoon shift and sometimes taking her son with her. She expresses that this as a very hectic time, working the whole day, making food for everyone, grocery shopping, looking after a her sister in law’s younger child at night and getting no rest. Surjeet describes the time when she was working and her children were attending the local school. She expresses the challenges of working long days and often arriving home after her children. She recollects a time when there was a snow storm and how she was worried about her children making it home and being alone while she was at work, there were no cell phones in those days but they had phone numbers of her brother and sister. Surjeet tells of how they tried to help the rest of the Nadeem’s family immigrate including his brother who was a soccer player in India. They were able to buy a house for the whole family to live but expresses after several months Nadeem’s brother decided to stay in India. Surjeet expresses the complications and frustrations of trying to bring all family members to Canada.

History: Interviewee biography: Surjeet Kaur Parmar was born in Punjab, India in 1942 to parents Lashman Singh Manhas (1913-1970) and Budhan Kaur Manhas (1906-1998). Surjeet’s ancestors, Ghania Singh Manhas, Doman Singh and Mayo Singh immigrated to British Columbia in 1905 and 1906. The group got work in saw mills and soon began owning and operating their own saw mills, first in Chilliwack and Rosedale districts and later in 1920 on Vancouver Island near Duncan (Paldi) (known as the Mayo Lumber Company). In 1927, Surjeet’s paternal uncle, Kashmir Singh Manhas left Paldi, Punjab at the age of 18 years with Mayo Singh Manhas and after months of travel they arrived at Paldi on Vancouver Island. In 1953, Surjeet’s father, Lashman Singh Manhas and her two brothers immigrated to Canada and soon after brought her and her mother, Budhan Kaur Manhas. After immigrating, her father began working at “Kashmir Lumber Company” in North Vancouver which was owned by his brother Kashmira Singh Manhas. Surjeet, her parents and two brothers first made their home in North Vancouver and the 1960s they moved to 3824 Eton Street in Burnaby. In 1959, Surjeet and her family returned to India for her brother’s wedding. During this time a marriage was arranged for Surjeet to marry Nadeem Parmar and they were married in 1960. Following their marriage, Surjeet and Nadeem moved to England where they began raising their two children. While living in England, Surjeet worked as seamstress at a factory. In 1973, following the death of Surjeet’s father who died in 1970, Surjeet and Nadeem decided to immigrate to British Columbia. For the first few years, Surjeet, Nadeem and their two children lived with her mother and brother in the Capitol Hill neighbourhood of Burnaby before purchasing their own home on Fell Avenue. While living in Burnaby Surjeet has worked as a seamstress for Canadian Window Covering, Labatt's Brewery and BDL Brewers Distributor Limited which she left in 2000. In 1982, Surjeet and her family moved into a new home that they had built on Woodsworth Street where they still live today. Interviewer biography: 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”.

Creator: Burnaby Village Museum

Subjects: Buildings - Industrial - Saw Mills; Clothing; Crafts; Employment; Migration; Social Issues; Social Issues - Racism; Occupations - Labourers; Occupations - Millworkers; Persons - South Asian Canadians

Names: Parmar, Surjeet Kaur; Parmar, Kalwant Singh "Nadeem"; Manhas, Ghania Singh; Singh, Mayo; Manhas, Kashmir Singh; Manhas, Sher Singh; Manhas, Budhan Kaur; Manhas, Lashman Singh

Accession Code: BV022.29.5

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: No known restrictions

Date: [1905-2022] (interview content), interviewed 6 Dec. 2022

Media Type: Sound Recording

Related Material: See also BV022.29.1 - interview with Kalwant Singh "Nadeem" Parmar

Notes: Title based on contents of item; Transcription of interview translated to English from Urdu, Hindi and Punjabi to English created by Rajdeep; Transciption available on Heritage Burnaby; Spelling of "Ginaya Singh" found as "Ghania Singh Manhas" in obituary and death certificate

Documents

2022_0029_0005_004

Audio Tracks

Interview with Surjeet Kaur Parmar, [1905-2022] (interview content), interviewed 6 Dec. 2022

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_BVM_Sound_Recordings/Oral_Histories/2022_0029_0005_003.mp3

Interview with Ellen and Bill Schwartz

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription19602

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: [1969-2023] (interview content), interviewed 15 May 2023

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum fonds

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 2 sound recordings (wav) (68 min., 52 sec.) + 1 sound recording (mp3) (68 min., 53 sec.)

Scope and Content: Item consists of a recording of an oral history interview with Ellen and Bill Schwartz conducted by Burnaby Village Museum Registrar and Researcher, Eric Damer. 00:00-16:47 Bill and Ellen share where they were born, grew up and went to school as citizens of the United States and how they met in Pe…

1 image 1 document 1 audio

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) (68 min., 52 sec.) + 1 sound recording (mp3) (68 min., 53 sec.)

Material Details: Interviewer: Eric Damer Interviewees: Ellen and Bill Schwartz Location of Interview: Burnaby Village Museum Interview Date: May 15, 2023 Total Number of tracks: 2 Total Length of all Tracks: 01:08:52 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 information: Bill and Ellen Schwartz.

