Search Results | Heritage Burnaby

Kapoor sawmill being rebuilt

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription15186

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: 6 Aug. 1939 (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 Kapoor Sawmill being rebuilt in August 1939. Two unidentified men are standing on the second floor of the building under a block and tackle that is suspended from the beam above.

1 image

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: In the Shadow by the Sea collection

Series: Kapoor Singh Siddoo family photographs series

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph (tiff) : 300 dpi

Scope and Content: Photograph of Kapoor Sawmill being rebuilt in August 1939. Two unidentified men are standing on the second floor of the building under a block and tackle that is suspended from the beam above.

Subjects: Persons - South Asian Canadians; Construction; Industries - Logging/lumber

Names: Kapoor Sawmills Limited

Accession Code: BV019.32.7

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: May be restricted by third party rights

Date: 6 Aug. 1939 (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

Kapoor sawmill being rebuilt, 6 Aug. 1939 (date of original), copied 2004 thumbnail

Martin family

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription66708

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Date: [between 1933 and 1940] (date of original), copied 2011

Collection/Fonds: William Martin family fonds

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph (jpeg)

Scope and Content: Photograph of members of the Martin family picking raspberries on their property. From left are Barbara (in a sun hat), Nita and their mother, Ellen Martin.

1 image

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Date: [between 1933 and 1940] (date of original), copied 2011

Collection/Fonds: William Martin family fonds

Physical Description: 1 photograph (jpeg)

Description Level: Item

Record No.: 525-014

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: No restrictions

Accession Number: 2011-11

Scope and Content: Photograph of members of the Martin family picking raspberries on their property. From left are Barbara (in a sun hat), Nita and their mother, Ellen Martin.

Subjects: Agriculture - Fruit and Berries

Names: Martin, Ellen Ward; Punnett, Barbara Martin; Safarik, Juanita "Nita" Martin

Media Type: Photograph

Photographer: Martin, William

Notes: Title based on contents of photograph

Geographic Access: Spruce Street

Historic Neighbourhood: Burnaby Lake (Historic Neighbourhood)

Planning Study Area: Douglas-Gilpin Area

Images

Martin family, [between 1933 and 1940] (date of original), copied 2011 thumbnail

Interview with Dr. Sadhu Binning

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription19348

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: [1931-2022] (interview content), interviewed 25 Nov. 2022

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum fonds

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 3 sound recordings (wav) (75 min., 56 sec.) + 1 sound recording (mp3) (75 min., 57 sec.)

Scope and Content: Item consists of an oral history interview with Dr. Sadhu Binning conducted by Anushay Malik with assistance from Burnaby Village Museum Assistant Curator, Kate Petrusa. The interview opens with introductions and how the content of the interview can be drawn on by Burnaby Village Museum for future …

1 document 1 audio

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum fonds

Series: Museum Oral Histories series

Subseries: South Asian Canadian Interviews subseries

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 3 sound recordings (wav) (75 min., 56 sec.) + 1 sound recording (mp3) (75 min., 57 sec.)

Material Details: Interviewer: Anushay Malik Co Interviewer and technical support: Kate Petrusa Interviewee: Dr. Sadhu Binning Location of Interview: Love farmhouse at Burnaby Village Museum Interview Date: November 25, 2022 Total Number of tracks: 3 Total Length of all Tracks: (1:15:57) Digital master recordings (wav) were recorded onto three separate audio tracks, edited and merged together and converted to mp3 for access on Heritage Burnaby

Scope and Content: Item consists of an oral history interview with Dr. Sadhu Binning conducted by Anushay Malik with assistance from Burnaby Village Museum Assistant Curator, Kate Petrusa. The interview opens with introductions and how the content of the interview can be drawn on by Burnaby Village Museum for future exhibits and for researchers to learn more about the history of the South Asian community in Burnaby. During the interview, Dr. Binning shares his ancestral background along with his relatives' and his own personal experiences as a South Asian immigrant living and working in British Columbia and Burnaby. Dr. Binning conveys that he’s a Burnaby resident who’s lived in Burnaby since 1973 and that his children were born here. Binning shares his ancestral heritage beginning with his uncle Dhana Singh who emigrated from Punjab to British Columbia in 1931 and began working in the forest industry. He explains how Dhana Singh and another partner owned, operated and worked in small sawmills in the vicinity of Kamloops, Williams Lake and also on Vancouver Island. Binning conveys that in the beginning Dhana Singh and many other South Asian immigrants were not legal residents until 1938. In 1938, about 350 South Asian immigrants (mainly Punjabi) gathered resources to hire a lawyer to obtain permanent residency. Binning mentions that one of the notable South Asians in the group who was also a close friend of his uncle, was Darshan Singh Sangha, a trade unionist who was a founding member of the International Woodworkers of America (IWA) union and an active member of the Communist Party of Canada. Binning conveys how Darshan Singh Sangha returned to India in 1947 to be a part of the revolution, how he was very active in the communist movement in India. While in India, Darshan Singh Sangha, was known as Canadian and thereby adopted “Canadian” as his surname, becoming “Darshan Singh Canadian”. Binning further explains that his uncle Dhana Singh Sangha returned to India in 1951, married and came back to B.C. in 1957 bringing with him, his wife and children. In 1960, with the support of his uncle, Binning’s father, Jit Singh Binning immigrated to British Columbia and began working in sawmills in the lower mainland, Kamloops, Quesnel and on Vancouver Island. Binning clarifies that his uncle, Dhana Singh was able to immigrate to Canada with the support of his cousins from the Tarker Singh Bains family. Binning further describes Darshan Singh Sangha’s involvement with the Communist party and the IWA and how the majority of the members were from the forest industry. As an active and prominent member of the labour movement, Darshan Singh Sangha fought for the rights of South Asians and Chinese who working in the industry and facing racism, unfair wages and discriminatory practices. Binning describes how Darshan Singh Sangha wrote a book in English in 1943, titled “Rise of the New Asia”. Binning conveys how immigrants of Chinese and South Asian decent didn’t have the right to vote in British Columbia and how Darshan Singh Sangha was instrumental in obtaining the right to vote in British Columbia, although he was never given the credit. Binning describes his uncle Dhana Singh as a likeable guy with many friends, first living in Kamloops before moving to Vancouver. Binning imparts how the sport of wrestling is a popular Punjabi sport along with Punjabi kabaddi. He conveys that his uncle became involved in wrestling while working in sawmills. South Asian immigrants had to do physical labour working in sawmills, the work could be tough and could often lead to physical fights. A number of South Asian immigrants working in the mills already had experience as wrestlers from back home. Dhana Singh later left the lumber industry to work in the agriculture sector. Binning explains how immigration rules changed in the 1960s which lead to larger numbers of South Asians immigrating to Canada. Many of these new immigrants were educated and politically conscious. All of these new immigrants faced racism but being politically conscious from an independent India and with the ability to speak English they organized themselves to fight for their rights. Binning imagines the items that his uncle and his father may have brought with them in their suitcase when immigrating to Canada. Binning describes three items, including a rajai (a blanket with cotton inside that is sewn together), a bistra (small attaché case or trunk) and a piece of cloth to lie on. Binning further describes the roles in Indian society as caste divisions and that it was usually women’s work in making the rajais. Binning recollects the locations that his father and his family lived after coming to Vancouver. Binning explains that a few years after living together in Vancouver, he and his family moved to Burnaby in 1973 to be closer to his Dr. Binning’s wife, Jagdish Binning’s family. Dr. Binning and family lived in a house in Burnaby located on Irmin Street near Royal Oak between 1973 and 1987. While living at this house their children attended McPherson Park Junior High School and later Burnaby South Secondary School. Binning reflects on some of the racism that he and his family have faced while living in Burnaby which led him to write a poem that he published in 1994 titled “No More Watno Dur”. Binning explains the meaning of the title “Watan” meaning “country and everybody” “a country far way from the motherland”. Binning explains the origins of the magazine “Watan” that was started by a friend in 1973. The magazine got its roots in Vancouver in 1973 from an organization called the “Punjabi Literary Association”. Binning became the editor of the magazine in 1976 and his friend joined him as assistant editor in 1978. Binning continued to work as editor until 1983 or 1984 when he returned to school to complete his Bachelor’s degree and Master’s degree. Binning describes the origins of the “Vancouver Sath” that was formed by a small group of South Asians around 1982. Binning was a founding member of the organization and held meetings and rehearsals at his house in Burnaby. Vancouver Sath first started out as an informal discussion forum by a group of politically conscious Punjabi writers and activists. Binning talks about issues and problems that Vancouver Sath addressed including; racism as well as domestic violence in the South Asian community. Binning explains how he and Sukhwant Hundal wrote articles on these issues and others that were happening in the South Asian community in Canada. Binning talks about how in 1983, the group was inspired to begin performing theatrical works after consulting with Gursharan Singh who was from a well known theatrical group from Punjab who were performing in Vancouver. In the beginning the Vancouver Sath’s plays were focused on the problems in Punjab but they soon decided to address social issues in their own South Asian community here in Canada. Binning summarizes and draws attention to, some of the plays that Vancouver Sath has written and performed including; “Picket Line”, about Punjabi women farmworkers’ rights; “Lattan de Bhoot”, about domestic abuse; “A Crop of Poison”; “Kihda Viah” (English translation- “Whose Marriage”) about arranged marriage and others about social issues in the South Asian community. The plays were performed in public schools and community centres in Vancouver and Richmond, Simon Fraser University and some were also performed in Toronto, Calgary and Williams Lake. Binning mentions some of the traditional foods that he likes to eat and where he and his family have shopped to find ingredients. He recalls how his mother, Gurmaje Kaur Binning did all of the cooking and was often cooking all day long. In the sixties, the Binning family address on 13th Avenue in Vancouver was also used as a postal address for many friends and family who’d recently immigrated. When these friends dropped by to pick up their mail, his mother often provided them with tea and food. After Binning and his wife, Jagdish moved to their own home in 1973, he shared in some of the shopping and cooking but his wife did the majority of the work due to his busy schedule. The interview closes with Binning providing an explanation of how “Watno Dur” magazine changed it’s name to “Watan” magazine. Binning reflects on how this came to be, when he made the decision to get an education in Canada and to stay here, not just as a “Canadian” but as a “Punjabi Canadian.

