Showing 166 results

Archival description
JHSBC Oral History Collection Vancouver Item Occupations
Print preview View:

2 results with digital objects Show results with digital objects

Aaron Kafka

Interview with Aaron Kafka. Interviewed by Michael Schwartz for The Scribe, 2018. Aaron talks about his experiences with coffee shops and cafes before he decided to open Kafka's in Vancouver. He talks about how his coffee shop sets him apart from competition, the city's shifting food scene, and the importance of relationships in the Jewish community.

Adam Granot

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.

Al Kolberg

Oral history interview with Al Kolberg who was born in Saskatoon, 1919. His father came from Russia in 1905 where he worked as a shochet. Al recalls the reasons for Jewish assimilation in Vancouver in the early to mid twentieth century.

Alan Tapper

Oral history interview with Alan Tapper, interviewed by Matthew Graves and assisted by Alan’s wife, Daphne. Alan speaks on his family’s history as well as adolescence in the Jewish community of East London, England, including the artistic and political environment. Alan talks about his family’s experience during the Second World War in London where his neighborhood was heavily bombed and impoverished by rationing, leading to his family’s evacuation to Devon and Newcastle. Alan discusses his involvement in various youth groups and theatre during the war, such as the Brady’s Boy Club. He talks about his military training at Padgate and subsequent conscription into the Royal Air Force intelligence unit where he was stationed in Egypt to monitor conflict over the Suez Canal. Alan speaks about how his military experience impacted his life and also the anti-Semitism he observed. He discusses his immigration to Vancouver, Canada and his role in numerous Jewish and Zionist organizations and boards, including B’nai Brith and the Canadian Jewish Congress. He talks about his job in fundraising, teaching public speaking, and radio program hosting, as well as his children and marriage.

Alex Kliner

Oral interview with Alex Kliner. Interviewed by Peter Doolan for SLAIS Oral History class. Kliner was born in Philadelphia in 1930. His parents were from Rusia and he talks about his parent’s life and growing up in Philadelphia. At 20 he was drafted to fight in the Korean War. He came back and studied acting at Hedgerow. After he graduated, he went to New York to work on Broadway. Morris Schwartz told him not to go into Yiddish Theatre because it was dying. He talks about McCarthyism and the blacklist in Hollywood and on Broadway. A friend convinced him to move to Hollywood. Here he went to Los Angeles Community College and UCLA and got a master’s degree. His teachers told him not to get his PhD and got into teaching instead. He moved to Vancouver to work at the Peretz School. He then became the program director at JCC. With Tova Sneider he started the Jewish Heritage Theatre Company. Later he became the Executive Director of State of Israel Bond. He also worked with Chelm Cultural Club

Allan Nortman

Oral history interview with Allan Nortman, interviewed by Jennifer Yuhasz, in preparation for the 2014 Scribe with a focus on Jewish scrap metal dealers. Allan speaks on his family’s history, explaining how he came to be born in Haifa, Israel, in 1951. Following their short time in Israel, his family moved to England for a few months before setting in Vancouver in 1953. He speaks on his own career as well as his father’s though his own memories from his childhood.

Andrew Riseman

Interview with Andrew Riseman. Interviewed by April Thompson for the Feeding Community podcast. Andrew is an associate professor at the University of British Columbia for applied biology and plant breeding. In the interview, Andrew talks about genetic modification, food aesthetics and selection, production and consumption, and other topics within the food industry.

Anna Lutsky

Oral Interview with Anna Lutsky for the JMABC Artists Scribe. Interviewed by Helen Aqua. Anna was born in Tunis in 1952. She describes her family history, mostly situated within Tunisia, where her artistic influences came from her mother and sister. She recalls going to a strict French school in Tunis until the age of 16, when her family moved to a diverse kibbutz in Israel. She discusses the beginning of her art career as a young mother at the age of 22. Anna describes how her artwork acted as diaries for the places she lived throughout her life, including France, Italy and Cyprus, where the landscapes were the common sources of inspiration. She talks about how her art evolved into a mixed-media style that included painting on objects like furniture or clothing to repurpose their form and function, but one of her largest reoccurring themes remains nature. Anna tells of her most prominent memories of galleries and exhibitions where her art has been shown; this includes turning her home into a gallery, but also participating in World Expos abroad and being commissioned to represent France and Canada with her pieces. She further discusses how her art is more secular than reflective of Jewish connections.

Anna R. Leith

Oral history interview with Anna R. Leith who was born in 1923 in Prince George. Studied bacteriology in University and wound up working in Bio-Medical Libraries. Involved in a number of associations, Canadian Society of Lab. Technologists; active in the General B. C. Library Association., president eventually, the B.C. Librarians, and Canadian Library Association. After she retired she joined the National Council of Jewish Women, the Genealogy Association of B.C, the JCC and the Jewish Historical Society.

Avraham Feigelstock

Interview with Rabbi Avraham Feigelstock. Interviewed by Gary Averbach for The Scribe, 2018. Rabbi Avraham talks about the founding and operation of Kosher Check (formerly BC Kosher), on which he serves as supervising rabbi.

Results 1 to 10 of 166