Affichage de 108 résultats

Interview with Mark James. Interviewed by Alysa Routtenberg for The Scribe, 2018. Mark describes the role food played in his childhood, Vancouver's changing food scene, and his own transition from the clothing business to food. He talks about the restaurants and brewpubs he opened in Vancouver, including FIASCO, Flying Beaver, Yaletown Brewing Co., and Red Truck.

Interview with Susan Mendelson. Interviewed by Debby Freiman for The Scribe, 2018. Susan talks about her family's history, her upbringing in Toronto, and her first baking ventures in Vancouver. She became a regular on CBC Radio before eventually opening her own catering company, Lazy Gourmet. Susan talks extensively about her experiences in the business.

Number: CA JMABC A.1971.001-20.18-17
Name: Adam Granot
Interviewer: Debby Freiman
Date: May 28th, 2018
Place: Peretz Center
Project: The Jewish Historical Society of British Columbia Oral History Project

Summary:
00:00: The interviewer, Debby Freiman, introduces herself and Adam Granot who is being interviewed.
00:21: Granot was born in Israel. He then goes on to describe his family and early childhood.
2:45: Granot describes the importance and role food played in his household and while growing up.
4:27: Freiman asks how Granot became involved in the food industry. Granot recounts his father’s career as a restaurant owner in Tel Aviv, Israel while Granot was a child. He then describes his father’s wish to build a business that sells burekas when they moved to Canada. Eventually they purchased the Fraser bakery and named it Breka Bakery which still exists in several locations today.
13:14: Granot was originally working at a car rental agency but left that job in order to take part in the family’s bakery when he was in his early twenties. He also recounts the opening of the other locations.
19:57: Granot is involved with the operations side of the business. His sister, brother-in-law, mother and mother’s partner are all also involved in the business in a variety of capacities. He also describes some of the tenets of the bakery related to product and growth.
25:26: Breka makes a variety of traditional Jewish and Eastern European breads, some of which are in keeping with the tradition of Fraser Bakery.
29:41: The bakeries are open twenty-four seven. Granot describes who the customers are that come in at all hours of the night.
33:18: Granot answers how Judaism has affected the business.
34:46: The speakers discuss the changes that have occurred in the food industry since Breka was first created. They discuss the changes in what customers are looking for in the products they purchase.
38:12: Freiman asks Granot what he sees as the future of Breka. At the time of the interview, Granot was beginning to plan for two more locations to be added to the business. They were also considering to expanding beyond Vancouver itself to other Lower Mainland cities. Granot recounts what he’s learned and what he’s loved about working in the food industry.

Interview with Efrem (Eppy) Rappaport. Interviewed by Debby Freiman for The Scribe, 2018. Eppy talks about the foods he ate growing up, and how he came to own the original Omnitsky Kosher in Winnipeg before opening more stores in Vancouver. He compares the Jewish and non-Jewish clientele in Vancouver to Winnipeg and discusses the difficulties of operating a kosher deli.

Interview with Ivan and Lynette Buchman. Interviewed by Alysa Routtenberg for The Scribe, 2018. Prior to their immigration to Canada, Ivan and Lynette owned a franchise of 17 bakeries in South Africa named Bread Ahead. In Vancouver, the couple opened their restaurant Enigma, which they ran for 13 years before its sale in 2017. Post-retirement, Ivan and Lynette produce and sell sticky toffee pudding across specialty supermarkets.

Interview with Wayne Katz. Interviewed by Ronnie Tessler for The Scribe, 2018. Wayne recalls the Jewish foods of his childhood and the first restaurant he opened with his father in Edmonton, Halls Place Restaurant. He talks extensively about his Whistler restaurants and cafes, including Zogs, Moguls, and Gone. Wayne talks about the influence of the Jewish business community on him, Whistler`s changing food scene, and his roles as both employer and landlord.

Interview with Stephen Greenham. Interviewed by Alysa Routtenberg for The Scribe, 2018. Stephen is the co-owner of Sweet Obsession alongside his business partner Lorne Tyczenski. He talks about how the two of them ended up opening Sweet Obsession and how their shop has grown since. Stephen also discusses the role Lorne's Judaism has played in the business.