History: Interviewee biography: Dr. Sadhu Binning was born on May 10, 1947 to mother Gurmej Kaur and father Jeet Singh Binning. Due to lack of proper records management in India at the time of his birth, it is believed that he was actually born sometime in December of 1947. He grew up alongside two brothers and one sister in a village located in Kapurthala, Punjab. Dr. Binning attended secondary school in the nearby city of Phagwara, Punjab although he did not complete his education here. Throughout his childhood, he enjoyed reading both Punjabi and Hindi novels and learned how to read Urdu as well. Dr. Binning’s uncle, Dhana Singh immigrated to Canada in 1933 and returned to India in 1953. When Dhana Singh returned to Canada in 1957, he sponsored Dr. Binning’s father, Jeet Singh Binning to immigrate. Dhana Singh co-owned a few saw mills in British Columbia and also worked in the truck driving industry. Dr. Binning remembers that some people who had lived in Canada would visit their village and that they appeared to be strong and healthy and looked happy. He also noticed that they would eat meat, so whenever they would visit there would be meat available. In 1967, when he was nineteen and a half years old, Dr. Binning immigrated Canada to join his father. He recalls his father and uncle and a friend arriving at the airport to pick him up. During his first few days, Dr. Binning made the decision to remove his turban and beard upon receiving advice from his uncle. Dr. Binning first obtained work on a farm in Abbotsford, working alongside his mother. While working, Dr. Binning also attended English classes in Vancouver. Dr. Binning’s Uncle Dhana Singh worked in a Vancouver saw mill and tried to help find work for his nephew but was unsuccessful. Dr. Binning soon found work at a saw mill in Avola and worked there until the end of the summer until a friend helped find him work in a saw mill in North Vancouver. During his free time, he enjoyed camping with friends. In 1970, Dr. Binning left the saw mill after obtaining a job at the post office. The post office offered lower wages than working at the mill but Dr. Binning believed that he would become more educated working here. While working as a postman, Dr. Binning recalls facing a lot of discrimination and racism and was often referred to as a ‘Paki’ multiple times a day. In 1973, Dr. Binning married Jagish Sihota. Sadhu and Jagdish originated from nearby villages in India and met each other in Canada. Dr. Binning’s wife, Jagdish worked at the Royal Bank of Canada for thirty years until her retirement. While working, she also looked after the household and their son and daughter. Jagdish also handwrote a magazine, “Watno Dur’ (English translation: ‘away from homeland’) which was distributed in the community. In 1976, Dr. Binning became the editor of the magazine and the name was later changed to “Watan’ as they had accepted their new homeland of Canada. While working at the post office, Dr. Binning also attended night school starting in eighth grade. After receiving his high school diploma, he was accepted to Simon Fraser University and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with a double major in Anthropology and Sociology and in 1986 he obtained a Masters degree from Simon Fraser University. While attending university, Dr. Binning was very active within the community and wanted to work to improve society. He first thought that he would return to India to contribute and improve rights in his homeland but upon seeing the prevalence of the movements in Canada, he realized that work needed to be done here too. In 1983, Dr. Binning became a founding member and contributor to a theatrical collective known as “Vancouver Sath”. The theatrical group produced plays that represented societal issues and were invited to perform at multiple conferences throughout British Columbia and Canada. The group focused and acknowledged the many issues in Punjab and in Canada. One of the plays that the group produced focused on the exploitation of Punjabi women who worked on farms in Canada. Dr. Binning continued to be involved as an integral member of Vancouver Sath until 1995. Over the years, Dr. Binning has strongly lobbied for Punjabi language education and between 1988 and 2008 he worked as Punjabi instructor at the University of British Columbia. He first worked as a teaching assistant at UBC under Dr. Harjot Oberoi and due to low wages, he simultaneously worked at the Post Office. In 2019, Dr. Binning received an Honorary Doctor of Letters from UBC in recognition of his work. Since 1973, Dr. Binning has lived in Burnaby and has resided in the same home that he and his wife Jagdish purchased in 1987. In his free time, he enjoys cycling, watercolour painting, travelling abroad and going on road trips. Interviewer biography: Anushay Malik is labor historian with a geographical focus on South Asia. Anushay studied at the University of London and was a research fellow at the International Institute of Social History in Amsterdam, Netherlands. In 2014, Anushay moved back to her native Pakistan and joined Lahore University of Management Services as an Assistant Professor. In 2023, Anushay is a visiting scholar at Simon Fraser University and lives in Burnaby with her family. Anushay was a co-curator of the Burnaby Village Museum exhibit “Truths Not Often Told: Being South Asian in Burnaby”.

