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Donald Copan collection

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription3618
Repository
Burnaby Village Museum
Date
1971
Collection/Fonds
Donald Copan collection
Description Level
Fonds
Physical Description
2 cm of textual records + 3 architectural drawings + 17 photographs + 1 scrapbook album (727 photographs + ephemera)
Scope and Content
Collection consists of material collected and created by Donald Copan while he was an active member of the Burnaby Centennial '71 Committee and as founding President of the Century Park Museum Association. The fonds includes a scrabpook album of photographs and ephemera documenting the Burnaby Cent…
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Repository
Burnaby Village Museum
Collection/Fonds
Donald Copan collection
Description Level
Fonds
Physical Description
2 cm of textual records + 3 architectural drawings + 17 photographs + 1 scrapbook album (727 photographs + ephemera)
Scope and Content
Collection consists of material collected and created by Donald Copan while he was an active member of the Burnaby Centennial '71 Committee and as founding President of the Century Park Museum Association. The fonds includes a scrabpook album of photographs and ephemera documenting the Burnaby Centennial '71 Committee's involvement in celebrating British Columbia's Centenary of Confederation between January and December 1971 including Burnaby's Commemorative Project - Heritage Village (Burnaby Village Museum); plans and reports regarding the creation of Heritage Village and a small collection of records regarding British Columbia Summer Games that Burnaby hosted in 1984 and 1997 as well as a small collection of photographs of a wedding taking place at Willingdon Heights United Church. Fonds is arranged into three series: 1) Copan album series 2) Heritage Village project series 3) Copan family photograph series 4) B.C. Summer Games series
History
Donald "Don" A. Copan was born in Victoria B.C. in 1928 and moved with his family to East Vancouver in the mid nineteen thirties. Don graduated from Britannia High School in the nineteen forties and graduated from the BC Provincial Normal School in 1948. In 1952, Don married Barbara Thomson. The couple moved to Highlawn Drive in 1954 where they raised their two sons Angus and Todd. Don and his family were active members of the Willingdon Heights United Church. Don's teaching career began at Westridge Elementary School. He worked in Burnaby as an educator, including serving as the Principal of Twelfth Avenue Elementary School and retired from teaching in 1983. He served on the 1958 and 1971 Burnaby Centennial Committees and was the founding President of the Century Park Museum Association (the non-profit society that operated the Heritage Village Museum from 1971 to 1989, now Burnaby Village Museum). Don served on the Executive of the Century Park Museum Association (CPMA) every year of the organization's existence. Don's wife Barbara Copan was also active in the CPMA, as a volunteer with a focus on the gift shop. In 1982, Don became Burnaby's first "Citizen of the Year" and was awarded the Kushiro cup for his volunteerism. Don was also involved in many other community organizations in the 1970s, including serving as President of the Burnaby Region, Boy Scouts (1975), and as a community resource person of the Board of Burnaby Big Brothers Association. He was Chairman of the Burnaby Family Court for seven years and Chairman of the Lower Mainland Family Court Committee for four years. He was also President of the Burnaby Teachers' Association circa 1974. Barbara Copan died in October 2017 and Don died in June 2020.
Responsibility
Copan, Donald Angus "Don"
Accession Code
BV005.54
BV021.4
Access Restriction
No restrictions
Reproduction Restriction
May be restricted by third party rights
Date
1971
Media Type
Photograph
Textual Record
Architectural Drawing
Related Material
Donald Wrigley fonds; Century Park Museum Association fonds; Burnaby Centennial '71 Committee collection
Notes
Title based on contents of fonds
Ephemera from scrapbook is described separately with the Burnaby Village Museum Artifacts collection
Some photographs have been "Closed" due to poor quality and duplication in content
For other records regarding the history of Heritage Village Museum see also: Century Park Museum Association fonds; Burnaby Centennial '71 Committee collection and Burnaby Village Museum fonds
See also B.C. Summer Games artifacts BV021.4.1 to BV021.4.12 & BV021.4.21; BV021.4.25; BV021.4.26
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Hipman "Jimmy" Chow and Donna Polos fonds

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription19150
Repository
Burnaby Village Museum
Date
1950-2022
Collection/Fonds
Hipman "Jimmy" Chow and Donna Polos fonds
Description Level
Fonds
Physical Description
3 sound recordings (wav) + 1 sound recording (mp3) + 65 photographs + 26 photographs (jpg) + 1 portfolio (15 col. photographs + 12 col. laser prints) + 1 col. laser print + 6 business cards + 1 identification card + 1 booklet
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of an oral history interview with Jimmy Chow and his wife, Donna Polos; photographs of Jimmy Chow and his family soon after they immigrated to Canada in the 1950s as well as a sampling of photographs and records documenting Jimmy Chow's career in the film industry. Fonds is arranged…
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Repository
Burnaby Village Museum
Collection/Fonds
Hipman "Jimmy" Chow and Donna Polos fonds
Description Level
Fonds
Physical Description
3 sound recordings (wav) + 1 sound recording (mp3) + 65 photographs + 26 photographs (jpg) + 1 portfolio (15 col. photographs + 12 col. laser prints) + 1 col. laser print + 6 business cards + 1 identification card + 1 booklet
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of an oral history interview with Jimmy Chow and his wife, Donna Polos; photographs of Jimmy Chow and his family soon after they immigrated to Canada in the 1950s as well as a sampling of photographs and records documenting Jimmy Chow's career in the film industry. Fonds is arranged into series: 1) Jimmy Chow and Donna Polos interviews series 2) Jimmy Chow family photographs series 3) Property master photographs series 4) Property master records series
History
