Search Results | Heritage Burnaby

Eleanor and Louise Irwin with Hideko Kokuryo

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription15245

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: [1938] (date of original), copied 2004

Collection/Fonds: In the Shadow by the Sea collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph (tiff) : 300 dpi

Scope and Content: Photograph of Eleanor Irwin Nelson (left), Louise Irwin (right) and Hideko Kokuryo (behind) and dog in front of the Irwin family home at the Barnet Lumber Mill.Eleanor and Louise are seated on a wagon. The front steps and porch of the Irwin home are visible behind them.

1 image

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: In the Shadow by the Sea collection

Series: Irwin family photographs series

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph (tiff) : 300 dpi

Scope and Content: Photograph of Eleanor Irwin Nelson (left), Louise Irwin (right) and Hideko Kokuryo (behind) and dog in front of the Irwin family home at the Barnet Lumber Mill.Eleanor and Louise are seated on a wagon. The front steps and porch of the Irwin home are visible behind them.

Subjects: Persons - Japanese Canadians

Names: Barnet Mill; Barnet Lumber Company; Nelson, Eleanor Irwin; Irwin, Louise; Kokuryo, Hideko

Geographic Access: Burrard Inlet

Accession Code: BV019.32.64

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: No known restrictions

Date: [1938] (date of original), copied 2004

Media Type: Photograph

Historic Neighbourhood: Barnet (Historic Neighbourhood)

Planning Study Area: Burnaby Mountain Area

Notes: Title based on contents of photograph

Images

Eleanor and Louise Irwin with Hideko Kokuryo, [1938] (date of original), copied 2004 thumbnail

Interview with Tony Fabian by Kathy Bossort October 29, 2015 - Track 1

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/oralhistory596

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Date Range: 1934-1955

Length: 0:20:52

Summary: This portion of the interview is about Tony Fabian’s memories of his childhood and growing up in Saskatchewan and Richmond, BC. He tells about being taken from his family at an early age and being placed with an immigrant farming family; how hard life was as a child working on a farm; and the often…

1 audio

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Summary: This portion of the interview is about Tony Fabian’s memories of his childhood and growing up in Saskatchewan and Richmond, BC. He tells about being taken from his family at an early age and being placed with an immigrant farming family; how hard life was as a child working on a farm; and the often abusive ways he saw people treat farmland and animals. He relates how his experiences developed his land ethic and love of nature.

Date Range: 1934-1955

Length: 0:20:52

Subjects: Agriculture; Persons - Children

Interviewer: Bossort, Kathy

Interview Date: October 29, 2015

Scope and Content: Recording is of an interview with Tony Fabian conducted by Kathy Bossort. Tony Fabian was one of 23 participants interviewed as part of the Community Heritage Commission’s Burnaby Mountain Oral History Project. The interview is mainly about Tony Fabian’s part in park creation and protection of natural areas in Burnaby, particularly as a member of the Park and Recreation Commission in the 1970s; his childhood and how that contributed to his land ethic; and the history of the uses made of and setting aside parkland on Burnaby Mountain.

Biographical Notes: Tony S. Fabian was born in 1934 in north Saskatchewan. At less than a year old Tony, along with his siblings, was removed from his family home and eventually placed with an immigrant farm family. As a child he worked on the farm and witnessed what he considered abusive treatment of the land and farm animals. When he was about 12 years old his adoptive family moved to the BC coast where he went on his own, working for a variety of farmers in Richmond and Delta. At 19 he contracted polio, quit farm work, and found work with the telephone company. In 1956 Tony married, and in 1957 he and his wife moved to a home on Hardwick Street in Burnaby where he still lives. Tony entered civic politics in the 1960s when he objected to development on Hardwick Park and became concerned about the destruction of Burnaby’s natural landscapes. He became a life long advocate for preserving natural areas and helped to create large parks in Burnaby on the foreshore of the Fraser River and on Burrard Inlet. He served as a member of the Parks and Recreation Commission 1970-1975, is a long time volunteer with the Burnaby Lake Park Association, and continues to stay current on local and regional environmental issues. In 2008 Tony was presented with the City of Burnaby Environment Award for Community Stewardship.

