Monthly Archives: January 2015

From the Archives Kitchen – Sour Cream Doughnuts

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A tasty, 1930-style, homemade sour cream doughnut. (Bill Purver photograph)

A homemade, 1930-style, sour cream doughnut. (Bill Purver photograph)

Before the proliferation of specialty bakeries and fast food chains in the latter half of the 20th century, the search for a fresh doughnut to accompany an afternoon coffee often ended up in one’s own kitchen.

An old recipe for homemade sour cream doughnuts was recently discovered at the City of Richmond Archives in records of the Ladies’ Aid of Richmond United Church.

Cover of "Tested Recipes" published in 1930 by the Ladies Aid to Richmond United Church. City of Richmond Archives, Richmond United Church fonds, Series 5, File 3

Cover of “Tested Recipes.” City of Richmond Archives, Richmond United Church fonds, Series 5, File 3

The recipe was found in “Tested Recipes”, a book published in 1930 by the women’s group as a fundraising effort on behalf of the church situated at the corner of River Road and Cambie.

Richmond United Church at the corner of River Road and Cambie, ca. 1930. City of Richmond Archives Photograph 1985 39 104

Richmond United Church at the corner of River Road and Cambie, ca. 1930. City of Richmond Archives Photograph 1985 39 104

Constructed in 1891 as the Richmond Methodist Church and renamed the Richmond United Church in 1925 after church union, the building was later purchased by the municipality, moved to Minoru Park in 1967, and renamed Minoru Chapel.

Ad supplied by BC Electric Railway Company on inside of front cover of "Tested Recipes."

Advertisement on inside front cover of “Tested Recipes.”

The recipe book is a collection of old family recipes submitted by church members, the names of whom read like a who’s who of some of early Richmond’s most prominent residents.

Contributors included Mrs. H.A. McBurney, Mrs. R.P. Ketcheson, Mrs. E. Cooney, Mrs. W.G. Easterbrook, Mrs. J.W. Miller, Mrs. James Thompson, Mrs. Grauer, and Mrs. Mitchell among others.

The book was sponsored by various companies and includes advertisements for services and products of interest to those who would be using the recipes.

 

Recipe for Sour Cream Doughnuts on page 13 of "Tested Recipes."

Recipe for Sour Cream Doughnuts on page 13 of “Tested Recipes.”

The Friends of the Richmond Archives’ resident pastry chef and Board Director, Precilla Huang, decided to try out the recipe to gain insight into the culinary expertise and practices of homecooking in the 1930s.

A tasty plate of homemade doughnuts using the 1930 recipe. (Graham Turnbull photograph)

A tasty plate of homemade doughnuts, thanks to Friends of the Richmond Archives Board Director Precilla Huang and the 1930 “tested recipe.” (Graham Turnbull photograph)

The end result of Precilla’s work was delicious, a doughnut much less sweet than that of the present day, but rich in texture and taste.

(Note: “Doughnut” is the traditional spelling of the word and consistent with usage in the 1930s.  “Donut” is a modern-day spelling associated with the later, large-scale commercialization of the snack.)

Focus on the Record – Records of Early Policing

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Richmond has had four distinct policing regimes, each documented in records held at the Archives: police constables appointed by Council, a small force regulated by a Board, the BC Provincial Police and lastly the RCMP.

Chief of Police Andrew Waddell in 1914. City of Richmond Archives Photograph 1985 206 1

Chief of Police Andrew Waddell in 1914. City of Richmond Archives Photograph 1985 206 1

The earliest police force consisted of a constable or constables appointed and administered by Town Council. An overview of this early development can be had by reading Council minutes and reports to Council from that period.  Other municipal records and reference material in the Archives provide reference for important events involving the police, including the murder of Chief of Police Alexander Main in 1900.

The oversight of policing activities was enhanced by the creation of two bodies separate from Council. The Board of Licence Commissioners was established in 1889 with the power to licence and inspect establishments such as hotels and saloons serving liquor.  Enforcement activities relating to this licensing were carried out by police constables. The Archives holds the minutes of the Board from 1894 to 1917, which tell a colourful if partial tale of Richmond’s early night life.

Report to the Board of Licence Commissioners, September, 1917. City of Richmond Archives MR 403, File BLC 1-1

Report to the Board of Licence Commissioners, September, 1917. City of Richmond Archives MR 403, File BLC 1-1

In 1915, Council established the Board of Police Commissioners to appoint and manage the police force. Chaired by the Reeve, the Board carried out a variety of administrative functions and received reports from the Chief of Police on crime and police actions and complaints from citizens with regard to law and order and police conduct. The Archives holds the largely hand-written minutes of this Board for most of its existence, until its dissolution in 1941.

