303 records – page 1 of 16.

Train travel in Edmonton

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription3294
Repository
Burnaby Village Museum
Date
[between 1930 and 1949]
Collection/Fonds
Burnaby Village Museum Photograph collection
Description Level
Item
Physical Description
1 photograph : b&w ; 5.5 x 8 cm
Scope and Content
Photograph of a train travelling along a track in Edmonton about to pass a stationary train on a parallel track.
Repository
Burnaby Village Museum
Collection/Fonds
Burnaby Village Museum Photograph collection
Description Level
Item
Physical Description
1 photograph : b&w ; 5.5 x 8 cm
Scope and Content
Photograph of a train travelling along a track in Edmonton about to pass a stationary train on a parallel track.
Subjects
Transportation - Rail
Accession Code
BV985.6114.66
Access Restriction
No restrictions
Reproduction Restriction
No known restrictions
Date
[between 1930 and 1949]
Media Type
Photograph
Scan Resolution
600
Scan Date
2024-03-19
Notes
Title based on contents of photograph
Handwritten note in black ball-point pen on verso of photograph reads: "Edmonton"
Stamp on verso of photograph reads: "269A"
Images
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Family photograph album

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription93398
Repository
City of Burnaby Archives
Date
[1960-2000]
Collection/Fonds
Burnaby Historical Society fonds
Description Level
Item
Physical Description
1 album (50 photographs ; b&w and col.)
Scope and Content
Photograph album containing photographs of Hazel Peterson and her family in the later decades of her life. The album also includes photos and cards from and of relatives and friends; pictures of the boat the "Hazel-E"; vacations, including to Hawaii and Reno; and Hazel's 97th birthday in 1993.
Repository
City of Burnaby Archives
Date
[1960-2000]
Collection/Fonds
Burnaby Historical Society fonds
Series
Community Archives Collection series
Subseries
Hazel Peterson subseries
Physical Description
1 album (50 photographs ; b&w and col.)
Description Level
Item
Record No.
504-046
Access Restriction
No restrictions
Reproduction Restriction
Reproduce for fair dealing purposes only
Accession Number
BHS2000-08
Scope and Content
Photograph album containing photographs of Hazel Peterson and her family in the later decades of her life. The album also includes photos and cards from and of relatives and friends; pictures of the boat the "Hazel-E"; vacations, including to Hawaii and Reno; and Hazel's 97th birthday in 1993.
Subjects
Travel
Names
Peterson, Edwin
Peterson, Hazel
Media Type
Photograph
Notes
Title based on content of item
Note on verso of 504-046-4 is handwritten and illegible
Date on recto of 504-046-9 (Polaroid) reads: "Jun 64"
Note on verso of 504-046-13 reads: "Jan 75 / Gut[tenger?]"
Date on recto of 504-046-15 (Polaroid) reads: "Aug 74"
Note on verso of 504-046-15 reads: "Taken at our mens and ladies Lodge meeting June 1974. Pot luck dinner and my seventy ninth birthday treat of [?] strawberries [?] some every year. / Cousin Harry Erickson."
Note on verso of 504-046-17 reads: "Sealife Park 75"
Note on verso of 504-046-20 reads: "October [?] 75"
Note on verso of 504-046-21 reads: "Sealife Park 75"
Note on verso of 504-046-22 reads: "Sealife Park 75"
Note on verso of 504-046-23 reads: "Reno / March 75"
504-046-38 was originally in a paper frame and tucked between the pages that held 504-046-32:504-046-37 and 504-046-39:504-046-43
Note on verso of 504-046-44 reads: "Nicole Constance Stariha / 12-03-91 / 6 1/2 mo. old"
Note on verso of 504-046-45 reads: "Mark & Laurie Stariha / Matthew (4) and David (2 mos.) / 1992"
Note on verso of 504-046-46 reads: "David Sherman Stariha at about 3 1/2 months"
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Hazel Peterson photographs

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription62794
Repository
City of Burnaby Archives
Date
[1880-2000]
Collection/Fonds
Burnaby Historical Society fonds
Description Level
File
Physical Description
ca. 60 photographs : b&w and col. -- 2 prints : col. illustrations
Scope and Content
File consists of loose photographs of Hazel Peterson (nee Erickson), as well as photographs of her family and parents, Charles and Amanda Erickson, and her husband, Edwin Peterson. Photographs are from all stages of Hazel Peterson's life, including infancy and childhood and later years of her life,…
Repository
City of Burnaby Archives
Date
[1880-2000]
Collection/Fonds
Burnaby Historical Society fonds
Series
Community Archives Collection series
Subseries
Hazel Peterson subseries
Physical Description
ca. 60 photographs : b&w and col. -- 2 prints : col. illustrations
Material Details
Some photographs remain in frames or paper covers.
Description Level
File
Record No.
504-001
Access Restriction
No restrictions
Reproduction Restriction
May be restricted by third party rights
Accession Number
BHS2000-08
Scope and Content
File consists of loose photographs of Hazel Peterson (nee Erickson), as well as photographs of her family and parents, Charles and Amanda Erickson, and her husband, Edwin Peterson. Photographs are from all stages of Hazel Peterson's life, including infancy and childhood and later years of her life, including a trip to Hawaii in 1982. File includes studio portraits, cartes de visites, postcards, and some illustrations.
Subjects
Travel
Persons - Children
Names
Peterson, Hazel
Peterson, Edwin
Media Type
Photograph
Notes
Title based on content of file
Note on verso of 504-022 reads: "This was taken several years ago / Your niece / Hazel Petersen (at left)"
Note on verso of 504-027 reads: "Hazel Erickson Peterson"
Note on verso of 504-028 reads: "all of us except Ethel" and identifies the siblings in the photo
Note on verso of 504-029 reads: "not such a bad picture considering" and identifies the people in the photo.
Note on verso of 504-030 reads: "Agnus McDonald" and "Touch up outline of deer"
Note on envelope for 504-039:504-041 reads: "Hazel Petersen resided at Dania Home, Burnaby, for 20 years before her death shortly before her 100th birthday."
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Jaworski family

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription97950
Repository
City of Burnaby Archives
Date
[2000]
Collection/Fonds
Burnaby NewsLeader photograph collection
Description Level
File
Physical Description
2 photographs (tiff) : col.
Scope and Content
File contains photographs of the Jaworski family at home and waiting for news of their son, who is on a Rotary exchange in Quito, Ecuador.
Repository
City of Burnaby Archives
Date
[2000]
Collection/Fonds
Burnaby NewsLeader photograph collection
Physical Description
2 photographs (tiff) : col.
Description Level
File
Record No.
535-3076
Access Restriction
No restrictions
Reproduction Restriction
No restrictions
Accession Number
2018-12
Scope and Content
File contains photographs of the Jaworski family at home and waiting for news of their son, who is on a Rotary exchange in Quito, Ecuador.
Subjects
Persons - Families
Persons - Students
Travel
Media Type
Photograph
Photographer
Bartel, Mario
Notes
Title based on caption
Collected by editorial for use in a January 2000 issue of the Burnaby NewsLeader
Caption from metadata for 535-3076-1: "The Jaworski family, Barbara, Mark and Filip, 7, devour all the news of Ecuador they can get, as their son, Simon, is on a Rotary exchange in Quito, where the government was deposed by a coup."
Caption from metadata for 535-3076-2: "Filip Jaworski, 7, colors in a map for his older brother, Simon, who is Quito, Ecuador, on a Rotary exchange, where he's already lived through a volcanic erruption and a coup."
Images
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SnapShots album

