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Interview with Annie Boulanger by Rod Fowler April 9, 1990 - Track 1
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/oralhistory483
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date Range
- 1951-1980
- Length
- 00:05:11
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Annie Boulanger’s original move to Burnaby in 1951 with her parents and return in 1964 with her own family. She describes her first involvement in the community through french and gymnastics programs at her children’s school Seaforth and creation of Burnaby’s …
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Annie Boulanger’s original move to Burnaby in 1951 with her parents and return in 1964 with her own family. She describes her first involvement in the community through french and gymnastics programs at her children’s school Seaforth and creation of Burnaby’s first gymnastics club.
- Date Range
- 1951-1980
- Length
- 00:05:11
- Names
- Seaforth School
- Subjects
- Sports - Gymnastics
- Interviewer
- Fowler, Rod
- Interview Date
- April 9, 1990
- Scope and Content
- Recording is of an interview with Annie Boulanger, conducted by Rod Fowler. Annie Boulanger was one of eleven participants interviewed as part of the SFU/Burnaby Centennial Committee's oral history series titled, "Voices of Burnaby". The interview is mainly about Annie Boulanger’s volunteer community work in Burnaby, including initiating the teaching of french and gymnastics at Seaforth School where her children attended, doing historical research and oral histories for Burnaby Heritage Village and the SFU Archives, becoming a long term member of the Burnaby Writers’ Club, being a member and President of Burnaby Arts Council, and member of the Parks Board's Centre for the Performing Arts Committee (1987). The interview focuses attention on the Arts Council’s financial difficulties between 1985 and 1990, and the need for a comprehensive approach to supporting the arts through a municipal arts policy. Annie Boulanger also talks about her parents’ history, their home on Napier Street and her later home on Government Road, her education and teaching career, and her arts journalism. To view “Narrow By” terms for each track expand this description and see “Notes”.
- Biographical Notes
- Annie Urbanovits Boulanger’s parents emigrated from Hungary to Toronto, Louis in 1925 and Irene in 1930, where they married. Louis and Irene Boulanger moved to Vancouver where Louis worked in the Vancouver Shipyards during WWII and then for Nichols Chemical Company in Barnet for 15 years. While the Urbanovits family lived in Cloverdale, Louis commuted to Kask’s Camp in Barnet, until they moved to Burnaby in 1951 to an old farm purchased on Napier Street. Between 1951 and 1956 Annie completed her BA degree, majoring in chemistry and english with a minor in physical education, and obtained her teaching diploma at UBC. She taught for 4 years in various locations in BC before marrying and moving to Manitoba and Ottawa. She and her husband and five children (two more children to come later) returned to Burnaby in 1964 to a home on Government Street to be close to family. Annie Boulanger became involved in the community first through her children’s school, initiating and teaching french classes in Seaforth School in 1969, and supporting the development of gymnastics in school and as a municipal program. Her interest in Archives lead to doing oral histories for John Adams, curator of Heritage Village [Burnaby Heritage Village], and for SFU Archives. She became a long time member of the Burnaby Writers’ Club in the 1970s, taking a course in writing non-fiction from Chris Potter. In 1983 Annie Boulanger joined the Burnaby Arts Council, becoming President in 1985. She was involved in lobbying the municipality for better monetary support and facilities for the arts and for the creation of a Municipal Arts Policy. She has continued to promote the arts in Burnaby through her appointment to Burnaby’s Visual Arts Advisory Board in 1997, her arts journalism, writing regular book and theatre reviews for the local newspaper, and other activities. She was a member of the Burnaby Centennial Committee and was one of the editors of the book “Burnaby Centennial Anthology”.
- Total Tracks
- 8
- Total Length
- 0:41:53
- Interviewee Name
- Boulanger, Annie
- Interviewer Bio
- Rod Fowler returned to university as a mature student in the 1980s after working about twenty years in the field of economics and computerization in business in England, Europe and Western Canada. He graduated with a BA from SFU in both History and Sociology in 1987, his MA degree in Geography in 1989, and his PhD in Cultural Geography at SFU. He taught courses in Geography, Sociology, History and Canadian Studies at several Lower Mainland colleges, before becoming a full time member of the Geography Department at Kwantlen University College.
- Collection/Fonds
- SFU/Burnaby Centennial Committee fonds
- Transcript Available
- Transcript available
- Media Type
- Sound Recording
- Web Notes
- Interviews were digitized in 2015 allowing them to be accessible on Heritage Burnaby. The digitization project was initiated by the Community Heritage Commission with support from City of Burnaby Council.
Audio Tracks
Track one of interview with Annie Boulanger
Track one of interview with Annie Boulanger
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Oral_Histories/_Unrestricted/MSS187-022/MSS187-022_Track_1.mp3Interview with Annie Boulanger by Rod Fowler April 9, 1990 - Track 6
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/oralhistory488
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date Range
- 1925-1970
- Length
- 00:07:42
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Annie Boulanger’s family history, her parents’ origin, work and move to Burnaby, what the Napier Street area looked like in the 1950s and the Government Street neighbourhood in the 1960s, her education and teaching career, and her marriage. She explains why Go…
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Annie Boulanger’s family history, her parents’ origin, work and move to Burnaby, what the Napier Street area looked like in the 1950s and the Government Street neighbourhood in the 1960s, her education and teaching career, and her marriage. She explains why Government Street has a jog in it at Brighton.
- Date Range
- 1925-1970
- Length
- 00:07:42
- Subjects
- Occupations - Teachers
- Historic Neighbourhood
- Vancouver Heights (Historic Neighbourhood)
- Lozells (Historic Neighbourhood)
- Planning Study Area
- Burnaby Heights Area
- Government Road Area
- Interviewer
- Fowler, Rod
- Interview Date
- April 9, 1990
- Scope and Content
- Recording is of an interview with Annie Boulanger, conducted by Rod Fowler. Annie Boulanger was one of eleven participants interviewed as part of the SFU/Burnaby Centennial Committee's oral history series titled, "Voices of Burnaby". The interview is mainly about Annie Boulanger’s volunteer community work in Burnaby, including initiating the teaching of french and gymnastics at Seaforth School where her children attended, doing historical research and oral histories for Burnaby Heritage Village and the SFU Archives, becoming a long term member of the Burnaby Writers’ Club, being a member and President of Burnaby Arts Council, and member of the Parks Board's Centre for the Performing Arts Committee (1987). The interview focuses attention on the Arts Council’s financial difficulties between 1985 and 1990, and the need for a comprehensive approach to supporting the arts through a municipal arts policy. Annie Boulanger also talks about her parents’ history, their home on Napier Street and her later home on Government Road, her education and teaching career, and her arts journalism. To view “Narrow By” terms for each track expand this description and see “Notes”.
- Biographical Notes
- Annie Urbanovits Boulanger’s parents emigrated from Hungary to Toronto, Louis in 1925 and Irene in 1930, where they married. Louis and Irene Boulanger moved to Vancouver where Louis worked in the Vancouver Shipyards during WWII and then for Nichols Chemical Company in Barnet for 15 years. While the Urbanovits family lived in Cloverdale, Louis commuted to Kask’s Camp in Barnet, until they moved to Burnaby in 1951 to an old farm purchased on Napier Street. Between 1951 and 1956 Annie completed her BA degree, majoring in chemistry and english with a minor in physical education, and obtained her teaching diploma at UBC. She taught for 4 years in various locations in BC before marrying and moving to Manitoba and Ottawa. She and her husband and five children (two more children to come later) returned to Burnaby in 1964 to a home on Government Street to be close to family. Annie Boulanger became involved in the community first through her children’s school, initiating and teaching french classes in Seaforth School in 1969, and supporting the development of gymnastics in school and as a municipal program. Her interest in Archives lead to doing oral histories for John Adams, curator of Heritage Village [Burnaby Heritage Village], and for SFU Archives. She became a long time member of the Burnaby Writers’ Club in the 1970s, taking a course in writing non-fiction from Chris Potter. In 1983 Annie Boulanger joined the Burnaby Arts Council, becoming President in 1985. She was involved in lobbying the municipality for better monetary support and facilities for the arts and for the creation of a Municipal Arts Policy. She has continued to promote the arts in Burnaby through her appointment to Burnaby’s Visual Arts Advisory Board in 1997, her arts journalism, writing regular book and theatre reviews for the local newspaper, and other activities. She was a member of the Burnaby Centennial Committee and was one of the editors of the book “Burnaby Centennial Anthology”.
- Total Tracks
- 8
- Total Length
- 0:41:53
- Interviewee Name
- Boulanger, Annie
- Interviewer Bio
- Rod Fowler returned to university as a mature student in the 1980s after working about twenty years in the field of economics and computerization in business in England, Europe and Western Canada. He graduated with a BA from SFU in both History and Sociology in 1987, his MA degree in Geography in 1989, and his PhD in Cultural Geography at SFU. He taught courses in Geography, Sociology, History and Canadian Studies at several Lower Mainland colleges, before becoming a full time member of the Geography Department at Kwantlen University College.
- Collection/Fonds
- SFU/Burnaby Centennial Committee fonds
- Transcript Available
- Transcript available
- Media Type
- Sound Recording
- Web Notes
- Interviews were digitized in 2015 allowing them to be accessible on Heritage Burnaby. The digitization project was initiated by the Community Heritage Commission with support from City of Burnaby Council.
