"Barnet Mill" found 34 records

Barge at Kapoor Sawmills Ltd.

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription15192

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: [1947] (date of original), copied 2004

Collection/Fonds: In the Shadow by the Sea collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph (tiff) : 300 dpi

Scope and Content: Photograph of a barge filled with sawdust docked outside of the Kapoor Sawmills Limited in the Burrard Inlet. A loading conveyor is visible in front of the barge. Sawdust chips were transported from the sawmill to pulp mills.

1 image

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: In the Shadow by the Sea collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph (tiff) : 300 dpi

Scope and Content: Photograph of a barge filled with sawdust docked outside of the Kapoor Sawmills Limited in the Burrard Inlet. A loading conveyor is visible in front of the barge. Sawdust chips were transported from the sawmill to pulp mills.

History: Kapoor Singh Siddoo was born in 1885 in the Punjab village of Kharaudi, India. Kapoor was one of the pioneer South Asian Canadian Sikhs who immigrated to America in 1906 and onto Canada in 1912. Kapoor first arrived in San Francisco in 1906, along with twenty uneducated men from the Province of Punjab, India. Kapoor was the only one among these men who was educated so acted as their interpreter, manager and accountant. They worked along the Southern Pacific Railway line near Marysville, California, toward Reno and Nevada. Kapoor heard about the beauty of British Columbia and decided to travel to the west coast but times were tough with discrimination against all South Asians in British Columbia. With this information, Kapoor traveled east to Northern Ontario where he tried homesteading for a year but the extreme winter conditions didn’t appeal to him. Kapoor returned to British Columbia after receiving word from South Asian Canadians that they were in need of an educated accountant/manager for a sawmill. In 1923, with the change in immigration laws, Kapoor arranged for his wife, Besant Kaur to emigrate from India. Besant came to Canada accompanied by Kapoor’s older brother. Kapoor and Besant had two daughters, both born in Duncan B.C. Jagdis Kaur Siddoo was born in 1925 and Sarjit Kaur Siddoo was born in 1926. Both of their daughters graduated as doctors from University of Toronto medical school. His career in B.C. began as a lumberman for a large lumber mill on Vancouver Island until 1935. Following this, Kapoor established the Kapoor Lumber Company Limited and operated a mill at Shawnigan Lake before eventually purchasing 45 acres in 1939 of the eastern section of the former Barnet Mill site in Burnaby. He purchased the site from the Municipality of Burnaby under the name of Modern Sawmills Limited since there was a restriction on selling this piece of a property to a non-white person. Eventually the name was changed to Kapoor Sawmills Limited. Kapoor’s company was a financial success but was tragically razed on January 14, 1947 due to a devastating fire. A smaller mill was rebuilt on the site and Kapoor maintained a successful financial operation until 1959. In 1959, Kapoor Siddoo was considered one of Vancouver’s most influential men in the South Asian Community. In this same year, the family set up the Kapoor Singh Siddoo Foundation and with help from his wife and daughters opened a hospital in the Punjab village of Aur. In 1964, Kapoor died in India at the age of 79 years. Kapoor’s younger brother, Tara Singh Siddoo came to Canada from India in 1906 but after suffering discrimination, he returned to India in 1912. Several years later Tara returned to Canada joining Kapoor at a logging mill on Vancouver Island. Lesser shares of the mill were held by Tara and other family members. Tara and his wife, Beant Siddoo lived at Barnet between 1943 and 1945, with their family of five sons, Lakhbeer, Gurdeb, Gurcharn, Baldev, Hardev and three daughters, Harjeet (Sangha), Runjeet (Basi) and Buckshish (Sarai). One of Tara’s responsibilities was to oversee the logging camp and ensure that the logs arrived regularly from Cowichan Bay near Duncan to the Barnet logging mill.

Subjects: Industries - Logging/lumber; Persons - South Asian Canadians

Names: Kapoor Sawmills Limited

Geographic Access: Burrard Inlet; Barnet Marine Park

Accession Code: BV019.32.13

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: May be restricted by third party rights

Date: [1947] (date of original), copied 2004

Media Type: Photograph

Historic Neighbourhood: Barnet (Historic Neighbourhood)

Planning Study Area: Burnaby Mountain Area

Notes: Title based on contents of photograph; See page 62 in book "In the Shadow by the Sea - recollections of Burnaby's Barnet Village". Caption with photograph reads: "The conveyor that loaded the sawdust chips on to a barge for transport to pulp mills, c. 1940s"

Images

Barge at Kapoor Sawmills Ltd., [1947] (date of original), copied 2004 thumbnail

Besant Kaur Siddoo at her kitchen stove

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription15181

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: [194-] (date of original), copied 2004

Collection/Fonds: In the Shadow by the Sea collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph (tiff) : 300 dpi

Scope and Content: Photograph of Besant Kaur Siddoo (spouse of Kapoor Singh Siddoo) tending the sawdust burner at her kitchen stove. A large galvanized hopper which fed the sawdust to the fire box of the stove is to her left.

1 image

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: In the Shadow by the Sea collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph (tiff) : 300 dpi

Scope and Content: Photograph of Besant Kaur Siddoo (spouse of Kapoor Singh Siddoo) tending the sawdust burner at her kitchen stove. A large galvanized hopper which fed the sawdust to the fire box of the stove is to her left.

History: Kapoor Singh Siddoo was born in 1885 in the Punjab village of Kharaudi, India. Kapoor was one of the pioneer South Asian Canadian Sikhs who immigrated to America in 1906 and onto Canada in 1912. Kapoor first arrived in San Francisco in 1906, along with twenty uneducated men from the Province of Punjab, India. Kapoor was the only one among these men who was educated so acted as their interpreter, manager and accountant. They worked along the Southern Pacific Railway line near Marysville, California, toward Reno and Nevada. Kapoor heard about the beauty of British Columbia and decided to travel to the west coast but times were tough with discrimination against all South Asians in British Columbia. With this information, Kapoor traveled east to Northern Ontario where he tried homesteading for a year but the extreme winter conditions didn’t appeal to him. Kapoor returned to British Columbia after receiving word from South Asian Canadians that they were in need of an educated accountant/manager for a sawmill. In 1923, with the change in immigration laws, Kapoor arranged for his wife, Besant Kaur to emigrate from India. Besant came to Canada accompanied by Kapoor’s older brother. Kapoor and Besant had two daughters, both born in Duncan B.C. Jagdis Kaur Siddoo was born in 1925 and Sarjit Kaur Siddoo was born in 1926. Both of their daughters graduated as doctors from University of Toronto medical school. His career in B.C. began as a lumberman for a large lumber mill on Vancouver Island until 1935. Following this, Kapoor established the Kapoor Lumber Company Limited and operated a mill at Shawnigan Lake before eventually purchasing 45 acres in 1939 of the eastern section of the former Barnet Mill site in Burnaby. He purchased the site from the Municipality of Burnaby under the name of Modern Sawmills Limited since there was a restriction on selling this piece of a property to a non-white person. Eventually the name was changed to Kapoor Sawmills Limited. Kapoor’s company was a financial success but was tragically razed on January 14, 1947 due to a devastating fire. A smaller mill was rebuilt on the site and Kapoor maintained a successful financial operation until 1959. In 1959, Kapoor Siddoo was considered one of Vancouver’s most influential men in the South Asian Community. In this same year, the family set up the Kapoor Singh Siddoo Foundation and with help from his wife and daughters opened a hospital in the Punjab village of Aur. In 1964, Kapoor died in India at the age of 79 years. Kapoor’s younger brother, Tara Singh Siddoo came to Canada from India in 1906 but after suffering discrimination, he returned to India in 1912. Several years later Tara returned to Canada joining Kapoor at a logging mill on Vancouver Island. Lesser shares of the mill were held by Tara and other family members. Tara and his wife, Beant Siddoo lived at Barnet between 1943 and 1945, with their family of five sons, Lakhbeer, Gurdeb, Gurcharn, Baldev, Hardev and three daughters, Harjeet (Sangha), Runjeet (Basi) and Buckshish (Sarai). One of Tara’s responsibilities was to oversee the logging camp and ensure that the logs arrived regularly from Cowichan Bay near Duncan to the Barnet logging mill.

Subjects: Persons - South Asian Canadians

Names: Kapoor Sawmills Limited; Siddoo, Besant Kaur

Accession Code: BV019.32.2

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: May be restricted by third party rights

Date: [194-] (date of original), copied 2004

Media Type: Photograph

Historic Neighbourhood: Barnet (Historic Neighbourhood)

Planning Study Area: Burnaby Mountain Area

Notes: Title based on contents of photograph; see page 63 in the book "In the Shadow by the Sea - recollections of Burnaby's Barnet Village". Caption with photograph reads: "Mrs. Kapoor Siddoo tending the sawdust burner at her kitchen stove. Note the hopper which fed the sawdust to the fire box of the stove. c. 1940s"

Images

Besant Kaur Siddoo at her kitchen stove, [194-] (date of original), copied 2004 thumbnail

Beverley Lauder with doll in carriage

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription15300

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: [1943] (date of original), copied 2004

Collection/Fonds: In the Shadow by the Sea collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph (tiff) : 300 dpi

Scope and Content: Photograph of Beverley Lauder (Mundreon) standing next to a toy baby carriage with a doll inside. A picket fence and wall of a building are visible behind her.

1 image

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: In the Shadow by the Sea collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph (tiff) : 300 dpi

Scope and Content: Photograph of Beverley Lauder (Mundreon) standing next to a toy baby carriage with a doll inside. A picket fence and wall of a building are visible behind her.

