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Interview with Edward Apps by Rod Fowler February 22, 1990 - Track 6
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/oralhistory460
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date Range
- 1948-1990
- Length
- 00:06:43
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about the history of Ed Apps’ house, changes in the neighbourhood around Georgia Street, and the tram serving his area from Hastings
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about the history of Ed Apps’ house, changes in the neighbourhood around Georgia Street, and the tram serving his area from Hastings
- Date Range
- 1948-1990
- Length
- 00:06:43
- Historic Neighbourhood
- Vancouver Heights (Historic Neighbourhood)
- Planning Study Area
- Burnaby Heights Area
- Interviewer
- Fowler, Rod
- Interview Date
- February 22, 1990
- Scope and Content
- Recording is of an interview with Edward Apps, conducted by Rod Fowler. Ed Apps 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 Ed Apps involvement in community groups, particularly his work in seniors organizations lobbying for seniors’ housing since his retirement, and views about the role of Rate Payer groups, unions and politics in the development of North and South Burnaby. He also talks about his origin in England, his war service, arrival with his wife Margaret in Burnaby in 1946, his work with the Burnaby School Board and for the local union, the location of some of the older schools, the history of his house, and briefly about his wife and children. To view “Narrow By” terms for each track expand this description and see “Notes”.
- Biographical Notes
- Edward Apps was born in 1918 in London, England, and grew up in Kent and Essex. In WWII he flew the third glider to land in Normandy on June 6th, 1944. He and his wife Margaret Hope (1915-1985) immigrated to British Columbia in 1946, joining his wife’s parents, who had immigrated earlier in 1939, in Burnaby Heights in North Burnaby. He worked for the Burnaby School Board as Foreman Painter, and served on CUPE Local 379 Executive, until his retirement in 1982. In 1948 Ed Apps bought his first lot, for $150.00, in the 4700 block on Georgia Street, building houses there and in the 4100 block before buying his present home, a ca.1900 farm building, in the same area in 1954. North Burnaby was “bush country and orchards” in the 1950s; his two sons played in the ravines; and the family used the tram system on Hastings and Boundary Road for transportation. Development of municipal services seemed slower in North than South Burnaby, and Ed Apps remembers the strong role Rate Payers groups had in creating local services and lobbying Municipal Council for provide services. After retirement Ed Apps became involved in several local and provincial seniors organizations, advocating for better housing, including serving on the Executives of the Network of Burnaby Seniors and the Council of Senior Citizens Organization, and was active in the provincial Seniors Research and Resource and CMHC Housing Committee. He also served on the Centennial Committee of Burnaby.
- Total Tracks
- 8
- Total Length
- 0:56:50
- Interviewee Name
- Apps, Ed
- 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 six of interview with Ed Apps
Track six of interview with Ed Apps
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Oral_Histories/_Unrestricted/MSS187-015/MSS187-015_Track_6.mp3
Interview with Don Brown by Rod Fowler February 26, 1990 - Track 1
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/oralhistory502
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date Range
- 1947-1950
- Length
- 00:05:23
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Don Brown’s three years working for the BC Provincial Police in Burnaby. He describes the communication and transportation challenges that separated neighbourhoods in Burnaby, and what the area looked like around his first house on Portland Street.
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Don Brown’s three years working for the BC Provincial Police in Burnaby. He describes the communication and transportation challenges that separated neighbourhoods in Burnaby, and what the area looked like around his first house on Portland Street.
- Date Range
- 1947-1950
- Photo Info
- Royal Canadian Mounted Police Sergeant Don Brown, November 2, 1997. Item no. 535-0979
- Length
- 00:05:23
- Subjects
- Public Services - Policing
- Historic Neighbourhood
- Alta-Vista (Historic Neighbourhood)
- Central Park (Historic Neighbourhood)
- Planning Study Area
- Sussex-Nelson 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
- 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
Track one of interview with Don Brown
Track one of interview with Don Brown
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Oral_Histories/_Unrestricted/MSS187-016/MSS187-016_Track%201.mp3
Interview with Don Brown by Rod Fowler February 26, 1990 - Track 2
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/oralhistory503
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date Range
- 1947-1950
- Length
- 00:05:19
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Don Brown’s first foot patrol area in the Royal Oak, Jubilee, McKay and Kingsway areas and about the difficulties responding to calls due to poor communication equipment, gaps in the road network, and inconsistent house numbers. He also talks about the size of…
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Don Brown’s first foot patrol area in the Royal Oak, Jubilee, McKay and Kingsway areas and about the difficulties responding to calls due to poor communication equipment, gaps in the road network, and inconsistent house numbers. He also talks about the size of the force and lack of office support.
- Date Range
- 1947-1950
- Photo Info
- Royal Canadian Mounted Police Sergeant Don Brown, November 2, 1997. Item no. 535-0979
- Length
- 00:05:19
- Subjects
- Public Services - Policing
- Crimes
- Historic Neighbourhood
- Central Park (Historic Neighbourhood)
- Planning Study Area
- Maywood Area
- Marlborough 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
- 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
Track two of interview with Don Brown
Track two of interview with Don Brown
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Oral_Histories/_Unrestricted/MSS187-016/MSS187-016_Track%202.mp3
Interview with Don Brown by Rod Fowler February 26, 1990 - Track 3
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/oralhistory504
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date Range
- 1947-1990
- Length
- 00:06:00
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Don Brown’s education and career in forensics in the RCMP, and the changes he saw in Burnaby between 1954 to 1975, which were emphasized by absences from Burnaby in this period. He talks about the appearance of the first high rises and the difference in devel…
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Don Brown’s education and career in forensics in the RCMP, and the changes he saw in Burnaby between 1954 to 1975, which were emphasized by absences from Burnaby in this period. He talks about the appearance of the first high rises and the difference in development between north and south Burnaby
- Date Range
- 1947-1990
- Photo Info
- Royal Canadian Mounted Police Sergeant Don Brown, November 2, 1997. Item no. 535-0979
- Length
- 00:06:00
- Subjects
- Public Services - Policing
- Education
- Buildings
- 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
- 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
Track three of interview with Don Brown
Track three of interview with Don Brown
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Oral_Histories/_Unrestricted/MSS187-016/MSS187-016_Track%203.mp3
Interview with Don Brown by Rod Fowler February 26, 1990 - Track 5
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/oralhistory506
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date Range
- 1947-1954
- Length
- 00:07:16
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Don Brown’s description about what crime was like in Burnaby between 1947 and 1954. He talks about catching the criminals in a 1952 bank robbery.
