Photograph of Elsie Brown-John's grade nine class at Burnaby North High School. Elsie Brown-John (later Ansdell) is standing in the bottom row, three in from the left.
Photograph of Elsie Brown-John's grade nine class at Burnaby North High School. Elsie Brown-John (later Ansdell) is standing in the bottom row, three in from the left.
Photograph of a group of men and women sitting at a table, smiling and laughing at the Gay Paree mushroom banquet. Seated from left to right are; Jack Stiglish, Frank Pietrasko, Walter Peters, Irene Pietrasko, Euda Peters and Helen Stiglish.
Photograph of a group of men and women sitting at a table, smiling and laughing at the Gay Paree mushroom banquet. Seated from left to right are; Jack Stiglish, Frank Pietrasko, Walter Peters, Irene Pietrasko, Euda Peters and Helen Stiglish.
Photograph of Ingeborg (Weigler) (Haacke) Raymer standing next to an unidentified woman wearing a checked skirt and jacket. Ingeborg is dressed in a light, solid colour. The two women are standing outside of an unidentified building and smiling at the camera.
Photograph of Ingeborg (Weigler) (Haacke) Raymer standing next to an unidentified woman wearing a checked skirt and jacket. Ingeborg is dressed in a light, solid colour. The two women are standing outside of an unidentified building and smiling at the camera.
This portion of the recording pertains mainly to Aili (Rintanen) Topalian's parents. Aili tells the story of her parents meeting, getting married and eventually setting in Crabtown with their two children. She explains what it was like to live in Crabtown during the depression years; the homes were…
This portion of the recording pertains mainly to Aili (Rintanen) Topalian's parents. Aili tells the story of her parents meeting, getting married and eventually setting in Crabtown with their two children. She explains what it was like to live in Crabtown during the depression years; the homes were built on decks which were on top of pilings, that were sunk deep into the sand.
Date Range
1920-1945
Photo Info
Aili Rintanen (later Topalian) holding cat, next to her sister who has a rooster in her arms, [1937]. Item no. 337-003.
Recording is an interview with Aili (Rintanen) Topalian conducted by Burnaby Village Museum employee Eric Damer, October 11, 2012. Major theme discussed: growing up in Crabtown.
Biographical Notes
Aili Rintanen (later Topalian) came to British Columbia in 1936 from a homestead near Burnt Lake, Alberta. After a few months in Vancouver and then a Burnaby apartment, the Rintanens moved to a house on the Burrard Inlet. The family lived over the water, in a house built on a deck, secured to the top of pilings that were sunk deep into the sand. Aili's mother Aune Rintanen found work at a fish and chip shop in downtown Vancouver and her father Gus Rintanen worked in a nearby mill. Aili and her sister Trudi (later Tuomi), attended school in Burnaby. For nine years the Rintanens created a home for themselves in an area now called Crabtown, although no one living there called it that.
Eric Damer is a lifelong British Columbian born in Victoria, raised in Kamloops, and currently residing in Burnaby. After studying philosophy at the University of Victoria, he became interested in the educational forces that had shaped his own life. He completed master’s and doctoral degrees in educational studies at the University of British Columbia with a particular interest in the history of adult and higher education in the province. In 2012, Eric worked for the City of Burnaby as a field researcher and writer, conducting interviews for the City Archives and Museum Oral History Program.