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Johannesburg Persons
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Alf Price

Interview with Alf Price (Abram Alfred Price). Interviewed by Laura Zitron. Alf talks about his family history and their immigration to Vancouver, BC. He discusses the differences in Judaism between South Africa and Canada, and his own involvement in the Jewish community in Vancouver. He also talks about his profession as an accountant.

Ivan Linde

Interview with Ivan Linde. Interviewed by Cindy Rozen. Ivan talks about his family's history, his involvement in the Jewish community, the Apartheid, and his immigration to Canada. He compares life in Johannesburg to Vancouver, and talks extensively about privilege and race relations in South Africa.

Valda Merle Linde

Interview with Valda Merle Linde. Interviewed by Cindy Rozen. Valda talks about adoption and race in South Africa, her adopted family's history, and the Apartheid. Valda also talks about her involvement with the Jewish Seniors Alliance and other Jewish organizations in Vancouver.

Tamar Glaser

Oral history interview with Tamar Glaser, interviewed by Debby Freiman. Tamar talks about her family’s history and her upbringing in South Africa. In 1974, her family made aliyah, living in Netanya, Israel, before moving back to South Africa in 1980. She went into nursing at the age of 18 before meeting her husband the following year and getting married at 22. They both had their careers in Cape Town as well as had two children whilst living there. Finally, in 1998, they immigrated to Vancouver. Tamar remarks the differences between the Jewish community she experienced in South Africa in Vancouver.

Doris Schlosberg

Interview with Doris Schlosberg. Interviewed by Cindy Rozen. Doris talks about her family's history, life in South Africa, and her eventual immigration to Canada. She compares life in South Africa to Canada and discusses differences in Jewish life, race, sex, and education.

Stan Shear

Interview with Stan Shear. Interviewed by Michelle Mina. Stan talks about his family's history and Jewish heritage, and compares life in Canada to South Africa. Now a retired electrical engineer, Stan frequently contributes to the Vancouver Jewish community through his music.

Cheryl Kalmek

Oral interview with Cheryl Kalmek. Interviewed by Debby Freiman. Cheryl talks about her family's immigration to South Africa and their involvement in the Jewish community. Cheryl was particularly involved with the Jewish Women's Benevolent Society before immigrating to Vancouver.

Vanessa Marks

Interview with Vanessa Marks. Interviewed by Cindy Rozen. Vanessa talks about her family's history, her childhood, and her immigration to New Zealand and eventually Canada. She compares life, culture, and the Jewish community between South Africa and Canada, and talks briefly about her education, career, and family.

Claire Ann Kramer

Interview with Claire Ann Kramer. Interviewed by Cindy Rozen. Ann talks about her family's history, the Apartheid, her childhood, and her career as an interpreter. She speaks in detail about her family's experience in Germany just before World War II, and the political state of South Africa which led to the decision to immigrate to Canada.

Marcus Stiller

Number: CA JMABC A.1971.001-20.18-23
Name: Marcus Stiller
Interviewer: David Goldman
Date: June 4th, 2018
Place: Vancouver, BC
Project: The Jewish Historical Society of BC Oral History Project

00:00 Interviewer David Goldman introduces themselves and Marcus Stiller, the owner of Fish Café, who is being interviewed.
0:21 Stiller was born in Durban, South Africa in 1961. His family lived in a near a Jewish community and Stiller went to Jewish schools. Stiller also describes the significant role food has played in their life since they were young.
1:53 Stiller went to hotel school in South Africa but decided they preferred the culinary industry. Later they worked in Israel for two years.
3:10 Stiller’s first restaurant was in Tel Aviv. They developed a restaurant for a wealthy family and enjoyed the social aspect of the business.
4:18 Goldman asks Stiller how they started the Fish Café in Vancouver. Still recalls that he modeled his business after one with a similar concept in South Africa that sells only seafood.
5:21 Stiller provides an overview of their time in the food industry. After working in Israel for two years, they went to Pretoria, South Africa and joined a friend’s steakhouse business. Around that time, Stiller met their wife to be who was planning to move to Cape Town. Stiller moved with her where they got involved in a successful pizza and pasta restaurant chain. Later, Stiller moved to Johannesburg where they joined their brother-in-law in an electronics business before also working in the security industry. In 1996, Stiller and their wife moved to Vancouver and in 2000, opened the Fish Café.
8:25 Goldman asks Stiller about the extent that Judaism had an effect on their business. Stiller describes how the Jewish community in Vancouver continuously supported their restaurant.
9:33 The speakers begin discussing the changes that have occurred in the food industry during Stiller’s career. Stiller notes that they have noticed a growing trend of smaller food businesses that are independent and family-owned opening in the Kerrisdale area. Stiller recalls their sons’ involvement in the restaurant.
11:39 Goldman asks what Stiller thinks regarding the future of the Fish Café and whether their children will continue it. Stiller replies that it is unlikely their children will take over the business and they will work in it until they are no longer able to.
13:27 Stiller recounts what they’ve learned after working in the restaurant industry. They describe how they are starting to see young people whose parents brought them to the Fish Café as children come in themselves. The Fish Café has allowed Stiller to develop many relationships within the community.
15:11 Stiller recalls how Kerrisdale has changed since the Fish Café began. They notice that it has become increasingly commercialized. Stiller also mentions how they feel very fortunate to be part of the community in Vancouver.
16:19 End of interview.