Audio Tracks
Track six of interview with Annie Boulanger
Track six of interview with Annie Boulanger
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Oral_Histories/_Unrestricted/MSS187-022/MSS187-022_Track_6.mp3
Interview with Eileen Kernaghan by Rod Fowler April 10, 1990 - Track 6
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/oralhistory496
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date Range
- 1950-1990
- Length
- 00:11:24
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Eileen Kernaghan’s writing career, beginning in elementary school, but becoming a focus in 1968. She talks about how the Burnaby Writers’ Club helped her, her contribution to the writing of the writer’s handbook, and her works published up to 1990
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Eileen Kernaghan’s writing career, beginning in elementary school, but becoming a focus in 1968. She talks about how the Burnaby Writers’ Club helped her, her contribution to the writing of the writer’s handbook, and her works published up to 1990
- Date Range
- 1950-1990
- Photo Info
- Eileen Kernaghan standing in front of four poets at the Poetry Pocket Cafe in New Westminster, October 15, 1995. Item no. 535-0014
- Length
- 00:11:24
- Names
- Burnaby Writers' Club
- Subjects
- Occupations - Writers
- Interviewer
- Fowler, Rod
- Interview Date
- April 10, 1990
- Scope and Content
- Recording is of an interview with Eileen Kernaghan, conducted by Rod Fowler. Eileen Kernaghan was one of eleven participants interviewed as part of the SFU/Burnaby Centennial Committee's oral history series titled, "Voices of Burnaby". The interview is mainly about Eileen Kernaghan’s activities with the Burnaby Writers’ Society and the Burnaby Arts Council, describing the history of these organizations between 1967 and 1990. She describes the financial and other challenges facing the arts community, the various programs initiated by the Arts Council, and the development of the Burnaby Arts Centre facilities at Deer Lake. She also talks about her education, writing career, the Neville Street neighbourhood, and her and her husband’s bookstore business. Ghosts believed to inhabit some of the Arts Centre's heritage buildings are also a topic of conversation. To view “Narrow By” terms for each track expand this description and see “Notes”.
- Biographical Notes
- Eileen Kernaghan was born January 6, 1939, to William Alfred Monk (1910-2003) and Belinda Maude Monk (1908-1996), and grew up on a dairy farm near Grindrod in the North Okanagan. She attended a two room school in Grindrod, completed Junior and Senior High School in Enderby, and at age 17 in 1956, left home to attend UBC. She taught school in the North Okanagan area in the late 1950s, during which time she married her husband Patrick Kernaghan. They moved to Vancouver in 1961, Burnaby in 1963, and settled on Neville Street in the South Slope area in 1966 with their three children. Pat Kernaghan worked at Oakalla Prison as a correctional officer until his retirement in 1988. Eileen and Patrick Kernaghan owned and operated a bookstore on Neville Street from 1987 to 1999. They later moved to New Westminster. Eileen Kernaghan began her writing career at twelve years old with a story published in the Vancouver Sun. After her youngest child began school, with more free time, she started writing again and has become an award winning author of fantasy and science fiction novels. She helped found the Burnaby Writers’ Society in 1967, taught writing workshops, and wrote its popular Newsletter for many years. In 1971 the Society put together a small handbook for BC writers, a venture that was expanded and published by Douglas MacIntyre in 1975 as “The Upper Left-Hand Corner: a writer’s handbook for the Northwest”. The book became a Canadian best-seller. During this same period Eileen Kernaghan began her successful “Grey Isles” trilogy. In 1967 she joined the Burnaby Arts Council, worked as its Coordinator from 1973 to 1984, and was a determined advocate for municipal government support for the arts in Burnaby.
- Total Tracks
- 11
- Total Length
- 1:26:27
- Interviewee Name
- Kernaghan, Eileen
- Interviewer Bio
- Rod Fowler returned to university as a mature student in the 1980s after working about twenty years in the field of economics and computerization in business in England, Europe and Western Canada. He graduated with a BA from SFU in both History and Sociology in 1987, his MA degree in Geography in 1989, and his PhD in Cultural Geography at SFU. He taught courses in Geography, Sociology, History and Canadian Studies at several Lower Mainland colleges, before becoming a full time member of the Geography Department at Kwantlen University College.
- Collection/Fonds
- SFU/Burnaby Centennial Committee fonds
- Transcript Available
- Transcript available
- Media Type
- Sound Recording
- Web Notes
- Interviews were digitized in 2015 allowing them to be accessible on Heritage Burnaby. The digitization project was initiated by the Community Heritage Commission with support from City of Burnaby Council.
Images
Audio Tracks
Track six of interview with Eileen Kernaghan
Track six of interview with Eileen Kernaghan
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Oral_Histories/_Unrestricted/MSS187-021/MSS187-021_Track%206.mp3
Interview with Eileen Kernaghan by Rod Fowler April 10, 1990 - Track 7
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/oralhistory497
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date Range
- 1939-1990
- Length
- 00:09:08
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Eileen Kernaghan’s childhood, her education and teaching career, her marriage to Pat Kernaghan and their move to Burnaby, his work at Oakalla Prison, the opening of their Neville Street bookstore, and changes in their neighbourhood
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Eileen Kernaghan’s childhood, her education and teaching career, her marriage to Pat Kernaghan and their move to Burnaby, his work at Oakalla Prison, the opening of their Neville Street bookstore, and changes in their neighbourhood
- Date Range
- 1939-1990
- Photo Info
- Eileen Kernaghan standing in front of four poets at the Poetry Pocket Cafe in New Westminster, October 15, 1995. Item no. 535-0014
- Length
- 00:09:08
- Historic Neighbourhood
- Alta-Vista (Historic Neighbourhood)
- Planning Study Area
- Clinton-Glenwood Area
- Interviewer
- Fowler, Rod
- Interview Date
- April 10, 1990
- Scope and Content
- Recording is of an interview with Eileen Kernaghan, conducted by Rod Fowler. Eileen Kernaghan was one of eleven participants interviewed as part of the SFU/Burnaby Centennial Committee's oral history series titled, "Voices of Burnaby". The interview is mainly about Eileen Kernaghan’s activities with the Burnaby Writers’ Society and the Burnaby Arts Council, describing the history of these organizations between 1967 and 1990. She describes the financial and other challenges facing the arts community, the various programs initiated by the Arts Council, and the development of the Burnaby Arts Centre facilities at Deer Lake. She also talks about her education, writing career, the Neville Street neighbourhood, and her and her husband’s bookstore business. Ghosts believed to inhabit some of the Arts Centre's heritage buildings are also a topic of conversation. To view “Narrow By” terms for each track expand this description and see “Notes”.
- Biographical Notes
- Eileen Kernaghan was born January 6, 1939, to William Alfred Monk (1910-2003) and Belinda Maude Monk (1908-1996), and grew up on a dairy farm near Grindrod in the North Okanagan. She attended a two room school in Grindrod, completed Junior and Senior High School in Enderby, and at age 17 in 1956, left home to attend UBC. She taught school in the North Okanagan area in the late 1950s, during which time she married her husband Patrick Kernaghan. They moved to Vancouver in 1961, Burnaby in 1963, and settled on Neville Street in the South Slope area in 1966 with their three children. Pat Kernaghan worked at Oakalla Prison as a correctional officer until his retirement in 1988. Eileen and Patrick Kernaghan owned and operated a bookstore on Neville Street from 1987 to 1999. They later moved to New Westminster. Eileen Kernaghan began her writing career at twelve years old with a story published in the Vancouver Sun. After her youngest child began school, with more free time, she started writing again and has become an award winning author of fantasy and science fiction novels. She helped found the Burnaby Writers’ Society in 1967, taught writing workshops, and wrote its popular Newsletter for many years. In 1971 the Society put together a small handbook for BC writers, a venture that was expanded and published by Douglas MacIntyre in 1975 as “The Upper Left-Hand Corner: a writer’s handbook for the Northwest”. The book became a Canadian best-seller. During this same period Eileen Kernaghan began her successful “Grey Isles” trilogy. In 1967 she joined the Burnaby Arts Council, worked as its Coordinator from 1973 to 1984, and was a determined advocate for municipal government support for the arts in Burnaby.
- Total Tracks
- 11
- Total Length
- 1:26:27
- Interviewee Name
- Kernaghan, Eileen
- Interviewer Bio
- Rod Fowler returned to university as a mature student in the 1980s after working about twenty years in the field of economics and computerization in business in England, Europe and Western Canada. He graduated with a BA from SFU in both History and Sociology in 1987, his MA degree in Geography in 1989, and his PhD in Cultural Geography at SFU. He taught courses in Geography, Sociology, History and Canadian Studies at several Lower Mainland colleges, before becoming a full time member of the Geography Department at Kwantlen University College.
- Collection/Fonds
- SFU/Burnaby Centennial Committee fonds
- Transcript Available
- Transcript available
- Media Type
- Sound Recording
- Web Notes
- Interviews were digitized in 2015 allowing them to be accessible on Heritage Burnaby. The digitization project was initiated by the Community Heritage Commission with support from City of Burnaby Council.
Images
Audio Tracks
Track seven of interview with Eileen Kernaghan
Track seven of interview with Eileen Kernaghan
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Oral_Histories/_Unrestricted/MSS187-021/MSS187-021_Track%207.mp3
Interview with Eileen Kernaghan by Rod Fowler April 10, 1990 - Track 11
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/oralhistory501
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date Range
- 1954-1990
- Length
- 00:11:23
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Eileen Kernaghan’s knowledge about William F. Wolsey’s “Temple of More Abundant Life”, which occupied the Art Centre’s heritage buildings Ceperley Mansion and Mather House from 1954 to the 1960s, and the stories of ghosts haunting these buildings, the Anderson…
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Eileen Kernaghan’s knowledge about William F. Wolsey’s “Temple of More Abundant Life”, which occupied the Art Centre’s heritage buildings Ceperley Mansion and Mather House from 1954 to the 1960s, and the stories of ghosts haunting these buildings, the Anderson House, and the James Cowan Theatre.
- Date Range
- 1954-1990
- Photo Info
- Eileen Kernaghan standing in front of four poets at the Poetry Pocket Cafe in New Westminster, October 15, 1995. Item no. 535-0014
- Length
- 00:11:23
- Names
- Burnaby Arts Centre
- Interviewer
- Fowler, Rod
- Interview Date
- April 10, 1990
- Scope and Content
- Recording is of an interview with Eileen Kernaghan, conducted by Rod Fowler. Eileen Kernaghan was one of eleven participants interviewed as part of the SFU/Burnaby Centennial Committee's oral history series titled, "Voices of Burnaby". The interview is mainly about Eileen Kernaghan’s activities with the Burnaby Writers’ Society and the Burnaby Arts Council, describing the history of these organizations between 1967 and 1990. She describes the financial and other challenges facing the arts community, the various programs initiated by the Arts Council, and the development of the Burnaby Arts Centre facilities at Deer Lake. She also talks about her education, writing career, the Neville Street neighbourhood, and her and her husband’s bookstore business. Ghosts believed to inhabit some of the Arts Centre's heritage buildings are also a topic of conversation. To view “Narrow By” terms for each track expand this description and see “Notes”.
