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Four men standing on ʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) First Nation farmland

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription4254

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: [1951] (date of original), copied 2017

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum Photograph collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph (tiff) : 600 dpi

Scope and Content: Photograph of four men standing in farming clothing on leased farm land of the ʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) First Nation. From L-R: Chan Kow Hong, Mr. Wong (Josephine Hong's uncle), Mr. Leong (Josephine Hong's uncle) and Gay Tim Hong. Planting crates evident on farmland in background.

1 image

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum Photograph collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph (tiff) : 600 dpi

Scope and Content: Photograph of four men standing in farming clothing on leased farm land of the ʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) First Nation. From L-R: Chan Kow Hong, Mr. Wong (Josephine Hong's uncle), Mr. Leong (Josephine Hong's uncle) and Gay Tim Hong. Planting crates evident on farmland in background.

History: Josephine Hong was born to Sui Ha Hong and Chan Kow Hong. The Hong Family had seven children, oldest to youngest: Pauline, Josephine, Catherine, Norine, Gary, Darlene, and Marlene. The family runs Hop-On Farm on Marine Drive in Burnaby. Many Hong family members worked on the farm including Josephine Hong's grandfather, Gay Tim Hong, and uncles. Her great-grandfather was Sui Wing Hong.

Subjects: Indigenous peoples - British Columbia; Persons - Chinese Canadians

Names: Hop On Farms; Hong, Chan Kow; Hong, Gay Tim; ʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam)

Geographic Access: Byrne Road

Accession Code: BV017.36.5

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: May be restricted by third party rights

Date: [1951] (date of original), copied 2017

Media Type: Photograph

Historic Neighbourhood: Fraser Arm (Historic Neighbourhood)

Related Material: See Oral History Interview-BV020.6.1

Scan Resolution: 600

Scan Date: 12/3/2017

Scale: 100

Notes: Title based on contents of photograph.

Images

Four men standing on ʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) First Nation farmland, [1951] (date of original), copied 2017 thumbnail

Interview with Cice Brown, May 13, 2005 - Track 5

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription4480

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: 1930-1949 (interview content), interviewed May 10, 2005

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum fonds

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 sound recording (mp3) (0:07:55 min)

Scope and Content: Track 5: This portion of the recording continues with the topic of recreation. The next questions pertain to restrictions on children at the time, cultural diversity, living arrangements, and toys. Cice is asked to describe her best and worst memories. She mentions that there were few restrictions …

1 audio

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum fonds

Series: Museum Oral Histories series

Subseries: Growing Up in Burnaby subseries

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 sound recording (mp3) (0:07:55 min)

Material Details: Interviewer: Tom Gooden Interviewee: Cice Brown Date of Interview: May 13, 2005 Total Number of Tracks: 7 Total length of all Tracks: 0:40:19

Scope and Content: Track 5: This portion of the recording continues with the topic of recreation. The next questions pertain to restrictions on children at the time, cultural diversity, living arrangements, and toys. Cice is asked to describe her best and worst memories. She mentions that there were few restrictions on children, and discusses the nature of community at the time. She comments on the cultural and religious backgrounds of the people she knew. Cice describes her family’s home and living arrangements, and how they reflected her family’s situation. She recalls a favourite toy.

History: Recording of an interview with Cice Brown, interviewed by Tom Gooden on May 13 2005. This recording was completed for an exhibit, Growing Up in Burnaby, for the Burnaby Village Museum. Major themes discussed are growing up in Burnaby in the 1930s and 40s.

Creator: Burnaby Village Museum

Subjects: Indigenous peoples - British Columbia; Persons - Children

Names: Brown, Cice Chandler

Accession Code: BV017.45.3

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: May be restricted by third party rights

Date: 1930-1949 (interview content), interviewed May 10, 2005

Media Type: Sound Recording

Audio Tracks

Interview with Cice Brown, May 13, 2005 - Track 5, 1930-1949 (interview content), interviewed May 10, 2005

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_BVM_Sound_Recordings/Oral_Histories/2017_0045_0003_005.mp3

Interview with Prem Kaur Gill, Santokh Singh Gill and Mohinder Kaur Gill

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription19347

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: [1957-2022] (interview content), interviewed 11 Nov. 2022

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum fonds

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 sound recording (m4a) (118 min., 39 sec.) + 1 sound recording (mp3) (115 min., 20 sec.)

Scope and Content: Item consists of an oral history interview with Santokh "Gurmail" Singh Gill and Mohinder Kaur Gill and their daughter, Prem Kaur Gill conducted by interviewers, Anushay Malik and Rajdeep. The interview is conducted in English, Punjabi, Hindi and Urdu. The three members of the Gill family share the…

1 audio

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum fonds

Series: Museum Oral Histories series

Subseries: South Asian Canadian Interviews subseries

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 sound recording (m4a) (118 min., 39 sec.) + 1 sound recording (mp3) (115 min., 20 sec.)

Material Details: Interviewers: Anushay Malik, Rajdeep Interviewees: Prem Kaur Gill, Santokh "Gurmail" Singh Gill and Mohinder Kaur Gill Location of Interview: Gill family residence on Warwick Avenue in Burnaby Interview Date: November 11, 2022 Total Number of tracks: 1 Total Length of all Tracks: (1:58:39) Digital master recording (m4a) was converted to mp3 for access on Heritage Burnaby

