Photograph of the front exterior of Burnaby Fire Hall No. 6, located at 3620 Brighton Avenue, at the corner of Brighton Avenue and Government Street. The photograph is taken from across Brighton Avenue, facing east. One of the fire hall's garage doors is open and a person and car are inside. The Fu…
Photograph of the front exterior of Burnaby Fire Hall No. 6, located at 3620 Brighton Avenue, at the corner of Brighton Avenue and Government Street. The photograph is taken from across Brighton Avenue, facing east. One of the fire hall's garage doors is open and a person and car are inside. The Furniture Fair warehouse is visible behind the fire hall.
Photograph of members of 4th Guide Company standing in front of a sign which reads "Welcome / 50th Anniversary / 4th Guide Company". Guiders in back row are identified from L to R as: Mrs. Dumka (Lt.), Mrs. Florence Underhill (Div. Comm.), Mrs. Kent (Dist. Comm), Mrs. Vivian E.S. Henderson (Area Co…
Photograph of members of 4th Guide Company standing in front of a sign which reads "Welcome / 50th Anniversary / 4th Guide Company". Guiders in back row are identified from L to R as: Mrs. Dumka (Lt.), Mrs. Florence Underhill (Div. Comm.), Mrs. Kent (Dist. Comm), Mrs. Vivian E.S. Henderson (Area Comm.); Front row L to R: Mrs. Alice Thomas (Ellett), Mrs. Meta-Fay Miskell (Peden), Miss May Kelly, Miss Bessie Kelly, Mrs. Bristow (original guide captain).
Photograph of members of 4th Guide Company standing in front of a sign which reads "Welcome / 50th Anniversary / 4th Guide Company". Guiders are identified as: Center--Mrs. Bristow (original guide captain). L to R: Miss Bessie Kelly, Mrs. Meta-Fay Miskell (Peden), Miss May Kelly, Mrs. Alice Thomas…
Photograph of members of 4th Guide Company standing in front of a sign which reads "Welcome / 50th Anniversary / 4th Guide Company". Guiders are identified as: Center--Mrs. Bristow (original guide captain). L to R: Miss Bessie Kelly, Mrs. Meta-Fay Miskell (Peden), Miss May Kelly, Mrs. Alice Thomas (Ellett). "These Ladies were guides with the original company".
Photograph of members of 4th Guide Company standing with a cake which reads "50th Anniversary / 4th Burnaby Royal Guide Company". Guiders are identified L to R Miss Jean Simmons, Mrs. Dorothy Bristow (original guide leader), Mrs. Ann Kent.
Photograph of members of 4th Guide Company standing with a cake which reads "50th Anniversary / 4th Burnaby Royal Guide Company". Guiders are identified L to R Miss Jean Simmons, Mrs. Dorothy Bristow (original guide leader), Mrs. Ann Kent.
Item consists of a video recording of a live Zoom webinar hosted by Burnaby Village Museum Program Education Coordinator Ashley Jones and presented by Museum Interpreter and blacksmiths, Eric Damer ad Lorne Gray. The webinar is titled "50 Years of Blacksmithing at BVM". The webinar is the sixth in …
Date of Presentation: Tuesday, September 29, 2022. 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Total Number of tracks: 1
Total Length of all tracks: 94 min., 55 sec.
Recording Device: Zoom video communication platform
Original recording of 94 min., 55 sec.was edited to 89 min., 21 sec. for viewing on Heritage Burnaby
Scope and Content
Item consists of a video recording of a live Zoom webinar hosted by Burnaby Village Museum Program Education Coordinator Ashley Jones and presented by Museum Interpreter and blacksmiths, Eric Damer ad Lorne Gray. The webinar is titled "50 Years of Blacksmithing at BVM". The webinar is the sixth in a series of six webinars presented in partnership by Burnaby Village Museum and Burnaby Public Library. The live webinar was also made available on the Burnaby Village Museum's facebook page. Community members were invited to participate by bringing questions during the interactive online sessions.
The session opens with the host Ashley Jones, providing introductions. Following the introduction, the presentation begins with Eric Damer and Lorne Gray’s slide presentation titled “50 years of Blacksmithing at Burnaby Village Museum”. The presentation is an historical exploration of the blacksmith shop through images and commentary from these two long-standing museum blacksmiths.
