Photograph of firefighters from the Burnaby Fire Department battling the fire that destroyed the Kapoor Sawmills Limited in January 1947. Water was pumped from Burrard Inlet to fight the fire.
Photograph of firefighters from the Burnaby Fire Department battling the fire that destroyed the Kapoor Sawmills Limited in January 1947. Water was pumped from Burrard Inlet to fight the fire.
Information from page 6 of The Province newspaper-Jan. 15, 1947 confirms that the fire occurred on January 14, 1947
See page 67 of book "In the Shadow by the Sea - Recollections of Burnaby's Barnet Village". Caption with photograph reads: "The February, 1947 Kapoor Sawmill fire. Maintenance workers were trying to thaw out frozen bearings on a machine with a blowtorch and inadvertently started a fire in oily shavings. all the water pipes were frozen preventing the workers from dousing the intital small flames. Finally, but too late to prevent the mill's destruction, water was pumped in from the inlet by the Burnaby Fire Department."
Photograph of firefighters from the Burnaby Fire Department battling the fire that destroyed the Kapoor Sawmills Limited in January 1947. Water was pumped from Burrard Inlet to fight the fire.
Photograph of firefighters from the Burnaby Fire Department battling the fire that destroyed the Kapoor Sawmills Limited in January 1947. Water was pumped from Burrard Inlet to fight the fire.
Information from page 6 of The Province newspaper-Jan. 15, 1947 confirms that the fire occurred on January 14, 1947
See page 67 of book "In the Shadow by the Sea - Recollections of Burnaby's Barnet Village". Caption with photograph reads: "The February, 1947 Kapoor Sawmill fire. Maintenance workers were trying to thaw out frozen bearings on a machine with a blowtorch and inadvertently started a fire in oily shavings. all the water pipes were frozen preventing the workers from dousing the intital small flames. Finally, but too late to prevent the mill's destruction, water was pumped in from the inlet by the Burnaby Fire Department."
See page 62 in book "In the Shadow by the Sea - recollections of Burnaby's Barnet Village". Caption with photograph reads: "The fleet of Kapoor Sawmill trucks, c. 1940s"
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"
Item consists of a video recording of a live Zoom webinar on the Burnaby Village Museum Facebook page on October 7, 2021. The webinar was hosted by Burnaby Village Museum Community Engagement Coordinator, Christina Froschauer and presented by Raymond Nakamura. The webinar is titled "From Fuki to O…
Recording Device: Zoom video communication and Facebook platforms
Recording Note: Film was edited from it's original recorded version (97 min., 37 sec.) to edited version (84 min., 20 sec.) for public viewing on Heritage Burnaby.
Scope and Content
Item consists of a video recording of a live Zoom webinar on the Burnaby Village Museum Facebook page on October 7, 2021. The webinar was hosted by Burnaby Village Museum Community Engagement Coordinator, Christina Froschauer and presented by Raymond Nakamura. The webinar is titled "From Fuki to Ofuro: Japanese Canadians in Burnaby".
In this webinar, Raymond Nakamura shares his own Japanese family history (Yamashita and Nakamura families) in British Columbia; provides insight into the Fuki plant (also known as butterbur) which was used by Japanese Canadians as a special culinary plant; describes the customs behind the ofuro (Japanese bathhouse) at Burnaby Village Museum and shares some of his research on Japanese Canadians who lived in Burnaby prior to the internment of Japanese Canadians in World War II.
The title slide of Raymond's presentation reads "Japanese Canadians in Pre-War Burnaby". Raymond's presentation is supported with his own illustrations along with historical photographs from personal and public archival collections including the Nikkei National Museum, The City of Burnaby Archives and the Burnaby Village Museum.
Japanese families highlighted in Raymond's talk include the Nakamuras; Yamashitas; Yasuis; Kokuryos; Kojimas; Shimotakaharas; Kariatsumaris; Ibatas; Marie Karamoto family and Dr. Taihei Kuzuhara. Many historical references regarding Burnaby residents come from Burnaby publications; "In the Shadow by the Sea : recollections of Burnaby's Barnet Village" and "Pioneer Tales of Burnaby".
