“Old Modern” In January of this year 2012, Gerry was show-cased in the initial launching of the E-Gallery section of the Kerrisdale Playbook Web-site displaying some of his completed etching artwork pieces.  Hopefully the E-Gallery did attract more than a few viewers and created some interest in etching artworks other than the more known artworks like, pencil / colored pastel sketches and colored oil / acrylic paintings.  Subsequent to Gerry’s January show-case on the E-Gallery, Our Kerrisdale Playbook Web-site has discovered that Gerry had another interesting past-time childhood passion with building model airplanes and exotic cars.  Gerry having an artistic creative side for the arts is also blessed with a very creative technical side, where building hobby model planes and cars was something he loved doing during his early teens.  Gerry has agreed to show-case in the E-Gallery two hobby models he has completed as an adult quite sometime ago.  The first hobby model kit is a 5-channel radio-controlled,  gas-motored, 6.5 lb. helicopter with a main rotor-blade of 36″ diameter span, which Gerry purchased in (1987)  and took over 2 two years to build.  The second hobby model kit is a 1:8 scale, Spider Touring Gran Sport (1932) Alfa Romeo Car (made up of over 2500-plus total connecting nuts, bolts, wires, car parts in different materials of special high resistance plastics, brass, stainless steel, iron, copper, rubber and leather).  Gerry purchase the hobby model car kit in (1975) at a hobby shop at Cambie & 41st Avenue and took over 1-1/2 years to build.  Both the completed helicopter and car show-cased on the E-Gallery are very complex, but interestingly, in particular the Alfa Romeo Car kit was designed in Italy and mass-produced into hobbist model kits at least 50 ++ years ago by hand...

Mary Dopson ‘Keep Moving Forward’ Written and Photographed by Trina Moran     An inspiring and warm-hearted woman, Mary Dopson sees the world as a race. A race she definitely is leading. At 93, she has seen the world evolve and values the importance of community and keeping up a healthy, positive attitude towards everyone and everything that comes her way. Originally from Scotland, Mary grew up in Winnipeg and resided there for sixty years. ‘It’s COLD.’ remarks Mary when I ask her what Winnipeg is like. A part from Winnipeg’s ice-like temperatures, Mary recalls her glory days of being an athletic runner in the late 1930’s. In 1936 she won 1st place in the Women’s Broad Jump and 2nd in the Women’s 100m, both ‘in the same day’, Mary boasts. That year she qualified for the 1936 Summer Olympic Games in Berlin. Unfortunately due to the Depression, Mary was informed that she would have to pay her own passage to Berlin, and could not attend. Nearly eighty years later, Mary seems just as excited about her accomplishments as she was when she was 18. Dopson smiles and remarks ‘I’m just an old has-been.’ I tell her, ‘It’s better to be a has-been than a never-been.’ Mary stopped running competitively in 1940 due to the outbreak of WWII and to start a family. Recently in 2009, Mary competed in the B.C. Senior’s Games in Richmond in the 100m dash against other seniors 90 and over. Proof that her sporting spirit thrives. She was also honoured during the 2009 B. C. Senior Games in Vancouver by being invited to march with the torch. In 1980 Mary moved to Vancouver to be closer to her sons and in search of ‘better weather.’ She has also resided in Kerrisdale...

Patricia Martinez   By Coco Bikadoroff Patricia Martinez taught Spanish in her home town in Mexico. She began teaching in Vancouver in 1997 and has since taught out of her Kerrisdale village office since 2000. She came upon her Kerrisdale location while she was pregnant with her first child and shopping for baby clothes! There was an infant store in an old office building on 41st called ‘Small Peas’ which she went to and found that the woman there was moving.  She grabbed the opportunity to rent the office and she is still there today. Patricia is a lovely, vibrant woman with a flare for life! She always has a smile to give. She loves being a part of the close knit community of the Kerrisdale village and how all the merchants and regulars know each other. She also loves that she can walk down the street and recognize her students from as far back as 12 years. She shares the space with other teachers, when there wasn’t enough room for all the classes, she would sometimes teach in the coffee shop (Legato) and also at the jungle cafe which the only Mexican restaurant in the village. She used to advertise in Georgia straight before the internet, but she likes the community concept of advertising better.  Along with her partner Nora, they would participate in the Kerrisdale carnival days by creating a huge rainbow balloon and raffle off free lessons. Patricia’s students range from 4-80 years old. She loves teaching and can’t see herself changing careers. Her biggest influence in her life came from her father who was her social science teacher in high school. Her Grandmother and Great Aunt were also teachers. You can tell she has had a loving bond with her family...