- Biographical Notes
- Eileen Kernaghan was born January 6, 1939, to William Alfred Monk (1910-2003) and Belinda Maude Monk (1908-1996), and grew up on a dairy farm near Grindrod in the North Okanagan. She attended a two room school in Grindrod, completed Junior and Senior High School in Enderby, and at age 17 in 1956, left home to attend UBC. She taught school in the North Okanagan area in the late 1950s, during which time she married her husband Patrick Kernaghan. They moved to Vancouver in 1961, Burnaby in 1963, and settled on Neville Street in the South Slope area in 1966 with their three children. Pat Kernaghan worked at Oakalla Prison as a correctional officer until his retirement in 1988. Eileen and Patrick Kernaghan owned and operated a bookstore on Neville Street from 1987 to 1999. They later moved to New Westminster. Eileen Kernaghan began her writing career at twelve years old with a story published in the Vancouver Sun. After her youngest child began school, with more free time, she started writing again and has become an award winning author of fantasy and science fiction novels. She helped found the Burnaby Writers’ Society in 1967, taught writing workshops, and wrote its popular Newsletter for many years. In 1971 the Society put together a small handbook for BC writers, a venture that was expanded and published by Douglas MacIntyre in 1975 as “The Upper Left-Hand Corner: a writer’s handbook for the Northwest”. The book became a Canadian best-seller. During this same period Eileen Kernaghan began her successful “Grey Isles” trilogy. In 1967 she joined the Burnaby Arts Council, worked as its Coordinator from 1973 to 1984, and was a determined advocate for municipal government support for the arts in Burnaby.
- Total Tracks
- 11
- Total Length
- 1:26:27
- Interviewee Name
- Kernaghan, Eileen
- Interviewer Bio
- Rod Fowler returned to university as a mature student in the 1980s after working about twenty years in the field of economics and computerization in business in England, Europe and Western Canada. He graduated with a BA from SFU in both History and Sociology in 1987, his MA degree in Geography in 1989, and his PhD in Cultural Geography at SFU. He taught courses in Geography, Sociology, History and Canadian Studies at several Lower Mainland colleges, before becoming a full time member of the Geography Department at Kwantlen University College.
- Collection/Fonds
- SFU/Burnaby Centennial Committee fonds
- Transcript Available
- Transcript available
- Media Type
- Sound Recording
- Web Notes
- Interviews were digitized in 2015 allowing them to be accessible on Heritage Burnaby. The digitization project was initiated by the Community Heritage Commission with support from City of Burnaby Council.
Images
Audio Tracks
Track eleven of interview with Eileen Kernaghan
Track eleven of interview with Eileen Kernaghan
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Oral_Histories/_Unrestricted/MSS187-023/MSS187-023_Track%2011.mp3
Interview with Merrill M. Gordon by Rod Fowler March 19, 1990 - Track 4
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/oralhistory475
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date Range
- 1946-1987
- Length
- 00:06:32
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Merrill Gordon’s career at Canadian Industries Inc (CIL) for a few years and then for Fleck Brothers until 1965, when he started his own business, Blaze Industries, which manufactured fire places and wood burning heaters. He also describes his short retirement…
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Merrill Gordon’s career at Canadian Industries Inc (CIL) for a few years and then for Fleck Brothers until 1965, when he started his own business, Blaze Industries, which manufactured fire places and wood burning heaters. He also describes his short retirement in 1980 and going back to work for a solar panel manufacturing company, which led to building a plant in India.
- Date Range
- 1946-1987
- Photo Info
- Burnaby Alderman Merrill Gordon (second from right) following a candidates' meeting, 1973. Item no. 480-263
- Length
- 00:06:32
- Subjects
- Occupations
- Interviewer
- Fowler, Rod
- Interview Date
- March 19, 1990
- Scope and Content
- Recording is of an interview with Merrill Gordon, conducted by Rod Fowler.Gordon Merrill was one of eleven participants interviewed as part of the SFU/Burnaby Centennial Committee's oral history series titled, "Voices of Burnaby". The interview is about Merrill Gordon’s childhood in the Depression, including his story about the family’s difficult trek to Burnaby from Alberta; his education, teachers and first volunteer activities at Grandview High School; his career at Fleck Brothers and the start of his own company Blaze Industries and later work in India; and his many volunteer activities in Burnaby. He describes how he started the Cliff Avenue United Football Club, the soccer club's subsequent growth and development, some of the people involved, and the founding of the youth soccer exchange. He also describes his work on the Parks Board and in the arts community, including the 1987 arts centre referendum, and involvement with the Burnaby Mountain Preservation Society (1988- ), and mentions his work for other groups including the New Vista Society, library board, and Burnaby Mental Health Committee. He also talks about his political career with the Better Burnaby Committee and Burnaby Voters Association, resulting in his 1972 election to Burnaby’s 1973 council. To view “Narrow By” terms for each track expand this description and see “Notes”.
- Biographical Notes
- Merrill M. Gordon was born in Saskatchewan in 1929 to parents farming north of North Battleford. After a fifth year of crop failure the family of four left the farm in 1934 to join relatives living near the corner of Union and Sperling in Burnaby. With little resources the family adapted as well as possible in the Depression years, moving often in the East Vancouver/North Burnaby area in an attempt to better their situation. Merrill’s father obtained work at sawmills including Kapoor’s Sawmill at Barnet, walking to work over Burnaby Mountain. After attending numerous public schools, Merrill Gordon eventually spent three years at Templeton School and then completed his education at Grandview High School of Commerce, majoring in accounting and commercial law. He worked a few years at Canadian Industries Ltd., then joined Fleck Brothers. In 1965 Merrill Gordon and his wife started their own company Blaze Industries of Canada that manufactured wood burning fireplaces, selling the company to AB Electrolux in 1980. After a short retirement, Merrill Gordon went back to work in 1981 for a company manufacturing solar panels, one project taking him and his wife intermittently to India over a four year period. Merrill Gordon helped found the political group Better Burnaby Committee, later the Burnaby Voters Association, with Alan Emmott and Bill Lewarne, ran for Burnaby Municipal Council and served one year as councillor in 1973. Merrill Gordon is well known for his over 40 years of volunteer work in Burnaby, particularly as founder in 1956 and director of the Cliff Avenue United Football Club, one of the largest soccer clubs in BC. He was also the founder of Burnaby Youth Soccer and the first youth soccer exchange with Washington State. His other volunteer work includes library trustee, Parks Commissioner (1987-1992), Director of New Vista Home for Seniors, Chair of campaign raising funds for building Shadbolt Arts Centre, and Chair of the Burnaby Mental Health Committee. In 1988 Merrill Gordon, Betty Gordon, Dean Lamont and several others formed the Burnaby Mountain Preservation Society, which advocated for the return of unused land to Burnaby from SFU and the subsequent creation of Burnaby Mountain Conservation Area. Merrill Gordon and Elizabeth Balfour (nee Leitch) (1926-2012) married in 1953 and had two children.
- Total Tracks
- 11
- Total Length
- 1:31:44
- Interviewee Name
- Gordon, Merrill
- Interview Location
- unknown
- Interviewer Bio
- Rod Fowler returned to university as a mature student in the 1980s after working about twenty years in the field of economics and computerization in business in England, Europe and Western Canada. He graduated with a BA from SFU in both History and Sociology in 1987, his MA degree in Geography in 1989, and his PhD in Cultural Geography at SFU. He taught courses in Geography, Sociology, History and Canadian Studies at several Lower Mainland colleges, before becoming a full time member of the Geography Department at Kwantlen University College.
- Collection/Fonds
- SFU/Burnaby Centennial Committee fonds
- Transcript Available
- Transcript available
- Media Type
- Sound Recording
- Web Notes
- Interviews were digitized in 2015 allowing them to be accessible on Heritage Burnaby. The digitization project was initiated by the Community Heritage Commission with support from City of Burnaby Council.
Images
Audio Tracks
Track four of interview with Merrill Gordon
Track four of interview with Merrill Gordon
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Oral_Histories/_Unrestricted/MSS187-020/MSS187-020_Track_4.mp3
Interview with Merrill M. Gordon by Rod Fowler March 19, 1990 - Track 5
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/oralhistory476
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date Range
- 1935-1956
- Length
- 00:04:56
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Merrill Gordon’s marriage and move to Burnaby in 1953, and settling at the house near Cliff Avenue United Church in 1956. He talks about his first encounters with volunteering at Ratepayer meetings attended by his father, and in dance and drama activities at s…
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Merrill Gordon’s marriage and move to Burnaby in 1953, and settling at the house near Cliff Avenue United Church in 1956. He talks about his first encounters with volunteering at Ratepayer meetings attended by his father, and in dance and drama activities at school.
- Date Range
- 1935-1956
- Photo Info
- Burnaby Alderman Merrill Gordon (second from right) following a candidates' meeting, 1973. Item no. 480-263
- Length
- 00:04:56
- Subjects
- Persons - Volunteers
- Education
- Historic Neighbourhood
- Lochdale (Historic Neighbourhood)
- Planning Study Area
- Lochdale Area
- Interviewer
- Fowler, Rod
- Interview Date
- March 19, 1990
- Scope and Content
- Recording is of an interview with Merrill Gordon, conducted by Rod Fowler.Gordon Merrill was one of eleven participants interviewed as part of the SFU/Burnaby Centennial Committee's oral history series titled, "Voices of Burnaby". The interview is about Merrill Gordon’s childhood in the Depression, including his story about the family’s difficult trek to Burnaby from Alberta; his education, teachers and first volunteer activities at Grandview High School; his career at Fleck Brothers and the start of his own company Blaze Industries and later work in India; and his many volunteer activities in Burnaby. He describes how he started the Cliff Avenue United Football Club, the soccer club's subsequent growth and development, some of the people involved, and the founding of the youth soccer exchange. He also describes his work on the Parks Board and in the arts community, including the 1987 arts centre referendum, and involvement with the Burnaby Mountain Preservation Society (1988- ), and mentions his work for other groups including the New Vista Society, library board, and Burnaby Mental Health Committee. He also talks about his political career with the Better Burnaby Committee and Burnaby Voters Association, resulting in his 1972 election to Burnaby’s 1973 council. To view “Narrow By” terms for each track expand this description and see “Notes”.
