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Interview with W.H. O'Brien July / August 1975 - Track 1
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/oralhistory18
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date Range
- 1914-1932
- Length
- 0:08:44
- Summary
- This portion of the interview pertains to W.H. "Harry" O'Brien's early childhood including the reasons why his family first moved to Burnaby, his first experiences of unemployment and what initially drew him to the Working Organization in Burnaby and their protest against evictions.
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Summary
- This portion of the interview pertains to W.H. "Harry" O'Brien's early childhood including the reasons why his family first moved to Burnaby, his first experiences of unemployment and what initially drew him to the Working Organization in Burnaby and their protest against evictions.
- Date Range
- 1914-1932
- Photo Info
- Harry and Gertrude (Sutherland) O'Brien on their wedding day, October 12, 1940. Item no. 315-005
- Length
- 0:08:44
- Subjects
- Organizations
- Protests and Demonstrations
- Geographic Access
- Inman Avenue
- Historic Neighbourhood
- Central Park (Historic Neighbourhood)
- Interviewer
- Bradbury, Dr. Bettina
- Interview Date
- July / August 1975
- Scope and Content
- Recording is a taped interview with W.H. "Harry" O'Brien by SFU (Simon Fraser University) graduate student Bettina Bradbury. Major themes discussed are: the Army of the Common Good, the Union of the Unemployed and the Common Good Credit Union (now the South Burnaby Credit Union). To view "Narrow By" terms for each track expand this description and see "Notes".
- Biographical Notes
- W.H. “Harry” O’Brien was born in the coal mining town of Nanaimo, British Columbia on October 20, 1914. He came to Burnaby with his parents and five siblings in 1927. Harry’s mother, a school teacher, wanted her children to live closer to school in order to obtain a better education, so the O’Brien family settled at Inman Avenue, Burnaby. Harry's mother, Mary Anne Crossan, was Gilmore Avenue School's first teacher. Harry left school in June of 1929. Harry’s father worked as the caretaker at Central Park around this time and Harry helped him to clear brush, plant trees and enforce the land clearing and wood cutting permit regulations held by men who were on script. Although too young to vote by just over a week, Harry O'Brien worked as a scrutineer for the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) during the 1935 Federal Election. On October 12, 1940 Harry O'Brien married Gertrude Sutherland at St. John the Divine in Burnaby. The Sutherland family came to Burnaby from Winnipeg in 1933 and settled at Nelson Avenue. Harry began his involvement with the Unemployment Organization in Burnaby by participating in an organised protest against the municipality for homeowner evictions brought on by unpaid taxes. The South Burnaby Union of the Unemployed organised in order to protest rules around receiving Relief. Harry became involved, eventually becoming one of the spearheads of the organization, taking over as secretary by 1936. Harry was an original member of the Army of the Common Good, helping to produce over one hundred and twenty-five tons of vegetables from its own gardens to feed Burnaby citizens suffering from the lack of resources during the Depression years. The members of the Army of the Common Good who cut wood for consumption or worked in the gardens were given credit for their work through LU (Labour Units) which they could then use to buy groceries and that at the Army's Cooperative stores, one of which was at McKay Avenue, where Harry began working as Manager of Groceries in 1937. The Credit Union movement of British Columbia was also organized by Harry O'Brien and his fellow Army of the Common Good members. W.H. "Harry" O'Brien died July 1, 1992.
- Total Tracks
- 9
- Total Length
- 1:17:56
- Interviewee Name
- O'Brien, Harry
- Interviewer Bio
- Bettina Bradbury teaches history and women's studies at York University. She is the author of Wife to Widow. Lives, Laws and Politics in Nineteenth-century Montreal. (Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, June 2011), 520p; Working Families. Age, Gender and Daily Survival in Industrializing Montreal. (Toronto: Canadian Social History Series, McClelland and Stewart, 1993); (Republished Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1996) (3rd edition, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2007). These interviews were undertaken after she completed her MA at Simon Fraser University in 1975 with the support of an LIP grant.