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Don Brown’s description about what crime was like in Burnaby between 1947 and 1954. He talks about catching the criminals in a 1952 bank robbery.
- Date Range
- 1947-1954
- Photo Info
- Royal Canadian Mounted Police Sergeant Don Brown, November 2, 1997. Item no. 535-0979
- Length
- 00:07:16
- Subjects
- Public Services - Policing
- Crimes
- 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
- 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
Track five of interview with Don Brown
Track five of interview with Don Brown
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Oral_Histories/_Unrestricted/MSS187-016/MSS187-016_Track%205.mp3
Interview with Don Brown by Rod Fowler February 26, 1990 - Track 6
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/oralhistory507
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date Range
- 1947-1954
- Length
- 00:05:44
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about the paving and widening of Kingsway in 1953, the development along main roads, and the end of the Interurban tram system
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about the paving and widening of Kingsway in 1953, the development along main roads, and the end of the Interurban tram system
- Date Range
- 1947-1954
- Photo Info
- Royal Canadian Mounted Police Sergeant Don Brown, November 2, 1997. Item no. 535-0979
- Length
- 00:05:44
- Subjects
- Accidents - Automobile Accidents
- Transportation - Automobiles
- Transportation - Electric Railroads
- 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
- 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
Track six of interview with Don Brown
Track six of interview with Don Brown
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Oral_Histories/_Unrestricted/MSS187-016/MSS187-016_Track%206.mp3
Interview with Don Brown by Rod Fowler February 26, 1990 - Track 7
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/oralhistory508
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date Range
- 1947-1954
- Length
- 00:09:03
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Don Brown’s memories about what his neighbourhood looked like in the early 1950’s, his salary as a policeman, housing costs, buying vegetables from the Chinese market gardens, and what he and his wife and friends did for entertainment. He talks about the night…
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Don Brown’s memories about what his neighbourhood looked like in the early 1950’s, his salary as a policeman, housing costs, buying vegetables from the Chinese market gardens, and what he and his wife and friends did for entertainment. He talks about the nightclubs and liquor laws in Burnaby at that time
- Date Range
- 1947-1954
- Photo Info
- Royal Canadian Mounted Police Sergeant Don Brown, November 2, 1997. Item no. 535-0979
- Length
- 00:09:03
- Historic Neighbourhood
- Alta-Vista (Historic Neighbourhood)
- Planning Study Area
- Sussex-Nelson 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
- 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
Track seven of interview with Don Brown
Track seven of interview with Don Brown
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Oral_Histories/_Unrestricted/MSS187-016/MSS187-016_Track%207.mp3
Interview with Don Brown by Rod Fowler February 26, 1990 - Track 8
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/oralhistory509
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date Range
- 1947-1990
- Length
- 00:11:47
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Don Brown identifying old businesses and stores on Kingsway, and talking about the operation of the interurban, the lack of cars after the war, and the two vehicles used by the Burnaby police in 1948. He talks about the expansion of Burnaby in the 1950‘s and t…
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Don Brown identifying old businesses and stores on Kingsway, and talking about the operation of the interurban, the lack of cars after the war, and the two vehicles used by the Burnaby police in 1948. He talks about the expansion of Burnaby in the 1950‘s and the attempts to preserve heritage buildings and trees, historic records, and green space
- Date Range
- 1947-1990
- Photo Info
- Royal Canadian Mounted Police Sergeant Don Brown, November 2, 1997. Item no. 535-0979
- Length
- 00:11:47
- Historic Neighbourhood
- Central Park (Historic Neighbourhood)
- Planning Study Area
- Marlborough 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
- 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
Track eight of interview with Don Brown
Track eight of interview with Don Brown
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Oral_Histories/_Unrestricted/MSS187-016/MSS187-016_Track%208.mp3
Interview with Sev Morin by Rod Fowler April 4, 1990 - Track 6
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/oralhistory542
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date Range
- 1947-1976
- Length
- 00:09:36
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about the functions at the “Gai Paree”, including its popularity as a wedding reception venue; how customers circumvented the 1950’s restrictive liquor laws; and the kinds of clubs in Burnaby in the 1950’s
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about the functions at the “Gai Paree”, including its popularity as a wedding reception venue; how customers circumvented the 1950’s restrictive liquor laws; and the kinds of clubs in Burnaby in the 1950’s
- Date Range
- 1947-1976
- Photo Info
- Sev Morin (left) of Severin's in Burnaby (formerly the Gai Paree) hosting a gala New Year's celebration, 1979. Item no. 480-712
- Length
- 00:09:36
- Names
- Gai Paree Supper Club
- Interviewer
- Fowler, Rod
- Interview Date
- April 4, 1990
- Scope and Content
- Recording is of an interview with Severin "Sev" Morin, conducted by Rod Fowler. Sev Morin 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 Sev Morin’s banquet hall, restaurant and night club business on Kingsway, originally named the “Gai Paree Supper Club” (1947-1976) and later “Severin’s” (1976-1985) and “Diego’s” (1985-1994), its function as a Burnaby landmark, and the entertainment and political people he met through his business. He also describes his many volunteer activities in Burnaby, including member of the SFU Senate, Rotary Club, Variety Club and Telethon, fund raising for Burnaby Hospital, and tourism related groups, and his political work for the federal Liberal party. He talks about his parents’ origins, the lives of his brothers Rudy and Rene, and the family’s involvement in establishing the “Gai Paree”. He also shares his views about the business and cultural development of Burnaby. To view “Narrow By” terms for each track expand this description and see “Notes”.
- Biographical Notes
- Severin “Sev” Rene Morin was born September 21, 1927, in Bonneville, Alberta, to Rene Pierre Morin (1878-1963) and Anne Marie (nee Lachiver) Morin (1886-1956). Mr. and Mrs. R. P. Morin and their son Rene Francois (1905-1954) immigrated to Edmonton, Alberta, from France in 1913, where Rene Pierre Morin worked for the C.N.R. and a second son Adolphe “Rudy” Ferdinand (1922-1969) was born, followed by their third son Severin. In 1943, after R.P. Morin retired, the family moved to Burnaby to a house on Sperling Avenue. Sometime earlier the two older Morin brothers found work in Trail at the smelter and developed musical careers. In 1946/47 the Morin family purchased property on Kingsway and built a banquet hall, the “Gai Paree Supper Club”. Sev and Rudy Morin managed the club and Rene F. Morin moved to Burnaby to join them with his band. The supper club, with its live music and dance floor, became a popular meeting place and wedding venue, eventually expanding into a restaurant and nightclub in the 1970s. The “Gai Paree” was renamed “Severin’s” in 1976 and “Diego’s” in 1985, closing finally in 1994. Sev Morin’s business life included three record stores which he owned with his friend Jack Cullen. Through these businesses Sev Morin was well known in the entertainment and hospitality industry. He and his restaurant also hosted political and social events that made the restaurant a community landmark. Sev Morin contributed many volunteer hours to community and charitable organizations, including an appointment to the SFU Senate, fundraising for the Burnaby Hospital, Director of the Variety Club and Rotary Club, and consultant for a variety of tourism related ventures. He also was active in the federal Liberal Party. Sev Morin and his wife Pauline married in 1950 and had three children. Sev Morin died at age 86 on March 28, 2014.
