Residents who helped make Langley the unique place it is today were honoured Sunday by the Township of Langley and the City of Langley.
More than 350 pioneers and guests gathered at the Langley Events Centre on Sunday, Nov. 20, for the annual Douglas Day celebration. The event is held to commemorate the founding of the Crown Colony of British Columbia in Fort Langley on Nov. 19, 1858, and recognize the appointment of Sir James Douglas as the first Governor of B.C.
Douglas Day pays tribute to Langley’s pioneering families whose hard work, values, and traditions helped shape the community. During the celebration, Langley residents who are at least 70 years of age and have lived in the Township or the City for more than 60 years were invited to socialize, share stories and memories, and enjoy a meal together.
The 2011 Douglas Day event paid tribute to British heritage and included special presentations, a visit from “Queen Victoria” and members of the Royal Engineers, and old-time musical entertainment from The Mad Celts.
This year, the Douglas Day banquet was presented as a luncheon one day later than normal, so it did not conflict with the municipal election on Nov. 19. There are 260 people on Langley’s pioneer list, 190 of whom attended.
Douglas Day has been recognized in the Township of Langley since the 1920s and the banquet has been held annually for more than 60 years.
In 1946, the celebration of Douglas Day was established by municipal bylaw. While many municipalities in the Lower Mainland celebrated Douglas Day in the past, Langley is one of the few to continue the tradition.
A list of pioneers recognized during the 2011 Douglas Day celebration follows:
Bill and Blanche Ainsworth
Charlie and Lorraine Allen
Benny and Penny Anderlini
Mario and Karen Anderlini
Ray Anderlini
Gezina Anderson
Muriel Anderson
Harvey and Dianne Antonsen
Malcolm and Lorna Arkinstall
Jean Bachen
Dick and June Barichello
Del Barron
Walt Barron
Elsie Beggs
Myrna Bellamy
Bill and Mildred Berry
Ernie and Sharon Bird
Phyllis Bishop
Sven Bjorknas
Doris Blair
Italo and Jackie Bonetti
Myrtle Brassart
Doris Braun
Frank and Chrissie Braun
Martha Braun
Ed Bregg
Joe and Marie Breier
Barrie and Beverley Brown
Myrtle (Walli) Burnell
Norma Carruthers
Queenie Carson
Allan Cartwright
Wilfred and Jeanette Cartwright
Dick and Betty-Lou Chell
Ev Chipperfield
Barbara Chiste
Ken and Lenore Christensen
Irma Cockett
Walter and Marg Compton
Barbara Cornies
Thelma Coward
Betty Cox
Marshall and Jennifer Cronkhite
Hugh Davis
Jean Davis
Rodney and Ada Deans
George and Marge DeGianni
Alfred and Eleanor Deglan
Daroyl and Evi Dent
Dietrich and Nettie Driediger
Kaye Easingwood
Seward and Joy Easingwood
Effie Ebbeson
Roy English
Ruth Erickson
Tommy Farquhar
Helen Fast
Jim and Dorothy Ferguson
Joe and Florence Fifer
Barney Flowerdew
Audree Foster
Hilda Frosdorf
Mona Fruno
Charlie and Arlene Gandy
Helen Gardner
Peter and Rosemary Genberg
Bruno and Shirley Giacomazzi
Roy Giacomazzi
Tarnail Gill
Annie Goddard
Tom Goodyear
Victor Gorcak
Lillian Graham
Betty Granholm
Bruce and Nicole Granholm
Maxine Grant
Terry and Joyce Greenfield
Eunice Greenwood
Ben Greer
Bob and Helen Griffiths
Wilfred and Barbara Haid
Marguerite Hanson
Hazel Harrower
Gordon and Cora Hayward
Verna Hickey
Gordon and Joan Hill
Jean Hope
Mervyn and Margaret Hunter
Tom Hunter
Norma Jamieson
Alice Johnson
Dick Jones
Carel and Lynda Jongs
Eugene (Gene) and Shirley Kaetler
Kathleen Kells
Alice Kennedy
Edward (Ed) Kosciuk
Walt and Mary Koziel
Helmut and Shirley Kramer
Alica Kuhar
Gerald and Anna Larsen
Don and Gwen Lee
Marj Lee
Kay Lindquist
Robert (Bob) and Diane Logan
Percy and Kay Lotzer
Albert and Elsie Lundin
Freda Lynch
Gail Lynch
Walter and Jean Makela
William and Etta Marr
Elsie Martin
John Masztalar
Mike Masztalar
Roy and Vicky Matts
Joan Mayo
Peggy McGregor
Nora McKain
Edna McLeod
Florence McQuay
Donna McTaggart
Genny Milligan
Phillip and Judith Miskulin
Margaret Mitcham
Dave and Diane Moffat
Iris Mooney
Doug and June Moore
Roy and Beryl Moore
Fay Morelli
Grace Morelli
Vernon and Merrilyn Morelli
Madge Mowles
Claud and Darlene Muench
Jack Muench
Pat Muench
Pat Mufford
Joyce Murchison
Lurene Music
Fred and Frances Mutch
Frank and Eva Napier
Bonnie Nelson
Ruth Nelson
Kathleen Nicholl
Jeannette Norman
Don and Marion Nundal
Sam and Pam Omelaniec
Vera Omelaniec
Betty Oswald
Eleanor Packard
Norman and Joyce Paterson
Cully Penzer
John Penzer
Fred and Maureen Pepin
Gladys Peterson
Bill Pidruczny
George and Audrey Pihan
Sue Plumridge
Helen Poppy
Patricia Potts
Edward Powroznik
Walter (Buck) and Mary Probert
Jerry and Bev Radtke
Max and Molly Reding
Dick Rees
Charlie and Doreen Reid
Don and Bernice Reid
Don and Lorraine Reimer
Ann Renfors
John and Doris Riedweg
Jack Roberts
Bernice Robinson
Marilyn Rockson
Betty Rogers
Ellen Rooke
Mary Sanderson
Wilfried and Ida Schnabel
Roy and Grace Seifred
Diana Sendall
Jean Seymour
Norman Severide
Norman and Mabel Sherritt
Bill and Gail Shields
Marjorie Shiell
Ted and Alfie Smaback
Charlie Smith
Ron and Jean Smith
Wilma Stromsten
Doris Stroyan
Allen and Gwen Sturn
Jean Synge
Gerald Tapp
Robert and Joan Tapp
Al and Marilyn Tecklenborg
Phyllis Thomas
Lillian Thomson
Bill and Mary Twemlow
Barry and Susan Vaughan
Ernest Vaughan
Harold and Joanne Vaughan
Laverne and Elaine Vaughan
Stan Warner
Anita Waska
Phyllis Waugh
Phyllis Wegesser
Irene Western
Fenn and Mary Williams
Grace Wilson
Lilian Witt
Leonard Woods
Jack and Ellen Worrell
Shirley (Sally) Worrell
Joe and Carol Wrazy
Don Wrightman
Ron and Marilyn Yates
John and Shirley Yeomans