Narrow Results By
Creator
- Amundsen, Allan 1
- Bate, Harry Stanley "Stanley" 1
- Bingham, Alfred "Alf" 1
- Brainerd family 1
- Burnaby Gem and Mineral Club 1
- Burnaby Historical Society 1
- Burnaby Mountain Preservation Society 1
- Burnaby Outdoor Club 1
- Burnaby, Robert 1
- City of Burnaby 11
- City of Burnaby Archives 1
- Clark, Sadie Anna Holen Esau 1
Alan Fish collection
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription72547
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- [1920-1929]
- Collection/Fonds
- Alan Fish collection
- Description Level
- Fonds
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph : sepia postcard ; 8 x 13 cm
- Scope and Content
- Fonds consists of one photographic postcard of the North Pacific Lumber Co. Mill at Barnet Village in Burnaby.
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- [1920-1929]
- Collection/Fonds
- Alan Fish collection
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph : sepia postcard ; 8 x 13 cm
- Description Level
- Fonds
- Accession Number
- 2007-04
- Scope and Content
- Fonds consists of one photographic postcard of the North Pacific Lumber Co. Mill at Barnet Village in Burnaby.
- History
- John Lawrence Fish was born in 1904 at Oldham, Lancashire, England. His father, Samuel, first immigrated to Canada 1909, eventually bringing his family to Davie Street, Vancouver in 1919. In 1924, John started working for the Barnet Lumber Company. After working six months at Hanbury Lumber Company in Vancouver in 1926, he came back to the Barnet Mill. In 1927 he began working for the Nichols Chemical plant. Lucy Isabelle Currie was born in Vancouver in 1911 to Harvey and Jane May “Jennie” (Laidlaw) Currie. After graduating from Magee High School, she studied teaching at the Normal School, then went to work at the Compensation Board. In 1942 John and Lucy married at Ryerson Church in Kerrisdale, Vancouver and moved to an apartment at 4095 East Hastings Street in Burnaby. Their daughter, Rosemary Ann Fish, was born in 1943 and their son, Alan John Fish, was born in 1945. In 1947 or 1948 the family of four moved to an apartment at Barnet, followed by a move to a house at Nichols Road. By 1956, they were living in house number 28 on the Nichols property. Alan and Rosemary grew up at Barnet, roaming freely with the other Barnet children around the area of Nichols and the beaches west of the plant. The Fish siblings were taken to school on the Barnet school bus; they attended Rosser Elementary School, Westridge Elementary School, Sperling Elementary School, Kensington Junior High School and Burnaby North High School. As a young adult, Alan worked weekends as a boiler house fireman at the Bestwood shingle mill from 1963 to 1966. He worked at the Nichols Chemical plant from 1966 to 1967. John worked for the Nichol Chemical plant for over 40 years. On November 3, 1968 he was in an accident at the plant from which he suffered first, second and third degree burns. He succumbed to his injuries in hospital on December 16, 1968. Rosemary married Larry Meech. They were living together at Barnet while finishing college when John died. The Meeches then bought a house in Capitol Hill. Alan and Lucy moved to an apartment at Westridge. Lucy passed away in 1974.
- Media Type
- Textual Record
- Creator
- Fish, Alan
- Other Title Information
- Title was changed from Alan Fish fonds to Alan Fish collection to better reflect the nature of the materials.
- Notes
- Photo catalogue 539
Alfred Bingham fonds
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription97219
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- 1913-1971
- Collection/Fonds
- Alfred Bingham fonds
- Description Level
- Fonds
- Physical Description
- 4 cm. of textual records and 1 audio reel.
- Scope and Content
- Fonds consists of correspondence and literature pertaining to Alfred Bingham as well as an oral history tape provided by Alfred and his wife, M.J. "Ada" Bingham.
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- 1913-1971
- Collection/Fonds
- Alfred Bingham fonds
- Physical Description
- 4 cm. of textual records and 1 audio reel.
- Description Level
- Fonds
- Record No.
- MSS142
- Accession Number
- 2010-09
- Scope and Content
- Fonds consists of correspondence and literature pertaining to Alfred Bingham as well as an oral history tape provided by Alfred and his wife, M.J. "Ada" Bingham.
- History
- Alfred "Alf" Bingham was born in England in 1892 and moved to Canada in 1912. His first job in Canada was laying track for the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway (GTPR) from Edmonton to McBride in 1912. His second was in Vancouver at the Rat Portage Mill on False Creek, working on the Resaw machine. He quit after one week due to poor working conditions. After taking part in the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike as a delegate of the Retail and Mailorder Union (A.F.L.) on the Winnipeg Trades and Labour Council, Alfred moved to Burnaby where he and fellow Burnaby residents Angus McLean and Percy Little worked ten-hour days to build a shingle mill on the edge of Burnaby Lake for Simpson & Giberson. George Green, a carpenter and millwright (and author of “The History of Burnaby”), also helped in the construction of the mill. Alfred built his own home from lumber cut from the mill in the Lockdale area on Sherlock Street between Curtis Street and Kitchener Street. On April 10, 1920, Alfred married Mary Jane "Ada" Reynolds. Alfred and Mary Jane often took in foster children during their marriage. Due to her nursing experience, Ada was often called upon to deliver babies in the Burnaby area. The couple also had a dog named Bess. The Binghams were instrumental members of the Army of the Common Good, collecting vegetables and grains from growers in the area and even producing over 125 tons of vegetables from its own gardens to feed children and youth who were suffering from the lack of resources during the Depression. The Army was in operation for ten years and during that time, the members organised the credit union movement of British Columbia and drew up the Credit Union Act through the Vancouver Co-operative Council. They also started co-op stores and the Co-Op Wholesale Society. Alfred was also the Secretary of the Burnaby Housing Committee. In 1946, he became the Secretary of the North Burnaby Labour Progressive Party (LPP). Mary Jane died on August 9, 1969. Alfred died on April 29, 1979.
- Media Type
- Textual Record
- Sound Recording
- Creator
- Bingham, Alfred "Alf"
- Notes
- Title based on contents of fonds MSS142
Allan Amundsen collection
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription84878
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- 1960-1964
- Collection/Fonds
- Allan Amundsen collection
- Description Level
- Fonds
- Physical Description
- 38 photographs : b&w ; 22.5 x 22.5 cm + 1 photograph : b&w (lasercopy) + 1 p. of textual records
- Scope and Content
- Fonds comprises aerial photographs and related material used as teaching aids for Geography 12 night school classes at Burnaby Central School. Aerial photographs were taken on the same flight path causing an overlapping of images in most cases to the east or the west.
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- 1960-1964
- Collection/Fonds
- Allan Amundsen collection
- Physical Description
- 38 photographs : b&w ; 22.5 x 22.5 cm + 1 photograph : b&w (lasercopy) + 1 p. of textual records
- Description Level
- Fonds
- Access Restriction
- In Archives only
- Reproduction Restriction
- No reproduction permitted
- Accession Number
- 2014-08
- Scope and Content
- Fonds comprises aerial photographs and related material used as teaching aids for Geography 12 night school classes at Burnaby Central School. Aerial photographs were taken on the same flight path causing an overlapping of images in most cases to the east or the west.
- History
- Allan Amundsen was born in South Burnaby, graduated from Burnaby North Secondary School in 1966 and moved later to Sullivan Heights. Allan was a secondary school teacher who began his teaching career in 1972 and taught at Kitslano, David Thompson, Burnaby Central and night school from 1977- 2011.