- Total Tracks
- 10
- Total Length
- 00:56:44
- Interviewee Name
- Morin, Severin "Sev"
- 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.
Images
Audio Tracks
Track six of interview with Sev Morin
Track six of interview with Sev Morin
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Oral_Histories/_Unrestricted/MSS187-021/MSS187-021_Track%206.mp3
Interview with Sev Morin by Rod Fowler April 4, 1990 - Track 8
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/oralhistory544
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date Range
- 1947-1990
- Length
- 00:03:38
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Sev Morin’s many photographs of people and events held at his restaurant, and his political activities, including his interest in running for the federal Liberals in 1979 and 1988.
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Sev Morin’s many photographs of people and events held at his restaurant, and his political activities, including his interest in running for the federal Liberals in 1979 and 1988.
- Date Range
- 1947-1990
- Photo Info
- Sev Morin (left) of Severin's in Burnaby (formerly the Gai Paree) hosting a gala New Year's celebration, 1979. Item no. 480-712
- Length
- 00:03:38
- Names
- Liberal Party
- Subjects
- Elections
- Events - Parties
- Interviewer
- Fowler, Rod
- Interview Date
- April 4, 1990
- Scope and Content
- Recording is of an interview with Severin "Sev" Morin, conducted by Rod Fowler. Sev Morin 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 Sev Morin’s banquet hall, restaurant and night club business on Kingsway, originally named the “Gai Paree Supper Club” (1947-1976) and later “Severin’s” (1976-1985) and “Diego’s” (1985-1994), its function as a Burnaby landmark, and the entertainment and political people he met through his business. He also describes his many volunteer activities in Burnaby, including member of the SFU Senate, Rotary Club, Variety Club and Telethon, fund raising for Burnaby Hospital, and tourism related groups, and his political work for the federal Liberal party. He talks about his parents’ origins, the lives of his brothers Rudy and Rene, and the family’s involvement in establishing the “Gai Paree”. He also shares his views about the business and cultural development of Burnaby. To view “Narrow By” terms for each track expand this description and see “Notes”.
- Biographical Notes
- Severin “Sev” Rene Morin was born September 21, 1927, in Bonneville, Alberta, to Rene Pierre Morin (1878-1963) and Anne Marie (nee Lachiver) Morin (1886-1956). Mr. and Mrs. R. P. Morin and their son Rene Francois (1905-1954) immigrated to Edmonton, Alberta, from France in 1913, where Rene Pierre Morin worked for the C.N.R. and a second son Adolphe “Rudy” Ferdinand (1922-1969) was born, followed by their third son Severin. In 1943, after R.P. Morin retired, the family moved to Burnaby to a house on Sperling Avenue. Sometime earlier the two older Morin brothers found work in Trail at the smelter and developed musical careers. In 1946/47 the Morin family purchased property on Kingsway and built a banquet hall, the “Gai Paree Supper Club”. Sev and Rudy Morin managed the club and Rene F. Morin moved to Burnaby to join them with his band. The supper club, with its live music and dance floor, became a popular meeting place and wedding venue, eventually expanding into a restaurant and nightclub in the 1970s. The “Gai Paree” was renamed “Severin’s” in 1976 and “Diego’s” in 1985, closing finally in 1994. Sev Morin’s business life included three record stores which he owned with his friend Jack Cullen. Through these businesses Sev Morin was well known in the entertainment and hospitality industry. He and his restaurant also hosted political and social events that made the restaurant a community landmark. Sev Morin contributed many volunteer hours to community and charitable organizations, including an appointment to the SFU Senate, fundraising for the Burnaby Hospital, Director of the Variety Club and Rotary Club, and consultant for a variety of tourism related ventures. He also was active in the federal Liberal Party. Sev Morin and his wife Pauline married in 1950 and had three children. Sev Morin died at age 86 on March 28, 2014.
- Total Tracks
- 10
- Total Length
- 00:56:44
- Interviewee Name
- Morin, Severin "Sev"
- 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.
Images
Audio Tracks
Track eight of interview with Sev Morin
Track eight of interview with Sev Morin
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Oral_Histories/_Unrestricted/MSS187-021/MSS187-021_Track%208.mp3Interview with Edward Apps by Rod Fowler February 22, 1990 - Track 3
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/oralhistory457
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date Range
- 1946-1990
- Length
- 00:09:48
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Ed Apps’ work as Foreman Painter for the Burnaby School Board, and his positions in the local and provincial union CUPE, from 1953 to 1982. He briefly describes some of the old schools and how he got involved in community organizations after retirement
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Ed Apps’ work as Foreman Painter for the Burnaby School Board, and his positions in the local and provincial union CUPE, from 1953 to 1982. He briefly describes some of the old schools and how he got involved in community organizations after retirement
- Date Range
- 1946-1990
- Length
- 00:09:48
- Interviewer
- Fowler, Rod
- Interview Date
- February 22, 1990
- Scope and Content
- Recording is of an interview with Edward Apps, conducted by Rod Fowler. Ed Apps 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 Ed Apps involvement in community groups, particularly his work in seniors organizations lobbying for seniors’ housing since his retirement, and views about the role of Rate Payer groups, unions and politics in the development of North and South Burnaby. He also talks about his origin in England, his war service, arrival with his wife Margaret in Burnaby in 1946, his work with the Burnaby School Board and for the local union, the location of some of the older schools, the history of his house, and briefly about his wife and children. To view “Narrow By” terms for each track expand this description and see “Notes”.