Creator: Burnaby Village Museum

Subjects: Industries - Logging/lumber; Industries - Forestry; Foods; Migration; Organizations - Societies and Clubs; Organizations - Unions; Persons - South Asian Canadians; Performances; Performances - Dramatic Performances; Social Issues; Social Issues - Racism

Names: Binning, Dr. Sadhu; Binning, Gurmaje Kaur; Binning, Jit Singh; Binning, Jagdish; Sangha, Darshan Singh; Canadian Farmworkers Union; Hundal, Sukhwant; Sangra, Harjinder; Singh, Dhana; Vancouver Sath

Responsibility: Petrusa, Kate; Malik, Anushay

Accession Code: BV022.29.3

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: No known restrictions

Date: [1931-2022] (interview content), interviewed 25 Nov. 2022

Media Type: Sound Recording

Notes: Title based on contents of item; Transcription available on Heritage Burnaby

Documents

2022_0029_0003_005

Audio Tracks

Interview with Dr. Sadhu Binning, [1931-2022] (interview content), interviewed 25 Nov. 2022

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_BVM_Sound_Recordings/Oral_Histories/2022_0029_0003_004.mp3

Mr. Irwin with Eleanor, Louise and Dorothy on ladder

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription15257

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: [1930] (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 Mr. Henry Irwin standing at the bottom of a ladder holding his daughter Eleanor and Louise Irwin and his neice Dorothy Irwin. Young Louise Irwin is standing near the top of the ladder, Dorothy Irwin is in the middle and Eleanor Irwin (Nelson) is near the bottom. The girls are picking …

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 Mr. Henry Irwin standing at the bottom of a ladder holding his daughter Eleanor and Louise Irwin and his neice Dorothy Irwin. Young Louise Irwin is standing near the top of the ladder, Dorothy Irwin is in the middle and Eleanor Irwin (Nelson) is near the bottom. The girls are picking cherries. The ladder is leaning against a cherry tree in the yard of the Irwin family home at Barnet mill.

Subjects: Plants - Trees; Agriculture - Fruit and Berries

Names: Irwin, Louise; Nelson, Eleanor Irwin; Irwin, Henry Stanley; Irwin, Dorothy

Geographic Access: Burrard Inlet

Accession Code: BV019.32.76

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: No known restrictions

Date: [1930] (date of original), copied 2004

Media Type: Photograph

Historic Neighbourhood: Barnet (Historic Neighbourhood)

Planning Study Area: Burnaby Mountain Area

Notes: Title based on contents of photograph; see page 47 of book "In the Shadow by the Sea: Recollections of Burnaby's Barnet Village" with caption "Picking cherries at Barnet. Top to Bottom: Louise Irwin, Cousin Dorothy Irwin, Eleanor Irwin and Mr. Irwin, 1929"; Date of photograph based on birth date for Louise Irwin (July 1927)

Images

Mr. Irwin with Eleanor, Louise and Dorothy on ladder, [1930] (date of original), copied 2004 thumbnail

Interview with Reidun Seim by Kathy Bossort January 13, 2016 - Track 5

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/oralhistory654

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Date Range: 1930-1950

Length: 0:09:51

Summary: This portion of the interview is about Reidun Seim talking about the families and the vineyard and apple orchard on Aubrey Street. She tells stories about picking wild blackberries near Aubrey and raspberries grown on her parent’s farm, and about her mother’s large garden and kale grown for chicken…

1 audio

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Summary: This portion of the interview is about Reidun Seim talking about the families and the vineyard and apple orchard on Aubrey Street. She tells stories about picking wild blackberries near Aubrey and raspberries grown on her parent’s farm, and about her mother’s large garden and kale grown for chicken feed.

Date Range: 1930-1950

Length: 0:09:51

Subjects: Geographic Features - Neighbourhoods; Geographic Features - Gardens; Agriculture - Fruit and Berries

Geographic Access: Aubrey Street

Historic Neighbourhood: Lochdale (Historic Neighbourhood)

Planning Study Area: Lochdale Area

Interviewer: Bossort, Kathy

Interview Date: January 13, 2016

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

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

Total Tracks: 14

Total Length: 2:35:58

Interviewee Name: Seim, Reidun

Interview Location: Burnaby City Hall in the Law Library

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

Collection/Fonds: Community Heritage Commission Special Projects fonds

Series: Burnaby Mountain Oral History Project series

Media Type: Sound Recording

Audio Tracks

Track five of interview with Reidun Seim

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Oral_Histories/_Unrestricted/MSS196-017/MSS196-017_Track_5.mp3

Agricultural Exhibit

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription34530

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Date: [1909]

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Historical Society fonds

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph : b&w ; 20.4 x 25.2 cm

Scope and Content: Photograph of Burnaby's Agricultural Exhibit at New Westminster showing a display of vegetables, fruit, flowers, plants, and trees inside of a building.

1 image

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Date: [1909]

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Historical Society fonds

Series: Community Archives Collection series

Subseries: Photographs subseries

Physical Description: 1 photograph : b&w ; 20.4 x 25.2 cm

Description Level: Item

Record No.: 041-001

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: No known restrictions

Accession Number: BHS2007-04

Scope and Content: Photograph of Burnaby's Agricultural Exhibit at New Westminster showing a display of vegetables, fruit, flowers, plants, and trees inside of a building.

Subjects: Agriculture - Crops; Exhibitions - Agricultural; Agriculture - Fruit and Berries; Plants - Flowers

Media Type: Photograph

Notes: Title based on contents of photograph

Images

Annual Exhibition

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription1170

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: September 1908

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum Photograph collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph : sepia ; 11.5 x 15.5 cm mounted on card 20 x 25 cm

Scope and Content: Photograph of fruit displays at the Central Park Annual Exhibition which took place from September 17 to 18, 1908. The fruits in crates or plates are displayed on tables. Also visible in other sections of the room are floral displays and baked goods. Some of the wooden crates on the table in the fo…

1 image

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum Photograph collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph : sepia ; 11.5 x 15.5 cm mounted on card 20 x 25 cm

Scope and Content: Photograph of fruit displays at the Central Park Annual Exhibition which took place from September 17 to 18, 1908. The fruits in crates or plates are displayed on tables. Also visible in other sections of the room are floral displays and baked goods. Some of the wooden crates on the table in the foreground of the photograph include insignia: "Grown & Packed by F.R. Stewart & Co. Central Park B.C.".

