Fonds consists of correspondence and literature pertaining to Alfred Bingham as well as an oral history tape provided by Alfred and his wife, M.J. "Ada" Bingham.
Fonds consists of correspondence and literature pertaining to Alfred Bingham as well as an oral history tape provided by Alfred and his wife, M.J. "Ada" Bingham.
History
Alfred "Alf" Bingham was born in England in 1892 and moved to Canada in 1912. His first job in Canada was laying track for the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway (GTPR) from Edmonton to McBride in 1912. His second was in Vancouver at the Rat Portage Mill on False Creek, working on the Resaw machine. He quit after one week due to poor working conditions.
After taking part in the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike as a delegate of the Retail and Mailorder Union (A.F.L.) on the Winnipeg Trades and Labour Council, Alfred moved to Burnaby where he and fellow Burnaby residents Angus McLean and Percy Little worked ten-hour days to build a shingle mill on the edge of Burnaby Lake for Simpson & Giberson. George Green, a carpenter and millwright (and author of “The History of Burnaby”), also helped in the construction of the mill. Alfred built his own home from lumber cut from the mill in the Lockdale area on Sherlock Street between Curtis Street and Kitchener Street.
On April 10, 1920, Alfred married Mary Jane "Ada" Reynolds. Alfred and Mary Jane often took in foster children during their marriage. Due to her nursing experience, Ada was often called upon to deliver babies in the Burnaby area. The couple also had a dog named Bess.
The Binghams were instrumental members of the Army of the Common Good, collecting vegetables and grains from growers in the area and even producing over 125 tons of vegetables from its own gardens to feed children and youth who were suffering from the lack of resources during the Depression. The Army was in operation for ten years and during that time, the members organised the credit union movement of British Columbia and drew up the Credit Union Act through the Vancouver Co-operative Council. They also started co-op stores and the Co-Op Wholesale Society.
Alfred was also the Secretary of the Burnaby Housing Committee. In 1946, he became the Secretary of the North Burnaby Labour Progressive Party (LPP).
Mary Jane died on August 9, 1969. Alfred died on April 29, 1979.
This portion of the recording includes Alfred Bingham's continuation of reading his series of short stories. He reads; "THE RUM RUNNERS AND BOOTLEG WHISKY IN BURNABY" and "BURNABY. NORTH. SOUTH. EAST? AND WEST 1892---1943" both written in 1963.
This portion of the recording includes Alfred Bingham's continuation of reading his series of short stories. He reads; "THE RUM RUNNERS AND BOOTLEG WHISKY IN BURNABY" and "BURNABY. NORTH. SOUTH. EAST? AND WEST 1892---1943" both written in 1963.
Recording is of Alfred Bingham's writings, as read by Alfred Bingham. Major themes discussed are: Pioneers, early days in Burnaby and the Co-op Movement. To view "Narrow By" terms for each track expand this description and see "Notes".
Biographical Notes
Alfred "Alf" Bingham was born in England in 1892 and moved to Canada in 1912. His first job in Canada was laying track for the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway (GTPR) from Edmonton to McBride in 1912. His second was in Vancouver at the Rat Portage Mill on False Creek, working on the Resaw machine. He quit after one week due to poor working conditions.
After taking part in the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike as a delegate of the Retail and Mailorder Union (A.F.L.) on the Winnipeg Trades and Labour Council, Alfred moved to Burnaby where he and fellow Burnaby residents Aungus McLean and Percy Little worked ten hour days to build a Shingle Mill on the edge of Burnaby Lake for Simpson & Giberson. George Green, carpenter and millwright (author of “The History of Burnaby”) also helped in the construction of the mill. Alfred built his own home from lumber cut from the mill in the Lochdale area on Sherlock Street between Curtis Street and Kitchener Street.
On April 10, 1920 Alfred married Mary Jane “Ada” Reynolds. Alfred and Ada often took in foster children during their marriage. Due to her nursing experience, Ada was often called upon to deliver babies in the Burnaby area.
Alfred and Ada Bingham were instrumental members of the Army of the Common Good, collecting vegetables and grains from growers in the area and even producing over 125 tons of vegetables from its own gardens to feed children and youth suffering from the lack of resources during the Depression years. The army was in operation for ten years and during that time the members organised the Credit Union movement of British Columbia and drew up the Credit Union act thorough the Vancouver Co-operative Council. They also started Co-Op stores and the Co-Op Wholesale Society.
Alfred was also Secretary of the Burnaby Housing committee and in 1946 he became the Secretary of the North Burnaby Labour Progressive Party (LPP).
Mary Jane “Ada” (Reynolds) Bingham died on August 9, 1969. Her husband Alfred died on April 29, 1979.
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.