Scope and Content: Item consists of a recording of an oral history interview with Ellen and Bill Schwartz conducted by Burnaby Village Museum Registrar and Researcher, Eric Damer. 00:00-16:47 Bill and Ellen share where they were born, grew up and went to school as citizens of the United States and how they met in Pennsylvania the 1970s. Bill and Ellen explain how in the 1970s, they were discouraged about the current politics in the United States under the Nixon administration and how they were inspired by the “back to the land” ideals, rejecting materialism and wanting an alternative lifestyle. With these ideals in mind, they recall how in 1972 they and a few other friends decided to leave the United States, move to British Columbia with the goal of buying land in the Okanagan or Kootenay region and starting a new lifestyle for themselves. Bill and Ellen recollect how they purchased 20 acres of land in Galena Bay in the Kootenays and how they lived in the area off and on until the early 1980s. They describe how they cleared three acres of land, built a cabin, put in a garden, chicken coop and honey bees. With the challenges of the isolated location and no access to electricity they explain how they decided that they had to live elsewhere in order to make a living. Ellen talks about working as a special education teacher in Revelstoke and Slocan and how Bill obtained his teaching certificate while they lived in Nelson. Bill and Ellen describe themselves as environmentalists and of how they both became active Provincial environmentalists during the construction of the Revelstoke Dam. Bill talks about getting work with the “Energy Van” program talking about energy conservation, renewable energy and recycling. They explain how after their first child was born in 1980, they returned to Galena Bay for about a year and a half until Bill was offered a job with the Department of Energy Conservation which lead them to move to Vancouver. 16:48 – 22:46 Bill and Ellen describe their first few years of living in Vancouver and at University of British Columbia while Ellen completed her master’s degree in creative writing. During this time, they had their second child. They recall how in 1988 how they purchased a house in Burnaby, selecting to live in the Deer Lake neighbourhood. They talk about the benefits of the neighbourhood including; a French immersion school for their children, proximity to the trails around Deer Lake and having transit close by. 22:47 – 33:55 Bill and Ellen talk about their consulting business “Polestar Communications”. A Burnaby based communications consulting firm composed of three people, Ellen and Bill and colleague Richard Banner. They describe how their business got started and some of the projects that they’ve worked on including; BC Hydro’s Power Smart Program, financial literacy curriculum that was introduced in B.C. schools and reports for the Province of British Columbia. Ellen and Bill convey how Bill has been a very active member with the City of Burnaby Environment Committee, the Steering Committee to develop a sustainable environmental strategy for Burnaby, how he’s been awarded for his contributions in coaching youth sports and other areas in which they have both volunteered. 33:56 – 43:07 Ellen describes how she got started in writing educational resources about the environment and how since she completed grad school in 1984, she’s published nineteen books. Ellen conveys how her first book was published and sold to the Province of British Columbia as part of the B.C. educational curriculum on the environment. Ellen talks about some of the children’s books that she’s written and published with themes including; social justice, the labour movement and racism in sports. Ellen describes some of her books and the research that she’s done. 43:08 – 51:04 Ellen and Bill Schwartz reflect on what they like about living in Burnaby. They talk about the benefits of their neighbourhood including; performances at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts, the Burnaby Blues and Roots Festival, the Burnaby Art Gallery and Deer Lake as well as having access to parks and community centres in Burnaby. 51:05-56:36 Bill and Ellen reflect on their involvement in the Jewish community, considering themselves non-secular Jews. Ellen talks about how they were involved with “Burquest” a Jewish Community Association and how they often observe some of the Jewish holidays including Hanukah and traditions including the Jewish coming of age ritual, bar mitzvah (masc.) and bat mistvah (fem.). Ellen mentions her involvement with the “Jone Betty Stuchner Oy Vey! Funniest Children’s book Award” where she acts a judge and her involvement with the Jewish Book festival and that she is a recipient of the Jewish Book award. 56:37 – 1:08:53 Bill and Ellen reflect on their 35 years living in Burnaby and how they’ve seen it change. They talk about the increased development and density in the city, how they are troubled by a lack of low income housing, the benefits and importance of public transportation and preservation of green space including Burnaby parks.

History: Interviewees' biographies: Ellen Schwartz was born in Washington, DC, (1950) but grew up in New Jersey. She attended the Universities of Chicago and Wisconsin before moving to a farm in Pennsylvania, where she met her future husband Bill Schwartz. Bill Schwartz grew up in and around Philadelphia (b. 1947), and attended Pennsylvania State University. After travelling, and discouraged with life in eastern America, he and Ellen decided that British Columbia held better prospects. Bill and Ellen quit their jobs in 1972 and moved to the Kootenay region where they adopted a “back to the land” lifestyle, a very new experience for both of them. After eight years of modest success, and occasional work in nearby towns, they opted to return to Vancouver where Bill had work and where they could raise a family more easily. They rented in Vancouver for a few years before moving to family housing at UBC, while Ellen studied creative writing. Bill founded a communications and writing company, and in 1988 they purchased a home in Burnaby. Ellen launched a new career as a writer, mainly for children young adults. Both were active in their careers, raising a family, and participating in local social and political activities. 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: Education; Environmental Issues; Environmental Issues - Environmental Protection; Geographic Features; Geographic Features - Parks; Housing; Occupations; Occupations - Entrepreneurs; Occupations - Writers; Persons - Volunteers; Persons - Jewish Canadians; Social Issues; Social Issues - Racism; Religions; Religions - Judaism

Names: Schwartz, William "Bill"; Schwartz, Ellen; City of Burnaby; Polestar Communications; British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority

Responsibility: Damer, Eric

Accession Code: BV023.16.6

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: No known restrictions

Date: [1969-2023] (interview content), interviewed 15 May 2023

Media Type: Sound Recording

Historic Neighbourhood: Burnaby Lake (Historic Neighbourhood)

Planning Study Area: Burnaby Lake Area

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

Images

Interview with Ellen and Bill Schwartz, [1969-2023] (interview content), interviewed 15 May 2023 thumbnail

Documents

2023_0016_0006_004

Audio Tracks

Interview with Ellen and Bill Schwartz, [1969-2023] (interview content), interviewed 15 May 2023

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_BVM_Sound_Recordings/Oral_Histories/2023_0016_0006_003.mp3

Alfred's Fountain Pen

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription9684

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: 2016

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum Film and Video collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 video recording (mp4) (3 min., 40 sec.) : digital, 25 fps, col., sd., stereo

Scope and Content: The video depicts the challenges of film maker Alfred Woo’s physical, social, and cultural transformation to a foreign country. Sentimentally prior to departing Hong Kong in 1954, Alfred was presented a fountain pen by some of his grade two classmates, a souvenir that he has cherished all these yea…

1 image 1 video

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum Film and Video collection

Series: Elders Digital Storytelling project series

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 video recording (mp4) (3 min., 40 sec.) : digital, 25 fps, col., sd., stereo

Scope and Content: The video depicts the challenges of film maker Alfred Woo’s physical, social, and cultural transformation to a foreign country. Sentimentally prior to departing Hong Kong in 1954, Alfred was presented a fountain pen by some of his grade two classmates, a souvenir that he has cherished all these years despite losing contact with them long ago. In his seniority, he muses poignantly about the symbolism of this writing instrument and shares his wonderment about the destiny of these childhood benefactors.

