Tag: Vancouver Sun

Local History Advent Calendar 2018 – Day 19 – Loggers invasion

December 19, 2018

When I am researching one topic I often come across random historical tidbits that I think might be interesting to research one day.  These tidbits sometimes end up as full-fledged stories and sometimes they just stay as random historical tidbits.  I have collected quite a few, so I thought it might be fun to present them in the form of “treats” for a local history advent calendar. Think of them as holiday cocktail party fodder – 24 facts about Vancouver history that can be used as conversation starters at your next social event.

Day 19: Loggers once “invaded” the city at Christmas…

There was a time in this city’s history when the newspapers would not only announce the seasonal arrival of the first Mandarin Oranges, but also announce the seasonal arrival of the annual influx of loggers. All during the week before Christmas the city’s population would swell by the several thousands as the woodsmen arrived by steamship from logging camps on Vancouver Island and the Mainland.

“When you’ve been in the woods for a month the bright lights of the city are attractive. After six months they become an obsession”

That’s the way 32-year-old logger Harry Greene described, in a 1954 newspaper article, how loggers feel about the months of isolation and toil before they “burst out of the woods” for Christmas and head for the “big city”.

Photo of loggers in the forest ca. 1940s (Santa hats added by me and not part of original photo). Photo: Jack Lindsay, CoV Archives, CVA 1184-2182.

During the loggers’ annual Christmas trek to Vancouver they would arrive in their “store clothes” with their pockets full of “wooden dollars”, ready to spend and celebrate the “way of men who play as hard as they work”. For some of the single men, this may have meant going to the beer parlours and “chasing women” (especially in the early days), but for most it meant spending the seasonal “lay-off” with family and friends.

 

Local History Advent Calendar 2018 – Day 18 – Jennie Wong

December 18, 2018

When I am researching one topic I often come across random historical tidbits that I think might be interesting to research one day.  These tidbits sometimes end up as full-fledged stories and sometimes they just stay as random historical tidbits.  I have collected quite a few, so I thought it might be fun to present them in the form of “treats” for a local history advent calendar. Think of them as holiday cocktail party fodder – 24 facts about Vancouver history that can be used as conversation starters at your next social event.

Day 18: Vancouver’s Jennie Wong was the first female and first Chinese-Canadian disc jockey in Canada…

Teen Town Talk column in The Vancouver Sun, May 1948.

In 1948 Jennie Wong was one of three finalists in the CKWX-Teen Aid Disc Jockey Contest. The contest was co-sponsored by The Vancouver Sun’s Teen Town Association where Jennie was an active member of the Chinese Y Canteen. Each of the three finalists had their audition tapes sent to a panel of judges consisting of Freddie Robbins, a New York City disc jockey, crooner Frank Sinatra, and orchestra leader Claude Thornhill.  Though she was ranked #3, Jennie was given a half-hour Saturday afternoon program on CKMO that she called “Jennie’s Juke Joint”. On her program, Jennie would introduce the popular music of the day made by artists like Frank Sinatra (her favourite), Kay Starr, Bing Crosby, and Nat King Cole. This made 17-year-old Jennie Wong the first female and first Chinese-Canadian DJ in Canada.

Jennie (Jenne) Wong’s column in Teen Town Talk, The Vancouver Sun, June 1948.

Jennie was the older sister of local author Larry Wong. After she married in 1950 and moved from Vancouver, Jennie worked for CBC Edmonton for a time and then later started her own business doing theatrical and television make-up in Edmonton. Jennie died in Edmonton in 2011 at age 79.

 

Local History Advent Calendar 2018 – Day 13 – Newsy Jack Says

December 13, 2018

When I am researching one topic I often come across random historical tidbits that I think might be interesting to research one day.  These tidbits sometimes end up as full-fledged stories and sometimes they just stay as random historical tidbits.  I have collected quite a few, so I thought it might be fun to present them in the form of “treats” for a local history advent calendar. Think of them as holiday cocktail party fodder – 24 facts about Vancouver history that can be used as conversation starters at your next social event.

Day 13: “Newsy” Jack Kanchikoff once had a column in the Vancouver Sun…

I’ve been a little obsessed with “Newsy” (or “Newsie”) Jack Kanchikoff ever since I first wrote about him on this blog in 2013. I also recently wrote an updated story on Newsie Jack for Scout Magazine. So imagine my excitement when I saw this drawing of him from an old issue of the Vancouver Sun just a few days ago.

It turns out that from 1949 to 1955 Jack Kanichikoff had a regular column in the Vancouver Sun promoting his annual fundraising efforts for the March of Dimes charity.  Since the start of the March of Dimes in 1949, Jack Kanchikoff worked tirelessly, year after year, fundraising for the charity for sick children.

“Newsy” Jack Says columns like these (below) appeared in the Vancouver Sun:

Three of “Newsy” Jack’s columns in the Vancouver Sun – Dec 24, 1949; Dec 27, 1950; and 1953.

It is interesting that the column from 1949 mentions a gift from an ex-news vendor (and Penthouse Nightclub owner) Joe Philliponi. In fact, several of the columns mentioned the generous support of Philliponi over the year’s for Jack’s one-man campaign for the March of Dimes. The columns also reveal that there were many individuals and organizations in the community who also supported Kanchikoff in his efforts. In fact, Jack Kanchikoff was such a feature of Vancouver society at this time that he garners several mentions in Jack Wasserman’s column.

Vancouver Sun, February 12, 1949.

Matilda and Deni: subject & photographer

February 8, 2018
Mrs. Matilda Boynton poses for the camera in February 1960 just prior to her 103rd birthday. Photo: Deni Eagland, CoV Archives, Port P1622

This striking photograph of Mrs. Matilda Boynton was found in the City of Vancouver Archives. This compelling portrait has a definite Karsh-like quality to it – something I wasn’t expecting to find in the holdings of the Vancouver Archives.

Immediately I was intrigued by the subject (the person in front of the camera) –  a 102-year-old black woman, smoking a cigar. And, I was curious about the person who created this portrait, the man behind the camera, Sun newspaper photographer, Deni Eagland. Continue reading “Matilda and Deni: subject & photographer”

Newsie Jack

November 27, 2013
Newspaper vendor near the corner of Granville and Robson Street. Photo: James Crookall, City of Vancouver Archives CVA-260-1372
Newspaper vendor near the corner of Granville and Robson Street, May 24, 1940. This photo shows ‘Newsie Jack’ in his early days as a news vendor.  Copy of Photo: James Crookall, City of Vancouver Archives CVA-260-1372

In an era where the daily newspapers would print two editions a day, the street news vendor was a common sight on busy downtown street corners. The vendors would stand all day beside their small display kiosks, hawking the papers and shouting the headlines out loud. Newspaper vendors, like street photographers, were active participants in the daily buzz of the city.

I spent several years working as a media librarian in the CBC Vancouver Media Archives on a film preservation project. During that time, I was introduced to much of Vancouver’s engaging moving image history. Every now and then, a slug, or title would pique my interest and I would be lured to take a closer look. Such was the case when I came across a film item titled “Newsie Jack” in the log book.

Continue reading “Newsie Jack”