- Media Type
- Textual Record
- Photograph
- Creator
- Amundsen, Allan
- Notes
- Title based on contents of fonds
- Photo catalogue 561, MSS178
Brainerd family fonds
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription76949
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- 1926-1958; 2013
- Collection/Fonds
- Brainerd family fonds
- Description Level
- Fonds
- Physical Description
- 1 cm. of textual records + 4 photographs (copy-print)
- Scope and Content
- Fonds consists of receipts, agreements, and registry letter for family home on Harwood Street, along with an election slip, a labour publication, and a propaganda leaflet related to Lawrence Brainerd, as well as a newspaper clipping from 2013 and photocopied and copy-printed early photographs of th…
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- 1926-1958; 2013
- Collection/Fonds
- Brainerd family fonds
- Physical Description
- 1 cm. of textual records + 4 photographs (copy-print)
- Description Level
- Fonds
- Accession Number
- 2013-05
- 2013-06
- Scope and Content
- Fonds consists of receipts, agreements, and registry letter for family home on Harwood Street, along with an election slip, a labour publication, and a propaganda leaflet related to Lawrence Brainerd, as well as a newspaper clipping from 2013 and photocopied and copy-printed early photographs of the family.
- History
- Lawrence and Violet Brainerd came to Vancouver in 1925 or 1926. Lawrence purchased a small house on Harwood Street in North Burnaby for his wife and two children from her previous marriage. Roy Brainerd was born in 1928 at Royal Columbian Hospital. His sister Patricia Brainerd (later White) was born in 1931, also at Royal Columbian Hospital. Lawrence rebuilt and renovated the house to fit his growing family, planting abundant vegetable gardens and building a chicken coop, and paid off his taxes by doing roadwork for the municipality. Violet Brainerd supplemented her family's income by doing in-home nursing, as she'd been a nurse in France during the war. Roy Brainerd started at Douglas Road School in 1934 and then attended Hugh M. Fraser High School. Roy left his high school at 15 to work for Snap-On Tools, working his way up from pushing a broom to becoming a branch manager. He retired in 1983 after 41 years of service. Together with his wife, Carol, Roy raised three daughters.
- Media Type
- Textual Record
- Photograph
- Creator
- Brainerd family
- Notes
- Title based on contents of fonds
- MSS172, photo catalogue 551
Building Department fonds
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription13
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- 1926-2003
- Collection/Fonds
- Building Department fonds
- Description Level
- Fonds
- Physical Description
- 10 cm of textual records.
- Scope and Content
- Fonds consists of historical building records from the Building Department.
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- 1926-2003
- Collection/Fonds
- Building Department fonds
- Physical Description
- 10 cm of textual records.
- Description Level
- Fonds
- File Class
- 48100 05 (add. 2020; prev. D)
- 48100 10 (add. 2020; prev. D)
- 48100 11 (add. 2020; prev. D)
- 48100 12 (add. 2020; prev. D)
- 48100 14 (add. 2020; prev. D)
- 48100 18 (add. 2020; prev. D)
- Reproduction Restriction
- Reproductions subject to FOIPPA
- Scope and Content
- Fonds consists of historical building records from the Building Department.
- History
- In 2022, responsibility for Major Civic Projects was moved from the Planning and Building Department to the newly-created Lands and Facilities Department.
- Media Type
- Textual Record
- Creator
- City of Burnaby
- Notes
- Title based on contents of fonds.
Burnaby family fonds
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription58458
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- 1858-1863
- Collection/Fonds
- Robert Burnaby fonds
- Description Level
- Fonds
- Physical Description
- 5 cm. of textual records.
- Scope and Content
- Fonds consists of letters written by Robert Burnaby related to both his work and explorations in British Columbia as well as personal matters relating to his family. Some of these letters were published in the 2002 book, "Land of Promise: Robert Burnaby's Letters from Colonial British Columbia 1858…
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- 1858-1863
- Collection/Fonds
- Robert Burnaby fonds
- Physical Description
- 5 cm. of textual records.
- Description Level
- Fonds
- Access Restriction
- No restrictions
- Reproduction Restriction
- No known restrictions
- Accession Number
- 2009-06 2017-55
- Scope and Content
- Fonds consists of letters written by Robert Burnaby related to both his work and explorations in British Columbia as well as personal matters relating to his family. Some of these letters were published in the 2002 book, "Land of Promise: Robert Burnaby's Letters from Colonial British Columbia 1858-1863."
- History
- Robert Burnaby was a commission merchant and legislator, born on November 30, 1828, at Woodthorpe, Leicestershire, England, as the fourth son of the Reverend Thomas Burnaby and Sarah Meares. Robert Burnaby came to British Columbia at the end of 1858 as an experienced civil servant from Her Majesty’s Customs Office in London, and with a personal introduction to Governor James Douglas from Sir Edward Bulwer-Lytton. Burnaby’s first year on the Pacific coast was a busy one: he spent a short time as private secretary to Richard Clement Moody, commander of the Royal Engineers at New Westminster; he explored for coal with Walter Moberly at Burrard Inlet; and he made a short visit to San Francisco. During this year, he also founded the firm of Henderson and Burnaby, commission merchants, in partnership with Edward Henderson, an old school friend from Christ’s Hospital and a man of means, who managed the London office. This type of business was precarious since the distance from sources of supply and risks in transportation encouraged overtrading and excessive speculation. The death of Henderson in 1865 and the general economic depression in Vancouver Island and British Columbia brought the firm to an end – a failure caused in part apparently by unwise investment in real estate. Burnaby then embarked upon a real estate and insurance business of his own. The exigencies of a mercantile career seem to have overwhelmed this man who, by upbringing and training, was more suited to a position in government service. Robert Burnaby was intensely interested in the welfare of Vancouver Island and British Columbia, and did all in his power to promote stable economic conditions. Before the end of his second year in Victoria, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Vancouver Island for the districts of Esquimalt and Metchosin, and he served his constituents well for five years. He was one of the founders of the Victoria Chamber of Commerce. During an 1866 visit to London on private business, he attended a meeting of prominent Victoria merchants and officials who strongly favoured the union of the two colonies and other measures for developing and improving their economic prospects. This group carried its resolutions to the secretary of state for the colonies. Burnaby was an active freemason and helped found the First Victoria Lodge in 1860. Among his recreational pursuits was a love of drama, and in 1863, he served as president of Victoria’s Amateur Dramatic Association. Burnaby numbered among his intimate friends Colonel Moody, Arthur Thomas Bushby, Henry Pering Pellew Crease, Judge Matthew Baillie Begbie, Edward Graham Alston, and Thomas Elwyn. In 1869, severe ill health caused Burnaby’s retirement and, five years later, his return to England. Friends arranged for him to travel in the Hudson’s Bay Company bark Lady Lampson; they later presented her captain, James Gaudin, with a generous purse in gratitude for the attention he had paid the ailing Burnaby during the voyage. Early in 1878, news reached Victoria that this “prominent and much respected merchant” had died. An honest, conscientious man of spirit, a clear-headed thinker, a “power” in his masonic lodge, a lucid speaker, full of fun, and clever, Burnaby has been fittingly commemorated in a number of place names in British Columbia including a lake, a strait, an island, a municipality, two mountain ranges, and finally Burnaby Mountain, the seat of Simon Fraser University. Burnaby died a bachelor on January 10, 1878, at Woodthorpe. - This information has been adapted from the Dictionary of Canadian Biography.