History: Helen (Sukkua) Lauder (1910-1995) and Sidney Lauder (1913-1936) had two children, Beverely (Mundreon) (b. 1935) and Douglas (1937-2018). While the children were young the family first lived at Kask Lumber camp before moving to Barnet. While living in Barnet in the 1940s, both children attended Barnet School. While Sidney Lauder fought overseas during WWII, Helen worked as a cook at the mill.

Subjects: Persons - Children; Toys; Toys - Dolls

Names: Barnet Mill; Barnet Lumber Company; Mundreon, Beverley Lauder

Geographic Access: Burrard Inlet

Accession Code: BV019.32.108

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: No known restrictions

Date: [1943] (date of original), copied 2004

Media Type: Photograph

Historic Neighbourhood: Barnet (Historic Neighbourhood)

Planning Study Area: Burnaby Mountain Area

Notes: Title based on contents of photograph; See page 150 in book "In the Shadow by the Sea: Recollections of Burnaby's Barnet Village" with caption "...Four year old Beverely with her doll & buggy, 1942"; Date of photograph based on birth year of Beverley Lauder

Images

Beverley Lauder with doll in carriage, [1943] (date of original), copied 2004 thumbnail

Boom man with logs

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription15195

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: [194-] (date of original), copied 2004

Collection/Fonds: In the Shadow by the Sea collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph (tiff) : 300 dpi

Scope and Content: Photograph of an unidentified South Asian Sikh boom man standing on a log with a steel pointed pike pole directing logs within a log boom. The log boom was located in Burrard Inlet at the Kapoor Sawmills Limited.

1 image

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: In the Shadow by the Sea collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph (tiff) : 300 dpi

Scope and Content: Photograph of an unidentified South Asian Sikh boom man standing on a log with a steel pointed pike pole directing logs within a log boom. The log boom was located in Burrard Inlet at the Kapoor Sawmills Limited.

History: Kapoor Singh Siddoo was born in 1885 in the Punjab village of Kharaudi, India. Kapoor was one of the pioneer South Asian Canadian Sikhs who immigrated to America in 1906 and onto Canada in 1912. Kapoor first arrived in San Francisco in 1906, along with twenty uneducated men from the Province of Punjab, India. Kapoor was the only one among these men who was educated so acted as their interpreter, manager and accountant. They worked along the Southern Pacific Railway line near Marysville, California, toward Reno and Nevada. Kapoor heard about the beauty of British Columbia and decided to travel to the west coast but times were tough with discrimination against all South Asians in British Columbia. With this information, Kapoor traveled east to Northern Ontario where he tried homesteading for a year but the extreme winter conditions didn’t appeal to him. Kapoor returned to British Columbia after receiving word from South Asian Canadians that they were in need of an educated accountant/manager for a sawmill. In 1923, with the change in immigration laws, Kapoor arranged for his wife, Besant Kaur to emigrate from India. Besant came to Canada accompanied by Kapoor’s older brother. Kapoor and Besant had two daughters, both born in Duncan B.C. Jagdis Kaur Siddoo was born in 1925 and Sarjit Kaur Siddoo was born in 1926. Both of their daughters graduated as doctors from University of Toronto medical school. His career in B.C. began as a lumberman for a large lumber mill on Vancouver Island until 1935. Following this, Kapoor established the Kapoor Lumber Company Limited and operated a mill at Shawnigan Lake before eventually purchasing 45 acres in 1939 of the eastern section of the former Barnet Mill site in Burnaby. He purchased the site from the Municipality of Burnaby under the name of Modern Sawmills Limited since there was a restriction on selling this piece of a property to a non-white person. Eventually the name was changed to Kapoor Sawmills Limited. Kapoor’s company was a financial success but was tragically razed on January 14, 1947 due to a devastating fire. A smaller mill was rebuilt on the site and Kapoor maintained a successful financial operation until 1959. In 1959, Kapoor Siddoo was considered one of Vancouver’s most influential men in the South Asian Community. In this same year, the family set up the Kapoor Singh Siddoo Foundation and with help from his wife and daughters opened a hospital in the Punjab village of Aur. In 1964, Kapoor died in India at the age of 79 years. Kapoor’s younger brother, Tara Singh Siddoo came to Canada from India in 1906 but after suffering discrimination, he returned to India in 1912. Several years later Tara returned to Canada joining Kapoor at a logging mill on Vancouver Island. Lesser shares of the mill were held by Tara and other family members. Tara and his wife, Beant Siddoo lived at Barnet between 1943 and 1945, with their family of five sons, Lakhbeer, Gurdeb, Gurcharn, Baldev, Hardev and three daughters, Harjeet (Sangha), Runjeet (Basi) and Buckshish (Sarai). One of Tara’s responsibilities was to oversee the logging camp and ensure that the logs arrived regularly from Cowichan Bay near Duncan to the Barnet logging mill.

Subjects: Industries - Logging/lumber; Persons - South Asian Canadians; Occupations - Millworkers

Names: Kapoor Sawmills Limited

Geographic Access: Burrard Inlet; Barnet Marine Park

Accession Code: BV019.32.16

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: May be restricted by third party rights

Date: [194-] (date of original), copied 2004

Media Type: Photograph

Historic Neighbourhood: Barnet (Historic Neighbourhood)

Planning Study Area: Burnaby Mountain Area

Notes: Title based on contents of photograph; See page 61 of book "In the Shadow by the Sea - Recollections of Burnaby's Barnet Village". Caption with photograph reads: "A boom man needed to be nimble on his feet to select and move logs to the log slip where they could be haulde up into the mill."

Images

Boom man with logs, [194-] (date of original), copied 2004 thumbnail

Douglas and Beverley Lauder with portrait of parents

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription15302

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: [1943] (date of original), copied 2004

Collection/Fonds: In the Shadow by the Sea collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph (tiff) : 300 dpi

Scope and Content: Photograph of Douglas Lauder and his sister Beverley (Mundreon) Lauder standing in the yard of the family home at the Barnet Lumber Mill. Douglas is holding a portrait of his mother and father, Sidney and Helen (Sukkua) Lauder. A picket fence and wall of a house are visible behind them.

1 image

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: In the Shadow by the Sea collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph (tiff) : 300 dpi

Scope and Content: Photograph of Douglas Lauder and his sister Beverley (Mundreon) Lauder standing in the yard of the family home at the Barnet Lumber Mill. Douglas is holding a portrait of his mother and father, Sidney and Helen (Sukkua) Lauder. A picket fence and wall of a house are visible behind them.

History: Helen (Sukkua) Lauder (1910-1995) and Sidney Lauder (1913-1936) had two children, Beverely (Mundreon) (b. 1935) and Douglas (1937-2018). While the children were young the family first lived at Kask Lumber camp before moving to Barnet. While living in Barnet in the 1940s, both children attended Barnet School. While Sidney Lauder fought overseas during WWII, Helen worked as a cook at the mill.

Subjects: Persons - Children

Names: Barnet Mill; Barnet Lumber Company; Mundreon, Beverley Lauder; Lauder, Sidney; Lauder, Douglas; Lauder, Helen Sukkua

Geographic Access: Burrard Inlet

Accession Code: BV019.32.110

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: No known restrictions

Date: [1943] (date of original), copied 2004

Media Type: Photograph

Historic Neighbourhood: Barnet (Historic Neighbourhood)

Planning Study Area: Burnaby Mountain Area

Notes: Title based on contents of photograph

Images

Douglas and Beverley Lauder with portrait of parents, [1943] (date of original), copied 2004 thumbnail

Doug Lauder with toy sailboat

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription15299

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: [1942] (date of original), copied 2004

Collection/Fonds: In the Shadow by the Sea collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph (tiff) : 300 dpi

Scope and Content: Photograph of Douglas Lauder holding a toy sailboat. Doug is standing in front a picket fence and wall of a building on the site of the Barnet Lumber Mill.

1 image

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: In the Shadow by the Sea collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph (tiff) : 300 dpi

Scope and Content: Photograph of Douglas Lauder holding a toy sailboat. Doug is standing in front a picket fence and wall of a building on the site of the Barnet Lumber Mill.

History: Helen (Sukkua) Lauder (1910-1995) and Sidney Lauder (1913-1936) had two children, Beverely (Mundreon) (b. 1935) and Douglas (1937-2018). While the children were young the family first lived at Kask Lumber camp before moving to Barnet. While living in Barnet in the 1940s, both children attended Barnet School. While Sidney Lauder fought overseas during WWII, Helen worked as a cook at the mill.

Subjects: Persons - Children; Toys

Names: Barnet Mill; Barnet Lumber Company; Lauder, Douglas

Geographic Access: Burrard Inlet

Accession Code: BV019.32.107

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: No known restrictions

Date: [1942] (date of original), copied 2004

Media Type: Photograph

Historic Neighbourhood: Barnet (Historic Neighbourhood)

Planning Study Area: Burnaby Mountain Area

Notes: Title based on contents of photograph; See page 150 in book "In the Shadow by the Sea: Recollections of Burnaby's Barnet Village" with caption "...Six year old Doug and sail boat, 1942"

Images

Doug Lauder with toy sailboat, [1942] (date of original), copied 2004 thumbnail

Fire at Kapoor Sawmills Ltd.

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription15202

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: 14 Jan. 1947 (date of original), copied 2004

Collection/Fonds: In the Shadow by the Sea collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph (tiff) : 300 dpi

Scope and Content: Photograph of a devasting fire that destroyed the Kapoor Sawmills Limited on January 14, 1947. The ground is covered with snow and smoke and flames are visible rising from the buildings.