- Biographical Notes
- Merrill M. Gordon was born in Saskatchewan in 1929 to parents farming north of North Battleford. After a fifth year of crop failure the family of four left the farm in 1934 to join relatives living near the corner of Union and Sperling in Burnaby. With little resources the family adapted as well as possible in the Depression years, moving often in the East Vancouver/North Burnaby area in an attempt to better their situation. Merrill’s father obtained work at sawmills including Kapoor’s Sawmill at Barnet, walking to work over Burnaby Mountain. After attending numerous public schools, Merrill Gordon eventually spent three years at Templeton School and then completed his education at Grandview High School of Commerce, majoring in accounting and commercial law. He worked a few years at Canadian Industries Ltd., then joined Fleck Brothers. In 1965 Merrill Gordon and his wife started their own company Blaze Industries of Canada that manufactured wood burning fireplaces, selling the company to AB Electrolux in 1980. After a short retirement, Merrill Gordon went back to work in 1981 for a company manufacturing solar panels, one project taking him and his wife intermittently to India over a four year period. Merrill Gordon helped found the political group Better Burnaby Committee, later the Burnaby Voters Association, with Alan Emmott and Bill Lewarne, ran for Burnaby Municipal Council and served one year as councillor in 1973. Merrill Gordon is well known for his over 40 years of volunteer work in Burnaby, particularly as founder in 1956 and director of the Cliff Avenue United Football Club, one of the largest soccer clubs in BC. He was also the founder of Burnaby Youth Soccer and the first youth soccer exchange with Washington State. His other volunteer work includes library trustee, Parks Commissioner (1987-1992), Director of New Vista Home for Seniors, Chair of campaign raising funds for building Shadbolt Arts Centre, and Chair of the Burnaby Mental Health Committee. In 1988 Merrill Gordon, Betty Gordon, Dean Lamont and several others formed the Burnaby Mountain Preservation Society, which advocated for the return of unused land to Burnaby from SFU and the subsequent creation of Burnaby Mountain Conservation Area. Merrill Gordon and Elizabeth Balfour (nee Leitch) (1926-2012) married in 1953 and had two children.
- Total Tracks
- 11
- Total Length
- 1:31:44
- Interviewee Name
- Gordon, Merrill
- Interview Location
- unknown
- Interviewer Bio
- Rod Fowler returned to university as a mature student in the 1980s after working about twenty years in the field of economics and computerization in business in England, Europe and Western Canada. He graduated with a BA from SFU in both History and Sociology in 1987, his MA degree in Geography in 1989, and his PhD in Cultural Geography at SFU. He taught courses in Geography, Sociology, History and Canadian Studies at several Lower Mainland colleges, before becoming a full time member of the Geography Department at Kwantlen University College.
- Collection/Fonds
- SFU/Burnaby Centennial Committee fonds
- Transcript Available
- Transcript available
- Media Type
- Sound Recording
- Web Notes
- Interviews were digitized in 2015 allowing them to be accessible on Heritage Burnaby. The digitization project was initiated by the Community Heritage Commission with support from City of Burnaby Council.
Images
Audio Tracks
Track five of interview with Merrill Gordon
Track five of interview with Merrill Gordon
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Oral_Histories/_Unrestricted/MSS187-020/MSS187-020_Track_5.mp3
Interview with Merrill M. Gordon by Rod Fowler March 19, 1990 - Track 6
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/oralhistory477
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date Range
- 1956-1990
- Length
- 00:13:27
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about the circumstances behind Merrill Gordon’s founding of the Cliff Avenue United Football Club in 1956, his subsequent involvement and role as President of the club for 15 years, and the growth and history of soccer clubs in Burnaby. He also talks about his frien…
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about the circumstances behind Merrill Gordon’s founding of the Cliff Avenue United Football Club in 1956, his subsequent involvement and role as President of the club for 15 years, and the growth and history of soccer clubs in Burnaby. He also talks about his friend Mark Stockdale who was second president of the club for 16 years and creator of the rose garden on Burnaby Mountain.
- Date Range
- 1956-1990
- Photo Info
- Burnaby Alderman Merrill Gordon (second from right) following a candidates' meeting, 1973. Item no. 480-263
- Length
- 00:13:27
- Subjects
- Persons - Volunteers
- Sports - Soccer
- Interviewer
- Fowler, Rod
- Interview Date
- March 19, 1990
- Scope and Content
- Recording is of an interview with Merrill Gordon, conducted by Rod Fowler.Gordon Merrill was one of eleven participants interviewed as part of the SFU/Burnaby Centennial Committee's oral history series titled, "Voices of Burnaby". The interview is about Merrill Gordon’s childhood in the Depression, including his story about the family’s difficult trek to Burnaby from Alberta; his education, teachers and first volunteer activities at Grandview High School; his career at Fleck Brothers and the start of his own company Blaze Industries and later work in India; and his many volunteer activities in Burnaby. He describes how he started the Cliff Avenue United Football Club, the soccer club's subsequent growth and development, some of the people involved, and the founding of the youth soccer exchange. He also describes his work on the Parks Board and in the arts community, including the 1987 arts centre referendum, and involvement with the Burnaby Mountain Preservation Society (1988- ), and mentions his work for other groups including the New Vista Society, library board, and Burnaby Mental Health Committee. He also talks about his political career with the Better Burnaby Committee and Burnaby Voters Association, resulting in his 1972 election to Burnaby’s 1973 council. To view “Narrow By” terms for each track expand this description and see “Notes”.
- Biographical Notes
- Merrill M. Gordon was born in Saskatchewan in 1929 to parents farming north of North Battleford. After a fifth year of crop failure the family of four left the farm in 1934 to join relatives living near the corner of Union and Sperling in Burnaby. With little resources the family adapted as well as possible in the Depression years, moving often in the East Vancouver/North Burnaby area in an attempt to better their situation. Merrill’s father obtained work at sawmills including Kapoor’s Sawmill at Barnet, walking to work over Burnaby Mountain. After attending numerous public schools, Merrill Gordon eventually spent three years at Templeton School and then completed his education at Grandview High School of Commerce, majoring in accounting and commercial law. He worked a few years at Canadian Industries Ltd., then joined Fleck Brothers. In 1965 Merrill Gordon and his wife started their own company Blaze Industries of Canada that manufactured wood burning fireplaces, selling the company to AB Electrolux in 1980. After a short retirement, Merrill Gordon went back to work in 1981 for a company manufacturing solar panels, one project taking him and his wife intermittently to India over a four year period. Merrill Gordon helped found the political group Better Burnaby Committee, later the Burnaby Voters Association, with Alan Emmott and Bill Lewarne, ran for Burnaby Municipal Council and served one year as councillor in 1973. Merrill Gordon is well known for his over 40 years of volunteer work in Burnaby, particularly as founder in 1956 and director of the Cliff Avenue United Football Club, one of the largest soccer clubs in BC. He was also the founder of Burnaby Youth Soccer and the first youth soccer exchange with Washington State. His other volunteer work includes library trustee, Parks Commissioner (1987-1992), Director of New Vista Home for Seniors, Chair of campaign raising funds for building Shadbolt Arts Centre, and Chair of the Burnaby Mental Health Committee. In 1988 Merrill Gordon, Betty Gordon, Dean Lamont and several others formed the Burnaby Mountain Preservation Society, which advocated for the return of unused land to Burnaby from SFU and the subsequent creation of Burnaby Mountain Conservation Area. Merrill Gordon and Elizabeth Balfour (nee Leitch) (1926-2012) married in 1953 and had two children.
- Total Tracks
- 11
- Total Length
- 1:31:44
- Interviewee Name
- Gordon, Merrill
- Interview Location
- unknown
- Interviewer Bio
- Rod Fowler returned to university as a mature student in the 1980s after working about twenty years in the field of economics and computerization in business in England, Europe and Western Canada. He graduated with a BA from SFU in both History and Sociology in 1987, his MA degree in Geography in 1989, and his PhD in Cultural Geography at SFU. He taught courses in Geography, Sociology, History and Canadian Studies at several Lower Mainland colleges, before becoming a full time member of the Geography Department at Kwantlen University College.
- Collection/Fonds
- SFU/Burnaby Centennial Committee fonds
- Transcript Available
- Transcript available
- Media Type
- Sound Recording
- Web Notes
- Interviews were digitized in 2015 allowing them to be accessible on Heritage Burnaby. The digitization project was initiated by the Community Heritage Commission with support from City of Burnaby Council.
Images
Audio Tracks
Track six of interview with Merrill Gordon
Track six of interview with Merrill Gordon
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Oral_Histories/_Unrestricted/MSS187-020/MSS187-020_Track_6.mp3
Interview with Merrill M. Gordon by Rod Fowler March 19, 1990 - Track 7
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/oralhistory478
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date Range
- 1956-1990
- Length
- 00:07:05
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Merrill Gordon’s political career and his volunteer work with Cliff Avenue soccer, the Burnaby Mental Health Association, the library board, and the New Vista Society. He talks about his association with Alan Emmott and the founding of the Better Burnaby Commi…
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Merrill Gordon’s political career and his volunteer work with Cliff Avenue soccer, the Burnaby Mental Health Association, the library board, and the New Vista Society. He talks about his association with Alan Emmott and the founding of the Better Burnaby Committee (BBC), his election to Burnaby Council in 1972 with BVA, and his membership in and work for the federal NDP
- Date Range
- 1956-1990
- Photo Info
- Burnaby Alderman Merrill Gordon (second from right) following a candidates' meeting, 1973. Item no. 480-263
- Length
- 00:07:05
- Names
- Emmott, Alan H
- Interviewer
- Fowler, Rod
- Interview Date
- March 19, 1990
- Scope and Content
- Recording is of an interview with Merrill Gordon, conducted by Rod Fowler.Gordon Merrill was one of eleven participants interviewed as part of the SFU/Burnaby Centennial Committee's oral history series titled, "Voices of Burnaby". The interview is about Merrill Gordon’s childhood in the Depression, including his story about the family’s difficult trek to Burnaby from Alberta; his education, teachers and first volunteer activities at Grandview High School; his career at Fleck Brothers and the start of his own company Blaze Industries and later work in India; and his many volunteer activities in Burnaby. He describes how he started the Cliff Avenue United Football Club, the soccer club's subsequent growth and development, some of the people involved, and the founding of the youth soccer exchange. He also describes his work on the Parks Board and in the arts community, including the 1987 arts centre referendum, and involvement with the Burnaby Mountain Preservation Society (1988- ), and mentions his work for other groups including the New Vista Society, library board, and Burnaby Mental Health Committee. He also talks about his political career with the Better Burnaby Committee and Burnaby Voters Association, resulting in his 1972 election to Burnaby’s 1973 council. To view “Narrow By” terms for each track expand this description and see “Notes”.
