🌏 Memories of Expo 86 — 40 Years Later ✨
I came across an old video recently, and wow… it brought back so many memories. 🎥
I graduated in 1980, and there just weren’t a lot of jobs. I was living out in the Valley, and back then—you really needed a car. 🚗
I remember doing all kinds of work just to get by:
🍓 working on a raspberry picking machine
🍄 picking mushrooms
🥚 packing eggs
And somewhere in there, I got a job at Expo 86… working graveyard shift as a janitor.
🌙 Night Shift at Expo
I only worked there about a month—but it left an impression.
I worked in this old building (which later burned down). It was kind of the “guts” of Expo—offices, costumes, uniforms… all the behind-the-scenes things that kept everything running.
It wasn’t right on the main grounds—more over by the Chinese Gardens—but I had to walk through the Expo site to get there.
Every night, I’d take the bus down Fraser Street… 🚌
and I could watch the fireworks in the distance. 🎆
That part I’ll never forget.
🏚️ A Strange Feeling
At the time, I didn’t understand why the building felt so… off.
Later, I learned it had been used during the war to house Japanese Canadians. I didn’t know that back then—but looking back, it explains that “weird” feeling I couldn’t quite name.
It’s interesting how places can hold history, even when we don’t know it yet.
💰 Wages & Moving Up
I honestly can’t remember exactly what I made at Expo—somewhere around $3.50 to $4.25 an hour.
Not much—but it was something.
After I left, I got a job in a laundry making $5/hour…
which felt like hitting the big time! 😄
Then about a year later, I landed a union job making $9/hour.
That’s when things started to feel like they were finally moving forward. 📈
📬 The Little Things That Stayed
One thing I’ll always remember…
After Expo ended, we all received a letter thanking us for our work from Jimmy Pattison. At the time, that felt so official—so meaningful.
I’m pretty sure I still have:
📛 my Expo name tag
🔘 a button
📄 the letter
…and a few other little momentos
📸 A Moment in Time
Here’s a photo of me in my Expo 86 uniform.
(Yes… a little wrinkly 😅)
 |
| Posing in my Expo86 uniform |
I think I just threw it on quickly for the picture—this was taken back in the Valley, at my home, not in Vancouver where I was working.
🌆 Looking Back
Expo 86 definitely changed Vancouver. It brought people, energy, and opportunity.
For me, it was just one small chapter—but one I’ll never forget.
A mix of:
✨ excitement
😴 exhaustion
💭 strange feelings
🌱 and small steps forward
Funny how even a short experience can stay with you for decades.
Tina Winterlik
(Originally written in 2011, revisited 40 years after Expo 86)
Reflective questions
- What was your first job, and how did it shape your understanding of work?
- Have you ever worked a night shift? How did it affect your body and mindset? 🌙
- What small moments from your past jobs have stayed with you over time?
- Have you ever felt something was “off” in a place before knowing its history?
- How does learning the history of a place change your perspective of it?
- What kinds of jobs were available when you were starting out, and how do they compare to today?
- Have you ever left a job because it didn’t feel right or safe? What did you learn from that decision?
- What role do big events (like world fairs or festivals) play in shaping a city’s future? 🌆
- What items or mementos from your past do you still keep, and why are they meaningful? 📸
- Looking back, what advice would you give your younger self at that stage in life?
No comments:
Post a Comment