1 image

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: In the Shadow by the Sea collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph (tiff) : 300 dpi

Scope and Content: Photograph of a devasting fire that destroyed the Kapoor Sawmills Limited on January 14, 1947. The ground is covered with snow and smoke and flames are visible rising from the buildings.

History: Kapoor Singh Siddoo was born in 1885 in the Punjab village of Kharaudi, India. Kapoor was one of the pioneer South Asian Canadian Sikhs who immigrated to America in 1906 and onto Canada in 1912. Kapoor first arrived in San Francisco in 1906, along with twenty uneducated men from the Province of Punjab, India. Kapoor was the only one among these men who was educated so acted as their interpreter, manager and accountant. They worked along the Southern Pacific Railway line near Marysville, California, toward Reno and Nevada. Kapoor heard about the beauty of British Columbia and decided to travel to the west coast but times were tough with discrimination against all South Asians in British Columbia. With this information, Kapoor traveled east to Northern Ontario where he tried homesteading for a year but the extreme winter conditions didn’t appeal to him. Kapoor returned to British Columbia after receiving word from South Asian Canadians that they were in need of an educated accountant/manager for a sawmill. In 1923, with the change in immigration laws, Kapoor arranged for his wife, Besant Kaur to emigrate from India. Besant came to Canada accompanied by Kapoor’s older brother. Kapoor and Besant had two daughters, both born in Duncan B.C. Jagdis Kaur Siddoo was born in 1925 and Sarjit Kaur Siddoo was born in 1926. Both of their daughters graduated as doctors from University of Toronto medical school. His career in B.C. began as a lumberman for a large lumber mill on Vancouver Island until 1935. Following this, Kapoor established the Kapoor Lumber Company Limited and operated a mill at Shawnigan Lake before eventually purchasing 45 acres in 1939 of the eastern section of the former Barnet Mill site in Burnaby. He purchased the site from the Municipality of Burnaby under the name of Modern Sawmills Limited since there was a restriction on selling this piece of a property to a non-white person. Eventually the name was changed to Kapoor Sawmills Limited. Kapoor’s company was a financial success but was tragically razed on January 14, 1947 due to a devastating fire. A smaller mill was rebuilt on the site and Kapoor maintained a successful financial operation until 1959. In 1959, Kapoor Siddoo was considered one of Vancouver’s most influential men in the South Asian Community. In this same year, the family set up the Kapoor Singh Siddoo Foundation and with help from his wife and daughters opened a hospital in the Punjab village of Aur. In 1964, Kapoor died in India at the age of 79 years. Kapoor’s younger brother, Tara Singh Siddoo came to Canada from India in 1906 but after suffering discrimination, he returned to India in 1912. Several years later Tara returned to Canada joining Kapoor at a logging mill on Vancouver Island. Lesser shares of the mill were held by Tara and other family members. Tara and his wife, Beant Siddoo lived at Barnet between 1943 and 1945, with their family of five sons, Lakhbeer, Gurdeb, Gurcharn, Baldev, Hardev and three daughters, Harjeet (Sangha), Runjeet (Basi) and Buckshish (Sarai). One of Tara’s responsibilities was to oversee the logging camp and ensure that the logs arrived regularly from Cowichan Bay near Duncan to the Barnet logging mill.

Subjects: Industries - Logging/lumber; Natural Phenomena - Fires; Persons - South Asian Canadians

Names: Kapoor Sawmills Limited

Geographic Access: Burrard Inlet; Barnet Marine Park

Accession Code: BV019.32.23

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: May be restricted by third party rights

Date: 14 Jan. 1947 (date of original), copied 2004

Media Type: Photograph

Historic Neighbourhood: Barnet (Historic Neighbourhood)

Planning Study Area: Burnaby Mountain Area

Notes: Title based on contents of photograph; Information from page 6 of The Province newspaper-Jan. 15, 1947 confirms that the fire occurred on Tuesday, January 14, 1947; See page 67 of book "In the Shadow by the Sea - Recollections of Burnaby's Barnet Village". Caption with photograph reads: "The February, 1947 Kapoor Sawmill fire. Maintenance workers were trying to thaw out frozen bearings on a machine with a blowtorch and inadvertently started a fire in oily shavings. all the water pipes were frozen preventing the workers from dousing the intital small flames. Finally, but toolate to prevent the mill's destruction, water was pumped in from the inlet by the Burnaby Fire Department."

Images

Fire at Kapoor Sawmills Ltd.

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription15206

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: 14 Jan. 1947 (date of original), copied 2004

Collection/Fonds: In the Shadow by the Sea collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph (tiff) : 300 dpi

Scope and Content: Photograph of a fire at Kapoor Sawmills Limited in January 1947.

1 image

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: In the Shadow by the Sea collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph (tiff) : 300 dpi

Scope and Content: Photograph of a fire at Kapoor Sawmills Limited in January 1947.

History: Kapoor Singh Siddoo was born in 1885 in the Punjab village of Kharaudi, India. Kapoor was one of the pioneer South Asian Canadian Sikhs who immigrated to America in 1906 and onto Canada in 1912. Kapoor first arrived in San Francisco in 1906, along with twenty uneducated men from the Province of Punjab, India. Kapoor was the only one among these men who was educated so acted as their interpreter, manager and accountant. They worked along the Southern Pacific Railway line near Marysville, California, toward Reno and Nevada. Kapoor heard about the beauty of British Columbia and decided to travel to the west coast but times were tough with discrimination against all South Asians in British Columbia. With this information, Kapoor traveled east to Northern Ontario where he tried homesteading for a year but the extreme winter conditions didn’t appeal to him. Kapoor returned to British Columbia after receiving word from South Asian Canadians that they were in need of an educated accountant/manager for a sawmill. In 1923, with the change in immigration laws, Kapoor arranged for his wife, Besant Kaur to emigrate from India. Besant came to Canada accompanied by Kapoor’s older brother. Kapoor and Besant had two daughters, both born in Duncan B.C. Jagdis Kaur Siddoo was born in 1925 and Sarjit Kaur Siddoo was born in 1926. Both of their daughters graduated as doctors from University of Toronto medical school. His career in B.C. began as a lumberman for a large lumber mill on Vancouver Island until 1935. Following this, Kapoor established the Kapoor Lumber Company Limited and operated a mill at Shawnigan Lake before eventually purchasing 45 acres in 1939 of the eastern section of the former Barnet Mill site in Burnaby. He purchased the site from the Municipality of Burnaby under the name of Modern Sawmills Limited since there was a restriction on selling this piece of a property to a non-white person. Eventually the name was changed to Kapoor Sawmills Limited. Kapoor’s company was a financial success but was tragically razed on January 14, 1947 due to a devastating fire. A smaller mill was rebuilt on the site and Kapoor maintained a successful financial operation until 1959. In 1959, Kapoor Siddoo was considered one of Vancouver’s most influential men in the South Asian Community. In this same year, the family set up the Kapoor Singh Siddoo Foundation and with help from his wife and daughters opened a hospital in the Punjab village of Aur. In 1964, Kapoor died in India at the age of 79 years. Kapoor’s younger brother, Tara Singh Siddoo came to Canada from India in 1906 but after suffering discrimination, he returned to India in 1912. Several years later Tara returned to Canada joining Kapoor at a logging mill on Vancouver Island. Lesser shares of the mill were held by Tara and other family members. Tara and his wife, Beant Siddoo lived at Barnet between 1943 and 1945, with their family of five sons, Lakhbeer, Gurdeb, Gurcharn, Baldev, Hardev and three daughters, Harjeet (Sangha), Runjeet (Basi) and Buckshish (Sarai). One of Tara’s responsibilities was to oversee the logging camp and ensure that the logs arrived regularly from Cowichan Bay near Duncan to the Barnet logging mill.

Subjects: Industries - Logging/lumber; Natural Phenomena - Fires; Occupations - Fire Fighters; Persons - South Asian Canadians

Names: Kapoor Sawmills Limited; Burnaby Fire Department

Geographic Access: Burrard Inlet; Barnet Marine Park

Accession Code: BV019.32.27

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: May be restricted by third party rights

Date: 14 Jan. 1947 (date of original), copied 2004

Media Type: Photograph

Historic Neighbourhood: Barnet (Historic Neighbourhood)

Planning Study Area: Burnaby Mountain Area

Notes: Title based on contents of photograph; Information from page 6 of The Province newspaper-Jan. 15, 1947 confirms that the fire occurred on January 14, 1947; See page 67 of book "In the Shadow by the Sea - Recollections of Burnaby's Barnet Village". Caption with photograph reads: "The February, 1947 Kapoor Sawmill fire. Maintenance workers were trying to thaw out frozen bearings on a machine with a blowtorch and inadvertently started a fire in oily shavings. all the water pipes were frozen preventing the workers from dousing the intital small flames. Finally, but too late to prevent the mill's destruction, water was pumped in from the inlet by the Burnaby Fire Department."

Images

Fire at Kapoor Sawmills Ltd.

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription15207

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: 14 Jan.1947 (date of original), copied 2004

Collection/Fonds: In the Shadow by the Sea collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph (tiff) : 300 dpi

Scope and Content: Photograph of a fire that destroyed the Kapoor Sawmills Limited in January 1947. A group of bystanders are looking on while firefighters from the Burnaby Fire Department fight the blaze.

1 image

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: In the Shadow by the Sea collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph (tiff) : 300 dpi

Scope and Content: Photograph of a fire that destroyed the Kapoor Sawmills Limited in January 1947. A group of bystanders are looking on while firefighters from the Burnaby Fire Department fight the blaze.