- Biographical Notes
- Merrill M. Gordon was born in Saskatchewan in 1929 to parents farming north of North Battleford. After a fifth year of crop failure the family of four left the farm in 1934 to join relatives living near the corner of Union and Sperling in Burnaby. With little resources the family adapted as well as possible in the Depression years, moving often in the East Vancouver/North Burnaby area in an attempt to better their situation. Merrill’s father obtained work at sawmills including Kapoor’s Sawmill at Barnet, walking to work over Burnaby Mountain. After attending numerous public schools, Merrill Gordon eventually spent three years at Templeton School and then completed his education at Grandview High School of Commerce, majoring in accounting and commercial law. He worked a few years at Canadian Industries Ltd., then joined Fleck Brothers. In 1965 Merrill Gordon and his wife started their own company Blaze Industries of Canada that manufactured wood burning fireplaces, selling the company to AB Electrolux in 1980. After a short retirement, Merrill Gordon went back to work in 1981 for a company manufacturing solar panels, one project taking him and his wife intermittently to India over a four year period. Merrill Gordon helped found the political group Better Burnaby Committee, later the Burnaby Voters Association, with Alan Emmott and Bill Lewarne, ran for Burnaby Municipal Council and served one year as councillor in 1973. Merrill Gordon is well known for his over 40 years of volunteer work in Burnaby, particularly as founder in 1956 and director of the Cliff Avenue United Football Club, one of the largest soccer clubs in BC. He was also the founder of Burnaby Youth Soccer and the first youth soccer exchange with Washington State. His other volunteer work includes library trustee, Parks Commissioner (1987-1992), Director of New Vista Home for Seniors, Chair of campaign raising funds for building Shadbolt Arts Centre, and Chair of the Burnaby Mental Health Committee. In 1988 Merrill Gordon, Betty Gordon, Dean Lamont and several others formed the Burnaby Mountain Preservation Society, which advocated for the return of unused land to Burnaby from SFU and the subsequent creation of Burnaby Mountain Conservation Area. Merrill Gordon and Elizabeth Balfour (nee Leitch) (1926-2012) married in 1953 and had two children.
- Total Tracks
- 11
- Total Length
- 1:31:44
- Interviewee Name
- Gordon, Merrill
- Interview Location
- unknown
- Interviewer Bio
- Rod Fowler returned to university as a mature student in the 1980s after working about twenty years in the field of economics and computerization in business in England, Europe and Western Canada. He graduated with a BA from SFU in both History and Sociology in 1987, his MA degree in Geography in 1989, and his PhD in Cultural Geography at SFU. He taught courses in Geography, Sociology, History and Canadian Studies at several Lower Mainland colleges, before becoming a full time member of the Geography Department at Kwantlen University College.
- Collection/Fonds
- SFU/Burnaby Centennial Committee fonds
- Transcript Available
- Transcript available
- Media Type
- Sound Recording
- Web Notes
- Interviews were digitized in 2015 allowing them to be accessible on Heritage Burnaby. The digitization project was initiated by the Community Heritage Commission with support from City of Burnaby Council.
Images
Audio Tracks
Track seven of interview with Merrill Gordon
Track seven of interview with Merrill Gordon
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Oral_Histories/_Unrestricted/MSS187-020/MSS187-020_Track_7.mp3
Interview with Merrill M. Gordon by Rod Fowler March 19, 1990 - Track 8
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/oralhistory479
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date Range
- 1956-1990
- Length
- 00:10:17
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Merrill Gordon’s founding and operation of the youth soccer exchange with Washington State, and the importance of soccer to the community. He discusses the problem of isolation between north and south Burnaby, planned development in Burnaby, and the contributi…
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Merrill Gordon’s founding and operation of the youth soccer exchange with Washington State, and the importance of soccer to the community. He discusses the problem of isolation between north and south Burnaby, planned development in Burnaby, and the contributions of Ratepayer groups and volunteers
- Date Range
- 1956-1990
- Photo Info
- Burnaby Alderman Merrill Gordon (second from right) following a candidates' meeting, 1973. Item no. 480-263
- Length
- 00:10:17
- Interviewer
- Fowler, Rod
- Interview Date
- March 19, 1990
- Scope and Content
- Recording is of an interview with Merrill Gordon, conducted by Rod Fowler.Gordon Merrill was one of eleven participants interviewed as part of the SFU/Burnaby Centennial Committee's oral history series titled, "Voices of Burnaby". The interview is about Merrill Gordon’s childhood in the Depression, including his story about the family’s difficult trek to Burnaby from Alberta; his education, teachers and first volunteer activities at Grandview High School; his career at Fleck Brothers and the start of his own company Blaze Industries and later work in India; and his many volunteer activities in Burnaby. He describes how he started the Cliff Avenue United Football Club, the soccer club's subsequent growth and development, some of the people involved, and the founding of the youth soccer exchange. He also describes his work on the Parks Board and in the arts community, including the 1987 arts centre referendum, and involvement with the Burnaby Mountain Preservation Society (1988- ), and mentions his work for other groups including the New Vista Society, library board, and Burnaby Mental Health Committee. He also talks about his political career with the Better Burnaby Committee and Burnaby Voters Association, resulting in his 1972 election to Burnaby’s 1973 council. To view “Narrow By” terms for each track expand this description and see “Notes”.
- Biographical Notes
- Merrill M. Gordon was born in Saskatchewan in 1929 to parents farming north of North Battleford. After a fifth year of crop failure the family of four left the farm in 1934 to join relatives living near the corner of Union and Sperling in Burnaby. With little resources the family adapted as well as possible in the Depression years, moving often in the East Vancouver/North Burnaby area in an attempt to better their situation. Merrill’s father obtained work at sawmills including Kapoor’s Sawmill at Barnet, walking to work over Burnaby Mountain. After attending numerous public schools, Merrill Gordon eventually spent three years at Templeton School and then completed his education at Grandview High School of Commerce, majoring in accounting and commercial law. He worked a few years at Canadian Industries Ltd., then joined Fleck Brothers. In 1965 Merrill Gordon and his wife started their own company Blaze Industries of Canada that manufactured wood burning fireplaces, selling the company to AB Electrolux in 1980. After a short retirement, Merrill Gordon went back to work in 1981 for a company manufacturing solar panels, one project taking him and his wife intermittently to India over a four year period. Merrill Gordon helped found the political group Better Burnaby Committee, later the Burnaby Voters Association, with Alan Emmott and Bill Lewarne, ran for Burnaby Municipal Council and served one year as councillor in 1973. Merrill Gordon is well known for his over 40 years of volunteer work in Burnaby, particularly as founder in 1956 and director of the Cliff Avenue United Football Club, one of the largest soccer clubs in BC. He was also the founder of Burnaby Youth Soccer and the first youth soccer exchange with Washington State. His other volunteer work includes library trustee, Parks Commissioner (1987-1992), Director of New Vista Home for Seniors, Chair of campaign raising funds for building Shadbolt Arts Centre, and Chair of the Burnaby Mental Health Committee. In 1988 Merrill Gordon, Betty Gordon, Dean Lamont and several others formed the Burnaby Mountain Preservation Society, which advocated for the return of unused land to Burnaby from SFU and the subsequent creation of Burnaby Mountain Conservation Area. Merrill Gordon and Elizabeth Balfour (nee Leitch) (1926-2012) married in 1953 and had two children.
- Total Tracks
- 11
- Total Length
- 1:31:44
- Interviewee Name
- Gordon, Merrill
- Interview Location
- unknown
- Interviewer Bio
- Rod Fowler returned to university as a mature student in the 1980s after working about twenty years in the field of economics and computerization in business in England, Europe and Western Canada. He graduated with a BA from SFU in both History and Sociology in 1987, his MA degree in Geography in 1989, and his PhD in Cultural Geography at SFU. He taught courses in Geography, Sociology, History and Canadian Studies at several Lower Mainland colleges, before becoming a full time member of the Geography Department at Kwantlen University College.
- Collection/Fonds
- SFU/Burnaby Centennial Committee fonds
- Transcript Available
- Transcript available
- Media Type
- Sound Recording
- Web Notes
- Interviews were digitized in 2015 allowing them to be accessible on Heritage Burnaby. The digitization project was initiated by the Community Heritage Commission with support from City of Burnaby Council.
Images
Audio Tracks
Track eight of interview with Merrill Gordon
Track eight of interview with Merrill Gordon
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Oral_Histories/_Unrestricted/MSS187-020/MSS187-020_Track_8.mp3Interview with Toki Miyashita by Rod Fowler February 27, 1990 - Track 1
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/oralhistory516
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date Range
- 1900-1946
- Length
- 00:07:05
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Toki Miyashita’s family’s internment during WWII, and her Oikawa grandparent’s immigration to BC and settlement on Lion and Don Islands at the mouth of the Fraser River. She describes how the family was moved to the internment camp “The Orchard” in New Denver,…
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Toki Miyashita’s family’s internment during WWII, and her Oikawa grandparent’s immigration to BC and settlement on Lion and Don Islands at the mouth of the Fraser River. She describes how the family was moved to the internment camp “The Orchard” in New Denver, but managed to find a place to live outside the camp where her grandmother grew a large garden from seeds brought in the seams of her clothing. She notes that the Lion Islands were named Oikawa-shima by the Japanese settlers.
