In 1925, the mill at Barnet was under new ownership and was known as the Barnet Lumber Company. It was one of the most successful local employers in Burnaby until the 1930s, when the economic crisis of the Great Depression resulted in a strike at the mill. The City of Burnaby eventually assumed control of the site - including all of the homes - when the company failed to pay its taxes. The City then dismantled the mill and resold the property in two parts - the eastern section would become the Kapoor sawmill and the western portion, the McColl-Frontenac Oil Company.
Burnaby Mountain had been dedicated as park in 1942, however the original park boundaries were reconsidered in 1952 with the development of the Trans Mountain Pipeline. Although the boundaries were adjusted to accommodate this project, significant conservation and park lands were left untouched. When, in 1962, the government of British Columbia determined the need for additional post-secondary facilities, Burnaby Mountain was chosen as the site for the new Simon Fraser University which opened in 1965. As early as 1964, the idea of establishing a townsite around the university had been discussed by Burnaby, but it was not until the mid-1990s that the idea came to fruition and by the early 2000s, a new housing development know as the UniverCity took shape on the mountain adjacent to the university.
The first formal park dedication bylaw covering Burnaby Mountain was passed in 1942, but the boundaries were re-adjusted in 1952 with the creation of the Trans Mountain Pipeline site. Significant portions of the mountain remained as dedicated park, however, and in 1957, the site was chosen to house Burnaby's contribution to the celebration of British Columbia's centennial - the Centennial Pavilion. The grounds around the pavilion became a favourite picnic site that provided for the first time a formal viewpoint and public access to other mountain trails. In the 1980s, the Pavilion underwent major renovations and opened in 1986 as Horizons restaurant.
Photograph of forty-one Burnaby Centennial Committee members at the Burnaby Centennial Pavilion on Burnaby Mountain. John Shaw, Municipal Clerk, can be seen in the second row from the front, 6th from the left and Reverend Faulkner is seated in the front row, second from the left. The rest are unide…
Photograph of forty-one Burnaby Centennial Committee members at the Burnaby Centennial Pavilion on Burnaby Mountain. John Shaw, Municipal Clerk, can be seen in the second row from the front, 6th from the left and Reverend Faulkner is seated in the front row, second from the left. The rest are unidentified.
See page 66 in book "In the Shadow by the Sea - recollections of Burnaby's Barnet Village". Caption with photograph reads: "The vast log boom pond of Kapoor Sawmill, c. 1950"
Photograph of people at the Burnaby Historical Society's first annual dinner. Left to right (as identified on the back of the photo): Barry Mather, president; Miss B.P. Choate, secretary-treasurer; and Fraser Wilson, director. They are holding photograph of Robert Burnaby. The banner behind them r…
Photograph of people at the Burnaby Historical Society's first annual dinner. Left to right (as identified on the back of the photo): Barry Mather, president; Miss B.P. Choate, secretary-treasurer; and Fraser Wilson, director. They are holding photograph of Robert Burnaby. The banner behind them reads, "First Annual Dinner: Burnaby Historical Society / Burnaby Centennial Pavilion [on Burnaby Mountain] / Friday, November 27, [1959].
Photograph of the Burnaby Historical Society's first annual dinner held at the the Burnaby Centennial Pavilion on Burnaby Mountain on November 27, 1959. Men and women are seated at rows of tables.
Photograph of the Burnaby Historical Society's first annual dinner held at the the Burnaby Centennial Pavilion on Burnaby Mountain on November 27, 1959. Men and women are seated at rows of tables.
Photograph of the Burnaby Historical Society's first annual dinner held at the the Burnaby Centennial Pavilion on Burnaby Mountain on November 27, 1959. Men and women are seated at rows of tables.
Photograph of the Burnaby Historical Society's first annual dinner held at the the Burnaby Centennial Pavilion on Burnaby Mountain on November 27, 1959. Men and women are seated at rows of tables.
Photograph of the forty-one men and women who comprised Burnaby's BC Centennial Committee. The photograph was taken during the opening of the Centennial Pavilion on Burnaby Mountain. A note on the back of the photograph reads: "Burnaby's BC Centennial Committee 1958. Planned projects for BC Celebr…
Photograph of the forty-one men and women who comprised Burnaby's BC Centennial Committee. The photograph was taken during the opening of the Centennial Pavilion on Burnaby Mountain. A note on the back of the photograph reads: "Burnaby's BC Centennial Committee 1958. Planned projects for BC Celebration. Our project was Centennial Pavilion on Burnaby Mountain, opened 1958."
Photographs in this collection were taken and compiled by Norah Code, former editor of the "Burnaby Courier" newspaper during the course of her work for the newspaper.
Photograph of (front to back) Frank Laleune, Beverley Lucas, Shirely Taylor, Norm Northam and Jim LaFavor seated together on the grass in a yard in Barnet. Fences, a building and the lower slope of Burnaby mountain are visible behind them.
