SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Reminiscences RECORDED: West Vancouver (B.C.), 1976-04-22 SUMMARY: Born in England; came to Vancouver in 1920; early work; logging camps; on the prairies; joined R. Darlington Co. as a labourer; became tile setter in 1925; in 1926 was secretary of the union, and in 1931, bought into the company; by 1943 he had been able to take over the company; description of how he developed the business; instituted a medical care plan among his employees; first under Blue Cross, the MSA; plan covered doctors and hospital care; by 1944-45 the company was paying the whole premium 4 or 5 dollars a month for a family. Had a unique relationship with his employees, they were good and loyal, and if they got a pay increase, they would try to increase production so the cost to the consumer wasn't increased. Two of them worked for him from 1926 to 1963-64. There were never any major injuries among employees, despite hazardous work of tile laying; done on scaffolding much of the time; company did tile work on many large buildings; inside and outside of the post office, Fairmont Building; BC Hydro building; reasons for success; they complied with WCB regulations; men themselves were careful; regulations were communicated to each employee; two men worked together on the scaffolding and checked each other; he had been 20 and 50 men working for him; depending on the job; his own medical history; operation on his hand; plastic surgery; early days; British army in Afghanistan; having khud races up and down the foothills of the Himalayas; feelings about retirement lodges; his own travels.

SUMMARY: "Best of Emerson" is a twice-a-week series (Monday and Friday) that ran from July 2 to September 28, 1962. In this series Vancouver's provocative conversationalist, John Emerson, discusses unusual asp;ects of Vancouver history and gives his recollections and impressions of well-known people. This episode, fourth in the series, marks the fifth anniversary of the Second Narrows bridge disaster.;

News item. Building Trades Association spokesman says the various unions must consolidate their grievances and come to some sort of agreement before any attempt can be made by the association to reach a province-wide decision. He says two-year contracts lead to nothing but more strikes and harassment.

News item. NDP MLA Charles Barber is asked by reporters how much support he thinks he can get from both labour and management in the role of negotiator. He says: "Strikes and lockouts are products of the 19th century . . . and the line of thinking about them now won't serve any purpose in the 21st century." He has proposed to the Labour Council and the Chamber of Commerce that both sides get together and use some "original thinking."

Stock shots. 1. 20th Anniversary of BC Ferries. 2. Liquor Store temporarily closed. 3. Ferries. 4. Speech - remember the pension rule. ( Indoors.) 5. Outside the Legislature. Big crowd. 6. Pickets in front of the Empress re: BC Tel dispute. 7. Bank of BC protesters (BC Tel pickets). 8. BC Tel pickets at ferry terminal. 9. Picket parade in parliamentary precinct. 10. CUPW pickets - Legislature lawn. 11. Postal pickets at processing plant. Posties with signs. 12. Picket in front of Labatt's - brewery workers. 13. Street full of protesters. 14. Teamsters on strike - Local 213 at Air West. 15. United Fisherman & Allied Workers Union strikers. 16. Labour rally - inside auditorium. 17. Demonstrators in front of Legislature. Premier Bill Bennett on steps. 18. Public Service Alliance - pickets. 19. 2-4-D protest. 20. BCGEU pickets. 21. Retail clerks on strike against Woodward's. 22. BCTV strikers (NABET). 23. Construction workers protesting. 24. Large parade of protesters - Inner Harbour. 25. Yarrows Ltd. - flying pickets re: BC Tel hot equipment. 26. Pickets in front of the Empress.

News item. Construction workers have left their job sites and joined the picket lines. Placard reads: "Don't undersell your skills -- join us in the building trades." The council for building trades will supply workers for school and hospital construction, while the construction company owners will try to have the lockout lifted.

Promotional film. Press conference featuring the topping-off of an office building and the issuing of three day Expo passes to construction workers. Brief speeches by Grosvenor president Nick Blum and Expo president Michael Bartlett.

SUMMARY: "Heritage Theatre" was a series of short historical plays set in the Vancouver environs. These vignettes illustrate some of the significant events and interesting episodes from Vancouver's earliest ti;mes. First broadcast in 1977, the plays were made in co-operation with the Social Planning Department of the City of Vancouver. This series was broadcast during the summer of 1981. This episode, "In M;emoriam" by Brenda White, concerns a disaster that occurred during the construction of the Second Narrows Bridge on June 17, 1958.;

Item consists of one panoramic photograph of the False Creek area of Vancouver. Visible industrial businesses include West Coast Shipbuilders, Hamilton Bridge Western Ltd., Columbia Machine Works, and Dominion Construction Co. Ltd. A variety of automobiles, railroad tracks, industrial materials and machinery, and people are visible. "#822-P. Aug. 20/43. W.J. Moore" has been captioned at the bottom right corner.

Footage. Shows various supply and construction activities associated with the project of tunneling under Seymour Narrows and placing dynamite under Ripple Rock. Includes shots of coastal features near the site, a freighter in Seymour Narrows, Painter's Lodge (Campbell River), construction of wooden frame buildings, and a sequence showing a turkey dinner being served to a work crew. No shots of the actual explosion are included. One sequence shows the freightboat "Cloverleaf IV" being loaded and en route (possibly to Ahousat, on the west coast of Vancouver Island). Unrelated material (in two segments) shows a De Havilland Comet Mk. 3 airliner with BOAC markings (registration G-ANLO) landing, taxiing, and disembarking passengers at Vancouver Airport.

Documentary. A tribute to the workers who built [?] the Skytrain system.

Documentary