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription93394
Repository
City of Burnaby Archives
Date
[1915]
Collection/Fonds
Burnaby Historical Society fonds
Description Level
Item
Physical Description
1 album (118 photographs ; b&w and sepia) ; 18 x 29.5 cm
Scope and Content
Album contains photographs of Hazel Peterson and her family. Many appear to document a family trip to Alaska on a steam ship ca.1915.
Repository
City of Burnaby Archives
Date
[1915]
Collection/Fonds
Burnaby Historical Society fonds
Series
Community Archives Collection series
Subseries
Hazel Peterson subseries
Physical Description
1 album (118 photographs ; b&w and sepia) ; 18 x 29.5 cm
Description Level
Item
Record No.
504-047
Access Restriction
No restrictions
Reproduction Restriction
No known restrictions
Accession Number
BHS2000-08
Scope and Content
Album contains photographs of Hazel Peterson and her family. Many appear to document a family trip to Alaska on a steam ship ca.1915.
Subjects
Travel
Transportation - Ships
Names
Peterson, Hazel
Media Type
Photograph
Notes
Title taken from cover of album
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Visit to Hawaii and horseback riding

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription85438
Repository
City of Burnaby Archives
Date
1970
Collection/Fonds
George H.F. McLean fonds
Description Level
Item
Physical Description
1 digital file ( 3 min., 10 sec ) : digital , col., si.
Scope and Content
Item consists of one silent colour film of the McLean family visiting Hawaii. The film opens with Edna McLean sightseeing and views of the Hawaiian countryside, cities, monuments, buildings, trees and ocean. The film switches to Teresa McLean playing in a swimming pool and closes with Teresa feedin…
Repository
City of Burnaby Archives
Date
1970
Collection/Fonds
George H.F. McLean fonds
Physical Description
1 digital file ( 3 min., 10 sec ) : digital , col., si.
Description Level
Item
Record No.
567-001-23
Access Restriction
No restrictions
Reproduction Restriction
May be restricted by third party rights
Accession Number
2014-03
Scope and Content
Item consists of one silent colour film of the McLean family visiting Hawaii. The film opens with Edna McLean sightseeing and views of the Hawaiian countryside, cities, monuments, buildings, trees and ocean. The film switches to Teresa McLean playing in a swimming pool and closes with Teresa feeding a horse, and horseback riding with friends looking on.
Subjects
Travel
Animals - Horses
Recreational Activities - Horseback riding
Names
McLean, Teresa
McLean, George H.F.
McLean, Edna
Media Type
Moving Images
Photographer
McLean, George H.F.
Notes
Title based on content of film
Films originated in an 8mm format and were digitized by George McLean before being donated to the CBA
Images
Video

Visit to Hawaii and horseback riding, 1970

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Yanko family album

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription74511
Repository
City of Burnaby Archives
Date
1956-1979
Collection/Fonds
Yanko family fonds
Description Level
File
Physical Description
1 album (613 photographs : col.)
Scope and Content
Photographic album documenting John Ivan Yanko and Leida Doria "Lillian Doris" (Carman) Yanko and their two daughters, Rhonda and Charmaine (later Bayntun). Photographs depict family parties and events, travel snapshots, scenes in Vancouver, and the family home and pets.
Repository
City of Burnaby Archives
Date
1956-1979
Collection/Fonds
Yanko family fonds
Physical Description
1 album (613 photographs : col.)
Description Level
File
Record No.
545-249
Access Restriction
No restrictions
Reproduction Restriction
No restrictions
Accession Number
2012-09
Scope and Content
Photographic album documenting John Ivan Yanko and Leida Doria "Lillian Doris" (Carman) Yanko and their two daughters, Rhonda and Charmaine (later Bayntun). Photographs depict family parties and events, travel snapshots, scenes in Vancouver, and the family home and pets.
Subjects
Celebrations - Birthdays
Celebrations
Travel
Names
Yanko, Leida Doria "Lillian Doris" Carman
Yanko, John Ivan
Yanko, Rhonda
Bayntun, Charmaine "Sherrie" Yanko
Media Type
Photograph
Notes
Title based on contents of file
Less detail

3900-3978 Hastings

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription93809
Repository
City of Burnaby Archives
Date
September 12, 1992
Collection/Fonds
Grover, Elliott & Co. Ltd. fonds
Description Level
File
Physical Description
4 photographs : col. ; 10 cm x 15 cm
Scope and Content
Photographs of a two-storey commercial building located at 3900 through 3978 Hastings Street, with a residential tower visible behind it. Stores visible in the photograph include: Budget Video, a dental centre, a produce store, Autoplan Insurance, Da Vinci Travel, Great Pacific Management, and Hea…
Repository
City of Burnaby Archives
Date
September 12, 1992
Collection/Fonds
Grover, Elliott & Co. Ltd. fonds
Physical Description
4 photographs : col. ; 10 cm x 15 cm
Description Level
File
Record No.
622-057
Access Restriction
No restrictions
Reproduction Restriction
No restrictions
Accession Number
2017-39
Scope and Content
Photographs of a two-storey commercial building located at 3900 through 3978 Hastings Street, with a residential tower visible behind it. Stores visible in the photograph include: Budget Video, a dental centre, a produce store, Autoplan Insurance, Da Vinci Travel, Great Pacific Management, and Head Waze Hair and Skin Studio.
Subjects
Buildings - Commercial - Stores
Geographic Features - Roads
Media Type
Photograph
Notes
Transcribed title
Title transcribed from envelope photographs were originally housed in
File no. 92-336-B
Photographer identified as "J.C."
Geographic Access
Hastings Street
Historic Neighbourhood
Vancouver Heights (Historic Neighbourhood)
Planning Study Area
Burnaby Heights Area
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Barge at Kapoor Sawmills Ltd.