During breaks in the presentation, Christina and Raymond take questions from webinar participants on zoom as well as viewers from the live recording on Burnaby Village Museum's Facebook page.
Resource links shared during presentation include:
Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre
https://centre.nikkeiplace.org/res.../search-the-collection/
Landscapes of Injustic Archive
https://loi.uvic.ca/archive/
Raymond's Brain
https://www.raymondsbrain.com/
In the Shadow by the Sea : recollections of Burnaby's Barnet Village
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/permalink/museumlibrary5173
History
Raymond Nakamura was born and raised in Toronto, and has lived most of his adult life in Vancouver. Holding a PhD in Marine Sciences from University of Toronto, Raymond’s study specializing in the hydrodynamics of sand dollars. More recently, he has been recognized for his research work on Japanese Canadians, leading to fact and fiction writing, co-hosting podcasts and delivering creative presentations on the subject –one of which we are honoured to see today. Raymond has worked collaboratively with cultural centers across the Greater Vancouver Region, including Science World, the Vancouver Aquarium, the Nikkei National Museum, the Gulf of Georgia Cannery, to name a few.
Photograph of grandmother, Elizabeth Taylor seated on a swing and holding baby Louise Irwin while young Eleanor Irwin is standing behind and pushing. The swing is hanging from a tree in a yard.
Photograph of grandmother, Elizabeth Taylor seated on a swing and holding baby Louise Irwin while young Eleanor Irwin is standing behind and pushing. The swing is hanging from a tree in a yard.
See page 47 of book, "In the Shadow by the Sea: Recollections of Burnaby's Barnet Village" with caption "Bottom: Left to Right: Louise Irwin, Grandmother Isabella Taylor, and Eleanor Irwin,1928"
Spelling of Grandmother Taylor's first name is taken from death certificate which reads "Elizabeth" (Shephard) Taylor"
Photograph of Harding Yasui and his sister Yasue "Margaret" Yasui (Matsumura) in the family's 1918 Dodge touring sedan. Harding is in the driver's seat and his sister Yasue "Margaret" is beside him.
Photograph of Harding Yasui and his sister Yasue "Margaret" Yasui (Matsumura) in the family's 1918 Dodge touring sedan. Harding is in the driver's seat and his sister Yasue "Margaret" is beside him.
See page 128 of book "In the Shadow by the Sea - Recollections of Burnaby's Barnet Village". Caption with photograph reads: "Yasue and Harding Yasui in their family's 1918 Dodge car, 1926"
In the Shadow by the Sea spells Sukegoro's wife's name as "Lane" (Harata) Yasui, obits for Sukegoro Yasui and his wife use the spelling "Tane" Hirata Yasui.
Photograph of Mrs. Helen (Sukkau) Lauder standing with her children, Beverley (Mundreon) Lauder and Douglas Lauder in the yard of the family home at the Barnet Lumber Mill. A picket fence and wall of a house are visible behind them.
Photograph of Mrs. Helen (Sukkau) Lauder standing with her children, Beverley (Mundreon) Lauder and Douglas Lauder in the yard of the family home at the Barnet Lumber Mill. A picket fence and wall of a house are visible behind them.
See page 150 in book "In the Shadow by the Sea: Recollections of Burnaby's Barnet Village" with caption "Mrs. Helen Lauder, Beverley and Douglas, c. 1938"
Date of photograph based on information from original photograph
See page 48 of book, "In the Shadow by the Sea: Recollections of Burnaby's Barnet Village" with caption "Top:Left to Right: Louise Irwin, Mr. Irwin and Eleanor Irwin dressed in their "Sunday Best", 1929"
Date of photograph based on birth dates for Eleanor and Louise Irwin
A history of the Burnaby school district and individual school buildings in Burnaby, BC, between 1893 and 2013.
The “First Nations cemetery” described on page 109 in Mary Johnson’s recollections was originally written as “Indian” and may refer to the Khalsa Diwan Society’s Sikh cremations at the Vancouver Cemetery.
