PERIOD COVERED: ;1899;-;1901 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1969-06-26 SUMMARY: E.K. "Ned" DeBeck is introduced by the president of the B.C. Historical Association. Mr. DeBeck recalls his experiences at the Canadian Scottish Cannery at Steveston, and related events during the years 1899 to 1901.

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Charles Deagle RECORDED: Richmond (B.C.), 1976-03-07 SUMMARY: Charles Deagle discusses his father, Billy Deagle, who worked for B.C. Electric as a conductor for 39 years. His father would take trainloads of halibut out of the cold storage plant in Steveston and take them to Vancouver. Discusses how his father brought the first trainload of Japanese to Steveston during the fishing strike in which the militia were used. The Japanese were brought in to break the strike. There wasn't another strike until 1936. Stagecoaches used to run out of Steveston. Describes early Steveston and Richmond, noting buildings, locations, people, and businesses. Discusses the several fires in Steveston. He attended Lord Byng school. Everybody got along well in the town because they were all busy making a living. Lots of drinking and bootlegging in those days. Big train station in Steveston at one time with freight shed. Discusses Moffat & Martin which imported Model T Ford cars and Ford tractors by the trainload. Moffat was a smart operator and Martin was on the work end. One year Moffat sold so many cars that Henry Ford gave him an especially built car as a bonus. The Japanese are good neighbours and good people. When WWII broke out it was terrible for the Japanese people. He entrusted with many belongings including 4 new cars, to look after until the war ended. He kept all of these until the custodian made him give them up. Some people thought that the Japanese were a threat during the War but they did not really know them. He lived with them and did not see them as anything but good people. After the War the canneries helped get the Japanese back into the industry by providing boats and gear. He built boats for Nelson Brothers at an old American army base in Port Edward. Later he became a fish buyer, and discusses his success. Unions and co-ops. Discusses pollution in the Fraser River. The Gulf of Georgia is just a big septic tank. He was so competitive to the companies that the cannery manager wouldn't talk to him during the fish season.

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Charles Dumont RECORDED: Vancouver (B.C.), 1976-04-06 SUMMARY: Charles Dumont began fishing on Lesser Slave Lake in northern Alberta. Used small open boats and also ice fished. The nets were set, anchored on the bottom; they don't drift like in the ocean. Caught whitefish, pickerel, jack-fish, and suckers. Most of the fishermen were Metis Indian fishermen, and Whites. Low prices for fish. There were no canneries; they were all shipped fresh and frozen in refrigerated railway cars. Fishing not like in B.C.; you move to a deeper part of the lake as the weather gets warmer. They fished the lake out by using herring nets; of course they killed everything. The fish buyer became a millionaire, so he must have been getting something out of it. They brought in fish spawn from other lakes and hatched it in the hatchery and brought the fish back. He was in Vancouver during the Depression. There were squatters shacks in False Creek. When he came to Vancouver in 1940 he went to work for Evans and Coleman and there was a lot of work then. He fished dogfish during the War, and he fished soup-fish (?) in the Hecate Straits which Canadian Fish Co. bought and used the liver from. He stopped work in 1960 when his back gave way. He lived in Steveston behind the present (1976) hotel. Company houses were poor but inexpensive. The Japanese had been evacuated during the War and when they returned they received a rough reception in Steveston. Steveston history. Working in the net loft. Discusses the union. Discusses canneries in operation during the 1940s. He fished the Skeena and all the way up to Portland Canal. Fishing is hard work and you have to work hard to make the money. Nylon nets are better than linen ones. Used to be all dairy farming in Steveston; now it's all built up and all that farm is lost.

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Charlie Gillespie RECORDED: Richmond (B.C.), 1973-02-23 SUMMARY: Charlie Gillespie was born in 1916 in Vancouver. His dad started in a cannery in 1910, and worked his way up to manager. Lived on Sea Island his whole life. When three canneries joined together to make B.C. Packers in 1928, his father was made the manager of the Fraser River District. Remembers going to Star Cannery and looking out the window at the boats going out on a Sunday night. The boats had sails in those days, and they fished both night and day. More boats now (1976). Worked in the net loft one summer when he was young. Helped fill the net needles so the men could make the nets. Three years later in 1932, started work in the Great Northern Cannery in North Vancouver for 3 years. Worked in the boiler, and on the lines, then was night watchman for a while. All cannery machinery was owned by American Can Co., canneries only leased them. Discusses wages. When to the Skeena River for two years, and worked for Oceanic Cannery on Smith Island. Looked after the retort machine and the oil and gas shed. In 1937 came back down to Steveston to work in the Imperial Cannery, pipe fitting and working with the engineer, also did carpenter work. Worked in a reduction plant one winter doing odd jobs. Then went to warehouse for 2 or 3 years. No fork lifts in those days, salmon moved by hand. Bought a gillnetter, and went fishing with his dad one season. Didn't catch much fish that year, and only fished one season. After that he went to work in the stores department at Imperial. All canneries had their own stores where they sold all supplies to the fishermen. When the store closed in 1965 he moved to the stock room. Discusses the work of Chinese workers in canneries. Canning fish by hand. Describes canning. Discusses company houses. Japanese workers. Unions. Discusses employment by canneries, month to month, and season to season.