- Biographical Notes
- Edward Apps was born in 1918 in London, England, and grew up in Kent and Essex. In WWII he flew the third glider to land in Normandy on June 6th, 1944. He and his wife Margaret Hope (1915-1985) immigrated to British Columbia in 1946, joining his wife’s parents, who had immigrated earlier in 1939, in Burnaby Heights in North Burnaby. He worked for the Burnaby School Board as Foreman Painter, and served on CUPE Local 379 Executive, until his retirement in 1982. In 1948 Ed Apps bought his first lot, for $150.00, in the 4700 block on Georgia Street, building houses there and in the 4100 block before buying his present home, a ca.1900 farm building, in the same area in 1954. North Burnaby was “bush country and orchards” in the 1950s; his two sons played in the ravines; and the family used the tram system on Hastings and Boundary Road for transportation. Development of municipal services seemed slower in North than South Burnaby, and Ed Apps remembers the strong role Rate Payers groups had in creating local services and lobbying Municipal Council for provide services. After retirement Ed Apps became involved in several local and provincial seniors organizations, advocating for better housing, including serving on the Executives of the Network of Burnaby Seniors and the Council of Senior Citizens Organization, and was active in the provincial Seniors Research and Resource and CMHC Housing Committee. He also served on the Centennial Committee of Burnaby.
- Total Tracks
- 8
- Total Length
- 0:56:50
- Interviewee Name
- Apps, Ed
- 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 three of interview with Ed Apps
Track three of interview with Ed Apps
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Oral_Histories/_Unrestricted/MSS187-015/MSS187-015_Track_3.mp3Interview with Edward Apps by Rod Fowler February 22, 1990 - Track 4
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/oralhistory458
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date Range
- 1946-1990
- Length
- 00:05:37
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Ed Apps’ views about the political development in north and south Burnaby, the difference in trade union activity and provision of community services between the two areas, and the belief that moving Municipal Hall to a more central position has lessened antag…
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Ed Apps’ views about the political development in north and south Burnaby, the difference in trade union activity and provision of community services between the two areas, and the belief that moving Municipal Hall to a more central position has lessened antagonism
- Date Range
- 1946-1990
- Length
- 00:05:37
- Interviewer
- Fowler, Rod
- Interview Date
- February 22, 1990
- Scope and Content
- Recording is of an interview with Edward Apps, conducted by Rod Fowler. Ed Apps 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 Ed Apps involvement in community groups, particularly his work in seniors organizations lobbying for seniors’ housing since his retirement, and views about the role of Rate Payer groups, unions and politics in the development of North and South Burnaby. He also talks about his origin in England, his war service, arrival with his wife Margaret in Burnaby in 1946, his work with the Burnaby School Board and for the local union, the location of some of the older schools, the history of his house, and briefly about his wife and children. To view “Narrow By” terms for each track expand this description and see “Notes”.
- Biographical Notes
- Edward Apps was born in 1918 in London, England, and grew up in Kent and Essex. In WWII he flew the third glider to land in Normandy on June 6th, 1944. He and his wife Margaret Hope (1915-1985) immigrated to British Columbia in 1946, joining his wife’s parents, who had immigrated earlier in 1939, in Burnaby Heights in North Burnaby. He worked for the Burnaby School Board as Foreman Painter, and served on CUPE Local 379 Executive, until his retirement in 1982. In 1948 Ed Apps bought his first lot, for $150.00, in the 4700 block on Georgia Street, building houses there and in the 4100 block before buying his present home, a ca.1900 farm building, in the same area in 1954. North Burnaby was “bush country and orchards” in the 1950s; his two sons played in the ravines; and the family used the tram system on Hastings and Boundary Road for transportation. Development of municipal services seemed slower in North than South Burnaby, and Ed Apps remembers the strong role Rate Payers groups had in creating local services and lobbying Municipal Council for provide services. After retirement Ed Apps became involved in several local and provincial seniors organizations, advocating for better housing, including serving on the Executives of the Network of Burnaby Seniors and the Council of Senior Citizens Organization, and was active in the provincial Seniors Research and Resource and CMHC Housing Committee. He also served on the Centennial Committee of Burnaby.
- Total Tracks
- 8
- Total Length
- 0:56:50
- Interviewee Name
- Apps, Ed
- 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 four of interview with Ed Apps
Track four of interview with Ed Apps
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Oral_Histories/_Unrestricted/MSS187-015/MSS187-015_Track_4.mp3
Interview with Merrill M. Gordon by Rod Fowler March 19, 1990 - Track 4
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/oralhistory475
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date Range
- 1946-1987
- Length
- 00:06:32
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Merrill Gordon’s career at Canadian Industries Inc (CIL) for a few years and then for Fleck Brothers until 1965, when he started his own business, Blaze Industries, which manufactured fire places and wood burning heaters. He also describes his short retirement…
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Merrill Gordon’s career at Canadian Industries Inc (CIL) for a few years and then for Fleck Brothers until 1965, when he started his own business, Blaze Industries, which manufactured fire places and wood burning heaters. He also describes his short retirement in 1980 and going back to work for a solar panel manufacturing company, which led to building a plant in India.
- Date Range
- 1946-1987
- Photo Info
- Burnaby Alderman Merrill Gordon (second from right) following a candidates' meeting, 1973. Item no. 480-263
- Length
- 00:06:32
- Subjects
- Occupations
- Interviewer
- Fowler, Rod
- Interview Date
- March 19, 1990
- Scope and Content
- Recording is of an interview with Merrill Gordon, conducted by Rod Fowler.Gordon Merrill 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 about Merrill Gordon’s childhood in the Depression, including his story about the family’s difficult trek to Burnaby from Alberta; his education, teachers and first volunteer activities at Grandview High School; his career at Fleck Brothers and the start of his own company Blaze Industries and later work in India; and his many volunteer activities in Burnaby. He describes how he started the Cliff Avenue United Football Club, the soccer club's subsequent growth and development, some of the people involved, and the founding of the youth soccer exchange. He also describes his work on the Parks Board and in the arts community, including the 1987 arts centre referendum, and involvement with the Burnaby Mountain Preservation Society (1988- ), and mentions his work for other groups including the New Vista Society, library board, and Burnaby Mental Health Committee. He also talks about his political career with the Better Burnaby Committee and Burnaby Voters Association, resulting in his 1972 election to Burnaby’s 1973 council. To view “Narrow By” terms for each track expand this description and see “Notes”.