Subjects: Agriculture - Fruit and Berries; Exhibitions - Agricultural

Names: Central Park Agricultural Association and Farmers' Institute; F R Stewart and Company Limited

Geographic Access: Central Park

Accession Code: BV993.45.2

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: No known restrictions

Date: September 1908

Media Type: Photograph

Related Material: For another print of the same image, see BV998.30.1

Scan Resolution: 600

Scan Date: 01-Jun-09

Scale: 100

Photographer: Bullen, Harry Elder

Notes: Continuation of title: "... CENTRAL PARK/ SEPT 17-18. '08."; Photographer's annotation reads: "BULLEN PHOTO"

Images

Annual Exhibition, September 1908 thumbnail

C.F. Sprott's house

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription34498

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Date: 1908

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Historical Society fonds

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph : sepia ; 12.8 x 17.7 cm mounted on cardboard 14.8 x 19.7 cm

Scope and Content: Photograph of C.F. Sprott's House at Douglas Road and Norland Avenue. A unidentified man is standing on the porch steps.

1 image

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Date: 1908

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Historical Society fonds

Series: Community Archives Collection series

Subseries: Photographs subseries

Physical Description: 1 photograph : sepia ; 12.8 x 17.7 cm mounted on cardboard 14.8 x 19.7 cm

Description Level: Item

Record No.: 022-001

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: No known restrictions

Accession Number: BHS2007-04

Scope and Content: Photograph of C.F. Sprott's House at Douglas Road and Norland Avenue. A unidentified man is standing on the porch steps.

Subjects: Agriculture - Farms; Buildings - Residential - Houses; Agriculture - Fruit and Berries

Media Type: Photograph

Photographer: Cooksley, William Thomas

Notes: Title based on contents of photograph; Annotation at bottom of photograph reads, "C.F. Sprott's Residence, Fruit Farm, Burnaby B.C."; Annotation underneath photograph reads, "W.T. Cooksley, New Westminster, B.C."

Geographic Access: Douglas Road; Norland Avenue

Historic Neighbourhood: Burnaby Lake (Historic Neighbourhood)

Planning Study Area: Ardingley-Sprott Area

Images

Farm workers

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription66236

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Date: [1908]

Collection/Fonds: Peers Family and Hill Family fonds

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph : b&w ; 5 x 8 cm (oval, sight) on sheet 15 x 22.5 cm

Scope and Content: Photograph of four unidentified farm workers at the farm of Claude Hill.

1 image

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Date: [1908]

Collection/Fonds: Peers Family and Hill Family fonds

Series: Kitty Hill Peers family photograph series

Physical Description: 1 photograph : b&w ; 5 x 8 cm (oval, sight) on sheet 15 x 22.5 cm

Description Level: Item

Record No.: 477-949

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: No known restrictions

Accession Number: 2007-12

Scope and Content: Photograph of four unidentified farm workers at the farm of Claude Hill.

Subjects: Occupations - Agricultural Labourers; Persons - South Asian Canadians

Media Type: Photograph

Notes: Title based on contents of photograph

Geographic Access: Buckingham Avenue

Street Address: 5730 Buckingham Avenue

Historic Neighbourhood: Burnaby Lake (Historic Neighbourhood)

Planning Study Area: Morley-Buckingham Area

Images

Murdock and Lillian McMurray interview November 17, 1975 - Track 2

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/oralhistory244

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Date Range: 1906-1975

Length: 0:09:00

Summary: This portion of the recording pertains to Murdock McMurray's memories of riding the tram as a young man and briefly, of working for Ed Brown. Murdock mentions Reeve Byrne and the development of first water system in Burnaby. He also discusses Gilley Brother's Logging Company practices near his fath…

1 image 1 audio

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Summary: This portion of the recording pertains to Murdock McMurray's memories of riding the tram as a young man and briefly, of working for Ed Brown. Murdock mentions Reeve Byrne and the development of first water system in Burnaby. He also discusses Gilley Brother's Logging Company practices near his father's ranch of six acres, which grew mostly strawberries to sell in Vancouver.

Date Range: 1906-1975

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

Length: 0:09:00

Subjects: Agriculture - Fruit and Berries

Geographic Access: Imperial Street

Historic Neighbourhood: Edmonds (Historic Neighbourhood)

Planning Study Area: Kingsway-Beresford Area

Interviewer: McGeachie, Doreen “Pixie”

Interview Date: November 17, 1975

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

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

Total Tracks: 7

Total Length: 0:58:55

Interviewee Name: McMurray, Lillian Wray; McMurray, Murdoch

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

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Historical Society fonds

Series: Community Archives Collection series

Subseries: Oral history subseries

Media Type: Sound Recording

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

Images

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

Audio Tracks

Track two of recording of interview with Lillian and Murdock McMurray

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Oral_Histories/_Unrestricted/MSS137-010/MSS137-010_Track_2.mp3

Dominion Exhibition

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription34523

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Date: [1905]

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Historical Society fonds

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph : b&w ; 11.7 x 17.0 cm mounted on 20.0 x 25.2 cm cardboard

Scope and Content: Photograph of the Burnaby Exhibit at the Dominion Exhibition held in New Westminster. Fruits, vegetables, grains, and preserves are displayed inside a building. "Burnaby" is spelled out on an arch above the display.

1 image

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Date: [1905]

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Historical Society fonds

Series: Community Archives Collection series

Subseries: Photographs subseries

Physical Description: 1 photograph : b&w ; 11.7 x 17.0 cm mounted on 20.0 x 25.2 cm cardboard

Description Level: Item

Record No.: 036-001

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: No restrictions

Accession Number: BHS2007-04

Scope and Content: Photograph of the Burnaby Exhibit at the Dominion Exhibition held in New Westminster. Fruits, vegetables, grains, and preserves are displayed inside a building. "Burnaby" is spelled out on an arch above the display.

Subjects: Agriculture - Crops; Exhibitions - Agricultural; Agriculture - Fruit and Berries

Media Type: Photograph

Photographer: Cornish, New Westminster, BC

Notes: Title based on contents of photograph

Images

William Whiting's agricultural display

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription34524

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Date: [1905]

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Historical Society fonds

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph : b&w ; 12.4 x 17.0 cm mounted on 19.8 x 24.8 cm cardboard

Scope and Content: Photograph of William Whiting's agricultural display at New Westminster. Vegetables, fruit, grains and preserves are displayed inside a building. "W. Whiting" is spelled out at the base of the display. A sign reads "Third Prize."

1 image

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Date: [1905]

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Historical Society fonds

Series: Community Archives Collection series

Subseries: Photographs subseries

Physical Description: 1 photograph : b&w ; 12.4 x 17.0 cm mounted on 19.8 x 24.8 cm cardboard

Description Level: Item

Record No.: 037-001

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: No restrictions

Accession Number: BHS2007-04

Scope and Content: Photograph of William Whiting's agricultural display at New Westminster. Vegetables, fruit, grains and preserves are displayed inside a building. "W. Whiting" is spelled out at the base of the display. A sign reads "Third Prize."