Scope and Content: Item consists of an oral history interview with Santokh "Gurmail" Singh Gill and Mohinder Kaur Gill and their daughter, Prem Kaur Gill conducted by interviewers, Anushay Malik and Rajdeep. The interview is conducted in English, Punjabi, Hindi and Urdu. The three members of the Gill family share their ancestral background, their personal experiences immigrating to Canada, living in Burnaby and working in British Columbia as South Asian immigrants. 00:00 – 27:34 Santokh “Gurmail” Singh Gill and Mohinder Kaur Gill share their migration stories and experiences living and working in British Columbia as South Asian immigrants and their eldest child, Prem Kaur Gill shares her own experiences as a child of South Asian immigrants and growing up in British Columbia as a South Asian Canadian. Gurmail Singh Gill was born in the District of Jalandhar and Mohinder Kaur Gill was born in Hoshiapur of the Indian state of Punjab. Gurmail describes how he moved from India to England with his family in 1957, immigrated to Canada from England in 1966, married his wife Mohinder in England in 1968 and brought his family (parents and two siblings) to Canada from England in 1970 and other relatives including his wife’s family in the 1970s and 1980s. Mohinder and Gurmail Gill recollect their arranged marriage in England in 1968, their immigration process and explain how they arrived in Burnaby residing with a cousin at 4649 Georgia Street until they were able to purchase their own home after a few years. Gurmail shares names and connections to the relatives that came to British Columbia before him. Gurmail and Mohinder tell how they lived in the basement of the house and rented out the upper floor to save money. The couple recall what they brought with them when they immigrated to Canada and Mohinder Kaur Gill tells of how before leaving India, she and her mother made a special rajai for her to take with her. Mohinder describes the process of making a rajai (a quilted blanket that was made by hand). Gurmail and Mohinder Gill talk about the challenges that they’ve experienced as new immigrants including not being fluent in English, the cold weather and not having very many family or friends nearby to provide support. They attended the Gurdwara on Ross Street or Akali Singh Sikh Society Gurdwara on Skeena in Vancouver. They explain how there was limited access to grocery stores that supplied Punjabi and Indian spices and other cooking supplies. They talk about how they used a food mill and mortar and pestle to grind their own spices and flour and how Mohinder often made traditional sweets like barfi and laddo and pakoras using pea flour when they couldn’t get Besan flour. 27:35 – 36:11 Gurmail provides more details on his family’s immigration story, including names of relatives, how his six siblings and parents all immigrated to British Columbia in 1970 and how in the early 1970s and mid 1980’s Gurmail and his family sponsored approximately 70 friends and relations from India (including Mohinder’s family) to immigrate to Canada. When Mohinder’s family arrived they lived with them in their house until they were able to purchase property next door and build their own home. Children in the families all attended elementary and high school in Burnaby which now amounts to three generations. 36:12 – 59:28 Gurmail and Mohinder Gill talk about their experiences of racial discrimination. Gurmail recalls members of the South Asian community, Dr. Hari Prakash Sharma, Harinder Mahil and Charan Gill starting the British Columbia Organization to Fight Racism. Gurmail tells of how he got involved contributing some of his union dues as a member of CAIMAW (Canadian Association of Industrial Mechanical and Allied Workers Union- Local 15) and as a friend of Charan Gill and Raj Chouhan of the Canadian Farm Workers Union. Gurmail Gill explains how he was a founding member of CAIMAW and treasurer until the union merged with the Canadian Auto Workers Union (in 1991). Mohinder and Gurmail tell of how people from the South Asian community were discouraged from wearing Punjabi dresses or head coverings for fear of being yelled at with racial slurs and how it was often scary to go outside. Many from their community often avoided attending the Akali Singh Gurdwara since a head covering was required and people were afraid of being a target. Gurmail provides details about his work with A1 Steel, how different unions were formed pertaining to various skillsets and jobs per company and how he became a member of CAIMAW Local 15 (foundry workers). Mohinder recollects her experiences as a mother, the daily tasks involved and friends that she made who’d also emigrated from Punjab. Mohinder describes how she designed and sewed many Punjabi dresses using her electric sewing machine and how she learned English by attending adult classes at a church on Commercial Drive. Mohinder and her mother attended the classes for two hours per day for six years at a cost of twelve dollars for ten weeks. Once Mohinder could speak a little English, she started working and was able to practice more. 59:29 – 1:06:08 Mohinder, Gurmail and Prem talk about some of their favourite traditional foods including corn roti and spinach curry and how they grow many of their own vegetables including peppers, eggplant, saag (spinach), onions, garlic, cilantro, zucchini, squash and fenugreek. Mohinder reflects on how access to Punjabi clothing and fabric stores in Vancouver has changed and that ready made food is now more available. Traditional foods were previously made from scratch with women gathering together and cooking for hours and now it’s gotten easier but more expensive and less of a community feel. 1:06:09- 1:55:20 Mohinder and Gurmail Gill discuss and share their perspectives and experiences on raising a family in the past versus today. Gurmail imparts that all of his siblings became educated and secured professional careers while he continued to work in the trades. Prem Kaur Gill shares her own experiences growing up and attending school in Burnaby. Gurmail and Mohinder Gill recall the type of suitcase that they brought with them when they immigrated and how they recently they got rid of it. Gurmail and the group reflect and discuss the confusion with racial identity terms that have been used in this country. They comment that South Asians were referred to as “Hindu” and “East Indian” and Indigenous peoples were referred to as “Indian” and the controversy and racism behind some of these terms. The group discusses the impact of the caste system and other discriminatory experiences and compare their experiences of living in England to living in Canada. Prem comments on how it’s just recently that South Asian customs, celebrations and practices have been recognized and celebrated here in Canada, like Diwali and yoga. They comment on how much of the language, culture and customs have been retained in Surrey where many can still communicate in Punjabi and don’t need to be fluent in English. The group discusses how many South Asians immigrants first lived and worked in Vancouver but with rising property prices many moved to Surrey expanding and establishing a much larger South Asian community with resources. The group discusses and compares the differing travel routes that many of them and their relatives took when immigrating and travelling between India and Canada. The group talks about Rajdeep’s ancestral village in India which is near the Gill village of Firozpur. Gurmail explains the origins and details behind his family name that was changed from “Shergill” to “Gill” and the name “Santokh” from his maternal side.