- Date Range
- 1900-1946
- Length
- 00:07:05
- Interviewer
- Fowler, Rod
- Interview Date
- February 27, 1990
- Scope and Content
- Recording is of an interview with Toki Miyashita, conducted by Rod Fowler. Toki Miyashita was one of eleven participants interviewed as part of the SFU/Burnaby Centennial Committee's oral history series titled, "Voices of Burnaby". The interview is about Toki Miyashita’s family’s internment during WWII, her awakening interest in Japanese culture after the war, her subsequent interest in teaching others about Japanese crafts and arts, and becoming a helpful intermediary between Burnaby and visitors from Japan. The interview explores her interest in the Ainu of Japan and their possible link to the aboriginals of BC, her impressions of the Ainu carver Nuburi Toko, and her involvement in the events surrounding the creation of the sculpture “Playground of the Gods” for Burnaby Mountain. The interview also contains interesting details about the art of Japanese flower-arranging. To view “Narrow By” terms for each track expand this description and see “Notes”.
- Biographical Notes
- Toki Miyashita was born in Richmond B.C., ca. 1935, at the Nelson Brothers “fishery”, a second generation Canadian descended from the Oikawa family who settled on Don and Lion Islands (Oikawa-shima). In 1942 the Japanese Canadians in BC were forcibly moved from the coast and their belongings confiscated. Toki Miyashita, her parents, two brothers, and grandparents were first taken to Hastings Park where her father was separated from the family to work in road camps, and the rest of the family were interned in New Denver. Her resourceful grandmother moved the family to land outside the internment camp, growing a large garden from seeds brought with her. In 1946 the family moved to Kamloops and in 1958, after finishing high school, Toki Miyashita moved to Montreal to be with relatives and a small Japanese community. At this time she became interested in Japanese culture and took a Japanese language course at age 22. She learned about Japanese flower-arranging (Ikebana), paper folding (Origami), silk doll making (from a Russian Jew), and how to wear a kimono. She began demonstrating these arts in schools and to other groups, which she continued doing when she, her husband and two young children moved to Burnaby in 1969. Toki Miyashita has been called an unpaid “ambassador” of Japanese culture to the Lower Mainland. She has acted as liaison between Burnaby and her sister city Kushiro in Japan, which involved her in the creation of the Ainu sculpture “Playground of the Gods” on Burnaby Mountain for Burnaby’s Centennial. Toki Miyashita is a recognized Master in Ikebana Sogetsu, a school of flower-arranging, and has served on the board of the Vancouver Ikebana Association. She also served on Burnaby’s Family Court in the 1980s.
- Total Tracks
- 11
- Total Length
- 01:34:10
- Interviewee Name
- Miyashita, Toki
- Interviewer Bio
- Rod Fowler returned to university as a mature student in the 1980s after working about twenty years in the field of economics and computerization in business in England, Europe and Western Canada. He graduated with a BA from SFU in both History and Sociology in 1987, his MA degree in Geography in 1989, and his PhD in Cultural Geography at SFU. He taught courses in Geography, Sociology, History and Canadian Studies at several Lower Mainland colleges, before becoming a full time member of the Geography Department at Kwantlen University College.
- Collection/Fonds
- SFU/Burnaby Centennial Committee fonds
- Transcript Available
- Transcript available
- Media Type
- Sound Recording
- Web Notes
- Interviews were digitized in 2015 allowing them to be accessible on Heritage Burnaby. The digitization project was initiated by the Community Heritage Commission with support from City of Burnaby Council.
Audio Tracks
Track one of interview with Toki Miyashita
Track one of interview with Toki Miyashita
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Oral_Histories/_Unrestricted/MSS187-017/MSS187-017_Track_1.mp3Interview with Toki Miyashita by Rod Fowler February 27, 1990 - Track 2
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/oralhistory517
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date Range
- 1942-1969
- Length
- 00:07:41
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Toki Miyashita’s growing interest in Japanese culture and arts, studying the Japanese language after she was 22 in Montreal. She talks about how she learned paper-folding (origami), to make silk dolls, flower-arranging (Ikebana), and how to wear a kimono, and …
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Toki Miyashita’s growing interest in Japanese culture and arts, studying the Japanese language after she was 22 in Montreal. She talks about how she learned paper-folding (origami), to make silk dolls, flower-arranging (Ikebana), and how to wear a kimono, and then began to teach others these skills in Montreal .
- Date Range
- 1942-1969
- Length
- 00:07:41
- Subjects
- Education
- Arts
- Persons - Japanese Canadians
- Interviewer
- Fowler, Rod
- Interview Date
- February 27, 1990
- Scope and Content
- Recording is of an interview with Toki Miyashita, conducted by Rod Fowler. Toki Miyashita was one of eleven participants interviewed as part of the SFU/Burnaby Centennial Committee's oral history series titled, "Voices of Burnaby". The interview is about Toki Miyashita’s family’s internment during WWII, her awakening interest in Japanese culture after the war, her subsequent interest in teaching others about Japanese crafts and arts, and becoming a helpful intermediary between Burnaby and visitors from Japan. The interview explores her interest in the Ainu of Japan and their possible link to the aboriginals of BC, her impressions of the Ainu carver Nuburi Toko, and her involvement in the events surrounding the creation of the sculpture “Playground of the Gods” for Burnaby Mountain. The interview also contains interesting details about the art of Japanese flower-arranging. To view “Narrow By” terms for each track expand this description and see “Notes”.
- Biographical Notes
- Toki Miyashita was born in Richmond B.C., ca. 1935, at the Nelson Brothers “fishery”, a second generation Canadian descended from the Oikawa family who settled on Don and Lion Islands (Oikawa-shima). In 1942 the Japanese Canadians in BC were forcibly moved from the coast and their belongings confiscated. Toki Miyashita, her parents, two brothers, and grandparents were first taken to Hastings Park where her father was separated from the family to work in road camps, and the rest of the family were interned in New Denver. Her resourceful grandmother moved the family to land outside the internment camp, growing a large garden from seeds brought with her. In 1946 the family moved to Kamloops and in 1958, after finishing high school, Toki Miyashita moved to Montreal to be with relatives and a small Japanese community. At this time she became interested in Japanese culture and took a Japanese language course at age 22. She learned about Japanese flower-arranging (Ikebana), paper folding (Origami), silk doll making (from a Russian Jew), and how to wear a kimono. She began demonstrating these arts in schools and to other groups, which she continued doing when she, her husband and two young children moved to Burnaby in 1969. Toki Miyashita has been called an unpaid “ambassador” of Japanese culture to the Lower Mainland. She has acted as liaison between Burnaby and her sister city Kushiro in Japan, which involved her in the creation of the Ainu sculpture “Playground of the Gods” on Burnaby Mountain for Burnaby’s Centennial. Toki Miyashita is a recognized Master in Ikebana Sogetsu, a school of flower-arranging, and has served on the board of the Vancouver Ikebana Association. She also served on Burnaby’s Family Court in the 1980s.
- Total Tracks
- 11
- Total Length
- 01:34:10
- Interviewee Name
- Miyashita, Toki
- Interviewer Bio
- Rod Fowler returned to university as a mature student in the 1980s after working about twenty years in the field of economics and computerization in business in England, Europe and Western Canada. He graduated with a BA from SFU in both History and Sociology in 1987, his MA degree in Geography in 1989, and his PhD in Cultural Geography at SFU. He taught courses in Geography, Sociology, History and Canadian Studies at several Lower Mainland colleges, before becoming a full time member of the Geography Department at Kwantlen University College.
- Collection/Fonds
- SFU/Burnaby Centennial Committee fonds
- Transcript Available
- Transcript available
- Media Type
- Sound Recording
- Web Notes
- Interviews were digitized in 2015 allowing them to be accessible on Heritage Burnaby. The digitization project was initiated by the Community Heritage Commission with support from City of Burnaby Council.
Audio Tracks
Track two of interview with Toki Miyashita
Track two of interview with Toki Miyashita
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Oral_Histories/_Unrestricted/MSS187-017/MSS187-017_Track_2.mp3Interview with Toki Miyashita by Rod Fowler February 27, 1990 - Track 7
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/oralhistory522
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date Range
- 1930-1990
- Length
- 00:13:56
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Toki Miyashita’s memories of the internment, separation of her father from the family to work on road camps, where she was born in Richmond at the Nelson Brothers “fishery”, confiscation of home in 1942, eventual Redress, and lingering feelings of fear and dis…
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Toki Miyashita’s memories of the internment, separation of her father from the family to work on road camps, where she was born in Richmond at the Nelson Brothers “fishery”, confiscation of home in 1942, eventual Redress, and lingering feelings of fear and distrust in her family. She also talks about visiting Hiroshima on her trip to Japan in 1980
- Date Range
- 1930-1990
- Length
- 00:13:56
- Interviewer
- Fowler, Rod
- Interview Date
- February 27, 1990
- Scope and Content
- Recording is of an interview with Toki Miyashita, conducted by Rod Fowler. Toki Miyashita was one of eleven participants interviewed as part of the SFU/Burnaby Centennial Committee's oral history series titled, "Voices of Burnaby". The interview is about Toki Miyashita’s family’s internment during WWII, her awakening interest in Japanese culture after the war, her subsequent interest in teaching others about Japanese crafts and arts, and becoming a helpful intermediary between Burnaby and visitors from Japan. The interview explores her interest in the Ainu of Japan and their possible link to the aboriginals of BC, her impressions of the Ainu carver Nuburi Toko, and her involvement in the events surrounding the creation of the sculpture “Playground of the Gods” for Burnaby Mountain. The interview also contains interesting details about the art of Japanese flower-arranging. To view “Narrow By” terms for each track expand this description and see “Notes”.