Subjects: Agriculture - Crops; Exhibitions - Agricultural; Agriculture - Fruit and Berries

Media Type: Photograph

Photographer: Cornish, New Westminster, BC

Notes: Title based on contents of photograph; Annotation on back of photograph reads, "This exhibit was grown w. my garden at Burnaby Lake"

Images

William Whiting's agricultural display, [1905] thumbnail

Farm workers

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription38856

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Date: [1905]

Collection/Fonds: Peers Family and Hill Family fonds

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph : b&w ; 6 x 10.5 cm on page 14 x 17.5 cm (pasted in album)

Scope and Content: Photograph of workers in the field picking crops on the farm belonging to F.J. Hart. The property was on the corner of Douglas Road (later Canada Way) and Sperling Avenue although the Hart House was located at 6664 Deer Lake Avenue.

1 image

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Date: [1905]

Collection/Fonds: Peers Family and Hill Family fonds

Series: Kitty Hill Peers family photograph series

Physical Description: 1 photograph : b&w ; 6 x 10.5 cm on page 14 x 17.5 cm (pasted in album)

Description Level: Item

Record No.: 477-175

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: No known restrictions

Accession Number: 2007-12

Scope and Content: Photograph of workers in the field picking crops on the farm belonging to F.J. Hart. The property was on the corner of Douglas Road (later Canada Way) and Sperling Avenue although the Hart House was located at 6664 Deer Lake Avenue.

Subjects: Agriculture - Crops; Occupations - Agricultural Labourers; Agriculture - Farms; Agriculture - Fruit and Berries

Media Type: Photograph

Notes: Title based on contents of photograph

Geographic Access: Douglas Road; Sperling Avenue; Canada Way; Deer Lake Avenue

Historic Neighbourhood: Burnaby Lake (Historic Neighbourhood)

Planning Study Area: Morley-Buckingham Area

Images

Interview with Surjeet Kaur Parmar

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription19350

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: [1905-2022] (interview content), interviewed 6 Dec. 2022

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum fonds

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 2 sound recordings (wav) (75 min., 32 sec.) + 1 sound recording (mp3) (75 min., 32 sec.)

Scope and Content: Item consists of a recording of an oral history interview with Surjeet Kaur Parmar conducted by interviewer Anushay Malik. The interview is conducted in Urdu, Hindi and Punjabi. During the interview Surjeet Kaur Parmar provides information on; her ancestral background, family relations in India and…

1 document 1 audio

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum fonds

Series: Museum Oral Histories series

Subseries: South Asian Canadian Interviews subseries

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 2 sound recordings (wav) (75 min., 32 sec.) + 1 sound recording (mp3) (75 min., 32 sec.)

Material Details: Interviewer: Anushay Malik Interviewee: Surjeet Kaur Parmar Language of Interview: Urdu, Hindi and Punjabi Location of Interview: home of Surjeet Kaur Parmar in Burnaby Interview Date: December 6, 2022 Total Number of tracks: 2 Total Length of tracks: (1:15:32) Digital master recordings (wav) were edited into one recording and converted to mp3 for access on Heritage Burnaby