History: Interviewees' biographies: Santokh "Gurmail" Singh Gill was born in the District of Jalandhar in Punjab, India. Gurmail moved to England with his family in 1957 and immigrated to British Columbia in 1966. Gurmail married his wife, Mohinder Kaur Gill in England in 1968 and she immigrated to British Columbia from England soon after. Gurmail first lived with a cousin in Burnaby before purchasing a home of his own in Burnaby where he raised his family. Gurmail worked in the steel industry and was a member and treasurer of the CAIMAW before the union merged with the Canadian Auto Workers Union. Mohinder Kaur Gill was born in the Hoshiapur in Punjab, India. She married her husband Santokh "Gurmail" Singh Gill in England in 1968 and immigrated to Burnaby, British Columbia to join her husband. Mohinder and Gurmail Gill have four children, all born in Burnaby. Prem Kaur Gill was born in Burnaby in 1969 and is the eldest child of Santokh "Gurmail" Singh Gill and Mohinder Kaur Gill. Prem grew up and attended school in Burnaby. Interviewers' biographies: Anushay Malik is labor historian with a geographical focus on South Asia. Anushay studied at the University of London and was a research fellow at the International Institute of Social History in Amsterdam, Netherlands. In 2014, Anushay moved back to her native Pakistan and joined Lahore University of Management Services as an Assistant Professor. In 2023, Anushay is a visiting scholar at Simon Fraser University and lives in Burnaby with her family. Anushay was a co-curator of the Burnaby Village Museum exhibit “Truths Not Often Told: Being South Asian in Burnaby”. Rajdeep was born and raised in the Lower Mainland and is of Punjabi (South Asian) descent. She has an Associate of Arts degree in Asian Studies from Kwantlen Polytechnic University, a Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) in Anthropology from the University of British Columbia. She is a student in the Restoration of Natural Systems program at the University of Victoria. Rajdeep works at Simon Fraser University as a Program Assistant and as a researcher with the City of Burnaby. At Burnaby Village Museum, Rajdeep contributed to the exhibit “Truths Not Often Told: Being South Asian in Burnaby”.

Creator: Burnaby Village Museum

Subjects: Clothing; Foods; Indigenous peoples; Buildings - Religious - Temples; Food Processing Tools and Equipment; Persons - South Asian Canadians; Social Issues; Social Issues - Racism; Migration; Occupations; Organizations - Unions

Names: Gill, Prem Kaur; Gill, Mohinder Kaur; Gill, Santokh "Gurmail" Singh

Responsibility: Rajdeep; Malik, Anushay

Accession Code: BV022.29.2

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: No known restrictions

Date: [1957-2022] (interview content), interviewed 11 Nov. 2022

Media Type: Sound Recording

Notes: Title based on contents of item; Transcript available upon request - contact Burnaby Village Museum; Indian Family System Reference notes: Baba = informal way to say grandfather; old man Bibi = informal way to say grandmother; old woman Dada= paternal grandfather Dadi= paternal grandmother Dadke= paternal family members; paternal side (Various spellings might exist for the following terms) Thaiyya= father’s elder brother (uncle) Thaiyyi= father’s elder brother’s wife (aunt) Chacha= father’s younger brother (uncle) Chachi= father’s younger brother’s wife (aunt) Bua= father’s sister (older or younger) (aunt) Phuphar= father’s sister’s husband (uncle) Nana= maternal grandfather Nani= maternal grandmother Nanke/nanka= maternal family members; maternal side Mama= mom’s brother (older or younger) (uncle) Mami= mom’s brother’s wife (aunt) Maasi= mom’s sister (older or younger) (aunt) Maasard= mom’s sister’s husband (uncle)

Audio Tracks

Interview with Prem Kaur Gill, Santokh Singh Gill and Mohinder Kaur Gill, [1957-2022] (interview content), interviewed 11 Nov. 2022

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_BVM_Sound_Recordings/Oral_Histories/2022_0029_0002_002.mp3

Interview with Josephine Chow by Denise Fong February 7, 2020

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription12337

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: [1900-2020] (interview content), interviewed Feb. 7, 2020

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum fonds

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 sound recording (mp3) (00:43:19 min.)

Scope and Content: Recording consists of an interview with Josephine Chow (nee Hong) conducted by BVM researcher Denise Fong at the Burnaby Village Museum. Josephine describes her family history and recollects her childhood experiences in 1950s and 60s while growing with her family on their "Hop On" farm in Burnaby. …

1 image 1 audio

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum fonds

Series: Museum Oral Histories series

Subseries: Chinese Canadians in Burnaby subseries

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 sound recording (mp3) (00:43:19 min.)

Material Details: Interviewer: Denise Fong Interviewee: Josephine Chow Location of Interview: Burnaby Village Museum Interview Date: February 7, 2020 Total Number of Tracks: 1 Total Length of all Tracks: 00:43:19

