Thursday, May 15, 2008

Bundle it up for city's youth group

Here and Now column by Dan Hilborn
Published Jan. 3, 2004


Just in time for the post-Christmas recycling rush, the youth council from the South Burnaby Neighbourhood House is once again collecting bottles, books and clothing to go into winter hampers for local families in need.

The collection drive takes place today, Saturday, Jan. 3, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Drop off items at the South Burnaby Neighbourhood House offices at 6768 Jubilee Ave., right beside Bonsor rec centre, or call 604- 431-0400 to arrange for pickup.

A HUNDRED FOR 100

Longtime Burnaby resident John Karpuk celebrated his 100th birthday in style with more than 100 of his friends and family at the home of neighbours Len and Maggie Arychuk on Boxing Day.

Karpuk was born in Helenowa, Grodno, in what is now Belarus, where he served two years in the Russian army and worked as a bricklayer and carpenter, before an uncle sent him enough money to immigrate to Canada in 1929.

After arriving in Halifax, Karpuk soon made his way out west, where he worked as a section labourer for the Canadian Pacific Railway in Fernie, B.C. for less than $25 per month. He met his future wife, Alice Barsky, while on vacation in Winnipeg and they married in Saskatchewan before returning to B.C.

The family moved to Vancouver in 1943, and Karpuk worked for the former Canron Foundry near Boundary Road. The family moved to the home that Karpuk built on Dominion Street and later moved just a block away onto Manor Street.

Karpuk was a member of the Carpenters' Union and worked on several large buildings, including the Georgia Rower, and in Kemano.

An avid gardener, Karpuk is best known for his tomatoes, which he continued to grow even after moving into the nearby Finnish Manor and then into Dania Home, where he now resides with his wife.

Karpuk enjoys sharing stories about the old country and the history of Canada, playing "feudal games of crib" and drinking the occasional shot of vodka.

His son John lives in Kamloops and daughter Rose is in Pitt Meadows. The Karpuks have five grandchildren and four great- grandchildren. Congrats, and many more!

VIDEOS ON THE WEB

Anyone who was unable to catch North American's Best Independent Animated Shorts that played at Pacific Cinematheque last month might want to check out some of the films on the Internet.

Raider Productions, the local company that brought together the 16 short films that made up the mini-festival, has partnered with Purple Globe Communications to release a full-screen, streaming video version of feature length product.

Purple Globe has created something it calls 'matrix stream technology,' which it hopes will allow Internet surfers to instantly view high quality format movies while using computer hardware that is available to the average home computer user.

Take a peek at either www.nabias.com or www.purpleglobe.com

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