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription15192
Repository
Burnaby Village Museum
Date
[1947] (date of original), copied 2004
Collection/Fonds
In the Shadow by the Sea collection
Description Level
Item
Physical Description
1 photograph (tiff) : 300 dpi
Scope and Content
Photograph of a barge filled with sawdust docked outside of the Kapoor Sawmills Limited in the Burrard Inlet. A loading conveyor is visible in front of the barge. Sawdust chips were transported from the sawmill to pulp mills.
Repository
Burnaby Village Museum
Collection/Fonds
In the Shadow by the Sea collection
Description Level
Item
Physical Description
1 photograph (tiff) : 300 dpi
Scope and Content
Photograph of a barge filled with sawdust docked outside of the Kapoor Sawmills Limited in the Burrard Inlet. A loading conveyor is visible in front of the barge. Sawdust chips were transported from the sawmill to pulp mills.
History
Kapoor Singh Siddoo was born in 1885 in the Punjab village of Kharaudi, India. Kapoor was one of the pioneer South Asian Canadian Sikhs who immigrated to America in 1906 and onto Canada in 1912. Kapoor first arrived in San Francisco in 1906, along with twenty uneducated men from the Province of Punjab, India. Kapoor was the only one among these men who was educated so acted as their interpreter, manager and accountant. They worked along the Southern Pacific Railway line near Marysville, California, toward Reno and Nevada. Kapoor heard about the beauty of British Columbia and decided to travel to the west coast but times were tough with discrimination against all South Asians in British Columbia. With this information, Kapoor traveled east to Northern Ontario where he tried homesteading for a year but the extreme winter conditions didn’t appeal to him. Kapoor returned to British Columbia after receiving word from South Asian Canadians that they were in need of an educated accountant/manager for a sawmill. In 1923, with the change in immigration laws, Kapoor arranged for his wife, Besant Kaur to emigrate from India. Besant came to Canada accompanied by Kapoor’s older brother. Kapoor and Besant had two daughters, both born in Duncan B.C. Jagdis Kaur Siddoo was born in 1925 and Sarjit Kaur Siddoo was born in 1926. Both of their daughters graduated as doctors from University of Toronto medical school. His career in B.C. began as a lumberman for a large lumber mill on Vancouver Island until 1935. Following this, Kapoor established the Kapoor Lumber Company Limited and operated a mill at Shawnigan Lake before eventually purchasing 45 acres in 1939 of the eastern section of the former Barnet Mill site in Burnaby. He purchased the site from the Municipality of Burnaby under the name of Modern Sawmills Limited since there was a restriction on selling this piece of a property to a non-white person. Eventually the name was changed to Kapoor Sawmills Limited. Kapoor’s company was a financial success but was tragically razed on January 14, 1947 due to a devastating fire. A smaller mill was rebuilt on the site and Kapoor maintained a successful financial operation until 1959. In 1959, Kapoor Siddoo was considered one of Vancouver’s most influential men in the South Asian Community. In this same year, the family set up the Kapoor Singh Siddoo Foundation and with help from his wife and daughters opened a hospital in the Punjab village of Aur. In 1964, Kapoor died in India at the age of 79 years. Kapoor’s younger brother, Tara Singh Siddoo came to Canada from India in 1906 but after suffering discrimination, he returned to India in 1912. Several years later Tara returned to Canada joining Kapoor at a logging mill on Vancouver Island. Lesser shares of the mill were held by Tara and other family members. Tara and his wife, Beant Siddoo lived at Barnet between 1943 and 1945, with their family of five sons, Lakhbeer, Gurdeb, Gurcharn, Baldev, Hardev and three daughters, Harjeet (Sangha), Runjeet (Basi) and Buckshish (Sarai). One of Tara’s responsibilities was to oversee the logging camp and ensure that the logs arrived regularly from Cowichan Bay near Duncan to the Barnet logging mill.
Subjects
Industries - Logging/lumber
Persons - South Asian Canadians
Names
Kapoor Sawmills Limited
Geographic Access
Burrard Inlet
Barnet Marine Park
Accession Code
BV019.32.13
Access Restriction
No restrictions
Reproduction Restriction
May be restricted by third party rights
Date
[1947] (date of original), copied 2004
Media Type
Photograph
Historic Neighbourhood
Barnet (Historic Neighbourhood)
Planning Study Area
Burnaby Mountain Area
Notes
Title based on contents of photograph
See page 62 in book "In the Shadow by the Sea - recollections of Burnaby's Barnet Village". Caption with photograph reads: "The conveyor that loaded the sawdust chips on to a barge for transport to pulp mills, c. 1940s"
Images
Less detail

Besant Kaur Siddoo at her kitchen stove

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription15181
Repository
Burnaby Village Museum
Date
[194-] (date of original), copied 2004
Collection/Fonds
In the Shadow by the Sea collection
Description Level
Item
Physical Description
1 photograph (tiff) : 300 dpi
Scope and Content
Photograph of Besant Kaur Siddoo (spouse of Kapoor Singh Siddoo) tending the sawdust burner at her kitchen stove. A large galvanized hopper which fed the sawdust to the fire box of the stove is to her left.
Repository
Burnaby Village Museum
Collection/Fonds
In the Shadow by the Sea collection
Description Level
Item
Physical Description
1 photograph (tiff) : 300 dpi
Scope and Content
Photograph of Besant Kaur Siddoo (spouse of Kapoor Singh Siddoo) tending the sawdust burner at her kitchen stove. A large galvanized hopper which fed the sawdust to the fire box of the stove is to her left.
History
Kapoor Singh Siddoo was born in 1885 in the Punjab village of Kharaudi, India. Kapoor was one of the pioneer South Asian Canadian Sikhs who immigrated to America in 1906 and onto Canada in 1912. Kapoor first arrived in San Francisco in 1906, along with twenty uneducated men from the Province of Punjab, India. Kapoor was the only one among these men who was educated so acted as their interpreter, manager and accountant. They worked along the Southern Pacific Railway line near Marysville, California, toward Reno and Nevada. Kapoor heard about the beauty of British Columbia and decided to travel to the west coast but times were tough with discrimination against all South Asians in British Columbia. With this information, Kapoor traveled east to Northern Ontario where he tried homesteading for a year but the extreme winter conditions didn’t appeal to him. Kapoor returned to British Columbia after receiving word from South Asian Canadians that they were in need of an educated accountant/manager for a sawmill. In 1923, with the change in immigration laws, Kapoor arranged for his wife, Besant Kaur to emigrate from India. Besant came to Canada accompanied by Kapoor’s older brother. Kapoor and Besant had two daughters, both born in Duncan B.C. Jagdis Kaur Siddoo was born in 1925 and Sarjit Kaur Siddoo was born in 1926. Both of their daughters graduated as doctors from University of Toronto medical school. His career in B.C. began as a lumberman for a large lumber mill on Vancouver Island until 1935. Following this, Kapoor established the Kapoor Lumber Company Limited and operated a mill at Shawnigan Lake before eventually purchasing 45 acres in 1939 of the eastern section of the former Barnet Mill site in Burnaby. He purchased the site from the Municipality of Burnaby under the name of Modern Sawmills Limited since there was a restriction on selling this piece of a property to a non-white person. Eventually the name was changed to Kapoor Sawmills Limited. Kapoor’s company was a financial success but was tragically razed on January 14, 1947 due to a devastating fire. A smaller mill was rebuilt on the site and Kapoor maintained a successful financial operation until 1959. In 1959, Kapoor Siddoo was considered one of Vancouver’s most influential men in the South Asian Community. In this same year, the family set up the Kapoor Singh Siddoo Foundation and with help from his wife and daughters opened a hospital in the Punjab village of Aur. In 1964, Kapoor died in India at the age of 79 years. Kapoor’s younger brother, Tara Singh Siddoo came to Canada from India in 1906 but after suffering discrimination, he returned to India in 1912. Several years later Tara returned to Canada joining Kapoor at a logging mill on Vancouver Island. Lesser shares of the mill were held by Tara and other family members. Tara and his wife, Beant Siddoo lived at Barnet between 1943 and 1945, with their family of five sons, Lakhbeer, Gurdeb, Gurcharn, Baldev, Hardev and three daughters, Harjeet (Sangha), Runjeet (Basi) and Buckshish (Sarai). One of Tara’s responsibilities was to oversee the logging camp and ensure that the logs arrived regularly from Cowichan Bay near Duncan to the Barnet logging mill.
Subjects
Persons - South Asian Canadians
Names
Kapoor Sawmills Limited
Siddoo, Besant Kaur
Accession Code
BV019.32.2
Access Restriction
No restrictions
Reproduction Restriction
May be restricted by third party rights
Date
[194-] (date of original), copied 2004
Media Type
Photograph
Historic Neighbourhood
Barnet (Historic Neighbourhood)
Planning Study Area
Burnaby Mountain Area
Notes
Title based on contents of photograph
see page 63 in the book "In the Shadow by the Sea - recollections of Burnaby's Barnet Village". Caption with photograph reads: "Mrs. Kapoor Siddoo tending the sawdust burner at her kitchen stove. Note the hopper which fed the sawdust to the fire box of the stove. c. 1940s"
Images
Less detail

