Photograph of Fern Brown (nee Ablitt) sitting on the grass of her parent's property at the northeast corner of Kingsway and Nelson Avenue. She has a doll in a baby carriage with her and ribbons in her hair.
The Hutton grocery store can be seen in the distance.
Photograph of Fern Brown (nee Ablitt) sitting on the grass of her parent's property at the northeast corner of Kingsway and Nelson Avenue. She has a doll in a baby carriage with her and ribbons in her hair.
The Hutton grocery store can be seen in the distance.
Photograph of cousins Mignon (Minnie) Coe and Evelyn Condio standing together in front of the arbour at the Coe family residence at 2684 Fern Avenue (renumbered in the 6300 block). Mignon Coe (later Uter) was the daughter of Elizabeth and James Coe.
Photograph of cousins Mignon (Minnie) Coe and Evelyn Condio standing together in front of the arbour at the Coe family residence at 2684 Fern Avenue (renumbered in the 6300 block). Mignon Coe (later Uter) was the daughter of Elizabeth and James Coe.
1 scrapbook (textual records + 2 digital files : (pdfs) + 102 photographs : (tiffs))
Scope and Content
File consists of images and selected contents from a scrapbook with 38 double sided pages containing mostly photographs with some newspaper clippings, written material and emphemera including a page of badges and ribbons which reads "Enrolment & Membership Card of / Joan Bailey 1926 / 1st Burnaby" …
1 scrapbook (textual records + 2 digital files : (pdfs) + 102 photographs : (tiffs))
Scope and Content
File consists of images and selected contents from a scrapbook with 38 double sided pages containing mostly photographs with some newspaper clippings, written material and emphemera including a page of badges and ribbons which reads "Enrolment & Membership Card of / Joan Bailey 1926 / 1st Burnaby" and an embroidered alphabet of the Morse Code. The third page of the scrapbook includes a four page chronology titled "History of Guiding - Burnaby / 1913 - 1960" compiled by Mrs. Dolly Weber, Mrs. J. Heaps, Miss Eileen Periton, Mrs. J. Albertson and D. Fowler. The scrapbook also includes an original letter and post-script from Lady Olave Baden-Powell to Mrs. Fowler dated November 5, 1961; a typewritten copy of: "TSOONA" / PROVINCIAL GUIDE CAMPSITE - ROSEDALE B.C." and a three page typewritten copy of "THE CAMPFIRE / Volume 1, No. 4 _ November 1935 _ Vancouver, B.C.".
Many of the events documented in photographs [between 1914 and 1969] are identified on each page and read as the following: "Burnaby Brownies - Guides & Rangers" / "Early 1920" (1 photograph); "Ambulance / Display / 1st. Co."; "Girl Guide Rally - New Westminster and / Burnaby - June 16, 1923" (5 photographs); "Girl Guide Rally - New Westminster and / Burnaby - June 16, 1923" (5 photographs); "Burnaby Guides and / Brownies / June 17, 1923" (5 photographs); "April 1923" (1 photograph); "June 1923 / 2nd Burnaby Company" (1 photograph); "Burnaby May Day / 26.5.28"(2 photographs); "Sechelt 1929_ 2nd "B" Company" (2 photographs); "Leaders and Seconds / 2nd Burnaby / Grouse Mountain" (1 photograph); "Sechelt 1929 / Commandant Mrs. Peal" (1 photograph); "2nd Company / June 1930" (1 photograph); "1932 / 2nd Company at Rally / Municipal Hall Grounds" (1 photograph) ; "First Burnaby Folk Dancing team / Winners of the E.F.D. cup 1940--41-42" (1 photograph); "1st Burnaby Company / winners of Bessborough Shield / 1942 / Captain L. Crane" (1 photograph); "May 6th 1935 / Dedication of flag at Central Park" (1 photograph); "May Day Celebration / Burnaby B.C. May 6th 1935 / Stride Studios Photos" (1 photograph); "Mrs. Don Wilks / Mrs. Georgie / Runcie / Publicity Photo re- / Brownie / Training / 1958-60" (1 photograph); "Kathleen Anderson / about 1958-60?" (1 photograph); "1957 / Burnaby Camp Site / at / Wilson Creek" (1 photograph); "Work Party (1958)" (1 photograph); "Burnaby Camp Site / Spring 1958 / Cabins & Staff Houses / Dining Shelter / Cabins" (3 photographs); "Can. Girl Guide Assoc. - Provincial Leaders Conference / April 14-15/61 Civic Centre, Prince George, BC" (1 photograph) ; "June 8th, 1958 / Opening / Ceremonies / Burnaby Site / Wilson Creek / Camp Site" (4 photographs); 2 unidentified photographs [ca.1915] of a large group of Girl Guides gathered on the Pacific National Exhibition grounds (photo credit- Leonard Frank); 1 unidentified photograph of a group of Girl Guides gathered for a group portrait [ca.1914]; "Girl Guide Camp / Granthams / Landing / July 1923" (4 photographs); 4 unidentified photographs of girl guides gathered on the ship "Lady Evelyn" [ca. 1920]; "Burnaby Girl Guides" 1918; "First Burnaby Girl Guides 1920" (2 photographs on page); "2nd Co. 1923" (1 photograph) "1st Burnaby Co." [1923] (1 photograph); "Gypsy Scene - Concert / Mar 17, 1923 / Unveiling / War / Memorial / Edmonds / 1923" (3 photographs on page); "Faith Jacobson / 1961" (2 photographs); "Eve MacLean / 1961" (1 photograph); "Beverley Simkin of Montreal and Judy Robins / of the S.R.S. Royal Oak taken on the day they / sailed from Montreal for the Ranger Camp at / "Our Chalet" in Adelboden, Switzerland, May 1962" (1 photograph) and "Religion & Life Emblem / Diane Peters 11th Bby. Co. / Rev. G.W. Luetkehodeter / 1961" (2 photographs on one page).
Digital images were created of the scrapbook prior to selective retention of original records that were removed for conservation purposes
Some textual records that were selected for retention have been described at file level under BV015.35.164: "Tsoona" Provincial Guide Campsite - Rosedale B.C." and Burnaby Girl Guides newsletter, "The Campfire" (November 1935)
Photographs that were retained from scrapbook have been described at item level (BV015.35.221 to BV015.35.284)
Some textual records and ephemera that were selected for retention have been described at item level (BV015.35.320, BV015.35.321, and BV015.35.334 to BV015.35.348).
This portion of the interview pertains to W.H. "Harry" O'Brien's early childhood including the reasons why his family first moved to Burnaby, his first experiences of unemployment and what initially drew him to the Working Organization in Burnaby and their protest against evictions.
This portion of the interview pertains to W.H. "Harry" O'Brien's early childhood including the reasons why his family first moved to Burnaby, his first experiences of unemployment and what initially drew him to the Working Organization in Burnaby and their protest against evictions.
Date Range
1914-1932
Photo Info
Harry and Gertrude (Sutherland) O'Brien on their wedding day, October 12, 1940. Item no. 315-005
Recording is a taped interview with W.H. "Harry" O'Brien by SFU (Simon Fraser University) graduate student Bettina Bradbury. Major themes discussed are: the Army of the Common Good, the Union of the Unemployed and the Common Good Credit Union (now the South Burnaby Credit Union). To view "Narrow By" terms for each track expand this description and see "Notes".
Biographical Notes
W.H. “Harry” O’Brien was born in the coal mining town of Nanaimo, British Columbia on October 20, 1914. He came to Burnaby with his parents and five siblings in 1927. Harry’s mother, a school teacher, wanted her children to live closer to school in order to obtain a better education, so the O’Brien family settled at Inman Avenue, Burnaby. Harry's mother, Mary Anne Crossan, was Gilmore Avenue School's first teacher.
Harry left school in June of 1929. Harry’s father worked as the caretaker at Central Park around this time and Harry helped him to clear brush, plant trees and enforce the land clearing and wood cutting permit regulations held by men who were on script.
Although too young to vote by just over a week, Harry O'Brien worked as a scrutineer for the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) during the 1935 Federal Election.
On October 12, 1940 Harry O'Brien married Gertrude Sutherland at St. John the Divine in Burnaby. The Sutherland family came to Burnaby from Winnipeg in 1933 and settled at Nelson Avenue.
Harry began his involvement with the Unemployment Organization in Burnaby by participating in an organised protest against the municipality for homeowner evictions brought on by unpaid taxes. The South Burnaby Union of the Unemployed organised in order to protest rules around receiving Relief. Harry became involved, eventually becoming one of the spearheads of the organization, taking over as secretary by 1936.
Harry was an original member of the Army of the Common Good, helping to produce over one hundred and twenty-five tons of vegetables from its own gardens to feed Burnaby citizens suffering from the lack of resources during the Depression years. The members of the Army of the Common Good who cut wood for consumption or worked in the gardens were given credit for their work through LU (Labour Units) which they could then use to buy groceries and that at the Army's Cooperative stores, one of which was at McKay Avenue, where Harry began working as Manager of Groceries in 1937. The Credit Union movement of British Columbia was also organized by Harry O'Brien and his fellow Army of the Common Good members.