History: Kapoor Singh Siddoo was born in 1885 in the Punjab village of Kharaudi, India. Kapoor was one of the pioneer South Asian Canadian Sikhs who immigrated to America in 1906 and onto Canada in 1912. Kapoor first arrived in San Francisco in 1906, along with twenty uneducated men from the Province of Punjab, India. Kapoor was the only one among these men who was educated so acted as their interpreter, manager and accountant. They worked along the Southern Pacific Railway line near Marysville, California, toward Reno and Nevada. Kapoor heard about the beauty of British Columbia and decided to travel to the west coast but times were tough with discrimination against all South Asians in British Columbia. With this information, Kapoor traveled east to Northern Ontario where he tried homesteading for a year but the extreme winter conditions didn’t appeal to him. Kapoor returned to British Columbia after receiving word from South Asian Canadians that they were in need of an educated accountant/manager for a sawmill. In 1923, with the change in immigration laws, Kapoor arranged for his wife, Besant Kaur to emigrate from India. Besant came to Canada accompanied by Kapoor’s older brother. Kapoor and Besant had two daughters, both born in Duncan B.C. Jagdis Kaur Siddoo was born in 1925 and Sarjit Kaur Siddoo was born in 1926. Both of their daughters graduated as doctors from University of Toronto medical school. His career in B.C. began as a lumberman for a large lumber mill on Vancouver Island until 1935. Following this, Kapoor established the Kapoor Lumber Company Limited and operated a mill at Shawnigan Lake before eventually purchasing 45 acres in 1939 of the eastern section of the former Barnet Mill site in Burnaby. He purchased the site from the Municipality of Burnaby under the name of Modern Sawmills Limited since there was a restriction on selling this piece of a property to a non-white person. Eventually the name was changed to Kapoor Sawmills Limited. Kapoor’s company was a financial success but was tragically razed on January 14, 1947 due to a devastating fire. A smaller mill was rebuilt on the site and Kapoor maintained a successful financial operation until 1959. In 1959, Kapoor Siddoo was considered one of Vancouver’s most influential men in the South Asian Community. In this same year, the family set up the Kapoor Singh Siddoo Foundation and with help from his wife and daughters opened a hospital in the Punjab village of Aur. In 1964, Kapoor died in India at the age of 79 years. Kapoor’s younger brother, Tara Singh Siddoo came to Canada from India in 1906 but after suffering discrimination, he returned to India in 1912. Several years later Tara returned to Canada joining Kapoor at a logging mill on Vancouver Island. Lesser shares of the mill were held by Tara and other family members. Tara and his wife, Beant Siddoo lived at Barnet between 1943 and 1945, with their family of five sons, Lakhbeer, Gurdeb, Gurcharn, Baldev, Hardev and three daughters, Harjeet (Sangha), Runjeet (Basi) and Buckshish (Sarai). One of Tara’s responsibilities was to oversee the logging camp and ensure that the logs arrived regularly from Cowichan Bay near Duncan to the Barnet logging mill.

Subjects: Industries - Logging/lumber; Natural Phenomena - Fires; Occupations - Fire Fighters; Persons - South Asian Canadians

Names: Kapoor Sawmills Limited; Burnaby Fire Department

Geographic Access: Burrard Inlet; Barnet Marine Park

Accession Code: BV019.32.28

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: May be restricted by third party rights

Date: 14 Jan.1947 (date of original), copied 2004

Media Type: Photograph

Historic Neighbourhood: Barnet (Historic Neighbourhood)

Planning Study Area: Burnaby Mountain Area

Notes: Title based on contents of photograph; Information from page 6 of The Province newspaper-Jan. 15, 1947 confirms that the fire occurred on Tuesday January 14, 1947; See page 67 of book "In the Shadow by the Sea - Recollections of Burnaby's Barnet Village". Caption with photograph reads: "The February, 1947 Kapoor Sawmill fire. Maintenance workers were trying to thaw out frozen bearings on a machine with a blowtorch and inadvertently started a fire in oily shavings. all the water pipes were frozen preventing the workers from dousing the intital small flames. Finally, but too late to prevent the mill's destruction, water was pumped in from the inlet by the Burnaby Fire Department."

Images

Fire at Kapoor Sawmills Ltd.

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription15209

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: 14 Jan.1947 (date of original), copied 2004

Collection/Fonds: In the Shadow by the Sea collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph (tiff) : 300 dpi

Scope and Content: Photograph of a fire at the Kapoor Sawmills Limited on January 14, 1947. Mill buildings are engulfed in flames. There is snow on the ground.

1 image

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: In the Shadow by the Sea collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph (tiff) : 300 dpi

Scope and Content: Photograph of a fire at the Kapoor Sawmills Limited on January 14, 1947. Mill buildings are engulfed in flames. There is snow on the ground.

History: Kapoor Singh Siddoo was born in 1885 in the Punjab village of Kharaudi, India. Kapoor was one of the pioneer South Asian Canadian Sikhs who immigrated to America in 1906 and onto Canada in 1912. Kapoor first arrived in San Francisco in 1906, along with twenty uneducated men from the Province of Punjab, India. Kapoor was the only one among these men who was educated so acted as their interpreter, manager and accountant. They worked along the Southern Pacific Railway line near Marysville, California, toward Reno and Nevada. Kapoor heard about the beauty of British Columbia and decided to travel to the west coast but times were tough with discrimination against all South Asians in British Columbia. With this information, Kapoor traveled east to Northern Ontario where he tried homesteading for a year but the extreme winter conditions didn’t appeal to him. Kapoor returned to British Columbia after receiving word from South Asian Canadians that they were in need of an educated accountant/manager for a sawmill. In 1923, with the change in immigration laws, Kapoor arranged for his wife, Besant Kaur to emigrate from India. Besant came to Canada accompanied by Kapoor’s older brother. Kapoor and Besant had two daughters, both born in Duncan B.C. Jagdis Kaur Siddoo was born in 1925 and Sarjit Kaur Siddoo was born in 1926. Both of their daughters graduated as doctors from University of Toronto medical school. His career in B.C. began as a lumberman for a large lumber mill on Vancouver Island until 1935. Following this, Kapoor established the Kapoor Lumber Company Limited and operated a mill at Shawnigan Lake before eventually purchasing 45 acres in 1939 of the eastern section of the former Barnet Mill site in Burnaby. He purchased the site from the Municipality of Burnaby under the name of Modern Sawmills Limited since there was a restriction on selling this piece of a property to a non-white person. Eventually the name was changed to Kapoor Sawmills Limited. Kapoor’s company was a financial success but was tragically razed on January 14, 1947 due to a devastating fire. A smaller mill was rebuilt on the site and Kapoor maintained a successful financial operation until 1959. In 1959, Kapoor Siddoo was considered one of Vancouver’s most influential men in the South Asian Community. In this same year, the family set up the Kapoor Singh Siddoo Foundation and with help from his wife and daughters opened a hospital in the Punjab village of Aur. In 1964, Kapoor died in India at the age of 79 years. Kapoor’s younger brother, Tara Singh Siddoo came to Canada from India in 1906 but after suffering discrimination, he returned to India in 1912. Several years later Tara returned to Canada joining Kapoor at a logging mill on Vancouver Island. Lesser shares of the mill were held by Tara and other family members. Tara and his wife, Beant Siddoo lived at Barnet between 1943 and 1945, with their family of five sons, Lakhbeer, Gurdeb, Gurcharn, Baldev, Hardev and three daughters, Harjeet (Sangha), Runjeet (Basi) and Buckshish (Sarai). One of Tara’s responsibilities was to oversee the logging camp and ensure that the logs arrived regularly from Cowichan Bay near Duncan to the Barnet logging mill.

Subjects: Industries - Logging/lumber; Natural Phenomena - Fires; Persons - South Asian Canadians

Names: Kapoor Sawmills Limited; Burnaby Fire Department

Geographic Access: Burrard Inlet; Barnet Marine Park

Accession Code: BV019.32.29

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: May be restricted by third party rights

Date: 14 Jan.1947 (date of original), copied 2004

Media Type: Photograph

Historic Neighbourhood: Barnet (Historic Neighbourhood)

Planning Study Area: Burnaby Mountain Area

Notes: Title based on contents of photograph; Information from page 6 of The Province newspaper-Jan. 15, 1947 confirms that the fire occurred on Tuesday January 14, 1947

Images

Fire fighters battling fire at Kapoor Sawmills Ltd.

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription15203

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: 14 Jan. 1947 (date of original), copied 2004

Collection/Fonds: In the Shadow by the Sea collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph (tiff) : 300 dpi

Scope and Content: Photograph of firefighters from the Burnaby Fire Department battling the fire that destroyed the Kapoor Sawmills Limited in January 1947. Water was pumped from Burrard Inlet to fight the fire.

1 image

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: In the Shadow by the Sea collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph (tiff) : 300 dpi

Scope and Content: Photograph of firefighters from the Burnaby Fire Department battling the fire that destroyed the Kapoor Sawmills Limited in January 1947. Water was pumped from Burrard Inlet to fight the fire.