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Edna Tremeer RECORDED: Vancouver (B.C.), 1976-01-08 SUMMARY: Edna Tremeer worked on Quadra Island in 1932 and came to Steveston in 1948. In 1932, every job was done by hand except can cutting. Kids were tied to their mother's backs. Worked from 7 am to 12 am at night, no overtime. Better quality of fish then. No day-care. Describes "steam-box" a vacuum packer. Describes the steps in processing the fish from tallyman to packing, took about 4 hours to complete and cans had to be lacquered. Women paid less than men. Non-Indians get a guaranteed income. Whites and non-whites kept separate. Piecework was more profitable, no quota set. Had dances in the net loft. The internment of Japanese during WWII allowed the native people to make more money.

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Edwin DeBeck Interview RECORDED: Victoria (B.C.), 1974 SUMMARY: T0271:0001-0003 comprise a three-part interview about DeBeck's life, conducted by Inez O'Reilly. Topics include his early years in New Westminster and Vancouver; his work at the Canadian Scottish Cann;ery in Steveston; his later life at and around Alert Bay, where his father was Indian Agent (1903-1906); his experiences as a defense lawyer during the Potlatch trials in the 1920s; experiences as Sup;erintendent of Brokers and Inspector of Credit Unions (1937-1940); and Clerk of Legislative Assembly (1940 -).;

CALL NUMBER: T0445:0001 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1964 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Iverson recalls his work on the Sumas Lake dredging project and the King Edward Dredge. He talks about his family; his Norwegian father; his early life; his father's work as a fisherman; arriving at Sunbury in 1901; riverboats; living in scow houses; Collingwood; Tronjeim (Little Norway); Norwegian fishermen. TRACK 2: Mr. Iverson continues discussing the community of Norwegian fishermen; Mr. George Mackie; other ethnic groups in the area; Chinese workers in the canneries; canneries along the lower Fraser River; methods of fishing; Easthope brothers engines; setting nets.

CALL NUMBER: T0445:0002 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1964 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Iverson discusses gillnetting and seining methods; Steveston; canneries; Annieville; selling fish; contracts with canneries; fish runs of 1913; salmon prices; nets. [TRACK 2: blank.]

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Eva Vaselenek RECORDED: Surrey (B.C.), 1976-01-13 SUMMARY: Eva Vaselenek began work in 1943 at the Phoenix Cannery because her little girl was sick; washed and then inspected fish as they went into the cans, got paid thirty-five cents an hour. There was no union at the time. Next season she went to the Gulf of Georgia plant to work on herring. Then later to Imperial Cannery. Couldn't count on hours, depended upon whether the fish were in or not. You could sit around all day and not get paid. That changed with the union. Worked at Imperial Cannery filleting for one year. Next year became a supervisor. Describes the first organization of the union at the Imperial Cannery. Began holding meetings with management. Cannery workers became part of the U.F.A.W.U. but negotiations remained separate. Advantages of union. The return of Japanese fishermen after the War. Discusses Indian women who chose to remain outside the union, they joined the Native Brotherhood. Finally she did sign the Indian women to the union. She describes the company's reaction to her organizing attempts, and confrontation. She had to fight for every wage increase. Safety features slowly improved. Remained at the Imperial plant until 1968. Different species of fish described. She describes the changes in mechanization in the plant and dangers in the fresh fish part and the fish and chip line. Used to be a big difference in men's and women's wages, but that has changed. Describes early incident of discrimination against women. Describes the living conditions of cannery workers. Houses were rented to the workers, social conditions, dances, Christmas party, children's conditions -- no day care. Steveston is described as a "real bad place". Her children came to the cannery so she could keep an eye on them. Was laid off at 65. Her five children are all well educated now (1976). Story of being threatened by a hammer-wielding captain. Describes hectic union meetings and her ability to control them. Comments on drinking problems and liquor licenses during prohibition.