- Biographical Notes
- Merrill M. Gordon was born in Saskatchewan in 1929 to parents farming north of North Battleford. After a fifth year of crop failure the family of four left the farm in 1934 to join relatives living near the corner of Union and Sperling in Burnaby. With little resources the family adapted as well as possible in the Depression years, moving often in the East Vancouver/North Burnaby area in an attempt to better their situation. Merrill’s father obtained work at sawmills including Kapoor’s Sawmill at Barnet, walking to work over Burnaby Mountain. After attending numerous public schools, Merrill Gordon eventually spent three years at Templeton School and then completed his education at Grandview High School of Commerce, majoring in accounting and commercial law. He worked a few years at Canadian Industries Ltd., then joined Fleck Brothers. In 1965 Merrill Gordon and his wife started their own company Blaze Industries of Canada that manufactured wood burning fireplaces, selling the company to AB Electrolux in 1980. After a short retirement, Merrill Gordon went back to work in 1981 for a company manufacturing solar panels, one project taking him and his wife intermittently to India over a four year period. Merrill Gordon helped found the political group Better Burnaby Committee, later the Burnaby Voters Association, with Alan Emmott and Bill Lewarne, ran for Burnaby Municipal Council and served one year as councillor in 1973. Merrill Gordon is well known for his over 40 years of volunteer work in Burnaby, particularly as founder in 1956 and director of the Cliff Avenue United Football Club, one of the largest soccer clubs in BC. He was also the founder of Burnaby Youth Soccer and the first youth soccer exchange with Washington State. His other volunteer work includes library trustee, Parks Commissioner (1987-1992), Director of New Vista Home for Seniors, Chair of campaign raising funds for building Shadbolt Arts Centre, and Chair of the Burnaby Mental Health Committee. In 1988 Merrill Gordon, Betty Gordon, Dean Lamont and several others formed the Burnaby Mountain Preservation Society, which advocated for the return of unused land to Burnaby from SFU and the subsequent creation of Burnaby Mountain Conservation Area. Merrill Gordon and Elizabeth Balfour (nee Leitch) (1926-2012) married in 1953 and had two children.
- Total Tracks
- 11
- Total Length
- 1:31:44
- Interviewee Name
- Gordon, Merrill
- Interview Location
- unknown
- 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.
Images
Audio Tracks
Track four of interview with Merrill Gordon
Track four of interview with Merrill Gordon
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Oral_Histories/_Unrestricted/MSS187-020/MSS187-020_Track_4.mp3Interview with Allan Nixon by Rod Fowler February 21, 1990 - Track 4
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/oralhistory467
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date Range
- 1945-1990
- Length
- 00:06:11
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about the inhalator equipment used by the department starting in 1945. Al Nixon describes 50% of the calls received by the department as "pre-hospital care", and that the department is an emergency service rather than just a fire department. He also describes the 19…
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about the inhalator equipment used by the department starting in 1945. Al Nixon describes 50% of the calls received by the department as "pre-hospital care", and that the department is an emergency service rather than just a fire department. He also describes the 1990 department staffing and equipment level.
- Date Range
- 1945-1990
- Length
- 00:06:11
- 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 four of interview with Al Nixon
Track four of interview with Al Nixon
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Oral_Histories/_Unrestricted/MSS187-014/MSS187-014_Track_4.mp3![Burnaby Alderman, Bill (William) Lewarne, [1973]. Item no. 231-012 thumbnail](/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Images/_Unrestricted/205/231-012.jpg?width=280)
Interview with William A. Lewarne by Rod Fowler March 14, 1990 - Track 6
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/oralhistory446
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date Range
- 1944-1990
- Length
- 00:03:58
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Bill Lewarne’s war service, education, joining father’s business, and expansion of ice cream business into refrigerated warehouses
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Bill Lewarne’s war service, education, joining father’s business, and expansion of ice cream business into refrigerated warehouses
- Date Range
- 1944-1990
- Photo Info
- Burnaby Alderman, Bill (William) Lewarne, [1973]. Item no. 231-012
- Length
- 00:03:58
- Subjects
- Education
- Occupations - Entrepreneurs
- Interviewer
- Fowler, Rod
- Interview Date
- March 14, 1990
- Scope and Content
- Recording is of an interview with former Mayor William “Bill” Lewarne, conducted by Rod Fowler. Bill Lewarne 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 Bill Lewarne’s business and political careers, and memories of growing up in South Burnaby in the 1930s. Bill Lewarne talks about his parent’s origins, his family and community struggles during the Depression, the interurban, his education, war service, and joining his father's business. He describes the start, operation and expansion of the family ice cream business, and how business life compared to political life. The interview explores the role of politics in community affairs, his political activities, the history of the BVA, and his involvement in various community organizations. To view “Narrow By” terms for each track, expand this description and see “Notes”.
- Biographical Notes
- William Alfred “Bill” Lewarne was born in Burnaby in 1926 to Ethel Cecilia Leer (1899- ) and Alfred Lewarne (1893-1962). The family, Ethel, Alfred and their three children Patricia, Beverley and William, moved to a house on Nelson Avenue in Alta Vista in 1931. Ethel still lived in the family home in 1990. Bill Lewarne attended Nelson Avenue School and South Burnaby High School (1932-1944). His father Alfred worked at Colony Farms as a dairy inspector and then for the Port of Vancouver Dairy before being laid off early in the Depression. The family struggled until in 1936 Alfred started his own ice cream business. After graduation Bill was in the army for two years, taking a refrigeration course under the veteran’s training benefit, before joining his father’s business. Three generations of the family operated the successful company, expanding from wholesale, retail and distribution of ice cream products into refrigerated warehouses and the wholesale ice business, until the business was sold to its competitor Dairyland in 1989. Bill Lewarne entered politics in 1965, first with the Nonpartisan Association (NPA) and then as a founder of the Burnaby Citizens Association (BCA). He served as an alderman on Burnaby Council 1973-1975 and 1977-1981 and as Mayor 1981-1987. In 1979 he ran for provincial office for the Social Credit Party against Rosemary Brown but lost. Bill Lewarne married June Lawrence and they had three children Robert, Leslie and Janice. He was active in many organizations: Burnaby/Willingdon Liberal Association, Seton Villa, Irish Fusileers of Canada, Lions Club, Rotary Club, Burnaby Association for Community Inclusion, and the Burnaby Hospital Foundation, and continued to be active on the Board of the BCA. Bill Lewarne died in 1995.
- Total Tracks
- 14
- Total Length
- 1:34:40
- Interviewee Name
- Lewarne, William A. "Bill"
- 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 business computerization 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.