History: Immigrating from Hong Kong to Canada as a child, Alfred Woo easily assimilated into the Canadian way of life at an early age and has enjoyed the best of both worlds. A law graduate, his professional career included service as a Crown Counsel, securities administrator, corporate executive, and as private practitioner. He also served in the Canadian Army (Reserve Force) as a legal officer and an artillery officer before being honorably discharged at the rank of Major. A Burnaby resident for over 30 years, and now retired, he continues to volunteer helping seniors, a community service club, and a veterans group.

Creator: Woo, Alfred

Other Title Information: title supplied by film maker

Subjects: Persons - Chinese Canadians

Names: Woo, Alfred

Accession Code: BV016.37.15

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: May be restricted by third party rights

Date: 2016

Media Type: Moving Images

Notes: Transcribed title

Images

Video

Alfred's Fountain Pen, 2016

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_BVM_Moving_Images/2016_0037_0015_001.mp4

A Pig's Tale

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription14365

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: Oct. 2020

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum fonds

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 3 video recordings (mp4) (5 min., 28 sec.) : digital, col., sd., stereo, subtitles

Scope and Content: Item consists of part two in a two part video series "A Taste of History" created by Debbie Liang and Joty Gill, University of British Columbia alumni and graduates from the Asian Canadian & Asian Migration Studies program (ACAM). Part two is titled "A Pig's Tale". The film highlights the history o…

3 images 3 videos

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum fonds

Series: UBC Partnership series

Subseries: A Taste of History Video series - 2020 subseries

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 3 video recordings (mp4) (5 min., 28 sec.) : digital, col., sd., stereo, subtitles

Material Details: Script: Debbie Liang; Joty Gill Narration: Joty Gill Editor: Debbie Liang Subtitles: English; Simplified Chinese; Traditional Chinese Video Appearances: Kathy Lee; Eleanor Lee Illustrations and Animations: Debbie Liang Photos, Images & B-roll: Piggery photo, image courtesy of Elwin Xie; Douglas Road: City of Burnaby Archives, 477-841; Canada Way, City of Burnaby Archives, 556-522, photo by Peg Campbell; Red pig by Debbie Liang; Piglets sleeping, image courtesy of RoyBuri from pixabay, free to use; Chinese Zodiac, image courtesy of RoofOfAllLight from wikimedia, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license; Pictograph for Home by Debbie Liang; Pigs lying down, image courtesy of Elwin Xie; Council minutes all from heritageburnaby.com; Cleanliness illustration set by Debbie Liang; "The Heathen Chinese in British Columbia" from Library and Archives Canada; Laundryman spitting from Daily News, Prince Rupert in 1911; Slicer on counter at Way Sang Yuen Wat Kee & Co., Burnaby Village Museum BV017.7.290; Way Sang Yuen Wat Kee & Co. Store front, Burnaby Village Museum BV017.7.191; Medical Practices Disagreement illustration by Debbie Liang; Butchering pig, image courtesy of Elwin Xie; Chinatown brolls, courtesy of Food2 group from UBC's 2019 ACAM 390 Class; Black Rotary telephone beside ball pen on white printed paper, image courtesy of Pixabay from pexels.com, free to use; Burnaby Lake on a cloudy day, image courtesy of Flying Pegunin from wikipedia; The Vancouver Sun May 4, 1921 from newspapers.com; Vancouver Daily May 3, 1921 from newspapers.com; Reduce number of pigs illustration by Debbie Liang; Black and white photo of piggery, image courtesy of Elwin Xie; 2019 Piggery illustration by Debbie Liang Music and Sound Effects: "Acoustic Mediation 2" from audionautix; Pig Grunting sounds from Kiddopedia Animasl, Creative Commons 0; "Piano moment" & "November" from bensound.com; "Ding sound effect" from freesoundlibrary; Wuxia2_Guzheng_Pipa by PeriTune http://peritune.com; Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com; Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Video adapted from 2019 BVM intern project by Debbie Liang and Marcela Gomez Special thanks to: UBC: Joanna Yang, Jenny Lu, Denise Fong, Henry Yu; BVM: Kate Petrusa, Amy Wilson Changes to music may have been made for the purposes of this video

Scope and Content: Item consists of part two in a two part video series "A Taste of History" created by Debbie Liang and Joty Gill, University of British Columbia alumni and graduates from the Asian Canadian & Asian Migration Studies program (ACAM). Part two is titled "A Pig's Tale". The film highlights the history of Chinese pig farms also known as "Piggeries" in Burnaby. The film tells the story of how many of these farms were established by Chinese immigrants along Douglas Road (now Canada Way) between the 1890s and 1920s; the importance of the pig in the Chinese Culture as well as a way for Chinese immigrants to make a living and the racism and discriminatory bylaws that the Chinese pig farmers suffered that finally led to the closure of many of these farms. Content references three documented piggery ranches along Douglas Road: Ah Sam; Young Chung and Hop Hin Yen. The films are supported with voice over in english, subtitles, animation along with historical photographs. One version of the film is supported with subtitles in English while two other versions of the film are supported with subtitles in Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese.

History: In 2020, due to the restrictions of COVID-19, University of British Columbia student interns with the Burnaby Village Museum Chinese Canadian History in Burnaby project were asked to create virtual experiences to reimagine Burnaby Village Museum's historical Chinese Canadian programming in remote online spaces. Debbie Liang and Joty Gill (UBC alumni and graduates of Dr. Henry Yu's 2019 summer ACAM 390A Global Seminar to Aisa) returned to work with Burnaby Village Museum to create two short films showcasing the history of Chinese Canadian Chop Suey restaurants and piggeries in Burnaby.