Boom man with logs

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription15195
Repository
Burnaby Village Museum
Date
[194-] (date of original), copied 2004
Collection/Fonds
In the Shadow by the Sea collection
Description Level
Item
Physical Description
1 photograph (tiff) : 300 dpi
Scope and Content
Photograph of an unidentified South Asian Sikh boom man standing on a log with a steel pointed pike pole directing logs within a log boom. The log boom was located in Burrard Inlet at the Kapoor Sawmills Limited.
Repository
Burnaby Village Museum
Collection/Fonds
In the Shadow by the Sea collection
Description Level
Item
Physical Description
1 photograph (tiff) : 300 dpi
Scope and Content
Photograph of an unidentified South Asian Sikh boom man standing on a log with a steel pointed pike pole directing logs within a log boom. The log boom was located in Burrard Inlet at the Kapoor Sawmills Limited.
History
Kapoor Singh Siddoo was born in 1885 in the Punjab village of Kharaudi, India. Kapoor was one of the pioneer South Asian Canadian Sikhs who immigrated to America in 1906 and onto Canada in 1912. Kapoor first arrived in San Francisco in 1906, along with twenty uneducated men from the Province of Punjab, India. Kapoor was the only one among these men who was educated so acted as their interpreter, manager and accountant. They worked along the Southern Pacific Railway line near Marysville, California, toward Reno and Nevada. Kapoor heard about the beauty of British Columbia and decided to travel to the west coast but times were tough with discrimination against all South Asians in British Columbia. With this information, Kapoor traveled east to Northern Ontario where he tried homesteading for a year but the extreme winter conditions didn’t appeal to him. Kapoor returned to British Columbia after receiving word from South Asian Canadians that they were in need of an educated accountant/manager for a sawmill. In 1923, with the change in immigration laws, Kapoor arranged for his wife, Besant Kaur to emigrate from India. Besant came to Canada accompanied by Kapoor’s older brother. Kapoor and Besant had two daughters, both born in Duncan B.C. Jagdis Kaur Siddoo was born in 1925 and Sarjit Kaur Siddoo was born in 1926. Both of their daughters graduated as doctors from University of Toronto medical school. His career in B.C. began as a lumberman for a large lumber mill on Vancouver Island until 1935. Following this, Kapoor established the Kapoor Lumber Company Limited and operated a mill at Shawnigan Lake before eventually purchasing 45 acres in 1939 of the eastern section of the former Barnet Mill site in Burnaby. He purchased the site from the Municipality of Burnaby under the name of Modern Sawmills Limited since there was a restriction on selling this piece of a property to a non-white person. Eventually the name was changed to Kapoor Sawmills Limited. Kapoor’s company was a financial success but was tragically razed on January 14, 1947 due to a devastating fire. A smaller mill was rebuilt on the site and Kapoor maintained a successful financial operation until 1959. In 1959, Kapoor Siddoo was considered one of Vancouver’s most influential men in the South Asian Community. In this same year, the family set up the Kapoor Singh Siddoo Foundation and with help from his wife and daughters opened a hospital in the Punjab village of Aur. In 1964, Kapoor died in India at the age of 79 years. Kapoor’s younger brother, Tara Singh Siddoo came to Canada from India in 1906 but after suffering discrimination, he returned to India in 1912. Several years later Tara returned to Canada joining Kapoor at a logging mill on Vancouver Island. Lesser shares of the mill were held by Tara and other family members. Tara and his wife, Beant Siddoo lived at Barnet between 1943 and 1945, with their family of five sons, Lakhbeer, Gurdeb, Gurcharn, Baldev, Hardev and three daughters, Harjeet (Sangha), Runjeet (Basi) and Buckshish (Sarai). One of Tara’s responsibilities was to oversee the logging camp and ensure that the logs arrived regularly from Cowichan Bay near Duncan to the Barnet logging mill.
Subjects
Industries - Logging/lumber
Persons - South Asian Canadians
Occupations - Millworkers
Names
Kapoor Sawmills Limited
Geographic Access
Burrard Inlet
Barnet Marine Park
Accession Code
BV019.32.16
Access Restriction
No restrictions
Reproduction Restriction
May be restricted by third party rights
Date
[194-] (date of original), copied 2004
Media Type
Photograph
Historic Neighbourhood
Barnet (Historic Neighbourhood)
Planning Study Area
Burnaby Mountain Area
Notes
Title based on contents of photograph
See page 61 of book "In the Shadow by the Sea - Recollections of Burnaby's Barnet Village". Caption with photograph reads: "A boom man needed to be nimble on his feet to select and move logs to the log slip where they could be haulde up into the mill."
Images
Less detail