Scope and Content: Recording consists of an interview with Josephine Chow (nee Hong) conducted by BVM researcher Denise Fong at the Burnaby Village Museum. Josephine describes her family history and recollects her childhood experiences in 1950s and 60s while growing with her family on their "Hop On" farm in Burnaby. The farm is situated in the Big Bend area along Marine Drive and is still in operation today. 0:00-08:45 Josephine Chow provides some historical background on the history of “Hop On Farm” and her family in British Columbia. She tells of how her grandfather Gay Tim Hong and three partners pooled money together to purchase twelve acres on Marine Drive in 1951. Prior to this, most of them farmed on the ʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) First Nation Reserve for 20-30 years. It all began when her great grandfather Sui Wing Hong, first came to Canada from China and slowly brought over her grandfather, father and other members of the family. Her grandfather, Gay Tim Hong went back and forth between Canada and China at least four times since he and her grandmother had four children including her father, who was born in 1931. Her father came to Canada at 10 years of age to live with his father. Josephine’s great grandfather came to Vancouver from Zhongshan county in Canton Province (also known as Guangdong). 8:46- 14:20 Josephine provides the names of her siblings from the eldest to the youngest; Pauline, Josephine (herself), Catherine, Noreen, Gary, Darlene and Marlene. She describes what life was like on the farm with her parents working from sunrise to sunset. The family farmed vegetable produce taking orders from local stores in the lower mainland. Often the children helped their parents with the orders starting at eight or nine years of age. Other workers on the farm travelled by bus from Vancouver’s Chinatown. She also tells of how her father was an animal lover and raised chickens, pigeons, geese, koy, goldfish and dogs. 14: 21 – 16:56 Josephine describes what Burnaby was like during the time that she grew up in the late 1950s. She explains that Burnaby was very quiet with nothing being open on Sundays. On the farm, she and her siblings would entertain themselves by playing games like soccer, baseball and kick ball or also by catching frogs, snails, caterpillars and ladybugs. There were neighbours living on Marine Drive and almost every house had someone who we went to the same elementary school. The neighbourhood children would often come to play with them on their farm. 16:56- 26:47 Josephine describes how when they were young there were farms all around them and how on Sunday drives with her father, they would go to feed horses or look at the cows. Josephine shares that her elder sister Pauline was the only one born in China and how when she first arrived that she lived on the ʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) First Nations Reserve with their parents before they moved to Burnaby. Josephine recollects that most of her friends were farmer’s kids from the neighbourhood but while in school, she had more Caucasian friends. Josephine and her siblings attended Glenwood Elementary on Marine Drive and later Junior Secondary at McPherson Park (grades 8-10) and Burnaby South Senior Secondary (grades 11-12. ). She shares some of her experiences while attending school. She said that there were about a dozen Asians in school with her, mostly from farming families in the “Flats”. 26:48- 30:45 Josephine describes what life was like for her and her siblings after school. They often helped on the farm when they got home, usually taking care of orders for green onions. Her mother made dinner and did all of the cooking for family and workers on the farm as well as working in the fields. Her father did all of the grocery shopping in Vancouver’s Chinatown two or three times per week where he purchased meat and fish. She says that her grandfather, often travelled by bus every Saturday or Sunday to meet up with friends in Chinatown. Extracurricular activities for her and her siblings included volley ball and soccer as long as it didn’t interfere with their work schedule on the farm. 30:46- 37:03 Josephine describes what occurred while living at home, the food they ate, shopping and attending Chinese school. Her mother cooked only Chinese food, she didn’t know how to cook “Western food”. For school lunches, the kids made their own sandwiches. She tells of a Chinese language school arranged by Mrs. Joe [sic] who lived on Gilley Road and was Canadian born Chinese. Mrs. Joe [sic] also arranged an English class for farmer’s wives on Tuesday nights in which her mother attended. Josephine recollects learning Mandarin from Mrs. Joe [sic] a few days a week after her regular school. Chinese school took place at Riverway School on Meadow Avenue in Burnaby. Mrs. Joe also taught them a lot about Chinese culture including Kung Fu, Chinese Dance and Chinese brush painting. 37:04- 39:39 Josephine describes Medical Care for her and her family in the 1950s and 1960s. She tells of a female Chinese doctor in Vancouver, Dr. Madeline Chung. Dr. Chung was responsible for delivering a lot of Chinese babies including Josephine. The family also visited herbalists in Vancouver Chinatown. They would often buy herbs for colds etc. Josephine also tells of how her parents stayed in touch with family in China by writing letters. Her mother’s family, including her parents and siblings were still in China while most of her father’s family were here in Canada. 39:40- 43:19 – In closing, Josephine shares how life is much busier now and of how she misses the quietness of her days growing up. She briefly describes her life on the family farm now and how different it is from when her parents worked the farm. She explains how farming methods have changed and how they don’t have to work as hard as her parents did.

History: Interviewee biography: Josephine Chow (nee Hong) is the second eldest child of Chan Kow Hong and Sui Ha Hong. In 1925, Josephine's grandfather, Gay Tim Hong immigrated to Canada from Zhongshan county in Canton Province (also known as Guangdong). In 1952, her father, Chan Kow Hong joined his father, Gay Tim Hong and by 1953, he established "Hop On Farms" in the Big Bend area of Burnaby near Marine Drive. Josephine grew up on the farm with her parents and six siblings; Pauline, Catherine, Norine, Gary, Darlene and Marlene. In 1969, Josephine's elder sister Pauline and her husband Jack Chan took over the family farm and in 1972 their father and grandfather moved to Kamloops to open a restaurant. As an adult, Josephine worked in several different areas including owning and running her own Aesthetics business. Josephine eventually retired and returned to the farm to assist her siblings. The farm is still in operation. Interviewer biography: Denise Fong is a historical researcher at Burnaby Village Museum. She has degrees in Anthropology (BA) and Archaeology (MA), and is completing her doctoral degree at UBC in Interdisciplinary Studies. Her primary research interests are in Chinese Canadian history and critical heritage studies. She is the co-curator of BVM’s “Across the Pacific” exhibition, and the Museum of Vancouver’s “A Seat at the Table – Chinese Immigration and British Columbia”.

Creator: Burnaby Village Museum

Subjects: Persons - Chinese Canadians; Agriculture - Farms; Education; Buildings - Schools; First Nations reserves - British Columbia

Names: Chow, Josephine; Glenwood Elementary School; McPherson Park Junior Secondary School; ʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam)

Responsibility: Fong, Denise

Geographic Access: Byrne Road

Accession Code: BV020.6.1

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: No known restrictions

Date: [1900-2020] (interview content), interviewed Feb. 7, 2020

Media Type: Sound Recording

Historic Neighbourhood: Fraser Arm (Historic Neighbourhood)

Planning Study Area: Big Bend Area

Related Material: See also BV017.36*

Scan Resolution: 600

Scan Date: 12/3/2017

Scale: 100

Notes: Title based on contents of interview; Photograph info: Gary Hong and Chan Kow Hong harvesting celery at Hop-On Farms [1969]. BV017.36.4

Images

Audio Tracks

Interview with Josephine Chow by Denise Fong February 7, 2020, [1900-2020] (interview content), interviewed Feb. 7, 2020

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_BVM_Sound_Recordings/Oral_Histories/2020_0006_0001_001.mp3

Group portrait of Yamamoto and Tamura families

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription4327

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: [1957] (date of original), copied 2016

