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![Aili Rintanen (later Topalian) holding cat, next to her sister who has a rooster in her arms, [1937]. Item no. 337-003. thumbnail](/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Images/_Unrestricted/316/337-003.jpg?width=280)
Interview with Aili Topalian by Eric Damer October 11, 2012 - Track 4
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/oralhistory422
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date Range
- 1937-1979
- Length
- 0:10:15
- Summary
- This portion of the recording pertains to Aili (Rintanen) Topalian's memories of her early life in Burnaby. Aili discusses family friends, Maplewood flats in North Vancovuer, the waterfront at Burrard Inlet, owning Bantam Roosters and an Alsatian dog. She mentions some of the more challenging aspec…
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Summary
- This portion of the recording pertains to Aili (Rintanen) Topalian's memories of her early life in Burnaby. Aili discusses family friends, Maplewood flats in North Vancovuer, the waterfront at Burrard Inlet, owning Bantam Roosters and an Alsatian dog. She mentions some of the more challenging aspects of Crabtown.
- Date Range
- 1937-1979
- Photo Info
- Aili Rintanen (later Topalian) holding cat, next to her sister who has a rooster in her arms, [1937]. Item no. 337-003.
- Length
- 0:10:15
- Geographic Access
- Burrard Inlet
- Historic Neighbourhood
- Vancouver Heights (Historic Neighbourhood)
- Interviewer
- Damer, Eric
- Interview Date
- October 11, 2012
- Scope and Content
- Recording is an interview with Aili (Rintanen) Topalian conducted by Burnaby Village Museum employee Eric Damer, October 11, 2012. Major theme discussed: growing up in Crabtown.
- Biographical Notes
- Aili Rintanen (later Topalian) came to British Columbia in 1936 from a homestead near Burnt Lake, Alberta. After a few months in Vancouver and then a Burnaby apartment, the Rintanens moved to a house on the Burrard Inlet. The family lived over the water, in a house built on a deck, secured to the top of pilings that were sunk deep into the sand. Aili's mother Aune Rintanen found work at a fish and chip shop in downtown Vancouver and her father Gus Rintanen worked in a nearby mill. Aili and her sister Trudi (later Tuomi), attended school in Burnaby. For nine years the Rintanens created a home for themselves in an area now called Crabtown, although no one living there called it that.
- Total Tracks
- 4
- Total Length
- 0:39:00
- Interviewee Name
- Topalian, Aili Rintanen
- Interview Location
- Interviewee's residence
- Interviewer Bio
- Eric Damer is a lifelong British Columbian born in Victoria, raised in Kamloops, and currently residing in Burnaby. After studying philosophy at the University of Victoria, he became interested in the educational forces that had shaped his own life. He completed master’s and doctoral degrees in educational studies at the University of British Columbia with a particular interest in the history of adult and higher education in the province. In 2012, Eric worked for the City of Burnaby as a field researcher and writer, conducting interviews for the City Archives and Museum Oral History Program.
- Collection/Fonds
- Community Heritage Commission Special Projects fonds
- Transcript Available
- None
- Media Type
- Sound Recording
Images
![Aili Rintanen (later Topalian) holding cat, next to her sister who has a rooster in her arms, [1937]. Item no. 337-003. thumbnail](/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Images/_Unrestricted/316/337-003.jpg)
Audio Tracks
Track four of recording of interview with Aili Topalian
Track four of recording of interview with Aili Topalian
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Oral_Histories/_Unrestricted/MSS171-028/MSS171-028_Track_4.mp3Trudi Tuomi papers
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription65649
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- [1968] -1996
- Collection/Fonds
- Burnaby Historical Society fonds
- Description Level
- File
- Physical Description
- 1 file of textual records
- Scope and Content
- File consists of text written by Trudi (Rintanen) Tuomi on her reminiscences of growing up in the squatters' community known as Crabtown. Included in the file are typed and handwritten pages, drawings and correspondence.
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- [1968] -1996
- Collection/Fonds
- Burnaby Historical Society fonds
- Subseries
- Trudi Tuomi subseries
- Physical Description
- 1 file of textual records
- Description Level
- File
- Record No.
- MSS144-001
- Accession Number
- BHS1996-20
- Scope and Content
- File consists of text written by Trudi (Rintanen) Tuomi on her reminiscences of growing up in the squatters' community known as Crabtown. Included in the file are typed and handwritten pages, drawings and correspondence.
- Media Type
- Textual Record
- Notes
- Title based on contents of file
Trudi Tuomi subseries
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription126
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- [between 1937 and 1945]-1996
- Collection/Fonds
- Burnaby Historical Society fonds
- Description Level
- Subseries
- Physical Description
- 1 file of textual records and 5 photographs
- Scope and Content
- Subseries consists of photographs of the squatter community known as Crabtown that ran along the Burrard Inlet, accompanied by articles about growing up in that community.
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- [between 1937 and 1945]-1996
- Collection/Fonds
- Burnaby Historical Society fonds
- Subseries
- Trudi Tuomi subseries
- Physical Description
- 1 file of textual records and 5 photographs
- Description Level
- Subseries
- Accession Number
- BHS1996-20
- Scope and Content
- Subseries consists of photographs of the squatter community known as Crabtown that ran along the Burrard Inlet, accompanied by articles about growing up in that community.
- History
- Gustav and Aune Rintanen came to Vancouver from a mixed farm on the prairies in 1936 with the hopes of finding employment. The couple had two children: nine year old Aili (later Topalian) and eight year old Trudi (later Tuomi), when they moved to a “squatters shack” at North Burnaby’s waterfront Crabtown community in 1937. They paid 50 dollars for their two-room cabin, which was built on a platform and supported by pilings. Though the squatters’ homes that ran along the Inlet were commonly referred to as shacks and Crabtown a slum, in reality they were very neatly kept homes in a community. Crabtown residents rallied together to build a water supply system and trails up the steep bluff with stairs and banisters so children could go to school safely. Before Gustav found a job, he “busied himself with fixing up the place”: building a new chimney, railing, wood shed, clothes line and sauna for his family. By 1940, he was working at the mill near Windermere pool (now New Brighton Park). Aune worked as a dishwasher and prep cook at Ye Olde English Fish and Chips in downtown Vancouver. In 1946, they sold the cabin for two hundred dollars and moved to a small house. All Crabtown squatters were eventually evicted in 1959.
- Media Type
- Textual Record
- Photograph
- Creator
- Tuomi, Trudi Rintanen
- Notes
- Title based on contents and creator of subseries
- PC337, MSS144