1. My Greek Barber’s Diary
My Greek Barber’s Diary is a wonderful, uplifting story of a Greek immigrant arriving in Canada in 1959 and the downtown Vancouver business community of the 60s, 70s and 80s. You will meet the movers and shakers, the up and coming entrepreneurs Jimmy Pattison, Joe Segal, Sid Belzberg, the Howe Street Boys Murray Pezzim, Lou Black and even the down and outers. His heart-warming story of success and struggle is rivoting! A legend in Vancouver, George Chronopoulos no longer has his barber shop on the lower level of the Hyatt Hotel in downtown Vancouver where he had been for 50 years but is still keeping his hand in cutting hair at Macdonald and Broadway at Einstein’s Salon. A Walter Mitty character who knows everyone he still stumbles into all sorts of adventures even today at age 81. You will love meeting George through his book and if should stroll over to Vancouver’s west side to meet him.
The Jewish Independent Newspaper
This important book is now available. It is the only book in print on the legacy of Canadian Airlines. It is called An Insider’s Story of the Rise & Fall of Canadian Airlines by Sid Fattedad who was born in Hong Kong. Sid rose to become Senior VP of the pacific region and later of Quality Control worldwide. When the airline was in trouble he was the man responsible for the employee buy-out plan that tried to save the airline from merging with Air Canada. This is his story! This book represents half of Canada’s commercial aviation history. It should be in every public library in Canada so Canadians can read about what used to be our second national carrier. To read the synopsis for the book go to the opening page and click on the cover.
3. The Life & Times of the Legendary Mr. D
The Life & Times of the Legendary Mr.D tells the story of how one man started the youth band movement in Vancouver, Canada in 1933. It also tells the story of how band became an accredited course in the schools of what was then called Greater Vancouver. It talks about the music educators who were responsible and about the amazing organization that was held up as an example of how the youth of Vancouver could benefit from learning to play a musical instrument, The Kitsilano Boys’ Band. For 50 years the Kitsilano Boy’s Band won over 200 championship awards and made 14 extended tours of the Old Country. The boys went on to become the who’s who of the Canadian musical establishment playing and directing in bands and orchestras across the country: Dal Richards, Arnie Chycoski, Donny Clark, Bob Buckley. Other alumni became doctors and lawyers, teachers and architects and entrepreneurs such as Jimmy Pattison and Bing Thom. When I interviewed 130 alumni for this book, they all agreed that what had inspired them the most was achieving a measure of success at a young age in the famed Kitsilano Boys’ Band.
Warfleet Press 