Collection consists of copies of photographs from a selection of Burnaby residents that were obtained for the publication "In the Shadow by the Sea: Recollections of Burnaby's Barnet Village".
Photographs include; Kapoor Sawmills Limited and the Siddoo family; the Irwin family; the Lauder family; t…
Collection consists of copies of photographs from a selection of Burnaby residents that were obtained for the publication "In the Shadow by the Sea: Recollections of Burnaby's Barnet Village".
Photographs include; Kapoor Sawmills Limited and the Siddoo family; the Irwin family; the Lauder family; the Yasui family and the Laleune family. The selection of photographs document time living and working in the Barnet area of Burnaby.
Photographs are arranged into series:
1) Kapoor Singh Siddoo family photographs series
2) Yasui family photographs series
3) Irwin family photographs series
4) Lauder family photographs series
5) Laulene family photographs series
History
The book, "In the Shadow by the Sea: Recollections of Burnaby's Barnet Village" was published in 2004 as a historical project under the direction of the Community Heritage Commission. Community Heritage Commission volunteer Harry Pride was the driving force behind this project contacting many former residents of Barnet to obtain photographs and stories for the book.
The book documents the history of the settlement of Burnaby's Barnet district including memoirs and photographs of various people who worked and lived there.
See also, City of Burnaby Archives: Burnaby Historical Society fonds - "In the Shadow by the Sea subseries"
Arrangement
Arrangement is based on the contents of the book "In the Shadow by the Sea" with series based on donors' personal photograph collections that were included in the book. A selection of copies were later donated to Burnaby Village Museum and arranged and described.
Notes
Title based on contents of collection
See series level descriptions for family biographies
File consists of scanned family photographs of early Barnet residents complied and developed into a book entitled "In the Shadow by the Sea / Recollections of Burnaby's Barnet Village." Contents of file are held on three CD-Rs entitled 'Barnet Book Disc 1 - For Archives', 'Barnet Book Disc 2 - For…
File consists of scanned family photographs of early Barnet residents complied and developed into a book entitled "In the Shadow by the Sea / Recollections of Burnaby's Barnet Village." Contents of file are held on three CD-Rs entitled 'Barnet Book Disc 1 - For Archives', 'Barnet Book Disc 2 - For Archives' and 'Barnet Book Disc 3 - For Archives.'
Subseries consists of copies of family photographs of early Barnet residents compiled for the publication, "In the Shadow by the Sea: Recollections of Burnaby's Barnet Village". Families involved in the project include: Brichmore, Blake, Burkmar, Calihou, Cary, Charters, Cordy, Dean, Drummond, Eva…
Subseries consists of copies of family photographs of early Barnet residents compiled for the publication, "In the Shadow by the Sea: Recollections of Burnaby's Barnet Village". Families involved in the project include: Brichmore, Blake, Burkmar, Calihou, Cary, Charters, Cordy, Dean, Drummond, Evans, Fish, Fraser, Hall, Hope, Irwin, McNie, Johnston, Kask, Keys, Kitchener, McNie, LaFavor, Laine, Laleune, Lauder, Lorenz, Marshall, Mathewson, Moore, Pert, Philbrook, Pruden, Rex, Rutherford, Siddoo, Stemo, Stewart, Teja, Traff (Trafinenkov), Urbanovits, Wells, Williams, Wilson, Woolsey and Yatsui.
History
Personal memories and family photographs from early Barnet residents were complied and developed into a book entitled "In the Shadow by the Sea: Recollections of Burnaby's Barnet Village" under the direction of the Community Heritage Commission. Community Heritage Commission volunteer Harry Pride was the driving force behind this project.
Series consists of copies of photographs pertaining to the Irwin family and the Barnet Lumber Company while Henry Stanley Irwin worked for the Barnet Lumber Company and the family lived on site. Many of these photographs were published in the book "In the Shadow by the Sea: Recollections of Burnaby…
Series consists of copies of photographs pertaining to the Irwin family and the Barnet Lumber Company while Henry Stanley Irwin worked for the Barnet Lumber Company and the family lived on site. Many of these photographs were published in the book "In the Shadow by the Sea: Recollections of Burnaby's Barnet Village".
