2 records – page 1 of 1.

Interview with Don Brown by Rod Fowler February 26, 1990 - Track 4

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/oralhistory505
Repository
City of Burnaby Archives
Date Range
1954-1963
Length
00:05:41
Summary
This portion of the interview is about Don Brown’s memories of what familiar places were like in 1954 and how they had changed when he returned to Burnaby in 1963, particularly mentioning Kingsway, Grandview, and the Lake City industrial park on Burnaby Mountain
Repository
City of Burnaby Archives
Summary
This portion of the interview is about Don Brown’s memories of what familiar places were like in 1954 and how they had changed when he returned to Burnaby in 1963, particularly mentioning Kingsway, Grandview, and the Lake City industrial park on Burnaby Mountain
Date Range
1954-1963
Photo Info
Royal Canadian Mounted Police Sergeant Don Brown, November 2, 1997. Item no. 535-0979
Length
00:05:41
Subjects
Buildings
Buildings - Commercial - Drive-In Theatres
Industries
Transportation - Automobiles
Historic Neighbourhood
Burnaby Lake (Historic Neighbourhood)
Central Park (Historic Neighbourhood)
Planning Study Area
Lake City Area
Douglas-Gilpin Area
Maywood Area
Interviewer
Fowler, Rod
Interview Date
February 26, 1990
Scope and Content
Recording is of an interview with Don Brown, conducted by Rod Fowler. Don Brown 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 Don Brown’s description of the changes in Burnaby’s built and natural landscapes and socioeconomic conditions, especially between 1947 and 1975, the strong impression made on him by those changes evident in the interview. He talks about his work and career as a police officer with the Burnaby Provincial Police and RCMP. The interview also details his involvement in Burnaby politics and volunteer community groups. To view “Narrow By” terms for each track expand this description and see “Notes”.
Biographical Notes
Donald Neil “Don” Brown was born in Birmingham, England May 4, 1919, and immigrated with his parents and siblings to Winnipeg in 1922. At the outbreak of WWII Don Brown left high school and enlisted in the 12th Field Company, Royal Canadian Engineers, serving six years in the army. Before going overseas he married Helen Birch in 1939. In 1947 Don Brown joined the B.C. Provincial Police which was absorbed by the RCMP in 1950. He worked as a police officer in Burnaby from 1947 to 1954, and then was transferred to Ottawa (with a stop in Regina) for nine and a half years where he attended Carleton University to study forensics. In 1963 Don Brown was transferred back to Vancouver and bought and moved into a house on Watling Street in Burnaby where he still lived in 1990. Another transfer took him to Edmonton for five years, returning to Burnaby in 1975. Following retirement in 1980 with the rank of Supervisor and after 22 years in forensic laboratories, Don Brown started his own business as a private document examiner. Don Brown was active in Burnaby politics, serving as Alderman from 1979-1985. He was also involved in many community groups including the South Burnaby Men’s Club, which he helped found in 1952, as well as active in the Burnaby Historical Society, and served on the Burnaby School Board, Burnaby Centennial Committee, and the Community College for the Retired. Don and Helen Brown had six children: Donna, Don, Gina, Patricia, Christopher and Susan. Don Brown died May 16, 2009.
Total Tracks
14
Total Length
01:35:07
Interviewee Name
Brown, Donald N. "Don"
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
Series
Centennial Oral History project series
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
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Interview with Tony Fabian by Kathy Bossort October 29, 2015 - Track 2

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/oralhistory597
Repository
City of Burnaby Archives
Date Range
1956-1980
Length
0:15:48
Summary
This portion of the interview is about Tony Fabian’s memories of his moving to Hardwick Street in Burnaby in 1957; his views about early attitudes toward clearing the land in Burnaby and how people’s attitudes changed with regard to protecting the environment; and his description of the “golden ye…
Repository
City of Burnaby Archives
Summary
This portion of the interview is about Tony Fabian’s memories of his moving to Hardwick Street in Burnaby in 1957; his views about early attitudes toward clearing the land in Burnaby and how people’s attitudes changed with regard to protecting the environment; and his description of the “golden years” for park creation and planning in the 1970s.
Date Range
1956-1980
Length
0:15:48
Names
Burnaby Parks and Recreation Commission
Shelley, Melvin
Barnet Park
Subjects
Geographic Features - Parks
Geographic Access
Hardwick Street
Historic Neighbourhood
Burnaby Lake (Historic Neighbourhood)
Planning Study Area
Douglas-Gilpin Area
Interviewer
Bossort, Kathy
Interview Date
October 29, 2015
Scope and Content
Recording is of an interview with Tony Fabian conducted by Kathy Bossort. Tony Fabian was one of 23 participants interviewed as part of the Community Heritage Commission’s Burnaby Mountain Oral History Project. The interview is mainly about Tony Fabian’s part in park creation and protection of natural areas in Burnaby, particularly as a member of the Park and Recreation Commission in the 1970s; his childhood and how that contributed to his land ethic; and the history of the uses made of and setting aside parkland on Burnaby Mountain.
Biographical Notes
Tony S. Fabian was born in 1934 in north Saskatchewan. At less than a year old Tony, along with his siblings, was removed from his family home and eventually placed with an immigrant farm family. As a child he worked on the farm and witnessed what he considered abusive treatment of the land and farm animals. When he was about 12 years old his adoptive family moved to the BC coast where he went on his own, working for a variety of farmers in Richmond and Delta. At 19 he contracted polio, quit farm work, and found work with the telephone company. In 1956 Tony married, and in 1957 he and his wife moved to a home on Hardwick Street in Burnaby where he still lives. Tony entered civic politics in the 1960s when he objected to development on Hardwick Park and became concerned about the destruction of Burnaby’s natural landscapes. He became a life long advocate for preserving natural areas and helped to create large parks in Burnaby on the foreshore of the Fraser River and on Burrard Inlet. He served as a member of the Parks and Recreation Commission 1970-1975, is a long time volunteer with the Burnaby Lake Park Association, and continues to stay current on local and regional environmental issues. In 2008 Tony was presented with the City of Burnaby Environment Award for Community Stewardship.
Total Tracks
7
Total Length
1:43:22
Interviewee Name
Fabian, Tony S.
Interview Location
Tony Fabian's home in Burnaby
Interviewer Bio
Kathy Bossort is a retired archivist living in Ladner, BC. She worked at the Delta Museum and Archives after graduating from SLAIS (UBC) in 2001 with Masters degrees in library science and archival studies. Kathy grew up in Calgary, Alberta, and, prior to this career change, she lived in the West Kootenays, earning her living as a cook for BC tourist lodges and work camps. She continues to be interested in oral histories as a way to fill the gaps in the written record and bring richer meaning to history.
Collection/Fonds
Community Heritage Commission Special Projects fonds
Series
Burnaby Mountain Oral History Project series
Media Type
Sound Recording
Audio Tracks

Track two of interview with Tony Fabian

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