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Helen Zesko RECORDED: Richmond (B.C.), 1976-01-09 SUMMARY: Helen Zesko started working for B.C. Packers in 1940 at age 16, washing fish, filleting fish and running machines. New filling machines installed in 1942. Work conditions tough in 1948 (cold, etc.) Canning done by hand (salmon and herring). Many women employed then but less women now (1976) due to machinery. Describes "hand filling". Started work at $0.20 /hour in 1940. No compensation in 1940. Used to be more men than women due to heavy work. Work has improved in canneries -- safety regulations, heating. There were bunkhouses in 1940. Camps were made of regular houses. No children under age 16 working for B.C. Packers in 1940. All people (Japanese, whites, Indians) paid same rate except pieceworkers who made more. Women made 20 cents and hour while men made 30 cents. Describes a machine called the "gang knives" used for the 1/4 lb. cans. Oysters and clams began to be processed in 1950 and ended in 1960. Cannery work went on normally but busily during the War. Cannot remember any unusual or interesting events in cannery history since 1940. Some of the work in the cannery is demanding depending on what you are doing. Work in the canneries has improved 100%. Has enjoyed working in the cannery.

RECORDED: [location unknown], 1976-02-05 SUMMARY: Hugh Montgomery was born in Ireland and came to Steveston in June 1913, the year of the good salmon run in the Fraser River. He started work in the cannery at age 7. The fish were so plentiful and the canneries were so short of help that they hired at any age. Put empty cans on trays and ten took them to the women so they could can the salmon. That paid two and a half cents an hour. Became a journeyman, worked up along the coast. Namu was one of the major plants of the coast where he became chief machinist and can maker for nine seasons. Got married and went to the Queen Charlottes as foreman of the plant. Went to Canadian Fish Cannery at Skeena River as assistant-foreman for five years. The accommodations were rough: just wooden shacks, but the cookhouse always had lots to eat, and good food. Worked long hours 6 am - 12 am because there was no refrigeration at cannery or on boats so fish had to be processed right away. Straight labour was paid by the hour but filling cans was paid by piecework. The key men in the plant such as mechanics, tallyman, and net supervisors were paid monthly. There was no overtime but if it was a good season sometimes received a bonus around $100.00. In those days the average wage of the key men was around $150-200 a month, and that included board and your fare up and down the coast. During the War worked from 6 am to 12 midnight with two half-hour breaks 6 days a week until the union came in. Believes the union was badly needed. Japanese evacuation during the War, and their poor treatment. Talks about changes in the cannery brought on by the health department, which he says was a lot tougher than the unions. Struggle to get union started. In Steveston before the big fire there were 23 canneries. Recalls the big fire in Steveston, 1928. Believes machinery put a lot of canneries out of business. Strike in Rivers Inlet in 1930. Remarks on fishing department. Processed herring during the War. Superintendent at Gulf of Georgia plant.

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Isamu Matsuzaki RECORDED: Richmond (B.C.), 1976-03-18 SUMMARY: Isamu Matsuzaki was born in 1902 in Courtenay, Vancouver Island. His father was a coal miner in the Cumberland Mine. He has no recollection of Cumberland. His father fished until 1927. They lived at Steveston where the B.C. Packers, Imperial Plant is now (1976). They had a big company house with some single fishermen boarders. His mother died when he was 14, he had 2 sisters and a brother. His father returned to Japan in 1927. His brother went to UBC and then returned to Japan to work. Lists canneries and describes Japanese community in Steveston as 2,000 people strong. Only fished one year when he was 17, then became a skipper in a packer boat. At age 19 he built his own packer and was skipper on it. Was a cash buyer for 2 seasons, working mostly for B.C. Packers. When the War came the government took his boat and sent it to the east coast. He also lost his house and property. He was sent to Castlegar near Nelson and worked in a mine there for 10 years. Returned to the coast in 1952 and went back to running a packer. He did not get adequate compensation for the loss of his house and property. Worked for B.C. Packers and then ran his brother-in-law's packer. Discusses improvements in equipment and packers, as well as current (1976) fishing industry. Japanese women worked filling cans by hand, and Chinese men lived in a big bunkhouse. Indians, Japanese and Whites got along fairly well, but lived in segregated houses. Discusses old community events in Steveston. One hour to Steveston from Vancouver by tram. He went to a Methodist Church as a child. Most of the Japanese remained Buddhist. Japanese Hospital was operated by the Japanese Fishermen's Association. Conflict between Japanese and White unions. Lots of farming by the Japanese as well. Recalls the Steveston opera house and hotels. The decline of farming in Steveston. The state and future of the fishing industry, and the impact of pollution in the Fraser River.