Total Tracks: 7

Total Length: 1:43:22

Interviewee Name: Fabian, Tony S.

Interview Location: Tony Fabian's home in Burnaby

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 one of interview with Tony Fabian

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Oral_Histories/_Unrestricted/MSS196-007/MSS196-007_Track_1.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

Harvest in Champion, Alberta

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription19905

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: 1930

Collection/Fonds: Esther Love Stanley fonds

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph : b&w ; 7 x 11.5 cm

Scope and Content: Photograph of a woman, two children and a dog in a field with harvest binders and tractor. Woman is identified as Orrie Sommers' mother and children are identified as Irene Sommeres (standing) and Myrna Sommers. Location is identified as Champion, Alberta.

1 image

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: Esther Love Stanley fonds

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph : b&w ; 7 x 11.5 cm

Scope and Content: Photograph of a woman, two children and a dog in a field with harvest binders and tractor. Woman is identified as Orrie Sommers' mother and children are identified as Irene Sommeres (standing) and Myrna Sommers. Location is identified as Champion, Alberta.

Subjects: Agriculture; Agriculture - Farms

Names: Sommers Family; Lawrence, Myrna Sommers; Cool, Irene Dorothy Rae Sommers

Accession Code: BV022.32.327

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: No known restrictions

Date: 1930

Media Type: Photograph

Scan Resolution: 600

Scan Date: 2023-06-09

Notes: Title based on contents of photograph; Photograph is part of Esther Love Stanley photograph album 1 (BV022.32.1); Note in blue ink on verso of photograph reads: "This was 1930 / harvesting here at / home with the / binders. One binder / flew to pieces before/ they got finished. / I guess it was / travelling too fast. / Orries mother / Irene / Myrna & / the pup"; Note in ink on lower recto of photograph reads: "HARVEST_1930"; Note in white ink on album page reads: "Champion, ALTA"

Images

Harvest in Champion, Alberta, 1930 thumbnail

House and farming machinery

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription19909

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: [1930]

Collection/Fonds: Esther Love Stanley fonds

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph : b&w ; 6.5 x 11 cm

Scope and Content: Photograph of a field with a house at centre and farming machinery on either side. Farm is located in Alberta and could belong to the Sommers family.

1 image

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: Esther Love Stanley fonds

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph : b&w ; 6.5 x 11 cm

Scope and Content: Photograph of a field with a house at centre and farming machinery on either side. Farm is located in Alberta and could belong to the Sommers family.

Subjects: Agriculture; Agriculture - Farms

Names: Sommers Family

Accession Code: BV022.32.331

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: No known restrictions

Date: [1930]

Media Type: Photograph

Scan Resolution: 600

Scan Date: 2023-06-09

Notes: Title based on contents of photograph; Photograph is part of Esther Love Stanley photograph album 1 (BV022.32.1)

Images

House and farming machinery, [1930] thumbnail

Combining in field

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription19919

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: 1930

Collection/Fonds: Esther Love Stanley fonds

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph : b&w ; 7 x 11.5 cm

Scope and Content: Photograph of four men and child with combining equipment in a field in Alberta. Two men are working with a combine to harvest grain and the others are standing nearby. Man standing in centre is identified as Orrie Sommers' dad, one man on combine is identified as Orrie's brother, child and man sta…

1 image

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: Esther Love Stanley fonds

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph : b&w ; 7 x 11.5 cm

Scope and Content: Photograph of four men and child with combining equipment in a field in Alberta. Two men are working with a combine to harvest grain and the others are standing nearby. Man standing in centre is identified as Orrie Sommers' dad, one man on combine is identified as Orrie's brother, child and man standing next to tractor are identified as "Irene" and "Fred".