W.H. "Harry" O'Brien died July 1, 1992.
Bettina Bradbury teaches history and women's studies at York University. She is the author of Wife to Widow. Lives, Laws and Politics in Nineteenth-century Montreal. (Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, June 2011), 520p; Working Families. Age, Gender and Daily Survival in Industrializing Montreal. (Toronto: Canadian Social History Series, McClelland and Stewart, 1993); (Republished Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1996) (3rd edition, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2007). These interviews were undertaken after she completed her MA at Simon Fraser University in 1975 with the support of an LIP grant.
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.
Photograph of the Longstaff family and their friends at a picnic in Central Park. Everyone is dressed mostly in white, and four of the ten are wearing hats.
Photograph of the Longstaff family and their friends at a picnic in Central Park. Everyone is dressed mostly in white, and four of the ten are wearing hats.
Photograph of Kingsway West School teaching staff outside on the school grounds. Back row, left to right: Mr. William D. Blair (principal), Miss M. Bloomfield, Miss Annie Theresa Forrest (much loved by generations of younger children in her Grade 1 class), Miss Edith Kay, Miss Daisy Bodley, Miss Be…
Photograph of Kingsway West School teaching staff outside on the school grounds. Back row, left to right: Mr. William D. Blair (principal), Miss M. Bloomfield, Miss Annie Theresa Forrest (much loved by generations of younger children in her Grade 1 class), Miss Edith Kay, Miss Daisy Bodley, Miss Bert Thompson, Mr. William Wallace (vice principal), Miss Morgan, Miss Grimwood, Miss Doris Scott, and Mr. George Sievers. Front row, left to right: Mrs. Cassie Roberts, Miss Dorothy Black, Miss Christine Goodman, and Miss Rose Mould. Margaret Gooding was absent.
Photograph of the Royal Oak Garage taken from a distance. Advertisements for "SHELL GASOLINE" are visible. The Royal Oak Garage was located at 3439 Kingsway (later renumbered 5103 Kingsway).
Photograph of the Royal Oak Garage taken from a distance. Advertisements for "SHELL GASOLINE" are visible. The Royal Oak Garage was located at 3439 Kingsway (later renumbered 5103 Kingsway).
Photograph of Kingsway looking east at Boundary Road. A sign on the right reads, "Burnaby / Vehicles must slow down at all schools and intersections marked thus: X." A sign on a building at the left reads, "Arctic Ice Cream." Central Park is on the right.
Photograph of Kingsway looking east at Boundary Road. A sign on the right reads, "Burnaby / Vehicles must slow down at all schools and intersections marked thus: X." A sign on a building at the left reads, "Arctic Ice Cream." Central Park is on the right.
Photograph of Kingsway looking east at Boundary Road. A sign on the right reads, "Burnaby / Vehicles must slow down at all schools and intersections marked thus: X." A sign on a building at the left reads, "Arctic Ice Cream." Central Park is on the right.
Photograph of Kingsway looking east at Boundary Road. A sign on the right reads, "Burnaby / Vehicles must slow down at all schools and intersections marked thus: X." A sign on a building at the left reads, "Arctic Ice Cream." Central Park is on the right.
Photograph of the water tank and pump house at Central Park. A sign on the pump house reads, "Corporation of Burnaby / Water Works Department." A sign on the water tank reads, "This tank is painted with Wales Doves Bitumastic Solution / High Class Anti-Corrosive / Sales agents R. Thompson and Co. …
Photograph of the water tank and pump house at Central Park. A sign on the pump house reads, "Corporation of Burnaby / Water Works Department." A sign on the water tank reads, "This tank is painted with Wales Doves Bitumastic Solution / High Class Anti-Corrosive / Sales agents R. Thompson and Co. / Tel. Sey. 5343, 847 Beatty St. / Ralph Smith Mgr." In the background, the Central Park Theatre is visible.
Photograph of the Central Park entrance arch with the "Central Park" electric sign. An Interurban tram can be seen on the right. This photograph used to be hung at the Central Park branch of the Burnaby Public Library.
Photograph of the Central Park entrance arch with the "Central Park" electric sign. An Interurban tram can be seen on the right. This photograph used to be hung at the Central Park branch of the Burnaby Public Library.