- Media Type
- Textual Record
- Creator
- Burnaby, Robert
- Notes
- Title based on creator of fonds.
Burnaby Gem and Mineral Club fonds
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription71181
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- 1963-1985
- Collection/Fonds
- Burnaby Gem and Mineral fonds
- Description Level
- Fonds
- Physical Description
- 15 cm. of textual records.
- Scope and Content
- Fonds consists of seventeen files of textual records pertaining to the operations of the Burnaby Gem and Mineral Club.
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- 1963-1985
- Collection/Fonds
- Burnaby Gem and Mineral fonds
- Physical Description
- 15 cm. of textual records.
- Description Level
- Fonds
- Accession Number
- 2012-03
- Scope and Content
- Fonds consists of seventeen files of textual records pertaining to the operations of the Burnaby Gem and Mineral Club.
- History
- The Burnaby Gem and Mineral Club was formed in Burnaby in 1963 and became a chartered member club of the Lapidary Rock and Mineral Society of British Columbia on June 15, 1965. Meetings were held at Bonsor Hall on the third Tuesday of every month. The club became a registered federation member of the Gem and Mineral Federation of Canada in 1978. From 1978 to 1985, Marguerite “Mary” Skinner was the recording secretary. Mary and her husband John Skinner were members for 21 years, and during that time, John organized all of the “big shows” with the help and support of fellow members. On December 15, 1985, the general membership of the Burnaby Gem and Mineral Club voted to close the club. They had a final dinner meeting on February 18, 1986, at the Copper Kettle on Kingsway.
- Media Type
- Textual Record
- Creator
- Burnaby Gem and Mineral Club
- Notes
- Title based on contents of fonds
- MSS160
Burnaby Historical Society fonds
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription97124
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- 1892-2018
- Collection/Fonds
- Burnaby Historical Society fonds
- Description Level
- Fonds
- Physical Description
- ca. 130 linear feet of textual records 30 linear feet of graphic and other material
- Scope and Content
- Fonds consists of the Burnaby Historical Society's administrative records and community archives collection.
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- 1892-2018
- Collection/Fonds
- Burnaby Historical Society fonds
- Physical Description
- ca. 130 linear feet of textual records 30 linear feet of graphic and other material
- Description Level
- Fonds
- Scope and Content
- Fonds consists of the Burnaby Historical Society's administrative records and community archives collection.
- History
- The Burnaby Historical Society was founded in 1957. The Historical Society developed a community archives by collecting, compiling and preserving various materials with historical value to the City of Burnaby. It gathered miscellaneous documents, photographs and other items while also soliciting and acquiring entire collections or groups of archival records. In 1991, the Historical Society was provided a permanent space to house their growing collection at the Burnaby Village Museum and they continued to collect and expand their holdings. After the creation of the City of Burnaby Archives in 2001, the Burnaby Historical Society and the City of Burnaby began discussing the possibility of uniting the two collections. In February 2007, an agreement was signed between the two institutions which resulted in the merger of the Society's Community Archives with the City Archives. All records and photographs that had been collected by the Historical Society were transferred into the custody of the City and were moved from the Burnaby Village Museum to the City Archives in the McGill Branch of the Burnaby Public Library. The Burnaby Historical Society disbanded in 2018.
- Media Type
- Textual Record
- Photograph
- Sound Recording
- Creator
- Burnaby Historical Society
- Notes
- Title based on contents of fonds
Burnaby Mountain Preservation Society fonds
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription97763
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- 1993-2001
- Collection/Fonds
- Burnaby Mountain Preservation Society fonds
- Description Level
- Fonds
- Physical Description
- 0.5 cm of textual records + 129 photographs : col. slide ; 35 mm + 2 med col. prints.
- Scope and Content
- Fonds consists of photographs, textual records, and slides taken by the Burnaby Mountain Preservation Society to campaign for a park dedication on Burnaby Mountain.
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- 1993-2001
- Collection/Fonds
- Burnaby Mountain Preservation Society fonds
- Physical Description
- 0.5 cm of textual records + 129 photographs : col. slide ; 35 mm + 2 med col. prints.
- Description Level
- Fonds
- Access Restriction
- No restrictions
- Accession Number
- 2006-13
- Scope and Content
- Fonds consists of photographs, textual records, and slides taken by the Burnaby Mountain Preservation Society to campaign for a park dedication on Burnaby Mountain.
- History
- The Burnaby Mountain Preservation Society (BMPS) was active between 1988 and 1995. It was formed in order to preserve the ecology and nature of Burnaby Mountain. In 1996, the City of Burnaby dedicated Burnaby Mountain Park in Bylaw 10477. The Directors of the BMPS were Dean Lamont, Stephen "Steve" Mancinelli, Diane Hansen, and Karen Marke.
- Media Type
- Photograph
- Textual Record
Burnaby Outdoor Club fonds
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription71572
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- 1991-2020
- Collection/Fonds
- Burnaby Outdoor Club fonds
- Description Level
- Fonds
- Physical Description
- 1 folder textual records + 3 optical discs : CD-ROM
- Scope and Content
- Fonds comprises the Burnaby Outdoor Club's monthly newsletter "Footnotes". The newsletter, started in June 1991, details the events and activities undertaken by the Club and includes information on membership and club development. The fonds includes June 1991 to January 2009 newsletters on paper an…
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- 1991-2020
- Collection/Fonds
- Burnaby Outdoor Club fonds
- Physical Description
- 1 folder textual records + 3 optical discs : CD-ROM
- Description Level
- Fonds
- Record No.
- MSS162
- Access Restriction
- No restrictions
- Accession Number
- 2012-12
- 2016-13
- 2018-24
- 2020-17
- Scope and Content
- Fonds comprises the Burnaby Outdoor Club's monthly newsletter "Footnotes". The newsletter, started in June 1991, details the events and activities undertaken by the Club and includes information on membership and club development. The fonds includes June 1991 to January 2009 newsletters on paper and January 2009 to December 2020 in digital form.
- History
- The Burnaby Outdoor Club was formed in 1991 for the purpose of promoting the care and enjoyment of the outdoor environment through hiking, cycling, and skiing, supplemented by a variety of other sports and activities. The Club holds numerous sport and social events throughout the year and the monthly newsletter provides an overview of these events.
- Media Type
- Textual Record
- Creator
- Burnaby Outdoor Club
City Council and Office of the City Clerk fonds
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription29
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- 1892-2021
- Collection/Fonds
- City Council and Office of the City Clerk fonds
- Description Level
- Fonds
- Physical Description
- 130m of textual records and other material
- Scope and Content
- Fonds consists of records generated in the course of municipal business by City Council and the Office of the City Clerk.
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- 1892-2021
- Collection/Fonds
- City Council and Office of the City Clerk fonds
- Physical Description
- 130m of textual records and other material
- Description Level
- Fonds
- Access Restriction
- Subject to FOIPPA
- Scope and Content
- Fonds consists of records generated in the course of municipal business by City Council and the Office of the City Clerk.