Scope and Content: Item consists of a recording of an oral history interview with Surjeet Kaur Parmar conducted by interviewer Anushay Malik. The interview is conducted in Urdu, Hindi and Punjabi. During the interview Surjeet Kaur Parmar provides information on; her ancestral background, family relations in India and Canada, her personal experiences and her ancestors’ stories as South Asian immigrants, reflections on and personal experiences of racial discrimination as a South Asian immigrant, her places of residence, her employment background, her cultural practices and traditions including food, clothing and craft. The interview begins with introductions from interviewer Anushay Mailik. Surjeet Kaur Parmar imparts her own family’s migration story beginning with her very first elders that immigrated to Canada from India. A relative (unnamed) immigrated to Canada first and a few years later (around 1905) returned to India and brought back three cousins that included; Ginaya Singh (Ghania Singh Manhas) and Doman Singh . Mayo Singh (Ghania Singh’s younger brother) came in 1906 on his own to join them. Surjeet’s grandfather (Shair/Sher Singh Manhas) also wanted to immigrate at this time, but he was too young and weak to manage such a long trip. Surjeet conveys that while living in British Columbia, Mayo and Ginaya Singh worked together at saw mills. With their knowledge and understanding of mill work they ended up owning and operating a mill in Paldi near Duncan on Vancouver Island. At this time, most of the men from Surjeet’s family region in Punjab were abroad and with no men living at home. Mayo Singh’s father (Bhulla Singh) looked after her father (Lashman Singh Manhas) and paternal uncle (Kashmir Singh Manhas) back in Punjab. When Mayo’s father died, Mayo Singh adopted her paternal uncle (Kashmir Singh) and brought him to Canada in 1926. Surjeet describes her ancestors’ immigration journey from India to Canada. They all travelled by ship and if someone ran out of money en route, they could work on the ship. Surjeet explains that both Mayo and Ginaya Singh are Surjeet’s grandfather’s first cousins and her father’s second cousins. Surjeet recollects her grandfather (Shair/Sher Singh Manhas) saying “now that you’ve arrived there, take one cousin from each side with you”. Surjeet explains that the cousins were all from the same village in Punjab and her great grandfather wanted someone to go abroad, so he sent a few and had them bring more as the years went on. Surjeet says that she’s uncertain as to why they chose Canada rather than America but thinks that they did some form of research and determined that it was a good place to come to. Surjeet admits that she doesn’t know the name of her paternal grandfather or other elders since she never met them. Surjeet shares that it was a traditional practice to mark pots and pans with family names and imparts that she discovered her father’s name “Lashman Singh” written on the bottom of a glass. Surjeet expresses that she’s marked her own pots and pans with her name to identify which ones are hers when she gets together with family or does catering. Surjeet refers to a kohl bottle that she has and how she’d like to offer it to the museum. She explains how the kohl bottle is no longer in use but was used by her mother (Budhan Kaur Manhas) and daughter and her grandchildren. Surjeet describes a blanket that she made called a “phulkari”, now on display in a small museum in Coquitlam, a wedding shawl, that her daughter now owns and a silk sari with embroidery. Surjeet and Anushay discuss the possibility of donating the kohl bottle and the sari to the museum. Surjeet explains how the kohl is used and how her mother used to make kohl. She describes how you rub the kohl with your hands, put cardamom in it, one or two other ingredients and fill the kohl bottle up with water. Surjeet says that she used kohl as eyeliner when living in India. The interviewer asks Surjeet more about Ginaya Singh. Surjeet conveys that Ginaya Singh ended up leaving the mill on Vancouver Island and moved to Vancouver. After Ginaya Singh died from a heart attack (in 1953) his family moved from Vancouver to Burnaby. Surjeet recalls that following the death of Ginaya Singh’s youngest son, her family didn’t celebrate “Lohri” (a winter festival celebrating newborns and newly married people) for three years. She shares that she was very young at this time but remembers there being beautiful photographs of young children all dressed up and displayed in her family home. She expresses that dressing up for photos has changed over time and adds that suits didn’t really come into fashion until after the 1970s or 1980s. Surjeet conveys that her uncle named Kashmira Singh first worked at the mill in Paldi near Duncan then moved to Vancouver and opened up his own mill in North Vancouver. Surjeet’s father, Lashman Singh Manhas arrived in 1953. Surjeet expresses that Kapoor Singh was educated and worked as a manager at the mill on Vancouver Island. Surjeet recollects meeting Mayo Singh, his wife and eldest son in 1952 when they travelled to India for a cousin’s wedding. Surjeet remembers that Mayo Singh’s family had a very large house in India. She describes the house as a very opulent two story house with indoor plumbing for a bathtub, a kitchen with a woodstove, coloured mirrors, bejeweled curtains, a motor room to park cars, a buffalo and more. Surjeet refers to Nand Singh, a younger brother of Mayo Singh, who travelled from India to San Franciso and spent a year wandering around before deciding to return to India. She describes him as living in Bombay with his wife Vishan Kaur and having a transport business. Nand had two kids that came to Canada. Surjeet recollects the tragic death of Ganda Singh (Ginaya Singh) who died of a heart attack on someone’s doorstep, they thought that he was drunk so didn’t open the door. Surjeet conveys that Mayo Singh’s wife, Mission Kaur (Saradani Bishan Kaur) died while visiting India (in 1952) and that some of Mayo’s sons were married in Canada and one in India. Surjeet expresses that it was hard for Mayo’s sons to have one of their parents die in India and one die in Canada (Mayo Singh died in B.C. in 1955). Surjeet describes the hospital that Mayo built in the village of Paldi. She mentions that there were festivals and functions that took place there, there were many nurses and doctors. She recalls there being a school where their land was. She recalls that if they got headaches they were treated with medicine and that it didn’t cost much, only a six pence. Surjeet talks about her arranged marriage to Kalwant Singh "Nadeem" Parmar. Surjeet explains that her father and brother immigrated to British Columbia first (1953) and after a few months they brought Surjeet and her mother (Budhan Kaur Manhas). She recollects that when she was in Grade 10 and around 17 years of age, her family made plans to travel to India to attend a family wedding. During this time, her father suggested that it would be a good opportunity to take Surjeet with them to find her a husband in India to marry. After meeting and marrying Nadeem Parmar in India, Surjeet and Nadeem moved to England. Surjeet recollects that in order to immigrate to Canada, each family member had to pass a medical exam and how difficult it was. Her two sisters, mother and brother all had to take the test in Delhi. Surjeet recalls living in England with Nadeem. While living in England, Nadeem worked during the day and studied engineering at college in the evening. Surjeet expresses that she liked living in England and was sad to leave. While living there, they enjoyed a close knit Punjabi community and they all lived in the same area. Surjeet states later in her interview that living in Canada was different from living in England. In England, family and friends lived closer together whereas in Canada places were further apart. Surjeet says that while living in England she could walk to do her shopping. While living in England, after her children were a bit older, she worked as a seamstress in a shirt factory for a few years before coming to Canada. Surjeet imparts that her father (Lashman Singh Manhas) died of a heart attack in 1970 and her mother (Budhan Kaur Manhas) died in 1998. Her father and her family first lived in North Vancouver and then her parents bought a house on Eton Street in Burnaby, near the Ocean. After her father died, her brother and mother bought a house and moved to the Capitol Hill neighbourhood in Burnaby. In 1973, Surjeet, Nadeem and their two children immigrated to Canada and moved in with her brother and mother. Surjeet includes that her paternal aunt (Koshali Kaur Manhas) and cousins also moved to Burnaby and that her aunt and some of her cousins were sponsored by her son who came earlier. Surjeet recalls that after arriving in Canada she got work sewing in a factory located on Water Street in Gastown. Surjeet recollects travelling to her job by bus. Surjeet shares that she brought saris and quilted blankets “rijai”, not household items, in her suitcase when she came to Canada from England. Surjeet explains that the “rijai” (quilted blankets) were made from cotton from her home village in India. The blankets were made by women and then brought back to her to quilt on her sewing machine. Surjeet recalls that when she returned to Canada (in 1973 with her husband and children) they first lived with her mother and brother on Capitol Hill in Burnaby before moving to a house on Fell Avenue and then to their current home in 1982. In 1981, she worked at “Canadian Window Covering” factory making window coverings. The factory was located in the Brentwood area of Burnaby. Surjeet recalls how the factory became unionized and of how she left the factory and found union work at the Labatt’s brewery (Winery and Distillery Workers Local 300). Surjeet describes the work that she did while working at Labatt’s brewery which was located next to the Royal Columbian Hospital in Burnaby. Around 1995, when the Labatt’s factory closed down in Burnaby, she got union work as a bottle sorter for BDL Brewers Distributor Limited, where bottles were gathered for distribution at Braid Station. Surjeet left this job in 2000. Surjeet talks about traditional foods like bindi, sabji, aam and karela and where she’s shopped to find traditional ingredients for South Asian cuisine. She recollects how at first she could only find traditional ingredients at stores in Gastown, Chinatown and on Main Street in Vancouver but now they are more readily available at major grocery stores. Surjeet expresses that traditional spices and dry goods have been hard to find, apart from stores like, Famous Foods and Patels when it was located on Commercial Drive. Surjeet talks about using ingredients such as green pea flour and Besan flour to make pakoras and kahdri. Surjeet states that many immigrants didn’t wear their traditional clothing until she came later. She expresses that many South Asian immigrants didn’t wear their clothes “because there were no rights, we had to try to become like them”. Surjeet conveys that even though some were able to purchase property (she provides an example of family members in Duncan who faced discrimination by the owner/seller of a piece of property they were purchasing) that they had very little rights and they were all living in fear. She expresses that she herself didn’t experience this but in the beginning when people settled here (in B.C.) that it was very difficult. Surjeet says that when she goes to the Gurdwara and to work, she wears a sari and conveys that while working at the factory, she was encouraged to wear a sari, it was accepted then. She brought printed saris to work and her co workers said that they’d wear them to parties. Surjeet reflects on her own experiences of racism and discrimination and expresses that her generation “has learned how to stand up in front, then they got scared of saying anything”. “The people who came here first were afraid because they were alone, they had to settle down here and make a home from scratch, but the ones who came after had everything already built and made”. She explains how they helped one another when they came (to British Columbia). She describes how the Gurdwara was located on 2nd Street and all of the ships went there (new immigrants?), people would gather, get water, help one another and there would be a place for all people. Surjeet shares a personal experience of helping members of her husband’s family to immigrate to Canada. She tells of the complications of some being left behind in India and that some came to Canada as refugees that she and her husband sponsored. Surjeet expresses their struggles with raising a family, working and trying to pay for their own house while also trying to assist and support family members. Surjeet describes in detail how her husband Nadeem went back to India after his mother died to help his father, sister and her family immigrate. She explains that the immigration process took about four years and his father had to apply as a refugee. Nadeem’s sister came with her children but had to return to India so Surjeet and her family had to look after Nadeem’s sister’s child/children. Surjeet expresses that during this time she continued to work at Canadian Window Coverings, working an afternoon shift and sometimes taking her son with her. She expresses that this as a very hectic time, working the whole day, making food for everyone, grocery shopping, looking after a her sister in law’s younger child at night and getting no rest. Surjeet describes the time when she was working and her children were attending the local school. She expresses the challenges of working long days and often arriving home after her children. She recollects a time when there was a snow storm and how she was worried about her children making it home and being alone while she was at work, there were no cell phones in those days but they had phone numbers of her brother and sister. Surjeet tells of how they tried to help the rest of the Nadeem’s family immigrate including his brother who was a soccer player in India. They were able to buy a house for the whole family to live but expresses after several months Nadeem’s brother decided to stay in India. Surjeet expresses the complications and frustrations of trying to bring all family members to Canada.