Collection/Fonds: Tokio and Yoshino Yamamoto family fonds

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph (tiff)

Scope and Content: Photograph of group portrait of the extended Yamamoto and Tamura families. Women are wearing traditional Japanese kumunos and men and boys are wearing suits. Back row (L-R): Tokio Yamamoto, Shozo Tamura, Fukusaburo Tamura, Yoichi Tamura, Yoshino Yamamoto (nee Tamura), Kenji Tamura. Back row (L-R): …

1 image

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: Tokio and Yoshino Yamamoto family fonds

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph (tiff)

Scope and Content: Photograph of group portrait of the extended Yamamoto and Tamura families. Women are wearing traditional Japanese kumunos and men and boys are wearing suits. Back row (L-R): Tokio Yamamoto, Shozo Tamura, Fukusaburo Tamura, Yoichi Tamura, Yoshino Yamamoto (nee Tamura), Kenji Tamura. Back row (L-R): Reiko Moizumi (nee Yamamoto), Meene Tamura, Akemi Jordan (nee Yamamoto), Hana Takamura (nee Tamura). Group is posing in front of a photographer's background.

Subjects: Persons - Japanese Canadians

Names: Jordan, Akemi Yamamoto; Moizumi, Reiko Yamamoto; Takamura, Hana Tamura; Tamura, Kenji; Tamura, Fukusaburo; Tamura, Meene; Tamura, Shozo; Tamura, Yoichi; Yamamoto, Tokio; Yamamoto, Yoshino Tamura; Yamamoto family; Tamura family

Accession Code: BV016.11.9

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Date: [1957] (date of original), copied 2016

Media Type: Photograph

Scan Resolution: 600

Scan Date: 4/24/2016

Scale: 100

Images

Group portrait of Yamamoto and Tamura families, [1957] (date of original), copied 2016 thumbnail

Interview 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 …

1 audio

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

Series: Centennial Oral History project series

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

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Oral_Histories/_Unrestricted/MSS187-017/MSS187-017_Track_2.mp3

Interview with Toki Miyashita by Rod Fowler February 27, 1990 - Track 7

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/oralhistory522

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Date Range: 1930-1990

Length: 00:13:56

Summary: This portion of the interview is about Toki Miyashita’s memories of the internment, separation of her father from the family to work on road camps, where she was born in Richmond at the Nelson Brothers “fishery”, confiscation of home in 1942, eventual Redress, and lingering feelings of fear and dis…

1 audio

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Summary: This portion of the interview is about Toki Miyashita’s memories of the internment, separation of her father from the family to work on road camps, where she was born in Richmond at the Nelson Brothers “fishery”, confiscation of home in 1942, eventual Redress, and lingering feelings of fear and distrust in her family. She also talks about visiting Hiroshima on her trip to Japan in 1980

Date Range: 1930-1990

Length: 00:13:56

Subjects: Wars - World War, 1939-1945; 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

Series: Centennial Oral History project series

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 seven of interview with Toki Miyashita

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Oral_Histories/_Unrestricted/MSS187-017/MSS187-017_Track_7.mp3

Japanese Bath House

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription464

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: [1956] (date of original), copied 1978

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum Photograph collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph : b&w ; 20.2 x 25.3 cm print

Scope and Content: Photograph of a Japanese bath house built outdoors. There are stacks of wood beside the bath house, which is a small wooden structure with a few small windows.There is a plank board walk on the side of the bath house leading to a well. In the centre of the photograph is a man leaning over a stove.…

1 image

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum Photograph collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph : b&w ; 20.2 x 25.3 cm print

Scope and Content: Photograph of a Japanese bath house built outdoors. There are stacks of wood beside the bath house, which is a small wooden structure with a few small windows.There is a plank board walk on the side of the bath house leading to a well. In the centre of the photograph is a man leaning over a stove. According to a letter sent by the donor, the bath house was built around 1945 - 1946 at Mission Flats, Kamloops, BC by the donor's father, Junzo Yamake (1895-1973). At the time of the letter, the site was part of the Weyerhauser Company's pulp mill complex. The bath house was constructed to complement the house the donor's family was living as there was no indoor bathroom. She writes that it was strange to live in a huge, comfortable English style house, and still have an outhouse, and the outdoor Japanese bath house that were situated around the house. Also, she indicates the man in the centre is her father, Junzo Yamake, boiling water to do spring cleaning.

Subjects: Persons - Japanese Canadians; Buildings - Residential

Names: Yamake, Junzo

Accession Code: HV978.11.2

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: May be restricted by third party rights

Date: [1956] (date of original), copied 1978

Media Type: Photograph

Related Material: For another photograph of the same bath house, see HV978.11.1

Scan Resolution: 600

Scan Date: 2023-08-01

Photographer: Kakutani, James Kiyoshi "Jimmie"

Notes: Title based on contents of photograph

Images

Japanese Bath House, [1956] (date of original), copied 1978 thumbnail

Passenger List of the Hikawa Maru

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription4328

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: [1958] (date of original), copied 2016

Collection/Fonds: Tokio and Yoshino Yamamoto family fonds

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 10 photographs (tiff)

Scope and Content: Copy scan of Souvenir Passenger List for N.Y.K Line M.S. “Hikawa Maru”, 1958. Yoshino, Reiko and Akemi Yamamoto are listed on page 6 as travelling from Yokohama to Vancouver.

1 image

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: Tokio and Yoshino Yamamoto family fonds

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 10 photographs (tiff)

Scope and Content: Copy scan of Souvenir Passenger List for N.Y.K Line M.S. “Hikawa Maru”, 1958. Yoshino, Reiko and Akemi Yamamoto are listed on page 6 as travelling from Yokohama to Vancouver.