CALL NUMBER: T2063:0001 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): James Point RECORDED: [location unknown], 1976-01-29 SUMMARY: James Point went to an Indian Industrial School on Kuper Island to learn a trade, but he didn't speak English, only his Indian language. Began to learn English from his sisters and was given examinations by inspectors who came. When asked he said he would like to become a shoemaker, so he learned the trade but could not find work in Vancouver, and decided that he didn't really like it so he went fishing with his father. Father used a skiff and then a round-bottomed Columbia River sailboat. Fished for 10 years with his father. Only one cannery in Steveston at the time. Then they started building canneries all over. Remembers J.H. Todd & Sons. His boat went down in the Gulf in a storm and he lost half a boat load of sockeye. Fishing with sailboat was hard work. At Rivers Inlet they didn't let gas boats at first because the noise scared the fish. Everybody fished from the village. Nets were made by hand. Before nets, Indians used to use poles. Description of how pole fishing worked. No one was allowed to touch or jump over the poles as it brought bad luck. CALL NUMBER: T2063:0002 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): James Point RECORDED: [location unknown], 1976-01-29 SUMMARY: James Point feels he should be paid informant's fee. His stories have been collected before and he was paid. He talks of memorial posts for graves that showed the kind of person you were, most of them are now in New York or elsewhere. The river was called "Stautlo" which means river. He gives the Indian names of fishing camps and various parts of the river. He tells stories of Musqueam history. Eulachon fishery. Vancouver cannery was one of the first, so was Terra Nova, built same time as English's as well as Ewen's at Ewens Slough. Also one up at Port Mann: tells murder stories about Port Mann Cannery. Indians gillnetted before whites, acted as pioneers in this fishing industry. Fish were sun dried high up on a pole. They all had their own poles. Sun dried made a different taste than smoked. People further up the Fraser still (1976) sun-dry their salmon. Vancovuer cannery used to smoke fish. Delbert's grandfather, Mr. Guerin, was head smoker, used hardwood sawdust. Mr. Point started gillnetting in the early 1900's. Left school in 1890. Has had 3 brothers: Abraham, Dominic and Alec. 2 sisters: Cecilia and Lizzy. His mother had sisters who lived in Graham Island in the states whom he never met. Big reserve in a place called "Serita" further out towards ocean, "Uchuluk people".

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): John Kacer RECORDED: [location unknown], 1976-02-14 SUMMARY: John Kacer living on Dinsmore Island in 1919. The Dinsmore Cannery was closed at this time because of the trend to automation and also because if you have to go up coast to a cannery you have to haul coal, fuel and cans up there. Steveston better located. Dinsmore had no electricity and no water on Island, had a telephone and kerosene lamps. The cannery was run by steam power: "Steam engines very popular in them days". The early fishermen had flat-bottomed skiffs, many of them had a mast. There was one man per boat although some had a boat puller to do the rowing for them. The nets were pulled by hand over stern. They didn't bring in too many fish in those days, maybe 150-200. Nets were of Irish linen at that time, got four to five years out of a net. Japanese nets lasted a year, "they were not as good material as Irish linen nets". Mentions different engines, the Yale, which was built in New Westminster which Dave Scott designed. The Easthope, Palmer, Union, Regal, and Ferrow. Talks on the "workings" of the engines. There was an English engine called the "Lockwood Ash:, it was a single cylinder. Another engine built in Steveston called the "Ben Sid" (?). The most popular engines. In the early 1930s got around 50 cents a salmon. Most of the fishermen in those days lived on the river in one or two room shacks with wood-burning stoves and kerosene lamps. The fishermen made just an existence. There was a shrimp cannery in Bridgeport that only operated a short time, "in the hungry 1930s". They brought shrimps in from the Queen Charlotte Islands, only a small place and you got paid $1.10 a day. "I remember it being in operation only one season". Recalls stories of the funny things fishermen did. Recalls the trouble fishermen had when gas first came. The Fairbanks Morris was a very noisy engine; the North Arm fishermen didn't want those engines on the river. Mentions many of the old fishermen.

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): John Turner : tallyman and boat rigger RECORDED: Vancouver (B.C.), 1976-03-22 SUMMARY: John Turner came to B.C. from Scotland in 1920. Worked at Fraser Saw Mill, then got a job with the Union Steamship Co. on the "Camosun" in 1922. Went to work at Wadhams Cannery as a fireman for the first year. Then he went to Imperial Cannery to help with the fall fishing. He packed fish from Kitsilano to the Gulf of Georgia Plant. There was a big Indian population which lived in the shacks on the dyke close to the cannery. During the season, White people lived in better and more permanent houses away from the water. The Japanese also lived on the water in company houses. Bunk houses for the Chinese men who were fed only two meals a day. They got mostly rice and dried fish and they were "tickled to death" to be working in these conditions. They worked for the C.P.R. in the winter. The Indians were only there for the summer season. The Japanese were permanent residents. Discrepancy of wages according to race. Retired at age 75 the head rigger at Canadian Fish Co. Describes the machine that cuts the heads off of salmon. During the Depression one year he got only 6 weeks of work. Discusses pulp mill at Swanson Bay.