Images
![Burnaby Alderman, Bill (William) Lewarne, [1973]. Item no. 231-012 thumbnail](/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Images/_Unrestricted/205/231-012.jpg)
Audio Tracks
Track six of interview with Bill Lewarne
Track six of interview with Bill Lewarne
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Oral_Histories/_Unrestricted/MSS187-019/MSS187-019_Track_6.mp3
Interview with Sev Morin by Rod Fowler April 4, 1990 - Track 3
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/oralhistory539
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date Range
- 1944-1985
- Length
- 00:03:51
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about the lives of the three Morin brothers, Rene, Rudy and Sev; how the “Gai Paree” dance and banquet hall was started by the Morin family; and the reason for the later name changes to “Severin’s” and “Diego’s”
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about the lives of the three Morin brothers, Rene, Rudy and Sev; how the “Gai Paree” dance and banquet hall was started by the Morin family; and the reason for the later name changes to “Severin’s” and “Diego’s”
- Date Range
- 1944-1985
- Photo Info
- Sev Morin (left) of Severin's in Burnaby (formerly the Gai Paree) hosting a gala New Year's celebration, 1979. Item no. 480-712
- Length
- 00:03:51
- Names
- Gai Paree Supper Club
- Interviewer
- Fowler, Rod
- Interview Date
- April 4, 1990
- Scope and Content
- Recording is of an interview with Severin "Sev" Morin, conducted by Rod Fowler. Sev Morin 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 Sev Morin’s banquet hall, restaurant and night club business on Kingsway, originally named the “Gai Paree Supper Club” (1947-1976) and later “Severin’s” (1976-1985) and “Diego’s” (1985-1994), its function as a Burnaby landmark, and the entertainment and political people he met through his business. He also describes his many volunteer activities in Burnaby, including member of the SFU Senate, Rotary Club, Variety Club and Telethon, fund raising for Burnaby Hospital, and tourism related groups, and his political work for the federal Liberal party. He talks about his parents’ origins, the lives of his brothers Rudy and Rene, and the family’s involvement in establishing the “Gai Paree”. He also shares his views about the business and cultural development of Burnaby. To view “Narrow By” terms for each track expand this description and see “Notes”.
- Biographical Notes
- Severin “Sev” Rene Morin was born September 21, 1927, in Bonneville, Alberta, to Rene Pierre Morin (1878-1963) and Anne Marie (nee Lachiver) Morin (1886-1956). Mr. and Mrs. R. P. Morin and their son Rene Francois (1905-1954) immigrated to Edmonton, Alberta, from France in 1913, where Rene Pierre Morin worked for the C.N.R. and a second son Adolphe “Rudy” Ferdinand (1922-1969) was born, followed by their third son Severin. In 1943, after R.P. Morin retired, the family moved to Burnaby to a house on Sperling Avenue. Sometime earlier the two older Morin brothers found work in Trail at the smelter and developed musical careers. In 1946/47 the Morin family purchased property on Kingsway and built a banquet hall, the “Gai Paree Supper Club”. Sev and Rudy Morin managed the club and Rene F. Morin moved to Burnaby to join them with his band. The supper club, with its live music and dance floor, became a popular meeting place and wedding venue, eventually expanding into a restaurant and nightclub in the 1970s. The “Gai Paree” was renamed “Severin’s” in 1976 and “Diego’s” in 1985, closing finally in 1994. Sev Morin’s business life included three record stores which he owned with his friend Jack Cullen. Through these businesses Sev Morin was well known in the entertainment and hospitality industry. He and his restaurant also hosted political and social events that made the restaurant a community landmark. Sev Morin contributed many volunteer hours to community and charitable organizations, including an appointment to the SFU Senate, fundraising for the Burnaby Hospital, Director of the Variety Club and Rotary Club, and consultant for a variety of tourism related ventures. He also was active in the federal Liberal Party. Sev Morin and his wife Pauline married in 1950 and had three children. Sev Morin died at age 86 on March 28, 2014.
- Total Tracks
- 10
- Total Length
- 00:56:44
- Interviewee Name
- Morin, Severin "Sev"
- 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.
Images
Audio Tracks
Track three of interview with Sev Morin
Track three of interview with Sev Morin
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Oral_Histories/_Unrestricted/MSS187-021/MSS187-021_Track%203.mp3
Interview with Sev Morin by Rod Fowler April 4, 1990 - Track 1
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/oralhistory537
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date Range
- 1943-1990
- Length
- 00:05:37
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Sev Morin’s parents moving to Burnaby where he completed Grade 11 at South Burnaby School, the later careers of people he met at school, and his memories of the Kingsway neighbourhood in the 1940s and 1950s.
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Sev Morin’s parents moving to Burnaby where he completed Grade 11 at South Burnaby School, the later careers of people he met at school, and his memories of the Kingsway neighbourhood in the 1940s and 1950s.
- Date Range
- 1943-1990
- Photo Info
- Sev Morin (left) of Severin's in Burnaby (formerly the Gai Paree) hosting a gala New Year's celebration, 1979. Item no. 480-712
- Length
- 00:05:37
- Subjects
- Education
- Historic Neighbourhood
- Edmonds (Historic Neighbourhood)
- Planning Study Area
- Kingsway-Beresford Area
- Interviewer
- Fowler, Rod
- Interview Date
- April 4, 1990
- Scope and Content
- Recording is of an interview with Severin "Sev" Morin, conducted by Rod Fowler. Sev Morin 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 Sev Morin’s banquet hall, restaurant and night club business on Kingsway, originally named the “Gai Paree Supper Club” (1947-1976) and later “Severin’s” (1976-1985) and “Diego’s” (1985-1994), its function as a Burnaby landmark, and the entertainment and political people he met through his business. He also describes his many volunteer activities in Burnaby, including member of the SFU Senate, Rotary Club, Variety Club and Telethon, fund raising for Burnaby Hospital, and tourism related groups, and his political work for the federal Liberal party. He talks about his parents’ origins, the lives of his brothers Rudy and Rene, and the family’s involvement in establishing the “Gai Paree”. He also shares his views about the business and cultural development of Burnaby. To view “Narrow By” terms for each track expand this description and see “Notes”.