History: Interviewee biography: Surjeet Kaur Parmar was born in Punjab, India in 1942 to parents Lashman Singh Manhas (1913-1970) and Budhan Kaur Manhas (1906-1998). Surjeet’s ancestors, Ghania Singh Manhas, Doman Singh and Mayo Singh immigrated to British Columbia in 1905 and 1906. The group got work in saw mills and soon began owning and operating their own saw mills, first in Chilliwack and Rosedale districts and later in 1920 on Vancouver Island near Duncan (Paldi) (known as the Mayo Lumber Company). In 1927, Surjeet’s paternal uncle, Kashmir Singh Manhas left Paldi, Punjab at the age of 18 years with Mayo Singh Manhas and after months of travel they arrived at Paldi on Vancouver Island. In 1953, Surjeet’s father, Lashman Singh Manhas and her two brothers immigrated to Canada and soon after brought her and her mother, Budhan Kaur Manhas. After immigrating, her father began working at “Kashmir Lumber Company” in North Vancouver which was owned by his brother Kashmira Singh Manhas. Surjeet, her parents and two brothers first made their home in North Vancouver and the 1960s they moved to 3824 Eton Street in Burnaby. In 1959, Surjeet and her family returned to India for her brother’s wedding. During this time a marriage was arranged for Surjeet to marry Nadeem Parmar and they were married in 1960. Following their marriage, Surjeet and Nadeem moved to England where they began raising their two children. While living in England, Surjeet worked as seamstress at a factory. In 1973, following the death of Surjeet’s father who died in 1970, Surjeet and Nadeem decided to immigrate to British Columbia. For the first few years, Surjeet, Nadeem and their two children lived with her mother and brother in the Capitol Hill neighbourhood of Burnaby before purchasing their own home on Fell Avenue. While living in Burnaby Surjeet has worked as a seamstress for Canadian Window Covering, Labatt's Brewery and BDL Brewers Distributor Limited which she left in 2000. In 1982, Surjeet and her family moved into a new home that they had built on Woodsworth Street where they still live today. Interviewer biography: Anushay Malik is labor historian with a geographical focus on South Asia. Anushay studied at the University of London and was a research fellow at the International Institute of Social History in Amsterdam, Netherlands. In 2014, Anushay moved back to her native Pakistan and joined Lahore University of Management Services as an Assistant Professor. In 2023, Anushay is a visiting scholar at Simon Fraser University and lives in Burnaby with her family. Anushay was a co-curator of the Burnaby Village Museum exhibit “Truths Not Often Told: Being South Asian in Burnaby”.

Creator: Burnaby Village Museum

Subjects: Buildings - Industrial - Saw Mills; Clothing; Crafts; Employment; Migration; Social Issues; Social Issues - Racism; Occupations - Labourers; Occupations - Millworkers; Persons - South Asian Canadians

Names: Parmar, Surjeet Kaur; Parmar, Kalwant Singh "Nadeem"; Manhas, Ghania Singh; Singh, Mayo; Manhas, Kashmir Singh; Manhas, Sher Singh; Manhas, Budhan Kaur; Manhas, Lashman Singh

Accession Code: BV022.29.5

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: No known restrictions

Date: [1905-2022] (interview content), interviewed 6 Dec. 2022

Media Type: Sound Recording

Related Material: See also BV022.29.1 - interview with Kalwant Singh "Nadeem" Parmar

Notes: Title based on contents of item; Transcription of interview translated to English from Urdu, Hindi and Punjabi to English created by Rajdeep; Transciption available on Heritage Burnaby; Spelling of "Ginaya Singh" found as "Ghania Singh Manhas" in obituary and death certificate

Documents

2022_0029_0005_004

Audio Tracks

Interview with Surjeet Kaur Parmar, [1905-2022] (interview content), interviewed 6 Dec. 2022

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_BVM_Sound_Recordings/Oral_Histories/2022_0029_0005_003.mp3

Lewis family

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription35698

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Date: 1903 (date of original), copied 1986

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Historical Society fonds

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph : b&w ; 12.7 x 17.8 cm print

Scope and Content: Photograph of (left to right) Lillie Lewis (sister - later Lillie Porter), William Lewis (father), Evelyn Lewis (sister), and Ernest Lewis (brother) picking strawberries at the side of their house. Note the apple trees all around. The other people in the picture are unidentified hired help.

1 image

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Date: 1903 (date of original), copied 1986

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Historical Society fonds

Series: Community Archives Collection series

Subseries: Pioneer Tales subseries

Physical Description: 1 photograph : b&w ; 12.7 x 17.8 cm print

Description Level: Item

Record No.: 204-556

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: No known restrictions

Accession Number: BHS1988-03

Scope and Content: Photograph of (left to right) Lillie Lewis (sister - later Lillie Porter), William Lewis (father), Evelyn Lewis (sister), and Ernest Lewis (brother) picking strawberries at the side of their house. Note the apple trees all around. The other people in the picture are unidentified hired help.

Subjects: Occupations - Agricultural Labourers; Agriculture - Fruit and Berries; Occupations - Farmers; Buildings - Residential - Houses

Names: Lewis, Ernest; Lewis, Evelyn; Lewis, William; Porter, Lillie Lewis

Media Type: Photograph

Photographer: Cooksley, William Thomas

Notes: Title based on contents of photograph

Geographic Access: 4th Street; 18th Avenue

Historic Neighbourhood: East Burnaby (Historic Neighbourhood)

Planning Study Area: Second Street Area

Images

Lewis family, 1903 (date of original), copied 1986 thumbnail

Louis Claude Hill's Strawberry Farm, Burnaby BC

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription991

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: 1902

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum Photograph collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph : sepia ; 12.8 x 17.7 cm mounted on grey card 15.0 x 20.0 cm

Scope and Content: Photograph of immigrant workers in the field picking strawberries on the farm belonging to Claude Hill. On the left, the Hill family home, Brookfield, can be seen. Claude Hill's daughter, Kitty Hill, is sitting on the steps of the house. The property is the current site of the Burnaby Village Muse…

2 images

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum Photograph collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph : sepia ; 12.8 x 17.7 cm mounted on grey card 15.0 x 20.0 cm

Scope and Content: Photograph of immigrant workers in the field picking strawberries on the farm belonging to Claude Hill. On the left, the Hill family home, Brookfield, can be seen. Claude Hill's daughter, Kitty Hill, is sitting on the steps of the house. The property is the current site of the Burnaby Village Museum.