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Ken Elston RECORDED: [location unknown], 1976-02-10 SUMMARY: Ken Elston started in B.C. Packers as a brine man in 1942. The fish were cut and immersed in a brine tank for 15 or 20 minutes then bailed out and canned. He then became a tallyman. Fish weren't weighed as much then as some were just counted. He worked as a tallyman until 1936 (?). The cannery houses were on both sides of the dyke all the way from the western extremity of Steveston to east of Number Two Road. Each camp had a cluster of houses. Mostly Japanese people lived in cannery houses. The houses were taken down in the late 1940s and early 1950s. There used to be many more Chinese people working in the canneries. There used to be a Chinese contractor who hired the cannery employees except key-people. There was no overtime then. When the union came in the contractors began to disappear. The internment of the Japanese people disturbed the fishing industry more than the canning industry. Native people have become scarce as cannery employees in the 30 years he has been working. He attributes this lack of Native people to the lack of suitable housing. Cannery employees' term of employment has gotten longer. The machinery in the canneries is far different from when he started 30 years ago. Discusses the "steam box" which was a method of extracting the air out of tins. Discusses another machine called the "can unscrambler" which sorted the cans and fed the filling tables. He says that the economy of the canning industry necessitated its centralization. In 1935-1936 B.C. Packers was also operating a pet food operation. In the early years B.C. Packers did not have a very diversified line of products. Crab is now (1976) becoming more scarce.

RECORDED: [location unknown], 1969-06-26 SUMMARY: [No content summary available.];

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Malcolm Robertson RECORDED: Vancouver (B.C.), 1976-03-02 SUMMARY: Malcolm Robertson was born in 1902 in Ontario, and moved to Vancouver in August 1909 at 6 1/2 years old. Attended school until age 13 when he had to start work because of the War. Mentions different jobs he worked at. Moved to Victoria in 1919. Went to Wadhams Cannery in Rivers Inlet in February 1919 by Union Steamship, with a roll of blankets and personal belongings. Factory originally built by Billy Wadhams. Worked as a machine operator in can factory. Made cans at factory, because it was cheaper to ship the tin plates than the made cans. Explains the exact process of making cans. Also had box making machines for making wooden boxes. Was a fish collector there for a while. Became assistant store keeper in 1922 in the only general store in the area. Discusses all the places he worked as store keeper, accountant, and bookkeeper. Salmon were all hand butchered then by the Chinese. The cans were hand filled by mostly Japanese women. Mostly Japanese fishermen until WWII. Started canning herring in 1944. Remembers as many as 74 canneries on the coast. Discusses Japanese work ethic. Explains how fish made it from the fishing boats into the cannery by way of collecting boats. Fish bought by the piece. Barn dances in Steveston. Coming of the Union and conflict. Discusses wages and treatment after unionization. The better the machinery became, the more people were employed because more fish were processed. Discusses sanitation in the 1930s. Fishing locations and living conditions. Discusses the A.B.C. Packing Co. which was founded in 1891 in London, England. A.B.C. had three canneries at Steveston. All goods were shipped to England, France and Italy. Canneries would rent their equipment from American can companies because it was cheaper than owning. Names the different canneries on the west coast. Discusses quality of salmon and freshness. Impact of unionization on the fishing industry. Discusses the maintenance of fish boats.

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Ed Calvert RECORDED: Steveston (B.C.), 1976-03-16 SUMMARY: Ed Calvert was born in a house by the government wharf. His father worked as a deliveryman for the Richmond Trading Company. Walker used to be the owner. The store took up almost the whole block of Moncton. Walker's son eventually became a vice-president of B.C. Packers. He recalls the big fire in 1919 of the Steveston front street. Japanese took over the store after the fire. His father went to look after a farm left by his uncle on Westham Island, which was accessed by a ferry. Describes ferry. Describes locations of canneries and those destroyed by the fire. During prohibition the hotels closed. Around 1926 his father started a farm in Steveston. The house has (1976) been there since before the turn of the century. His father bought the house from Mr. Walker; he was renting it at the time. It had a barn where he kept the delivery horses. He started farming dairy cows and developed a milk route. During the war, farm hands were hard to come by so the dairy farm closed. They started to grow potatoes and other vegetables. The house across from his originally belonged to a Japanese man but it was confiscated when the war broke out. The Japanese lost everything. The Veterans Land Act took over the distribution of the land that had been confiscated from the Japanese, and sold it. In 1960 he went to work at the B.C. Packers warehouse, labelling. Discusses cannery work. Unionization and changes. Steveston history. Remembers different people, buildings and community activities. Steveston had one of Canada's biggest Japanese communities. Now (1976) all the canning is done in Steveston and Prince Rupert. Mrs. Calvert worked in the cannery, labelling as well. Different brand labels are put on depending on the orders for them. B.C. Packers also sells cans to other companies and puts different labels on them. The higher grades of fish, like sockeye or pink, have a B.C. Packers label, but for the lower grades, they get away from the company name and have other brands.