Subjects: Persons - Japanese Canadians

Names: Yamamoto family

Accession Code: BV016.11.11

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: No known restrictions

Date: [1958] (date of original), copied 2016

Media Type: Photograph

Scan Resolution: 600

Scan Date: 4/24/2016

Scale: 100

Images

Passenger List of the Hikawa Maru, [1958] (date of original), copied 2016 thumbnail

Tokio and Yoshino Yamamoto

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription4326

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: [between 1958 and 1965] (date of original), copied 2016

Collection/Fonds: Tokio and Yoshino Yamamoto family fonds

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph (tiff)

Scope and Content: Photograph of Tokio and Yoshino Yamamoto (nee Tamura). Yoshino is wearing a traditional Japanese kumono and is seated on a chair, Tokio is wearing a suit, standing at her side. Couple is posing in front of a photographer's background of a study. Photograph was taken during a return trip to Japan af…

1 image

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: Tokio and Yoshino Yamamoto family fonds

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph (tiff)

Scope and Content: Photograph of Tokio and Yoshino Yamamoto (nee Tamura). Yoshino is wearing a traditional Japanese kumono and is seated on a chair, Tokio is wearing a suit, standing at her side. Couple is posing in front of a photographer's background of a study. Photograph was taken during a return trip to Japan after their move to Vancouver in 1958.

Subjects: Persons - Japanese Canadians

Names: Yamamoto, Yoshino Tamura; Yamamoto, Tokio

Accession Code: BV016.11.10

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Date: [between 1958 and 1965] (date of original), copied 2016

Media Type: Photograph

Scan Resolution: 600

Scan Date: 4/24/2016

Scale: 100

Images

Tokio and Yoshino Yamamoto, [between 1958 and 1965] (date of original), copied 2016 thumbnail

Interview with Merrill M. Gordon by Rod Fowler March 19, 1990 - Track 8

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/oralhistory479

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Date Range: 1956-1990

Length: 00:10:17

Summary: This portion of the interview is about Merrill Gordon’s founding and operation of the youth soccer exchange with Washington State, and the importance of soccer to the community. He discusses the problem of isolation between north and south Burnaby, planned development in Burnaby, and the contributi…

1 image 1 audio

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Summary: This portion of the interview is about Merrill Gordon’s founding and operation of the youth soccer exchange with Washington State, and the importance of soccer to the community. He discusses the problem of isolation between north and south Burnaby, planned development in Burnaby, and the contributions of Ratepayer groups and volunteers

Date Range: 1956-1990

Photo Info: Burnaby Alderman Merrill Gordon (second from right) following a candidates' meeting, 1973. Item no. 480-263

Length: 00:10:17

Subjects: Persons - Volunteers; Sports - Soccer; Public Services - Municipal Services; Planning

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

Series: Centennial Oral History project series

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 Merrill Gordon (second from right) following a candidates' meeting, 1973. Item no. 480-263 thumbnail

Audio Tracks

Track eight of interview with Merrill Gordon

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Oral_Histories/_Unrestricted/MSS187-020/MSS187-020_Track_8.mp3

Burnaby Waterworks

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription39587

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Date: [1950]

Collection/Fonds: Engineering Department fonds

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph : b&w ; 20 x 25 cm

Scope and Content: Photograph of seven men standing in front of a truck with a sign that reads; "Corporation of Burnaby Waterworks Dept." written on its side.

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Date: [1950]

Collection/Fonds: Engineering Department fonds

Series: Engineering General and Administration series

Physical Description: 1 photograph : b&w ; 20 x 25 cm

Description Level: Item

Record No.: CBA11

Access Restriction: Open access

Reproduction Restriction: Reproduce for fair dealing purposes only

Accession Number: 2004-06

Scope and Content: Photograph of seven men standing in front of a truck with a sign that reads; "Corporation of Burnaby Waterworks Dept." written on its side.

Subjects: Public Services - Utilities; Occupations - Civic Workers; Public Services - Public Works

Names: Burnaby Waterworks

Media Type: Photograph

North Burnaby High School Graduates 1954

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription163

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: 1954

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum Photograph collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph : b&w ; 36.5 x 58.5 cm mounted on board 76 x 101.5 cm

Scope and Content: Photograph of graduates of North Burnaby High School in 1954 with all names of graduates scripted on mounting board by E.Skrypec. Row 1: L. Fox, S. Johnson, R. Larson, B. Milaney, J. Watson, D. Spring, G. Calder, J. Forester, A. Nash, J. McGiveron, M. Meikle, T. Brooks, J. Meikle, S. Hill, B. Bil…

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum Photograph collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph : b&w ; 36.5 x 58.5 cm mounted on board 76 x 101.5 cm

Scope and Content: Photograph of graduates of North Burnaby High School in 1954 with all names of graduates scripted on mounting board by E.Skrypec. Row 1: L. Fox, S. Johnson, R. Larson, B. Milaney, J. Watson, D. Spring, G. Calder, J. Forester, A. Nash, J. McGiveron, M. Meikle, T. Brooks, J. Meikle, S. Hill, B. Bilson, F. Stewart, M. Slavin, H. Trayling, B. Bourne, M. Mothe, M. Bazylevich, S. Yorston, E. Underwood, S. Sandberg, A. Craig, A. Holzman, M. Cranston, W. Pendygrasse and L. Holland. Row 2: S. Willimas, S. Anderson, G. Burgess, I. Radill, J. Jopling, J. Wong, K. McNicol, D. Gallie, W. Brigden, I. Frank, J. Elliott, P. Wooldard, D. Drummond, E. Murray, K. Nelson, B. Smith, J. Purser, D. Lister, N. Husband, A. Ryder and G. Olafson. Row 3: B. Beaumont, W. Judyski, B. Chamberland, R. Dyck, H. Lunow, R. Morris, N. Trtan, S. Gill, K. Elliott, D. Demchuk, D. Wilson, H. Philbrook, D. Connorton, D. Panton, G. Monk, G. Kubicek, J. Christian, H. Pendygrasse, D. Norman and H. Peterson. Row 4: C. Allen, J. MacDonald, H. Siddoo, G. Boyd, G. Norgard, P. Iannucci, R. McDonnell, B. Mills, R. Ostby, K. Bennett, F. McAuley, G. Topham, G. Clapp, H. Rink, T. Scuffi, B. Dolman, L. Armstrong, W. Cross, E. Matiash and B. Miles. Row 5: V. Cinnamon, T. Saunders, E. Skrypec, S. Bonettemaker, G. Barr, W. Greba, B. Asleson, B. Launder, F. Punko, J. Maxwell, J. McTaggart, D. Allen, W. Plevy, J. Bailey and R. Zacharias.

