"Oakalla Prison Farm" found 4 records

Summary: This portion of the recording pertains to Linda and Jim Champion's memories of living so close to the Oakalla Prison Farm. They also tell stories about changes to the neighbourhood, the family horse and living "a country life."

Summary: This portion of the recording pertains to Linda and Jim Champion's memories of living so close to the Oakalla Prison Farm. They also tell stories about changes to the neighbourhood, the family horse and living "a country life."

Historic Neighbourhood: Central Park (Historic Neighbourhood); Burnaby Lake (Historic Neighbourhood)

Scope and Content: Recording is an interview with Jim Champion and his daughter Linda Champion conducted by Burnaby Village Museum employee Eric Damer, October 21, 2012. Major themes discussed are: raising a family in Burnaby as well as the experience of growing up in the area as it developed from farmland to suburbia.

Biographical Notes: Although Jim Champion was born in Burnaby in 1924, he grew up and attended school in White Rock. After serving in the navy during the war, Jim Champion came back to Vancouver, met and married Ethel (Danielson) Champion and began working for the Vancouver Fire Department. Jim and Ethel Champion's eldest daughter, Linda Champion, was born in 1948. In 1949, the Champions bought 1.8 undeveloped acres on Gilpin Street and began to build. By the time their house was built, they had become a family of six, so Jim and Ethel worked to built a larger house adjacent to the first. The Champions had chickens and a horse as their neighbourhood changed from farmland to suburbia. Jim has retired from the Vancouver Fire Department and his daughter Linda Champion is currently a City of Burnaby employee.

Interviewer Bio: Eric Damer is a lifelong British Columbian born in Victoria, raised in Kamloops, and currently residing in Burnaby. After studying philosophy at the University of Victoria, he became interested in the educational forces that had shaped his own life. He completed master’s and doctoral degrees in educational studies at the University of British Columbia with a particular interest in the history of adult and higher education in the province. In 2012, Eric worked for the City of Burnaby as a field researcher and writer, conducting interviews for the City Archives and Museum Oral History Program.

Track four of recording of interview with Jim and Linda Champion

Description: British Columbia Corrections Service peaked hat. The hat is a summer style. It has black open- weave sides with a black peak, the hat fabric is khaki coloured. There is a brass hat badge with the BC Provincial crest. There is a black chin strap that rests on the top of the peak. Each end is held in place by a silver button with an embossed crown on it. The lining is red and the makers label is inside.