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Mr. and Mrs. Howard RECORDED: Richmond (B.C.), 1976-01-28 SUMMARY: Mrs. Howard started working for North Shore Packers shortly after WWII (1946) and was paid 25 cents an hour. She worked only when fish came in, sometimes from 6 am until midnight, until all the fish w;ere done. Didn't get paid overtime. All women had to be at least 16 years old. There were no extra benefits in 1946. A pension plan finally came into existence and now her and Mr. Howard are both on p;ension. She enjoyed working under Andy Kirk, foreman. B.C. Packers used to process herring, tuna, oysters, clams, and shrimps in the winter. Mr. Howard cooked about 30 tons of tuna a day. Mrs. Howard ;used to shuck oysters and she describes the process. They have both seen a lot of changes in Steveston, "Steveston was the biggest community on the island". When Brighouse started building up everythi;ng left Steveston. There was a dress shop in Steveston, 3 hardware stores, some grocery stores, about 7 restaurants, pool halls, and beer parlours. Steveston was much bigger in its early years. The un;ion has brought all sorts of benefits: overtime, 5-day week, etc. Mr. Howard relates the story of when he was fighting for better safety regulations one of his opponents got drunk and ran him over wit;h a car. The reduction plant in Steveston really used to smell. The canneries have gotten all sorts of new machines: e.g., "The High Speed Machine" which canned 1/2 lb. tins.;

CALL NUMBER: T0735:0001 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1963-02-05 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Nick Stevens recalls his early years on Salt Spring Island; his early life as a fisherman in the Gulf of Georgia; anecdotes about his childhood; fishing on the Fraser River; types of boats; living in a scow house; anecdotes; the Greek community on Deas Island; the Austrian community; the Spanish community; other ethnic groups in the Lulu Island area; community life and provisions. TRACK; 2: Mr. Stevens continues discussing various groups along the Fraser River; the Japanese community at Steveston; Spaniards on Duck Island; Portuguese; Kanakas from Salt Spring Island; Indian cannery ;workers; Austrians in Ladner; Chinese on Deas Island; cannery work; cannery equipment; the "Iron Chink"; the "Iron Squaw"; Deas Island; his work as a pirate fish buyer; land taxes on Lulu Island; life; on Lulu Island; fishing seasons; Chinese/Indian relations; Japanese/white relations; unloading German tin plate in Steveston; growing up in Steveston.

CALL NUMBER: T0735:0002 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1963-02-05 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Stevens talks about survival in the forest; canoe trips with his mother, Emma King; characters from the Ladner area; Steveston; Ladner; travel to New Westminster; steamboats on the Fraser; in 1905; fishing procedures, circa 1900, on the Fraser and the Gulf of Georgia; sealing; sturgeon fishing; Canoe Pass; Port Guichon; the railway. [TRACK 2: blank.]

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Norman Marshall RECORDED: Steveston (B.C.), 1976-02-26 SUMMARY: Norman Marshall was born in Kingston, Ontario in 1894. Came to B.C. in 1903, his father was a conductor on the B.C. Electric streetcars. Railway did belong to the C.P.R. but was sold to B.C. Electric in 1905. His father was promoted to Station Master and the family moved out then. Went to school in Vancouver. His father also worked for the Municipality of Richmond in the Water Works Department. Present (1976) house was built in 1916, when he was married. After high school he worked for the branch yard of the Eburne sawmill doing bull-work in Steveston. Tom Leslie was manager. Went to local garage and began mechanical work, then went to the Imperial Cannery in 1917, then Columbia cold storage, which belonged to B.C. Packers at that time. Worked for Moffat and Martin repairing Model T Ford and demonstrating the first Ford tractor between 1917 and 1920. Moffat was an automobile man, and Martin was a tinsmith. In 1920 he was making enough money to support his family and pay for his house. They used to have running races on No. One Road, he was quite a competitor; he won 5 firsts in the 24th of May holiday, including a 5 mile race down No. One Road to the river and back again. Everything was seasonal on account of fishing. He designed a net drum for a fishing boat with parts from a Model T Ford. 1935 he started in the machine shop, working on marine engines. He describes how the drum works. Ran his own shop at the bottom of 3rd Avenue, rented a machine and boat shop from a Japanese who was removed because of the War. His wife died in 1953 and he retired in 1956. He never belonged to any unions, he worked independently and repaired boats for various canneries. Discussion of the Japanese in Steveston. Big fire in Steveston, south side of the main street burnt right through to No. One Road. People helped each other, as there was no relief. Discusses canneries and their locations. He also lists hotels and bars in Steveston. He describes a Saturday on Steveston's main street.