Subjects: Persons - Students; Persons - Chinese Canadians; Events; Buildings - Schools; Persons - South Asian Canadians

Names: Siddoo, Hardev; Wong, Jessie; Burnaby North High School

Geographic Access: Pandora Street

Street Address: 4375 Pandora Street

Accession Code: BV985.30.1

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: May be restricted by third party rights

Date: 1954

Media Type: Photograph

Historic Neighbourhood: Vancouver Heights (Historic Neighbourhood)

Planning Study Area: Burnaby Heights Area

Notes: Title based on contents of item

Beamish, Ludlow W. Dr. - Burnaby Politics

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription58832

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Date: 1957

Collection/Fonds: Columbian Newspaper collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph : b&w ; 12 x 9.5 cm

Scope and Content: Photograph of Dr. Ludlow W. Beamish, who served on the Burnaby Family Court Committee, and an unidentified man.

1 image

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Date: 1957

Collection/Fonds: Columbian Newspaper collection

Physical Description: 1 photograph : b&w ; 12 x 9.5 cm

Description Level: Item

Record No.: 480-1293

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: Reproduce for fair dealing purposes only

Accession Number: 2009-01

Scope and Content: Photograph of Dr. Ludlow W. Beamish, who served on the Burnaby Family Court Committee, and an unidentified man.

Subjects: Public Services - Municipal Services

Names: Beamish, Dr. Ludlow W.

Media Type: Photograph

Notes: Title based on contents of photograph

Images

Beamish, Ludlow W. Dr. - Burnaby Politics, 1957 thumbnail

Interview 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…

1 audio

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

Subjects: Public Services - Municipal Services; Organizations - Unions

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

Series: Centennial Oral History project series

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

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Oral_Histories/_Unrestricted/MSS187-015/MSS187-015_Track_4.mp3

Interview with Sev Morin by Rod Fowler April 4, 1990 - Track 10

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/oralhistory546

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Date Range: 1950-1990

Length: 00:09:22

Summary: This portion of the interview is about Sev Morin’s views about Burnaby’s identity and the irrelevance of municipal boundary lines for many functions; his identification of Burnaby’s heritage, ecological and educational “gems”; and musings about the next development phases for Burnaby

1 image 1 audio

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Summary: This portion of the interview is about Sev Morin’s views about Burnaby’s identity and the irrelevance of municipal boundary lines for many functions; his identification of Burnaby’s heritage, ecological and educational “gems”; and musings about the next development phases for Burnaby

Date Range: 1950-1990

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: 00:09:22

Names: Lawson, Doreen A.; Emmott, Alan H; Swangard Stadium

Subjects: Public Services - Municipal Services; Planning; Industries; Geographic Features - Parks; Buildings - Recreational

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

Series: Centennial Oral History project series

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

Sev Morin (left) of Severin's in Burnaby (formerly the Gai Paree) hosting a gala New Year's celebration, 1979. Item no. 480-712 thumbnail

Audio Tracks

Track ten of interview with Sev Morin

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Oral_Histories/_Unrestricted/MSS187-021/MSS187-021_Track%2010.mp3

Interview with Les Francis by Eric Damer October 16, 2012 - Track 3

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/oralhistory329

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Date Range: 1930-1979

Length: 0:10:35

Summary: This portion of the recording pertains to Les Francis's years of working with the municipality of Burnaby, with a focus on waterworks. Les describes the influence of industry and population on the water system as well as the history of the Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD) Water Board.

1 image 1 audio

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Summary: This portion of the recording pertains to Les Francis's years of working with the municipality of Burnaby, with a focus on waterworks. Les describes the influence of industry and population on the water system as well as the history of the Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD) Water Board.

Date Range: 1930-1979

Photo Info: Les Francis (far right) receiving a Burnaby Long Service Award at the Gai Paree Supper Club, 1964. Item no. 485-070.

Length: 0:10:35

Subjects: Occupations - Civic Workers; Public Services - Public Works

Interviewer: Damer, Eric

Interview Date: October 16, 2012

Scope and Content: Recording is an interview with Les Francis conducted by Burnaby Village Museum employee Eric Damer, October 16, 2012. Major theme discussed: the role of the municipal worker in the nineteen-thirties through the war years.

Biographical Notes: Les Francis was born in London, England, in 1914 and came with his family to Burnaby in 1919. Except for a few years away on special projects, Les has lived in Burnaby ever since. After attending Kingsway West Elementary and Burnaby South High Schools, Les joined the municipal work force. He first worked as a clerk in 1930 and later joined the Engineering Department where he spent his career maintaining and extending the municipal water system. Les Francis retired in 1979 as the City of Burnaby's Work's Superintendent.

Total Tracks: 4

Total Length: 0:43:18

Interviewee Name: Francis, Les

Interview Location: Interviewee's residence

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

Collection/Fonds: Community Heritage Commission Special Projects fonds

Series: Burna-Boom Oral History Project series

Transcript Available: None

Media Type: Sound Recording

Images

Les Francis (far right) receiving a Burnaby Long Service Award at the Gai Paree Supper Club, 1964. Item no. 485-070. thumbnail

Audio Tracks

Track three of recording of interview with Les Francis

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Oral_Histories/_Unrestricted/MSS171-010/MSS171-010_Track_3.mp3

Interview with Reidun Seim by Kathy Bossort January 13, 2016 - Track 6

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/oralhistory655

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Date Range: 1930-1950

Length: 0:12:19

Summary: This portion of the interview is about Reidun Seim talking about the end of municipal water service at Philips Avenue and the public tap available there for residents living on Burnaby Mountain. She talks about the City of Vancouver cemetery property. She describes the families and people who live…

1 audio

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Summary: This portion of the interview is about Reidun Seim talking about the end of municipal water service at Philips Avenue and the public tap available there for residents living on Burnaby Mountain. She talks about the City of Vancouver cemetery property. She describes the families and people who lived on Burnwood (2nd Ave), and the mushroom farm that operated next door to the Seim farm.