Images
Audio Tracks
Track eight of recording of Alfred Bingham's writings
Track eight of recording of Alfred Bingham's writings
The Ardingley-Sprott Neighbourhood is primarily non-residential and developed in the 1970s west of the Burnaby Lake park area. It grew to include a large recreational component in the form of the Burnaby Lake Sports Complex and playing fields.
The Arrow Neon Sign was built in 1961 by the Neonette Sign Company of New Westminster when this property was opened as the Tomahawk Drive-in Restaurant. The restaurant was later known as Lindy's Burger and in 1990, the business was renamed Lost in the 50's Drive-in. It stands 20-foot tall and is composed of a large double-sided hollow steel panel serpentine arrow mounted on a pole supporting a lexan sign panel measuring approximately 8 feet wide by 4 feet tall. The sign was designed with three illuminated features: a round lamp at the top of the pole, a double-sided rectangular fluorescent sign panel box, and two double-sided rows of orange neon arrows that follow the large serpentine arrow.
The Arrow Neon Sign remains as a rare surviving example of neon sign art in the city and is the only historic neon sign in South Burnaby. The sign has gained prominence over the years as it has been associated with this small iconic drive-in which has also been utilized as a set for film production. Additionally, the drive-in has played a prominent role in the Edmonds community as a popular setting for recent "Show and Shine" participants to park their classic cars.
The Big Bend Neighbourhood in Burnaby maintained its status as an important agricultural area in the City in the years following 1955 and it also solidified its role as a prime industrial and commercial district. In 1972, the Big Bend Development Plan was adopted by Council and soon thereafter, approximately 620 acres of land were incorporated into the Agricultural Land Reserve. These lands have been set aside for agricultural and limited recreation purposes. By the 2000s, 160 acres of land were considered highly productive agricultural areas, and over 400 acres of land had been secured as parkland, including the Fraser Foreshore Park. The area also developed large commercial and industrial districts including those at Marine Way/Boundary, the Glenlyon Estates, Riverfront Business Park, Burnaby Business Park, and Glenwood Industrial Estates.
In February 1965, the Planning Department presented to Burnaby Council a preliminary Development Plan entitled "Pacific Sports Centre," for the area immediately west of Burnaby Lake. This report proposed a conceptual plan for a comprehensive range of indoor and outdoor sporting facilities adjacent to Burnaby Lake. The idea was accepted by Council and led to the construction of the Burnaby Lake Rink beside the C.G. Brown Pool. In 1973, Burnaby and New Westminster jointly hosted the Canada Summer Games for which a rowing course and pavilion were built at Burnaby Lake and the success of the games and the sports facilities added within Burnaby Lake Park provided further stimulus for the creation of the sports and recreation facilities at this site.
As housing developments extended north from Kingsway, pupil enrolments grew at Windsor and at Morley Schools so Brantford was built equidistant from the two to help ease enrolment problems. Brantford Elementary school opened in 1965 and was similar in structure to other schools built in Burnaby during this period - no basements, no second stories and no high stairways. Classrooms were built in a line and could easily be added to as enrolments increased. Brantford had room additions in 1969.
Between 1955 and 2001, the Brentwood Neighbourhood developed into one of Burnaby's four official Town Centres. The Brentwood Town Centre serves the north-west sector of the Municipality, providing facilities such as commercial developments - of which the Brentwood Mall is the most significant. Under Burnaby's Residential Development Framework adopted by Council in 1981, the Town Centre also incorporated a full range of multi-housing types and forms in close relationship with their commercial facilities. In 1996, the City adopted the Brentwood Town Centre Development Plant to solidify the area as a focus of higher-density and higher-intensity residential and commercial opportunities, public transit and supporting leisure facilities.
The BC Vocational School was established in 1960 at Willingdon and Canada Way. By 1964, the British Columbia Insitute of Technology had opened and had 498 students enrolled. In the 1970s, the BC Vocational School had been renamed the Pacific Vocational Institute and in 1986 the two institutions merged. The school is a public post-secondary institution that is governed by a Board of Governors, under the authority of the Ministry of Advanced Education, Training and Technology. By 2004, the annual enrolment of part-time and full-time students reached 48,000.
Buckingham Elementary School opened in 1962 with 86 pupils. The school was intended to take some of the pressure off of both Lakeview and Morley Elementary Schools which saw large volumes of enrolments throughout the 1950s. In 1964, two additional rooms were built onto the school and in 1969 a library, staffroom and medical room were added.