Subjects: Agriculture; Agriculture - Farms

Names: Cool, Irene Dorothy Rae Sommers; Sommers Family

Accession Code: BV022.32.341

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: No known restrictions

Date: 1930

Media Type: Photograph

Scan Resolution: 600

Scan Date: 2023-06-09

Notes: Title based on contents of photograph; Photograph is part of Esther Love Stanley photograph album 1 (BV022.32.1); Note in black ink on verso of photograph reads: "This is in 1930 / combining on Orrie / brothers place which / we rent. / Orries Dad in centre / Irene & Fred. / His brother [Orlif] & / man on combine. / The other man / is a salesman. / They are always / thick in the fall"; Note in ink on lower recto of photograph reads: "1930"

Images

Group posing on farming machinery

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription19923

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: [193-]

Collection/Fonds: Esther Love Stanley fonds

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph : b&w ; 6.5 x 8.5 cm

Scope and Content: Photograph of a group of nine people posing on farming equipment used for harvesting on a farm in Alberta. Frank Charles Stanley is seated in front with two boys standing behind him, his son Frank Conquest Stanley (right) and a boy identified as Don (left). Three young women are seated on upper le…

1 image

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: Esther Love Stanley fonds

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph : b&w ; 6.5 x 8.5 cm

Scope and Content: Photograph of a group of nine people posing on farming equipment used for harvesting on a farm in Alberta. Frank Charles Stanley is seated in front with two boys standing behind him, his son Frank Conquest Stanley (right) and a boy identified as Don (left). Three young women are seated on upper level of equipment with two young girls standing behind. The woman that is standing could be Esther Love Stanley or a relation of Frank Stanley. Farm buildings are visible in the background.

Subjects: Agriculture; Agriculture - Farms

Names: Stanley, Frank Charles; Stanley, Frank Conquest; Stanley, Esther Love; Stanley Family

Accession Code: BV022.32.345

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: No known restrictions

Date: [193-]

Media Type: Photograph

Scan Resolution: 600

Scan Date: 2023-06-09

Notes: Title based on contents of photograph; Photograph is part of Esther Love Stanley photograph album 1 (BV022.32.1)

Images

Group posing on farming machinery

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription19924

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: [193-]

Collection/Fonds: Esther Love Stanley fonds

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph : b&w ; 8.5 x 6.5 cm

Scope and Content: Photograph of a group of eight people posing on farming equipment used for harvesting on a farm in Alberta. Esther (Love) Stanley is seated on the right and her children Frank and Joyce Stanley are standing above with group of young women and girls. Young boy named "Don" is standing to the left of …

1 image

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: Esther Love Stanley fonds

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph : b&w ; 8.5 x 6.5 cm

Scope and Content: Photograph of a group of eight people posing on farming equipment used for harvesting on a farm in Alberta. Esther (Love) Stanley is seated on the right and her children Frank and Joyce Stanley are standing above with group of young women and girls. Young boy named "Don" is standing to the left of Esther. Farm buildings are visible in the background.

Subjects: Agriculture; Agriculture - Farms

Names: Stanley, Esther Love; Stanley, Frank Conquest; Warner, Joyce Stanley; Stanley Family

Accession Code: BV022.32.346

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: No known restrictions

Date: [193-]

Media Type: Photograph

Scan Resolution: 600

Scan Date: 2023-06-09

Notes: Title based on contents of photograph; Photograph is part of Esther Love Stanley photograph album 1 (BV022.32.1)

Images

Group posing on farming machinery

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription19926

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: [193-]

Collection/Fonds: Esther Love Stanley fonds

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph : b&w ; 6.5 x 8.5 cm

Scope and Content: Photograph of a group of eight people posing on farming equipment used for harvesting on a farm in Alberta. Esther (Love) Stanley is seated on the right and her children Frank and Joyce Stanley are standing above with group of young women and girls. Young boy named "Don" is standing to the left of …

1 image

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: Esther Love Stanley fonds

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph : b&w ; 6.5 x 8.5 cm

Scope and Content: Photograph of a group of eight people posing on farming equipment used for harvesting on a farm in Alberta. Esther (Love) Stanley is seated on the right and her children Frank and Joyce Stanley are standing above with group of young women and girls. Young boy named "Don" is standing to the left of Esther. Farm buildings are visible in the background.