Interview with Yosef Wosk, interviewed by Carol Herbert. Yosef speaks about his family’s history in Ukraine and Russia and how pogroms and anti-Semitism led to their immigration to Vancouver, Canada. Yosef discusses his father’s beginnings in Vancouver and the growth of the Wosk business as peddlers in the furniture business, primarily in South Granville. He talks about his upbringing and relationship to his family and their immense presence in both the Jewish and business community. He speaks about his lengthy education at numerous secular institutions and rabbinic schooling at two Yeshivas and with scholars in North America and Israel. Yosef discusses his career as a rabbi in North America and his directing of interdisciplinary programs at Simon Fraser University.

Number: CA JMABC A.1971.001-20.20-05
Name: Ralph Zbarsky
Interviewer: Bill Gruenthal
Date: February 18, 2020
Place: Vancouver, BC
Project: The Jewish Historical Society of B.C. Oral History Project

Summary:
00:00 Bill Gruenthal (interviewer) introduces himself and then asks Ralph Zbarsky (interviewee) to do the same.
00:53 Zbarsky was born in 1948 in Deep River, Ontario. This town was near Chalk River, the site of the Atomic Energy Commission where his father worked as a scientist.
1:21 His father’s name was Sidney Howard Zbarsky to conduct research on isotopes that could be used as an antidote to nerve gasses that had been used during the Second World War. Sidney Howard’s research has been cited as recently as in the Gulf Wars. Zbarsky notes that this is why he was the first Jewish baby in Chalk River.
2:11 Zbarsky’s mother’s name was Miriam Zbarsky (nee [Frankel]). She had a degree in economics and met Zbarsky’s father at the University of Toronto while they were both studying there.
3:02 Zbarsky’s paternal grandparents were from Russia and came to Vancouver and opened a successful tailoring business. The Frankels (maternal grandparents) came to Vancouver from Eastern Europe via Palestine and also set up a business. He notes that they were also Labour Zionists. Both Zbarksy and his brother, Johnathan, are electrical engineers. Johnathan is two years younger and their sister Deborah is six years younger. Deborah is a financial advisor and is fluent in Japanese.
5:48 Zbarsky married Catherine Zbarsky (nee [Everall]) in 1971. They have a son named Michael and daughter, Jordana. Both Michael and Jordana each have one son and one daughter totaling four grandchildren.
6:41 Zbarsky and Catherine met at Camp Hatikvah. He was working there as a lifeguard while she was one of the councillors. At the time, they were both going to UBC, her for Education and him for Engineering.
7:21 Zbarksy’s father moved the family to St. Paul’s for a short time while he went to the University of Minnesota. In 1950 he was recruited to UBC to be the first member of the Faculty of Medicine. He played a role in recruiting the rest of the faculty and designed much of the curriculum although he was a biochemist rather than a medical doctor. He worked at UBC until his retirement in 1985.
9:06 Zbarsky met three Nobel Laureates while his father was employed at UBC. The Nobel Laureates he met were Dr. Francis Crick, Dr. Gobind Khurana and Dr. Michael Smith. A symposium at UBC was established in Sydney Howard’s name as well as the Dr. S.H. Zbarsky Scholarship.
12:32 Zbarsky describes how the scholarship at UBC in his father’s name is awarded to a graduate student of biochemistry who is working towards their PhD and it is awarded based on peer recommendations. Zbarsky also notes how privileged he was to be able to drive to UBC with his father every day.
13:15 Sydney Howard partnered with Dr. Marvin Weintraub to establish a Judaic Studies program at UBC in the early seventies.
13:31 He mentions his father’s involvement with other Jewish professors at UBC and the [‘Stern Gang’].
13:57 Zbarsky tells the story of how his parents started the Metropolitan Biological Laboratories in 1963. They would perform medical tests that hospitals were not equipped to do at the time in their basement. Eventually the business grew to need more office and laboratory space and they had several thousand employees. Eventually the company was called LifeLabs. They eventually sold the laboratories because they were worried the provincial government would take over private labs.
19:20 Sydney Howard was President of Talmud Torah, helped ensure loans for Jewish community members and was a member of Beth Israel Synagogue.
20:04 Miriam Zbarsky’s degree was in Home Economics but she helped in the laboratories and performed some of the tests. She was also active in Hadassah, Talmud Torah and spoke some Yiddish.