- History
- The City of Burnaby covers an area of approximately 98 square kilometers between the cities of Vancouver to the west, and Coquitlam and New Westminster to the east, Burrard Inlet to the north, and the Fraser River to the south. The municipality derived its name from Robert Burnaby, a prominent businessman and advisor to Sir James Douglas, the first Governor of the Crown Colony of British Columbia. Burnaby’s early development was closely tied to the development of the City of New Westminster. New Westminster became British Columbia’s capital in 1859, the year after the British Government proclaimed the establishment of British Columbia. Shortly thereafter, the Royal Engineers began exploring Burnaby to establish military defenses and secure natural resources. This involved the construction of a road linking New Westminster to Burrard Inlet for military purposes, which is present-day North Road. At this time, individuals and families began settling in Burnaby and were largely involved in agricultural and logging activities. Burnaby developed slowly until 1887, when the Canadian Pacific Railway was extended into Vancouver from the Port Moody terminal, causing a dramatic increase in traffic between New Westminster and Vancouver. To meet the new transportation demands, a tramline was built in 1891 connecting the two urban centers along what is now Kingsway. The creation and location of the tramline induced property owners to begin subdividing and selling their lands as early as October 1891. The property taxes the roughly 200 residents paid at this time went directly to the provincial government in Victoria. No local services were provided in turn, which prompted the formation of a committee to petition the provincial government for a municipal charter. As a result, the Corporation of the District of Burnaby was incorporated by letters patent on September 22, 1892. Burnaby’s first Council was elected by acclamation on October 15, 1892 and consisted of Reeve Charles R. Shaw and councillors William Brenchley, Arthur De Windt Hazard, L. Claude Hill, William McDermott, and John Woolard.* The first formal Council election was conducted three months later. Nicolai Shou became the first elected reeve of Burnaby by ballot. Council met at various locations, including the tramline’s power house, private homes, and offices until the first municipal hall was built at Kingsway and Edmonds in 1899. Council is ultimately responsible for the government of the City of Burnaby. The Mayor (formally called “Reeve” prior to 1968) and Council are elected by the residents of Burnaby to represent them in decisions with respect to the provision of public services and facilities. Additionally, the Mayor represents the citizens of Burnaby at various public functions and events. Burnaby was without Council representation during most of the Great Depression and part of the Second World War. Council was disbanded on December 31, 1932 as a result of financial difficulties. The Provincial Government appointed a Commissioner to take over the duties of Reeve and Council beginning in 1933. This system of government was retained until January 1943, when Burnaby residents could once again elect their local government officials. The following individuals have served as Mayor (or Reeve) of Burnaby: Charles R. Shaw 1892 Nicolai C. Schou 1893-1903 Charles F. Sprott 1904-1905 Peter Byrne 1906-1910 John W. Weart 1911-1912 Duncan C. McGregor 1913 Hugh M. Fraser 1914-1918 Thomas Sanderson 1919-1920 Alexander K. McLean 1921-1926; 1928-1929 Charles C. Bell 1927 William L. Burdick 1929 William A. Pritchard 1930-1932 William Tate Wilson 1943-1944 George A. Morrison 1945-1949 William R. Beamish 1950-1953 Charles W. MacSorley 1954-1957 Alan H. Emmott 1958-1968 Robert W. Prittie 1969-1973 Thomas W. Constable 1973-1979 David M. Mercier 1979-1981 William A. Lewarne 1981-1987 William J. Copeland 1987-1996 Douglas P. Drummond 1996-2002 Derek R. Corrigan 2002-2018 Mike Hurley 2018-present The following individuals have served as provincially appointed Commissioners for the Corporation of the District of Burnaby: John Bennett 1933 John Mahony 1933-1934 Hugh M. Fraser 1934-1940* R.S. Gilchrist 1941-1942* B.C. Bracewell 1942* *Richard Bolton was Acting Commissioner for most of 1940-1942. He refused to be a full-fledged Commissioner. Closely associated with the functions of Council is the City Clerk. The Office of the City Clerk is responsible for the statutory duties of the municipal clerk including the preparation and preservation of all minutes books and records of Council business, custody of City bylaws, administrative support to Council and its Committees, preparation of Council and Committee agendas and the conduct of local government elections. The Clerk’s Office is the communications link between Council and other City Departments and the general public, and provides assistance and advice to citizens with respect to Council and Council Committee processes, reporting procedures and decisions. At the time of Burnaby’s incorporation in 1892, the municipal Clerk had the responsibility to attend all meetings of Council, keep all records of Council, prepare and alter voters’ lists, conduct Council elections, collect revenue, as well as having the responsibility to prepare balance sheets and audits. An advertisement in a local newspaper for the appointment of the Clerk dated February 1, 1905 states the “united offices of clerk, collector and assessor” receive a salary of $65.00 per month. Originally the treasurer, assessor and records manager for the corporation, the Clerk eventually became the municipal Council liaison. The primary functions of the City Clerk over time have been the keeping of minutes for the meetings of City Council and related bodies; keeping the records of the City of Burnaby as required by the Local Government Act (formally Municipal Act); keeping all records related to City Council decision making; carrying out correspondence on behalf of Council; assembling voters’ lists and carrying out elections; providing communication, information, and public relations services, including responsibility for civic ceremonies/events, and the municipal archives. The following individuals have served as City Clerk: Alexander Philip 1892–1894 Alfred Smither 1894–1899 F.J.H. Shirley 1899–1901 Arthur De Windt Haszard 1901–1902 Walter J. Walker 1902–1905 Benjamin George Walker 1905–1908 Charles Thomas Saunders 1908–1911 W.M. Griffiths 1911–1912 Arthur G. Moore 1912–1933 Charles Boyer Brown 1933–1959 John H. Shaw 1959–1973* James Hudson 1974–1984 Charles A. Turpin 1984–1995 Debbie R. Comis 1995–2011 Anne Skipsey (Acting) 2011-2012 Maryann Manuel (Acting) 2012-2014 Dennis Back 2014-2018 Kate O'Connell 2018-2020 Blanka Zeinabova 2020-2022 *Deputy City Clerk T. Ward took over many of the Clerk’s duties from 1972 to 1973 due to Shaw’s ill health during these years.
- Formats
- Microforms exist for some records. See series descriptions.
- Media Type
- Textual Record
- Creator
- City of Burnaby
- Notes
- Title based on creators of fonds
City of Burnaby Archives photograph collection
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription93710
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- [1920]-[1979]
- Collection/Fonds
- City of Burnaby Archives photograph collection
- Description Level
- Fonds
- Physical Description
- 43 photographs (39 tiffs ; 2 jpegs ; 3 col. prints, 9 x 9 cm) and 3 p. of textual records
- Scope and Content
- Collection consists of photographs that were selected for preservation because of their relevance to documenting the heritage and development of the City of Burnaby. The items in this collection depict Burnaby citizens, locations, businesses, residences, geography, and events throughout the history…
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- [1920]-[1979]
- Collection/Fonds
- City of Burnaby Archives photograph collection
- Physical Description
- 43 photographs (39 tiffs ; 2 jpegs ; 3 col. prints, 9 x 9 cm) and 3 p. of textual records
- Description Level
- Fonds
- Access Restriction
- No restrictions
- Reproduction Restriction
- May be restricted by third party rights
- Accession Number
- 2010-01
- 2013-31
- 2016-24
- 2021-10
- Scope and Content
- Collection consists of photographs that were selected for preservation because of their relevance to documenting the heritage and development of the City of Burnaby. The items in this collection depict Burnaby citizens, locations, businesses, residences, geography, and events throughout the history of the City of Burnaby. The items in this collection are acquisitions of discrete items or small sets of items that do not form a discrete fonds or collection.
