The Vancouver Historical Society has kindly invited me to give a talk about the Buzzer next week, on Thursday May 27!

If you’re interested in attending, here are the details from the Society’s Events page:

Thursday, May 27, 2010
7:00 -7:30 p.m. Annual General Meeting
7:30 p.m. Stories from the Buzzer
Speaker: Jhenifer Pabillano

These gatherings take place in the Museum of Vancouver, located at 1100 Chestnut Street at 7.30 pm. Enquire at the Museum desk for directions to the room.

Distributed on public transportation across Vancouver for 94 years, the in-house publication, the Buzzer, became Vancouver’s unique window to the past. Started in 1916 to keep people informed about public transit, it also served to foster rider loyalty to their streetcars in the face of competition by ‘jitney’ operators who patrolled streetcar routes offering competitive rides for five cents. Although ‘jitney’ service was abolished in 1918, the Buzzer became a mainstay of Vancouver public transit with its array of interest facts and anecdotes and became a tally sheet of change throughout much of the City’s history.

Wish me luck! Perhaps I’ll see some of you there :)