History: Kapoor Singh Siddoo was born in 1885 in the Punjab village of Kharaudi, India. Kapoor was one of the pioneer South Asian Canadian Sikhs who immigrated to America in 1906 and onto Canada in 1912. Kapoor first arrived in San Francisco in 1906, along with twenty uneducated men from the Province of Punjab, India. Kapoor was the only one among these men who was educated so acted as their interpreter, manager and accountant. They worked along the Southern Pacific Railway line near Marysville, California, toward Reno and Nevada. Kapoor heard about the beauty of British Columbia and decided to travel to the west coast but times were tough with discrimination against all South Asians in British Columbia. With this information, Kapoor traveled east to Northern Ontario where he tried homesteading for a year but the extreme winter conditions didn’t appeal to him. Kapoor returned to British Columbia after receiving word from South Asian Canadians that they were in need of an educated accountant/manager for a sawmill. In 1923, with the change in immigration laws, Kapoor arranged for his wife, Besant Kaur to emigrate from India. Besant came to Canada accompanied by Kapoor’s older brother. Kapoor and Besant had two daughters, both born in Duncan B.C. Jagdis Kaur Siddoo was born in 1925 and Sarjit Kaur Siddoo was born in 1926. Both of their daughters graduated as doctors from University of Toronto medical school. His career in B.C. began as a lumberman for a large lumber mill on Vancouver Island until 1935. Following this, Kapoor established the Kapoor Lumber Company Limited and operated a mill at Shawnigan Lake before eventually purchasing 45 acres in 1939 of the eastern section of the former Barnet Mill site in Burnaby. He purchased the site from the Municipality of Burnaby under the name of Modern Sawmills Limited since there was a restriction on selling this piece of a property to a non-white person. Eventually the name was changed to Kapoor Sawmills Limited. Kapoor’s company was a financial success but was tragically razed on January 14, 1947 due to a devastating fire. A smaller mill was rebuilt on the site and Kapoor maintained a successful financial operation until 1959. In 1959, Kapoor Siddoo was considered one of Vancouver’s most influential men in the South Asian Community. In this same year, the family set up the Kapoor Singh Siddoo Foundation and with help from his wife and daughters opened a hospital in the Punjab village of Aur. In 1964, Kapoor died in India at the age of 79 years. Kapoor’s younger brother, Tara Singh Siddoo came to Canada from India in 1906 but after suffering discrimination, he returned to India in 1912. Several years later Tara returned to Canada joining Kapoor at a logging mill on Vancouver Island. Lesser shares of the mill were held by Tara and other family members. Tara and his wife, Beant Siddoo lived at Barnet between 1943 and 1945, with their family of five sons, Lakhbeer, Gurdeb, Gurcharn, Baldev, Hardev and three daughters, Harjeet (Sangha), Runjeet (Basi) and Buckshish (Sarai). One of Tara’s responsibilities was to oversee the logging camp and ensure that the logs arrived regularly from Cowichan Bay near Duncan to the Barnet logging mill.

Subjects: Industries - Logging/lumber; Natural Phenomena - Fires; Occupations - Fire Fighters; Persons - South Asian Canadians

Names: Kapoor Sawmills Limited; Burnaby Fire Department

Geographic Access: Burrard Inlet; Barnet Marine Park

Accession Code: BV019.32.24

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: May be restricted by third party rights

Date: 14 Jan. 1947 (date of original), copied 2004

Media Type: Photograph

Historic Neighbourhood: Barnet (Historic Neighbourhood)

Planning Study Area: Burnaby Mountain Area

Notes: Title based on contents of photograph; Information from page 6 of The Province newspaper-Jan. 15, 1947 confirms that the fire occurred on January 14, 1947; See page 67 of book "In the Shadow by the Sea - Recollections of Burnaby's Barnet Village". Caption with photograph reads: "The February, 1947 Kapoor Sawmill fire. Maintenance workers were trying to thaw out frozen bearings on a machine with a blowtorch and inadvertently started a fire in oily shavings. all the water pipes were frozen preventing the workers from dousing the intital small flames. Finally, but too late to prevent the mill's destruction, water was pumped in from the inlet by the Burnaby Fire Department."

Images

Fire fighters battling fire at Kapoor Sawmills Ltd.

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription15204

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: 14 Jan. 1947 (date of original), copied 2004

Collection/Fonds: In the Shadow by the Sea collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph (tiff) : 300 dpi

Scope and Content: Photograph of firefighters from the Burnaby Fire Department battling the fire that destroyed the Kapoor Sawmills Limited in January 1947. Water was pumped from Burrard Inlet to fight the fire.

1 image

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: In the Shadow by the Sea collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph (tiff) : 300 dpi

Scope and Content: Photograph of firefighters from the Burnaby Fire Department battling the fire that destroyed the Kapoor Sawmills Limited in January 1947. Water was pumped from Burrard Inlet to fight the fire.

History: Kapoor Singh Siddoo was born in 1885 in the Punjab village of Kharaudi, India. Kapoor was one of the pioneer South Asian Canadian Sikhs who immigrated to America in 1906 and onto Canada in 1912. Kapoor first arrived in San Francisco in 1906, along with twenty uneducated men from the Province of Punjab, India. Kapoor was the only one among these men who was educated so acted as their interpreter, manager and accountant. They worked along the Southern Pacific Railway line near Marysville, California, toward Reno and Nevada. Kapoor heard about the beauty of British Columbia and decided to travel to the west coast but times were tough with discrimination against all South Asians in British Columbia. With this information, Kapoor traveled east to Northern Ontario where he tried homesteading for a year but the extreme winter conditions didn’t appeal to him. Kapoor returned to British Columbia after receiving word from South Asian Canadians that they were in need of an educated accountant/manager for a sawmill. In 1923, with the change in immigration laws, Kapoor arranged for his wife, Besant Kaur to emigrate from India. Besant came to Canada accompanied by Kapoor’s older brother. Kapoor and Besant had two daughters, both born in Duncan B.C. Jagdis Kaur Siddoo was born in 1925 and Sarjit Kaur Siddoo was born in 1926. Both of their daughters graduated as doctors from University of Toronto medical school. His career in B.C. began as a lumberman for a large lumber mill on Vancouver Island until 1935. Following this, Kapoor established the Kapoor Lumber Company Limited and operated a mill at Shawnigan Lake before eventually purchasing 45 acres in 1939 of the eastern section of the former Barnet Mill site in Burnaby. He purchased the site from the Municipality of Burnaby under the name of Modern Sawmills Limited since there was a restriction on selling this piece of a property to a non-white person. Eventually the name was changed to Kapoor Sawmills Limited. Kapoor’s company was a financial success but was tragically razed on January 14, 1947 due to a devastating fire. A smaller mill was rebuilt on the site and Kapoor maintained a successful financial operation until 1959. In 1959, Kapoor Siddoo was considered one of Vancouver’s most influential men in the South Asian Community. In this same year, the family set up the Kapoor Singh Siddoo Foundation and with help from his wife and daughters opened a hospital in the Punjab village of Aur. In 1964, Kapoor died in India at the age of 79 years. Kapoor’s younger brother, Tara Singh Siddoo came to Canada from India in 1906 but after suffering discrimination, he returned to India in 1912. Several years later Tara returned to Canada joining Kapoor at a logging mill on Vancouver Island. Lesser shares of the mill were held by Tara and other family members. Tara and his wife, Beant Siddoo lived at Barnet between 1943 and 1945, with their family of five sons, Lakhbeer, Gurdeb, Gurcharn, Baldev, Hardev and three daughters, Harjeet (Sangha), Runjeet (Basi) and Buckshish (Sarai). One of Tara’s responsibilities was to oversee the logging camp and ensure that the logs arrived regularly from Cowichan Bay near Duncan to the Barnet logging mill.

Subjects: Industries - Logging/lumber; Natural Phenomena - Fires; Occupations - Fire Fighters; Persons - South Asian Canadians

Names: Kapoor Sawmills Limited; Burnaby Fire Department

Geographic Access: Burrard Inlet; Barnet Marine Park

Accession Code: BV019.32.25

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: May be restricted by third party rights

Date: 14 Jan. 1947 (date of original), copied 2004

Media Type: Photograph

Historic Neighbourhood: Barnet (Historic Neighbourhood)

Planning Study Area: Burnaby Mountain Area

Notes: Title based on contents of photograph; Information from page 6 of The Province newspaper-Jan. 15, 1947 confirms that the fire occurred on January 14, 1947; See page 67 of book "In the Shadow by the Sea - Recollections of Burnaby's Barnet Village". Caption with photograph reads: "The February, 1947 Kapoor Sawmill fire. Maintenance workers were trying to thaw out frozen bearings on a machine with a blowtorch and inadvertently started a fire in oily shavings. all the water pipes were frozen preventing the workers from dousing the intital small flames. Finally, but too late to prevent the mill's destruction, water was pumped in from the inlet by the Burnaby Fire Department."

Images

Fire fighters battling fire at Kapoor Sawmills Ltd.

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription15205

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: 14 Jan. 1947 (date of original), copied 2004

Collection/Fonds: In the Shadow by the Sea collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph (tiff) : 300 dpi

Scope and Content: Photograph of firefighters from the Burnaby Fire Department battling the fire that destroyed the Kapoor Sawmills Limited in January 1947. Water was pumped from Burrard Inlet to fight the fire.

1 image

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: In the Shadow by the Sea collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph (tiff) : 300 dpi

Scope and Content: Photograph of firefighters from the Burnaby Fire Department battling the fire that destroyed the Kapoor Sawmills Limited in January 1947. Water was pumped from Burrard Inlet to fight the fire.