Interviewed and written by Queenie Lee Dylan Cramer has been teaching saxophone in Kerrisdale Community Centre for 19 years. He is also a recording artist who has received worldwide acclaim. What is the key for his success? It is his talent, but also his “honesty” with his students and “passion” for his job. Dylan’s success did not come easily. He had gone through difficult times when he was young. The death of his father when he was 13 was the reason he started connecting to his saxophone. “It was a way to escape.” Dylan recalled. However, his way of escape brought him two of the most influential people in his life. He went to LA to study with Sonny Criss who became like a second father to Dylan. “It was like finding my father again.” Dylan described. But heartbreakingly, his second father left him just like his biological father. They both committed suicides.  With his days filled with grief, Phil Sobel was the one who put Dylan back together. “Every death brought in a birth” Dylan told me. Yes, the death of his father gave birth to his passion for saxophone and his attachment with his second father Sonny and the death of Sonny brought in the birth of his other mentor Phil Sobel. “I am very fortunate. Some people never bump into anybody meaningful in their life.” Dylan said. Success never came easily. The success Dylan has today is credited to his hard work and talent, but to him, it is credited to all the meaningful people in his life. The influence his two mentors had on him transfers to how he sees his music career and education today. Being a teacher is not a job for Dylan Cramer. He specifically said to me “it’s...

“My Wishes and Dreams” by Grade One French Immersion Students (Teacher Madame K) at Kerrisdale Elementary Our children are born natural artists!  All pictures are amazing, different and reflect our children’s vision of the world and future. Education is about helping children who are capable of self-reflection and self-expression! Bravo! Our teachers and children! ‘Whatever you can dream, begin to do it. Boldness has the power and magic in it.’ Goethe...

Ms. Marilyn Teresa Yee is the School Counsellor for Kerrisdale Elementary, whom I, through multiple courtship, convinced to contribute a piece of wisdom to this issue. As Marilyn likes to say, “We all have the capacity to continue to give love and echo life.” ~ The Editor-in-Chief   Written and Photographed by  COCO BIKADOROFF   Q. How long have you served for Kerrisdale Elementary?  A. This will be my 5th year. Q. During your 5 years of working at KE, what has attracted you to staying with serving at KE? A. The main thing is the creative and professional staff I work with. For a school this size, the dedication to learning is fantastic. Everyone gets along so well. The teachers are very inspiring to me. I love being in a dual track school; I love having the French and the English. It just really stretches your creativity. Q. Do you speak French as well? A. I don’t, I speak enough to get by with the kindergartens and grade one’s but I understand a lot more. Q. Do you have any special training/experience that has prepared you to be a better counsellor?  A. Well all of us are teachers, all the counsellors are teachers.  I have a Masters degree in counselling Psychology.  An interesting sidetrack is that I also have a Diploma in Theology, because I always had a whole lot of questions about the meaning of life, why do people suffer, and how do they find happiness.   Q. Please tell us about any special projects that you’re currently working on. A. The most current project I’m working on is to understand something called ‘Social Thinking’ and it’s the work of Michelle Garcia Winner from San Jose California.  She started working with autistic children and how to...

Jack Parasiuk By COCO BIKADOROFF Photographs by DEAN MCLEAN   It couldn’t be more nestled in the heart of the village. The fresh flowers surrounding the patio and the beautifully designed french doors set the entrance for an inviting bistro experience. Jack Parasiuk is a hard working entrepaneur with a very kind and happy air about him. He took over Suvai Restaurant in 2007 when the opportunity presented itself after he had been working with the previous owners. But this is not his first restaurant; he owned a business in Gastown with his best friend and current chef Denis Scipion who he has great respect and admiration for. Jack started in the business as a young boy along with his family. His European upbringing taught him that a happy environment involved many a good time including good food, drink, dancing, entertainment, socializing, but with an emphasis on food. When asked ‘Why Kerrisdale?’, Jack said that it reminded him of the ‘70’s. The village ambiance is a perfect setting for Suvai’s epicurean experience, and the close knit community reminds him of simpler days, when the world was not as technologically busy and people were more engaging and personable. He feels that is what it’s like present day in the community. He believes in treating others the way you wish to be treated and that this neighbourhood has provided him with just that.   People smile and take the time to chat even if they don’t know him, and you can tell when you meet him that even after one encounter, however small, he will remember you. Jack hopes that Suvai will leave a lasting impression on its visitors. That a good time will be had by all and that they will remember the warm, cozy spot...

