"Royal Oak Hotel" found 3 records

Summary: This portion of the recording pertains to Murdock McMurray's opinion of shopping at a store in the present day. He mentions George Green's book "History of Burnaby", the Royal Oak Hotel and the development of Alta Vista. As well, Murdock mentions his father Robert William McMurray. Lillian (Wray) M…

1 image 1 audio

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Summary: This portion of the recording pertains to Murdock McMurray's opinion of shopping at a store in the present day. He mentions George Green's book "History of Burnaby", the Royal Oak Hotel and the development of Alta Vista. As well, Murdock mentions his father Robert William McMurray. Lillian (Wray) McMurray is heard helping her husband with these descriptions.

Date Range: 1904-1975

Photo Info: Emerson Doran (left) and Murdoch McMurray, 1917. Item no. 229-004

Length: 0:09:45

Names: McMurray, R.W.; Royal Oak Hotel

Subjects: Buildings - Commercial

Historic Neighbourhood: Edmonds (Historic Neighbourhood)

Interviewer: McGeachie, Doreen “Pixie”

Interview Date: November 17, 1975

Scope and Content: Recording is of an interview with Murdock McMurray and his wife Lillian (Wray) McMurray conducted by Pixie McGeachie on November 17, 1975. Major themes discussed are: Burnaby's development, the Wray Shoe store and Murdock McMurray's cordwood delivery business.

Biographical Notes: Murdock McMurray was born in Vancouver in 1892 to Wilhelmina May and Robert William McMurray. Other children in the family included older siblings John “Jack” and Margaret Lillian, younger siblings Minnie May born May 4, 1895 and Hampton born June 8, 1902. Murdock’s father Robert worked for the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) but retired shortly after moving his family to Burnaby in 1906. He bought six acres of land of what had been previously the Gilley Ranch, the base of operations for Gilley Bros. Ltd. at 2519 Windsor Street (later renumbered and renamed to the 6400 block Imperial Street). Murdock McMurray quit school early to apprentice as a printer. By sixteen he had left the trade and gone into partnership with his older brother Jack. With a team of horses, harness and a wagon, the brothers helped to macadamize roads, haul building supplies for new homes, deliver cord wood for heating, clear land and excavate basements. When Jack McMurray set off to serve overseas during World War I as a driver in the engineer corps, Murdock bought his team of horses and continued working, mainly in the Deer Lake district. In 1916 Murdoch McMurray partnered with Emerson Doran, nephew of the owner of Doran's Mill to buy Edmonds Coal and Wood fuel yard. As everything was geared towards the war effort, Murdock and Emerson soon ran out of work and had to sell the business. Murdock sold off his horses and equipment and went to work at the ship yard on Pitt River. By 1919 Jack McMurray had returned home from overseas and was working as a fireman at the Shull Lumber and Shingle Mill on the Fraser River. In 1921, he and Murdock teamed up with Emerson Doran and repurchased the Edmonds Coal and Wood fuel yard which they ran together until 1947. Murdock McMurray married Lillian Wray on September 17, 1925. Lillian was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Wray, who came to settle in the Jubilee area of Burnaby in 1919. The family lived on Dow Road and Edward Wray operated Jubilee Shoe Store and Post Office. He was known throughout the district as "Wray - The Shoe Man." Mrs. Wray died in 1957 at the age of eight-six and Edward Wray died January 14, 1967 at age of ninety-three. Murdock and Lillian lived at Inverness Street (now Arcola) and raised three children together, Bob, Jack and Bessie. Murdock McMurray died in New Westminster on April 28, 1985 at the age of ninety-two. Lillian Ethel (Wray) McMurray died in Burnaby on February 28, 1986 at the age of eighty-seven.

Total Tracks: 7

Total Length: 0:58:55

Interviewee Name: McMurray, Lillian Wray; McMurray, Murdoch

Interviewer Bio: Doreen "Pixie" (Johnson) McGeachie was a resident of Burnaby for over sixty years. Pixie married John Aloysius "Jack" McGeachie and raised their children Kathi (Dunlop) and David McGeachie in the house the couple built themselves in 1947. Pixie served as the editor for the Burnaby Examiner newspaper and wrote a column entitled "Burnaby History" for The News. In 1974 she authored her first book titled "Bygones of Burnaby" which was one of the first to develop anecdotal stories about pioneer life in Burnaby. She authored "Burnaby - A Proud Century" in 1992 and in 2002 she wrote a biography of the city's namesake in the book "Land of Promise: Robert Burnaby's letters from Colonial B.C." She also contributed many hours of volunteering; helping to establish Burnaby's first museum Heritage Village in 1971, serving as President of the Burnaby Historical Society from 1991-1993. She served a six year term on Burnaby's Heritage Commission leading the charge to preserve many historic sites throughout the city, and during her twenty years as the Community Archives volunteer archivist for the historical society, she succeeded in gathering thousands of rare and valuable historic photographs and documents which now forms the core of the photograph collection on the Heritage Burnaby website (as these items were donated by the Society to the City Archives in 2007). The City of Burnaby awarded Pixie McGeachie the Kushiro Cup as Citizen of the year in 2002. In 2006 she received a Heritage BC project award for leading the Friends of Interurban 1223 project, and in 2008 Heritage BC recognised her again by presenting her with the Ruby Nobb Award. John Aloysius "Jack" McGeachie died October 12, 1981 at the age of sixty-seven. Doreen "Pixie" (Johnson) McGeachie died August 14, 2010 at the age of eighty-nine. On 24 September, 2011, the City of Burnaby dedicated the reading at the City Archives in honour of Pixie and formally named it the Pixie McGeachie Reading Room in recognition of her years of service to the community.