Photograph of the exterior of an Elgin Avenue farmhouse and surrounding property. The farmhouse is at the left side of the photograph, and a chicken barn is at the right side. This may be 6389 Elgin Avenue.
Photograph of the exterior of an Elgin Avenue farmhouse and surrounding property. The farmhouse is at the left side of the photograph, and a chicken barn is at the right side. This may be 6389 Elgin Avenue.
Photograph of the exterior of the Chamberlain family chicken coop. The coop was originally a house. A man and three cows are seen outside it. This may be 6389 Elgin Avenue.
Photograph of the exterior of the Chamberlain family chicken coop. The coop was originally a house. A man and three cows are seen outside it. This may be 6389 Elgin Avenue.
Photograph of stores on Jubilee Avenue looking north from Imperial Street (later the location of Bonsor Park, 6550 Bonsor Avenue). Signs visible read; "Jubilee Drug Store," "Drugs," "Jubilee [Mercantile?] Co. / Groceries," "Nabob Tea," and "[Carvers or Corvers]." An accompanying description in the…
Photograph of stores on Jubilee Avenue looking north from Imperial Street (later the location of Bonsor Park, 6550 Bonsor Avenue). Signs visible read; "Jubilee Drug Store," "Drugs," "Jubilee [Mercantile?] Co. / Groceries," "Nabob Tea," and "[Carvers or Corvers]." An accompanying description in the accession file states that a man named Pat Flannagan ran the grocery.
Photograph of G.R. Heyworth standing outside Jubilee Drug Store, Jubilee Avenue and Imperial Street (later the location of Bonsor Park, 6550 Bonsor Avenue). Signs read, "Jubilee Drug [Store] / G.R. [Heyworth]" and "Ask for Keystone Brand School Supplies." Magazines and school supplies are display…
Photograph of G.R. Heyworth standing outside Jubilee Drug Store, Jubilee Avenue and Imperial Street (later the location of Bonsor Park, 6550 Bonsor Avenue). Signs read, "Jubilee Drug [Store] / G.R. [Heyworth]" and "Ask for Keystone Brand School Supplies." Magazines and school supplies are displayed in the window. Note the dirt road.
Photograph of the Farrington brothers' chicken ranch near Central Park at 3907 Chesham Avenue (later renumbered 5384 Chesham Avenue). Brothers Thomas Farrington and Richard Farrington founded Wheat Sheaf Poultry Ranch in 1919. The laying house is at the left, and the family home is at the right.
Photograph of the Farrington brothers' chicken ranch near Central Park at 3907 Chesham Avenue (later renumbered 5384 Chesham Avenue). Brothers Thomas Farrington and Richard Farrington founded Wheat Sheaf Poultry Ranch in 1919. The laying house is at the left, and the family home is at the right.
Photograph of Farrington brothers' chicken laying house. Brothers Thomas Farrington and Richard Farrington founded Wheat Sheaf Poultry Ranch in 1919. It was located at 3907 Chesham Avenue (later renumbered 5384 Chesham Avenue).
Photograph of Farrington brothers' chicken laying house. Brothers Thomas Farrington and Richard Farrington founded Wheat Sheaf Poultry Ranch in 1919. It was located at 3907 Chesham Avenue (later renumbered 5384 Chesham Avenue).
Photograph of, left to right, Florence Bookey McMahon, her sister, Molly Owen, and her daughter, Lillian McMahon. Their pet goat, Beauty, is standing next to them, with her front legs on a log. The property was later numbered 6558 Waltham Avenue.
Photograph of, left to right, Florence Bookey McMahon, her sister, Molly Owen, and her daughter, Lillian McMahon. Their pet goat, Beauty, is standing next to them, with her front legs on a log. The property was later numbered 6558 Waltham Avenue.
Photograph of Canada geese and goslings at the Fernhurst Game Farm. Fernhurst was operated by Charles R. Gillmore who later introduced Canada geese into New Zealand. This later became the site of Maywood Elementary School at 4567 Imperial Street.
Photograph of Canada geese and goslings at the Fernhurst Game Farm. Fernhurst was operated by Charles R. Gillmore who later introduced Canada geese into New Zealand. This later became the site of Maywood Elementary School at 4567 Imperial Street.
Photograph of Charles R. Gillmore, operator of Fernhurst Game Farm near Imperial Street and Dow Avenue. This later became the site of Maywood Elementary School at 4567 Imperial Street.
Photograph of Charles R. Gillmore, operator of Fernhurst Game Farm near Imperial Street and Dow Avenue. This later became the site of Maywood Elementary School at 4567 Imperial Street.