Booms and mill

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription15187
Repository
Burnaby Village Museum
Date
[1950] (date of original), copied 2004
Collection/Fonds
In the Shadow by the Sea collection
Description Level
Item
Physical Description
1 photograph (tiff) : 300 dpi
Scope and Content
Photograph of log boom pond of the Kapoor Sawmills Limited in Burrard Inlet.
Repository
Burnaby Village Museum
Collection/Fonds
In the Shadow by the Sea collection
Description Level
Item
Physical Description
1 photograph (tiff) : 300 dpi
Scope and Content
Photograph of log boom pond of the Kapoor Sawmills Limited in Burrard Inlet.
History
Kapoor Singh Siddoo was born in 1885 in the Punjab village of Kharaudi, India. Kapoor was one of the pioneer South Asian Canadian Sikhs who immigrated to America in 1906 and onto Canada in 1912. Kapoor first arrived in San Francisco in 1906, along with twenty uneducated men from the Province of Punjab, India. Kapoor was the only one among these men who was educated so acted as their interpreter, manager and accountant. They worked along the Southern Pacific Railway line near Marysville, California, toward Reno and Nevada. Kapoor heard about the beauty of British Columbia and decided to travel to the west coast but times were tough with discrimination against all South Asians in British Columbia. With this information, Kapoor traveled east to Northern Ontario where he tried homesteading for a year but the extreme winter conditions didn’t appeal to him. Kapoor returned to British Columbia after receiving word from South Asian Canadians that they were in need of an educated accountant/manager for a sawmill. In 1923, with the change in immigration laws, Kapoor arranged for his wife, Besant Kaur to emigrate from India. Besant came to Canada accompanied by Kapoor’s older brother. Kapoor and Besant had two daughters, both born in Duncan B.C. Jagdis Kaur Siddoo was born in 1925 and Sarjit Kaur Siddoo was born in 1926. Both of their daughters graduated as doctors from University of Toronto medical school. His career in B.C. began as a lumberman for a large lumber mill on Vancouver Island until 1935. Following this, Kapoor established the Kapoor Lumber Company Limited and operated a mill at Shawnigan Lake before eventually purchasing 45 acres in 1939 of the eastern section of the former Barnet Mill site in Burnaby. He purchased the site from the Municipality of Burnaby under the name of Modern Sawmills Limited since there was a restriction on selling this piece of a property to a non-white person. Eventually the name was changed to Kapoor Sawmills Limited. Kapoor’s company was a financial success but was tragically razed on January 14, 1947 due to a devastating fire. A smaller mill was rebuilt on the site and Kapoor maintained a successful financial operation until 1959. In 1959, Kapoor Siddoo was considered one of Vancouver’s most influential men in the South Asian Community. In this same year, the family set up the Kapoor Singh Siddoo Foundation and with help from his wife and daughters opened a hospital in the Punjab village of Aur. In 1964, Kapoor died in India at the age of 79 years. Kapoor’s younger brother, Tara Singh Siddoo came to Canada from India in 1906 but after suffering discrimination, he returned to India in 1912. Several years later Tara returned to Canada joining Kapoor at a logging mill on Vancouver Island. Lesser shares of the mill were held by Tara and other family members. Tara and his wife, Beant Siddoo lived at Barnet between 1943 and 1945, with their family of five sons, Lakhbeer, Gurdeb, Gurcharn, Baldev, Hardev and three daughters, Harjeet (Sangha), Runjeet (Basi) and Buckshish (Sarai). One of Tara’s responsibilities was to oversee the logging camp and ensure that the logs arrived regularly from Cowichan Bay near Duncan to the Barnet logging mill.
Subjects
Persons - South Asian Canadians
Industries - Logging/lumber
Names
Kapoor Sawmills Limited
Geographic Access
Burrard Inlet
Barnet Marine Park
Accession Code
BV019.32.8
Access Restriction
No restrictions
Reproduction Restriction
May be restricted by third party rights
Date
[1950] (date of original), copied 2004
Media Type
Photograph
Historic Neighbourhood
Barnet (Historic Neighbourhood)
Planning Study Area
Burnaby Mountain Area
Notes
Title based on contents of photograph
See page 66 in book "In the Shadow by the Sea - recollections of Burnaby's Barnet Village". Caption with photograph reads: "The vast log boom pond of Kapoor Sawmill, c. 1950"
Images
Less detail

British Columbia Provincial Police

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription1265
Repository
Burnaby Village Museum
Date
[1948 or 1949]
Collection/Fonds
Burnaby Village Museum Photograph collection
Description Level
Item
Physical Description
1 photograph : b&w ; 19.5 x 22.5 cm
Scope and Content
Photograph of six British Columbia Provincial Police officers in uniform standing in two rows in front of the British Columbia Police building at Dawson Creek. The officers are; front row (from left): Dunc Fletcher, Jack Hall and Pat Burke. Back row (from left): Ed Fairweather, Maurice Low and Bria…
Repository
Burnaby Village Museum
Collection/Fonds
Burnaby Village Museum Photograph collection
Description Level
Item
Physical Description
1 photograph : b&w ; 19.5 x 22.5 cm
Scope and Content
Photograph of six British Columbia Provincial Police officers in uniform standing in two rows in front of the British Columbia Police building at Dawson Creek. The officers are; front row (from left): Dunc Fletcher, Jack Hall and Pat Burke. Back row (from left): Ed Fairweather, Maurice Low and Brian Williams.
Subjects
Public Services - Policing
Clothing - Uniforms
Names
British Columbia Provincial Police
Fletcher, Dunc
Hall, Jack
Burke, Pat
Fairweather, Ed
Low, Maurice
Williams, Brian
Accession Code
BV997.23.4
Access Restriction
No restrictions
Reproduction Restriction
May be restricted by third party rights
Date
[1948 or 1949]
Media Type
Photograph
Scan Resolution
600
Scan Date
01-Jun-09
Scale
100
Notes
Copyright stamp on verso reads: "British Columbia Government Travel Bureau in Victoria, B.C."
Note on verso of photograph reads: "Dawson Creek- 1948-49/ Front. L-R: Dunc Fletcher. Jack Hall./ Pat Burke./ Rear: L-R: Ed Fairweather, Maurice Low/ Brian Williams"
Images
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Cecil Lee business records series

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription15033
Repository
Burnaby Village Museum
Date
1970-1980, predominant 1970-1979
Collection/Fonds
Julie Lee and Cecil Lee family fonds
Description Level
Series
Physical Description
12 cm of textual records + 1 photograph : b&w + 6 photographs : col.
Scope and Content
Series consists of business records collected and created by Cecil Lee while he was employed as a Produce Buyer for Kelly Douglas Limited and Western Commodities Limited and responsible for the import of Chinese mandarin oranges. Records include correspondence, photographs, documentation regarding …
Repository
Burnaby Village Museum
Collection/Fonds
Julie Lee and Cecil Lee family fonds
Series
Cecil Lee business records series
Description Level
Series
Physical Description
12 cm of textual records + 1 photograph : b&w + 6 photographs : col.
Scope and Content
Series consists of business records collected and created by Cecil Lee while he was employed as a Produce Buyer for Kelly Douglas Limited and Western Commodities Limited and responsible for the import of Chinese mandarin oranges. Records include correspondence, photographs, documentation regarding travel within China along with export and import information, contracts, financial reports, credit applications, Chinese trade fair information and ephemera.
History
Kelly Douglas and Company Limited was founded in 1896 as a wholesale grocery business. In 1946, its headquarters moved from Vancouver to Burnaby and a manufacturing plant and warehouse were built on the site at 4700 Kingsway. During the nineteen seventies, Kelly Douglas and Company Limited and the Produce Department of Western Commodities Limited were located on this site. In 1986, the building was demolished and the produce department of Kelly Douglas was relocated to 6451 Telford Burnaby and the head office to 808 Nelson Street, Vancouver. In the nineteen seventies, Cecil Lee worked as a produce buyer for Kelly Douglas & Company Ltd.and Western Commodities. In the mid-1970s, Lee was asked to oversee the import of Chinese mandarin oranges into Canada. Until that time, mandarin oranges had come from Japan and were sold in the winter, especially at Christmas. When the Japanese market could no longer keep up with demand, Kelly Douglas & Company looked to China. The company relied on Lee’s cultural knowledge to build this very profitable part of their business. Cecil Lee designed the cardboard Chinese mandarin orange box to replace wooden container
Subjects
Foods
Agriculture - Fruit and Berries
Names
Kelly Douglas and Company Limited
Western Commodities Limited
Accession Code
BV019.6
Access Restriction
Subject to FIPPA
Reproduction Restriction
Reproductions subject to FIPPA
Date
1970-1980, predominant 1970-1979
Media Type
Textual Record
Photograph
Notes
Title based on contents of series
A large portion of these records are subject to FIPPA, contact Burnaby Village Museum for access
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Chuck Demers

