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Pioneers honoured on Sunday

More than 350 pioneers and guests gathered for the annual Douglas Day celebration.
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Langley pioneer Doris Blair (at right) visits with Queen Victoria, (portrayed by actress Debra Hinksman) at the Douglas Day banquet on Sunday, while a Royal Engineer stands guard.

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