- Biographical Notes
- Severin “Sev” Rene Morin was born September 21, 1927, in Bonneville, Alberta, to Rene Pierre Morin (1878-1963) and Anne Marie (nee Lachiver) Morin (1886-1956). Mr. and Mrs. R. P. Morin and their son Rene Francois (1905-1954) immigrated to Edmonton, Alberta, from France in 1913, where Rene Pierre Morin worked for the C.N.R. and a second son Adolphe “Rudy” Ferdinand (1922-1969) was born, followed by their third son Severin. In 1943, after R.P. Morin retired, the family moved to Burnaby to a house on Sperling Avenue. Sometime earlier the two older Morin brothers found work in Trail at the smelter and developed musical careers. In 1946/47 the Morin family purchased property on Kingsway and built a banquet hall, the “Gai Paree Supper Club”. Sev and Rudy Morin managed the club and Rene F. Morin moved to Burnaby to join them with his band. The supper club, with its live music and dance floor, became a popular meeting place and wedding venue, eventually expanding into a restaurant and nightclub in the 1970s. The “Gai Paree” was renamed “Severin’s” in 1976 and “Diego’s” in 1985, closing finally in 1994. Sev Morin’s business life included three record stores which he owned with his friend Jack Cullen. Through these businesses Sev Morin was well known in the entertainment and hospitality industry. He and his restaurant also hosted political and social events that made the restaurant a community landmark. Sev Morin contributed many volunteer hours to community and charitable organizations, including an appointment to the SFU Senate, fundraising for the Burnaby Hospital, Director of the Variety Club and Rotary Club, and consultant for a variety of tourism related ventures. He also was active in the federal Liberal Party. Sev Morin and his wife Pauline married in 1950 and had three children. Sev Morin died at age 86 on March 28, 2014.
- Total Tracks
- 10
- Total Length
- 00:56:44
- Interviewee Name
- Morin, Severin "Sev"
- 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.
Images
Audio Tracks
Track one of interview with Sev Morin
Track one of interview with Sev Morin
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Oral_Histories/_Unrestricted/MSS187-021/MSS187-021_Track%201.mp3Interview with Toki Miyashita by Rod Fowler February 27, 1990 - Track 2
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/oralhistory517
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date Range
- 1942-1969
- Length
- 00:07:41
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Toki Miyashita’s growing interest in Japanese culture and arts, studying the Japanese language after she was 22 in Montreal. She talks about how she learned paper-folding (origami), to make silk dolls, flower-arranging (Ikebana), and how to wear a kimono, and …
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Toki Miyashita’s growing interest in Japanese culture and arts, studying the Japanese language after she was 22 in Montreal. She talks about how she learned paper-folding (origami), to make silk dolls, flower-arranging (Ikebana), and how to wear a kimono, and then began to teach others these skills in Montreal .
- Date Range
- 1942-1969
- Length
- 00:07:41
- Subjects
- Education
- Arts
- Persons - Japanese Canadians
- Interviewer
- Fowler, Rod
- Interview Date
- February 27, 1990
- Scope and Content
- Recording is of an interview with Toki Miyashita, conducted by Rod Fowler. Toki Miyashita 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 about Toki Miyashita’s family’s internment during WWII, her awakening interest in Japanese culture after the war, her subsequent interest in teaching others about Japanese crafts and arts, and becoming a helpful intermediary between Burnaby and visitors from Japan. The interview explores her interest in the Ainu of Japan and their possible link to the aboriginals of BC, her impressions of the Ainu carver Nuburi Toko, and her involvement in the events surrounding the creation of the sculpture “Playground of the Gods” for Burnaby Mountain. The interview also contains interesting details about the art of Japanese flower-arranging. To view “Narrow By” terms for each track expand this description and see “Notes”.
- Biographical Notes
- Toki Miyashita was born in Richmond B.C., ca. 1935, at the Nelson Brothers “fishery”, a second generation Canadian descended from the Oikawa family who settled on Don and Lion Islands (Oikawa-shima). In 1942 the Japanese Canadians in BC were forcibly moved from the coast and their belongings confiscated. Toki Miyashita, her parents, two brothers, and grandparents were first taken to Hastings Park where her father was separated from the family to work in road camps, and the rest of the family were interned in New Denver. Her resourceful grandmother moved the family to land outside the internment camp, growing a large garden from seeds brought with her. In 1946 the family moved to Kamloops and in 1958, after finishing high school, Toki Miyashita moved to Montreal to be with relatives and a small Japanese community. At this time she became interested in Japanese culture and took a Japanese language course at age 22. She learned about Japanese flower-arranging (Ikebana), paper folding (Origami), silk doll making (from a Russian Jew), and how to wear a kimono. She began demonstrating these arts in schools and to other groups, which she continued doing when she, her husband and two young children moved to Burnaby in 1969. Toki Miyashita has been called an unpaid “ambassador” of Japanese culture to the Lower Mainland. She has acted as liaison between Burnaby and her sister city Kushiro in Japan, which involved her in the creation of the Ainu sculpture “Playground of the Gods” on Burnaby Mountain for Burnaby’s Centennial. Toki Miyashita is a recognized Master in Ikebana Sogetsu, a school of flower-arranging, and has served on the board of the Vancouver Ikebana Association. She also served on Burnaby’s Family Court in the 1980s.
- Total Tracks
- 11
- Total Length
- 01:34:10
- Interviewee Name
- Miyashita, Toki
- 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 Toki Miyashita
Track two of interview with Toki Miyashita
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Oral_Histories/_Unrestricted/MSS187-017/MSS187-017_Track_2.mp3
Interview with Merrill M. Gordon by Rod Fowler March 19, 1990 - Track 3
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/oralhistory474
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date Range
- 1939-1946
- Length
- 00:04:30
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Merrill Gordon’s education at Templeton School (Gr. 7-9) and Grandview High School of Commerce on First and Commercial, his teachers and the courses that he took.
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Merrill Gordon’s education at Templeton School (Gr. 7-9) and Grandview High School of Commerce on First and Commercial, his teachers and the courses that he took.
- Date Range
- 1939-1946
- Photo Info
- Burnaby Alderman Merrill Gordon (second from right) following a candidates' meeting, 1973. Item no. 480-263
- Length
- 00:04:30
- Subjects
- Education
- Interviewer
- Fowler, Rod
- Interview Date
- March 19, 1990
- Scope and Content
- Recording is of an interview with Merrill Gordon, conducted by Rod Fowler.Gordon Merrill 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 about Merrill Gordon’s childhood in the Depression, including his story about the family’s difficult trek to Burnaby from Alberta; his education, teachers and first volunteer activities at Grandview High School; his career at Fleck Brothers and the start of his own company Blaze Industries and later work in India; and his many volunteer activities in Burnaby. He describes how he started the Cliff Avenue United Football Club, the soccer club's subsequent growth and development, some of the people involved, and the founding of the youth soccer exchange. He also describes his work on the Parks Board and in the arts community, including the 1987 arts centre referendum, and involvement with the Burnaby Mountain Preservation Society (1988- ), and mentions his work for other groups including the New Vista Society, library board, and Burnaby Mental Health Committee. He also talks about his political career with the Better Burnaby Committee and Burnaby Voters Association, resulting in his 1972 election to Burnaby’s 1973 council. To view “Narrow By” terms for each track expand this description and see “Notes”.