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription80843
Repository
City of Burnaby Archives
Date
January 18, 1998
Collection/Fonds
Burnaby NewsLeader photograph collection
Description Level
Item
Physical Description
1 photograph : b&w ; 15 x 22.5 cm
Scope and Content
Photograph of Burnaby high school student Chuck Demers sitting at a computer, holding a dictionary of quotations.
Repository
City of Burnaby Archives
Date
January 18, 1998
Collection/Fonds
Burnaby NewsLeader photograph collection
Physical Description
1 photograph : b&w ; 15 x 22.5 cm
Description Level
Item
Record No.
535-1090
Access Restriction
No restrictions
Reproduction Restriction
No reproduction permitted
Accession Number
2012-11
Scope and Content
Photograph of Burnaby high school student Chuck Demers sitting at a computer, holding a dictionary of quotations.
Names
Demers, Chuck
Media Type
Photograph
Photographer
Langdeau, Brian
Notes
Title based on contents of photograph
Note in black ink on recto of photograph reads: "30% Bby mini pic #1 / 70 - Bby - Brian"
Trim marks and/or reproduction instructions on recto (scan is cropped)
Accompanying caption reads: "Jan 18, 1998 70: / Brnaby high school student Chuck Demers has a lot to say. He's one of the top debaters in Canada and will soon travel to Israel to compete at the world high school debating championships."
Images
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Daniel Lau, William Kwan and Bill Rempel

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription78869
Repository
City of Burnaby Archives
Date
February 18, 1996
Collection/Fonds
Burnaby NewsLeader photograph collection
Description Level
Item
Physical Description
1 photograph : b&w ; 16 x 23.5 cm
Scope and Content
Photograph of Chinese New Year celebrations at Metrotown Mall. From left to right, Daniel Lau and William Kwan of Wingo Travel and Metrotown Mall manager Bill Rempel draw for a winner of a trip for two to Reno, Nevada.
Repository
City of Burnaby Archives
Date
February 18, 1996
Collection/Fonds
Burnaby NewsLeader photograph collection
Physical Description
1 photograph : b&w ; 16 x 23.5 cm
Description Level
Item
Record No.
535-0173
Access Restriction
No restrictions
Reproduction Restriction
No reproduction permitted
Accession Number
2012-11
Scope and Content
Photograph of Chinese New Year celebrations at Metrotown Mall. From left to right, Daniel Lau and William Kwan of Wingo Travel and Metrotown Mall manager Bill Rempel draw for a winner of a trip for two to Reno, Nevada.
Subjects
Celebrations
Names
Rempel, Bill
Lau, Daniel
Kwan, William
Media Type
Photograph
Photographer
Bartel, Mario
Notes
Title based on contents of photograph
Note in black ink on recto of photograph reads: "Bby 442 Mario / 65% Bby p. 2"
Trim marks and/or reproduction instructions on recto (scan is cropped)
Images
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Digney Family fonds

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription85415
Repository
City of Burnaby Archives
Date
1936-19[61]
Collection/Fonds
Digney Family fonds
Description Level
Fonds
Physical Description
1 photograph : b&w + 1 film reel : col. ; 16mm + 7 optical discs (DVDs) + 1 portable drive
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of a reel of film (digitized into four segments) created by Andy Digney; a panorama photograph of the Digney Pee-Wee Bowling League from 1958 or 1959; and 18 film segments on DVD that were originally created by Andy Digney between 1934 and 1961 and digitized by his grandson Paul Dign…
Repository
City of Burnaby Archives
Date
1936-19[61]
Collection/Fonds
Digney Family fonds
Physical Description
1 photograph : b&w + 1 film reel : col. ; 16mm + 7 optical discs (DVDs) + 1 portable drive
Description Level
Fonds
Access Restriction
No restrictions
Reproduction Restriction
May be restricted by third party rights
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of a reel of film (digitized into four segments) created by Andy Digney; a panorama photograph of the Digney Pee-Wee Bowling League from 1958 or 1959; and 18 film segments on DVD that were originally created by Andy Digney between 1934 and 1961 and digitized by his grandson Paul Digney in 2012. The 16mm film is divided into the following segments: the Oak Theatre in 1936 (construction and opening); the Royal Visit (from the King and Queen) in 1939; Burnaby Sports and May Day events (ca. 1937); and the Labour parade (ca. 1935). The 18 film segments contain footage of the Digney family at their home in Brandon, Manitoba, and Burnaby; views of the Oak Theatre and Digney Speedway in operation; and their travels throughout British Columbia and abroad. The 18 film segments are described at the item level and titled: Andy's first film; Brandon, Manitoba; Burnaby and Digney recreational events; Trip to Kamloops; Burnaby; Burnaby, Vancouver and the north shore; Galiano Island, Oak Theatre and Calgary; Travels to Ontario, Quebec and England; Travels to England #2; Travels to England #3; Parades; Digney family in Burnaby; Paul Digney and family; Digney family and the Oak Theatre gardens; Digney family at Bonsor Avenue and family outings; Building and opening the Digney Speedway; Digney family travel the praries; and San Francisco Trip.
History
Andy Digney was born in London, England, on July 27, 1886. His given names were Andrew Charles. In 1905, he immigrated with his elder brother to Raymore, Saskatchewan, and worked on a farm. In 1914, he met and married Alice Swan and in 1920 they had their one and only child, Ernest ('Dig'). The young family lived in Beatty, Saskatchewan, where they ran a small general store with a pool hall over the top. Andy sold the store and they moved to Carberry, Manitoba, where Andy worked selling lightning rods and hanging wallpaper. At this time, he met and formed a partnership with someone who owned a hand cranked move projector and in the evenings, he and his wife traveled to church halls in neighbouring towns, showing movies. Eventually, Digney purchased his own movie projector and opened a small theatre in Carberry. He worked odd jobs during the daytime and projected movies in his small theatre at night. Eventually he made enough money to move to Brandon, Manitoba, where he purchased a restaurant, which he turned into a theatre with living quarters above. Andy called the theatre 'The Oak' since the mighty oak was strong and stood forever. After starting the first Oak Theatre in Brandon, Manitoba, when talking pictures came along, Andy Digney, his wife Alice and son Ernest ('Dig') moved to Burnaby in 1935 and chose the site of their new theatre and home at the corner of Kingsway and Marlborough. The Oak Theatre - which opened on August 4, 1937 - was hailed as an artistic masterpiece for its ultra modern white stucco exterior, floodlights and pink-and-green neon marquee. The interior featured a mirrored ceiling, fireplace, and aquarium and had a colour scheme of orchid, royal blue, silver and black. Andy was a very involved member of the Burnaby community, becoming the founding president of the Lion's club and the chairman of the committee raising money for war bonds during World War II. In 1944, Andy suffered a severe heart attack, forcing him to retire, so in 1945, he sold the theatre to Odeon Theatres of Canada who continued to operate at this location until 1968 when competition forced its closure and demolition. Andy and his family relocated to a home on Bonsor Avenue on 3/4 acres where he spent much of his time cultivating a lovely garden. In about 1946, Andy was approached by the B.C. Midget Auto Racing Association [original name retained for historical accuracy], who were looking for a good location to race the smaller racing cars popular at the time. Andy was interested and purchased 10 acres of property located near the corner of Irmin Street and MacPherson Avenue and built a race track. The Digney Speedway opened on July 8, 1948, with stands that had capacity of holding 4500 people. In 1949, when the popularity of this kind of racing declined, Digney started racing roadsters. However, he struggled to find local drivers, and it was expensive to bring in drivers from elsewhere. In 1951, Digney found a winner: jalopy racing. Local men would buy 1930s cars and strip them down, remove the glass, and weld the doors shut. By early 1952 over 40 cars were showing up for jalopy races. By the early 1950s, the Speedway was well established, with coverage in the sports pages and on radio. Andy's son Dig worked at the race track but moved away with his wife in 1951 to work in Seattle. Dig and his wife Joyce, along with their two young sons, Paul and Bruce, returned to Burnaby in 1953, moving into a 550-square-foot apartment located above the Digney Speedway restrooms. In 1954, Simpson Sears built a large store on Kingsway and their parking lot came up to the back garden of the family home on Bonsor Avenue. Andy thought of building small stores on his property but in the end decided to build a bowling alley, clearing out his beautiful garden. The Digney Bowl opened on August 19, 1955, and Andy, Alice, Dig, and Joyce all worked at both the Speedway and the bowling alley. In 1956, Andy decided to finally retire and sold the bowling alley and home to his son Dig, which he paid for over time. Dig and his family moved into the house on Bonsor Avenue and ran the bowling alley until their son Bruce took over in 1980. Andy Digney died in 1964 while travelling with his wife in England. Alice died on June 3, 1982, and Dig died on November 27, 2009.
Media Type
Moving Images
Photographer
Digney, Andy
Creator
Digney family
Notes
Title based on contents of fonds
Photo/MI catalogue 562
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Digney family travels in the praries and the rockies