History
Henry Stanley Irwin (1890-1966) started work at Barnet mill in 1924. Henry and his wife Elsie May Irwin (Taylor) Irwin (1894-1985) first lived with their two daughters, Eleanor (Nelson) (1924-2005) and Louise (1927-) in a worker's cabin before moving to the Barnet Mill's managers' residence. The household included Elsie's mother, Elizabeth (Shephard) Taylor (1868-1950). The family resided at Barnet until they moved to Vancouver in September 1939. Louise and her older sister Eleanor attended Barnet School like other children in the Barnet area. After the mill closed in 1931, Henry was unemployed for two years. During this time, he hired a horse and driver and cut logs from the slopes of Burnaby Mountain to support his family.
The Barnet Lumber Company also known as the Barnet mill was in operation between 1925 and 1932. The mill was located on Burrard Inlet in the neighbourhood of Barnet and was one of the most successful local employers in Burnaby until the 1930s when 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 it's taxes. The city then dismantled the mill and sold the property in two parts - the eastern section would become the Kapoor Sawmills Limited and the western portion, the McColl-Frontenac Oil Company.
Photograph of Henry and Elsie May Irwin (standing) with Grandmother Elizabeth "Isabella" Taylor and their daugthers Eleanor (left) and Louise (right) Irwin. The group is gathered in the yard of the Irwin family home on the site of the Barnet Lumber Mill. The outside wall of the house is visible beh…
Photograph of Henry and Elsie May Irwin (standing) with Grandmother Elizabeth "Isabella" Taylor and their daugthers Eleanor (left) and Louise (right) Irwin. The group is gathered in the yard of the Irwin family home on the site of the Barnet Lumber Mill. The outside wall of the house is visible behind them.
See page 50 in book "In the Shadow by the Sea: Recollection of Burnaby's Barnet Village" with caption "Standing: Mrs Irwin; Seated: Grandmother Isabella Taylor holding Eleanor Irwin in her lap and Louise Erwin, c. 1930"
Photograph of Elizabeth "Isabella" (Shephard) Taylor standing in the yard of the Irwin family home at the Barnet Lumber Mill. Mrs. Taylor is dressed in a fashionable coat with a lambs wool collar. The tree with a swing is visible behind her.
Photograph of Elizabeth "Isabella" (Shephard) Taylor standing in the yard of the Irwin family home at the Barnet Lumber Mill. Mrs. Taylor is dressed in a fashionable coat with a lambs wool collar. The tree with a swing is visible behind her.
see page 49 of book "In the Shadow by the Sea: Recollections of Burnaby's Barnet Village" with caption "...Grandmother Isabella Taylor wearing a fashionable coat with a lamb's wool collar, 1934"
Photograph of (left to right) Jagdis Kaur Siddoo, Sarjit Kaur Siddoo and Besant Kaur Siddoo standing next to Harbans Kaur Teja with baby and Kartar Kaur Sangha (company cook) on the site of Kapoor Sawmills Limited.
Photograph of (left to right) Jagdis Kaur Siddoo, Sarjit Kaur Siddoo and Besant Kaur Siddoo standing next to Harbans Kaur Teja with baby and Kartar Kaur Sangha (company cook) on the site of Kapoor Sawmills Limited.
see page 64 in the book "In the Shadow by the Sea - recollections of Burnaby's Barnet Village". Caption with photograph reads: "Standing in front of the new mill under construction are Jagdis, Sarjeet and Mrs. Kapoor Siddoo, Harbans Koor Teja with baby and Kartar K. Sangha (company cook), 1947"
Incorrect spelling of the name "Sarjeet Siddoo" in the book "In the Shadow by the Sea" has been corrected to "Sarjit Kaur Siddoo"
Series consists of copies of photographs pertaining to the family of Kappoor Singh Siddoo and the Kapoor Sawmills Limited that were published in the book "In the Shadow by the Sea: Recollections of Burnaby's Barnet Village".