RECORDED: [location unknown], 1963-02-04 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Pfister talks about living on Lulu Island in 1899; he arrived from Switzerland and lived in Port Angeles for five years. He worked on Sea Island during the 1893 depression and later moved to Lulu Island; his wife's family, Udy, owned a brickyard in Vancouver. He discusses clearing land; wooden horse shoes; drainage ditches; drinking water; dykes; floods; the Terra Nova Cannery; local stores; Steveston; Steves Stage Coach; Terra Nova Stage; the railway; present day [1963] conditions; land ownership. [TRACK 2: blank.]

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Phil Thomas RECORDED: [location unknown], 1976-03-15 SUMMARY: Phil Thomas worked for B.C. Packers as a machinist. His father, Stan Thomas, was a cannery man as an "Iron Chink" master and a carpenter in the Fraser River and up the north coast with the B.C. Packing Co. before it became B.C. Packers. Mr. Philips and Mr. Gillespie were managers. In 1935, when he was still 15, he went to work for B.C. Packers in the summer, it was a big year, and he worked on a packer, pumping out the water. He also pumped gas for boats. He was born in Marpole and moved to Sea Island. He went to Bridgeport School and then Richmond High School on Cambie Road. Describes the lacquer machine used to preserve the cans. In 1938 he went to the Queen Charlotte Islands to work as a machinist and part engineer -- repairing boats and machinery for four years. Then he worked filling cans with fish at the rate of 60 cans a minute. He went to Kildonan on the west coast of Vancouver Island for B.C. Packers. Describes canning and the salting and smoking of fish. Discusses the changes to the fishing industry that have resulted by equipment improvements and fish stock depletion. Discusses unionization. He knew a few Japanese people before the War and was sorry to see them go. He was at the Queen Charlotte Islands during the War where there was an air base. When you travelled by water you had to use no lights, just blackout curtains. There were reports of submarine sightings, but none were confirmed. There was a net used to protect Prince Rupert harbour that was probably not very effective. People on the Queen Charlottes felt that they were vulnerable to invasion or attack because it was so isolated and remote. The radiotelephones were poor and communication was infrequent. The companies helped the Japanese fishermen back into the industry with boats and gear.

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Robert Ransford RECORDED: Richmond (B.C.), 1976-03-17 SUMMARY: Robert Ransford was born in Steveston in 1913. Father worked in Richmond Cannery. Used to go fishing with his father at the end of the dock at Richmond Cannery for salmon. Father was bookkeeper for Todd's. Richmond Cannery burned down in 1924. First started work in 1926 with a gillnet boat. In 1927 went gillnetting commercially in a row boat. There was only 2 or 3 white fishermen in the gillnetting industry in Steveston then. Back in the 1920s it was all Japanese gillnetting. There were seines, but they didn't seine in the Fraser River then because the seiners were confined to the northern areas. By 1927 there weren't that many Indians gillnetting in the River. The Japanese were using gasoline boats by then, and the only way to get a boat was through the company. All the Japanese lived in company houses. The Japanese were very hardworking people, very productive. There were a lot of fish in the Fraser River at that time. The cannery couldn't handle all the fish. 5 days fishing a week. Explains exactly how fishermen go about finding fish, the tides, the runs, etc. It's quite a study to do it correctly. No matter how long you've been gillnetting, its something you never stop learning. Discusses different canneries he worked for. Goes into great length about the discrimination between the Japanese and White fishermen. Discusses the companies' preference to the Japanese. The Japanese kept strictly to themselves, with their own customs and culture. In the early 1920s, the average fisherman made about $1,000.00 a season. Describes the Japanese living conditions the Japanese evacuation during WWII. The canneries tore down all the Japanese row houses in 1942. Mentions the Chinese being phased out and talks about the Chinese contractors. Fished in 1948 for Millard and Co. and got paid every day. Independent fisherman you could always get a little more money. Collector boats. The Japanese saltery in Steveston. The salted fish was usually for the Chinese market.