Date Range: 1930-1950

Length: 0:12:19

Subjects: Geographic Features - Neighbourhoods; Public Services - Public Works

Geographic Access: Burnaby Mountain Conservation Area; Burnwood Avenue

Historic Neighbourhood: Lochdale (Historic Neighbourhood)

Planning Study Area: Lochdale Area; Westridge Area

Interviewer: Bossort, Kathy

Interview Date: January 13, 2016

Scope and Content: Recording is of an interview with Reidun Seim conducted by Kathy Bossort. Reidun Seim was one of 23 participants interviewed as part of the Community Heritage Commission’s Burnaby Mountain Oral History Project. The interview is mainly about Reidun Seim’s memories about her parent’s farm on Curtis Street, events in her childhood, and the people who lived in or visited her neighborhood. She takes us on a tour of her neighborhood in the 1940s, telling us stories about families who lived on Curtis Street on and east of 7300 block, including people who lived on Burnaby Mountain in the old Hastings Grove subdivision above the end of municipal water service at Philips Avenue. She describes changes to Curtis Street, particularly after it provided access to Simon Fraser University in 1965. She also talks about her teaching career, and about how she values the green space and conservation area on Burnaby Mountain.

Biographical Notes: Reidun Seim was born in 1931 in Vancouver B.C. to Sjur and Martine Seim. Sjur and Martine Seim emigrated to Canada from Norway in 1930, and after settling in Vancouver, moved to an acre of land and a new home at the base of Burnaby Mountain in 1932. Sjur attended UBC to learn about poultry farming and began his own chicken and egg business in 1935. The farm animals and large garden also contributed to the family’s livelihood and self-sufficiency. The Curtis Street neighborhood was a lively place and extended well up Curtis Street on the west slope of Burnaby Mountain, where Reidun would babysit for families. Reidun attended Sperling Avenue Elementary School (Gr. 1-8), Burnaby North High School, and Vancouver Normal School for teacher training in 1950-1951. She began teaching primary grades in Port Coquitlam at James Park School. Most of her career was spent in North Delta, teaching at Kennedy and Annieville schools from 1954-1958, appointed Primary Consultant (1958-1960) and Primary Supervisor (1960-1985), before retiring in 1986. Reidun lived at home with her parents on Curtis Street, commuting to Delta, and continues to live in the original farmhouse.

Total Tracks: 14

Total Length: 2:35:58

Interviewee Name: Seim, Reidun

Interview Location: Burnaby City Hall in the Law Library

Interviewer Bio: Kathy Bossort is a retired archivist living in Ladner, BC. She worked at the Delta Museum and Archives after graduating from SLAIS (UBC) in 2001 with Masters degrees in library science and archival studies. Kathy grew up in Calgary, Alberta, and, prior to this career change, she lived in the West Kootenays, earning her living as a cook for BC tourist lodges and work camps. She continues to be interested in oral histories as a way to fill the gaps in the written record and bring richer meaning to history.

Collection/Fonds: Community Heritage Commission Special Projects fonds

Series: Burnaby Mountain Oral History Project series

Media Type: Sound Recording

Audio Tracks

Track six of interview with Reidun Seim

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Oral_Histories/_Unrestricted/MSS196-017/MSS196-017_Track_6.mp3

Municipal Works Yard

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription34588

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Date: 1958

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Historical Society fonds

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph : b&w ; 18.4 x 23.5 cm

Scope and Content: Photograph of Burnaby Municipal Works Yard with pipes stacked outside and a building in the background.

1 image

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Date: 1958

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Historical Society fonds

Series: Community Archives Collection series

Subseries: Photographs subseries

Physical Description: 1 photograph : b&w ; 18.4 x 23.5 cm

Description Level: Item

Record No.: 062-001

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: Reproduce for fair dealing purposes only

Accession Number: BHS2007-04

Scope and Content: Photograph of Burnaby Municipal Works Yard with pipes stacked outside and a building in the background.

Subjects: Public Services - Public Works; Buildings - Industrial

Media Type: Photograph

Notes: Title based on contents of photograph

Images

Bob O'Brien with Burnaby Garbage Department trucks

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription1260

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: [after 1941]

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum Photograph collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph : b&w ; 18 x 24 cm

Scope and Content: Photograph of six men standing in a parking lot next to four garbage trucks (two of the men are in suits). Robert Emmette O'Brien is second from the right. He worked for Burnaby for many years (the other men are unidentified). All the trucks bear the sign "Corp. of the District of Burnaby Garbage D…

1 image

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum Photograph collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph : b&w ; 18 x 24 cm

Scope and Content: Photograph of six men standing in a parking lot next to four garbage trucks (two of the men are in suits). Robert Emmette O'Brien is second from the right. He worked for Burnaby for many years (the other men are unidentified). All the trucks bear the sign "Corp. of the District of Burnaby Garbage Department" or "MUNICIPALITY OF BURNABY GARBAGE DEPARTMENT" and look to be Chevrolets built between 1941 and 1946.

Subjects: Public Services - Garbage Removal; Transportation - Trucks; Occupations - Civic Workers

Names: O'Brien, Robert Emmette

Accession Code: BV996.15.3

Access Restriction: Restricted access

Reproduction Restriction: May be restricted by third party rights

Date: [after 1941]

Media Type: Photograph

Scan Resolution: 600

Scan Date: 01-Jun-09

Scale: 100

Notes: Title based on contents of photograph; Notes written on verso of photograph reads: "R.E. O'BRIEN/ By GARBAGE WAGON 2ND FROM RIGHT/ BURNABY, B.C." and "TR 196/ O'BRIEN"

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