Series consists of copies of photographs pertaining to the family of Kappoor Singh Siddoo and the Kapoor Sawmills Limited that were published in the book "In the Shadow by the Sea: Recollections of Burnaby's Barnet Village".
History
Kapoor Singh Siddoo was born in 1885 in the Punjab village of Kharaudi, India. Kapoor was one of the pioneer South Asian Canadian Sikhs who first immigrated to America in 1906, arriving in San Francisco in 1906 with twenty illiterate compatriots seeking employment. As the only one among them with a formal education, Kapoor acted as their interpreter, manager, and accountant. They worked along the Southern Pacific Railway line near Marysville, California, as it inched toward Reno, Nevada.
At the same time, Kapoor was asked to help raise funds for a mining company in British Columbia founded by a Punjabi spiritual leader. Kapoor attempted to join the company in British Columbia (attracted partly by stories of the province’s natural beauty), but was turned back at the international border at Blaine several times before entering via Victoria in 1912. Once settled, he operated a successful dairy, invested in various businesses, and socialized with other South Asian immigrants interested in politics. However, emotions of those around Kapoor began to heat up; frustration among opponents of British rule in Indian grew intense. Kapoor left the explosive situation for Ontario in June 1914, determined to find a place for himself in Canadian society. He tried homesteading in the “Clay Belt” of northern Ontario, but like others found the extreme winter conditions intolerable. He returned to British Columbia in 1916, invited by a group of Sikh sawmill workers to help them manage the accounts at a Fraser Valley sawmill they had leased.
Kapoor found his niche in the sawmill industry. Fraser Valley timber sat on land granted by the Dominion government to railways to help finance their construction. South Asian workers could get timber rights on these lands, unlike on Crown Lands elsewhere in the province. Kapoor and his new partners, particularly Mayo Singh, looked for other promising “railway belt” locations for another sawmill and found an ideal location on Vancouver Island near Duncan. Kapoor and his colleagues opened a large, modern mill in 1918 and despite various setbacks, prospered for the next decade and a half.
In 1923, with a change in immigration laws, Kapoor arranged for his wife, Besant Kaur, to emigrate from India. Besant came to Canada with Kapoor’s older brother, Bhagwan. Kapoor and Besant had two daughters while in Duncan: Jagdis Kaur Siddoo (1925) and Sarjit Kaur Siddoo (1926), both of whom eventually became physicians.
Kapoor’s lumber business on Vancouver Island flourished until 1935, when a fire destroyed the original mill. He moved his family to Vancouver, although retaining interest in another Vancouver Island mill. In 1939, he purchased a large piece (45 acres) of the former Barnet Mill in Burnaby, recently acquired by the Municipality as payment for tax default during the Depression. Kapoor named the mill Modern Sawmills and finalized the purchase though a business agent to get around Burnaby’s bylaw prohibiting the sale to a non-White person. Eventually he changed the mill’s name to Kapoor Sawmills Limited. The mill received timber in log booms from Vancouver Island, and once processed, the wood was then shipped via the Canadian Pacific Railway that ran past the mill, and still does today.
Kapoor’s younger brother, Tara, who had earlier worked with Kapoor in other sawmills, joined the venture as a shareholder. Tara and his wife, Beant, took up residence in Barnet from 1943-1945 with their family: sons Lakhbeer, Gurdeb, Gurcharn, Baldev, Hardev and daughters Harjeet (Sangha), Runjeet (Basi) and Buckshish (Sarai). Tara oversaw the regular delivery of logs from Vancouver Island to the Barnet mill. He also became known as a local Burnaby philanthropist, donating to Burnaby General Hospital.
The Kapoor sawmill prospered but burned to the ground on January 14, 1947. A smaller mill was rebuilt on the site and remained a successful financial operation until 1959.
When he retired in 1959, Kapoor Siddoo was one of Vancouver’s most influential men in the South Asian Community. He was a leading businessman, but had also fought to give South Asian Canadians the right to vote. The year he retired, the family set up the Kapoor Singh Siddoo Foundation and with help from his wife and daughters opened a hospital in the Punjab village of Aur. In 1964, Kapoor died in India at the age of 79 years.