Creator: Liang, Debbie; Debbie Liang

Subjects: Persons - Chinese Canadians; Social Issues - Discrimination; Social Issues - Racism; Regulations; Agriculture; Agriculture - Farms; Agriculture - Ranches; Animals - Pigs

Names: Liang, Debbie; Gill, Joty; Burnaby Village Museum; University of British Columbia; Xie, Elwin; Way Sang Yuen Wat Kee & Company; Ah Sam; Young Chung; Hop Hin Yen

Responsibility: University of British Columbia; UBC Initiative for Student Teaching and Research in Chinese Canadian Studies; Burnaby Village Museum

Geographic Access: Douglas Road; Canada Way

Accession Code: BV020.28.7

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: No known restrictions

Date: Oct. 2020

Media Type: Moving Images

Historic Neighbourhood: Burnaby Lake (Historic Neighbourhood)

Planning Study Area: Douglas-Gilpin Area

Notes: Transcribed title

Images

Video

A Pig's Tale, Oct. 2020

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_BVM_Moving_Images/2020_0028_0007_001.mp4

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_BVM_Moving_Images/2020_0028_0007_002.mp4

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_BVM_Moving_Images/2020_0028_0007_003.mp4

Celebrations of Life & Love: Ceramic Works of Thomas Kakinuma

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription17536

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: 12 Oct. 2021

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum fonds

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 video recording (mp4) (66 min., 9 sec.) : digital, col., sd., stereo ; 29 fps

Scope and Content: Item consists of a video recording of a live Zoom webinar. The webinar was presented on the Zoom webinar platform and also presented live on the Burnaby Village Museum Facebook page on October 12, 2021. The webinar was hosted by Burnaby Village Museum Community Engagement Coordinator, Christina Fr…

1 image 1 video

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum fonds

Series: Burnaby Neighbourhood Speaker Series series

Subseries: Neighbourhood Speaker Series - Fall 2021 subseries

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 video recording (mp4) (66 min., 9 sec.) : digital, col., sd., stereo ; 29 fps

Material Details: Presenter: Debra Sloan; Host: Christina Froschauer; Date of Presentation: October 12, 2021; Total Number of tracks: 1; Total Length of all tracks: 66 min., 9 sec.; Recording Device: Zoom video communication and Facebook platforms; Recording Note: Film was edited from it's original recorded version (71 min., 36 sec.) to edited version (66 min., 9 sec.) for public viewing on Heritage Burnaby.

Scope and Content: Item consists of a video recording of a live Zoom webinar. The webinar was presented on the Zoom webinar platform and also presented live on the Burnaby Village Museum Facebook page on October 12, 2021. The webinar was hosted by Burnaby Village Museum Community Engagement Coordinator, Christina Froschauer and presented by Debra Sloan. The webinar is titled "Celebrations of Life & Love: Ceramic Works of Thomas Kakinuma". In this webinar, Debra Sloan talks about the life and work of UBC professor and Burnaby resident, Thomas Kakinuma who was a celebrated award winning and internationally recognized ceramicist known for his intriguing mid-century pieces, charismatic animal sculptures and return to Japanese aesthetics through his post-war practice. Debra supports her presentation with archival, personal and exhibit photographs showcasing Thomas Kakinuma's life and works. During breaks in the presentation, Christina and Debra take questions from webinar participants on zoom as well as viewers from the live recording on Burnaby Village Museum's Facebook page. Resource links shared during the presentation include: Debra Sloan www.debrasloan.com North-West Ceramics Foundation www.nwcf.ca Potters Guild of BC www.bcpotters.com Fraser Valley Potters Guild www.fraservalleypottersguild.com Craft Council of British Columbia www.craftcouncilbc.ca Thomas Kakinuma’s work in collections: West Vancouver Art Museum Collection www.westvancouverartmuseum.ca/collections Museum of Anthropology – BC Ceramic Collection www.moa.ubc.ca/collections

History: Vancouverite, Debra Sloan gained an interest in ceramics early, in her teen years, and her passion for the practice has remained with her throughout her life. Her education in ceramics is a mix of self-taught informal learning, as well as formal learning, including studying at the Vancouver School of Art in the early 80s and later receiving a Bachelor of Fine Art from Emily Carr University in the early 2000s. Her work has been exhibited regionally, nationally, and internationally and she has participated in numerous artist residencies, and is the recipient of numerous awards and scholarships, with projects funded by British Columbia Arts Council and Canada Council for the Arts. Closer to home, Debra instructed sculpture classes at the Burnaby Shadbolt Center for the Arts, where she worked for over two decades. Over the years, Debra also took to researching, writing and publishing about the history of ceramics in British Columbia and has worked with colleagues to build a Registry of B.C. ceramicists. Recently, in 2017 and 2018, she was involved in the West Vancouver Museum’s retrospective exhibition of Thomas Kakinuma’s work, writing the catalogue, “The Ceramic Art of Thomas Kakinuma.”

Subjects: Persons - Japanese Canadians

Names: Kakinuma, Thomas; Froschauer , Christina; Sloan, Debra

Accession Code: BV021.31.2

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: No known restrictions

Date: 12 Oct. 2021

Media Type: Moving Images

Notes: Title based on contents of video recording; Historical biography of Debra Sloan is taken from recording of presentation

Images

Video

Celebrations of Life & Love: Ceramic Works of Thomas Kakinuma, 12 Oct. 2021

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_BVM_Moving_Images/2021_0031_0002_002.mp4

Community Hero: Recalling a Strathcona Story

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription9681

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: 2016

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum Film and Video collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 video recording (mp4) (7 min., 9 sec.) : digital, 25 fps, col., sd., stereo

Scope and Content: The digital video tells the story of Gee Lam’s childhood experience of growing up in the Vancouver’s East End neighbourhood known as Strathcona. His story revolved around his father’s friend Harry Con who was a community activist in the Strathcona neighbourhood, as well as a volunteer “spy” for the…