Photograph of (front to back) Frank Laleune, Beverley Lucas, Shirely Taylor, Norm Northam and Jim LaFavor seated together on the grass in a yard in Barnet. Fences, a building and the lower slope of Burnaby mountain are visible behind them.
Photograph of Frank Laleune (front) with friends, Norm Northam (left), Jim LaFavor (right) and Shirley Taylor standing together in a yard in Barnet. Shirley Taylor is seated on the shoulders of Norm Northam and Jim LaFavor and Frank Laleune is squatting in front. Fences, a building and the lower sl…
Photograph of Frank Laleune (front) with friends, Norm Northam (left), Jim LaFavor (right) and Shirley Taylor standing together in a yard in Barnet. Shirley Taylor is seated on the shoulders of Norm Northam and Jim LaFavor and Frank Laleune is squatting in front. Fences, a building and the lower slope of Burnaby mountain are visible behind them.
See page 164 in book "In the Shadow by the Sea: Recollections of Burnaby's Barnet Village" with caption "Top: Shirley Taylor, Norman Northam, Victor Laleune and Jim LaFavor"
Photograph of Burnaby Historical Society members at the first Society dinner at the Burnaby Pavilion. Four men are looking at documents, including newspapers.
Photograph of Burnaby Historical Society members at the first Society dinner at the Burnaby Pavilion. Four men are looking at documents, including newspapers.
This portion of the interview is about Sev Morin’s description of Burnaby’s growth and business development along Kingsway and Hastings, the Lake City Industrial Park, and the purchase of property in 1958 for the Heritage Park and Art Gallery.
This portion of the interview is about Sev Morin’s description of Burnaby’s growth and business development along Kingsway and Hastings, the Lake City Industrial Park, and the purchase of property in 1958 for the Heritage Park and Art Gallery.
Date Range
1950-1990
Photo Info
Sev Morin (left) of Severin's in Burnaby (formerly the Gai Paree) hosting a gala New Year's celebration, 1979. Item no. 480-712
Recording is of an interview with Severin "Sev" Morin, conducted by Rod Fowler. Sev Morin was one of eleven participants interviewed as part of the SFU/Burnaby Centennial Committee's oral history series titled, "Voices of Burnaby". The interview is mainly about Sev Morin’s banquet hall, restaurant and night club business on Kingsway, originally named the “Gai Paree Supper Club” (1947-1976) and later “Severin’s” (1976-1985) and “Diego’s” (1985-1994), its function as a Burnaby landmark, and the entertainment and political people he met through his business. He also describes his many volunteer activities in Burnaby, including member of the SFU Senate, Rotary Club, Variety Club and Telethon, fund raising for Burnaby Hospital, and tourism related groups, and his political work for the federal Liberal party. He talks about his parents’ origins, the lives of his brothers Rudy and Rene, and the family’s involvement in establishing the “Gai Paree”. He also shares his views about the business and cultural development of Burnaby. To view “Narrow By” terms for each track expand this description and see “Notes”.
Biographical Notes
Severin “Sev” Rene Morin was born September 21, 1927, in Bonneville, Alberta, to Rene Pierre Morin (1878-1963) and Anne Marie (nee Lachiver) Morin (1886-1956). Mr. and Mrs. R. P. Morin and their son Rene Francois (1905-1954) immigrated to Edmonton, Alberta, from France in 1913, where Rene Pierre Morin worked for the C.N.R. and a second son Adolphe “Rudy” Ferdinand (1922-1969) was born, followed by their third son Severin. In 1943, after R.P. Morin retired, the family moved to Burnaby to a house on Sperling Avenue. Sometime earlier the two older Morin brothers found work in Trail at the smelter and developed musical careers. In 1946/47 the Morin family purchased property on Kingsway and built a banquet hall, the “Gai Paree Supper Club”. Sev and Rudy Morin managed the club and Rene F. Morin moved to Burnaby to join them with his band. The supper club, with its live music and dance floor, became a popular meeting place and wedding venue, eventually expanding into a restaurant and nightclub in the 1970s. The “Gai Paree” was renamed “Severin’s” in 1976 and “Diego’s” in 1985, closing finally in 1994. Sev Morin’s business life included three record stores which he owned with his friend Jack Cullen. Through these businesses Sev Morin was well known in the entertainment and hospitality industry. He and his restaurant also hosted political and social events that made the restaurant a community landmark. Sev Morin contributed many volunteer hours to community and charitable organizations, including an appointment to the SFU Senate, fundraising for the Burnaby Hospital, Director of the Variety Club and Rotary Club, and consultant for a variety of tourism related ventures. He also was active in the federal Liberal Party. Sev Morin and his wife Pauline married in 1950 and had three children. Sev Morin died at age 86 on March 28, 2014.
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.
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.
Photograph of Jim LaFavor standing shirtless on a dirt road in Barnet. Buildings of the Texaco site and the north shore of Burrard Inlet are visible behind him.
Photograph of Jim LaFavor standing shirtless on a dirt road in Barnet. Buildings of the Texaco site and the north shore of Burrard Inlet are visible behind him.