- Biographical Notes
- Toki Miyashita was born in Richmond B.C., ca. 1935, at the Nelson Brothers “fishery”, a second generation Canadian descended from the Oikawa family who settled on Don and Lion Islands (Oikawa-shima). In 1942 the Japanese Canadians in BC were forcibly moved from the coast and their belongings confiscated. Toki Miyashita, her parents, two brothers, and grandparents were first taken to Hastings Park where her father was separated from the family to work in road camps, and the rest of the family were interned in New Denver. Her resourceful grandmother moved the family to land outside the internment camp, growing a large garden from seeds brought with her. In 1946 the family moved to Kamloops and in 1958, after finishing high school, Toki Miyashita moved to Montreal to be with relatives and a small Japanese community. At this time she became interested in Japanese culture and took a Japanese language course at age 22. She learned about Japanese flower-arranging (Ikebana), paper folding (Origami), silk doll making (from a Russian Jew), and how to wear a kimono. She began demonstrating these arts in schools and to other groups, which she continued doing when she, her husband and two young children moved to Burnaby in 1969. Toki Miyashita has been called an unpaid “ambassador” of Japanese culture to the Lower Mainland. She has acted as liaison between Burnaby and her sister city Kushiro in Japan, which involved her in the creation of the Ainu sculpture “Playground of the Gods” on Burnaby Mountain for Burnaby’s Centennial. Toki Miyashita is a recognized Master in Ikebana Sogetsu, a school of flower-arranging, and has served on the board of the Vancouver Ikebana Association. She also served on Burnaby’s Family Court in the 1980s.
- Total Tracks
- 11
- Total Length
- 01:34:10
- Interviewee Name
- Miyashita, Toki
- Interviewer Bio
- Rod Fowler returned to university as a mature student in the 1980s after working about twenty years in the field of economics and computerization in business in England, Europe and Western Canada. He graduated with a BA from SFU in both History and Sociology in 1987, his MA degree in Geography in 1989, and his PhD in Cultural Geography at SFU. He taught courses in Geography, Sociology, History and Canadian Studies at several Lower Mainland colleges, before becoming a full time member of the Geography Department at Kwantlen University College.
- Collection/Fonds
- SFU/Burnaby Centennial Committee fonds
- Transcript Available
- Transcript available
- Media Type
- Sound Recording
- Web Notes
- Interviews were digitized in 2015 allowing them to be accessible on Heritage Burnaby. The digitization project was initiated by the Community Heritage Commission with support from City of Burnaby Council.
Audio Tracks
Track seven of interview with Toki Miyashita
Track seven of interview with Toki Miyashita
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Oral_Histories/_Unrestricted/MSS187-017/MSS187-017_Track_7.mp3
Interview with William J. Copeland by Rod Fowler February 18, 1990 - Track 2
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/oralhistory436
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date Range
- 1953-1990
- Length
- 00:02:44
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Bill Copeland's training as a firefighter in the Federal Fire Service at the Wireless Station in Delta, and his career in Burnaby, mainly at Control Station.
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Bill Copeland's training as a firefighter in the Federal Fire Service at the Wireless Station in Delta, and his career in Burnaby, mainly at Control Station.
- Date Range
- 1953-1990
- Photo Info
- Mayor Bill Copeland cutting the ribbon for the opening of the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts accompanied by Jack and Doris Shadbolt and Councillors Doug Drummond and Derek Corrigan, 1995. Item no. 535-0067
- Length
- 00:02:44
- Subjects
- Public Services - Fire Protection
- Interviewer
- Fowler, Rod
- Interview Date
- February 18, 1990
- Scope and Content
- Recording is of an interview with former Burnaby Mayor William J. Copeland conducted by Rod Fowler. Bill Copeland was one of eleven participants interviewed as part of the SFU/Burnaby Centennial Committee's oral history series titled, "Voices of Burnaby". The interview is mainly about Bill Copeland’s education, career and experience as a Burnaby firefighter from 1955 to 1987, and his work for the union International Association of Fire Fighters. He talks about his early family life in Burnaby and Vancouver, war service, training with the Federal Fire Service, the organizations he has belonged to, and the careers of his three children. He briefly talks about Burnaby politics and his unexpected election to Mayor of Burnaby. Major themes of the interview, described by track: Track 1: Organizations - Unions; Public Services - Fire Protection; International Association of Fire Fighters; Track 2: Public Services - Fire Protection; Track 3: Elections; Track 4: family history and education; Track 5: Public Services - Fire Protection; Track 6: Elections
- Biographical Notes
- William John (Bill) Copeland (1927-2002) was born in Vancouver May 19, 1927. As a young child he lived with his parents on Southwood Street in South Burnaby on a chicken ranch. Bill’s father was a miner and was often away from home. The family moved to Pioneer Mines at Bridge River for a few years and then moved back to Vancouver in 1941 when his father contracted silicosis. Bill served in the navy for about a year near the end of WWII, was in the Canadian Merchant Marine and worked as a pipe fitter, before beginning his career as a fire fighter. He trained with the Federal Fire Service and worked two years at the Wireless Station in Delta. In 1955 he started work as Fire Fighter No. 53 in Burnaby, retiring 33 years later in 1987. Most of his career was spent at the Control Station or Number 1 Firehall, first located at Wiilingdon and Hastings (now No.5 Station) and later on Sperling near Canada Way. Bill worked as a first aid instructor, eventually moving into the training office, and retired as assistant chief. In 1987, shortly after retiring, Bill was asked to run for Mayor for the Burnaby Citizens Association (BCA). Much to his surprise he won. He served with distinction for three terms (1987-1996). Bill, his wife Ruth, and their three children, Doug and Dan (both firefighters) and Emily (a teacher), lived in North Burnaby on Cliff Avenue, the family home for about 35 years. Bill was active in many organizations including the Cliff Avenue soccer organization, St. John Ambulance, Burnaby Red Cross, and CNIB, among others. He began representing firefighters locally in the International Association of Fire Fighters in the early 1960s, eventually becoming President of the provincial association and then Vice President of the 6th District representing Western Canada.
- Total Tracks
- 6
- Total Length
- 0:25:35
- Interviewee Name
- Copeland, William J
- Interviewer Bio
- Rod Fowler returned to university as a mature student in the 1980s after working about twenty years in the field of economics and business computerization in England, Europe and Western Canada. He graduated with a BA from SFU in both History and Sociology in 1987, his MA degree in Geography in 1989, and his PhD in Cultural Geography at SFU. He taught courses in Geography, Sociology, History and Canadian Studies at several Lower Mainland colleges, before becoming a full time member of the Geography Department at Kwantlen University College.
- Collection/Fonds
- SFU/Burnaby Centennial Committee fonds
- Transcript Available
- Transcript available
- Media Type
- Sound Recording
- Web Notes
- Interviews were digitized in 2015 allowing them to be accessible on Heritage Burnaby. The digitization project was initiated by the Community Heritage Commission with support from City of Burnaby Council.
Images
Audio Tracks
Track two of interview with William J. Copeland
Track two of interview with William J. Copeland
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Oral_Histories/_Unrestricted/MSS187-013/MSS187-013_Track_2.mp3
Interview with William J. Copeland by Rod Fowler February 18, 1990 - Track 3
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/oralhistory437
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date Range
- 1955-1990
- Length
- 00:04:32
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Bill Copeland's election to Mayor in 1987, attributing it to being well known through his work as a fire fighter and as a volunteer with various organizations such as the soccer club Cliff Avenue Union FC, Burnaby Red Cross, St. John Ambulance, CNIB, the firef…
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Bill Copeland's election to Mayor in 1987, attributing it to being well known through his work as a fire fighter and as a volunteer with various organizations such as the soccer club Cliff Avenue Union FC, Burnaby Red Cross, St. John Ambulance, CNIB, the firefighters' union, among others
- Date Range
- 1955-1990
- Photo Info
- Mayor Bill Copeland cutting the ribbon for the opening of the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts accompanied by Jack and Doris Shadbolt and Councillors Doug Drummond and Derek Corrigan, 1995. Item no. 535-0067
- Length
- 00:04:32
- Subjects
- Elections
- Interviewer
- Fowler, Rod
- Interview Date
- February 18, 1990
- Scope and Content
- Recording is of an interview with former Burnaby Mayor William J. Copeland conducted by Rod Fowler. Bill Copeland was one of eleven participants interviewed as part of the SFU/Burnaby Centennial Committee's oral history series titled, "Voices of Burnaby". The interview is mainly about Bill Copeland’s education, career and experience as a Burnaby firefighter from 1955 to 1987, and his work for the union International Association of Fire Fighters. He talks about his early family life in Burnaby and Vancouver, war service, training with the Federal Fire Service, the organizations he has belonged to, and the careers of his three children. He briefly talks about Burnaby politics and his unexpected election to Mayor of Burnaby. Major themes of the interview, described by track: Track 1: Organizations - Unions; Public Services - Fire Protection; International Association of Fire Fighters; Track 2: Public Services - Fire Protection; Track 3: Elections; Track 4: family history and education; Track 5: Public Services - Fire Protection; Track 6: Elections
- Biographical Notes
- William John (Bill) Copeland (1927-2002) was born in Vancouver May 19, 1927. As a young child he lived with his parents on Southwood Street in South Burnaby on a chicken ranch. Bill’s father was a miner and was often away from home. The family moved to Pioneer Mines at Bridge River for a few years and then moved back to Vancouver in 1941 when his father contracted silicosis. Bill served in the navy for about a year near the end of WWII, was in the Canadian Merchant Marine and worked as a pipe fitter, before beginning his career as a fire fighter. He trained with the Federal Fire Service and worked two years at the Wireless Station in Delta. In 1955 he started work as Fire Fighter No. 53 in Burnaby, retiring 33 years later in 1987. Most of his career was spent at the Control Station or Number 1 Firehall, first located at Wiilingdon and Hastings (now No.5 Station) and later on Sperling near Canada Way. Bill worked as a first aid instructor, eventually moving into the training office, and retired as assistant chief. In 1987, shortly after retiring, Bill was asked to run for Mayor for the Burnaby Citizens Association (BCA). Much to his surprise he won. He served with distinction for three terms (1987-1996). Bill, his wife Ruth, and their three children, Doug and Dan (both firefighters) and Emily (a teacher), lived in North Burnaby on Cliff Avenue, the family home for about 35 years. Bill was active in many organizations including the Cliff Avenue soccer organization, St. John Ambulance, Burnaby Red Cross, and CNIB, among others. He began representing firefighters locally in the International Association of Fire Fighters in the early 1960s, eventually becoming President of the provincial association and then Vice President of the 6th District representing Western Canada.