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Historical Society fonds

Series: Community Archives Collection series

Subseries: Oral history subseries

Media Type: Sound Recording

Web Notes: Interview was digitized in 2010 allowing it to be accessible on Heritage Burnaby. The digitization project was initiated by the Community Heritage Commission with support from City of Burnaby Council and the BC History Digitization Program of the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, University of British Columbia. It was recognized by the Heritage Society of BC with an award in 2012.

Images

Emerson Doran (left) and Murdoch McMurray, 1917. Item no. 229-004 thumbnail

Audio Tracks

Track three of recording of interview with Lillian and Murdock McMurray

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Oral_Histories/_Unrestricted/MSS137-010/MSS137-010_Track_3.mp3

Andrew Johnson subseries

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription4

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Date: [1880]-[1940]

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Historical Society fonds

Description Level: Subseries

Physical Description: Photographs and drawings

Scope and Content: Subseries consists of photographs and drawings of members of the Johnson family and their home.

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Date: [1880]-[1940]

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Historical Society fonds

Series: Community Archives Collection series

Subseries: Andrew Johnson subseries

Physical Description: Photographs and drawings

Description Level: Subseries

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Accession Number: BHS1990-10; BHS1997-16

Scope and Content: Subseries consists of photographs and drawings of members of the Johnson family and their home.

History: Andrew Martin Johnson was born in Norway in 1861 and immigrated to Vancouver, British Columbia in 1886. His wife Margaret Sloane was born in Ireland. Margaret and Andrew Johnson's eldest child, Edward Sloane, was born June 10, 1901 but did not survive infancy. Their second child, Andrew Sloane, was born in 1906. Andrew Martin was a major landowner in Burnaby, at one time owning each of the four corners of Royal Oak and Kingsway and many of the adjacent properties. He made his fortune as a partner in the firm of Atkins & Johnson, a leading transportation company in Vancouver which later became the Mainland Transfer Company. In 1910, Andrew Martin purchased Burnaby's Royal Oak Hotel. He soon acquired the property on the opposite corner to build their family home, called "Glenedward" after their eldest son. He owned and operated the Royal Oak Hotel until his death on September 18, 1934. In 1943 Margaret sold Glenedward. The building has since been converted twice: first into the Royal Oak Funeral Chapel and then into the Johnson House Korean Restaurant. Andrew Sloane Johnson attended Kingsway West School and Britannia High School before earning a Bachelor's of Business Administration at the University of Washington in 1930. He lived at Glenedward until moving to Washington for school.

Media Type: Photograph; Textual Record

Creator: Johnson, Andrew Martin

Notes: Title based on contents of subseries; PC244, PC335

George Jeffery subseries

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription57762

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Date: 1899-1959

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Historical Society fonds

Description Level: Subseries

Physical Description: Textual records and photographs

Scope and Content: Subseries consists of personal and professional records, notebooks and papers pertaining to George Jeffery. Also included in the subseries are May Day programmes, invitations, and photographs of May Day, Diamond Jubilee of Confederation celebrations, and the Burnaby Police department.

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Date: 1899-1959

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Historical Society fonds

Series: Community Archives Collection series

Subseries: George Jeffery subseries

Physical Description: Textual records and photographs

Description Level: Subseries

Accession Number: BHS2007-04

Scope and Content: Subseries consists of personal and professional records, notebooks and papers pertaining to George Jeffery. Also included in the subseries are May Day programmes, invitations, and photographs of May Day, Diamond Jubilee of Confederation celebrations, and the Burnaby Police department.

History: George Jeffery was a well-respected Burnaby police constable, having served first as a solider. Upon joining the police force in 1912, he was appointed to patrol the Central Park district, a position he held for 22 years. From his experiences confronting young shoplifters, he determined the reason groups of boys were getting into trouble was due to a lack of recreational activities on offer. He established the Burnaby Athletics Association in an old barn behind the Royal Oak Hotel to combat this, turning it into a competitive boxing ring and gym. George and his wife Harriet lived most of their married life in Central Park district with their three daughters: Patricia, a teacher in Burnaby prior to her marriage; Winnifred, Burnaby's 1929 May Queen; and Elsie who excelled at badminton. Patricia married William Poole; Winnifred married Fred Shaughnessy; and Elsie married Art Winteford. In 1935, when the BC Provincial police replaced the Burnaby Police, George quit the force in order to stay in Burnaby and worked at Oakalla Prison farm. He retired in 1945.

Media Type: Textual Record; Photograph

Creator: Jeffery, George

Notes: Title based on contents of subseries; MSS013, PC013

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Murdock and Lillian McMurray interview November 17, 1975 - Track 3

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Audio Tracks

Andrew Johnson subseries

George Jeffery subseries