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription85311
Repository
City of Burnaby Archives
Date
[between 1935 and 1936]
Collection/Fonds
Digney Family fonds
Description Level
Item
Physical Description
1 film clip ( 12 min., 37 sec.) : digital, b&w, col., si.
Scope and Content
Item is a digitized film segment identified as Reel 17. The film opens with colour footage with views of a lake (possibly Pelican Lake, Manitoba) and switches to black and white footage of Dig Digney playing in a canoe on a lake and family camping adventures as they travel west from Manitoba throug…
Repository
City of Burnaby Archives
Date
[between 1935 and 1936]
Collection/Fonds
Digney Family fonds
Physical Description
1 film clip ( 12 min., 37 sec.) : digital, b&w, col., si.
Description Level
Item
Record No.
562-003-17
Access Restriction
No restrictions
Reproduction Restriction
May be restricted by third party rights
Accession Number
2014-04
Scope and Content
Item is a digitized film segment identified as Reel 17. The film opens with colour footage with views of a lake (possibly Pelican Lake, Manitoba) and switches to black and white footage of Dig Digney playing in a canoe on a lake and family camping adventures as they travel west from Manitoba through to Saskatchewan and visit with Dorothy Swan (Alice Digney's sister) who is dressed in her nurses' uniform. Their travels continue as they visit the Calgary Zoo, the foothills of Alberta, Bow River and falls, Banff Hot Springs and Lake Louise pools.
Subjects
Recreational Activities - Camping
Recreational Activities - Canoeing
Names
Digney, Andy
Digney, Ernest Frank "Dig"
Swan, Dorothy
Media Type
Moving Images
Photographer
Digney, Andy
Creator
Digney, Andy
Notes
Title based on contents of film
Images
Video

Digney family travels in the praries and the rockies, [between 1935 and 1936]

Digney family travels in the praries and the rockies, [between 1935 and 1936]

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Moving_Images/_Unrestricted/562-003-17.m4v
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Fire at Kapoor Sawmills Ltd.

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription15202
Repository
Burnaby Village Museum
Date
14 Jan. 1947 (date of original), copied 2004
Collection/Fonds
In the Shadow by the Sea collection
Description Level
Item
Physical Description
1 photograph (tiff) : 300 dpi
Scope and Content
Photograph of a devasting fire that destroyed the Kapoor Sawmills Limited on January 14, 1947. The ground is covered with snow and smoke and flames are visible rising from the buildings.
Repository
Burnaby Village Museum
Collection/Fonds
In the Shadow by the Sea collection
Description Level
Item
Physical Description
1 photograph (tiff) : 300 dpi
Scope and Content
Photograph of a devasting fire that destroyed the Kapoor Sawmills Limited on January 14, 1947. The ground is covered with snow and smoke and flames are visible rising from the buildings.
History
Kapoor Singh Siddoo was born in 1885 in the Punjab village of Kharaudi, India. Kapoor was one of the pioneer South Asian Canadian Sikhs who immigrated to America in 1906 and onto Canada in 1912. Kapoor first arrived in San Francisco in 1906, along with twenty uneducated men from the Province of Punjab, India. Kapoor was the only one among these men who was educated so acted as their interpreter, manager and accountant. They worked along the Southern Pacific Railway line near Marysville, California, toward Reno and Nevada. Kapoor heard about the beauty of British Columbia and decided to travel to the west coast but times were tough with discrimination against all South Asians in British Columbia. With this information, Kapoor traveled east to Northern Ontario where he tried homesteading for a year but the extreme winter conditions didn’t appeal to him. Kapoor returned to British Columbia after receiving word from South Asian Canadians that they were in need of an educated accountant/manager for a sawmill. In 1923, with the change in immigration laws, Kapoor arranged for his wife, Besant Kaur to emigrate from India. Besant came to Canada accompanied by Kapoor’s older brother. Kapoor and Besant had two daughters, both born in Duncan B.C. Jagdis Kaur Siddoo was born in 1925 and Sarjit Kaur Siddoo was born in 1926. Both of their daughters graduated as doctors from University of Toronto medical school. His career in B.C. began as a lumberman for a large lumber mill on Vancouver Island until 1935. Following this, Kapoor established the Kapoor Lumber Company Limited and operated a mill at Shawnigan Lake before eventually purchasing 45 acres in 1939 of the eastern section of the former Barnet Mill site in Burnaby. He purchased the site from the Municipality of Burnaby under the name of Modern Sawmills Limited since there was a restriction on selling this piece of a property to a non-white person. Eventually the name was changed to Kapoor Sawmills Limited. Kapoor’s company was a financial success but was tragically razed on January 14, 1947 due to a devastating fire. A smaller mill was rebuilt on the site and Kapoor maintained a successful financial operation until 1959. In 1959, Kapoor Siddoo was considered one of Vancouver’s most influential men in the South Asian Community. In this same year, the family set up the Kapoor Singh Siddoo Foundation and with help from his wife and daughters opened a hospital in the Punjab village of Aur. In 1964, Kapoor died in India at the age of 79 years. Kapoor’s younger brother, Tara Singh Siddoo came to Canada from India in 1906 but after suffering discrimination, he returned to India in 1912. Several years later Tara returned to Canada joining Kapoor at a logging mill on Vancouver Island. Lesser shares of the mill were held by Tara and other family members. Tara and his wife, Beant Siddoo lived at Barnet between 1943 and 1945, with their family of five sons, Lakhbeer, Gurdeb, Gurcharn, Baldev, Hardev and three daughters, Harjeet (Sangha), Runjeet (Basi) and Buckshish (Sarai). One of Tara’s responsibilities was to oversee the logging camp and ensure that the logs arrived regularly from Cowichan Bay near Duncan to the Barnet logging mill.
Subjects
Industries - Logging/lumber
Natural Phenomena - Fires
Persons - South Asian Canadians
Names
Kapoor Sawmills Limited
Geographic Access
Burrard Inlet
Barnet Marine Park
Accession Code
BV019.32.23
Access Restriction
No restrictions
Reproduction Restriction
May be restricted by third party rights
Date
14 Jan. 1947 (date of original), copied 2004
Media Type
Photograph
Historic Neighbourhood
Barnet (Historic Neighbourhood)
Planning Study Area
Burnaby Mountain Area
Notes
Title based on contents of photograph
Information from page 6 of The Province newspaper-Jan. 15, 1947 confirms that the fire occurred on Tuesday, January 14, 1947
See page 67 of book "In the Shadow by the Sea - Recollections of Burnaby's Barnet Village". Caption with photograph reads: "The February, 1947 Kapoor Sawmill fire. Maintenance workers were trying to thaw out frozen bearings on a machine with a blowtorch and inadvertently started a fire in oily shavings. all the water pipes were frozen preventing the workers from dousing the intital small flames. Finally, but toolate to prevent the mill's destruction, water was pumped in from the inlet by the Burnaby Fire Department."
Images
Less detail