Subjects: Agriculture; Agriculture - Farms

Names: Stanley, Esther Love; Stanley, Frank Conquest; Warner, Joyce Stanley; Stanley Family

Accession Code: BV022.32.348

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: No known restrictions

Date: [193-]

Media Type: Photograph

Scan Resolution: 600

Scan Date: 2023-06-09

Notes: Title based on contents of photograph; Photograph is part of Esther Love Stanley photograph album 1 (BV022.32.1)

Images

Three men with tractor

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription19928

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: [193-]

Collection/Fonds: Esther Love Stanley fonds

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph : b&w ; 6.5 x 8.5 cm

Scope and Content: Photograph of three men with a tractor on a farm in Champion, Alberta. Frank Charles "Stan" Stanley is seated in the drivers' seat of the tractor and two men are standing next to the tractor. One of the men is holding a gas can. There are farm buildings and metal storage drums in the background.

1 image

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: Esther Love Stanley fonds

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph : b&w ; 6.5 x 8.5 cm

Scope and Content: Photograph of three men with a tractor on a farm in Champion, Alberta. Frank Charles "Stan" Stanley is seated in the drivers' seat of the tractor and two men are standing next to the tractor. One of the men is holding a gas can. There are farm buildings and metal storage drums in the background.

Subjects: Agriculture; Agriculture - Farms; Transportation - Tractors

Names: Stanley, Frank Charles

Accession Code: BV022.32.350

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: No known restrictions

Date: [193-]

Media Type: Photograph

Scan Resolution: 600

Scan Date: 2023-06-09

Notes: Title based on contents of photograph; Photograph is part of Esther Love Stanley photograph album 1 (BV022.32.1); Note in white ink on album page reads: "Champion._Alta"

Images

Three men with tractor, [193-] thumbnail

Interview with Maureen Olofson by Kathy Bossort October 14, 2015 - Track 1

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/oralhistory569

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Date Range: 1906-1950

Length: 0:09:08

Summary: This portion of the interview is about Maureen Olofson’s parents immigration to Saskatchewan, her mother Kerstin in 1912 and father Axel in 1928, Maureen’s birth on a trip to Sweden in 1938, and her family’s move to Burnaby in 1942 and the start of their mink ranch, the GAK Fur Farm, near Curtis Av…

1 audio

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Summary: This portion of the interview is about Maureen Olofson’s parents immigration to Saskatchewan, her mother Kerstin in 1912 and father Axel in 1928, Maureen’s birth on a trip to Sweden in 1938, and her family’s move to Burnaby in 1942 and the start of their mink ranch, the GAK Fur Farm, near Curtis Avenue in the old Hastings Grove subdivision on Burnaby Mountain.

Date Range: 1906-1950

Length: 0:09:08

Names: Olofson, Axel; GAK Fur Farm; Skofteby, Gus; Ericksson, Karin

Subjects: Agriculture

Geographic Access: Burnaby Mountain Conservation Area

Historic Neighbourhood: Lochdale (Historic Neighbourhood)

Planning Study Area: Westridge Area

Interviewer: Bossort, Kathy

Interview Date: October 14, 2015

Scope and Content: Recording is of an interview with Maureen Olofson conducted by Kathy Bossort. Maureen Olofson was one of 23 participants interviewed as part of the Community Heritage Commission’s Burnaby Mountain Oral History Project. The interview is mainly about Maureen Olofson’s memories of growing up on her parent’s Burnaby Mountain mink ranch between 1942 and 1950 and about the operation of the farm. She also talks about her parents’ history, her teaching career, and her thoughts about the beauty and value of Burnaby Mountain’s natural area.