1 image 1 video

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum Film and Video collection

Series: Elders Digital Storytelling project series

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 video recording (mp4) (7 min., 9 sec.) : digital, 25 fps, col., sd., stereo

Scope and Content: The digital video tells the story of Gee Lam’s childhood experience of growing up in the Vancouver’s East End neighbourhood known as Strathcona. His story revolved around his father’s friend Harry Con who was a community activist in the Strathcona neighbourhood, as well as a volunteer “spy” for the Canadian Armed forces in World War 2. Gee shares his personal life lessons learned from “uncle Harry” regarding the importance of standing up and fighting for what is right. Harry’s community contribution had embodied Martin Luther King’s social activist principles: “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” In the eyes of Gee, Harry Con was an exemplary who modeled an old Chinese proverb: “Each generation will reap what the former generation has sown. To enjoy the benefits of the hard work of one’s predecessors.” Harry’s life of selfless contributions in shaping the Vancouver Chinese community will impact generations to come. This is a story that needs to be told to the next generation to encourage them to respect and remember that the benefits of a thriving community is derived from both past and present continuous collaborations for paving long term beneficial outcomes for everyone.

History: Gee Lam immigrated from Hong Kong and grew up in the Strathcona neighbourhood that was adjacent to Vancouver’s Chinatown. He is a long-time resident of Burnaby. He has lived in North Burnaby with his wife since 1985. He attended Simon Fraser University’s (SFU) Burnaby campus and graduated in 1983. He obtained his M.Ed. in 2013 from SFU. He worked as a research assistant and workshop facilitator on the Elders’ Digital Storytelling project. He currently works at SFU’s Teaching and Learning Centre on top of Burnaby Mountain.

Creator: Lam, Gee Chung

Other Title Information: title supplied by film maker

Subjects: Persons - Chinese Canadians

Names: Lam, Gee Chung

Geographic Access: Vancouver

Accession Code: BV016.37.12

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: May be restricted by third party rights

Date: 2016

Media Type: Moving Images

Notes: Transcribed title

Images

Video

Community Hero: Recalling a Strathcona Story, 2016

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_BVM_Moving_Images/2016_0037_0012_001.mp4

Eating your way through Burnaby: A look at Chinese Canadian history through food

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription14762

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: 27 Oct. 2020

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum fonds

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 video recording (mp4) (61 min., 56 sec.) : digital, col., sd., stereo ; 29 fps

Scope and Content: Item consists of a video recording of a live Zoom webinar hosted by Kate Petrusa, Burnaby Village Museum assistant curator. The webinar is titled "Eating your way through Burnaby: A look at Chinese Canadian history through food" and is presented by Denise Fong, Planning Assistant for the City of Bu…

1 image 1 video

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum fonds

Series: Burnaby Neighbourhood Speaker Series series

Subseries: Neighbourhood Speaker Series - Fall 2020 subseries

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 video recording (mp4) (61 min., 56 sec.) : digital, col., sd., stereo ; 29 fps

Material Details: Presenter: Denise Fong; Host: Kate Petrusa; Date of Presentation: October 27 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm; Total Number of tracks: 1; Total Length of all tracks:61 min., 56 sec.; Recording Device: Zoom video communication platform

Scope and Content: Item consists of a video recording of a live Zoom webinar hosted by Kate Petrusa, Burnaby Village Museum assistant curator. The webinar is titled "Eating your way through Burnaby: A look at Chinese Canadian history through food" and is presented by Denise Fong, Planning Assistant for the City of Burnaby. The zoom webinar is the seventh 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, Denise Fong talks about how Chinese Canadians have played a key role in supplying food to Burnaby’s community through their participation in the local market gardening, green grocer, and restaurant industries. The presentation is supported with historical maps, photographs, documents, census records and stories from recent research on the 1960s-1970s period in Burnaby’s Big Bend and Capitol Hill neighborhoods. In her presentation, Denise also talks about the history of Chinese Immigration in Canada including the political circumstances and legal barriers that Chinese migrants faced in the late nineteenth to early twentieth century. Denise highlights specific Chinese Canadian family farms in Burnaby including; the Jung family farm located on 5460 Douglas Road operated by Jung Chong and his wife Jung Gee Shee; "Hop On Farms" located on Marine Drive, operated by Chan Kow Hong, Sui Ha Hong and family; the Tong Yip Farm located on Byrne Road operated by D.T. "George" Yip and his wife, Yip Chow Won Tai. Denise also highlights her recent research regarding Chinese Canadian corner stores and green grocers in Burnaby including; The Lee Kee grocery store located at 3824 East Hastings Street, owned and operated by Yow Lee Ko and his wife Say Jan Chan; the Burnaby Market located at 3942 East Hastings Street, owned and operated by Chin Yin Wong; the Quon Bros. located at 3702 East Hastings Street.; Y. Hoy Produce Co. located at 4092 East Hastings Street operated by Hoy Yen; Louie's Food Basket located at 5886 South East Marine Drive operated by Hoy Bew Louie, his wife Poy Yee and later by thier son Bing Louie and Tommy's Market located in Burnaby's Edmonds neighbourhood, operated by Tommy Chu. Denise also provides a detailed history of Tommy Chu and family who owned and operated Tommy's Market. Denise tells of how in the early 1970s, Chinese grocers in the lower mainland came together and formed the Lower Mainland Independent Grocers Association and Lower Mainland Grocers Co-Op. The organization was formed to protect the rights and promote businesses of independent grocers. In closing, Denise explains how her research of Chinese Canadian history in Burnaby continues and by the end of the project, the information will be made accessible in the form of a publication.