- Collection/Fonds
- Burnaby Historical Society fonds
- Subseries
- Oral history subseries
- Transcript Available
- None
- Media Type
- Sound Recording
- Web Notes
- Interview was digitized in 2010 allowing it to be accessible on Heritage Burnaby. The digitization project was initiated by the Community Heritage Commission with support from City of Burnaby Council and the BC History Digitization Program of the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, University of British Columbia. It was recognized by the Heritage Society of BC with an award in 2012.
Images
Audio Tracks
Track one of interview with W.H.
Track one of interview with W.H.
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Oral_Histories/_Unrestricted/100-13-25/100-13-25_Track_1.mp3![Sanderson family home, [between 1950 and 1969] thumbnail](/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Images/_Unrestricted/513/521-022.jpg?width=280)
Sanderson family home
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription65790
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- [between 1950 and 1969]
- Collection/Fonds
- Field family fonds
- Description Level
- Item
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph (tiff) ; 600 ppi
- Scope and Content
- Photograph of the Sanderson family home (believed to be located at 3812/5457 Inman Avenue, one block north of Central Park). A larger house which still stands on this property replaced this house in 1921.
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- [between 1950 and 1969]
- Collection/Fonds
- Field family fonds
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph (tiff) ; 600 ppi
- Material Details
- Item is a scan of a b&w photograph
- Description Level
- Item
- Record No.
- 521-022
- Access Restriction
- No restrictions
- Reproduction Restriction
- Reproduce for fair dealing purposes only
- Accession Number
- 2010-14
- Scope and Content
- Photograph of the Sanderson family home (believed to be located at 3812/5457 Inman Avenue, one block north of Central Park). A larger house which still stands on this property replaced this house in 1921.
- Subjects
- Buildings - Residential - Houses
- Media Type
- Photograph
- Notes
- Title based on contents of photograph
- Geographic Access
- Inman Avenue
- Historic Neighbourhood
- Central Park (Historic Neighbourhood)
- Planning Study Area
- Maywood Area
Images
![Sanderson family home, [between 1950 and 1969] thumbnail](/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Images/_Unrestricted/513/521-022.jpg)
![Sondergaard family home, [193-] (date of original), copied 1992 thumbnail](/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Images/_Unrestricted/315/315-050.jpg?width=280)
Sondergaard family home
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription36695
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- [193-] (date of original), copied 1992
- Collection/Fonds
- Burnaby Historical Society fonds
- Description Level
- Item
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph : b&w ; 8.7 x 12.6 cm print
- Scope and Content
- Photograph of the Sondergaard family home at 4013 Inman Avenue (old street numbering) on the north side of Central Park, built by Walter Sondergaard between 1927 and 1929.
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- [193-] (date of original), copied 1992
- Collection/Fonds
- Burnaby Historical Society fonds
- Subseries
- Burnaby Centennial Anthology subseries
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph : b&w ; 8.7 x 12.6 cm print
- Description Level
- Item
- Record No.
- 315-050
- Access Restriction
- No restrictions
- Reproduction Restriction
- No known restrictions
- Accession Number
- BHS1994-04
- Scope and Content
- Photograph of the Sondergaard family home at 4013 Inman Avenue (old street numbering) on the north side of Central Park, built by Walter Sondergaard between 1927 and 1929.
- Subjects
- Buildings - Residential - Houses
- Media Type
- Photograph
- Notes
- Title based on contents of photograph
- Geographic Access
- Inman Avenue
- Street Address
- 5176 Inman Avenue
- Historic Neighbourhood
- Central Park (Historic Neighbourhood)
- Planning Study Area
- Garden Village Area
Images
![Sondergaard family home, [193-] (date of original), copied 1992 thumbnail](/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Images/_Unrestricted/315/315-050.jpg)