History: Kapoor Singh Siddoo was born in 1885 in the Punjab village of Kharaudi, India. Kapoor was one of the pioneer South Asian Canadian Sikhs who immigrated to America in 1906 and onto Canada in 1912. Kapoor first arrived in San Francisco in 1906, along with twenty uneducated men from the Province of Punjab, India. Kapoor was the only one among these men who was educated so acted as their interpreter, manager and accountant. They worked along the Southern Pacific Railway line near Marysville, California, toward Reno and Nevada. Kapoor heard about the beauty of British Columbia and decided to travel to the west coast but times were tough with discrimination against all South Asians in British Columbia. With this information, Kapoor traveled east to Northern Ontario where he tried homesteading for a year but the extreme winter conditions didn’t appeal to him. Kapoor returned to British Columbia after receiving word from South Asian Canadians that they were in need of an educated accountant/manager for a sawmill. In 1923, with the change in immigration laws, Kapoor arranged for his wife, Besant Kaur to emigrate from India. Besant came to Canada accompanied by Kapoor’s older brother. Kapoor and Besant had two daughters, both born in Duncan B.C. Jagdis Kaur Siddoo was born in 1925 and Sarjit Kaur Siddoo was born in 1926. Both of their daughters graduated as doctors from University of Toronto medical school. His career in B.C. began as a lumberman for a large lumber mill on Vancouver Island until 1935. Following this, Kapoor established the Kapoor Lumber Company Limited and operated a mill at Shawnigan Lake before eventually purchasing 45 acres in 1939 of the eastern section of the former Barnet Mill site in Burnaby. He purchased the site from the Municipality of Burnaby under the name of Modern Sawmills Limited since there was a restriction on selling this piece of a property to a non-white person. Eventually the name was changed to Kapoor Sawmills Limited. Kapoor’s company was a financial success but was tragically razed on January 14, 1947 due to a devastating fire. A smaller mill was rebuilt on the site and Kapoor maintained a successful financial operation until 1959. In 1959, Kapoor Siddoo was considered one of Vancouver’s most influential men in the South Asian Community. In this same year, the family set up the Kapoor Singh Siddoo Foundation and with help from his wife and daughters opened a hospital in the Punjab village of Aur. In 1964, Kapoor died in India at the age of 79 years. Kapoor’s younger brother, Tara Singh Siddoo came to Canada from India in 1906 but after suffering discrimination, he returned to India in 1912. Several years later Tara returned to Canada joining Kapoor at a logging mill on Vancouver Island. Lesser shares of the mill were held by Tara and other family members. Tara and his wife, Beant Siddoo lived at Barnet between 1943 and 1945, with their family of five sons, Lakhbeer, Gurdeb, Gurcharn, Baldev, Hardev and three daughters, Harjeet (Sangha), Runjeet (Basi) and Buckshish (Sarai). One of Tara’s responsibilities was to oversee the logging camp and ensure that the logs arrived regularly from Cowichan Bay near Duncan to the Barnet logging mill.

Subjects: Industries - Logging/lumber; Natural Phenomena - Fires; Occupations - Fire Fighters; Persons - South Asian Canadians

Names: Kapoor Sawmills Limited; Burnaby Fire Department

Geographic Access: Burrard Inlet; Barnet Marine Park

Accession Code: BV019.32.26

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: May be restricted by third party rights

Date: 14 Jan. 1947 (date of original), copied 2004

Media Type: Photograph

Historic Neighbourhood: Barnet (Historic Neighbourhood)

Planning Study Area: Burnaby Mountain Area

Notes: Title based on contents of photograph; Information from page 6 of The Province newspaper-Jan. 15, 1947 confirms that the fire occurred on January 14, 1947; See page 67 of book "In the Shadow by the Sea - Recollections of Burnaby's Barnet Village". Caption with photograph reads: "The February, 1947 Kapoor Sawmill fire. Maintenance workers were trying to thaw out frozen bearings on a machine with a blowtorch and inadvertently started a fire in oily shavings. all the water pipes were frozen preventing the workers from dousing the intital small flames. Finally, but too late to prevent the mill's destruction, water was pumped in from the inlet by the Burnaby Fire Department."

Images

Fleet of Kapoor Sawmills trucks

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription15190

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: [194-] (date of original), copied 2004

Collection/Fonds: In the Shadow by the Sea collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph (tiff) : 300 dpi

Scope and Content: Photograph of a fleet of trucks for Kapoor Sawmills Limited.

1 image

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: In the Shadow by the Sea collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph (tiff) : 300 dpi

Scope and Content: Photograph of a fleet of trucks for Kapoor Sawmills Limited.

History: Kapoor Singh Siddoo was born in 1885 in the Punjab village of Kharaudi, India. Kapoor was one of the pioneer South Asian Canadian Sikhs who immigrated to America in 1906 and onto Canada in 1912. Kapoor first arrived in San Francisco in 1906, along with twenty uneducated men from the Province of Punjab, India. Kapoor was the only one among these men who was educated so acted as their interpreter, manager and accountant. They worked along the Southern Pacific Railway line near Marysville, California, toward Reno and Nevada. Kapoor heard about the beauty of British Columbia and decided to travel to the west coast but times were tough with discrimination against all South Asians in British Columbia. With this information, Kapoor traveled east to Northern Ontario where he tried homesteading for a year but the extreme winter conditions didn’t appeal to him. Kapoor returned to British Columbia after receiving word from South Asian Canadians that they were in need of an educated accountant/manager for a sawmill. In 1923, with the change in immigration laws, Kapoor arranged for his wife, Besant Kaur to emigrate from India. Besant came to Canada accompanied by Kapoor’s older brother. Kapoor and Besant had two daughters, both born in Duncan B.C. Jagdis Kaur Siddoo was born in 1925 and Sarjit Kaur Siddoo was born in 1926. Both of their daughters graduated as doctors from University of Toronto medical school. His career in B.C. began as a lumberman for a large lumber mill on Vancouver Island until 1935. Following this, Kapoor established the Kapoor Lumber Company Limited and operated a mill at Shawnigan Lake before eventually purchasing 45 acres in 1939 of the eastern section of the former Barnet Mill site in Burnaby. He purchased the site from the Municipality of Burnaby under the name of Modern Sawmills Limited since there was a restriction on selling this piece of a property to a non-white person. Eventually the name was changed to Kapoor Sawmills Limited. Kapoor’s company was a financial success but was tragically razed on January 14, 1947 due to a devastating fire. A smaller mill was rebuilt on the site and Kapoor maintained a successful financial operation until 1959. In 1959, Kapoor Siddoo was considered one of Vancouver’s most influential men in the South Asian Community. In this same year, the family set up the Kapoor Singh Siddoo Foundation and with help from his wife and daughters opened a hospital in the Punjab village of Aur. In 1964, Kapoor died in India at the age of 79 years. Kapoor’s younger brother, Tara Singh Siddoo came to Canada from India in 1906 but after suffering discrimination, he returned to India in 1912. Several years later Tara returned to Canada joining Kapoor at a logging mill on Vancouver Island. Lesser shares of the mill were held by Tara and other family members. Tara and his wife, Beant Siddoo lived at Barnet between 1943 and 1945, with their family of five sons, Lakhbeer, Gurdeb, Gurcharn, Baldev, Hardev and three daughters, Harjeet (Sangha), Runjeet (Basi) and Buckshish (Sarai). One of Tara’s responsibilities was to oversee the logging camp and ensure that the logs arrived regularly from Cowichan Bay near Duncan to the Barnet logging mill.

Subjects: Industries - Logging/lumber; Transportation - Trucks; Persons - South Asian Canadians

Names: Kapoor Sawmills Limited

Geographic Access: Burrard Inlet; Barnet Marine Park

Accession Code: BV019.32.11

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: May be restricted by third party rights

Date: [194-] (date of original), copied 2004

Media Type: Photograph

Historic Neighbourhood: Barnet (Historic Neighbourhood)

Planning Study Area: Burnaby Mountain Area

Notes: Title based on contents of photograph; See page 62 in book "In the Shadow by the Sea - recollections of Burnaby's Barnet Village". Caption with photograph reads: "The fleet of Kapoor Sawmill trucks, c. 1940s"

Images

Fleet of Kapoor Sawmills trucks, [194-] (date of original), copied 2004 thumbnail

Helen Lauder with Beverley and Douglas Lauder

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription15301

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: [1943] (date of original), copied 2004

Collection/Fonds: In the Shadow by the Sea collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph (tiff) : 300 dpi

Scope and Content: Photograph of Mrs. Helen (Sukkau) Lauder standing with her children, Beverley (Mundreon) Lauder and Douglas Lauder in the yard of the family home at the Barnet Lumber Mill. A picket fence and wall of a house are visible behind them.

1 image

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: In the Shadow by the Sea collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph (tiff) : 300 dpi

Scope and Content: Photograph of Mrs. Helen (Sukkau) Lauder standing with her children, Beverley (Mundreon) Lauder and Douglas Lauder in the yard of the family home at the Barnet Lumber Mill. A picket fence and wall of a house are visible behind them.

History: Helen (Sukkua) Lauder (1910-1995) and Sidney Lauder (1913-1936) had two children, Beverely (Mundreon) (b. 1935) and Douglas (1937-2018). While the children were young the family first lived at Kask Lumber camp before moving to Barnet. While living in Barnet in the 1940s, both children attended Barnet School. While Sidney Lauder fought overseas during WWII, Helen worked as a cook at the mill.