Creator: Burnaby Village Museum

Subjects: Persons - Chinese Canadians; Social Issues - Discrimination; Agriculture - Farms; Social Issues - Racism; Buildings - Commercial - Grocery Stores

Names: Fong, Denise; Jung, Chung Chong; Tommy's Produce; Lee Kee Grocery; Louie's Food Basket; Louie, Hoy Bew; Jung, Gee Shee; Hong, Chan Kow; Hong, Sui Ha; Yip, D.T. "George"; Yip, Chow Won Tai; Ko, Yow Lee; Ko, Chan Say Jan; Burnaby Market; Wong, Chin Yin; Quon Bros.; Y. Hoy Produce Co.; Yen, Hoy; Louie, Poy Yee; Louie, Bing; Chu, Tommy; Chu, Sharon; Chu, Calvin

Responsibility: Petrusa, Kate

Geographic Access: Hastings Street

Street Address: 3942 Hastings Street; 3824 Hastings Street; 3702 Hastings Street; 4092 Hastings Street

Accession Code: BV020.29.7

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: No known restrictions

Date: 27 Oct. 2020

Media Type: Moving Images

Historic Neighbourhood: Fraser Arm (Historic Neighbourhood); Vancouver Heights (Historic Neighbourhood)

Planning Study Area: Big Bend Area; Burnaby Heights Area

Notes: Title based on contents of video recording; Video recording was edited for publication on Heritage Burnaby. Original mp4 video recording (BV020.29.7.1) is 72 min., 14 sec.

Images

Video

Eating your way through Burnaby: A look at Chinese Canadian history through food, 27 Oct. 2020

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_BVM_Moving_Images/2020_0029_0007_002.mp4

Farmer Boy

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription9678

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: 2016

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum Film and Video collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 video recording (mp4) (6 min., 6 sec.) : digital, 25 fps, col., sd., stereo

Scope and Content: This film is created by Lester Gierarch. Part of the Gierach heritage his father instilled in him was the work ethic of “early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.” This film shares Lester’s happy memories of working on the Y.Y. Sim farm, in Cloverdale, B.C., when he was 1…

1 image 1 video

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum Film and Video collection

Series: Elders Digital Storytelling project series

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 video recording (mp4) (6 min., 6 sec.) : digital, 25 fps, col., sd., stereo

Scope and Content: This film is created by Lester Gierarch. Part of the Gierach heritage his father instilled in him was the work ethic of “early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.” This film shares Lester’s happy memories of working on the Y.Y. Sim farm, in Cloverdale, B.C., when he was 15 years old. He worked hard alongside Chinese men and women who were new immigrants to Canada as he helped to harvest lettuce and celery for 80 cents an hour. Through this experience Lester grew comfortable working with people of another culture who also knew the importance of working hard.

History: Lester Gierach has lived in Burnaby for the past 22 years.

Creator: Gierach, Lester

Other Title Information: title supplied by film maker

Subjects: Persons - Chinese Canadians; Occupations - Agricultural Labourers; Occupations - Farmers

Names: Gierach, Lester

Accession Code: BV016.37.9

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: May be restricted by third party rights

Date: 2016

Media Type: Moving Images

Notes: Transcribed title; The film was produced in 2016 as part of the Elders Digital Storytelling project. Digital storytelling is a form of narrative that creates short movies using relatively simple media technology. The project began in 2014 funded by Social Sciences and Humanities Council of Canada (SSHRC) and AGE-WELL NCE grants. In partnership with the City of Burnaby, digital storytelling workshops were offered in Burnaby. The workshops helped older adults create short autobiographical films that tell a special story in their lives, complete with music, photos and narration. This film was produced at one of those workshops.

Images

Video

Farmer Boy, 2016

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_BVM_Moving_Images/2016_0037_0009_001.mp4

The Fecundity of Food and Family: A Natural Niche for Chinese Canadians in Burnaby

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription14760

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: 20 Oct. 2020

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum fonds

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 video recording (mp4) (62 min., 01 sec.) : digital, col., sd., stereo ; 29 fps

Scope and Content: Item consists of a video recording of a live Zoom webinar hosted by Burnaby Village Museum's Kate Petrusa. The webinar is titled "The Fecundity of Food and Family: A Natural Niche for Chinese Canadians in Burnaby" and is presented by UBC students, Debbie Liang; Joty Gill; Rose Wu and Wei Yan Yeong.…

1 image 1 video

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum fonds

Series: Burnaby Neighbourhood Speaker Series series

Subseries: Neighbourhood Speaker Series - Fall 2020 subseries

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 video recording (mp4) (62 min., 01 sec.) : digital, col., sd., stereo ; 29 fps

Material Details: Presenters: Debbie Liang; Joty Gill; Rose Wu; Wei Yan Yeong; Host: Kate Petrusa; Date of Presentation: October 20 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm; Total Number of tracks: 1; Total Length of all tracks:62 min., 01 sec.; Recording Device: Zoom video communication platform

Scope and Content: Item consists of a video recording of a live Zoom webinar hosted by Burnaby Village Museum's Kate Petrusa. The webinar is titled "The Fecundity of Food and Family: A Natural Niche for Chinese Canadians in Burnaby" and is presented by UBC students, Debbie Liang; Joty Gill; Rose Wu and Wei Yan Yeong. The zoom webinar is the fifth 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, the four UBC students, present their research on Chinese Canadian involvement in food and farming in early Burnaby. The students were participants in a joint partnership between Burnaby Village Museum and the UBC iniative for student teaching and research in Chinese Canadian Studies (INSTRCC), the UBC Asian Canadian & Asian Migration Studies program (ACAM), the UBC Centre for Community Engaged Learning (CCEL), the UBC Faculty of Land and Food Systems, UBC Go Global and UBC St. John's College (SJC). In 2020, due to the restrictions of COVID-19, the interns were asked to create virtual experiences to reimagine Burnaby Village Museum's historical Chinese Canadian programming in remote online spaces. Debbie Liang and Joty Gill (UBC alumni and graduates of Dr. Henry Yu's 2019 summer ACAM 390A Global Seminar to Asia) returned to work with Burnaby Village Museum to create two short films showcasing the history of Chinese Canadian Chop Suey restaurants and Piggeries in Burnaby. Rose Wu and Wei Yan Yeong (students in the UBC Faculty of Land and Food Systems) created a three episode podcast series "Back to the Roots" which delved into the topics of family-operated farming businesses, Chinese contributions to early local and alternative food systems, and Traditional Chinese Medicine and herbalism. The webinar begins with Joty Gill and Debbie Liang talking about their project, “A Taste of History Film Series”. They describe their research and challenges in the development of their two films “Scraps and Dragons” and “A Pig's Tale”. Debbie and Joty support their presentation with slides including excerpts from their films. Rose Wu and Wei Yan Yeong talk about their project which consisted of a three episode podcast series titled "Back to the Roots" which delved into the topics of family-operated farming businesses, Chinese contributions to early local and alternative food systems, and Traditional Chinese Medicine and herbalism. They describe their research, challenges and highlights which resulted in the three podcasts “A Family Farm”; “Where is your food from?” and “Chinese Herbalist Shops and TCM”. Rose and Wei Yan support their presentation with slides including excerpts from their podcasts. At the close of their presentation the students reflect on the importance of sharing personal aspects of Chinese Canadian History and answer questions from webinar participants.