- History
- Burnaby’s first municipal archive officially opened on November 10, 2001, and is located in the McGill Branch Public Library at 4595 Albert Street. The City Archives functions as a branch of the Office of the City Clerk and operates as the official repository of Burnaby’s municipal records, containing records dating back to Burnaby’s incorporation in 1892. In 2007, the City of Burnaby Archives expanded its collection mandate to include private as well as public records. Types of records held at the Archives include City Records (Council minutes and reports, bylaws, departmental records and photographs) and records from private individuals and community organizations (correspondence, reports, minutes, photographs, moving images and sound recordings). The Archives storage area is equipped with the sophisticated environmental controls necessary to preserve Burnaby’s unique archival material into the future. The mandate of the City of Burnaby Archives is to identify, acquire, preserve and make accessible archival material in the form of civic and private records documenting the history of the City of Burnaby.
- Media Type
- Textual Record
- Photograph
- Creator
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Notes
- Title based on contents of collection.
Community Heritage Commission Special Project fonds
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription74546
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- 1994-2012
- Collection/Fonds
- Community Heritage Commission Special Projects fonds
- Description Level
- Fonds
- Physical Description
- 79 photograph (jpeg) : col., 300ppi ; 43 photograph (tiff) : col., 600ppi ; 48 interviews (wav) : digital sound files.
- Scope and Content
- Fonds consists of project records created by Burnaby's Community Heritage Commission as part of their initiative and mandate.
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- 1994-2012
- Collection/Fonds
- Community Heritage Commission Special Projects fonds
- Physical Description
- 79 photograph (jpeg) : col., 300ppi ; 43 photograph (tiff) : col., 600ppi ; 48 interviews (wav) : digital sound files.
- Description Level
- Fonds
- Access Restriction
- Open access
- Accession Number
- 2012-07
- 2009-10
- 2012-30
- 2016-04
- Scope and Content
- Fonds consists of project records created by Burnaby's Community Heritage Commission as part of their initiative and mandate.
- History
- The History and Heritage Committee was established in 1992 under Burnaby's Centennial Committee. When the Centennial Committee was disbanded on December 31, 1992, the History and Heritage Committee was made a part of the Burnaby Heritage Advisory Committee. It proceeded under its authority until 1995 when it was renamed The Community Heritage Commission (CHC) as a municipal heritage advisory committee by the Burnaby City Council under section 15 of the Heritage Conservation Act. The commission endeavours to provide comprehensive community heritage and history projects and programs to bring together the personal history of citizens and facilitate a wider understanding and appreciation of Burnaby's collective memory. Projects undertaken by Burnaby's Community Heritage Commission include: Burnaby Centennial Anthology: Stories of Early Burnaby; In the Shadow by the Sea: Recollections of Burnaby's Barnet Village; the Heritage Burnaby website (www.heritageburnaby.ca); Charting Change: An Interactive Atlas; and various oral history projects. These projects fall under the Community Heritage Commission's mandate to provide the citizens of Burnaby and the wider public with access to information about the city and its unique history through publications and online finding aids.
- Media Type
- Photograph
- Textual Record
- Sound Recording
- Creator
- Community Heritage Commission
- Notes
- Title based on contents of fonds
- PC 615, PC 503, MSS198, MSS171, MSS196, and PC 549
Don McQueen fonds
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription88836
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- 1961-1964
- Collection/Fonds
- Don McQueen fonds
- Description Level
- Fonds
- Physical Description
- 99 photographs (35 large b&w prints; 36 medium b&w prints; 15 small b&w prints; 5 large b&w panoramas) + 0.5 cm. of textual records.
- Scope and Content
- Fonds consists of a scrapbook organized by Don McQueen containing photographs, newspaper articles, and clippings from the Fraser Valley Milk Producers Association (FVMPA) newsletter "Fraser Valley Milk Break". The scrapbook documents and chronologizes the planning, construction, and implementation …
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- 1961-1964
- Collection/Fonds
- Don McQueen fonds
- Physical Description
- 99 photographs (35 large b&w prints; 36 medium b&w prints; 15 small b&w prints; 5 large b&w panoramas) + 0.5 cm. of textual records.
- Description Level
- Fonds
- Access Restriction
- In Archives only
- Reproduction Restriction
- No reproduction permitted
- Accession Number
- 2015-10
- Scope and Content
- Fonds consists of a scrapbook organized by Don McQueen containing photographs, newspaper articles, and clippings from the Fraser Valley Milk Producers Association (FVMPA) newsletter "Fraser Valley Milk Break". The scrapbook documents and chronologizes the planning, construction, and implementation of the FVMPA Plant located on Lougheed Highway in Burnaby as well as providing some background history on this organization.
- History
- Don McQueen was born September 7, 1918, in Wilkie, Saskatchewan, and was the son of Thomas Kerningham McQueen (1873-1948) and Ethel (Badley) McQueen (1889-1981) and brother to Tom Alexander McQueen (1920-1999). In 1924, Don moved with his family from Wilkie, Saskatchewan, to North Vancouver, where they lived until 1930 when they moved to Burnaby. In 1942, Don moved back to North Vancouver, and in 1951, he settled in West Vancouver. As a child, Don attended Queen Mary Elementary School in North Vancouver, followed by attending Burnaby North High School and completing a degree in Engineering at the University of British Columbia in 1948. Don married Rosina Amelia Hewett in 1942 and together they had four children: Donald James (Winnie) McQueen; Rose Anne (Wayne) McQueen; Robin Elaine (Robert) McQueen; and Robert Douglas McQueen. Following the death of Don's first wife, Rosina, in 1966, Don was married three more times, beginning with Laverne Cyr, followed by Marian Schreiber and Gregoria Noble. He had seven grandchildren: Tanja, Mark, Todd, Karina, Morgan, Anthony, and Kosal. During World War II, Don worked at Boeing Air Craft, building planes, and after the war, from 1945 until 1948, he worked at the shipyards in North Vancouver. In 1948, he joined Dairyland, which was affiliated with the Fraser Valley Milk Producers' Association (FVMPA), working as the head of Engineering until his retirement in 1980. Building the FVMPA plant, which opened in 1964, was a highlight of his career, where he was employed as the lead Engineer in creating a state-of-the-art plant located at Lougheed Highway and Sperling Avenue in Burnaby. Don spent three years directing research investigations into modern dairies and ice cream plants throughout Canada and the USA. This plant served the FVMPA for many years to come, and his dedication resulted in giving hundreds of hours of overtime for which he was never paid. The FVPMA was organized by farmers to protect the quality and price of milk. It was granted its charter on June 18th, 1913, and the organization was represented by farmers of every district in the Fraser Valley with 22 locals. In 1919, the Association purchased manufacturing plants and a milk company, and in 1920, the firm acquired another milk company and condensery. In 1923, the FVPMA became the first Canadian dairy organization to establish a quality control laboratory and employ a bacteriologist, and in 1943, the Association established Dairyland dairies. The original headquarters for the FVMPA was located at 425 W. 8th Avenue in Vancouver and as a result of FVMPA's growing success and need for expansion, a modern plant was opened in Burnaby in 1964. The four-million-dollar plant was built on a 24-acre site located at Sperling and Lougheed Highway. This location also housed the association's head office, the Dairyland Fluid Milk Division plant and offices, the Arctic Ice Cream Division plant and offices and the Concentrated Milk Division (Pacific Evaporated and Powder) sales and offices. The facility included a processing plant, service block, garage, primary and secondary mechanical and electrical services, and air conditioned office space. The general contract to build the plant was awarded to John Laing and Son (Canada) Ltd. and was overseen by the FVMPA engineering department, headed by D.R. McQueen, P. Eng. Don belonged to the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of B.C. (APEGB) from 1948, was a founding member of the Hollyburn Country Club in West Vancouver, and between 1950 and the 1960s, was a director on the board for the West Vancouver YMCA. Don had many hobbies including Russian ballet, kinesiology, drawing, photography, sailing, canoeing, and teaching ballroom dancing and downhill skiing. He competed in fencing in the Empire Games in the 1950s and was slated to canoe for Canada in the 1940 Olympics but was prevented by the war. He was a carpenter and handyman, beginning with building his first sailboat at 12 years of age, and later enjoyed building and restoring furniture. Don passed away on October 22, 2017 at the age of 99.