Annual Report to the Board of Police Commissioners, 1916. City of Richmond Archives MR 404, File BPC 1-1

First page of Annual Report to the Board of Police Commissioners, 1916. City of Richmond Archives MR 404, File BPC 1-1

In November 1940 Council decided to hand over local policing to the BC Provincial Police. Although this decision marked the end of Richmond’s own police force, the story of policing in the municipality continues in other records held by the Archives.

Municipal records series 42 (1914-1988) includes a wide range of records created or received by the City concerning policing activities and services, and justice issues. Files in this series include monthly reports from the local detachment of the Provincial Police (1941-1950), as well as various reports from the RCMP from the time it took over municipal policing in Richmond in August, 1950.

Group photograph of RCMP Richmond Detachment personnel, including Police Magistrate R.C. Palmer, in the 1950s. City of Richmond Archives Photograph 2010 37 1

Group photograph of RCMP Richmond Detachment personnel, including Police Magistrate R.C. Palmer, in the 1950s. City of Richmond Archives Photograph 2010 37 1

[Note – this is an updated version of an article first published in the Fall 2013 issue of the Archives News]

Japanese Canadians on Sea Island

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Cannery workers and their families at Vancouver Cannery, Sea Island, on the occasion of the visit by the Japanese Consul, 1912

Cannery workers and their families at Vancouver Cannery, Sea Island, on the occasion of the visit by the Japanese Consul and his wife, 1912. City of Richmond Archives Photograph RCF 185

Many people are surprised to learn of the significant presence of Japanese Canadians on Sea Island prior to World War II.

Vancouver and Acme (top) Canneries on Sea Island, ca. 1932. City of Richmond Archives Don Gordon collection

Acme Cannery (top) and Vancouver Cannery (bottom) on Sea Island, ca. 1932. City of Richmond Archives Photograph 1985 166 10

 

Beginning in the early years of the last century, a number of Japanese moved to Richmond to work as fishermen and cannery workers for Vancouver Cannery and Acme Cannery, both located on the southwest corner of Sea Island.

 

List of families in cannery-owned housing, 1936. City of Richmond Archives MR 6, File 603-3

List of families in cannery-owned housing, 1936. City of Richmond Archives MR 6, File 603-3

 

 

The majority of the workers and their families lived in company-owned housing in close proximity to the canneries themselves.

The houses were built on both sides of the dyke running through the cannery properties.

A school, the Sea Island Japanese School, was established at Vancouver Cannery for the sons and daughters of workers of both canneries.

Sea Island Japanese School, Div. 2, 1929. City of Richmond Archives Photograph 1985 39 65

Sea Island Japanese School, Div. 2, 1929. City of Richmond Archives Photograph 1985 39 65

Sea Island Hurricanes, ca. 1938. City of Richmond Archives Photograph 2004 2 1

Sea Island Hurricanes, ca. 1938. City of Richmond Archives Photograph 2004 2 1

 

A sense of identity and a spirit of cooperation and self-sufficiency developed. Sports teams like the Sea Island Hurricanes (aka North Arm Hurricanes) played against lacrosse teams from Steveston and other communities, while groups like the Sea Island Young People’s Society organized a variety of social activities.

Sea Island Young People's Society on New Year's Day, 1939. City of Richmond Archives Photograph 2013 8 1

Sea Island Young People’s Society on New Year’s Day, 1939. City of Richmond Archives Photograph 2013 8 1

World War II, however, marked the end of the community on Sea Island, with the evacuation of Japanese Canadians in 1942 to camps in the interior of BC or to farms in Alberta.

The canneries were closed and the cannery-owned housing was destroyed.

The burning of cannery-owned houses at Acme Cannery. City of Richmond Archives Photograph 2000 15 2

The burning of Japanese-Canadian houses at Acme Cannery. City of Richmond Archives Photograph 2000 15 2

When Japanese Canadians were allowed to return to the BC coast in 1949, a number of former Sea Island residents made their way back to Richmond and settled in the Steveston area, where they resumed work in the fishing industry.

Cover of Program for the 1983 Reunion. City of Richmond Archives Accession 2014 4

Program for the 1983 Reunion. City of Richmond Archives Accession 2014 4

 

In 1983, a reunion was held for former Japanese-Canadian residents of Sea Island, as well as for those who had lived and worked at nearby Terra Nova and Celtic Canneries. The success of the celebration demonstrated how the spirit of community developed in the pre-war years had never been lost.