Biographical Notes: Maureen Olofson was born 1938 in Glote, Harjedalen, Sweden, to Axel (1906-1998) and Kerstin Margareta (1906-1980). Axel and Kerstin Olofson, who had separately immigrated to Canada in 1928 and 1913 respectively, married in Canada and then returned to Sweden where Maureen was born. They moved to Burnaby in 1942 with their daughters Maureen and Anita Lea, and bought land and a mink ranch on Burnaby Mountain with their partners Gus Skofteby and Karin Ericksson (Kerstin’s sister). The GAK Fur Farm, located in the old Hastings Grove subdivision on 4th Avenue near Curtis Street, was one of the largest mink ranches in BC, an award winning operation with over 1200 mink animals. In 1950 the partners sold the land and the Olofson family moved to rented homes on Sperling Avenue. In 1952 Axel sold the last of his minks and opened a sporting goods store on Hastings Street. In 1954 the family moved to North Vancouver where Axel Olofson reestablished his sports business. Maureen attended Sperling Avenue School from Gr. 1 to Gr. 8 and Burnaby North High School to Gr. 11, completing school in North Vancouver, before going to UBC where she trained as a teacher. She returned to Burnaby in 1977 to teach, retiring in 1997. She is a volunteer with the Swedish Canadian Rest Home Association and the Dania Homes Society. Maureen continues to enjoy activities on Burnaby Mountain and works toward preserving the natural beauty of the mountain.

Total Tracks: 8

Total Length: 1:19:04

Interviewee Name: Olofson, B. Maureen

Interview Location: Maureen Olofson's home in Burnaby

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 one of interview with Maureen Olofson

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Oral_Histories/_Unrestricted/MSS196-004/MSS196-004_Track_1.mp3

Interview with Toki Miyashita by Rod Fowler February 27, 1990 - Track 1

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/oralhistory516

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Date Range: 1900-1946

Length: 00:07:05

Summary: This portion of the interview is about Toki Miyashita’s family’s internment during WWII, and her Oikawa grandparent’s immigration to BC and settlement on Lion and Don Islands at the mouth of the Fraser River. She describes how the family was moved to the internment camp “The Orchard” in New Denver,…

1 audio

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Summary: This portion of the interview is about Toki Miyashita’s family’s internment during WWII, and her Oikawa grandparent’s immigration to BC and settlement on Lion and Don Islands at the mouth of the Fraser River. She describes how the family was moved to the internment camp “The Orchard” in New Denver, but managed to find a place to live outside the camp where her grandmother grew a large garden from seeds brought in the seams of her clothing. She notes that the Lion Islands were named Oikawa-shima by the Japanese settlers.

Date Range: 1900-1946

Length: 00:07:05

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 one of interview with Toki Miyashita

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Oral_Histories/_Unrestricted/MSS187-017/MSS187-017_Track_1.mp3

Cherry-Burrell general catalog : complete equipment and supplies for handling milk and its products : catalog no. 1939.

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumlibrary2262

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Author: Cherry-Burrell Corporation of Canada

Publication Date: c1939

Call Number: 637 CHE

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection: Special Collection

Material Type: Book

Accession Code: HV977.29.49

Call Number: 637 CHE

Author: Cherry-Burrell Corporation of Canada

Place of Publication: Toronto, Ont.

Publisher: Cherry-Burrell Corp.

Publication Date: c1939

Physical Description: 324 p. : ill. : 28 cm.

Inscription: "Mr Gould" [Handwritten in red crayon on title page] "Dary Supply Co Ltd" [Handwritten in orange crayon on title page] "Dairy Supplies ________ Complete ____ to the Dairy ____ ______ 1158 Romeo _____ Vancouver B.C." [Stamped in black ink on front cover]