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Ron Malcom RECORDED: [location unknown], 1976-02-01 SUMMARY: Ron Malcom started fishing in 1935 when he was 23 years old. His father was an engineer for the Gulf of Georgia Cannery. He has always had his own boat. He was born in Cranbrook. Several of his childhood friends also became fishermen. Description of early fishing and fishing equipment. Discusses fishing for dogfish when they were in demand around 1948 at the mouth of the Fraser with a sunken net. The wharves in Steveston have changed: the boats are better protected and there is a breakwater. He believes that electronic technology on boats is too efficient: it has cut the number of days you are allowed to fish from 5 to 2. Monofilament nets are illegal to use in this country but they are legal for the fishermen in Japan. The Japanese are the best fishermen in the world. He discusses Canada getting a 200-mile boundary. Canadians have 100 ft. draggers whilst the Russians have freighters. Canadian draggers may pick up 3 tons of fish whereas the Russian freighters will pick up 25030 tons at a time plus the Russians work 24 hours a day: "fishing can't stand that sort of thing". Canadian fishermen can't go off the coast to catch salmon. Discusses the difficulties of establishing international fishing regulations. Discusses the internment of Japanese during the War. There was a meeting of Steveston residents to protest this action by the government, which he attended. He was getting 50 cents a piece for sockeye in 1935. Discusses and gives an example of the high mark up of fish prices between the fishermen and the consumer. Deckhands used to be called partners of boat pullers, they got about one third of the profit. He recalls the first strike he was involved in. If a fisherman went out during the strike, others would get two rocks with a rope tied between them and drop it over the guys net who was fishing thus causing the net to sink. Discusses the various improvements the union has made. Log barges pollute the water with wooden needles that get in gills and kill the fish.

RECORDED: [location unknown], 1964-02-05 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Grauer recounts his father, John Grauer; coming from Seattle to Vancouver in 1886 and starting in the meat business. His father bought a farm on Sea Island in 1892 to raise, butcher and; sell beef; he later built up a meat business in Vancouver, which he sold to Burns Meat Packing and then went into the dairy business and general merchandizing. Mr. Grauer describes Sea Island; road names; early Steveston; William Steve's stages; plank roads; Vancouver; childhood; schooling; games. TRACK 2: Mr. Grauer continues with recollections about childhood games; the CPR; canneries along ;the Fraser River; living conditions of fishermen along the Fraser River; Steveston; introduction of gasoline engines; London's Landing; naming of Marpole; sources of drinking water; early settlers; Brighouse Estate; Bridgeport; lumber mills; the fishing industry; farming; roads to New Westminster.

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Ruth Kennedy RECORDED: [location unknown], 1976-03-01 SUMMARY: Ruth Kennedy was born in Steveston in 1910 and she discusses the early days of growing up there. Father worked for a number of different canneries along the waterfront. He was the engineer in charge of the retorts. Kids had plenty of freedom to come and go and they pleased at the cannery as long as they stayed clear of the machinery. Speaks of the canning methods they had at the cannery in the early 1920s. Much of the same as today, but not so perfected. First worked in cannery at age 10. Tagged along with older sister. Used to take tins from the stacks and put on wooden trays. Got paid 10 cents an hour. From the wooden trays they went through a gadget that dropped a bit of salt in each tin, then went down to the next floor for filling. By the time she was old enough for cannery work the Depression was on and jobs were scarce. Most of the cannery work went to the Japanese. Unless you had been a cannery worker before, you had no chance at all. Brother worked at the cannery in cold storage. It was a big social event in those days to go up to the dyke at 6 pm Sunday evening to watch the fishing fleet go out. The larger boats used to tow the sailboats out to a place where they could navigate on their own. Remembers the big parrot outside the Steveston Hotel. Used to see piles of tin left over from the making of the cans along the dyke. Sister and several other teenagers worked salvaging the tins of salmon that had fallen into the river. The cans had fallen through the floor and you had to wait for low tide before you could get them. Believes the fire started in one of the Chinese gambling houses, as so many of the fires did by a lantern being knocked over. Remembers old Chinese laundry and Japanese bean curd factory. The Japanese and Indian women would carry their children on their backs when they worked. During the war years they had a child-care set up at the Imperial Cannery. Drinking water was brought into Steveston from New Westminster in big barrels.

Industrial film. The British Columbia salmon industry. The province's salmon runs. The work of fishing vessels and their crews. The B.C. Packers cannery at Steveston: salmon being unloaded at the dock; cannery operations and processes (including brief shots of an "Iron Chink" salmon butchering machine); cannery workers (lunchroom, housing, other amenities); canning of salmon. Concluding scene of a family dinner.