Up until the 1970s, this neighbourhood was known as Vancouver Heights. When a new park was created during that decade and named "Burnaby Heights Park," the name was gradually adopted by newcomers to the area. Today, you will hear residents refer to their neighbourhood as Burnaby Heights, Vancouver Heights, or just "The Heights." Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the commercial district in this neighbourhood continued to grow and a Retail Merchants Association was formed which later became known as the Heights Merchants Association. The neighbourhood still retains a residential neighbourhood characteristic with an increasing number of apartment buildings and multi-family units being built over the past 20 years.
ca. 130 linear feet of textual records
30 linear feet of graphic and other material
Description Level
Fonds
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of the Burnaby Historical Society's administrative records and community archives collection.
History
The Burnaby Historical Society was founded in 1957. The Historical Society developed a community archives by collecting, compiling and preserving various materials with historical value to the City of Burnaby. It gathered miscellaneous documents, photographs and other items while also soliciting and acquiring entire collections or groups of archival records.
In 1991, the Historical Society was provided a permanent space to house their growing collection at the Burnaby Village Museum and they continued to collect and expand their holdings.
After the creation of the City of Burnaby Archives in 2001, the Burnaby Historical Society and the City of Burnaby began discussing the possibility of uniting the two collections. In February 2007, an agreement was signed between the two institutions which resulted in the merger of the Society's Community Archives with the City Archives. All records and photographs that had been collected by the Historical Society were transferred into the custody of the City and were moved from the Burnaby Village Museum to the City Archives in the McGill Branch of the Burnaby Public Library.
The Burnaby Historical Society disbanded in 2018.
In 1966 Burnaby Lake was identified as a key potential regional park in the GVRD ’s Regional Park Plan for the Lower Mainland. The lake was to be developed for nature study, strolling, trail riding, canoeing, sightseeing and picnicking. It was formally recognized as a regional nature park in 1979, at which time the GVRD assumed management of the park through a lease agreement with the City of Burnaby. In 1993 Burnaby Lake was selected by the City of Burnaby to be included in Greater Vancouver ’s Green Zone, and was identified as a key component of the GVRD ’s Park and Outdoor Recreation System (PORS) for the Burrard/Peninsula/Richmond sector, which includes Burnaby, Vancouver, New Westminster, and Richmond.
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.
Burnaby North and Burnaby South were the first high schools built in the City. Before the high school opened, Burnaby students had to travel to Vancouver if they wished to pursue education beyond an elementary level. In 1921, arrangements were made to use the basement of the Presbyterian Church for instruction of local students. By 1922 the Burnaby North High School opened at its first permanent location (4375 Pandora Street - which is now Rosser Elementary). In 1945, the Willingdon Avenue site was built and was used until a new building was constructed in 1961 on Hammarskjold Drive. From 1962, the school was used as Burnaby Heights Junior High school, but it closed in 1982 and the junior high students went to the new Burnaby North on Hammarskjold.
In 1961, Burnaby North High School moved from Willingdon Avenue to its new site on Hammarskjold Drive. The old school remained in use as a junior high school until 1982 at which point the junior high students also moved to the new Burnaby North High School.
Subseries consists of records created by the Burnaby Retired Teachers group in relation to their work in various Burnaby schools. Records include information booklets, photographs, statistics, and other research materials collected by the Burnaby Retired Teachers' Association.
Subseries consists of records created by the Burnaby Retired Teachers group in relation to their work in various Burnaby schools. Records include information booklets, photographs, statistics, and other research materials collected by the Burnaby Retired Teachers' Association.
History
Concerned that Burnaby might be losing its educational history, the Retired Teachers’ Association of Burnaby formed the History of Education Committee. The Committee made efforts to assemble types of information that could help in the preparation of school histories, and once this information was assembled, they wrote the “Introductory Resource Materials on Burnaby Schools / 1894-1991” report which gives a one page "introduction" to each school in the Burnaby district, past and present.
Burnaby South and Burnaby North were Burnaby's first high schools. The first rooms of the school were built in 1922 on the same grounds as the Kingsway East Elementary School. In 1940, a two-storey building was erected and additions were made in 1963, 1967 and 1972. Kingsway East closed in 1925 and its buildings were used by the high school for Industrial Arts and Home Economics. In the early 1990s, a new "urban education centre" (Burnaby South/B.C. School for the Deaf) was opened, replacing the old Burnaby South High School.
The increasing density of housing around the Lougheed Shopping Centre area resulted in a spike in enrolment at Lyndhurst Elementary School. As a result, in 1965, Cameron Road Elementary was built to alleviate overcrowding issues. The school opened with 151 pupils. The school was expanded in 1969 when three classrooms were added and again in 1971 when eights more rooms and a library were built.
The Cameron Neighbourhood falls within the Lougheed Town Centre area - one of four Town Centres in Burnaby. The Cameron Neighbourhood - while containing significant high-density residential components - is also home to the Town Centre's office and commercial core. The Lougheed Mall is situated in this neighbourhood, which is served by the Millennium Line SkyTrain.