Oral history interview with Sheldon Kopelow.

Interview with Shira Macklin 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. Shira (she/her) is a Jewish lesbian woman, who was born in Estevan, SK and currently residing in Vancouver. Shira shares about her family origins in England and Russia, and growing up on the Canadian prairies. Shira tells the story behind how she realized she was a lesbian, coming out to her university aged children, and discovering lesbian community in Winnipeg. Shira talks about finding spirituality after experiencing a plane-jacking in India, which led her to the Diamond Approach spirituality school in Colorado and eventually Vancouver. Shira talks about her youth including education, awareness of the Holocaust and early investment in zionism. She talks about her relationship and career histories, and her involvement in Or Shalom. She reflects on women’s/lesbian Seders in Vancouver, and the relationship between the Jewish and queer communities.

Oral history interview with Simon Fallmann who was born in Germany. He spent his childhood in Holland during World War II. Later in life he studied and worked in bio-medical engineering; quasar infra-red photography and aero-nautical engineering.

Oral History interview with Sonia Sara Bellas, who immigrated to Canada in November, 1925, from a small town near Kiev, in Russia. Her family, unable to move to the United States, settled in Winnipeg. The purpose of immigration was to live closer to family that had settled in Philadelphia. Sonia attended school until grade 11, after which she went on to work in laundry and dry cleaning. She met her husband in 1940, and they were married on December 26, 1942, at his parents' home in Vancouver. They had several children together. Whilst living in Vancouver, Sonia worked in clothing retail. After her retirement, she spent much of her time with her husband and children and fondly remembers entertaining guests at her home. At the time of the interview, she enjoys attending services with her family for high holidays, having lunch with her children and grandchildren weekly, and was a member of Seniors Club. Her son is also present at the interview and offers additional insight to his mother's life as well as his experience growing up with his mother and father.

Oral Interview with Sophie Cymbalista, Etta Klausner, and Cal Shell. Interviewed by Alisa Lazear and April Thompson for Feeding Community podcast.

Oral Interview with Susy Naylor for the JMABC Artists Scribe. Interviewed by Helen Aqua. Susy was born in Brooklyn in 1943 and talks about her family history in the city and abroad, as well as her immigration to Canada as an adult. She talks about her education including two nursing degrees which led her to teach nursing upon moving to Winnipeg. Wanting to transition to counselling, Susy moved to Coquitlam and commuted to school in Washington which eventually enabled her to open a private practice. Susy describes her challenges doing art from home as a middle-aged mother and how her outlook on her artistic ability changed as she did more workshops and gained mentorship, albeit still experiencing impostor syndrome. Susy discusses how her paintings don’t truly have stories, but are ambiguous and she loves to hear the interpretations of the viewers. Susy also discusses how participating in a Leonard Cohen themed art show made her realize her difficulties visualizing imagery in her head when she had an idea, helping to clarify her artistic process. She talks about her involvement in galleries and art crawls, and teaching classes to others who question if they can be an artist.