Subjects: Persons - Children

Names: Barnet Mill; Barnet Lumber Company; Mundreon, Beverley Lauder; Lauder, Helen Sukkua; Lauder, Sidney

Geographic Access: Burrard Inlet

Accession Code: BV019.32.109

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: No known restrictions

Date: [1943] (date of original), copied 2004

Media Type: Photograph

Historic Neighbourhood: Barnet (Historic Neighbourhood)

Planning Study Area: Burnaby Mountain Area

Notes: Title based on contents of photograph; See page 150 in book "In the Shadow by the Sea: Recollections of Burnaby's Barnet Village" with caption "Mrs. Helen Lauder, Beverley and Douglas, c. 1938"; Date of photograph based on information from original photograph

Images

Helen Lauder with Beverley and Douglas Lauder, [1943] (date of original), copied 2004 thumbnail

Hugh H. Stewart fonds

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription9771

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: [188_]-1960

Collection/Fonds: Hugh H. Stewart fonds

Description Level: Fonds

Physical Description: 12 cm of textual records + 2 photographs

Scope and Content: Fonds consists of textual records and photographs collected or created by Hugh H. Stewart in the course of his personal and professional life. Records include receipts relating to property sales and taxes, utilities, association memberships (Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Vancouver Heights Ratep…

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: Hugh H. Stewart fonds

Description Level: Fonds

Physical Description: 12 cm of textual records + 2 photographs

Scope and Content: Fonds consists of textual records and photographs collected or created by Hugh H. Stewart in the course of his personal and professional life. Records include receipts relating to property sales and taxes, utilities, association memberships (Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Vancouver Heights Ratepayers Association, Burnaby Lions Club and Ancient Mystic Order of Samaritans), insurance, loans and healthcare along with an elections candidate card and documents from his business “Stewart’s Cartage and Fuel Supply”; minutes from the Ratepayers Association and a handwritten recipe for potato salad. Records have been arranged into the following series: 1) Hugh H. Stewart photographs series 2) Hugh H. Stewart personal documents series 3) Stewart's Cartage and Fuel Supply business records series 4) Hugh H. Stewart associations and memberships series

History: Hugh Henry Stewart was born July 18 1887 to Duncan Hugh (1860-1935) and Henrietta Stewart (1860-1944) in South Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. The couple moved to Nanaimo in 1888 with their four children, the oldest of which was Hugh Henry. The family moved to Vancouver in about 1908 and lived at 995 West 7th Avenue while Duncan Stewart worked as a carpenter. Hugh Henry found work as a hardware clerk at the “Forbes and Van Horne” hardware store located at 52 West Hastings, Vancouver. He worked at the store until WWI broke out and his wages were cut. In 1910 Hugh Henry Stewart moved to Burnaby and purchased a house in District Lot 116, in the 3900 block of Albert Street between Ingleton Avenue and McDonald Avenue. This was the only house in this block at the time (3902 Albert Street) but the following year, five more houses were built. In 1911, Hugh married Patience (known as Bertha) Alberta Inglis of Vancouver and between 1911 and 1912, Hugh cleared land around the house. The couple raised three children at their home in Vancouver Heights (now named Burnaby Heights); Duncan Hugh, Daniel Melbourne and Audrey Pearl. In 1914, the Vancouver Heights Ratepayers Association was formed and Hugh Stewart joined. This association lobbied city council to establish land uses which they felt could benefit the citizens of North Burnaby. Following his work at the hardware store, Hugh went to work as a longshoreman at the Hastings Mill in Vancouver and the Barnet Mill in Burnaby. In the 1920s, Stewart started up his own business delivering fuel to households in North Burnaby. His business was named “Stewart’s Cartage and Fuel Supply” which had an office located at 3870 East Hastings Street. Stewart moved his business office to their home in the 1950s which continued to operate at this location until the early 1960s. In 1926, the Burnaby Board of Trade was formed with Hugh Stewart as one of the founding members. The organization changed its name to the North Burnaby Board of Trade in May 1927. Hugh served as president from 1940-1946 and was instrumental in bringing about the amalgamation of the North and South Burnaby Boards of Trade to form the Burnaby Chamber of Commerce. Hugh ran for municipal council in the 1940s and was also a member of other organizations including the Burnaby Lions Club, The International Order of the Odd Fellows (I.O.O.F.) and the Ancient Mystic Order of Samaritans. Patience Alberta Stewart died in 1967 and Hugh continued to live in their home on Albert Street until 1978. In 1979 he moved to an apartment on McGill Street in Burnaby. Hugh H. Stewart died in 1981.

Responsibility: Stewart, Hugh Henry

Accession Code: HV979.50

Date: [188_]-1960

Media Type: Textual Record; Photograph

Arrangement: Records are arranged by subject and format.

Notes: Title based on contents of fonds

Jagdis, Sarjit and Besant Kaur Siddoo with Harbans Kaur Teja and Kartar Kaur Sangha

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription15183

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: 1947 (date of original), copied 2004

Collection/Fonds: In the Shadow by the Sea collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph (tiff) : 300 dpi

Scope and Content: Photograph of (left to right) Jagdis Kaur Siddoo, Sarjit Kaur Siddoo and Besant Kaur Siddoo standing next to Harbans Kaur Teja with baby and Kartar Kaur Sangha (company cook) on the site of Kapoor Sawmills Limited.

1 image

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: In the Shadow by the Sea collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph (tiff) : 300 dpi

Scope and Content: Photograph of (left to right) Jagdis Kaur Siddoo, Sarjit Kaur Siddoo and Besant Kaur Siddoo standing next to Harbans Kaur Teja with baby and Kartar Kaur Sangha (company cook) on the site of Kapoor Sawmills Limited.

History: Kapoor Singh Siddoo was born in 1885 in the Punjab village of Kharaudi, India. Kapoor was one of the pioneer South Asian Canadian Sikhs who immigrated to America in 1906 and onto Canada in 1912. Kapoor first arrived in San Francisco in 1906, along with twenty uneducated men from the Province of Punjab, India. Kapoor was the only one among these men who was educated so acted as their interpreter, manager and accountant. They worked along the Southern Pacific Railway line near Marysville, California, toward Reno and Nevada. Kapoor heard about the beauty of British Columbia and decided to travel to the west coast but times were tough with discrimination against all South Asians in British Columbia. With this information, Kapoor traveled east to Northern Ontario where he tried homesteading for a year but the extreme winter conditions didn’t appeal to him. Kapoor returned to British Columbia after receiving word from South Asian Canadians that they were in need of an educated accountant/manager for a sawmill. In 1923, with the change in immigration laws, Kapoor arranged for his wife, Besant Kaur to emigrate from India. Besant came to Canada accompanied by Kapoor’s older brother. Kapoor and Besant had two daughters, both born in Duncan B.C. Jagdis Kaur Siddoo was born in 1925 and Sarjit Kaur Siddoo was born in 1926. Both of their daughters graduated as doctors from University of Toronto medical school. His career in B.C. began as a lumberman for a large lumber mill on Vancouver Island until 1935. Following this, Kapoor established the Kapoor Lumber Company Limited and operated a mill at Shawnigan Lake before eventually purchasing 45 acres in 1939 of the eastern section of the former Barnet Mill site in Burnaby. He purchased the site from the Municipality of Burnaby under the name of Modern Sawmills Limited since there was a restriction on selling this piece of a property to a non-white person. Eventually the name was changed to Kapoor Sawmills Limited. Kapoor’s company was a financial success but was tragically razed on January 14, 1947 due to a devastating fire. A smaller mill was rebuilt on the site and Kapoor maintained a successful financial operation until 1959. In 1959, Kapoor Siddoo was considered one of Vancouver’s most influential men in the South Asian Community. In this same year, the family set up the Kapoor Singh Siddoo Foundation and with help from his wife and daughters opened a hospital in the Punjab village of Aur. In 1964, Kapoor died in India at the age of 79 years. Kapoor’s younger brother, Tara Singh Siddoo came to Canada from India in 1906 but after suffering discrimination, he returned to India in 1912. Several years later Tara returned to Canada joining Kapoor at a logging mill on Vancouver Island. Lesser shares of the mill were held by Tara and other family members. Tara and his wife, Beant Siddoo lived at Barnet between 1943 and 1945, with their family of five sons, Lakhbeer, Gurdeb, Gurcharn, Baldev, Hardev and three daughters, Harjeet (Sangha), Runjeet (Basi) and Buckshish (Sarai). One of Tara’s responsibilities was to oversee the logging camp and ensure that the logs arrived regularly from Cowichan Bay near Duncan to the Barnet logging mill.

Subjects: Persons - South Asian Canadians

Names: Kapoor Sawmills Limited; Siddoo, Besant Kaur; Siddoo, Jagdis Kaur; Siddoo, Sarjit Kaur; Teja, Harbans Kaur; Sangha, Kartar Kaur

Accession Code: BV019.32.4

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: May be restricted by third party rights

Date: 1947 (date of original), copied 2004

Media Type: Photograph

Historic Neighbourhood: Barnet (Historic Neighbourhood)

Planning Study Area: Burnaby Mountain Area

Notes: Title based on contents of photograph; see page 64 in the book "In the Shadow by the Sea - recollections of Burnaby's Barnet Village". Caption with photograph reads: "Standing in front of the new mill under construction are Jagdis, Sarjeet and Mrs. Kapoor Siddoo, Harbans Koor Teja with baby and Kartar K. Sangha (company cook), 1947"; Incorrect spelling of the name "Sarjeet Siddoo" in the book "In the Shadow by the Sea" has been corrected to "Sarjit Kaur Siddoo"

Images

Jagdis, Sarjit and Besant Kaur Siddoo with Harbans Kaur Teja and Kartar Kaur Sangha, 1947 (date of original), copied 2004 thumbnail

Kapoor Sawmills Limited and living quarters

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription15189

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: [1945] (date of original), copied 2004

Collection/Fonds: In the Shadow by the Sea collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph (tiff) : 300 dpi

Scope and Content: Photograph of the Kapoor Sawmills Limited. Company living quarters are visible on the ridge above.

1 image

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: In the Shadow by the Sea collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph (tiff) : 300 dpi

Scope and Content: Photograph of the Kapoor Sawmills Limited. Company living quarters are visible on the ridge above.