- Biographical Notes
- Merrill M. Gordon was born in Saskatchewan in 1929 to parents farming north of North Battleford. After a fifth year of crop failure the family of four left the farm in 1934 to join relatives living near the corner of Union and Sperling in Burnaby. With little resources the family adapted as well as possible in the Depression years, moving often in the East Vancouver/North Burnaby area in an attempt to better their situation. Merrill’s father obtained work at sawmills including Kapoor’s Sawmill at Barnet, walking to work over Burnaby Mountain. After attending numerous public schools, Merrill Gordon eventually spent three years at Templeton School and then completed his education at Grandview High School of Commerce, majoring in accounting and commercial law. He worked a few years at Canadian Industries Ltd., then joined Fleck Brothers. In 1965 Merrill Gordon and his wife started their own company Blaze Industries of Canada that manufactured wood burning fireplaces, selling the company to AB Electrolux in 1980. After a short retirement, Merrill Gordon went back to work in 1981 for a company manufacturing solar panels, one project taking him and his wife intermittently to India over a four year period. Merrill Gordon helped found the political group Better Burnaby Committee, later the Burnaby Voters Association, with Alan Emmott and Bill Lewarne, ran for Burnaby Municipal Council and served one year as councillor in 1973. Merrill Gordon is well known for his over 40 years of volunteer work in Burnaby, particularly as founder in 1956 and director of the Cliff Avenue United Football Club, one of the largest soccer clubs in BC. He was also the founder of Burnaby Youth Soccer and the first youth soccer exchange with Washington State. His other volunteer work includes library trustee, Parks Commissioner (1987-1992), Director of New Vista Home for Seniors, Chair of campaign raising funds for building Shadbolt Arts Centre, and Chair of the Burnaby Mental Health Committee. In 1988 Merrill Gordon, Betty Gordon, Dean Lamont and several others formed the Burnaby Mountain Preservation Society, which advocated for the return of unused land to Burnaby from SFU and the subsequent creation of Burnaby Mountain Conservation Area. Merrill Gordon and Elizabeth Balfour (nee Leitch) (1926-2012) married in 1953 and had two children.
- Total Tracks
- 11
- Total Length
- 1:31:44
- Interviewee Name
- Gordon, Merrill
- Interview Location
- unknown
- 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.
Images
Audio Tracks
Track three of interview with Merrill Gordon
Track three of interview with Merrill Gordon
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Oral_Histories/_Unrestricted/MSS187-020/MSS187-020_Track_3.mp3
Interview with Eileen Kernaghan by Rod Fowler April 10, 1990 - Track 7
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/oralhistory497
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date Range
- 1939-1990
- Length
- 00:09:08
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Eileen Kernaghan’s childhood, her education and teaching career, her marriage to Pat Kernaghan and their move to Burnaby, his work at Oakalla Prison, the opening of their Neville Street bookstore, and changes in their neighbourhood
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Summary
- This portion of the interview is about Eileen Kernaghan’s childhood, her education and teaching career, her marriage to Pat Kernaghan and their move to Burnaby, his work at Oakalla Prison, the opening of their Neville Street bookstore, and changes in their neighbourhood
- Date Range
- 1939-1990
- Photo Info
- Eileen Kernaghan standing in front of four poets at the Poetry Pocket Cafe in New Westminster, October 15, 1995. Item no. 535-0014
- Length
- 00:09:08
- Historic Neighbourhood
- Alta-Vista (Historic Neighbourhood)
- Planning Study Area
- Clinton-Glenwood Area
- Interviewer
- Fowler, Rod
- Interview Date
- April 10, 1990
- Scope and Content
- Recording is of an interview with Eileen Kernaghan, conducted by Rod Fowler. Eileen Kernaghan 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 Eileen Kernaghan’s activities with the Burnaby Writers’ Society and the Burnaby Arts Council, describing the history of these organizations between 1967 and 1990. She describes the financial and other challenges facing the arts community, the various programs initiated by the Arts Council, and the development of the Burnaby Arts Centre facilities at Deer Lake. She also talks about her education, writing career, the Neville Street neighbourhood, and her and her husband’s bookstore business. Ghosts believed to inhabit some of the Arts Centre's heritage buildings are also a topic of conversation. To view “Narrow By” terms for each track expand this description and see “Notes”.
- Biographical Notes
- Eileen Kernaghan was born January 6, 1939, to William Alfred Monk (1910-2003) and Belinda Maude Monk (1908-1996), and grew up on a dairy farm near Grindrod in the North Okanagan. She attended a two room school in Grindrod, completed Junior and Senior High School in Enderby, and at age 17 in 1956, left home to attend UBC. She taught school in the North Okanagan area in the late 1950s, during which time she married her husband Patrick Kernaghan. They moved to Vancouver in 1961, Burnaby in 1963, and settled on Neville Street in the South Slope area in 1966 with their three children. Pat Kernaghan worked at Oakalla Prison as a correctional officer until his retirement in 1988. Eileen and Patrick Kernaghan owned and operated a bookstore on Neville Street from 1987 to 1999. They later moved to New Westminster. Eileen Kernaghan began her writing career at twelve years old with a story published in the Vancouver Sun. After her youngest child began school, with more free time, she started writing again and has become an award winning author of fantasy and science fiction novels. She helped found the Burnaby Writers’ Society in 1967, taught writing workshops, and wrote its popular Newsletter for many years. In 1971 the Society put together a small handbook for BC writers, a venture that was expanded and published by Douglas MacIntyre in 1975 as “The Upper Left-Hand Corner: a writer’s handbook for the Northwest”. The book became a Canadian best-seller. During this same period Eileen Kernaghan began her successful “Grey Isles” trilogy. In 1967 she joined the Burnaby Arts Council, worked as its Coordinator from 1973 to 1984, and was a determined advocate for municipal government support for the arts in Burnaby.
- Total Tracks
- 11
- Total Length
- 1:26:27
- Interviewee Name
- Kernaghan, Eileen
- 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.
Images
Audio Tracks
Track seven of interview with Eileen Kernaghan
Track seven of interview with Eileen Kernaghan
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Oral_Histories/_Unrestricted/MSS187-021/MSS187-021_Track%207.mp3