Eric and Lorne's presentation is organized into themes beginning with “The Age of Nostalgia” where they discuss the implementation of the original Burnaby Village Museum blacksmithing shop and live exhibit with a working blacksmith when the museum opened in November 1971. They comment on the original design of the forge and other components implemented into the design of the blacksmith shop, stereotypes of blacksmiths and various items that were forged on site in the blacksmith shop. “The Age of Accuracy” looks at changes to the Burnaby Village Museum’s programming and exhibits in the 1980s which included focusing more on the history of Burnaby and upgrading some of the components in the blacksmith shop including blowers, tools, forge design and costuming. Eric and Lorne comment on the history of Burnaby blacksmith, Frank Wagner who operated as a blacksmith in Burnaby “Wagner & Son” on Kingsway. Frank was a trained machinist, farrier and an automotive blacksmith who patented and manufactured the “Wagner Triple Spring Bumper”. With this information, the Burnaby Village Museum changed the name of the blacksmith shop to reflect the history of Burnaby blacksmith Frank Wagner. In “The Age of Diversity” Eric and Lorne talk about a shift in the 1990s when the staffing of the blacksmith shop was diversified to include women and people from diverse cultural backgrounds. These changes as well as an increased interest in artistic blacksmithing also lead to updates in Burnaby Village Museum’s blacksmith training procedures and interpretation, increased course offerings in blacksmithing and a renovated blacksmith shop which included new forges and equipment as well as an improved viewing area. Eric and Lorne talk about specifics regarding blacksmithing techniques and equipment and improvements to make this exhibit more accessible.
Their presentation is followed by a short video highlighing Burnaby Village Museum interpreters who have worked as blacksmiths at Burnaby Village Museum. Each person shares their own perspectives on their experiences working as a blacksmith and interacting with the public.
In the last part of the webinar, Eric and Lorne answer questions from attendees and further reflect and comment on their own experiences working as blacksmiths, various tools and techniques used and blacksmithing course offerings at Burnaby Village Museum.
History
Host biography:
Ashley Jones is the Burnaby Village Museum Education Programmer, responsible for the development and administration of school and public programs at BVM. She has a Master of Arts degree in History and is passionate about creating hands-on programming that promotes historical and environmental literacy.
Presenters biography:
Eric Damer is a Burnaby Village Museum Interpreter, Museum Registrar, Researcher and Blacksmith. Eric pounded hot steel for the first time in 1977 in junior high. Fifteen years later, he joined Burnaby Village Museum where he has smithed for three decades. He also provides historical research for museum exhibits and special projects. Outside the museum, Eric is a social historian with a special interest in educational history.
Lorne Gray has a BA with a major in the History of Science and Technology. He took up blacksmithing as a hobby when he was promoted to middle management and had to start hitting things. He was hired by Burnaby Village Museum as a blacksmith to fill in during the Christmas season of 2001. He has attended several blacksmithing conferences and taken classes with both an artist blacksmith and a journeyman blacksmith. On the weekends, you’ll find him teaching many of the museum’s public blacksmithing courses. He also has a steam ticket that permits him to run the museum’s steam boiler and stationery steam engines.
Photograph of a two people (assumed to be Frank and Mary Intihar) sitting on a couch with a cake on the table in front of them. Believed to be taken inside 4169 Keefer Street (Frances Street) Burnaby.
Photograph of a two people (assumed to be Frank and Mary Intihar) sitting on a couch with a cake on the table in front of them. Believed to be taken inside 4169 Keefer Street (Frances Street) Burnaby.
Photograph of the commercial properties located on the south side of the 3700 block of East Hastings Street. Businesses on the block include the Admiral Decorating Supply and the Trader.
Photograph of the commercial properties located on the south side of the 3700 block of East Hastings Street. Businesses on the block include the Admiral Decorating Supply and the Trader.
Photograph of the commercial properties located on the 3800 block of East Hastings Street. The sign for Halliwell's Shoe Repair at 3818 East Hastings Street is visible in the background. The photograph is taken from a low vantage point on Hastings Street, facing east.
Photograph of the commercial properties located on the 3800 block of East Hastings Street. The sign for Halliwell's Shoe Repair at 3818 East Hastings Street is visible in the background. The photograph is taken from a low vantage point on Hastings Street, facing east.
Photograph of three bathtubs and other debris piled outside the building at 3824 Hastings Street (old street number). The photograph was taken from the adjacent lane.
Photograph of three bathtubs and other debris piled outside the building at 3824 Hastings Street (old street number). The photograph was taken from the adjacent lane.