- Media Type
- Textual Record
- Photograph
- Creator
- McQueen, Don
- Notes
- Title based on contents of fonds
- MSS193, photo catalogue 588
Doreen Lawson fonds
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription58356
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- 1950-2002
- Collection/Fonds
- Doreen Lawson fonds
- Description Level
- Fonds
- Physical Description
- 18 cm of textual records + approx. 1000 photographs
- Scope and Content
- Fonds consists of records created and received by Doreen Lawson during her career as Parks Commissioner (1965-1971), Burnaby City Council member (1972-1985, 1990-1999) and environmental advocate following her retirement from Council in 1999. Records include election campaign materials, congratulat…
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- 1950-2002
- Collection/Fonds
- Doreen Lawson fonds
- Physical Description
- 18 cm of textual records + approx. 1000 photographs
- Description Level
- Fonds
- Accession Number
- 2003-30
- 2015-15
- Scope and Content
- Fonds consists of records created and received by Doreen Lawson during her career as Parks Commissioner (1965-1971), Burnaby City Council member (1972-1985, 1990-1999) and environmental advocate following her retirement from Council in 1999. Records include election campaign materials, congratulatory letters and correspondence, community speeches and slideshow presentations regarding the conservation of Burnaby Lake, the administrative papers of the Burnaby Centennial Rhododendron and Spring Flower Show Society, and photographs of Burnaby waterways and wildlife.
- History
- Doreen Anne Fowler Lawson was born July 8, 1928, to Eva Barnhill and Leonard Fowler. Her parents met in Alberta but decided to move to Vancouver where they got married and Doreen was born. The family moved to the north side of Claude Avenue in Burnaby when Doreen was a few months old. In 1931, they moved to a house with an acre of land directly across the street from their first house.
- When Doreen was six, her family moved to Collingwood, Vancouver, near where her father grew up. This is where her brother Ron was born. The family moved again to County Line in Langley Prairie in 1944, which is where Doreen met Edward Lawson, her future husband. Soon after, they moved to a seven-acre plot in Burquitlam. Ed and Doreen Lawson’s eldest daughter, Linda, was born in 1954. Their second daughter, Wendy, was born in 1959 and their youngest, Lisa, was born in 1961. They lived in the Brentwood area, where all three daughters attended Brentwood Elementary School. Linda went on to Alpha Secondary School.
- In 1945, Doreen began her first of several office jobs, and in the early 1950s she became the first woman to be elected into a vice-president position within the BC Trade Union Congress (now the BC Federation of Labour).
- Doreen Lawson had a long and prolific political career, starting as Parks Commissioner in 1965, and serving as its chair from 1969 to 1971. She was instrumental in the selection and promotion of the rhododendron as the official flower of Burnaby in 1966. In 1971, she was elected to Burnaby City Council and, in 1972, Doreen proposed that Council take action to declare Burnaby Lake a wildlife sanctuary. After a 10-year campaign, she was able to convince Council to declare the park “a nature conservation area.” She put forward a policy of preservation for creeks and streams, as well as a proposal to preserve trees in subdivisions, both of which were adopted by Council. Doreen continued to serve on Council until 1985, during which time she initiated and chaired the Burnaby Information Committee, which designed the present Burnaby logo (and official flower pins) and established the Information Burnaby Newsletter. In 1979 Doreen Lawson won Vancouver Natural History Society’s Frank Sanford Award.
- In 1984, Doreen was elected the first woman president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. Doreen ran as a BC Liberal Party candidate in the new Federal Riding of Burnaby in 1979, and from 1985 to 1987, she served as the Executive Director of the British Columbia Liberal Party. As the B.C. Liberal Party Executive Director, her major responsibility was to work with both the Federal and Provincial Associations in implementing riding organizations and fundraising programs in preparation for election time. In the 1980s, Doreen was an active guest lecturer at Burnaby Elementary and High Schools as well as at the University of British Columbia and Simon Fraser University. Doreen was active in a variety of community clubs and organizations including: the Burnaby Library Board; Greater Vancouver Spinners and Weavers Guild; and Vancouver Natural History Society. She was an executive member of the Burnaby-New Westminster Canada Summer Games; the Burnaby Division of the United Way; Information Burnaby Committee; and the Brentwood Parent Teachers Association; as well as serving as the President of the Burnaby Voters Association from 1988-1990.
- In 1990, Doreen was elected back to Burnaby Council and put forward the rejuvenation of Burnaby Lake which she saw completed before her final year on Council in 1999. Doreen continued to be a strong environmental advocate for the protection and rejuvenation of Burnaby Lake after she retired from council.
- Doreen Lawson died October 11, 2003.
- Media Type
- Textual Record
- Photograph
- Creator
- Lawson, Doreen A.
- Notes
- Title based on contents of fonds
- MSS071, photo catalogue 605, photo catalogue 618
Eagles family fonds
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription97217
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- 1919-1995
- Collection/Fonds
- Eagles family fonds
- Description Level
- Fonds
- Physical Description
- 40 files of textual records and 1489 photographs (6 col. prints, 10 x 15 cm; 1,444 col. slides, 35 mm).
- Scope and Content
- Collection consists of records, correspondence, and photographs created by Drs. Blythe and Violet Eagles related to their home and garden in the Deer Lake area of Burnaby. Also included in the collection are records pertaining the Burnaby Historical Society, the book "The Fraser's History from Glac…
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- 1919-1995
- Collection/Fonds
- Eagles family fonds
- Physical Description
- 40 files of textual records and 1489 photographs (6 col. prints, 10 x 15 cm; 1,444 col. slides, 35 mm).
- Description Level
- Fonds
- Access Restriction
- No restrictions
- Reproduction Restriction
- May be restricted by third party rights
- Accession Number
- 2008-10
- Scope and Content
- Collection consists of records, correspondence, and photographs created by Drs. Blythe and Violet Eagles related to their home and garden in the Deer Lake area of Burnaby. Also included in the collection are records pertaining the Burnaby Historical Society, the book "The Fraser's History from Glaciers to Early Settlements" and the Eagles' visit to Robert Burnaby's grave.