- Total Tracks
- 6
- Total Length
- 0:25:35
- Interviewee Name
- Copeland, William J
- Interviewer Bio
- Rod Fowler returned to university as a mature student in the 1980s after working about twenty years in the field of economics and business computerization in England, Europe and Western Canada. He graduated with a BA from SFU in both History and Sociology in 1987, his MA degree in Geography in 1989, and his PhD in Cultural Geography at SFU. He taught courses in Geography, Sociology, History and Canadian Studies at several Lower Mainland colleges, before becoming a full time member of the Geography Department at Kwantlen University College.
- Collection/Fonds
- SFU/Burnaby Centennial Committee fonds
- Transcript Available
- Transcript available
- Media Type
- Sound Recording
- Web Notes
- Interviews were digitized in 2015 allowing them to be accessible on Heritage Burnaby. The digitization project was initiated by the Community Heritage Commission with support from City of Burnaby Council.
Images
Audio Tracks
Track three of interview with William J. Copeland
Track three of interview with William J. Copeland
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Oral_Histories/_Unrestricted/MSS187-013/MSS187-013_Track_3.mp3
Interview with William J. Copeland by Rod Fowler February 18, 1990 - Track 4
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/oralhistory438
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date Range
- 1927-1990
- Length
- 00:06:37
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Bill Copeland's childhood in Burnaby and Vancouver, his father's work as a miner, his war service, education, and his three children
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Bill Copeland's childhood in Burnaby and Vancouver, his father's work as a miner, his war service, education, and his three children
- Date Range
- 1927-1990
- Photo Info
- Mayor Bill Copeland cutting the ribbon for the opening of the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts accompanied by Jack and Doris Shadbolt and Councillors Doug Drummond and Derek Corrigan, 1995. Item no. 535-0067
- Length
- 00:06:37
- Interviewer
- Fowler, Rod
- Interview Date
- February 18, 1990
- Scope and Content
- Recording is of an interview with former Burnaby Mayor William J. Copeland conducted by Rod Fowler. Bill Copeland was one of eleven participants interviewed as part of the SFU/Burnaby Centennial Committee's oral history series titled, "Voices of Burnaby". The interview is mainly about Bill Copeland’s education, career and experience as a Burnaby firefighter from 1955 to 1987, and his work for the union International Association of Fire Fighters. He talks about his early family life in Burnaby and Vancouver, war service, training with the Federal Fire Service, the organizations he has belonged to, and the careers of his three children. He briefly talks about Burnaby politics and his unexpected election to Mayor of Burnaby. Major themes of the interview, described by track: Track 1: Organizations - Unions; Public Services - Fire Protection; International Association of Fire Fighters; Track 2: Public Services - Fire Protection; Track 3: Elections; Track 4: family history and education; Track 5: Public Services - Fire Protection; Track 6: Elections
- Biographical Notes
- William John (Bill) Copeland (1927-2002) was born in Vancouver May 19, 1927. As a young child he lived with his parents on Southwood Street in South Burnaby on a chicken ranch. Bill’s father was a miner and was often away from home. The family moved to Pioneer Mines at Bridge River for a few years and then moved back to Vancouver in 1941 when his father contracted silicosis. Bill served in the navy for about a year near the end of WWII, was in the Canadian Merchant Marine and worked as a pipe fitter, before beginning his career as a fire fighter. He trained with the Federal Fire Service and worked two years at the Wireless Station in Delta. In 1955 he started work as Fire Fighter No. 53 in Burnaby, retiring 33 years later in 1987. Most of his career was spent at the Control Station or Number 1 Firehall, first located at Wiilingdon and Hastings (now No.5 Station) and later on Sperling near Canada Way. Bill worked as a first aid instructor, eventually moving into the training office, and retired as assistant chief. In 1987, shortly after retiring, Bill was asked to run for Mayor for the Burnaby Citizens Association (BCA). Much to his surprise he won. He served with distinction for three terms (1987-1996). Bill, his wife Ruth, and their three children, Doug and Dan (both firefighters) and Emily (a teacher), lived in North Burnaby on Cliff Avenue, the family home for about 35 years. Bill was active in many organizations including the Cliff Avenue soccer organization, St. John Ambulance, Burnaby Red Cross, and CNIB, among others. He began representing firefighters locally in the International Association of Fire Fighters in the early 1960s, eventually becoming President of the provincial association and then Vice President of the 6th District representing Western Canada.
- Total Tracks
- 6
- Total Length
- 0:25:35
- Interviewee Name
- Copeland, William J
- Interviewer Bio
- Rod Fowler returned to university as a mature student in the 1980s after working about twenty years in the field of economics and business computerization in England, Europe and Western Canada. He graduated with a BA from SFU in both History and Sociology in 1987, his MA degree in Geography in 1989, and his PhD in Cultural Geography at SFU. He taught courses in Geography, Sociology, History and Canadian Studies at several Lower Mainland colleges, before becoming a full time member of the Geography Department at Kwantlen University College.
- Collection/Fonds
- SFU/Burnaby Centennial Committee fonds
- Transcript Available
- Transcript available
- Media Type
- Sound Recording
- Web Notes
- Interviews were digitized in 2015 allowing them to be accessible on Heritage Burnaby. The digitization project was initiated by the Community Heritage Commission with support from City of Burnaby Council.
Images
Audio Tracks
Track four of interview with William J. Copeland
Track four of interview with William J. Copeland
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Oral_Histories/_Unrestricted/MSS187-013/MSS187-013_Track_4.mp3
Interview with William J. Copeland by Rod Fowler February 18, 1990 - Track 5
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/oralhistory439
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date Range
- 1955-1986
- Length
- 00:06:41
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about particular fires that Bill remembers, the kinds of calls attended, and the stress caused by some of the calls and the shift work.
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about particular fires that Bill remembers, the kinds of calls attended, and the stress caused by some of the calls and the shift work.
- Date Range
- 1955-1986
- Photo Info
- Mayor Bill Copeland cutting the ribbon for the opening of the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts accompanied by Jack and Doris Shadbolt and Councillors Doug Drummond and Derek Corrigan, 1995. Item no. 535-0067
- Length
- 00:06:41
- Subjects
- Public Services - Fire Protection
- Interviewer
- Fowler, Rod
- Interview Date
- February 18, 1990
- Scope and Content
- Recording is of an interview with former Burnaby Mayor William J. Copeland conducted by Rod Fowler. Bill Copeland was one of eleven participants interviewed as part of the SFU/Burnaby Centennial Committee's oral history series titled, "Voices of Burnaby". The interview is mainly about Bill Copeland’s education, career and experience as a Burnaby firefighter from 1955 to 1987, and his work for the union International Association of Fire Fighters. He talks about his early family life in Burnaby and Vancouver, war service, training with the Federal Fire Service, the organizations he has belonged to, and the careers of his three children. He briefly talks about Burnaby politics and his unexpected election to Mayor of Burnaby. Major themes of the interview, described by track: Track 1: Organizations - Unions; Public Services - Fire Protection; International Association of Fire Fighters; Track 2: Public Services - Fire Protection; Track 3: Elections; Track 4: family history and education; Track 5: Public Services - Fire Protection; Track 6: Elections
- Biographical Notes
- William John (Bill) Copeland (1927-2002) was born in Vancouver May 19, 1927. As a young child he lived with his parents on Southwood Street in South Burnaby on a chicken ranch. Bill’s father was a miner and was often away from home. The family moved to Pioneer Mines at Bridge River for a few years and then moved back to Vancouver in 1941 when his father contracted silicosis. Bill served in the navy for about a year near the end of WWII, was in the Canadian Merchant Marine and worked as a pipe fitter, before beginning his career as a fire fighter. He trained with the Federal Fire Service and worked two years at the Wireless Station in Delta. In 1955 he started work as Fire Fighter No. 53 in Burnaby, retiring 33 years later in 1987. Most of his career was spent at the Control Station or Number 1 Firehall, first located at Wiilingdon and Hastings (now No.5 Station) and later on Sperling near Canada Way. Bill worked as a first aid instructor, eventually moving into the training office, and retired as assistant chief. In 1987, shortly after retiring, Bill was asked to run for Mayor for the Burnaby Citizens Association (BCA). Much to his surprise he won. He served with distinction for three terms (1987-1996). Bill, his wife Ruth, and their three children, Doug and Dan (both firefighters) and Emily (a teacher), lived in North Burnaby on Cliff Avenue, the family home for about 35 years. Bill was active in many organizations including the Cliff Avenue soccer organization, St. John Ambulance, Burnaby Red Cross, and CNIB, among others. He began representing firefighters locally in the International Association of Fire Fighters in the early 1960s, eventually becoming President of the provincial association and then Vice President of the 6th District representing Western Canada.
- Total Tracks
- 6
- Total Length
- 0:25:35
- Interviewee Name
- Copeland, William J
- Interviewer Bio
- Rod Fowler returned to university as a mature student in the 1980s after working about twenty years in the field of economics and business computerization in England, Europe and Western Canada. He graduated with a BA from SFU in both History and Sociology in 1987, his MA degree in Geography in 1989, and his PhD in Cultural Geography at SFU. He taught courses in Geography, Sociology, History and Canadian Studies at several Lower Mainland colleges, before becoming a full time member of the Geography Department at Kwantlen University College.
- Collection/Fonds
- SFU/Burnaby Centennial Committee fonds
- Transcript Available
- Transcript available
- Media Type
- Sound Recording
- Web Notes
- Interviews were digitized in 2015 allowing them to be accessible on Heritage Burnaby. The digitization project was initiated by the Community Heritage Commission with support from City of Burnaby Council.
Images
Audio Tracks
Track five of interview with William J. Copeland
Track five of interview with William J. Copeland
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Oral_Histories/_Unrestricted/MSS187-013/MSS187-013_Track_5.mp3