22:07 Deborah Zbarksy never married or had children. Johnathan Zbarsky has three children. Zbarsky was named after his uncle, also named Ralph who served in the Canadian Navy. He never met his uncle because Ralph was on the last ship to be torpedoed during the Second World War.
24:44 Zbarksy recounts his time working for BC Hydro in high voltage engineering. He left BC Hydro in 1986 after designing the company’s site for Expo ’86. Then he was recruited to the City of New Westminster which had a separate utility system. He worked as a consultant for several years after his retirement since high voltage engineering is not a popular career anymore. Zbarsky then recounts some of his hobbies including building and racing race cars as well as playing the symphonic clarinet. He also runs triathlons in order to stay healthy and be a good example for his grandchildren.
27:38 Zbarksy recounts his education. The schools he attended were Talmud Torah, Emily Carr Elementary, Eric Hamber Secondary and UBC where he graduated in 1971.
28:27 Zbarsky helped out with some students’ capstone engineering projects at UBC. He fears for high voltage systems such as the ones he worked on because it is not a widely taught field anymore and there will not be enough specialized engineers to maintain them. Gruenthal mentions that his brother graduated from electrical engineering in the fifties.
30:27 Zbarsky speaks some French and Hebrew and is learning Punjabi to more easily communicate with others who are also involved in racing.
31:02 Gruenthal asks Zbarsky if he has ever played with an orchestra. To which Zbarksy replies no, he plays for enjoyment and is trained by Gene Ramsbottom who is a renowned clarinetist. He also notes that he has tried to teach his grandchildren music.
33:51 Zbarsky recounts how mist of his work has been in BC. He laid hundreds of kilometres of high voltage cables and was part of the construction of the Stave Falls Generating System.
36:04 Gruenthal asks Zbarsky about his involvement in the local Jewish community. Zbarsky mentions how he knew the Leonoffs through their friendship with his in-laws and wife.
37:37 Zbarsky discusses some of his work in mentoring other triathletes. He does not consider himself a competitive triathlete anymore but likes to complete the races.
38:39 He describes his racing hobby. He has raced all over North America and his son is also involved.
39:52 Gruenthal asks Zbarsky to talk further talk about his siblings. Zbarsky tells of how he went to visit his sister Deborah in Japan during the eighties and that she still speaks Japanese. She is also involved in some local Jewish organizations.
41:14 Johnathan Zbarsky was involved at Talmud Torah when his children attended the school. Zbarsky’s kids also went to Talmud Torah. Now Michael lives in Courtenay and Jordana in Burnaby.
42:22 Michael is able to connect with Lubavitch when they come to Courtenay. Zbarsky celebrates some major Jewish holidays with his grandchildren.
42:59 Gruenthal and Zbarksy discuss real estate and Zbarsky’s move to a condo in the Jericho area.
44:32 Zbarsky says how he wanted to keep his father’s involvement in the medical field alive. Gruenthal discusses how he and the board wanted those who had involvement in that field to do oral history interviews. Zbarsky mentions how many people in the medical field currently will ask him if he is related to Sydney Howard because they had taken his classes at UBC.
46:04 Gruenthal thanks Zbarsky for his participation and urges his to keep up with his membership.
46:32 End of interview.

Interview with Jack Huberman for On The Record: The BC Jewish Queer & Trans Oral History Project in collaboration with JQT Vancouver. Interviewed by Carmel Tanaka via remote Zoom video call. Jack (he/him) is a gay Jewish man born in Calgary, Alberta. Jack talks about his family’s origins in Poland and his parents’ livelihoods as grocers and property owners upon immigrating to Canada. Jack shares he realized he was gay very late in life, and how little dialogue about being queer and Jewish at the time made him reluctant to ‘come out’ within his Jewish community in Vancouver. He discusses the writing and mentorship of Rabbi Gil Steinlauf as a catalyst for understanding his sexuality within a Jewish context, though shares how ‘coming out’ did not make him feel welcomed across all parts of his Jewish community, including his own congregation. Jack talks about his desire to foster a greater awareness and acceptance for queer Jews. He discusses his experiences through school, including how he eventually became lawyer, and volunteering throughout the Jewish community in Vancouver. Jack closes by talking about his immediate family, including his husband, children, and grandchildren, and the importance of treating others equally and maintaining good relationships with those around you.