Back in the day, the only students who stayed at Gilmore Community School to eat their lunch were the Crabtown kids. The uphill hike to Gilmore from the squatters’ shacks along the Burrard Inlet was too much to return home for lunch and make it back to school on time.
This is just one of the tales featured in an upcoming screening of 100 Years at Gilmore Community School, a documentary shot and produced by Yunuen Perez Vertti, featuring interviews with students from decades past.
“I was really fascinated by everybody and how connected they were and how this school really played a big role in so many people’s lives,” said Perez Vertti.
The film marks Gilmore’s 100th anniversary and highlights students’ lived experiences through the Great Depression, the Second World War and the 1960s. Over those decades, the school’s population reflected the changing demographics in Burnaby.
“In the pictures I’ve seen, you can see the different ethnicities that have changed the face of Gilmore,” Perez Vertti said.
In the 1960s, there were only one or two Asian students, but by the ‘80s and ‘90s, the school becomes much more diverse, Perez Vertti explained.
The Burnaby Heights Neighbourhood Association partnered with Perez Vertti to make the film.
“We talk about how our communities are being lost,” she said. “Projects like this give a history to a community. There’s a lot more motivation to be part of it and see how a school contributes to that sense of community.”
Film screening:
- Friday, May 13 at Gilmore Community School, 50 South Gilmore Ave.
- Wine and cheese reception at 7 p.m. (bar is cash only), screening at 8 p.m., closing remarks at 8:35 p.m.
- RSVP to Katie Rodgers, 604-298-4333.
- Admission $10, proceeds got to the school’s programs.