- History
- Blythe Eagles's paternal grandparents, Charles and Maude Eagles, immigrated to New Westminster in 1887. Their son Jack married Amelia Jane Johnston, and Blythe Eagles was born in New Westminster in 1902. In 1918, Blythe enrolled at the University of British Columbia and took a Physiology class with eight other top students. His future wife, Violet Dunbar, was the lone woman in the class. Blythe graduated in 1922, winning the Governor General's Gold Medal as top student. He received his MA in 1924 and his PhD in 1926 from the University of Toronto. He then completed his post-doctoral study at the National Institute for Medical Research in London, England. In 1933, Dr. Eagles became head of the Department of Dairying (1936-1955), Chairman of the Division of Animal Science (1955-1967), and Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture (in 1949 until his retirement in 1967). In 1968, he received an Honorary Doctor of Science Award from UBC. Blythe was also one of the first appointments to the Burnaby Town Planning Commission. Violet Evelyn Dunbar was born September 29, 1899, in Ontario, the eldest child of John and Mary (Tompson) Dunbar. Violet obtained her BA in 1921 and MA in 1922 from the University of British Columbia. In 1922, she attended the Provincial Normal School and, within six months, had a teaching certificate and taught at Lord Hudson School in 1923. In September 1923, she was awarded a two-year scholarship to the University of Toronto, where she joined Blythe in the Bio-Chemistry Department. She received a second MA and a PhD in 1929. Her graduate studies entailed research in pure proteins and enzymes related to the commercial production of cheese. Through this work, she was recognized as one of the leading enzyme chemists in the country, being a senior lab instructor of biochemistry. Violet was one of the founders of the Burnaby Council of Women and active member of the International Council of Women. Blythe and Violet Eagles purchased property at Deer Lake in 1929 and began construction of their home shortly before their marriage on June 25, 1930. The Drs. Blythe and Violet Eagles Estate is a unique expression of the talents and tastes of both the Eagles and Frank Ebenezer Buck (1875-1970), who was head of the Horticultural Department and the Campus Landscape Architect at U.B.C. and established the plan for the Eagles garden while Blythe selected many of the plantings. The Eagles themselves designed the house as a romantic cottage inspired by the British Arts and Crafts style. Violet was an enthusiastic amateur gardener, maintaining and continually developing the garden. The Eagles were active volunteers in the local community as well as at UBC. When Simon Fraser University opened in Burnaby, they became well-known for entertaining dignitaries and special guests of the university in their lavish garden. After Violet's death in 1993, the estate was sold to the City of Burnaby. The funds were used to establish a Chair in Agriculture at the University of British Columbia in their memory.
- Media Type
- Textual Record
- Photograph
- Other Title Information
- Title was changed from Eagles family collection to Eagles family fonds to better reflect the nature of the materials.
- Notes
- Title based on contents of collection
- BHS245, BHS331, BHS404, MSS032, BHS314, BHS482, MSS055
Ed Brown family fonds
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription97218
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- 1912-1920
- Collection/Fonds
- Ed Brown Family fonds
- Description Level
- Fonds
- Physical Description
- 12 photographs: 7 b&w jpgs.; 4 sepia jpgs., 1 med. b&w print.
- Scope and Content
- Fonds consists of photographs that belonged to the Brown family. Photographs depict Ed Brown, his wife Jennie, and their children at their homes on Royal Oak Avenue and McKay Avenue; Brown's trucking company; and other Burnaby locations and events.
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- 1912-1920
- Collection/Fonds
- Ed Brown Family fonds
- Physical Description
- 12 photographs: 7 b&w jpgs.; 4 sepia jpgs., 1 med. b&w print.
- Description Level
- Fonds
- Access Restriction
- No restrictions
- Reproduction Restriction
- May be restricted by third party rights
- Accession Number
- 2008-03
- Scope and Content
- Fonds consists of photographs that belonged to the Brown family. Photographs depict Ed Brown, his wife Jennie, and their children at their homes on Royal Oak Avenue and McKay Avenue; Brown's trucking company; and other Burnaby locations and events.
- History
- The following is copied from an article written by Brown's grandson, Jim Ervin, for "Old Autos" in 2003, in an article entitled "Grandfather was a trucker...": The roots of my family run deep in Burnaby, especially on my mother’s side. It was her father, my grandfather, who started one of Burnaby’s first trucking businesses, E.S. Brown’s Transfer. I could find no record of when he actually began operations but I have pictures to show that he was using horses before he had trucks. One of my enclosed pictures dates from about 1910 since I know the birth dates of his two oldest daughters and they are in the picture as very small children. He met and married my grandmother, whose maiden name was Jennie Birtch, from Ontario, and I still have relatives back east from both branches of the family. They were married on Sept. 27, 1905. But where, I can’t say. They had their first child, Hazel, born April 2, 1908. Then came seven more daughters but no sons to help with the family business. The business was located at the family home at 3131 Royal Oak Ave. in South Burnaby. That was close to the top of one of the steepest hills in Burnaby and must have made for a real test of man and machine to drive it, especially in winter. The children loved it for sleigh riding but probably not father. My mother, Inez, was the second oldest daughter, born Oct. 9, 1909. She would have been born, along with her sister Hazel, in the big house shown in the picture and built by my grandfather. But this house was to later burn down. That’s when Edward Sadler Brown decided to move his family from the side of the hill to the top and much closer to the main road, Kingsway. Most of the area was forest at that time and one of Ed’s first jobs was to haul shingle bolts out of the forest, with a team of horses. Please don’t ask me what a shingle bolt is but my mother knew and used to have to grease the skids placed on the logging trails for the loaded sleds to be pulled out on. One time, as she told me, there was a huge forest fire and my grandfather barely escaped with his life and one last load. Later, when the area had been cleared, he helped to build the Oakalla Prison Farm, now replaced by town-houses on Royal Oak Ave. This job led to him becoming the first contractor to haul the license plates made by the prisoners. Some of these plates would be worn by Ed’s own trucks. The trucks, which he eventually acquired, included some pretty obscure makes such as Hufman, Garford, Stewart (which my mother often said was no good), Gotfredson and the more common names of Chevrolet and GMC. A Ford Model T would probably have been too light for the kind of hauling Ed was doing in the 1920s. I always thought that his main cargo was coal and coke, but I received quite a surprise with some recently discovered information. It started when I was removing boxes of general junk from the house to the garage to make more space. One of those boxes broke open and one item which came out wasn’t junk by any means. It was a copy of a business card for Brown’s Transfer, a company which hauled coal, coke, wood and did furniture moving as well. My mother often described my grandfather as a “go-getter” for business. I believe I see what she meant. Never was I so glad to have a cardboard box break open and to retrieve such an important item. My mother was a saver like you wouldn’t believe, a habit which the Great Depression drilled into her. In another box containing old receipts, I found a copy of one from Brown’s Transfer which offered even more insight into the company. The receipt isn’t dated but only the last number of the year required filling in on the form. And this dates it as issued sometime during the 1920s. The surprising thing is the amount of items sold by my grandfather. Not just coal, wood and coke anymore. Now he was into sand, gravel, cement, brick lime, tile and sewer pipe. Furniture moving seemed to be sort of a sideline, mentioned in smaller letters at the bottom. But notice some of the other items on the hand written receipt. There’s lumber, grass seed, paint, glass, a loan (spelled lone) on painting a house. I’m not sure that I understand that one or the payment on house or the one about the toilet. But it’s obvious that this was a man who knew how to make a buck in many ways. He was almost his own building supply store, it would seem. Also mentioned on the form is an office location at 4009 Kingsway. The building is no longer there but it did survive into my life time. Often, my mother would point out to me where the office once was on the north side of Kingsway, near McKay Ave. Still standing, though, ist he old family home at the former address (now changed) of 3131 Royal Oak Ave. That’s where my mother and all seven of her sisters were born. These were the “swampers” on dad’s trucks, a job hard enough for a man. Ed did hire men as well to work as drivers and even employed his own mechanic. But for the girls, it wasn’t really a paying kind of job. “Some times he would buy us an ice-cream cone,” my mother would say. In those days, parents wanted large families to help with all the work which needed doing. Payment in dollars and cents just wasn’t usually part of the deal. I never knew my grandmother, Jennie, who died in 1946 at age 61, an early age to go but likely reflective of a lifetime of hard work and too many children. However, I did know my grandfather who lived into his 70s.His company came to a rather sad end, as related by my mother, in the dirty 30s. Apparently a certain sister of my grandmother, great aunt to myself, reported to the local school board that grandfather was supplying them with an inferior grade of coal for the schools. Then the school board cancelled his contract and that put him into bankruptcy. Whether the story is true or not doesn’t seem to matter much any more since no one who could have known is still among the living. Ed Brown, the industrious, rugged individualist did make a small come-back in the early 1950s with his own plumbing business. The details of that enterprise, I don’t know. But I do remember his old International panel truck he used. People such as my grandfather made a great contribution to Burnaby.