History: Kapoor Singh Siddoo was born in 1885 in the Punjab village of Kharaudi, India. Kapoor was one of the pioneer South Asian Canadian Sikhs who immigrated to America in 1906 and onto Canada in 1912. Kapoor first arrived in San Francisco in 1906, along with twenty uneducated men from the Province of Punjab, India. Kapoor was the only one among these men who was educated so acted as their interpreter, manager and accountant. They worked along the Southern Pacific Railway line near Marysville, California, toward Reno and Nevada. Kapoor heard about the beauty of British Columbia and decided to travel to the west coast but times were tough with discrimination against all South Asians in British Columbia. With this information, Kapoor traveled east to Northern Ontario where he tried homesteading for a year but the extreme winter conditions didn’t appeal to him. Kapoor returned to British Columbia after receiving word from South Asian Canadians that they were in need of an educated accountant/manager for a sawmill. In 1923, with the change in immigration laws, Kapoor arranged for his wife, Besant Kaur to emigrate from India. Besant came to Canada accompanied by Kapoor’s older brother. Kapoor and Besant had two daughters, both born in Duncan B.C. Jagdis Kaur Siddoo was born in 1925 and Sarjit Kaur Siddoo was born in 1926. Both of their daughters graduated as doctors from University of Toronto medical school. His career in B.C. began as a lumberman for a large lumber mill on Vancouver Island until 1935. Following this, Kapoor established the Kapoor Lumber Company Limited and operated a mill at Shawnigan Lake before eventually purchasing 45 acres in 1939 of the eastern section of the former Barnet Mill site in Burnaby. He purchased the site from the Municipality of Burnaby under the name of Modern Sawmills Limited since there was a restriction on selling this piece of a property to a non-white person. Eventually the name was changed to Kapoor Sawmills Limited. Kapoor’s company was a financial success but was tragically razed on January 14, 1947 due to a devastating fire. A smaller mill was rebuilt on the site and Kapoor maintained a successful financial operation until 1959. In 1959, Kapoor Siddoo was considered one of Vancouver’s most influential men in the South Asian Community. In this same year, the family set up the Kapoor Singh Siddoo Foundation and with help from his wife and daughters opened a hospital in the Punjab village of Aur. In 1964, Kapoor died in India at the age of 79 years. Kapoor’s younger brother, Tara Singh Siddoo came to Canada from India in 1906 but after suffering discrimination, he returned to India in 1912. Several years later Tara returned to Canada joining Kapoor at a logging mill on Vancouver Island. Lesser shares of the mill were held by Tara and other family members. Tara and his wife, Beant Siddoo lived at Barnet between 1943 and 1945, with their family of five sons, Lakhbeer, Gurdeb, Gurcharn, Baldev, Hardev and three daughters, Harjeet (Sangha), Runjeet (Basi) and Buckshish (Sarai). One of Tara’s responsibilities was to oversee the logging camp and ensure that the logs arrived regularly from Cowichan Bay near Duncan to the Barnet logging mill.

Subjects: Industries - Logging/lumber; Persons - South Asian Canadians

Names: Kapoor Sawmills Limited

Geographic Access: Burrard Inlet; Barnet Marine Park

Accession Code: BV019.32.10

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: May be restricted by third party rights

Date: [1945] (date of original), copied 2004

Media Type: Photograph

Historic Neighbourhood: Barnet (Historic Neighbourhood)

Planning Study Area: Burnaby Mountain Area

Notes: Title based on contents of photograph

Images

Kapoor Sawmills Limited and living quarters, [1945] (date of original), copied 2004 thumbnail

Kapoor Sawmills on fire

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription15211

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: 14 Jan. 1947 (date of original), copied 2004

Collection/Fonds: In the Shadow by the Sea collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph (tiff) : 300 dpi

Scope and Content: Photograph of the Kapoor sawmill on fire on January 14, 1947. Photograph is taken from the shore looking west up Burrard Inlet. There is snow covering the ground.

1 image

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: In the Shadow by the Sea collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph (tiff) : 300 dpi

Scope and Content: Photograph of the Kapoor sawmill on fire on January 14, 1947. Photograph is taken from the shore looking west up Burrard Inlet. There is snow covering the ground.

History: Kapoor Singh Siddoo was born in 1885 in the Punjab village of Kharaudi, India. Kapoor was one of the pioneer South Asian Canadian Sikhs who immigrated to America in 1906 and onto Canada in 1912. Kapoor first arrived in San Francisco in 1906, along with twenty uneducated men from the Province of Punjab, India. Kapoor was the only one among these men who was educated so acted as their interpreter, manager and accountant. They worked along the Southern Pacific Railway line near Marysville, California, toward Reno and Nevada. Kapoor heard about the beauty of British Columbia and decided to travel to the west coast but times were tough with discrimination against all South Asians in British Columbia. With this information, Kapoor traveled east to Northern Ontario where he tried homesteading for a year but the extreme winter conditions didn’t appeal to him. Kapoor returned to British Columbia after receiving word from South Asian Canadians that they were in need of an educated accountant/manager for a sawmill. In 1923, with the change in immigration laws, Kapoor arranged for his wife, Besant Kaur to emigrate from India. Besant came to Canada accompanied by Kapoor’s older brother. Kapoor and Besant had two daughters, both born in Duncan B.C. Jagdis Kaur Siddoo was born in 1925 and Sarjit Kaur Siddoo was born in 1926. Both of their daughters graduated as doctors from University of Toronto medical school. His career in B.C. began as a lumberman for a large lumber mill on Vancouver Island until 1935. Following this, Kapoor established the Kapoor Lumber Company Limited and operated a mill at Shawnigan Lake before eventually purchasing 45 acres in 1939 of the eastern section of the former Barnet Mill site in Burnaby. He purchased the site from the Municipality of Burnaby under the name of Modern Sawmills Limited since there was a restriction on selling this piece of a property to a non-white person. Eventually the name was changed to Kapoor Sawmills Limited. Kapoor’s company was a financial success but was tragically razed on January 14, 1947 due to a devastating fire. A smaller mill was rebuilt on the site and Kapoor maintained a successful financial operation until 1959. In 1959, Kapoor Siddoo was considered one of Vancouver’s most influential men in the South Asian Community. In this same year, the family set up the Kapoor Singh Siddoo Foundation and with help from his wife and daughters opened a hospital in the Punjab village of Aur. In 1964, Kapoor died in India at the age of 79 years. Kapoor’s younger brother, Tara Singh Siddoo came to Canada from India in 1906 but after suffering discrimination, he returned to India in 1912. Several years later Tara returned to Canada joining Kapoor at a logging mill on Vancouver Island. Lesser shares of the mill were held by Tara and other family members. Tara and his wife, Beant Siddoo lived at Barnet between 1943 and 1945, with their family of five sons, Lakhbeer, Gurdeb, Gurcharn, Baldev, Hardev and three daughters, Harjeet (Sangha), Runjeet (Basi) and Buckshish (Sarai). One of Tara’s responsibilities was to oversee the logging camp and ensure that the logs arrived regularly from Cowichan Bay near Duncan to the Barnet logging mill.

Subjects: Industries - Logging/lumber; Natural Phenomena - Fires; Natural Phenomena - Snow; Persons - South Asian Canadians

Names: Kapoor Sawmills Limited

Geographic Access: Burrard Inlet; Barnet Marine Park

Accession Code: BV019.32.31

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: May be restricted by third party rights

Date: 14 Jan. 1947 (date of original), copied 2004

Media Type: Photograph

Historic Neighbourhood: Barnet (Historic Neighbourhood)

Planning Study Area: Burnaby Mountain Area

Notes: Title based on contents of photograph

Images

Kapoor Sawmills on fire, 14 Jan. 1947 (date of original), copied 2004 thumbnail

Lochdale Neighbourhood

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/landmark668

Repository: Burnaby Heritage Planning

Associated Dates: 1925-1954

1 image

Repository: Burnaby Heritage Planning

Associated Dates: 1925-1954

Heritage Value: In the 1931 "Burnaby Year Book" the Lochdale neighbourhood is described as follows: "Lochdale…is situated at the intersection of the Hastings-Barnet road at the point where Sperling Avenue crosses…Situated at the intersection…there are an up to date service station and a general store, at which the Lochdale Post Office is situated. Immediately north of this is the seventy acres on which the Shell Oil Co. are to build an up-to-date refinery...On going south on Sperling Avenue can be found some lovely homes of the residents, all of which possess the most beautiful flower gardens, some of which are hobbies, and some being in the nature of a business. Others are engaged in chicken farming...while others find employment at the Barnet Mill about two miles east on the Hastings-Barnet Road."

Historic Neighbourhood: Lochdale (Historic Neighbourhood)

Planning Study Area: Lochdale Area

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Barge at Kapoor Sawmills Ltd.

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Besant Kaur Siddoo at her kitchen stove

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Beverley Lauder with doll in carriage

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Boom man with logs

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Douglas and Beverley Lauder with portrait of parents

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Doug Lauder with toy sailboat

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Fire at Kapoor Sawmills Ltd.

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Fire at Kapoor Sawmills Ltd.

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Fire at Kapoor Sawmills Ltd.

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Fire at Kapoor Sawmills Ltd.

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Fire fighters battling fire at Kapoor Sawmills Ltd.

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Fire fighters battling fire at Kapoor Sawmills Ltd.

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Fire fighters battling fire at Kapoor Sawmills Ltd.

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Fleet of Kapoor Sawmills trucks

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Helen Lauder with Beverley and Douglas Lauder

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Hugh H. Stewart fonds

Jagdis, Sarjit and Besant Kaur Siddoo with Harbans Kaur Teja and Kartar Kaur Sangha

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Kapoor Sawmills Limited and living quarters

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Kapoor Sawmills on fire

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Lochdale Neighbourhood

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