Mike Hallatt, co-founder of Benny’s bagels,premiered his first documentary film ‘Uncle Herb’ about end of life issues and how they intersect health care at Kerrisdale Community Centre’s Creative Artisti Series on January 22, 2012. Here is the movie review (For those that missed it)!! “An Exploration of Gourmet Healthcare” Reviewed by Trina Moran Someone in your family needs surgery to correct a condition that is life threatening. Now imagine if your health care system denied them the surgery. Why? They’re too old, it’s too risky, and someone else needs that procedure more than they do. Now, these reasons seem a little unacceptable, right? ‘Uncle Herb’, a documentary by Vancouverite Michael Hallat, explores this exact predicament. His own Uncle Herb, whom the documentary follows, is denied surgery to correct his abdominal aorta aneurysm. Why? Because he’s 89 years old and the Canadian healthcare system deems Herb ‘too old’ and the surgery ‘too risky’. Herb, a spry and determined ex-WWII military officer refuses to take ‘too old’ and ‘too risky’ for an answer. Instead, he heads to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, the Dalai Lama of American healthcare. As far as Herb himself is concerned, he loves life and is willing to do, travel, and pay whatever it takes to ensure he keeps living. Hallat notes that Herb is proud of his service during WWII and describes the Canadian healthcare’s attitude towards Herb as ‘here’s a blanket, go home, make yourself comfortable, and die’. As far as Herb is concerned, he did not fight the Nazis to take a blanket, go home, make himself comfortable, and die. Thus, Herb and his nephew Michael set out for America in search of the healthcare Herb deserves. Hallat escorts Herb throughout the entire duration of Herb’s surgery. In a trailer they embark on...

For the first time in history, four generations are coming together, Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Millennials. We round up the best way to unlock the freedom of self-expression and our creative potential.   By Keiko Honda, Photographed by Erik Price  All programs and classes at the community centre, like most things in life, are divided by age, so why not start something different? We identified three fruitful areas for developing a program agenda for Kerrisdale Community Centre. These are community building, creativity, and intergenerational learning. Why is intergenerational learning so important? Current lifestyle increasingly has led to generations becoming distanced from one another, particularly younger from older. Today, we live in a different time; we think we have everything at our finger-tips, knowledge, information, products, and communication tools, instantly making us hyper-consumerists without face-to-face interactions. But, how does today’s way of life impact on the way we learn from each other? Are we missing the opportunities to enrich our lives from other generations? How is the life we think we have affecting our innate creative potential? For people of any age, creativity is a birthright. The truth of the matter is that we all ARE artists and we are entitled to express our creativity whatever form we choose to experiment with. But, how can we look at our lives in a way like a small child, full of curiosity and wonder and amazement? Where to begin? This is why we launched “Creative Artists Series” in order to change the way people of all ages can learn together and from each other. It is a slow and small but fresh start, with full of possibilities intended to foster lifelong learning relationships between different generations and helps to unleash creativity. As the Zen master, Shunryu Suzuki says, “In the beginner’s mind there are...

Dominic Morgan is the manager at Bean around the World on Dunbar and 40th. He has been a real supporter of the “Creative Artist Series” at the Kerrisdale Community Centre through a generous donation of coffee to all the participants. By COCO BIKADOROFF     Photographs by DEAN MCLEAN     Dominic is a great supporter of the local arts and runs his business with an honest sense of community flair. I sat down with Dominic to interview him at his establishment… Q. The brunch at your cafe is very successful. What do you love about it? I love the atmosphere that we create, I feel that we’ve created a place where people can feel like it’s their second home and if they do feel that way then I feel it’s perfect. Q. What is the secret to your success? The secret is there is no secret. It’s just having a passion for the work and instilling passion in both the employees and the customers. Q. Which work do you consider your greatest? My greatest…not sure how to answer that, my greatest work so far is a work in progress, and that’s training up people to do what I do here. To be able to pass on the knowledge that I’ve gained. If that’s successful, which I know it will be, then that will be my biggest accomplishment here. Q. What’s the hardest part of running a business like this? Umm, the hardest part ? Nothing is really hard, mainly things are more tedious and that’s anything that’s away from the front counter. Anything that’s not being out here with the people I find less exciting. I like to connect with the customers. Q. What’s the newest, freshest approach that you bring to your job? That’s actually...

Gerry is a third generation Chinese Canadian born in Victoria, B.C. and a long-time resident in the Kerrisdale area. He had a wonderful career for over 40-plus years in the field of Architecture. Gerry is retired and now with more leisure time to do other things, he accidently a year ago rekindled his childhood passion for the arts. On Christmas morning of 2010, doing their traditional family “Christmas Stocking Stuffer” event he received a set of etching tools and a few small etching blocks in his stocking from Santa (from his daughter, Tara, who knew her father’s artistic talent). Shortly after the New Year, Gerry picked up the etching tools and the polymer faced etching blocks and started to scratch out some images. Since picking up the etching tools, Gerry has created some larger artwork etchings which are show-cased in the E-Gallery. Gerry plans to continue etching new artworks to satisfying his artistic endeavors. Photographs by Erik...