Subjects: Agriculture - Farms; Occupations - Agricultural Labourers; Agriculture - Fruit and Berries; Buildings - Residential - Houses; Persons - Chinese Canadians

Accession Code: HV973.40.5

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: No known restrictions

Date: 1902

Media Type: Photograph

Historic Neighbourhood: Burnaby Lake (Historic Neighbourhood)

Planning Study Area: Morley-Buckingham Area

Scan Resolution: 600

Scan Date: 2023-05-09

Scale: 100

Photographer: Cooksley, William Thomas

Notes: Title based on caption accompanying photograph; Inscribed on the negative and (therefore) printed on recto of photograph reads: "L.C. Hill's Strawberry Farm, Burnaby, B.C." and "W.T. Cooksley, New Westminster, B.C."; Note written in red pencil on the card reads: "1902 - Grandview H.WAY"

Images

Louis Claude Hill's Strawberry Farm, Burnaby BC, 1902 thumbnail

Edna Bateman Corner family home

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription1788

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: [190-] (date of original), copied 1979

Collection/Fonds: E.W. Bateman family fonds

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph : b&w ; 8.5 x 12.4 cm print

Scope and Content: Photograph of the family home of Edna Bateman Corner and Raymond Corner at Glenmore, B.C. which is now a part of Kelowna. View of orchard on hill side. There are two houses visible among the fields and fruit trees. Rows of tilled soil and wooden stakes can be seen in the foreground and by the foo…

1 image

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: E.W. Bateman family fonds

Series: Bateman family photographs series

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph : b&w ; 8.5 x 12.4 cm print

Scope and Content: Photograph of the family home of Edna Bateman Corner and Raymond Corner at Glenmore, B.C. which is now a part of Kelowna. View of orchard on hill side. There are two houses visible among the fields and fruit trees. Rows of tilled soil and wooden stakes can be seen in the foreground and by the foot of the hill.

History: Edna Bateman is the oldest daughter of Edwin W. Bateman.

Subjects: Agriculture - Farms; Agriculture - Fruit and Berries

Accession Code: HV979.32.14

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: May be restricted by third party rights

Date: [190-] (date of original), copied 1979

Media Type: Photograph

Scan Resolution: 600

Scan Date: 2023-09-05

Notes: Title based on contents of photograph; An annotation on the back of the photo reads: "Edna Bateman Corner family home / Glenmore BC, now a part of Kelowna BC / Many years ago." Printed on the original negative and inscribed on the photo, bottom front: "Fruit farm, Kelowna, B.C. / 561."

Images

Edna Bateman Corner family home, [190-] (date of original), copied 1979 thumbnail

W.H. Lewis farm

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription34499

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Date: [1900]

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Historical Society fonds

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph : sepia ; 12.6 x 17.7 cm mounted on cardboard 14.2 x 19.3 cm

Scope and Content: Photograph of W.H. Lewis' fruit farm with a man, three women and five children kneeling in a strawberry field. "Pioneer Tales" identifies them as William Lewis (foreground), three of his children, and hired help. A house can be seen in the background. The Lewis house was located on 4th Street.

1 image

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Date: [1900]

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Historical Society fonds

Series: Community Archives Collection series

Subseries: Photographs subseries

Physical Description: 1 photograph : sepia ; 12.6 x 17.7 cm mounted on cardboard 14.2 x 19.3 cm

Description Level: Item

Record No.: 022-002

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: No known restrictions

Accession Number: BHS2007-04

Scope and Content: Photograph of W.H. Lewis' fruit farm with a man, three women and five children kneeling in a strawberry field. "Pioneer Tales" identifies them as William Lewis (foreground), three of his children, and hired help. A house can be seen in the background. The Lewis house was located on 4th Street.

Subjects: Agriculture - Farms; Buildings - Residential - Houses; Agriculture - Fruit and Berries

Media Type: Photograph

Photographer: Cooksley, William Thomas

Notes: Title based on contents of photograph; Annotation at bottom of photograph reads, "W.H. Lewis' Fruit Farm, Burnaby, B.C."

Geographic Access: 4th Street; 18th Avenue

Historic Neighbourhood: East Burnaby (Historic Neighbourhood)

Planning Study Area: Second Street Area

Images

Jesse Love's Fruit Farm, Burnaby, BC

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription34501

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Date: [1900]

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Historical Society fonds

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph : sepia ; 12.8 x 17.8 cm mounted on cardboard 14.7 x 19.8 cm

Scope and Content: Photograph of members of the Love family kneeling in a strawberry field. Left to right: Jesse Love (father), Leonard, Phoebe, Martha, Minnie, Martha Love (mother), and Sarah. The small building at the extreme left of the picture was George Love's (oldest of the Love's children) first sash and doo…

1 image

Repository: City of Burnaby Archives

Date: [1900]

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Historical Society fonds

Series: Community Archives Collection series

Subseries: Photographs subseries

Physical Description: 1 photograph : sepia ; 12.8 x 17.8 cm mounted on cardboard 14.7 x 19.8 cm

Description Level: Item

Record No.: 022-004

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: No known restrictions

Accession Number: BHS2007-04

Scope and Content: Photograph of members of the Love family kneeling in a strawberry field. Left to right: Jesse Love (father), Leonard, Phoebe, Martha, Minnie, Martha Love (mother), and Sarah. The small building at the extreme left of the picture was George Love's (oldest of the Love's children) first sash and door outlet. He later built Love's Sash and Door Factory on the south side of Edmonds Street just west of 6th Street. The original farm was located in East Burnaby, on Cumberland Road. In 1988, this house was moved to the site of the Burnaby Village Museum at Deer Lake Avenue.

Subjects: Agriculture - Farms; Agriculture - Fruit and Berries; Occupations - Farmers

Names: Love, Jesse, 1849-1928; Love, Leonard; Brandrith, Martha Dorothy “Dot” Love; Love, Martha Leonard, 1858-1920; McKenzie, Edith Minnie Love; Feedham, Phoebe Leonard Love; Parker, Sarah Maria Love

Media Type: Photograph

Photographer: Cooksley, William Thomas

Notes: Annotation bottom of the photograph reads, "Jesse Love's Fruit Farm, Burnaby, BC"

Geographic Access: Cumberland Street

Street Address: 6501 Deer Lake Avenue

Historic Neighbourhood: East Burnaby (Historic Neighbourhood)

Planning Study Area: Cariboo-Armstrong Area

Images

Jesse Love's Fruit Farm, Burnaby, BC, [1900] thumbnail

Farmland

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription603

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Date: [190-] (date of original), copied 1977

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum Photograph collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph : b&w ; 20.2 x 25.2 cm print

Scope and Content: Photograph of cultivated farmlands and rows of different kinds of crops. In the centre are low lying plants, possibly strawberries, and to the left, there are tall deciduous trees. To the right are waist high shrub-like trees. There are workers harvesting from this crop, that could possibly be r…

1 image

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: Burnaby Village Museum Photograph collection

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph : b&w ; 20.2 x 25.2 cm print

Scope and Content: Photograph of cultivated farmlands and rows of different kinds of crops. In the centre are low lying plants, possibly strawberries, and to the left, there are tall deciduous trees. To the right are waist high shrub-like trees. There are workers harvesting from this crop, that could possibly be rasberries. The property could belong to Bernard Hill, who owned 24 acres of farmland, mostly of strawberries.

Subjects: Agriculture - Fruit and Berries; Agriculture - Farms; Agriculture - Crops; Occupations - Agricultural Labourers

Accession Code: HV977.123.9

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: No known restrictions

Date: [190-] (date of original), copied 1977

Media Type: Photograph

Scan Resolution: 600

Scan Date: 2023-07-18

Notes: Title based on contents of photograph

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