Creator: Burnaby Village Museum

Subjects: Persons - Chinese Canadians; Agriculture - Farms; Agriculture; Gardens - Market Gardens; Social Issues - Discrimination; Social Issues - Racism; Buildings - Commercial - Restaurants

Names: Wu, Rose; Yeong, Wei Yan; Fong, Denise; University of British Columbia; Burnaby Village Museum

Responsibility: Petrusa, Kate

Accession Code: BV020.29.5

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: No known restrictions

Date: 20 Oct. 2020

Media Type: Moving Images

Notes: Title based on contents of video recording; Video recording was edited for publication on Heritage Burnaby. Original mp4 video recording (BV020.29.5.1) is 72 min., 25 sec.

Images

Video

The Fecundity of Food and Family: A Natural Niche for Chinese Canadians in Burnaby, 20 Oct. 2020

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_BVM_Moving_Images/2020_0029_0005_002.mp4

From Fuki to Ofuro: Japanese Canadians in Burnaby

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription17535

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: 7 Oct. 2021

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum fonds

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 video recording (mp4) (84 min., 20 sec.) : digital, col., sd., stereo ; 29 fps

Scope and Content: Item consists of a video recording of a live Zoom webinar on the Burnaby Village Museum Facebook page on October 7, 2021. The webinar was hosted by Burnaby Village Museum Community Engagement Coordinator, Christina Froschauer and presented by Raymond Nakamura. The webinar is titled "From Fuki to O…

1 image 1 video

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum fonds

Series: Burnaby Neighbourhood Speaker Series series

Subseries: Neighbourhood Speaker Series - Fall 2021 subseries

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 video recording (mp4) (84 min., 20 sec.) : digital, col., sd., stereo ; 29 fps

Material Details: Presenter: Raymond Nakamura; Host: Christina Froschauer; Date of Presentation: October 7, 2021; Total Number of tracks: 1; Total Length of all tracks: 84 min., 20 sec.; Recording Device: Zoom video communication and Facebook platforms; Recording Note: Film was edited from it's original recorded version (97 min., 37 sec.) to edited version (84 min., 20 sec.) for public viewing on Heritage Burnaby.

Scope and Content: Item consists of a video recording of a live Zoom webinar on the Burnaby Village Museum Facebook page on October 7, 2021. The webinar was hosted by Burnaby Village Museum Community Engagement Coordinator, Christina Froschauer and presented by Raymond Nakamura. The webinar is titled "From Fuki to Ofuro: Japanese Canadians in Burnaby". In this webinar, Raymond Nakamura shares his own Japanese family history (Yamashita and Nakamura families) in British Columbia; provides insight into the Fuki plant (also known as butterbur) which was used by Japanese Canadians as a special culinary plant; describes the customs behind the ofuro (Japanese bathhouse) at Burnaby Village Museum and shares some of his research on Japanese Canadians who lived in Burnaby prior to the internment of Japanese Canadians in World War II. The title slide of Raymond's presentation reads "Japanese Canadians in Pre-War Burnaby". Raymond's presentation is supported with his own illustrations along with historical photographs from personal and public archival collections including the Nikkei National Museum, The City of Burnaby Archives and the Burnaby Village Museum. Japanese families highlighted in Raymond's talk include the Nakamuras; Yamashitas; Yasuis; Kokuryos; Kojimas; Shimotakaharas; Kariatsumaris; Ibatas; Marie Karamoto family and Dr. Taihei Kuzuhara. Many historical references regarding Burnaby residents come from Burnaby publications; "In the Shadow by the Sea : recollections of Burnaby's Barnet Village" and "Pioneer Tales of Burnaby". During breaks in the presentation, Christina and Raymond take questions from webinar participants on zoom as well as viewers from the live recording on Burnaby Village Museum's Facebook page. Resource links shared during presentation include: Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre https://centre.nikkeiplace.org/res.../search-the-collection/ Landscapes of Injustic Archive https://loi.uvic.ca/archive/ Raymond's Brain https://www.raymondsbrain.com/ In the Shadow by the Sea : recollections of Burnaby's Barnet Village https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/permalink/museumlibrary5173

History: Raymond Nakamura was born and raised in Toronto, and has lived most of his adult life in Vancouver. Holding a PhD in Marine Sciences from University of Toronto, Raymond’s study specializing in the hydrodynamics of sand dollars. More recently, he has been recognized for his research work on Japanese Canadians, leading to fact and fiction writing, co-hosting podcasts and delivering creative presentations on the subject –one of which we are honoured to see today. Raymond has worked collaboratively with cultural centers across the Greater Vancouver Region, including Science World, the Vancouver Aquarium, the Nikkei National Museum, the Gulf of Georgia Cannery, to name a few.