Hipman "Jimmy" Chow was born in Lin Pong Lee, Hoiping, China in 1948. In 1950, Jimmy Chow and his mother, Gim Gee Chow (1913-1991) fled China to escape the Communist Revolution and to be reunited with his father, Robin Chung Dip Chow (1906-1990) who’d immigrated to Canada many years earlier. Jimmy’s elder sister Shao-Lin Chow stayed behind in China. Jimmy’s father, Robin Chung Dip Chow immigrated to Canada in 1921 at 14 years of age and was forced to pay the Chinese head tax of $500. In 1950, Jimmy and his mother first fled to Hong Kong before immigrating to Canada and arriving in Vancouver. Jimmy Chow’s birth name is Hipman Chow but when he arrived in Canada, his father indicated that he needed an English name and he was given the name “Jimmy” but retained his birth name “Hipman Chow”. Over the years, Jimmy has also used the name “James H. Chow” and is often credited by this name in the film industry. For the first four years after immigrating, Jimmy and his parents lived in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Quebec where his father had work in hotels and restaurants. While living in Asquith, Saskatchewan Jimmy attended school and began to learn English. In 1954, Jimmy and his parents returned to Vancouver, first living in the area of Strathcona before settling in the neighbourhood of Mount Pleasant where they purchased a house located on 15th Avenue east of Main Street. While living in Mount Pleasant, Jimmy attended both elementary and high school. While attending high school, Jimmy began working at the local grocery store where he worked for many years living at home and saving his money. In 1970 while attending Vancouver City College, Jimmy met his future wife Donna Polos. Two years later, they moved in together, married in 1981 and started a family. Jimmy and Donna first lived in North Burnaby before purchasing a house on Victory Street in Burnaby where they raised their three children. Growing up in a traditional Chinese Canadian family, Jimmy was always one who went against the grain. Although his father wanted him to get a business degree, Jimmy had aspirations for a different career path. Through the referral of a friend, he entered the film industry in 1973 working for CBC Vancouver. While working at the CBC, Jimmy gained valuable experience working on the set of the television series The Beachcombers, which launched his career in the film industry. Over a 45 year career, Jimmy worked on over 50 blockbuster movies, historical period films, science fiction films and fantasy films, where he honed in on his expertise as a set decorator, art director and property master. He built an international reputation through working with production companies, prop makers and antique sellers across the globe. As a property master in the film industry, Jimmy Chow has been responsible for designing, managing, and sourcing props for films such as: The BFG, Warcraft: The Beginning, X-Men 2, Fantastic Four, Watchman, Tron: Legacy, Little Women, Seven Years in Tibet, Shanghai Noon, The Shipping News, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, The Changeling, Man of Steel (Superman), Snow Falling on Cedars, Legends of the Fall, And the Sea Will Tell, Once a Thief and many more. With Jimmy's many years of professional experience in the film industry, he has been a union member of IATSE (International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians...) from July 1979, a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science from 2018 and has worked as a guest lecturer in film production at Capilano University and Langara University. He was also a key contributor to the Burnaby Village Museum’s 2014 temporary exhibition Burnaby Makes Movies. Donna Polos was born in Vancouver in 1949 to parents Mayme "May" Helen Tillikana Polos (1931-1977) and Donald James Polos (1926-2017). Donna’s maternal grandparents, Elvi Tienhara and Toiva Tillikana immigrated to Canada from Helsinki, Finland. Donna’s paternal grandmother, Pauline Chimiki Polos emigrated from Ukraine to Argentina and then to Winnipeg. Donna’s paternal grandfather, James "Jimmy" Kostopolus emigrated as an orphan from Sparta Greece at the age of 12 years. In 1908, he first immigrated to the United States where he was denied entry so immigrated to Canada, entering through Halifax at Pier 17. When immigrating, James changed his last name to "Polos". Jimmy Polos arrived in Halifax with only five dollars in his pocket. He lived in Halifax for many years before making his way to Vancouver where he established three restaurants and raised his family. James was the proprietor of three restaurants in Burnaby including; the Home Apple Pie Café (1941-1944) located on East Hastings near Princess Avenue; Jimmy’s Café (1945-1955) located on East Hastings near Hawks Avenue and another restaurant located near 10th Avenue and Alma Street. Donna grew up with her family in Vancouver, first living in the downtown eastside before moving to a home near Joyce Station. Donna attended elementary school and high school while growing up in the neighbourhood of Joyce Station. Donna moved out of her family home at 21 years of age and lived with roommates before moving in with Jimmy Chow in 1972. Donna attended Vancouver City College and the University of British Columbia where she obtained her teaching degree in 1974. Donna first taught at Gilmore Elementary School before being hired to teach at Clinton Elementary School where she taught for nine years. While raising their three children, Donna worked part time teaching in schools in Burnaby. In 1991, after a near death experience, Donna became interested in fine art and took drawing and watercolour painting classes. This experience led her to experimenting with different painting techniques on paper and fabric. In 2008, Donna retired from teaching but continued her art career often working as an Artist in Residence at various schools and exhibiting her work. While living in Burnaby Donna has been politically active with a particular passion for heritage, housing and preserving the natural environment. Donna was instrumental in advocating and petitioning for the establishment of a tree bylaw in Burnaby which was eventually adopted by the City.
Creator
Chow, Hipman "Jimmy"
Polos, Donna
Accession Code
BV022.21
BV023.11
Date
1950-2022
Media Type
Sound Recording
Photograph
Textual Record
Graphic Material
Notes
Title based on contents of fonds
Hipman "Jimmy" Chow's name in Cantonese is Chow Hipman and in Mandarin is Zhou Xiamin.
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