- Media Type
- Textual Record
- Photograph
- Notes
- Title based on contents of fonds
- BHS298
Engineering Department fonds
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription43
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- 1912-2014
- Collection/Fonds
- Engineering Department fonds
- Description Level
- Fonds
- Physical Description
- 1m of textual records, approximately 2000 cartographic and architecural drawings
- Scope and Content
- Fonds consists of records created by the Engineering department including environmental service files, physical plant plans, and administrative records.
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- 1912-2014
- Collection/Fonds
- Engineering Department fonds
- Physical Description
- 1m of textual records, approximately 2000 cartographic and architecural drawings
- Description Level
- Fonds
- Access Restriction
- Subject to FOIPPA
- Reproduction Restriction
- Reproductions subject to FOIPPA
- Scope and Content
- Fonds consists of records created by the Engineering department including environmental service files, physical plant plans, and administrative records.
- History
- In 2020, responsibility for environmental management transferred to Climate Action and Energy, with Engineering retaining responsibility for geotechnical investigations and graffiti management. In 2022, Engineering became responsible for a consolidated Transportation group that aligns transportation planning and implementation functions. Green Fleet and Equipment also moved from Climate Action and Energy to the Public Works division of the Engineering Department. In 2022, Facilities Management was transferred from Engineering to the newly-created Lands and Facilities Department. James Lota served as General Manager, Engineering from 2021-2022. Jozsef Dioszeghy has served in the role since April 2022.
- Creator
- City of Burnaby
- Notes
- Title based on contents of fonds.
Ernest Winch fonds
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription64651
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- 1898-1961
- Collection/Fonds
- Ernest Winch fonds
- Description Level
- Fonds
- Physical Description
- 15 cm of textual records and 31 photographs
- Scope and Content
- Fonds consists of photographs, political leaflets, postcards, publications, correspondence and a scrapbook documenting the political careers of Ernest and Harold Winch.
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- 1898-1961
- Collection/Fonds
- Ernest Winch fonds
- Physical Description
- 15 cm of textual records and 31 photographs
- Description Level
- Fonds
- Accession Number
- 2010-06
- Scope and Content
- Fonds consists of photographs, political leaflets, postcards, publications, correspondence and a scrapbook documenting the political careers of Ernest and Harold Winch.
- History
- Ernest Edward (Ernie) Winch was born at Harlow, Essex, England on March 22, 1879. Ernest was one of seven children; Walter, Albert, Alfred, Horace, Ernest, Emma and Caroline (Carrie). In 1898, when he was 19 years old, Ernest immigrated to Canada with his friend Jack Holttum to work on a farm in Saskatchewan. Ernest’s brother Alfred followed soon after and together the Winch brothers worked in British Columbia, then in Australia. Unfortunately the country was at the height of a heavy drought and so Ernest returned to Harlow and followed in his father's footsteps, apprenticing as a bricklayer. In 1905 Ernest Winch met and married Australian born Linda Marian Hendy. While in England they had Harold, born June 18, 1907, and Eileen, born in 1908. Ernest sailed back to Canada alone in 1910, his young family following him months later. He quickly became a member of the Bricklayers and Masons International Union No. 1, Vancouver Branch. Ernest began studying socialism in 1910 and joined the Social-Democratic Party of Canada in 1911. The Burnaby local of the Social-Democratic Party nominated Ernest Winch as a candidate for School Trustee in 1914. He received seven votes. In 1915 he and his eldest son Harold left the rest of the family at their home in White Rock and went to Mission to establish a homestead. While living in the Dewdney area, he organized a small Social-Democratic group in Mission and became its Secretary. However, he did not stay long in Dewdney. In the summer of 1918, Ernest left the Social-Democratic Party to join the Socialist Party. Once back in Burnaby, now 38 years old and looking for a way to support his family, Ernest answered a call for new workers from the Longshoremen’s Union. He joined the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) Auxiliary and soon was elected its Secretary. By 1917, he was a part of the Vancouver Trades and Labour Council, serving as its President by 1918. In 1919, he joined the B.C. Loggers Union (later the Lumber-Workers Industrial Unit), serving as Secretary. Ernest endorsed both the Vancouver General Strike in 1918 and the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919 and was active in his support of the One Big Union (O.B.U). After two and a half years, Ernest left the ILA and rejoined the Longshoremen’s Union along with his former O.B.U. brother, William A. Pritchard. Soon after, a strike broke out and its unsuccessful end caused Winch to go back to bricklaying. By this time, the four youngest Winch children had been born: Charlie, Grace, Alan and Eric. Ernest re-founded the Socialist Party of Canada (British Columbia) in 1932 and, with it, joined the new Co-operative Commonwealth Federation. In the 1933 provincial election he, his son Harold Winch, and five others became the first CCF Members of Legislative Assembly. As a CCF MLA for Burnaby, Ernest became a resolute advocate for immediate reform, exposing abuses and inadequacies in BC's social welfare and correctional institutions (including Oakalla) and taking a special interest in the problems of the aged. One of his many notable contributions was the creation of the New Vista Society, first developed to ease the problem of overcrowding in mental hospitals at the time. Ernest Winch held his seat in the legislature continuously until his death on January 11, 1957. One of his legacies left to the people of Burnaby are the New Vista Society senior citizens homes. He also founded the New Westminster branch of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (S.P.C.A.). Ernest and Linda’s eldest son Harold Edward, an electrician by trade, married Dorothy Ada Hutchinson on May 11, 1929. At 26 years old, he was elected CCF MLA for Vancouver East (in 1933) and became provincial party leader by 1938, serving as leader of the Opposition from 1941 to 1953. When the CCF was defeated in the controversial election of 1953, which saw W.A.C. Bennet come to power, Harold abandoned provincial politics for the House of Commons, where he represented Vancouver East until his retirement in 1972.
- Media Type
- Textual Record
- Photograph
- Creator
- Winch, Ernest "Ernie"
- Notes
- Title based on contents of fonds
- MSS129, photo catalogue 514
Finance Department fonds
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription46
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- 1920-1950
- Collection/Fonds
- Finance Department fonds
- Description Level
- Fonds
- Physical Description
- 30 cm of textual records.
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- 1920-1950
- Collection/Fonds
- Finance Department fonds
- Physical Description
- 30 cm of textual records.
- Description Level
- Fonds
- Access Restriction
- Subject to FOIPPA
- Reproduction Restriction
- Reproductions subject to FOIPPA.
- History
- In 2017, responsibility for Risk Management and Emergency Preparedness transferred from the Finance Department to the Public Safety and Community Services Department's Risk Management and Emergency Services division.
- Media Type
- Textual Record
- Creator
- City of Burnaby
- Notes
- Title based on contents of fonds.