Subjects: Persons - Japanese Canadians; Social Issues - Racism; Wars - World War, 1939-1945; Plants

Names: Shimotakahara, Hideko; Yasui, Harding; Yasui, Sukegoro; Kokuryo, Hideko; Karamoto, Marie; Nakamura, Raymond; Yamashita family; Kuzuhara, Dr. Taihei; Froschauer , Christina; Burnaby Village Museum; Kojima family

Accession Code: BV021.31.1

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: No known restrictions

Date: 7 Oct. 2021

Media Type: Moving Images

Notes: Title based on contents of video recording

Images

Video

From Fuki to Ofuro: Japanese Canadians in Burnaby, 7 Oct. 2021

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_BVM_Moving_Images/2021_0031_0001_003.mp4

Interview with Bill Gruenthal

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription19636

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: [1950-2023] (interview content), interviewed 31 Jul. 2023

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum fonds

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 2 sound recordings (wav) (74 min., 37 sec.) + 1 sound recording (mp3) (74 min., 37 sec.)

Scope and Content: Item consists of a recording of an oral history interview with Bill Gruenthal conducted by Burnaby Village Museum Registrar, Eric Damer on July 31 2023. 00:00:00 – 00:27:01 Bill Gruenthal provides details on his family background, his early life experiences, how he got into the insurance business,…

1 document 1 audio

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum fonds

Series: Museum Oral Histories series

Subseries: Many Voices Project Interviews subseries

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 2 sound recordings (wav) (74 min., 37 sec.) + 1 sound recording (mp3) (74 min., 37 sec.)

Material Details: Interviewer: Eric Damer Interviewee: Bill Gruenthal Location of Interview: Burnaby Village Museum Interview Date: July 31, 2023 Total Number of tracks: 1 Total Length of all Tracks: 01:14:37 Digital master recordings (wav) were recorded onto two separate audio tracks, edited and merged together and converted to mp3 for access on Heritage Burnaby

Scope and Content: Item consists of a recording of an oral history interview with Bill Gruenthal conducted by Burnaby Village Museum Registrar, Eric Damer on July 31 2023. 00:00:00 – 00:27:01 Bill Gruenthal provides details on his family background, his early life experiences, how he got into the insurance business, his knowledge and interest in Judaism, places that he and his wife lived before moving to Burnaby, family life in Burnaby and his political involvement in running for the Burnaby school board. 00:27:02 – 00:42:50 Bill Gruenthal talks about the Burquest Jewish Community Association, it’s background and his involvement, experiences of discrimination in his career, a brief history of the Jewish people and some cultural traditions. 00:42:51 – 00:56:04 Bill Gruenthal mentions some of the charities that he supports including Burnaby Hospital, his volunteer work within the community and community organizations including the Nikkei Place Foundation and shares more details on his insurance career. 00:56:05 – 01:14:37 Bill Gruenthal shares information about his Burnaby neighbourhood and Jewish funeral customs and provides his impressions of new development at Brentwood, Burnaby Council and other development projects in Burnaby.

History: Interviewee biography: Bill Gruenthal was born in the British Mandate of Palestine, now Israel, in 1935 after his parents had fled Germany in advance of the then worsening political situation. Bill’s father died in 1942; some years later his mother remarried to an Irish-born senior civil servant in that government. He had a difficult and somewhat dangerous job. Soon after marriage, the family, including Bill’s older brother, Martin, immigrated to Canada in January 1947 on the strength of his step-father’s British Passport. They traveled via New York, where Bill’s uncle and his family resided and who put up the family. Later that month, the parents travelled by CP rail from Montreal to Vancouver, followed by Bill and his brother in March 1947 who travelled from New York to White Rock on an American railroad. While passing through the Fraser Valley Bill’s parents took an interest in Silverdale, a small hamlet west of Mission where the four eventually settled. Bill finished High School in Mission and soon joined the insurance industry. Bill connected with the Jewish Community in Vancouver where he met his soon-to-be wife. Upon marriage they were transferred to Calgary; after five years suffering its cold weather they were transferred back to Vancouver. They settled in Burnaby in 1966 as an affordable neighbourhood with easy access to his office downtown Vancouver. Outside work, Bill helped raise his family of three daughters who all graduated Burnaby High School (Alpha). They joined Temple Sholom in Vancouver, and he volunteered and still volunteers for a number of non-profits, including The Jewish Museum and Archives and Nikkei Place Foundation (Burnaby). He was an early long-term supporter and a past president of Burquest Jewish Community Association, mostly involving persons from Burnaby, New Westminster, and the Tri-Cities area (hence the name). He ran for political office in Burnaby in 1976 but was not elected. He delivers food in Burnaby for the Food Bank and is a donor to many worthy causes including Burnaby General Hospital. Interviewer biography: Eric Damer is a Burnaby Village Museum Interpreter, Museum Registrar, Researcher and Blacksmith. Eric pounded hot steel for the first time in 1977 in junior high. Fifteen years later, he joined Burnaby Village Museum where he has smithed for three decades. He also provides historical research for museum exhibits and special projects. Outside the museum, Eric is a social historian with a special interest in educational history.

Creator: Burnaby Village Museum

Subjects: Migration; Persons - Jewish Canadians; Transportation; Transportation - Rail; Religions - Judaism; Cemeteries; Organizations; Elections

Names: Gruenthal, Bill; Gruenthal, Noemi Yadlow; O'Connor, Herta Ingrid Gruenthal; O'Connor, John; Burquest; Jacobson, Max Alec; Temple Shalom; Brentwood Shopping Centre; Brentwood Park School; Alpha Secondary School; Burnaby School Board

Responsibility: Damer, Eric

Accession Code: BV023.16.14

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: No known restrictions

Date: [1950-2023] (interview content), interviewed 31 Jul. 2023

Media Type: Sound Recording

Planning Study Area: Brentwood Area

Notes: Title based on contents of item; Transcription available

Documents

2023_0016_0014_004

Audio Tracks

Interview with Bill Gruenthal, [1950-2023] (interview content), interviewed 31 Jul. 2023

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_BVM_Sound_Recordings/Oral_Histories/2023_0016_0014_003.mp3

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