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Interview with Allan Nixon by Rod Fowler February 21, 1990 - Track 2
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/oralhistory465
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date Range
- 1936-1990
- Length
- 00:04:08
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Al Nixon describing the location of the North Burnaby Fire Department fire hall and the location of the six fire halls subsequently built for the combined north and south department. He also talks about Fred Blake, Lewis Auvache and Henry Chapman, early member…
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Al Nixon describing the location of the North Burnaby Fire Department fire hall and the location of the six fire halls subsequently built for the combined north and south department. He also talks about Fred Blake, Lewis Auvache and Henry Chapman, early members of the department who were also interested in the department's history.
- Date Range
- 1936-1990
- Length
- 00:04:08
- Interviewer
- Fowler, Rod
- Interview Date
- February 21, 1990
- Scope and Content
- Recording is of an interview with Al Nixon, conducted by Rod Fowler. Al Nixon 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 the history and operations of the Burnaby Fire Department from its beginning in 1911 to 1990, and Al Nixon’s stories about the various ways photographs, records and artifacts about the department were collected and saved. The interview takes place while looking at photographs, but the information is clear nonetheless (His photographs have been deposited in the Burnaby Archives). Al Nixon also talks about his father's career as a firefighter, and about his Douglas grandparents and their home “The Gables” [Seven Gables] and neighbourhood in Burquitlam. To view “Narrow By” terms for each track expand this description and see “Notes”.
- Biographical Notes
- Al Nixon was born in New Westminster Feb. 8, 1936, the son of Provincial Fire Marshal Basil Nixon (1904-1975) and Agnes Douglas (1909-?). His mother’s family immigrated to Canada from Scotland in 1922 and lived in a large ca. 1900 home in Burquitlam at 9957 Sullivan Road called “Seven Gables” (recently demolished). His grandfather Thomas Douglas, a Coquitlam Councillor and Socialist, was murdered in 1934 in his North Road service station. Al Nixon began his career as a firefighter with the Burnaby Fire Department in 1957, eventually becoming Deputy Fire Chief Operations in 1987 and Fire Chief in 1991, before retiring in 1993. In the mid 1980's Al Nixon became interested in the department’s history after finding a photograph scrapbook at one of the firehalls. It was in very bad condition but he recognized its value and began a project to collect and save photographs, artifacts and stories about the Burnaby Fire Department, a 6 month project that turned into years. The photographs and information gathered by Al Nixon became part of Douglas Penn’s book “Follow that Fire: the history of the Burnaby Fire Department”.
- Total Tracks
- 8
- Total Length
- 0:43:35
- Interviewee Name
- Nixon, Al
- Interviewer Bio
- Rod Fowler returned to university as a mature student in the 1980s after working about twenty years in the field of economics and computerization in business in England, Europe and Western Canada. He graduated with a BA from SFU in both History and Sociology in 1987, his MA degree in Geography in 1989, and his PhD in Cultural Geography at SFU. He taught courses in Geography, Sociology, History and Canadian Studies at several Lower Mainland colleges, before becoming a full time member of the Geography Department at Kwantlen University College.
- Collection/Fonds
- SFU/Burnaby Centennial Committee fonds
- Transcript Available
- Transcript available
- Media Type
- Sound Recording
- Web Notes
- Interviews were digitized in 2015 allowing them to be accessible on Heritage Burnaby. The digitization project was initiated by the Community Heritage Commission with support from City of Burnaby Council.
Audio Tracks
Track two of interview with Al Nixon
Track two of interview with Al Nixon
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Oral_Histories/_Unrestricted/MSS187-014/MSS187-014_Track_2.mp3
North Burnaby Fire Department no. 1
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription1682
- Repository
- Burnaby Village Museum
- Date
- 1939 (date of original)
- Collection/Fonds
- Burnaby Village Museum Photograph collection
- Description Level
- Item
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph : b&w ; 12 x 9 cm print
- Scope and Content
- Photograph of the total crew of North Burnaby's Fire Department no. 1 sitting and standing in dress uniforms in front of a brick building. Sitting in the front row (from left) are; William Menzies and Chief Gordon Waddell. Standing behind them (from left) are; Albert Killer, Gordon Monk, Fred Blak…
- Repository
- Burnaby Village Museum
- Collection/Fonds
- Burnaby Village Museum Photograph collection
- Description Level
- Item
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph : b&w ; 12 x 9 cm print
- Scope and Content
- Photograph of the total crew of North Burnaby's Fire Department no. 1 sitting and standing in dress uniforms in front of a brick building. Sitting in the front row (from left) are; William Menzies and Chief Gordon Waddell. Standing behind them (from left) are; Albert Killer, Gordon Monk, Fred Blake and Henry Chapman.
- Subjects
- Occupations - Fire Fighters
- Names
- Burnaby Fire Department
- Menzies, William "Bill"
- Waddell, Gordon
- Killer, Albert "Abe"
- Monk, Gordon
- Blake, Frederick "Fred"
- Chapman, Henry H.
- Accession Code
- BV002.75.4
- Access Restriction
- No restrictions
- Date
- 1939 (date of original)
- Media Type
- Photograph
- Scan Resolution
- 600
- Scan Date
- 09-Jun-09
- Scale
- 100
- Notes
- Title based on contents of photograph
- Typed note on verso of photograph reads: "Total crew North Burnaby/ Fire Department No. 1 - 1939/ L to R. front W. Menzies,/ Chief G. Waddell./ Rear. A. Killer, G. Monk/ F. Blake, H. Chapman"
- Address sticker on verso of photograph reads: "Mr F. Blake 4165 Pandora Street Burnaby, B.C. Canada V5C 2B2"
Images