Fire at Kapoor Sawmills Ltd.

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription15206
Repository
Burnaby Village Museum
Date
14 Jan. 1947 (date of original), copied 2004
Collection/Fonds
In the Shadow by the Sea collection
Description Level
Item
Physical Description
1 photograph (tiff) : 300 dpi
Scope and Content
Photograph of a fire at Kapoor Sawmills Limited in January 1947.
Repository
Burnaby Village Museum
Collection/Fonds
In the Shadow by the Sea collection
Description Level
Item
Physical Description
1 photograph (tiff) : 300 dpi
Scope and Content
Photograph of a fire at Kapoor Sawmills Limited in January 1947.
History
Kapoor Singh Siddoo was born in 1885 in the Punjab village of Kharaudi, India. Kapoor was one of the pioneer South Asian Canadian Sikhs who immigrated to America in 1906 and onto Canada in 1912. Kapoor first arrived in San Francisco in 1906, along with twenty uneducated men from the Province of Punjab, India. Kapoor was the only one among these men who was educated so acted as their interpreter, manager and accountant. They worked along the Southern Pacific Railway line near Marysville, California, toward Reno and Nevada. Kapoor heard about the beauty of British Columbia and decided to travel to the west coast but times were tough with discrimination against all South Asians in British Columbia. With this information, Kapoor traveled east to Northern Ontario where he tried homesteading for a year but the extreme winter conditions didn’t appeal to him. Kapoor returned to British Columbia after receiving word from South Asian Canadians that they were in need of an educated accountant/manager for a sawmill. In 1923, with the change in immigration laws, Kapoor arranged for his wife, Besant Kaur to emigrate from India. Besant came to Canada accompanied by Kapoor’s older brother. Kapoor and Besant had two daughters, both born in Duncan B.C. Jagdis Kaur Siddoo was born in 1925 and Sarjit Kaur Siddoo was born in 1926. Both of their daughters graduated as doctors from University of Toronto medical school. His career in B.C. began as a lumberman for a large lumber mill on Vancouver Island until 1935. Following this, Kapoor established the Kapoor Lumber Company Limited and operated a mill at Shawnigan Lake before eventually purchasing 45 acres in 1939 of the eastern section of the former Barnet Mill site in Burnaby. He purchased the site from the Municipality of Burnaby under the name of Modern Sawmills Limited since there was a restriction on selling this piece of a property to a non-white person. Eventually the name was changed to Kapoor Sawmills Limited. Kapoor’s company was a financial success but was tragically razed on January 14, 1947 due to a devastating fire. A smaller mill was rebuilt on the site and Kapoor maintained a successful financial operation until 1959. In 1959, Kapoor Siddoo was considered one of Vancouver’s most influential men in the South Asian Community. In this same year, the family set up the Kapoor Singh Siddoo Foundation and with help from his wife and daughters opened a hospital in the Punjab village of Aur. In 1964, Kapoor died in India at the age of 79 years. Kapoor’s younger brother, Tara Singh Siddoo came to Canada from India in 1906 but after suffering discrimination, he returned to India in 1912. Several years later Tara returned to Canada joining Kapoor at a logging mill on Vancouver Island. Lesser shares of the mill were held by Tara and other family members. Tara and his wife, Beant Siddoo lived at Barnet between 1943 and 1945, with their family of five sons, Lakhbeer, Gurdeb, Gurcharn, Baldev, Hardev and three daughters, Harjeet (Sangha), Runjeet (Basi) and Buckshish (Sarai). One of Tara’s responsibilities was to oversee the logging camp and ensure that the logs arrived regularly from Cowichan Bay near Duncan to the Barnet logging mill.
Subjects
Industries - Logging/lumber
Natural Phenomena - Fires
Occupations - Fire Fighters
Persons - South Asian Canadians
Names
Kapoor Sawmills Limited
Burnaby Fire Department
Geographic Access
Burrard Inlet
Barnet Marine Park
Accession Code
BV019.32.27
Access Restriction
No restrictions
Reproduction Restriction
May be restricted by third party rights
Date
14 Jan. 1947 (date of original), copied 2004
Media Type
Photograph
Historic Neighbourhood
Barnet (Historic Neighbourhood)
Planning Study Area
Burnaby Mountain Area
Notes
Title based on contents of photograph
Information from page 6 of The Province newspaper-Jan. 15, 1947 confirms that the fire occurred on January 14, 1947
See page 67 of book "In the Shadow by the Sea - Recollections of Burnaby's Barnet Village". Caption with photograph reads: "The February, 1947 Kapoor Sawmill fire. Maintenance workers were trying to thaw out frozen bearings on a machine with a blowtorch and inadvertently started a fire in oily shavings. all the water pipes were frozen preventing the workers from dousing the intital small flames. Finally, but too late to prevent the mill's destruction, water was pumped in from the inlet by the Burnaby Fire Department."
Images
Less detail

303 records – page 1 of 16.